• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.869-881
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• 2014

This paper presents the materials analysis for combination of working modes of Magnetorheological (MR) damper. The materials were selected based on the optimum magnetic field strength at the effective areas in order to obtain a better design of MR damper. The design of electromagnetic circuit is one of the critical criteria in designing MR dampers besides the working mechanism and the types of MR damper. The increase in the magnetic field strength is an indication of the improvement in the damping performance of the MR damper. Eventually, the experimental test was performed under quasi-static loading to observe the performances of MR damper in shear mode, squeeze mode and mixed mode. The results showed that the increment of forces was obtained with the increased current due to higher magnetic flux density generated by electromagnetic coils. In general, it can be summarized that the combination of modes generates higher forces than single mode for the same experimental parameters throughout the study.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.35-51
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• 2013

Over the last two decades Wavelet Transformation (WT) method has been widely utilized for the damage identification of structures. The main objective of this paper is to discuss and present some of common shortcomings and limitations of mathematical software, as well as other precautionary measures that need to be considered when using them for wavelet analysis applications. Due to popular usage of MATLABMATLAB(R) comparing to other mathematical tools among researchers for data processing of structural responses through WT analysis, this software was chosen for specific study. To the best of the authors' knowledge, these limitations and observations have not been previously identified or discussed in the literature. In this work, a square plate with a severe damage, in form of a crack, parallel to the left edge of the plate is selected for a pilot study. The steady state harmonic response is used for measuring the deflection shape across the line parallel to one edge and perpendicular to the damage. Several criteria and cases such as the smallest size damage that can be detected, correlation between the crack width and the number of sampling points, and the influence of the damage thickness on the accuracy of the result are investigated.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.4 no.5
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• pp.655-666
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• 2008

In the past 20 years, seismic isolation has see a variety of applications in design of structures to mitigate seismic hazard. In particular, isolation has been seen as a means of achieving enhanced seismic performance objectives, such as those for hospitals, critical emergency response facilities, mass electronic data storage centers, and similar buildings whose functionality following a major seismic event is either critical to the public welfare or the financial solvency of an organization. While achieving these enhanced performance objectives is a natural (and oftentimes requisite) application of seismic isolation, little attention has been given to the extension of current design practice to isolated buildings which may have more conventional performance objectives. The development of a rational design methodology for isolated buildings requires thorough investigation of the behavior of isolated structures subjected to seismic input of various recurrence intervals, and which are designed to remain elastic only under frequent events. This paper summarizes these investigations, and proposed a consistent probabilistic framework within which any combination of performance objectives may be met. Analytical simulations are presented, the results are summarized. The intent of this work is to allow a building owner to make informed decisions regarding tradeoffs between superstructure performance (drifts, accelerations) and isolation system performance. Within this framework, it is possible to realize the benefits of designing isolated buildings for which the design criteria allows consideration of multiple performance goals.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.123-137
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• 2018

Structural monitoring is the most important part of the construction and operation of the embankment dams. Appropriate instruments selection for dams is vital, as inappropriate selection causes irreparable loss in critical condition. Due to the lack of a systematic approach to determine adequate instruments, a framework based on three comparable Multi-Attribute Decision Making (MADM) methods, which are VIKOR, technique of order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) and Preference ranking organization method for enrichment evaluation (PROMETHEE), has been developed. MADM techniques have been widely used for optimizing priorities and determination of the most suitable alternatives. However, the results of the different methods of MADM have indicated inconsistency in ranking alternatives due to closeness of judgements from decision makers. In this study, 9 criteria and 42 geotechnical instruments have been applied. A new method has been developed to determine the decision makers' importance weights and an aggregation method has been introduced to optimally select the most suitable instruments. Consequently, the outcomes of the aggregation ranking correlate about 94% with TOPSIS and VIKOR, and 83% with PROMETHEE methods' results providing remarkably appropriate prioritisation of instruments for embankment dams.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.277-290
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• 2018

In this paper, wavelet finite element model (WFEM) updating technique is employed to detect sub-element damage in thin plate structures progressively. The procedure of WFEM-based detection method, which can detect sub-element damage gradually, is established. This method involves the optimization of an objective function that combines frequencies and modal assurance criteria (MAC). During the damage detection process, the scales of wavelet elements in the concerned regions are adaptively enhanced or reduced to remain compatible with the gradually identified damage scenarios, while the modal properties from the tests remains the same, i.e., no measurement point replacement or addition are needed. Numerical and experimental examples were conducted to examine the effectiveness of the proposed method. A scanning Doppler laser vibrometer system was employed to measure the plate mode shapes in the experimental study. The results indicate that the proposed method can detect structural damage with satisfactory accuracy by using minimal degrees-of-freedoms (DOFs) in the model and minimal updating parameters in optimization.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.1439-1461
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• 2015

Design criteria, modeling rules, and analysis principles of seismic isolation systems have already found place in important building codes and standards such as the Uniform Building Code and ASCE/SEI 7-05. Although real behaviors of isolation systems composed of high damping or lead rubber bearings are nonlinear, equivalent linear models can be obtained using effective stiffness and damping which makes use of linear seismic analysis methods for seismic-isolated buildings possible. However, equivalent linear modeling and analysis may lead to errors in seismic response terms of multi-story buildings and thus need to be assessed comprehensively. This study investigates the accuracy of equivalent linear modeling via numerical experiments conducted on generic five-story three dimensional seismic-isolated buildings. A wide range of nonlinear isolation systems with different characteristics and their equivalent linear counterparts are subjected to historical earthquakes and isolation system displacements, top floor accelerations, story drifts, base shears, and torsional base moments are compared. Relations between the accuracy of the estimates of peak structural responses from equivalent linear models and typical characteristics of nonlinear isolation systems including effective period, rigid-body mode period, effective viscous damping ratio, and post-yield to pre-yield stiffness ratio are established. Influence of biaxial interaction and plan eccentricity are also examined.

• IEIE Transactions on Smart Processing and Computing
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.253-261
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• 2017

In this paper, a corner detection method based on a new non-cornerness measure is presented. Rather than evaluating local gradients or surface curvatures, as done in previous approaches, a non-cornerness function is developed that can identify stable corners by testing an image region against a set of desirable corner criteria. The non-cornerness function is comprised of two steps: 1) eliminate any pixel located in a flat region and 2) remove any pixel that is positioned along an edge in any orientation. A pixel that passes the non-cornerness test is considered a reliable corner. The proposed method also adopts the idea of non-maximum suppression to remove multiple corners from the results of the non-cornerness function. The proposed method is compared with previous popular methods and is tested with an artificial test image covering several corner forms and three real-world images that are universally used by the community to evaluate the accuracy of corner detectors. The experimental results show that the proposed method outperforms previous corner detectors with respect to accuracy, and that it is suitable for real-time processing.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.115-126
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• 2017

The modal identification of large civil structures such as bridges under the ambient vibrational conditions has been widely investigated during the past decade. Many operational modal analysis methods have been proposed and successfully used for identifying the dynamic characteristics of the constructed bridges in service. However, there is very limited research available on reliable criteria for the robustness of these identified modal parameters of the bridge structures. In this study, two time-domain operational modal analysis methods, the data-driven stochastic subspace identification (SSI-DATA) method and the covariance-driven stochastic subspace identification (SSI-COV) method, are employed to identify the modal parameters from field recorded ambient acceleration data. On the basis of the SSI-DATA method, the modal contribution indexes of all identified modes to the measured acceleration data are computed by using the Kalman filter, and their applicability to evaluate the robustness of identified modes is also investigated. Here, the benchmark problem, developed by Hong Kong Polytechnic University with field acceleration measurements under different excitation conditions of a cable-stayed bridge, is adopted to show the effectiveness of the proposed method. The results from the benchmark study show that the robustness of identified modes can be judged by using their modal contributions to the measured vibration data. A critical value of modal contribution index of 2% for a reliable identifiability of modal parameters is roughly suggested for the benchmark problem.

• The Journal of the Institute of Internet, Broadcasting and Communication
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.129-137
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• 2017

In this paper, we propose a digital controller design methodology for an LLC resonant converter which has been widely used due to the advantages of low switching loss and high efficiency. We establish a mathematical model of an LLC resonant converter using the extended describing function concept and propose a controller design method based on the Ziegler Nichols control parameter tuning criteria. The voltage controller of an LLC resonant converter is designed based on the derived small signal model and the performance of the controller is verified by MATLAB simulations. The validity and the control performance of the designed voltage controller for the LLC resonant converter is analyzed through some simulations for the case of load variations and circuit modeling errors.

• International journal of advanced smart convergence
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.37-46
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• 2020

Cerebral vascular surgery can damage patients' motor and sensory nerves; therefore, neuromonitoring is performed intraoperatively. Patients with diabetes often have peripheral neuropathy and may be prone to nerve damage during surgery. This study aimed to identify factors that should be considered when diabetic patients undergo intraoperative neuromonitoring during brain vascular surgery and to present new criteria. Methods: In patients with and without diabetes who underwent cerebrovascular surgery (n = 30/group), we compared the intraoperative stimulation intensity, postoperative motor power and sensory, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and glucose levels, and imaging findings. Results: Fasting glucose, blood glucose, and HbA1c levels were 10%, 12.1%, and 9.7%, respectively; they were higher in patients with than in patients without diabetes. Two patients with diabetes had weakness, and 10 required increased Somato sensory evoked potential (SSEP) stimulation, while in 16, motor power recovered over time rather than immediately. The non-diabetic group had no weakness after surgery, but 10 patients required more increased SSEP stimulation. The diabetic group showed significantly more abnormal test results than the non-diabetic group. Conclusion: For patients with diabetes undergoing surgery with intraoperative neuromonitoring, whether diabetic peripheral neuropathy is present, their blood glucose level and the anesthetic used should be considered.