• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.13-20
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• 2008

Graded layers in which two different constituent particles are mixed are inserted into functionally graded material such that the volume fractions of constituent particles vary continuously and functionally over the entire material domain. The material properties of this dual-phase graded region, which is essential for the numerical analysis of the thermo-mechanical behavior of FGM, have been predicted by traditional homogenization methods. But, these methods are limited to predict the global equivalent material properties of FGMs because the detailed geometry information such as the particel shape and the dispersion structure is not considered. In this context, this study intends to investigate the characteristics of these homogenization methods through the finite element analysis utilizing the discrete micromechanics models of the graded layer, for various volume fractions and external loading conditions.

• Journal of the Korean Geosynthetics Society
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.129-139
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• 2018

The Discrete Element Method (DEM) has been widely used in granular material researches. Especially, if material has a large deformation, such as ground, it can be a useful method to analyze. In this study, to simulate ground formations, DEM was used. The main purpose of DEM analysis was to investigate the numerical model which can predict the TBM performance by simulating excavating procedure. The selected EPB TBM has a 7.73 m of diameter and six spokes. And two pre-defined excavation conditions with the different rotation speeds per minute (RPM) of the cutterhead was applied. In the modeled cutterhead, the open ratio of cutterhead was 21.31% and number of cutters (including disc cutter and cutter bit) was 219. From the results, reaction forces and resistant torques at the cutterhead face and cutting tools, were measured and compared. Additionally the muck discharge rate and accumulated muck discharge by the screw auger were evaluated.

• Coupled systems mechanics
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• v.7 no.6
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• pp.649-668
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• 2018

In this paper, we present a numerical model for fluid-structure interaction between structure built of porous media and acoustic fluid, which provides both pore pressure inside porous media and hydrodynamic pressures and hydrodynamic forces exerted on the upstream face of the structure in an unified manner and simplifies fluid-structure interaction problems. The first original feature of the proposed model concerns the structure built of saturated porous medium whose response is obtained with coupled discrete beam lattice model, which is based on Voronoi cell representation with cohesive links as linear elastic Timoshenko beam finite elements. The motion of the pore fluid is governed by Darcy's law, and the coupling between the solid phase and the pore fluid is introduced in the model through Biot's porous media theory. The pore pressure field is discretized with CST (Constant Strain Triangle) finite elements, which coincide with Delaunay triangles. By exploiting Hammer quadrature rule for numerical integration on CST elements, and duality property between Voronoi diagram and Delaunay triangulation, the numerical implementation of the coupling results with an additional pore pressure degree of freedom placed at each node of a Timoshenko beam finite element. The second original point of the model concerns the motion of the outside fluid which is modeled with mixed displacement/pressure based formulation. The chosen finite element representations of the structure response and the outside fluid motion ensures for the structure and fluid finite elements to be connected directly at the common nodes at the fluid-structure interface, because they share both the displacement and the pressure degrees of freedom. Numerical simulations presented in this paper show an excellent agreement between the numerically obtained results and the analytical solutions.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.423-438
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• 2021

The blade of motor grader is used for scattering and leveling the aggregates on the foundation of road construction site. The paper performed a design improvement research of the blade part to enhance the working efficiency of motor graders. The scattering works of aggregates by blade driving were simulated by DEM (discrete element method) of a dynamic code. The four design parameters were selected and a specific leveling scenario for the simulation was determined. The nine blade models were numerically experimented, and the sensitivity of each factors was analyzed. Next, the design factors that influence a blade performance have been selected by ANOVA, and these key design factors were applied to the progressive quadratic response surface method (PQRSM). The optimum set of design factors of the blade was finally proposed.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.83-99
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• 2022

The two, NBD and SCB tests using gypsum circular discs each containing a single notch have been experimentally accomplished in a rock mechanics laboratory. These specimens have also been numerically modelled by a two-dimensional particle flow which is based on Discrete Element Method (DEM). Each testing specimen had a thickness of 5 cm with 10 cm in diameter. The specimens' lengths varied as 2, 3, and 4 cm; and the specimens' notch angles varied as 0°, 45° and 90°. Similar semi-circular gypsum specimens were also prepared each contained one edge notch with angles 0° or 45°. The uniaxial testing machine was used to perform the experimental tests for both NBD and SCB gypsum specimens. At the same time, the numerical simulation of these tests were performed by PFC2D. The experimental results showed that the failure mechanism of rocks is mainly affected by the orientations of joints with respect to the loading directions. The failure mechanism and fracturing patterns of the gypsum specimens are directly related to the final failure loading. It has been shown that the number of induced tensile cracks showing the specimens' tensile behavior, and increases by decreasing the length and angle of joints. It should be noted that the fracture toughness of rocks' specimens obtained by NBD tests was higher than that of the SCB tests. The fracture toughness of rocks usually increases with the increasing of joints' angles but increasing the joints' lengths do not change the fracture toughness. The numerical solutions and the experimental results for both NDB and SCB tests give nearly similar fracture patterns during the loading process.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.5
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• pp.1416-1428
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• 2021

Pebble flow characteristics can be significantly affected by the configuration of pebble bed, especially for HTGR pebble beds. How to achieve a desired uniform flow pattern without stagnation is the top priority for reactor design. Pebbles flows inside some specially designed pebble bed with arc-shaped contraction configurations at the bottom, including both concave-inward and convex-outward shapes are explored based on discrete element method. Flow characteristics including pebble retention, residence-time frequency density, flow uniformity as well as axial velocity are investigated. The results show that the traditionally designed pebble bed with cone-shape bottom is not the most preferred structure with respect to flow pattern for reactor design. By improving the contraction configuration, the flow performance can be significantly enhanced. The flow in the convex-shape configuration featured by uniformity, consistency and less stagnation, is much more desirable for pebble bed design. In contrast, when the shape is from convex-forward to concave-inward, the flow shows more nonuniformity and stagnation in the corner although the average cross-section axial velocity is the largest due to the dominant middle pebbles.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.25 no.10
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• pp.41-53
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• 2009

In order to analyze the influence of particle shape on evolution of particle crushing and characteristic of shear behavior of granular soil, direct shear test was simulated by using DEM (Discrete Element Method). Six particle shapes were generated by clump and cluster model built in PFC (Particle Flow Code). The results of direct shear test for six particle shapes were compared and analyzed with those for circular particle shape. The results of numerical tests showed a good agreement with those of experimental tests, thus the appropriateness of numerical modelling set in this study was proved. As for particle shape, more angular and rougher particle induced larger internal friction angle and more particle crushing than relatively round and smooth particle. When particles were crushed, crushing was concentrated on the shear band adjacent to the shear plane. Finally, it can be concluded that the numerical models suggested in this study can be used extensively for other studies concerning the shear behavior of granular soil including soil crushing.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.25 no.12
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• pp.119-130
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• 2009

To measure the soil deformation, two common techniques of the digital image analysis-Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) and Digital Image Correlation (DIC)-have been used. To generally apply these techniques to the soils, the accuracy of these techniques should be evaluated under various conditions. In this study, the influence factors including the image resolution, the degree of displacement and deformation, the size of pixel subsets, and analysis techniques were analyzed. The deformation of an idealized particle assembly using the discrete element method was measured by the digital image analyses, and then the results were compared with the actual deformations. To conduct the optimal digital image analysis, various factors are systematically analyzed in terms of the degree of the displacement and the deformation.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.103-113
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• 2023

This study focused on understanding the relationship between the design of a tunnel boring machine disc cutter ring and its rock-breaking efficiency, as well as the applicable conditions of different cutter ring types. The discrete element method was used to establish a numerical model of the rock-breaking process using disc cutters with different ring types to reveal the development of rock damage cracks and variation in cutter penetration load. The calculation results indicate that a sharp-edged (V-shaped) disc cutter penetrates a rock mass to a given depth with the lowest load, resulting in more intermediate cracks and few lateral cracks, which leads to difficulty in crack combination. Furthermore, the poor wear resistance of a conventional V-shaped cutter can lead to an exponential increase in the penetration load after cutter ring wear. In contrast, constant-cross-section (CCS) disc cutters have the highest quantity of crack extensions after penetrating rock, but also require the highest penetration loads. An arch-edged (U-shaped) disc cutter is more moderate than the aforementioned types with sufficient intermediate and lateral crack propagation after cutting into rock under a suitable penetration load. Additionally, we found that the cutter ring wedge angle and edge width heavily influence cutter rock-breaking efficiency and that a disc cutter with a 16 to 22 mm edge width and 20° to 30° wedge angle exhibits high performance. Compared to V-shaped and U-shaped cutters, the CCS cutter is more suitable for soft or medium-strength rocks, where the penetration load is relatively small. Additionally, two typical case studies were selected to verify that replacing a CCS cutter with a U-shaped or optimized V-shaped disc cutter can increase cutting efficiency when encountering hard rocks.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.31-41
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• 2010

This paper presents both numerical and physical modeling approaches for the dilation and spalling of rock recognized as typical process of rock around an underground opening at depth. For physical approach, laboratory testing of rectangular beams using a synthetic rock was used to investigate the onset of dilation and spalling. The beams are axially compressed and subjected to 4-point bending to provide non-uniform compressive stresses which are similar to the maximum tangential stress distribution around circular openings. Discrete element numerical analyses using commercial code $PFC^{2D}$ (Particle Flow Code) were performed to evaluate the stress path at various locations in the beams. The findings from these approaches suggest that the onset of dilation in laboratory tests appears to be a good indicator for assessing the stress magnitudes required to initiate spalling.