• International Journal of Highway Engineering
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• 제10권2호
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• pp.1-13
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• 2008

This study presents a case study of condition evaluation of various asphalt pavement sections to estimate performance lives. The pavement surface conditions including cracking and rutting are first evaluated using a automatic pavement analyzer, ARAN. HPCI(Highway Pavement Condition Index) values are estimated using the pavement surface distress data. It is observed from the pavement distress survey that the major distress type of the sections is top-down cracking. The modulus value of each pavement layer is back-calculated from the defection data obtained from a FWD(Falling Weight Deflectometer) and compared with the laboratory measured dynamic modulus values. Remaining lives of the various pavement sections are estimated based on a mechanistic-empirical approach and AAHTO 1993 design guide. The structural capacities of the all pavement sections based on the two approaches are strong enough to maintain the pavement sections for the rest of design life. Since the major distress type is top-down cracking, the remaining lives of the pavement sections are estimated based on HPCI and existing performance database of highway pavements. To evaluate the causes of premature pavement distress, various material properties, such as air void, asphalt binder content, aggregate gradation, dynamic modulus and fatigue resistance, are measured from the field cores. It is impossible to accurately estimate the binder contents of field samples using the ignition method. It is concluded from the laboratory tests that the premature top down cracking is mainly due to insufficient compaction and inadequate aggregate gradation.

• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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• 제16권6호
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• pp.317-322
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• 2015

The metal oxide varistor (MOV) is a major component of the surge protection devices (SPDs) currently in use. The device is judged to be faulty when fatigue caused by the continuous inflow of lightning accumulates and reaches the damage limit. In many cases, induced lightning resulting from lightning strikes flows in to the device several times per second in succession. Therefore, the frequency or the rate at which the SPD is actually exposed to stress, called a surge, is outside the range of human perception. For this reason, the protective device should be replaced if it actually approaches the end of its life even though it is not faulty at present, currently no basis exists for making the judgment of remaining lifetime. Up to now, the life of an MOV has been predicted solely based on the number of inflow surges, irrespective of the magnitude of the surge current or the amount of energy that has flowed through the device. In this study, nonlinear data that shows the damage to an MOV depending on the count of surge and the amount of input current were collected through a high-voltage test. Then, a failure prediction algorithm was proposed by preparing a look-up table using the results of the test. The proposed method was experimentally verified using an impulse surge generator

• Journal of the Korean Society for Heat Treatment
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• 제35권3호
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• pp.121-129
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• 2022

Recently the growth of the renewable energy production has caused the flexible operation in LNG combined cycle power plant. Due to the rapid start and stop operations, large CrMoV castings used for turbine casings and valve bodies could be distorted and lead to replacement or welding repair. This study was performed to find out the characteristics of the repair welding for a damaged CrMoV casting steel. A typical field repair method (arc & TIG welding) was applied to making specimens. The degraded N2 packing head sample from the steam turbine was used. The evaluations of weldments were carried out in terms of microstructural characterization, microhardness measurements, tensile, creep-rupture and fatigue tests. Color etching was also applied for better understanding of welding microstructures. As the boundary between HAZ and base material was deteriorated by welding, it caused microstructural changes formed during PWHT and the shortening of the remaining residual life. By comparing the properties according to repair welding method, it was possible to derive what important welding factors were. As a result, arc welding method is more suitable for repair welding on CrMoV castings.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Pressure Vessels and Piping
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• 제7권1호
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• pp.35-40
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• 2011

If a plugged tube in a steam generator is broken, it may damage nearby intact tubes. To prevent this damage, it is recommended that a stabilizer is installed into the plugged tube. However, the installation cost of a stabilizer is very high. So studies are required to determine the conditions on which the installation is necessary. For this purpose static loads and dynamic loads applied on a tube should be known to estimate the residual strength and remaining fatigue and wear life of a plugged tube. Two-dimensional and three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analyses are performed to obtain the drag coefficient for cross flow to a tube. Using the obtained drag coefficient, the static load can be estimated and the residual strength of a plugged tube can be calculated. An inclined flow problem is also analyzed and the vertical and horizontal forces are obtained and discussed.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제72권1호
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• pp.31-41
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• 2019

Structural integrity assessment of piping components is of paramount important for remaining life prediction, residual strength evaluation and for in-service inspection planning. For accurate prediction of these, a reliable fracture parameter is essential. One of the fracture parameters is stress intensity factor (SIF), which is generally preferred for high strength materials, can be evaluated by using linear elastic fracture mechanics principles. To employ available analytical and numerical procedures for fracture analysis of piping components, it takes considerable amount of time and effort. In view of this, an alternative approach to analytical and finite element analysis, a model based on relevance vector machine (RVM) is developed to predict SIF of part through crack of a piping component under fatigue loading. RVM is based on probabilistic approach and regression and it is established based on Bayesian formulation of a linear model with an appropriate prior that results in a sparse representation. Model for SIF prediction is developed by using MATLAB software wherein 70% of the data has been used for the development of RVM model and rest of the data is used for validation. The predicted SIF is found to be in good agreement with the corresponding analytical solution, and can be used for damage tolerant analysis of structural components.

• Wind and Structures
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• 제28권5호
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• pp.271-284
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• 2019

This paper describes the application of a novel virtual prototyping methodology to wind turbine blade design. Numeric modelling data and experimental data about turbine blade geometry and structural/dynamical behaviour are combined to obtain an affordable digital twin model useful in reducing the undesirable uncertainties during the entire turbine lifecycle. Moreover, this model can be used to track and predict blade structural changes, due for example to structural damage, and to assess its remaining life. A new interactive and recursive process is proposed. It includes CAD geometry generation and finite element analyses, combined with experimental data gathered from the structural testing of a new generation wind turbine blade. The goal of the research is to show how the unique features of a complex wind turbine blade are considered in the virtual model updating process, fully exploiting the computational capabilities available to the designer in modern engineering. A composite Sandia National Laboratories Blade System Design Study (BSDS) turbine blade is used to exemplify the proposed process. Static, modal and fatigue experimental testing are conducted at Clarkson University Blade Test Facility. A digital model was created and updated to conform to all the information available from experimental testing. When an updated virtual digital model is available the performance of the blade during operation can be assessed with higher confidence.

• Interaction and multiscale mechanics
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• 제2권2호
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• pp.177-187
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• 2009

Machine or structural members subjected to fatigue loading will have a crack initiated during early part of their life. Therefore analysis of members with cracks and other discontinuities is very important. Finite element method has enjoyed widespread use in engineering, but it is not convenient for crack problems as the region very close to crack tip is to be discretized with very fine mesh. However, as the body force method (BFM), requires only the boundary of the discontinuity (crack or hole) to be discretized it is easy versatile technique to analyze such problems. In the present work fundamental solution for concentrated load x + iy acting in the semi-infinite plate at an arbitrary point $z_0=x_0+iy_0$ is considered. These fundamental solutions are in complex form ${\phi}(z)$ and ${\psi}(z)$ (England 1971). These potentials are known as Melan potentials (Ramakrishna 1994). A crack in the semi-infinite plate as shown in Fig. 1 is considered. This crack is divided into number of divisions. By applying pair of body forces on a division, the resultant forces on the remaining 'N'divisions are to be found for which ${\phi}_1(z)$ and ${\psi}_1(z)$ are derived. Body force method is applied to calculate stress intensity factor for crack in semi-infinite plate. Also for the case of crack emanating from circular hole in semi-infinite plate radial stress, hoop stress and shear stress are calculated around the hole and crack. Convergent results are obtained by body force method. These results are compared with FEM results.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• 제23권3호
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• pp.263-278
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• 2019

Moving train load parameters, including train speed, axle spacing, gross train weight and axle weights, are identified based on strain-monitoring data. In this paper, according to influence line theory, the classic moving force identification method is enhanced to handle time-varying velocity of the train. First, the moments that the axles move through a set of fixed points are identified from a series of pulses extracted from the second derivative of the structural strain response. Subsequently, the train speed and axle spacing are identified. In addition, based on the fact that the integral area of the structural strain response is a constant under a unit force at a unit speed, the gross train weight can be obtained from the integral area of the measured strain response. Meanwhile, the corrected second derivative peak values, in which the effect of time-varying velocity is eliminated, are selected to distribute the gross train weight. Hence the axle weights could be identified. Afterwards, numerical simulations are employed to verify the proposed method and investigate the effect of the sampling frequency on the identification accuracy. Eventually, the method is verified using the real-time strain data of a continuous steel truss railway bridge. Results show that train speed, axle spacing and gross train weight can be accurately identified in the time domain. However, only the approximate values of the axle weights could be obtained with the updated method. The identified results can provide reliable reference for determining fatigue deterioration and predicting the remaining service life of railway bridges.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• 제24권1호
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• pp.79-85
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• 2011

Bridge Weigh-in-Motion(BWIM) system calculates a travelling vehicle's weight without interruption of traffic flow by analyzing the signals that are acquired from various sensors installed in the bridge. BWIM system or data accumulated from the BWIM system can be utilized to development of updated live load model for highway bridge design, fatigue load model for estimation of remaining life of bridges, etc. Field test with moving trucks including various load cases should be performed to guarantee successful development of precise BWIM system. In this paper, a numerical simulation technique is adopted as an alternative or supplement to the vehicle traveling test that is indispensible but expensive in time and budget. The constructed numerical model is validated by comparison experimentally measured signal with numerically generated signal. Also vehicles with various dynamic characteristics and travelling conditions are considered in numerical simulation to investigate the variation of bridge responses. Considered parameters in the numerical study are vehicle velocity, natural frequency of the vehicle, height of entry bump, and lateral position of the vehicle. By analyzing the results, it is revealed that the lateral position and natural frequency of the vehicle should be considered to increase precision of developing BWIM system. Since generation of vehicle travelling signal by the numerical simulation technique costs much less than field test, a large number of test parameters can effectively be considered to validate the developed BWIM algorithm. Also, when artificial neural network technique is applied, voluminous data set required for training and testing of the neural network can be prepared by numerical generation. Consequently, proposed numerical simulation technique may contribute to improve precision and performance of BWIM systems.

• Journal of muscle and joint health
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• 제5권2호
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• pp.238-252
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• 1998

Reumatic arthritis is a disease with joint pain being one of the key symptoms. The patient suffers from the pain, stiff sensation and edema due to the inflammation taking Place In one or more joints. Accompanying these problems are fatigue, unusual exhaustion, fever, tachycardia and weakness. Inaddition, joints are often deformed and muscles shrink along with the progress of edema, coupled with depression and psychological instability resulting from the loss of the mobile function and limitations on the daily life. Some patients become fed up with the long and hard flight with the disease and just give up, which aggravates the symptoms. Others come to the hospital only when the conditions have become serious. We need to prevent these and guide the patients in the right direction. Against this backdrop, this study aims to look into the relations between the knowledge on the part of the patients together with their feeling of self-efficacy and the compliance. The results are expected to help the patients improve their life, In addition to providing useful materials for setting up appropriate plan for nursing intervention. The study was conducted by distributing questionnaire to 88 patients selected from the out-patient department of a university hospital in Inchon, from April 6 to 27, 1998. The following tools were used the yardstick of self-efficacy, developed in 1997 by the Society for the Health of Rheumatism Patients, was used for measuring the levels of knowledge and the feeling of self-efficacy. The degree of compliance was measured by the data collected from documents in addition to the results of the analysis of the interviews with the patients. The reliability of the tools was confirmed. In the analysis, the general characteristics were expressed in figures and percentages. The levels of knowledge, feeling of self-efficacy, and compliance were expressed in the average values and standard deviations. The relations among the variables following the general characteristics were analysed by the t-test and one-way ANOVA. The Pearson correction coefficient was used for the analysis of factors. Multiple-loop analysis was used to identify the variables affecting the compliance. The following are the results of this study. 1. Among the 88 patients, 18 were men and the remaining 70 were women, with a ratio 1 : 3.87. Regarding the age groups, 23 were between 50 and 59 years old, with those between 50 and 69 accounting for 51.1% of the total. High school graduates or higher amounted to 58%. Religious patients was 67% or 59 persons. Fifty nine percent were unemployed, and 58.3% (49 persons) had two children or fewer. The period of suffering from rheumatism varied between 2 months and IS years, with 70% less than years. 2. The average figure In relation to the of knowledge was 17.63 points over 30 or 58. 76%, which means a medium level. 3. The average figure of the feeling of self-efficacy was 60.06 points. 4. The level of compliance was 3.26, which was above average. 5. The relation between the feeling of self-efficacy and compliance showed an "r" value of 0.37, which was significant. It means that the higher the feeling, the greater the compliance points. 6. The analysis of the knowledge level revealed that the difference is found only between the college graduates and junior-high graduates or lower. 7. The feeling of self-efficacy varied along with the age and education level. 8. The general characteristics of patients as discussed above did not show significant difference with the compliance. 9. Regarding the elements influencing the compliance, the number of children, period of suffering, income, age, feering of self-efficacy, knowledge, and compliance had 54% of significance. In conclusion, rheumatism victims can lead a better life if they are appropriately educated, based on efficient training program from the early days of the disease ; if they become able to manage themselves thanks to the training ; and if they are helped by a program focusing on the increase of the feeling of self-efficacy aimed at changing patient's behavior.