• Journal of the Korean Society for Railway
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• v.9 no.1 s.32
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• pp.7-11
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• 2006

Ballast is an important component of railway track structures. The granular ballast can be modelled using [mite or discrete element methods. The DE method has advantages to enable us to analyze the microstructure of granular materials and to exhibit information which cannot be assessed using FE methods. In this paper, sleeper, the ballast, and ballast mat in the high-speed railroad line are modelled using two-dimensional discrete circle and line elements. The stress transferred from the sleeper via the ballast to the subgrade is analyzed. In addition, the shape and angle of stress distribution of ballast bed is evaluated with different boundary conditions for the high-speed railroad line.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.52 no.6
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• pp.1137-1147
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• 2020

The discrete ordinates method (S_N) is one of the major shielding calculation method, which is suitable for solving deep-penetration transport problems. Our objective is to explore the available quadrature sets and to improve the accuracy in shielding problems involving strong anisotropy. The linear discontinuous finite-element (LDFE) quadrature sets based on the icosahedron (in short, ICLDFE quadrature sets) are developed by defining projected points on the surfaces of the icosahedron. Weights are then introduced in the integration of the discontinuous finite-element basis functions in the relevant angular regions. The multivariate secant method is used to optimize the discrete directions and their corresponding weights. The numerical integration of polynomials in the direction cosines and the Kobayashi benchmark are used to analyze and verify the properties of these new quadrature sets. Results show that the ICLDFE quadrature sets can exactly integrate the zero-order and first-order of the spherical harmonic functions over one-twentieth of the spherical surface. As for the Kobayashi benchmark problem, the maximum relative error between the fifth-order ICLDFE quadrature sets and references is only -0.55%. The ICLDFE quadrature sets provide better integration precision of the spherical harmonic functions in local discrete angle domains and higher accuracy for simple shielding problems.

• Journal of Power System Engineering
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.37-42
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• 2017

A curved beam is one of the basic and important structural elements in structural design. In this paper, the authors formulated the computational algorithm for analyzing the free vibration of curved beams using the finite element-transfer stiffness coefficient method. The concept of the finite element-transfer stiffness coefficient method is the combination of the modeling technique of the finite element method and the transfer technique of the transfer stiffness coefficient method. And, we confirm the effectiveness the finite element-transfer stiffness coefficient method from the free vibration analysis of two numerical models which are a semicircle beam and a quarter circle beam.

• International Journal of Highway Engineering
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.51-60
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• 2016

PURPOSES : The applicability of the mechanics-based similarity concept (suggested by Feng et al.) for determining scaled variables, including length and load, via laboratory-scale tests and discrete element analysis, was evaluated. METHODS: Several studies on the similarity concept were reviewed. The exact scaling approach, a similarity concept described by Feng, was applied in order to determine an analytical solution of a free-falling ball. This solution can be considered one of the simplest conditions for discrete element analysis. RESULTS : The results revealed that 1) the exact scaling approach can be used to determine the scale of variables in laboratory tests and numerical analysis, 2) applying only a scale factor, via the exact scaling approach, is inadequate for the error-free replacement of small particles by large ones during discrete element analysis, 3) the level of continuity of flowable materials such as SCC and cement mortar seems to be an important criterion for evaluating the applicability of the similarity concept, and 4) additional conditions, such as the kinetics of particle, contact model, and geometry, must be taken into consideration to achieve the maximum radius of replacement particles during discrete element analysis. CONCLUSIONS : The concept of similarity is a convenient tool to evaluate the correspondence of scaled laboratory test or numerical analysis to physical condition. However, to achieve excellent correspondence, additional factors, such as the kinetics of particles, contact model, and geometry, must be taken into consideration.

• Proceedings of the Korean Powder Metallurgy Institute Conference
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• 2006.09a
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• pp.262-263
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• 2006

The free sintering of metallic powders blended with non sintering inclusions is investigated by the Discrete Element Method (DEM). Each particle, whatever its nature (metallic or inclusion) is modeled as a sphere that interacts with its neighbors. We investigate the retarding effect of the inclusions on the sintering kinetics. Also, we present a simple coarsening model for the metallic particles, which allows large particles to grow at the expense of the smallest.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.217-232
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• 2006

A crack model for the fracture in concrete based on meshless method is proposed in this paper. The cracks in concrete are classified into micro-cracks or macro-cracks respectively according to their widths, and different numerical approaches are adopted for them. The micro-cracks are represented with smeared crack approach whilst the macro-cracks are represented with discrete cracks that are made up with additional nodes and boundaries. The widely used meshless method, Element-free Galerkin method, is adopted instead of finite element method to model the concrete, so that the discrete crack approach is easier to be implemented with the convenience of arranging node distribution in the meshless method. Rotating-Crack-Model is proved to be preferred over Fixed-Crack-Model for the smeared cracks of this composite crack model due to its better performance on mesh bias. Numerical examples show that this composite crack model can take advantage of the positive characteristics in the smeared and discrete approaches, and overcome some of their disadvantages.

• International Journal of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.136-146
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• 2021

This paper aims to numerically estimate the dynamic ice load on a conical structure. The Discrete Element Method (DEM) is employed to model the level ice as the assembly of numerous spherical particles. To mimic the realistic fracture mechanism of ice, the parallel bonding method is introduced. Cases with four different ice drifting velocities are considered in time domain. For validation, the statistics of time-varying ice forces and their frequencies obtained by numerical simulations are extensively compared against the physical model-test results. Ice properties are directly adopted from the targeted experimental test set up. The additional parameters for DEM simulations are systematically determined by a numerical three-point bending test. The findings reveal that the numerical simulation estimates the dynamic ice force in a reasonably acceptable range and its results agree well with experimental data.

• Journal of the Korean Mathematical Society
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.1033-1046
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• 1999

This paper is devoted to the point wise error estimate up to boundary for the standard finite element solution of Poisson equation with Dirichlet boundary condition. Our new approach used the discrete maximum principle for the discrete harmonic solution. once the mesh in our domain satisfies the $\beta$-condition defined by us, the discrete harmonic solution with dirichlet boundary condition has the discrete maximum principle and the pointwise error should be bounded by L-errors newly obtained.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.713-730
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• 2003

This paper contains the results of the study on the development of fracture and crack propagation in quasi-brittle materials, such as concrete or rocks, using the Discrete Element Method (DEM). A new discrete element numerical model is proposed as the basis for analyzing the inelastic evolution and growth of cracks up to the point of gross material failure. The model is expected to predict the fracture behavior for the quasi-brittle material structure using the elementary aggregate level, the interaction between aggregate materials, and bond cementation. The algorithms generate normal and shear forces between two interfacing blocks and contains two kinds of contact logic, one for connected blocks and the other one for blocks that are not directly connected. The Mohr-Coulomb theory has been used for the fracture limit. In this algorithm the particles are moving based on the connected block logic until the forces increase up to the fracture limit. After passing the limit, the particles are governed by the discrete block logic. In setting up a discrete polygon element model, two dimensional polygons are used to investigate the response of an assembly of different shapes, sizes, and orientations with blocks subjected to simple applied loads. Several examples involving assemblies of particles are presented to show the behavior of the fracture and the failure process.

• Journal of applied mathematics & informatics
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• v.22 no.1_2
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• pp.223-235
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• 2006

By applying the Landau-type transformation, we transform a Stefan problem with nonlinear free boundary condition into a system consisting of a parabolic equation and the ordinary differential equations. Fully discrete finite element method is developed to approximate the solution of a system of a parabolic equation and the ordinary differential equations. We derive optimal orders of convergence of fully discrete approximations in $L_2,\;H^1$ and $H^2$ normed spaces.