• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.74 no.3
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• pp.313-323
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• 2020

Non-destructive tests are commonly used in construction industry to access the quality and strength of concrete. However, till date there is no non-destructive testing method that can be adopted to evaluate the bond condition of reinforced concrete beams. In this regard, the presented research work details the use of ultra-sonic pulse velocity test method to evaluate the bond condition of reinforced concrete beam. A detailed experimental research was conducted by testing four identical reinforced concrete beam samples. The samples were loaded in equal increments till failure and ultra-sonic pulse velocity readings were recorded along the length of the beam element. It was observed from experimentation that as the cracks developed in the sample, the ultra-sonic wave velocity reduced for the same path length. This reduction in wave velocity was used to identify the initiation, development and propagation of internal micro-cracks along the length of reinforcement. Using the developed experimental methodology, researchers were able to identify weak spots in bond along the length of the specimen. The proposed method can be adopted by engineers to access the quality of bond for steel reinforcement in beam members. This allows engineers to carryout localized repairs thereby resulting in reduction of time, cost and labor needed for strengthening. Furthermore, the methodology to apply the proposed technique in real-world along with various challenges associated with its application have also been highlighted.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.39 no.11
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• pp.23-31
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• 2023

The escalating settlements observed in concrete slab tracks pose a significant challenge in Korea, raising concerns about their adverse impact on the safe operation of high-speed railways and the substantial costs involved in restoration. A primary contributor to these settlements is identified as the utilization of rock materials sourced from tunnel construction, incorporated into the lower subgrade without the requisite soil mixing to achieve an appropriate particle size distribution. This study employs numerical analysis to evaluate the efficacy of partial reinforcement in reducing settlements in rock-filled lower subgrades. Column-shaped reinforcement areas strategically positioned at regular intervals in the lower subgrade induce soil arching in the upper subgrade, leading to a concentration of soil loads on the reinforced areas and consequent settlement reduction. The analysis employs finite element methods to investigate the influence of the size, stiffness, and spacing of the reinforced areas on settlement reduction in the lower subgrade. The numerical results guide the formulation of an optimal design approach, proposing a method to determine the minimum spacing required for reinforcements to effectively limit settlements within acceptable bounds. This research contributes valuable insights into addressing the challenges associated with settlement in concrete slab tracks, offering a basis for informed decision-making in railway infrastructure management.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.13-20
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• 2017

Unreinforced masonry buildings are vulnerable to lateral forces, such as earthquakes, owing to the nature of the building materials, yet numerous masonry buildings remain in South Korea. Since the majority of the existing masonry buildings were constructed more than 20 years ago, it is necessary to develop economical reinforcement methods for disaster reduction. In this study, external reinforcement of masonry walls using adhesive stiffeners was proposed as a reinforcement method for such age-old masonry buildings. Six specimens were fabricated with different aspect ratios (L/H = 1.0, 1.3, and 2.0) and used in static load tests to verify the reinforcement effect. The experimental results showed that the masonry walls before and after reinforcement were ruptured by rigid body rotation and slip. In addition, the maximum strength, maximum displacement, and dissipated energy of the walls were shown to increase after applying the adhesive stiffeners, thereby verifying the excellent reinforcement effect. Furthermore, an adhesive stiffener design for unreinforced masonry walls was proposed based on the increased shear strength achieved by using conventional glass fibers. The proposed design can be used as a basis for the application of adhesive stiffeners for unreinforced masonry walls.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.1-9
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• 2015

In this paper, the RC column-based joint connection part carry out loading test by reinforced hollow or extended Base Plate in order to confirm that RC joint punching shear reinforcement effect of applying the Base Plate. Base Plate thickness, extension length, size, and type as the variable, Base Plate suitable for the stress distribution and shape and dimensions confirmed through experiment and then reinforcing effect was analyzed. Experimentally, vertical load transmitted to the Base Plate from column to foundation is effective to stress distribution and then, type of hollow reinforcement more efficient than a closed. Through experiment, improve performance and ductility due to reinforcement and relative to the thickness of the existing foundation reduced even showed better performance than the existing. The behavior of the reinforced specimens be able to induce from brittle to ductile. Experiment on loading to destroy performed the pattern of cracks, destruction aspect before and after reinforcement.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.171-191
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• 1999

The final aim of this research is to systematize the reinforced-earth wall system using the geosynthetic composite reinforcement in the weathered granite backfill soils having relatively large amount of fines. As a staged endeavour to accomplish this purpose, laboratory pull-out tests and finite element modeling are carried out in the present study focusing on the analyses of friction characteristics associated with interaction behaviors of the geosynthetic composite reinforcement composed of geogrid with a superior function in tensile resistance and geotextile with sufficient drainage effects. In addition, drainage effects of the geotextile below geogrid are examined based on the analysis of finite difference numerical modeling. From the present investigation, it is concluded that the geosynthetic composite reinforcement in the weathered granite backfills may possibly be used to achieve effects on both a reduction of deformations and an increase of the tensile resistance, together with drainage effects resulting from the geotextile.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.713-722
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• 2016

The goal of this study was to assess the seismic performance of hollow cast-in-place and precast reinforced concrete bridge columns with triangular reinforcement details. The developed material quantity reduction details are economically feasible and rational, and facilitate shorter construction periods. By using a sophisticated nonlinear finite element analysis program, the accuracy and objectivity of the assessment process can be enhanced. The used numerical method gives a realistic prediction of seismic performance throughout the input ground motions for several hollow column specimens investigated. As a result, triangular reinforcement details were designed to be superior to the existing reinforcement details in terms of required seismic performance.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.186-195
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• 2010

This study has attempted to suggest a proper reinforcement method by strengthening unbonded post -tensioning through height of an anchorage hole, form of a saddle, and loading time point as parameters and evaluating the reinforcement method through a bending experiment. The result of this experiment indicated effects of reinforcement since the maximum strength ratio(the ratio of an experimental value to theoretical value) of SC composite beams before prestressed was 0.97 and after prestress were 1.00~1.21. As a result of analysis on displacement and strain, irrespective of height of an anchorage hole and loading time point, the D120-series specimen where an anchorage hole was installed on the neutral axis after reinforcement showed that its deflection continuously increased without sudden load reduction after maximum load and it stably behaved with relatively low strain of each part. In terms of reinforcement effects, the maximum strength of SCR-UD120 specimen prestressed after pre-loading was increased 1.72 times comparing to SC composite beams so SCR-UD120 specimen prestressed after pre-loading was shown to be the best.

• 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 Computer Graphics Society
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.13-23
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• 2021

In this paper, we proposed a framework that generates the trajectory of a single rigid body based on its COM configuration and contact pose. Because we use a smaller input dimension than when we use a full body state, we can improve the learning time for reinforcement learning. Even with a 68% reduction in learning time (approximately two hours), the character trained by our network is more robust to external perturbations tolerating an external force of 1500 N which is about 7.5 times larger than the maximum magnitude from a previous approach. For this framework, we use centroidal dynamics to calculate the next configuration of the COM, and use reinforcement learning for obtaining a policy that gives us parameters for controlling the contact positions and forces.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.161-169
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• 2011

Two-way slabs reinforced with high-performance steels, which have several practical advantages of a reduction of congestion in heavily reinforced members, savings in the cost of labor and repair, the higher corrosion resistance, and a reduction of construction time, were constructed and tested. The influences of the flexural reinforcement ratio, concentrating the reinforcement in the immediate column region, and using steel fiber-reinforced concrete (SFRC) in the slab on the punching shear resistance and post-cracking stiffness were investigated, and compared with the punching shear test results of the slabs reinforced with conventional steels and GFRP bars. In addition, the strain distribution of flexural reinforcements and crack control were investigated, and the effective width calculating method for the average flexural reinforcement ratio was estimated. The use of high-performance steel reinforcement increased the punching shear strength of slabs, and decreased the amount of flexural reinforcements. The concentrating the top mat of flexural reinforcement increased the post-cracking stiffness, and showed better strain distribution and crack control. In addition, the use of SFRC showed beneficial effects on the punching shear strength and crack control. It was suggest that the effective width should be changed to larger than 2 times the slab thickness from the column faces.