• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.155-164
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• 2014

Carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) composites are increasingly being used in a variety of industry applications, such as aircraft, automobiles, and ships because of their high specific stiffness and high specific strength. Aircraft are exposed to high temperatures and high humidity for a long duration during flights. CFRP materials of the aircraft can absorb water, which could decrease the adhesion strength of these materials and cause their volumes to change with variation in internal stress. Therefore, it is necessary to estimate the characteristics of CFRP composites under actual conditions from the viewpoint of aircraft safety. In this study air-coupled ultrasonic testing (ACUT) was applied to the evaluation of water absorption properties of CFRP composites. CFRP specimens were fabricated and immersed in distilled water at $75^{\circ}C$ for 30, 60, and 120 days, after which their ultrasonic images were obtained by ACUT. The water absorption properties were determined by quantitatively analyzing the changes in ultrasonic signals. Further, shear strength was applied to the specimens to verify the changes in their mechanical properties for water absorption.

• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.387-394
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• 2019

In this study, in order to evaluate the damage and deterioration of the track components of sleeper floating track (STEDEF), the field samples(specimens) were taken from the serviced line over 20 years old, and the track components were visually inspected, and investigated by laboratory tests and finite element analysis. As a result of visual inspection, the damage of the rail pad and fastener was slight, but the rubber boot was worn and torn at the edges of bottom. The resilience pads were clearly examined for thickness reduction and fatigue hardening layer. As a result of spring stiffness test of rail pad and resilience pad, the deterioration of rail pad was insignificant, but the deterioration of resilience pad exceeded design standard value. Therefore resilience pad was directly affected by train passing tonnage. As a result of comparing the deterioration state of the field sample and the numerical analysis result, the stress and displacement concentration position of the finite element model and the damage position of the field sample were coincident.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.19 no.11
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• pp.230-236
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• 2018

Earthquakes over 5.0 on the Richter scale have recently occurred in Korea, which has led to interest in the seismic safety of structures. If a water storage facility is damaged by an earthquake, the water could leak, and the insufficient water would make fire suppression difficult. Therefore, a water storage facility should satisfy safety requirements for earthquakes. In this study, the seismic performance of a water tank was improved by installing a lead rubber bearing between the foundation and the tank. It designed the lead rubber bearing available to the existed concrete foundation. ANSYS was used for modeling to consider the interaction between the fluid and structure of the tank and the hydrostatic and hydrodynamic pressure using four seismic waves. In the case of hydrostatic pressure at 2.5 water level, full level, the same stress appeared irrespective of whether the seismic isolation was installed. When hydrostatic pressure and hydrodynamic pressures are applied at the same time, the seismic-isolated water tank showed less seismic force, and the damping ratio was lower than that of general seismic isolation. This occurred because the weight of the water tank is much smaller than the stiffness of the seismic isolation. The result is expected to be used for further research on seismic capacity evaluation for water tanks.

• Journal of the Korean Geosynthetics Society
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.225-238
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• 2018

In this paper, to investigate the influence of installation damage, a variety of full-scale field installation tests with 15 geosynthetics reinforcements and fill materials of various grain size distribution have been performed. The full-scale field installation test was conducted with reference to the FHWA (2009) guidelines. The tensile strength tests were performed by sampling up to 20 specimens randomly from the excavated geosynthetics reinforcements after compaction of fill material, and the degree of decrease in tensile strength of reinforcements due to compaction was analyzed based on the experiment results. It was found that the degree of tensile strength reduction of geosynthetics reinforcements due to the compaction of fill material is greatly influenced by the type of reinforcement and the maximum diameter of fill material. In addition, it was found that the strength reduction ratio of PET geogrid (PVC coating) with relatively small stiffness was greatest, and that the larger the maximum grain size of the fill material, the greater the strength reduction ratio. And also, a more reasonable evaluation method for the installation damage reduction factor of geosynthetics reinforcements is proposed based on the results of full-scale field installation tests in present study and the existing test results.

• Journal of the Korean Geosynthetics Society
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.141-155
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• 2018

Recently, the number of ground subsidence resulting from underground cavity has been increased. Accordingly, the importance of restoration of stress release zone around the underground cavity has been emphasized. The stress release zone is composed of low density soils having extremely low stiffness and degree of compaction, which can lead to additional cavity expansion and collapse of overlying ground. Therefore, in this study, the suitability of restoration method of underground cavity using expansive material for reinforcement of stress release zone around the cavity is verified. The basic physical properties and expansion characteristics of the expansive material were examined. The experiment equipment capable simulating of stress release zone was developed and is used to investigate the effect of expanding material on stress release zone. The stress release zone was simulated using the spring in numerical analysis. The factors of the volume ratio of the underground cavity to the expansion material, the degree of stress relaxation, and the shape of the cavity were varied in numerical simulations, and the behavior of stress release zone was analyzed based on the numerical analysis results. Analysis variables are factors that affect each other. Also, filling of underground cavity and capacity of restoration of stress release zone were confirmed when the expansive material was inserted into underground cavity.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.84-91
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• 2019

Recently, there has been a tendency to improve seismic performance of building structure by installing a steel hysteretic damping device which is economically efficient and easy to install and maintain. However, for a reinforced concrete building, a set of complicated connecting hardware and braces to fix the steel hysteretic damping device yields deteriorated reliability in damping performance. Therefore, this study presents a method of directly embedding a Kagome damper, which was investigated in previous researches, into a concrete structure without additional connecting hardware. Moreover, in this study, a series of experiments conducted to provide a basis of the Kagome damper by confirming the seismic behavior for various embedded lengths. As a result, in a group of the embedded length of $1.0l_d$, the dampers were pulled out, while concrete breakout occurs. In a group of $2.0l_d$, neither pull-out nor concrete breakout occurred, while the dampers show stable behavior. Moreover, the buried length of $2.0l_d$ has 1.3 times better energy dissipation capacity. The system presented in this study can reduce the cost and period for installing, omitting making additional hardware.

• Clinical and Molecular Hepatology
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.384-391
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• 2018

Backgrounds/Aims: The objective of our study was to determine the epidemiological, laboratory, and serological characteristics of patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and normal transaminases. The study also aimed to evaluate liver damage by measuring the liver fibrosis (LF) grade and to identify possible factors associated with the presence of fibrosis. Methods: A retrospective observational study was conducted in patients with chronic HBV infection and classified as inactive carriers or immune-tolerant. Epidemiological variables of age, sex, immigrant, alcohol consumption, and body mass index (BMI), as well as virological variables (HBV DNA) and transaminase level were collected throughout the follow-up. The LF grade was evaluated by transient elastography. The cutoff value for significant fibrosis (SF) was liver stiffness ${\geq}7.9kPa$. Results: A total of 214 patients were included in the analysis, and 62% of them had a BMI ${\geq}25kg/m^2$. During follow-up, 4% of patients showed transaminase elevation (<1.5 times normal). Most patients had a viral DNA level <2,000 IU/mL (83%). Data on LF were available in 160 patients; of these, 14% had SF, 9% F3, and 6% F4. The variables associated with the presence of SF were transaminase alteration during follow-up, as 23% of patients with SF had elevated transaminases versus 3% of patients without SF (P<0.005), and BMI, as the vast majority of patients with SF (88%) had a BMI ${\geq}25kg/m^2$ versus 56% of patients without SF (P<0.05). Conclusions: In patients with chronic HBV infection and normal transaminases, liver damage does not seem to be related to DNA levels, alcohol consumption, or immigrant status. SF seems to be associated with transaminase alteration during follow-up and elevated BMI. It is therefore recommended to measure LF grade with validated non-invasive methods in such patients.

• Journal of the Society of Disaster Information
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.796-805
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• 2020

Purpose: A static loading test was performed to evaluate the ultimate flexural strength of a girder in which 80MPa high-strength concrete was synthesized on the compressive flange of the I-shape steel girder. Method: This test is designed and fabricated two types of specimens with different shear-connection specifications, and evaluated their ultimate flexural behavior until reaching the extreme event limit states. In addition, the ultimate strength was evaluated by comparing the test results and the results of the strain compatibility method. Result: By confirming the displacement within 0.02mm as a result of the relative slip measurement, it was verified that the two specimens secured perfect bonding. Therefore, the difference in the shear specification does not have a great effect on the stiffness, and if the specimens are completely synthesized, there is no difference in the behavior until it reaches the extreme-event limit states. Conclusion: The girder to be tested has a working load within the elastic range and meets the usability requirements for allowable deflection. Therefore, even if a part of the casing is subjected to the tensile force at the level of cracking, the deck will first reach the compression failure due to the role of the reinforcing bar.

• Journal of the Korean Geosynthetics Society
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.45-55
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• 2021

In this study, the behavioral characteristics of the fill dam were analyzed during water level fluctuations through a numerical analysis model, and the reservoir safety management plan was prepared. The variation in plastic deviatoric strain, horizontal displacement, stress path, pore water pressure, etc., due to elevation of water level in the upper and lower sides of shell and core were analyzed using numerical analysis software, viz. GTS NX and LIQCA. The analysis results manifest that as the water level in the dam body increases rapidly, the pore water pressure and displacement also increase quickly. It was found that the elevation of the water level causes an increase in pore water pressure in the dam body as well as an increase in the saturation of the dam body and decreased effective stress. It is considered that this type of dam behavior can be the cause of the reduction of strength and stiffness of the dam. Also, it is assumed that the accumulated plastic deviatoric strain due to the deformation of the dam body caused by water infiltration causes an increase in displacement. Based on these experimental results and the results of analyses of the existing reservoir safety diagnosis techniques, an improvement plan for dam safety diagnosis and evaluation criteria was proposed, and these results can be used as primary data while revising dam safety diagnosis guidelines.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.36 no.12
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• pp.77-86
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• 2020

In this study, the importance of implied strength correction for shallow depths at a region of moderate to low seismicity with primary focus on its effect upon site natural period and mean period of the ground motion is investigated. In addition to the most commonly used Modified Kondner-Zelasko (MKZ) model, this paper uses a quadratic/hyperbolic (GQ/H) model that can capture the stress - strain response at large strains as well as small strain stiffness dependence. A total of six site profiles by downhole tests are used and 1D site response analyses are performed using three input motions with contrasting mean periods. The difference between non-corrected and corrected analyses is conditional on the site period as well as mean ground motion period. The effect of periods is analyzed by correlating them with the effective peak ground acceleration, maximum shear strains and amplification factors. The comparative study reveals that the difference is more prominent in soft sites with long site periods. Insignificant differences are observed when soil profiles are subjected to ground motion with very short mean period.