• Coupled systems mechanics
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• v.12 no.5
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• pp.429-444
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• 2023

The comprehension and structural modeling of masonry constructions is fundamental to safeguard the integrity of built cultural assets and intervene through adequate actions, especially in earthquake-prone regions. Despite the availability of several modeling strategies and modern computing power, modeling masonry remains a great challenge because of still demanding computational efforts, constraints in performing destructive or semi-destructive in-situ tests, and material uncertainties. This paper investigates the shear behavior of masonry walls by applying a plane-stress FE continuum model with the Modified Masonry-like Material (MMLM). Epistemic uncertainty affecting input parameters of the MMLM is considered in a probabilistic framework. After appointing a suitable probability density function to input quantities according to prior engineering knowledge, uncertainties are propagated to outputs relying on gPCE-based surrogate models to considerably speed up the forward problem-solving. The sensitivity of the response to input parameters is evaluated through the computation of Sobol' indices pointing out the parameters more worthy to be further investigated, when dealing with the seismic assessment of masonry buildings. Finally, masonry mechanical properties are calibrated in a probabilistic setting with the Bayesian approach to the inverse problem based on the available measurements obtained from the experimental load-displacement curves provided by shear compression in-situ tests.

• Proceedings of the KSR Conference
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• 2011.10a
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• pp.1583-1593
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• 2011

As we see the continuation of the increase in the speed of the High Speed railroad worldwide, there is a concern for a possible problem in the connecting transition zone in the railway infrastructure. Honam High Speed railroad's transition zone in the hub for the rotation structures and other supporting structures such as approach slab, sub slab, approach block, etc. Due to its increase in speed of the design speed, and its important role on the driving stability and credibility of the bearing ground performance, we must seek and fine a prevention plan for a cause of differential settlement, as well as the cause of the derailment. In this dissertation, domestic, as well as international design manuals and the applicability of the control standards are studied. Also through the study target, Honam High Speed railroad zone 4-1, we evaluated the connecting componant of the Yeon-Jeong bridge through the eigenvalue and weight transfer of the train when operated at 300km/h, 350km/h, 400km/h, 450km/h, and were able to achieve detailed assessment by checking track behaviors, looking at various components such as the rotation acceleration according to the inversion of the distance length, displace length, displacement and stress distribution. Through these studied, possibility of operating at 400km/h was evaluated based on the condition of the current design basis.

• International Journal of Aeronautical and Space Sciences
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.41-49
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• 2015

Analysis and test of hydrodynamic ram in welded metallic tanks containing water were performed to investigate the phenomena and to understand the effects on the resulting structural behavior. Arbitrary Lagrange-Euler coupling method was used for the analysis of the fluid-structure interaction occurring in the hydrodynamic ram, where the projectile, tank, and water are exchanging load, momentum, and energy during the traveling of the projectile through the water of the tank. For a better representation of the physical phenomena, modeling of the welded edges is added to the analysis to simulate the earlier weld line fracture and its influence on the resulting hydrodynamic ram behavior. Corresponding hydrodynamic tests were performed in a modified gas gun facility, and the following panel-based examinations of various parameters, such as displacement, velocity, stress, and energy, as well as hydrodynamic ram pressure show that the analysis and test are well correlated, and thus the results of the study reasonably explain the characteristics of the hydrodynamic ram. The methodology and procedures of the present study are applicable to the hydrodynamic ram assessment of airframe survivability design concepts.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.6 no.8
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• pp.921-938
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• 2010

Most of studies on control of beams containing piezoelectric sensors and actuators have been based on linear quadratic regulator (LQR) with state feedback or output feedback law. The aim of this study is to develop velocity-acceleration feedback law in the optimal control of smart piezoelectric beams. A new controller which is an optimal control system with velocity-acceleration feedback is presented. In finite element modeling of the beam, the variation of mechanical displacement through the thickness is modeled by a sinus model that ensures inter-laminar continuity of shear stress at the layer interfaces as well as the boundary conditions on the upper and lower surfaces of the beam. In addition to mechanical degrees of freedom, one electric potential degree of freedom is considered for each piezoelectric element layer. The efficiency of this control strategy is evaluated by applying to an aluminum cantilever beam under different loading conditions. Numerical simulations show that this new control scheme is almost as efficient as an optimal control system with state feedback. However, inclusion of the acceleration in the control algorithm increases practical value of a system due to easier and more accurate measurement of accelerations.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.463-475
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• 2023

Tunnel construction activity, conducted mainly in mountains and within urban centres, causes soil settlement, thus requiring the relevant management of slopes and structures as well as evaluations of risk and stability. Accordingly, in this study we performed a three-dimensional finite element analysis to examine the behaviour of piles and pile cap stability when a tunnel passes near the bottom of the foundation of a pile group connected by a pile cap. We examined the results via numerical analysis considering different conditions for reinforcement of the ground between the tunnel and the pile foundation. The numerical analysis assessed the angular distortion of the pile cap, pile settlement, axial force, shear stress, relative displacement, and volume loss due to tunnel excavation, and pile cap stability was evaluated based on Son and Cording's evaluation criterion for damage to adjacent structures. The pile located closest to the tunnel under the condition of no ground reinforcement exhibited pile head settlement approximately 70% greater than that of the pile located farthest from the tunnel under the condition of greatest ground reinforcement. Additionally, pile head settlement was greatest when the largest volume loss occurred, being approximately 18% greater than pile head settlement under the condition having the smallest volume loss. This paper closely examines the main factors influencing the behaviour of a pile group connected by a pile cap for three ground reinforcement conditions and presents an evaluation of pile cap stability.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.44 no.5
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• pp.603-617
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• 2022

Structural design, in general, is developed through trial and error technique which is guided by standards criteria and based on the intuition and experience of the engineer, a context that leads to structural over-dimensioning, with uneconomic solutions. Aiming to find the optimal design, structural optimization methods have been developed to find a balance between cost, structural safety, and material performance. These methods have become a great opportunity in the steel structural engineering domain since they have as their main purpose is weight minimization, a factor directly correlated to the real cost of the structure. Assuming an objective function of minimum weight with stress and displacement constraints provided by Brazilian standards, the present research proposes the sizing optimization and combined approach of sizing and shape optimization, through a software developed to implement the Simulated Annealing metaheuristic algorithm. Therefore, two steel plane frame layouts, each admitting four typical truss geometries, were proposed in order to expose the difference between the optimal solutions. The assessment of the optimal solutions indicates a notable weight reduction, especially in sizing and shape optimization combination, in which the quantity of design variables is increased along with the search space, improving the efficiency of the optimal solutions achieved.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.465-479
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• 2021

One of the important causes of building and infrastructure failure, such as bridges on pile foundations, is the placement of the piles in liquefiable soil that can become unstable under seismic loads. Therefore, the overarching aim of this study is to investigate the seismic behavior of a soil-pile system in liquefiable soil using three-dimensional numerical FEM analysis, including soil-pile interaction. Effective parameters on concrete pile response, involving the pile diameter, pile length, soil type, and base acceleration, were considered in the framework of finite element non-linear dynamic analysis. The constitutive model of soil was considered as elasto-plastic kinematic-isotropic hardening. First, the finite element model was verified by comparing the variations on the pile response with the measured data from the centrifuge tests, and there was a strong agreement between the numerical and experimental results. Totally 64 non-linear time-history analyses were conducted, and the responses were investigated in terms of the lateral displacement of the pile, the effect of the base acceleration in the pile behavior, the bending moment distribution in the pile body, and the pore pressure. The numerical analysis results demonstrated that the relationship between the pile lateral displacement and the maximum base acceleration is non-linear. Furthermore, increasing the pile diameter results in an increase in the passive pressure of the soil. Also, piles with small and big diameters are subjected to yielding under bending and shear states, respectively. It is concluded that an effective stress-based ground response analysis should be conducted when there is a liquefaction condition in order to determine the maximum bending moment and shear force generated within the pile.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.78-86
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• 2000

Objective : Lumbar spinal instability occurs when normal biomechanics support in lumbar vertebrae interrupted. Despite the recent enthusiastic studies, the precise radiological assessment has not been fully established, yet. Therefore, we carefully studied our cases to analyze the radiologic findings in lumbar spinal instability. Patients and Methods : We have put together radiological analysis and assessment based on 38 patients who have been diagnosed and treated for lumbar spinal instabilities from June 1994 to December 1998, Patients who have been diagnosed and treated for trauma were excluded from study. Results : The outcomes are as follows : 1) Lumbar lordotic curve was statistically significant in unstable group by 23.7, compared to the control group ($17.0^{\circ}$). 2) According to the resting x-ray, sagittal plane angulation measured on unstable group was $21.1^{\circ}$, control group $18.0^{\circ}$. Therefore unstable group was noticeably higher(p<0.01). 3) According to the resting x-ray sagittal plane displacement, unstable group had 4.3mm, the comparison had 1.2mm. Therefore measurement from the unstable group were significantly higher(p<0.01). 4) According to stress view, sagittal plane translation was 4.1mm for the unstables and 2.7mm for the comparisons. Therefore unstables were noticeably higher(p<0.01). 5) According to stress view, sagittal plane rotation was $15.1^{\circ}$ at L3-4, $22.0^{\circ}$ at L4-5, $27.9^{\circ}$ at L5S1 for the unstable group and $11.3^{\circ}$, $18.1^{\circ}$, $21.0^{\circ}$ each for the comparison. 6) Facet angle for unstable group, left $29.3^{\circ}-61.5^{\circ}$, right $24.4^{\circ}-63.2^{\circ}$ and the mean for each are $43.1^{\circ}$, $47.2^{\circ}$. The difference between left and right facet angle was $3.5^{\circ}-20.7^{\circ}$ and the mean value $15.3^{\circ}$. Facet angle for the comparisons for the left was $29.3^{\circ}-59.5^{\circ}$, right was in between $25.7^{\circ}-64.5^{\circ}$ range and the each mean are $44.9^{\circ}$ and $47.6^{\circ}$. Also, the difference between left and right facet angle was $4.1^{\circ}-9.3^{\circ}$ and the average was $17.1^{\circ}$. The average and the difference between the left and right angle are found not to have statistic necessity for both unstable and stable measurements(p>0.01). 7) 19 patients were found to have vacuum facet phenomenon among unstable group etc. results were collected. Conclusion : According to above results, we attempted to prepare the application to the patient of radiological analysis and assessment for lumbar spinal instability early checkup.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.29 no.2C
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• pp.71-79
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• 2009

This study is to develope the resilient modulus prediction model, which is the function of mean effective principal stress and axial strain, for three types of railroad trackbed materials such as crushed stone, weathered granite soil, and crushed-rock soil mixture. The model consists of the maximum Young's modulus and nonlinear values for higher strain, analogous to dynamic shear modulus. The maximum value is modeled by model parameters, $A_E$ and the power of mean effective principal stress, $n_E$. The nonlinear portion is represented by modified hyperbolic model, with the model parameters of reference strain, ${\varepsilon}_r$ and curvature coefficient, a. To assess the performance of the prediction models proposed herein, the elastic response of a test trackbed near PyeongTaek, Korea, was evaluated using a 3-D elastic multilayer computer program (GEOTRACK). The results were compared with measured elastic vertical displacement during the passages of freight and passenger trains at two locations, whose sub-ballasts were crushed stone and weathered granite soil, respectively. The calculated vertical displacements of the sub-ballasts are within the order of 0.6mm, and agree well with measured values. The prediction models are thus concluded to work properly in the preliminary investigation.

• Journal of Adhesion and Interface
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.14-26
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• 2004

For reliable determination of mechanical characteristics of adhesively bonded joints used e.g. as input data for computer-aided design of complex components, the thick-adherend tensile-shear test according to ISO 11003-2 is the most important material testing method. Although the total displacement of the joint is measured across the polymer layer directly in the overlap zone in order to minimize the influence of the stepped adherends, the substrate deformation must be taken into account within the framework of the evaluation of the shear modulus and the maximum shear strain, at least when high-strength adhesives are applied. In the standard ISO 11003-2 version of 1993, it was prescribed to perform the substrate deformation correction by means of testing a one-piece reference specimen. The authors, however, pointed to the excessive demands on the measuring accuracy of the extensometers connected with this technique in industrial practice and alternatively proposed a numerical deformation analysis of a dummy specimen. This idea of a mathematical correction was included in the revised ISO 11003-2 version of 2001 but in the simplified form of an analytical method based on Hooke's law of elasticity for small strains. In the present work, it is shown that both calculation techniques yield considerably discordant results. As experimental assessment would require high-precision distance determination (e.g. laser extensometer), finite element analyses of the deformation behavior of the bonded joint are performed in order to estimate the accuracy of the obtained substrate deformation corrections. These simulations reveal that the numerical correction technique based on the finite element deformation modeling of the reference specimen leads to considerably more realistic results.