• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.1193-1205
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• 2018

A footing located on slopes possess relatively lower bearing capacity as compared to the footing located on the level ground. The bearing capacity further reduces under seismic loading. The adverse effect of slope inclination and seismic loading on bearing capacity can be minimized by proving sufficient setback distance. Though few earlier studies considered setback distance in their analysis, the range of considered setback distance was very narrow. No study has explored the critical setback distance. An attempt has been made in the present study to comprehensively investigate the effect of setback distance on footing under seismic loading conditions. The pseudo-static method has been incorporated to study the influence of seismic loading. The rate of decrease in seismic bearing capacity with slope inclination become more evident with the increase in embedment depth of footing and angle of shearing resistance of soil. The increase in bearing capacity with setback distance relative to level ground reduces with slope inclination, soil density, embedment depth of footing and seismic acceleration. The critical value of setback distance is found to increase with slope inclination, embedment depth of footing and density of soil. The critical setback distance in seismic case is found to be more than those observed in the static case. The failure mechanisms of footing under seismic loading is presented in detail. The statistical analysis was also performed to develop three equations to predict the critical setback distance, seismic bearing capacity factor ($N_{{\gamma}qs}$) and change in seismic bearing capacity (BCR) with slope geometry, footing depth and seismic loading.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.68 no.2
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• pp.193-201
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• 2018

This paper describes an experimental study on the seismic performance of steel reinforced concrete (SRC) T-shaped columns. The lateral loads were applied along the web of the column with different loading histories, such as monotonic loading, mixed loading of variable amplitude cyclic loading and monotonic loading, constant amplitude cyclic loading and variable amplitude cyclic loading. The failure modes, load-displacement curves, characteristic loads and displacements, ductility, strength and stiffness degradations and energy dissipation capacity of the column were analyzed. The effects of loading history on the seismic performance were focused on. The test results show that the specimens behaved differently in the aspects of the failure mode subject to different loading history, although all the failure modes can be summarized as flexural failure. The hysteretic loops of specimens are plump, and minimum values of the failure drift angles and ductility coefficients are 1/24 and 4.64, respectively, which reflect good seismic performance of SRC T-shaped column. With the increasing numbers of loading cycles, the column reveals lower bearing capacity and ductility. The strength and stiffness of the column with variable amplitude cyclic loading degrades more rapidly than that with constant amplitude cyclic loading, and the total cumulative dissipated energy of the former is less.

• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.175-194
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• 2017

Research to date has mainly focused on structural analysis and design of wind turbines considering turbulent aerodynamic loading. The combined effects of wind and seismic loading have not been studied by many researchers. With the recent expansion of wind turbines into seismically active regions research is now needed into the implications of seismic loading coupled with turbulent aerodynamic loading. This paper proposes a monitoring procedure for onshore horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWTs) subjected to this combined loading regime. The paper examines the impact of seismic loading on the 5-MW baseline HAWT developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). A modified version of FAST, an open-source program developed by NREL, is used to perform the dynamic analysis.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.239-259
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• 2013

Typically, beams that form part of structural systems are subjected to vertical distributed loading along their length. Distributed loading affects moment and shear distribution, and consequently spread of inelasticity, along the beam length. However, the finite element models developed so far for seismic analysis of frame structures either ignore the effect of vertical distributed loading on spread of inelasticity or consider it in an approximate manner. In this paper, a beam-type finite element is developed, which is capable of considering accurately the effect of uniform distributed loading on spreading of inelastic deformations along the beam length. The proposed model consists of two gradual spread inelasticity sub-elements accounting explicitly for inelastic flexural and shear response. Following this approach, the effect of distributed loading on spreading of inelastic flexural and shear deformations is properly taken into account. The finite element is implemented in the seismic analysis of plane frame structures with beam members controlled either by flexure or shear. It is shown that to obtain accurate results the influence of distributed beam loading on spreading of inelastic deformations should be taken into account in the inelastic seismic analysis of frame structures.

• Proceedings of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea Conference
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• 2001.04a
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• pp.453-460
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• 2001

The seismic capacity of columns usually has been tested in uniaxial loading condition. The seismic performance used to be evaluated under the same assumption. Since the real earthquake motion is multi-directional, the effects of multi-directional excitation on the seismic capacity of structures need to be carefully examined. In this paper, a frequency dependent alternate biaxial cyclic loading test is proposed as an evaluation method of seismic capacity under multi-directional excitation. Four test specimens were made and tested to study the degradation of strength, stiffness and ductility under biaxial loading condition. A multi- directional excitation. The capacity is obtained using frequency dependent alternate biaxial cyclic loading test. The orthogonal effect is taken into account by increasing the demand.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.749-764
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• 2014

Structural safety has always been a key preoccupation for engineers responsible for the design of civil engineering projects. One of the mechanisms of structural failure, which has gathered increasing attention over the past few decades, is referred to as 'progressive collapse' which happens when one or several structural members suddenly fail, whatever the cause (accident, attack, seismic loading(.Any weakness in design or construction of structural elements can induce the progressive collapse in structures, during seismic loading. Masonry infill panels have significant influence on structure response against the lateral load. Therefore in this paper, seismic performance and shear strength of R.C frames with brick infill panel under various lateral loading patterns are investigated. This evaluation is performed by nonlinear static analysis. The results provided important information for additional design guidance on seismic safety of RC frames with brick infill panel under progressive collapse.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.129-145
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• 2006

This paper provides an insight into the response of non-seismic reinforced concrete (RC) building frames to excitations of different frequencies through experimental investigation. The results of cyclic loading tests of six full-scale RC beam-column sub-assemblies are presented. The tested specimens did not have any transverse reinforcement inside the joint core, and they were subjected to quasi-static and dynamic loading with frequencies as high as 20 Hz. Some important differences between the cyclic responses of non-seismic and ductile RC frames are highlighted. The effect of excitation frequency on the behavior of non-seismic joints is also discussed. In the quasi-static tests, shear deformation of the joint panel accounted for more than 50% of the applied story drift. The test results also showed that higher-frequency excitations are less detrimental than quasi-static cyclic loads, and non-seismic frames can withstand a higher load and a larger deformation when they are applied faster.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.789-801
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• 2022

In order to study the influence of loading angles on seismic performance of steel reinforced concrete (SRC) special-shaped columns, cyclic loading tests and finite element analysis (FEA) were both carried out. Seven SRC special-shaped columns, including two L-shaped columns, three T-shaped columns and two cross-shaped columns, were tested, and the failure patterns of the columns with different loading angles were obtained. Based on the tests, the FEA models of SRC special-shaped columns with different loading angles were established. According to the simulation results, hysteretic curves and seismic performance indexes, including bearing capacity, ductility, stiffness and energy dissipation capacity, were analyzed in detail. The results showed that the failure patterns were different for the columns with the same section and different loading angles. With the increasing of loading angles, the hysteretic curves became fuller and the bearing capacity and initial stiffness appeared increasing tendency, but the energy dissipation capacity changed insignificantly. When the loading angle changed, the ductility got better with the larger area of steel at the failure side for the unsymmetrical section and near the neutral axis for the symmetrical section, respectively.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.337-356
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• 2011

In this paper, cable-stayed bridges with single pylon and two equal side spans, with variations in geometry and span ranging from 120 m to 240 m have been studied. 3D models of the bridges considered in this study have been analysed using ANSYS. As the first step towards a detailed seismic analysis, free vibration response of different geometries is studied for their mode shapes and frequencies. Typical pattern of free vibration responses in different frequencies with change in geometry is observed. Further, three different seismic loading histories are chosen with various characteristics to find the structural response of different geometries under seismic loading. Effect of variation in pylon shape, cable arrangement with variation in span is found to have typical characteristics with different structural response under seismic loading. From the study, it is observed that the structural response is very much dependent on the geometry of the cable-stayed bridge and the characteristics of the seismic loading as well. Further, structural responses obtained from the study would help the design engineers to take decisions on geometric shapes of the bridges to be constructed in seismic prone zones.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.489-499
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• 2019

Elastic-plastic behavior of nuclear power plant elbow piping under seismic loads has been conducted in this study. Finite element analyses are performed using classical Bilinear kinematic hardening model (BKIN) and Multilinear kinematic hardening model (MKIN) as well as a nonlinear kinematic hardening model (Chaboche model). The influence of internal pressure and seismic loading on ratcheting strain of elbow pipe is studied by means of the three models. The results found that the predicted results of Chaboche model is maximum, closely followed by the predicted results of MKIN model, and the minimum is the predicted results of BKIN model. Moreover, comparisons of analysis results for each plasticity model against predicted results for a equivalent cyclic loading elbow component and for a simplified piping system seismic test are presented in the paper.