• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.32 no.6
• /
• pp.807-819
• /
• 2019

In recent earthquakes, the failure of ceiling systems has been one of the most widely reported damage and the major cause of functionality interruption in some buildings. In an effort to mitigate this damage, some scholars have studied a series of ceiling systems including plaster ceilings and mineral wool ceilings. But few studies have involved the backdrop metal ceiling used in some important constructions with higher rigidity and frequency such as the main control area of nuclear power plants. Therefore, in order to evaluate its seismic performance, a full-scale backdrop metal ceiling system, including steel runners and metal panels, was designed, fabricated and installed in a steel frame in this study. And the backdrop metal ceiling system with two perimeter attachments variants was tested: (i) the ends of the runners were connected with the angle steel to form an effective lateral constraint around the backdrop metal ceiling, (ii) the perimeter attachments of the main runner were retained, but the perimeter attachments of the cross runner were removed. In the experiments, different damage of the backdrop metal ceiling system was observed in detail under various earthquakes. Results showed that the backdrop metal ceiling had good integrity and excellent seismic performance. And the perimeter attachments of the cross runner had an adverse effect on the seismic performance of the backdrop metal ceiling under earthquakes. Meanwhile, a series of seismic construction measures and several suggestions that need to be paid attention were proposed in the text so that the backdrop metal ceiling can be better applied in the main control area of nuclear power plants and other important engineering projects.

• Computers and Concrete
• /
• v.27 no.2
• /
• pp.163-173
• /
• 2021

In this paper, the parameters of haunch height, reinforcement ratio and site condition were evaluated for the influence on the seismic performance of a composite precast fabricated utility tunnel by shaking table test and numerical simulation. The dynamic response laws of acceleration, interlayer displacement and steel strain under unidirectional horizontal seismic excitation were analyzed through four specimens with a similarity ratio of 1:6 in the test. And a numerical model was established and analyzed by the finite element software ABAQUS based on the structure of utility tunnel. The results indicated that composite precast fabricated utility tunnel with the good anti-seismic performance. In a certain range, increasing the height of haunch or the ratio of reinforcement could reduce the influence of seismic wave on the utility tunnel structure, which was beneficial to the structure earthquake resistance. The clay field containing the interlayer of liquefied sandy soil has a certain damping effect on the structure of the utility tunnel, and the displacement response could be reduced by 14.1%. Under the excitation of strong earthquake, the reinforcement strain at the side wall upper end and haunches of the utility tunnel was the biggest, which is the key part of the structure. The experimental results were in good agreement with the fitting results, and the results could provide a reference value for the anti-seismic design and application of composite precast fabricated utility tunnel.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.65 no.5
• /
• pp.557-572
• /
• 2018

The academic research works about liquid storage tanks are reviewed for the purpose of providing valuable reference to the engineering practice on their aseismic design. A summary of the performance of tanks during past earthquakes is described in this paper. Next, the seismic response of tanks under unidirectional earthquake is reported, supplemented with the dynamic response under multidirectional motions. Then, researches on the influence of soil-structure interaction are brought out to help modify the seismic design approach of tanks in different areas with variable properties of soils. Afterwards, base isolation systems are reported to demonstrate their effectiveness for the earthquake-resistant design of liquid storage tanks. Further, researches about the liquid-structure interaction are reviewed with description of simplified models and numerical analytical methods, some of which consider the elastic effect of tank walls. Moreover, the liquid sloshing phenomenon on the hydrodynamic behaviors of tanks is presented by various algorithms including grid-based and meshfree method. And then the impact of baffles in changing the dynamic characteristics of the liquid-structure system is raised, which shows the energy dissipation by the vortex motion of liquid. In addition, uplifting effect is given to enhance the understanding on the capacity of unanchored tanks and some assessment of their development. At last, the concluding remarks and the aspects of extended research in the field of liquid storage tanks under seismic loads are provided, emphasizing the thermal stress analysis, the replaceable system for base isolation, the liquid-solid interaction and dynamic responses with stochastic excitations.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.90 no.1
• /
• pp.51-70
• /
• 2024

Poorly designed reinforced concrete (RC) columns of actual moment-resisting frame (MRF) buildings can undergo Axial Compression Ratios (ACR) so high as their demand exceeds their capacity, even for serviceability gravity load combinations, this lack commonly leads to insufficient seismic strength. Nonetheless, many seismic design codes do not specify limits for ACR. The main contribution of this research is to investigate the need to limit the ACR in seismic design. For this purpose, three prototype 6 and 11-story RC MRF buildings are analyzed in this paper, these buildings have columns undergoing excessive ACR, according to the limits prescribed by standards. To better that situation, three types of alterations are performed: retrofitting the abovementioned overloaded columns by steel jacketing, increasing the concrete strength, and reducing the number of stories. Several finite element analyses are conducted using the well-known software SAP2000 and the results are used for further calculations. Code-type and pushover analyses are performed on the original and retrofitted buildings, the suitability of the other modified buildings is checked by code-type analyses only. The obtained results suggest that ACR is a rather reliable indicator of the final building strength, hence, apparently, limiting the ACR in the standards (for early stages of design) might avoid unnecessary verifications.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
• /
• v.15 no.2
• /
• pp.35-42
• /
• 2011

The seismic design of solid reinforced concrete bridge columns has been committed to, based on accumulated research and design specifications. The rational confinement model and seismic performance evaluation, however, are insufficient because of the lack of domestic and foreign design specifications about the experimental and analytical difficulties in the case of circular hollow reinforced concrete columns. In this paper, the seismic behavior of circular hollow reinforced concrete columns and its dependence on design variables are understood and explained. These research results can be used to derive the rational and economical design specifications for circular hollow sectional columns based on the result from the nonlinear analysis program, named RCAHEST (Reinforced Concrete Analysis in Higher Evaluation System Technology).

• Journal of Korean Association for Spatial Structures
• /
• v.23 no.3
• /
• pp.79-86
• /
• 2023

Damage to gas and fire protection piping systems can lead to secondary disasters after an earthquake, so their seismic design is crucial. Accordingly, various types of seismic restraint installations are being devised, and a new suspended piping trapeze restraint installation has also recently been developed in Korea. In this study, a cyclic loading test was performed on the developed trapeze support system, and its performance was evaluated according to ASHRAE 171, the standard for seismic and wind restraint design established by the American Society of Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE). The three support system specimens did not break or fracture, causing only insignificant deformations until the end of the experiment. Based on the experimentally rated strength and displacement performance, this trapeze support system is expected to control the seismic movement of piping during an earthquake.

• Computers and Concrete
• /
• v.32 no.1
• /
• pp.15-26
• /
• 2023

In order to study the anti-seismic performance of full light-weight concrete utility tunnel, EL Centro seismic waves were input, and the seismic simulation shaking table test was carried out on the four utility tunnel models. The dynamic characteristics and acceleration response of the system consisting of the utility tunnel structure and the soil, and the interlayer displacement response of the structure were analyzed. The influence law of different construction methods, haunch heights and concrete types on the dynamic response of the utility tunnel structure was studied. And the experimental results were compared with the finite element calculation results. The results indicated that with the increase of seismic wave intensity, the natural frequency of the utility tunnel structure system decreased and the damping ratio increased. The assembling composite construction method could be equivalent to replace the integral cast-in-place construction method. The haunch height of the assembling composite full light-weight concrete utility tunnel was increased from 30 mm to 50 mm to enhance the anti-seismic performance during large earthquakes. The anti-seismic performance of the full light-weight concrete utility tunnel was better than that of the ordinary concrete utility tunnel. The peak acceleration of the structure was reduced by 21.8% and the interlayer displacement was reduced by 45.8% by using full light-weight concrete. The finite element simulation results were in good agreement with the experimental results, which could provide reference for practical engineering design and application.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
• /
• v.25 no.6
• /
• pp.525-540
• /
• 2023

Because of a new seismic design code has been enacted in 2023, there is a need to evaluate whether the road tunnels in operation satisfies the requirements of the new code. Four tunnels that are considered to be most susceptible to damage. Time history analyses are performed to quantify their seismic performances. The input ground motions generated to fit both 2007 and 2023 codes are used to evaluate the effect of the motions on the calculated responses. The analyses show that all tunnels perform favorably and satisfies the requirements successfully. Therefore, retrofit or reinforcement are deemed as unnecessary.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
• /
• v.27 no.4
• /
• pp.353-362
• /
• 2015

Cyclic loading tests for the PC moment frame with plastic shear hinges were performed to evaluate the seismic performance. The plastic shear hinges consisted of two steel plates were installed at the mid-length of the beam to connect the PC frames. Three shear links are existed in each steel plate. The three shear links were designed using shear force corresponding to the shear capacity of 50%, 75%, and 100% of the beam shear capacity. The proposed connections showed an efficient energy dissipation capacity and good structural performance. As a result, it is reasonable to design the plastic shear hinges using design shear capacity less than 100% of the beam shear capacity.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.32 no.1
• /
• pp.147-165
• /
• 2009

This study proposes a certain measure or investment strategy for decision making associated with seismic retrofitting. This strategy reduces the risk of a large-scale malfunction such as water supply loss under seismic risks. The authors developed a stochastic value index that will be used in the overall evaluation of social benefit, income gain, life cycle costs and failure compensation associated with existing lifeline systems damaged by an earthquake during the remaining service period. Optimal seismic disaster prevention investment of deteriorated lifeline systems is discussed. Finally, the present study provides a performance-based design method for seismic retrofitting strategies of existing lifelines which are carried out using the target probabilities of value loss and structural failure.