• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.75-83
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• 2011

Emerging issues related with fully coupled Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical (THM) behavior of unsaturated soil demand the development of a numerical tool in diverse geo-mechanical and geo-environmental areas. This paper presents general governing equations for coupled THM processes in unsaturated porous media. Coupled partial differential equations are derived from three mass balances equations (solid, water, and air), energy balance equation, and force equilibrium equation. With Galerkin formulation and time integration of these governing equations, finite element code is developed to find nonlinear solution of four main variables (displacement-u, gas pressure-$P_g$), liquid pressure-$P_1$), and temperature-T) using Newton's iterative scheme. Three cases of numerical simulations are conducted and discussed: one-dimensional drainage experiments (u-$P_g-P_1$), thermal consolidation (u-$P_1$-T), and effect of pile on surrounding soil due to surface temperature variation (u-$P_1$-T).

• Transactions of Materials Processing
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• v.23 no.7
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• pp.405-412
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• 2014

As a major type of heat exchanger, the steam generator (SG) produces steam from heat energy of a nuclear power plant reactor. The steam produced by the steam generator flows into a turbine, and plays an important role in electric power generation. The heat transfer tubes in the steam generator consist of approximately 10,000 U-shaped tubes, which perform a structural role and act as thermal boundaries. The heat transfer tubes conduct the thermal energy between the primary coolant (about $320^{\circ}C$, $157kgf/cm^2$) obtained from the reactor and the secondary coolant (about $260^{\circ}C$, $60kgf/cm^2$) as part of the secondary system. Recently, the heat transfer tubes in the steam generator of the pressurized water reactor (PWR) are primarily produced from Alloy 600 and Alloy 690 seamless tubes. As a pilot study to find process parameters for the cold U-bending process using rotary draw bending, numerical and experimental investigations were conducted to produce U-shaped tubes from long straight SUS304L seamless tubes. 3D finite element simulations were run using ABAQUS Explicit with consideration of the elastic recovery. The process parameters studied were the angular speed, the operation period and the bending angle. Experimental verifications were conducted to insure the suitability of the final U-shaped configurations with respect to both ovality and wall thickness.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.33-41
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• 2016

This study attempted to investigate drain capacity and vegetation potential of made-planting soil via finite element simulations. Engineering drain capacity of made-planting soil can be evaluated by an analysis of unsaturated soils. In a perspective for vegetation landscape, it is necessary to check whether the minimum amount of water in the made-planting soil can be supplied for the survival of plants. Herein, 1-m high soil column covered by made-planting soil were numerically simulated. Numerical results showed that how the coefficient of permeability of saturated soil and soil-water characteristics of unsaturated soil are considered significantly influences the drain capacity of soils. Variation in the volumetric water content within the Least Limiting Water Range (LLWR) provides us with information on whether the soil can contain a sufficient amount of water for the plants to survive the drought.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.12 no.7
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• pp.2939-2944
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• 2011

The performance and efficiency of a Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell system will improve with the aids of numerical simulations such as finite element analysis. For best simulation results, the virtual model must accurately reflect the actual model including the material properties. It is very difficult, however, to make a detailed numerical model of the stack that consists of hundreds of layers of unit cells composed of various materials like metal, ceramics, polymer, etc. Instead, a practical approach is to find a homogenized material property of the stack as a whole as an approximate replacement. In this paper, the compression ratio of a unit cell is introduced, and a new method is proposed to estimate the homogeneous material properties for both the active and the manifold regions of the stack under the assumption that the compressive deformation occurs only at the separators and matrices in the unit cells. The estimated properties are applied successfully to simulating an actual stack.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.77 no.2
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• pp.197-215
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• 2021

Under a severe environment of multiple hazards such as earthquakes and winds, the life-cycle performance of engineering structures may inevitably be deteriorated due to the fatigue effect caused by long-term exposure to wind loads, which would further increase the structural vulnerability to earthquakes. This paper presents a framework for evaluating the lifetime structural seismic performance under the effect of wind-induced fatigue considering different sources of uncertainties. The seismic behavior of a high-rise steel-concrete composite frame with buckling-restrained braces (FBRB) during its service life is systematically investigated using the proposed approach. Recorded field data for the wind hazard of Fuzhou, Fujian Province of China from Jan. 1, 1980 to Mar. 31, 2019 is collected, based on which the distribution of wind velocity is constructed by the Gumbel model after comparisons. The OpenSees platform is employed to establish the numerical model of the FBRB and conduct subsequent numerical computations. Allowed for the uncertainties caused by the wind generation and structural modeling, the final annual fatigue damage takes the average of 50 groups of simulations. The lifetime structural performance assessments, including static pushover analyses, nonlinear dynamic time history analyses and fragility analyses, are conducted on the time-dependent finite element (FE) models which are modified in lines with the material deterioration models. The results indicate that the structural performance tends to degrade over time under the effect of fatigue, while the influencing degree of fatigue varies with the duration time of fatigue process and seismic intensity. The impact of wind-induced fatigue on structural responses and fragilities are explicitly quantified and discussed in details.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.90 no.4
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• pp.371-390
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• 2024

Investigating the impact of openings on the structural behavior of ferrocement I-beams with two distinct types of reinforcing metallic and non-metallic meshes is the primary goal of the current study. Up until failure, eight 250x200x2200 mm reinforced concrete I-beams were tested under flexural loadings. Depending on the kind of meshes used for reinforcement, the beams are split into two series. A control I-beam with no openings and three beams with one, two, and three openings, respectively, are found in each series. The two series are reinforced with three layers of welded steel meshes and two layers of tensar meshes, respectively, in order to maintain a constant reinforcement ratio. Structural parameters of investigated beams, including first crack, ultimate load, deflection, ductility index, energy absorption, strain characteristics, crack pattern, and failure mode were reported. The number of mesh layers, the volume fraction of reinforcement, and the kind of reinforcing materials are the primary factors that vary. This article presents the outcomes of a study that examined the experimental and numerical performance of ferrocement reinforced concrete I-beams with and without openings reinforced with welded steel mesh and tensar mesh separately. Utilizing ANSYS-16.0 software, nonlinear finite element analysis (NLFEA) was applied to illustrate how composite RC I-beams with openings behaved. In addition, a parametric study is conducted to explore the variables that can most significantly impact the mechanical behavior of the proposed model, such as the number of openings. The FE simulations produced an acceptable degree of experimental value estimation, as demonstrated by the obtained experimental and numerical results. It is also noteworthy to demonstrate that the strength gained by specimens without openings reinforced with tensar meshes was, on average, 22% less than that of specimens reinforced with welded steel meshes. For specimens with openings, this value is become on average 10%.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.50 no.5
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• pp.515-529
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• 2024

Cold-formed steel (CFS) is a popular choice for construction due to its low cost, durability, sustainability, resistance to high environmental and seismic pressures, and ease of installation. The beam-column connections in residential and medium-rise structures are formed using self-drilling screws that connect two CFS channel sections and a gusset plate. In order to increase the moment capacity of these CFS screwed beam-column connections, stiffeners are often placed on the web area of each single channel. However, there is limited literature on studying the effects of stiffeners on the moment capacity of CFS screwed beam-column connections. Hence, this paper proposes a new test approach for determining the moment capacity of CFS screwed beam-column couplings. This study describes an experimental test programme consisting of eight novel experimental tests. The effect of stiffeners, beam thickness, and gusset plate thickness on the structural behaviour of CFS screwed beam-column connections is investigated. Besides, nonlinear elasto-plastic finite element (FE) models were developed and validated against experimental test data. It found that there was reasonable agreement in terms of moment capacity and failure mode prediction. From the experimental and numerical investigation, it found that the increase in gusset plate or beam thickness and the use of stiffeners have no significant effect on the structural behaviour, moment capacity, or rotational capacity of joints exhibiting the same collapse behaviour; however, the capacity or energy absorption capacities have increased in joints whose failure behaviour varies with increasing thickness or using stiffeners. Besides, the thickness change has little impact on the initial stiffness.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.181-195
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• 2024

Existing piles, especially in urban areas, are at risk of being cut by new tunnel construction, potentially affecting their serviceability. This study examined the behaviour of piles under various reinforcement conditions subject to tip cutting resulting from tunnel excavation. For this, the construction of a tunnel using a shield tunnel boring machine adjacent to existing single and group piles was simulated. A three-dimensional finite element analysis was used to perform the simulations. Certain piles in the group were simulated by cutting the pile tips to mimic the effect of tunnel excavation, and the behaviour of the piles was studied by considering the effect of pile cap and ground reinforcements. A numerical analysis was used to examine the ground settlement caused by tunnel excavation, pile head settlement, axial pile force, and shear stress occurring at the pile-ground interface. The results revealed that for all piles with pile tips supported by weathered rock, the shear stress distributions demonstrated similar trends, whereas for piles with cut tips, tensile or compressive forces occurred simultaneously according to the relative position by pile depth. Additionally, when the pile tip was supported by weathered rock, approximately 70% of the support was due to shaft friction and the remaining 30% was provided by the pile tip. For piles without reinforcement, the final settlement was approximately 70% greater than that of piles with grouting reinforcement. These results indicate that pile and ground settlements are substantially influenced by pile tip cutting and reinforcement conditions.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.29-39
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• 2016

This paper presents the results of 2D and 3D finite element simulations conducted to analyze the effects of excavation depth (H), excavation width (L), and ground condition on the behavior of anchored earth retaining wall in inclined ground layers. The results of numerical analyses are compared with those of the site instrumentation analyses. Based on the results obtained, it appeared that 2D numerical analysis tends to overestimate the horizontal displacement of retaining wall compared to the 3D numerical analysis. When the excavation depth is deeper than 20m, it is found that 2D and 3D numerical analysis results of excavation work in soil ground condition are more different from the results in rock ground condition. For an accurate 3D numerical analysis, applying 3D mesh which has an excavation width twice longer than excavation depth is recommended. Consequently, 3D numerical analysis may be able to offer significantly better predictions of movement than 2D analysis.

• Fire Science and Engineering
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.24-30
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• 2004

In this work the dynamic heat transfer occurring in a cable penetration fire stop system built in the firewall of nuclear power plants is three-dimensionally investigated to develop a test-simulator that can be used to verify effectiveness of the sealants. Here was carried out an experiment to observe the heat transfer in the cable penetration fire stop system made of DOW CORNING products. The dynamic heat transfer occurring in the fire stop system is formulated in a parabolic partial differential equation subjected to a set of initial and boundary conditions. And it was modeled, simulated, and analyzed. The simulation results were illustrated in three-dimensional graphics and were compared with experimental data. Through the simulations, it was shown clearly that the temperature distribution was influenced very much by the number, position, and temperature of the cable streams. It also was found that the dynamic heat transfer through the cable streams was one of the most dominant factors, and the feature of heat conduction could be understood as an unsteady-state process. It is certain that these numerical results are useful for making a performance-based design for the cable penetration fire stop system.