• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.455-480
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• 2015

In the last decade, displacement-based (DB) methods have become established design procedures for reinforced concrete (RC) structures. They use strain and displacement measures as seismic performance control parameters. As for other simplified seismic design methods, it is of great interest to prove if they are usually conservative in respect to more refined, nonlinear, time history analyses, and can estimate design parameters with acceptable accuracy. In this paper, the current Direct Displacement-Based Design (DDBD) procedure is evaluated for designing simple single degree of freedom (SDOF) systems with specific reference to simply supported RC bridge piers. Using different formulations proposed in literature for the equivalent viscous damping and spectrum reduction factor, a parametric study is carried out on a comprehensive set of SDOF systems, and an average error chart of the method is derived allowing prediction of the expected error for an ample range of design cases. Following the chart, it can be observed that, for the design of actual RC bridge piers, underestimation errors of the DDBD method are very low, while the overestimation range of the simplified displacement-based procedure is strongly dependent on design ductility.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.43-52
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• 2015

A small-scale electro-dialysis system was constructed for domestic use. It is composed of six compartments in which five special polystyrene ionic membranes are housed. A series of experiments on the transport of sodium and chloride ions through polystyrene membranes was performed and the effects of electric current and voltage on the pH of water were investigated. This electrodialyser could reduce the NaCl content to an acceptable level (5307 mg/L) when water containing 9945 mg/L of sodium chloride is fed to the electrodialyser. The reduction was by the action of direct current 60 mA/100 mA when a 15 V / 20 V potential is maintained across the membrane. The results showed that the pH of the treated water attained a value in the range of 7-8, with the chloride concentration of 5307 mg/L when the voltage was in the range of 20 volts. This was achieved when two of the small-scale electro-dialysers were placed in series and the solutions from the respective compartments were mixed. This is considered useful because this complies to the requirement of drinking water standard both in terms of chloride and pH. Therefore, this type electrodialyserhas the potential for domestic uses in isolated houses where potable water supply is not available.

• Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.1326-1336
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• 2018

This paper proposes a numerical approach to predict the critical flashover voltages of air gaps under lightning impulses. For an air gap, the impulse voltage waveform features and electric field features are defined to characterize its energy storage status before the initiation of breakdown. These features are taken as the input parameters of the predictive model established by support vector machine (SVM). Given an applied voltage range, the golden section search method is used to compute the prediction results efficiently. This method was applied to predict the critical flashover voltages of rod-rod, rod-plane and sphere-plane gaps over a wide range of gap lengths and impulse voltage waveshapes. The predicted results coincide well with the experimental data, with the same trends and acceptable errors. The mean absolute percentage errors of 6 groups of test samples are within 4.6%, which demonstrates the validity and accuracy of the predictive model. This method provides an effectual way to obtain the critical flashover voltage and might be helpful to estimate the safe clearances of air gaps for insulation design.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.808-814
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• 2010

Purpose: The sunken chest deformity without breast asymmetry is not a rare condition encountered in augmentation mammaplasty. Therefore, failure to recognize the deformity and improper surgical plan will lead to a suboptimal result. The authors review the experience of breast augmentation in simple sunken chest patient based on retrospectively collected data. Methods: From January, 2008 to January, 2009, patients with simple sunken chest underwent endoscopic submuscular augmentation mammaplasty through axilla, using silicone implants. Patient demographics were queried and outcomes were assessed. Results: Eleven patients (22 breasts) were followed up for 8.2 months after surgery. Sunken chests were augmented with implant size of approximately 248.9 cc (range: 213~286 cc) and contralateral chest with 211.4 cc (range: 180~235 cc). Simultaneous camouflaging the chest wall depression with breast augmentation resulted in good aesthetic outcome. All of the patients were satisfied with the surgery. There were no complications among all patients. Conclusion: We have demonstrated proper surgical planning with precise implant selection to optimize results in patients with small breast and simple sunken chest. Even though asymmetry still remains after the operation, it is still considered as acceptable.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.77-87
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• 1998

This paper deals with the effect of laser welding parameters on the weld formation. Thin steels for automotive application were prepared so as to be welded with high power carbon dioxide laser system. Major process parameters were position of focus and travel speed. The effect of shielding gas was also discussed by employing the high speed photometry. Test results showed that the optimal position of focus varied in accordance with the joint configuration; bead-on-plate, butt or lap welding. It was recommended that the position of focus for the lap welding be located at slightly inner part of the material to be welded. In this case, however, it was noticeable that the weld penetration ratio, d/t$_{0}$ dropped drastically at the critical region. Results also demonstrated that both the bead width and penetration reduced as the travel speed increased. The penetration ratio showed two distinct regions; stabilized zone at the lower range of the travel spped and sudden drop zone at the higher range of travel speed. Lower limit of the penetration for acceptable weld was proved to be about 90% of the parent metal thickness based on the physical properties of the weld. Mixed gas application for both the shielding of molten metal and laser induced plasma control was recommended as far as the penetration was concerned.d.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.52-62
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• 1998

Laser beam welding of zinc-coated steel, especially lap joints, has a problem of zinc vapor produced during welding which has a low vaporization temperature of 906.deg. C. It is lower than the melting temperature of steel (1500.deg. C). The high pressure formed by vaporization of zinc during laser welding splatters the molten pool and creates porosities in weld. During laser lap welds of zinc-coated steel sheets with CW CO$_{2}$ laser the gap size has been analyzed and simulated using a FEM. The simulation has been carried out in the range of gap aetween 0 and 0.16 mm. The vaporized zinc gas has effected to prevent heat from conducting toward the bottom of sheets. In vaporized zinc gas has effected to prevent heat from conducting toward the bottom of sheets. In the case of too small gap size, zinc gas has not ejected and existed between two sheets. Therefore heat was difficult to conduct from the upper sheet to lower sheet and the upper sheet could over-melted. In the case of large gap size the zinc gas has been prefectly ejected but only a part of lower sheet has melted. The optimum range of gap size in the lap welds of zinc-coated steel sheets has been calculated to be between 0.08 and 0.12 mm. According to the comparison of experiment, the simulation is proved to be acceptable and applicable to laser lap welds.

• Clinics in Shoulder and Elbow
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.37-39
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• 2019

Irreducible dislocation of the elbow is an uncommon event. We present the case of a posterolateral elbow dislocation after a fall injury in a 67-year-old woman. A closed reduction performed in the emergency department was unsuccessful since the limited passive range of motion resulted in difficulty to perform longitudinal traction and flexion. Computed tomography images showed that the posterolateral aspect of the capitellum was impacted by the tip of the coronoid process, thus appearing similar to the Hill-Sachs lesion in the humeral head. Subsequent open reduction of the elbow revealed the dislocation to be irreducible since the tip of the coronoid process had wedged into a triangular Hill-Sachs-like lesion in the capitellum. The joint was reduced by providing distal traction on the forearm, and main fragments were disengaged using digital pressure. At the 3-month follow-up, the patient reported no dislocations, and had an acceptable range of motion. Thus, we propose that to avoid iatrogenic injury to the joint or other nearby structures, irreducible dislocations should not be subjected to repeated manipulation.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.51 no.1
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• pp.293-302
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• 2019

Many researches have been done to develop and improve the performance of personal (individual) dosimeter response to cover a wide of neutron energy range (from thermal to fast). Depending on the individual category of the dosimeter, the semiconductor sensor has been used to simplify and lightweight. In this plan, it's very important to have a fairly accurate counting of doses rate in different energies. With a general design and single-sensor simulations, all optimal thicknesses have been extracted. The performance of the simulation scheme has been compared with the commercial and laboratory samples in the world. Due to the deviation of all dosimeters with a flat energy response, in this paper, has been used an idea of one semi-conductor sensor to have the flat energy-response in the entire neutron energy range. Finally, by analyzing of the sensors data as arrays for the first time, we have reached a nearly flat and acceptable energy-response. Also a comparison has been made between Lucite-PMMA ($H_5C_5O_2$) and polyethylene-PE ($CH_2$) as a radiator and $B_4C$ has been studied as absorbent. Moreover, in this paper, the effect of gamma dose in the dosimeter has been investigated and shown around the standard has not been exceeded.

• Journal of Technologic Dentistry
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.126-131
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• 2022

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the quality of dental fixed prostheses fabricated by 3DP (three-dimensional printing). Methods: Ten main models were prepared for the study. Ten specimens were printed by 3DP (3DP group). Ten specimens were fabricated by the lost wax technique and casting method to complete the control group (LWC group). The marginal fit was measured for 20 specimens. The measurement of marginal fit was performed using the silicon replica technique. Finally, the marginal fit of 10 specimens from each group was calculated. An independent sample t-test was run to see if the calculated averages for the two groups were mutually significant (α=0.05). Results: According to the experimental results, the mean marginal fit of the 3DP group was 71.9 ㎛, and the LWC group was 55.3 ㎛. The means of the two groups were found to be significantly different (p<0.001) in the results of the independent sample t-test. Conclusion: The marginal fit of fixed dental prostheses produced by 3DP technology was examined with values greater than those fabricated by traditional technology. However, as it appeared to be a value within the range of clinically acceptable range recommended by numerous studies, it was determined that clinical application would be feasible.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.4
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• pp.1254-1266
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• 2024

This study investigates the application of supercritical carbon dioxide (S-CO₂) direct-cycle micro modular reactors (MMRs) in primary frequency control (PFC), which is a scenario characterized by significant load fluctuations that has received less attention compared to secondary load-following. Using a modified GAMMA + code and a deep neural network-based turbomachinery off-design model, the authors conducted an analysis to assess the behavior of the reactor core and fluid system under different PFC scenarios. The results indicate that the acceptable range for sudden relative electricity output (REO) fluctuations is approximately 20%p which aligns with the performance of combined-cycle gas turbines (CCGTs) and open-cycle gas turbines (OCGTs). In S-CO₂ direct-cycle MMRs, the control of the core operates passively within the operational range by managing coolant density through inventory control. However, when PFC exceeds 35%p, system control failure is observed, suggesting the need for improved control strategies. These findings affirm the potential of S-CO₂ direct-cycle MMRs in PFC operations, representing an advancement in the management of grid fluctuations while ensuring reliable and carbon-free power generation.