• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.26 no.4C
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• pp.247-254
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• 2006

Online testing method is one of the numerical experiment methods using experimental information for a numerical analysis directly. The method has an advantage in that analysis can be conducted without using an idealized mechanical model, because mechanical properties are updated from element test for a numerical analysis in real time. The online testing method has mainly been used for the geotechnical seismic engineering, whose major target is sand. A testing method that may be applied to a consolidation problem has recently been developed and laboratory and field verifications have been tried. Although related research thus far has mainly used a method to update average reaction for a numerical analysis by positioning an element tests at the center of a consolidation layer, a weakness that accuracy of the analysis can be impaired as the thickness of the consolidation layer becomes more thicker has been pointed out regarding the method. To clarify the effectiveness and possible analysis scope of the online testing method in relation to the consolidation problem, we need to review the results by applying experiment conditions that may completely exclude such a factor. This research reviewed the results of the online consolidation test in terms of reproduction of the consolidation settlement and the dissipation of excess pore water pressure of a clay specimen by comparing the results of an online consolidation test and a separated-type consolidation test carried out under the same conditions. As a result, the online consolidation test reproduced the change of compressibility according effective stress of clay without a huge contradiction. In terms of the dissipation rate of excess pore water pressure, however, the online consolidation test was a little faster. In conclusion, experiment procedure needs to improve in a direction that hydraulic conductivity can be updated in real time so as to more precisely predict the dissipation of excess pore water pressure. Further research or improvement should be carried out with regard to the consolidation settlement after the end of the dissipation of excess pore water pressure.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.389-399
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• 2008

Corrections of attenuation, scatter and resolution are important in order to improve the accuracy of single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) image reconstruction. Especially, the heart movement by respiration and beating cause the errors in the corrections. Myocardial phantom is used to verify the correction methods, but there are many different parts in the current phantoms in actual human body. Therefore the results using a phantom are often considered apart from the clinical data. We developed a new phantom that implements the human body structure around the thorax more faithfully. The new phantom has the small mediastinum which can simulate the structure in which the lung adjoins anterior, lateral and apex of myocardium. The container was made of acrylic and water-equivalent material was used for mediastinum. In addition, solidified polyurethane foam in epoxy resin was used for lung. Five different sizes of myocardium were developed for the quantitative gated SPECT (QGS). The septa of all different cardiac phantoms were designed so that they can be located at the same position. The proposed phantom was attached with liver and gallbladder, the adjustment was respectively possible for the height of them. The volumes of five cardiac ventricles were 150.0, 137.3, 83.1, 42.7 and 38.6ml respectively. The SPECT were performed for the new phantom, and the differences between the images were examined after the correction methods were applied. The three-dimensional tomography of myocardium was well reconstructed, and the subjective evaluations were done to show the difference among the various corrections. We developed the new cardiac and torso phantom, and the difference of various corrections was shown on SPECT images and QGS results.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.409-415
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• 2015

For the design of Concrete-Filled Steel Tube(CFST) columns, the outside diameter D to the steel tube thickness t ratio(D/t ratio) is limited to prevent the local buckling of steel tubes. Each design code proposes the respective model to compute the maximum D/t ratio using the yield strength of steel $f_y$ or $f_y$ and the elastic modulus of steel E. Considering the uncertainty in $f_y$ and E, the reliability index ${beta}$ for the local buckling of a CFST section can be calculated by formulating the limit state function including the maximum D/t models. The resulted ${beta}$ depends on the maximum D/t model used for the reliability analysis. This variability in reliability analysis is due to ambiguity in choosing computational models and it is called as "modelling uncertainty." This uncertainty can be considered as "non-specificity" of an epistemic uncertainty and modelled by constructing possibility distribution functions. In this study, three different computation models for the maximum D/t ratio are used to conduct reliability analyses for the local buckling of a CFST section and the reliability index ${beta}$ will be computed respectively. The "non-specific ${beta}s$" will be modelled by possibility distribution function and a metric, degree of confirmation, is measured from the possibility distribution function. It is shown that the degree of confirmation increases when ${beta}$ decreases. Conclusively, a new set of reliability indices associated with a degree of confirmation is determined and it is allowed to decide reliability index for the local buckling of a CFST section with an acceptable confirmation level.