• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.413-421
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• 2020

For steel-concrete girders made composite using shear studs, initial damage on studs induced by weld defect, unexpected overloading, fatigue and others might degrade the service performance and even threaten the structural safety. This paper conducted a numerical study to investigate the static behavior of damaged stud shear connectors that were embedded in ultra high performance concrete (UHPC). Parameters included damage degree and damage location. The material nonlinear behavior was characterized by multi-linear stress-strain relationship and damage plasticity model. The results indicated that the shear strength was not sensitive to the damage degree when the damage occurred at 2/3d (d is the stud diameter) from the stud root. An increased stud area would be engaged in resisting shear force as the distance of damage location from stud root increased and the failure section becomes inclined, resulting in a less reduction in the shear strength and shear stiffness. The reduction factor was proposed to consider the degradation of the shear strength of the damaged stud. The reduction factor can be calculated using two approaches: a linear relationship and a square relationship with the damage degree corresponding to the shear strength dominated by the section area and the nominal diameter of the damaged stud. It was found that the proposed method is preferred to predict the shear strength of a stud with initial damage.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.75 no.6
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• pp.747-769
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• 2020

This paper provides a semi-analytical approach to investigate the variations of 3D displacement components, electric potential, stresses, electric displacements and transverse vibration frequencies in laminated piezoelectric composite plates based on the scaled boundary finite element method (SBFEM) and the precise integration algorithm (PIA). The proposed approach can analyze the static and dynamic responses of multilayered piezoelectric plates with any number of laminae, various geometrical shapes, boundary conditions, thickness-to-length ratios and stacking sequences. Only a longitudinal surface of the plate is discretized into 2D elements, which helps to improve the computational efficiency. Comparing with plate theories and other numerical methods, only three displacement components and the electric potential are set as the basic unknown variables and can be represented analytically through the transverse direction. The whole derivation is built upon the three dimensional key equations of elasticity for the piezoelectric materials and no assumptions on the plate kinematics have been taken. By virtue of the equilibrium equations, the constitutive relations and the introduced set of scaled boundary coordinates, three-dimensional governing partial differential equations are converted into the second order ordinary differential matrix equation. Furthermore, aided by the introduced internal nodal force, a first order ordinary differential equation is obtained with its general solution in the form of a matrix exponent. To further improve the accuracy of the matrix exponent in the SBFEM, the PIA is employed to make sure any desired accuracy of the mechanical and electric variables. By virtue of the kinetic energy technique, the global mass matrix of the composite plates constituted by piezoelectric laminae is constructed for the first time based on the SBFEM. Finally, comparisons with the exact solutions and available results are made to confirm the accuracy and effectiveness of the developed methodology. What's more, the effect of boundary conditions, thickness-to-length ratios and stacking sequences of laminae on the distributions of natural frequencies, mechanical and electric fields in laminated piezoelectric composite plates is evaluated.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.86 no.1
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• pp.119-137
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• 2023

The purpose of this research is to assess the performance of CBN and ceramic tools during the dry turning of gray cast iron EN GJL-350. During the turning operation, the variable machining parameters are cutting speed, feed rate, depth of cut and type of the cutting material. This contribution consists of two sections, the first one deals with the performance evaluation of four materials in terms of evolution of flank wear, surface roughness (2D and 3D) and cutting forces. The focus of the second section is on statistical analysis, followed by modeling and optimization. The experiments are conducted according to the Taguchi design L₃₂ and based on ANOVA approach to quantify the impact of input factors on the output parameters, namely, the surface roughness (Ra), the cutting force (Fz), the cutting power (Pc), specific cutting energy (Ecs). The RSM method was used to create prediction models of several technical factors (Ra, Fz, Pc, Ecs and MRR). Subsequently, the desirability function approach was used to achieve a multi-objective optimization that encompasses the output parameters simultaneously. The aim is to obtain optimal cutting regimes, following several cases of optimization often encountered in industry. The results found show that the CBN tool is the most efficient cutting material compared to the three ceramics. The optimal combination for the first case where the importance is the same for the different outputs is Vc=660 m/min, f=0.116 mm/rev, ap=0.232 mm and the material CBN. The optimization results have been verified by carrying out confirmation tests.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.91 no.2
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• pp.211-225
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• 2024

Soft bending actuators have gained significant interest in robotic applications due to their compliance and lightweight nature. Their compliance allows for safer and more natural interactions with humans or other objects, reducing the risk of injury or damage. However, the nonlinear behaviour of soft actuators presents challenges in accurately predicting their bending motion and force exertion. In this research, a new comprehensive study has been conducted by employing a developed 3D finite element model (FEM) to investigate the effect of geometrical and material parameters on the bending behaviour of a soft pneumatic actuator reinforced with Kevlar fibres. A series of experiments are designed to validate the FE model, and the FE model investigates the improvement of actuator performance. The material used for fabricating the actuator is RTV-2 silicone rubber. In this study, the Cauchy stress was expanded for hyperelastic models and the best model to express the stress-strain behaviour based on ASTM D412 Type C tensile test for this material has been obtained. The results show that the greatest bending angle was achieved for the semi-elliptical actuator made of RTV2 material with a pitch of 1.5 mm and second layer thickness of 1 mm. In comparison, the maximum response force was obtained for the semi-elliptical actuator made of RTV2 material with a pitch of 6 mm and a second layer thickness of 2 mm. Additionally, this research opens up new possibilities for development of safer and more efficient robotic systems that can interact seamlessly with humans and their environment.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.287-297
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• 2014

Heat of hydration of mass concrete is one of the most important factors that significantly affect structural quality and construction period. Therefore, appropriate methods to control heat of hydration are essential technologies for mass concrete construction. In this study, probability of thermal cracking was checked by thermal analysis prior to the construction of a turbine foundation in a domestic power plant. Subsequently, changes of concrete mix proportion and an effective curing method were proposed to control heat of hydration of mass concrete structures. Concrete manufactured by slag cement was proposed instead of concrete produced by ordinary Portland cement, and an automated curing method was proposed to improve the curing method using typical moist curing with blanket. The automated curing method maintains the temperature difference between center and surface of concrete below a setting value by temperature monitoring. Concrete with slag cement was used for actual construction. One of two identical turbine foundations was cured by an insulated curing method, and the other was cured by the automated curing method to compare the curing methods. And then, the effects of control of heat of hydration were evaluated based on temperature/strain monitoring and crack investigations.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.983-993
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• 2021

Objective: To investigate the image quality of ultralow-dose CT (ULDCT) of the chest reconstructed using a cycle-consistent generative adversarial network (CycleGAN)-based deep learning method in the evaluation of pulmonary tuberculosis. Materials and Methods: Between June 2019 and November 2019, 103 patients (mean age, 40.8 ± 13.6 years; 61 men and 42 women) with pulmonary tuberculosis were prospectively enrolled to undergo standard-dose CT (120 kVp with automated exposure control), followed immediately by ULDCT (80 kVp and 10 mAs). The images of the two successive scans were used to train the CycleGAN framework for image-to-image translation. The denoising efficacy of the CycleGAN algorithm was compared with that of hybrid and model-based iterative reconstruction. Repeated-measures analysis of variance and Wilcoxon signed-rank test were performed to compare the objective measurements and the subjective image quality scores, respectively. Results: With the optimized CycleGAN denoising model, using the ULDCT images as input, the peak signal-to-noise ratio and structural similarity index improved by 2.0 dB and 0.21, respectively. The CycleGAN-generated denoised ULDCT images typically provided satisfactory image quality for optimal visibility of anatomic structures and pathological findings, with a lower level of image noise (mean ± standard deviation [SD], 19.5 ± 3.0 Hounsfield unit [HU]) than that of the hybrid (66.3 ± 10.5 HU, p < 0.001) and a similar noise level to model-based iterative reconstruction (19.6 ± 2.6 HU, p > 0.908). The CycleGAN-generated images showed the highest contrast-to-noise ratios for the pulmonary lesions, followed by the model-based and hybrid iterative reconstruction. The mean effective radiation dose of ULDCT was 0.12 mSv with a mean 93.9% reduction compared to standard-dose CT. Conclusion: The optimized CycleGAN technique may allow the synthesis of diagnostically acceptable images from ULDCT of the chest for the evaluation of pulmonary tuberculosis.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.50-55
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• 2018

Earthquakes are almost impossible to predict and take place in a short time. In addition, there is little time to take aggressive action when an earthquake occurs. Therefore, there are more casualties and property damage than with other natural disasters. Recently, earthquakes have been occurring all over the world. As the number of earthquakes increase, studies on the safety of structures are being carried out. On the other hand, there are few studies on the electric facilities, which are relatively non - structural factors. Currently, electrical equipment in Korea is often not designed for earthquake safety and is quite vulnerable to damage when an earthquake occurs. Therefore, in this study, modeling was conducted through ABAQUS similar to an actual cabinet panel and 3D dynamic nonlinear analysis was performed using a natural seismic. According to seismic zone I and normal ground rock conditions of the power transmission and transmission facility seismic design practical guide, the maximum response acceleration of the performance level was 0.157g. In this study, however, it was not safe to reach the limit state of 30% of the analytical result at 0.1g for the general cabinet panel. From the results, the seismic fragility curve was derived and analyzed. The derived seismic fragility curve is presented as a quantitative basis for determining the limit state of the cabinet panel and can be utilized as basic data in related research.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.531-539
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• 2017

The strut-tie model approach has been recognized as an efficient methodology for the design of all types of concrete members with D-regions, and the approach has been accepted in design codes globally. However, the design of concrete members with the approach requires many iterative numerical structural analyses, numerous graphical calculations, enormous times and efforts, and designer's subjective decisions in terms of the development of appropriate strut-tie model, determination of required areas of struts and ties, and verification of strength conditions of struts and nodal zones. In this study, a computer graphics program, that enables the design of concrete members efficiently and professionally by overcoming the forementioned limitations of the strut-tie model approach, is developed. In the computer graphics program, the numerical programs that are essential in the strut-tie model analysis and design of concrete members including finite element analysis programs for the plane truss and solid problems with all kinds of boundary conditions, a program for automatic determination of effective strengths of struts and nodal zones, and a program for graphical verification of developed strut-tie model's appropriateness by displaying various geometrical shapes of struts and nodal zones, are loaded. Great efficiency and convenience during the application of the strut-tie model approach may be provided by the various graphics environment-based functions of the proposed program.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.77-89
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• 2020

Submerged floating tunnel (SFT) is a type of tunnel that allows tunnel segments to float underwater by buoyancy, and is being actively studied in recent years. When the submerged floating tunnel is connected to the ground, the tunnel and the bored tunnel inside the ground must be connected. There is risk that the stress will be concentrated at the connection between the two tunnels due to the different constraints and behavior of the two tunnels. Therefore, special design and construction methods should be applied to ensure the stability around the connection. However, previous studies on the stability at the connection site have not been sufficiently carried out, so study on the basic stage of the stability at connection site are necessary. In this study, numerical analysis simulating the connection between submerged floating tunnel and the bored tunnel confirmed that the shear strain concentration occurred in the ground around the connection, and it was analyzed that the structural factors can be handled during construction to have effects on the stability of the ground around the connection. Numerical results show that the risks from disproportionate displacements in the two tunnels can be mitigated through the construction of grouting material and joint design. Although the results from this study are qualitative results, it is expected that it will contribute to the determination of structural factors and risk areas that should be considered in the design of connections between the submerged floating tunnel and bored tunnel in the future studies.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.73-81
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• 2024

This study compared the cortical thickness of patients with mood disorders and a control group to assess structural abnormalities. A retrospective study was conducted from September 2020 to August 2022 at the Department of Psychiatry, P Hospital in Yangsan, Gyeongsangnam-do. The study included 44 individuals diagnosed with mood disorders and 59 healthy individuals without any pathological lesions. The 3D-T1 MPRAGE images obtained from magnetic resonance imaging examinations were utilized, and FreeSurfer software was employed to measure cortical thickness. Statistical analysis involved independent samples t-tests to measure the differences in means between the two groups, and Cohen's d test was used to compare the effect sizes of the differences. Furthermore, the correlation between the measured average cortical thickness and Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale scores was analyzed. The research results revealed that patients with mood disorders exhibited decreased cortical thickness compared to the normal control group in both superior frontal regions, both rostral middle frontal regions, both caudal middle frontal regions, both pars opercularis, pars orbitals, pars triangularis regions, both superior temporal regions, both inferior temporal regions, both lateral orbitofrontal regions, both medial orbitofrontal regions, both fusiform regions, both posterior cingulate regions, both isthmus cingulate regions, both superior parietal regions, both inferior parietal regions, both supramarginal regions, left postcentral region, right bank of the superior temporal sulcus region, right middle temporal region, right rostral anterior cingulate region, and right insula region. Among them, regions that showed differences with effect sizes of 0.8 or higher were left fusiform (d=0.82), pars opercularis (d=0.94), superior frontal (d=0.88), right lateral orbitofrontal (d=0.85), and pars orbitalis (d=0.89). Additionally, there was a weak negative correlation between PANSS scores and average cortical thickness in both the left hemisphere (r=-0.234) and right hemisphere (r=-0.230). These findings are expected to be helpful in identifying areas of cortical thickness reduction in patients with mood disorders compared to healthy individuals and understanding the relationship between symptom severity and cortical thickness changes.