• Ocean Systems Engineering
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.159-171
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• 2012

Reinforced concrete structures in cold coastal regions are subjected to coupled effects of service load, freeze-thaw cycles and seawater corrosion. This would significantly degrade the performance and therefore shorten the service life of these structures. In the current paper, the mechanical properties of concrete material and the structural behaviour of eccentrically loaded reinforced concrete columns under multiple actions of seawater corrosion, freeze-thaw cycles and persistent load have been studied experimentally. Results show that when exposed to alternating actions of seawater corrosion and freeze-thaw cycles, the compressive strength of concrete decreases with the increased number of freeze-thaw cycles. For reinforced concrete column, if it is only subjected to seawater corrosion and freeze-thaw cycles, the load resistance capacity is found to be reduced by 11.5%. If a more practical service condition of reinforced concrete structures in cold coastal regions is simulated, i.e., the environmental factors are coupled with persistent loading, a rapid drop of 15% - 26.9% in the ultimate capacity of the eccentrically loaded reinforced concrete column is identified. Moreover, it is observed that the increase of eccentric load serves to accelerate the deterioration of column structural behavior.

• The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
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• v.62 no.11
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• pp.1571-1577
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• 2013

Electrical tree structure is one of the most important influencing factors for electrical treeing characteristics in polymers. In this paper, we focused on the structure characteristics of electrical treeing in epoxy resins (original) insulation under different high-frequency voltages (60, 500, 1000Hz). Effects of voltage frequency on the ac electrical treeing phenomena in an epoxy resins were carried out in needle-plate electrode arrangement. To measure the treeing initiation and propagation, and the breakdown rate, constant AC of 10 kV with three different voltage frequencies (60, 500 and 1,000 Hz) was applied to the specimen in needle-plate electrode specimen at $30^{\circ}C$ of insulating oil bath. At 60 Hz, the treeing initiation time was 360 min and the propagation rate was $6.85{\times}10^{-4}mm/min$, and the morphology was dense branch type. As the voltage frequency increased, the treeing initiation time decreased and the propagation rate increased. At 1,000 Hz, the treeing initiation time was 0 min and the propagation rate was $7.81{\times}10^{-2}mm/min$, and the morphology was dense bush type.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.9-15
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• 2001

The low-durability performance of concrete structure occurs by interactive deterioration factors. In particular, carbonation increased with its time elapse is known as the general manner of deterioration characteristics. Recently, the fundamental researches of the carbonation mechanism, besides method and technique for durability improvement of deteriorated structure are advanced actively. So in this paper, alkali-recovery and maintenance performance when the impregnating alkalization agents are used, are compared and examined quantitively with the basis of past proposed study. As a result, alkali-recovery performance be ensured by impregnating alkalization agent on the carbonated concrete which has low pH by accelerated carbonation test. And alkali maintenance performance was effected by the finishing materials on the alkali recovered concrete.

• International Journal of Concrete Structures and Materials
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.79-93
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• 2013

One of the biggest problems affecting bridges is the transverse cracking and deterioration of concrete bridge decks. The causes of early age cracking are primarily attributed to plastic shrinkage, temperature effects, autogenous shrinkage, and drying shrinkage. The cracks can be influenced by material characteristics, casting sequence, formwork, climate conditions, geometry, and time dependent factors. The cracking of bridge decks not only creates unsightly aesthetic condition but also greatly reduces durability. It leads to a loss of functionality, loss of stiffness, and ultimately loss of structural safety. This investigation consists of field, laboratory, and analytical phases. The experimental and field testing investigate the early age transverse cracking of bridge decks and evaluate the use of sealant materials. The research identifies suitable materials, for crack sealing, with an ability to span cracks of various widths and to achieve performance criteria such as penetration depth, bond strength, and elongation. This paper also analytically examines the effect of a wide range of parameters on the development of cracking such as the number of spans, the span length, girder spacing, deck thickness, concrete compressive strength, dead load, hydration, temperature, shrinkage, and creep. The importance of each parameter is identified and then evaluated. Also, the AASHTO Standard Specification limits liveload deflections to L/800 for ordinary bridges and L/1000 for bridges in urban areas that are subject to pedestrian use. The deflection is found to be an important parameter to affect cracking. A set of recommendations to limit the transverse deck cracks in bridge decks is also presented.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
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• 2001.11a
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• pp.781-786
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• 2001

The Salt attack is one of the primary factors that cause the deterioration of durability in steel reinforced concrete structure. And to depreciate the deterioration from the Salt attack in concrete structure, pozzolanic materials are used widely in recent years. In this study, experiments about the resistance of chloride infiltration of concrete according to the replacement rations of Activated Hwangtoh and various pozzolanic materials(silica fume, fly ash, blast furnace slag and non Activated/Activated Hwangtoh) are performed and the results of this study were shown as follows; 1) As the replacement ratios of Activated Hwangtoh were getting higher, the strength of concrete was increased and in case of various pozzolanic materials, strength of Activated Hwangtoh in specimen was better than that of fly ash, blast furnace slag and non Activated Hwangtoh. 2) As the replacement ratios of Activated Hwangtoh were getting higher, the resistance of chloride infiltration of concrete was increased and in case of various pozzolanic materials, silica fume is better than any other pozzolanic materials and Activated Hwangtoh was better than that of fly ash, blast furnace slag and non Activated Hwangtoh.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.151-159
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• 2018

Maintenance activities are regarded as a key part of the repairable deteriorating system because they maintain the equipment in good condition. In practice, many maintenance policies are used in engineering fields to reduce unexpected failures and slow down the deterioration of the system. However, in traditional maintenance policies, maintenance activities have often been assumed to be performed at the same time interval, which may result in higher operational costs and more system failures. Thus, this study presents two non-periodic preventive maintenance (PM) policies for repairable deteriorating systems, employing the failure rate of the system as a conditional variable. In the proposed PM models, the failure rate of the system was restored via the failure rate reduction factors after imperfect PM activities. Operational costs were also considered, which increased along with the operating time of the system and the frequency of PM activities to reflect the deterioration process of the system. A numerical example was provided to illustrate the proposed PM policy. The results showed that PM activities performed at a low failure rate threshold slowed down the degradation of the system and thus extended the system lifetime. Moreover, when the operational cost was considered in the proposed maintenance scheme, the system replacement was more cost-effective than frequent PM activities in the severely degraded system.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.102-109
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• 2015

In this study, on the basis of the results of the field survey and the theoretical consideration for Korean Standard Specification for concrete durability and maintenance, the following conclusions are derived. From the survey, the prediction equation of carbonation depth for the southwest region in Korea is experimentally proposed, $y_p=5.865{\sqrt{t}}$, which predicts about 60mm of the carbonation depth for the concrete structures of 100 years, a 1st class of target endurance period, under a combined deterioration environment like a marine environment. Considering that the marginal value for a carbonation depth limitation under very severely marine environment is 25mm, in accordance with the Specification, it is found that the predicting carbonation depth for the concrete cover depths, 100mm and 60mm are 63mm and 29.4mm, respectively. In conclusion, according to the equation and the Specification, it is strongly required that the reinforced concrete structures with the cover depth under 100mm have to make a protection from combined deterioration factors by any methods like a surface coating, an increment of cover depth or an application of a special concrete.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.573-582
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• 2017

Chloride-induced cover cracking will aggravate the performance deterioration for RC structures under the chlorideladen environment, which may endanger the safety of structures and occupants. Traditional design method cannot ensure that a definite performance is satisfied. To overcome the defects, a study on the performance-based design method was carried out in this paper. Firstly, the limit state functions were established for the corrosion initiation and cover cracking. Thereafter, the uncertainty analysis was performed to study the effects of random factors on the time-dependent performances. Partial factor formulae were deduced through the first-order reliability method for performance verification. Finally, an illustrative example was presented and the sensitivity of cover depth to other parameters was carried out. It is found that the uncertainties of the random variables have great effects on the required cover depth. It is demonstrated that the performance-based design method can ensure that the target performance can be satisfied and support to formulate a rational maintenance and repair strategy for RC structures under the chloride environment.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.61-68
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• 2017

Bridge decks are members that rapidly deteriorated due to various environmental factors such as heavy vehicle and deicing salt, etc. As the lifespan of bridges built in Korea increases, it is expected that the demand for replacing the deteriorated bridge decks will increase. In other countries, Accelerated Bridge Construction technology using precast decks is already actively being used as a countermeasure for replacement demand of deteriorated bridge decks. In this study, bridge decks deterioration models are proposed by collecting and analysing the condition index data of domestic bridge decks. Also, the future replacement demands of deteriorated bridge decks in terms of replacement time and replacement scale are predicted.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.24-31
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• 1993

The long term clinical results following valve replacement with Hancock and Carpentier-Edwards bioprostheses were compared between tow valve models and between tow groups totaling 249 patients who were discharged after valve replacement from 1976 to 1986. The two groups of patients were treated with nonrandomized fashion. Follow-up was 87% complete. Cummulative duration of follow-up was 1909 patient-years, with maximum follow-up duration of 15 years. The actuarial survival for 122 patients with Hancock valves was 95.2%[\ulcornerstandard deviation] and 84.4% after 5 and 10 years of follow-up, respectively. Comparable figures for 127 patients undergoing valve replacement with Carpentier-Edwards valves were 87.3% and 76.4%, respectively[p=NS]. The probability of freedom from structural valve deterioration after 5 and 10 years of follow-up was 97.2% and 60.6%, respectively, with Hancock valves and 97.2% and 55.7%, respectively, with Carpentier-Edwards valves[p=NS]. Considering all 249 patients, multivariate [Cox model] regression revealed that ejection fraction was only significant predictor of structural valve deterioration. The probability of freedom from thromboembolism after 5 and 10 years of follow-up was 91.3% and 86.4%, respectively, with Hancock valves and 94.2% and 82.5%, respectively, with Carpentier-Edwards valves[p=NS]. Hence more strict control of anticoagulation should be done on patients with left atrial factors. In summary, there were no significant differences in actuarial survival rate and major valve related complications between tow valve models. These results suggests that its use should be confined to older patients or patients with a contraindication of anticoagulation.