• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.393-401
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• 2013

In this paper, a $48{\times}64$ channel 2D array ultrasonic transducer with piezoelectric single crystals was designed, fabricated, and evaluated. Structure of the transducer was chosen to facilitate the electric connection on the planar array, and then components were fabricated in accordance with the structure. Detailed structure of the transducer was designed through finite element analyses. In order to improve the performance of the transducer, the crosstalk between adjacent elements was reduced through the control of kerf width and material, and the target frequency bandwidth was achieved through optimal design of the thickness of the single crystal and matching layers. After fabricating a prototype of the transducer according to the design and measuring its characteristics, the results were compared with those of finite element analyses to evaluate the performance of the developed transducer.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.32 no.6A
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• pp.379-387
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• 2012

This study investigates free vibration characteristics of new energy harvesting multi-layer block structures with different geometrical shapes using solid and shell finite elements and evaluate their piezoelectric effect on experiments. The two and three-dimensional finite element (FE) delamination models for block structures described in this paper is attractive not only because it shows excellent accuracy in analysis but also it shows the entire vibration mode shape. The FE model using ABAQUS is used for studying free vibrations of multi-layer block structures for various tip mass and PZT. In particular, new results reported in this paper are focused on the significant effects of the global and local vibration modes for various parameters, such as size of block shape, existence of tip mass and hole, and location of tip mass and PZT. In addition, we evaluate the power generation capacity of developed energy block structures through a laboratory-scale experiment.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.101-113
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• 2006

Structural health monitoring results obtained with the electro-mechanical (E/M) impedance techniqueand Lamb wave transmission methods during fatigue crack propagation of an Arcan specimen instrumented with piezoelectric wafer active sensors (PWAS) are presented. The specimen was subjected in mixed-mode fatigue loading and a crack was propagated in stages. At each stage, an image of the crack and the location of the crack tip were recorded and the PWAS readings were taken. Hence, the crack-growth in the specimen could be correlated with the PWAS readings. The E/M impedance signature was recorded in the 100 - 500 kHz frequency range. The Lamb-wave transmission method used the pitch-catch approach with a 3-count sine tone burst of 474 kHz transmitted and received between various PWAS pairs. Fatigue loading was applied to initiate and propagate the crack damage of controlled magnitude. As damage progressed, the E/M impedance signatures and the waveforms received by receivers were recorded at predetermined intervals and compared. Data analysis indicated that both the E/M impedance signatures and the Lamb-wave transmission signatures are modified by the crack progression. Damage index values were observed to increase as the crack damage increases. These experiments demonstrated that the use of PWAS in conjunction with the E/M impedance and the Lamb-wave transmission is a potentially powerful tool for crack damage detection and monitoring in structural elements.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.42 no.5
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• pp.441-451
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• 2023

Ultrasound transducers are an essential component of combined photoacoustic and ultrasound imaging systems and play an important role in image evaluation. However, ultrasound transducers are opaque; therefore, light must bypass the ultrasound transducer to reach the target point to produce a photoacoustic image. Providing different paths for the optical and acoustic signals results in a complicated system design, increasing the system volume. To overcome these problems, an optically Transparent Ultrasound Transducer (TUT) was developed. Unlike conventional opaque ultrasound transducers, optically TUT can be fabricated by a variety of manufacturing methods and they are suitable for use with specific piezoelectric elements and serve various purposes. In this study, a comparative analysis of the results of using Lithium Niobate (LNO), Lead Magnesium Niobate-Lead Titanate (PMN-PT), and Polyvinylidene Difluoride (PVDF), which are materials used in piezoelectric element-based TUT. LNO is a piezoelectric element widely used in TUT, and PMN-PT has been actively studied recently with a higher transmission and reception rate than LNO. Existing TUT have lower ultrasound resolution than photoacoustic resolution, but they have recently been manufacturing focused TUT with high ultrasound resolution using PVDF. A comparative analysis of the production results of these TUT was performed.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2010.09c
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• pp.24-30
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• 2010

The void ratio and elastic moduli are design parameters used in geotechnical engineering to understand soil behavior. Elastic and electromagnetic waves have been used to evaluate the various soil characteristics due to high resolution. The objective of this study is to evaluate the void ratio and elastic moduli based on elastic wave velocities and electrical resistivity. The Field Velocity Resistivity Probe (FVRP) is developed to obtain the elastic and electromagnetic wave profiles of soil during penetration. The Piezoelectric Disk Elements (PDE) and Bender Elements (BE) are used as transducers for measuring the elastic wave velocities such as compressional and shear wave velocities. The Electrical Resistivity Probe (ERP) is also installed for capturing the electrical resistivity profile. The application test is carried out on the southern coast of the Korean peninsula. The field tests are performed at a depth of 6~20 m, at 10 cm intervals for measuring elastic wave velocities and at 0.5cm intervals for measuring electrical resistivity. The elastic moduli such as constraint and shear moduli are calculated by using measured elastic wave velocities. The void ratios are also evaluated based on the elastic wave velocities and the electrical resistivity. Furthermore, the converted void ratios by using FVRP are compared with the volumetric void ratio obtained by a standard consolidation test. The comparison shows that the void ratios based on the FVPR match the volume based void ratio well. This study suggests that the FVRP may be a useful device to effectively determine the elastic moduli and void ratio in the field.

• ETRI Journal
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.787-797
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• 2016

Mining, construction, and other special vehicles for heavy use are designed to work under high-performance and off-road working conditions. The driving and executive mechanisms of the support structures and superstructures of these vehicles frequently operate under high loads. Such high loads place the equipment under constant risk of an accident and can jeopardize the dynamic stability of the machinery. An experimental investigation was conducted on a refuse collection vehicle. The aim of this research was to determine the working conditions of a real vehicle: the kinematics of the waste container, that is, a hydraulic rotate drum for waste collection; the dynamics of the load manipulator (superstructure); the vibrations of the vehicle mass; and the strain (stress) of the elements responsible for the supporting structure. For an examination of the force (weight) on the rear axle of a heavy vehicle, caused by its own weight and additional load, a universal measurement system is proposed. As a result of this investigation, we propose an alternative system for continuous vehicle weighing during waste collection while in motion, that is, an on-board weighing system, and provide suggestions for measuring equipment designs.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2004.03b
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• pp.799-806
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• 2004

Recently, as the forerunner in establishing the Northeast Asia's logistics base, a lot of marine engineering works such as new ports and container terminals, extension of old ports, new bridges, land reclamation etc. have been progressed. Parallel to it, there is also an increasing demand for improving the safety of construction. In this situation, high resolution seismic reflection profiling can be well used, attempting to classify rocks and sediments under water, if possible, to delineate the distribution of grain sizes in sediments not only for calculating the cost of removing sediments from harbour's channels, but also for estimating the bearing capacities for bridge or port construction. However, the results from the corresponding reflection survey that has been in operation in our country can not be effectively used for engineering purposes mostly due to the insufficient resolution. Thus. in this paper, two innovative strategies are introduced to enhance resolution. The one deals with a newly designed exploration barge that will help reduce several kinds of noises encountered electrically or operationally. The other is associated with an establishment of optimum measuring system comprising e.g. a specially devised hydrophone with a combination of 7 piezoelectric elements. Field experiments performed at Busan harbour are illustrated. The quality of acquired data was thereby fundamentally improved in comparison with that obtained at the same time in a conventional way.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Technology Engineers
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.530-534
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• 2015

Ultrasonic nanocrystal surface modification (UNSM) is an example of a nanoscale-surface modification that has become noticeable because of its effects on the mechanical improvement of metallic materials. UNSM equipment needs to be both utilized and improved. The equipment is based on an ultrasonic waveguide whose role is to strike surfaces of metallic materials to achieve nanoscale deformation. In this paper, we introduce the development of one kind of UNSM equipment. Using piezoelectric elements, we repeatedly design and fabricate a 20-kHz ultrasonic waveguide. With respect to the composition of the equipment, the waveguide is automatically transferred by two axial stages automatically. In addition, a static force is constantly applied by pneumatic devices. We perform an experiment to verify the feasibility of the equipment.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.417-423
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• 2004

In order to obtain wide-beam characteristics and variable resonant frequency of a ultrasonic transducer for the array source, an electrode of transverse mode piezoelectric vibrator is divided, and an electronic inductance is connected to the divided electrodes. The electronic inductance is made by GIC (General Impedance Converter) circuit. Because the GIC circuit is made of OP-Amps and other passive elements, the value of the inductance can be selected easily. As the results, the electronic inductance is variable in the range from 0.2 mH to 1.2 mH. Using the inductance, the resonance frequency of the transducer can be changed in the range from 73 kHz to 86 kHz. In the directivity of the transducer, it is confirmed that the beam width of the transducer is wider than $80^{\circ}$ at -3 dB in water.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.155-181
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• 2016

In the present paper we discuss the stability and the post-buckling behaviour of thin piezoelastic plates. The first part of the paper is concerned with the modelling of such plates. We discuss the constitutive modelling, starting with the three-dimensional constitutive relations within Voigt's linearized theory of piezoelasticity. Assuming a plane state of stress and a linear distribution of the strains with respect to the thickness of the thin plate, two-dimensional constitutive relations are obtained. The specific form of the linear thickness distribution of the strain is first derived within a fully geometrically nonlinear formulation, for which a Finite Element implementation is introduced. Then, a simplified theory based on the von Karman and Tsien kinematic assumption and the Berger approximation is introduced for simply supported plates with polygonal planform. The governing equations of this theory are solved using a Galerkin procedure and cast into a non-dimensional formulation. In the second part of the paper we discuss the stability and the post-buckling behaviour for single term and multi term solutions of the non-dimensional equations. Finally, numerical results are presented using the Finite Element implementation for the fully geometrically nonlinear theory. The results from the simplified von Karman and Tsien theory are then verified by a comparison with the numerical solutions.