• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.49-71
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• 2015

The present paper aims at evaluating damage and collapse behavior of low-rise buildings with unidirectional mass irregularities in plan (torsional buildings). In previous earthquake events, such buildings have been exposed to extensive damages and even total collapse in some cases. To investigate the performance and collapse behavior of such buildings from probabilistic points of view, three-dimensional three and six-story reinforced concrete models with unidirectional mass eccentricities ranging from 0% to 30% and designed with modern seismic design code provisions specific to intermediate ductility class were subjected to nonlinear static as well as extensive nonlinear incremental dynamic analysis (IDA) under a set of far-field real ground motions containing 21 two-component records. Performance of each model was then examined by means of calculating conventional seismic design parameters including the response reduction (R), structural overstrength (${\Omega}$) and structural ductility (${\mu}$) factors, calculation of probability distribution of maximum inter-story drift responses in two orthogonal directions and calculation collapse margin ratio (CMR) as an indicator of performance. Results demonstrate that substantial differences exist between the behavior of regular and irregular buildings in terms of lateral load capacity and collapse margin ratio. Also, results indicate that current seismic design parameters could be non-conservative for buildings with high levels of plan eccentricity and such structures do not meet the target "life safety" performance level based on safety margin against collapse. The adverse effects of plan irregularity on collapse safety of structures are more pronounced as the number of stories increases.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.617-628
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• 2018

Steel shear wall possesses priority over many of the current lateral load-bearing systems due to reasons like higher elastic stiffness, desirable ductility and energy absorption, convenience in construction and implementation technology, and economic criteria. Besides these advantages, this system causes increase in the dimensions of other structural elements due to its high stiffness as one of its intrinsic characteristics. One of the methods for stiffness reduction is perforating the wall panel and creating openings in the wall that can also be used as windows or ducts in buildings service period. The aim of the present study is probing the appropriate geometric shape and location of opening to fulfil economic criterion plus technical and seismic design criteria. In the present research, a number of possible while reasonable opening shapes and locations are defined in various sizes for some steel shear wall specimens. The specimens are modelled in ABAQUS finite elements software and analyzed using nonlinear pushover analysis. Finally, the analyses' results are reported as force-displacement diagrams and the strength, the initial stiffness and the energy absorption are calculated for all specimens and compared together. The obtained results show that both shape and location of the openings affect the seismic parameters of the shear wall. The specimens in which the openings are further from the center and closer to the columns possess higher stiffness and strength while the specimens in which the openings are closer to the center show more considerable changes in their seismic parameters in response to increase in opening area.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.529-540
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• 2018

The influences of initial damage paths and aftershock (AS) spectral shape on the assessment of AS collapse fragility are investigated. To do this, a four-story ductile reinforced concrete (RC) frame structure is employed as the study case. The far-field earthquake records recommended by FEMA P695 are used as AS ground motions. The AS incremental dynamic analyses are performed for the damaged structure. To examine the effect of initial damage paths, a total of six kinds of initial damage paths are adopted to simulate different initial damage states of the structure by pushover analysis and dynamic analysis. For the pushover-based initial damage paths, the structure is "pushed" using either uniform or triangle lateral load pattern to a specified damage state quantified by the maximum inter-story drift ratio. Among the dynamic initial damage paths, one single mainshock ground motion or a suite of mainshock ground motions are used in the incremental dynamic analyses to generate a specified initial damage state to the structure. The results show that the structure collapse capacity is reduced as the increase of initial damage, and the initial damage paths show a significant effect on the calculated collapse capacities of the damaged structure (especially at severe damage states). To account for the effect of AS spectral shape, the AS collapse fragility can be adjusted at different target values of ${\varepsilon}$ by using the linear correlation model between the collapse capacity (in term of spectral intensity) and the AS ${\varepsilon}$ values, and coefficients of this linear model is found to be associated with the initial damage states.

• Advances in biomechanics and applications
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• v.1 no.3
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• pp.169-185
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• 2014

Computational multibody models of the elbow can provide a versatile tool to study joint mechanics, cartilage loading, ligament function and the effects of joint trauma and orthopaedic repair. An efficiently developed computational model can assist surgeons and other investigators in the design and evaluation of treatments for elbow injuries, and contribute to improvements in patient care. The purpose of this study was to develop an anatomically correct elbow joint model and validate the model against experimental data. The elbow model was constrained by multiple bundles of non-linear ligaments, three-dimensional deformable contacts between articulating geometries, and applied external loads. The developed anatomical computational models of the joint can then be incorporated into neuro-musculoskeletal models within a multibody framework. In the approach presented here, volume images of two cadaver elbows were generated by computed tomography (CT) and one elbow by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to construct the three-dimensional bone geometries for the model. The ligaments and triceps tendon were represented with non-linear spring-damper elements as a function of stiffness, ligament length and ligament zero-load length. Articular cartilage was represented as uniform thickness solids that allowed prediction of compliant contact forces. As a final step, the subject specific model was validated by comparing predicted kinematics and triceps tendon forces to experimentally obtained data of the identically loaded cadaver elbow. The maximum root mean square (RMS) error between the predicted and measured kinematics during the complete testing cycle was 4.9 mm medial-lateral translational of the radius relative to the humerus (for Specimen 2 in this study) and 5.30 internal-external rotation of the radius relative to the humerus (for Specimen 3 in this study). The maximum RMS error for triceps tendon force was 7.6 N (for Specimen 3).

• Journal of Aerospace System Engineering
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.16-20
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• 2020

The fatigue happening during the road riding of the vehicle and for the moment the aircraft lands on the runway is closely related to the life cycle of the landing gear, the airframe, the vehicle's suspension, etc. The multiple loads acting on the wheel are longitudinal, lateral, vertical, and braking forces. To study the dynamic characteristics and fatigue stiffness of the vehicle, the dynamic fatigue simulator generally has been used to represent the real road vibration in the lab. It can save time and cost. In hardware, the critical factor in the hydraulic fatigue simulator structure is to decouple each axis and to endure several load vibration. In this paper, the inverse kinematic analysis method derives the magnitude of movement of the hydraulic servo actuator by the coupling after rendering the maximum movement displacement in the axial direction at the center of the dummy wheel. The result of the analysis is that the coupling between the axes is weak to reproduce the real road vibrations precisely.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.10 no.2 s.48
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• pp.11-19
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• 2006

In this paper the seismic performances of 4, 10, and 30-story staggered truss systems (STS) were evaluated by observing the force-displacement relationship up io failure. The results were compared with the seismic performance of conventional moment resisting frames and braced frames. According to the analysis results, the STS showed relatively satisfactory lateral load resisting capability. However, in the mid- to high-rise STS, plastic hinges formed first at the chords were transferred to vertical members of the vierendeel panels, which formed a week link and subsequently leaded to brittle collapse of the structure. Therefore to enhance the ductility of STS it would be necessary to reinforce the vertical bracing members of the virendeel panels so that the plastic hinges, once toned in cord members of a virendeel panel, spread out to virendeel panels of neighboring stories.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.9 no.3 s.43
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• pp.23-32
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• 2005

Torsional behavior of eccentric structure under seismic leading may cause the stress and/or deformation concentration, which arouse the failure of the structure in an unexpected manner. This study suggests D-R relationship which shows the overall displacement and rotation of the system based on the ultimate displacement capacity of the each lateral load resistant member. Using the suggested D-R relationship and displacement spectrum, the seismic assessment is conducted and verified in comparison with the time history analysis result. Multi-level seismic assessment Is considered which takes multiple seismic hazard levels and respective performance levels into account. Finally, based on the seismic assessment result, seismic rehabilitation process is presented. In this research, two rehabilitation methods are considered. One is done by means of stiffening/strengthening the seismic resistant members, and the other is based on the member ductility. Especially, in the first method, to optimize the rehabilitation result, the rehabilitation problem is modeled as an optimization problem, and solved using BFGS quasi-Newton optimization method.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.267-275
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• 2009

This paper presents the p-convergent coupling element on the basis of the ESSE(equivalent single layer shell element) and the PLLE(partial-linear layerwise element) to analyze laminated composite plates. The ESSE is formulated by the degenerated shell theory, on the other hand, the assumption of the PLLE is piecewise linear variation of the in-plane displacement and a constant value of lateral displacement across the thickness. The proposed finite element model is based on p-convergence approach. The integrals of Legendre polynomials and Gauss-Lobatto technique are chosen to interpolate displacement fields and to implement numerical quadrature, respectively. This study has been focused on the verification of p-convergent element. For this purpose, various finite element multiple models associated with the combination of ESSE and PLLE elements are tested to show numerical stability. The simple examples such as a cantilever beam subjected vertical load and a plate with tension are adopted to evaluate the performance of proposed element.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.199-206
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• 2017

This paper analyzed structural behaviors of the staggered truss system, typically used in low seismicity regions, resisting the lateral loads such as wind and seismic load. A comparative study of cost and efficiency was carried out by analysing and designing the 10- and 20-story buildings with various types of truss, including pratt, howe, warren, K-, and vierendeel, which may typically be used in staggered truss system. In design, column and truss members are selected in group, and the efficiency of the member design was judged by average demand capacity ratio of the all members in same group. And economic analysis of the system was investigated by the quantity of the structural members. As a result, staggered truss system with the pratt truss and warren truss showed the most economical and efficient performance for 10-story building, and 20-story building, respectively.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.645-669
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• 2004

In seismic analysis of moment-resisting frames, beam-column connections are often modeled with rigid joint zones. However, it has been demonstrated that, in ductile reinforced concrete (RC) moment-resisting frames designed based on current codes (to say nothing of older non-ductile frames), the joint zones are in fact not rigid, but rather undergo significant shear deformations that contribute greatly to global drift. Therefore, the "rigid joint" assumption may result in misinterpretation of the global performance characteristics of frames and could consequently lead to miscalculation of strength and ductility demands on constituent frame members. The primary objective of this paper is to propose a rational method for estimating the hysteretic joint shear behavior of RC connections and for incorporating this behavior into frame analysis. The authors tested four RC edge beam-column-slab connection subassemblies subjected to earthquake-type lateral loading; hysteretic joint shear behavior is investigated based on these tests and other laboratory tests reported in the literature. An analytical scheme employing the modified compression field theory (MCFT) is developed to approximate joint shear stress vs. joint shear strain response. A connection model capable of explicitly considering hysteretic joint shear behavior is then formulated for nonlinear structural analysis. In the model, a joint is represented by rigid elements located along the joint edges and nonlinear rotational springs embedded in one of the four hinges linking adjacent rigid elements. The connection model is able to well represent the experimental hysteretic joint shear behavior and overall load-displacement response of connection subassemblies.