• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.33-40
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• 2005

The purpose of this study was to define more precisely the anatomy of the thumb flexor pulley system and to determine the relative contribution of each of the pulleys to the biomechanics of thumb motion at the metacarpophalangeal (MP) and interphalangeal (IP) joints. For this, 22 hands from 11 cadavers were used and randomly assigned to two groups. In the first group, the first annular (A1) pulley was cut first followed by the variable annular (Av) pulley and then the oblique pulley. In the second group, the oblique pulley was cut first followed by the, pulley and then the Av pulley. In 7 of 22 hands, it was a transverse structure parallel to the, pulley with a gap between the A1 and Av pulleys, referred to here as type I. In 9 hands, the A1 and Av pulleys were connected without any gap (type II). In 6 hands, the space between the A1 and Av pulleys were triangular in shape with fibers of the Av pulley converging toward the radial side (type III). In biomechanical study of both first and second experiments, there was no significant difference in MCP joint flexion between the all intact, A1 section, A1/Av section, A2 intact (A1/Av/oblique section), and no pulley configuration (p>.05). In occurring displacements less than 10 mm, there was no significant difference in IP joint flexion (p>.05). However, there was a significant decrease in IP joint flexion occurred in both 15 mm and 20 mm excursion (p<.05), when the oblique pulley was resected additionally after cutting the A1 and Av pulleys in first experiment, and when the A1 pulley was resected additionally after cutting the oblique pulley. According to the results, the injury of only the oblique pulley does not decrease thumb motion significantly. The oblique pulley injury with both the A1 and Av pulleys laceration decreased thumb motion significantly. The additional laceration of the A2 pulley does not decrease thumb motion.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.187-190
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• 2010

Purpose: Pediatric trigger thumb is a condition of flexion deformity of the interphalangeal (IP) joint. The known surgical treatment is the release of the flexor pollicis longus by transection of the A1 pulley. We report two cases of pediatric trigger thumb that were resolved by releasing of additional pulley as well as A1 pulley. Methods: From March 2006 to April 2008, a total of 10 children with trigger thumb were operated. In two cases, transection of only the A1 pulley was insufficient to relieve the triggering. When more distally dissection, we found an additional pulley. After release of the additional pulley, the full extension of IP joint is obtained. Results: There were no significant complications. In 8 cases, the trigger thumbs were resolved by transecting only the A1 pulley, does not extend beyond the base of the proximal phalanx. In one case, the additional pulley was found to be more distal to the A1 pulley. It was necessary to extend the release up to the half in the proximal phalangeal shaft. In other case, the additional pulley was immediately adjacent to the A1 pulley. Conclusion: In most cases of trigger thumb, division of just A1 pulley is sufficient to relieve the triggering. However, dividing the A1 pulley in two patients proved to be insufficient to relieve the flexed deformity. In these cases, we found that the additional pulley, different from previous known A1 pulley, had existed, which must be transected to allow full excursion of flexor pollicis longus.

• International journal of advanced smart convergence
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.10-18
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• 2020

In the case of a belt-pulley type CVT that transmits a driving force by using a variable pulley and a metal belt, slippage occurs due to transmission of power by using a belt, which results in a decrease in efficiency. Therefore, in this study, the rails were machined on the plate surface of the pulley to reduce the friction and slip between the belt and the pulley while applying the characteristics of the CVT. As the plate is rotated by the shape of the rail, a centrifugal belt pulley type continuously variable transmission system which shifts while varying the radius of rotation of the belt that transmits power is studied. Accordingly, the structure of the pulley was designed and the centrifugal belt pulley type continuously variable transmission was Manufactured. In addition, to verify the suitability of the manufactured transmission, the power transmission efficiency was monitored by establishing an interface with the controller. The structural analysis of the plate proved the suitability of the centrifugal belt pulley type continuously variable transmission.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.99-106
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• 1999

This study was conducted to provide a direction for improving the performance of triangular-type belt clutch. The power transmission characteristics and the wear of belt were investigated for two types of pulley set theoretically and experimentally. The results of research were summarized as follows: 1) Based on the theoretical analysis for the life time of belt, the wear of belt could be reduced by increasing the sizes of driving V-pulley and tension pulley, and by decreasing the tension on V-belt. 2) The pulley set # 2 could transmit more power than the pulley set # 1 could at the same slop rate. While the slip rate was 2.36% on the pulley set # 2 at the maximum power transmission, the slip rate on the pulley set # 1 was increased up to 12.2% at the same condition. 3) From the 16 hours' fatigue test, the wear of belt used n the pulley set # 1 was observed severer than that in the pulley set#2. Also, it was found that the tensile strength of belt used in the pulley set # 2 was greater than that of belt used in the pulley set # 1.

• Proceedings of the Korean Powder Metallurgy Institute Conference
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• 2006.09b
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• pp.1002-1003
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• 2006

This research mainly focuses on the development of sinter brazing technology for improving the process related to belt pulley made by sinter hardening. As the machine process of belt pulley takes up more than half of the total manufacturing hours, we propose changing the process to pulley groove brazed and bonded with pulley disc by applying sinter brazing to belt pulley. With the new process, the belt pulley is expected to reduce manufacturing cost to 70% of the original process by applying the sinter brazing technology; and the belt pulley bound by sinter brazing only loses 10% bonding strength compared with the original process.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.82 no.2
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• pp.205-224
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• 2022

This paper presents a refined finite element formulation for nonlinear static and dynamic analysis of sliding cable structures, overcoming the limitation of the existing approaches that neglect or approximate the friction, pulley dimension, temperature and geometric nonlinearity. A new family of elements with the same framework is proposed, consisting of the cable-pulley (CP) elements considering sliding friction, and the non-sliding cable-pulley (NSCP) elements considering static friction. Thereafter, the complete procedure of static and dynamic analysis using the proposed elements is developed, with the capability of accurately dealing with the friction at each pulley. Several examples are utilized to verify the validity and accuracy of the proposed elements and analysis strategy, and investigate the frictional, thermal and pulley-dimension effects as well. The numerical examples show that the results obtained in this work are in good accordance with the existing works when using the same approximations of friction, pulley dimension and temperature. By avoiding the approximations, the proposed formulation can be effectively adopted in predicting the more precise nonlinear responses of sliding cable structures.

• Journal of Korean Association for Spatial Structures
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.185-192
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• 2020

A new lighting support structure composing of two-way wires and pulley, a pulley-type wireway system, was developed to improve the seismic performance of a ceiling type lighting equipment. This study verifies the seismic performance of the pulley-type wireway system using a numerical approach. A theoretical model fitted to the physical features of the newly-developed system was proposed, and it was utilized to compute a frictional coefficient between the wire and pulley sections under tension forces. The frictional coefficient was implemented to a finite element model representing the pulley-type wireway system. Using the numerical model, the seismic responses of the pulley-type wireway system were compared to those of the existing lighting support structure, a one-way wire system. The addition of the pulley component resulted in the increasement of energy absorption capacity as well as friction effect and showed in significant reduction in maximum displacement and oscillation after the peak responses. Thus, the newly-developed wireway system can minimize earthquake-induced vibration and damage on electric equipment.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2004.04a
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• pp.394-399
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• 2004

In order to secure the safety of power steering system, it is necessary to perform the strength and the fatigue analysis of pulley in this paper. The applied stress distribution of the pulley subject to combined loads condition was obtained using finite element analysis. Based on these results, the fatigue life of the pulley with the variation of the fatigue strength was evaluated using durability analysis simulator. The optimal hole size to improved the safety of the pulley was investigated using parametric study. Moreover, the predicted fatigue life cycle with the simulator was verified by experimental tests.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.30 no.9 s.252
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• pp.1041-1048
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• 2006

The pulley is one of core mechanical elements in the power steering system for vehicles. The pulley operates under both the compressive loading and the torque. Therefore, to assure the safety of the power steering system, it is very important to investigate the durability and the optimization of the pulley. In this study, the applied stress distribution of the pulley under high tension and torsion loads was obtained by using finite element analysis. Based on these results the fatigue life of the pulley with the variation of the fatigue strength was evaluated by a durability analysis simulator. The results at 50% and 1% for the failure probability were compared with respect to the fatigue life. In addition to the optimum design for the fatigue life is obtained by the response surface method. The response function utilizes the function of the life and weight factors. Within range for design life condition the minimization of the weight, one of the formulation, is obtained by the optimal design. Moreover the optimum design by considering its durability and validity is verified by the durability test.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.51 no.1
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• pp.110-117
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• 2024

Percutaneous first annular pulley (A1 pulley) release, which has been increasingly used to treat trigger fingers, has been widely established as a safe and simple procedure. Multiple studies have reported positive results of percutaneous A1 pulley release. In this study, however, we report cases of patients who developed complications after undergoing percutaneous A1 pulley release at local clinics. A total of six patients visited our hospital for infectious complications after percutaneous A1 pulley release. Various sequelae such as damage to normal structures, insufficient procedure, and tissue necrosis were observed during the exploration. A retrospective study was conducted to identify the cause and trend of the observed complications by instruments (HAKI knife or needle). In the HAKI knife group, there was a tendency for damage to normal structures, while in the needle group, an insufficient release or serious soft tissue necrosis was observed. Based on these cases, our findings confirm the existence and characteristics of infectious complications following the percutaneous A1 pulley release. We further identify that the type of instrument used predicts the nature of complications. Thus, reliable and skilled performance of the procedure by experts is essential for safe treatment.