• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.8-14
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• 2019

Objective: Degenerative knee arthritis is the most common disease that occurs in older people. Constriction-induced movement therapy (CIMT) has been reported to be as an effective treatment for the impairments, such as asymmetric weight-bearing and reduced balance that occurs after receiving a total knee replacement (TKR). Game-based rehabilitation training for persons with TKR is interesting and provides a variety of feedback. Design: Randomized controlled trial. Methods: Thirty-six subjects with TKR were randomly assigned to either the CIMT game training (n=12), general game training (n=12), or the control (n=12) group. Each group underwent twelve sessions (30 min/d, 3 d/wk for 4 weeks). In the CIMT game training group, the application of CIMT adjusted the weight of the pressure delivered from the two boards used in Wii games. In the general game training group, the game was played without adjusting the weight of pressure. The game training used the Wii Fit's Ski Slalom application. Subjects were assessed with the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) and the Activities-specific Balance Confidence (ABC) Scale. Results: All three groups showed significant improvements in pain, stiffness and physical function, total WOMAC scores, and ABC scores after the intervention (p<0.05). Significant differences were observed in physical function, total WOMAC scores, and ABC scores of the CIMT game training group compared with the other groups (p<0.05). Conclusions: The CIMT game training and general game training exhibited improvements on stiffness, but the CIMT game training exhibited a larger effect on lower extremity function and balance confidence levels.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.106-111
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• 2021

There are several studies on reducing the friction that occurs on the relative sliding contact surface of moving parts under extreme environments. In particular, a solid lubricated bearing is studied to solve the tribological problem with friction reduction and durability parts using solid lubricants (lead or silver) in a vacuum atmosphere. Galinstan is mainly used as a liquid metal lubricant, but it is inevitable to have limited tribological applications owing to its high coefficient of friction. Many researchers work on surface texturing for surface modification and precision processing methods. To increase durability and low friction, DLC coating with hydrophobicity is applied on the contact surface texture. Therefore, using an untextured specimen, a dimple specimen, and a DLC-coated dimple specimen under liquid metal lubrication, this paper presents the following experimental sliding friction characteristics in the sliding friction test. 1) The average coefficient of friction of the DLC-coated dimple specimen and dimple specimen are lower compared to that of a non-patterned specimen. 2) In the DLC-coated dimple specimens, the average coefficient of friction changes according to the change in the dimple density. 3) DLC-coated dimple specimens with a density of 12.5 have the lowest average coefficient of friction under 41.6 N of normal load and 143.3 RPM.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.230-237
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• 2020

Objective: To investigate the physical appearance and therapeutic changes that occur with the performance of Schroth exercise in patients with scoliosis. Design: Randomized controlled trial. Methods: Fifteen subjects with maximum curvature of the lumbar who were diagnosed with idiopathic scoliosis had volunteered to participate in the study. Eight subjects were included in the experimental group where they performed the Schroth Therapeutic Exercise and the other seven were included in the control group. The experimental group underwent 2 hours of weekly treatment for 12 weeks, while the control group did not during the same period based on the decisions of patients or guardians. The Mann-Whitney rank test was carried out to compare the treatment results of the two groups, and the comparison within the group was done by Wilcoxon signed-rank test. The vertebral rotation angle (VRA) was by Scoliometer, and difference of rotated and curved portion volume (DV) between both sides on the major curvature portion measured by 3D human body scanning system. Results: In the experimental group, 12 weeks of Schroth exercise therapy has significant improved in correction rate (CR) in Cobb's angle (CA), VRA, and DV between both sides on the major curvature portion (p<0.05), while significant differences were not found between the groups regarding weight bearing difference in both feet (WD) and DV (p<0.05). Conclusions: Schroth exercise performance showed significant changes in the patient's therapeutic changes (CA, VRA), but the physical appearance (DV, WD) was not significant, indicating that external changes in the treatment goal setting are more difficult goals to achieve.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.139-152
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• 2022

Steel-reinforced concrete (SRC) L-shaped column is the vertical load-bearing member with high spatial adaptability. The seismic behavior of SRC L-shaped column is complex because of their irregular cross sections. In this study, the hysteretic performance of six steel truss reinforced concrete L-shaped columns specimens under the combined loading of compression, bending, shear, and torsion was tested. There were two parameters, i.e., the moment ratio of torsion to bending (γ) and the aspect ratio (column length-to-depth ratio (φ)). The failure process, torsion-displacement hysteresis curves, and bending-displacement hysteresis curves of specimens were obtained, and the failure patterns, hysteresis curves, rigidity degradation, ductility, and energy dissipation were analyzed. The experimental research indicates that the failure mode of the specimen changes from bending failure to bending-shear failure and finally bending-torsion failure with the increase of γ. The torsion-displacement hysteresis curves were pinched in the middle, formed a slip platform, and the phenomenon of "load drop" occurred after the peak load. The bending-displacement hysteresis curves were plump, which shows that the bending capacity of the specimen is better than torsion capacity. The results show that the steel truss reinforced concrete L-shaped columns have good collapse resistance, and the ultimate interstory drift ratio more than that of the Chinese Code of Seismic Design of Building (GB50011-2014), which is sufficient. The average value of displacement ductility coefficient is larger than rotation angle ductility coefficient, indicating that the specimen has a better bending deformation resistance. The specimen that has a more regular section with a small φ has better potential to bear bending moment and torsion evenly and consume more energy under a combined action.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.45-55
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• 2022

In this article, the flexural and shear capacity of ultra-high-performance fiber-reinforced concrete beams (UHPFRC) using two kinds of rebars, including GFRP and steel rebars, are experimentally investigated. For this purpose, six UHPFRC beams (250 × 300 × 1650 mm) with three reinforcement ratios (ρ) of 0.64, 1.05, and 1.45 were constructed using 2% steel fibers by volume. Half of the specimens were made of UHPFRC reinforced with GFRP rebars, while the other half were reinforced with conventional steel rebars. All specimens were tested to failure in four-point bending. Both the load-deformation at mid-span and the failure pattern were studied. The results showed that utilizing GFRP bars increases the flexural strength of UHPFRC beams in comparison to those made of steel bars, but at the same time, it reduces the post-cracking strain hardening. Furthermore, by increasing the percentage of longitudinal bars, both the post-cracking strain hardening and load-bearing capacity increase. Comparing the experiment results with some of the available equations and provisions cited in the valid design codes reveals that some of the equations to predict the flexural strength of UHPFRC beams reinforced with conventional steel and GFRP bars are reasonably conservative, while Khalil and Tayfur model is un-conservative. This issue makes it essential to modify the presented equations in this research for predicting the flexural strength of UHPFRC beams using GFRP bars.

• Journal of Drive and Control
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.43-50
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• 2022

The aim of this study was to conduct basic research on the development of a dual-clutch transmission(DCT) and automatic transmission for agricultural tractors. The DCT layout and the DCT simulation model were developed using commercial software. Power transmission efficiency of the DCT and component power loss were analyzed to verify the developed simulation model. Power loss analysis of the components was conducted according to previous studies and ISO(International Organization for Standardization) standards. The power transmission efficiency of the DCT simulation model was 68.4-91.5% according to the gear range. The power loss in the gear, bearing, and clutch DCT system components was 0.75-1.49 kW, 0.77-2.99 kW, and 5.24-10.52 kW, respectively. The developed simulation model not include the rear axle, differential gear, final reduction gear. Therefore actual power transmission efficiency of DCT will be decreased. In a future study, an actual DCT can be developed through the simulation model in this study, and optimization design of DCT can be possible by comparing simulation results and actual vehicle test.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.93-105
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• 2023

Seismic isolation and vibration control techniques have been developed and put into practical use by challenging researchers and engineers worldwide since the latter half of the 20th century, and after more than 40 years, they are now used in thousands of buildings, private residences, highways in many seismic areas in the world. Seismic isolation and vibration control structures can keep the structures undamaged even in a major earthquake and realize continuous occupancy. This performance has come to be recognized not only by engineers but also by ordinary people, becoming indispensable for the formation of a resilient society. However, the dynamic characteristics of seismically isolated bearings, the key elements, are highly dependent on the size effect and rate-of-loading, especially under extreme loading conditions. Therefore, confirming the actual properties and performance of these bearings with full-scale specimens under prescribed dynamic loading protocols is essential. The number of testing facilities with such capacity is still limited and even though the existing labs in the US, China, Taiwan, Italy, etc. are conducting these tests, their dynamic loading test setups are subjected to friction generated by the large vertical loads and inertial force of the heavy table which affect the accuracy of measured forces. To solve this problem, the authors have proposed a direct reaction force measuring system that can eliminate the effects of friction and inertia forces, and a seismic isolation testing facility with the proposed system (E-isolation) will be completed on March 2023 in Japan. This test facility is designed to conduct not only dynamic loading tests of seismic isolation bearings and dampers but also to perform hybrid simulations of seismically isolated structures. In this paper, design details and the realization of this system into an actual dynamic testing facility are presented and the outcomes are discussed.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.439-453
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• 2023

Older brick masonry structures generally suffer from low strength defects. Using a cement mortar layer (CML) or steel-meshed cement mortar layer (S-CML) to reinforce existing low-strength brick masonry structures (LBMs) is still an effective means of increasing seismic performance. However, performance indices such as lateral displacement ratios and skeleton curves for LBMs reinforced with CML or S-CML need to be clarified in performance-based seismic design and evaluation. Therefore, research into the failure mechanisms and seismic performance of LBMs reinforced with CML or S-CML is imperative. In this study, thirty low-strength brick walls (LBWs) with different cross-sectional areas, bonding mortar types, vertical loads, and CML/S-CML thicknesses were constructed. The failure modes, load-carrying capacities, energy dissipation capacity and lateral drift ratio limits in different limits states were acquired via quasi-static tests. The results show that 1) the primary failure modes of UBWs and RBWs are "diagonal shear failure" and "sliding failure through joints." 2) The acceptable drift ratios of Immediate Occupancy (IO), Life Safety (LS), and Collapse Prevention (CP) for UBWs can be 0.04%, 0.08%, and 0.3%, respectively. For 20-RBWs, the acceptable drift ratios of IO, LS, and CP for 20-RBWs can be 0.037%, 0.09%, and 0.41%, respectively. Moreover, the acceptable drift ratios of IO, LS, and CP for 40-RBWs can be 0.048%, 0.09%, and 0.53%, respectively. 3) Reinforcing low-strength brick walls with CML/S-CML can improve brick walls' bearing capacity, deformation, and energy dissipation capacity. Using CML/S-CML reinforcement to improve the seismic performance of old masonry houses is a feasible and practical choice.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.85 no.4
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• pp.531-543
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• 2023

The existing concrete bridges are time-varying working systems, where the maintenance strategy should be planned according to the time-varying performance of the bridge. This work proposes a time-dependent residual capacity assessment procedure, which considers the non-stationary bridge load effects under growing traffic and non-stationary structural deterioration owing to material degradations. Lifetime bridge load effects under traffic growth are predicated by the non-stationary peaks-over-threshold (POT) method using time-dependent generalized Pareto distribution (GPD) models. The non-stationary structural resistance owing to material degradation is modeled by incorporating the Gamma deterioration process and field inspection data. A three-span continuous box-girder bridge is illustrated as an example to demonstrate the application of the proposed procedure, and the time-varying reliability indexes of the bridge girder are calculated. The accuracy of the proposed non-stationary POT method is verified through numerical examples, where the shape parameter of the time-varying GPD model is constant but the threshold and scale parameters are polynomial functions increasing with time. The case study illustrates that the residual flexural capacities show a degradation trend from a slow decrease to an accelerated decrease under traffic growth and material degradation. The reliability index for the mid-span cross-section reduces from 4.91 to 4.55 after being in service for 100 years, and the value is from 4.96 to 4.75 for the mid-support cross-section. The studied bridge shows no safety risk under traffic growth and structural deterioration owing to its high design safety reserve. However, applying the proposed numerical approach to analyze the degradation of residual bearing capacity for bridge structures with low safety reserves is of great significance for management and maintenance.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.26 no.2B
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• pp.197-208
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• 2006

Case studies for real bridge sites are performed to verify the applicability of the Bridge Scour Management System in the field. The case studies for 20 bridges in Gangneung District of National Road Management consist of site investigations including the boring tests, bridge scour analyses for the design floods, bearing capacity evaluation of the bridge foundation before and after scour, and comprehensive evaluation of the bridge scour maintenance. The bridge scour management system is verified as an useful tool which can evaluate bridge scour vulnerability quantitatively, and is also proposed as a reasonable system which can help establish effective measures and secure the safety of bridges during floods.