• The Korean Journal of Pain
• /
• v.32 no.4
• /
• pp.280-285
• /
• 2019

Background: Pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) is a treatment modality that alleviates radicular pain by intermittently applying high-frequency currents adjacent to the dorsal root ganglion. There has been no comparative study on analgesic effect according to the position of the needle tip in PRF treatment. The objective of this study is to evaluate the clinical outcomes of PRF according to the needle tip position. Methods: Patients were classified into 2 groups (group IP [group inside of pedicle] and group OP [group outside of pedicle]) based on needle tip position in the anteroposterior view of fluoroscopy. In the anteroposterior view, the needle tip was advanced medially further than the lateral aspect of the corresponding pedicle in group IP; however, in group OP, the needle tip was not advanced. The treatment outcomes and pain scores were evaluated at 4, 8, and 12 weeks after applying PRF. Results: At 4, 8, and 12 weeks, there were no significant differences between the successful response rate and numerical rating scale score ratio. Conclusions: The analgesic efficacy of PRF treatment did not differ with the needle tip position.

• Smart Structures and Systems
• /
• v.24 no.2
• /
• pp.267-292
• /
• 2019

The present article addresses the coupled free vibration problem of skew magneto-electro-elastic plates (SMEE) considering the temperature-moisture dependent material properties. The plate kinematics follows Reddy's higher order shear deformation theory. With the aid of finite element methods, the governing equations of motion are derived considering the Hamilton's principle and solved by adopting condensation technique. The influence of different temperature and moisture dependent empirical constants on the frequency response of SMEE plate has been assessed. In addition, the natural frequencies corresponding to various fields are evaluated and the effect of empirical constants on these coupled frequencies is determined. A detailed parametric study has been carried out to assess the individual effects of temperature and moisture dependent empirical constants along with their combined effect, aspect ratio, length-to-width ratio, stacking sequence and boundary conditions. The results reveal that the external environment as well as the geometrical skewness has a significant influence on the stiffness of the SMEE plates.

• Journal of Power Electronics
• /
• v.19 no.1
• /
• pp.146-157
• /
• 2019

The inverter is an essential part of permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) drive systems. The performance of an inverter is greatly influenced by its modulation strategy. Using a proper management of modulation strategies can guarantee high performance from a PMSM under various speed conditions. Switching between modulations is a pivotal technique that determines the performance of a PMSM. Most works on hybrid methods focus on two-level induction motors drive systems. In this paper, in order to improve the performance of PMSMs under various speed conditions, a hybrid method of a pulse width modulation (PWM) control scheme based on a neutral-point-clamped (NPC) three level topology was proposed. This hybrid PWM modulation comprised space vector PWM (SVPWM) and selective harmonic elimination PWM (SHEPWM). Under low speed conditions, the SVPWM is employed to cause the PMSM to start smoothly, and to obtain a rapid response from the control system. Under high speed conditions, the SHEPWM is employed to reduce the switching frequency and to eliminate particular current harmonics. Moreover, the harmonic characteristics of different modulations are analyzed to obtain a smooth transition between the SHEPWM and the SVPWM. Experimental and simulation results indicated the effectiveness of the proposed control method.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.29 no.6
• /
• pp.735-748
• /
• 2018

In this paper, the cyclic behavior of steel beam-concrete encased steel (CES) column joints was investigated experimentally and numerically. Three frame middle joint samples with varying concrete slab widths were constructed. Anti-symmetrical low-frequency cyclic load was applied at two beam ends to simulate the earthquake action. The failure modes, hysteretic behavior, ultimate load, stiffness degradation, load carrying capacity degradation, displacement ductility and strain response were investigated in details. The three composite joints exhibited excellent seismic performance in experimental tests, showing high load-carrying capacity, good ductility and superior energy dissipation ability. All three joint samples reached their ultimate loads due to shear failure. Numerical results from ABAQUS modelling agreed well with the test results. Finally, the effect of the concrete slab on ultimate load was analyzed through a parametric study on concrete strength, slab thickness, as well as slab width. Numerical simulation showed that slab width and thickness played an important role in the load-carrying capacity of such joints. As a comparison, the influence of concrete grade was not significant.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.31 no.3
• /
• pp.233-242
• /
• 2019

Early detection of damage bonding state such as insufficient bonding strength and interface partial contact defect for the explosive clad pipe is crucial in order to avoid sudden failure and even catastrophic accidents. A generalized and efficient model of the explosive clad pipe can reveal the relationship between bonding state and vibration characteristics, and provide foundations and priory knowledge for bonding state detection by signal processing technique. In this paper, the slender explosive clad pipe is regarded as two parallel elastic beams continuously joined by an elastic layer, and the elastic layer is capable to describe the non-uniform bonding state. By taking the characteristic beam modal functions as the admissible functions, the Rayleigh-Ritz method is employed to derive the dynamic model which enables one to consider inhomogeneous system and any boundary conditions. Then, the proposed model is validated by both numerical results and experiment. Parametric studies are carried out to investigate the effects of bonding strength and the length of partial contact defect on the natural frequency and forced response of the explosive clad pipe. A potential method for identifying the bonding quality of the explosive clad pipe is also discussed in this paper.

• Coupled systems mechanics
• /
• v.8 no.3
• /
• pp.199-218
• /
• 2019

This paper studies the forced vibration of the hydro-elastic system consisting of the anisotropic (orthotropic) plate, compressible viscous fluid and rigid wall within the scope of the exact equations and relations of elastodynamics for anisotropic bodies for describing of the plate motion, and with utilizing the linearized exact Navier-Stokes equations for describing of the fluid flow. For solution of the corresponding boundary value problem it is employed time-harmonic presentation of the sought values with respect to time and the Fourier transform with respect to the space coordinate on the coordinate axis directed along the plate length. Numerical results on the pressure acting on the interface plane between the plate and fluid are presented and discussed. The main aim in this discussion is focused on the study of the influence of the plate material anisotropy on the frequency response of the mentioned pressure. In particular, it is established that under fixed values of the shear modulus of the plate material a decrease in the values of the modulus of elasticity of the plate material in the direction of plate length causes to increase of the absolute values of the interface pressure. The numerical results are presented not only for the viscous fluid case but also for the inviscid fluid case.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.70 no.3
• /
• pp.289-301
• /
• 2019

Hysteretic energy is defined as energy dissipated through inelastic deformations during a ground motion by the system. It includes frequency content and duration of ground motion as two remarkable parameters, while these characteristics are not seen in displacement spectrum. Since maximum displacement individually cannot be the appropriate criterion for damage assessment, hysteretic energy has been evaluated in this research as a more comprehensive seismic demand parameter. An innovative methodology has been proposed to establish a new equivalent linear model to estimate hysteretic energy spectrum for bilinear SDOF models under two different sets of earthquake excitations. Error minimization has been defined in the space of equivalent linearization concept, which resulted in equivalent damping and equivalent period as representative parameters of the linear model. Nonlinear regression analysis was carried out for predicting these equivalent parameter as a function of ductility. The results also indicate differences between seismic demand characteristics of far-field and near-field ground motions, which are not identified by most of previous equations presented for predicting seismic energy. The main advantage of the proposed model is its independency on parameters related to earthquake and response characteristics, which has led to more efficiency as well as simplicity. The capability of providing a practical energy based seismic performance evaluation is another outstanding feature of the proposed model.

• Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
• /
• v.24 no.1
• /
• pp.179-186
• /
• 2019

The purpose of this study is to investigate the drinking culture and attitude difference by gender and grade of Korean college students. A questionnaire was conducted to analyze the characteristics and meaningful differences by two variables about drinking pattern, culture and related policies. The analysis showed that regardless of gender, far more students were against than in favor of prohibition on drinking within campus, whose legislation recently failed. Meanwhile, there was a significant difference by grade in victimization experience regarding drinking within the campus, and by gender in frequency, beverage type, volume, onset of drinking within school. There was no statistically significant gender-based difference in response to experience of damage caused by drinking, but the research results of the related papers show that the female students are more dangerous and need special attention and care. Universities should implement a professional counseling program that is customized according to gender or level of education, and managed by group. Moreover, health authorities must seek a way to lead this move, such as providing incentives to the universities, which efficiently deal with students' drinking problem. And the prohibition on drinking within campus, whose legislation recently failed should be reconsidered.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.31 no.4
• /
• pp.387-396
• /
• 2019

This paper deals with the effect of ply orientation and control gain on tip transverse displacement of functionally graded beam layer for both active constrained layer damping (ACLD) and passive constrained layer damping (PCLD) system. The functionally graded beam is taken as host beam with a bonded viscoelastic layer in ACLD beam system. Piezoelectric fiber reinforced composite (PFRC) laminate is a constraining layer which acts as actuator through the velocity feedback control system. A finite element model has been developed to study actuation of the smart beam system. Fractional order derivative constitutive model is used for the viscoelastic constitutive equation. The control voltage required for ACLD treatment for various symmetric ply stacking sequences is highest in case of longitudinal orientation of fibers of PFRC laminate over other ply stacking sequences. Performance of symmetric and anti-symmetric ply laminates on damping characteristics has been investigated for smart beam system using time and frequency response plots. Symmetric and anti-symmetric ply laminates significantly reduce the amplitude of the vibration over the longitudinal orientation of fibers of PFRC laminate. The analysis reveals that the PFRC laminate can be used effectively for developing very light weight smart structures.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Process Engineers
• /
• v.19 no.11
• /
• pp.49-57
• /
• 2020

The forced vibration characteristics for two impulse forces with time lag was discussed in the vehicle dull progress model. Detailed numerical analyses of the time domain were performed systematically. By the two exciting impulse forces, the responses of displacement, the velocity, and the acceleration were investigated in detail for the vehicle's vibration. Notably, the forced vibration responses in the time domain can be used to identify and monitor several vehicle vibration models. In order to define the responses of displacement, the velocity, and the acceleration, we applied a numerical technique (i.e., the Runge-Kutta-Gill method[1,2]). These variables were subsequently used to analyze the vehicle's vibration according to the time lapse and while it passed over a bump stock; moreover, the characteristics of the variables were analyzed in detail according to their force conditions. Finally, the intrinsic characteristics of the forced vibration were discussed in the context of the automobile model. Overall, our results indicate that the tested method can be successfully applied under different damped conditions.