• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.25-42
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• 2023

Despite the significance of ports as critical economic infrastructure, the berth facilities usually deteriorate due to heavy loading, unloading, aging, environmental weather conditions, marine growths, and lack of efficient maintenance management. Marine berths require proactive maintenance management to limit deterioration and defects as no berth facility is maintenance-free. Thus, delay in carrying out maintenance work for the marine berths can be devastating to the operational process involving ship entry, loading, and unloading operations. The aim of this research is to coordinate both operations work, and maintenance works that take place inside the berth of a local industrial port in Saudi Arabia, by developing a novel framework that integrates both works without affecting the efficiency and functionality of the berth. The study focused on defining the operational process of the port and identifying the elements with direct and indirect effects. In addition to determining the priority for the entry of ships inside the berth, it also identified the factors involved in designing a framework that included maintenance work as a component of the monthly berth occupancy schedule. By applying a mathematical model, a framework was established, which includes all the important elements of the process. As a result of the mathematical method formulation process, a database was designed that organizes and coordinates the operations of all berths within the port. This creates time to carry out the required maintenance work monthly as well as ease of coordination with the contractors responsible for the implementation of those works.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2023

In modal analysis, the mode shape reflects the vibration characteristics of the structure, and thus it is widely performed for finite element model updating and structural health monitoring. Generally, the acceleration-based mode shape is suitable to express the characteristics of structures for the translational vibration; however, it is difficult to represent the rotational mode at boundary conditions. A tilt sensor and gyroscope capable of measuring rotational mode are used to analyze the overall behavior of the structure, but extracting its mode shape is the major challenge under the small vibration always. Herein, we conducted a feasibility study on a multi-mode shape estimating approach utilizing a single physical quantity signal. The basic concept of the proposed method is to receive multi-metric dynamic responses from two sensors and obtain mode shapes through bridge loading test with relatively large deformation. In addition, the linear transformation matrix for estimating two mode shapes is derived, and the mode shape based on the gyro sensor data is obtained by acceleration response using ambient vibration. Because the structure's behavior with respect to translational and rotational mode can be confirmed, the proposed method can obtain the total response of the structure considering boundary conditions. To verify the feasibility of the proposed method, we pre-measured dynamic data acquired from five accelerometers and five gyro sensors in a lab-scale test considering bridge structures, and obtained a linear transformation matrix for estimating the multi-mode shapes. In addition, the mode shapes for two physical quantities could be extracted by using only the acceleration data. Finally, the mode shapes estimated by the proposed method were compared with the mode shapes obtained from the two sensors. This study confirmed the applicability of the multi-mode shape estimation approach for accurate damage assessment using multi-dimensional mode shapes of bridge structures, and can be used to evaluate the behavior of structures under ambient vibration.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.283-299
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• 2023

Structural stability of floating platforms has long since been a crucial issue in the field of marine engineering. Excessive motions would not only deteriorate the operating conditions but also seriously impact the safety, service life, and production efficiency. In recent decades, several control devices have been proposed to reduce unwanted motions, and an attractive one is the tuned heave plate (THP). However, the THP system may reduce or even lose its effectiveness when it is mistuned due to the shift of dominant wave frequency. In the present study, a novel adaptive tuned heave plate (ATHP) is proposed based on inerter by adjusting its inertance, which allows to overcome the limitation of the conventional THP and realize adaptations to the dominant wave frequencies in real time. Specifically, the analytical model of a representative semisubmersible platform (SSP) equipped with an ATHP is created, and the equations of motion are formulated accordingly. Two optimization strategies (i.e., J₁ and J₂ optimizations) are developed to determine the optimum design parameters of ATHP. The control effectiveness of the optimized ATHP is then examined in the frequency domain by comparing to those without control and controlled by the conventional THP. Moreover, parametric analyses are systematically performed to evaluate the influences of the pre-specified frequency ratio, damping ratio, heave plate sizes, peak periods and wave heights on the performance of ATHP. Furthermore, a Simulink model is also developed to examine the control performance of ATHP in the time domain. It is demonstrated that the proposed ATHP could adaptively adjust the optimum inertance-to-mass ratio by tracking the dominant wave frequencies in real time, and the proposed system shows better control performance than the conventional THP.

• Asia Marketing Journal
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.175-194
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• 2013

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of the locomotion orientation on salespeople' sales performance with the mediating effect of selling behavior(adaptive selling behavior, SOCO). And we figure out the relationship between customer-oriented selling behavior and adaptive selling behavior because those relationships are not clear. The authors infer research hypotheses based on literature review. We have confirmed the reliability and validity test and those results can be acceptable. Hypotheses test were conducted with structural equation modeling, AMOS. All paths in the research model reasoned by authors have been supported statistically at the significant level. This study with the theoretical implications is as follows. First, this study is the first attempt to investigate the path between locomotion orientation and adaptive selling behavior and SOCO. Secondly, there is an empirical conflict between our study and Franke and Park(2006)'s study. Our study was contradictory to Franke and Park(2006)'s consequences. And so, figuring out clearly those causal paths remains. This study with practical implications are as follows. First of all, the salespeople' selling performance was affected by adaptive selling behavior, customer-oriented selling behavior, and sales-oriented activities, such as the importance of selling behavior once again proven. It is necessary to enhance the capabilities that can be transformed into action appropriate to the needs of customers each sales step-by-step in the process of salespeople for various system through education and incentives, and to interact with customers and understand their customers relative to salespeople will. In order to enhance adaptive selling behavior, the company needs to do educational program and monitoring system with the positional promotion when salespeople get the high adaptive selling behavior. Secondly, the locomotion orientation of the salespeople is to cause this selling behavior. Management style to increase locomotion orientation is needed, which means, salespeople' superior about something should be conducted. In order to stimulate the selling behavior of the salespeople, most supervisors should use some managerial tools such as feedback, engagement, and rewards.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.319-338
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• 2023

The study presents a new hybrid data-driven method by combining radial basis functions neural networks (RBF-NN) with the Jaya algorithm (JA) to provide effective structural health monitoring of arch dams. The novelty of this approach lies in that only one user-defined parameter is required and thus can increase its effectiveness and efficiency, as compared to other machine learning techniques that often require processing a large amount of training and testing model parameters and hyper-parameters, with high time-consuming. This approach seeks rapid damage detection in arch dams under dynamic conditions, to prevent potential disasters, by utilizing the RBF-NNN to seamlessly integrate the dynamic elastic modulus (DEM) and modal parameters (such as natural frequency and mode shape) as damage indicators. To determine the dynamic characteristics of the arch dam, the JA sequentially optimizes an objective function rooted in vibration-based data sets. Two case studies of hyperbolic concrete arch dams were carefully designed using finite element simulation to demonstrate the effectiveness of the RBF-NN model, in conjunction with the Jaya algorithm. The testing results demonstrated that the proposed methods could exhibit significant computational time-savings, while effectively detecting damage in arch dam structures with complex nonlinearities. Furthermore, despite training data contaminated with a high level of noise, the RBF-NN and JA fusion remained the robustness, with high accuracy.

• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.315-337
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• 2023

During the design phase, it is crucial to determine the interface stresses between the reinforcing plate and the concrete base in order to predict plate end separation failures. In this work, a simple theoretical study of interface shear stresses in beams reinforced with P-FGM and E-FGM plates subjected to an arbitrarily positioned point load, or two symmetrical point loads, was presented using the linear elastic theory. The presence of pores in the reinforcing plate distributed in several forms was also taken into account. For this purpose, we analyze the effects of porosity and its distribution shape on the interracial normal and shear stresses of an FGM beam reinforced with an FRP plate under different types of load. Comparisons of the proposed model with existing analytical solutions in the literature confirm the feasibility and accuracy of this new approach. The influence of different parameters on the interfacial behavior of reinforced concrete beams reinforced with functionally graded porous plates is further examined in this parametric study using the proposed model. From the results obtained in this study, we can say that interface stress is significantly affected by several factors, including the pores present in the reinforcing plate and their distribution shape. Additionally, we can conclude from this study that reinforcement systems with composite plates are very effective in improving the flexural response of reinforced RC beams.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.145-163
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• 2024

The evaluation of dynamic characteristics of bridges under operational traffic loads is a crucial aspect of bridge structural health monitoring. In the vehicle-bridge interaction (VBI) system, the vibration responses of bridge exhibit time-varying characteristics. To address this issue, an accurate time-frequency analysis method that combines the autoregressive power spectrum based empirical wavelet transform (AR-EWT) and local maximum synchrosqueezing transform (LMSST) is proposed to identify the time-varying instantaneous frequencies (IFs) of the bridge in the VBI system. The AR-EWT method decomposes the vibration response of the bridge into mono-component signals. Then, LMSST is employed to identify the IFs of each mono-component signal. The AR-EWT combined with the LMSST method (AR-EWT+LMSST) can resolve the problem that LMSST cannot effectively identify the multi-component signals with weak amplitude components. The proposed AR-EWT+LMSST method is compared with some advanced time-frequency analysis techniques such as synchrosqueezing transform (SST), synchroextracting transform (SET), and LMSST. The results demonstrate that the proposed AR-EWT+LMSST method can improve the accuracy of identified IFs. The effectiveness and applicability of the proposed method are validated through a multi-component signal, a VBI numerical model with a four-degree-of-freedom half-car, and a VBI model experiment. The effect of vehicle characteristics, vehicle speed, and road surface roughness on the identified IFs of bridge are investigated.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.51 no.2
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• pp.117-126
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• 2024

There are many challenges in the construction of large-section tunnels, such as extremely soft rock and fractured zones. In order to solve these problems, the confined concrete support technology is proposed to control the surrounding rocks. The large-scale laboratory test is carried out to clarify mechanical behaviours of the combined confined concrete and traditional I-steel arches. The test results show that the bearing capacity of combined confined concrete arch is 3217.5 kN, which is 3.12 times that of the combined I-steel arch. The optimum design method is proposed to select reasonable design parameters for confined concrete arch. The parametric finite element (FE) analysis is carried out to study the effect of the design factors via optimum design method. The steel pipe wall thickness and the longitudinal connection ring spacing have a significant effect on the bearing capacity of the combined confined concrete arch. Based on the above research, the confined concrete support technology is applied on site. The field monitoring results shows that the arch has an excellent control effect on the surrounding rock deformation. The results of this research provide a reference for the support design of surrounding rocks in large-section tunnels.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.51 no.2
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• pp.185-202
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• 2024

In this research paper, and for the first time, wave propagations in sigmoidal imperfect functionally graded material plates are investigated using a simplified quasi-three-dimensionally higher shear deformation theory (Quasi-3D HSDTs). By employing an indeterminate integral for the transverse displacement in the shear components, the number of unknowns and governing equations in the current theory is reduced, thereby simplifying its application. Consequently, the present theories exhibit five fewer unknown variables compared to other Quasi-3D theories documented in the literature, eliminating the need for any correction coefficients as seen in the first shear deformation theory. The material properties of the functionally graded plates smoothly vary across the cross-section according to a sigmoid power law. The plates are considered imperfect, indicating a pore distribution throughout their thickness. The distribution of porosities is categorized into two types: even or uneven, with linear (L)-Type, exponential (E)-Type, logarithmic (Log)-Type, and Sinus (S)-Type distributions. The current quasi-3D shear deformation theories are applied to formulate governing equations for determining wave frequencies, and phase velocities are derived using Hamilton's principle. Dispersion relations are assumed as an analytical solution, and they are applied to obtain wave frequencies and phase velocities. A comprehensive parametric study is conducted to elucidate the influences of wavenumber, volume fraction, thickness ratio, and types of porosity distributions on wave propagation and phase velocities of the S-FGM plate. The findings of this investigation hold potential utility for studying and designing techniques for ultrasonic inspection and structural health monitoring.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.25-34
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• 2020

Land use in watersheds has been shown to be a major driving factor in determining the status of the water quality of streams. In this light, scientists have been investigating the roles of riparian vegetation on the relationships between land use in watersheds and the associated stream water quality. Numerous studies reported that riparian vegetation could alleviate the adverse effects caused by land use in watersheds and on stream water quality through various hydrological, biochemical and ecological mechanisms. However, this concept has been criticized as the true effects of riparian vegetation must be assessed by comprehensive models that mimic real environmental settings. This study aimed to estimate a comprehensive structural equation model integrating topography, land use, and characteristics of riparian vegetation. We used water quality data from the Nakdong River system monitored under the National Aquatic Ecosystem Monitoring Program (NAEMP) of the Korean Ministry of Environment (MOE). Also, riparian vegetation data and land use data were extracted from the Land Use/Land Cover map (LULC) produced by the MOE. The number of structural equation models (SEMs) were estimated in Amos of IBM SPSS. Study results revealed that land use was determined by elevation, and developed areas within a watershed significantly increased the concentration of Total Nitrogen (TN) in streams and LDI in riparian vegetation. On the contrary, developed areas significantly reduced LPI and PLAND. At the same time, PLAND and LDI significantly reduced the concentration of TN in streams. Thus, it was clear that developed areas in watersheds had both a direct and an indirect impact on the concentration of TN in streams, and spatial pattern and the amount of vegetation of riparian vegetation could significantly alleviate the negative impacts of developed areas on TN concentration in streams. To enhance stream water quality, reducing developed areas in a watershed is critical for long-term watershed management plans, restoration patterns for riparian vegetation could be immediately implemented since riparian areas were less developed than most other watersheds.