• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.1203-1215
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• 2016

When strain sensing cables are under long-term stress and cyclic loading, creep may occur in the jacket material and each layer of the cable structure may slide relative to other layers, causing fatigue in the cables. This study proposes a device for testing the fatigue characteristics of three types of cables operating under different conditions to establish a decay model for observing the patterns of strain decay. The fatigue characteristics of cables encased in polyurethane (PU), GFRP-reinforced, and wire rope-reinforced jackets were compared. The findings are outlined as follows. The cable strain decayed exponentially, and the decay process involved quick decay, slow decay, and stabilization stages. Moreover, the strain decay increased with the initial strain and tensile frequency. The shorter the unstrained period was, the more similar the initial strain levels of the strain decay curves were to the stabilized strain levels of the first cyclic elongation. As the unstrained period increased, the initial strain levels of the strain decay curves approached those of the first cyclic elongation. The tested sensing cables differed in the amount and rate of strain decay. The wire rope-reinforced cable exhibited the smallest amount and rate of decay, whereas the GFRP-reinforced cable demonstrated the largest.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.29-44
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• 2020

The effectiveness and the sensitivity of a Wireless impedance/Admittance Monitoring System (WiAMS) for the prompt damage diagnosis of two single-storey single-span Reinforced Concrete (RC) frames under cyclic loading is experimentally investigated. The geometrical and the reinforcement characteristics of the RC structural members of the frames represent typical old RC frame structure without consideration of seismic design criteria. The columns of the frames are vulnerable to shear failure under lateral load due to their low height-to-depth ratio and insufficient transverse reinforcement. The proposed Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) system comprises of specially manufactured autonomous portable devices that acquire the in-situ voltage frequency responses of a network of twenty piezoelectric transducers mounted to the RC frames. Measurements of external and internal small-sized piezoelectric patches are utilized for damage localization and assessment at various and increased damage levels as the magnitude of the imposed lateral cycle deformations increases. A bare RC frame and a strengthened one using a pair of steel crossed tension-ties (X-bracing) have been tested in order to check the sensitivity of the developed WiAMS in different structural conditions since crack propagation, damage locations and failure mode of the examined frames vary. Indeed, the imposed loading caused brittle shear failure to the column of the bare frame and the formation of plastic hinges at the beam ends of the X-braced frame. Test results highlighted the ability of the proposed SHM to identify incipient damages due to concrete cracking and steel yielding since promising early indication of the forthcoming critical failures before any visible sign has been obtained.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.16 no.3 s.49
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• pp.235-244
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• 2006

Granite cores were sampled within Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute and cyclic loadings up to 1550 cycles were applied. Microcrack development in samples due to cyclic loading was estimated using Acoustic Emission(AE) method. AE showed two different types depending on numbers of cycle. Type 1 appeared at low cycles and had low energy and diverse frequencies, while type 2 appeared at high cycles and had high energy and uniform frequency. AE property of type 1 indicates voids and pre-existing microcracks in samples may close or propagate up to certain length. Microcracks may be sheared or closed during loading and are recovered from shear or opened during unloading when AE of type 2 were measured. P wave velocities and Felicity ratios were measured at 50, 150, 350, 750, 1550 cycles. P wave velocities were almost the same regardless of number of cycles applied. However, Felicity ratios were much lower than 0.9, indicating that microcracks were developed within samples. This result indicates that Felicity ratio is a better tool than P wave velocity to estimate the damage of rock.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.81 no.3
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• pp.317-333
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• 2022

Visco-Plastic Damper (VPD) as a passive energy dissipation device with dual behavior has been recently numerically studied. It consists of two bent steel plates and segments with a viscoelastic solid material in between, combining and improving characteristics of both displacement-dependent and velocity-dependent devices. In order to trust the performance of VPD, for the 1st time this paper experimentally investigates prototype damper behavior under a wide range of frequency and amplitude of dynamic loading. A high-axial damping rubber is innovatively proposed as the viscoelastic layer designed to withstand large axial strains and dissipate energy accordingly. Test results confirmed all assumptions about VPD. The behavior of VPD subjected to low levels of excitation is elastic while with increasing levels of excitation, a significant source of energy dissipation is provided through the yielding of the steel elements in addition to the viscoelastic energy dissipation. The results showed energy dissipation of 99.35 kN.m under a dynamic displacement with 14.095 mm amplitude and 0.333 Hz frequency. Lateral displacement at the middle of the device was created with an amplification factor obtained ranging from 2.108 to 3.242 in the rubber block. Therefore, the energy dissipation of viscoelastic material of VPD was calculated 18.6 times that of the ordinary viscoelastic damper.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.84 no.6
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• pp.823-829
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• 2022

This study considered the experimental parameters (Nano-graphene oxide reinforced polycarbonate, GFRP) under low-velocity impact load and vibration analysis. The effect of nano-graphene oxide (NGO) on a polycarbonate-based composite was studied. Two test procedures were adopted to obtain experimental results, vibration analysis. The mechanical tests were performed on damaged and non-damaged specimens to determine the damaging effect on the composite specimens. After the test was carried out, the effect of NGO was measured and damping factors were ascertained experimentally. 0. 2 wt% NGO was determined as the optimum amount that best affected the Vibration Analysis. The experiments revealed that the composite's damping properties were increased by adding the nanoparticles to 0.25 wt% and decreased slightly for the specimens with the highest nanoparticles content. Cyclic sinus loading was applied at a frequency of 3.5 Hz. This paper study the frequency effect of 3.5khz frequency damage on mechanical results. Found that high frequency will worthlessly affect the fatigue life in NGO/polycarbonate composite. In 3.5 Hz frequency, it was chosen to decrease the heat by frequency. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) micrographs were used to investigate the distribution of NGO on the polycarbonate matrix and revealed a homogeneous mixture of nano-composites and strong bonding between NGO and the polycarbonate which increased the damping properties and decreased vibration. Finally, experimental modal analysis was conducted after the high-velocity impact damage process to investigate the defect on the NGO polycarbonate composites.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.3 no.5
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• pp.216-221
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• 2004

The operating experience showed that the fatigue is one of the major piping failure mechanisms in nuclear power plants (NPPs). The pressure and/or temperature loading transients, the vibration, and the mechanical cyclic loading during the plant operation may induce the fatigue failure in the nuclear piping. Recently, many fatigue piping failure occurred at the socket weld area have been widely reported. Many failure cases showed that the gap requirement between the pipe and fitting in the socket weld was not satisfied though the ASME Code Sec. III requires 1/16 inch gap in the socket weld. The ASME Code OM also limits the vibration level of the piping system, but some failure cases showed the limitation was not satisfied during the plant operation. In this paper, the fatigue behavior of the socket weld in the nuclear piping was estimated by using the three dimensional finite element method. The results are as follows. (1) The socket weld is susceptible to the vibration if the vibration levels exceed the requirement in the ASME Code OM. (2) The effect of the pressure or temperature transient load on the socket weld in NPPs is not significant because of the very low frequency of the transient during the plant lifetime operation. (3) 'No gap' is very risky to the socket weld integrity for the specific systems having the vibration condition to exceed the requirement in the ASME OM Code and/or the transient loading condition. (4) The reduction of the weld leg size from $1.09*t_1$ to $0.75*t_1$ can affect severely on the socket weld integrity.