• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.409-436
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• 2014

Although it is widely accepted that the interaction -between masonry infill and structural members significantly affects the seismic response of reinforced concrete (RC) frames, this interaction is generally neglected in current design-oriented seismic analyses of structures. Moreover, the role of masonry infill is expected to be even more relevant in the case of existing frames designed only for gravitational loads, as infill walls can significantly modify both lateral strength and stiffness. However, the additional contribution to both strength and stiffness is often coupled to a modification of the global collapse mechanisms possibly resulting in brittle failure modes, generally related to irregular distributions of masonry walls throughout the frame. As a matter of principle, accurate modelling of masonry infill should be at least carried out by adopting nonlinear 2D elements. However, several practice-oriented proposals are currently available for modelling masonry infill through equivalent (nonlinear) strut elements. The present paper firstly outlines some of the well-established models currently available in the scientific literature for modelling infill panels in seismic analyses of RC frames. Then, a parametric analysis is carried out in order to demonstrate the consequences of considering such models in nonlinear static and dynamic analyses of existing RC structures. Two bay-frames with two-, three- and four-storeys are considered for performing nonlinear analyses aimed at investigating some critical aspects of modelling masonry infill and their effects on the structural response. Particularly, sensitivity analyses about specific parameters involved in the definition of the equivalent strut models, such as the constitutive force-displacement law of the panel, are proposed.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.657-666
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• 2020

A rotational pulse-echo ultrasonic propagation imager that can inspect cylindrical specimens for material nondestructive evaluations is proposed herein. In this system, a laser-generated ultrasonic bulk wave is used for inspection, which enables a clear visualization of subsurface defects with a precise reproduction of the damage shape and size. The ultrasonic waves are generated by a Q-switched laser that impinges on the outer surface of the specimen walls. The generated waves travel through the walls and their echo is detected by a Laser Doppler Vibrometer (LDV) at the same point. To obtain the optimal Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) of the measured signal, the LDV requires the sensed surface to be at a right angle to the laser beam and at a predefined constant standoff distance from the laser head. For flat specimens, these constraints can be easily satisfied by performing a raster scan using a dual-axis linear stage. However, this arrangement cannot be used for cylindrical specimens owing to their curved nature. To inspect the cylindrical specimens, a circular scan technology is newly proposed for pulse-echo laser ultrasound. A rotational stage is coupled with a single-axis linear stage to inspect the desired area of the specimen. This system arrangement ensures that the standoff distance and beam incidence angle are maintained while the cylindrical specimen is being inspected. This enables the inspection of a curved specimen while maintaining the optimal SNR. The measurement result is displayed in parallel with the on-going inspection. The inspection data used in scanning are mapped from rotational coordinates to linear coordinates for visualization and post-processing of results. A graphical user interface software is implemented in C++ using a QT framework and controls all the individual blocks of the system and implements the necessary image processing, scan calculations, data acquisition, signal processing and result visualization.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.93-101
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• 2024

Code-compliant seismic design should be essentially applied to realize the so-called emulative performance of precast concrete (PC) lateral force-resisting systems, and this study developed simple procedures to design precast industrial buildings with intermediate precast bearing wall systems considering both the effect of seismic and blast loads. Seismic design provisions specified in ACI 318 and ASCE 7 can be directly adopted, for which the so-called 1.5S_y condition is addressed in PC wall-to-wall and wall-to-base connections. Various coupling options were considered and addressed in the seismic design of wall-to-wall connections for the longitudinal and transverse design directions to secure optimized performance and better economic feasibility. On the other hand, two possible methods were adopted in blast analysis: 1) Equivalent static analysis (ESA) based on the simplified graphic method and 2) Incremental dynamic time-history analysis (IDTHA). The ESA is physically austere to use in practice for a typical industrial PC-bearing wall system. Still, it showed an overestimating trend in terms of the lateral deformation. The coupling action between precast wall segments appears to be inevitably required due to substantially large blast loads compared to seismic loads with increasing blast risk levels. Even with the coupled-precast shear walls, the design outcome obtained from the ESA method might not be entirely satisfactory to the drift criteria presented by the ASCE Blast Design Manual. This drawback can be overcome by addressing the IDTHA method, where all the design criteria were fully satisfied with precast shear walls' non-coupling and group-coupling strength, where each individual or grouped shear fence was designed to possess 1.5S_y for the seismic design.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.13-22
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• 2013

This paper presents the results of a numerical investigation into the behavior of retaining wall subject to cycles of wetting and drying due to rainfall. The stress-pore pressure coupled finite element modeling strategy was first established for stimulating the wall behavior. A series of finite element analyses were then performed on a range of conditions including different rainfall and backfill conditions. The results indicated that the rainfall intensity was the primary influencing factor for the wall behavior. Also revealed was that the pre-rainfall condition determines the magnitudes and the distribution of matric suction which in fact has a significant impact on the behavior of wall during a major rainfall. This result demonstrates the importance of incorporating the pre-rainfall condition for numerical modeling of walls during heavy rainfall. Practical implications of the findings from this study are discussed in great detail.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.99-106
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• 2019

A wall-frame structure resists horizontal load by the interaction between the flexural mode of the shear wall and the shear mode of the frame, which implies that the frame deflects only by reverse bending of the columns and girders, and that the columns are axially rigid. However, as the height of frame increases the shear mode of frame changes to flexural mode, which is due to the extension and shortening of the columns. An approximate hand method for estimating horizontal deflection and member forces in high-rise shear wall-frame structures subjected to horizontal loading is presented. The method is developed from the continuous medium theory for coupled walls and expressed in non-dimensional structural parameters. It accounts for bending deformations in all individual members as well as axial deformations in the columns. The deformations calculated from the presented approximate method and matrix analysis by computer program are compared. The presented approximate method is more accurate for the taller structures.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.67 no.6
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• pp.671-682
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• 2018

The effect of earthquake induced torsion, due to mass eccentricities, is investigated with the objective of providing practical design guidelines for minimizing the torsional response of building structures. Current code provisions recommend performing three dimensional static or dynamic analyses, which involve shifting the centers of the floor masses from their nominal positions to what is called an accidental eccentricity. This procedure however may significantly increase the design cost of multistory buildings, due to the numerous possible spatial combinations of mass eccentricities and it is doubtful whether such a cost would be justifiable. This paper addresses this issue on a theoretical basis and investigates the torsional response of asymmetric multistory buildings in relation to their behavior when all floor masses lie on the same vertical line. This approach provides an insight on the overall seismic response of buildings and reveals how the torsional response of a structure is influenced by an arbitrary spatial combination of mass eccentricities. It also provides practical guidelines of how a structural configuration may be designed to sustain minor torsion, which is the main objective of any practicing engineer. A parametric study is presented on 9-story common building types having a mixed-type lateral load resisting system (frames, walls, coupled wall bents) and representative heightwise variations of accidental eccentricities.

• 한국연소학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2012.11a
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• pp.107-109
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• 2012

In Korean coal power plants, rising coal prices have recently led to the rapid utilization of low lank coals such as sub-bituminous coal with low calorific values and low ash fusion temperatures. Using these coals beyond the design range has resulted in important issues including slagging and fouling, which cause negative effects in boiler performances and unstable operations. The purpose of this study is to observe slagging and fouling characteristics resulted from burning various ranks of pulverized coals. We have tested 3 different coals: FLAME(bituminous), KCH(sub-bituminous) and MOOLARBEN(bituminous)coals in the pilot system $50kW_{th}$ scale. A stainless steel tube with preheated air inside was installed in the downstream in order to simulate water wall. Collected ash on the probe and the slag inside the furnace near burner were analyzed by SEM (scanning electron microscopy) to verify the formation degree, surface features and color changes of the pasty ash particles. Induced coupled plasma and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy were also performed to figure out the chemical characteristics of collected samples. As a result, KCH was observed that more slag was developed inside the walls of the furnace and on the probe than the other two kinds of coals, as shown in the calculate slagging and fouling indices as well.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers Conference
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• 2009.05a
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• pp.315-319
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• 2009

Investigation of the lateral force fluctuations in an axisymmetric overexpanded compressed truncated perfect (CTP) nozzle for the shutdown transient is presented. These nozzles experience side-loads during start-up and shut-down operations, because of the flow separation at nozzle walls. Two types of flow separations such as free shock separation (FSS) and restricted shock separation (RSS) shock structure occur. A two-dimensional unsteady numerical simulation has been carried out over an axisymmetric CTP nozzle to simulate the lateral force fluctuations in nozzle during shutdown process. Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes equations are numerically solved using a fully implicit finite volume scheme. Governing equations are solved by coupled implicit scheme. Two equation k-$\omega$ SST turbulence model is selected. Unsteady pressure is measured at four locations along the nozzle wall. Present pressure variation compared well with the experimental data. During shutdown transient, separation pattern varies from FSS to RSS and finally returns to FSS. Several pressure peaks are observed during the RSS separation pattern. These pressure peaks generate lateral force or side loads in rocket nozzle.

• Coupled systems mechanics
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.273-286
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• 2017

We present a simple and easy-to-implement lumped stiffness model to elucidate the load transfer mechanism among all individual tube shells and intertube van der Waals (vdW) interactions in transversely compressed multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs). Our model essentially enables theoretical predictions to be made of the relevant transverse mechanical behaviors of multi-walled tubes based on the transverse stiffness properties of single-walled tubes. We demonstrate the validity and accuracy of our model and theoretical predictions through a quantitative study of the transverse deformability of double- and triple-walled CNTs by utilizing our recently reported nanomechanical measurement data. Using the lumped stiffness model, we further evaluate the contribution of each individual tube shell and intertube vdW interaction to the strain energy absorption in the whole tube. Our results show that the innermost tube shell absorbs more strain energy than any other individual tube shells and intertube vdW interactions. Nanotubes of smaller number of walls and outer diameters are found to possess higher strain energy absorption capacities on both a per-volume and a per-weight basis. The proposed model and findings on the load transfer and the energy absorption in multi-walled CNTs directly contribute to a better understanding of their structural and mechanical properties and applications, and are also useful to study the transverse mechanical properties of other one-dimensional tubular nanostructures (e.g., boron nitride nanotubes).

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering Conference
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• 2000.06a
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• pp.309-313
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• 2000

A structural-acoustic coupling problem involving fluid in a cavity divided with flexible walls and porous materials is investigated in this paper. In many practical problems, the use of finite elements to discretize the fluid region leads to large stiffness and mass matrices. But, since the acoustic boundary element discretization requires to put elements only on the surface of structure, the size of matrices is reduced considerably. Here, we developed a numerical analysis program for the structural-acoustic coupling problems of the multi-region cavity, using boundary elements for the fluid regions and finite elements for the structure. By considering sound transmission through layered systems placed in a cavity, the accuracy of the coupled acoustical-structural finite element model has been verified by comparing its transmission loss predictions with analytical sloutions. Example problems are included to investigate the characteristics of the multi-region structural-acoustic coupling system with porous material.