• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.365-374
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• 2023

This paper presents a new scheme for constructing locking-free finite elements in thick and thin plates, called Discrete Shear Gap element (DSG), using multiphase material topology optimization for triangular elements of Reissner-Mindlin plates. Besides, common methods are also presented in this article, such as quadrilateral element (Q4) and reduced integration method. Moreover, when the plate gets too thin, the transverse shear-locking problem arises. To avoid that phenomenon, the stabilized discrete shear gap technique is utilized in the DSG3 system stiffness matrix formulation. The accuracy and efficiency of DSG are demonstrated by the numerical examples, and many superior properties are presented, such as being a strong competitor to the common kind of Q4 elements in the static topology optimization and its computed results are confirmed against those derived from the three-node triangular element, and other existing solutions.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.719-730
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• 2007

This study presents a thin-walled space frame element based on the classical Timoshenko beam theory. The element is derived according to the assumed strain field in order to resolve the shear-locking phenomenon. The shape function is developed in accordance with the strain field which is assumed to be constant at a 2-noded straight frame element. In this study, the geometrically nonlinear analysis applies the Corotational procedure in order to evaluate unbalanced loads. The bowing effect is also considered faithfully. Two numerical examples are given; monosymmetric curved and nonsymmetric straight cantilever. When these example structures behave lateral-torsional bucking, the critical loads are obtained by this study and ABAQUS shell elements. Also, the post-buckling behavior is examined. The results give good agreement between this study and ABAQUS shell.

• Computational Structural Engineering
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.113-123
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• 1990

The paper is concerned with the elasto-plastic and geometrically nonlinear analysis of shell structures using an improved degenerated shell element. In the formulation of the element stiffness, the combined use of three different techniques was made. They are; 1) an enhanced interpolation of transverse shear strains in the natural coordinate system to overcome the shear locking problem ; 2) the reduced integration technique in in-plane strains to avoid the membrane locking behavior ; and 3) selective addition of the nonconforming displacement modes to improve the element performances. This element is free of serious shear/membrane locking problems and undesirable compatible/commutable spurious kinematic deformation modes. In the formulation for plastic deformation, the concept of a layered element model is used and the material is assumed von Mises yield criterion. An incremental total Lagrangian formulation is presented which allows the calculation of arbitrarily large displacements and rotations. The resulting non-linear equilibrium equations are solved by the Netwon-Raphson method combined with load or displacement increment. The versatility and accuracy of this improved degenerated shell element are demonstrated by solving several numerical examples.

• Archives of Craniofacial Surgery
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.75-81
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• 2014

Background: The fibular free flap has been used as the standard methods of segmental mandibular reconstruction. The objective of mandibular reconstruction not only includes restored continuity of the mandible but also the recovery of optimal function. This paper emphasizes the advantage of the fibular free flap reconstruction over that of locking mandibular reconstruction plate fixation. Methods: The hospital charts of all patients (n=20) who had a mandibular reconstruction between 1994 and 2013 were retrospectively reviewed. Eight patients had plateonly fixation of the mandible, and the remaining 12 had vascularized fibular free flap reconstruction. Complications and outcomes were reviewed and compared between the 2 groups via statistical analysis. Results: Overall complication rates were significantly lower in the fibular flap group (8.3%) than in the plate fixation group (87.5%; p =0.001). Most (7/8) patients in the plate fixation group had experienced plate-related late complications, including plate fracture or exposure. In the fibular flap group, no complications were observed, except for a single case of donor-site wound dehiscence (1/12). Conclusion: The fibular free flap provides a more stable support and additional soft tissue support for the plate, thereby minimizing the risk of plate-related complications. Fibular free flap is the most reliable option for mandibular reconstruction, and we believe that the flap should be performed primarily whenever possible.

• Korean Journal of Optics and Photonics
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.317-322
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• 2007

We performed injection-locking by two independent semiconductor lasers and investigated the spectral modes of the injection-locked laser From the observation of the saturated absorption spectrum in the $^{85}Rb$ D1 transition line, we have confirmed that the frequency of the injection-locked slave laser is synchronized by the frequency of the master laser, and the slave laser has a narrow linewidth after injection-locking. According to the intensity injected into the slave laser, we measured the variation of the injection-locking range and the mode of the injection-locked slave laser by using the confocal Fabry-Ferret interferometer. In the case of the incomplete injection-locking, we observed the competition between the free running mode of the slave laser and the mode of the master laser and analyzed the modes of the injection-locked slave laser.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.582-591
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• 2001

It is known that the reduced integration, modified shape function, anisoparametric and non-conforming element can reduce the error induced by stiffness locking phenomenon in the finite element analysis. In this study, we propose new anisoparametric curved beam element. The new element based on reduced minimization theory is composed of different shape functions in each displacement field. By the substitution of this modified shape function, the unmatched coefficient that cause stiffness locking in the constraint energy is eliminated. To confirm the availability of this new model, we performed numerical tests for a simple model. As a result of numerical test, the undulate stress patterns are disappeared in static analysis, and displacements and stresses are close to exact solution. Not only in the static analysis but also in the eigen analysis of free vibrated curved beam model, this element shows successful convergent results.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.289-300
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• 2008

The use of metric trial functions to represent the real stress field in what is called the unsymmetric finite element formulation is an effective way to improve predictions from distorted finite elements. This approach works surprisingly well because the use of parametric functions for the test functions satisfies the continuity conditions while the use of metric (Cartesian) shape functions for the trial functions attempts to ensure that the stress representation during finite element computation can retrieve in a best-fit manner, the actual variation of stress in the metric space. However, the issue of how to handle situations where there is locking along with mesh distortion has never been addressed. In this paper, we show that the use of a consistent definition of the constrained strain field in the metric space can ensure a lock-free solution even when there is mesh distortion. The three-noded Timoshenko beam element is used to illustrate the principles. Some significant conclusions are drawn regarding the optimal strategy for finite element modelling where distortion effects and field-consistency requirements have to be reconciled simultaneously.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.575-593
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• 2002

Based on the Mindlin plate theory, a refined discrete 15-DOF triangular laminated composite plate finite element RDTMLC with the re-constitution of the shear strain is proposed. For constituting the element displacement function, the exact displacement function of the Timoshenko's laminated composite beam as the displacement on the element boundary is used to derive the element displacements. The proposed element can be used for the analysis of both moderately thick and thin laminated composite plate, and the convergence for the very thin situation can be ensured theoretically. Numerical examples presented show that the present model indeed possesses the properties of higher accuracy for anisotropic laminated composite plates and is free of locking even for extremely thin laminated plates.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.100-114
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• 1996

In this paper, a new thin-walled beam finite elcment is developed to overmome the difficulties in the analysis of real structures by existing beam elements. The element is formulated by extending Benscoter's assumption and also by adopting the concept of the curvature-based element. It is applicable to the analysis of the beams with arbitrary cross-sectional shapes. The results obtained show that the element is locking-free and the accuracy of the finite element solutions is remarkably improved.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.20 no.8
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• pp.2540-2545
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• 1996

It is well known that in typical displacement-based curved beam elements, the stiffness matrix is overestimated and as a result displacement predictions show gross error for the thin beam case. In this paper, a stain based curved beam element with 2 nodes is formulated based on shallow beam geometry. At the element level, the curvature and membrane strain fields are approximated independently and the displacement fields are obtained by integrating the strain fields. Three test problems are given to demonstrate the numerical performance of the element. Analysis results obtained reveal that the element is free for locking and very effectively applicable to deeply as well as shallowly curved beams.