• Explosives and Blasting
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.91-104
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• 2001

As in Korean environments with mountainous and hilly areas, the rock generally has to be removed in construction or civil engineering work in tunnelling or excavation for development in urban area. Explosives should be used for blasting, which may cause serious problems on local people for their claim for compensation due to ground vibration, noise. For safe and economic blasting, geology and engineering characteristics of rocks such as discontinuities of rock or weathering are very important factors, together with site characteristics for prediction of ground vibration. In this study, conducted were the detailed study for major rocks most widely distributed in the South-east area, in-situ geological survey, geological and geochemical analysis, and further laboratory uniaxial rock stress, seismic velocity of core samples together with in-situ seismic velocity measurements. Regulations on ground vibration and noise were reviewed for assessing their adaptabilities, and a total of 4,856 measured blasting vibration data were examined for enhancing the confidence level in estimating the predictive formulation using scaled distance statistically.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.699-712
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• 2017

This study evaluates the effectiveness of a newly developed retrofitting scheme for masonry-infilled non-ductile RC frames experimentally and by numerical simulation. The technique focuses on modifying the load path and yield mechanism of the infilled frame to enhance the ductility. A vertical gap between the column and the infill panel was strategically introduced so that no shear force is directly transferred to the column. Steel brackets and small vertical steel members were then provided to transfer the interactive forces between the RC frame and the masonry panel. Wire meshes and high-strength mortar were provided in areas with high stress concentration and in the panel to further reduce damage. Cyclic load tests on a large-scale specimen of a single-bay, single-story, masonry-infilled RC frame were carried out. Based on those tests, the retrofitting scheme provided significant improvement, especially in terms of ductility enhancement. All retrofitted specimens clearly exhibited much better performances than those stipulated in building standards for masonry-infilled structures. A macro-scale computer model based on a diagonal-strut concept was also developed for predicting the global behavior of the retrofitted masonry-infilled frames. This proposed model was effectively used to evaluate the global responses of the test specimens with acceptable accuracy, especially in terms of strength, stiffness and damage condition.

• Proceedings of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea Conference
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• 2005.03a
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• pp.90-101
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• 2005

For the site characterization at two representative inland areas, Gyeongju and Hongsung, in Korea, in-situ seismic tests containing boring investigations and resonant column tests were performed and site-specific ground response analyses were conducted using equivalent linear as well as nonlinear scheme. The soil deposits in Korea were shallower and stiffer than those in the western US, from which the site classification system and site coefficients in Korea were derived. Most sites were categorized as site classes C and D based on the mean shear wave velocity to 30 m, Vs30 ranging between 250 and 650 m/s. Based on the acceleration response spectra determined from the site-specific analyses, the site coefficients specified in the Korean seismic design guide underestimate the ground motion in the short-period band and overestimate the ground motion in mid-period band. These differences can be explained by the differences in the bedrock depth and the soil stiffness profile between Korea and western US. The site coefficients were re-evaluated and the preliminary site classification system was introduced accounting for the local geologic conditions on the Korean peninsula.

• Journal of Korean Society of Disaster and Security
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.35-42
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• 2017

This is a comparative study on the characteristics of excavated soils, which is proceeded using soil strength parameter by literature, geotechnical investigation, standard penetration test by drilling, and downhole test by borehole at six sites in urban areas. The results of these site surveys are used as basic data for the evaluation and development of prediction of ground subsidence risk. Geotechnical properties are estimated with the result of standard penetration test-N value and literature. The dynamic geotechnical characteristics are also estimated with top-down seismic exploration at borehole.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.52 no.3
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• pp.573-593
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• 2014

Pounding between adjacent buildings is a significant challenge in metropolitan areas because buildings of different heights collide during earthquake excitations due to varying dynamic properties and narrow separation gaps. The seismic responses of adjacent buildings of varying height, coupled through soil subjected to earthquake-induced pounding, are evaluated in this paper. The lumped mass model is used to simulate the buildings and soil, while the linear visco-elastic contact force model is used to simulate pounding forces. The results indicate while the taller building is almost unaffected when the shorter building is very short, it suffers more from pounding with increasing height of the shorter building. The shorter building suffers more from the pounding with decreasing height and when its height differs substantially from that of the taller building. The minimum required separation gap to prevent pounding is increased with increasing height of the shorter building until the buildings become almost in-phase. Considering the soil effect; pounding forces are reduced, displacements and story shears are increased after pounding, and also, minimum separation gap required to prevent pounding is increased.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.31-49
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• 2005

We first review some history of the Global Geodynamics Project (GGP), particularly in the progress of ground-satellite gravity comparisons. The GGP Satellite Project has involved the measurement of ground-based superconducting gravimeters (SGs) in Europe for several years and we make quantitative comparisons with the latest satellite GRACE data and hydrological models. The primary goal is to recover information about seasonal hydrology cycles, and we find a good correlation at the microgal level between the data and modeling. One interesting feature of the data is low soil moisture resulting from the European heat wave in 2003. An issue with the ground-based stations is the possibility of mass variations in the soil above a station, and particularly for underground stations these have to be modeled precisely. Based on this work with a regional array, we estimate the effectiveness of future SG arrays to measure co-seismic deformation and silent-slip events. Finally we consider gravity surveys in volcanic areas, and predict the accuracy in modeling subsurface density variations over time periods from months to years.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.197-214
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• 2010

The paper presents a methodology for developing earthquake damage and loss scenarios for urban areas, as well as its application to two cities located in Mediterranean countries, Grevena (in Greece) and D$\ddot{u}$zce (in Turkey), that were struck by strong earthquakes in the recent past. After compiling the building inventory in each city, fragility curves were derived using a hybrid approach previously developed by the authors, and a series of seismic scenarios were derived based on microzonation studies that were specifically conducted for each city (see companion paper by Pitilakis et al.). The results obtained in terms of damage estimates, required restoration times and the associated costs are presented in a GIS environment. It is deemed that both the results obtained, and the overall methodology and tools developed, contribute towards the enhancement of seismic safety in the Mediterranean area (as well as other earthquake-prone regions), while they constitute a useful pre-earthquake decision-making tool for local authorities.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.49 no.5
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• pp.1079-1089
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• 2017

Nuclear power plants under expansion and under construction in China are mostly located in coastal areas, which means they are at risk of suffering strong earthquakes and subsequent tsunamis. This paper presents a safety analysis for a new reinforced concrete containment vessel in such events. A finite element method-based model was built, verified, and first used to understand the seismic performance of the containment vessel under earthquakes with increased intensities. Then, the model was used to assess the safety performance of the containment vessel subject to an earthquake with peak ground acceleration (PGA) of 0.56g and subsequent tsunamis with increased inundation depths, similar to the 2011 Great East earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Results indicated that the containment vessel reached Limit State I (concrete cracking) and Limit State II (concrete crushing) when the PGAs were in a range of 0.8-1.1g and 1.2-1.7g, respectively. The containment vessel reached Limit State I with a tsunami inundation depth of 10 m after suffering an earthquake with a PGA of 0.56g. A site-specific hazard assessment was conducted to consider the likelihood of tsunami sources.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.78 no.4
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• pp.387-401
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• 2021

This paper provides a methodology to analyze the seismic performance of different component designs in hybrid masonry structures (HMS). HMS, comprised of masonry panels, steel frames and plate connectors is a relatively new structural system with potential applications in high seismic areas. HMS dissipate earthquake energy through yielding in the steel components and damage in the masonry panels. Currently, there are no complete codes to assist with the design of the energy dissipation components of HMS and there have been no computational studies performed to aid in the understanding of the system energy dissipation mechanisms. This paper presents parametric studies based on calibrated computational models to extrapolate the test data to a wider range of connector strengths and more varied reinforcement patterns and reinforcement ratios of the masonry panels. The results of the numerical studies are used to provide a methodology to examine the effect of connector strength and masonry panel design on the energy dissipation in HMS systems. We use as test cases two story structures subjected to cyclic loading due to the availability of experimental data for these configurations. The methodology presented is however general and can be applied to arbitrary panel geometries, and column and story numbers.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.13-22
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• 2021

The ML 5.8 earthquake shocked Gyeongju, Korea, at 11:32:55 UTC on September 12, 2016. One year later, on the afternoon of November 15, 2017, the ML 5.4 earthquake occurred in Pohang, South Korea. The earthquakes injured many residents, damaged buildings, and affected the economy of Gyeongju and Pohang. The damage proxy maps (DPMs) were generated from Sentinel-1 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery by comparing pre- and co-events interferometric coherences to identify anomalous changes that indicate damaged by the earthquakes. DPMs manage to detect coherence loss in residential and commercial areas in both Gyeongju and Pohang earthquakes. We found that our results show a good correlation with the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) report with Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) scale values of more than VII (seven). The color scale of Sentinel-1 DPMs indicates an increasingly significant change in the area covered by the pixel, delineating collapsed walls and roofs from the official report. The resulting maps can be used to assess the distribution of seismic damage after the Gyeongju and Pohang earthquakes and can also be used as inventory data of damaged buildings to map seismic vulnerability using machine learning in Gyeongju or Pohang.