• Computers and Concrete
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• 제12권2호
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• pp.229-241
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• 2013

The objective of this study is to reveal the sufficiency of neural networks (NN) as a securer, quicker, more robust and reliable method to be used in seismic assessment of existing reinforced concrete buildings. The NN based approach is applied as an alternative method to determine the seismic performance of each existing RC buildings, in terms of damage level. In the application of the NN, a multilayer perceptron (MLP) with a back-propagation (BP) algorithm is employed using a scaled conjugate gradient. NN based model wasd eveloped, trained and tested through a based MATLAB program. The database of this model was developed by using a statistical procedure called P25 method. The NN based model was also proved by verification set constituting of real existing RC buildings exposed to 2003 Bingol earthquake. It is demonstrated that the NN based approach is highly successful and can be used as an alternative method to determine the seismic performance of each existing RC buildings.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제57권3호
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• pp.403-423
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• 2016

The challenges involved with fatigue damage assessment of steel catenary riser (SCR) in the touchdown zone (TDZ) are primarily due to the non-linear behaviour of the SCR-seabed interaction, considerable uncertainty in SCR-seabed interaction modelling and geotechnical parameters. The issue of fatigue damage induced by the cyclic movements of the SCR with the seabed has acquired prominence with the touch down point (TDP) interaction in the TDZ. Therefore, the SCR-seabed response is critical for reliable estimation of fatigue life in the TDZ. Various design approaches pertaining to the lateral pipe-soil resistance model are discussed. These techniques have been applied in the finite element model that can be used to analyse the lateral SCR-seabed interaction under hydrodynamic loading. This study investigates the sensitivity of fatigue performance to geotechnical parameters through a parametric study. In this study, global analyses are performed to assess the influence of vertical linear seabed springs, the lateral seabed model and the non-linear seabed model, including trench evolution into seabed, seabed normalised stiffness, re-penetration offset parameter and soil suction resistance ratio, on the fatigue life of SCRs in the TDZ.

• 대한용접접합학회:학술대회논문집
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• 대한용접접합학회 2003년도 추계학술발표대회 개요집
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• pp.188-190
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• 2003

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제53권8호
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• pp.2682-2695
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• 2021

This paper aims to evaluate the structural dynamic responses and damage/failure of the nuclear fuel reprocessing plant under the free drop impact of spent fuel cask (SFC) and fuel assembly (FA) during the on-site transportation. At the present Part I of this paper, the large-scale SFC model free drop test and the corresponding numerical simulations are performed. Firstly, a composite target which is composed of the protective structure, i.e., a thin RC plate (representing the inverted U-shaped slab in the loading shaft) and/or an autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) blocks sacrificial layer, as well as a thick RC plate (representing the bottom slab in the loading shaft) is designed and fabricated. Then, based on the large dropping tower, the free drop test of large-scale SFC model with the mass of 3 t is carried out from the height of 7 m-11 m. It indicates that the bottom slab in the loading shaft could not resist the free drop impact of SFC. The composite protective structure can effectively reduce the damage and vibrations of the bottom slab, and the inverted U-shaped slab could relieve the damage of the AAC blocks layer dramatically. Furthermore, based on the finite element (FE) program LS-DYNA, the corresponding refined numerical simulations are performed. By comparing the experimental and numerical damage and vibration accelerations of the composite structures, the present adopted numerical algorithms, constitutive models and parameters are validated, which will be applied in the further assessment of drop impact effects of full-scale SFC and FA on prototype nuclear fuel reprocessing plant in the next Part II of this paper.

• 한국터널지하공간학회 논문집
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• 제15권2호
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• pp.161-173
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• 2013

도심지와 같이 개발가능한 지역이 제한되어 있으면 기존 건물에 인접하여 지반을 굴착하는 경우가 종종 발생한다. 이러한 경우 지반은 이완되고 따라서 토압에 따라 가시설 벽체에 변형이 발생하므로 인접 구조물의 안정성에 문제가 발생할 수 있다. 따라서 본 연구에서는 실내 모형실험을 통하여 여러 가지 형태의 지반 굴착방법에 따른 인접 지반의 지표면 변위를 산정하고, 이를 수치해석에 적용하여 지표면 침하에 따른 구조물의 변형 양상을 연구하였다. 이렇게 얻어진 구조물 변형 형상 중에서 각 변위와 수평 변형율을 추출하여 최종적으로 인접 구조물의 손상 정도를 평가하였다.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제77권4호
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• pp.441-461
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• 2021

Reinforced concrete (RC) columns are crucial in building structures and they are of higher vulnerability to terrorist threat than any other structural elements. Thus it is of great interest and necessity to achieve a comprehensive understanding of the possible responses of RC columns when exposed to high intensive blast loads. The primary objective of this study is to derive analytical formulas to assess vulnerability of RC columns using an advanced numerical modelling approach. This investigation is necessary as the effect of blast loads would be minimal to the RC structure if the explosive charge is located at the safe standoff distance from the main columns in the building and therefore minimizes the chance of disastrous collapse of the RC columns. In the current research, finite element model is developed for RC columns using LS-DYNA program that includes a comprehensive discussion of the material models, element formulation, boundary condition and loading methods. Numerical model is validated to aid in the study of RC column testing against the explosion field test results. Residual capacity of RC column is selected as damage criteria. Intensive investigations using Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian (ALE) methodology are then implemented to evaluate the influence of scaled distance, column dimension, concrete and steel reinforcement properties and axial load index on the vulnerability of RC columns. The generated empirical formulae can be used by the designers to predict a damage degree of new column design when consider explosive loads. With an extensive knowledge on the vulnerability assessment of RC structures under blast explosion, advancement to the convention design of structural elements can be achieved to improve the column survivability, while reducing the lethality of explosive attack and in turn providing a safer environment for the public.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제44권4호
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• pp.417-429
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• 2012

Taking the superficial temperature increment as the major fatigue damage indicator, the infrared thermography was used to predict fatigue parameters (fatigue strength and S-N curve) of welded joints subjected to fatigue loading with a high mean stress, showing good predictions. The fatigue damage status, related to safety evaluation, was tightly correlated with the temperature field evolution of the hot-spot zone on the specimen surface. An energetic damage model, based on the energy accumulation, was developed to evaluate the residual fatigue life of the welded specimens undergoing cyclic loading, and a good agreement was presented. It is concluded that the infrared thermography can not only well predict the fatigue behavior of welded joints, but also can play an important role in health detection of structures subjected to mechanical loading.

• Computers and Concrete
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• 제13권5호
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• pp.633-648
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• 2014

The seismic safety of concrete dams is one of the important problems in the engineering due to the vast socio-economic disasters which may be caused by collapse of these infrastructures. The accuracy of the risk evaluation associated with these existing dams as well as the efficient design of future dams is highly dependent on a proper understanding of their behaviour due to earthquakes. This paper develops an anisotropic damage model for arch dam under strong earthquakes. The modified Drucker-Prager criterion is adopted as the failure criteria of the dynamic damage evolution of concrete. Some process fields and other necessary information for the safety evaluation are obtained. The numerical results show that the seismic behaviour of concrete dams can be satisfactorily predicted.

• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• 제7권2호
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• pp.149-166
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• 2020

This paper presents the results of an experimental investigation on a vibration-based damage identification framework for a steel girder type and a truss bridge based on acceleration responses to operational loading. The method relies on sensor clustering-based time-series analysis of the operational acceleration response of the bridge to the passage of a moving vehicle. The results are presented in terms of Damage Features from each sensor, which are obtained by comparing the actual acceleration response from the sensors to the predicted response from the time-series model. The damage in the bridge is detected by observing the change in damage features of the bridge as structural changes occur in the bridge. The relative severity of the damage can also be quantitatively assessed by observing the magnitude of the changes in the damage features. The experimental results show the potential usefulness of the proposed method for future applications on condition assessment of real-life bridge infrastructures.

• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• 제4권2호
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• pp.133-151
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• 2017

The paper describes the results of an experimental and numerical investigation into the structural and damage response of sandwich composites to low-velocity impact. Sandwich panels consisting of laminated composite skins with three different layups bonded to a PVC foam core were subjected to impact at various energy levels corresponding to barely visible impact damage (BVID) in the impacted skins. Damage assessment analyses were performed on the impacted panels to characterise the extent and the nature of the major failure mechanisms occurring in the skins. The data collected during the experimental analyses were finally used to assess the predictive capabilities of an FE tool recently developed by the authors for detailed simulation of impact damage in composite sandwich panels. Good agreement was observed between experimental results and model predictions in terms of structural response to impact, global extent of damage and typical features of individual damage mechanisms.