• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제57권3호
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• pp.403-423
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• 2016

The challenges involved with fatigue damage assessment of steel catenary riser (SCR) in the touchdown zone (TDZ) are primarily due to the non-linear behaviour of the SCR-seabed interaction, considerable uncertainty in SCR-seabed interaction modelling and geotechnical parameters. The issue of fatigue damage induced by the cyclic movements of the SCR with the seabed has acquired prominence with the touch down point (TDP) interaction in the TDZ. Therefore, the SCR-seabed response is critical for reliable estimation of fatigue life in the TDZ. Various design approaches pertaining to the lateral pipe-soil resistance model are discussed. These techniques have been applied in the finite element model that can be used to analyse the lateral SCR-seabed interaction under hydrodynamic loading. This study investigates the sensitivity of fatigue performance to geotechnical parameters through a parametric study. In this study, global analyses are performed to assess the influence of vertical linear seabed springs, the lateral seabed model and the non-linear seabed model, including trench evolution into seabed, seabed normalised stiffness, re-penetration offset parameter and soil suction resistance ratio, on the fatigue life of SCRs in the TDZ.

• 대한전자공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 대한전자공학회 2001년도 The 6th International Symposium of East Asian Resources Recycling Technology
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• pp.443-447
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• 2001

A laboratory-scale electrodewatering system for enhancing conventional filter pressure dewatering by an electric field has been developed to decrease the water content of sludge generated in the wastewater treatment. It consists of a piston-typed filter press, a power supply and data acquisition system. The offset of electrodewatering is investigated as a function of applied pressure, applied voltage, sludge type and filtration time. Also the optimal conditions for maximizing the dewatering efficiency in the eletrodewatering system are investigated. Electric field strength and mechanical pressure are in the range of from 0 to 120 V/cm and from 98.1 to 392.4 kPa. The dewatering rates increased with increasing electric strength. These experiments produced a final sludge cake with water content of 60 wt% using electrodewatering technology, compared with a 80 wt% using pressure filtration alone. The conventional filtration system using the electrodewatering shows the potential to be effective method for improving dewatering Sludge.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• 제11권6호
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• pp.1143-1164
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• 2016

Time Delay of Arrival (TDOA) estimation methods based on correlation function analysis play an important role in the micro-seismic event monitoring. It makes full use of the similarity in the recorded signals that are from the same source. However, those methods are subjected to the noise effect, particularly when the global similarity of the signals is low. This paper proposes a new approach for micro-seismic monitoring based on cross wavelet transform. The cross wavelet transform is utilized to analyse the measured signals under micro-seismic events, and the cross wavelet power spectrum is used to measure the similarity of two signals in a multi-scale dimension and subsequently identify TDOA. The offset time instant associated with the maximum cross wavelet transform spectrum power is identified as TDOA, and then the location of micro-seismic event can be identified. Individual and statistical identification tests are performed with measurement data from an in-field mine. Experimental studies demonstrate that the proposed approach significantly improves the robustness and accuracy of micro-seismic source locating in mines compared to several existing methods, such as the cross-correlation, multi-correlation, STA/LTA and Kurtosis methods.

• Ocean Systems Engineering
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• 제8권3호
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• pp.313-327
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• 2018

Meeting the touchdown point (TDP) target box is one of the challenges during catenary riser installation, especially for deep water or ultra-deep water riser systems. TDP location mismatch compared to the design can result in variation of riser configuration, additional hang-off misalignment, and extra bending loads going into the hang-off porch. A good understanding of the key installation parameters can help to minimize this mismatch, and ensure that the riser global response meets the design criteria. This paper focuses on investigating the potential factors that may affect the touchdown point location, and addressing the challenges both in the design stage and during installation campaign. Conventionally, the vessel offset and current are the most critical factors which may affect the TDP movement during installation. With the offshore exploration going deeper and deeper in the sea (up to 10,000ft), other sources such as the seabed slope and seabed soil stiffness are playing an important role as well. The impacts of potential sources are quantified through case studies for steel catenary riser (SCR) and lazy wave steel catenary riser (LWSCR) in deep water application. Investigations through both theoretical study and numerical validation are carried out. Furthermore, design recommendations are provided during execution phase for the TDP mismatch condition to ensure the integrity of the riser system.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• 제23권4호
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• pp.351-364
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• 2020

This paper numerically investigates the effects of a dip-slip fault (a normal or a reverse fault) movement on a segmental tunnel which transversely crosses either of this kind of faults. After calibration of the numerical model with results from literature of centrifuge physical tests, a parametric study is conducted to evaluate the effects of various parameters such as the granular soil properties, the fault dip angle, the segments thickness, and their connections stiffnesses on the tunnel performance. The results are presented and discussed in terms of the ground surface and tunnel displacements along the longitudinal axis for each case of faulting. The gradient of displacements and deformations of the tunnel cross section are also analyzed. It is shown that when the fault dip angle becomes greater, the tunnel and ground surface displacements are smaller, in the case of reverse faulting. For this type of fault offset, increasing the tunnel buried depth causes tunnel displacements as well as ground surface settlements to enhance which should be considered in the design.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제38권3호
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• pp.261-281
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• 2011

A new method of formulation of a class of elements that are immune to mesh distortion effects is proposed here. The simple three-noded bar element with an offset of the internal node from the element center is employed here to demonstrate the method and the principles on which it is founded upon. Using the function space approach, the modified formulation is shown here to be superior to the conventional isoparametric version of the element since it satisfies the completeness requirement as the metric formulation, and yet it is in agreement with the best-fit paradigm in both the metric and the parametric domains. Furthermore, the element error is limited to only those that are permissible by the classical projection theorem of strains and stresses. Unlike its conventional counterpart, the modified element is thus not prone to any errors from mesh distortion. The element formulation is symmetric and thus satisfies the requirement of the conservative nature of problems associated with all self-adjoint differential operators. The present paper indicates that a proper mapping set for distortion immune elements constitutes geometric and displacement interpolations through parametric and metric shape functions respectively, with the metric components in the displacement/strain replaced by the equivalent geometric interpolation in parametric co-ordinates.

• Wind and Structures
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• 제10권5호
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• pp.401-420
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• 2007

Field measurements of the wind-induced response of two residential reinforced concrete buildings, among the tallest in the world, have been performed during two typhoons. Natural periods and damping values have been determined and compared with other field measurements and empirical predictors. Suitable and common empirical predictors of natural period and structural damping have been obtained that describe the trend of tall, reinforced concrete buildings whose structural vibrations have been measured in the collection of studies in Hong Kong compiled by the authors. This data is especially important as the amount of information known about the dynamic parameters of buildings of these heights is limited. Effects of the variation of the natural period and damping values on the alongwind response of a tall building for serviceability-level wind conditions have been profiled using the gust response factor approach. When using this approach on these two buildings, the often overestimated natural periods and structural damping values suggested by empirical predictors tended to offset each other. Gust response factors calculated using the natural periods and structural damping values measured in the field were smaller than if calculated using design-stage values.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제59권1호
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• pp.133-151
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• 2016

Self-Compacting Concrete (SCC) has been originally developed in Japan to offset a growing shortage of skilled labors, is a highly workable concrete, which is not needed to any vibration or impact during casting. The utilizing of fibers in SCC improves the mechanical properties and durability of hardened concrete such as impact strength, flexural strength, and vulnerability to cracking. The purpose of this investigation is to determine the effect of steel fibers on mechanical performance of traditionally reinforced Self-Competing Concrete beams. In this study, two mixes Mix 1% and Mix 2% containing 1% and 2% volume friction of superplasticizer are considered. For each type of mixture, four different volume percentages of 60/30 (length/diameter) fibers of 0.0%, 1.0%, 1.5% and 2% were used. The mechanical properties were determined through compressive and flexural tests. According to the experimental test results, an increase in the steel fibers volume fraction in Mix 1% and Mix 2% improves compressive strength slightly but decreases the workability and other rheological properties of SCC. On the other hand, results revealed that flexural strength, energy absorption capacity and toughness are increased by increasing the steel fiber volume fraction. The results clearly show that the use of fibers improves the post-cracking behavior. The average spacing of between cracks decrease by increasing the fiber volume fraction. Furthermore, fibers increase the tensile strength by bridging actions through the cracks. Therefore, steel fibers increase the ductility and energy absorption capacity of RC elements subjected to flexure.

• Wind and Structures
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• 제32권5호
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• pp.423-437
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• 2021

Aerodynamic measures have been widely used for improving the flutter stability of long-span bridges, and this paper focuses their windproof ability to improve the wind environment for vehicles. The whole wind environment around a long-span bridge located in high altitude mountainous areas is first studied. The local wind environment above the deck is then focused by two perspectives. One is the windproof effects of aerodynamic measures, and the other is whether the bridge with aerodynamic measures meets the requirement of flutter stability after installing extra wind barriers in the future. Furthermore, the effects of different wind barriers are analyzed. Results show that aerodynamic measures exert potential effects on the local wind environment, as the vertical stabilizer obviously reduces wind velocities behind it while the closed central slot has limited effects. The suggested aerodynamic measures have the ability to offset the adverse effect of the wind barrier on the flutter stability of the bridge. Behind the wind barrier, wind velocities decrease in general, but in some places incoming flow has to pass through the deck with higher velocities due to the increase in blockage ratio. Further comparison shows that the wind barrier with four bars is optimal.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제69권6호
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• pp.615-626
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• 2019

The 3-noded metric Timoshenko beam element with an offset of the internal node from the element centre is used here to demonstrate the best-fit paradigm using function space formulation under locking and mesh distortion. The best-fit paradigm follows from the projection theorem describing finite element analysis which shows that the stresses computed by the displacement finite element procedure are the best approximation of the true stresses at an element level as well as global level. In this paper, closed form best-fit solutions are arrived for the 3-noded Timoshenko beam element through function space formulation by combining field consistency requirements and distortion effects for the element modelled in metric Cartesian coordinates. It is demonstrated through projection theorems how lock-free best-fit solutions are arrived even under mesh distortion by using a consistent definition for the shear strain field. It is shown how the field consistency enforced finite element solution differ from the best-fit solution by an extraneous response resulting from an additional spurious force vector. However, it can be observed that when the extraneous forces vanish fortuitously, the field consistent solution coincides with the best-fit strain solution.