• Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.356-364
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• 2011

Storage and transfer heat in soils is governed by the soil thermal properties and these properties are therefore needed in many engineering applications, including horizontal ground heat exchanger for ground-coupled heat pumps. This paper presents the evaluation results of the thermal diffusivity of soils (silica, quartzite, limestone, sandstone, granite, and two masonry soils used for the trench backfilling materials of the horizontal ground heat exchanger. To assess this thermal property, we (i) measure the soil thermal conductivities using single-probe method and (ii) use the de Vries method of summing the heat capacities of the soil constituents. The results show that the thermal diffusivity tends to increase as dry soil begins to wet, but it approaches a constant value or even decreases as the soil continues to wet. Combined algorithm with and improved model for the thermal conductivity of soils and the constituent equation provides accurate estimates of the soil thermal diffusivity.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.247-259
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• 2008

The potential use of Cu-based shape memory alloys (SMA) in retrofitting historical monuments is investigated in this paper. This study is part of the ongoing work conducted in Tunisia within the framework of the FP6 European Union project (WIND-CHIME) on the use of appropriate modern seismic protective systems in the conservation of Mediterranean historical buildings in earthquake-prone areas. The present investigation consists of a finite element simulation, as a preliminary to an experimental study where a cantilever masonry wall, representing a part of a historical monument, is subjected to monotonic and quasi-static cyclic loadings around a horizontal axis at the base level. The wall was retrofitted with an array of copper SMA wires with different cross-sectional areas. A new model is proposed for heat-treated copper SMAs and is validated based on published experimental results. A series of nonlinear finite element analyses are then performed on the wall for the purpose of assessing the SMA device retrofitting capabilities. Simulation results show an improvement of the wall response for the case of monotonic and quasi-static cyclic loadings.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.437-449
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• 2020

It is quite apparent that engineering concerns related to the influence of masonry infills on seismic behavior of reinforced concrete (RC) structures is likely to remain relevant in the long term, as infill walls maintain their functionalities in construction practice. Within this framework, the present paper mainly deals with the issue in terms of modal expansion of effective earthquake forces and the resultant modal responses. An adequate determination of spatial distribution of effective earthquake forces over the height of the building is highly essential for both seismic analysis and design. The possible influence of infill walls is investigated by means of modal analyses of two-, three-, and four-bay RC frames with a number of stories ranging from 3 to 8. Both uniformly and non-uniformly infilled frames are considered in numerical analyses, where infill walls are simulated by adopting the model of equivalent compression strut. Consequently, spatial distribution of effective earthquake forces, modal static base shear force response of frames, modal responses of story shears from external excitation vector and lateral floor displacements are obtained. It is found that, infill walls and their arrangement over the height of the frame structure affect the spatial distribution of modal inertia forces, as well as the considered response quantities. Moreover, the amount of influence varies in stories, but is not very dependent to bay number of frames.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.603-619
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• 2014

Soft storey buildings are characterised by having a storey that has a large amount of open space. This soft storey creates a major weak point during an earthquake. As the soft stories are typically associated with retail spaces and parking garages, they are often on the lower levels of tall building structures. Thus, when these stories collapse, the entire building can also collapse, causing serious structural damage that may render the structure completely unusable. The use of special soft storey is predominant in the tall building structures constructed by several local developers, making the issue important for local building structures. In this study, the effect of the incorporation of an isolator on the seismic behaviour of tall building structures is examined. The structures are subjected to earthquakes typical of the local city, and the isolator is incorporated with the appropriate isolator time period and damping ratio. A FEM-based computational relationship is proposed to increase the storey height so as to incorporate the isolator with the same time period and damping ratio for both a lead rubber bearing (LRB) and high-damping rubber bearing (HDRB). The study demonstrates that the values of the FEM-based structural design parameters are greatly reduced when the isolator is used. It is more beneficial to incorporate a LRB than a HDRB.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.69 no.6
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• pp.677-691
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• 2019

In recent years, interest is growing in the engineering community on the experimental assessment and the theoretical prediction of the out-of-plane (OOP) seismic response of unreinforced masonry (URM) infills, which are widespread in Reinforced Concrete (RC) buildings in Europe and in the Mediterranean area. In the literature, some mechanical-based models for the prediction of the entire OOP force-displacement response have been formulated and proposed. However, the small number of experimental tests currently available has not allowed, up to current times, a robust and reliable evaluation of the predictive capacity of such response models. To enrich the currently available experimental database, six pure OOP tests on URM infills in RC frames were carried out at the Department of Structures for Engineering and Architecture of the University of Naples Federico II. Test specimens were built with the same materials and were different only for the thickness of the infill walls and for the number of their edges mortared to the confining elements of the RC frames. In this paper, the results of these experimental tests are briefly recalled. The main aim of this study is comparing the experimental response of test specimens with the prediction of mechanical models presented in the literature, in order to assess their effectiveness and contribute to the definition of a robust and reliable model for the evaluation of the OOP seismic response of URM infill walls.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.293-312
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• 2022

Cantilever sheet pile walls having section thinner than masonry walls are generally adopted to retain moderate height of excavation. In practice, a surcharge in the form of strip load of finite width is generally present on the backfill. So, in the present study, influence of strip load on cantilever sheet pile walls is analyzed by varying the width of the strip load and distance from the cantilever sheet pile walls using finite difference based computer program in cohesionless soil modelled as Mohr-Coulomb model. The results of bending moment, earth pressure, deflection and settlement are presented in non-dimensional terms. A parametric study has been conducted for different friction angle of soil, embedded depth of sheet pile walls, different magnitudes and width of the strip load acting on the ground surface and at a depth below ground level. The result of present study is also validated with the available literature. From the results presented in this study, it can be inferred that optimum behavior of cantilever sheet pile walls is observed for strip load having width 2 m to 3 m on the ground surface. Further as the depth of strip load below the ground surface increases below the ground level to 0.75 times excavation height, the bending moment, settlement, net earth pressure and deflection decreases and then remains constant.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.351-361
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• 2003

Brick wall models with window opening, length 1.844m $\times$ height 0.6m, representing 2-story building was constructed on a scale of 1/10 of actual size of brick building for the investigation of damage mechanism. Six settlement troughs presenting six stages of excavation were simulated by Peck(1969) and O'Rourke et al.(1976) methods. The results from the model tests using Peck(1969) and O'Rourke et al.(1976) method indicated that angular distortion of brick wall by O'Rourke et at. method was 21% greater than that of Peck method. Horizontal displacement by O'Rourke et al.(1976) was 24% greater than that of Peck. When the degree of building damage for the O'Rourke et al. method of settlement trough is plotted on the damage level graph(Boscardin & Cording, 1989), damage level becomes much more severe than the level obtained by peck's method. Also, building stiffness and soil-structure interface are considered important factors of expressing building damage.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.60 no.4
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• pp.633-653
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• 2016

One of the major threats to the stability of classical columns and colonnades are earthquakes. The behavior of columns under high seismic excitation loads is non-linear and complex since rocking, wobbling and sliding failure modes can occur. Therefore, three dimensional simulation approaches are essential to investigate the in-plane and out-of-plane response of such structures during harmonic and seismic loading excitations. Using a software based on the Distinct Element Method (DEM) of analysis, a three dimensional numerical study has been performed to investigate the parameters affecting the seismic behaviour of colonnades' structural systems. A typical section of the two-storey colonnade of the Forum in Pompeii has been modelled and studied parametrically, in order to identify the main factors affecting the stability and to improve our understanding of the earthquake behaviour of such structures. The model is then used to compare the results between 2D and 3D simulations emphasizing the different response for the selected earthquake records. From the results analysis, it was found that the high-frequency motion requires large base acceleration amplitude to lead to the collapse of the colonnade in a shear-slip mode between the drums. However, low-frequency harmonic excitations are more prominent to cause structural collapse of the two-storey colonnade than the high-frequency ones with predominant rocking failure mode. Finally, the 2D analysis found to be unconservative since underestimates the displacement demands of the colonnade system when compared with the 3D analysis.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.83-92
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• 2016

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the seismic performance of domestic unreinforced masonry(URM) buildings using nonlinear dynamic analysis. For that, the nonlinear hysteresis models suggested in the previous research were validated for the dynamic analysis. The results of the shaking table test were compared with the dynamic analysis results using the suggested nonlinear hysteresis models. As a result, the nonlinear hysteresis models were expected to be applicable to the dynamic analysis of URM buildings. Based on the models, the dynamic analysis of domestic URM buildings varying the number of stories and opening ratio was carried out. The analysis results showed that most of the domestic URM buildings were very vulnerable to design earthquake in Korea.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.625-639
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• 2019

The concept of the combined seismic and energy retrofitting of existing reinforced concrete (RC) buildings was examined in this paper through a number of case studies conducted on model buildings (simulating buildings of the '60s-'80s in southern Europe) constructed according to outdated design standards. Specifically, seismic and thermal analyses have been conducted prior to and after the application of selected retrofitting schemes, in order to quantify the positive effect that retrofitting could provide to RC buildings both in terms of their structural and energy performance. Advanced materials, namely the textile reinforced mortars (TRM), were used for providing seismic retrofitting by means of jacketing of masonry infills in RC frames. Moreover, following the application of the TRM jackets, thermal insulation materials were simultaneously provided to the RC building envelope, exploiting the fresh mortar used to bind the TRM jackets. In addition to the externally applied insulation material, all the fenestration elements (windows and doors) were replaced with new high energy efficiency ones. Afterwards, an economic measure, namely the expected annual loss (EAL) was used to evaluate the efficiency of each retrofitting method, but also to assess whether the combined seismic and energy retrofitting is economically feasible. From the results of this preliminary study, it was concluded that the selected seismic retrofitting technique can indeed enhance significantly the structural behaviour of an existing RC building and lower its EAL related to earthquake risks. Finally, it was found that the combined seismic and energy upgrading is economically more efficient than a sole energy or seismic retrofitting scenario for seismic areas of south Europe.