• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.195-211
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• 2020

Among anti-seismic technologies, base isolation is a very effective means of mitigating damage to structural and nonstructural components, such as equipment. However, most seismic isolation systems are designed for mitigating only horizontal seismic responses because the realization of a vertical isolation system (VIS) is difficult. The difficulty is primarily due to conflicting isolation stiffness demands in the static and dynamic states for a VIS, which requires sufficient rigidity to support the self-weight of the isolated object in the static state, but sufficient flexibility to lengthen the isolation period and uncouple the ground motion in the dynamic state. To overcome this problem, a semi-active VIS, called the piezoelectric inertia-type vertical isolation system (PIVIS), is proposed in this study. PIVIS is composed of a piezoelectric friction damper (PFD) and a leverage mechanism with a counterweight. The counterweight provides an uplifting force in the static state and an extra inertial force in the dynamic state; therefore, the effective vertical stiffness of PIVIS is higher in the static state and lower in the dynamic state. The PFD provides a controllable friction force for PIVIS to further prevent its excessive displacement. For experimental verification, a shaking table test was conducted on a prototype PIVIS controlled by a simple controller. The experimental results well agree with the theoretical results. To further investigate the isolation performance of PIVIS, the seismic responses of PIVIS were simulated numerically by considering 14 vertical ground motions with different characteristics. The responses of PIVIS were compared with those of a traditional VIS and a passive system (PIVIS without control). The numerical results demonstrate that compared with the traditional and passive systems, PIVIS can effectively suppress isolation displacement in all kinds of earthquake with various peak ground accelerations and frequency content while maintaining its isolation efficiency. The proposed system is particularly effective for near-fault earthquakes with long-period components, for which it prevents resonant-like motion.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.62 no.2
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• pp.197-208
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• 2017

Among various retrofitting strategies, use of semi-active control for retrofitting a building structure has gained momentum in recent years. One of the techniques for such retrofitting is to connect a weaker building to an adjacent stronger building by semi-active devices, so that performances of a weaker building are significantly improved for seismic forces. In this paper, a ten storey weaker building is connected to an adjacent stronger building using magneto-rheological (MR) dampers, for primarily improving the performance of the weaker building in terms of displacement, drift and base shear. For this, a fuzzy logic controller is specifically developed by fuzzyfying the responses of the coupled system. The performance of the control strategy is compared with the passive-on and passive-off controls. Pounding Mitigation between the two buildings is also investigated using all three control strategies. The results show that there exists a fundamental frequency ratio between the two buildings for which maximum control of the weaker building response takes place with no penalty on the stronger building. There exists also a fundamental frequency ratio where control of the weaker building response is achieved at the expense of the amplification of the stronger building. However, coupling strategy always improves the possibility of pounding mitigation.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.425-436
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• 2017

Vibration control using a tuned mass damper (TMD) is an effective technique that has been verified using analytical methods and experiments. It has been applied in mechanical, automotive, and structural applications. However, the damping of a TMD cannot be adjusted in real time. An excessive mass damper stroke may be introduced when the mass damper is subjected to a seismic excitation whose frequency content is within its operation range. The semi-active tuned mass damper (SATMD) has been proposed to solve this problem. The parameters of an SATMD can be adjusted in real time based on the measured structural responses and an appropriate control law. In this study, a stiffness-controllable TMD, called a leverage-type stiffness-controllable mass damper (LSCMD), is proposed and fabricated to verify its feasibility. The LSCMD contains a simple leverage mechanism and its stiffness can be altered by adjusting the pivot position. To determine the pivot position of the LSCMD in real time, a discrete-time direct output-feedback active control law that considers delay time is implemented. Moreover, an identification test for the transfer function of the pivot driving and control systems is proposed. The identification results demonstrate the target displacement can be achieved by the pivot displacement in 0-2 Hz range and the control delay time is about 0.1 s. A shaking-table test has been conducted to verify the theory and feasibility of the LSCMD. The comparisons of experimental and theoretical results of the LSCMD system show good consistency. It is shown that dynamic behavior of the LSCMD can be simulated correctly by the theoretical model and that the stiffness can be properly adjusted by the pivot position. Comparisons of experimental results of the LSCMD and passive TMD show the LSCMD with less demand on the mass damper stroke than that for the passive TMD.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.323-335
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• 2020

Magnetorheological elastomer (MRE), a smart material, is an innovative material for base isolation system. It has magnetorheological (MR) effect that can control the stiffness in real-time. In this paper, a new hybrid base isolation system combining two electromagnetic closed circuits and the roller bearing is proposed. In the proposed system, the roller part can support the vertical load. Thus, the MRE part is free from the vertical load and can exhibit the maximum MR effect. The MRE magnetic loop is constructed in the free space of the roller bearing and forms a strong magnetic field. To demonstrate the performance of the proposed hybrid base isolation system, dynamic characteristic tests and performance evaluation were carried out. Dynamic characteristic tests were performed under the extensive range of strain of the MRE and the change of the applied current. Performance evaluation was carried out using the hybrid simulation under five earthquakes (i.e., El Centro, Kobe, Hachinohe, Northridge, and Loma Prieta). Especially, semi-active fuzzy control algorithm was applied and compared with passive type. From the performance evaluation, the comparison shows that the new hybrid base isolation system using fuzzy control algorithm is superior to passive type in reducing the acceleration and displacement responses of a target structure.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.346-351
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• 2008

In this paper, the semi-active control of a helicopter landing gear using magneto -rheological(MR) damper is studied. A dynamic model of the MR damper is formulated by incorporating magnetic field-dependent Bingham properties of the MR fluid. The electromagnet of the MR damper is designed and its magnetic field is analyzed using a commercial finite element code. The damping characteristics of MR damper by changing the intensity of the magnetic field are investigated and the dynamic responses of the helicopter landing gear with MR damper are simulated. The semi-active control of the helicopter landing gear is simulated by implementing a sky-kook control algorithm and its performance is evaluated comparing to the passive control.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.37 no.11
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• pp.1131-1139
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• 2009

Combustion Instabilities are caused by a coupling between acoustic waves and unsteady heat release. They can be eliminated using passive controller such as a Helmholtz resonator. But, Helmholtz resonator is normally only effective over a narrow frequency range. In this work, Helmholtz resonator is applied for reducing the combustion oscillations and we vary the Helmholtz resonator volume using piston in oder to tune in the wide range of operating conditions. As the result, it is found that the dominant combustion oscillations can be largely reduced by optimizing the size of resonator volume. And, interesting relation for phase difference of dynamic pressure both combustor and the helmholtz resonator are presented in this paper. Also, we investigate semi-active control using Helmholtz equation and phase difference.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.58-67
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• 2016

The corrosion behavior of duplex stainless steel AISI 2205 was investigated in ethylene glycol-water mixture in the presence of 50 W/V % LiBr at different concentrations and different temperatures. Cyclic polarization, impedance measurements and Mott-Schottky analysis were used to study the corrosion behavior the semi conductive properties of the passive films. The results showed that with increasing in the ethylene glycol concentration to 10 V/V%, the corrosion rate of the steel alloy substrate increased. In higher concentrations of ethylene glycol, corrosion current of steel decreased. The results of scanning electron microscopy of electrode surface confirmed the electrochemical tests. Electrochemical experiment showed that duplex steel was stable for pitting corrosion in this environment. The increase in the ethylene glycol concentration led to increasing the susceptibility to pitting corrosion. The corrosion current increased as the temperature rise and also pitting potentials and repassivation potentials shifted towards the less positive values as the temperature increased. According to Mott-Schottky analysis, passive films of stainless steel at the different temperatures showed both n-type and p-type semiconductor behavior in different potential.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.129-145
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• 2020

Seismic resilience is a key feature for buildings that play a strategic role within the community. In this framework, not only the structural and non-structural elements damage but also the protracted structural dysfunction can contribute significantly to overall seismic damage and post-seismic crisis situations. Reduction of the residual and peak displacements and energy dissipation by replaceable elements are some effective aspects to pursue in order to enhance the resilience. Control systems able to adapt their response based on the nature of events, such as active or semi-active, can achieve the best results, but also require higher costs and their complexity jeopardizes their reliability; on the other hand, a passive control system is not able to adapt but its functioning is more reliable and characterized by lower costs. In this study it is proposed a strategy for the optimization of the dissipative capacity of a seismic resistant system obtained placing in parallel two different groups dissipative Re-Centering Devices, specifically designed to enhance the energy dissipation, one for the low and the other for the high intensity earthquakes. In this way the efficiency of the system in dissipating the seismic energy is kept less sensitive to the seismic intensity compared to the case of only one group of dissipative devices.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.11 no.6
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• pp.1101-1121
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• 2016

Base isolation, one of the popular seismic protection approaches proven to be effective in practical applications, has been widely applied worldwide during the past few decades. As the techniques mature, it has been recognised that, the biggest issue faced in base isolation technique is the challenge of great base displacement demand, which leads to the potential of overturning of the structure, instability and permanent damage of the isolators. Meanwhile, drain, ventilation and regular maintenance at the base isolation level are quite difficult and rather time- and fund- consuming, especially in the highly populated areas. To address these challenges, a number of efforts have been dedicated to propose new isolation systems, including segmental building, additional storey isolation (ASI) and mid-storey isolation system, etc. However, such techniques have their own flaws, among which whipping effect is the most obvious one. Moreover, due to their inherent passive nature, all these techniques, including traditional base isolation system, show incapability to cope with the unpredictable and diverse nature of earthquakes. The solution for the aforementioned challenge is to develop an innovative vibration isolation system to realise variable structural stiffness to maximise the adaptability and controllability of the system. Recently, advances on the development of an adaptive magneto-rheological elastomer (MRE) vibration isolator has enlightened the development of adaptive base isolation systems due to its ability to alter stiffness by changing applied electrical current. In this study, an innovative semi-active storey isolation system inserting such novel MRE isolators between each floor is proposed. The stiffness of each level in the proposed isolation system can thus be changed according to characteristics of the MRE isolators. Non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm type II (NSGA-II) with dynamic crowding distance (DCD) is utilised for the optimisation of the parameters at isolation level in the system. Extensive comparative simulation studies have been conducted using 5-storey benchmark model to evaluate the performance of the proposed isolation system under different earthquake excitations. Simulation results compare the seismic responses of bare building, building with passive controlled MRE base isolation system, building with passive-controlled MRE storey isolation system and building with optimised storey isolation system.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.17 no.10
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• pp.69-76
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• 2000

Lots of semi-active control devices have been developed in recent years because they have the best features of passive and active system. Especially, controllable magneto-rheological(MR) fluid devices have received significant attention in these area of research. The MR fluid is the material that reversibly changes from a free-flowing, linear viscous fluid to a semisolid with a controllable yield strength in milliseconds when exposed to a magnetic field. If the magnetic field is induced by moving a permanent magnet instead of applying current to a solenoid, it is possible to design a MR damper consuming low power because the power consumption is reduced at steady state. This paper proposes valve mode MR damper using permanent magnetic circuit that has wide range of operation with low power consumption, a design parameter is adopted. The magnetic circuit, material of choke and choke type are selected experimentally with the design parameter. The behaviors of the damper are examined and torque tracking control using PID feedback controller is performed for step, ramp and sinusoidal trajectiories.