• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.133-152
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• 2015

This paper investigates the soil effect on seismic behaviour of reinforced concrete (RC) buildings by using the spread plastic hinge model which includes material and geometric nonlinearity of the structural members. Therefore, typical reinforced concrete frame buildings are selected and nonlinear dynamic time history analyses and pushover analyses are performed. Three earthquake acceleration records are selected for nonlinear dynamic time history analyses. These records are adjusted to be compatible with the design spectrum defined in Turkish Seismic Code. Interstory drifts and damages of selected buildings are compared according to local soil classes. Also, capacity curves of these buildings are compared with maximum responses obtained from nonlinear dynamic time history analyses. The results show that, soil class influences the seismic behaviour of reinforced concrete buildings, significantly.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.505-523
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• 2018

Static pushover analyses of typical existing reinforced concrete frames, designed according to the previous generations of design codes in Greece, have established these structures' inelastic characteristics, namely overstrength, global ductility capacity and available behaviour factor q, under planar response. These were compared with the corresponding demands at the collapse limit state target performance point. The building stock considered accounted for the typical variability, among different generations of constructed buildings in Greece, in the form, the seismic design code in effect and the material characteristics. These static pushover analyses are extended, in the present study, in the time history domain. Consequently, the static analysis predictions are compared with Incremental Dynamic Analysis results herein, using a large number of spectrum compatible recorded base excitations of recent destructive earthquakes in Greece and abroad, following, for comparison, similar conventional limiting failure criteria as before. It is shown that the buildings constructed in the 70s exhibit the least desirable behaviour, followed by the buildings constructed in the 60s. As the seismic codes evolved, there is a notable improvement for buildings of the 80s, when the seismic code introduced end member confinement and the requirement for a joint capacity criterion. Finally, buildings of the 90s, designed to modern codes exhibit an exceptionally good performance, as expected by the compliance of this code to currently enforced seismic provisions worldwide.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.3 no.3_4
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• pp.231-248
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• 2012

In this study, a systematic investigation is carried out on the seismic behaviour of plane moment resisting steel frames (MRF) to repeated strong ground motions. Such a sequence of earthquakes results in a significant damage accumulation in a structure because any rehabilitation action between any two successive seismic motions cannot be practically materialised due to lack of time. In this work, thirty-six MRF which have been designed for seismic and vertical loads according to European codes are first subjected to five real seismic sequences which are recorded at the same station, in the same direction and in a short period of time, up to three days. Furthermore, the examined frames are also subjected to sixty artificial seismic sequences. This investigation shows that the sequences of ground motions have a significant effect on the response and, hence, on the design of MRF. Additionally, it is concluded that ductility demands, behaviour factor and seismic damage of the repeated ground motions can be satisfactorily estimated using appropriate combinations of the corresponding demands of single ground motions.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.15-25
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• 2020

The seismic behaviour of reinforced concrete (RC) columns made from high-strength materials was investigated experimentally. Six high-strength concrete specimen columns (1:4 scale), which included three with high-strength stirrups (HSSs) and three with normal-strength stirrups (NSSs), were tested under a combination of high axial and reversed cyclic loads. The effects of stirrup strength and the ratio of transverse reinforcement on the cracking patterns, hysteretic response, strength, stiffness, ductility, energy dissipation and strain of transverse reinforcement were studied. The results indicate that good seismic behaviour of an RC column subjected to high axial compression can be obtained by using a well-shaped stirrup. Stirrup strength had little effect on the lateral bearing capacity. However, the ductility was significantly modified by improving the stirrup strength. When loaded with a large lateral displacement, the strength reduction of NSS specimens was more severe than that of those with HSSs, and increasing the stirrup strength had little effect on the stiffness reduction. The ductility and energy dissipation of specimens with HSSs were superior to those with NSSs. When the ultimate displacement was reached, the core concrete could be effectively restrained by HSSs.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2000.11a
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• pp.223-228
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• 2000

The current slope stability analysis of a filldam is based on the limit equilibrium method, and in calculation of safety factor during earthquake, adopts the seismic intensity method in which it considers a uniform seismic force from dam foundation to crest. However the observed behaviour of filldam during earthquake shows some different behaviour in that at the crest the measured acceleration is usually several times the ground acceleration. In this study, slope stability calculations of a filldam are provided based on the modified seismic intensity method, which can take into account the amplification phenomena of acceleration in the upper part of dam. And also the results of calculations are compared with that of current seismic intensity method.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.109-127
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• 2016

This paper examines the contribution of three sources of uncertainties to probabilistic seismic behaviour of wood frame buildings, including ground motions, intensity and seismic mass. This sensitivity analysis is performed using three methods, including the traditional method based on the conditional distributions of ground motions at given intensity measures, a method using the summation of conditional distributions at given ground motion records, and the Monte Carlo simulation. FEMA P-695 ground motions and its scaling methods are used in the analysis. Two archetype buildings are used in the sensitivity analysis, including a two-storey building and a four-storey building. The results of these analyses indicate that using data-fitting techniques to obtain probability distributions may cause some errors. Linear interpolation combined with data-fitting technique may be employed to improve the accuracy of the calculated exceeding probability. The procedures can be used to quantify the risk of wood frame buildings in seismic events and to calibrate seismic design provisions towards design code improvement.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.7 no.6
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• pp.1223-1240
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• 2014

Seismic isolation has been established as an effective earthquake-resistant design method and the lead rubber bearings (LRBs) are among the most commonly used seismic isolation systems. In the scientific literature, a sharp bilinear model is often used for capturing the hysteretic behaviour of the LRBs in the analysis of seismically isolated structures, although the actual behaviour of the LRBs can be more accurately represented utilizing smoothed plasticity, as captured by the Bouc-Wen model. Discrepancies between these two models are quantified in terms of the computed peak relative displacements at the isolation level, as well as the peak inter-storey deflections and the absolute top-floor accelerations, for the case of base-isolated buildings modelled as multi degree-of-freedom systems. Numerical simulations under pulse-like ground motions have been performed to assess the effect of non-linear parameters of the seismic isolation system and characteristics of both the superstructure and the earthquake excitation, on the accuracy of the computed peak structural responses. Through parametric analyses, this paper assesses potential inaccuracies of the computed peak seismic response when the sharp bilinear model is employed for modelling the LRBs instead of the more accurate and smoother Bouc-Wen model.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.3 no.3_4
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• pp.413-434
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• 2012

This paper presents a displacement-based seismic design method with damage control, in which the targets for the considered performance level are set as displacements and a damage distribution is proposed by the designer. The method is based on concepts of basic structural dynamics and of a reference single degree of freedom system associated to the fundamental mode with a bilinear behaviour. Based on the characteristics of this behaviour curve and on the requirements of modal spectral analysis, the stiffness and strength of the structural elements of the structure satisfying the target design displacement are calculated. The formulation of this method is presented together with the formulations of two other existing methods currently considered of practical interest. To illustrate the application of the proposed method, 5 reinforced concrete plane frames: 8, 17 and 25 storey regular, and 8 and 12 storey irregular in elevation. All frames are designed for a seismic demand defined by single earthquake record in order to compare the performances and damage distributions used as design targets with the corresponding results of the nonlinear step by step analyses of the designed structures subjected to the same seismic demand. The performances and damage distributions calculated with these analyses show a good agreement with those postulated as targets.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.5 no.6
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• pp.625-655
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• 2013

This paper investigated the seismic behaviour of an innovated non-ductile precast concrete wall structural system; namely HC Precast System (HCPS). The system comprises load-bearing precast wall panels merely connected only to column at both ends. Such study is needed because there is limited research information available in design codes for such structure particularly in regions having low to moderate seismicity threats. Experimentally calibrated numerical model of the wall system was used to carry out nonlinear pushover analyses with various types of lateral loading patterns. Effects of laterally applied single point load (SPL), uniformly distributed load (UDL), modal distributed load (MDL) and triangular distributed load (TDL) onto global behaviour of HCPS were identified. Discussion was focused on structural performance such as ductility, deformability, and effective stiffness of the wall system. Thus, a new method for engineers to estimate the nonlinear deformation of HCPS through linear analysis was proposed.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.69-88
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• 2008

A number of construction practices, implemented during the design process of a reinforced concrete (RC) structural system, may have significant consequences on the behaviour of the structural system in the case of earthquake loading. Although a number of provisions are imposed by the contemporary Greek national design codes for the seismic design of RC structures, in order to reduce the consequences, the influence of the construction practices on the seismic behaviour of the structural system remains significant. The objective of this work is to perform a comparative study in order to examine the influence of three, often encountered, construction practices namely weak ground storey, short and floating columns and two combinations on the seismic performance of the structural system with respect to the structural capacity and the maximum interstorey drifts in three earthquake hazard levels.