• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
• /
• v.20 no.3
• /
• pp.261-266
• /
• 2010

Human body is hard to be in perfect balance during walking. Most of time the trunk is supported by one leg and the center of mass(COM) falls to the contralateral side. Thus, dynamic variables such as the velocity of the COM should be considered when gait stability is evaluated. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the extrapolated center of mass(XCom) which utilized the COM position and its velocity, is appropriate to evaluate gait stability. Ten healthy adults participated in this study and performed 3 different types of gaits(normal(NG), hands on waists(HWG), and hands on shoulders(HSG)) onto 4 different types of obstacle(obstacle height: 0%, 30%, 40% and 50% of leg length). Medio-lateral Com-CoP and XCom-CoP inclination angle were calculated during support phase. For all condition, greater M-L XCoM-CoP inclination angles were found(p<.05) compared with those of matched obstacle height CoM-CoP. Especially, M-L XCoM-CoP inclination angle at 50% height revealed the best condition for monitoring dynamic stability. Significantly increased in M-L XCoM-CoP inclination angle was found(p<.05) as obstacle height increased on NG and HWG.

• Water Engineering Research
• /
• v.5 no.4
• /
• pp.195-206
• /
• 2004

This paper deals with oxygen transfer by air entrainment and energy dissipations by flow characteristics at the stepped drop structure. Nappe flow occurred at low flow rates and for relatively large step height. Dominant flow features included an air pocket, a free-falling nappe impact and a subsequent hydraulic jump on the downstream step. Most energy was dissipated by nappe impact and in the downstream hydraulic jump. Skimming flow occurred at larger flow rates with formation of recirculating vortices between the main flow and the step comers. Oxygen transfer was found to be proportional to the flow velocity, the flow discharge, and the Froude number. It was more related to the flow discharge than to the Froude number. Energy dissipations in both cases of nappe flow and skimming flow were proportional to the step height and were inversely proportional to the overflow depth, and were not proportional to the step slope. The stepped drop structure was found to be efficient for water treatment associated with substantial air entrainment and for energy dissipation.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
• /
• v.5 no.2
• /
• pp.137-144
• /
• 2016

This paper discusses the economics of skyscraper construction in Manhattan since 1990. First the paper reviews the economic theory of skyscraper height. Next it documents the frequency and heights of skyscraper construction in the last 25 years. Then the paper reviews the relative movements of office rents, condominium prices, and construction costs. Statistical results suggest that the resurgence of Manhattan's skyscraper construction is being driving by the rise in the average price of apartments, and is not being driven by rising office rents or falling construction costs. Statistical evidence shows that the height premium has not been rising over the last decade. Developers have been purchasing air rights (and bidding up the prices) in order to satisfy the demand for supertall buildings. In the next five to ten years, Manhattan is likely to see over thirty 200-meter or taller buildings, as compared to only four since 2010.

• Explosives and Blasting
• /
• v.26 no.1
• /
• pp.15-21
• /
• 2008

In case of estimating the shocking vibration during the blasting demolitions, the weight and falling height of the structure, that is a potential energy, had been considered. But, this study presented a new equation which used the impulse concerning a falling weight instead of potential energy as a method of predicting the shock vibration. In this experiment, the data of the impulse were compared with the data of the potential energy by performing the free-fall, and all data were comparatively analyzed by the regression analysis method. Also, the method of the superposition theory, which is calculated by the diminution ratio according to distance, the free-fall difference according to height, and the time giving the shock to the ground according to the breakdown pattern, was compared with the previous vibration data occurring from the blasting demolitions in the same conditions. As a result, this study suggests that the impulse and the method of superposition theory be applied as a method of predicting the shocking vibration. Therefore, these results could be expected to estimate the shocking vibration more accurately than the previous method.

• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
• /
• v.29 no.2
• /
• pp.79-88
• /
• 2019

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the peak torques of the knee and ankle joint and local stability of the lower extremity's joints, and muscle activation patterns of the lower extremity's muscles between fallers and non-fallers in the elderly women during walking. Method: Four elderly women (age: $74.5{\pm}5.2yrs.$; height: $152.1{\pm}5.6cm$; mass: $55.3{\pm}5.4kg$; preference walking speed: $1.19{\pm}0.06m/s$) who experienced falls within six months since experiment had been conducted (falls group) and thirty-six subjects ($74.2{\pm}3.09yrs.$; height: $153.6{\pm}4.9cm$; mass: $56.7{\pm}6.4kg$; preference walking speed: $1.24{\pm}0.10m/s$) who had no experience in falls (non-falls group) within this periods participated in this study. They were measured torque peaks of the knee and ankle joint using a Human Norm and while they were walking on a treadmill at their natural pace, kinematic variables and EMG signals were collected with using a 3-D motion capture system and a wireless EMG system, respectively. Lyapunov Exponent (LyE) was determined to observe the dynamic local stability of the lower extremity's joints, and muscles activation and their co-contraction index were also analysed from EMG signals. Hypotheses between falls and non-falls group were tested using paired t-test and Mann-Whitey. Level of significance was set at p<.05. Results: Local dynamic stability in the adduction-abduction movement of the knee joint was significantly lower in falling group than non-falling group (p<.05). Conclusion: In conclusion, muscles which act on the abduction-adduction movement of the knee joint need to be strengthened to prevent from potential falls during walking. However, a small number of samples for fallers make it difficult to generalize the results of this study.

• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
• /
• v.29 no.2
• /
• pp.113-119
• /
• 2019

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the falls on the center of pressure (CoP) complexity during gait using non-linear approximate entropy (ApEn). Method: 20 elderly women with experience of falling ($age=72.55{\pm}5.42yrs$; $height=154.40{\pm}4.26cm$; $body\;weight=57.40{\pm}6.21kg$; $preferred\;gait\;speed=0.52{\pm}0.17m/s$) and 20 elderly women with no experience of falling ($age=71.90{\pm}2.90yrs$; $height=155.28{\pm}4.73cm$; $body\;weight=56.70{\pm}5.241kg$; $preferred\;gait\;speed=0.56{\pm}0.13m/s$) were recruited for the study. While they were walking at their preferred gait speed on a treadmill (instrumented dual belt treadmills, Bertec, USA) with a force plate CoP data were collected for the 20 strides. The complexity of the CoP was analyzed using the ApEn technique. Results: The ApEn of the medial-lateral CoP in the fallers showed smaller about 16% compared to the non-fallers (p<.05). The ApEn of the antero-posterior CoP of the fallers showed smaller about 12% compared to the non-fallers, but the difference was not statistically significant. Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, the reduction of the medio-lateral CoP complexity in the elderly gait would be an index to determine the potential fall.

• PNF and Movement
• /
• v.19 no.3
• /
• pp.435-440
• /
• 2021

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of older adult's head-turn gait on gait parameters by comparing with head oriented forward gait and to provide criteria for their risk of falling compared to young adult. Methods: The subjects were 19 young adults in their 20s and 18 older adults in their 60s or above residing in Daegu or Gyeongsangbuk-do. To evaluate their gait parameters, spatiotemporal gait parameters were measured using a gait analysis tool (Legsys, BioSensics, USA) under two conditions: 1) walking while keeping one's eyes forward and 2) walking while turning the head. The measurement for each test was performed after one practice session, and the mean value of three measurements was analyzed. The collected data were statistically processed using a two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) to compare any differences in gait parameters between the two groups under the two conditions. The statistical significance level was set at α=0.05. Results: According to the comparison of gait parameters in young adult and older adult between the head oriented forward gait and head-turn gait, statistically significant differences were observed in two parameters: stride length according to the height ratio and stride speed obtained by dividing the stride length according to the height ratio by time (p<0.05). Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that the head-turn gait causes greater differences in stride length and speed among older adult than in young adult and therefore can act as a cause of falling.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
• /
• v.23 no.6
• /
• pp.67-76
• /
• 2007

Raining method has been widely used for preparing sand specimen because of its ability to reconstitute the homogeneous specimen with desired relative density and its reliability established by the numerous experiments on diverse influential factors. In conventional raining methods, adjustment of relative density is achieved by controlling the shutter porosity and the whole system is required to be re-adjusted to achieve the target relative density when the granular characteristics are changed. It is also observed from conventional methods that certain degrees of spatial variation in density exist and the limited range of relative density is reproduced. In this paper, raining system with porous plate is proposed. It is shown that the wide range of relative density can be achieved by controlling failing height only. This enhanced system is able to obviate the subtle control of shutter porosity and minimize the effect of falling distance, which in turn ensures the homogeneity of the specimen, especially for low relative density.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
• /
• v.22 no.7
• /
• pp.369-378
• /
• 2018

Full-scale seismic retrofit of old and deteriorated masonry buildings requires a lot of cost and time. In such buildings, installing an emergency evacuation space can be considered as an alternative. In this study, requirements of the earthquake-proof table used as an emergency evacuation space for buildings hit by earthquake are investigated. Load conditions required for the table, including the impact effects due to building debris drop, are explained. To investigate the impact effects in more detail, weight drop test is performed for an prototype earthquake-proof table. In the test, the weight of the falling object and free fall height were considered as the main test parameters. The results showed that the duration of impact is very short (0.0226~0.0779sec), and thus the impact forces increase to 15.8~45.2 times the weight of the falling object. Based on these results, design considerations and performance verification criteria of the earthquake-proof table as an emergency evacuation space are given.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
• /
• v.19 no.4
• /
• pp.641-649
• /
• 2009

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of wheat germ on medium flour using falling number and RVA tests, as well as farinogram and rheofermentometer analyses. The wheat germ was added to the medium flour on a 3, 5, and 7% basis. Falling numbers increased with increasing amounts of wheat germ. Analysis of the RVA characteristics showed that the wheat germ additions did not have significant effects on the initial pasting temperature. In the farinogram, water absorption decreased with an increasing amount of wheat germ. Also, development time was longest in the control group and shortest in the group with the highest addition of wheat germ. The results of the effects of added wheat germ on fermentation by rheofermentometer analysis showed that the H'm value reached a maximum height at 3%. Finally, the volume of $CO_2$ lost was increased whereas the retention coefficient was decreased.