• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.285-296
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• 2020

Dams are important structures for management of water supply for irrigation or drinking, flood control, and electricity generation. In seismic regions, the structural safety of concrete gravity dams is important due to the high potential of life and economic loss if they fail. Therefore, the seismic analysis of existing dams in seismically active regions is crucial for predicting responses of dams to ground motions. In this paper, earthquake response of concrete gravity dams is investigated using the finite element (FE) method. The FE model accounts for dam-water-foundation rock interaction by considering compressible water, flexible foundation effects, and absorptive reservoir bottom materials. Several uncertainties regarding structural attributes of the dam and external actions are considered to obtain the fragility curves of the dam-water-foundation rock system. The structural uncertainties are sampled using the Latin Hypercube Sampling method. The Pine Flat Dam in the Central Valley of Fresno County, California, is selected to demonstrate the methodology for several limit states. The fragility curves for base sliding, and excessive deformation limit states are obtained by performing non-linear time history analyses. Tensile cracking including the complex state of stress that occurs in dams was also considered. Normal, Log-Normal and Weibull distribution types are considered as possible fits for fragility curves. It was found that the effect of the minimum principal stress on tensile strength is insignificant. It is also found that the probability of failure of tensile cracking is higher than that for base sliding of the dam. Furthermore, the loss of reservoir control is unlikely for a moderate earthquake.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.86 no.4
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• pp.503-518
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• 2023

In tall constructions, the outriggers are regarded as a structural part capable of effectively resisting lateral loads. This study analyses the efficacy of hybrid outrigger system in high rise RCC building for various structural parameters identified. For variations in α, which is defined as the ratio of the relative flexural stiffness of the core to the axial rigidity of the column, static and dynamic analyses of hybrid outrigger system having a virtual and a conventional outrigger at two distinct levels were conducted in the present study. An investigation on the optimal outrigger position was performed by taking the results from absolute maximum inter storey drift ratio (ISD_max), roof acceleration (acc_roof), roof displacement (disp_roof), and base bending moment under both wind and seismic loads on analytical models having 40, 60 and 80 storeys. An ideal performance index parameter was introduced and was utilized to obtain the optimal position of the hybrid outrigger system considering the combined response of ISD_max, acc_roof, disp_roof and, criteria required for the structure under wind and seismic loads. According to the behavioural study, increasing the column area and outrigger arm length will maximise the performance of the hybrid outrigger system. The analysis results are summarized in a flowchart which provides the optimal positions obtained for each dependent parameter and based on ideal performance index which can be used to make initial suggestions for installing a hybrid outrigger system.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.181-195
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• 2010

Coupled building control is a viable method to protect tall buildings from seismic excitation. In this study, the semi-active control of a building complex is investigated for mitigating seismic responses. The building complex is formed of one main building and one podium structure connected through Magneto-Rheological (MR) Dampers and Tuned Mass Damper. The conventional semi-active control techniques require a primary controller as a reference to determine the desired control force, and modulate the input voltage of the MR damper by comparing the desired control force. The fuzzy logic directly determines the input voltage of an MR damper from the response of the MR damper. The control performance of the proposed fuzzy control technique for the MR damper is evaluated for the control problem of a seismically-excited building complex. In this paper, a building complex that include a 14-story main building and an 8-story podium structure is applied as a numerical example to demonstrate the effectiveness of semi-active control with Magneto-Rheological dampers and its comparison with the passive control with the Tuned Mass Damper and two uncoupled buildings and hybrid semi-active control including the Tuned Mass Damper and Magneto-Rheological dampers while they are subject to the earthquake excitation. The numerical results show that semi-active control and hybrid semi-active control can significantly mitigate the seismic responses of both buildings, such as displacement and shear force responses, and fuzzy control technique can effectively mitigate the seismic response of the building complex.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.35-45
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• 2017

The current paper investigates the effect of the seismic pounding of neighboring buildings on the response of structures isolated by Triple Friction Pendulum Bearing (TFPB). To this end, a symmetric three-dimensional single story building is modeled for analysis with two specified levels of top deck and base deck, to capture the seismic response of the base isolators and building's roof. Linear elastic springs with different level of gaps are employed to calculate the impact between the buildings. Nonlinear Dynamic Time History Analyses (NDTHA) are conducted for seismic evaluation. Also, five different sizes with four different sets of friction coefficients are assumed for base isolators to cover a whole range of base isolation systems with various geometry configurations and fundamental period. The results are investigated in terms of base shear, buildings' drift and top deck acceleration of the superstructure. The results also indicate the profound effect of the stiffness of the adjacent buildings on the value of the impact they impose to the superstructure. Also, in situations of potential pounding, the increment of the fundamental period of the TFPB base isolator could intensify the impact force up to nearly five-fold.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.153-164
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• 2020

In the design of buildings, lateral loading is one of the most important factors considered by structural designers. The concept of performance-based design (PBD) is well developed for seismic load. Whereas, wind design is mainly based on elastic analysis for both serviceability and strength. For tall buildings subject to extreme wind load, inelastic behavior and application of the concept of PBD bear consideration. For seismic design, current practice primarily presumes inelastic behavior of the structure and that energy is dissipated by plastic deformation. However, due to analysis complexity and computational cost, calculations used to predict inelastic behavior are often performed using elastic analysis and a response modification factor (R). Inelastic analysis is optionally performed to check the accuracy of the design. In this paper, a framework for application of an R factor for wind design is proposed. Theoretical background on the application and implementation is provided. Moreover, seismic and wind fatigue issues are explained for the purpose of quantifying the modification factor R for wind design.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.17-29
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• 2017

The seismic performance of steel beam to concrete-encased composite column with unsymmetrical steel section joints is investigated and reported within this paper. Experimental and analytical evaluation were conducted on a total of 8 specimens with T-shaped and L-shaped steel section under lateral cyclic loading and axial compression. The test parameters included concrete strength, stirrup ratio and axial compression ratio. The response of the specimens was presented in terms of their hysterisis loop behavior, stress distribution, joint shear strength, and performance degradation. The experiment indicated good structural behavior and good seismic performance. In addition, a three-dimensional nonlinear finite-element analysis simulating was conducted to simulate their seismic behaviors. The finite-element analysis incorporated both bond-slip relationship and crack interface interaction between steel and concrete. The results were also compared with the test data, and the analytical prediction of joint shear strength was satisfactory for both joints with T-shaped and L-shaped steel section columns. The steel beam to concrete-encased composite column with unsymmetrical steel section joints can develop stable hysteretic response and large energy absorption capacity by providing enough stirrups and decreased spacing of transverse ties in column.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.55 no.1
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• pp.161-189
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• 2015

Soil-pile raft-structure interaction is recognized as a significant phenomenon which influences the seismic behaviour of structures. Soil structure interaction (SSI) has been extensively used to analyze the response of superstructure and piled raft through various modelling and analysis techniques. Major drawback of previous study is that overall interaction among entire soil-pile raft-superstructure system considering highlighting the change in design forces of various components in structure has not been explicitly addressed. A recent study addressed this issue in a broad sense, exhibiting the possibility of increase in pile shear due to SSI. However, in this context, relative stiffness of raft and that of pile with respect to soil and length of pile plays an important role in regulating this effect. In this paper, effect of relative stiffness of piled raft and soil along with other parameters is studied using a simplified model incorporating pile-soil raft and superstructure interaction in very soft, soft and moderately stiff soil. It is observed that pile head shear may significantly increase if the relative stiffness of raft and pile increases and furthermore stiffer pile group has a stronger effect. Outcome of this study may provide insight towards the rational seismic design of piles.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.121-129
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• 2012

All contemporary seismic Codes have adopted smooth design acceleration response spectra, which have derived by statistical analysis of many elastic response spectra of natural accelerograms. The above smooth design spectra are characterized by two main branches, an horizontal branch that is 2.5 times higher than the peak ground acceleration, and a declining parabolic branch. According to Eurocode EN/1998, the period range of the horizontal, flat branch is extended from 0.1 s, for rock soils, up to 0.8 s for softer ones. However, from many natural recorded accelerograms of important earthquakes, the real spectral amplification factor appears to be much higher than 2.5 and this means that the spectrum leads to an unsafe seismic design of the structures. This point is an issue open to question and it is the object of the present study. In the present paper, the spectral amplification factor of the smooth design acceleration spectra is re-calculated on the grounds of a known "reliability index" for a desired probability of exceedance. As a pilot scheme, the seismic area of Greece is chosen, as it is the most seismically hazardous area in Europe. The accelerograms of the 82 most important earthquakes, which have occurred in Greece during the last 38 years, are used. The soil categories are taken into account according to EN/1998. The results that have been concluded from these data are compared with the results obtained from other strong earthquakes reported in the World literature.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.166-172
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• 2016

This paper deals with the seismic qualification of the reflective metal insulation for thermal shielding that is installed on the outer surfaces of the main equipment of the primary coolant system of a nuclear power plant. A small-scale model of the reactor pressure vessel, which has equivalent dynamic characteristics, was designed to be tested in domestic seismic testing facilities in the future. In this study, seismic analysis of the small-scale model installed with metal insulation was performed using equivalent static analysis and response spectrum analysis. The required Response Spectrum for main equipment of the primary coolant system of APR-1400 plant were considered to establish the enveloping response spectrum, which was applied to the seismic analysis model. The results from two seismic analysis methods were compared to show the structural adequacy of the metal insulator design against a safe shutdown earthquake. This study will form the basis for the seismic testing to support the seismic qualification of the reflective metal insulator.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.66 no.5
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• pp.637-648
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• 2018

When the centers of mass and stiffness of a building do not coincide, the structure experiences torsional responses. Such systems can consist of the underlying soil and the super-structure. The underlying soil may modify the earthquake input motion and change structural responses. Specific effects of the input motion shall also not be ignored. In this study, seismic demands of asymmetric buildings considering soil-structure interaction (SSI) under near-fault ground motions are evaluated. The building is modeled as an idealized single-story structure. The soil beneath the building is modeled by non-linear finite elements in the two states of loose and dense sands both compared with the fixed-base state. The infinite boundary conditions are modelled using viscous boundary elements. The effects of traditional and yield displacement-based (YDB) approaches of strength and stiffness distributions are considered on seismic demands. In the YDB approach, the stiffness considered in seismic design depends on the strength. The results show that the decrease in the base shear considering soft soil induced SSI when the YDB approach is assumed results only in the center of rigidity to control torsional responses. However, for fixed-base structures and those on dense soils both centers of strength and rigidity are controlling.