• Smart Structures and Systems
• /
• v.19 no.5
• /
• pp.553-565
• /
• 2017

Structural modeling of unencapsulated ionic polymer metal composite (u-IPMC) actuators that are used for flapping the insect scale-flapping wing of micro air vehicles (FMAV) in dry environmental conditions is carried out. Structural modeling for optimization of design parameters for retention of water, maximize actuation performance and to study the influence of water activity on the actuation characteristics of u-IPMC is explored for use in FMAV. The influence of equivalent weight of Nafion polymer, cations, concentration of cations, pre-treatment procedures on retention of water of u-IPMCs and on actuation parameters, flapping angle, flexural stiffness and actuation displacement are investigated. IPMC designed with Nafion having equivalent weight 900-1100, pre-heated at $30^{\circ}C$ and with sodium as the cations is promising for optimum retention of water and actuation performance. The actuation parameters while in operation in dry and humid environment with varying water activity can be tuned to desirable frequency, deflection, flap angle and flexural stiffness by changing the water activity and operational temperature of the environment.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.58 no.5
• /
• pp.905-929
• /
• 2016

This paper assesses efficiency of the continuum method as the idealized system of building structures. A modified Coupled Two-Beam (CTB) model equipped with classical and non-classical damping has been proposed and solved analytically. In this system, complementary (non-classical) damping models composed of bending and shear mechanisms have been defined. A spatial shear damping model which is non-homogeneously distributed has been adopted in the CTB formulation and used to equivalently model passive dampers, viscous and viscoelastic devices, embedded in building systems. The application of continuum-based models for the dynamic analysis of shear wall systems has been further discussed. A reference example has been numerically analyzed to evaluate the efficiency of the presented CTB, and the optimization problems of the shear damping have been finally ascertained using local and global performance indices. The results reveal the superior performance of non-classical damping models against the classical damping. They show that the critical position of the first modal rotation in the CTB is reliable as the optimum placement of the shear damping. The results also prove the good efficiency of such a continuum model, in addition to its simplicity, for the fast estimation of dynamic responses and damping optimization issues in building systems.

• Journal of Korean Association for Spatial Structures
• /
• v.19 no.2
• /
• pp.43-50
• /
• 2019

A smart connective control system was invented recently for coupling control of adjacent buildings. Previous studies on this topic focused on development of control algorithm for the smart connective control system and design method of control device. Usually, a smart control devices are applied to building structures after structural design. However, because structural characteristics of building structure with control devices changes, a iterative design is required for optimal design. To defeat this problem, an integrated optimal design method for a smart connective control system and connected buildings was proposed. For this purpose, an artificial seismic load was generated for control performance evaluation of the smart coupling control system. 20-story and 12-story adjacent buildings were used as example structures and an MR (magnetorheological) damper was used as a smart control device to connect adjacent two buildings. NSGA-II was used for multi-objective integrated optimization of structure-smart control device. Numerical simulation results show the integrated optimal design method proposed in this study can provide various optimal designs for smart connective control system and connected buildings presenting good control performance.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
• /
• v.27 no.6
• /
• pp.263-270
• /
• 2008

The performance of an ultrasonic array sensor is determined by the properties of constituent materials and the effects of many structural parameters. In this study, with the finite element method, variation of the performances of an ultrasonic array sensor was analyzed in relation to its structural variables. Based on the analysis result, the structure of the ultrasonic array sensor was optimized to provide the highest sensitivity while satisfying such requirements as fractional bandwidth, center frequency and -20 dB pulse length. The optimization was carried out with the SQP-PD method for a target function composed of the ultrasonic array sensor performance. The optimized ultrasonic array sensor satisfied all the required specifications to be applicable to medical imaging diagnosis. The design technology in this paper can be utilized for other ultrasonic array sensors of a similar structure.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.72 no.6
• /
• pp.689-712
• /
• 2019

Time-series models like AR-ARX and ARMAX, provide a robust way to capture the dynamic properties of structures, and their residuals can be effectively used as features for damage detection. Even though several research papers discuss the implementation of AR-ARX and ARMAX models for damage diagnosis, they are basically been exploited so far for detecting the time instant of damage and also the spatial location of the damage. However, the inverse problem associated with damage quantification i.e. extent of damage using time series models is not been reported in the literature. In this paper, an approach to detect the extent of damage by combining the ARMAX model by formulating the inverse problem as a multi-constrained optimization problem and solving using a newly developed hybrid adaptive differential search with dynamic interaction is presented. The proposed variant of the differential search technique employs small multiple populations which perform the search independently and exchange the information with the dynamic neighborhood. The adaptive features and local search ability features are built into the algorithm in order to improve the convergence characteristics and also the overall performance of the technique. The multi-constrained optimization formulations of the inverse problem, associated with damage quantification using time series models, attempted here for the first time, can considerably improve the robustness of the search process. Numerical simulation studies have been carried out by considering three numerical examples to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed technique in robustly identifying the extent of the damage. Issues related to modeling errors and also measurement noise are also addressed in this paper.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
• /
• v.38 no.1
• /
• pp.71-78
• /
• 2014

Door hinges of large refrigerators are required to ensure that the doors open and close smoothly in addition to supporting door weights and enduring the impact loads due to door opening and closing. However, door hinge design is difficult because of complex hinge mechanisms and sensitive structural safety. In this study, the mechanism satisfying the required spring response, space constraints, and structural strength is optimized, and the volume of the outer frame covering the hinge mechanism is minimized for reducing production costs. The entire design process is automated using the PIDO(Progress Integration and Design Optimization) technique, which achieves an efficient design process. Therefore, the frame mass is reduced to 24%, and the mechanism performance and structural stability are improved.

• Smart Structures and Systems
• /
• v.31 no.3
• /
• pp.247-257
• /
• 2023

In structural health monitoring of large-scale structures, optimal sensor placement plays an important role because of the high cost of sensors and their supporting instruments, as well as the burden of data transmission and storage. In this study, a vibration sensor placement algorithm based on deep reinforcement learning (DRL) is proposed, which can effectively solve non-convex, high-dimensional, and discrete combinatorial sensor placement optimization problems. An objective function is constructed to estimate the quality of a specific vibration sensor placement scheme according to the modal assurance criterion (MAC). Using this objective function, a DRL-based algorithm is presented to determine the optimal vibration sensor placement scheme. Subsequently, we transform the sensor optimal placement process into a Markov decision process and employ a DRL-based optimization algorithm to maximize the objective function for optimal sensor placement. To illustrate the applicability of the proposed method, two examples are presented: a 10-story braced frame and a sea-crossing bridge model. A comparison study is also performed with a genetic algorithm and particle swarm algorithm. The proposed DRL-based algorithm can effectively solve the discrete combinatorial optimization problem for vibration sensor placements and can produce superior performance compared with the other two existing methods.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
• /
• v.22 no.5
• /
• pp.501-507
• /
• 2009

By using topology and shape optimization, a theoretically optimum FRP deck was proposed. Firstly, a topologically optimal shape, truss-like structure without hinges, was found. A truss-shape frame is the most ideal structure when subjected to a concentrated force at the center of simply supported beam. An armature was found at the point joining horizontal chord and diagonal chord, which was used as a new design variable. Secondly, optimum value of each variable was decided through shape optimization using genetic algorithm. To compare it with existing commercial FRP decks, shape optimization was performed by fixing the height of FRP decks. To verify the performance of the FRP deck proposed in this study, a finite element analysis was performed. As a result, it satisfies serviceability and safety guide lines of FRP decks.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.52 no.2
• /
• pp.351-368
• /
• 2014

This study presents a hunting search based optimum design algorithm for engineering optimization problems. Hunting search algorithm is an optimum design method inspired by group hunting of animals such as wolves, lions, and dolphins. Each of these hunters employs hunting in a different way. However, they are common in that all of them search for a prey in a group. Hunters encircle the prey and the ring of siege is tightened gradually until it is caught. Hunting search algorithm is employed for the automation of optimum design process, during which the design variables are selected for the minimum objective function value controlled by the design restrictions. Three different examples, namely welded beam, cellular beam and moment resisting steel frame are selected as numerical design problems and solved for the optimum solution. Each example differs in the following ways: Unlike welded beam design problem having continuous design variables, steel frame and cellular beam design problems include discrete design variables. Moreover, while the cellular beam is designed under the provisions of BS 5960, LRFD-AISC (Load and Resistant Factor Design-American Institute of Steel Construction) is considered for the formulation of moment resisting steel frame. Levy Flights is adapted to the simple hunting search algorithm for better search. For comparison, same design examples are also solved by using some other well-known search methods in the literature. Results reveal that hunting search shows good performance in finding optimum solutions for each design problem.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
• /
• v.21 no.1
• /
• pp.112-123
• /
• 1997

The optimization techniques have been applied to versatile engineering problems for reducing manufacturing cost and for automatic design. The deterministic approaches or op5imization neglect the effects on uncertainties of design variables. The uncertainties include variation or perturbation such as tolerance band. The optimum may be useless when the constraints considering worst cases of design variables can not be satisfied, which results from constraint variation. The variation of design variables can also give rise to drastic change of performances. The two issues are related to constraint feasibility and insensitive performance. Robust design suggested in the present study is developed to gain an optimum insensitive to variation on design variables within feasible region. The multiobjective function is composed to the mean and the standard deviation of original objective function, while the constraints are supplemented by adding penalty term to original constraints. This method has a advantage that the second derivatives of the constraints are not required. A mathematical problem and several standard problems for structural optimization are solved to check out the usefulness of the suggested method.