• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.135-147
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• 2016

This paper describes a smart structural system, which uses smart materials for real-time monitoring and active control of bolted-joints in steel structures. The goal of this research is to reduce the possibility of failure and the cost of maintenance of steel structures such as bridges, electricity pylons, steel lattice towers and so on. The concept of the smart structural system combines impedance based health monitoring techniques with a shape memory alloy (SMA) washer to restore the tension of the loosened bolt. The impedance-based structural health monitoring (SHM) techniques were used to detect loosened bolts in bolted-joints. By comparing electrical impedance signatures measured from a potentially damage structure with baseline data obtained from the pristine structure, the bolt loosening damage could be detected. An outlier analysis, using generalized extreme value (GEV) distribution, providing optimal decision boundaries, has been carried out for more systematic damage detection. Once the loosening damage was detected in the bolted joint, the external heater, which was bonded to the SMA washer, actuated the washer. Then, the heated SMA washer expanded axially and adjusted the bolt tension to restore the lost torque. Additionally, temperature variation due to the heater was compensated by applying the effective frequency shift (EFS) algorithm to improve the performance of the diagnostic results. An experimental study was conducted by integrating the piezoelectric material based structural health monitoring and the SMA-based active control function on a bolted joint, after which the performance of the smart 'self-monitoring and self-healing bolted joint system' was demonstrated.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.155-162
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• 1993

The human's biomechanical structure keeps an optimal state by adapting the original biomechanical structure according to a change in the physical environment. This phenomenon is believed to be the main cause of loosening of the total hip replacement which is used widely in these days. In this study the bone density change due to artificial hip joint, which is generally believed as bone-remodeling, was investigated by the finite element method. For this, 2-D FEM models with 4 nodal point elements were constructed for intact and implanted cases. The density was calculated by comparing the relative amounts of effective stress for these two cases. In this way, calculated new density values were used in the next step as input values and this procedure repeated until convergence was obtained. Severe density change was detected at the femoral cortex of the proximal-medial side as expected. Moreover, following surprising result was found from this analysis. Titanium alloy prosthesis showed less density change compared to stainless steel prosthesis at earlier stage, however, almost same amount of the density change was detected at final stage. It was also found that other design parameters could not significantly affect its density change.

• Hip & pelvis
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.210-218
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• 2018

Purpose: This is a report on the outcomes associated with a consecutive series of 1,000 cementless hip arthroplasties utilizing the $Bencox^{(R)}$ hip stem-the first Korean-developed hip prosthesis. Materials and Methods: A consecutive series of 1,000 hip arthroplasties using the $Bencox^{(R)}$ hip stem were analyzed, starting from its initial release (September 2006) until June 2014. Patients in this consecutive series underwent surgery for fractures (n=552), arthritis (n=155), avascular necrosis (n=209), and revisions (n=84). Of these 1,000 cases, patients with a minimum follow-up of at least 1 year (n=616) were retrospectively analyzed for radiographic and clinical outcomes (i.e., Harris hip score). The stability of the prosthesis was evaluated by examining subsidence. Results: During the follow-up period (mean follow-up period of 54.8 months), there were 2 cases requiring revision of the femoral stem-both were caused by periprosthetic fractures and neither involved stem loosening. The mean Harris hip score during follow-up was 95.5. Bone ongrowth occurred in 95% of patients; no cases of subsidence or aseptic loosening of the stem were detected, and no cases of postoperative complications such as ceramic breakage were observed. Conclusion: Clinical and radiographic evaluations of hip arthroplasty using the $Bencox^{(R)}$ hip stem revealed excellent outcomes with an average of 54.8 month follow-up in a consecutive series of 1,000 cases.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.293-301
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• 2019

Bolted joints are commonly used in civil infrastructure and mechanical assembly structures. Monitoring and identifying the connection status of bolts is the frontier problem of structural research. The existing research is mainly on the looseness of a single bolt. This article presents a study of assessing the loosening/tightening health state and identifying the loose bolt by using ultrasonic guided wave in a bolt group joint. A bolt-tightening index was proposed for evaluating the looseness of a bolt connection based on correlation coefficient. The tightening/loosening state of the bolt was simulated by changing the bolt torque. More than 180 different measurement tests for total of six bolts were conducted. The results showed that with the bolt torque increases, value of the proposed bolt-tightening index increases. The proposed bolt-tightening index trend was very well reproduced by an analytical expression using a function of the torque applied with an overall percentage error lower than 5%. The developed damage index based on the proposed bolt-tightening index can also be applied to locate the loosest bolt in a bolt group joint. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed method, a bolt group joint experiment with different positions of bolt looseness was performed. Experimental results show that the proposed approach is effective to detect and locate bolt looseness and has a good prospect of finding applications in real-time structural monitoring.

• The Journal of Advanced Prosthodontics
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.65-70
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• 2021

Purpose. Implant mechanical complications, including screw loosening, can influence dental implant success. It has been shown that torque values are affected by contamination occurred in implant-abutment (I/A) interface. This study aimed to examine the effects of blood, saliva, fluoride and chlorhexidine contamination on reverse torque values (RTVs) of abutment screws in oral conditions. Materials and Methods. 50 fixtures were mounted into the stainless-steel holders and divided into five groups (n = 10). Except control group (NC), fixture screw holes in other groups were contaminated with chlorhexidine (CG), saliva (SG), blood (BG), or fluoride (FG). Abutment screws were tightened with a digital torque meter. I/A assemblies were subjected to thermocycling and cyclic loading. The mean RTVs were recorded and data were analyzed with one-way ANOVA and Tukey test. Results. Except for specimens in SG (20.56 ± 1.33), other specimens in BG (21.11 ± 1.54), CG (22.89 ± 1.1) and FG (24.00 ± 1.12) displayed significantly higher RTVs compared to NC (19.00 ± 1.87). The highest RTVs were detected in CG and FG. Conclusion. The obtained data robustly suggest that RTVs were significantly affected by fluid contaminations. Specimens in FG and CG displayed the highest RTVs. Therefore, clinicians should have enough knowledge about probable contaminations in I/A interface in order to manage them during clinical procedure and to inform patients about using oral care products.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.7-13
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• 2021

The re-liquefaction drum is a product that installed spray nozzles at the top to directly spray overcooled LNG into evaporative gas and installed demistors to facilitate gas separation, which was developed to increase the re-liquidity efficiency of small scale re-liquefaction facilities. In the hydrostatic test of the drum, no leakage occurred even at a pressure of 1.5 times the design pressure, but during the BOR(Boil Off Rate) test, the bolt loosening occurred due to contraction and expansion by temperature change. For the continued use of the product, insulation construction on flange connections was developed to enable detachment and attachment, and the comparison of heat load with existing insulation confirmed that it was very small compared to the inlet flow rate in the drum.

• The Journal of Korean Academy of Prosthodontics
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.137-147
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• 2008

Statement of problem: Dental implant procedure has been recognized as a very effective treatment to rehabilitate fully or partially edentulous patients. However, mechanical failures such as screw loosening, screw fracture have been still reported frequently. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of tungsten carbide/carbon coating, which has superior hardness and frictional wear resistance, on implant-abutment screw loosening of three different joint connections after one million cyclic loading. Material and methods: The values of detorque before and after loading were measured in three different joint connections (Osstem Implant, Korea), one external butt joint, US II implant system and two internal cones, SS II and GS II system. The values of detorque before loading was analyzed by one-way ANOVA, and two-way ANOVA and Scheffe' test were performed for the value of detorque after loading. Results: 1. The values of initial detorque of tungsten carbide/carbon coated Ti alloy screw were smaller those of Ti alloy screw (P<.01), and there were no differences among implant systems in each screw (P>.05). 2. In comparison of loss rate of detorque value after cyclic loading, US II system was greater than SS II and GS II system but there was no difference between SS II and GS II system (P<.01). 3. Loss rates of detorque value after cyclic loading decreased consistently at tungsten carbide/carbon coated Ti alloy screw comparing with Ti alloy screw in all implant systems (P<.01), and there were no differences among three systems in reduction of loss rates by using tungsten carbide/carbon coated Ti alloy screw (P>.05). Conclusion: Tungsten carbide/carbon coating to increase preload with reduction of friction resistance was a effective way to decrease screw loosening by functional loading.

• Journal of the Korean Orthopaedic Association
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.42-50
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• 2021

Purpose: Periprosthetic fractures of a tumor prosthesis are rare but have difficulties in achieving sound fixation because of the poor bone quality, which increases the risk of loosening or re-fracture, even after bone union. A cortical strut onlay allograft was adopted for peri-prosthetic fractures after hip arthroplasty into the periprosthetic fracture of a tumor prosthesis, assuming that it would assist in firm fixation, shorten the time to union, and increase the bone stock, thereby, lower the chance of loosening and re-fracture. Materials and Methods: This study reviewed 27 patients (30 cases) of periprosthetic fracture of tumor prosthesis. Sixteen cases (allograft group) had augmentation with an onlay allograft, while 14 cases (conventional group) had internal fixation or conservative treatment. The following were assessed; mode of periprosthetic fracture, difference in the time to union between a strut cortical onlay allograft and without it, and survival of prosthesis, complication, and functional outcome between the two groups. Results: According to the unified classification system (UCS), 21 cases were type B (70.0%; B1, 14; B2, 1; B3, 6) and 9 cases were type C. The five-, 10-year survival of the 30 reconstructions by Kaplan-Meier plot was 84.5%±4.18% and 42.2%±7.83%, respectively. The average time to bone union of the entire cohort was 5.1 months (range, 2.0-11.2 months). The allograft group (3.5 months) showed a shorter period for union than the conventional group (7.2 months) (p<0.0001). All four cases of major complications occurred in the conventional group. Two cases with loosening and anterior angulation were treated with a change of prosthesis, and another with infection underwent amputation. The remaining case with loosening had conservative management. At the final follow-up, the average Musculosketal Tumor Society score of the allograft group (26.1) was better than that of the conventional group (20.9). Conclusion: Bone union in periprosthetic fractures of a tumor prosthesis can be achieved, but the minimization of complications is important. An onlay allograft facilitates firm fixation and increases the bone stock with a shortened time to union. This simple method can minimize the risk of loosening, joint contracture, and re-fracture.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.706-714
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• 2020

Currently, 90 % of the world's population breathes air with a fine dust content exceeding the World Health Organization's annual average exposure limit (10 ㎍/㎥). Global efforts have been devoted toward reducing secondary pollutants and ultra-fine dust through regulations on nitrogen oxides released over land and sea. Domestic efforts have also aimed at creating clean marine environments by reducing sulfur emissions, which are the primary cause of dust accumulation in ships, through developing and distributing environment-friendly ships. Among the technologies for reducing harmful emissions from diesel engines, electrostatic precipitator offer several advantages such as a low pressure loss, high dust collection efficiency, and NOx removal and maintenance. This study aims to increase the durability of a ship by improving equipment quality through failure mode effects analysis for the preventive maintenance of an electrostatic precipitator that was developed for reducing fine dust particles emitted from the 2,427 kW marine diesel engines in ships with a gross tonnage of 999 tons. With regard to risk priority, failure mode 241 (poor dust capture efficiency) was the highest, with an RPN of 180. It was necessary to determine the high-risk failure mode in the collecting electrode and manage it intensively. This was caused by clearance defects, owing to vibrations and consequent pin loosening. Given that pin loosening is mainly caused by vibrations generated in the hull or equipment, it is necessary to manage the position of pin loosening.

• The Journal of Korean Academy of Prosthodontics
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.246-254
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• 2008

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM: The cast abutment has advantages of overcoming angulation problem and esthetic problem. However, when a gold-machined UCLA abutment undergoes casting, the abutment surfaces in contact with the implant may change. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to compare the detorque values of prefabricated machined abutments with gold-premachined cast-on UCLA abutments before and after casting in two types of internal implant-abutment connection systems: (1) internal hexagonal joint, (2) internal octagonal joint. Furthermore, the detorque values of two implant-abutment connection systems were compared. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty internal hexagonal implants with an 11-degree taper and twenty internal octagonal implants with an 8-degree taper were acquired. Ten prefabricated titanium abutments and ten gold-premachined UCLA abutments were used for each systems. Each abutment was torqued to 30 N㎝ according to the manufacturer's instructions and detorque value was recorded. The detorque values were measured once more, after casting with gold alloy for UCLA abutment, and preparation for titanium abutments. Group means were calculated and compared using independent t-test and paired t-test (${\alpha}$=0.05). RESULTS: The results were as follows: 1. The detorque values between titanium abutments and UCLA-type abutments showed significant differences in internal octagonal implants (P<0.05), not in internal hexagonal implants (P>0.05). 2. In comparison of internal hexagonal and octagonal implants, the detorque values of titanium abutments had significant differences between two connection systems on the initial analysis (P<0.05), not on the second analysis (P>0.05) and the detorque values of UCLA-type abutments were not significantly different between two connection systems (P>0.05). 3. The detorque values of titanium abutments and UCLA-type abutments decreased significantly on the second analysis than the initial analysis in internal hexagonal implants (P<0.05), not in internal octagonal implants (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: Casting procedures of UCLA-type abutments had no significant effect on screw loosening in internal implant-abutment connection systems, and UCLA-type abutments showed higher detorque values than titanium abutments in internal octagonal implants.