• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.55 no.6
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• pp.633-648
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• 2022

Gravity data were analyzed to identify the cause of clustered seismicity that occurred intensively in Yeoncheon, located in the central part of the Korean Peninsula. Our analysis suggests that the En echelon faults developed in the northwest-southeast direction. In addition, in the eastern part of the Dongducheon Fault, it was interpreted that high-density lower bedrock intermittently lifts close to the surface due to vertical tectonic movement accompanied by a flower structure. The fracture zone of the Dongducheon Fault is estimated that the width is about 200 m, the depth is at least 5 km, and the density is about 15% lower than the adjacent rocks. It is analyzed that the shallow earthquakes that occurred within 5 km depth was concentrated along the low-density En echelon fault fracture zone developed between the high-density rocks intruding close to the surface. Therefore, the earthquakes can be interpreted as the result that the north-south stress caused by the dextral tectonic movement of the Dongducheon Fault activated the En echelon fault in the northwest-southeast direction.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.93-108
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• 2010

This paper investigates the seismic performance of existing reinforced concrete frames with wide beams mainly designed for gravity loads, as typically found in the seismic-prone Mediterranean area before the introduction of modern codes. The seismic capacity is evaluated in terms of the overall amount of input energy that the frame can dissipate/absorb up to collapse. This approach provides a quantitative evaluation that can be useful for selecting and designing an appropriate retrofit strategy. Six prototype frames representative of past construction practices in the southern part of Spain are designed, and the corresponding non-linear numerical models are developed and calibrated with purposely conducted tests on wide beam-column subassemblages. The models are subjected to sixteen earthquake records until collapse by applying the incremental dynamic analysis method. It is found that the ultimate energy dissipation capacity at the story level is markedly low (about 1.36 times the product of the lateral yield strength and yield displacement of the story), giving values for the maximum amount of energy that the frame can dissipate which are from one fourth to half of that required in moderate-seismicity regions.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.137-158
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• 2009

This paper investigates the behavior of reinforced concrete (RC) circular columns under combined loading including torsion. The main variables considered in this study are the ratio of torsional moment to bending moment (T/M) and the level of detailing for moderate and high seismicity (low and high transverse reinforcement/spiral ratio). This paper presents the results of tests on seven columns subjected to cyclic bending and shear, cyclic torsion, and various levels of combined cyclic bending, shear, and torsion. Columns under combined loading were tested at T/M ratios of 0.2 and 0.4. These columns were reinforced with two spiral reinforcement ratios of 0.73% and 1.32%. Similarly, the columns subjected to pure torsion were tested with two spiral reinforcement ratios of 0.73% and 1.32%. This study examined the significance of proper detailing, and spiral reinforcement ratio and its effect on the torsional resistance under combined loading. The test results demonstrate that both the flexural and torsional capacities are decreased due to the effect of combined loading. Furthermore, they show a significant change in the failure mode and deformation characteristics depending on the spiral reinforcement ratio. The increase in spiral reinforcement ratio also led to significant improvement in strength and ductility.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.385-398
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• 2011

This paper discusses the applicability of Acoustic Emission (AE) to assess the damage in reinforced concrete (RC) structures subjected to complex dynamic loadings such as those induced by earthquakes. The AE signals recorded during this type of event can be complicated due to the arbitrary and random nature of seismicity and the fact that the signals are highly contaminated by many spurious sources of noise. This paper demonstrates that by properly filtering the AE signals, a very good correlation can be found between AE and damage on the RC structure. The basic experimental data used for this research are the results of fourteen seismic simulations conducted with a shake table on an RC slab supported on four steel columns. The AE signals were recorded by several low-frequency piezoelectric sensors located on the bottom surface of the slab. The evolution of damage under increasing values of peak acceleration applied to the shake table was monitored in terms of AE and dissipated plastic strain energy. A strong correlation was found between the energy dissipated by the concrete through plastic deformations and the AE energy calculated after properly filtering the signals. For this reason, a procedure is proposed to analyze the AE measured in a RC structure during a seismic event so that it can be used for damage assessment.

• Journal of The Korea Institute of Healthcare Architecture
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.51-59
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• 2012

Over a past century, the continuity in post-earthquake serviceability of medical facilities has been demonstrated to be essential for sustaining a society and/or a nation stable. However, not many countries including Korea have paid appropriate attention to such a lesson learned from the previous experiences of the countries located in high seismicity for various reasons, one of which may be the lack of social consensus in allocating a portion of the resources to the earthquake preparedness. As a result, an earthquake-related policy might have been pushed away out of the list of priority in the government agenda. Therefore, the present paper attempts to persuade the public general, experts and government officials together to seek a way to upgrade the seismic safety of the country a step forward by enhancing the seismic performance of medical facilities. For this the framework of seismic design codes and standards for medical facilities, and Californian experience in managing the seismic performance enhancement program and U.S.-Italian collaborative study to improve the seismic safety of Italian hospitals are reviewed. Finally, a list of further researches and practices to perform for seismic enhancement of medical facilities in Korea are suggested.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.281-298
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• 2013

Composite special moment frame is one of the systems that are utilized in areas with low to high seismicity to deal with earthquake forces. Composite moment frames are composed of reinforced concrete columns (RC) and steel beams (S); therefore, the connection region is a combination of steel and concrete materials. In current study, a three dimensional finite element model of composite connections is developed. These connections are used in special composite moment frame, between reinforced concrete columns and steel beams (RCS). Finite element model is discussed as a most reliable and low cost method versus experimental procedures. Based on a tested connection model by Cheng and Chen (2005), the finite element model has been developed under cyclic loading and is verified with experimental results. A good agreement between finite element model and experimental results was observed. The connection configuration contains Face Bearing Plates (FBPs), Steel Band Plates (SBPs) enveloping around the RC column just above and below the steel beam. Longitudinal column bars pass through the connection with square ties around them. The finite element model represented a stable response up to the first cycles equal to 4.0% drift, with moderately pinched hysteresis loops and then showed a significant buckling in upper flange of beam, as the in test model.

• Proceedings of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea Conference
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• 2002.03a
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• pp.250-257
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• 2002

Pseudo dynamic test is an on-line computer control method to achieve the realism of shaking table test with the economy and versatility of the conventional quasi-static approach Pseudo dynamic tests of six full-size RC bridge piers have been carried out to investigate their seismic performance. For the purpose of precise evaluation, the experimental investigation was conducted to study the seismic performance of the real size specimen, which is constructed for highway bridge piers in Korean peninsula. Since it is believed that Korea belongs to the moderate seismicity region, five test specimens were designed in accordance with limited ductility design concept. Another one test specimen was nonseismically designed according to a conventional code. Important test parameters were transverse reinforcement and lap splicing. Lap splicing was frequently used in the plastic hinge region of many bridge columns. Furthermore, the seismic design code is not present about lap splice in Korean Roadway Bridge Design Code. The results show that specimens designed according to the limited ductility design concept exhibit higher seismic resistance. Specimens with longitudinal steel lap splice in the plastic hinge region appeared to significantly fail at low ductility level.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.25-31
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• 2007

For areas such as the Korean Peninsula, which have moderate seismic activity but no available records of strong ground motion, synthetic seismograms can be used to evaluate ground motion without waiting for a strong earthquake. Such seismograms represent the estimated ground motions expected from a set of possible earthquake scenarios. Local site effects are especially important in assessing the seismic hazard and possible ground motion scenarios for a specific fault. The earthquake source and rupture dynamics can be described as a two-step process of rupture initiation and front propagation controlled by a frictional sliding mechanism. The seismic wavefield propagates through heterogeneous geological media and finally undergoes near-surface modulations such as amplification or deamplification. This is a complex system in which various scales of physical phenomena are integrated. A unified approach incorporates multi-scale problems of dynamic rupture, radiated wave propagation, and site effects into an all-in-one model using a three-dimensional, fourth-order, staggered-grid, finite-difference method. The method explains strong ground motions as products of complex systems that can be modified according to a variety of fine-scale rupture scenarios and friction models. A series of such deterministic earthquake scenarios can shed light on the kind of damage that would result and where it would be located.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.33-42
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• 2007

This paper describes the state-of-the art research activities on seismic isolation systems for improving the seismic capacities of the bridges in Korea. Though Korea is located in a region of low-to-moderate seismicity, the construction of seismic isolation systems has increased rapidly. The application of seismic isolation system has become popular worldwide because of its stable behavior and economical construction especially for bridge structures. Since optimal reliability level of isolated bridges can be determined as the one that provides the highest net life-cycle benefit to society, or the minimum Life-Cycle Cost (LCC), an optimal design procedure based on minimum LCC concept is more expedient for the design of seismically isolated bridges in areas of low-to-moderate seismicty. To verify the adequacy of the new design concept based on the LCC minimization, experimental studies on seismically isolated bridge are introduced as well, which include pseudo-dynamic test of scaled pier and dynamic field test of full-scale. With the application of seismic isolation systems, many kinds of dampers to improve the seismic capacity of structure are also applied not only to new bridges but also to existing bridges.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.75 no.3
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• pp.295-309
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• 2020

The construction of Reinforced Concrete (R/C) buildings with unreinforced masonry infills is part of the traditional building practice in many countries with regions of high seismicity throughout the world. When these buildings are subjected to seismic motions the presence of masonry infills and especially their configuration can highly influence the seismic damage state. The capability to avoid configurations of masonry infills prone to seismic damage at the stage of initial architectural concept would be significantly definitive in the context of Performance-Based Earthquake Engineering. Along these lines, the present paper investigates the potential of instant prediction of the damage response of R/C buildings with various configurations of masonry infills utilizing Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs). To this end, Multilayer Feedforward Perceptron networks are utilized and the problem is formulated as pattern recognition problem. The ANNs' training data-set is created by means of Nonlinear Time History Analyses of 5 R/C buildings with a large number of different masonry infills' distributions, which are subjected to 65 earthquakes. The structural damage is expressed in terms of the Maximum Interstorey Drift Ratio. The most significant conclusion which is extracted is that the ANNs can reliably estimate the influence of masonry infills' configurations on the seismic damage level of R/C buildings incorporating their optimum design.