• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.457-471
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• 2021

This study aims at providing a simple and effective methodology to define a meaningful characteristic period for special class of earthquake records named "pulse-like ground motions". In the proposed method, continuous wavelet transform is employed to extract the large pulse of ground motions. Then, Fourier amplitude spectra obtained from the original ground motion and the residual motion is simply compared. This comparison permits to define a threshold pulse-period (Tp∗) as the threshold period above which the pulse component has negligible contributions to the Fourier amplitude spectrum. The effect of pulse on frequency content of motions was discussed on the light of this definition. The advantage and superior features of the new definition were related to the inelastic displacement ratio (IDR) for single-degree-of-freedom systems with period equal to one half of the threshold period. Analyses performed for the proposed period at three ductility levels u=2,4,6 were compared with the results obtained at half of pulse period derived from wavelet analysis, peak-point method and the peak of product of the velocity and the displacement response spectra (Sv x Sd). According to the results, pulse effects on inelastic displacement ratio seem to be more important when $\frac{T_p^*}{T}=2$ (T is the fundamental vibration period of system). The results showed that utilizing of the proposed definition could facilitate an enhanced understanding of pulse-like records features.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.53-64
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• 2022

This study proposes an intelligent semi-active isolation system combining a variable-stiffness control device and ground motion characteristic prediction. To determine the optimal control parameter in real-time, a genetic algorithm (GA)-fuzzy control law was developed in this study. Data on various types of ground motions were collected, and the ground motion characteristics were quantified to derive a near-fault (NF) characteristic ratio by employing an on-site earthquake early warning system. On the basis of the peak ground acceleration (PGA) and the derived NF ratio, a fuzzy inference system (FIS) was developed. The control parameters were optimized using a GA. To support continuity under near-fault and far-field ground motions, the optimal control parameter was linked with the predicted PGA and NF ratio through the FIS. The GA-fuzzy law was then compared with other control laws to verify its effectiveness. The results revealed that the GA-fuzzy control law could reliably predict different ground motion characteristics for real-time control because of the high sensitivity of its control parameter to the ground motion characteristics. Even under near-fault and far-field ground motions, the GA-fuzzy control law outperformed the FPEEA control law in terms of controlling the isolation layer displacement and the superstructure acceleration.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.71 no.4
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• pp.377-390
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• 2019

A method for estimating the floor response spectra (FRS) of elastic structures under earthquake excitations is proposed. The method is established based on a previously proposed direct estimation method for single degree of freedom systems, which generally overestimates the FRS of a structure, particularly in the resonance period range. A modification factor is introduced to modify the original method; the modification factor is expressed as a function of the period ratio and is determined through regression analysis on time history analysis results. Both real and artificial ground motions are considered in the analysis, and it is found that the modification factors obtained from the real and artificial ground motions are significantly different. This suggests that the effect of ground motion should be considered in the estimation of FRS. The modified FRS estimation method is further applied to a 10-story building structure, and it is verified that the proposed method can lead to a good estimation of FRS of multi-story buildings.

• Geotechnical Engineering
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.5-18
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• 1989

The ground input motions used for seismic analysis of structures are studied in this paper, The one-dimensional wave propagation theory, the simple transfer function by Elsabee and Morray, and the finite element method that can account for the effect of scattering field, respectively, are used to get the ground input motions, and the results by these methods are compared among others. The responses of structures are also computed by both finite element analysis and elastic half space analysis, using the ground input motions obtained by the different methods mentioned above, and the computed results are analyzed. In addition, the parameteric study Is performed to analyze the effect of the increase of soil stiffness on the response of structures, and on that of the ground input motions. The responses of structures obtained are compared with the results obtained using the Building Code on seismic analysis for structures in Korea. The results of this study show that the ground input motions obtained without considering the effect of scattering field was 2 times larger than those with scattering effect, concluding that the effect of scattering field may not be ignored when obtains the ground input motion.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2008

In seismic response analysis of building structures, the input ground accelerations have considerable effect on the nonlinear response characteristics of structures. The characteristics of soil and the locality of the site where those ground motions were recorded affect on the contents of earthquake waves. Therefore, it is difficult to select appropriate input ground motions for seismic response analysis. This study describes a generation of artificial earthquake wave compatible with seismic design spectrum, and also evaluates the seismic response values of multistory reinforced concrete structures by the simulated earthquake motions. The artificial earthquake wave are generated according to the previously recorded earthquake waves in past major earthquake events. The artificial wave have identical phase angles to the recorded earthquake wave, and their overall response spectra are compatible with seismic design spectrum with 5% critical viscous damping. The input ground motions applied to this study have identical elastic acceleration response spectra, but have different phase angles. The purpose of this study is to investigate their validity as input ground motion for nonlinear seismic response analysis. As expected, the response quantifies by simulated earthquake waves present better stable than those by real recording of ground motion. It was concluded that the artificial earthquake waves generated in this paper are applicable as input ground motions for a seismic response analysis of building structures. It was also found that strength of input ground motions for seismic analysis are suitable to be normalize as elastic acceleration spectra.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.595-617
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• 2013

Semi-active control equipments are used to effectually enhance the seismic behavior of structures. Magneto-rheological (MR) dampers are semi-active devices that can be utilized to control the response of structures during seismic loads and have received voracious attention for response suppression. They supply the adaptability of active devices and stability and reliability of passive devices. This paper presents an optimal fuzzy logic control scheme for vibration mitigation of buildings using magneto-rheological dampers subjected to near-fault ground motions. Near-fault features including a directivity pulse in the fault-normal direction and a fling step in the fault-parallel direction are considered in the requisite ground motion records. The membership functions and fuzzy rules of fuzzy controller were optimized by genetic algorithm (GA). Numerical study is performed to analyze the influences of near-fault ground motions on a building that is equipped with MR dampers. Considering the uncontrolled system response as the base line, the proposed method is scrutinized by analogy with that of a conventional maximum dissipation energy (MED) controller to accentuate the effectiveness of the fuzzy logic algorithm. Results reveal that the fuzzy logic controllers can efficiently improve the structural responses and MR dampers are quite promising for reducing seismic responses during near-fault earthquakes.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.625-635
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• 2020

Suspension bridges have the extended in plan configuration which makes them prone to dynamic events like earthquake. The longer span lead to more flexibility and slender of them. So, control systems seem to be essential in order to protect them against ground motion excitation. Tuned mass damper or in brief TMD is a passive control system that its efficiency is practically proven. Moreover, its parameters i.e. mass ratio, tuning frequency and damping ratio can be optimized in a manner providing the best performance. Meta-heuristic optimization algorithm is a powerful tool to gain this aim. In this study, TMD parameters are optimized in different-length suspension bridges in three distinct cases including 3, 4 and 5 TMDs by observer-teacher-learner based algorithm under a complete set of ground motions formed from both near-field and far-field instances. The Vincent Thomas, Tacoma Narrows and Golden Gate suspension bridges are selected for case studies as short, mean and long span ones, respectively. The results indicate that All cases of used TMDs result in response reduction and case 4TMD can be more suitable for bridges in near and far-field conditions.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.4 no.5
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• pp.557-585
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• 2013

The recent huge earthquake ground motion records in Japan result in the reconsideration of seismic design forces for nuclear power stations from the view point of seismological research. In addition, the seismic design force should be defined also from the view point of structural engineering. In this paper it is shown that one of the occurrence mechanisms of such large acceleration in recent seismic records (recorded in or near massive structures and not free-field ground motions) is due to the interaction between a massive building and its surrounding soil which induces amplification of local mode in the surface soil. Furthermore on-site investigation after earthquakes in the nuclear power stations reveals some damages of soil around the building (cracks, settlement and sand boiling). The influence of plastic behavior of soil is investigated in the context of interaction between the structure and the surrounding soil. Moreover the amplification property of the surface soil is investigated from the seismic records of the Suruga-gulf earthquake in 2009 and the 2011 off the Pacific coast of Tohoku earthquake in 2011. Two methods are introduced for the analysis of the non-stationary process of ground motions. It is shown that the non-stationary Fourier spectra can detect the temporal change of frequency contents of ground motions and the displacement profile integrated from its acceleration profile is useful to evaluate the seismic behavior of the building and the surrounding soil.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.46 no.5
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• pp.605-618
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• 2014

The effects of variability of the mechanical properties of lead rubber bearings on the response of a seismic isolation system are investigated. Material variability in manufacturing, aging, and operation temperature is assumed, and two variation models of an isolation system are considered. To evaluate the effect of ground motion characteristics on the response, 27 earthquake record sets with different peak A/V ratios were selected, and three components of ground motions were used for a seismic response analysis. The response in an isolation system and a superstructure increases significantly for ground motions with low A/V ratios. The variation in the mechanical properties of isolators results in a significant influence on the shear strains of the isolators and the acceleration response of the superstructure. The variation provisions in the ASCE-4 are reasonable, but more strict variation limits should be given to isolation systems subjected to ground motions having low A/V ratios. For application of seismic isolation systems to safety-related nuclear structures, the variation in the material and mechanical properties of the isolation system should be properly controlled during the manufacturing and aging processes. In addition, special consideration should be given to minimize the accidental torsion caused by the dissimilarity in the stiffness variations of the isolators.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.673-698
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• 2015

This paper investigates inelastic seismic demands of the normal component of near-fault pulse-like ground motions, which differ considerably from those of far-fault ground motions and also parallel component of near-fault ones. The results are utilized to improve the nonlinear static procedure (NSP) called Displacement Coefficient Method (DCM). 96 near-fault and 20 far-fault ground motions and the responses of various single degree of freedom (SDOF) systems constitute the dataset. Nonlinear Dynamic Analysis (NDA) is utilized as the benchmark for comparison with nonlinear static analysis results. Considerable influences of different faulting mechanisms are observed on inelastic seismic demands. The demands are functions of the strength ratio and also the pulse period to structural period ratio. Simple mathematical expressions are developed to consider the effects of near-fault motion and fault type on nonlinear responses. Modifications are presented for the DCM by introducing a near-fault modification factor, $C_N$. In locations, where the fault type is known, the modifications proposed in this paper help to obtain a more precise estimate of seismic demands in structures.