• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.713-732
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• 2008

Serviceability and durability of the concrete members can be seriously affected by the corrosion of steel rebar. Carbonation front and or chloride ingress can destroy the passive film on rebar and may set the corrosion (oxidation process). Depending on the level of oxidation (expansive corrosion products/rust) damage to the cover concrete takes place in the form of expansion, cracking and spalling or delamination. This makes the concrete unable to develop forces through bond and also become unprotected against further degradation from corrosion; and thus marks the end of service life for corrosion-affected structures. This paper presents an analytical model that predicts the weight loss of steel rebar and the corresponding time from onset of corrosion for the known corrosion rate and thus can be used for the determination of time to cover cracking in corrosion affected RC member. This model uses fully the thick-walled cylinder approach. The gradual crack propagation in radial directions (from inside) is considered when the circumferential tensile stresses at the inner surface of intact concrete have reached the tensile strength of concrete. The analysis is done separately with and without considering the stiffness of reinforcing steel and rust combine along with the assumption of zero residual strength of cracked concrete. The model accounts for the time required for corrosion products to fill a porous zone before they start inducing expansive pressure on the concrete surrounding the steel rebar. The capability of the model to produce the experimental trends is demonstrated by comparing the model's predictions with the results of experimental data published in the literature. The effect of considering the corroded reinforcing steel bar stiffness is demonstrated. A sensitivity analysis has also been carried out to show the influence of the various parameters. It has been found that material properties and their inter-relations significantly influence weight loss of rebar. Time to cover cracking from onset of corrosion for the same weight loss is influenced by corrosion rate and state of oxidation of corrosion product formed. Time to cover cracking from onset of corrosion is useful in making certain decisions pertaining to inspection, repair, rehabilitation, replacement and demolition of RC member/structure in corrosive environment.

• Magazine of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.167-175
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• 1999

Many composite girder bridges have been constructed for about thirty five years. Nowadays they are aged or deteriorated because of the increase in traffic and vehicle loads. In this study, the effect of strengthening with glass fiber sheet is investigated to estimate the possibility for applying to damaged prestressed concrete bridges. One normal and eight cracked specimens which had been preloaded were tested. The cracked specimens were strengthened with either external prestressing or bonding glass fiber sheet, or using both methods. The results showed that the maximum loads are almost same for both methods. So it seems that the strengthening with glass fiber sheet can be used for strengthening damaged prestressed concrete girders. It is important that proper devices should be selected to prevent glass fiber sheet from premature bonding failure below its maximum load, which is similar to end anchorage problem in external prestressing method. It is proved that the devices proposed in this paper have sufficient anchoring capability to increase load carrying capacity.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.52-57
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• 2007

Growth promotion of wild plants by some plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) was examined in the microcosms composed of soils collected separately from a grass-covered site and a nongrass-covered site in a lakeside barren area at Lake Paro, Korea. After sowing the seeds of eight kinds of wild plants and inoculation of several strains of PGPR, the total bacterial number and microbial activity were measured during 5 months of study period, and the plant biomasses grown were compared at the end of the study. Acridine orange direct counts in the inoculated microcosms, $1.3-9.8{\times}10^9\;cells{\cdot}g\;soil^{-1}$ in the soil from the grass-covered area and $0.9-7.2{\times}10^9\;cells{\cdot}g\;soil^{-1}$ in the soil from the nongrass-covered site, were almost twice higher than those in the uninoculated microcosms. The number of Pseudomonas sp., well-known bacteria as PGPR, and the soil dehydrogenase activity were also higher in the inoculated soils than the uninoculated soils. The first germination of sowed seeds in the inoculated microcosm was 5 days earlier than the uninoculated microcosm. Average lengths of all plants grown during the study period were 26% and 29% longer in the inoculated microcosms starting with the grass-covered soil and the nongrass-covered soil, respectively, compared with those in the uninoculated microcosms. Dry weights of whole plants grown were 67-82% higher in the inoculated microcosms than the uninoculated microcosms. Microbial population and activity and growth promoting effect by PGPR were all higher in the soils collected from the grass-covered area than in the nongrass-covered area. The growth enhancement of wild plants seemed to occur by the activities of inoculated microorganisms, and this capability of PGPR may be utilized for rapid revegetation of some barren lands.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea SP
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.76-84
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• 2007

The goal of this paper is to improve the watermarking performance using the following two methods; watermark estimation and low density parity check (LDPC) codes. For a blind watermark decoding, the power of a host image, which is hundreds times greater than the watermark power, is the main noise source. Therefore, a technique that can reduce the effect of the power of the host image to the detector is required. To this end, we need to estimate watermark from the watermarked image. In this paper, the watermark estimation is done by an adaptive estimation method with the generalized Gaussian distribution modeling of sub-band coefficients in the wavelet domain. Since the watermark capacity as well as the error rate can be improved by adopting optimum decoding principles and error correcting codes (ECC), we employ the LDPC codes for the decoding of the estimated watermark. Also, in LDPC codes, the knowledge about the noise power can improve the error correction capability. Simulation results demonstrate the superior performance of the proposed algorithm comparing to LDPC decoding with other estimation-based watermarking algorithms.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.345-360
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• 2020

Modern swarm intelligence heuristic search methods are widely applied in the field of structural health monitoring due to their advantages of excellent global search capacity, loose requirement of initial guess and ease of computational implementation etc. To this end, a hybrid strategy is proposed based on butterfly optimization algorithm (BOA) and differential evolution (DE) with purpose of effective combination of their merits. In the proposed identification strategy, two improvements including mutation and crossover operations of DE, and dynamic adaptive operators are introduced into original BOA to reduce the risk to be trapped in local optimum and increase global search capability. The performance of the proposed algorithm, hybrid butterfly optimization and differential evolution algorithm (HBODEA) is evaluated by two numerical examples of a simply supported beam and a 37-bar truss structure, as well as an experimental test of 8-story shear-type steel frame structure in the laboratory. Compared with BOA and DE, the numerical and experimental results show that the proposed HBODEA is more robust to detect the reduction of stiffness with limited sensors and contaminated measurements. In addition, the effect of search space, two dynamic operators, population size on identification accuracy and efficiency of the proposed identification strategy are further investigated.

• The Journal of Korean Society for School & Community Health Education
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.43-67
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• 2011

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to analyze factors affecting school life adjustment of athletes in middle and high school. Methods: The data in this study came from the survey which conducted to 500 students of physical education high school athletes and elite athletes in general school from the beginning of December 2009 to the end of January 2010 in Seoul and Kyunggi. Finally 436 cases was used. The dependant variable in this study was school life adjustment. And the independent variables were socio-demographic factors, stress and depression factors, social support factors. The analysis methods were T-test, ANOVA, correlation analysis, stepwise multiple regression analysis by using SPSS Ver. 12.0. Results: First, there was a statistically significant result between school life adaptation and sex, family circumstances, life satisfaction variables Second, there was a negative correlation between social support and stress, depression. Third, there was a negative correlation between school life adjustment and some stress factors, all depression factors. Also relationship between school life adjustment and social support showed a positive correlation. Fourth, Taking a look at the impact on school life adjustment, family factors and practical environmental factors in the stress factors and the feeling of worthlessness in the depression factors appeared to influence negatively. Also teachers' support in the social support factors showed positive effects. Explanatory power of the final regression model was 25.6%. Conclusions: The first step in order to improve the school life adjustment of athletes in middle and high school is the teachers' support. Athletes in middle and high school can have capability, responsibility, initiatives through teachers' attention and affection. The effective prevention education and health education programs on stress and depression should be introduced and carried out in the health education programs actively for student athletes to be free from stress, depression.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.78 no.3
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• pp.351-368
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• 2021

This paper, by applying a reliability-based framework, develops seismic vulnerability macrozonation maps for Tehran, the capital and one of the most earthquake-vulnerable city of Iran. Seismic performance assessment of 3-, 4- and 5-story steel moment resisting frames (SMRFs), designed according to ASCE/SEI 41-17 and Iranian Code of Practice for Seismic Resistant Design of Buildings (2800 Standard), is investigated in terms of overall maximum inter-story drift ratio (MIDR) and unit repair cost ratio which is hereafter known as "damage ratio". To this end, Tehran city is first meshed into a network of 66 points to numerically locate low- to mid-rise SMRFs. Active faults around Tehran are next modeled explicitly. Two different combination of faults, based on available seismological data, are then developed to explore the impact of choosing a proper seismic scenario. In addition, soil effect is exclusively addressed. After building analytical models, reliability methods in combination with structure-specific probabilistic models are applied to predict demand and damage ratio of structures in a cost-effective paradigm. Due to capability of proposed methodology incorporating both aleatory and epistemic uncertainties explicitly, this framework which is centered on the regional demand and damage ratio estimation via structure-specific characteristics can efficiently pave the way for decision makers to find the most vulnerable area in a regional scale. This technical basis can also be adapted to any other structures which the demand and/or damage ratio prediction models are developed.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.82 no.1
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• pp.107-120
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• 2022

The bracing members capable of active control against seismic loads to reduce earthquake damage have been widely utilized in construction projects. Effectively reducing the structural damage caused by earthquake events, bracing systems equipped with retrofitting damper devices, which take advantage of the energy dissipation and impact absorption, have been widely used in practical construction sites. Shape Memory Alloys (SMAs) are a new generation of smart materials with the capability of recovering their predefined shape after experiencing a large strain. This is mainly due to the shape memory effects and the superelasticity of SMA. These properties make SMA an excellent alternative to be used in passive, semi-active, and active control systems in civil engineering applications. In this research, a new system in diagonal braces with slit damper combined with SMA is investigated. The diagonal element under the effect of tensile and compressive force turns to shear force in the slit damper and creates tension in the SMA. Therefore, by creating shear forces in the damper, it leads to yield and increases the energy absorption capacity of the system. The purpose of using SMA, in addition to increasing the stiffness and strength of the system, is to create reversibility for the system. According to the results, the highest capacity is related to the case where the ratio of the width of the middle section to the width of the end section (b₁/b) is 1.0 and the ratio of the height of the middle part to the total height of the damper (h₁/h) is 0.1. This is mainly because in this case, the damper section has the highest cross-section. In contrast, the lowest capacity is related to the case where b₁/b=0.1 and the ratio h₁/h=0.8.

• Korean small business review
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.1-30
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• 2021

This study is to analyze the relationship between supply chain resilience antecedent factors, supply chain resilience and business performance. Supply chain integration, risk management activity, and visibility were selected as the preceding factors of supply chain resilience, and the effect of these factors on agility and robustness as supply chain resilience, and the effects of agility and robustness factors on corporate management performance are studied. To this end, a survey was conducted on Korean manufacturing companies, and a total of 124 questionnaires were used for the study. As a result of the testing of the research hypothesis, supply chain integration, risk management activity, and visibility have a positive (+) significant effect on agility and robustness. In addition, agility had a positive (+) effect on corporate management performance. But robustness had a positive (+) effect on corporate management performance, but not significant. In order for manufacturing companies to secure supply chain resilience through such research hypothesis testing, it is necessary to secure supply chain integration, risk management activity, and visibility capabilities. It was confirmed that agility and visibility capability can be linked to corporate management performance. In addition, the overall relationship structure between the preceding factors of supply chain resilience, supply chain resilience, and business performance was presented.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.373-390
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• 1998

35 theses conducted in Korea on the topic of senescence or anti-oxidant were classified on the basis of research methods, animals used for the experiments, and research items. Evaluating these research works with respect to the Free Radical Theory, the following conclusions were reached. 1. Of the 17 theses written in the Oriental medicine aspect, three theses used a single herb, nine theses used a complex prescription, four theses concentrated on the usage of the medicinal acupuncture, and one research paper focused on using scientific components. Common objection of these papers were on the verification of the efficacy of herbs. 2. Of the 18 these written in the Western medicine aspect, five theses used a single drug, seven theses conducted a research on the changes due to senescence, and 6 papers were on variety of topics. The main focus of these works were on the mechanism and pathology related to the senescence rather than on the suppression of senescence. 3. Among the theses written in the Oriental medicine perspective, a total of 48 herbs were utilized. 26 of these herbs has a tonification function on the Kidney. Six out of nine complex prescription mentioned above has a function of tonifying the Kidney. 4. With respect to the research subjects used on the experiments, 8 theses have used Senescence-Accelerated mice, 13 theses have used Sprague-Dawley mice, and remaining 7 papers have used human or other animals. 5. These are the categorization of the research items used: the weight (11) and weight changes of the visceral organs (9), the measurement of the content of peroxide-disease (9), the measurement of enzyme vitality (21), the blood and urine test (10), the experiment concerning immune system (3), the influence on the hepatic capability of metabolizing foreign substance (3), the effect on hepatic cell protection (3), the measurement of both the suppression of Free Radical and ability to create Free Radical (2), the measurement of effect of suppresing MDA(malondialdehyde) (4), the effect of eliminating DPPH Radical (2), and experiements about the functions (2). 6. The rate of vitalization of well known anti-oxidants such as Superoxide dismutase (SOD), Protein-bound SH, Nonprotein-bound SH, Glutathione(GSH), Catalase, and etc. were tested in 17 theses. Considering the conclusions mentioned above, the theses related to the senescence published in Korea elected different animals used for experiments, research items and the methods of research, the end result seems to be a lack of objectivity. Thus, I would argue that research methods to overcome such a deficiency need to be developed systematically.