• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.121-128
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• 2001

Reinforced concrete frame buildings in regions of low to moderate seismicity are typically designed only for gravity loads with non-seismic detailing provisions of the code. These buildings possess strong beam-weak column, which brings about the brittle structural performance like the column sidesway failure mechanism during the strong lateral load. The objective of this paper is to enhance the column strength and deformation capacity for reconfiguring the structural failure mode by averting a column soft-story collapse and moving to a more ductile beam-sides way mechanism suing new reinforcing materials. Aramid fiber sheet and reinforcing rod-composite materials was used for this purpose. The column was modeled by the 2/3 scale experimental specimen retested. According to the concept of the capacity design, the damaged column was strengthened by the column jacketing using new reinfocing materials such as rod-composite materials. In conclusion, the improvement of the flexural strength is observed and the capacity of the energy dissipation and the ductility is enhanced, too.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.99-112
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• 2004

It is known that lap splices in the longitudinal reinforcement of reinforced concrete (RC) bridge columns are not desirable for seismic performance, but it is sometimes unavoidable. Lap splices were practically located in the potential plastic hinge region of most bridge columns that were constructed before the 1992 seismic design provisions of the Korea Bridge Design Specification. The objective of this research is to evaluate the seismic performance of reinforced concrete (RC) bridge piers with lap splicing of longitudinal reinforcement in the plastic hinge region, to develop an enhancement scheme for their seismic capacity by retrofitting with glassfiber sheets, and to assess a damage of bridge columns subjected to seismic loadings for the development of rational seismic design provisions in low or moderate seismicity region. Nine (9) test specimens with an aspect ratio of 4 were made with three confinement ratios and three types of lap splice. Quasi-static tests were conducted in a displacement-controlled way under three different axial loads. A significant reduction of displacement ductility was observed for test columns with lap splices of longitudinal reinforcements, whose displacement ductility could be greatly improved by externally wrapping with glassfiber sheets in the plastic hinge region. A damage of the limited ductile specimen was assessed to be relatively small.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.825-837
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• 2017

Due to the severe impacts of recent earthquakes, the use of seismic isolation is paramount for the safety of nuclear structures. The diversity observed in seismic events demands ongoing research to analyze the devastating attributes involved, and hence to enhance the sustainability of base-isolated nuclear power plants. This study reports the seismic performance of a seismically-isolated nuclear reactor containment building (NRCB) under strong short-period ground motions (SPGMs) and long-period ground motions (LPGMs). The United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission-based design response spectrum for the seismic design of nuclear power plants is stipulated as the reference spectrum for ground motion selection. Within the period range(s) of interest, the spectral matching of selected records with the target spectrum is ensured using the spectral-compatibility approach. NRC-compliant SPGMs and LPGMs from the mega-thrust Tohoku earthquake are used to obtain the structural response of the base-isolated NRCB. To account for the lack of earthquakes in low-to-moderate seismicity zones and the gap in the artificial synthesis of long-period records, wavelet-decomposition based autoregressive moving average modeling for artificial generation of real ground motions is performed. Based on analysis results from real and simulated SPGMs versus LPGMs, the performance of NRCBs is discussed with suggestions for future research and seismic provisions.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.123-133
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• 2013

This paper presents experimental and numerical tests on a recently developed timber column concealed base joint. This joint was designed to replace the wood-wood connection found in the post-and-beam structure of Hanok, the traditional Korean timber house. The use of metallic connectors provides an increased ductility and energy dissipation for a better performance under reversed loading, especially seismic. In this study, we investigate the performance of the joint under pseudo-static reversed cyclic moment loading through the study of its ductility and energy dissipation. We first perform experimental tests. Results show that the failure occurs in the metallic connector itself because of stress concentrations, while no brittle fracture of wood occur. Subsequent numerical simulations using a refined finite element model confirm these conclusions. Then, using a practical modification of the joint configuration with limited visual impact, we improve the ductility and energy dissipation of the joint while retaining a same level of rotational strength as the originally designed configuration. We conclude that the joint has a satisfying behavior under reversed moment loading for use in earthquake resistant timber structure in low to moderate seismicity areas like Korea.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.9 no.1 s.41
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• pp.33-42
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• 2005

Even in moderate to low seismic regions like Korean peninsular where wind loading usually governs the structural design of a tall builidng, the probable structural impact of the 500-year design basis earthquake (DBE) or the 2400-year maximum credible earthquake (MCE) on the selected structural system should be considered at least in finalizing the design. In this study, seismic performance evaluation was conducted for concentrically braced steel highrise buildings that were only designed for wind by following the assumed domestic design practice. It was found that wind-designed concentrically braced steel highrise buildings possess significantly increased elastic seimsic capacity due to the system overstrength resulting from the wind-serviceability criterion and the width-to-thickness ratio limits on steel members. The strength demand-to-strength capacity study based on the response spectrum analysis revealed that, due to the system overstrength factors mentioned above, wind-designed concentrically braced steel highrise buildings having a slenderness ratio of larger than six can withstand elastically even the maximum credible earthquake at the performance level of immediate occupancy.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.235-243
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• 2016

Korea is part of a region of low to moderate seismicity located inside the Eurasian plate with bedrock located at depths less than 30 m. However, the spectral acceleration obtained from site response analyses based on the geologic conditions of inland areas of the Korean peninsula are significantly different from the current Korean seismic code. Therefore, suitable site classification scheme and design response spectra based on local site conditions in the Korean peninsula are required to produce reliable estimates of earthquake ground motion. In this study, site-specific response analyses were performed at more than 300 sites with at least 100 sites at each site categories of $S_C$, $S_D$, and $S_E$ as defined in the current seismic code in Korea. The process of creating a huge database of input parameters - such as shear wave velocity profiles, normalized shear modulus reduction curves, damping curves, and input earthquake motions - for site response analyses were described. The response spectra and site coefficients obtained from site response analyses were compared with those proposed for the site categories in the current code. Problems with the current seismic design code were subsequently discussed, and the development and verifications of new site classification system and corresponding design response spectra are detailed in companion papers (II-development of new site categories and design response spectra and III-Verifications)

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.789-830
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• 2015

The recent re-assessment of the seismic hazard in Europe led for many regions of low to moderate seismicity to an increase in the seismic demand. As a consequence, several modern unreinforced masonry (URM) buildings, constructed with reinforced concrete (RC) slabs that provide an efficient rigid diaphragm action, no longer satisfy the seismic design check and have been retrofitted by adding or replacing URM walls with RC walls. Of late, also several new construction projects have been conceived directly as buildings with both RC and URM walls. Despite the widespread use of such construction technique, very little is known about the seismic behaviour of mixed RC-URM wall structures and codes do not provide adequate support to designers. The aim of the paper is therefore to propose a displacement-based design methodology for the design of mixed RC-URM edifices and the retrofit of URM buildings by replacing or adding selected URM walls with RC ones. The article describes also two tools developed for estimating important quantities relevant for the displacement-based design of structures with both RC and URM walls. The tools are (i) a mechanical model based on the shear-flexure interaction between URM and RC walls and (ii) an elastic model for estimating the contribution of the RC slabs to the overturning moment capacity of the system. In the last part of the article the proposed design method is verified through nonlinear dynamic analyses of several case studies. These results show that the proposed design approach has the ability of controlling the displacement profile of the designed structures, avoiding concentration of deformations in one single storey, a typical feature of URM wall structures.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.19-31
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• 2011

The current Korean criteria for seismic performance evaluated by dynamic analysis regulates that the horizontal displacement and vertical settlement of a dam body, including the static deformation, should be within 1% of the dam height. However, there has been weak theoretical support, so that the current criteria have to be validated. Korea is in a region of low or moderate seismicity located inside the Eurasian plate, and few earthquakes with considerable magnitudes and intensities have been recorded in the area. Therefore, in this study, published data measured in overseas countries were collected in order to construct a database and validate the current criteria. In addition, dynamic centrifuge tests and a parametric study using numerical simulations were performed in order to investigate the effect on the horizontal displacement and settlement of a dam body and to validate the current criteria.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.9 no.2 s.42
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• pp.17-27
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• 2005

This paper presents an integrated optimum design and a cost effectiveness evaluation method of a viscoelastically damped structural system. The criterion selected for the optimization is the minimization of the life?cycle cost which is a function of structural sizing variables and the amount of the viscoelastic damper. A genetic algorithm is used as a numerical searching technique in order to simultaneously find the optimum parameters of the integrated system. Optimal distributions of design variables according to various seismic characteristics are investigated by applying the proposed design method to a numerical example of a 10?story building structure. The cost effectiveness of viscoelastically damped structural system is also evaluated by comparing the life-cycle cost of the structure without viscoelastic dampers. The results show that the viscoelastic damper is effective in a region of low to moderate seismicity.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.5-16
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• 2018

In this study, seismic performance of geotechnical seismic isolation system capable of primary seismic isolation in the ground was evaluated. 1-G shaking table test was used to assess the performance of Teflon or steel slag as geotechnical seismic isolation systems installed beneath superstructure foundation. Response acceleration and response spectra were analyzed considering different input motions. The results were compared with those of fixed foundation structure without seismic isolation system. The steel slag-type seismic isolation system showed significant reduction in acceleration. The teflon-type seismic isolation system did not show significant effects on acceleration reduction in low-to-moderate seismicity condition, but it did show better effects in case of strong seismic condition. As input motion was transferred to the upper mass, the response spectrum of the fixed foundation structure was amplified in the short period range. In contrast, the response spectrum of the structure with seismic isolation using teflon or steel slag amplified in the long period range. It is found that the change of periodicity and the friction characteristics between isolation materials and foundations affected acceleration reduction.