• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.53 no.4
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• pp.791-818
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• 2015

RC buildings constitute the prevailing type of construction in earthquake-prone region like Kathmandu Valley. Most of these building constructions were based on conventional methods. In this context, the present paper studied the seismic behaviour of existing RC buildings in Kathmandu Valley. For this, four representative building structures with different design and construction, namely a building: (a) representing the non-engineered construction (RC1 and RC2) and (b) engineered construction (RC3 and RC4) has been selected for analysis. The dynamic properties of the case study building models are analyzed and the corresponding interaction with seismic action is studied by means of non-linear analyses. The structural response measures such as capacity curve, inter-storey drift and the effect of geometric non-linearities are evaluated for the two orthogonal directions. The effect of plan and vertical irregularity on the performance of the structures was studied by comparing the results of two engineered buildings. This was achieved through non-linear dynamic analysis with a synthetic earthquake subjected to X, Y and $45^{\circ}$ loading directions. The nature of the capacity curve represents the strong impact of the P-delta effect, leading to a reduction of the global lateral stiffness and reducing the strength of the structure. The non-engineered structures experience inter-storey drift demands higher than the engineered building models. Moreover, these buildings have very low lateral resistant, lesser the stiffness and limited ductility. Finally, a seismic safety assessment is performed based on the proposed drift limits. Result indicates that most of the existing buildings in Nepal exhibit inadequate seismic performance.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.389-402
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• 2008

In December 2005, one(A) of the two pre-engineered warehouse buildings in the port of K City of Korea was completely destroyed and the other(B) was seriously damaged to be demolished. Over-loaded snow and unexpected blast of wind were the causes of the accident and destructive behavior was brittle fracture caused by web local buckling and lateral torsional buckling at the flange below rafter. However, the architectural design technology of today based on material non-linear method does not consider the tolerances to solve the problem of such brittle fracture. So, geometric non-linear evaluation which includes initial deformation, width-thickness ratio, web stiffener and unbraced length is required. This study evaluates the structural safety of 4 models in terms of width-thickness ratio and unbraced length using ANSYS 9.0 with parameters such as width-thickness ratio of web, existence/non-existence of stiffener and unbraced length. The purpose of this study is to analyze destructive mechanism of the above-mentioned two warehouse buildings and to provide ways to promote the safety of pre-engineered buildings.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.213-229
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• 2013

Although performance based assessment procedures are mainly developed for reinforced concrete and steel buildings, URM (Unreinforced Masonry) buildings occupy significant portion of buildings in earthquake prone areas of the world as well as in IRAN. Variability of material properties, non-engineered nature of the construction and difficulties in structural analysis of masonry walls make analysis of URM buildings challenging. Despite sophisticated finite element models satisfy the modeling requirements, extensive experimental data for definition of material behavior and high computational resources are needed. Recently, nonlinear equivalent frame models which are developed assigning lumped plastic hinges to isotropic and homogenous equivalent frame elements are used for nonlinear modeling of URM buildings. The equivalent frame models are not novel for the analysis of masonry structures, but the actual potentialities have not yet been completely studied, particularly for non-linear applications. In the present paper an effective tool for the non-linear static analysis of 2D masonry walls is presented. The work presented in this study is about performance assessment of unreinforced brick masonry buildings through nonlinear equivalent frame modeling technique. Reliability of the proposed models is tested with a reversed cyclic experiment conducted on a full scale, two-story URM building at the University of Pavia. The pushover curves were found to provide good agreement with the experimental backbone curves. Furthermore, the results of analysis show that EFM (Equivalent Frame Model) with Dolce RO (rigid offset zone) and shell element have good agreement with finite element software and experimental results.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.371-384
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• 2023

Precast roofing systems employing prestressed elements often serve as smart structural solutions for the construction of industrial buildings. The precast concrete elements usually employed are highly engineered, and often consist in thin-walled members, characterised by a complex behaviour in fire. The present study was carried out after a fire event damaged a precast industrial building made with prestressed beam and roof elements, and non-prestressed curved barrel vault elements interposed in between the spaced roof elements. As a consequence of the exposure to the fire, the main elements were found standing, although some locally damaged and distorted, and the local collapse of few curved barrel vault elements was observed in one edge row only. In order to understand and interpret the observed structural performance of the roof system under fire, a full fire safety engineering process was carried out according to the following steps: (a) realistic temperature-time curves acting on the structural elements were simulated through computational fluid dynamics, (b) temperature distribution within the concrete elements was obtained with non-linear thermal analysis in variable regime, (c) strength and deformation of the concrete elements were checked with non-linear thermal-mechanical analysis. The analysis of the results allowed to identify the causes of the local collapses occurred, attributable to the distortion caused by temperature to the elements causing loss of support in early fire stage rather than to the material strength reduction due to the progressive exposure of the elements to fire. Finally, practical hints are provided to avoid such a phenomenon to occur when designing similar structures.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.75-85
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• 2022

The megacity Istanbul was struck by an earthquake on September 26, 2019, with a moment magnitude (Mw) of 5.8. The mainshock was followed by many aftershocks. Although the peak ground acceleration (PGA) of the mainshock was as low as 0.08 g, its effect has been more than expected. The intensive reconnaissance studies were accomplished in the highly populated Zeytinburnu and Pendik districts of Istanbul. While the earthquake (EQ) was relatively smaller concerning record-specific intensity measures; the damages such as concrete spalling in reinforced concrete (RC) members, detachment and diagonal cracking of infill walls in RC frames as well as cracks in masonry structures were reported from non-engineered and some engineered buildings. Many studies in the literature state that record-specific intensity measures are not sufficient to evaluate the seismic performance of the structures. The structure-specific intensity measures, soil characteristics, as well as significant duration, energy, and frequency content of EQs should be considered for the evaluation. Dependently, the frequency and energy contents of the Istanbul Earthquake are evaluated to discuss the possible reasons for the perceived effects and the damages. It is concluded that the EQ caused resonance effects on a variety of structures because of its complex frequency content as well as rather low building quality.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.493-501
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• 2007

Recently, in the domestic amount of materials,curtailment and economic efficiency security by purpose, tapered beam application is achieved, but the architectural design technology of today based on the material non-linear method does not consider solutions to problems such as brittle fracture. So, geometric non-linear evaluation thatincludes initial deformation, width-thickness ratio, web stiffener and unbraced length is required. Therefore, in this study, we used ANSYS, a proven finite elementanalysis program,and material and geometric non-linear analysis to study existing and completed tapered H-section as deep beam's analysis model. Main parameters include the width-thickness ratio of web, stiffener, and flange brace, with the experimental result obtained by main variable buckling and limit strength evaluation. We made certain that a large width-thickness ratio of the web decreases the buckling strength and short unbraced web significantly improves ductility.