• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.73 no.3
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• pp.303-317
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• 2020

In this study an innovative rocking zipper braced frame (RZBF) is proposed to overcome the deficiencies of common concentrically braced frames. RZBF is an improved rocking concentrically braced frame which is based on combination of rocking behavior and zipper columns. The base rocking joints and post-tensioned bars provide rocking response and restoring force, respectively. Also, zipper columns distribute the unbalance force over the frame height and reduce the damage concentration. To evaluate seismic performance of RZBF, a comparison study is carried out considering concentrically braced frame, zipper braced frame, rocking concentrically braced frame and RZBF. Thereby, a suite of non-linear time history analyses had been performed on four different types of archetypes with four, six, eight, ten and twelve stories. Frames were designed and non-linear time history analyses were conducted in OpenSees. To compare the seismic behavior of the archetypes, roof drifts, residual roof drifts, story drifts, the forces of first and top story braces, PT bars forces, column uplift and base shears were taken in to consideration. Results illustrate that using RZBF, can reduce the damage due to reduced residual drifts. Zipper columns enhance the seismic performance of rocking systems. As the number of stories increase in the RZBF systems, larger top story braces were needed. So the RZBF system is applicable on low and midrise buildings.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.243-251
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• 2018

The dynamic responses of a rocking wall-moment frame (RWMF) with a post-tensioned cable are investigated. The nonlinear equations of motions are developed, which can be categorized as a single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) model. The model is validated through comparison of the rocking response of the rigid rocking wall (RRW) and displacement of the moment frame (MF) against that obtained from Finite Element analysis when subjected ground motion excitation. A comprehensive parametric analysis is carried out to determine the seismic performance factors of the RWMF systems under near-fault trigonometric pulse excitation. The horizontal displacement of the RWMF system is compared with that of MF structures without RRW, revealing the damping effect of the RRW. Frame displacement spectra excited by trigonometric pulses and recorded earthquake ground motions are constructed. The effects of pulse type, mass ratio, frame stiffness, and wall slenderness variations on the displacement spectra are presented. The paper shows that the coupling with a RRW has mixed results on suppressing the maximum displacement response of the frame.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.95-102
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• 2020

Electrical instruments and devices contained in cabinets for controlling nuclear power plants require seismic qualification; likewise, in-cabinet response spectrum (ICRS) is necessary. Gupta et al. (1999) suggested the Ritz method, where rocking, frame bending, and plate bending behaviors of cabinets are considered, as a method for determining ICRS. This research proposes a method to determine the rocking stiffness of cabinets, which represents its rocking behavior. The cabinet is fixed on mounting frames and is connected to the base concrete by anchors. When horizontal excitation is applied to the cabinet, the mounting frames at anchors are locally deformed, the mounting frames are bent, and then rocking in the cabinet becomes evident. A method to determine equivalent vertical spring stiffness representing the local deformation of the mounting frames at anchors is then proposed. Subsequently, the rocking stiffness of this mounting frame is calculated upon assumption of the mounting frame as an indeterminate beam.

• Journal of agriculture & life science
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.21-32
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• 2011

This research is intended to study literatures relating to western rocking chairs style in early 20th century in order to provide basic data of designs for rockers of today in Korea and investigate characteristics of rocking chair from academic, formative and pragmatic perspectives. During the first half of 20th century, western rocking chairs (1925~1945) embodied actively the simple functionalism concept that furniture design must follow functionality considerations. Therefore, bare wood rocking chairs were without any surface decoration and tubular steel frame rocking chairs often included black leather upholstery in a bold attempt to express exposed structure. And the fact that tubular steel produced such lightweight furniture was crucial importance. Many Modernist designer created curvaceous lines of new pattern changes in their furniture. The structure of Modern rocking chair became all-important, for stylistic as well as functional reasons. Designers equated exposed structure of tubular steel and wooden frame with integrity and rationality and create an equalitarian style of design. Especially, designers in the early 20th century did use various brilliantly colored upholstery and wooden frame with simple forms of modern characteristics.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.7 no.6
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• pp.1187-1221
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• 2014

The uplifting and rocking of slender, free-standing structures when subjected to ground shaking may limit appreciably the seismic moments and shears that develop at their base. This high-performance seismic behavior is inherent in the design of ancient temples with emblematic peristyles that consist of slender, free-standing columns which support freely heavy epistyles together with the even heavier frieze atop. While the ample seismic performance of rocking isolation has been documented with the through-the-centuries survival of several free-standing ancient temples; and careful post-earthquake observations in Japan during the 1940's suggested that the increasing size of slender free-standing tombstones enhances their seismic stability; it was George Housner who 50 years ago elucidated a size-frequency scale effect that explained the "counter intuitive" seismic stability of tall, slender rocking structures. Housner's 1963 seminal paper marks the beginning of a series of systematic studies on the dynamic response and stability of rocking structures which gradually led to the development of rocking isolation-an attractive practical alternative for the seismic protection of tall, slender structures. This paper builds upon selected contributions published during this last half-century in an effort to bring forward the major advances together with the unique advantages of rocking isolation. The paper concludes that the concept of rocking isolation by intentionally designing a hinging mechanism that its seismic resistance originates primarily from the mobilization of the rotational inertia of its members is a unique seismic protection strategy for large, slender structures not just at the limit-state but also at the operational state.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.245-256
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• 2019

An experimental study was conducted to evaluate the dynamic behavior of a free-standing frame equipped with a movable base system using cast iron and mortar as the bearing materials. The preliminary friction test indicated that a graphite layer developed on the interface and exhibited stable friction behavior. The friction coefficient ranged from 0.33 to 0.36 when the applied normal compression stress ranged from 2.6 to 5.2 MPa. The effect of the variation of normal compression stress would be small. Shaking table tests on the free-standing frame showed that rock, slide, and rock-slide responses occurred. The cumulative slide distance reached 381 mm under JMA Kobe wave excitation; however, only a few cyclic slides occurred at the same locations along the moving track. Most surfaces sustained single slides. Similar results can be observed in other shaking conditions. The insufficient cyclic sliding and significant rocking resulted in a few graphite layers on the mortar surfaces. Friction coefficients were generally similar to those obtained in the preliminary friction tests; however, the values fluctuated when the rocking became significant. The collisions due to rocking caused strong horizontal acceleration responses and resulted in high friction coefficient. In addition, the strong horizontal acceleration responses caused by the collisions made the freestanding specimen unable to reduce the input horizontal acceleration notably, even when slippage occurred. Compared with the counterpart fixed-base specimen, the specimen equipped with the iron-mortar base could reduce the horizontal acceleration amplification response and the structural deformation, whereas the vertical acceleration response was doubled due to collisions from rocking.

• Coupled systems mechanics
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.351-375
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• 2019

The present work investigates the use of a rigid rocking block as a tool to reduce vibrations in a frame structure. The study is based on a simplified model composed by a 2-DOF linear system, meant to represent a general M-DOF frame structure, coupled with a rocking rigid block through a linear visco-elastic device, which connects only the lower part of the 2-DOF system. The possibility to restrain the block directly to the ground, by means of a second visco-elastic device, is investigated as well. The dynamic response of the model under an harmonic base excitation is then analysed in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the coupling in reducing the displacements and the drift of the 2-DOF system. The nonlinear equations of motion of the coupled assemblage 2-DOF-block are obtained by a Lagrangian approach and then numerically integrated considering some reference mechanical and geometrical quantities as variable parameters. It follows an extensive parametric analysis, whose results are summarized through behaviour maps, which portray the ratio between the maximum displacements and drifts of the system, with and without the coupling with the rigid block, for several combinations of system's parameters. When the ratio of the displacements is less than unity, the coupling is considered effective. Results show that the presence of the rocking rigid block improves the dynamics of the system in large ranges of the characterizing parameters.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.269-282
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• 2023

This study investigates a rocking seismic isolation (RSI) system as a seismic protection measure against narrow-band ground-motions generated by earthquakes. Structures supported over RSIs are considered capable of reducing the lateral demands and damage of the main structural system through lifting and rocking. This lifting and rocking during earthquake activity is provided by free-standing columns. A single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) system supported on a RSI system is subjected to narrow-band seismic motions and its response is compared to an analog system without RSI. The comparison is then extended to reinforced concrete linear frames with and without RSI; three-bay frames with 11 and 17 storeys are considered. It is found that the RSI systems significantly reduce acceleration and displacement demands in the main structural frames, more noticeably if the first structural mode dominates the response and for ratios of the predominant frequency of the ground motion to the predominant frequency of the main frame near one. It is also found that the RSI system is more effective in reducing lateral accelerations and displacements of the main structure when the aspect ratio, b/h, and size, R, of the free-standing columns decrease, although the rocking stability of the RSI system is also reduced.

• Journal of Korean Association for Spatial Structures
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.27-34
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• 2019

This study proposes a technique to dissipate the energy of a rocking wall installed on a frame by using a metallic damper. The rocking behavior is to turn left and right about the wall vertical axis. The development system is a method of dissipating energy by installing a damper which is the like on a large displacement portion. Experimental results showed that in case of shorter strut make strength capacity increasement and in case of longer strut make deformation capacity increasement. The higher the strut height, the better the energy dissipation capacity. The proposed equation for estimating the steel damper strength applied to this study is a straight type strut damper. However, it is not suitable for calculation of the strength of clamped type strut damper where both flexural behavior and shear behavior are mixed.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.175-189
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• 2024

Aiming at studying the plastic hinge (PH) evolution regularities and failure mode of rocking wall moment frame (RWMF) structure in earthquakes, the whole-working history analysis of seismic performance state of RWMF structure based on co-operation performance and PH evolution was carried out. Building upon the theoretical analysis of the elastic internal forces and deformations of RWMF structures, nonlinear finite element analysis (FEA) methods were employed to perform both Pushover analysis and seismic response time history analysis under different seismic coefficients (δ). The relationships among PH occurrence ratios (R_ph), inter-story drifts and δ were established. Based on the plotted curve of the seismic performance states, evaluation limits for the R_ph and inter-story drifts were provided for different performance states of RWMF structures. The results indicate that the R_ph of RWMF structures exhibits a nonlinear evolution trend of "fast at first, then slow" with the increasing of δ. The general pattern is characterized by the initial development of beam hinges in the middle stories, followed by the development towards the top and bottom stories until the beam hinges are fully formed. Subsequently, the development of column hinges shifts from the bottom and top stories towards the middle stories of the structure, ultimately leading to the loss of seismic lateral capacity with a failure mode of partial beam yield, demonstrating a global yielding pattern. Moreover, the limits for the R_ph and inter-story drifts effectively evaluate the five different performance states of RWMF structures.