• Journal of Power Electronics
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• 제16권4호
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• pp.1426-1437
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• 2016

In different industrial and mission oriented applications, redundant or standby semiconductor systems can be implemented to improve the reliability of power electronics equipment. The proper structure for implementation can be one of the redundant or standby structures for series or parallel switches. This selection is determined according to the type and failure rate of the fault. In this paper, the reliability and the mean time to failure (MTTF) for each of the series and parallel configurations in two redundant and standby structures of semiconductor switches have been studied based on different failure rates. The Markov model is used for reliability and MTTF equation acquisitions. According to the different values for the reliability of the series and parallel structures during SC and OC faults, a comprehensive comparison between each of the series and parallel structures for different failure rates will be made. According to the type of fault and the structure of the switches, the reliability of the switches in the redundant structure is higher than that in the other structures. Furthermore, the performance of the proposed series and parallel structures of switches during SC and OC faults, results in an improvement in the reliability of the boost dc/dc converter. These studies aid in choosing a configuration to improve the reliability of power electronics equipment depending on the specifications of the implemented devices.

• 대한산업공학회지
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• 제21권4호
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• pp.609-628
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• 1995

This paper presents a reliability model and a data-analytic procedure for a repairable unit subject to failures due to multiple non-identifiable causes. We regard a failure cause as a state and assume the life distribution for each cause to be exponential. Then we represent the dependency among the causes by a Markov switching model(MSM) and estimate the transition probabilities and failure rates by maximum likelihood(ML) method. The failure data are incomplete due to masked causes of failures. We propose a specific version of EM(expectation and maximization) algorithm for finding maximum likelihood estimator(MLE) under this situation. We also develop statistical procedures for determining the number of significant states and for testing independency between state transitions. Our model requires only the successive failure times of a unit to perform the statistical analysis. It works well even when the causes of failures are fully masked, which overcomes the major deficiency of competing risk models. It does not require the assumption of stationarity or independency which is essential in mixture models. The stationary probabilities of states can be easily calculated from the transition probabilities estimated in our model, so it covers mixture models in general. The results of simulations show the consistency of estimation and accuracy gradually increasing according to the difference of failure rates and the frequency of transitions among the states.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제35권2호
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• pp.154-164
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• 2003

The explicit consideration of different pressurization rates in estimating the probabilities of containment failure modes has a profound effect on the confidence of containment performance evaluation that is so critical for risk assessment of nuclear power plants. Except for the sophisticated NUREG-1150 study, many of the recent containment performance analyses (through Level 2 PSAs or IPE back-end analyses) did not take into account an explicit distinction between slow and fast pressurization in their analyses. A careful investigation of both approaches shows that many of the approaches adopted in the recent containment performance analyses exactly correspond to the NUREG-1150 approach for the prediction of containment failure mode probabilities in the presence of fast pressurization. As a result, it was expected that the existing containment performance analysis results would be subjected to greater or less conservatism in light of the ultimate failure mode of the containment. The main purpose of this paper is to assess potential conservatism of a plant-specific containment performance analysis result in light of containment failure mode probabilities.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• 제60권3호
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• pp.64-69
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• 2017

Purpose: The goal of nutritional support for very-low-birth-weight (VLBW) infants from birth to term is to match the in utero growth rates; however, this is rarely achieved. Methods: We evaluated postdischarge growth patterns and growth failure in 81 Korean VLBW infants through a retrospective study. Weight and height were measured and calculated based on age percentile distribution every 3 months until age 24 months. Growth failure was defined as weight and height below the 10th percentile at 24 months. For the subgroup analysis, small-for-gestational age (SGA) and extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infants were evaluated. The growth patterns based on the Korean, World Health Organization (WHO), or Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) standard were serially compared over time. Results: At postconception age (PCA) 40 weeks, 47 (58%) and 45 infants (55%) showed growth failure in terms of weight and height, respectively. At PCA 24 months, 20 infants (24%) showed growth failure for weight and 14 (18%) for height. Growth failure rates were higher for the SGA infants than for the appropriate-weight-for-gestational age infants at PCA 24 months (P=0.045 for weight and P=0.038 for height). Growth failure rates were higher for the ELBW infants than for the non-ELBW infants at PCA 24 months (P<0.001 for weight and P=0.003 for height). Significant differences were found among the WHO, CDC, and Korean standards (P<0.001). Conclusion: Advancements in neonatal care have improved the catch-up growth of VLBW infants, but this is insufficient. Careful observation and aggressive interventions, especially in SGA and ELBW infants, are needed.

• Computers and Concrete
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• 제20권3호
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• pp.339-350
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• 2017

Dynamic behaviours of reinforced concrete (RC) bending beams subjected to monotonic loading with different loading rates were studied. A dynamic experiment was carried out with the electro-hydraulic servo system manufactured by MTS (Mechanical Testing and Simulation) Systems Corporation to study the effect of loading rates on the mechanical behaviours of RC beams. The monotonic displacement control loading, with loading rates of 0.1 mm/s, 0.5 mm/s, 1 mm/s, 5 mm/s and 10 mm/s, was imposed. According to the test results, the effects of loading rates on the failure model and load-displacement curve of RC beams were investigated. The influences of loading rates on the cracking, ultimate, yield and failure strengths and displacements, ductility and dissipated energy capability of RC beams were studied. Then, the three-dimensional finite element models of RC beams, with the rate-dependent DP (Drucker-Prager) model of concrete and three rate-dependent model of steel reinforcement, were described and verified using the experimental results. Finally, the dynamic mechanical behaviours and deformation behaviours of the numerical results were compared with those of the experimental results.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• 제30권6호
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• pp.551-565
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• 2019

A total of 36 carbon steel and stainless steel bolted connections subjected to shear loading at different strain rates was experimentally investigated. The connection specimens were fabricated from carbon steel grades 1.20 mm G500 and 1.90 mm G450, as well as cold-formed stainless steel types EN 1.4301 and EN 1.4162 with nominal thickness 1.50 mm. The connection tests were conducted by displacement control test method. The strain rates of 10 mm/min and 20 mm/min were used. Structural behaviour of the connection specimens tested at different strain rates was investigated in terms of ultimate load, elongation corresponding to ultimate load and failure mode. Generally, it is shown that the higher strain rate on the bolted connection specimens, the higher ultimate load was obtained. The ultimate loads were averagely 2-6% higher, while the corresponding elongations were averagely 8-9% higher for the test results obtained from the strain rate of 20 mm/min compared with those obtained from the lower strain rates (1.0 mm/min for carbon steel and 1.5 mm/min for stainless steel). The connection specimens were generally failed in plate bearing of the carbon steel and stainless steel. It is shown that increasing the strain rate up to 20 mm/min generally has no effect on the bearing failure mode of the carbon steel and stainless steel bolted connections. The test strengths and failure modes were compared with the results predicted by the bolted connection design rules in international design specifications, including the Australian/New Zealand Standard (AS/NZS4600 2018), Eurocode 3 - Part 1.3 (EC3-1.3 2006) and North American Specification (AISI S100 2016) for cold-formed carbon steel structures as well as the American Specification (ASCE 2002), AS/NZS4673 (2001) and Eurocode 3 - Part 1.4 (EC3-1.4 2015) for stainless steel structures. It is shown that the AS/NZS4600 (2018), EC3-1.3 (2006) and AISI S100 (2016) generally provide conservative predictions for the carbon steel bolted connections. Both the ASCE (2002) and the EC3-1.4 (2015) provide conservative predictions for the stainless steel bolted connections. The EC3-1.3 (2006) generally provided more accurate predictions of failure mode for carbon steel bolted connections than the AS/NZS4600 (2018) and the AISI S100 (2016). The failure modes of stainless steel bolted connections predicted by the EC3-1.4 (2015) are more consistent with the test results compared with those predicted by the ASCE (2002).

• Journal of Communications and Networks
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• 제9권4호
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• pp.394-401
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• 2007

High speed all optical network is a viable option to satisfy the exponential growth of internet usage in the recent years. Optical networks offer very high bit rates and, by employing technologies like internet protocol over wavelength division multiplexing(IP-over-WDM), these high bit rates can be effectively utilized. However, failure of a network component, carrying such high speed data traffic can result in enormous loss of data in a few seconds and persistence of a failure can severely degrade the performance of the entire network. Designing IP-over-WDM networks, which can withstand failures, has been subject of considerable interest in the research community recently. Most of the research is focused on the failure of optical links in the network. This paper addresses the problem of designing IP-over-WDM networks that do not suffer service degradation in case of a single link failure. The paper proposes an approach based on the framework provided by a recent paper by M. Kurant and P. Thiran. The proposed approach can be used to design large survivable IP-over-WDM networks.

• Computers and Concrete
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• 제32권5호
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• pp.499-511
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• 2023

Anchor channels are commonly used for façade, tunnel, and structural connections. These connections encounter various types of loadings during their service life, including high rate or impact loading. For anchor channels that are placed close and parallel to an edge and loaded in shear perpendicular to and towards the edge, the failure is often governed by concrete edge breakout. This study investigates the transverse shear behavior of the anchor channels under quasi-static and high rate loadings using a numerical approach (3D finite element analysis) utilizing a rate-sensitive microplane model for concrete as constitutive law. Following the validation of the numerical model against a test performed under quasi-static loading, the rate-sensitive static, and rate-sensitive dynamic analyses are performed for various displacement loading rates varying from moderately high to impact. The increment in resistance due to the high loading rate is evaluated using the dynamic increase factor (DIF). Furthermore, it is shown that the failure mode of the anchor channel changes from global concrete edge failure to local concrete crushing due to the activation of structural inertia at high displacement loading rates. The research outcomes could be valuable for application in various types of connection systems where a high rate of loading is expected.

• 대한산업공학회지
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• 제23권4호
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• pp.817-824
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• 1997

This paper is concerned with a parallel system that sustains a time-independent load and consists of n components with exponential lifetimes. It is assumed that the total load is shared by the functioning components and the failures of components induce higher failure rates in the surviving components according to the relationship between the load and the failure rates. The power rule model among several load-failure rate relationships is considered. Firstly, the reliability function is obtained. Secondly, the optimization problem in this load-sharing parallel system is considered. The optimal redundant units and inspection interval are obtained. Some numerical examples are studied.

• 한국정밀공학회지
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• 제23권6호
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• pp.111-118
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• 2006

Recently, the reliability evaluation and analysis are applied far many industrial products which are required to guarantee in quality and efficiency. The purpose of this paper is to present some of reliability evaluation methodologies that are applicable to machine tools. Especially ATC (Automatic Tool Changer), which is a core component of line center, was chosen as the target of the reliability evaluation and analysis. The scope of research is reliability prediction, reliability test and evaluates their results. The results of reliability evaluation have shown the failure rates, MTBF (Mean Time Between Failure), reliability for those components of ATC and real tests reliability through the constructed reliability test-bed. It is expected that proposed methodologies would increase reliability for a high-speed line center.