• Proceedings of the Korean Society For Composite Materials Conference
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• 1999.11a
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• pp.28-31
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• 1999

Carbon fiber/epoxy composites using electrodeposited monomeric and polymeric coupling agents were compared with the dipping and the untreated cases. Treating conditions such as time, concentration and temperature were optimized. Four-fibers embedded micro-composites were prepared for fragmentation test. Interfacial properties of four-fiber composites with different surface treatments were investigated with simultaneous acoustic emission (AE) monitoring. The microfailure mechanisms occurring from fiber break, matrix and interlayer crackings were examined by AE parameters and an optical microscope. It was found that interfacial shear strength (IFSS) of electrodeposited carbon fibers was much higher than the other cases under dry and wet conditions. Well separated and different-shaped AE groups occurs for the untreated and ED treated case, respectively.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Process Engineers
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.109-116
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• 2016

Polymethyl methacrylate is commonly used in the outer lens of automotive rear lamps. However, if the lens warps above the allowable limit, it may lead to faulty connection with the housing, and failure of the assembly. This study investigated the effects of gate diameter and cooling line distance in the mold design for automotive outer lens. The optimal gate diameter and cooling line distance to minimize the warp of the outer lens were derived as 3.0 mm and 50-60 mm respectively, and the cooling temperature to minimize warp was shown to be $60-80^{\circ}C$ (mold surface temperature $48-67^{\circ}C$). A higher cooling temperature may somewhat mitigate the warp, but is undesirable because it may cause injection molding problems, such as sinks. A mold was constructed matching the optimal design and the produced lens properties, particularly the degree of warp, were comparable with the CAE predictions.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.60 no.1
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• pp.51-69
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• 2016

A large number of welded steel moment-resisting framed (SMRF) structures failed due to brittle fracture induced by ductile fracture at beam-to-column connections during 1994 Northridge earthquake and 1995 Kobe (Hyogoken-Nanbu) earthquake. Extensive research efforts have been devoted to clarifying the mechanism of the observed failures and corresponding countermeasures to ensure more ductile design of welded SMRF structures, while limited research on the failure analysis of the ductile cracking was conducted due to lack of computational capacity and proper theoretical models. As the first step to solve this complicated problem, this paper aims to establish a straightforward procedure to simulate ductile cracking of welded joints under monotonic tension. There are two difficulties in achieving the aim of this study, including measurement of true stress-true strain data and ductile fracture parameters of different subzones in a welded joint, such as weld deposit, heat affected zone and the boundary between the two. Butt joints are employed in this study for their simple configuration. Both experimental and numerical studies on two types of butt joints are conducted. The validity of the proposed procedure is proved by comparison between the experimental and numerical results.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.89-110
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• 2012

This study was intended to efficiently perform the probabilistic optimal safety assessment of steel cable-stayed bridges (SCS bridges) using stochastic finite element analysis (SFEA) and expected life-cycle cost (LCC) concept. To that end, advanced probabilistic finite element algorithm (APFEA) which enables to execute the static and dynamic SFEA considering aleatory uncertainties contained in random variable was developed. APFEA is the useful analytical means enabling to conduct the reliability assessment (RA) in a systematic way by considering the result of SFEA based on linearity and nonlinearity of before or after introducing initial tensile force. The appropriateness of APFEA was verified in such a way of comparing the result of SFEA and that of Monte Carlo Simulation (MCS). The probabilistic method was set taking into account of analytical parameters. The dynamic response characteristic by probabilistic method was evaluated using ASFEA, and RA was carried out using analysis results, thereby quantitatively calculating the probabilistic safety. The optimal design was determined based on the expected LCC according to the results of SFEA and RA of alternative designs. Moreover, given the potential epistemic uncertainty contained in safety index, failure probability and minimum LCC, the sensitivity analysis was conducted and as a result, a critical distribution phase was illustrated using a cumulative-percentile.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.443-456
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• 2017

Many authors have established the usefulness of concrete filled steel tubular (CFST) sections as compression members while few have proved their utility as flexural members. To explore their prospective as part of CFST frame structures, two types of connections using extended end plate and seat angle are proposed for exterior joints of CFST beams and CFST columns. To investigate the performance and failure modes of the proposed bolted connections subjected to static loads, an experimental program has been executed involving ten specimens of exterior beam-to-column joints subjected to monotonically increasing load applied at the tip of beam, the performance is appraised in terms of load deformation behaviour of joints. The test parameters varied are the beam section type, type and diameter of bolts. To validate the experimental behaviour of the proposed connections in CFST beam-column joints, finite element analysis for the applied load has been performed using software ATENA-3D and the results of the proposed models are compared with experimental results. The experimental results obtained agree that the proposed CFST beam-column connections perform in a semi-rigid and partial strength mode as per specification of EC3.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.457-472
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• 2017

The objective of this paper is to investigate the flexural behavior of concrete-filled round-ended steel tubes (CFRTs) under bending. Beam specimens were tested to investigate the mechanical behavior of the CFRTs, including four CFTs with different concrete strengths and steel ratios, and three CFRTs with varied aspect ratios. The load vs. deflection relationships and the failure modes for CFRTs were analyzed in detail. The composite action between the core concrete and steel tube was also discussed and examined based on the experimental results. In addition, ABAQUS program was used to develop the full-scale finite element model and analyze the effect of different parameters on the moment vs. curvature curves of the CFRTs bending about the major and minor axis, respectively. Furthermore, design formulas were proposed to estimate the ultimate moment and the flexural stiffness of the CFRTs, and the simplified theoretical model of the moment vs. curvature curves was also developed. The predicted results showed satisfactory agreement with the experimental and FE results. Finally, the differences of the experimental, FE and predicted results using the existing codes were illustrated.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.187-200
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• 2018

This paper handles the repairing of deficient square Concrete-Filled Steel-Tube (CFST) beams subject to bending through an experimental and numerical program. Eight square-CFST beams were tested. A 5-mm artificial notch was induced at mid-span of seven beams, four of them were repaired by using CFRP sheets and two were repaired by using GFRP sheets. The beam deflection, strain and ultimate moments were recorded. It was found that providing different cut-off points for the different layers of FRP sheets prohibited failure at termination points due to stress concentrations. Using different lengths of FRP sheets around the notch retarded crack propagation and prevented FRP rupture at the crack position. Finite element analysis was then conducted and the proposed FE model was verified against the recorded experimental data. The influence of various parameters as FRP sheet length, tensile modulus and the number of layers were studied. The moment capacity of damaged square-CFST beams was improved up to 77.6% when repaired by using four layers of CFRP, however, this caused a dramatic decrease in beam deflection. U-wrapping of notched-CFST beam with 0.75 of its length provided a comparable behaviour as wrapping the full length of the beam.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.709-718
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• 2018

Masonry walls are sometimes removed in buildings to either make new passages or increase the usable space. This may change the loading paths in the structure, and require new beams to transfer the loads which are carried by the masonry walls that are to be removed. One possible method of creating such new beams is to attach steel plates onto part of the existing walls to form a steel plate-masonry composite (SPMC) beam, leading to a new structure with part of the masonry wall supported by a new SPMC beam. This paper presents an experimental investigation into the interaction between the SPMC beam and the masonry wall above. Five SPMC beams supporting a masonry wall were tested to study the influence of parameters including the height-to-span ratio of the masonry wall, height of the beam and thickness of the steel plates. The test results, including failure mode, load-carrying capacity, load-deflection curves and strain distribution, are presented and discussed. It is found that for developing better arching effect in the masonry wall the ratio of the in-plane flexural stiffness of the masonry wall to the flexural stiffness of the SPMC beam must be between 2.8 and 7.1.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.623-633
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• 2019

A large number of available concrete buildings designed only considering gravity load that require seismic rehabilitation because of failure to meet plasticity criteria. Using steel bracings are a common type of seismic rehabilitation. The eccentric bracings with vertical link reduce non-elastic deformation imposed on concrete members as well as elimination of probable buckling problems of bracings. In this study, three concrete frames of 10, 15, and 20 stories designed only for gravity load have been considered for seismic improvement using performance-based plastic design. Afterwards, nonlinear time series analysis was employed to evaluate seismic behavior of the models in two modes including before and after rehabilitation. The results revealed that shear link can yield desirable performance with the least time, cost and number of bracings of concrete frames. Also, it was found that the seismic rehabilitation can reduce maximum relative displacement in the middle stories about 40 to 80 percent. Generally, findings of this study demonstrated that the eccentric bracing with vertical link can be employed as a suitable proxy to achieve better seismic performance for existing high rise concrete frames.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.1351-1355
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• 2016

Background: Multiple myeloma (MM) is influenced by genetic and micro-environmental changes. Malignant plasma cells produce an abnormal monoclonal immunoglobulin, as well as cytokines, such as IL-10 and IL-6 which stimulate cells of the bone marrow microenvironment (BMM) and cause dysfunction and failure of many organs. B cell activating factor (BAFF), IL6 and IL10 are known to influence the growth and survival of malignant clones. Aim: The objectives of the present study were to investigate the circulating levels of BAFF, IL-10 and IL-6, correlate them with well-known parameters of disease activity in patients with MM, and to detect their impact on patients' survival. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted on 89 newly diagnosed MM patients and seventy apparently healthy volunteers as a normal control group. BAFF, IL6, IL10 were measured by ELISA for both groups and survival analysis was performed for all patients. Results: Studied markers were higher in the MM patients compared to the normal control subjects. Patients survival was improved by high serum BAFF levels. Conclusions: High levels of BAFF were found to improve patients' survival. BAFF and IL-6 can be considered probable diagnostic markers for MM.