• The Journal of Korea Robotics Society
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.142-149
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• 2018

$RRT^*$ (Rapidly exploring Random $Tree^*$) based algorithms are widely used for path planning. Informed $RRT^*$ uses $RRT^*$ for generating an initial path and optimizes the path by limiting sampling regions to the area around the initial path. $RRT^*$ algorithms have several limitations such as slow convergence speed, large memory requirements, and difficulties in finding paths when narrow aisles or doors exist. In this paper, we propose an algorithm to deal with these problems. The proposed algorithm applies the image skeletonization to the gridmap image for generating an initial path. Because this initial path is close to the optimal cost path even in the complex environments, the cost can converge to the optimum more quickly in the proposed algorithm than in the conventional Informed $RRT^*$. Also, we can reduce the number of nodes and memory requirement. The performance of the proposed algorithm is verified by comparison with the conventional Informed $RRT^*$ and Informed $RRT^*$ using initial path generated by $A^*$.

• Journal of the Korean Solar Energy Society
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.81-87
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• 2015

Recently, in order to prevent increasing energy usages in the international community, many countries have attempted to develop the innovative renewable energy systems. Among the renewable energy systems, Ground source heat pump(GSHP) system which supply the heating, cooling and hot water in the building has been attracted by its stability of heat production and high efficiency. However, the initial drilling costs become very expensive and the construction period takes longer the other systems, because GSHP system needs more than 100 m depth drilling. In this study, in order to reduce initial costs of the GSHP, the building integrated geothermal system using the horizontal heat exchanger was developed. The heating and cooling load in the standard housing model was calculated by a simulation and the system design capacity in the high-rise apartment was decided by the total load. Based on the system design capacity, the high-rise apartments were applied to a BIGS and vertical GSHP system and there are analyzed about initial costs. In the result, the initial cost of BIGS could reduce 24% of the initial cost of the vertical GSHP system.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.48-56
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• 2009

This paper presents the procedure for the optimal design of a PSC-I girder bridge considering life cycle cost (LCC). The load carrying capacity curves for the concrete deck, PSC-I girder and $\pi$-type pier were derived and used for the estimate of service lives. Total life cycle cost for the service life was calculated as sum of initial cost, damage cost, maintenance cost, repair and rehabilitation cost, user cost, and disposal cost. The advanced First Order Second Moment method was used to estimate the damage cost. The optimization method was applied to the design of PSC-I girder bridge. The objective function was set to the annual cost, which is defined by dividing the total life cycle cost by the service life, and constraints were formulated on the basis of Korean Standards. The optimal design was performed for various service lives and the effects of design factors were investigated.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.243-250
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• 2009

Objectives : The purposes of this study is to estimate the cost of cancer care after its diagnosis and to identify factors that can influence the cost of cancer care. Methods : The study subjects were patients with an initial diagnosis one of four selected tumors and had their first two-years of cancer care at a national cancer center. The data were obtained from medical records and patient surveys. We classified cancer care costs into medical and nonmedical costs, and each cost was analyzed for burden type, medical service, and cancer stage according to cancer types. Factors affecting cancer care costs for the initial phase included demographic variables, socioeconomic status and clinical variables. Results : Cancer care costs for the initial year following diagnosis were higher than the costs for the following successive year after diagnosis. Lung cancer (25,648,000 won) had higher costs than the other three cancer types. Of the total costs, patent burden was more than 50% and medical costs accounted for more than 60%. Inpatient costs accounted for more than 60% of the medical costs for stomach and liver cancer in the initial phase. Care for latestage cancer was more expensive than care for early-stage cancer. Nonmedical costs were estimated to be between 4,500,000 to 6,000,000 won with expenses for the caregiver being the highest. The factors affecting cancer care costs were treatment type and cancer stage. Conclusions : The cancer care costs after diagnosis are substantial and vary by cancer site, cancer stage and treatment type. It is useful for policy makers and researchers to identify tumor-specific medical and nonmedical costs. The effort to reduce cancer costs and early detection for cancer can reduce the burden to society and improve quality of life for the cancer patients.

• Journal of Positioning, Navigation, and Timing
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.117-122
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• 2014

In CDGPS, ambiguity resolution is determined by the performance of a floating solution, and thus, the performance needs to be improved. In the case of precise positioning at a stationary position, the batch method using multiple measurements is used for the accuracy improvement of a position. The position accuracy performance of a floating solution is outstanding, but it has a problem of high computation cost because all measurements are used. In this study, to improve the floating solution performance of the initial static user in CDGPS, a floating solution method using a recursive filter was implemented. A recursive filter estimates the position solution of the current epoch using the position solution of up to the previous epoch and the pseudorange measurement of the current epoch. The computation cost of the floating solution method using a recursive filter was found to be similar to that of the epoch-by-epoch method. Also, based on actual GPS signals, the floating solution performance was found to be similar to that of the batch method. The floating solution using a recursive filter could significantly improve the performance of the prompt initial position and ambiguity resolution of the initial static user.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.51-56
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• 2004

Economic benefits of the dry bottom ash handling system over the wet bottom ash handling system in a new 500MW${\times}$2units pulverized coal thermal power plant in Korea were evaluated. The higher initial capital cost in the dry bottom ash handling system was estimated. However, this higher initial capital costs would be compensated with reductions of the operating cost mainly due to the recycling of bottom ash. Economic analysis showed that the payback period of 4.9 years and the internal rate of return at 21.1% were expected for the additional initial capital cost of the dry bottom ash handling system.

• Kyungpook Mathematical Journal
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• v.52 no.2
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• pp.167-177
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• 2012

In this article, we propose exponentially fitted error correction methods(EECM) which originate from the error correction methods recently developed by the authors (see [10, 11] for examples) for solving nonlinear stiff initial value problems. We reduce the computational cost of the error correction method by making a local approximation of exponential type. This exponential local approximation yields an EECM that is exponentially fitted, A-stable and L-stable, independent of the approximation scheme for the error correction. In particular, the classical explicit Runge-Kutta method for the error correction not only saves the computational cost that the error correction method requires but also gives the same convergence order as the error correction method does. Numerical evidence is provided to support the theoretical results.

• KIEAE Journal
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.103-109
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• 2015

Recently, the usage of renewable energy system has been recommended because of the energy saving and depletion of fossil fuel. Especially, ground source heat pump system(GSHP) has a high efficiency by using annual stable ground temperature. Also, wood pellet is low cost and a high calorific value compared to fossil fuel. However, only small number of farms have applied renewable energy system to horticultural facility because of a high initial costs and uncertainty of its cost efficiency. In this study, in order to analyze the feasibility for the horticulture, TRNSYS simulation based on the standard horticultural facility was conducted in different weather and covering material conditions. Then, comparative feasibility analysis of each energy supplying system was conducted. As a result, we have found out that a high initial cost of renewable energy system was recovered by the economics of the energy cost. Due to the energy cost reduction, the payback periods were 10-11 years in the case of GSHP and 4-6 years in the case of wood pellet boiler.

• Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology
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• v.18 no.11
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• pp.1923-1931
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• 2004

Manufacturing of complex surface plates in stern and stem is a major factor in cost of a preliminary ship design by computing process. If these hull plate parts are effectively classified, it helps to compute the processing cost and find the way to cut-down the processing cost. This paper presents a new method to classify surface plates effectively in the preliminary ship design using neural network. A neural-network-based ship hull plate classification program was developed and tested for the automatic classification of ship design. The input variables are regarded as Gaussian curvature distributions on the plate. Various applicable rules of network topology are applied in the ship design. In automation of hull plate classification, two different numbers of input variables are used. By observing the results of the proposed method, the effectiveness of the proposed method is discussed. As a result, high prediction rate was achieved in the ship design. Accordingly, to the initial design stage, the ship hull plate classification program can be used to predict the ship production cost. And the proposed method will contribute to reduce the production cost of ship.

• The Journal of Sustainable Design and Educational Environment Research
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.25-34
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• 2013

As the construction industry develops, environmental pollution gets increasingly serious, giving damage including the increase of incidence of respiratory diseases and skin diseases among children with weakened immune systems, rather than adults. In daycare centers, infants and children spending much of their time, have high frequency of contact with the interior floor finish material. However, the majority of the child care centers don not use eco-friendly flooring but ordinary monorium flooring, because the initial investment cost of the eco-friendly flooring is higher than ordinary monorium flooring. Therefore, in this study, life cycle costs including the initial investment cost of the eco-friendly flooring and ordinary monorium flooring were calculated, demonstrating that the eco-friendly flooring is more economical than ordinary monorium flooring in terms of life-cycle cost. In addition, the analysis of the environmental performance also showed the excellence of the eco-friendly floor finishes. It is expected that the use of the eco-friendly floor finishes will increase due to their excellence in the aspect of life cycle cost and eco-friendly performance, through this study.