• Earthquakes and Structures
• /
• v.4 no.2
• /
• pp.157-179
• /
• 2013

Vulnerability studies on the existing building stock require that a large number of buildings is analyzed to obtain statistically significant evaluations of the seismic performance. Therefore, analytical evaluation methods need to be based on simplified methodologies of analysis which can afford the treatment of a large building population with a reasonable computational effort. Simplified Pushover-Based Earthquake Loss Assessment approach (SP-BELA), where a simplified methodology to identify the structural capacity of the building through the definition of a pushover curve is adopted, was developed on these bases. Main objective of the research work presented in this paper is to validate the simplified methodology implemented in SP-BELA against the results of more sophisticated nonlinear dynamic analyses (NLDAs). The comparison is performed for RC buildings designed only to vertical loads, representative of the "as built" in Italy and in Mediterranean countries with a building stock very similar to the Italian one. In NLDAs the non linear and degrading behaviour, typical of the structures under consideration when subjected to high seismic loads, is evaluated using models able to capture, with adequate accuracy, the non linear behaviour of RC structural elements taking into account stiffness degradation, strength deterioration, and pinching effect. Results show when simplified analyses are in good agreement with NLDAs. As a consequence, unsatisfactory results from simplified analysis are pointed out to address their current applicability limits.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.26 no.5
• /
• pp.569-589
• /
• 2007

This paper presents an analytical model for RC beam-column connections that takes into account bond deterioration between reinforcing steel and concrete. The model is based on the Lumped Damage Mechanics (LDM) theory which allows for the characterization of cracking, degradation and yielding, and is extended in this paper by the inclusion of the slip effect as observed in those connections. Slip is assumed to be lumped at inelastic hinges. Thus, the concept of "slip hinge", based on the Coulomb friction plasticity theory, is formulated. The influence of cracking on the slip behavior is taken into account by using two concepts of LDM: the effective moment on an inelastic hinge and the strain equivalence hypothesis. The model is particularly suitable for wide beam-column connections for which bond deterioration dominates the hysteretic response. The model was evaluated by the numerical simulation of five tests reported in the literature. It is found that the model reproduces closely the observed behavior.

• Proceedings of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute Conference
• /
• 2006.04a
• /
• pp.772-777
• /
• 2006

An acoustic finite element model of a bridge is developed to evaluate the noise generated by the traffic-induced vibration of the bridge. The dynamic response of a multi-girder bridge, modeled by a 3-dimensional frame element model, is analyzed with a 3-axle(8DOF) truck model and a 5-axle(l3DOF) semi-trailer. The flat plate element is used to analyze the acoustic pressure due to the fluid-structure interactions between the vibrating surface and contiguous acoustic fluid medium. The radiation fields of noise with a specified distribution of vibrating velocity and pressure on the structural surface are also computed using the Kirchhoff-Helmholtz integral. In an attempt to illustrate the influence of the structural vibration noise of a bridge to total noise level around the bridge, the random function is used to generate the vehicle noise source including the engine noise and the rolling noise interacting between the road and tire. Among the diverse parameters affecting the dynamic response of bridge, the vehicle velocity, the vehicle weight, the spatial distribution of the road surface roughness, the stiffness degradation of the bridge and the variation of the air temperature changing the air density are found to be the main factors that increase the level of vibration noise. Consequently, The amplification rate of noise increases with the traveling speed and the vehicle weight.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.67 no.3
• /
• pp.233-244
• /
• 2018

This study aims at evaluating the performance of repairing technique with CFRPs in recovering cyclic performance of damaged columns in flexure in terms of structural response parameters such as strength, dissipated energy, stiffness degradation. A 2/3 scaled substandard reinforced concrete frame was constructed to represent the substandard RC buildings especially in developing countries. These substandard buildings have several structural deficiencies such as strong beam-weak column phenomenon, improper reinforcement detailing and poor material properties. Flexural plastic hinges occurred at the columns ends after testing the substandard specimen under both constant axial load and reversed cyclic lateral loading. Afterwards, the damaged columns were externally wrapped with CFRP sheets both in transverse and longitudinal directions and then retested under the same loading protocol. In addition, ambient vibration measurements were taken from the undamaged, damaged and the repaired specimens at each structural repair steps to identify the effectiveness of each repairing step by monitoring the change in the natural frequencies of the tested specimen. The ambient vibration test results showed that the applied repairing technique with external CFRP wrapping was proved to recover stiffness of the pre-damaged specimen. Moreover, the lateral load capacity of the pre-damaged substandard RC frame was restored with externally bonded CFRP sheets.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
• /
• v.33 no.8
• /
• pp.826-831
• /
• 2009

The piping systems in nuclear power plant are composed of various typed pipes such as straight, elbow pipe, branch and reducer etc. The elbow is connected from straight pipe to another pipes in order to establish the complicated piping system. Elbow is one of very important components considering management of wall thinning degradation. It is however applied by various loads such as system pressure, earthquake, postulated break loading and many transient loads, which provoke simply the internal pressure, bending and torsional stress. In this study, firstly pipes in the secondary system of the nuclear power plant are classified as pipe size and type for selecting the investigating range. Next, a large number of finite element analysis considering the all typed dimensions of commercial pipe has been performed to find out the behavior of TES(twice elastic slop) plastic load of elbows, which is based on evaluation of the structural safety factor. Finally performance based structural safety factor was investigated comparing with maximum allowable load by construction code.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
• /
• v.23 no.6
• /
• pp.641-649
• /
• 2010

Estimation of uncertain parameters is required in many engineering problems which involve probabilistic structural analysis as well as prognosis of existing structures. In this case, Bayesian framework is often employed, which is to represent the uncertainty of parameters in terms of probability distributions conditional on the provided data. The resulting form of distribution, however, is not amenable to the practical application due to its complex nature making the standard probability functions useless. In this study, Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) method is proposed to overcome this difficulty, which is a modern computational technique for the efficient and straightforward estimation of parameters. Three case studies that implement the estimation are presented to illustrate the concept. The first one is an inverse estimation, in which the unknown input parameters are inversely estimated based on a finite number of measured response data. The next one is a metamodel uncertainty problem that arises when the original response function is approximated by a metamodel using a finite set of response values. The last one is a prognostics problem, in which the unknown parameters of the degradation model are estimated based on the monitored data.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.59 no.2
• /
• pp.291-312
• /
• 2016

Seismic performance evaluation of shear wall is essential as it is the major lateral load resisting member of a structure. The ultimate load and ultimate drift of the shear wall are the two most important parameters which need to be assessed experimentally and verified analytically. This paper comprises the results of monotonic tests, quasi-static cyclic tests and shake-table tests carried out on a midrise shear wall. The shear wall considered for the study is 1:5 scaled model of the shear wall of the internal structure of a reactor building. The analytical simulation of these tests is carried out using micro and macro modeling of the shear wall. This paper mainly consists of modification in the hysteretic macro model, developed for RC structural walls by Lestuzzi and Badoux in 2003. This modification is made by considering the stiffness degradation effect observed from the tests carried out and this modified model is then used for nonlinear dynamic analysis of the shear wall. The outcome of the paper gives the variation of the capacity, the failure patterns and the performance levels of the shear walls in all three types of tests. The change in the stiffness and the damping of the wall due to increased damage and cracking when subjected to seismic excitation is also highlighted in the paper.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.20 no.2
• /
• pp.431-445
• /
• 2016

Seismic behavior of new composite structural system with a fabricated floor was studied. A two-bay and three-story structural model with the scale ratio of 1/4 was consequently designed. Based on the proposed model, multiple factors including energy dissipation capacity, stiffness degradation and deformation performance were analyzed through equivalent single degree of freedom pseudo-dynamic test with different earthquake levels. The results show that, structural integrity as well as the effective transmission of the horizontal force can be ensured by additional X bracing at the bottom of the rigidity of the floor without concrete topping. It is proved that the cast-in-place floor in areas with high seismic intensity can be replaced by the prefabricated floor without pouring surface layer. The results provide a reliable theoretical basis for the seismic design of the similar structural systems in engineering application.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
• /
• v.31 no.1
• /
• pp.97-102
• /
• 2020

Recently, various degradation mechanisms of lithium secondary battery cathode materials have been revealed. As a result, many studies on overcoming the limitation of cathode materials and realizing new electrochemical properties by controlling the degradation mechanism have been reported. Li-rich layered oxide is one of the most promising cathode materials due to its high reversible capacity. However, the utilization of Li-rich layered oxide has been restricted, because it undergoes a unique atomic structure change during the cycle, in turn resulting in unwanted electrochemical degradations. To understand an atomic structure deterioration mechanism and suggest a research direction of Li-rich layered oxide, we deeply evaluated the atomic structure of 0.4Li₂MnO₃_0.6LiNi_1/3Co_1/3Mn_1/3O₂ Li-rich layered oxide during electrochemical cycles, by using an atomic-resolution analysis tool. During a charge process, Li-rich materials undergo a cation migration of transition metal ions from transition metal slab to lithium slab due to the structural instability from lithium vacancies. As a result, the partial structural degradation leads to discharge voltage drop, which is the biggest drawback of Li-rich materials.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
• /
• v.21 no.1
• /
• pp.22-31
• /
• 1997

The grain boundary etching method as a method for assessing degradation of structural materials has received much attention because it is simple, inexpensive and easy to apply to real components. In this study, the effectiveness of the method is verified by successfully applying the technique to in-service components of aged fossil power plants such as main steam pipes, boiler headers an turbine rotors. A new degradation parameter, intersecting number ratio (N$_{1}$/N$_{0}$), is employed. The intersecting number ratio (N$_{1}$/N$_{0}$) is defined as the ratio of intersection number (N$_{1}$) obtained from 5-minute picric acid etched surface to the number (N$_{0}$) obtained from nital etched surface. Two kinds of test materials, 2.25Cr-1Mo steel and 1Cr-1Mo-0.25V steel, were artificially thermal-aged at 630.deg. C in different levels of degradation., (N$_{1}$/N$_{0}$) were measured. And, correlations between the measured values and LMP values calculated from aging temperature and aging time were sought. To check the validity of the correlations obtained in laboratory, similar data were measured from service components in four old Korean fossil power plants. These on-site measurement data were in good correlation with those obtained in the laboratory.oratory.