• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
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• 1995.04a
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• pp.345-349
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• 1995

Although heterogeneous materials consisted of micro-constituents are complicated, it is possible to evaulate effective elastic moduli by using micro-mechanics models. In order to evaluate effective elastic moduli of concrete, all aggregates in a representative volume element(RVE) are assumed spherical and randomly distributed. A dilute distribution of inclusions is considered first, and the corresponding overall elastic moduli of the RVE are estimated. Then, the self-consistent method is used in order to take into account the interaction effects. The elastic moduli of concrete are calculated using the models and compared with those of experiment for different volume fractions of the aggregates and elastic moduli of the mortar and the aggregates.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.59-72
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• 2022

This study employed a 3-D numerical analysis based on the distinct element method to estimate the strength and deformability of a Cretaceous biotite granitic rock mass at Gijang, Busan, Korea. A workflow was proposed to evaluate the scale effect and the representative elementary volume (REV) of mechanical properties for fractured rock masses. Directional strength and deformability parameters such as block strength, deformation modulus, shear modulus, and bulk modulus were estimated for a discrete fracture network (DFN) in a cubic block the size of the REV. The size of the mechanical REV for fractured rock masses in the study area was determined to be a 15 m cube. The mean block strength and mean deformation modulus of the DFN cube block were found to be 52.8% and 57.7% of the intact rock's strength and Young's modulus, respectively. A constitutive model was derived for the study area that describes the linear-elastic and orthotropic mechanical behavior of the rock mass. The model is expected to help evaluate the stability of tunnels and underground spaces through equivalent continuum analysis.

• Composites Research
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2012

In order to predict the thermoelastic behavior of porous composites, poroelastic parameters are measured by using micromechanics-based finite element models. The expanding deformation caused by pore pressure, and the degradation of homogenized elastic moduli with pores are calculated for the assessment of the poroelastic parameters. Various representative volume elements considering the shape, size, and array pattern of pores are modeled and analyzed by a finite element method. The effects of porosity and material anisotropy, and the distribution of stain energy density are investigated carefully. In addition, the measured poroelastic parameters are verified by predicting the thermo-pore-elastic behavior of carbon/phenolic composites.

• Geotechnical Engineering
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.147-164
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• 1997

This study has the assumption that scale effects in rock mass properties are atrributed to the discontinuous and inhomogeneous nature of rock masses. In order to escape the general equivalent material approach applied to the concept of representative volume element, this study presents the new method considering irregular i oink geometry and arbitrary numbers of i oink and arbitrary joint orientations. Based on the theoretical approach, this theory is applied to a real engineering project. Showing the property variations with size of rock mass element, various numerical experiments about scale effect are conducted. Particularly, to prove the adequacy of the verification process in scale effect with nomerical method, and to investigate the detailed source of scale effect, 4 models with increas ins number of joints are tested. On the basis of the experimental results, the test results of scale effects in 3-D rock mass are presented. From these experiments the effects of the mechanical properties of rock joints on the scale effects in rock mass strength and elastic constants are discussed. To verify the mechanism of scale effects in jointed rock mass, two models with different j oink geometries are studied.

• Composites Research
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.42-49
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• 2003

Brittle matrix composites often have interfacial debonding between the fiber and matrix which may lead to strength and stiffness degradation. The effect of interfacial debonding and fiber volume fraction on the mechanical properties of composite material were studied by using finite element method. Firstly, the modelling of fiber and matrix constituting the composite material was simplified under some assumptions. Traction and displacement continuity conditions were imposed along the boundary of adjacent representative volume elements. In order to obtain the effective material properties of composite material, stiffness constants were inverted. Numerical values of longitudinal moduli in case of perfect bonding were compared with theoretical values obtained by rule of mixtures and yielded consistency. Material properties of composite with large debonding an81e were found to decrease even though the fiber volume fraction increased.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.12 no.5
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• pp.579-594
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• 2013

A new enthalpy - based procedure for the homogenization of the electromechanical material parameters of composite piezoelectric modules with integrated electrodes is presented. It is based on a finite element (FE) modeling of the latter's representative volume element (RVE). In contrast to most previously published homogenization approaches that are based on averaged quantities, the presented method uses a direct evaluation of the electromechanical enthalpy. Hence, for the linear orthotropic piezoelectric composite behavior full set of elastic, piezoelectric, and dielectric material parameters, 17 load cases (LC) are used where each load case leads directly to one material parameter. This gives the possibility to elaborate a very strict and easy to program processing. In conjunction with the 17 LC, the enthalpy - based homogenization is particularly suitable for laminated composite piezoelectric modules with integrated electrodes. In this case, the electric load has to be given at the electrodes rather than at the RVE FE model boundaries. The proposed procedure is validated through its comparison to literature available results on a classical 1-3 piezoelectric micro fiber (longitudinally polarized) reinforced composite and a $d_{15}$ shear piezoelectric macro-fiber (transversely polarized) composite module.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.159-165
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• 2021

This study introduces a topology optimization method for the simultaneous design of macro-scale structural configuration and unit structure variation to ensure effective heat conduction. Shape changes in the unit structure depending on its location within the macro-scale structure result in micro- as well as macro-scale design and enable better performance than using isotropic unit structures. They result in functionally graded composite structures combining both configurations. The representative volume element (RVE) method is applied to obtain various thermal conductivity properties of the multi-material based unit structure according to its shape change. Based on the RVE analysis results, the material properties of the unit structure having a certain shape can be derived using machine learning. Macro-scale topology optimization is performed using the traditional solid isotropic material with penalization method, while the unit structures composing the macro-structure can have various shapes to improve the heat conduction performance according to the simultaneous optimization process. Numerical examples of the thermal compliance minimization issue are provided to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.58 no.5
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• pp.931-947
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• 2016

The effects of nanotechnology and smartness on the buckling reduction of pipes are the main contributions of present work. For this ends, the pipe is simulated with classical piezoelectric polymeric cylindrical shell reinforced by armchair double walled boron nitride nanotubes (DWBNNTs), The structure is subjected to combined electro-thermo-mechanical loads. The surrounding elastic foundation is modeled with a novel model namely as orthotropic nonhomogeneous Pasternak medium. Using representative volume element (RVE) based on micromechanical modeling, mechanical, electrical and thermal characteristics of the equivalent composite are determined. Employing nonlinear strains-displacements and stress-strain relations as well as the charge equation for coupling of electrical and mechanical fields, the governing equations are derived based on Hamilton's principal. Based on differential quadrature method (DQM), the buckling load of pipe is calculated. The influences of electrical and thermal loads, geometrical parameters of shell, elastic foundation, orientation angle and volume percent of DWBNNTs in polymer are investigated on the buckling of pipe. Results showed that the generated ${\Phi}$ improved sensor and actuator applications in several process industries, because it increases the stability of structure. Furthermore, using nanotechnology in reinforcing the pipe, the buckling load of structure increases.

• Composites Research
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.34-39
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• 2012

A thermo-poro-elastic constitutive model of unidirectionally fiber-reinforced composite materials is suggested by extending the unmixing-mixing scheme which is based upon composite micromechanics. The strain components of thermal expansion due to a temperature change, gas pressure in pores, and chemical shrinkage are included in the constitutive model. On purpose to verify the derived constitutive relations, the representative volume element of two-dimensional lamina subject to various loading conditions is analyzed by the finite element method. The overall stress and strain responses are obtained, and compared with the predicted values by the unmixing-mixing scheme. The numerical results show the usefulness of the proposed model to predict the thermoelastic behavior of porous composites.

• Composites Research
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.206-210
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• 2019

As the use of composite materials of woven structure has expanded to various fields such as automobile and aviation industry, there has been a need for reliability problems and prediction of mechanical properties of woven composites. In this study, finite element analysis for predicting the mechanical properties of composite materials with different weaving structures was conducted to verify similarity with experimental static properties and an effective modeling method was developed. To reflect the characteristics of the weave structure, the meso-scale representative volume element (RVE) was used in modeling. Three-dimensional modeling was carried out by separating the yarn and the pure matrix. Hashin's failure criterion was used to determine whether the element was failed, and the simulation model used a progressive failure model which was suitable for the composite material. Finally, the accordance of the modeling and simulation technique was verified by successfully predicting the mechanical properties of the composite material according to the weave structure.