• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.5 no.6
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• pp.681-697
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• 2009

Limited, noisy data in vibration testing is a hindrance to the development of structural damage detection. This paper presents a method for optimizing sensor placement and performing damage detection using finite element model updating. Sensitivity analysis of the modal flexibility matrix determines the optimal sensor locations for collecting information on structural damage. The optimal sensor locations require the instrumentation of only a limited number of degrees of freedom. Using noisy modal data from only these limited sensor locations, a method based on model updating and changes in the flexibility matrix successfully determines the location and severity of the imposed damage in numerical simulations. In addition, a steel cantilever beam experiment performed in the laboratory that considered the effects of model error and noise tested the validity of the method. The results show that the proposed approach effectively and robustly detects structural damage using limited, optimal sensor information.

• Journal of Ship and Ocean Technology
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.26-39
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• 2004

A vessel/mooring/riser coupled dynamic analysis program in time domain is developed for the global motion simulation of a turret-moored, tanker based FPSO designed for 6000-ft water depth. The vessel global motions and mooring tension are simulated for the non-parallel wind-wave-current 100-year hurricane condition in the Gulf of Mexico. The wind and current forces and moments are estimated from the OCIMF empirical data base for the given loading condition. The numerical results are compared with the OTRC(Offshore Technology Research Center: Model Basin for Offshore Platforms in Texas A&M University) 1:60 model-testing results with truncated mooring system. The system's stiffness and line tension as well as natural periods and damping obtained from the OTRC measurement are checked through numerically simulated static-offset and free-decay tests. The global vessel motion simulations in the hurricane condition were conducted by varying lateral and longitudinal hull drag coefficients, different mooring and riser set up, and wind-exposed areas to better understand the sensitivity of the FPSO responses against empirical parameters. It is particularly stressed that the dynamic mooring tension can be greatly underestimated when truncated mooring system is used.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.615-626
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• 2019

Lightweight concrete (LWC) provides an attractive alternative to conventional piles by improving the durability of deep foundations. In this paper, the drivability of cylindrical and tapered piles made of lightweight and common concrete (CC) under hammer impacts was investigated by performing field tests and numerical analysis. The different concrete mixtures were considered to compare the mechanical properties of light aggregate which replaced instead of the natural aggregate. Driving tests were also conducted on different piles to determine how the pile material and geometric configurations affect driving performance. The results indicated that the tapering shape has an appropriate effect on the drivability of piles and although lower driving stresses are induced in the LWC tapered pile, their final penetration rate was more than that of CC cylindrical pile under hammer impact. Also by analyzing wave propagation in the different rods, it was concluded that the LWC piles with greater velocity than others had better performance in pile driving phenomena. Furthermore, LWC piles can be driven more easily into the ground than cylindrical concrete piles sometimes up to 50% lower hammer impacts and results in important energy saving.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.68 no.5
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• pp.537-547
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• 2018

This research presents the effect of anisotropy of the hollow disc mode under Brazilian test using PFC3D. The Brazilian tensile strength test was performed on the hollow disc specimens containing the bedding layers and then these specimens were numerically modeled by using the two dimensional discrete element code (PFC3D) to calibrate this computer code for the simulation of the cracks propagation and cracks coalescence in the anisotropic bedded rocks. The thickness of each layer within the specimens varied as 5 mm, 10 mm and 20 mm and the layers angles were changed as $0^{\circ}$, $25^{\circ}$, $50^{\circ}$, $75^{\circ}$ and $90^{\circ}$. The diameter of internal hole was taken as 15 mm and the loading rate during the testing process kept as 0.016 mm/s. It has been shown that for layers angles below $25^{\circ}$ the tensile cracks produce in between the layers and extend toward the model boundary till interact and break the specimen. The failure process of the specimen may enhance as the layer angle increases so that the Brazilian tensile strength reaches to its minimum value when the bedding layers is between $50^{\circ}$ and $75^{\circ}$ but its value reaches to maximum at a layer angle of $90^{\circ}$. The number of tensile cracks decreases as the layers thickness increases and with increasing the layers angle, less layer mobilize in the failure process.

• International Journal of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.409-421
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• 2019

Investigation of hydroelastic responses of high-speed vessels in irregular sea state is of major interest in naval applications. A three dimensional nonlinear time-domain hydroelastic method in oblique irregular waves is developed, in which the nonlinear hydrostatic restoring force caused by instantaneous wetted surface and slamming force are considered. In order to solve the two technical problems caused by irregular sea state, the time-domain retardation function and Proportional, Integral and Derivative (PID) autopilot model are applied respectively. Besides, segmented model tests of a high-speed trimaran in oblique waves are performed. An oblique wave testing system for trimarans is designed and assembled. The measured results of main hull and cross-decks are analyzed, and the differences in distribution of load responses between trimarans and monohull ships are discussed. Finally, from the comparisons, it is confirmed that the present concept for dealing with nonlinear hydroelastic responses of ships in oblique irregular waves is reliable and accurate.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.453-469
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• 2021

The cracking at the transverse diaphragm cutout is one of the most severe fatigue failures threatening orthotropic steel decks (OSDs), whose mechanisms and crack treatment techniques have not been fully studied. In this paper, full-scale experiments were first performed to investigate the fatigue performance of polished cutouts involving the effect of an artificial geometrical defect. Following this, comparative experimental testing for defective cutouts strengthened with carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) was carried out. Numerical finite element analysis was also performed to verify and explain the experimental observations. Results show that the combinative effect of the wheel load and thermal residual stress constitutes the external driving force for the fatigue cracking of the cutout. Initial geometrical defects are confirmed as a critical factor affecting the fatigue cracking. The principal stress 6 mm away from the free edge of the cutout can be adopted as the nominal stress of the cutout during fatigue evaluation, and the fatigue resistance of polished cutouts is higher than Grade A in AASHTO specification. The bonded CFRP system is highly effective in extending the fatigue life of the defective cutouts. The present study provides some new insights into the fatigue evaluation and repair of OSDs.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.413-422
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• 2019

In this study, 3D Meso-scale finite-element model is presented to study the mechanical behavior of steel microfiber-reinforced polymer concrete considering the random distribution of fibers in the matrix. The composite comprises two separate parts which are the polymer composite and steel microfibers. The polymer composite is assumed to be homogeneous, which its mechanical properties are measured by performing experimental tests. The steel microfiber-polymer bonding is simulated with the Cohesive Zone Model (CZM) to offer more-realistic assumptions. The CZM parameters are obtained by calibrating the numerical model using the results of the experimental pullout tests on an individual microfiber. The accuracy of the results is validated by comparing the obtained results with the corresponding values attained from testing the steel microfiber-reinforced polymer concrete incorporating 0, 1 and 2% by volume of microfibers, which indicates the excellent accuracy of the current proposed model. The results show that the microfiber aspect ratio has a considerable effect on the mechanical properties of the reinforced polymer concrete. Applying microfibers with a higher aspect ratio improves the mechanical properties of the composite considerably especially when the first crack appears in the polymer concrete specimens.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.76 no.6
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• pp.675-685
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• 2020

As the classical response surface method (RSM), the polynomial RSM is so easy-to-apply that it is widely used in reliability analysis. However, the trade-off of accuracy and efficiency is still a challenge and the "curse of dimension" usually confines RSM to low dimension systems. In this paper, based on the univariate decomposition, the polynomial RSM is executed in a new mode, called as DPRSM. The general form of DPRSM is given and its implementation is designed referring to the classical RSM firstly. Then, in order to balance the accuracy and efficiency of DPRSM, its adaptive order revision around the most probable point (MPP) is proposed by introducing the univariate polynomial order analysis, noted as RDPRSM, which can analyze the exact nonlinearity of the limit state surface in the region around MPP. For testing the proposed techniques, several numerical examples are studied in detail, and the results indicate that DPRSM with low order can obtain similar results to the classical RSM, DPRSM with high order can obtain more precision with a large efficiency loss; RDPRSM can perform a good balance between accuracy and efficiency and preserve the good robustness property meanwhile, especially for those problems with high nonlinearity and complex problems; the proposed methods can also give a good performance in the high-dimensional cases.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Industry Convergence
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• v.24 no.4_2
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• pp.443-451
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• 2021

It is essential to examine and analyze the power output and load responses together using real-world turbulent wind speeds. In this paper, the power controller and the drive train damper are simultaneously considered using the NREL 5MW wind turbine model, and the damage equivalent load(DEL) of the low speed shaft torque and power output responses according to the natural frequency of the second order low pass filter are simultaneously investigated. Numerical testing is carried out above rated wind speed using commercially available Bladed software. From the viewpoints of DEL reduction of the drive train shaft torque and power output responses, it is shown that the natural frequency of the low pass filter is appropriately about 6 to 10rad/s. And the reduction ratio of the DEL of the low-speed shaft torque decreases as the wind speed becomes higher, and it is confirmed that the reduction ratio is limited to about 20% at high wind speeds.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Industry Convergence
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.55-60
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• 2022

This study conducted the measurements of air flow rate for blower systems with experiment and numerical. A new airflow rate test method is suggested, with which it is possible to accurate measurements and calculate the air flow rate for blower systems. The blower(axial fan) is an industrial fluid machine device that supplies a large amount of air by driving an impeller with an electric motor, and it is widely used throughout the industry such as steel, power plant, chemical, semiconductor, LC D, food, and cement. The airflow from the blower is for exchanging the heat in the cooling unit or heat exchanger. The temperature of coolants and hydraulic oil primarily depends on the amount of airflow rate through the cooling package so its accurate estimation is very important. Moreover, it required a larger investment in time and cost since it could not be executed until the system is actually made. Therefore, this research is intended to examine the phenomenon of air flow pattern when testing air flow rate, suggested new test method, and show the result of the validation test.