• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.207-213
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• 2012

The present study examined the effects of krill-derived phosphatidylserine (Krill-PS) on the learning and memory function and the neural activity in rats with trimethyltin (TMT)-induced memory deficits. The rats were administered vehicle (medium-chain triglyceride: MCT) or Krill-PS (50, 100 mg/kg, p.o.) daily for 21 days. The cognitive improving efficacy of Krill-PS in TMT-induced amnesic rats was investigated by assessing the Morris water maze test and by performing choline acetyltransferase (ChAT), acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and cAMP responsive element binding protein (CREB) immunohistochemistry. The rats with TMT injection showed impaired learning and memory of the tasks and treatment with Krill-PS produced a significant improvement of the escape latency to find the platform in the Morris water maze at the $2^{nd}$ and $4^{th}$ day compared to that of the MCT group (p<0.05). In the retention test, the Krill-PS+MCT groups showed increased time spent around the platform compared to that of the MCT group. Consistent with the behavioral data, Krill-PS 50+MCT group significantly alleviated the loss of acetylcholinergic neurons in the hippocampus and medial septum compared to that of the MCT group. Treatment with Krill-PS significantly increased the CREB positive neurons in the hippocampal CA1 area as compared to that of the MCT group. These results suggest that Krill-PS may be useful for improving the cognitive function via regulation of cholinergic marker enzyme activity and neural activity.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.1-39
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• 2016

The finite element method (FEM), discrete element method (DEM), and Discontinuous deformation analysis (DDA) are among the standard numerical techniques applied in computational geo-mechanics. However, in some cases there no possibility for modelling by traditional finite analytical techniques or other mesh-based techniques. The solution presented in the current study as a completely Lagrangian and mesh-free technique is smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH). This method was basically applied for simulation of fluid flow by dividing the fluid into several particles. However, several researchers attempted to simulate soil-water interaction, landslides, and failure of soil by SPH method. In fact, this method is able to deal with behavior and interaction of different states of materials (liquid and solid) and multiphase soil models and their large deformations. Soil indicates different behaviors when interacting with water, structure, instrumentations, or different layers. Thus, study into these interactions using the mesh based grids has been facilitated by mesh-less SPH technique in this work. It has been revealed that the fast development, computational sophistication, and emerge of mesh-less particle modeling techniques offer solutions for problems which are not modeled by the traditional mesh-based techniques. Also it has been found that the smoothed particle hydrodynamic provides advanced techniques for simulation of soil materials as compared to the current traditional numerical methods. Besides, findings indicate that the advantages of applying this method are its high power, simplicity of concept, relative simplicity in combination of modern physics, and particularly its potential in study of large deformations and failures.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.70 no.4
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• pp.381-394
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• 2019

If an alternative path would not be considered for redistribution of loads, local failure in structures will be followed by a progressive collapse. When a vertical load-bearing element of a steel structure fails, the beams connected to it will lose their support. Accordingly, an increase in span's length adds to the internal forces in beams. The mentioned increasing load in beams leads to amplifying the moments there, and likewise in their corresponding connections. Since it is not possible to reinforce all the elements of the structure against this phenomenon, it seems rational to use other technics like specified strengthened connections. In this study, a novel connection is suggested to handle the stated phenomenon which is introduced as a passive connection. This connection enables the structure to tolerate the added loads after failing of the vertical element. To that end, two experimental models were constructed and thereafter tested in half-scale, one-story, double-bay, and bolted connections in three-dimensional spaces. This experimental study has been conducted to compare the ductility and strength of a frame that has ordinary rigid connections with a frame containing a novel passive connection. At last, parametric studies have been implemented to optimize the dimensions of the passive connection. Results show that the load-bearing capacity of the frame increased up to 75 percent. Also, a significant decrease in the displacement of the node wherein the column is removed was observed compared to the ordinary moment resisting frame with the same loads.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.467-482
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• 2020

This research focused on analyzing the post-fire behavior of high-performance concrete-filled steel tube (CFST) columns, with the concrete containing tire rubber and steel fibers, under axial compressive loading. The finite element (FE) modeling of such heated columns containing recycled aggregate is a branch of this field which has not received the proper attention of researchers. Better understanding the post-fire behavior of these columns by measuring their residual strength and deformation is critical for achieving the minimum repair level required for structures damaged in the fire. Therefore, to develop this model, 19 groups of confined and unconfined specimens with the variables including the volume ratio of steel fibers, tire rubber content, diameter-to-thickness (D/t) ratio of the steel tube, and exposure temperature were considered. The ABAQUS software was employed to model the tested specimens so that the accurate behavior of the FE-modeled specimens could be examined under test conditions. To achieve desirable results for the modeling of the specimens, in addition to the novel procedure described in this research, the modified versions of models presented by previous researchers were also utilized. After the completion of modeling, the load-axial strain and load-lateral strain relationships, ultimate strength, and failure mode of the modeled CFST specimens were evaluated against the test data, through which the satisfactory accuracy of this modeling procedure was established. Afterward, using a parametric study, the effect of factors such as the concrete core strength at different temperatures and the D/t ratio on the behavior of the CFST columns was explored. Finally, the compressive strength values obtained from the FE model were compared with the corresponding values predicted by various codes, the results of which indicated that most codes were conservative in terms of these predictions.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.465-479
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• 2021

One of the important causes of building and infrastructure failure, such as bridges on pile foundations, is the placement of the piles in liquefiable soil that can become unstable under seismic loads. Therefore, the overarching aim of this study is to investigate the seismic behavior of a soil-pile system in liquefiable soil using three-dimensional numerical FEM analysis, including soil-pile interaction. Effective parameters on concrete pile response, involving the pile diameter, pile length, soil type, and base acceleration, were considered in the framework of finite element non-linear dynamic analysis. The constitutive model of soil was considered as elasto-plastic kinematic-isotropic hardening. First, the finite element model was verified by comparing the variations on the pile response with the measured data from the centrifuge tests, and there was a strong agreement between the numerical and experimental results. Totally 64 non-linear time-history analyses were conducted, and the responses were investigated in terms of the lateral displacement of the pile, the effect of the base acceleration in the pile behavior, the bending moment distribution in the pile body, and the pore pressure. The numerical analysis results demonstrated that the relationship between the pile lateral displacement and the maximum base acceleration is non-linear. Furthermore, increasing the pile diameter results in an increase in the passive pressure of the soil. Also, piles with small and big diameters are subjected to yielding under bending and shear states, respectively. It is concluded that an effective stress-based ground response analysis should be conducted when there is a liquefaction condition in order to determine the maximum bending moment and shear force generated within the pile.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.41 no.5
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• pp.761-773
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• 2021

This study presents a 3D non-linear finite element (FE) assessment of dynamic soil-structure interaction (SSI). The numerical investigation has been performed on the time domain through a Finite Element (FE) system, while considering the nonlinear behavior of soil and the multi-directional nature of genuine seismic events. Later, the FE outcomes are analyzed to the recorded in-situ free-field and structural movements, emphasizing the numerical model's great result in duplicating the observed response. In this work, the soil response is simulated using an isotropic hardening elastic-plastic hysteretic model utilizing HSsmall. It is feasible to define the non-linear cycle response from small to large strain amplitudes through this model as well as for the shift in beginning stiffness with depth that happens during cyclic loading. One of the most difficult and unexpected tasks in resolving soil-structure interaction concerns is picking an appropriate ground motion predicted across an earthquake or assessing the geometrical abnormalities in the soil waves. Furthermore, an artificial neural network (ANN) has been utilized to properly forecast the non-linear behavior of soil and its multi-directional character, which demonstrated the accuracy of the ANN based on the RMSE and R² values. The total result of this research demonstrates that complicated dynamic soil-structure interaction processes may be addressed directly by passing the significant simplifications of well-established substructure techniques.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.381-386
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• 2022

This paper details the analytical and experimental studies performed to propose a steel damper based on the flexural yielding mechanism. The damper is composed of a set of damping plates that are designed to yield in flexure. The comparison of experimental and finite element analysis results indicate that the analytical approach adopted in this study should be appropriate to perform sensitivity studies on the geometries of the damping plates. Although the damper is originally proposed to work based on the flexural mechanism, it is observed that the contribution of the tensile behavior of the damping plate could be considerable. As the thickness of the damping plate increases, the plastic energy due to the flexural yield increases. As the thickness of the damping plate decreases, the contribution of the tensile behavior increases, and the shape of the hysteresis loop distorts.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.451-471
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• 2022

In the present paper, the static bending and buckling responses of functionally graded carbon nanotubes-reinforced composite (FG-CNTRC) beam under various boundary conditions are investigated within the framework of higher shear deformation theory. The significant feature of the proposed theory is that it provides an accurate parabolic distribution of transverse shear stress through the thickness satisfying the traction-free boundary conditions needless of any shear correction factor. Uniform (UD) and four graded distributions of CNTs which are FG-O, FG-X, FG- and FG-V are selected here for the analysis. The effective material properties of FG-CNTRC beams are estimated according to the rule of mixture. To model the FG-CNTRC beam realistically, an efficient Hermite-Lagrangian finite element formulation is successfully developed. The accuracy and efficiency of the present model are demonstrated by comparison with published benchmark results. Moreover, comprehensive numerical results are presented and discussed in detail to investigate the effects of CNTs volume fraction, distribution patterns of CNTs, boundary conditions, and length-to-thickness ratio on the bending and buckling responses of FG-CNTRC beam. Several new referential results are also reported for the first time which will serve as a benchmark for future studies in a similar direction. It is concluded that the FG-X-CNTRC beam is the strongest beam that carries the lowest central deflection and is followed by the UD, V, Λ, and FG-O-CNTRC beam. Besides, the critical buckling load belonging to the FG-X-CNTRC beam is the highest, followed by UD and FG-O.

• Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
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• 2004.07c
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• pp.2014-2016
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• 2004

In order to obtain a low-loss ferroelectric phase shifter, the reflection-type phase shifter with ferroelectric defected ground structure (DGS) resonators has been designed in this paper. The proposed phase shifter is consist of a 3-dB $90^{\circ}$ branch-line hybrid coupler and terminated reflective circuit with tunable ferroelectric DGS resonator. The ferroelectric DGS unit structure can provide high Q resonator characteristic at high frequencies. The design parameters of equivalent circuit for the tunable DGS resonator are derived by using simple circuit analysis method and three-dimensional full wave finite element method. The fabricated phase shifter has an insertion loss of better than 3.4dB at 13.5GHz.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.151-176
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• 2017

This paper deals with general equations of motion for free vibration analysis response of thick three-layer doubly curved sandwich panels (DCSP) under simply supported boundary conditions (BCs) using higher order shear deformation theory. In this model, the face sheets are orthotropic laminated composite that follow the first order shear deformation theory (FSDT) based on Rissners-Mindlin (RM) kinematics field. The core is made of orthotropic material and its in-plane transverse displacements are modeled using the third order of the Taylor's series extension. It provides the potentiality for considering both compressible and incompressible cores. To find these equations and boundary conditions, Hamilton's principle is used. Also, the effect of trapezoidal shape factor for cross-section of curved panel element ($1{\pm}z/R$) is considered. The natural frequency parameters of DCSP are obtained using Galerkin Method. Convergence studies are performed with the appropriate formulas in general form for three-layer sandwich plate, cylindrical and spherical shells (both deep and shallow). The influences of core stiffness, ratio of core to face sheets thickness and radii of curvatures are investigated. Finally, for the first time, an optimum range for the core to face sheet stiffness ratio by considering the existence of in-plane stress which significantly affects the natural frequencies of DCSP are presented.