This study quantitatively evaluates the effects of embankment height and input excitation frequency on crest settlement—a key damage indicator—for railway embankments founded on liquefiable ground. Dynamic numerical analyses were conducted using FLAC2D, based on the cross-section adopted in a previous 1-g shaking table test. The parametric study considered four embankment heights (0, 2, 4, and 6 m) and three input frequencies (0.8, 2.5, and 5.0 Hz). To simulate liquefaction in the foundation soil, the PM4Sand constitutive model was employed within an effective-stress framework. Model validity was first examined by comparing computed time histories of excess pore-water pressure, acceleration, and settlement with experimental results, and by confirming qualitative agreement with observed settlement trends across different embankment heights. The results show that crest settlement does not increase monotonically with embankment height; instead, it reaches a maximum and then decreases beyond a critical range. The largest settlement occurs when the embankment height is approximately 15~25% of the liquefiable layer thickness. This behavior reflects the competition between increased overburden pressure, which enhances liquefaction resistance beneath the embankment, and amplified lateral spreading, which increases permanent deformation. Although excitation frequency influences settlement, its effect is smaller than that of embankment height.

This study evaluates ground-motion (GM) acceleration conversion methods by applying them to strain-rate data from a horizontal Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) array under both idealized and real-world conditions. We test four conversion methods—1) slant-stacking, 2) Lior’s method, 3) Lindsey’s method, and 4) Curvelet transform—through numerical modeling and by applying them to a publicly available 9 km horizontal DAS array dataset. Numerical simulations reveal critical calculation factors specific to each method and show that numerically derived apparent ground velocity can deviate from theoretical values when multiple elastic waves arrive simultaneously. In real-world applications, the slant-stacking and Lior’s methods are relatively insensitive to the measurement length of the straight DAS array. By contrast, the Curvelet method exhibits strong sensitivity to this factor, whereas Lindsey’s method shows weaker dependence. Implementing Lior’s method in the frequency-wavenumber domain also requires pre-determining water-levels by comparing adjacent seismograms. Additionally, we find that Lior’s method generates excessively high spectral levels above 13 Hz, which may lead to underestimation of the high-frequency spectral attenuation parameter (κ0), a key parameter in GM simulation. Collectively, these findings provide a technical guideline for the use of horizontal DAS arrays in future observational earthquake seismology.

This study establishes a structured development procedure for a non-ergodic ground motion model (GMM) and applies it to Korean seismic records to evaluate uncertainty reduction. The proposed framework includes data screening based on signal-to-noise ratio, residual computation relative to NGA-East predictions, identification of systematic trends, and stepwise correction of site, magnitude, and distance effects. A total of 368 records from 16 earthquakes (Mw ≥ 4.0) observed at 53 stations were analyzed. The residuals exhibited clear VS30-dependent trends, particularly at short periods (–0.2 s). Period-dependent VS₃₀ correction terms were derived through linear regression, with additional corrections for magnitude and distance applied when sufficient data were available. Spectral comparisons for the 2016 Gyeongju and 2017 Pohang earthquakes demonstrated improved agreement after calibration. The stepwise corrections resulted in a consistent reduction of total standard deviation across periods, with the largest decrease observed near 0.1 s. These results indicate that the proposed development procedure provides a practical pathway for transitioning from ergodic to partially non-ergodic modeling and effectively reduces aleatory uncertainty for Korean seismic hazard applications.

유연한 지반 위에 놓인 비정착식 원통형 액체저장탱크의 지진응답을 바닥판의 들림을 고려하여 산정하기 위한 유한요소 해석기법 을 개발한다. 지반-구조물 상호작용력과 저장 액체 동수압력을 재료 및 기하 비선형 거동을 고려한 구조물의 비선형 유한요소 모형과 결합한다. 구조물과 지반 사이의 들림을 모사하기 위해 인장에 대해서는 강성을 무시할 수 있는 비선형 스프링 요소를 사용한다. 개발 된 비선형 유한요소 모델을 사용하여 지진지반운동이 작용하는 액체저장탱크의 지진응답을 정밀히 산정한다. 구조물의 재료 및 기 하 비선형 거동을 고려하면 구조물 벽체의 응력이 크게 증가하여 소성 응답이 증가하지만, 바닥 들림까지 고려하게 되면 구조물 바닥 이 자유롭게 들리게 됨으로써 구조물의 응력과 소성 응답이 크게 감소하게 된다. 그러므로 구조물의 재료 및 기하 비선형 거동 뿐만이 아니라 구조물과 지반 접촉면의 분리(바닥 들림)와 같은 경계 비선형 거동을 엄밀히 고려하여 비정착 유체-구조물-지반 상호작용계 의 지진응답을 정확히 산정해야 할 것이다.

본 연구는 벨로우즈 신축이음관이 적용된 매립 배관 시스템의 국부적인 지반침하에 따른 구조적 거동을 분석하고, 지반 및 배관의 재료 특성 변화가 시스템 성능에 미치는 영향을 평가하였다. 이를 위해 실험 기반의 고충실도 유한요소 모델을 구축하였고, 단조 휨 하중 실험 결과와 비교하여 모델을 검증하였다. 이후 지반침하 폭, 지반 및 배관의 구성재료에 대한 탄성계수를 주요 변수로 설정하여 지반-구조물 상호작용을 고려한 비선형 유한요소 해석을 수행하였다. 해석 결과, 지반침하 폭이 증가함에 따라 배관 시스템의 지지부 손실 및 상부 하중 증가로 인해 벨로우즈 부위에 변형과 응력이 집중되었다. 침하 폭이 3600 mm에서 8400 mm로 증가할 경우 최대 응력은 약 111%, 축력은 약 85% 증가하였다. 지반의 탄성계수 변화는 최대 응력 및 축력에 각각 최대 23%, 12%의 영향을 미쳤으며, 특히 느슨한 지반일수록 응력 증가가 두드러졌다. 반면, 배관 및 벨로우즈의 탄성계수 변화는 최대 7% 미만의 영향만을 미쳐, 배관 및 벨로우즈의 재료특성은 구조적 거동에 비교적 낮은 민감도를 보였다. 본 연구는 지반침하에 따른 매립 배관 시스템의 구조적 응답을 정량적으로 평가할 수 있는 기초 자료를 제공하며, 향후에는 매립 깊이, 배관 직경 등 추가 변수에 대한 민감도 분석과 머신러닝 기반의 구조 응답 예측 모델 개발로 확장할 예정이다.

지하 매설 수도관은 연약지반의 지반침하, 도심지의 부등침하, 싱크홀 등에 의한 허용한계를 초과하는 지반영구변형에 의해 손상이 발생할 수 있다. 지반변형으로부터 수도관을 보호하기 위한 관이음의 사용으로 수도시설의 안전성 확보가 요구된다. 따라서 매립 수도관의 과도 지반변형에 대한 안전성 평가를 위하여 다중적층형 벨로우즈를 신축관 이음으로 적용한 수도 배관시스템을 제작하 였다. 제작된 배관시스템의 굽힘 및 처짐에 대한 변형 성능 확인을 위하여 4점 굽힘 시험을 수행하였다. 4점 굽힘 시험 결과를 바탕으 로 국내 연약지반 모델을 고려하여 KS D ISO 16134에 따라 지반변형에 대한 안전성을 평가하였다. 안전성 평가 결과 다중적층형 벨로우즈 신축관 이음의 지반변형에 대한 성능은 매우 우수한 것으로 평가되었다.

Seismic design and risk assessment require input ground motions that accurately reflect both the seismic intensity associated with the target hazard level and the regional seismic characteristics of Korea. In this study, a scenario earthquake was defined through seismic hazard deaggregation. Due to the lack of recorded ground motions in Korea for this particular scenario, a finite fault was modeled. Seed ground motions related to the scenario earthquake were generated using the empirical Green’s function method, based on the 912 Gyeongju earthquake. During the spectral matching process, the convergence of the spectrum used for ground motion selection and the target Uniform Hazard Spectrum (UHS) was analyzed. This analysis led to the proposal of specific spectral conditions for selecting ground motions. The final set of input ground motions was then applied in time-history analyses of a nuclear power plant containment structure to assess its seismic response characteristics. The analysis results demonstrate that the proposed ground motion generation procedure applies to the development of ground motions in regions with moderate seismicity.

펄스형 지진이 비펄스형 지진보다 구조물에 보다 큰 손상을 유발하는 것으로 알려져 있다. 펄스형 지진으로부터 속도펄스를 추출 하면 펄스주기를 평가할 수 있는데, 55개의 펄스형 지진기록을 선정하여 펄스 주기를 평가하고 펄스 주기에 따라서 세 그룹으로 구분 하였다. 펄스 주기를 달리하는 따른 세 개의 지진그룹에 대하여 가속도, 속도, 변위에 대한 평균 응답스펙트럼을 비교한 결과, 펄스 주 기와 펄스주기에 대응하는 주기영역에서의 응답스펙트럼은 밀접한 연관성이 있음을 알 수 있었다. 펄스형 지진의 펄스주기가 교량 의 지진취약도에 미치는 영향을 분석하기 위하여, 세 가지 지진그룹의 펄스주기와 유사한 고유주기를 가지는 세 가지 교량모델을 작 성하여 지진취약도 해석을 수행하였다. 교량의 고유 주기와 펄스형 지진의 펄스 주기가 서로 유사할수록, 교량의지진취약도가 증가 함을 알 수 있다. 즉, 두 주기 간의 유사성이 증가할수록, 교량의 비탄성 응답이 증가하며 이에 따른 구조적 손상이 크게 증가한다고 할 수 있다.

본 연구에서는 지반-구조물 상호작용(SSI, Soil-Structure Interaction) 해석에서 계산 효율성과 해석 정확성을 동시에 확보하기 위해 철근 콘크리트 기둥의 단순 모델링 기법과 PML(Perfectly Matched Layer) 요소를 결합한 방법을 제안하였다. 단순 모델링 기법은 상 세모델과 비교하였을 때 강성 및 고유진동수 차이가 1% 이내로 나타나 구조물의 정적 및 동적 거동을 효과적으로 모사할 수 있음을 확인하였다. PML 요소를 적용한 SSI 해석은 반무한지반 모델 대비 계산 영역을 1/5로 줄이고, 해석 시간을 7% 수준으로 단축하면서 도 기둥의 고유진동수가 동일하게 나타났다. 이를 통해 PML 요소가 계산 비용을 대폭 줄이면서도 해석 결과의 정확성을 유지할 수 있음을 확인하였다.

Early warnings have been developed to provide rapid earthquake information, allowing people to prepare as much time as possible. However, since it takes several seconds for an earthquake warning to be issued, the blind zone is inevitable. To reduce the blind zone, information from a single observatory is used to operate an on-site earthquake warning. However, false and missed alarms are still high, requiring continued research and validation. This study predicted Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA) using the characteristic data to reduce false and missed alarms in on-site earthquake warnings. A machine learning prediction model was created using the initial P-wave parameters developed from the characteristic data to achieve this. Then, the model was used to predict the maximum ground acceleration in the southeastern region of the Korean Peninsula. The expected results for six target earthquakes were confirmed to have a standard deviation within 0.3 compared to the observed PGA and the values within ±2 sigma. This method is expected to help develop an on-site early warning system for earthquakes.

While the subduction zone earthquakes have long ground motion durations, the effects are also not covered in seismic design provisions. Additionally, the collapse risk of steel frame buildings subjected to long-duration ground motions from subduction earthquakes remains poorly understood. This paper presents the influence of ground motion duration on the collapse risk of steel frame buildings with special concentrically braced frames in chevron configurations. The steel buildings considered in this paper are designed at a site in Seattle, Washington, according to the requirements of modern seismic design provisions in the United States. For this purpose, the nonlinear dynamic analyses employ two sets of spectrally equivalent long and short-duration ground motions. Based on the use of high-fidelity structural models accounting for both geometric and material nonlinearities, the estimated collapse capacity for the modern code-compliant steel frame buildings is, on average, approximately 1.47 times the smaller value when considering long-duration ground motion record, compared to the short-duration counterpart. Due to the sensitivity to destabilizing P-Delta effects of gravity loads, the influence of ground motion duration on collapse risk is more profound for medium-to-high-rise steel frame buildings compared to the low-rise counterparts.

There are now many seismic observatory stations, excluding the acceleration monitoring network for infrastructures, of more than 300 operated by several public and governmental organizations across South Korea. The features of the site and properties of the stations were not investigated, and they have been assumed or guessed to estimate the site-specific seismic responses during the 2016 Gyeongju and 2017 Pohang earthquake events. For these reasons, various and intensive geotechnical and geophysical investigations have been conducted to quantify the site characteristics at 15 seismic stations selected in southeastern Korea. The VS profiles were, at first, obtained by performing only a downhole seismic test (DHT) at 7 stations, and were compared with those from a surface wave method. Then, the shear wave velocity (VS) profiles were deduced by combining three types of in situ seismic methods composed of a cross-hole seismic test, DHTs, and full-waveform sonic loggings at the 8 other stations, especially to complement the application limits of DHT and reduce the depth-dependent uncertainty in VS profile. The representative site characteristic profiles for each station regarding VS and VP with borehole stratigraphy and density were determined based on robust investigations. Various site parameters related to seismic responses at the seismic stations of interest were obtained for the site-specific geotechnical information, which would be useful to earthquake engineering practices.

Being in a stable continental region (SCR) with a limited history of instrumentation, South Korea has not collected sufficient instrumental data for data-driven ground motion models. To address this limitation, we investigated the suitability of the hybrid ground motion simulation method that Graves and Pitarka (2010, 2015) proposed for simulating earthquake ground motions in South Korea. The hybrid ground motion simulation method used in this study relies on region-specific parameters to accurately model phenomena associated with the seismic source and the wave propagation. We initially employed relevant models and parameters available in the literature as a practical approach. We incorporated a three-dimensional velocity model developed by Kim et al. (2017) and a one-dimensional velocity model presented by Kim et al. (2011) to account for the crustal velocity structure of the Korean peninsula. To represent the earthquake source, we utilized Graves and Pitarka’s rupture generator algorithm along with a magnitude-area scaling relationship developed for SCR by Leonard (2014). Additionally, we assumed the stress and attenuation parameters based on studies of regional seismicity. Using the implemented platform, we simulated the 2016 Mw5.57 Gyeongju earthquake and the 2017 Mw5.4 Pohang earthquake. Subsequently, we compared results with recorded accelerations and an empirical ground motion prediction equation at strong motion stations. Our simulations had an overall satisfactory agreement with the recorded ground motions and demonstrated the potential of broadband hybrid ground motion simulation for engineering applications in South Korea. However, limitations remain, such as the underestimation of long-period ground motions during the 2017 Pohang earthquake and the lack of a model to predict the ground motion amplification associated with the near-surface site response accurately. These limitations underscore the importance of careful validation and refinement of region-specific models and parameters for practically implementing the simulation method.

In stable continental regions, selecting appropriate ground motions for seismic design and dynamic response analysis presents significant challenges. This study evaluates the liquefaction potential of the Nakdonggang delta region, South Korea, by generating synthetic ground motion scenarios and applying a scenario-based liquefaction assessment approach. We utilized a hybrid broadband ground motion simulation method proposed by Graves and Pitarka (2010, 2015) to create bedrock ground motions for three hypothetical earthquakes (Mw 6.2 and 6.0) occurring along the Dongrae and Miryang faults. The generated synthetic ground motions were used as input for onedimensional nonlinear site response analyses, incorporating shear wave velocity profiles derived from surface wave inversion. The simulated ground motions demonstrated higher responses at short periods and relatively weaker responses at long periods compared to the Korean design spectra. This amplification of long-period components was attributed to the dynamic response of deep sedimentary layers, while high-frequency components were generally deamplified due to damping effects in shallow silty layers. Liquefaction susceptibility was assessed using surface ground motions derived from the site response analyses, following the SPT-based simplified method proposed by Idriss and Boulanger (2008). Results indicated high liquefaction potential across most sites for the Dongrae earthquake scenario, while liquefaction was unlikely for all sites under the Miryang-1 scenario. For the Miryang-2 scenario, liquefaction was predicted at some sites. Overall, liquefaction is expected at PGA values of approximately 0.13 g or higher, with sites exhibiting lower shear wave velocities being more vulnerable to liquefaction

The damage to structures during an earthquake can be varied depending on the frequency characteristics of seismic waves and the geological properties of the ground. Therefore, considering such attributes in the design ground motions is crucial. The Korean seismic design standard (KDS 17 10 00) provides design response spectra for various ground classifications. If required for time-domain analysis, ground motion time series can be either selected and adjusted from motions recorded at rock sites in intraplate regions or artificially synthesized. Ground motion time series at soil sites should be obtained from site response analysis. However, in practice, selecting suitable ground motion records is challenging due to the overall lack of large earthquakes in intraplate regions, and artificially synthesized time series often leads to unrealistic responses of structures. As an alternative approach, this study provides a case study of generating ground motion time series based on the hybrid broadband ground motion simulation of selected scenario earthquakes at sites in the Nakdonggang delta region. This research is significant as it provides a novel method for generating ground motion time series that can be used in seismic design and response analysis. For large-magnitude earthquake scenarios close to the epicenter, the simulated response spectra surpassed the 1000-year design response spectra in some specific frequency ranges. Subsequently, the acceleration time series at each location were used as input motions to perform nonlinear 1D site response analysis through the PySeismoSoil Package to account for the site response characteristics at each location. The results of the study revealed a tendency to amplify ground motion in the mid to long-period range in most places within the study area. Additionally, significant amplification in the short-period range was observed in some locations characterized by a thin soil layer and relatively high shear wave velocity soil near the upper bedrock.

Accurate seismic vulnerability assessment requires high quality and large amounts of ground motion data. Ground motion data generated from time series contains not only the seismic waves but also the background noise. Therefore, it is crucial to determine the high-pass cut-off frequency to reduce the background noise. Traditional methods for determining the high-pass filter frequency are based on human inspection, such as comparing the noise and the signal Fourier Amplitude Spectrum (FAS), f2 trend line fitting, and inspection of the displacement curve after filtering. However, these methods are subject to human error and unsuitable for automating the process. This study used a deep learning approach to determine the high-pass filter frequency. We used the Mel-spectrogram for feature extraction and mixup technique to overcome the lack of data. We selected convolutional neural network (CNN) models such as ResNet, DenseNet, and EfficientNet for transfer learning. Additionally, we chose ViT and DeiT for transformer-based models. The results showed that ResNet had the highest performance with R2 (the coefficient of determination) at 0.977 and the lowest mean absolute error (MAE) and RMSE (root mean square error) at 0.006 and 0.074, respectively. When applied to a seismic event and compared to the traditional methods, the determination of the high-pass filter frequency through the deep learning method showed a difference of 0.1 Hz, which demonstrates that it can be used as a replacement for traditional methods. We anticipate that this study will pave the way for automating ground motion processing, which could be applied to the system to handle large amounts of data efficiently.