• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.31 no.7
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• pp.643-649
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• 2014

In order to demonstrate the possibility of applying an ionic polymer metal composite (IPMC) to a finger exoskeleton, pinching motion analysis was performed for a thumb-index finger dummy actuated by IPMC actuators. The IPMC actuators of 5mm in width and 40mm in length with 2.4mm thickness generated 1.52N of blocking force for the applying voltage of 4.0V. Three actuators were installed on the three rotary joint of an index finger, and one actuator was installed on one proximal joint. Positions of each joint and finger tip were recorded on the video camera, and motion was analyzed. Power supply to the index finger actuators preceded power supply to the thumb actuator, and key pinching motion was accomplished in 180s. Tip pinching was accomplished in 135s as power supply to the thumb preceded power supply to the index finger.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.585-596
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• 2017

Tubular joints have been widely used in offshore platforms and space structures due to their merits such as easy fabrication, aesthetic appearance and better static strength. For existing tubular joints, a grouted sleeve reinforced method was proposed in this paper. Experimental tests on five tubular T-joints reinforced with the grouted sleeve and two conventional tubular T-joints were conducted to investigate their mechanical behaviour. A constant axial compressive force was applied to the chord end to simulate the compressive state of the chord member during the tests. Then an axial compressive force was applied to the top end of the brace member until the collapse of the joint specimens occurred. The parameters investigated herein were the grout thickness, the sleeve length coefficient and the sleeve construction method. The failure mode, ultimate load, initial stiffness and deformability of these joint specimens were discussed. It was found that: (1) The grouted sleeve could change the failure mode of tubular T-joints. (2) The grouted sleeve was observed to provide strength enhancement up to 154.3%~172.7% for the corresponding un-reinforced joint. (3) The initial stiffness and deformability were also greatly improved by the grouted sleeve. (4) The sleeve length coefficient was a key parameter for the improved effect of the grouted sleeve reinforced method.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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• 2000.11a
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• pp.46-78
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• 2000

This paper is to introduce recent collaborative activities in agricultural weather information services among institutions in Korea as well as key concepts for understanding agrometeorological services. KMA and RDA have agreed upon the establishment of the Joint Committee for Agrometeorolgy at national level to strengthen the national agrometeorological services in data collection, information production, research, and services to end-users of agrometeorological information in Korea. Several on-going joint projects in agrometeorology by RDA/KMA are introduced in brief. The projects being developed are : Strengthening of the Joint Committee of agrometeorology, Extension of observation network for agricultural weather, Production of the detailed agrometeorological information based on numerical weather forecasts, Development of seasonal and interannual weather forecasts for agricultural applications, Information network system for supporting agrometeorological research, and Improvement of agrometeorological information services at national and regional level. Strengthening of programs for the education and training of agrometeorologists will be impending responsibilities of the government. The government must consider establishment of organizations dedicated to and in charge of national agrometeorological services to end-users. RDA and KMA should play a major role to obtain this goal, based on a close cooperation with universities, scientific societies, and other relevant institutions. If this plan is successful, major infrastructures and services in agrometeorology shall be established in the next 5 years, and we can contribute to regional and global societies through sharing experiences and know-hows.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.391-414
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• 2015

In this paper, stabilities of a plane slide rock slope under different hydraulic distributions were studied based on the nonlinear Barton-Bandis (B-B) failure criterion. The influence of various parameters on the stability of rock slopes was analyzed. Parametric analysis indicated that studying the factor of safety (FS) of planar slide rock slopes using the B-B failure criterion is both simple and effective and that the effects of the basic friction angle of the joint (${\varphi}_b$), the joint roughness coefficient (JRC), and the joint compressive strength (JCS) on the FS of a planar slide rock slope are significant. Qualitatively, the influence of the JCS on the FS of a slope is small, whereas the influences of the ${\varphi}_b$ and the JRC are significant. The FS of the rock slope decreases as the water in a tension crack becomes deeper. This trend is more significant when the flow outlet is blocked, a situation that is particularly prevalent in regions with permafrost or seasonal frozen soil. Finally, the work is extended to study the reliability of the slope against plane failure according to the uncertainty from physical and mechanics parameters.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.37-57
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• 2012

The behavior of beam-column joints in moment resisting frame structures is susceptible to damage caused by seismic effects due to poor performance of the joints. A good number of researches were carried out to understand the complex mechanism of RC joints considered in current seismic design codes. The traditional construction detailing of transverse reinforcement has resulted in serious joint failures during earthquakes. This paper introduces a new design philosophy involving the use of additional diagonal bars within the joint particularly suitable for low to medium seismic effects in earthquake zones. In this study, ten full-scale interior beam-column specimens were constructed with various additional reinforcement details and configurations. The results of the experiment showed that adding additional bars is a promising approach in reinforced concrete structures where earthquakes are eminent. In terms of overall cracking observation during the test, the specimens with additional bars (diagonal and straight) compared with the ones without them showed fewer cracks in the column. Furthermore, concrete confinement is certainly an important design measure as recommended by most international codes.

• International Journal of Precision Engineering and Manufacturing
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.30-33
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• 2008

Understanding the characteristics of amputee gait is key in developing more advanced prostheses. The aim of this study was to quantitatively analyze a stair-climbing task for transfemoral amputees with a prosthesis and to predict the muscle forces and joint moments at musculoskeletal joints using a dynamic analysis. A three-dimensional musculoskeletal model of the lower extremities was constructed from a gait analysis using transformation software for two transfemoral amputees and ten healthy people. The measured ground reaction forces and kinematical data of each joint from the gait analysis were used as input data for an inverse dynamic analysis. Dynamic analyses of an transfemoral amputee climbing stairs were performed using musculoskeletal models. The results showed that the summed muscle forces of the hip extensor of an amputated leg were greater than those of a sound leg. The opposite was true at the hip abductor and knee flexor of an amputated leg. We also found that higher moments at the hip and knee joints of the sound leg were required to overcome the flexion moment caused by the body weight and amputated leg. Dynamic analyses using musculoskeletal models may be a useful means to predict muscle forces and joint moments for specific motion tasks related to rehabilitation therapy.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.443-455
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• 2009

The use of fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) reinforcement in concrete structures has been on the rise due to its advantages over conventional steel reinforcement such as corrosion. Reinforcing steel corrosion has been the primary cause of deterioration of reinforced concrete (RC) structures, resulting in tremendous annual repair costs. One application of FRP reinforcement to be further explored is its use in RC frames. Nonetheless, due to FRP's inherently elastic behavior, FRP-reinforced (FRP-RC) members exhibit low ductility and energy dissipation as well as different damage mechanisms. Furthermore, current design standards for FRP-RC structures do not address seismic design in which the beam-column joint is a key issue. During an earthquake, the safety of beam-column joints is essential to the whole structure integrity. Thus, research is needed to gain better understanding of the behavior of FRP-RC structures and their damage mechanisms under seismic loading. In this study, two full-scale beam-column joint specimens reinforced with steel and GFRP configurations were tested under quasi-static loading. The control steel-reinforced specimen was detailed according to current design code provisions. The GFRP-RC specimen was detailed in a similar scheme. The damage in the two specimens is characterized to compare their performance under simulated seismic loading.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.1177-1195
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• 2015

Six specimens are tested to investigate the cyclic behavior of beam-to-column abnormal joints in steel moment-resisting frames, which are designed according to the principle of strong-member and weak-panel zone. Key parameters include the axial compression ratio of column and the section depth ratio of beams. Experimental results indicate that four types of failure patterns occurred during the loading process. The $P-{\Delta}$ hysteretic loops are stable and plentiful, but have different changing tendency at the positive and negative direction in the later of loading process due to mechanical behaviors of specimens. The ultimate strength tends to increase with the decrease of the section depth ratio of beams, but it is not apparent relationship to the axial compression ratio of column, which is less than 0.5. The top panel zone has good deformation capacity and the shear rotation can reach to 0.04 rad. The top panel zone and the bottom panel zone don't work as a whole. Based on the experimental results, the equation for shear strength of the abnormal joint panel zone is established by considering the restriction of the bottom panel zone to the top panel zone, which is suitable for the abnormal joint of H-shaped or box column and beams with different depths.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.487-500
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• 2016

In order to investigate the flexural bearing capacity of panel zone of diaphragm-through joint between concrete filled square steel tubular column and steel beam, four specimens were tested under static tension loads to study the mechanical properties and bearing capacity of diaphragm-through joints with a failure mode of panel zone. Finite element models of these specimens were developed to simulate the test and compare the predicted failure modes, load-displacement curves and bearing capacities with the experimentally observed. It was found that the tensile load from the steel beam flange is mainly shared by the square steel tube and the diaphragm. The diaphragm plastic zone appears along the cross-section lines enclosed by the square steel tube and the influence of steel beam web on the plastic zone of the steel tube is significant and cannot be neglected. Computational models of yield lines on square steel tube and diaphragm are established based on the distribution pattern of the plastic zone, and an analytical method for the evaluation of the bearing capacity of the joint is proposed. The theoretical results and the experimental data are compared and found in good agreement.

• KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS)
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• v.9 no.10
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• pp.3831-3851
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• 2015

This paper is concerned with the problem of joint resource allocation and user-pairing in virtual MIMO SC-FDMA systems to improve service quality of experience (QoE). No-reference logarithmic model is introduced to quantify service experience for each user and the objective is to maximize sum of all user's mean of score (MOS). We firstly formulate the optimal problem into an S-dimensional (S-D) assignment problem. Then, to solve this problem, the modified Lagrangian relaxation algorithm is deduced to obtain the suboptimal result of joint user-paring and subchannel allocation. The merits of this solution are as follows. First, the gap between its results and the global optimal one can be quantified and controlled by balancing the complexity and accuracy, which merit the other suboptimal algorithms do not have. Secondly, it has the polynomial computational complexity and the worst case complexity is O(3LN³), where L is the maximum iteration time and N is the number of subchannels. Simulations also prove that our proposed algorithm can effectively improve quality of experience and the gap between our proposed and the optimal algorithms can be controlled below 8%.