• International Journal of Railway
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• v.1 no.3
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• pp.106-112
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• 2008

Rolling-sliding, cyclic contact of wheel and rail progressively alters the microstructure of the contacting steels, eventually leading to micro-scale crack initiation, wear and macro-scale crack growth in the railhead. Relating the microstructural changes to subsequent wear and cracking is being accomplished through modelling at three spatial scales: (i) bulk material (ii) multi-grain and (iii) sub-grain. The models incorporate detailed information from metallurgical examinations of used rails and tested rail material. The initial 2-dimensional models representing the rail material are being further developed into 3-dimensional models. Modelling is taking account of thermal effects, and traffic patterns to which the rails are exposed.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.155-181
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• 2016

In the present paper we discuss the stability and the post-buckling behaviour of thin piezoelastic plates. The first part of the paper is concerned with the modelling of such plates. We discuss the constitutive modelling, starting with the three-dimensional constitutive relations within Voigt's linearized theory of piezoelasticity. Assuming a plane state of stress and a linear distribution of the strains with respect to the thickness of the thin plate, two-dimensional constitutive relations are obtained. The specific form of the linear thickness distribution of the strain is first derived within a fully geometrically nonlinear formulation, for which a Finite Element implementation is introduced. Then, a simplified theory based on the von Karman and Tsien kinematic assumption and the Berger approximation is introduced for simply supported plates with polygonal planform. The governing equations of this theory are solved using a Galerkin procedure and cast into a non-dimensional formulation. In the second part of the paper we discuss the stability and the post-buckling behaviour for single term and multi term solutions of the non-dimensional equations. Finally, numerical results are presented using the Finite Element implementation for the fully geometrically nonlinear theory. The results from the simplified von Karman and Tsien theory are then verified by a comparison with the numerical solutions.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.321-336
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• 2012

As an improvement on the isoparametric element method, the derivation presented in this paper is close to that done by Wang (1990) for the 2-D finite element. We extend this idea to solve 3-D crack problems in this paper. A new displacement modelling is constructed with local solutions of three-dimensional cracks and a quasi-compatible isoparametric element for three-dimensional fracture mechanics analysis is presented. The stress intensity factors can be solved directly by means of the present method without any post-processing. A new method for calculating the stress intensity factors of three-dimensional cracks with complex geometries and loads is obtained. Numerical examples are given to demonstrate the validity of the present method. The accuracy of the results obtained by the proposed element is demonstrated by solving several crack problems. The results illustrate that this method not only saves much calculating time but also increases the accuracy of solutions. Because this quasi-compatible finite element of 3-D cracks contains any singularities and easily meets the requirement of compatibility, it can be easily implemented and incorporated into existing finite element codes.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.24 no.9
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• pp.1256-1260
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• 2003

Two O-methyltransferases, OMTII-1 and OMTII-4 of meadow rue Thalictrum tuberosum showed a high sequence identity. Of 364 amino acids only one residue is not the same, which is Tyr21 or Cys21. Even if the 21st residues in these OMTs are not included in the binding sites of the enzymes, binding affinities of the enzyme homodimers over the same substrate are very different. While the binding affinity of one homodimer over caffeic acid is 100%, that of the other is 25%. Authors tried to predict the three-dimensional structures of Thalictrum tuberosum O-methyltransferases using homology-based modelling by a comparison with caffeic acid O-methyltransferase, and explain the reason of the phenomenon mentioned above based on their three dimensional structural studies. In the enzyme homodimer, the better binding affinity may be caused by the shorter distance between the 21st residue and the binding site of the other monomer.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.127-143
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• 2015

Steel fibre reinforced concrete (SFRC) is an anisotropic material due to the random orientation of the fibres within the cement matrix. Fibres under different inclination angles provide different strength contribution of a given crack width. For that the pull-out response of inclined fibres is of great importance to understand SFRC behaviour, particularly in the case of fibres with hooked ends, which are the most widely used. The paper focuses on the numerical modelling of the pull-out response of this kind of fibres from high-strength cementitious matrix in order to study the effects of different inclination angles of the fibres to the load-displacement pull-out curves. The pull-out of the fibres is studied by means of accurate three-dimensional finite element models, which take into account the nonlinearities that are present in the physical model, such as the nonlinear bonding between the fibre and the matrix in the early stages of the loading, the unilateral contact between the fibre and the matrix, the friction at the contact areas, the plastification of the steel fibre and the plastification and cracking of the cementitious matrix. The bonding properties of the fibre-matrix interface considered in the numerical model are based on experimental results of pull-out tests on straight fibres.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2019

This paper proposes a new numerical approach to model geocell reinforced soils, where the geocell is described as membrane elements and the complex interaction between geocell and soil is realized by coupling their degrees of freedom. The effectiveness and robustness of this approach are demonstrated using two examples, i.e., a geocell-reinforced foundation and a large scale retaining wall project. The first example validates the approach against established solutions through a comprehensive parametrical study to understand the influence of geocell on the improvement of bearing capacity of foundations. The study results show that reducing the geocell pocket size has a strong effect on improving the bearing capacity. In addition, when the aspect ratio maintains the same value, the bearing capacity improvement with increasing geocell height is insignificant. Comparing with the field monitoring and measurement in the project, the second example investigates the application of the approach to practical engineering projects. This paper provides a practically feasible and efficient modelling approach, where no explicit interface or contact is required. This allows geocell reinforced soils in large scale project can be effectively modelled where the mechanism for complex geocell-soil interaction can be explicitly observed.

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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• 2001.05a
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• pp.359.2-359
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• 2001

• Wind and Structures
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.537-549
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• 2017

In this study, the turbulent flow around a bluff body for different wind velocities was investigated numerically by using its two- and three-dimensional models. These models were tested to verify the validity of the simulation by being compared with experimental results which were taken from the literature. Variations of non-dimensional velocities in different positions according to the bluff body height were analysed and illustrated graphically. When the velocity distributions were examined, it was seen that the results of both two- and three-dimensional models agree with the experimental data. It was also seen that the velocities obtained from two-dimensional model matched up with the experimental data from the ground to the top of the bluff body. Particularly, compared to the front part of the bluff body, results of the upper and back part of the bluff body are better. Moreover, after comparing the results from calculations by using different models with experimental data, the effect of multidimensional models on the obtained results have been analysed for different inlet velocities. The calculation results from the two-dimensional (2D) model are in satisfactory agreement with the calculation results of the three-dimensional model (3D) for various flow situations when comparing with the experimental data from the literature even though the 3D model gives better solutions.

• Journal of Integrative Natural Science
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.35-40
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• 2016

Protein phosphatase manganese dependent 1D (PPM1D) is one of the Ser/Thr protein phosphatases belongs to the PP2C family. They play an important role in cancer tumorigenesis of various tumors including neuroblastoma, pancreatic adenocarcinoma, medulloblastoma, breast cancer, prostate cancer and ovarian cancer. Even though PPM1D is involved in the pathophysiology of various tumors, the three dimensional protein structure is still unknown. Hence in the present study, homology modelling of PPM1D was performed. 20 different models were modelled using single- and multiple-template based homology modelling and validated using different techniques. Best models were selected based on the validation. Three models were selected and found to have similar structures. The predicted models may be useful as a tool in studying the pathophysiological role of PPM1D.

• Journal of Integrative Natural Science
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.33-38
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• 2023

The follicle stimulating hormone receptor (FSHR) is a glycoprotein hormone, that belongs to the GPCR superfamily. FSHR plays a major role in reproduction. The aberrant activation of FHS receptor leads to infertility and several reproductive disorders. The recently recognized roles of the FSHR in diverse extragonadal tissues is also closely related to Alzheimer's disease and cancers. Analysing the structural characteristics of the receptor is important in understanding the pathophysiology of diseases associated with the receptor. In this present study, homology modelling of FSHR-TM domain was developed using four different templates. Totally 20 models were developed using single template-based approach and selected three based on the validation of RC plot, RMSD, ProSA, QMEAN and ERRAT values. The developed models would be useful for further research on the structural characteristics and binding characteristics of the FSHR-TM domain.