• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.79-90
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• 2020

4- and 8-storey reinforced-concrete frame buildings are analyzed under the suites of the near-fault pulse-like, and the corresponding spectrally equivalent far-fault ground-motion records. Seismic fragility curves for the slight, moderate, extensive, and complete damage states are developed, and the damage probability matrices, and the mean loss ratios corresponding to the Design Basis Earthquake and the Maximum Considered Earthquake hazard levels are compared, for the investigated buildings and sets of ground-motion records. It is observed that the spectrally equivalent far-fault ground-motion records result in comparable estimates of the fragility curve parameters, as that of the near-fault pulse-like ground-motion records. As a result, the derived damage probability matrices and mean loss ratios using two suites of ground-motion records differ only marginally (of the order of ~10%) for the investigated levels of seismic hazard, thus, implying the potential for application of the spectrally equivalent ground-motion records, for seismic fragility and risk assessment at the near-fault sites.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.419-429
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• 2024

The safety and stability of bridges are critical to traffic safety. However, post-earthquake ground motion records often contain noise, which undermines the accuracy of seismic response analysis in bridge structures. To tackle this issue, we introduce a method that optimizes Variational Mode Decomposition (VMD) parameters using the Sparrow Search Algorithm (SSA) and combines it with Wavelet Thresholding (WT) to eliminate noise from strong motion signals. SSA is employed to identify the optimal VMD parameters [K, α], followed by the selection of effective modes based on the Variance Contribution Rate (VCR). These modes are then subjected to WT noise reduction, resulting in a high-quality reconstructed strong motion record. The method was validated using both simulated signals and ground motion records. In simulations, it demonstrated a 31.35% reduction in Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), a 31.6% decrease in the Smoothness Indicator (R), and a 1.17% improvement in the Correlation Coefficient (CC), compared to other methods. For ground motion records, it more accurately preserved seismic features than traditional wavelet denoising. When applied to the seismic response analysis of the Dahejia Bridge during the Jishishan earthquake, the denoised ground motion records obtained by this method produced force predictions on pier bearings that closely matched the field-observed damage, outperforming predictions based on traditional wavelet denoising. These findings confirm the accuracy and practicality of the proposed method.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.165-175
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• 2019

Incremental dynamic analysis (IDA), as an accurate method to evaluate the parameters of structural performance levels, requires many non-linear time history analyses, using a set of ground motion records which are scaled to different intensity levels. Therefore, this method is very computationally demanding. In this study, a new method is presented to estimate the summarized (16%, 50%, and 84% fractiles) IDA curves of a first-mode dominated structure using discrete wavelet transform and bees optimization algorithm. This method reduces the number of required ground motion records for the prediction of the summarized IDA curves. At first, a subset of first list ground motion records is decomposed by means of discrete wavelet transform which have a low dispersion estimating the summarized IDA curves of equivalent SDOF system of the main structure. Then, the bees algorithm optimizes a series of factors for each level of detail coefficients in discrete wavelet transform. The applied factors change the frequency content of original ground motion records which the generated ground motions records can be utilized to reliably estimate the summarized IDA curves of the main structure. At the end, to evaluate the efficiency of the proposed method, the seismic behavior of a typical 3-story special steel moment frame, subjected to a set of twenty ground motion records is compared with this method.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.185-204
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• 2015

This study investigates the impact of the earthquake incident angle on the structural demand and the influence of ground motion selection and scaling methods on seismic directionality effects. The structural demand produced by Non-Linear Time-History Analyses (NLTHA) varies with the seismic input incidence angle. The seismic directionality effects are evaluated by subjecting four three-dimensional reinforced concrete structures to different scaled and un-scaled records oriented along nine incidence angles, whose values range between 0 and 180 degrees, with an increment of 22.5 degrees. The results show that NLTHAs performed applying the ground motion records along the principal axes underestimate the structural demand prediction, especially when plan-irregular structures are analyzed. The ground motion records generate the highest demand when applied along the lowest strength structural direction and a high energy content of the records increases the structural demand corresponding to this direction. The seismic directionality impact on structural demand is particularly important for irregular buildings subjected to un-scaled accelerograms. However, the orientation effects are much lower if spectrum-compatible combinations of scaled records are used. In both cases, irregular structures should be analyzed first with pushover analyses in order to identify the weaker structural directions and then with NLTHAs for different incidence angles.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.129-142
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• 2013

Linear and nonlinear time history analyses have been becoming more common in seismic analysis and design of structures with advances in computer technology and earthquake engineering. One of the most important issues for such analyses is the selection of appropriate acceleration time histories and matching these histories to a code design acceleration spectrum. In literature, there are three sources of acceleration time histories: artificial records, synthetic records obtained from seismological models and accelerograms recorded in real earthquakes. Because of the increase of the number of strong ground motion database, using and scaling real earthquake records for seismic analysis has been becoming one of the most popular research issues in earthquake engineering. In general, two methods are used for scaling actual earthquake records: scaling in time domain and frequency domain. The objective of this study is twofold: the first is to discuss and summarize basic methodologies and criteria for selecting and scaling ground motion time histories. The second is to analyze scaling results of time domain method according to ASCE 7-05 and Eurocode 8 (1998-1:2004) criteria. Differences between time domain method and frequency domain method are mentioned briefly. The time domain scaling procedure is utilized to scale the available real records obtained from near fault motions and far fault motions to match the proposed elastic design acceleration spectrum given in the Eurocode 8. Why the time domain method is preferred in this study is stated. The best fitted ground motion time histories are selected and these histories are analyzed according to Eurocode 8 (1998-1:2004) and ASCE 7-05 criteria. Also, characteristics of both near fault ground motions and far fault ground motions are presented by the help of figures. Hence, we can compare the effects of near fault ground motions on structures with far fault ground motions' effects.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.445-459
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• 2016

Quantitative estimation of seismic response of various structural systems at the collapse limit state is one of the most significant objectives in Performance-Based Earthquake Engineering (PBEE). Assessing the effects of uncertainties, due to variability in ground motion characteristics and random nature of earthquakes, on nonlinear structural response is a pivotal issue regarding collapse safety prediction. Incremental Dynamic Analysis (IDA) and fragility curves are utilized to estimate demand parameters and seismic performance levels of structures. Since producing these curves based on a large number of nonlinear dynamic analyses would be time-consuming, selection of appropriate earthquake ground motion records resulting in reliable responses with sufficient accuracy seems to be quite essential. The aim of this research study is to propose a methodology to assess the seismic behavior of reinforced concrete frames at collapse limit state via accurate estimation of seismic fragility curves for different Engineering Demand Parameters (EDPs) by using a limited number of ground motion records. Research results demonstrate that accurate estimating of structural collapse capacity is feasible through applying the proposed method offering an appropriate suite of limited ground motion records.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.45-54
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• 2016

This study suggests a prediction model of ground motion spectral shape considering characteristics of earthquake records in Korea. Based on the Graizer and Kalkan's prediction procedure, a spectral shape model is defined as a continuous function of period in order to improve the complex problems of the conventional models. The approximate spectral shape function is then developed with parameters such as moment magnitude, fault distance, and average shear velocity of independent variables. This paper finally determines estimator coefficients of subfunctions which explain the corelation among the independent variables using the nonlinear optimization. As a result of generating the prediction model of ground motion spectral shape, the ground motion spectral shape well estimates the response spectrum of earthquake recordings in Korea.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2005.03a
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• pp.1134-1139
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• 2005

Seismic motion amplification owing to the input motion level at bedrock is one of the important topics to understand various geomaterials behavior. The extremely valuable borehole records at Port Island were obtained during the 1995 Hyogoken Nanbu Earthquake and also before and after the main event. In this study, the seismic motion amplification at the soft reclaimed ground was discussed. Comparison of measured records with numerical simulation results were made with focus on seismic motion amplification characteristics at the soft reclaimed ground.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.629-637
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• 2018

In recent years, selection of strong ground motion records by means of intensity measures representing the spectral shape of the earthquake excitation has been studied by many researchers. These studies indicate the adequacy of this record selection approach in reduction of the scattering of seismic responses. In present study, this method has been studied more in depth to reveal the sufficiency of the spectral shape in predicting structural seismic responses such as the plastic deformation and the dissipated hysteresis energy which are associated with cumulative properties of the selected records. For this purpose, after selecting the records based on the spectral shape, the correlation of some seismic responses and strong ground motion duration of earthquake records are explored. Findings indicate strong correlation of some structural responses with the significant duration of the records. This fact implies that the spectral shape could not reflect all characteristics of the strong ground motion and emphasizes the importance of additional criteria along with the spectral shape in the record selection.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.1 no.4
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• pp.327-344
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• 2010

This paper summarizes results of a comprehensive analytical study aimed at evaluating the influence of strong ground motion duration on residual displacement demands of single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) and multi-degree-of-freedom (MDOF) systems. For that purpose, two sets of 20 earthquake ground motions representative of short-duration and long-duration records were considered in this investigation. While the influence of strong ground motion duration was evaluated through constant-strength residual displacement ratios, $C_r$, computed from the nonlinear response of elastoplastic SDOF systems, its effect on the amplitude and height-wise distribution of residual drift demands in MDOF systems was studied from the response of three one-bay two-dimensional generic frame models. In this investigation, an inelastic ground motion intensity measure was employed to scale each record, which allowed reducing the record-to-record variability in the estimation of residual drift demands. From the results obtained in this study, it was found that long strong-motion duration records might trigger larger median $C_r$ ratios for SDOF systems having short-to-medium period of vibration than short strong-motion duration records. However, taking into account the large record-to-record variability of $C_r$, it was found that strong motion duration might not be statistically significant for most of the combinations of period of vibration and levels of lateral strength considered in this study. In addition, strong motion duration does not have a significant influence on the amplitude of peak residual drift demands in MDOF systems, but records having long strong-motion duration tend to increase residual drift demands in the upper stories of long-period generic frames.