• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.51 no.2
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• pp.600-606
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• 2019

Studies on the application of the lead rubber bearing (LRB) isolation system to nuclear power plants are being carried out as one of the measures to improve seismic performance. Nuclear power plants with isolation systems require seismic probabilistic safety assessments, for which the seismic fragility of the structures, systems, and components needs be calculated, including for beyond design basis earthquakes. To this end, seismic response analyses are required, where it can be seen that the behaviors of the isolation system components govern the overall seismic response of an isolated plant. The numerical model of the LRB used in these seismic response analyses plays an important role, but in most cases, the extreme performance of the LRB has not been well studied. The current work therefore develops an extreme nonlinear numerical model that can express the seismic response of the LRB for beyond design basis earthquakes. A full-scale LRB was fabricated and dynamically tested with various input conditions, and test results confirmed that the developed numerical model better represents the behavior of the LRB over previous models. Subsequent seismic response analyses of isolated nuclear power plants using the model developed here are expected to provide more accurate results for seismic probabilistic safety assessments.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.50 no.8
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• pp.1387-1401
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• 2018

An aircraft impact (AI) on a nuclear power plant (NPP) is considered to be a beyond-design-basis event that draws considerable attention in the nuclear field. As some NPPs have already adopted the seismic isolation technology, and there are relevant standards to guide the application of this technology in future NPPs, a new challenge is that nuclear power engineers have to determine a reasonable method for performing AI analysis of base-isolated NPPs. Hence, dynamic influences of the seismic isolation on the vibration and structural damage characteristics of the base-isolated CPR1000 containment are studied under various aircraft loads. Unlike the seismic case, the impact energy of AI is directly impacting on the superstructure. Under the coupled influence of the seismic isolation and the various AI load, the flexible isolation layer weakens the constraint function of the foundation on the superstructure, the results show that the seismic isolation bearings will produce a large horizontal deformation if the AI load is large enough, the acceleration response at the base-mat will also be significantly affected by the different horizontal stiffness of the isolation bearing. These concerns require consideration during the design of the seismic isolation system.

• New & Renewable Energy
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.23-32
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• 2020

The wind turbine gearbox has the longest downtime among other major turbine components such as blades, generators, and main bearings. Therefore, gearbox manufacturers conduct rig tests to evaluate conformity in terms of design and function. Rig tests, however, have limited similarity compared with atmospheric wind turbine operating conditions. Rig test conditions are thoroughly controlled and maintained by testers and the component certificates of gearboxes issued through the test cannot fulfill wind farm operator's requirements. Hence, certification bodies such as DNV-GL and UL require a mandatory gearbox field test report for type certification. The Korea Energy Agency (KEA) also introduced gearbox field test as a part of the KS type certificate in 2016, although it is optional . In this paper, gearbox field test procedures and requirements are introduced, and the first domestic application case of the test is reported. The field test was conducted with a 1.5 MW wind turbine gearbox located in Jeju as the test object.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.8
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• pp.2974-2988
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• 2022

Implementation of component isolation in nuclear industry is challenging due to gaps in research and the lack of specific guidelines. In this study, parameters affecting component-level isolation of advanced reactor vessels are identified based on a representative numerical model with explicit consideration of nonlinear soil-structure interaction (SSI). The objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of, and to identify potential limitations of using conventional friction pendulum bearings to seismically isolate vessels. It is found that slender vessels or components are particularly vulnerable to rotational accelerations at the isolation interface, which are caused by rotation of the sub-structure and by excitation of higher modes in the horizontal direction of the seismically isolated system. Component isolation is found to be more effective for relatively stiffer vessels and at sites with stiff soil. Considering that conventional isolators are deficient in resisting axial tension, it is observed that the optimum location for supporting a component to achieve seismic isolation, is at a cross-sectional plane passing through the center of mass of the vessel. These findings are corroborated by numerous simulations of the response of seismically isolated reactor vessels at different nuclear power plant sites subject to a variety of ground motions.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.83 no.3
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• pp.401-413
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• 2022

The collapse of civil infrastructure due to natural disasters results in financial losses and many casualties. In particular, the recent increase in earthquake activities has highlighted on the importance of assessing the seismic performance and predicting the seismic risk of a structure. However, the nonlinear behavior of a structure and the uncertainty in ground motion complicate the accurate seismic response prediction of a structure. Artificial intelligence can overcome these limitations to reasonably predict the nonlinear behavior of structures. In this study, a deep learning-based algorithm was developed to estimate the time-history seismic response of bridge structures. The proposed deep neural network was trained using structural and ground motion parameters. The performance of the seismic response prediction algorithm showed the similar phase and magnitude to those of the time-history analysis in a single-degree-of-freedom system that exhibits nonlinear behavior as a main structural element. Then, the proposed algorithm was expanded to predict the seismic response and fragility prediction of a bridge system. The proposed deep neural network reasonably predicted the nonlinear seismic behavior of piers and bearings for approximately 93% and 87% of the test dataset, respectively. The results of the study also demonstrated that the proposed algorithm can be utilized to assess the seismic fragility of bridge components and system.

• Advances in aircraft and spacecraft science
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.289-302
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• 2021

Ensuring flight safety for passengers as well as crew is the most important aspect of modern aviation, and in order to achieve this, it is necessary to be able to forecast the durability of individual components. The present contribution illustrates the results of a computational analysis to determine the possibility of analysing the prediction of bearing durability in on-board rotating equipment from the point of view of thermal fatigue.In this study, a method developed at the Air Force Institute of Technology was used for analysis, which allowed to determine the bearing durability from the flight altitude profile. Two aircraft have been chosen for analysis - a military M-28 and a civilian Embraer. As a result of the analysis were obtained: the bearing durability in on-board rotating devices, average operation time between failures, as well as failure rate. In conclusion, the practical applicability of this approach is demonstrated by the fact that even with a limited number of flight parameters, it is possible to estimate bearing durability and increase flight safety by regular inspections.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.157-168
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• 2022

A moment-independent importance measure analysis approach was introduced to quantify the effects of structural uncertainty parameters on probabilistic seismic demands of simply supported girder bridges. Based on the probability distributions of main uncertainty parameters in bridges, conditional and unconditional bridge samples were constructed with Monte-Carlo sampling and analyzed in the OpenSees platform with a series of real seismic ground motion records. Conditional and unconditional probability density functions were developed using kernel density estimation with the results of nonlinear time history analysis of the bridge samples. Moment-independent importance measures of these uncertainty parameters were derived by numerical integrations with the conditional and unconditional probability density functions, and the uncertainty parameters were ranked in descending order of their importance. Different from Tornado diagram approach, the impacts of uncertainty parameters on the whole probability distributions of bridge seismic demands and the interactions of uncertainty parameters were considered simultaneously in the importance measure analysis approach. Results show that the interaction of uncertainty parameters had significant impacts on the seismic demand of components, and in some cases, it changed the most significant parameters for piers, bearings and abutments.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.82 no.3
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• pp.313-323
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• 2022

Steel laminated elastomeric bearings are commonly used in bridge structures to control displacements and rotations and transfer forces from the superstructure to the substructure. Proper knowledge of design, fabrication and erection procedures is important to ensure stability and adequate structural performance during the lifetime of the bridge. Difference in elevations sometimes leads to large size gaps between the bearing and the girder which makes the grout thickness that is commonly used for leveling deviate beyond standards. This paper investigates the structural response of High Strength Fiber Reinforced Cementitious (HSFRC) thin plinths that are used to close gaps between bearing pads and precast girders. An experimental program was developed for this purpose where HSFRC plinths of different size were cast and tested under vertical loads that simulate bridge loading in service. The structural performance of the plinths was closely monitored during testing, mainly crack propagation, vertical reaction and displacement. Analytically, the HSFRC plinth was analyzed using the beam on elastic foundation theory as the supporting elastomeric bearing pads are highly compressible. Closed form solutions were derived for induced displacement and forces and comparisons were made between analytical and experimental results. Finally, recommendations were made to facilitate the practical use of HSFRC plinths in bridge construction based on its enhanced load carrying capacity in shear and flexure.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.87 no.5
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• pp.405-418
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• 2023

This study focused on the effectiveness of seismic isolation technique in case of a reinforced concrete structure with soft story defined as the stiffness irregularity between adjacent stories. In this context, a seismically isolated 3-story reinforced concrete structure was analyzed by gradually increasing the first story height (3.0, 4.5, and 6.0 m). The seismic isolation system of the structure is assumed to be composed of lead rubber bearings (LRB). In the analyses, isolators were modeled by both deteriorating (temperature-dependent analyses) and non-deteriorating (bounding analyses) hysteretic representations. The deterioration in strength of isolator is due to temperature rise in the lead core during cyclic motion. The ground motion pairs used in bi-directional nonlinear dynamic analyses were selected and scaled according to codified procedures. In the analyses, different isolation periods (Tiso) and characteristic strength to weight ratios (Q/W) were considered in order to determine the sensitivity of structural response to the isolator properties. Response quantities under consideration are floor accelerations, and interstory drift ratios. Analyses results are compared for both hysteretic representations of LRBs. Results are also used to assess the significance of the ratio between the horizontal stiffnesses of soft story and isolation system. It is revealed that seismic isolation is a viable method to reduce structural damage in structures with soft story.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.35-42
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• 2023

Bearing is a mechanical component that supports loads and transmits rotation. As the application of high-value-added products such as semiconductors, aviation, and robots have recently become diverse and more precise, an accurate bearing performance prediction and evaluation technology is required. Bearing performance evaluation can be divided into evaluations based on bearing theory and on numerical analysis. An evaluation based on numerical analysis is a technique that has been highlighted because the problems that remained unsolved owing to time problems can be solved through recent developments in computers. However, current studies have the disadvantage of not considering the essential changes over time and bearing rotation. In this study, bearing performance evaluation based on rigid body dynamic analysis considering rotation and load over time is performed. Rigid body dynamic analysis is performed for deep groove ball bearing to calculate the load applied by the ball. The reliability of the analysis is verified by comparing it with the results calculated using bearing theory. In addition, rigid body dynamic analysis is performed for automotive wheel bearings to calculate the contact angle and load applied by the ball for cases where axial load and radial load are applied, respectively. The effect of rotation and load over time is evaluated from these results.