• Computers and Concrete
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.269-278
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• 2018

In this paper, two methods M1 and M2 to determine long-term deflection through finite element analyses including the effect of creep and relaxation are proposed and demonstrated for a PSC box-girder. In both the methods, the effect of creep is accounted by different models from international standards viz., ACI-209R-92, CEB MC 90-99, B3 and GL2000. In M1, prestress losses due to creep and relaxation and age adjusted effective modulus are estimated through different models and have been used in finite element (FE) analyses for individual time steps. In M2, effects of creep and relaxation are implemented through the features of FE program and the time dependent analyses are carried out in single step. Variations in time-dependent strains, prestress losses, stresses and deflections of the PSC box-girder bridge through M1 and M2 are studied. For the PSC girder camber obtained from both M1 and M2 are lesser than simple bending theory based calculations, this shows that the camber is overestimated by simple bending theory which may lead to non-conservative design. It is also observed that stresses obtained from FEM for bottom fibre are lesser than the stresses obtained from bending theory at transfer for the PSC girder which may lead to non-conservative estimates.

• Transactions of Materials Processing
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• v.14 no.5 s.77
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• pp.423-431
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• 2005

In this paper, a systematic attempt for estimating geometric dimensions of cold forgings is made by finite element method and a practical approach is presented. In the approach, the forging process is simulated by a rigid-plastic finite element method under the assumption that the die is rigid. With the information obtained from the forging simulation, die structural analysis and springback analysis of the material are carried out. In the springback analysis, both mechanical load and thermal load are considered. The mechanical load is applied by unloading the forming load elastically and the thermal load is by cooling the increased temperature due to the plastic work to the room temperature. All the results are added to predict the final dimensions of the cold forged product. The predicted dimensions are compared with the experiments. The comparison has revealed that predicted results are acceptable in the application sense.

• Journal of Power System Engineering
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.65-71
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• 2012

A numerical procedure is described for predicting the dynamic structural responses of tension leg platforms(TLPs) in current and waves. The developed numerical approach is based on a combination of the three dimensional source distribution method and the dynamic structural analysis method, in which the superstructure of the TLPs is assumed to be flexible instead of rigid. The hydrodynamic interactions among TLP members, such as columns and pontoons, and the structural damping are included in the dynamic structural analysis. The equations of motion of a whole structure are formulated using element-fixed coordinate systems which have the origin at the nodes of the each hull element and move parallel to a space-fixed coordinate system. The dynamic structural responses of a TLP were analyzed in the case of including the current or not including the one in waves and the effects of current on the TLP were investigated.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Technology of Plasticity Conference
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• 2004.05a
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• pp.91-94
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• 2004

Preform design techniques have been investigated in efforts to reduce die wear and forming load and to improve material flow, filing ratio, etc. In hot forging processes, a thin deformed part of a workpiece, known as a flash, is formed in the narrow gap between the upper and lower tools. Although designers make tools that generate a flash intentionally in order to improve flow properties, excessive flash increases die wear and forming load. Therefore, it is necessary to make a preform shape that can reduce the excessive flash without changing flow properties. In this paper, a new preform design technique is proposed to reduce the excessive flash in a metal forging process. After a finite element simulation of the process is carried out with an initial billet, the flow of material in the flash region is traced from the final shape to the initial billet. The region belonging to the flash is then easily found in the initial billet. The finite element simulation is then carried out again with the modified billet from which the selected region has been removed. In several iterations of this technique, the optimal preform shape that minimizes the amount of flash without changing the forgeability can be obtained.

• Computational Structural Engineering : An International Journal
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2001

Collapse behavior of Mission-Gothic Undercrossing under Northridge earthquake is studied by performing nonlinear time-history analysis and three-dimensional nonlinear finite element method for flared columns. Bridge structural model is characterized as three-dimensional with consideration of columns, superstructures, and abutment conditions. Three components of ground motion, corresponding to bridge's longitudinal, transverse, and vertical direction and their combinations are used to investigate bridge collapse. Studies indicate that bridge collapse is dominantly caused by transverse ground motion and the consideration of three-dimensional ground motion leads to a more accurate assessment. Failure mechanism of flared columns is analyzed applying nonlinear finite element method. Reduction of column capacity is observed due to orientation of flare. Further investigation demonstrates that the effects of flare play an important role in predicting of bridge failure mechanism. Suggestions are offered to improve the performance of bridges during severe earthquake.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Technology of Plasticity Conference
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• 2004.10a
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• pp.75-78
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• 2004

A mesh generation algorithm adapted to the mesh density map using the Delaunay mesh generation technique is developed. In the finite element analyses of the forging processes, the numerical error increases as the process goes on because of discrete property of the finite elements or severe distortion of elements. Especially, in the region where stresses and strains are concentrated, the numerical discretization error will be highly increased. However, it is too time consuming to use a uniformly fine mesh in the whole domain to reduce the expected numerical error. Therefore, it is necessary to construct locally refined mesh at the region where the error is concentrated such as at the die corner. In this study, the point insertion algorithm is used and the mesh size is controlled by moving nodes to optimized positions according to a mesh density map constructed with a posteriori error estimation. An optimization technique is adopted to obtain a good position of nodes. And optimized smoothing techniques are also adopted to have smooth distribution of the mesh and improve the mesh element quality.

• Transactions of Materials Processing
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• v.13 no.6 s.70
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• pp.503-508
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• 2004

Preform design techniques have been investigated to reduce die wear and forming load and to improve material flow, filling ratio, etc. In hot forging processes, a thin deformed part of a workpiece, known as a flash, is formed in the narrow gap between the upper and lower tools. Although designers make tools that generate a flash intentionally in order to improve flow properties, excessive flash increases die wear and forming load. Therefore, it is necessary to make a preform shape that can reduce the excessive flash without changing flow properties. In this paper, a new preform design technique is proposed to reduce the excessive flash in a metal forging process. After a finite element simulation of the process is carried out with an initial billet, the flow of material in the flash region is traced from the final shape to the initial billet. The region belonging to the flash is then easily found in the initial billet. The finite element simulation is then carried out again with the modified billet from which the selected region has been removed. In several iterations of this technique, the optimal preform shape that minimizes the amount of flash without changing the forgeability can be obtained.

• Transactions of Materials Processing
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.83-90
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• 2021

In this paper, a parametric study on the influence of friction between materials on pull force in single clinching is conducted using an axisymmetric elasto-plastic finite element method and law of Coulomb friction. An appropriate finite element analysis model is given, which minimizes the effect of the material model and numerical factors including the number of quadrilateral finite elements and blank radius. It is emphasized that the elasto-plastic material model should be employed because the elastic deformation of the internal region is affected more by the pull force. It has been shown that the pull force increases as friction coefficient increases and that the optimized friction coefficient is around 0.4, which is qualitatively comparable with its theoretical value. When the friction coefficient reaches 0.5 in the example studied, the neck fracture is predicted.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.55 no.1
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• pp.36-46
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• 2022

Purpose: Quercetin is a polyphenolic flavonoid abundant in many fruits and vegetables. It has potential health-beneficial properties, such as antioxidant, anti-obesity, anti-cancer, anti-diabetic and anti-inflammatory effects. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the lipid metabolism improvement effect of quercetin affected the regulation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activity and microRNA (miR)-21 expression in the liver of mice fed a high-cholesterol diet. Methods: Male C57BL/6J mice were fed with normal diet, quercetin-free diet and diets containing 0.05% or 0.1% quercetin for six weeks. Hypercholesterolemia was induced by adding 1% cholesterol and 0.5% cholic acid to all diets. Serum and liver triglyceride (TG), and total cholesterol (TC) concentrations were analyzed using a commercial enzymatic colorimetric kit. AMPK activity was quantified using an AMPK kinase assay kit. The levels of miR-21 and genes involved in lipid metabolism were measured by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Results: Supplementation of quercetin reduced serum and hepatic TG and TC levels without changing body weight and food intake. Dietary quercetin significantly inhibited the mRNA levels of hepatic sterol-regulatory element binding protein-1c, acetyl-CoA carboxylase 1 and fatty acid synthesis, which are involved in hepatic lipogenesis. Dietary quercetin enhanced AMPK activity and suppressed miR-21 expression, promoting hepatic lipid accumulation. Conclusion: These results suggest that the lipid-lowering effect of quercetin on the serum and liver of mice may be partially mediated by the regulation of lipogenic gene expression, AMPK activity and miR-21 expression in the liver of mice fed a high-cholesterol diet.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.24 no.9
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• pp.1227-1232
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• 2011

The objective of this study was to examine the effects of concentrates containing different levels of a vitamin-trace elements premix on milk yield and composition of dairy cows. The trial, which lasted 14 weeks, was conducted from January to March and used 45 multiparous Brown cows in the early phase of lactation. Cows (n = 15 per treatment) were randomly allocated to three dietary treatments: the first group (control, C-0) was fed pelleted concentrate containing background vitamins and trace elements that supplied 1.0 times cows' daily requirements; the second group were fed the same concentrate, but containing 2.5 g/kg of vitamin and trace mineral premix per kg of concentrate (C-2.5); the third group were fed the same concentrate, but containing 5 g/kg of vitamin and trace mineral premix per kg of concentrate (C-5). The daily ration included ad libitum chopped oat hay, and the cows also had 8 h/d grazing on a ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum) pasture. During the performance trial, cow milk yield was daily recorded and individual milk samples were analysed for milk composition and to determine milk renneting properties. Cows fed the intermediate premix level (C-2.5) in diet showed the highest fat-corrected milk production (p<0.05) compared to other groups. None of the milk quality parameters studied were influenced by dietary treatment, except for milk rheological parameters (rennet clotting time and curd firmness) that were positively improved in cows fed the C-2.5 diet (p<0.05). The findings from this study show that intermediate level of vitamin-trace elements premix in concentrate can be advantageously used in grazing dairy cows without negative effects on yield and quality of milk produced.