• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.79-85
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• 2015

Objectives: A vertebral compression fracture (VCF) is characterized by back pain and fracture of a vertebral body on spinal radiography. VCFs of the thoraco lumbar spine are common in the elderly. In general, appropriate analgesics should be prescribed to reduce pain and, thus, promote early mobilization. The ideal treatment approach for VCFs has not been determined. In Korea, acupuncture and herbal medication have been used to treat VCFs for many years. There is empirical evidence that acupuncture might benefit patients with a VCF. However, no randomized, controlled, clinical trials evaluating the efficacy and the safety of acupuncture for treating a VCF have been published. Therefore, we designed a randomized, controlled, pilot, clinical trial to obtain information for the design of a further full scale trial. Methods: A five week protocol for a randomized, controlled, pilot, clinical trial is presented. Fourteen patients will be recruited and randomly allocated to two groups: a control group receiving interlaminar epidural steroid injections once a week for three weeks, and an experimental group receiving interlaminar epidural steroid injections plus acupuncture treatment (three acupuncture sessions per week for three weeks, nine sessions in total). The primary outcomes will be the pain intensity (visual analogue scale and PainVision$^{TM}$ system). The secondary outcome measurements will be the answers on the short form McGill pain questionnaire and the oswestry disability index. Assessments will be made at baseline and at one, three, and five weeks. The last assessment (week five) will take place two weeks after treatment cessation. This study will provide both an indication of feasibility and a clinical foundation for a future large scale trial. The outcomes will provide additional resources for incorporating acupuncture into existing treatments, such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications, narcotics and vertebral augmentation. This article describes the protocol.

• Journal of Aerospace System Engineering
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.25-35
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• 2007

In this paper, the interlaminar crack problems of a fiber metal laminate (FML) under generalized plane deformation are studied using the theory of anisotropic elasticity. The crack is considered to be embedded in the matrix interlaminar region (including adhesive zone and resin rich zone) of the FML. Based on Fourier integral transformation and the stress matrix formulation, the current mixed boundary value problem is reduced to solving a system of Cauchy-type singular integral equations of the 1st kind. Within the theory of linear fracture mechanics, the stress intensity factors are defined on terms of the solutions of integral equations and numerical results are obtained for in-plane normal (mode I) crack surface loading. The effects of location and length of crack in the 3/2 and 2/1 ARALL, GLARE or CARE type FML's on the stress intensity factors are illustrated.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Automotive Engineers
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• v.9 no.6
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• pp.195-200
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• 2001

Composites have wide applications in aerospace vehicles and automobiles because of the inherent flexibility in their design for improved material properties. Composite tribes in particular, are potential candidates for their use as energy absorbing elements in crashworthiness applications due to their high specific energy absorbing capacity and the stroke efficiency. Their failure mechanism however is highly complicated and rather difficult to analyze. This includes fracture in fibres, in the matrix and in the fibre-matrix interface in tension, compression and shear. The purpose of this study is to investigate the energy absorption characteristics of CFRP(Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics) tubes on static and impact tests. Static compression tests have been carried out using the static testing machine and impact tests have been carried out using the vertical crushing testing machine. Interlaminar number affect the energy absorption capability of CFRP tubes. Also, theoretical and experimental have the same value.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.119-126
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• 2004

In this study, the influence of silane coupling agents, featuring different organo-functional groups on the interlaminar and thermal properties of woven glass fabric-reinforced nylon 6 composites, has been by means of short-beam shear tests, dynamic mechanical analysis, scanning electron microscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis. The results indicate that the fiber-matrix interfacial characteristics obtained using the different analytical methods agree well with each other. The interlaminar shear strengths (ILSS) of glass fabric/nylon 6 composites sized with various silane coupling agents are significantly improved in comparison with that of the composite sized commercially. ILSS of the composites increases in the order: Z-6076 with chloropropyl groups in the silanes > Z-6030 with methacrylate groups> Z-6020 with diamine groups; this trend is similar to that of results found in an earlier study of interfacial shear strength. The dynamic mechanical properties, the fracture surface observations, and the thermal stability also support the interfacial results. The improvement of the interfacial properties may be ascribed to the different chemical reactivities of the reactive amino end groups of nylon 6 and the organo-functional groups located at the ends of the silane chains, which results from the increased chemical reactivity in order chloropropyl > methacrylate > diamine.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.806-815
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• 1996

The interlaminar fracture behavior of woven laminates under static and cyclic loadings has been studied using DCB(double cantilever beam) specimens. The effects of surface treatment and stiching on the fracture behavior of composite laminates are investigated experimentally. Fracture toughness has been improved by surface treatment because the surface treatment can change the fracture mechanism of laminates. SCB(stitched cantilever beam) model has been proposed to quantify the effect of through-thickness resinforcement(stiching) in improving the delamination crack growth resistance. Distributed loads which are transfered to through-thickness fibers can be calculated by the SCB model. And fracture energy increase due to the distributed load can be predicted by a power function of the distributed load. A new parameter agreed well proposed predict fatigue crack growth rate. The predictions using this parameter agreed well with the experimental data.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Machine Tool Engineers
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.43-49
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• 2003

This research work has been carried out for finding J-integral in mode II of CFRP(carbon fiber reinforced plastics) laminate plates based on the classical bar theory in dynamic conditions with consideration of the effect of inertia forces, eventually to lead to finding the dynamic inter-layer fracture toughness. Dynamic inter-layer fracture toughness was found by a self-made ENF(End Notched Flexure) experimental apparatus using Split Hopkinson's Bar(SHPB), and also observed the variation of the fracture toughness haying different resin contents and fiber arrangements of CFRP specimen([$0_3^{\circ}/90_3^{\circ}/0_6^{\circ}/90_3^{\circ}/0_3^{\circ}$], [$0_{20}^{\circ}$], [$0_5^{\circ}/90_{10}^{\circ}/0_5^{\circ}$]). As an experimental result, in either cases of quasi-static or dynamic load condition, the critical load and the inter-layer fracture toughness increased sharply depending on the increase of resin contents. Therefore, it could, be concluded that the effect by resin contents is the major factor determining the inter-layer fracture toughness in the CFRP laminate plates.

• Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.567-577
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• 2005

Several methods for improving the interlaminar strength and fracture toughness of composite materials are developed. Through-the-thickness stitching is considered one of the most common ways to prevent delamination. Stitching significantly increases the Mode I fracture toughness and moderately improves the Mode II fracture toughness. An analytical model has been developed for simulating the behavior of stitched double cantilever beam specimen under various loading conditions. For z-directional load and moment about the y-axis the numerical solutions are compared with the exact solutions. The derived formulation shows good accuracy when the relative error of displacement and rotation between numerical and exact solution were calculated. Thus we can use the present model with confidence in analyzing other problems involving stitched beams.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society For Composite Materials Conference
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• 2004.04a
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• pp.262-265
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• 2004

This study focused on the introduction of the self-healing technique for polymeric composites and evaluated the healing efficiency through the interlainar fracture toughness tests. The DCPD and ENB were used for a healing agent and the Grubbs' catalyst as a catalyst. The healing efficiency was evaluated by the use of mode I and the mode n fracture toughnesses. According to the results, the DCPD-ENB mixture with a suitable ratio revealed better healing efficiency than DCPD only.

• Composites Research
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.82-87
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• 2021

The mechanical properties of carbon fiber-reinforced epoxy composites (CFRPs) are greatly dependent on the interfacial adhesion between the carbon fibers and the epoxy matrix. Introducing nanomaterial reinforcements into the interface is an effective approach to enhance the interfacial adhesion of CFRPs. The main purpose of this work was to introduce graphitic nanofiber (GNFs) between an epoxy matrix and carbon fibers to enhance interfacial properties. The composites were reinforced with various concentrations of GNFs. For all of the fabricated composites, the optimum GNF content was found to be 0.6 wt%, which enhanced the interlaminar shear strength (ILSS) and fracture toughness (KIC) by 101.9% and 33.2%, respectively, compared with those of neat composites. In particular, we observed a direct linear relationship between ILSS and KIC through surface free energy. The related reinforcing mechanisms were also analyzed and the enhancements in mechanical properties are mainly attributed to the interfacial interlocking effect. Such an effort could accelerate the conversion of composites into high performance materials and provide fundamental understanding toward realizing the theoretical limits of interfacial adhesion and mechanical properties.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.86-91
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• 2021

In order to save the energy in vehicles using renewable energy, it is necessary to reduce the weight of parts with polymer matrix composites. Carbon nanotube (CNT) is the nano-scale reinforcement used to increase the interlaminar strength of fiber reinforced composites or enhance the fracture toughness of polymer. However, since the degree of improvement in mechanical properties varies according to the various experimental conditions such as shape of reinforcement, types of matrix and dispersion of reinforcement, research to find the optimal conditions is essentially needed. In this study, CNT/epoxy composites with different CNT concentration were fabricated under the same conditions, and the optimal CNT content (2 wt%) was found through Mode 1 fracture toughness test. Furthermore, through optical microscopy, it was confirmed that the fracture toughness was rather decreased due to the CNT aggregation when the CNT content exceeded 2 wt%.