• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.165-172
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• 2022

This study is conducted to verify the seismic reinforcement effects of internally inserted buckling-restrained braces supported laterally by buckling-restrained rings for the seismic reinforcement of existing reinforced concrete buildings with non-seismic details. First, to evaluate the performance of KDS, the hysteretic characteristics of buckling-restrained braces are verified, and it is discovered that they satisfy the conformance criteria of the displacement-dependent damping device. Three full-scale, two-story reinforced concrete framework specimens are prepared to verify the seismic reinforcement effects, and the proposed buckling-restrained braces are bolstered with single diagonal and V-shaped braces to be compared with non-reinforced specimens. By performing a comparison with non-reinforced specimens that present intensive shear cracks at the bottom of first-floor columns, it is revealed that the maximum load and energy dissipation of specimens reinforced with the proposed buckling restrained braces, in which the structural damage extends evenly throughout the system, are approximately 4 and 6.2 times higher, respectively, which proves the effectiveness of the proposed seismic reinforcement method.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.417-430
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• 2021

Due to functional requirements, SRC column-RC beam abnormal joints with characteristics of strong beam weak column, variable column section, unequal beam height and staggered height exist in the Steel reinforced concrete (SRC) frame-bent main building structure of thermal power plant (TPP). This paper presents the experimental results of these abnormal joints through cyclic loading tests on five specimens with scaling factor of 1/5. The staggered height and whether adding H-shaped steel in beam or not were changing parameters of specimens. The failure patterns, bearing capacity, energy dissipation and ductile performance were analyzed. In addition, the stress mechanism of the abnormal joint was discussed based on the diagonal strut model. The research results showed that the abnormal exterior joints occurred shear failure and column end hinge flexural failure; reducing beam height through adding H-shaped steel in the beam of abnormal exterior joint could improve the crack resistance and ductility; the abnormal interior joints with different staggered heights occurred column ends flexural failure; the joint with larger staggered height had the higher bearing capacity and stiffness, but lower ductility. The concrete compression strut mechanism is still applicable to the abnormal joints in TPP, but it is affected by the abnormal characteristics.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.257-267
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• 2022

Two different types of rubber aggregates (40 mesh rubber powder and 1-4 mm rubber particles respectively) were devised to substitute fine aggregates at 10%, 15%, 20% and 30% by volume in self-compacting concrete to investigate their basic mechanical properties. The results show that with the increase of rubber content, the reduction of compressive strength, splitting tensile strength and static modulus of elasticity gradually increase, and energy dissipation performance gradually increase. The rubber addition significantly reduces brittleness and decelerates damaged process. Whilst, the effect of rubber particles is greater when they are finer. Considering the mechanical properties, the optimal rubber content is 10%. It is recommended that the rubber volume content in rubberized concrete (RC) should not be higher than 20%. In addition, a constitutive model under uniaxial compression was proposed basing on the strain equivalent principle of Lemaitre and the damage theory, which was in good agreement with the test curves.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.283-294
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• 2022

In this study, a new seismic retrofit scheme of building structures is developed by combining a steel moment frame and steel slit plates to be installed inside of an existing reinforced concrete frame. This device has the energy dissipation capability of slit dampers with slight loss of stiffness compared to the conventional steel frame reinforcement method. In order to investigate the seismic performance of the retrofit system, it was installed inside of a reinforced concrete frame and tested under cyclic loading. Finite element analysis was carried out for validation of the test results, and it was observed that the analysis and the test results match well. An analytical model was developed to apply the retrofit system to a commercial software to be used for seismic retrofit design of an example structure. The effectiveness of the retrofit scheme was investigated through nonlinear time-history response analysis (NLTHA). The cyclic loading test showed that the steel frame with slit dampers provides significant increase in strength and ductility to the bare structure. According to the analysis results of a case study building, the proposed system turned out to be effective in decreasing the seismic response of the model structure below the given target limit state.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.457-473
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• 2022

A high-frequency vibration control method is proposed in this paper for Pumped Storage Power Plants (PSPPs) using Eddy Current Tuned Mass Damper (EC-TMD), based on which a new type of EC-TMD device is designed. The eddy current damper parameters are optimized by numerical simulation. On this basis, physical simulation model tests are conducted to compare and study the effect of structural performance with and without damping, different control strategies, and different arrangement positions of TMD. The test results show that EC-TMD can effectively reduce the control effect under high-frequency vibration of the plant structure, and after the additional damping device forms EC-TMD, the energy dissipation is further realized due to the intervention of eddy current damping, and the control effect is subsequently improved. The Multi-Tuned Mass Damper (MTMD) control strategy broadens the tuning band to improve the robustness of the system, and the vibration advantage is more obvious. Also, some suggestions are made for the placement of the dampers to promote their application.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.81 no.6
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• pp.677-689
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• 2022

Generally, the goal of seismic retrofit design of an existing structure using energy dissipation devices is to determine the optimum design parameters of a retrofit device to satisfy a specified limit state with minimum cost. However, the presence of multiple parameters to be optimized and the computational complexity of performing non-linear analysis make it difficult to find the optimal design parameters in the realistic 3D structure. In this study, genetic algorithm-based optimal seismic retrofit methods for determining the required number, yield strength, and location of steel slit dampers are proposed to retrofit an asymmetric soft first-story structure. These methods use a multi-objective and single-objective evolutionary algorithms, each of which varies in computational complexity and incorporates nonlinear time-history analysis to determine seismic performance. Pareto-optimal solutions of the multi-objective optimization are found using a non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA-II). It is demonstrated that the developed multi-objective optimization methods can determine the optimum number, yield strength, and location of dampers that satisfy the given limit state of a three-dimensional asymmetric soft first-story structure. It is also shown that the single-objective distribution method based on minimizing plan-wise stiffness eccentricity turns out to produce similar number of dampers in optimum locations without time consuming nonlinear dynamic analysis.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.42 no.6
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• pp.791-804
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• 2022

As a type of semi-rigid connection, the top and seat angle connections are popular in current structures owing to their good cyclic performance and simple erection. However, their stiffness and load bearing capacity are relatively insufficient. This study proposes two strengthening methods to further increase the stiffness and strength of bolted-angle joints while maintaining satisfactory energy dissipation capacity (EDC) and ductility. Cyclic loading tests were conducted on six joint specimens with different strengthened angle components. Based on the test results, the influence of the following important factors on the cyclic behavior of steel joint specimens was investigated: the position of the rib stiffeners (edge rib stiffeners and middle rib stiffener), steel strength grade of rib stiffeners (Q345 and Q690), and additional stiffeners or not. In addition, the finite element models of these specimens were built and validated through a comparison of experimental and numerical results. The stiffness and bearing capacity of the bolted-angle joints could be improved significantly by utilizing the novel strengthened joints proposed in this study. Moreover, this can be achieved with almost no increase in the amount of steel required, and the EDC of this joint could also satisfy the requirements of seismic codes from various countries.

• International Journal of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.833-847
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• 2021

The horizontal porous baffle and its effect as an anti-slosh device have been investigated intensively in a swaying and rolling rectangular tank. To accurately assess the level at which porous baffles reduce liquid sloshing, the Matched Eigenfunction Expansion Method (MEEM) has been utilized as an analytical tool. The velocity potentials in the horizontal baffle-covered fluid region are expressed by the sum of the homogeneous and particular solutions to avoid solving the complex dispersion equation. By applying an equivalent linearized quadratic loss model, the nonlinear algebraic equation is derived and solved by implementing the Newton-Raphson iterative scheme. To prove the validity of the present theoretical model, a series of experiments have been conducted with different centered horizontal porous baffles with varying porosities and submerged depths in a swaying and rolling rectangular tank. Reasonably good agreements are obtained regarding the analytical solutions and the experiment's findings. The influence of porosity, submerged depth, and length of a centered horizontal porous baffle on anti-slosh performance have been analyzed, especially at resonance modes. The developed predictive tool can potentially provide guidelines for optimal design of the horizontal porous baffle.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.87 no.5
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• pp.487-498
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• 2023

Unreinforced masonry (URM) buildings are extensively adopted in many of the growing nations, particularly in India. Window or door openings are required for architectural or functional reasons, which pose a threat to the building's safety. The past earthquakes have shown that the seismic capability of these structures was very weak. Strengthening these unreinforced masonry walls using welded wire mesh (WWM) is one of the most commonly and economical methods. The present experimental study investigates the impact of openings on the shear behaviour of URM walls and the effectiveness of WWM in enhancing the shear performance of masonry wall. In the experimental program 16 specimens were cast, 8 unstrengthen and 8 strengthened specimens, under 8 unstrengthen and strengthened specimens, every 2 specimens had 0%, 5%, 10%, and 15% openings and all these walls were tested under diagonal compression. The results show that the shear carrying capacity reduces as the opening percentage increases. However, strengthening the URM specimens using WWM significantly improves the peak load, shear strength, ductility, stiffness, and energy dissipation. Furthermore, the strengthening of the URM walls using WWM compensated the loss of wall capacity caused by the presence of the openings.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.339-349
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• 2023

Fast-built construction is a key feature for successful applications of precast concrete (PC) moment frame system in recent construction practices. To this end, by introducing some unique splicing details in precast connections, especially between PC columns including panel zones, use of temporary supports and bracings can be minimized based on their self-sustaining nature. In addition, precast wide beams are commonly adopted for better economic feasibility. In this study, three self-sustaining precast concrete (PC) wide beam-column connection specimens were fabricated and tested under reversed cyclic loadings, and their seismic performances were quantitatively evaluated in terms of strength, ductility, failure modes, energy dissipation and stiffness degradation. Test results were compared with ASCE 41-17 nonlinear modeling curves and its corresponding acceptance criteria. On this basis, an improved macro modeling method was explored for a more accurate simulation. It appeared that all the test specimens fully satisfy the acceptance criteria, but the implicit joint model recommended in ASCE 41-17 tends to underestimate the joint shear stiffness of PC wide beam-column connection. While, the explicit joint model along with concentrated plastic hinge modeling technique is able to present better accuracy in simulating the cyclic responses of PC wide beam-column connections.