• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.131-157
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• 2014

Special track systems used to divert a train to other directions or other tracks are generally called 'railway turnout'. A traditional turnout system consists of steel rails, switches, crossings, steel plates, fasteners, screw spikes, timber bearers, ballast and formation. The wheel rail contact over the crossing transfer zone has a dip-like shape and can often cause detrimental impact loads on the railway track and its components. The large impact also emits disturbing noises (either impact or ground-borne noise) to railway neighbors. In a brown-field railway track where an existing aged infrastructure requires renewal or maintenance, some physical constraints and construction complexities may dominate the choice of track forms or certain components. With the difficulty to seek for high-quality timbers with dimensional stability, a methodology to replace aged timber bearers in harsh dynamic environments is to adopt an alternative material that could mimic responses and characteristics of timber in both static and dynamic loading conditions. A critical review has suggested an application of an alternative material called fibre-reinforced foamed urethane (FFU). The full-scale capacity design makes use of its comparable engineering characteristics to timber, high-impact attenuation, high damping property, and a longer service life. A field trial to investigate in-situ behaviours of a turnout grillage system using an alternative material, 'fibre-reinforced foamed urethane (FFU)' bearers, has been carried out at a complex turnout junction under heavy mixed traffics at Hornsby, New South Wales, Australia. The turnout junction was renewed using the FFU bearers altogether with new special track components. Influences of the FFU bearers on track geometry (recorded by track inspection vehicle 'AK Car'), track settlement (based on survey data), track dynamics, and acoustic characteristics have been measured. Operational train pass-by measurements have been analysed to evaluate the effectiveness of the replacement methodology. Comparative studies show that the use of FFU bearers generates higher rail and sleeper accelerations but the damping capacity of the FFU help suppress vibration transferring onto other track components. The survey data analysis suggests a small vertical settlement and negligible lateral movement of the turnout system. The static and dynamic behaviours of FFU bearers appear to equate that of natural timber but its service life is superior.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.8
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• pp.2682-2695
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• 2021

This paper aims to evaluate the structural dynamic responses and damage/failure of the nuclear fuel reprocessing plant under the free drop impact of spent fuel cask (SFC) and fuel assembly (FA) during the on-site transportation. At the present Part I of this paper, the large-scale SFC model free drop test and the corresponding numerical simulations are performed. Firstly, a composite target which is composed of the protective structure, i.e., a thin RC plate (representing the inverted U-shaped slab in the loading shaft) and/or an autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) blocks sacrificial layer, as well as a thick RC plate (representing the bottom slab in the loading shaft) is designed and fabricated. Then, based on the large dropping tower, the free drop test of large-scale SFC model with the mass of 3 t is carried out from the height of 7 m-11 m. It indicates that the bottom slab in the loading shaft could not resist the free drop impact of SFC. The composite protective structure can effectively reduce the damage and vibrations of the bottom slab, and the inverted U-shaped slab could relieve the damage of the AAC blocks layer dramatically. Furthermore, based on the finite element (FE) program LS-DYNA, the corresponding refined numerical simulations are performed. By comparing the experimental and numerical damage and vibration accelerations of the composite structures, the present adopted numerical algorithms, constitutive models and parameters are validated, which will be applied in the further assessment of drop impact effects of full-scale SFC and FA on prototype nuclear fuel reprocessing plant in the next Part II of this paper.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.121-125
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• 2015

At the suggestion of the NASA Meteoroid Environment Office (NASA/MEO), which promotes lunar impact monitoring worldwide during NASA's Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) mission period (launched Sept. 2013), we set up a video observation system for lunar impact flashes using a 16-inch educational telescope at Chungnam National University. From Oct. 2013 through Apr. 2014, we recorded 80 hours of video observation of the unilluminated part of the crescent moon in the evening hours. We found a plausible candidate impact flash on Feb. 3, 2014 at selenographic longitude $2.1^{\circ}$ and latitude $25.4^{\circ}$. The flash lasted for 0.2 s and the light curve was asymmetric with a slow decrease after a peak brightness of $8.7{\pm}0.3mag$. Based on a star-like distribution of pixel brightness and asymmetric light curve, we conclude that the observed flash was due to a meteoroid impact on the lunar surface. Since unequivocal detection of an impact flash requires simultaneous observation from at least two sites, we strongly recommend that other institutes and universities in Korea set up similar inexpensive monitoring systems involving educational or amateur telescopes, and that they collaborate in the near future.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.52 no.4
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• pp.846-855
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• 2020

A loose part monitoring system is used to detect unexpected loose parts in a reactor coolant system in a nuclear power plant. It is still necessary to develop a new methodology for the localization and mass estimation of loose parts owing to the high estimation error of conventional methods. In addition, model-based diagnostics recently emphasized the importance of a model describing the behavior of a mechanical system or component. The purpose of this study is to propose a new localization and mass-estimation method based on finite element analysis (FEA) and optimization technique. First, an FEA model to simulate the propagation behavior of the bending wave generated by a metal sphere impact is validated by performing an impact test and a corresponding FEA and optimization for a downsized steam-generator structure. Second, a novel methodology based on FEA and optimization technique was proposed to estimate the impact location and mass of a loose part at the same time. The usefulness of the methodology was then validated through a series of FEAs and some blind tests. A new feature vector, the cross-correlation function, was also proposed to predict the impact location and mass of a loose part, and its usefulness was then validated. It is expected that the proposed methodology can be utilized in model-based diagnostics for the estimation of impact parameters such as the mass, velocity, and impact location of a loose part. In addition, the FEA-based model can be used to optimize the sensor position to improve the collected data quality in the site of nuclear power plants.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.107-122
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• 2018

Kori unit 1, the oldest commercial nuclear power plant in South Korea, was permanently shut down in June 2017. There are a lot of things to consider in decommissioning nuclear power plants, and one of them is the radiological environmental impact assessment. Performed to promote the health and safety of residents around the nuclear power plant, radiological environmental impact assessment aims to confirm that off-site radiological dose from radioactive material released from the facility does not exceed the regulatory criteria. There are three main parts of environmental impact assessment: pre-decommissioning environmental monitoring, environmental monitoring during decommissioning, and impact on nearby residents. At present, although the Korea Nuclear Safety Act stipulates that radiological environmental impact assessment resulting from decommissioning should be carried out, the details have not been specified. Therefore, this paper compares and analyzes guidelines for evaluation of radiological environmental impacts of nuclear power plants overseas, and presents a draft on the assessment of radiological dose resulting from decommissioning according to the Korean situation.

• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.133-151
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• 2017

The paper describes the results of an experimental and numerical investigation into the structural and damage response of sandwich composites to low-velocity impact. Sandwich panels consisting of laminated composite skins with three different layups bonded to a PVC foam core were subjected to impact at various energy levels corresponding to barely visible impact damage (BVID) in the impacted skins. Damage assessment analyses were performed on the impacted panels to characterise the extent and the nature of the major failure mechanisms occurring in the skins. The data collected during the experimental analyses were finally used to assess the predictive capabilities of an FE tool recently developed by the authors for detailed simulation of impact damage in composite sandwich panels. Good agreement was observed between experimental results and model predictions in terms of structural response to impact, global extent of damage and typical features of individual damage mechanisms.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.47-56
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• 1995

This study is aimed to have a database of system development for the prediction, monitoring, analyzing, and evaluation of tensile strength and damage characteristics through AE technique for CFRP. Therefore the correlations between impact characteristics (such as impact velocity, impact energy, delamination area etc) and AE signals for CFRP laminates were investigated. And also it were accomplished the evaluation of tensile strength and the investigation on correlation with AE signals for impact damaged specimen of CFRP laminates.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering Conference
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• 2012.10a
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• pp.715-722
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• 2012

A structural health monitoring (SHM) technique for locating impact position in a composite plate is presented in this paper. The technique employs a single sensor and spatial focusing properties of time reversal (TR) and inverse filtering (IF). We first examine the focusing effect of back-propagated signal at the impact position and its surroundings through simulation. Impact experiments are then carried out and the localization images are found using the TR and IF signal processing, respectively. Both techniques provide accurate impact location results. Compared to existing techniques for locating impact or acoustic emission source, the proposed methods have the benefits of using a single sensor and not requiring knowledge of material properties and geometry of structures. Furthermore, it does not depend on a particular mode of dispersive Lamb waves that is frequently used in the SHM of plate-like structures.

• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.51-69
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• 2016

Monitoring the performance and estimating the remaining useful life of aging civil infrastructure in the United States has been identified as a major objective in the civil engineering community. Structural health monitoring has emerged as a central tool to fulfill this objective. This paper presents a review of the major structural monitoring programs that have been recently implemented in the United States, focusing on the integrity and performance assessment of large-scale structural systems. Applications where response data from a monitoring program have been used to detect and correct structural deficiencies are highlighted. These applications include (but are not limited to): i) Post-earthquake damage assessment of buildings and bridges; ii) Monitoring of cables vibration in cable-stayed bridges; iii) Evaluation of the effectiveness of technologies for retrofit and seismic protection, such as base isolation systems; and iv) Structural damage assessment of bridges after impact loads resulting from ship collisions. These and many other applications show that a structural health monitoring program is a powerful tool for structural damage and condition assessment, that can be used as part of a comprehensive decision-making process about possible actions that can be undertaken in a large-scale civil infrastructure system after potentially damaging events.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.75-88
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• 2021

Six locations in the automated monitoring network at the Geum River Basin were selected forthis study. The water quality characteristics at two of the locations in the water quality monitoring network that were identical, or nearby, were examined, and their correlations were evaluated through statistical analysis. The results of the water quality analysis were converted to the water quality index and expressed in grades for comparison. For the data necessary for the study, public data from four years, from 2016-2019 were used and the evaluation parameters were water temperature, pH, EC, DO, TOC, TN, and TP. Results of the analysis showed that the water quality concentrations measured in the automated monitoring network and the water quality monitoring network differed in some measured values, but they tended to register variation in a specified ratio in most of the locations in the network. The analysis of the correlations of the parameters between the two monitoring networks found that water temperature, EC, and DO showed high correlations between the two monitoring networks. The TOC, TN, and TP showed high correlations, with a 0.7 or higher (correlation coefficient r), with the exception of some of the monitoring networks, although their correlations were lower than those of the basic parameters. The water quality index analysis showed that the water quality index values of the automated monitoring network and the water quality monitoring network were similar. The water quality index decreased and the pollution degree increased in the downstream direction, in both networks.