• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.39-55
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• 1992

In this research, a Three Level Decomposition technique has been developed for configuration design optimization of truss structures. In the first level, as design variables, behavior variables are used and the strain energy has been treated as the cost function to be maximized so that the truss structure can absorb maximum energy. For design constraint of the optimal design problem, allowable stress, buckling stress, and displacement under multi-loading conditions are considered. In the second level, design problem is formulated using the cross-sectional area as the design variable and the weight of the truss structure as the cost function. As for the design constraint, the equilibrium equation with the optimal displacement obtained in the first level is used. In the third level, the nodal point coordinates of the truss structure are used as coordinating variable and the weight has been taken as the cost function. An advantage of the Three Level Decomposition technique is that the first and second level design problems are simple because they are linear programming problems. Moreover, the method is efficient because it is not necessary to carry out time consuming structural analysis and techniques for sensitivity analysis during the design optimization process. By treating the nodal point coordinates as design variables, the third level becomes unconstrained optimal design problems which is easier to solve. Moreover, by using different convergence criteria at each level of design problem, improved convergence can be obtained. The proposed technique has been tested using four different truss structures to yield almost identical optimum designs in the literature with efficient convergence rate regardless of constraint types and configuration of truss structures.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.109-122
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• 1983

An accurate thick beam element (TB4) which includes the effects of the shear deformation and rotatory inertia has been degenerated from the three dimensional continuum by employing the Timoshenko beam assumptions. The proposed TB4 element has four nodes and two degrees of freedom at each node, totally eight degrees of freedom. The transverse deflection W and plane rotation ${\theta}$ with the cubic interpolation functions are selected as nodal variables. The element characteristics are formulated by discretizing the beam equations of motion, using the Galerkin weighted residual method, and are numerically integrated by the reduced shear integration technique, using the three-point Gauss quadrature with the various shear coefficients. Several numerical examples are analyzed to demonstrate the accuracy and the monotonic convergence behavior of the proposed TB4 beam element. The result indicates that the TB4 element shows the more excellent performance and the monotonic convergence behavior than the other existing Timoshenko beam type elements for the whole range of the beam aspect ratios, in both static and free vibration analyses.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.395-399
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• 2017

The LPI fuel filter housings used in automobiles were made from conventional die castings but have recently been developed by cold forging to improve the weight and durability. On the other hand, a sink may develop at the core of the forged product due to the resulting T-shape, which not only reduces the aesthetics, but also increases the post-processing cost of the product. Therefore, this research focused on methods to predict and mitigate sink development and progression during the T-shape forging process. Finite element analysis of the forging process was first performed to determine the optimal initial workpiece devoid of burrs and underfills. An accurate sink prediction was then obtained via metal flow analysis, which was a result of the finite element simulation. Through finite element analysis, it was confirmed that sink development is a product of the differences in nodal velocities arising from the T-shaped forging process. Consequently, a pad was inserted beneath the sink to minimize these velocity differences. The results yielded significant improvement with regard to the sink defect. This method was practically applied to an industrial site to validate the sink improvement.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.19 no.8
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• pp.71-77
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• 2018

In order to estimate behavior of soil mass which is located straight up of reinforced concrete culvert, Ritz method and FEM were applied and arching effects between the soil mass and adjacent soil were considered for the analyses. Analysis results obtained from the Ritz method and finite element method were compared with analytical solution. In the case of estimating nodal forces considered in FEM, caution is needed that shear stress depending on depth from ground surface should be reflected regardless of local coordinate system. Comparing the displacements computed from Ritz method with those of the analytic solution, it is seen that as the power of assumed displacement function increases, differences between the computed displacements and those of analytic solution decreases. It seems that displacements of FEM becomes closer to those of analytical solution as the number of elements are increased. It is seen that stresses computed from the Ritz method don't get closer to those of the analytic solution as the power of assumed displacement function. Stresses from FEM become closer to those of analytic solution as the number of elements are increased. Comparing the analysis results from the Ritz method and FEM with those of analytic solution, it can be seen that FEM is more reliable than Ritz method.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.22
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• pp.9599-9602
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• 2014

Background: Postoperative adjuvant radiotherapy (RT) in the management of early stage endometrial cancer (EC) is still controversial. Here we report our institutional experience with patients who received postoperative RT for stage I-II EC over a period of 35 years and assess potential predictors of local recurrence (LR), distant metastasis (DM), and overall survival (OS). Materials and Methods: A total of 188 patients undergoing postoperative RT for stage IA-II EC between 1977 and 2012 were evaluated. Some 96 received median 46 Gy whole pelvic radiotherapy (WPRT) (range: 40-60 Gy), 37 were given WPRT with vaginal cuff therapy (VCT), and 55 received only VCT either with brachytherapy (BT) or stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT). Chemotherapy was given to 5 patients with uterine papillary serous carcinoma (UPSC). Logistic regression analysis was used to assess the effect of clinicopathological factors on LR, DM, and OS. Results: Median follow-up time was 11 years (range: 1-35 years). At the time of analysis, 34 patients were not alive. Of the 15 patients with LR, 7 (46.7%) recurred in the vaginal stump, 5 (33.3%) in the pelvic region, and 3 (20%) in the paraaortic nodal region, while 12 had distant metastasis. UPSC histology (p=0.027), sole VCT (p=0.041), high histologic grade (p=0.034), and age ${\geq}71$ (p=0.04) were poor prognostic factors on univariate analysis. Conclusions: In our patients receiving radiotherapy for early-stage EC, grade III disease and age ${\geq}71$ were associated with shorter OS whereas UPSC histology was an independent predictor for both LR and DM.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.181-190
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• 2011

Purpose: Thoracic radiotherapy is a major treatment modality of stage III non-small cell lung cancer. The normal lung tissue is sensitive to radiation and radiation pneumonitis is the most important dose-limiting complication of thoracic radiation therapy. This study was performed to identify the clinical and dosimetric parameters related to the risk of radiation pneumonitis after definitive radiotherapy in stage III non-small cell cancer patients. Materials and Methods: The medical records were reviewed for 49 patients who completed definitive radiation therapy for locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer from August 2000 to February 2010. Radiation therapy was delivered with the daily dose of 1.8 Gy to 2.0 Gy and the total radiation dose ranged from 50.0 Gy to 70.2 Gy (median, 61.2 Gy). Elective nodal irradiation was delivered at a dose of 45.0 Gy to 50.0 Gy. Seven patients (14.3%) were treated with radiation therapy alone and forty two patients (85.7%) were treated with chemotherapy either sequentially or concurrently. Results: Twenty-five cases (51.0%) out of 49 cases experienced radiation pneumonitis. According to the radiation pneumonitis grade, 10 (20.4%) were grade 1, 9 (18.4%) were grade 2, 4 (8.2%) were grade 3, and 2 (4.1%) were grade 4. In the univariate analyses, no clinical factors including age, sex, performance status, smoking history, underlying lung disease, tumor location, total radiation dose and chemotherapy were associated with grade ${\geq}2$ radiation pneumonitis. In the subgroup analysis of the chemotherapy group, concurrent rather than sequential chemotherapy was significantly related to grade ${\geq}2$ radiation pneumonitis comparing sequential chemotherapy. In the univariate analysis with dosimetric factors, mean lung dose (MLD), $V_{20}$, $V_{30}$, $V_{40}$, MLDipsi, $V_{20}$ipsi, $V_{30}$ipsi, and $V_{40}$ipsi were associated with grade ${\geq}2$ radiation pneumonitis. In addition, multivariate analysis showed that MLD and V30 were independent predicting factors for grade ${\geq}2$ radiation pneumonitis. Conclusion: Concurrent chemotherapy, MLD and $V_{30}$ were statistically significant predictors of grade ${\geq}2$ radiation pneumonitis in patients with stage III non-small cell lung cancer undergoing definitive radiotherapy. The cutoff values for MLD and $V_{30}$ were 16 Gy and 18%, respectively.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.65-69
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• 2015

Background: To evaluate the impact of adding taxanes to anthracycline-based regimens in the adjuvant setting in localized young female breast cancer patients on the overall survival (OS) and the disease free survival (DFS). Materials and Methods: This retrospective study included all female breast cancer patients who were candidates for adjuvant chemotherapy presenting to Kasr Al Ainy centre of clinical oncology and Cairo oncology centre (Cairo Cure) in the period from January 2005 till December 2010. Results: Our study included 865 patients, 732 of whom received anthracycline based regimens and 133 taxane based regimens. The mean age of patients was 39 years. After a median follow up of 50 months the median DFS was 48.4 months. Survival analysis indicated that the tumor size (>5cm vs. <5cm) p=0.001), nodal involvement (Yes vs. No) p=0.0001) and pathology (invasive lobular vs. ductal) p=0.048) affected DFS. As regards hormonal status, ER, PR and HER 2neu positive patients had longer DFS (p=0.001, 0.003, 0.106). On multivariate analysis DFS was affected by tumor size and lymph node involvement (p=0.014, 0.007). Subgroup analysis showed improvement in arms treated with taxanes in terms of DFS with positive Her2neu, ER and PR, but this was not statistically significant. Conclusions: Adding adjuvant taxanes to anthracyclines is beneficial for treatment of localized breast cancer among all subgroups, especially higher risk groups. The type of adjuvant chemotherapy regimens and tumor characteristics have direct effects on DFS.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.155-161
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• 2013

Purpose: To evaluate the treatment outcomes of preoperative versus postoperative concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CRT) on locally advanced rectal cancer. Materials and Methods: Medical data of 114 patients with locally advanced rectal cancer treated with CRT preoperatively (54 patients) or postoperatively (60 patients) from June 2003 to April 2011 was analyzed retrospectively. 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) or a precursor of 5-FU-based concurrent CRT (median, 50.4 Gy) and total mesorectal excision were conducted for all patients. The median follow-up duration was 43 months (range, 16 to 118 months). The primary end point was disease-free survival (DFS). The secondary end points were overall survival (OS), locoregional control, toxicity, and sphincter preservation rate. Results: The 5-year DFS rate was 72.1% and 48.6% for the preoperative and postoperative CRT group, respectively (p = 0.05, the univariate analysis; p = 0.10, the multivariate analysis). The 5-year OS rate was not significantly different between the groups (76.2% vs. 69.0%, p = 0.23). The 5-year locoregional control rate was 85.2% and 84.7% for the preoperative and postoperative CRT groups (p = 0.98). The sphincter preservation rate of low-lying tumor showed significant difference between both groups (58.1% vs. 25.0%, p = 0.02). Pathologic tumor and nodal down-classification occurred after the preoperative CRT (53.7% and 77.8%, both p < 0.001). Acute and chronic toxicities were not significantly different between both groups (p=0.10 and p = 0.62, respectively). Conclusion: The results confirm that preoperative CRT can be advantageous for improving down-classification rate and the sphincter preservation rate of low-lying tumor in rectal cancer.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.28 no.6A
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• pp.789-798
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• 2008

The stiffness method provides a framework to calculate the structural deformations directly from solving the equilibrium state. However, to use the displacement shape functions leads to approximate estimation of stiffness matrix and resisting forces, and accordingly results in a low accuracy. The conventional flexibility method uses the relation between sectional forces and nodal forces in which the equilibrium is always satisfied over all sections along the element. However, the determination of the element resisting forces is not so straightforward. In this study, a new fiber finite element mixed method has been developed for nonlinear anaysis of steel-concrete composite structures in the context of a standard finite element analysis program. The proposed method applies the Newton method based on the load control and uses the incremental secant stiffness method which is computationally efficient and stable. Also, the method is employed to analyze the steel-concrete composite structures, and the analysis results are compared with those obtained by ABAQUS. The comparison shows that the proposed method consistently well predicts the nonlinear behavior of the composite structures, and gives good efficiency.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.83 no.3
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• pp.620-631
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• 2022

Purpose This study aimed to investigate the diagnostic performance of features suggestive of nodal metastasis on preoperative MRI in patients with invasive breast cancer. Materials and Methods We retrospectively reviewed the preoperative breast MRI of 192 consecutive patients with surgically proven invasive breast cancer. We analyzed MRI findings of axillary lymph nodes with regard to the size, long/short ratio, cortical thickness, shape and margin of the cortex, loss of hilum, asymmetry, signal intensity (SI) on T2-weighted images (T2WI), degree of enhancement in the early phase, and enhancement kinetics. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, chi-square test, t test, and McNemar's test were used for statistical analysis. Results Increased shorter diameter, uneven cortical shape, increased cortical thickness, loss of hilum, asymmetry, irregular cortical margin, and low SI on T2WI were significantly suggestive of metastasis. ROC analysis revealed the cutoff value for the shorter diameter and cortical thickness as 8.05 mm and 2.75 mm, respectively. Increased cortical thickness (> 2.75 mm) and uneven cortical shape showed significantly higher sensitivity than other findings in McNemar's test. Irregular cortical margins showed the highest specificity (100%). Conclusion Cortical thickness > 2.75 mm and uneven cortical shape are more sensitive parameters than other findings, and an irregular cortical margin is the most specific parameter for predicting axillary metastasis in patients with invasive breast cancer.