• Transactions of the Korean Society of Automotive Engineers
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.101-108
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• 2004

A FEM-based efficient method is developed for the shape optimization of 2-D structures. The combined SLP and Simplex method are coupled with finite element analysis. Selected set of master nodes on the design boundaries are employed as design variables and assigned to move towards their normal directions. The other nodes along the design boundaries are grouped into the master node. By interpolating the repositioned master nodes, the B-spline curves are formed so that the rest mid-nodes efficiently settle down on the B-spline curves. Mesh smoothing scheme is also applied for the nodes on the design boundary to maintain most finite elements in good quality. Finally, a numerical implementation of optimum design of an automobile torque converter piston subjected to pressure and centrifugal loads is presented. The results shows additional weight up to 13% may be saved after the shape optimization.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.785-809
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• 2014

In this paper, an Adaptive nerou-based inference system (ANFIS) is being used for the prediction of shear strength of high strength concrete (HSC) beams without stirrups. The input parameters comprise of tensile reinforcement ratio, concrete compressive strength and shear span to depth ratio. Additionally, 122 experimental datasets were extracted from the literature review on the HSC beams with some comparable cross sectional dimensions and loading conditions. A comparative analysis has been carried out on the predicted shear strength of HSC beams without stirrups via the ANFIS method with those from the CEB-FIP Model Code (1990), AASHTO LRFD 1994 and CSA A23.3 - 94 codes of design. The shear strength prediction with ANFIS is discovered to be superior to CEB-FIP Model Code (1990), AASHTO LRFD 1994 and CSA A23.3 - 94. The predictions obtained from the ANFIS are harmonious with the test results not accounting for the shear span to depth ratio, tensile reinforcement ratio and concrete compressive strength; the data of the average, variance, correlation coefficient and coefficient of variation (CV) of the ratio between the shear strength predicted using the ANFIS method and the real shear strength are 0.995, 0.014, 0.969 and 11.97%, respectively. Taking a look at the CV index, the shear strength prediction shows better in nonlinear iterations such as the ANFIS for shear strength prediction of HSC beams without stirrups.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.66 no.6
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• pp.677-691
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• 2018

Reliability assessment of complex structures using simulation methods is time-consuming. Thus, surrogate models are usually employed to reduce computational cost. AK-MCS is a surrogate-based Active learning method combining Kriging and Monte-Carlo Simulation for structural reliability analysis. This paper proposes three modifications of the AK-MCS method to reduce the number of calls to the performance function. The first modification is related to the definition of an initial Design of Experiments (DoE). In the original AK-MCS method, an initial DoE is created by a random selection of samples among the Monte Carlo population. Therefore, samples in the failure region have fewer chances to be selected, because a small number of samples are usually located in the failure region compared to the safe region. The proposed method in this paper is based on a uniform selection of samples in the predefined domain, so more samples may be selected from the failure region. Another important parameter in the AK-MCS method is the size of the initial DoE. The algorithm may not predict the exact limit state surface with an insufficient number of initial samples. Thus, the second modification of the AK-MCS method is proposed to overcome this problem. The third modification is relevant to the type of regression trend in the AK-MCS method. The original AK-MCS method uses an ordinary Kriging model, so the regression part of Kriging model is an unknown constant value. In this paper, the effect of regression trend in the AK-MCS method is investigated for a benchmark problem, and it is shown that the appropriate choice of regression type could reduce the number of calls to the performance function. A stepwise approach is also presented to select a suitable trend of the Kriging model. The numerical results show the effectiveness of the proposed modifications.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.335-340
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• 2018

The behavior of concrete slabs in composite beam with C and L shaped angle shear connectors has been studied in this paper. These two types of angle shear connectors' instalment have been commonly utilized. In this study, the finite element (FE) analysis and soft computing method have been used both to present the shear connectors' push out tests and providing data results used later in soft computing method. The current study has been performed to present the aforementioned shear connectors' behavior based on the variable factors aiming the study of diverse factors' effects on C and L shaped angle in shear connectors. ANFIS (Adaptive Neuro Fuzzy Inference System), has been manipulated in providing the effective parameters in shear strength forecasting by providing input-data comprising: height, length, thickness of shear connectors together with concrete strength and the respective slip of shear connectors. ANFIS has been also used to identify the predominant parameters influencing the shear strength forecast in C and L formed angle shear connectors.

• Journal of Satellite, Information and Communications
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.58-62
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• 2016

In this paper, we propose a pre-processing scheme for improving indoor positioning accuracy in impulsive noise channel environments. The impulsive noise can be generated by multi-path fading effects by complicated indoor structures or interference environments, which causes an increase in demodulation error probability. The proposed pre-processing scheme is performed before a triangulation method to calculate user's position, and providing reliable input data demodulated from a received signal to the triangulation method. Therefore, we studied and proposed an adaptive threshold function for mitigation of the impulsive noise based on wavelet denoising. Through results of computer simulations for the proposed scheme, we confirmed that Bit Error Rate and Signal-to-Noise Ratio performance is improved compared to conventional schemes.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.15 no.11
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• pp.1659-1676
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• 2002

Ruminant animals develop a diverse and sophisticated microbial ecosystem for digesting fibrous feedstuffs. Plant cell walls are complex and their structures are not fully understood, but it is generally believed that the chemical properties of some plant cell wall compounds and the cross-linked three-dimensional matrix of polysaccharides, lignin and phenolic compounds limit digestion of cell wall polysaccharides by ruminal microbes. Three adaptive strategies have been identified in the ruminal ecosystem for degrading plant cell walls: production of the full slate of enzymes required to cleave the numerous bonds within cell walls; attachment and colonization of feed particles; and synergetic interactions among ruminal species. Nonetheless, digestion of fibrous feeds remains incomplete, and numerous research attempts have been made to increase this extent of digestion. Exogenous fibrolytic enzymes (EFE) have been used successfully in monogastric animal production for some time. The possibility of adapting EFE as feed additives for ruminants is under intensive study. To date, animal responses to EFE supplements have varied greatly due to differences in enzyme source, application method, and types of diets and livestock. Currently available information suggests delivery of EFE by applying them to feed offers the best chance to increase ruminal digestion. The general tendency of EFE to increase rate, but not extent, of fibre digestion indicates that the products currently on the market for ruminants may not be introducing novel enzyme activities into the rumen. Recent research suggests that cleavage of esterified linkages (e.g., acetylesterase, ferulic acid esterase) within the plant cell wall matrix may be the key to increasing the extent of cell wall digestion in the rumen. Thus, a crucial ingredient in an effective enzyme additive for ruminants may be an as yet undetermined esterase that may not be included, quantified or listed in the majority of available enzyme preparations. Identifying these pivotal enzyme(s) and using biotechnology to enhance their production is necessary for long term improvements in feed digestion using EFE. Pretreating fibrous feeds with alkali in addition to EFE also shows promise for improving the efficacy of enzyme supplements.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Telematics and Electronics D
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• v.34D no.2
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• pp.38-45
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• 1997

In this paper, the three-dimensional stress effect of thermal oxide is simulated. We developed a three-dimensional finite element numerical simulator including three-dimensional adaptive mesh generator that is able to refine and eliminate nearby moving boundary of oxide, and oxidation solver with stress model. To investigate the behavior of thermal oxidation the simulations of thermal oxidation for island and hole structures are carried out assuming silicon wafer of <100> direction, temperature of $1000^{\circ}C$, oxidation time of 60min, wet ambient, initial oxide thickness of $300\AA$, and nitride thickness of $2, 000\AA$. The main effect of deformation at the corner area of oxide is due to distribution of oxidant, but the deformation of oxide is affected by the stressin theoxide. In the island structure which is the structure mostly covered with nitride and a coner is opended to oxidation, oxidation is reduced at the coner by compressive stress. In the hole structure which is the structure mostly opedned to oxide and a coner is convered with nitride, however, oxidation is increased at the coner by tensile stress.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.133-143
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• 2015

Freshwater macrophytes improve the structural heterogeneity of microhabitats in water, often providing an important habitat for zooplankton. Some studies have focused on the overall influence of macrophytes on zooplankton, but the effects of macrophyte in relation to different habitat characteristics of zooplankton (e.g., epiphytic and pelagic) have not been intensively studied. We hypothesized that different habitat structures (i.e., macrophyte habitat) would strongly affect zooplankton distribution. We investigated zooplankton density and diversity, macrophyte characteristics (dry weight and species number), and environmental parameters in 40 shallow wetlands in South Korea. Patterns in the data were analyzed using a self-organizing map (SOM), which extracts information through competitive and adaptive properties. A total of 20 variables (11 environmental parameters and 9 zooplankton groups) were patterned onto the SOM. Based on a U-matrix, 3 clusters were identified from the model. Zooplankton assemblages were positively related to macrophyte characteristics (i.e., dry weight and species number). In particular, epiphytic species (i.e., epiphytic rotifers and cladocerans) exhibited a clear relationship with macrophyte characteristics, while large biomass and greater numbers of macrophyte species supported high zooplankton assemblages. Consequently, habitat heterogeneity in the macrophyte bed was recognized as an important factor to determine zooplankton distribution, particularly in epiphytic species. The results indicate that macrophytes are critical for heterogeneity in lentic freshwater ecosystems, and the inclusion of diverse plant species in wetland construction or restoration schemes is expected to generate ecologically healthy food webs.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.525-530
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• 2018

As a nondestructive testing method, the Schmidt rebound hammer is widely used for structural health monitoring. During application, a Schmidt hammer hits the surface of a concrete mass. According to the principle of rebound, concrete strength depends on the hardness of the concrete energy surface. Study aims to identify the main variables affecting the results of Schmidt rebound hammer reading and consequently the results of structural health monitoring of concrete structures using adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS). The ANFIS process for variable selection was applied for this purpose. This procedure comprises some methods that determine a subsection of the entire set of detailed factors, which present analytical capability. ANFIS was applied to complete a flexible search. Afterward, this method was applied to conclude how the five main factors (namely, age, silica fume, fine aggregate, coarse aggregate, and water) used in designing concrete mixture influence the Schmidt rebound hammer reading and consequently the structural health monitoring accuracy. Results show that water is considered the most significant parameter of the Schmidt rebound hammer reading. The details of this study are discussed thoroughly.

• Journal of KSNVE
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• v.10 no.6
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• pp.1083-1093
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• 2000

This paper is concerned with the real-time automatic tuning of the positive position feedback controller for smart structures by the genetic algorithms. The genetic algorithms haute proven its effectiveness in searching optimal design parameters without falling into local minimums thus rendering globally optimal solutions. The advantage of the positive position feedback controller is that if it is tuned properly it can enhance the damping value of a target mode without affecting other modes. In this paper, we develop for the first time a real-time algorithm for determining a tuning frequency of the PPF controller based on the genetic algorithms. To this end, the digital PPF control law is downloaded to the DSP chip and a main program, which runs the genetic algorithms in real time, updates the parameter of the controller in real time. Hence, any kind of control including the positive position feedback controller can be used in adaptive fashion in real time. Experimental results show that the real-time tuning of the positive position feedback controller can be achieved successfully. so that vibrations are suppressed satisfactorily.