In seismic design, hollow section concrete columns offer advantages by reducing the weight and seismic mass compared to concrete section RC bridge columns. However, the flexure-shear behavior and spirals strain of hollow section concrete columns are not well-understood. Octagonal RC bridge columns of a small-scale model were tested under cyclic lateral load with constant axial load. The volumetric ratio of the transverse spiral hoop of all specimens is 0.00206. The test results showed that the structural performance of the hollow specimen, such as the initial crack pattern, initial stiffness, and diagonal crack pattern, was comparable to that of the solid specimen. However, the lateral strength and ultimate displacement of the hollow specimen noticeably decreased after the drift ratio of 3%. The columns showed flexure-shear failure at the final stage. Analytical and experimental investigations are presented in this study to understand a correlation confinement steel ratio with neutral axis and a correlation between the strain of spirals and the shear resistance capacity of steel in hollow and solid section concrete columns. Furthermore, shear strength components (Vc, Vs., Vp) and concrete stress were investigated.
The Ministry of the Interior and Safety in Korea developed seismic fragility function for various building types in 2009. Damage states for most building types were determined by structural analyses of sample models and foreign references because actual cases damaged by earthquakes rarely exist in Korea. Low-rise, piloti-type buildings showed severe damage by brittle failure in columns due to insufficient stirrup details in the 2017 Pohang earthquake. Therefore, it is necessary to improve damage state criteria for piloti-type buildings by consulting actual outcomes from the earthquake. An analytical approach was conducted by developing analysis models of sample buildings reflecting insufficient stirrup details of columns to accomplish the purpose. The result showed that current spectral displacements of damage states for piloti-type buildings might be too large to estimate actual fragility. When the brittle behavior observed in the earthquake is reflected in the analysis model, one-fourth through one-sixth of current spectral displacements of damage states may be appropriate for existing low-rise, piloti-type buildings.
Many Korean domestic masonry structures constructed since 1970 have been found to be vulnerable to earthquakes because they lack efficient lateral force resistance. Many studies have shown that the brick and mortar suddenly experience brittle fracture and out-of-plane collapse when they reach the inelastic range. This study evaluated the seismic retrofitting of non-reinforced masonry with Hybrid Super Coating (HSC) and Cast, manufactured using glass fiber. Four types of specimen original specimen (BR-OR), one layered HSC (BR-HS-O), two-layered HSC (BR-HS-B), one layered HSC, and Cast (BR-CT-HS-O) were constructed and analyzed using compression, flexural tensile, diagonal compression, and triplet tests. The specimen responses were presented and discussed in load-displacement curves, maximum strength, and crack propagation. The compressive strength of the retrofit specimens slightly increased, while the flexural tensile strength of the retrofit specimens increased significantly. In addition, the HSC and Cast also produced a considerable increase in the ductile response of specimens before failure. Diagonal compression test results showed that HSC delayed brittle cracks between the mortar and bricks and resulted in larger displacement before failure than the original brick. The triplet test results confirmed that the bonding strength of the retrofit specimens also increased. The application of HSC and Cast was found to restrain the occurrence of brittle failure effectively and delayed the collapse of masonry wall structures.
The spatial variation characteristics of seismic motions at the nuclear power plant's site and structures were analyzed using earthquake records obtained at the Fukushima nuclear power plant during the Great East Japan Earthquake. The ground responses amplified as they approached the soil surface from the lower rock surface, and the amplification occurred intensively at about 50 m near the ground. Due to the soil layer's nonlinear characteristics caused by the strong seismic motion, the ground's natural frequency derived from the response spectrum ratio appeared to be smaller than that calculated from the shear wave velocity profile. The spatial variation of the peak ground acceleration at the ground surface of the power plant site showed a significant difference of about 0.6 g at the maximum. As a result of comparing the response spectrums at the basement of the structure with the design response spectrum, there was a large variability by each power plant unit. The difference was more significant in the Fukushima Daiichi site record, which showed larger peak ground acceleration at the surface. The earthquake motions input to the basement of the structure amplified according to the structure's height. The natural frequency obtained from the recorded results was lower than that indicated in the previous research. Also, the floor response spectrum change according to the location at the same height was investigated. The vertical response on the foundation surface showed a significant difference in spectral acceleration depending on the location. The amplified response in the structure showed a different variability depending on the type of structure and the target frequency.