• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.52-56
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• 2013

Background Measuring grip and pinch strength is an important part of hand injury evaluation. Currently, there are no standardized values of normal grip and pinch strength among the Korean population, and lack of such data prevents objective evaluation of post-surgical recovery in strength. This study was designed to establish the normal values of grip and pinch strength among the healthy Korean population and to identify any dependent variables affecting grip and pinch strength. Methods A cross-sectional study was carried out. The inclusion criterion was being a healthy Korean person without a previous history of hand trauma. The grip strength was measured using a Jamar dynamometer. Pulp and key pinch strength were measured with a hydraulic pinch gauge. Intra-individual and inter-individual variations in these variables were analyzed in a standardized statistical manner. Results There were a total of 336 healthy participants between 13 and 77 years of age. As would be expected in any given population, the mean grip and pinch strength was greater in the right hand than the left. Male participants (137) showed mean strengths greater than female participants (199) when adjusted for age. Among the male participants, anthropometric variables correlated positively with grip strength, but no such correlations were identifiable in female participants in a statistically significant way. Conclusions Objective measurements of hand strength are an important component of hand injury evaluation, and population-specific normative data are essential for clinical and research purposes. This study reports updated normative hand strengths of the South Korean population in the 21st century.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.173-182
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• 2017

This paper is aimed at determining the shear and impact strength of waste plastic fibre reinforced concrete. M30 grade of concrete is prepared with waste plastic door fibres cut into 5 mm width and aspect ratios of 30, 50, 70, 90 and 110. Fibres are used in a volume fraction of 0 to 1.5% with an increment of 0.25%. L shaped specimens are cast for shear strength tests and flat plates of size $250{\times}250{\times}30mm$ are used for impact tests. "Drop ball method" is used for checking the impact strength. Shear strength is checked with L shaped specimens under UTM with a special attachment. It was found that up to 1.25% of waste plastic fibres can be effectively used for better strength of concrete both in shear and impact. Shear and impact strength were found to be increasing up to a volume fraction of fibres of 1.25%.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.42 no.5
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• pp.614-618
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• 2015

Background Hand strength deficit following digital replantation is usually attributed to the mechanical deficiency of the replanted digit. Zone 1 replantation, however, should not be associated with any mechanical deficit, as the joint and tendon are intact. We evaluate shortterm motor functions in patients who have undergone single-digit zone 1 replantation. Methods A single-institution retrospective review was performed for all patients who underwent zone 1 replantation. Hand and pinch strengths were evaluated using standard dynamometers. Each set of measurements was pooled according to follow-up periods (within 1 month, 1 to 2 months, 2 to 3 months, and after 3 months). The uninjured hand was used as reference for measurements. Results The review identified 53 patients who had undergone zone 1 replantation and presented for follow-up visits. Compared to the uninjured hand, dynamometer measurements revealed significantly less strength for the hand with replanted digit at one month. The relative mean grip, pulp, and key pinch strength were 31%, 46%, and 48% of the uninjured hand. These three strength measurements gradually increased, with relative strength measurements of 59%, 70%, and 78% for 4-month follow up. Conclusions Despite the lack of joint or tendon injury, strength of the injured hand was significantly lower than that of the uninjured hand during the 4 months following replantation. Improved rehabilitation strategies are needed to diminish the short-term negative impact that an isolated zone 1 replantation has on the overall hand strength.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.249-261
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• 2022

This paper presents a numerical study to develop a guideline for estimating the plastic strength of elliptical steel slit damper with reasonable accuracy. The strut width increases from middle to end in elliptical steel slit damper and it is observed from the past studies that variation of the width is not considered for calculating the plastic strength of the damper. It is also noticed that the existing formulas for predicting plastic strength of this kind of damper may not be accurate and further refinement is warranted. Study is then carried on elliptical steel slit damper made of mild steel and having different geometry to find out equivalency of it with oblong steel slit damper having similar plastic strength. A few three-dimensional finite element models of seismic moment connection system with steel slit damper are developed and validated against past experiments for carrying the present study considering both the material nonlinearity as well as geometric nonlinearity. The results of the parametric studies have been compared with energy quantities and presented graphically to better understand the effects of different parameters on the system. Based on the pattern of parametric study results, closed-form semi-empirical algebraic expression of damper plastic strength is developed for elliptical steel slit damper which shows very good agreement with finite element analysis as well as experiments. This developed expression can now be used for elliptical steel slit damper in replacement with any type of damper in the design of moment connection.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.512-518
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• 2008

This study would like to evaluate the influences with the strength mismatch and the variation of the welding width of the narrow gap welding for the plastic parameter, the major constant determining the plastic ${\eta}$-factor of J-Integral, using 3-D FEM. For this, we evaluate the plastic ${\eta}$-factor according to the variation of the strength mismatch of weldment with same materials and welding width through FEM. Also, we proposed the equation of plastic ${\eta}$-factor considering the variation of the strength mismatch of weldment with similar materials and welding width.

• Advances in materials Research
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.115-128
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• 2024

Concrete is the most significant material in the construction industry which is required to construct several facilities like roads, buildings, and bridges etc. which leads to the economic development of a country. But now days, in view of sustainable development and environmental problems, plastic waste management is one of the major environmental issues due to its non-biodegradable nature which allows it to stay in the landfills until they are cleaned up. To overcome all these concerns, plastic waste may be used as a substitute of natural fine and coarse aggregate in concrete and a valuable solution to utilize the plastic items which causes several problems. In order to, present study is focused on the affecting properties of concrete as workability, compressive strength, and tensile strength of concrete with using plastic waste and without using plastic waste. Based on the detailed literature, it was observed that the plastic waste is not affecting the quality and consistency of concrete. However, as the number of PVC particles in the mixture increased, the drying shrinkage values decreased and the inclusion of plastic flakes can mitigate drying shrinkage cracking which leads the higher durability of concrete. Based on the comprehensive literature, it was also observed that the plastic aggregate found to be suitable for low and medium strength concrete. However, the investigation on the application of plastic aggregate in the high strength concrete is found limited. It was concluded that the optimum percentage of the plastic aggregate was found about 20%.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.53-66
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• 2015

Plastic wastes, particularly polyethylene terephthalate (PET) generated from used bottled water constitute a worldwide environmental issue. Reusing the PET waste for geotechnical applications not only reduces environmental burdens of handling the waste, but also improves inherent engineering properties of soil. This paper investigated factors affecting shear strength improvement of PET-mixed residual soil. Four variables were considered: (i) plastic content; (ii) plastic slenderness ratio; (iii) plastic size; and (iv) soil particle size. A series of unconfined compression tests were performed to determine the optimum configurations for promoting the shear strength improvement. The results showed that the optimum slenderness ratio and PET content for shear strength improvement were 1:3 and 1.5%, respectively. Large PET pieces (i.e., $1.0cm^2$) were favorable for fine-grained residual soil, while small PET pieces (i.e., $0.5cm^2$) were favorable for coarse-grained residual soil. Higher shear strength improvement was obtained for PET-mixed coarse-grained residual soil (148%) than fine-grained residual soils (117%). The orientation of plastic pieces in soil and frictional resistance developed between soil particles and PET surface are two important factors affecting the shear strength performance of PET-mixed soil.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2004.03b
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• pp.253-260
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• 2004

Many scholars and researchers has been studied for many kinds of soil characteristics, but a lot of part are still unsolved. Cyclic load-induced decreasing characteristics of strength and stiffness of soils are also well not known among them. To know that, the characteristics of five kinds of soils; clay, plastic and non-plastic silt, sand, and a weathered soil are compared with dividing two types as plastic or non-plastic soils through direct simple shear(DSS) test. From the results of DSS test, it is known that decreasing characteristics of strength and stiffness are different according to soil types. The strength of plastic and non-plastic soils increases with increment of plasticity index and decrement of volume decrease potential, respectively. And the decreasing stiffness of plastic and non-plastic soils increases with decrement of plasticity index and increment of volume decrease potential, respectively.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.377-384
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• 2018

The accelerated increase of the population growth rate in the world and the current lifestyle based on consumerism considerably increased the amount of waste generated by the human activity. Specifically, e-plastic waste causes significant damage to the environment because of its difficult degradation process. This paper aims to establish the feasibility of using e-plastic waste in concrete as a partial replacement of coarse mineral aggregate. Considering a control mix without e-plastic waste designed for a compressive strength of 21 MPa, tests on concrete mixes with 40, 50 and 60% of e-plastic waste aggregate to determine the fresh and hardened properties were carried out. A reduction in the compressive strength as the percentage of e-plastic waste increases was observed, the maximum reduction being 44% with respect to the control mix. In addition, a significant reduction as much as 22% in the density of the concrete mixes with e-plastic waste was recorded, which means that lighter elements can be produced with this type of concrete. Two new equations based on regression analysis of the experimental data from this study were proposed. These equations estimate the reduction in the compressive strength of concrete mixes with e-plastic waste aggregate at 14 and 28 days. A cost analysis and a practical alternative to introduce this waste material into the market are also presented.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.7
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• pp.2550-2563
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• 2022

This study performed a precise dynamic finite element time history elastic-plastic seismic analysis considering the welds, which have been not considered in design stage, on the nuclear components subjected to severe seismic loadings such as beyond-design basis earthquakes for sustainable nuclear power plants. First, the dynamic finite element elastic-plastic seismic analysis was performed for a general design practice that does not take into account the welds of the pressurizer surge line system, one of safety class I components in nuclear power plants, and then the reference values for the accumulated equivalent plastic strain, equivalent plastic strain, and von Mises effective stress were set. Second, the dynamic finite element elastic-plastic seismic analyses were performed for the case of considering only the mechanical strength over-mismatch of the welds as well as for the case of considering both the strength over-mismatch and welding residual strain. Third, the effects of the strength over-mismatch and welding residual strain were analyzed by comparing the finite element analysis results with the reference values. As a result of the comparison, it was found that not considering the strength over-mismatch may lead to conservative assessment results, whereas not considering the welding residual strain may be non-conservative.