• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.35 no.9
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• pp.939-946
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• 2011

In thermal power generation companies, the recycling of refined ash (LOI < 6%) obtained from a PC-firing furnace is beneficial for the companies, e.g., it can be used for making lightweight aggregates. However, ash having a high LOI, which cannot be reused, is still buried in the ground. To obtain refined ash, the re-burning of high-LOI ash (LOI > 6%) in a PC-firing furnace can be an alternative. In this study, a numerical analysis was performed to demonstrate the effects of ash re-burning. An experimental constant value was decided by TGA (thermo-gravimetric analysis), and a DTF (drop-tube furnace) was used in the experiment for calculating the combustion of ash. On the basis of the trajectory of the moving particles of coal and ash, it was concluded that supplying ash near the burner, which is located high above the ground, is appropriate. On the basis of numerical results, it was concluded that an ash supply rate of 6 ton/h is suitable for combustion, without affecting the PC-firing boiler.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.1-18
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• 2006

Strengthening of existing old structures has traditionally been accomplished by using conventional materials and techniques, viz., externally bonded steel plates, steel or concrete jackets, etc. Alternatively, fibre reinforced polymer composite (FRPC) products started being used to overcome problems associated with conventional materials in the mid 1950s because of their favourable engineering properties. Effectiveness of FRPC materials has been demonstrated through extensive experimental research throughout the world in the last two decades. However there is a need to use refined analytical tools to simulate response of strengthened system. In this paper, an attempt has been made to develop a numerical model of strengthened reinforced concrete (RC) beams with FRPC laminates. Material models for RC beams strengthened with FRPC laminates are described and verified through a nonlinear finite element (FE) commercial code, with the help of available experimental data. Three dimensional (3D) FE analysis has been performed by assuming perfect bonding between concrete and FRPC laminate. A parametric study has also been performed to examine effects of various parameters like fibre type, stirrup's spacing, etc. on the strengthening system. Through numerical simulation, it has been shown that it is possible to predict accurately the flexural response of RC beams strengthened with FRPC laminates by selecting an appropriate material constitutive model. Comparisons are made between the available experimental results in literature and FE analysis results obtained by the present investigators using load-deflection and load-strain plots as well as ultimate load of the strengthened beams. Furthermore, evaluation of crack patterns from FE analysis and experimental failure modes are discussed at the end.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.44 no.5
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• pp.721-740
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• 2022

In this paper, an accurate kinematic model has been developed to study the mechanical response of functionally graded (FG) sandwich beams, mainly covering the bending, buckling and free vibration problems. The studied structure with homogeneous hardcore and softcore is considered to be simply supported in the edges. The present model uses a new refined shear deformation beam theory (RSDBT) in which the displacement field is improved over the other existing high-order shear deformation beam theories (HSDBTs). The present model provides good accuracy and considers a nonlinear transverse shear deformation shape function, since it is constructed with only two unknown variables as the Euler-Bernoulli beam theory but complies with the shear stress-free boundary conditions on the upper and lower surfaces of the beam without employing shear correction factors. The sandwich beams are composed of two FG skins and a homogeneous core wherein the material properties of the skins are assumed to vary gradually and continuously in the thickness direction according to the power-law distribution of volume fraction of the constituents. The governing equations are drawn by implementing Hamilton's principle and solved by means of the Navier's technique. Numerical computations in the non-dimensional terms of transverse displacement, stresses, critical buckling load and natural frequencies obtained by using the proposed model are compared with those predicted by other beam theories to confirm the performance of the proposed theory and to verify the accuracy of the kinematic model.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.65 no.4
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• pp.453-464
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• 2018

In this paper, an efficient higher-order shear deformation theory is presented to analyze thermomechanical bending of temperature-dependent functionally graded (FG) plates resting on an elastic foundation. Further simplifying supposition are made to the conventional HSDT so that the number of unknowns is reduced, significantly facilitating engineering analysis. These theory account for hyperbolic distributions of the transverse shear strains and satisfy the zero traction boundary conditions on the surfaces of the plate without using shear correction factors. Power law material properties and linear steady-state thermal loads are assumed to be graded along the thickness. Nonlinear thermal conditions are imposed at the upper and lower surface for simply supported FG plates. Equations of motion are derived from the principle of virtual displacements. Analytical solutions for the thermomechanical bending analysis are obtained based on Fourier series that satisfy the boundary conditions (Navier's method). Non-dimensional results are compared for temperature-dependent FG plates and validated with those of other shear deformation theories. Numerical investigation is conducted to show the effect of material composition, plate geometry, and temperature field on the thermomechanical bending characteristics. It can be concluded that the present theory is not only accurate but also simple in predicting the thermomechanical bending responses of temperature-dependent FG plates.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.369-382
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• 2018

A free vibration analysis and wave propagation of functionally graded porous beams has been presented in this work using a high order hyperbolic shear deformation theory. Unlike other conventional shear deformation theories, a new displacement field that introduces indeterminate integral variables has been used to minimize the number of unknowns. The constituent materials of the beam are assumed gradually variable along the direction of height according to a simple power law distribution in terms of the volume fractions of the constituents. The variation of the pores in the direction of the thickness influences the mechanical properties. It is therefore necessary to predict the effect of porosity on vibratory behavior and wave velocity of FG beams in this study. A new function of the porosity factor has been developed. Hamilton's principle is used for the development of wave propagation equations in the functionally graded beam. The analytical dispersion relationship of the FG beam is obtained by solving an eigenvalue problem. Illustrative numerical examples are given to show the effects of volume fraction distributions, beam height, wave number, and porosity on free vibration and wave propagation in a functionally graded beam.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.51-64
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• 2021

This paper presents a high-order shear and normal deformation theory for the bending of FGM plates. The number of unknowns and governing equations of the present theory is reduced, and hence makes it simple to use. Unlike any other theory, the number of unknown functions involved in displacement field is only four, as against five or more in the case of other shear and normal deformation theories. Based on the novel shear and normal deformation theory, the position of neutral surface is determined and the governing equilibrium equations based on neutral surface are derived. There is no stretching-bending coupling effect in the neutral surface-based formulation, and consequently, the governing equations of functionally graded plates based on neutral surface have the simple forms as those of isotropic plates. Navier-type analytical solution is obtained for functionally graded plate subjected to transverse load for simply supported boundary conditions. The accuracy of the present theory is verified by comparing the obtained results with other quasi-3D higher-order theories reported in the literature. Other numerical examples are also presented to show the influences of the volume fraction distribution, geometrical parameters and power law index on the bending responses of the FGM plates are studied.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.11
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• pp.4146-4158
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• 2022

Ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) has been widely utilized in military and civil protective structures to resist intensive loadings attributed to its excellent properties, e.g., high tensile/compressive strength, high dynamic toughness and impact resistance. At present, aiming to improve the defects of the traditional vertical concrete cask (VCC), i.e., the external storage facility of spent fuel, with normal strength concrete (NSC) shield, e.g., heavy weight and difficult to fabricate/transform, the feasibility of UHPC applied in the shield of VCC is numerically examined considering its high radiation and corrosion resistance. Firstly, the finite element (FE) analyses approach and material model parameters of NSC and UHPC are verified based on the 1/3 scaled VCC tip-over test and drop hammer test on UHPC members, respectively. Then, the refined FE model of prototypical VCC is established and utilized to examine its dynamic behaviors and damage distribution in accidental tip-over and end-drop events, in which the various influential factors, e.g., UHPC shield thickness, concrete ground thickness, and sealing methods of steel container are considered. In conclusion, by quantitatively evaluating the safety of VCC in terms of the shield damage and vibrations, it is found that adopting the 300 mm-thick UHPC shield instead of the conventional 650 mm-thick NSC shield can reduce about 1/3 of the total weight of VCC, i.e., about 50 t, and 37% floor space, as well as guarantee the structural integrity of VCC during the accidental drop simultaneously. Besides, based on the parametric analyses, the thickness of concrete ground in the VCC storage site is recommended as less than 500 mm, and the welded connection is recommended for the sealing method of steel containers.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.143-152
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• 2015

In this study, we aim to design the architecture of the kV imaging system for tumor tracking in the dual-head gantry system and analyze its accuracy by simulations. We established mathematical formulas and algorithms to track the tumor position with the two-pair kV imaging systems when they are in the non-orthogonal positions. The algorithms have been designed in the homogeneous coordinate framework and the position of the source and the detector coordinates are used to estimate the tumor position. 4D XCAT (4D extended cardiac-torso) software was used in the simulation to identify the influence of the angle between the two-pair kV imaging systems and the resolution of the detectors to the accuracy in the position estimation. A metal marker fiducial has been inserted in a numerical human phantom of XCAT and the kV projections were acquired at various angles and resolutions using CT projection software of the XCAT. As a result, a positional accuracy of less than about 1mm was achieved when the resolution of the detector is higher than 1.5 mm/pixel and the angle between the kV imaging systems is approximately between $90^{\circ}$ and $50^{\circ}$. When the resolution is lower than 1.5 mm/pixel, the positional errors were higher than 1mm and the error fluctuation by the angles was greater. The resolution of the detector was critical in the positional accuracy for the tumor tracking and determines the range for the acceptable angle range between the kV imaging systems. Also, we found that the positional accuracy analysis method using XCAT developed in this study is highly useful and will be a invaluable tool for further refined design of the kV imaging systems for tumor tracking systems.