• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.1-24
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• 2012

A reinforced concrete (RC) framed structure detailed according to non-seismic detailing provisions as per Indian Standard was tested on shake table under dynamic loads. The structure had 3 main storeys and an additional storey to simulate the footing to plinth level. In plan the structure was symmetric with 2 bays in each direction. In order to optimize the information obtained from the tests, tests were planned in three different stages. In the first stage, tests were done with masonry infill panels in one direction to obtain information on the stiffness increase due to addition of infill panels. In second stage, the infills were removed and tests were conducted on the structure without and with tuned liquid dampers (TLD) on the roof of the structure to investigate the effect of TLD on seismic response of the structure. In the third stage, tests were conducted on bare frame structure under biaxial time histories with gradually increasing peak ground acceleration (PGA) till failure. The simulated earthquakes represented low, moderate and severe seismic ground motions. The effects of masonry infill panels on dynamic characteristics of the structure, effectiveness of TLD in reducing the seismic response of structure and the failure patterns of non-seismically detailed structures, are clearly brought out. Details of design and similitude are also discussed.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.87 no.2
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• pp.117-127
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• 2023

To efficiently attenuate seismic responses of a structure, a novel pneumatic-driven active dynamic vibration absorber (PD-ADVA) is proposed in this study. PD-ADVA aims to realize closed-loop control using a simple and intuitive control algorithm, which takes the structure velocity response as the input signal and then outputs an inverse control force to primary structure. The corresponding active control theory and phase control mechanism of the system are studied by numerical and theoretical methods, the system's control performance and amplitude-frequency characteristics under seismic excitations are explored. The capability of the proposed active control system to cope with frequency-varying random excitation is evaluated by comparing with the optimum tuning TMD. The analysis results show that the control algorithm of PD-ADVA ensures the control force always output to the structure in the opposite direction of the velocity response, indicating that the presented system does not produce a negative effect. The phase difference between the response of uncontrolled and controlled structures is zero, while the phase difference between the control force and the harmonic excitation is π, the theoretical and numerical results demonstrate that PD-ADVA always generates beneficial control effects. The PD-ADVA can effectively mitigate the structural seismic responses, and its control performance is insensitive to amplitude. Compared with the optimum tuning TMD, PD-ADVA has better control performance and higher system stability, and will not have negative effects under seismic wave excitations.

• Journal of Korean Association for Spatial Structures
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.31-41
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• 2024

This study aims to investigate the seismic response of a large span thin shell structures and assess their displacement under seismic loads. The study employs finite element analysis to model a thin shell structure subjected to seismic excitation. The analysis includes eigenvalue analysis and time history analysis to evaluate the natural frequencies and displacement response of the structure under seismic loads. The findings show that the seismic response of the large span thin shell structure is highly dependent on the frequency content of the seismic excitation. The eigenvalue analysis reveals that the tenth mode of vibration of the structure corresponds to a large-span mode. The time history analysis further demonstrates, with 5% damping, that the displacement response of the structure at the critical node number 4920 increases with increasing seismic intensity, reaching a maximum displacement of 49.87mm at 3.615 seconds. Nevertheless, the maximum displacement is well below the allowable limit of the thin shell. The results of this study provide insight into the behaviour of complex large span thin shell structures as elevated foundations for buildings under seismic excitation, based on the displacement contours on different modes of eigenvalues. The findings suggest that the displacement response of the structure is significant for this new application of thin shell, and it is recommended to enhance the critical displacement area in the next design phase to align with the findings of this study to resist the seismic impact.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2017

Historical earthquakes have shown that successive seismic events may occur in regions of high seismicity. Such a sequence of earthquakes has the potential to increase the damage level of the structures, since any rehabilitation between the successive ground motions is practically impossible due to lack of time. Few studies about this issue can be found in literature, most of which focused their attention on the seismic response of SDOF systems or planar frame structures. The aim of the present study is to examine the impact of seismic sequences on the damage level of 3D multistorey R/C buildings with various structural systems. For the purposes of the above investigation a comprehensive assessment is conducted using three double-symmetric and three asymmetric in plan medium-rise R/C buildings, which are designed on the basis of the current seismic codes. The buildings are analyzed by nonlinear time response analysis using 80 bidirectional seismic sequences. In order to account for the variable orientation of the seismic motion, the two horizontal accelerograms of each earthquake record are applied along horizontal orthogonal axes forming 12 different angles with the structural axes. The assessment of the results revealed that successive ground motions can lead to significant increase of the structural damage compared to the damage caused by the corresponding single seismic events. Furthermore, the incident angle can radically alter the successive earthquake phenomenon depending on the special characteristics of the structure, the number of the sequential earthquakes, as well as the distance of the record from the fault.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.445-459
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• 2016

Quantitative estimation of seismic response of various structural systems at the collapse limit state is one of the most significant objectives in Performance-Based Earthquake Engineering (PBEE). Assessing the effects of uncertainties, due to variability in ground motion characteristics and random nature of earthquakes, on nonlinear structural response is a pivotal issue regarding collapse safety prediction. Incremental Dynamic Analysis (IDA) and fragility curves are utilized to estimate demand parameters and seismic performance levels of structures. Since producing these curves based on a large number of nonlinear dynamic analyses would be time-consuming, selection of appropriate earthquake ground motion records resulting in reliable responses with sufficient accuracy seems to be quite essential. The aim of this research study is to propose a methodology to assess the seismic behavior of reinforced concrete frames at collapse limit state via accurate estimation of seismic fragility curves for different Engineering Demand Parameters (EDPs) by using a limited number of ground motion records. Research results demonstrate that accurate estimating of structural collapse capacity is feasible through applying the proposed method offering an appropriate suite of limited ground motion records.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.47 no.6
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• pp.766-775
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• 2015

The integrity assessment of reactor vessel internals should be conducted in the design process to secure the safety of nuclear power plants. Various loads such as self-weight, seismic load, flow-induced load, and preload are applied to the internals. Therefore, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Code, Section III, defines the stress limit for reactor vessel internals. The present study focused on structural response analyses of the upper guide structure upper flange. The distributions of the stress intensity in the flange body were analyzed under various design load cases during normal operation. The allowable stress intensities along the expected sections of stress concentration were derived from the results of the finite element analysis for evaluating the structural integrity of the flange design. Furthermore, seismic analyses of the upper flange were performed to identify dynamic behavior with respect to the seismic and impact input. The mode superposition and full transient methods were used to perform time-history analyses, and the displacement at the lower end of the flange was obtained. The effect of the damping ratio on the response of the flange was also evaluated, and the acceleration was obtained. The results of elastic and seismic analyses in this study will be used as basic information to judge whether a flange design meets the acceptance criteria.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.77 no.4
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• pp.481-493
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• 2021

Low rise masonry structures are relatively inexpensive and easier to construct compared to other types of structures such as steel and reinforced concrete buildings. However, masonry structures are relatively heavier and less ductile and more vulnerable to damages in earthquakes. In this research, a new innovative low-cost seismic isolator using steel rings (SISR) is employed to reduce the seismic vulnerability of masonry structures. FEA of a masonry structure, made of concrete blocks is used to evaluate the effect of the proposed SISR on the seismic response of the structure. Two systems, fixed base and isolated from the base with the proposed SISRs, are considered. Micro-element approach and ABAQUS software are used for structural modeling. The nonlinear structural parameters of the SISRs, extracted from a recent experimental study by the authors, are used in numerical modeling. The masonry structure is studied in two separate modes, fixed base and isolated base with the proposed SISRs, under Erzincan and Imperial Valley-06 earthquakes. The accelerated response at the roof level, as well as the deformation in the masonry walls, are the parameters to assess the effect of the proposed SISRs. The results show a highly improved performance of the masonry structure with the SISRs.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.319-330
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• 2022

Retrofit of soft-story buildings due to seismic loads using Gap-Inclined-Brace (GIB) system is considered a new retrofit technique that aims to maintain both strength and stiffness of structure. In addition, it provides more ductility and less P-delta effect, and subsequently better performance is observed. In this paper, the effect of the eccentricity between GIB and the retrofitted column due to installation on the efficiency of the retrofitting system is studied. In addition, a modification in the determination method of GIB properties is introduced to reduce the eccentricity effect. Also, the effect of GIB system on the seismic response of mid-rise buildings with different heights considering soft-story at various heights has been studied. A numerical model is developed to study the impact of such system on the response of retrofitted soft-story buildings under the action of seismic loads. To achieve that goal, this model is used to perform a numerical investigation, by considering five case study scenarios represent several locations of soft-story of two mid-rise reinforced concrete buildings. At first, Non-linear static pushover analysis was carried out to develop the capacity curves for case studies. Then, Non-linear time history analyses using ten earthquake records with five peak ground accelerations is performed for each case study scenario before and after retrofitting with GIB. The results show that large GIB eccentricity reduce the ultimate lateral resistance and deformation capacity of the retrofitting system. Moreover, the higher the retrofitted building, the more deformation capacity is observed but without significant increase in ultimate lateral resistance.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.52 no.6
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• pp.1318-1326
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• 2020

Structural modification in the electrical cabinet is investigated by a proposed procedure that comprises of an experimental, analytical and numerical solution. This research emphasizes the linear dynamic analysis of the cabinet that is studied under the seismic excitation to demonstrate the real behavior of the cabinets in NPP. To this end, an actual electric cabinet is experimentally tested using an impact hammer test which reveals the fundamental parameters of the cabinet. The Frequency-domain decomposition (FDD) method is used to extract the dynamic properties of the cabinet from the experiment which is then used for numerical modeling. To validate the dynamic properties of the cabinet an analytical solution is suggested. The calibrated model is analyzed under the floor response obtained from the Connecticut nuclear power plant structure excited by Tabas 1978 (Mw 7.4) earthquake. Eventually, the grouping effect of the cabinets is proposed which represents the influence on the dynamic modification. This grouping of the cabinets is described more sophisticatedly by the theoretical understating, which results in a significant change in the seismic response. Considering the grouping effects will be helpful in the assessment of the real seismic behavior, design, and performance of cabinets.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.85-105
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• 2006

Control of structural response due to seismic excitation in a manner of coupling adjacent buildings has been actively developed, and most attention focused on those buildings of similar height. However, with the rapid development of some modern cities, multi-story buildings constructed with an auxiliary low-rise podium structure to provide extra functions to the complex become a growing construction scheme. Being inspired by the positively examined coupling control approach for buildings with similar height, this paper aims to provide a comprehensive analytical study on control effectiveness of using friction dampers to link the two buildings with significant height difference to supplement the recent experimental investigation carried out by the writers. The analytical model of a coupled building system is first developed with passive friction dampers being modeled as Coulomb friction. To highlight potential advantage of coupling the main building and podium structure with control devices that provide a lower degree of coupling, the inherent demerit of rigid-coupled configuration is then evaluated. Extensive parametric studies are finally performed. The concerned parameters influencing the design of optimal friction force and control efficiency include variety of earthquake excitation and differences in floor mass, story number as well as number of dampers installed between the two buildings. In general, the feasibility of interaction control approach applied to the complex structure for vibration reduction due to seismic excitation is supported by positive results.