• Journal of International Academy of Physical Therapy Research
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.1468-1474
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• 2018

The purpose of the study was to investigate the immediate effects of negative pressure soft tissue therapy on muscle tone, muscle stiffness and balance in patients with stroke. In total, 20 patients with stroke and assigned to the negative pressure soft tissue therapy group (NPST, n=10) or, placebo-negative pressure soft tissue therapy group(Placebo-NPST, n=10). Both groups underwent NPST or placebo-NPST once a day during the experimental period. MyotonPRO was used to assess the parameters for muscle tone and stiffness. Biorescue was used to assess the parameters for balance. Each group showed improvements in muscle tone, muscle stiffness, and balance ability (p<.05). Especially, Muscle tone, muscle stiffness, and anterior length in the limit of stability were the significant improvement on NPST group (p<.05). The results of the study suggest that the NPST is effective in improving muscle tone, muscle stiffness, and balance ability in patients with stroke.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.47-65
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• 2015

A novel finite element (FE) model updating method based on multi-resolution analysis (MRA) is proposed. The true stiffness of the FE model is considered as the superposition of two pieces of stiffness information of different resolutions: the pre-defined stiffness information and updating stiffness information. While the resolution of former is solely decided by the meshing density of the FE model, the resolution of latter is decided by the limited information obtained from the experiment. The latter resolution is considerably lower than the former. Second generation wavelet is adopted to describe the updating stiffness information in the framework of MRA. This updating stiffness in MRA is realized at low level of resolution, therefore, needs less number of updating parameters. The efficiency of the optimization process is thus enhanced. The proposed method is suitable for the identification of multiple irregular cracks and performs well in capturing the global features of the structural damage. After the global features are identified, a refinement process proposed in the paper can be carried out to improve the performance of the MRA of the updating information. The effectiveness of the method is verified by numerical simulations of a box girder and the experiment of a three-span continues pre-stressed concrete bridge. It is shown that the proposed method corresponds well to the global features of the structural damage and is stable against the perturbation of modal parameters and small variations of the damage.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.95-103
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• 2022

In order to evaluate the earthquake safety of equipment in structures, it is essential to analyze the In-Structure Response Spectrum (ISRS). The ISRS has a peak value at the frequency corresponding to the structural vibration mode, but the frequency and amplitude at the peak can vary because of many uncertain parameters. There are several seismic design criteria for ISRS peak-broadening for fixed base structures. However, there are no suggested criteria for constructing the design ISRS of seismically isolated structures. The ISRS of isolated structures may change due to the major uncertainty parameter of the isolator, which is the shear stiffness of the isolator and the several uncertainty parameters caused by the nonlinear behavior of isolators. This study evaluated the effects on the ISRS due to the initial stiffness of the bi-linear curve of isolators and the variation of effective stiffness by the input ground motion intensity and intense motion duration. Analyzing a simplified structural model for isolated base structure confirmed that the ISRS at the frequency of structural mode was amplified and shifted. It was found that the uncertainty of the initial stiffness of isolators significantly affects the shape of ISRS. The variation caused by the intensity and duration of input ground motions was also evaluated. These results suggested several considerations for generating ISRS for seismically isolated structures.

• Proceedings of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea Conference
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• 2000.04a
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• pp.218-225
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• 2000

This paper presents intermediate results of an on-going research for identification of the modal and the stiffness parameters of a bridge based on the ambient vibration data caused by the traffic loadings. The main algorithms consist of the random decrement method incorporating band-pass filters for estimation of the free vibration signals the cross spectral density method for identification of the modal parameters and the neural networks technique for estimation of the element-level stiffness changes. An experimental study is carried out on a scaled bridge model with a composite section subjected to various moving vehicle loadings. Vertical accelerations are measured at several locations on the girder. The estimated frequencies and mode shapes are found to be well-compared with those obtained from the impact tests. The estimated stiffness changes using the neural networks are found to be very good for the case with the simulated data. However the accuracy is found to be not quite satisfactory for the case with the experimental data particularly for the small value of the stiffness changes.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.73-96
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• 2005

For the spatially coupled free vibration analysis of shear deformable thin-walled non-symmetric curved beam subjected to initial axial force, an exact dynamic element stiffness matrix of curved beam is evaluated. Firstly equations of motion and force-deformation relations are rigorously derived from the total potential energy for a curved beam element. Next a system of linear algebraic equations are constructed by introducing 14 displacement parameters and transforming the second order simultaneous differential equations into the first order simultaneous differential equations. And then explicit expressions for displacement parameters are numerically evaluated via eigensolutions and the exact $14{\times}14$ dynamic element stiffness matrix is determined using force-deformation relations. To demonstrate the accuracy and the reliability of this study, the spatially coupled natural frequencies of shear deformable thin-walled non-symmetric curved beams subjected to initial axial forces are evaluated and compared with analytical and FE solutions using isoparametric and Hermitian curved beam elements and results by ABAQUS's shell elements.

• Proceedings of the KSR Conference
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• 2005.05a
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• pp.536-543
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• 2005

Derivation procedures of exact dynamic stiffness matrices of thin-walled curved beams subjected to axial forces are rigorously presented for the spatial free vibration analysis. An exact dynamic stiffness matrix is established from governing equations for a uniform curved beam element with nonsymmetric thin-walled cross section. Firstly this numerical technique is accomplished via a generalized linear eigenvalue problem by introducing 14 displacement parameters and a system of linear algebraic equations with complex matrices. Thus, displacement functions of dispalcement parameters are exactly derived and finally exact stiffness matrices are determined using element force-displacement relationships. The natural frequencies of the nonsymmetric thin-walled curved beam are evaluated and compared with analytical solutions or results by ABAQUS's shell elements in order to demonstrate the validity of this study.

• Proceedings of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute Conference
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• 2001.10a
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• pp.345-352
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• 2001

Derivation procedures of exact static element stiffness matrix of shear deformable thin-walled straight beams are rigorously presented for the spatial buckling analysis. An exact static element stiffness matrix is established from governing equations for a uniform beam element with nonsymmetric thin-walled cross section. First this numerical technique is accomplished via a generalized linear eigenvalue problem by introducing 14 displacement parameters and a system of linear algebraic equations with complex matrices. Thus, the displacement functions of dispalcement parameters are exactly derived and finally exact stiffness matrices are determined using member force-displacement relationships. The buckling loads are evaluated and compared with analytic solutions or results of the analysis using ABAQUS' shell elements for the thin-walled straight beam structure in order to demonstrate the validity of this study.

• Proceedings of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute Conference
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• 2001.10a
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• pp.435-442
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• 2001

Derivation procedures of exact dynamic element stiffness matrix of shear deformable nonsymmetric thin-walled straight beams are rigorously presented for the spatial free vibration analysis. An exact dynamic element stiffness matrix is established from governing equations for a uniform beam element with nonsymmetric thin-walled cross section. First this numerical technique is accomplished via a generalized linear eigenvalue problem by introducing 14 displacement parameters and a system of linear algebraic equations with complex matrices. Thus, the displacement functions of dispalcement parameters are exactly derived and finally exact stiffness matrices are determined using member force-displacement relationships. The natural frequencies are evaluated and compared with analytic solutions or results of the analysis using ABAQUS' shell elements for the thin-walled straight beam structure in order to demonstrate the validity of this study.

• Proceedings of the KSR Conference
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• 2004.10a
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• pp.906-915
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• 2004

Derivation procedures of exact dynamic stiffness matrices of thin-walled curved beams subjected to axial forces are rigorously presented for the spatial free vibration analysis. An exact dynamic stiffness matrix is established from governing equations for a uniform curved beam element with nonsymmetric thin-walled cross section. Firstly this numerical technique is accomplished via a generalized linear eigenvalue problem by introducing 14 displacement parameters and a system of linear algebraic equations with complex matrices. Thus, displacement functions of dispalcement parameters are exactly derived and finally exact stiffness matrices are determined using clement force-displacement relationships. The natural frequencies of the nonsymmetric thin-walled curved beam are evaluated and compared with analytical solutions or results by ABAQUS's shell elements in order to demonstrate the validity of this study.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.411-425
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• 1998

The effective length factor of a framed column may be determined by means of the alignment chart procedure. This method is based on many unrealistic assumptions, among which is that all columns have the same stiffness parameter, which is dependent on the length, axial load, and moment of inertia of the column. A new approximate method is developed for the determination of effective length factors for columns in unbraced frames. This method takes into account the effects of inelastic column behaviour, far end conditions of the restraining beams and columns, semi-rigid beam-to-column connections, and differentiated stiffness parameters of columns. This method may be implemented on a microcomputer. A numerical study was carried out to demonstrate the extent to which the involved parameters affect the K factor. The beam-to-column connection stiffness, the stiffness parameter of columns, and the far end conditions of restraining members have a significant effect on the K factor of the column under investigation. The developed method is recommended for design purposes.