• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.13-27
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• 2021

A new seismic design methodology has been developed for precast concrete diaphragms. Seismic design factors were used to be applied on top of diaphragm seismic design forces in the current code. These factors, established through extensive parametric studies, align diaphragm design strengths with different seismic performance targets. A simplified evaluation structure with a single-bay plan was used in the parametric studies. This simplified evaluation structure is reasonable and cost-effective as it can comprehensively cover structural geometries and design parameters. However, further verification and investigation are required to apply these design factors to prototype structures with realistic layouts. This paper presents diaphragm design of several precast concrete office buildings using the new design methodology. The applicability of the design factor to the office building was evaluated and verified through nonlinear time history analyses. The seismic behavior and performance of the diaphragm were investigated for the precast concrete office buildings. It was found that the design factor established for the new design methodology is applicable to the realistic precast concrete office buildings.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.68 no.5
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• pp.591-601
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• 2018

Non-moment beam-to-column connections, which are usually referred to as simple or shear connections, are typically designed to carry only gravity loads in the form of vertical shears. Although in the analysis of structures these connections are usually assumed to be pinned, they may provide a small amount of rotational stiffness due to the typical connection details. This paper investigates the effects of this small rotational restraint of simple beam-to-column connections on the behavior and seismic response of steel braced non-moment resisting frames. Two types of commonly used simple connections with bolted angles, i.e., the Double Web angle Connection (DWC) and Unstiffened Seat angle Connection (USC) are considered for this purpose. In addition to the pinned condition - as a simplified representation of these connections - more accurate semi-rigid models are established and then applied to some frame models subjected to nonlinear pushover and nonlinear time history analyses. Although the use of bracing elements generally reduces the sensitivity of the global structural response to the behavior of connections, the obtained results indicate considerable effects on the local responses. Namely, our results show that consideration of the real behavior of connections is essential in designing the column elements where the pin-connection assumption significantly underestimates design of outer columns of upper stories.

• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.295-317
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• 2020

Investigation of the stability of arch dam abutments is one of the most important aspects in the analysis of this type of dams. To this end, the Bakhtiari dam, a doubly curved arch dam having six wedges at each of its abutments, is selected. The seismic safety of dam abutments is studied through time history analysis using the design-based earthquake (DBE) and maximum credible earthquake (MCE) hazard levels. Londe limit equilibrium method is used to calculate the stability of wedges in abutments. The thrust forces are obtained using ABAQUS, and stability of wedges is calculated using the code written within MATLAB. Effects of foundation flexibility, grout curtain performance, vertical component of earthquake, nonlinear behavior of materials, and geometrical nonlinearity on the safety factor of the abutments are scrutinized. The results show that the grout curtain performance is the main affecting factor on the stability of the abutments, while nonlinear behavior of the materials is the least affecting factor amongst others. Also, it is resulted that increasing number of the contraction joints can improve the seismic stability of dam. A cap is observed on the number of joints, above which the safety factor does not change incredibly.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.51 no.6
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• pp.909-922
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• 2014

In this paper, we present an alternative seismic design strategy for cable stayed bridges with concrete pylons when subjected to strong ground motions. The comparison of conventional seismic design using supplemental dampers (strategy A) and the new strategy using nonlinear seismic design of pylon columns (strategy B) is exemplified by one typical medium span cable stayed bridge subjected to strong ground motions from 1999 Taiwan Chi-Chi earthquake and 2008 China Wenchuan earthquake. We first conducted the optimization of damper parameters according to strategy A in response to the distinct features that strong ground motions contain. And then we adopted strategy B to carry out seismic analysis by introducing the elastic-plastic elements that allowing plasticity development in the pylon columns. The numerical results show that via strategy A, the earthquake induced structural responses can be kept in the desired range provided with the proper damping parameters, however, the extra cost of unusual dampers will be inevitable. For strategy B, the pylon columns may not remain elastic and certain plasticity developed, but the seismic responses of the foundation will be greatly decreased, meanwhile, the displacement at the top of pylon seems to be not affected much by the yielding of pylon columns, which indicates the pylon nonlinear design can be an alternative design strategy when strong ground motions have to be considered for the bridge.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.345-352
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• 2023

This paper studied the effect of soil-structure interaction (SSI) on the seismic response and retrofit of a reinforced concrete structure with a soft-first story for different soil types. A 5-story structure built on a 30m deep homogeneous soil mass was considered as a case study structure, and steel column jacketing and steel bracing were chosen as seismic retrofit methods. Seismic responses of a fixed-base and a flexible base structure subjected to seven scaled earthquake records were obtained using the software OpenSees to investigate the effect of soil on seismic response and retrofit. The nonlinearBeamColumn elements with the fiber sections were used to simulate the nonlinear behavior of the beams and columns. Soil properties were defined based on shear wave velocity according to categorized site classes defined in ASCE-7. The finite element model of the soil was made using isoparametric four-noded quadrilateral elements and the nonlinear dynamic responses of the combined system of soil and structure were calculated in the OpenSees. The analysis results indicate that the soil-structure interaction plays an important role in the seismic performance and retrofit of a structure with a soft-first story. It was observed that column steel jacketing was effective in the retrofit of the model structure on a fixed base, whereas stronger retrofit measures such as steel bracing were needed when soil-structure interaction was considered.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 2015

In order to perform a soil-isolation-structure interaction analysis of seismically isolated nuclear power plant (NPP) structures, the nonlinear behavior of a seismic isolation system may be converted to an equivalent linear model used in frequency domain analysis. Seismic responses for seismically isolated NPP containment structures subjected to a simple artificial acceleration history and different site class earthquakes are evaluated for the equivalent-linear and nonlinear models that have been applied to lead-rubber bearing (LRB) modeling. It can be observed that the maximum displacements of the equivalent linear model are larger than that of the nonlinear model. From the floor response spectrum analysis for the top of NPP containment structures, it can be observed that the spectral acceleration of an equivalent linear model at about 0.5 Hz frequency is about 2~3 times larger than that of a nonlinear model.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.88 no.3
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• pp.209-220
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• 2023

This study investigates the effectiveness of tuned mass dampers (TMDs) in controlling vibrations in low-rise reinforced concrete buildings. It examines both linear and nonlinear behaviors of concrete structures subjected to strong ground motions from the PEER database. The research follows the ASCE 7-16 provisions to model structural nonlinearity. Additionally, the study explores the effect of varying TMD mass ratios on the performance of these systems in real-world conditions. The findings emphasize the importance of accounting for structural nonlinearity in low-rise buildings, highlighting its significant influence on the controlled response under severe seismic excitations. The study suggests including nonlinear analysis in seismic design practices and recommends customizing TMD designs to optimize vibration control. These recommendations have practical implications for enhancing the safety and effectiveness of seismic design practices for low-rise buildings.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.77 no.6
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• pp.721-734
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• 2021

The seismic analysis of structures without applying the effects of soil can undermine functional objectives of structure so that it can affect all the desired purposes at the design and control stages of the structure. In this research, employing OpenSees and MATLAB software simultaneously and developing a definite three-dimensional finite element model of a high-rise concrete structure, designed using performance-based plastic design approach, the performance of Tuned Mass Damper (TMD) and Active Mass Damper (AMD) is both examined and compared. Moreover some less noted aspects such as nonlinear interaction of soil and structure, uplift, nonlinear behavior of structure and structural torsion have received more attention. For this purpose, the analysis of time history on the structural model has been performed under 22 far-field accelerogram records. Examining a full range of all structural seismic responses, including lateral displacement, acceleration, inter-story drift, lost plastic energy, number of plastic hinges, story shear force and uplift. The results indicate that TMD performs better than AMD except for lateral displacement and inter-story drift to control other structural responses. Because on the one hand, nonlinear structural parameters and soil-structure interaction have been added and on the other hand, the restriction on the control force applied that leads up to saturation phenomenon in the active control system affect the performance of AMD. Moreover, the control force applied by structural control system has created undesirable acceleration and shear force in the structure.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.249-263
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• 2024

This article presents a comparative analysis of seismic behavior in steel-beam reinforced concrete column (RCS) frames versus steel and reinforced concrete frames. The study evaluates the seismic response and collapse behavior of RCS frames of varying heights through nonlinear modeling. RCS, steel, and reinforced concrete special moment frames are considered in three height categories: 5, 10, and 20 stories. Two-dimensional frames are extracted from the three-dimensional structures, and nonlinear static analyses are conducted in the OpenSEES software to evaluate seismic response in post-yield regions. Incremental dynamic analysis is then performed on models, and collapse conditions are compared using fragility curves. Research findings indicate that the seismic intensity index in steel frames is 1.35 times greater than in RCS frames and 1.14 times greater than in reinforced concrete frames. As the number of stories increases, RCS frames exhibit more favorable collapse behavior compared to reinforced concrete frames. RCS frames demonstrate stable behavior and maintain capacity at high displacement levels, with uniform drift curves and lower damage levels compared to steel and reinforced concrete frames. Steel frames show superior strength and ductility, particularly in taller structures. RCS frames outperform reinforced concrete frames, displaying improved collapse behavior and higher capacity. Incremental Dynamic Analysis results confirm satisfactory collapse capacity for RCS frames. Steel frames collapse at higher intensity levels but perform better overall. RCS frames have a higher collapse capacity than reinforced concrete frames. Fragility curves show a lower likelihood of collapse for steel structures, while RCS frames perform better with an increase in the number of stories.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.48-54
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• 2022

This research describes a quantitative procedure used to estimate the effect of concrete cracking on stiffness degradation of concrete shear walls and provides analytical references for the seismic design of concrete shear walls. As preliminary research on the seismic response of concrete shear walls, nonlinear transient analysis was performed with commercial FE software. The study presents the nonlinear time history analysis results in terms of concrete damage and cracking behavior induced by seismic input motions. By varying the input motions, concrete strength and shear wall thickness, the seismic responses of a shear wall were examined with nonlinear time history analysis, and the progressive cracking behavior and corresponding hysteresis loop were described. Based on the analysis results, frequency and stiffness degradation of the shear wall from progressive concrete damage and cracking were captured with respect to the seismic levels. The results of this study suggest that stiffness degradation from concrete cracking should be appropriately considered when determining the seismic capacity of RC shear wall structures.