• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.501-515
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• 2014

This paper presents a linear computational homogenization framework to evaluate the effective (or generalized) electromechanical coupling coefficient (EMCC) of adaptive structures with piezoelectric structural fiber (PSF) composite elements. The PSF consists of a silicon carbide (SiC) or carbon core fiber as reinforcement to a fragile piezo-ceramic shell. For the micro-scale analysis, a micromechanics model based on the variational asymptotic method for unit cell homogenization (VAMUCH) is used to evaluate the overall electromechanical properties of the PSF composites. At the macro-scale, a finite element (FE) analysis with the commercial FE code ABAQUS is performed to evaluate the effective EMCC for structures with the PSF composite patches. The EMCC is postprocessed from free-vibrations analysis under short-circuit (SC) and open-circuit (OC) electrodes of the patches. This linear two-scale computational framework may be useful for the optimal design of active structure multi-functional composites which can be used for multi-functional applications such as structural health monitoring, power harvest, vibration sensing and control, damping, and shape control through anisotropic actuation.

• Electrical & Electronic Materials
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.187-199
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• 1994

In order to find an effect of structural changes due to variation of addition ratio of anhydride hardener and postcuring herat-treatments upon electrical properties of epoxy composites, the dielectric properties over a frequency range from 30[Hz] to l[MHz] were investigated in the temperature range of 20-180[.deg. C]. From the dielectric properties, the a peaks related with glass-transition phenomena of epoxy network appeared near 130[.deg. C], the conduction loss in high temperature region above 150[.deg. C] due to thermal dissociation of hardener started off with the low frequency side and the .betha. peak concerned with contribution of movable unreacted terminal epoxy groups and curing agents in the glass states concurred with the high-frequency side below 20[.deg. C]. And an effect of an hydride hardener upon structural changes and of postcuring heat treatments upon structural stability in epoxy composites would be explained through the estimation of the distribution of relaxation times and the activation energy for a .alpha. peak according to the WLF equations.

• Composites Research
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.108-112
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• 2019

There has been a continuous study on the weight reduction of structure by composites. Unlike isotropic materials, the physical properties of composites vary according to the direction of laminate and the order of lamination. Therefore, in the case of composite ladders, it is essential to perform structural analysis to verify the planned design. In this study, ladder was designed by applying fabric material. In addition, the effect of loading position on the ladder was analyzed through finite element analysis, and structural performance was analyzed by selecting the most problematic location. We analyzed the effect of stacking order on the structural strength of the ladder by analyzing the structure by applying various stacking sequence and measuring the failure value in each layer.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society For Composite Materials Conference
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• 2005.04a
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• pp.55-58
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• 2005

The present study aims to design electrically and structurally effective antenna structures in order that the structural surface itself could become the antenna. The basic design concept is composite sandwich structure in which microstrip antenna is embedded and this is termed composite smart structure (CSS). The most important outstanding problem is that composite materials of structural function cannot be used without reducing antenna efficiency. Unfortunately, such materials have high electrical loss. This is a significant design problem that needs to be solved in practical applications. Therefore, the effects of composites facesheet on antenna performances are investigated in the first stage and changes in the gain of microstrip antenna due to composites facesheet have been determined. ‘Open condition’ is defined when gain is maximized and is a significant new concept for the design of high-gain antennas considering bandwidth in practical application. The open condition can be made with the outer facesheet by controlling its position. In the design of CSS, glass/epoxy composites and Nomex honeycomb were used with exploiting open condition. Experiments, confirm that the gain is improved and the bandwidth is also as wide as specified in our requirements. With the open condition, wideband antenna can be integrated with mechanical structures without reducing any electrical performances, as confirmed experimentally here.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering Conference
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• 2005.05a
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• pp.346-349
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• 2005

The present study aims to design electrically and structurally effective antenna structures in order that the structural surface itself could become the antenna. The basic design concept is composite sandwich structure in which microstrip antenna is embedded and this is termed composite smart structure (CSS). The most important outstanding problem is that composite materials of structural function cannot be used without reducing antenna efficiency. Unfortunately, such materials have high electrical loss. This is a significant design problem that needs to be solved in practical applications. Therefore, the effect of composites facesheet on antenna performances is studied in the first stage. Changes in the gain of microstrip antenna due to composites facesheet have been determined. 'Open condition' is defined when gain is maximized and is a significant new concept in the design of high-gain antennas considering bandwidth in practical application. The open condition can be made with any thickness of outer facesheet by controlling its position. In the design of CSS, glass/epoxy composites and Nomex honeycomb were used with exploiting open condition. Experiments, confirm that the gain is improved (over 11 dBi) and the bandwidth is also as wide as specified in our requirements (over 10% at 12.2 GHz). With the open condition, wideband antenna can be integrated with mechanical structures without reducing any electrical performances, as confirmed experimentally here.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.61 no.3
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• pp.325-334
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• 2017

In the present study, a numerical model for probability analysis of optimal design of fatigue non-uniform crack growth behaviour of a cracked aluminium 2024 T3 plate repaired with a bonded composite patch is investigated. The proposed 3D numerical model has advanced in literatures, which gathers in a unique study: problems of reliability, optimization, fatigue, cracks and repair of plates subjected to tensile loadings. To achieve this aim, a finite element modelling is carried out to determine the evolution of the stress intensity factor at the crack tip Paris law is used to predict the fatigue life for a give n crack. To have an optimal volume of our patch satisfied the practical fatigue life, a procedure of optimization is proposed. Finally, the probabilistic analysis is performed in order to a show that optimized patch design is influenced by uncertainties related to mechanical and geometrical properties during the manufacturing process.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.383-390
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• 2008

This paper presents the formulation and numerical implementation of a spectral scheme specially developed to simulate dynamic fracture events in unidirectional and cross-ply fiber-reinforced composites. The formulation is based on the spectral representation of the transversely isotropic elastodynamic relations between the traction stresses along the fracture plane and the resulting displacements. Example problem of dynamically propagating cracks in fiber-reinforced composites is investigated and compared with reference solutions available in the literature and/or experimental observations. This scheme can be directly applicable to the interfacial fracture analysis in the FRP reinforced concrete structures.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.70 no.2
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• pp.233-243
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• 2019

This paper depicts the development and characterizations of laminated composites made with cellulosic giant cane (Arundinaria gigantea) fiber mats and epoxy resin. Zirconia-toughened mullite (ZTM) is used as a filler material in the laminated composite which was prepared from sillimanite through plasma processing technique. The mechanical characterizations of this composite have been carried out as per ASTM standards to evaluate its usability as a structural material. The effects of varying weight percentages of the filler and two different fiber orientations namely, angle-ply [$+45^{\circ}/-45^{\circ}/+45^{\circ}$] and balanced cross-ply [$0^{\circ}/90^{\circ}/0^{\circ}$] on the physical and mechanical properties such as density, microhardness, impact strength, tensile strength and interlaminar shear strength of the layered composite specimens have been investigated. The study indicates that the inclusion of zirconia-toughened mullite in the composite laminate as filler improves its mechanical properties. Moreover, the use of giant cane fiber mat in the laminate is more eco-friendly than the synthetic fibers. This research also helps in generating additional data to enrich the repository of natural fiber reinforced laminated composites.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.45 no.11
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• pp.667-674
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• 2008

In this study, we prepared Fe-activated carbon fiber(ACF)/$TiO_2$ composites with titanium (VI) n-butoxide (TNB) as the titanium source for ACF pre-treated with iron compounds through the impregnation method. In terms of textural surface properties, the composites demonstrate a slight decrease in the BET surface area of the samples and an increase in the amount of iron compounds treated. The surface morphology of the Fe-ACF/$TiO_2$ composites was characterized by means of SEM. The composites have a porous texture with homogenous compositions of Fe and titanium dioxide distributed on the sample surfaces. The phase formation and structural transition of the iron compounds and titanium dioxide were observed in X-ray diffraction patterns of the Fe-ACF/$TiO_2$ composites. The chemical composition of the Fe-ACF/$TiO_2$ composites, which was investigated with EDX shows strong peaks for the C, O, Fe and Ti elements. The photo degradation results confirm that the Fe-ACF/$TiO_2$ composites show excellent removal activity for the COD in piggery waste due to photocatalysis of the supported $TiO_2$, radical reaction by Fe species, and the adsorptivity and absorptivity of ACF.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.99-106
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• 2013

Polyaniline-yttrium trioxide (PAni-$Y_2O_3$) composites were synthesized by the in-situ polymerization of aniline in the presence of $Y_2O_3$ The composite formation and structural changes in these composites were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infra red spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The direct current (DC) electrical conductivity of the order of $0.51{\times}10^{-2}\;S\;cm^{-1}-0.283\;S\;cm^{-1}$ in the temperature range 300 K-473 K indicates semiconducting behavior of the composites. Room temperature AC conductivity and dielectric response of the composites were studied in the frequency range of 10 Hz to 1 MHz. The variation of AC conductivity with frequency obeyed the power law, which decreased with increasing weight percentage (wt %) of $Y_2O_3$. Studies on dielectric properties shows the relaxation contribution coupled by electrode polarization effect. The dielectric constant and dielectric loss in these composites depend on the content of $Y_2O_3$ with a percolation threshold at 20 wt % of $Y_2O_3$ in PAni. Electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness (EMI SE) of the composites in the frequency range 100 Hz to 2 GHz was in the practically useful range of -12.2 dB to -17.2 dB. The observed electrical and shielding properties were attributed to the interaction of $Y_2O_3$ particles with the PAni molecular chains.