In order to increase seismic performance of nuclear power plant (NPP) in strong seismic zone, lead-rubber bearing (LRB) can be applied to seismic isolation system of NPP structures. Simple equivalent linear model as structural analysis model of LRB is more widely used in initial design process of LRB than a bilinear model. Seismic responses for seismically isolated NPP containment structures subjected to earthquakes categorized into 5 different soil-site classes are calculated by both of the equivalent linear- and bilinear- LRB models and compared each others. It can be observed that the maximum displacements of LRB and shear forces of containment in the case of the equivalent linear LRB model are larger than those in the case of bilinear LRB model. From the seismic fragility curves of NPP containment structures isolated by LRB, it can be observed that seismic fragility in the case of equivalent linear LRB model are about 5~30 % larger than those in the case of bilinear LRB model.
For small-size reinforce-concrete buildings, Midas Gen, OpenSees, and Perform-3D, which are structural analysis programs that are most popularly used at present, were applied for nonlinear static pushover analysis, and then difference between those programs was analyzed. Example buildings were limited to 2-story frames only and frames with one or more rectangular walls. Analysis results showed that there was not much difference for frames only based on capacity curves. There were some differences for frames with rectangular walls, but it was not so significant. The global behaviors represented by the capacity curve were not so different, but the feature of each analysis program appeared when the results were analyzed in more detail. Therefore, the program users should understand the feature of the program well, and then conduct performance assessment. The result of this study is limited to low-story frames only and frames with rectangular walls so that it should be noted that it is possible to get different results for frames with non-rectangular walls or mid- to high-rise buildings.
For small-size reinforce-concrete buildings, Midas Gen, OpenSees, and Perform-3D, which are structural analysis programs that are most popularly used at present, were applied for nonlinear static pushover analysis, and then difference between those programs was analyzed. Example buildings were limited to 2-story frames with irregular shaped walls. Analysis result showed that there were more differences than for frames only and frames with rectangular walls, but it was not so significant. Nevertheless, the capacity curve were different in some buildings, which is attributed to shape and location of walls, and feature of the analysis program. Especially, selection of automatic or manual input in Midas Gen, or nonlinear wall elements in Perform3D can affect the capacity curve and performance of the buildings. Therefore, the program users should understand the feature of the program well, and then conduct performance assessment. The result of this study is limited to low-story buildings so that it should be noted that it is possible to get different results for mid- to high-rise buildings.
Reinforced concrete shear walls are effective for resisting lateral loads imposed by wind or earthquakes. Observed damages of the shear wall in recent earthquakes in Chile(2010) and New Zealand(2011) exceeded expectations. Various analytical models have been proposed in order to incorporate such response features in predicting the inelastic response of RC shear walls. However, the model has not been implemented into widely available computer programs, and has not been sufficiently calibrated with and validated against extensive experimental data at both local and global response levels. In this study, reinforced concrete shear walls were modeled with fiber slices, where cross section and reinforcement details of shear walls can be arranged freely. Nonlinear analysis was performed by adding nonlinear shear spring elements that can represent shear deformation. This analysis result will be compared with the existing experiment results. To investigate the nonlinear behavior of reinforced concrete shear walls, reinforced concrete single shear walls with rectangular wall cross section were selected. The analysis results showed that the yield strength of the shear wall was approximately the same value as the experimental results. However, the yielding displacement of the shear wall was still higher in the experiment than the analysis. The analytical model used in this study is available for the analysis of shear wall subjected to high axial forces.
This paper briefly introduces the design seismic loads in Korea (KBC 2009). Then, over 10,000 recorded earthquake ground accelerograms, with their magnitude ranging from 4.0 to 8.0 and their epicentral distance ranging from 0 to 200 km, were used to examine the appropriateness of seismic load defined in Korea known as a low-to-moderate seismicity region. The following conclusions are drawn based on the results: (1) The effective peak ground accelerations (EPA) of recorded earthquake accelerograms under M ≤ 6.0 and R ≥15 km appear to be less than that of MCE in Korea for all site conditions defined in KBC 2009. (2) The design spectrum (two-thirds of the intensity of MCE) in KBC 2009 is comparable to those of earthquake records in the magnitude 6 - 7 and the epicentral distance less than 50 km. Therefore, (3) the intensity of Korean design earthquake is considered to be overly high since the Korea peninsula is generally conceived to be a low-seismicity region.