• Wind and Structures
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.459-474
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• 2017

In this study an analytical expression is derived for the natural frequency of the wind turbine towers supported on flexible foundation. The derivation is based on a Euler-Bernoulli beam model where the foundation is represented by a stiffness matrix. Previously the natural frequency of such a model is obtained from numerical or empirical method. The new expression is based on pure physical parameters and thus can be used for a quick assessment of the natural frequencies of both the real turbines and the small-scale models. Furthermore, a relationship between the diagonal and non-diagonal element in the stiffness matrix is introduced, so that the foundation stiffness can be obtained from either the p-y analysis or the loading test. The results of the proposed expression are compared with the measured frequencies of six real or model turbines reported in the literature. The comparison shows that the proposed analytical expression predicts the natural frequency with reasonable accuracy. For two of the model turbines, some errors were observed which might be attributed to the difference between the dynamic and static modulus of saturated soils. The proposed analytical solution is quite simple to use, and it is shown to be more reasonable than the analytical and the empirical formulas available in the literature.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.981-997
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• 2016

To avoid the cracks of cast-in-place concrete in shear pockets and seams in the traditional composite beam with precast decks, this paper proposed a new type of prefabricated steel truss-concrete composite beam (ab. PSTC beam) with pre-embedded shear studs (ab. PSS connector). To study the initial cracking load of concrete deck, the development and distribution laws of the cracks, 3 PSTC beams were tested under hogging moment. And the crack behavior of the deck was compared with traditional precast composite beam, which was assembled by shear pockets and cast-in-place joints. Results show that: (i) the initial crack appears on the deck, thus avoid the appearance of the cracks in the traditional shear pockets; (ii) the crack of the seam appears later than that of the deck, which verifies the reliability of epoxy cement mortar seam, thus solves the complex structure and easily crack behavior of the traditional cast-in-place joints; (iii) the development and the distribution laws of the cracks in PSTC beam are different from the conventional composite beam. Therefore, in the deduction of crack calculation theory, all the above factors should be considered.

• ETRI Journal
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.439-449
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• 2014

In this paper, a novel vision-based nighttime vehicle detection approach is presented, combining state machines and downhill simplex optimization. In the proposed approach, vehicle detection is modeled as a sequential state transition problem; that is, vehicle arrival, moving, and departure at a chosen detection area. More specifically, the number of bright pixels and their differences, in a chosen area of interest, are calculated and fed into the proposed state machine to detect vehicles. After a vehicle is detected, the location of the headlights is determined using the downhill simplex method. In the proposed optimization process, various headlights were evaluated for possible headlight positions on the detected vehicles; allowing for an optimal headlight position to be located. Simulation results were provided to show the robustness of the proposed approach for nighttime vehicle and headlight detection.

• Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology
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• v.8 no.6
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• pp.1596-1604
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• 2013

Coordinating operation between large-scale wind power and thermal units in multiple time scale is an important problem to keep power balance, especially for the power grids mainly made up of large coal-fired units. The paper proposes a novel operation mode of multi-scale unit commitment (abbr. UC) that includes mid-term UC and day-ahead UC, which can take full advantage of insufficient flexibility and improve wind power accommodation. First, we introduce the concepts of multi-scale UC and then illustrate the benefits of introducing mid-term UC to the wind-coal intensive grid. The paper then formulates the mid-term UC model, proposes operation performance indices and validates the optimal operation mode by simulation cases. Compared with day-ahead UC only, the multi-scale UC mode could reduce the total generation cost and improve the wind power net benefit by decreasing the coal-fired units' on/off operation. The simulation results also show that the maximum total generation benefit should be pursued rather than the wind power utilization rate in wind-coal intensive system.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.449-474
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• 2010

A smart hollow cylinder consisting of a host functionally graded elastic core layer and two surface homogeneous piezoelectric layers is presented in this paper. The bonding between the layers can be perfect or imperfect, depending on the parameters taken in the general linear spring-layer interface model. The effect of such weak interfaces on free vibration and steady-state response is then investigated. Piezoelectric layers at inner and outer surfaces are polarized axially or radially and act as a sensor and an actuator respectively. For a simply supported condition, the state equations with non-constant coefficients are obtained directly from the formulations of elasticity/piezoelasticity. An approximate laminated model is then introduced for the sake of solving the state equations conveniently. It is further assumed that the hollow cylinder is embedded in an elastic medium and is simultaneously filled with compressible fluid. The interaction between the structure and its surrounding media is taken into account. Numerical examples are finally given with discussions on the effect of some related parameters.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.343-355
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• 2018

A wide-voltage-conversion range bidirectional DC-DC converter is proposed in this paper. The topology is comprised of one typical LC energy storage component and a special common grounded asymmetric H-bridge with four active power switches/anti-parallel diodes. The narrow output PWM voltage is generated from the voltage difference between two normal (wider) output PWM voltages from the asymmetric H-bridge with duty cycles close to 0.5. The equivalent switching frequency of the output PWM voltage is double the actual switching frequency, and a wide step-down/step-up ratio range is achieved. A 300W prototype has been constructed to validate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed bidirectional converter between the variable low voltage side (24V~48V) and the constant high voltage side (200V). The slave active power switches allow ZVS turn-on and turn-off without requiring any extra hardware. The maximum conversion efficiency is 94.7% in the step-down mode and 93.5% in the step-up mode. Therefore, the proposed bidirectional topology with a common ground is suitable for energy storage systems such as renewable power generation systems and electric vehicles with a hybrid energy source.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea SC
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• v.38 no.5
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• pp.42-51
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• 2001

Vehicle detection is the basic of traffic monitoring. Video based systems have several apparent advantages compared with other kinds of systems. However, In video based systems, shadows make troubles for vehicle detection, especially active shadows resulted from moving vehicles. In this paper, a new method that combines background subtraction and edge detection is proposed for vehicle detection and shadow rejection. The method is effective and the correct rate of vehicle detection is higher than 98% in experiments, during which the passive shadows resulted from roadside buildings grew considerably. Based on the proposed vehicle detection method, vehicle tracking, counting, classification and speed estimation are achieved so that traffic parameters concerning traffic flow is obtained to describe the load of each lane.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.262-271
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• 2017

This paper studies the performances of five typical Phase-locked Loops (PLLs) for distorted and unbalanced grid, which are the Decoupled Double Synchronous Reference Frame PLL (DDSRF-PLL), Double Second-Order Generalized Integrator PLL (DSOGI-PLL), Double Second-Order Generalized Integrator Frequency-Lock Loop (DSOGI-FLL), Double Inverse Park Transformation PLL (DIPT-PLL) and Complex Coefficient Filter based PLL (CCF-PLL). Firstly, the principles of each method are meticulously analyzed and their unified small-signal models are proposed to reveal their interior relations and design control parameters. Then the performances are compared by simulations and experiments to investigate their dynamic and steady-state performances under the conditions of a grid voltage with a negative sequence component, a voltage drop and a frequency step. Finally, the merits and drawbacks of each PLL are given. The compared results provide a guide for the application of current control, low voltage ride through (LVRT), and unintentional islanding detection.

• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.175-194
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• 2016

Based on the change of traditional viscoelastic damper structure, a brand-new damper is designed to control simultaneously the translational vibration and the rotational vibration for platforms. Experimental study has been carried out on the mechanical properties of viscoelastic material and on its multi-dimensional seismic response control effect of viscoelastic damper. Three types of viscoelastic dampers with different shapes of viscoelastic material are designed to test the influence of excited frequency, strain amplitude and ambient temperature on the mechanical property parameters such as circular dissipation per unit, equivalent stiffness, loss factor and storage shear modulus. Then, shaking table tests are done on a group of single-storey platform systems containing one symmetric platform and three asymmetric platforms with different eccentric forms. Experimental results show that the simulation precision of the restoring force model is rather good for the shear deformation of viscoelastic damper and is also satisfied for the torsion deformation and combined deformations of viscoelastic damper. The shaking table tests have verified that the new-type viscoelastic damper is capable of mitigating the multi-dimensional seismic response of offshore platform.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.2263-2267
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• 2012

Objective: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play important roles in carcinogenesis. The aim of the present study was to explore the effects of miR-181b on gastric cancer. Methods: The expression level of miR-181b was quantified by qRT-PCR. MTT, flow cytometry and matrigel invasion assays were used to test proliferation, apoptosis and invasion of miR-181b stable transfected gastric cancer cells. Results: miR-181b was aberrantly overexpressed in gastric cancer cells and primary gastric cancer tissues. Further experiments demonstrated inducible expression of miR-181b by Helicobacter pylori treatment. Cell proliferation, migration and invasion in the gastric cancer cells were significantly increased after miR-181b transfection and apoptotic cells were also increased. Furthermore, overexpression of miR-181b downregulated the protein level of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 3 (TIMP3). Conclusion: The upregulation of miR-181b may play an important role in the progress of gastric cancer and miR-181b maybe a potential molecular target for anticancer therapeutics of gastric cancer.