• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.301-308
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• 2021

It is important to develop a digital SOC (Social Overhead Capital) maintenance system for preemptive maintenance in response to the rapid aging of social infrastructures. Abnormal signals induced from structures can be detected quickly and optimal decisions can be made promptly using IoT sensors deployed on the structures. In this study, a digital SOC monitoring system incorporating a multimetric IoT sensor was developed for long-term monitoring, for use in cloud-computing server for automated and powerful data analysis, and for establishing databases to perform : (1) multimetric sensing, (2) long-term operation, and (3) LTE-based direct communication. The developed sensor had three axes of acceleration, and five axes of strain sensing channels for multimetric sensing, and had an event-driven power management system that activated the sensors only when vibration exceeded a predetermined limit, or the timer was triggered. The power management system could reduce power consumption, and an additional solar panel charging could enable long-term operation. Data from the sensors were transmitted to the server in real-time via low-power LTE-CAT M1 communication, which does not require an additional gateway device. Furthermore, the cloud server was developed to receive multi-variable data from the sensor, and perform a displacement fusion algorithm to obtain reference-free structural displacement for ambient structural assessment. The proposed digital SOC system was experimentally validated on a steel railroad and concrete girder bridge.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.109-118
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• 2005

A concrete shear wall system is commonly adopted in high-rise residential apartment buildings. In the construction stage, a rectangular opening is often made for the convenience of horizontal movement of workers, and construction materials and equipment. In the case of safety or stability assessment of a shear wall, the cutout part can be a critical factor. Finite element method is adopted to investigate the elastic stability behavior of the perforated unit shear wall. The key analysis parameters are the cutout location and its size. The effect of out-of-plane bending and horizontal shear are also examined in the stability analysis.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.53 no.4
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• pp.791-818
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• 2015

RC buildings constitute the prevailing type of construction in earthquake-prone region like Kathmandu Valley. Most of these building constructions were based on conventional methods. In this context, the present paper studied the seismic behaviour of existing RC buildings in Kathmandu Valley. For this, four representative building structures with different design and construction, namely a building: (a) representing the non-engineered construction (RC1 and RC2) and (b) engineered construction (RC3 and RC4) has been selected for analysis. The dynamic properties of the case study building models are analyzed and the corresponding interaction with seismic action is studied by means of non-linear analyses. The structural response measures such as capacity curve, inter-storey drift and the effect of geometric non-linearities are evaluated for the two orthogonal directions. The effect of plan and vertical irregularity on the performance of the structures was studied by comparing the results of two engineered buildings. This was achieved through non-linear dynamic analysis with a synthetic earthquake subjected to X, Y and $45^{\circ}$ loading directions. The nature of the capacity curve represents the strong impact of the P-delta effect, leading to a reduction of the global lateral stiffness and reducing the strength of the structure. The non-engineered structures experience inter-storey drift demands higher than the engineered building models. Moreover, these buildings have very low lateral resistant, lesser the stiffness and limited ductility. Finally, a seismic safety assessment is performed based on the proposed drift limits. Result indicates that most of the existing buildings in Nepal exhibit inadequate seismic performance.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.53-64
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• 2018

Nondestructive testing methods are required to assess the condition of civil structures and formulate their maintenance programs. Axial force identification is required for several structural members of truss bridges, pipe racks, and space roof trusses. An accurate evaluation of in situ axial forces supports the safety assessment of the entire truss. A considerable redistribution of internal forces may indicate structural damage. In this paper, a novel compressive force identification method for prismatic members implemented using static deflections is applied to steel beams. The procedure uses the Euler-Bernoulli beam model and estimates the compressive load by using the measured displacement along the beam's length. Knowledge of flexural rigidity of the member under investigation is required. In this study, the deflected shape of a compressed steel beam is subjected to an additional vertical load that was short-term measured in several laboratory tests by using fiber Bragg grating-differential settlement measurement (FBG-DSM) sensors at specific cross sections along the beam's length. The accuracy of midspan deflections offered by the FBG-DSM sensors provided excellent force estimations. Compressive load detection accuracy can be improved if substantial second-order effects are induced in the tests. In conclusion, the proposed method can be successfully applied to steel beams with low slenderness under real conditions.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Pressure Vessels and Piping
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.100-109
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• 2020

Pipelines subjected to ground movement would be easily exposed to large-scale deformation. Since such deformations may cause the pipeline failure, it is important to ensure the safety of pipelines in various operation conditions. However, crack in weld metal have been considered as one of the main causes that can deteriorate the structural integrity of the pipeline. For this reason, the structural integrity of the pipe containing the crack in the weld should be obtained. In order to assess cracked pipe, J-integral and crack-tip opening displacement(CTOD) have been applied widely as the elastic-plastic fracture mechanics parameters representing crack driving force. In this study, engineering solutions to calculate the J-integral and CTOD of pipes with a circumferential outer surface crack in the weld are proposed. For this purpose, 3-dimensional elastic-plastic finite element(FE) analyses have been performed considering the effect of overmatch and width of weld. The shape of the weld was simplified to I-groove, and axial displacement was employed as for loading condition. Based on FE results, the effects of crack size, material properties and width of weldment on J-integral and CTOD were investigated. Additionally, the J-integral and CTOD for I-groove were compared with those for V-groove to examine the effects of the weld shape, and a proportionality coefficient of J-integral and CTOD was calculated from the results of this paper.

• Journal of Construction Engineering and Project Management
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.14-19
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• 2012

Maturity models allow organizations to assess and compare their own practices against best practices or those employed by competitors, with the intention to map out a structured path to improvement. This research explores the aspects of the Maturity Models that are relevant to distinguish them from one to another. The different Project Management maturity models for define maturity differently and measure different things to determine maturity. Because of this, organizations should give careful consideration to select appropriate maturity model. The main reason behind this research lies on the modification to the existing Organizational Project Management Maturity Model (OPM3) by adding four knowledge areas, dedicated to construction industry as best practices. These are Safety, Environment, Financial and Claim Management. This Model contains (Yes/No) questions; all of these questions must be answered before the user reviews the results that describe the overall maturity and areas of strength and weakness of an organization. The research presents the implementation of the proposed Model Construction Enterprises Maturity Model (CEM2). All the components of the developed Model have been implemented in Microsoft Access. CEM2 helps Construction Enterprises to assess their Maturity Level and know Areas of Weaknesses for future improvement. The easy to use Yes/No user interfaces help enterprises' employees to assess the maturity level of their enterprises. The Model maintains users' responses in its database; as such, many employees from different enterprise divisions can be involved during assessment phase in several sessions.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
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• 2008.04a
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• pp.185-188
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• 2008

Fiber reinforced polymer(FRP) bars are proving to be a valuable solution in the corrosion problem of steel reinforced concrete structures. As such, a number of guidelines for their use have been developed. These guidelines are primarily based on modifications to existing codes of practice for steel reinforced concrete structures. These guidelines are also similar in that though the design equations are presented in the partial factor formats that are often used in probability based design, they are not true probabilistic codes. Instead, they typically make use of already existing design factors for loads and resistances. Thus, when concrete structures reinforced FRP bars are designed, the structural reliability levels are not known. This paper investigates uncertainties of concrete beams reinforced with GFRP bars. Also, the structural reliability levels are evaluated for the flexural failure mode.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.43-50
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• 2018

In this study, to investigate the shear connection material for the composite of steel plate and bottom plate, design standards and research cases for shear connectors in various countries around the world were analyzed and shear tests were performed on the Push-out specimens with a shear connection, which transmits the horizontal shear force developed on the contact surface between the steel plate and the concrete slab due to various vertical loads acting on the bridge deck. Through Push-out tests of shear studs, of which FRP bar instead reinforcement is placed, the shear stud evaluation formula of the steel strap bottom plate was suggested. The suggested equation suggested in this study has the safety factor of approximately three times compared to allowable strength of highway bridge design criteria. In addition, compared to existing DIN standards and Viest assessment equation, the results showed similar values(approximately, 5% error).

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.118-122
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• 2010

The study presents a standard time-temperature curve to evaluate the fire performance of subway tunnel structures. The central subway section is 135km long in Korea, the fourth longest in the world. The number of subway tunnels has been increasing rapidly and fire risk is proportional to the tunnel length. However, an adequate time-temperature curve for subway tunnel fires does not exist. Therefore, we studied a proposed foreign fire design model for which the heat rate is based on the traffic, and we present an appropriate time-temperature curve for Korean subway tunnels. The ISO 834 curve was used as a fire design model and the temperature distribution in the tunnel was estimated using numerical analysis. This led to a proposal for effective measures against subway tunnel fires.

• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.283-300
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• 2015

Visual condition inspections remain paramount to assessing the current deterioration status of a bridge and assigning remediation or maintenance tasks so as to ensure the ongoing serviceability of the structure. However, in recent years, there has been an increasing backlog of maintenance activities. Existing research reveals that this is attributable to the labour-intensive, subjective and disruptive nature of the current bridge inspection method. Current processes ultimately require lane closures, traffic guidance schemes and inspection equipment. This not only increases the whole-of-life costs of the bridge, but also increases the risk to the travelling public as issues affecting the structural integrity may go unaddressed. As a tool for bridge condition inspections, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) or, drones, offer considerable potential, allowing a bridge to be visually assessed without the need for inspectors to walk across the deck or utilise under-bridge inspection units. With current inspection processes placing additional strain on the existing bridge maintenance resources, the technology has the potential to significantly reduce the overall inspection costs and disruption caused to the travelling public. In addition to this, the use of automated aerial image capture enables engineers to better understand a situation through the 3D spatial context offered by UAV systems. However, the use of UAV for bridge inspection involves a number of critical issues to be resolved, including stability and accuracy of control, and safety to people. SLAM (Simultaneous Localisation and Mapping) is a technique that could be used by a UAV to build a map of the bridge underneath, while simultaneously determining its location on the constructed map. While there are considerable economic and risk-related benefits created through introducing entirely new ways of inspecting bridges and visualising information, there also remain hindrances to the wider deployment of UAVs. This study is to provide a context for use of UAVs for conducting visual bridge inspections, in addition to addressing the obstacles that are required to be overcome in order for the technology to be integrated into current practice.