• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.209-233
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• 2013

With an annual growth rate of about 30%, wind energy systems, such as wind turbines, represent one of the fastest growing renewable energy technologies. Continuous structural health monitoring of wind turbines can help improving structural reliability and facilitating optimal decisions with respect to maintenance and operation at minimum associated life-cycle costs. This paper presents an integrated monitoring system that is designed to support structural assessment and life-cycle management of wind turbines. The monitoring system systematically integrates a wide variety of hardware and software modules, including sensors and computer systems for automated data acquisition, data analysis and data archival, a multiagent-based system for self-diagnosis of sensor malfunctions, a model updating and damage detection framework for structural assessment, and a management module for monitoring the structural condition and the operational efficiency of the wind turbine. The monitoring system has been installed on a 500 kW wind turbine located in Germany. Since its initial deployment in 2009, the system automatically collects and processes structural, environmental, and operational wind turbine data. The results demonstrate the potential of the proposed approach not only to ensure continuous safety of the structures, but also to enable cost-efficient maintenance and operation of wind turbines.

• Proceedings of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute Conference
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• 2006.04a
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• pp.459-466
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• 2006

The objective of this study is to improve the accuracy of damage detection using natural frequency and modal strain energy. The following approaches are used to achieve the goal. First, modal strain energy is introduced and newly GA-based damage detection technique using natural frequency and modal strain energy is proposed. Next, to verify efficiency of the proposed technique, damage scenarios for free-free beams are designed and the vibration modal tests as damage cases are conducted. Finally, feasibility of proposed technique is verified in comparison with a GA-based damage detection technique using natural frequency and mode shape.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.99-107
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• 2000

A probabilistic integrity analysis method is presented for a reactor vessel under pressurized thermal shock(PTS) based on Monte Carlo simulation. This method can be applied to the structural integrity assessment of a reactor vessel subjected to pressurized thermal shock where the coolant temperature transient cannot be expressed explicitly as a time function. An axially or circumferentially oriented infinite length surface crack is assumed to be in the beltline weld region of the rector vessel's inside surface. The random variables are the initial crack depth, neutron fluence on the vessel's inside surface, the copper and nickel content of the vessel materials, R $T_{NDT}$ , $K_{IC}$ , and K/aub la/. The reliability of a sample reactor vessel under PTS is assessed quantitatively and the influence of the amount of neutron fluence is also examined by applying the present method.sent method.

• Proceedings of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute Conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.293-298
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• 2003

The rockfall protection fences are installed to reduce rockfall damage in roads side slopes. The energy absorbing capacity of widely used rockfall protection fences is about 50kJ, But in many cases, rockfall protection fences are easily damaged even by a low level of rockfall energy. The objective of this paper is to verify the energy absorbing capacity of rockfall protection fences and investigate the behavior of them by rockfall. The LS-DYNA3D, a finite elements analysis program for dynamic movement of three dimensional objects, is used to perform the numerical simulations. In the result it is shown that rockfall protection fences absorb half of standard absorbing energy or less than it. It is inadquate for the rockfall protection fences to perform the principal function. To improve the performance of the fences, new rockfall proctection fence is proposed and numerical simulation is performed.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.331-348
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• 2010

Ample research effort has been oriented into developing damage indices with the aim of estimating in a reasonable manner the consequences, in terms of structural damage and deterioration, of severe plastic cycling. Although several studies have been devoted to calibrate damage indices for steel and reinforced concrete members; currently, there is a challenge to study and calibrate the use of such indices for the practical evaluation of complex structures. The aim of this paper is to introduce an energy-based damage index for multi-degree-of-freedom steel buildings that accounts explicitly for the effects of cumulative plastic deformation demands. The model has been developed by complementing the results obtained from experimental testing of steel members with those derived from analytical studies regarding the distribution of plastic demands on several steel frames designed according to the Mexico City Building Code. It is concluded that the approach discussed herein is a promising tool for practical structural evaluation of framed structures subjected to large energy demands.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.643-649
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• 2003

The purpose of this study were evaluated to flexural and bond performance by sectional area and geometry change through bond and flexural test of a structural synthetic fiber. Six deformed structural synthetic fibers were investigated and pullout and flexural test was conducted. Included parameters is three different geometries of fiber and two of fiber sectional area. The test result shows that the cycles and amplitude of structural synthetic fiber increased, pullout load and pullout fracture energy decreased and flexural strength increased, if sectional area is same. The sectional area increased, pullout load and pullout fracture energy increased and flexural strength decreased, if cycles and amplitude of structural synthetic fiber is same. Based on test results, structural performance of the concrete could know that is influence by pullout performance of fiber as well as various factor (fiber number, material properties etc).

• Computational Structural Engineering
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.157-165
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• 1997

This research aims to develop an algorithm of optimal transducer placement for health monitoring of large structural system. The structural vibration response-based health monitoring is considered one of the best for the system which requires a long-term, continuous monitoring. In its experimental modal testing, however, it is difficult to decide on the measurement locations and their number, especially for complex structures, which have a major influence on the quality of the results. In order to minimize the number of sensing operations and optimize the transducer location while maximizing the accuracy of results, this paper discusses about an optimum transducer placement criterion suitable for the identification of structural damage for continuous health monitoring. As a criterion algorithm, it proposes the Kinetic Energy Optimization Technique (EOT), and then addresses the numerical issues which are subsequently applicable to actual experiment where a bridge model is used. By using the experimental data, it compares the EOT with the EIM(Effective Indefence Method) which is generally used to optimize the transducer placement for the damage identification and control purposes. The comparison conclusively shows that the EOT algorithm proposed in this paper is preferable when a structure is to be instrumented with fewer sensors for monitoring purpose.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.82 no.5
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• pp.611-628
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• 2022

Energy-dissipative rocking (EDR) columns are a class of seismic mitigation device capable of dissipating seismic energy and preventing weak-story failure of moment resisting frames (MRFs). An EDR consists of two hinge-supported steel columns interconnected by steel dampers along its height. Under earthquakes, the input seismic energy can be dissipated by plastic energy of the steel dampers in the EDR column. However, the unrecoverable plastic deformation of steel dampers generally results in residual drifts in the structural system. This paper presents a proof-of-concept study on an innovative device, namely self-centring energy-dissipative rocking (SC-EDR) column, aiming at enabling self-centring capability of the EDR column by installing a set of shape memory alloy (SMA) tension braces. The working mechanism of the SC-EDR column is presented in detail, and the feasibility of the new device is carefully examined via experimental and numerical studies considering the parameters of the SMA bar diameter and the steel damper plate thickness. The seismic responses including load carrying capacities, stress distributions, base rocking behaviour, source of residual deformation, and energy dissipation are discussed in detail. A rational combination of the steel damper and the SMA tension braces can achieve excellent energy dissipation and self-centring performance.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.77-85
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• 2006

A demonstration facility for an advanced spent fuel conditioning process (ACP) is under construction at KAERI. In this hotcell facility, the rear door is frequently used since all process equipment and materials are taken in and out only through the rear door. Therefore , both the structural safety and stability of the door are essentially required for the safety of ACP facility. In this paper, the finite element analysis has been performed to investigate the structural safety under the impact condition between the rear door and the door frame. Also the possibility of the rear door being tumbled over by the impact force or the inertia force under a sudden stop conditon has been evaluated. The analysis results demonstrate that the structural safety and stability of the rear door are sufficiently assured for both the impact and the accidential stop conditions.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.120-127
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• 2001

The potential pollution problems resulting from tanker collision necessitate the requirement for an effective structural design and the development of relevant safety regulations. During a few decades, the great effort has been made by the international Maritime Organization and the Administration, etc, to reduce oil spillage from collision accidents. However there is still a need for investigation in the light of structural evaluation method for the experiments and rational analysis, and design development for an operational purpose of ships. This study aims for investigating a complicated structural response of bow structures of simplified models and oil carriers for assessing the energy dissipation and crushing mechanics of the striking vessels through a methodology of the numerical analysis for the various models and its design changes. Through these study an optimal bow construction absorbing great portion of kinetic energy at the least penetration depth prior to reach to the cargo area and an effective location of collision bulkhead are investigated. In order to obtain a rational results in this study, three stages of collision simulation procedures have been performed step by step as follows; 1) 16 simplified ship models are used to investigate the structural response against bow collision with variation of primary and secondary members. Mass and speed are also varied in four conditions. 2) 21 models consisted of 5 sizes of the full scaled oil carriers are used to perform the collision simulation with the various sizes and deadweight delivered in a recent which are complied with SOLAS and MARPOL. 3) 36 models of 100l oil carrier are used to investigate the structural response and its influence to the collision bulkhead against bow collision in variation with location of collision bulkhead, primary members, framing system and colliding conditions, etc. By the first study using simplified models the response of the bow collision is synthetically evaluated for the parameters influencing to the absorbed energy, penetration depth and impact force, etc.