• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• 제64권4호
• /
• pp.413-426
• /
• 2017

Probabilistic methods are used in engineering where a computational model contains random variables. The proposed method under development: Direct Optimized Probabilistic Calculation (DOProC) is highly efficient in terms of computation time and solution accuracy and is mostly faster than in case of other standard probabilistic methods. The novelty of the DOProC lies in an optimized numerical integration that easily handles both correlated and statistically independent random variables and does not require any simulation or approximation technique. DOProC is demonstrated by a collection of deliberately selected simple examples (i) to illustrate the efficiency of individual optimization levels and (ii) to verify it against other highly regarded probabilistic methods (e.g., Monte Carlo). Efficiency and other benefits of the proposed method are grounded on a comparative case study carried out using both the DOProC and MC techniques. The algorithm has been implemented in mentioned software applications, and has been used effectively several times in solving probabilistic tasks and in probabilistic reliability assessment of structures. The article summarizes the principles of this method and demonstrates its basic possibilities on simple examples. The paper presents unpublished details of probabilistic computations based on this method, including a reliability assessment, which provides the user with the probability of failure affected by statistically dependent input random variables. The study also mentions the potential of the optimization procedures under development, including an analysis of their effectiveness on the example of the reliability assessment of a slender column.

• 터널과지하공간
• /
• 제22권1호
• /
• pp.12-21
• /
• 2012

암석의 파괴조건식으로 널리 이용되고 있는 Mohr-Coulomb식과 Hoek-Brown식은 중간주응력을 고려하지 못한다. 그러나 암석의 진삼축압축시험 결과에 의하면 암석의 강도는 중간주응력의 크기에 상당한 영향을 받는 것으로 알려지고 있다. 따라서 암반구조물의 정밀한 안정성 평가를 위해서는 중간주응력의 영향을 고려할 수 있는 파괴조건식이 필요하다. 이 연구에서는 Jiang & Pietruszczak(1988)이 제안한 팔면체면 단면 형상함수를 이용하여 Hoek-Brown 파괴조건식에 근사하는 새로운 3차원 비선형 암석파괴조건식을 제안하였다. 대응되는 선형파괴조건식의 강도예측 결과와 비교검토를 통해 제안한 파괴조건식의 강도예측 성능을 평가하였다. 제안한 파괴조건식을 문헌에 보고된 6개 암종의 진삼축압축시험 결과에 적합시킨 결과 매우 우수한 적합성을 얻었다. 특히, 구속압이 낮은 영역의 진삼축압축강도를 포함한 자료에 대해서는 선형 파괴조건식에 비해 뛰어난 적합성을 보였다.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• 제52권8호
• /
• pp.1871-1880
• /
• 2020

Round robin analyses for vessel failure probabilities due to PTS events are proposed for plant-specific analyses of all types of reactors developed in Korea. Four organizations, that are responsible for regulation, operation, research and design of the nuclear power plant in Korea, participated in the round robin analysis. The vessel failure probabilities from the probabilistic fracture mechanics analyses are calculated to assure the structural integrity of the reactor pressure vessel during transients that are expected to initiate PTS events. The failure probabilities due to various parameters are compared with each other. All results are obtained based on several assumptions about material properties, flaw distribution data, and transient data such as pressure, temperature, and heat transfer coefficient. The realistic input data can be used to obtain more realistic failure probabilities. The various results presented in this study will be helpful not only for benchmark calculations, result comparisons, and verification of PFM codes developed but also as a contribution to knowledge management for the future generation.

• Computers and Concrete
• /
• 제22권1호
• /
• pp.93-100
• /
• 2018

It is seldom possible that geotechnical materials like rocks and concretes found without joints, cracks, or discontinuities. Thereby, the impact of micro-cracks on the mechanical properties of them is to be considered. In the present study, the effect of micro-crack on the failure mechanism of rock specimens under uniaxial compression was investigated experimentally. For this purpose, thermal stress was used to induce micro-cracks in the specimens. Several cylindrical and disk shape specimens were drilled from granite collected from Zanjan granite mine, Iran. Some of the prepared specimens were kept in room temperature and the others were heated by a laboratory furnace to different temperature levels (200, 400, 600, 800 and 1000 degree Celsius). During the experimental tests, Acoustic Emission (AE) sensors were used to monitor specimen failure at the different loading sequences. Also, Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) was used to distinguish the induced micro-crack by heating in the specimens. The fractographic analysis revealed that the thin sections heated to $800^{\circ}C$ and $1000^{\circ}C$ contain some induced micro-fractures, but in the thin sections heated to $200^{\circ}C$, $400^{\circ}C$ and $600^{\circ}C$ have not been observed any micro-fracture. In the next, a comprehensive experimental investigation was made to evaluate mechanical properties of heated and unheated specimens. Results of experimental tests showed that induced micro-cracks significantly influence on the failure mode of specimens. The specimens kept at room temperature failed in the splitting mode, while the failure mode of specimens heated to $800^{\circ}C$ are shearing and the specimens heated to $1000^{\circ}C$ failed in the spalling mode. On the basis of AE monitoring, it is found that with increasing of the micro-crack density, the ratio of the number of shear cracks to the number of tensile cracks increases, under loading sequences.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• 제32권5호
• /
• pp.609-620
• /
• 2009

In this paper the results of a series of experimental tests upon three-point bending specimens made of polystyrene and containing re-entrant corners are firstly described. Tests involved different notch angles, different notch depths and finally different sizes of the samples. All the specimens broke at the defect, as expected because of the material brittleness and, hence, the generalized stress intensity factor was expected to be the governing failure parameter. Recorded failure loads are then compared with the predictions provided by a fracture criterion recently introduced in the framework of Finite Fracture Mechanics: fracture is assumed to propagate by finite steps, whose length is determined by the contemporaneous fulfilment of energy balance and stress requirements. This fracture criterion allows us to achieve the expression of the generalized fracture toughness as a function of the tensile strength, the fracture toughness and the notch opening angle. Comparison between theoretical predictions and experimental data turns out to be more than satisfactory.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• 제25권3호
• /
• pp.311-330
• /
• 2007

Model-based predictions of structural behavior are negatively affected by uncertainties of various type and in various stages of the structural analysis. The present paper focusses on dynamic analysis and addresses the effects of uncertainties concerning material and geometric parameters, mainly in the context of modal analysis of large-scale structures. Given the large number of uncertain parameters arising in this case, highly scalable simulation-based methods are adopted, which can deal with possibly thousands of uncertain parameters. In order to solve the reliability problem, i.e., the estimation of very small exceedance probabilities, an advanced simulation method called Line Sampling is used. In combination with an efficient algorithm for the estimation of the most important uncertain parameters, the method provides good estimates of the failure probability and enables one to quantify the error in the estimate. Another aspect here considered is the uncertainty quantification for closely-spaced eigenfrequencies. The solution here adopted represents each eigenfrequency as a weighted superposition of the full set of eigenfrequencies. In a case study performed with the FE model of a satellite it is shown that the effects of uncertain parameters can be very different in magnitude, depending on the considered response quantity. In particular, the uncertainty in the quantities of interest (eigenfrequencies) turns out to be mainly caused by very few of the uncertain parameters, which results in sharp estimates of the failure probabilities at low computational cost.

• Computers and Concrete
• /
• 제25권1호
• /
• pp.15-27
• /
• 2020

During the past decades, the application of acoustic emission techniques (AET) through the diagnosis and monitoring of the fracture process in materials has been attracting considerable attention. AET proved to be operative among the other non-destructive testing methods for various reasons including their practicality and cost-effectiveness. Concrete and rock structures often demand thorough and real-time assessment to predict and prevent their damage nucleation and evolution. This paper presents an overview of the work carried out on the use of AE as a monitoring technique to form a comprehensive insight into its potential application in brittle materials. Reported properties in this study are crack growth behavior, localization, damage evolution, dynamic character and structures monitoring. This literature review provides practicing engineers and researchers with the main AE procedures to follow when examining the possibility of failure in civil/resource structures that rely on brittle materials.

• 한국암반공학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 한국암반공학회 2006년도 춘계학술발표회 논문집
• /
• pp.79-93
• /
• 2006

It is well known that acoustic emission (AE) is indicator of rock fracturing or damage as rock is brought to failure under the uniaxial compressive loads. In this paper, an experimental study on the source location of acoustic emission on the cylindrical specimens of granite under uniaxial compression test was made. The AE source location was made by measuring the six channel AE data. Comparing to this experiment, the numerical method is applied to model the initiation and propagation of fracture by AE using a numerical code, RFPA (Realistic Failure Process Analysis). This code incorporates the mesoscopic heterogeneity in Young's modulus and rock strength characteristic of rock masses. In the numerical models, values of Young's modulus and rock strength are realized according to a Weibull distribution in which the distribution parameters represent the level of heterogeneity of the medium. The results of the simulations show that RFPA can be used not only to produce acoustic emission similar to those measurements in our experiments, but also to predict fracturing patterns under uniaxial loading condition.

• Coupled systems mechanics
• /
• 제2권1호
• /
• pp.85-110
• /
• 2013

Generally, mass concrete structural behavior is governed by the strain components. However, relevant guidelines in dam engineering evaluate the structural behavior of concrete dams using stress-based criteria. In the present study, strain-based criteria are proposed for the first time in a professional manner and their applicability in seismic failure evaluation of an arch dam are investigated. Numerical model of the dam is provided using NSAD-DRI finite element code and the foundation is modeled to be massed using infinite elements at its far-end boundaries. The coupled dam-reservoir-foundation system is solved in Lagrangian-Eulerian domain using Newmark-${\beta}$ time integration method. Seismic performance of the dam is investigated using parameters such as the demand-capacity ratio, the cumulative inelastic duration and the extension of the overstressed/overstrained areas. Real crack profile of the dam based on the damage mechanics approach is compared with those obtained from stress-based and strain-based approaches. It is found that using stress-based criteria leads to conservative results for arch action while seismic safety evaluation using the proposed strain-based criteria leads to conservative cantilever action.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• 제47권1호
• /
• pp.131-147
• /
• 2013

In this paper, constraint-based fracture mechanics analyses of hollow cylinders with internal circumferential crack under tensile loading are conducted. Finite element analyses of the cracked cylinders are carried out to determine the fracture parameters including elastic T-stresses, and fully-plastic J-integrals. Linear elastic finite element analysis is conducted to obtain the T-stresses, and elastic-plastic analysis is conducted to obtain the fully plastic J-integrals. A wide range of cylinder geometries are studied, with cylinder radius ratios of $r_i/r_o$ = 0.2 to 0.8 and crack depth ratio a/t = 0.2 to 0.8. Fully plastic J-integrals are obtained for Ramberg-Osgood power law hardening material of n = 3, 5 and 10. These fracture parameters are then used to construct conventional and constraint-based failure assessment diagrams (FADs) to determine the maximum load carrying capacity of cracked cylinders. It is demonstrated that these tensile loaded cylinders with circumferential cracks are under low constraint conditions, and the load carrying capacity are higher when the low constraint effects are properly accounted for, using constraint-based FADs, comparing to the predictions from the conventional FADs.