• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.663-672
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• 2014

Recently, modular structural systems have been applicable to building construction since they can significantly reduce building construction time. They consists of several unit modular frames of which each beam-column joint employs an access hole for connecting unit modular frames. Their structural design is usually carried out under the assumption that their load-carrying mechanism is similar to that of a traditional steel moment-resisting system. In order to obtain the validation of this assumption, the cyclic characteristics of beam-column joints in a unit modular frame should be investigate. This study carried out finite element analyses(FEM) of unit modular frames to investigate the cyclic behavior of beam-column joints with the structural influence of access holes. Analysis results show that the unit modular frames present stable cyclic response with large deformation capacities and their joints are classified into partial moment connections. Also, this study develops a simple spring model for earthquake nonlinear analyses and suggests the Ramberg-Osgood hysteretic rule to capture the cyclic response of unit modular frames.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.1053-1058
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• 2010

Infinite element approach has been widely used to analysis soil-structure interaction, in which the soil domain is treated as infinite domain. However, most of the developed infinite element has been formulated in the frequency domain rather than the time domain to include the frequency contents of the earthquake or vibration wave. Due to that, those approaches have a critical limitation which is restricted to the linear elastic analysis. To main objective of this research is to develop the infinite element in the time domain to cooperate the inelastic soil and structure behavior. Developed infinite element is verified with the results of finite element analysis modeled in large domain. The nonlinear analysis also conducted to demonstrate the application of developed infinite element. Hence, based on above-mentioned statements, it can be concluded that the propose approach would assist for structure-seismic design.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.191-199
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• 2003

The inelastic response of many structural steel and reinforced concrete structures subject to extreme loadings can be characterized by elastoplastic behaviors. Although excursion beyond the elastic range is usually not permitted under normal conditions of service, the extent of permanent damage a structure may sustain when subjected to extreme conditions, such as severe blast or earthquake loading, is frequently of interest to the engineer. A blast is usually the result of an explosion defined as a "sudden expansion". This paper discusses the basic concept that defines blast loadings on structures and corresponding elastoplastic structural response (displacement, velocity, and acceleration) and try to explain a crack propagation of concrete in sudden expansion. According to nonlinear finite element analysis, the crack forms of static and dynamic states displayed different in RC structural members. This paper also provides useful data for the dynamic fracture analysis of RC frame structures.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.163-181
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• 2015

This research investigates the structural health monitoring of nonlinear structures after a major seismic event. It considers the identification of flag-shaped or pinched hysteresis behavior in response to structures as a more general case of a normal hysteresis curve without pinching. The method is based on the overall least squares methods and the log likelihood ratio test. In particular, the structural response is divided into different loading and unloading sub-half cycles. The overall least squares analysis is first implemented to obtain the minimum residual mean square estimates of structural parameters for each sub-half cycle with the number of segments assumed. The log likelihood ratio test is used to assess the likelihood of these nonlinear segments being true representations in the presence of noise and model error. The resulting regression coefficients for identified segmented regression models are finally used to obtain stiffness, yielding deformation and energy dissipation parameters. The performance of the method is illustrated using a single degree of freedom system and a suite of 20 earthquake records. RMS noise of 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% is added to the response data to assess the robustness of the identification routine. The proposed method is computationally efficient and accurate in identifying the damage parameters within 10% average of the known values even with 20% added noise. The method requires no user input and could thus be automated and performed in real-time for each sub-half cycle, with results available effectively immediately after an event as well as during an event, if required.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.1-11
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• 2012

In this paper, non-linear analysis was performed for Reinforced Concrete (RC) walls using different macroscopic models subjected to cyclic loading, and the analytical results were compared with previous experimental studies of RC walls. ASCE41-06 (American Society of Civil Engineers) specifies that the hysteresis behaviors of RC walls are different due to the aspect ratio of the walls. For a comparison between analytical and experimental results, a slender wall with an aspect ratio exceeding 3.0 and a squat wall with an aspect ratio of 1.0 were selected among previous research works. For the non-linear analysis, each test specimen was modeled using two different macroscopic methods: the first representing the flexural behavior of the RC wall, and the second considering the diagonal shear in the web of the wall. Through nonlinear analysis of the considered RC walls, the analytical difference of a slender wall was negligible due to the different macroscopic modeling methods. However, the squat wall was significantly affected by the considered components of the modeling method. For an accurate performance evaluation of the RC building with squat walls, it would be reasonable to use a macroscopic model considering diagonal shear.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.917-937
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• 2015

During a seismic event, a considerable amount of energy is input into a structure. The law of energy conservation imposes the restriction that energy must either be absorbed or dissipated by the structure. Recent earthquakes have shown that the use of concentric bracing system with their low ductility and low energy dissipation capacity, causes permanent damage to structures during intense earthquakes. Hence, engineers are looking at bracing system with higher ductility, such as chevron and eccentric braces. However, braced frame would not be easily repaired if serious damage has occured during a strong earthquake. In order to solve this problem, a new bracing system an off-centre bracing system with higher ductility and higher energy dissipation capacity, is considered. In this paper, some numerical studies have been performed using ANSYS software on a frame with off-centre bracing system with optimum eccentricity and circular element created, called OBS_C_O model. In addition, other steel frame with diagonal bracing system and the same circular element is created, called DBS_C model. Furthermore, linear and nonlinear behavior of these steel frames are compared in order to introduce a new way of optimum performance for these dissipating elements. The obtained results revealed that using a ductile element or circular dissipater for increasing the ductility of off-centre bracing system and centric bracing system is useful. Finally, higher ductility and more energy dissipation led to more appropriate behavior in the OBS_C_O model compared to DBS_C model.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.1155-1171
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• 2016

Post-tensioned (PT) steel moment resisting frames (MRFs) with semi-rigid connections (SRC) can be used to control the hysteretic energy demands and to reduce the maximum inter-story drift (${\gamma}$). In this study the seismic behavior of steel MRFs with PT connections is estimated by incremental nonlinear dynamic analysis in terms of dissipated hysteretic energy ($E_H$) demands. For this aim, five PT steel MRFs are subjected to 30 long duration earthquake ground motions recorded on soft soil sites. To assess the energy dissipated in the frames with PT connections, a new expression is proposed for the hysteretic behavior of semi-rigid connections validated by experimental tests. The performance was estimated not only for the global $E_H$ demands in the steel frames; but also for, the distribution and demands of hysteretic energy in beams, columns and connections considering several levels of deformation. The results show that $E_H$ varies with ${\gamma}$, and that most of $E_H$ is dissipated by the connections. It is observed in all the cases a log-normal distribution of $E_H$ through the building height. The largest demand of $E_H$ occurs between 0.25 and 0.5 of the height. Finally, an equation is proposed to calculate the distribution of $E_H$ in terms of the normalized height of the stories (h/H) and the inter-story drift.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
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• 2008.04a
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• pp.69-72
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• 2008

The so-called Pier-Shafts system which consists of the continuous column and shaft is often used to support the highway bridge structure because of advantages in easy construction and low cost. In the earthquake region, the Pier-Shafts system undergoes large displacements and represents a nonlinear behavior under the lateral seismic loading. The soil-pile interaction should be considered for more accurate analysis of the Pier-Shafts system. In this study, a transverse response of a reinforced concrete Pier-Shafts system inside multi-layered soil medium is predicted using a finite element program which adopts an elasto-plastic interface model for the interface behavior between the shaft and the soil. Then, seismic analysis is performed to evaluate the performance of Pier-Shafts system under strong ground motion and their results are verified with experimental data.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.4 no.6
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• pp.727-740
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• 2008

A down hole vertical seismic array is a sequence of instruments installed at various depths in the earth to record the ground motion at multiple points during an earthquake. Numerous studies demonstrate the unique utility of vertical seismic arrays for studying in situ site response and soil behavior. Examples are given of analyses made at two sites to show the value of data from vertical seismic arrays. The sites examined are the Lotung, Taiwan SMART1 array and a new site installed at Jingliao, Taiwan. Details of the installation of the Jingliao array are given. ARX models are theoretically the correct process models for vertical wave propagation in the layered earth, and are used to linearly map deeper sensor input signals to shallower sensor output signals. An example of Event 16 at the Lotung array is given. This same data, when examined in detail with a Bayesian inference model, can also be explained by nonlinear filters yielding commonly accepted soil degradation curves. Results from applying an ARMAX model to data from the Jingliao vertical seismic array are presented. Estimates of inter-transducer soil increment resonant frequency, shear modulus, and damping ratio are presented. The shear modulus varied from 50 to 150 MPa, and damping ratio between 8% and 15%. A new hardware monitoring system - TerraScope - is an affordable 4-D down-hole seismic monitoring system based on independent, microprocessor-controlled sensor Pods. The Pods are nominally 50 mm in diameter, and about 120 mm long. An internal 16-bit micro-controller oversees all aspects of instrumentation, eight programmable gain amplifiers, and local signal storage.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.447-463
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• 2021

Caisson-type structures are widely used as quay walls in coastal areas. In Korea, for a long time, many caisson-type quay walls have been constructed with a low front water depth. These facilities can no longer meet the requirements of current development. This study developed a new technology for deepening existing caisson-type quay walls using grouting and rubble mound excavation to economically reuse them. With this technology, quay walls could be renovated by injecting grout into the rubble mound beneath the front toe of the caisson to secure its structure. Subsequently, a portion of the rubble mound was excavated to increase the front water depth. This paper reports the results of an investigation of the seismic behavior of a renovated quay wall in comparison to that of an existing quay wall using centrifuge tests and numerical simulations. Two centrifuge model tests at a scale of 1/120 were conducted on the quay walls before and after renovation. During the experiments, the displacements, accelerations, and earth pressures were measured under five consecutive earthquake input motions with increasing magnitudes. In addition, systematic numerical analyses of the centrifuge model tests were also conducted with the PLAXIS 2D finite element (FE) program using a nonlinear elastoplastic constitutive model. The displacements of the caisson, response accelerations, deformed shape of the quay wall, and earth pressures were investigated in detail based on a comparison of the numerical and experimental results. The results demonstrated that the motion of the caisson changed after renovation, and its displacement decreased significantly. The comparison between the FE models and centrifuge test results showed good agreement. This indicated that renovation was technically feasible, and it could be considered to study further by testbed before applying in practice.