• International Journal of Highway Engineering
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.103-115
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• 2011

Concrete slab curls and warps due to the uneven distribution of temperature and moisture and as the result, internal stress develops within the slab. Therefore, environmental loads must be considered in addition to the traffic loads to predict the lifespan of the concrete pavement more accurately. The strength of the concrete slab is gradually decreases to a certain level at which fatigue cracking is generated by the repetitive traffic and environmental loadings. In this study, a new fatigue regression model was developed based on the results from previously performed studies. To verify the model, another laboratory flexural fatigue test program which was not used in the model development, was conducted and compared with the predictions of other existing models. Each fatigue model was applied to analysis logic of cumulative fatigue damage of concrete pavement developed in the study. The sensitivity of cumulative fatigue damage calculated by each model was analyzed for the design factors such as slab thickness, joint spacing, complex modulus of subgrade reaction and the load transfer at joints. As the result, the model developed in this study could reflect environmental loading more reasonably by improving other existing models which consider R, minimum/maximum stress ratio.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.50 no.5
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• pp.758-766
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• 2018

We developed numerical models to efficiently simulate the low-cycle fatigue behavior of a pipe elbow. To verify the model, in-plane cyclic bending tests of pipe elbow specimens were conducted, and a through crack occurred in the vicinity of the crown. Numerical models based on the erosion method and tie-break method are developed, and the numerical results are compared with experimental results. The calculated results of both models are in good agreement with experimental results, and the model using the tie-break method possesses two times faster calculation speed. Therefore, the numerical model based on the tie-break method would be beneficial to evaluate the strength of piping systems under seismic loadings.

• Journal of the Society of Naval Architects of Korea
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.299-307
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• 2011

The offshore plants such as FPSO are subjected to combination loading of environmental conditions (swell, wave, wind and current). Therefore the fatigue damage is occurred in the operation time because the units encounter the environmental phenomena and the structural configurations are complicated. This paper is a research for frequency domain fatigue analysis of wide-band random loading focused on accuracy of fatigue damage estimation regarding the proposed methods. We selected ideal bi-modal spectrum. And comparison between time-domain fatigue analysis and frequency-domain fatigue analyses are conducted through the fatigue damage ratio. Fatigue damage ratios according to Vanmarcke's bandwidth parameter are founded for wide-band. Considering safety, we recommend that Jiao-Moan and Tovo-Benasciutti methods are optimal way at the fatigue design for wide-band response. But, it is important that these methods based on frequency-domain unstably change the accuracy according to the material parameter of S-N curve. This study will be background and guidance for the new frequency-domain fatigue analysis development in the future.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.349-362
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• 2010

Ultrasonic Guided Waves (UGWs) are a useful tool in structural health monitoring (SHM) applications that can benefit from built-in transduction, moderately large inspection ranges and high sensitivity to small flaws. This paper describes a SHM method based on UGWs, discrete wavelet transform (DWT), and principal component analysis (PCA) able to detect and quantify the onset and propagation of fatigue cracks in structural waveguides. The method combines the advantages of guided wave signals processed through the DWT with the outcomes of selecting defect-sensitive features to perform a multivariate diagnosis of damage. This diagnosis is based on the PCA. The framework presented in this paper is applied to the detection of fatigue cracks in a steel beam. The probing hardware consists of a PXI platform that controls the generation and measurement of the ultrasonic signals by means of piezoelectric transducers made of Lead Zirconate Titanate. Although the approach is demonstrated in a beam test, it is argued that the proposed method is general and applicable to any structure that can sustain the propagation of UGWs.

• Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.15-24
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• 2008

This study was to investigate the relationship of VDT(visual display terminal) work condition and fatigue severity in the financial office workers. Questionnaires were completed by 662 persons in VDT workers of Post Office from January to May 2006. Multidimensional Fatigue Scale(MFS) that was developed in Korea Occupational Safety &Health Agency to estimate the degree of fatigue was used for study. In results, 149 persons(22.5%) in VDT workers were felt low fatigue severity, 351 workers(53.0%) were middle, and 162 workers (24.5%) were high. So it was appeared that one in four VDT workers felt the high fatigue severity. And woman VDT workers felt more fatigue severity than man. Also, fatigue severity was increased with increasing work time. Our findings suggest that VDT workers in financial office need proper health program to prevent occupational fatigue and disease.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.148-154
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• 2022

Background: Bus driving is a mentally demanding activity that requires prolonged attention to ensure safety. The aim of the study was to assess mental fatigue caused by driving a public bus and to find a profile of workers at higher risk. Methods: We evaluated changes of critical flicker fusion (CFF) (index of central arousal) and heart rate variability (HRV) (index of autonomic balance) in a 6-hour driving shift on a real route, in 31 professional bus drivers, and we tested the influence of personal factors such as sleep quality, BMI, and age. Paired t-test was used to test differences of CFF and HRV between both initial and final phase of driving, while multiple linear regression tested the influence of personal variables on the indexes of mental fatigue. Results: Results showed that CFF significantly decreased after 6 hours of bus driving (41.91 Hz, sd 3.31 vs. 41.15 Hz, sd 3.15; p = 0.041), and heart rate significantly decreased in the final phase of driving, with respect to the initial phase (85 vs. 78 bpm, p = 0.027). Increasing age (beta = -0.729, p = 0.022), risk of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (beta = -0.530, p = 0.04), and diurnal sleepiness (beta = -0.406, p = 0.017) showed a significant effect on influencing mental fatigue. Conclusion: Elderly drivers at higher risk of sleep disorders are more prone to mental fatigue, when exposed to driving activity. Monitoring indexes of central arousal and autonomic balance, coupled with the use of structured questionnaires can represent a useful strategy to detect profile of workers at higher risk of mental fatigue in such duty.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.363-371
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• 2016

Background: Seafaring is an inherently stressful environment. Because working time and leisure time is spent in the same confined environment for a prolonged period of time, many stressors present in seafaring can also be conceived of as chronic. We explored the effects of duration at sea, seafaring experience, environmental stressors, and psychological capital (PsyCap) on the sleep quality and fatigue of seafarers. PsyCap is a construct that draws upon ideas from positive psychology and positive organizational behavior, and is intended to capture an individual's psychological capacities that can be developed and utilized for performance improvements. Methods: We collected survey data from a sample of seafarers working in the offshore re-supply industry (n = 402) and a sample of seafarers working on board combined passenger and cargo ships (n = 340). Results: PsyCap emerged as a robust predictor with statistically significant relations to fatigue and sleep quality in both samples. PsyCap also interacted with duration at sea in explaining fatigue in seafarers working on board the passenger and cargo ships. Seafarers on passenger and cargo ships also reported significantly higher levels of fatigue than those working in the offshore re-supply industry. Conclusion: Coupled with emerging research showing that PsyCap is trainable, our results suggest that maritime organizations could have much to gain by being cognizant of and developing routines for continually developing the PsyCap of their employees.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.32 no.8
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• pp.660-667
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• 2008

During the last two decades, lots of efforts have been devoted to resolve thermal stratification phenomenon and primary water environment issues. While several effective methods were proposed especially in related to thermally stratified flow analyses and corrosive material resistance experiments, however, lack of details on specific stress and fatigue evaluation make it difficult to quantify structural behaviors. In the present work, effects of the thermal stratification and primary water are numerically examined from a structural integrity point of view. First, a representative austenitic nuclear piping is selected and its stress components at critical locations are calculated in use of four stratified temperature inputs and eight transient conditions. Subsequently, both metal and environmental fatigue usage factors of the piping are determined by manipulating the stress components in accordance with NUREG/CR-5704 as well as ASME B&PV Codes. Key findings from the fatigue evaluation with applicability of pipe and three-dimensional solid finite elements are fully discussed and a recommendation for realistic evaluation is suggested.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.651-674
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• 2006

The fatigue cracks initiate and propagate in the Armored Vehicle Launch Bridge (AVLB) components, especially like the splice doubler angle, splice plate, and bottom chord, due to the cyclic loading by repeated AVLB-launchings and tank-crossings. In this study, laboratory fatigue tests were conducted on six aluminum 2014-T6, four aluminum 7050-T76511, and four ASTM A36 steel compact-tension specimens to evaluate the crack growth behavior of the materials used for the components. The experimental results provide the relationship (Paris Law) between crack growth rate, da/dn, and stress intensity range, ${\Delta}K$, whose material dependent constants C and m can later be used in the life estimation of the components. Finite Element Method (FEM) was used to obtain the stress intensity factor, K, of the components with cracks. Because of the complexity of loading conditions and component geometry, several assumptions and simplifications are made in the FEM modeling. The FEM results, along with the results obtained from laboratory fatigue tests, are then utilized to estimate critical crack length and remaining life of the components.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.146-154
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• 2010

In this study the experimental results of fatigue specimen for the Strand Stay Cable Assembly of Extadosed bridges is investigated. The fatigue test and tensile experiment is conducted to 6 kinds of specimens. Test specimen OVM250-31 Strand Cable System manufactured by china OVM B-Machinery Co., Ltd, and OVM250-42 Parallel Strand Stay Cable Assembly manufactured by china OVM B-Machinery Co., Ltd, are passed for fatigue test and rupture tensile test. But Test specimen OVM250-42 Parallel Strand Stay Cable Assembly manufactured by korean A-Machinery Co., Ltd, is not passed for fatigue test conducted according to the "Recommendation for Stay Cable Design. The test result are compared to the fatigue criteria of PHI 2001 for cyclic load, and it is concluded that the current korean design code will be needed for representing the fatigue load in Hot Dip Galvanized Strand Stay Cable. It is verified that the new korean specification and quality criteria of Strand Stay Cable and exact experimental applied process will be needed.