• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.91-110
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• 2019

In the present study, the effects of six different ground motion scaling methods on inelastic response of nonlinear steel moment frames (SMFs) are studied. The frames were designed using energy-based PBPD approach with the design concept using pre-selected target drift and yield mechanism as performance limit state. Two target spectrums are considered: maximum credible earthquake spectrum (MCE) and design response spectrum (DRS). In order to investigate the effects of ground motion scaling methods on the response of the structures, totally 3216 nonlinear models including three frames with 4, 8 and 16 stories are designed using PBPD approach and then they are subjected to ensembles of ground motions including 42 far-fault and 90 near-fault pulse-type records which were scaled using the six different scaling methods in accordance to the two aforementioned target spectrums. The distributions of maximum inter-story drift over the height of the structures are computed and compared. Finally, the efficiency and reliability of each ground motion scaling method to estimate the maximum nonlinear inter-story drift of special steel moment frames designed by energy-based PBPD approach are statistically investigated, and the most suitable scaling methods with the lowest dispersion for two groups of earthquake ground motions are introduced.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.479-491
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• 2018

Shape memory alloys (SMA) exhibit superelasticity which refers to the capability of entirely recovering large deformation upon removal of applied forces and dissipating input energy during the cyclic loading reversals when the environment is above the austenite finish temperature. This property is increasingly favored by the earthquake engineering community, which is currently developing resilient structures with prompt recovery and affordable repair cost after earthquakes. Compared with the other SMAs, NiTi SMAs are widely deemed as the most promising candidate in earthquake engineering. This paper contributes to evaluate the seismic performance of properly designed concentrically braced frames (CBFs) equipped with NiTi SMA braces under earthquake ground motions corresponding to frequently-occurred, design-basis and maximum-considered earthquakes. An ad hoc seismic design approach that was previously developed for structures with idealized SMAs was introduced to size the building members, by explicitly considering the strain hardening characteristics of NiTi SMA particularly. The design procedure was conducted to compliant with a suite of ground motions associated with the hazard level of design-basis earthquake. A total of four six-story CBFs were designed by setting different ductility demands for SMA braces while designating with a same interstory drift target for the structural systems. The analytical results show that all the designed frames successfully met the prescribed seismic performance objectives, including targeted maximum interstory drift, uniform deformation demand over building height, eliminated residual deformation, controlled floor acceleration, and slight damage in the main frame. In addition, this study indicates that the strain hardening behavior does not necessarily impose undesirable impact on the global seismic performance of CBFs with SMA braces.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.59-69
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• 2022

The use of dampers is being considered a means to improve the seismic performance of buildings. It may take considerable time and effort to find an optimal design solution since repeated three-dimensional nonlinear time history analyses are required. Therefore, a preliminary design procedure for seismic retrofit using hysteretic dampers was proposed in this study. In the proposed procedure, the amount of retrofit (required number of dampers) is estimated from the capacity curve of the building before retrofit and allowable story drift of the building. In combining the capacity curves of the building and the dampers, the deformation demand for the dampers can be easily checked against their deformation capacity. The equations to transform the device displacement to roof displacement for the combination of capacity curves are developed. The proposed procedure was applied to the seismic retrofit design of sample buildings. The study found that the estimated capacity curve was very close to the actual capacity curve obtained from the pushover analysis, which can determine an appropriate configuration to meet the required seismic performance.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.333-347
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• 2017

Masonry infill walls are unavoidable parts of any building to create a separation between internal space and external environment. In general, there are some prevalent openings in the infill wall due to functional needs, architectural considerations or aesthetic concerns. In current design practice, the strength and stiffness contribution of infill walls is not considered. However, the presence of infill walls may decisively influence the seismic response of structures subjected to earthquake loads and cause a different behavior from that predicted for a bare frame. Furthermore, partial openings in the masonry infill wall are significant parameter affecting the seismic behavior of infilled frames thereby decreasing the lateral stiffness and strength. The possible effects of openings in the infill wall on seismic behavior of RC frames is analytically studied by means of pushover analysis of several bare, partially and fully infilled frames having different bay and story numbers. The stiffness loss due to partial opening is introduced by the stiffness reduction factors which are developed from finite element analysis of frames considering frame-infill interaction. Pushover curves of frames are plotted and the maximum base shear forces, the yield displacement, the yield base shear force coefficient, the displacement demand, interstory drift ratios and the distribution of story shear forces are determined. The comparison of parameters both in terms of seismic demand and capacity indicates that partial openings decisively influences the nonlinear behavior of RC frames and cause a different behavior from that predicted for a bare frame or fully infilled frame.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.40 no.6
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• pp.763-782
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• 2011

Results from nonlinear time-history analyses of wall-frame structural models indicate that the condition of vulnerable foundations -for which uplifting and reaching the bearing capacity of the supporting soil can occur before yielding at the base of the shear walls- may not be necessarily detrimental to the drift response of buildings under strong ground motions. Analyses also show that a soil-foundation system can inherently have deformation capacity well in excess of the demand and thus act as a source of energy dissipation that protects the structural integrity of the shear walls.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.389-402
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• 2019

Reinforced concrete walls and buckling restrained braces are effective structural elements that are used to resist seismic loads. In this paper, the behavior of the reinforced concrete walls coupled with buckling restrained braces is investigated. In such a system, there is not any conventional reinforced concrete coupling beam. The coupling action is provided only by buckling restrained braces that dissipate energy and also cause coupling forces in the wall piers. The studied structures are 10-, 20- and 30-story ones designed according to the ASCE, ACI-318 and AISC codes. Wall nonlinear model is then prepared using the fiber elements in PERFORM-3D software. The responses of the systems subjected to the forward directivity near-fault (NF) and ordinary far-fault (FF) ground motions at maximum considered earthquake (MCE) level are studied. The seismic responses of the structures corresponding to the inter-story drift demand, curvature ductility of wall piers, and coupling ratio of the walls are compared. On average, the results show that the inter-story drift ratio for the examined systems subjected to the far-fault events at MCE level is less than allowable value of 3%. Besides, incremental dynamic analysis is used to examine the considered systems. Results of studied systems show that, the taller the structures, the higher the probability of their collapse. Also, for a certain peak ground acceleration of 1 g, the probability of collapse under NF records is more than twice this probability under FF records.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.1191-1214
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• 2015

The Theory of Plastic Mechanism Control (TPMC) has been recently extended to the case of Eccentrically Braced Frames (EBFs) with inverted Y-scheme, i.e., EBFs with vertical links. In this paper a further validation of the design procedure, based on TPMC, is provided by means of Incremental Dynamic Analyses (IDA) pointing out the fulfilment of the design goal, i.e., the development of a pattern of yielding consistent with the collapse mechanism of global type where all the links are yielded and all the beams are yielded at their ends while all the columns and the diagonal braces remain in elastic range with the only exception of the base sections of first storey columns. In particular, a study case is designed according to both TPMC and Eurocode 8 provisions and the corresponding seismic performances are investigated by both push-over and IDA analyses. The results show the different performances obtained in terms of pattern of yielding, maximum interstorey drift, link plastic rotation demand and sharing of the seismic base shear between the moment-resisting part and the bracing part of the structural system. The seismic performance improvement obtained by means of TPMC, compared to Eurocode 8 provisions, is pointed out.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.8 no.6
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• pp.1277-1297
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• 2015

Post-tensioned precast segmental bridge columns have shown high level of strength and ductility, and low residual displacement, which makes them suffer minor damage after earthquake loading; however, there is still lack of confidence on their lateral response against severe seismic loading due in part to their low energy dissipation capacity. This study investigates the influence of major design factors such as post-tensioning force level, strands position, columns aspect ratio, steel jacket and mild steel ratio on seismic performance of self-centring segmental bridge columns in terms of lateral strength, residual displacement and lateral peak displacement. Seismic analyses show that increasing the continuous mild steel ratio improves the lateral peak displacement of the self-centring columns at different levels of post-tensioning (PT) forces. Such an increase in steel ratio reduces the residual drift in segmental columns with higher aspect ratio more considerably. Suggestions are proposed for the design of self-centring segmental columns with various aspect ratios at different target drifts.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.545-566
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• 2009

Bridge columns are subjected to combined actions of axial force, shear force and bending moment during earthquakes, caused by spatially-complex earthquake motions, features of structural configurations and the interaction between input and response characteristics. Combined actions can have significant effects on the force and deformation capacity of RC columns, resulting in unexpected large deformations and extensive damage that in turn influences the performance of bridges as vital components of transportation systems. This paper evaluates the seismic response of three prototype reinforced concrete bridges using comprehensive numerical models that are capable of simulating the complex soil-structural interaction effects and nonlinear behavior of columns. An analytical approach that can capture the shear-flexural interacting behavior is developed to model the realistic nonlinear behavior of RC columns, including the pinching behavior, strength deterioration and stiffness softening due to combined actions of shear force, axial force and bending moment. Seismic response analyses were conducted on the prototype bridges under suites of ground motions. Response quantities of bridges (e.g., drift, acceleration, section force and section moment etc.) are compared and evaluated to identify the effects of vertical motion, structural characteristics and the shear-flexural interaction on seismic demand of bridges.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.141-168
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• 2012

The Retrofit Yield Spectrum (RYS) is a new spectrum-based device that relates seismic demand of a retrofitted structure with the fundamental design parameters of the retrofit. This is obtained from superposition of Yield Point Spectra with design charts that summarize in pertinent spectrum-compatible coordinates the attributes of a number of alternative retrofit scenarios. Therefore, once the requirements for upgrading a given structure have been determined, the RYS enable direct insight of the sensitivity of the seismic response of the upgraded structure to the preliminary design decisions made while establishing the retrofit plan. By virtue of their spectrum-based origin, RYS are derived with reference to a single mode of structural vibration; a primary objective is to control the contribution of this mode in the retrofit design so as to produce a desirable distribution of damage at the ultimate limit state by removing soft storey formations and engaging the maximum number of structural members in deformation, in response to the input motion. Calculations are performed with reference to the yield-point, where secant stiffness is proportional to the flexural strength of reinforced concrete members. Derivation and use of the Retrofit Yield Spectra (RYS) refers to the seismic demand expressed either in terms of spectral acceleration, spectral displacement or interstory drift, at yield of the first storey. A reinforced concrete building that has been tested in full scale to a sequence of simulated earthquake excitations is used in the paper as a demonstration case study to examine the effectiveness of the proposed methodology.