• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.85-93
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• 2011

The purpose of this study was to establish the reliability and validity of the passive lumbar extension (PLE) test and prone instability test (PIT). Thirty-three subjects (14 males, 19 females) with lower back pain enrolled in the study and the subjects were divided into 2 groups (positive and negative instability groups) on the basis of radiographies of flexion and extension. Reliability was determined by the kappa coefficient and validity was examined using calculated sensitivity, specificity, and the likelihood ratio. The results showed that the reliability of the PLE test was higher than the PIT (intra-rater reliability: k=.86 and k=.81, interrater reliability: k=.65 and k=.62) and the validity of the PLE test was also higher than the PIT (sensitivity: 91% and 62%, specificity: 95% and 85% positive likelihood ratio: 20.00 and 4.10, negative likelihood ratio: .10 and .45). In conclusion, we think that the PLE test was a more reliable and valid method for lumbar instability than the PIT.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Machine Tool Engineers
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.77-82
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• 2008

This paper presents a Reliability-Based Topology Optimization(RBTO) using the Evolutionary Structural Optimization(ESO). An actual design involves some uncertain conditions such as material property, operational load and dimensional variation. The Deterministic Topology Optimization(DTO) is obtained without considering the uncertainties related to the uncertainty parameters. However, the RBTO can consider the uncertainty variables because it has the probabilistic constraints. In order to determine whether the probabilistic constraints are satisfied or not, simulation techniques and approximation methods are developed. In this paper, the reliability index approach(RIA) is adopted to evaluate the probabilistic constraints. In order to apply the ESO method to the RBTO, sensitivity number is defined as the change in the reliability index due to the removal of the ith element. Numerical examples are presented to compare the DTO with the RBTO.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.263-274
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• 2011

A reliability-based slope stability assessment method considering fluctuations in the monitored matric suction was proposed for real-time identification of slope risk. The assessment model was based on the limit equilibrium model for infinite slope failure. The first-order reliability method (FORM) was adopted to calculate the probability of slope failure, and results of the model were compared with Monte-Carlo Simulation (MCS) results to validate the accuracy and efficiency of the model. The analysis shows that a model based on Advanced First-Order Reliability Method (AFORM) generates results that are in relatively good agreement with those of the MCS, using a relatively small number of function calls. The contribution of random variables to the slope reliability index was also examined using sensitivity analysis. The results of sensitivity analysis indicate that the effective cohesion c' is a significant variable at low values of mean matric suction, whereas matric suction ($u_a-u_w$) is the most influential factor at high mean suction values. Finally, the reliability indices of an unsaturated model soil slope, which was monitored by a wireless matric suction measurement system, were illustrated as 2D images using the suggested probabilistic model.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.52 no.9
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• pp.1983-1989
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• 2020

The human reliability analysis is a method by which, in general terms, the human impact to the safety and risk of a nuclear power plant operation can be modelled, quantified and analysed. It is an indispensable element of the PSA process within the nuclear industry nowadays. The paper herein presents a sensitivity study of the human reliability analysis performed on a real nuclear power plant-specific probabilistic safety assessment model. The analysis is performed on a pre-selected set of post-initiator operator actions. The purpose of the study is to investigate the impact of these operator actions on the plant risk by altering their corresponding human error probabilities in a wide spectrum. The results direct the fact that the future effort should be focused on maintaining the current human reliability level, i.e. not letting it worsen, rather than improving it.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2007.05a
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• pp.1712-1717
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• 2007

This paper presents a derating design approach for reliability improvement of an aluminum electrolytic capacitor. The capacitor, usually mounted in a printed circuit board, is used to stabilize the circuit. The main failure mechanism of interest is dry-up of the electrolyte that is mainly caused by two stresses-temperature and voltage. The lifetime under these stresses is modeled as a function of these stresses and time using accelerated life testing. Quantitative variation in the lifetime, according to variations in these stresses, is investigated to perform the derating design of the capacitor so that the stress levels are selected to achieve required reliability measures for reliability improvement. Moreover, sensitivity analysis shows which stress would be a more important factor determining the lifetime.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2007.05a
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• pp.1760-1765
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• 2007

This paper shows a derating design approach for LED reliability improvement. The LED is widely used in display devices or circuits. The main failure of interest is defined as 100% reduction of the light output intensity of LED resulting from corrosion due to stresses, i.e. temperature and humidity. The lifetime is varied according to the stress levels under where the LED operates so that correlation of the lifetime to these stress levels over time is modeled through accelerated life testings. A derating design approach to accomplish a required reliability level of LED is proposed to determine adequate the stress levels. In the approach, $B_{10}$ life, Failure rate, Sensitivity Analysis of LED are used as a reliability metric.

• Journal of Applied Reliability
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.387-398
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• 2011

$217Plus^{TM}$, a newly developed as a surrogate of the MIL-HDBK-217, may be widely applied for reliability predictions of electronic systems. In this study, we performed sensitivity study of the $217Plus^{TM}$ system model to various parameters. Specific attention was put to logistics model and its behavior has been examined in terms of non-component failure causes. We first briefly explained the $217Plus^{TM}$ methodology with system level failure rate evaluation. We then applied experimental designs with several failure causes as factors. We used an orthogonal array with three levels of each parameter. Our results indicate that cannot duplicate, induced, and wear-out causes have dominant effects on the system failures and design, parts, and system management have much less but a little strong effects. The results in this study not only figure out the behavior of the predicted failure rate as functions of failure causes but provide meaningful guidelines for practical applications.

• KIEE International Transactions on Power Engineering
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• v.5A no.4
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• pp.322-330
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• 2005

This paper proposes methods to incorporate station related aging failures in composite system reliability assessment. Aging failures of station components, such as circuit breakers and bus bars, are a major concern in composite power system planning and operation as an increasing number of station components approach the wear-out phase. This paper presents probabilistic models for circuit breakers involving aging failures and relevant evaluation techniques to examine the effects of station related aging outages. The technique developed to incorporate station related aging failures are illustrated by application to a small composite test system. The paper illustrates the effects of circuit breaker aging outages on bulk system reliability evaluation and examines the relative effects of variations in component age. System sensitivity analysis is illustrated by varying selected component parameters. The results show the implications of including component aging failure considerations in the overall analysis of a composite system.

• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers A
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• v.55 no.11
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• pp.476-484
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• 2006

The failure prediction and preventive maintenance for the equipment of nuclear power plant area using reliability-centered maintenance have been grown. On the other hand, the maintenance for power distribution system consists of time-based maintenance mainly. In this paper, the new maintenance algorithms for power distribution system are developed considering reliability indices. First of all, Time-varying failure rates are extracted from data accumulated at KEPCO using exponential distribution function and weibull distribution function. Next, based on the extracted failure rate, reliability for real power distribution system is evaluated for applying the effective maintenance algorithm which is the analytic method deciding the maintenance point of time and searching the feeder affecting the specific customer. Also the algorithm deciding the maintenance priority order are presented based on sensitivity analysis and equipment investment plan are analyzed through the presented algorithm at real power distribution system.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Systems Engineering
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2020

In this paper we proposed to develop the reliability growth planning for the One-shot system using the PM2-Discrete model. The PM2-Discrete is the methodology specifically developed for discrete systems and is the first quantitative method available for formulating detailed plans in the discrete usage domain. First, the parameters RG, RI, T, MS and d of the PM2-Discrete model are set. Second, the case analysis was performed on One-shot system A. Third, the input parameter values were applied to drive the R(t) equation. Finally, using RGA 11 Software, the reliability Growth Planning Curve of One-shot system A was constructed. Also, the sensitivity analyses are performed for the changes of model parameters. The results of this study can be usefully used in establishing the reliability growth planning curve of the One-shot system.