• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.28-36
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• 2022

As port structures are exposed to various extreme external loads such as wind (typhoons), sea waves, or collision with ships; it is important to evaluate the structural safety periodically. To monitor the port structure, especially the rubber fender, a fender segmentation system using a vision sensor and deep learning method has been proposed in this study. For fender segmentation, a new deep learning network that improves the encoder-decoder framework with the receptive field block convolution module inspired by the eccentric function of the human visual system into the DenseNet format has been proposed. In order to train the network, various fender images such as BP, V, cell, cylindrical, and tire-types have been collected, and the images are augmented by applying four augmentation methods such as elastic distortion, horizontal flip, color jitter, and affine transforms. The proposed algorithm has been trained and verified with the collected various types of fender images, and the performance results showed that the system precisely segmented in real time with high IoU rate (84%) and F1 score (90%) in comparison with the conventional segmentation model, VGG16 with U-net. The trained network has been applied to the real images taken at one port in Republic of Korea, and found that the fenders are segmented with high accuracy even with a small dataset.

• Journal of Aerospace System Engineering
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.54-63
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• 2022

Recently, electric propulsion aircraft with various propeller mounting positions have been under construction. The position of the propeller relative to the wing can significantly affect the aerodynamic performance of the aircraft. Placing the propeller in front of the wing produces a complex swirl flow behind or around the propeller. The up/downwash induced by the swirl flow can alter the wing's local effective angle of attack, causing a change in the aerodynamic load distribution across the wing's spanwise direction. This study investigated the influence of the distance between a propeller and a wing on the aerodynamic loads on the wing. The swirl flow generated by the propeller was modelled using an actuator disk theory, and the wing's aerodynamics were analysed with the VSPAERO tool. Results of the study were compared to wind tunnel test data and established that both axial and spanwise distance between the propeller and the wing positively affect the wing's lift-to-drag ratio. Specifically, it was observed that the lift-to-drag ratio increases when the propeller is positioned higher than the wing.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.299-309
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• 2022

This paper presents a new class of the vehicular live load factor for a reliability-based bridge design code. The significance of the current vehicular live load factor of 1.8 is investigated based on the return period of the vehicular live load and the design life of a bridge. It is shown that the current vehicular live load factor corresponds to a return period of 6.7 million years for a 100-year design life, which seems to be unrealistic in an engineering sense, and that the target reliability of 3.72 is set to too high without any reasoning for the gravitational load-governed limit state compared with that of the other limit states. In case the same return period as the design wind velocity or the ground acceleration is employed for the vehicular live load, the corresponding vehicular live load factor becomes around 1.15, and the target reliability index for the return period may be selected as 2.0 or 2.5 depending on the governing load effect. The complete sets of the load-resistance factors for the proposed target reliability indices are evaluated through optimization.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.248-253
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• 2023

Most offshore platforms utilize chain mooring systems for position keeping. However, information regarding related design modification processes is scarce in literature. This study focuses on the floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering terminal (FLBT) as the target of shore platform and analyzes the corresponding initial mooring design and model tests via numerical simulations. Subsequently, based on the modified design conditions, a new mooring system design is proposed. Adjusting the main direction of the mooring line bundle according to the dominant environmental direction is found to significantly reduce the mooring design load. Even turret-moored offshore platforms are exposed to beam sea conditions, leading to high mooring tension due to motions in beam sea conditions. Collinear environmental conditions cannot be considered as design conditions. Mooring design loads occur under complex conditions of wind, waves, and currents in different environmental directions. Therefore, it is essential appropriately assign the roll damping coefficients during mooring analysis because the roll has a significant effect on mooring tension.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.49-56
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• 2024

An automated dynamic structural analysis module stands as a crucial element within a structural integrated mitigation system. This module must deliver prompt real-time responses to enable timely actions, such as evacuation or warnings, in response to the severity posed by the structural system. The finite element method, a widely adopted approximate structural analysis approach globally, owes its popularity in part to its user-friendly nature. However, the computational efficiency and accuracy of results depend on the user-provided finite element mesh, with the number of elements and their quality playing pivotal roles. This paper introduces a computationally efficient adaptive mesh generation scheme that optimally combines the h-method of node movement and the r-method of element division for mesh refinement. Adaptive mesh generation schemes automatically create finite element meshes, and in this case, representative strain values for a given mesh are employed for error estimates. When applied to dynamic problems analyzed in the time domain, meshes need to be modified at each time step, considering a few hundred or thousand steps. The algorithm's specifics are demonstrated through a standard cantilever beam example subjected to a concentrated load at the free end. Additionally, a portal frame example showcases the generation of various robust meshes. These examples illustrate the adaptive algorithm's capability to produce robust meshes, ensuring reasonable accuracy and efficient computing time. Moreover, the study highlights the potential for the scheme's effective application in complex structural dynamic problems, such as those subjected to seismic or erratic wind loads. It also emphasizes its suitability for general nonlinear analysis problems, establishing the versatility and reliability of the proposed adaptive mesh generation scheme.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.628-636
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• 2018

Because large buoys are mainly made of steel, they are heavy and vulnerable to corrosion by sea water. This makes buoy installation and maintenance difficult. Moreover, vessel collision accidents with buoys and damage to vessels due to the material of buoys (e.g., steel) are reported every year. Recently, light buoys adopting eco-friendly and lightweight materials have come into the spotlight in order to solve the previously-mentioned problems. In Korea, a new lightweight buoy with a 7-Nautical Mile lantern adopting expanded polypropylene (EPP) and aluminum to create a buoyant body and tower structure, respectively, was developed in 2017. When these light buoys are operated in the ocean, the visibility and angle of light from the lantern installed on the light buoys changes, which may cause them to function improperly. Therefore, research on the performance of light buoys is needed since the weight distribution and motion characteristics of these new buoys differ from conventional models. In this study, stability estimation and motion analyses for newly-developed buoys under various environmental conditions considering a mooring line were carried out using ANSYS AQWA. Numerical simulations for the estimation of wind and current loads were performed using commercial CFD software, Siemens STAR-CCM+, to increase the accuracy of motion analysis. By comparing the estimated maximum significant motions of the light buoys, it was found that waves and currents were more influential in the motion of the buoys. And, the estimated motions of the buoys became larger as the sea state became worser, which might be the reason that the peak frequencies of the wave spectra got closer to those of the buoys.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.27-33
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• 2013

In order to provide basic data for the development of a controlled environment cultivation system and standardization of the structures, structural status and improvement methods were investigated for the fruit tree greenhouses of grape, pear, and peach. The greenhouses for citrus and grape cultivation are increasing while pear and persimmon greenhouses are gradually decreasing due to the advance of storage facilities. In the future, greenhouse cultivation will expand for the fruit trees which are more effective in cultivation under rain shelter and are low in storage capability. Fruit tree greenhouses were mostly complying with standards of farm supply type models except for a pear greenhouse and a large single-span peach greenhouse. It showed that there was no greenhouse specialized in each species of fruit tree. Frame members of the fruit tree greenhouses were mostly complying with standards of the farm supply type model or the disaster tolerance type model published by MIFAFF and RDA. In most cases, the concrete foundations were used. The pear greenhouse built with the column of larger cross section than the disaster tolerance type. The pear greenhouse had also a special type of foundation with the steel plate welded at the bottom of columns and buried in the ground. As the results of the structural safety analysis of the fruit tree greenhouses, the grape greenhouses in Gimcheon and Cheonan and the peach greenhouses in Namwon and Cheonan appeared to be vulnerable for snow load whereas the peach greenhouse in Namwon was not safe enough to withstand wind load. The peach greenhouse converted from a vegetable growing facility turned out to be unsafe for both snow and wind loads. Considering the shape, height and planting space of fruit tree, the appropriate size of greenhouses was suggested that the grape greenhouse be 7.0~8.0 m wide and 2.5~2.8 m high for eaves, while 6.0~7.0 m wide and 3.0~3.3 m of eaves height for the pear and peach greenhouses.

• Journal of agriculture & life science
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.125-133
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• 2011

This study was conducted on greenhouses whose side heights had been raised after the columns of 1-2W basic type greenhouses had been cut and welding with the same-sized pipes. When the wind load or snow load affects restructured pipe greenhouse like this, those parts will be structurally unsafe. To examine this, the bending strength of welded columns were measured through four stages and compared with the pipes in their original condition. Results are as follows. In the case of a bending test on welded joints about steel pipes used for greenhouses, satisfactory results couldn't be drawn because sections of both ends and the loading parts couldn't endure loads and sank regardless of loading methods. Partial problems could be solved by inserting inside pipe(steel bar) at the sections and the loading parts, but it was necessary to devise more satisfactory bending test methods. The strength of welded joints wasn't much different compared with original conditions and demonstrated only slight differences according to the sample production conditions. However, significant incompleteness in the welding process was expected to cause a decisive loss in strength. On the assumption that there were no problems in the welding process or with regard to the inclination of sub materials for columns after connection, it was deemed reasonable to assume that the strength of welded pipes was about 84~90% of the strength of the pipes in their original condition. Considering mid- and long-term strength decline following the onset of rust at joints or welding sections, structural changes in the main sub materials that are used for greenhouses at farmhouses have to be avoided to ensure structural safety, unless these changes are inevitable.