• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.411-425
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• 2011

This paper illustrates the results of a seismic vulnerability study aimed to derive the fragility curves for typical Algerian reinforced concrete bridge piers using an analytical approach. Fragility curves express the probability of exceeding a certain damage state for a given ground motion intensity (e.g., PGA). In this respect, a set of 41 worldwide accelerometer records from which, 21 Algerian strong motion records are included, have been used in a non-linear dynamic response analyses to assess the damage indices expressed in terms of the bridge displacement ductility, the ultimate ductility, the cyclic loading factor and the cumulative energy ductility. Combining the damage indices defined for 5 damage rank with the ground motion indices, the fragility curves for the bridge piers were derived assuming a lognormal distribution.

• Proceedings of the KSR Conference
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• 2004.10a
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• pp.733-738
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• 2004

Recently continuous welded rail is generally used to ensure running performances and to overcome the problems such as structural vulnerability and fastener damage at the rail expansion joint. Though the use of continuous welded rail on bridge has the advantage of decreasing the vibration and damage of rail, it still the risk of buckling and breaking of rail due to change of temperature, starting and/or breaking force, axial stress concentration and so on. So, VIC code and many methods has been developed by researchers considering rail-bridge interaction. Although there are many research concerning stability of continuous welded rail about temperature change on bridge and starting and/or breaking force, the study of continuous welded mil for earthquake load is still unsufficient. In this study, the nonlinear seismic response analysis of continuous welded rail on bridge considering soil-structure interaction, geotechnical characteristic of foundation and earthquake isolation equipment has been performed to examine the stability of continuous welded rail.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.59-68
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• 2010

Seismic performances of existing structures should be assessed with more accuracy for cost-effective retrofits. Existing bridges are assessed by the current guidelines in which a simple method has been adapted considering the technical level of engineers of the historical time of construction. Recently many probabilistic approaches have been performed to reflect the uncertainties of seismic input motions. Structures are modeled frequently with the neglection of soil foundations or modeled occasionally with elastic soil spring elements to consider the effect of the soil on the structural response. However, soil also shows nonlinearity under seismic events, so this characteristic should be reflected in order to obtain a more accurate assessment. In this study, a 6-span continuous bridge has been analyzed under various seismic events, in which the soil was represented by equivalent linear spring elements having different properties according to the intensities of the input motions experienced. The seismic vulnerabilities with respect to the failure of piers and the dropping of the super-structure were evaluated on the basis of the analysis results.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.91 no.5
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• pp.487-502
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• 2024

This study introduces a novel 'multi-mushroom' structural system designed to improve seismic performance in lowrise buildings. Traditional low-rise structures tend to favor sliding over rocking due to their smaller aspect ratios despite the rocking system's superior seismic response reduction. Rocking designs allow structures to pivot at their base during seismic events, reducing damage by dissipating energy. The proposed multi-mushroom system divides the building into four equal sections with small gaps in between, each capable of independent rocking. Numerical analyses are conducted using scaled earthquake records from far- and near-source events to evaluate this system's performance. The results indicated that the multimushroom system significantly reduces plastic hinge formation compared to conventional designs. The system also demonstrated enhanced beam performance and a robust base girder, contributing to reduced collapse vulnerability. The 3-story model exhibited the most favorable behavior, effectively mitigating peak roof drift values, where the rocking system achieved a 21% reduction in mean roof displacement for near-field records and 15% for far-field records. However, the 5-story configuration showed increased roof displacement, and the 7-story model recorded higher incidences of collapse prevention (CP) hinges, indicating areas for further optimization. Overall, the multi-mushroom system enhances seismic resilience by minimizing plastic hinge formation and improving structural integrity. While the system shows significant promise for low-rise buildings, challenges related to roof displacement and inter-story drift ratio in taller structures necessitate further research. These findings suggest that the multi-mushroom system offers a viable solution for seismic risk reduction, contributing to safer and more sustainable urban development in earthquake-prone areas.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.127-139
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• 2019

Residual drifts after an earthquake can incur huge repair costs and might need to replace the infrastructure because of its non-reparability. Proper functioning of bridges is also essential in the aftermath of an earthquake. In order to mitigate pounding and unseating damage of bridges subjected to earthquakes, a self-adaptive Ni-Ti shape memory alloy (SMA)-cable-based frictional sliding bearing (SMAFSB) is proposed considering self-adaptive centering, high energy dissipation, better fatigue, and corrosion resistance from SMA-cable component. The developed novel bearing is associated with the properties of modularity, replaceability, and earthquake isolation capacity, which could reduce the repair time and increase the resilience of highway bridges. To evaluate the super-elasticity of the SMA-cable, pseudo-static tests and numerical simulation on the SMA-cable specimens with a diameter of 7 mm are conducted and one dimensional (1D) constitutive hysteretic model of the SMAFSB is developed considering the effects of gap, self-centering, and high energy dissipation. Two types of the SMAFSB (i.e., movable and fixed SMAFSBs) are applied to a two-span continuous reinforced concrete (RC) bridge. The seismic vulnerabilities of the RC bridge, utilizing movable SMAFSB with the constant gap size of 60 mm and the fixed SMAFSBs with different gap sizes (e.g., 0, 30, and 60 mm), are assessed at component and system levels, respectively. It can be observed that the fixed SMAFSB with a gap of 30 mm gained the most retrofitting effect among the three cases.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.359-374
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• 2017

The seismic events in Northern Italy, May 2012, have revealed the seismic vulnerability of typical Italian precast industrial buildings. The aim of this paper is to present a seismic fragility model for Italian RC precast buildings, to be used in earthquake loss estimation and seismic risk assessment by comparing two building typologies and three different codes: D.M. 3-03-1975, D.M. 16-01-1996 and current Italian building code that has been released in 2008. Based on geometric characteristics and design procedure applied, ten different building classes were identified. A Monte Carlo simulation was performed for each building class in order to generate the building stock used for the development of fragility curves trough analytical method. The probabilistic distributions of geometry were mainly obtained from data collected from 650 field surveys, while the material properties were deduced from the code in place at the time of construction or from expert opinion. The structures were modelled in 2D frameworks; since the past seismic events have identified the beam-column connection as the weakest element of precast buildings, two different modelling solutions were adopted to develop fragility curves: a simple model with post processing required to detect connection collapse and an innovative modelling solution able to reproduce the real behaviour of the connection during the analysis. Fragility curves were derived using both nonlinear static and dynamic analysis.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.283-291
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• 2017

A large number of residential buildings in regions subjected to severe earthquakes do not have enough load carrying capacity. The most of them have been constructed without receiving any structural engineering attention. It is practically almost impossible to perform detailed experimental evaluation and analytical analysis for each building to determine their seismic vulnerability, because of time and cost constraints. This fact points to a need for a simple evaluation method that focuses on selection of buildings which do not have the life safety performance level by adopting the main requirements given in the seismic codes. This paper deals with seismic assessment of existing reinforced concrete residential buildings and contains an alternative simplified procedure for seismic evaluation of buildings. Accuracy of the proposed procedure is examined by taking into account existing 250 buildings. When the results of the proposed procedure are compared with those of the detailed analyses, it can be seen that the results are quite compatible. It is seen that the accuracy of the proposed procedure is about 80% according to the detailed analysis results of existing buildings. This accuracy percentage indicates that the proposed procedure in this paper can be easily applied to existing buildings to predict their seismic performance level as a first approach before implementing the detailed and complex analyses.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.53 no.4
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• pp.791-818
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• 2015

RC buildings constitute the prevailing type of construction in earthquake-prone region like Kathmandu Valley. Most of these building constructions were based on conventional methods. In this context, the present paper studied the seismic behaviour of existing RC buildings in Kathmandu Valley. For this, four representative building structures with different design and construction, namely a building: (a) representing the non-engineered construction (RC1 and RC2) and (b) engineered construction (RC3 and RC4) has been selected for analysis. The dynamic properties of the case study building models are analyzed and the corresponding interaction with seismic action is studied by means of non-linear analyses. The structural response measures such as capacity curve, inter-storey drift and the effect of geometric non-linearities are evaluated for the two orthogonal directions. The effect of plan and vertical irregularity on the performance of the structures was studied by comparing the results of two engineered buildings. This was achieved through non-linear dynamic analysis with a synthetic earthquake subjected to X, Y and $45^{\circ}$ loading directions. The nature of the capacity curve represents the strong impact of the P-delta effect, leading to a reduction of the global lateral stiffness and reducing the strength of the structure. The non-engineered structures experience inter-storey drift demands higher than the engineered building models. Moreover, these buildings have very low lateral resistant, lesser the stiffness and limited ductility. Finally, a seismic safety assessment is performed based on the proposed drift limits. Result indicates that most of the existing buildings in Nepal exhibit inadequate seismic performance.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.15 no.9
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• pp.29-36
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• 2014

Under the situation that the seismic vulnerability are a worsening problem in many world's megacities, the disaster preparedness including earthquake hazards is a matter of primary concern in the capital city of Korea, Seoul. Especially, because it is hard to move or dismantle the architectural heritages, the mitigation of earthquake damages is potentially more difficult than other structures. Moreover, in order to decide the proper preparedness plan against future earthquakes, it is very important to understand how soils pass the seismic waves to architectural heritages. In this paper, therefore, the ground condition and depth of bedrock was investigated by the MASW-method at heritages located in Seoul. Then one-dimensional seismic response analysis was conducted based on the distribution of shear wave velocity. As the major result of analyses, peak acceleration, site amplification factor and natural period are proposed in each site for recurrence period.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.261-272
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• 2020

Recent severe earthquakes in and around the vital public places worldwide indicate the severe vulnerability of ground excitation to be assailed. Reducing the effect of seismic lateral load in structural design is an important conception. Essentially, seismic isolation is required to shield the superstructure in such a way that the building superstructure would not move when the ground is shaking. This study explores the effectiveness, design, and practical feasibility of base isolation systems to reduce seismic demands on buildings of varying elevations. Thus, static and dynamic analyses were conducted based on site-specific bi-directional earthquakes for base-isolated as well as fixed-based buildings. Remarkably, it was discovered that isolators used in low-rise to high-rise structures tend to significantly decrease the structural responses of seismic prone buildings. The higher allowable horizontal displacement induces structural flexibility and ensure good structural health of the building stories. Reinforcement from vertical and horizontal members can be reduced in significant amounts for BI buildings. Thus, although incorporating base isolators increases the initial outlay, it considerably diminishes the total structural cost.