• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.387-398
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• 2019

On the basis that ground motions may arrive at a structure from any horizontal direction and that different directions of seismic incidence would result in different structural dynamic responses, this paper focuses on orienting the crucial seismic incidence of transmission tower-line systems based on the wavelet energy method. A typical transmission tower-line system is chosen as the case study, and two finite element (FE) models are established in ABAQUS, with and without consideration of the interaction between the transmission towers and the transmission lines. The mode combination frequency is defined by considering the influence of the higher-order modes of the structure. Subsequently, wavelet transformation is performed to obtain the total effective energy input and the effective energy input rate corresponding to the mode combination frequency to further judge the critical angle of seismic incidence by comparing these two performance indexes under different seismic incidence angles. To validate this approach, finite element history analysis (FEHA) is imposed on both FE models to generate comparative data, and good agreement is found. The results demonstrate that the wavelet energy method can forecast the critical angle of seismic incidence of a transmission tower-line system with adequate accuracy, avoiding time-consuming and cumbersome computer analysis. The proposed approach can be used in future seismic design of transmission tower-line systems.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.487-499
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• 2019

Energy-based seismic design of structures has gradually become prominent in today's structural engineering investigations because of being more rational and reliable when it is compared to traditional force-based and displacement-based methods. Energy-based approaches have widely taken place in many previous studies and investigations and undoubtedly, they are going to play more important role in future seismic design codes, too. This paper aims to compute the maximum earthquake energy input to elastic single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) systems for selected real ground motion records. A data set containing 100 real ground motion records which have the same site soil profiles has been selected from Pacific Earthquake Research (PEER) database. Response time history (RTH) analyses have been conducted for elastic SDOF systems having a constant damping ratio and natural periods of 0.1 s to 3.0 s. Totally 3000 RTH analyses have been performed and the maximum mass normalized earthquake input energy values for all records have been computed. Previous researchers' approaches have been compared to the results of RTH analyses and an approach which considers the pseudo-spectral velocity with Arias Intensity has been proposed. Graphs of the maximum earthquake input energy versus the maximum pseudo-spectral velocity have been obtained. The results show that there is a good agreement between the maximum input energy demands of RTH analysis and the other approaches and the maximum earthquake input energy is a relatively stable response parameter to be used for further seismic design and evaluations.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.255-272
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• 1995

The paper considers aspects of the energy dissipation response of selected realistic forms of torsionally balanced and torsionally unbalanced building systems, responding to an ensemble of strong-motion earthquake records. Focus is placed on the proportion of the input seismic energy which is dissipated hysteretically, and the distribution of this energy amongst the various lateral load-resisting structural elements. Systems considered comprise those in which torsional effects are discounted in the design, and systems designed for torsion by typical code-defined procedures as incorporated in the New Zealand seismic standard. It is concluded that torsional response has a fundamentally significant influence on the energy dissipation demand of the critical edge elements, and that therefore the allocation of appropriate levels of yielding strength to these elements is a paramount design consideration. Finally, it is suggested that energy-based response parameters be developed in order to assist evaluations of the effectiveness of code torsional provisions in controlling damage to key structural elements in severe earthquakes.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.73 no.6
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• pp.699-714
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• 2020

Force based design (FBD) approach is prevalent in most of the national seismic design codes world over. Direct displacement based design (DDBD) and energy based design (EBD) approaches are relatively new methods of seismic design which claims to be more rational and predictive than the FBD. These three design approaches are conceptually distinct and imparts different strength, stiffness and ductility property to structural members for same plan configuration. In present study behavioural assessment of frame of six storey RC building designed using FBD, DDBD and EBD approaches has been performed. Lateral storey forces distribution, reinforcement design and results of nonlinear performance using static and dynamic methods have been compared. For the three approaches, considerable difference in lateral storey forces distribution and reinforcement design has been observed. Nonlinear pushover analysis and time history analysis results show that in FBD frame plastic deformation is concentrated in the lower storey, in EBD frame large plastic deformation is concentrated in the middle storeys though the inelastic hinges are well distributed over the height and, in DDBD frame plastic deformation is approximately uniform over the height. Overall the six storey frame designed using DDBD approach seems to be more rational than the other two methods.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.177-189
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• 2017

For energy-based seismic design, a simplified normalized cumulative hysteretic energy spectrum proposed for obtaining hysteretic energy as energy demand is the main objective in this paper. The dimensionless parameter, ${\beta}_{Eh}$, is presented to express hysteretic energy indirectly. The ${\beta}_{Eh}$ spectrum is constructed directly through subtracting the hysteretic energy of single degree-of-freedom (SDOF) system energy equation. The simplified ${\beta}_{Eh}$ spectral formulation as well as pseudo-acceleration spectrum of modern seismic provisions is developed based on the regression analysis of the large number of seismic responses of SDOF system subjected to earthquake excitations, which considers the influence of earthquake event, soil type, damping ratio, and ductility factor. The relationship between PGV and PGA is established according to the statistical analysis relied on a total of 422 ground motion records. The combination of ${\beta}_{Eh}$ spectrum and PGV/PGA equation allows determining the cumulative hysteretic energy as a main aseismic design indicator.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.922-929
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• 2019

This paper presents the drop performance test of the control rod assembly which is one of the main components strongly related to the safety of the prototype generation IV sodium-cooled fast reactor. To investigate the drop performance, a real-sized control rod assembly that was recently modified based on the drop analysis results was newly fabricated, and several free drop tests under different flow rate conditions were carried out. Then the results were compared with those obtained from the previous tests conducted on the conceptually designed control rod assembly to demonstrate the improvement in performance. Moreover, the drop performance tests under several types and magnitudes of seismic loadings were also conducted to investigate the effect of the seismic loading on the drop performance of the modified control rod assembly. The results showed that the effects of the type and magnitude of the seismic loading on the drop performance of the modified control rod assembly were not significant. Also, the drop time requirement was successfully satisfied, even under the seismic loading conditions.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.219-239
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• 2013

The present paper aims at studying the seismic response of structures equipped with viscoelastic dampers (VED). The performance of such a passive control system is here analyzed using the energy balance concept, which leads to an optimal design process. The methodology is based on an energy index (EDI) whose maximization permits determination of the optimal mechanical characteristics of VED. On the basis of a single degree of freedom model, it is shown that the maximum value of EDI corresponds to a simultaneous optimization of the significant kinematic and static response quantities, independently of the input. By using the proposed procedure, the optimal design of new and existing structures equipped with VED, inserted in traditional bracing systems, are here analyzed and discussed.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.47 no.5
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• pp.663-677
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• 2023

The self-centering energy-dissipating coupled wall panels (SECWs) possess a dual capacity of resiliency and energy dissipation. Used in steel frames, the SECWs can localize the damage of structures and reduce residual drifts. Based on OpenSEES, the nonlinear models were established and validated by experimental results. The seismic design procedure of steel frame with SECW structures (SF-SECW) was proposed in accordance with four-level seismic fortification objectives. Nonlinear time-history response analyses were carried out to validate the reasonability of seismic design procedure for 6-story and 12-story structures. Results show that the inter-story drifts of designed structures are less than drift limits. According to incremental dynamic analyses (IDA), the fragility curves of mentioned-above structure models under different limit states were obtained. The results indicate that designed structures have good seismic performance and meet the seismic fortification objectives.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.653-663
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• 2017

A seismic margin assessment evaluates how much margin exists for the system under beyond design basis earthquake events. Specifically, the seismic margin for the entire system is evaluated by utilizing a systems analysis based on the sub-system and component seismic fragility data. Each seismic fragility curve is obtained by using empirical, experimental, and/or numerical simulation data. The systems analysis is generally performed by employing a fault tree analysis. However, the current practice has clear limitations in that it cannot deal with the uncertainties of basic components and accommodate the newly observed data. Therefore, in this paper, we present a Bayesian-based seismic margin assessment that is conducted using seismic fragility data and fault tree analysis including Bayesian inference. This proposed approach is first applied to the pooltype nuclear research reactor system for the quantitative evaluation of the seismic margin. The results show that the applied approach can allow updating by considering the newly available data/information at any level of the fault tree, and can identify critical scenarios modified due to new information. Also, given the seismic hazard information, this approach is further extended to the real-time risk evaluation. Thus, the proposed approach can finally be expected to solve the fundamental restrictions of the current method.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.51 no.2
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• pp.173-183
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• 2024

This study investigates a new seismic retrofit system that utilizes rotational friction dampers and axial springs. The retrofit system involves a steel frame with rotational friction dampers (RFD) at beam-column joints and linear springs at the corners, providing energy dissipation and self-centering capabilities to existing structures. The axial spring acts as a self-centering mechanism that eliminates residual deformations, while the friction damper mitigates seismic damage. To evaluate the seismic performance of the proposed retrofit system, a series of cyclic loading tests were carried out on a steel beam-column subassembly equipped with the proposed devices. An analytical model was then developed to validate the experimental results. A performance point ratio (PPR) was presented to optimize the design parameters of the retrofit system, and a performance-based seismic design strategy was developed based on the PPR. The retrofit system's effectiveness and the presented performance-based design approach were evaluated through case study models, and the analysis results demonstrated that the developed retrofit system and the performance-based design procedure were effective in retrofitting structures for multi-level design objectives.