• Neurospine
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.368-375
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• 2018

Objective: To evaluate the results of operative management of subaxial spine injuries managed with 2-level anterior cervical corpectomy and fusion with a cervical locking plate and autologous bone-filled titanium mesh cage. Methods: This study included 23 patients with a subaxial spine injury who matched the inclusion criteria, underwent 2-level anterior cervical corpectomy and fusion at our institution between 2013 and 2016, and were followed up for neurological recovery, axial pain, fusion, pseudarthrosis, and implant failure. Results: According to Allen and Ferguson classification, there were 9 cases of distractive extension; 4 of compressive extension; 3 each of compressive flexion, vertical compression, and distractive flexion; and 1 of lateral flexion. Sixteen patients had a score of 6 on the Subaxial Injury Classification system, and the rest had a score of more than 6. The mean follow-up period was 19 months (range, 12-48 months). Neurological recovery was observed in most of the patients (78.21%). All patients experienced relief of axial pain. None of the patients received a blood transfusion. Twenty-one patients (91.3%) showed solid fusion and 2 (8.69%) showed possible pseudarthrosis, with no complications related to the cage or plate. Conclusion: Two-level anterior cervical corpectomy and fusion, along with stabilization with a cervical locking plate and autologous bone graft-filled titanium mesh cage, can be considered a feasible and safe method for treating specific subaxial spine injuries, with the benefits of high primary stability, anatomical reduction, and direct decompression of the spinal cord.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.72 no.3
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• pp.383-393
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• 2019

Horizontal openings in reinforced concrete (RC) beams are quite often used to accommodate service pipelines. Several research papers are available in the literature describing their effect. RC beams with vertical openings are commonly used to accommodate service lines in residential buildings in Kuwait. However, there are lack of design guidelines and best practices reported in the literature for RC beams with vertical openings, whereas the detailed guidelines are available for beams with horizontal openings. In the present paper, laboratory experiments are conducted on nine RC beams with and without vertical openings. Parametric study has been carried out using nonlinear finite element analysis (FEA) with changes in the diameter of the opening, various positions of the opening along the length and width of the beam, edge distance, etc. 50 finite element simulations were conducted. The FEA results are verified using the results from the laboratory experiments. The study showed that the load carrying capacity of the beam is reduced by 20% for the RC beam with vertical openings placed near the center of the beam compared to a solid beam without an opening. Significant reduction in load carrying capacity is observed for beams with an opening near the support (${\approx}15%$). The overall stiffness of the beam, crack pattern and failure modes were not affected due to the presence of the vertical opening. Furthermore, an artificial neural network (ANN) analysis is carried out using the FEA generated data. The results and observations from the ANN and FEA are in good agreement with experimental results.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.57-67
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• 2019

Water-induced strength reduction is one of the most critical causes for rock deformation and failure. Understanding the effects of water on the strength, toughness and deformability of rocks are of a great importance in rock fracture mechanics and design of structures in rock. However, only a few studies have been conducted to understand the effects of water on fracture properties such as fracture toughness, crack propagation velocity, consumed energy, and microstructural damage. Thus, in this study, we focused on the understanding of how microscale damages induced by water saturation affect mesoscale mechanical and fracture properties compared with oven dried specimens along three notch orientations-divider, arrester, and short transverse. The mechanical properties of calcite-cemented sandstone were examined using standard uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) and Brazilian tensile strength (BTS) tests. In addition, fracture properties such as fracture toughness, consumed energy and crack propagation velocity were examined with cracked chevron notched Brazilian disk (CCNBD) tests. Digital Image Correlation (DIC), a non-contact optical measurement technique, was used for both strain and crack propagation velocity measurements along the bedding plane orientations. Finally, environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM) was employed to investigate the microstructural damages produced in calcite-cemented sandstone specimens before and after CCNBD tests. As results, both mechanical and fracture properties reduced significantly when specimens were saturated. The effects of water on fracture properties (fracture toughness and consumed energy) were predominant in divider specimens when compared with arrester and short transverse specimens. Whereas crack propagation velocity was faster in short transverse and slower in arrester, and intermediate in divider specimens. Based on ESEM data, water in the calcite-cemented sandstone induced microstructural damages (microcracks and voids) and increased the strength disparity between cement/matrix and rock forming mineral grains, which in turn reduced the crack propagation resistance of the rock, leading to lower both consumed energy and fracture toughness ($K_{IC}$).

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Information and Communication Engineering
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.474-480
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• 2020

With the advent of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, many new technologies are being utilized. In particular, video signals are used in various fields. However, when transmitting and receiving video signals, salt and pepper noise and additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) occur for multiple reasons. Failure to remove such noise when performing image processing can cause problems. Generally, filters such as CWMF, MF, and AMF remove noise. However, these filters perform somewhat poorly in the high-density noise domain and cause smoothing, resulting in slightly lower retention of the edge components. In this paper, we propose an algorithm by effectively eliminating salt and pepper noise using a modified weight filter using standard deviation. In order to prove the noise reduction performance of the proposed algorithm, we compared it with the existing algorithm using PSNR and magnified images.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.103-110
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• 2022

Degradation of handling qualities(HQs) due to bad weather or mechanical failure can pose a fatal risk to pilots unfamiliar with such situation. In particular, icing is an important issue to consider as it is a frequent cause of accidents. Most of the previous research works focuses on aerodynamic performance changes due to icing and the corresponding icing modeling or methods to prevent icing, whereas the present work attempts to actively compensate for HQ degradation due to icing on a full-scale helicopter through flight control law design. To this end, the present work first demonstrates HQ degradation due to icing using CONDUIT software, and subsequently presents a robust control design via the RS-LQR(Robust Servomechanism Linear Quadratic Regulation) procedure to compensate for the HQ degradation. Simulation results show that the proposed robust control maintains Level 1 HQ in the presence of icing.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.119-126
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• 2022

This study proposed a BCM(Binding Column Method) that can reinforce the insufficient seismic force of piloti buildings that are not designed for seismic resistance. In addition, 4 reinforcement specimens and 1 reference specimen were manufactured for the proposed seismic reinforcement method. The effect of improving seismic performance before and after reinforcement was examined through repeated loading tests. As a result of experiment, seismic reinforcement specimen with BCM system showed hysteretic characteristics of a large ellipse with great energy dissipation ability and increased strength and stiffness, while reference specimen showed rapid reduction in strength and brittle shear failure column. In addition, it can be seen that the reinforcing effect is improved as the gap is narrow, the torque is large, and the thickness of the L-shaped steel sheet is thicker. The SC4 specimen showed the best seismic performance reinforcement effect.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Building Construction
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.221-229
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• 2021

Public rental apartment is increasing due to the needs and changes of the times, but there is a lack of advancement in terms of management. As asset management in domestic buildings still remains unchanged from the concept of repair after failure or breakdown, social cost reduction is needed through the introduction of the concept of asset management. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to present the management indicators for public rental housing asset management by identifying the concepts of domestic public rental housing asset management and the existing evaluation indicators through the consideration of domestic and foreign literature. To this end, this study identified the management factors presented overseas and analyzed the repair cases and history of domestic public rental housing to present sustainable management indicators suitable for domestic conditions. Through this, this study presented the basic direction for the management of rental housing as a public good in the future.

• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.329-344
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• 2021

The use of structural control devices to minimize structural response to seismic/dynamic excitations has attracted increased attention in recent years. The use of magnetorheological (MR) dampers as a control device have captured the attention of researchers in this field due to its flexibility, adaptability, easy control, and low power requirement compared to other control devices. However, little attention has been paid to the effect of configuration and number of dampers installed in a structure on responses reduction. This study assesses the control of a five-story structure using one and two MR dampers at different stories to determine the optimal damper positions and configurations based on performance indices. This paper also addresses the fail-safe current value to be applied to the MR damper at each floor in the event of feedback or control failure. The model is mathematically simulated in SIMULINK/MATLAB environment. Linear control strategies for current at 0 A, 0.5 A, 1 A, 1.5 A, 2 A, and 2.5 A are implemented for MR dampers, and the response of the structure to these control strategies for different configurations of dampers is compared with the uncontrolled structure. Based on the performance indices, it was concluded that the dampers should be positioned starting from the ground floor, then the 2^nd floor followed by 1^st and rest of the floors sequentially. The failsafe value of current for MR dampers located in lower floors (G+1) should be kept at a higher value compared to dampers at top floors for effective passive control of multi-story structures.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.109-114
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• 2021

We investigated the effects of atmospheric hydrogen plasma treatment on Cu-Cu direct bonding. Hydrogen plasma was effective in reducing the surface oxide layer of Cu thin film, which was confirmed by GIXRD analysis. It was observed that larger plasma input power and longer treatment time were effective in terms of reduction and surface roughness. The interfacial adhesion energy was measured by DCB test and it was observed to decrease as the bonding temperature decreased, resulting in bonding failure at bonding temperature of 200℃. In case of wet treatment, strong Cu-Cu bonding was observed above bonding temperature of 250℃.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.136-147
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• 2022

The purpose of this study is to analyze four cases of firefighter burns in various fire scenes and to find prevention measures to decrease firefighter injuries. Among the analysis reports prepared by the National Fire Research Institute of Korea from 2016 to 2020, four burn-related accidents are summarized and the main causes are conveyed. The four accidents include second-degree burns from using extinguishers during containment of fires; nine firefighters burned due to re-ignition in the LPG car repair shop; two firefighters injured with third-degree burns from using fire extinguishers during life-saving events in residential housing; and injuries from the radiant heat of the tank BLEVE near the factory fire. These cases are comprehensively investigated in their respective scenes and analyzed based on the fire site investigation reports from the fire department and related theoretical explanations of risk for each accident scene. In the third case study, some experimental research is conducted to evaluate the risk involved with the use of safety gloves. This is evaluated by reviewing Fire Tactics and Standard Operational Procedures (SOP) to determine improvements and recommendations for an efficient firefighting response. Results show that the main causes of burn accidents are the insufficient use of personal protective equipment (PPE), such as safety gloves, and the failure to follow firefighting tactics or SOPs. Through the accident investigation and assessment, it is concluded that to reduce the frequency of burn accidents, the performance of firefighting equipment, SOPs, protection tactics, and safety policy systems require improvement.