• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.1481-1501
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• 2015

MR-TLCD (Magneto-Rheological Tuned Liquid Column Damper) is a new developed vibration control device, which combines the traditional passive control property with active controllability advantage. Based on traditional TLCD governing equation, this study further considers MR-fluid viscosity in the equation and by transforming the non-linear damping term into an equivalent linear damping, a solution can be obtained. In order to find a countable set of parameters for the design of the MR-TLCD system and also to realize its applicability to structures, a series of experimental test were designed and carried out. The testing programs include the basic material properties of the MR-fluid, the damping ratio of a MR-TLCD and the dynamic responses for a frame structure equipped with the MR-TLCD system subjected to strong ground excitations. In both the analytical and experimental results of this study, it is found that the accurately tuned MR-TLCD system could effectively reduce the dynamic response of a structural system.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.6 no.8
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• pp.953-974
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• 2010

The performance of variable dampers for seismic protection of the benchmark highway bridge (phase I) under six real earthquake ground motions is presented. A simplified lumped mass finite-element model of the 91/5 highway bridge in Southern California is used for the investigation. A variable damper, developed from magnetorheological (MR) damper is used as a semi-active control device and its effectiveness with friction force schemes is investigated. A velocity-dependent damping model of variable damper is used. The effects of friction damping of the variable damper on the seismic response of the bridge are examined by taking different values of friction force, step-coefficient and transitional velocity of the damper. The seismic responses with variable dampers are compared with the corresponding uncontrolled case, and controlled by alternate sample control strategies. The results of investigation clearly indicate that the base shear, base moment and mid-span displacement are substantially reduced. In particular, the reduction in the bearing displacement is quite significant. The friction and the two-step friction force schemes of variable damper are found to be quite effective in reducing the peak response quantities of the bridge to a level similar to or better than that of the sample passive, semi-active and active controllers.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.207-223
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• 2018

In this inquisition, a passive damper namely Stockbridge Damper (SBD) has been introduced to the field of vibration control of Offshore Wind Turbine (OWT) to reduce the earthquake excitations. The dynamic responses of the structure have been analyzed for three recorded earthquakes and the responses have been assessed. To find an optimum SBD, the parameters of damper have been optimized using Response Surface Methodology (RSM) based on Box-Behnken Design (BBD) and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO). The influence of the design variables of SBD such as the diameter of messenger cable, the length of messenger cable and logarithmic decrement of the damping has been investigated through response variables such as maximum displacement, RMS displacement and frequency amplitude of structure under an artificially generated white noise. After that, the structure with optimized and non-optimized damper has been analyzed with under the same earthquakes. Moreover, the comparative results show that the structure with optimized damper is 11.78%, 18.71%, 11.6% and 7.77%, 7.01%, 10.23% more effective than the structure with non-optimized damper with respect to the displacement and frequency response under the earthquakes. The results show that the SBD can obviously affect the characteristics of the vibration of the OWT and RSM based on BBD and PSO approach can provide an optimum damper.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.227-242
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• 2019

Seismic isolation systems employ structural control that protect both buildings and vibration-sensitive contents from destructive effects of earthquakes. Structural control is divided into three main groups: passive, active, and semi-active. Among them, semi-active isolation systems, which can reduce floor displacements and accelerations concurrently, has gained importance in recent years since they don't require large power or pose stability problems like active ones. However, their seismic performance may vary depending on the variations that may be observed in the mechanical properties of semi-active devices and/or seismic isolators. Uncertainties relating to isolators can arise from variations in geometry, boundary conditions, material behavior, or temperature, or aging whereas those relating to semi-active control devices can be due to thermal changes, inefficiencies in calibrations, manufacturing errors, etc. For a more realistic evaluation of the seismic behavior of semi-active isolated buildings, such uncertainties must be taken into account. Here, the probabilistic behavior of semi-active isolated buildings under historical pulse-like near-fault earthquakes is evaluated in terms of their performance in preserving structural integrity and protecting vibration-sensitive contents considering aforementioned uncertainties via Monte-Carlo simulations of 3-story and 9-story semi-active isolated benchmark buildings. The results are presented in the form of fragility curves and probability of failure profiles.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.577-588
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• 2022

Oil refineries' Fluid Catalytic Cracking Units (FCCU) when in full operation may exhibit strong fluid dynamics caused by turbulent flow in the piping system that may induce vibrations in other mechanical and structural components of the Unity. This paper reports on the experimental-theoretical-computational program performed to get the vibration properties and the dynamic response amplitudes to find out alternative solutions to attenuate the excessive vibrations that were causing fatigue fractures in components of the bottle like reactor-regenerator of an FCC unit in operation in an existing oil refinery in Brazil. Solutions to the vibration problem were sought with the aid of a 3D finite element model calibrated with the results obtained from experimental measurements. A short description of the found solutions is given and their effectiveness are shown by means of numerical results. The solutions were guided by the concepts of structural stiffening and dynamic control performed by a nonlinear pendulum controller whose mechanical design was based on parameters determined by means of a parametric study carried out with 2D and 3D mathematical models of the coupled pendulum-structure system. The effectiveness of the proposed solutions is evaluated in terms of the fatigue life of critical welded connections.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.665-678
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• 2017

In this paper the tuned mass-damper-inerter (TMDI) is considered for passive vibration control and energy harvesting in harmonically excited structures. The TMDI couples the classical tuned mass-damper (TMD) with a grounded inerter: a two-terminal linear device resisting the relative acceleration of its terminals by a constant of proportionality termed inertance. In this manner, the TMD is endowed with additional inertia, beyond the one offered by the attached mass, without any substantial increase to the overall weight. Closed-form analytical expressions for optimal TMDI parameters, stiffness and damping, given attached mass and inertance are derived by application of Den Hartog's tuning approach to suppress the response amplitude of force and base-acceleration excited single-degree-of-freedom structures. It is analytically shown that the TMDI is more effective from a same mass/weight TMD to suppress vibrations close to the natural frequency of the uncontrolled structure, while it is more robust to detuning effects. Moreover, it is shown that the mass amplification effect of the inerter achieves significant weight reduction for a target/predefined level of vibration suppression in a performance-based oriented design approach compared to the classical TMD. Lastly, the potential of using the TMDI for energy harvesting is explored by substituting the dissipative damper with an electromagnetic motor and assuming that the inertance can vary through the use of a flywheel-based inerter device. It is analytically shown that by reducing the inertance, treated as a mass/inertia-related design parameter not considered in conventional TMD-based energy harvesters, the available power for electric generation increases for fixed attached mass/weight, electromechanical damping, and stiffness properties.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society For Composite Materials Conference
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• 2001.05a
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• pp.151-154
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• 2001

Shape memory alloy (SMA) has demonstrated its potentials for various smart structure applications. SMA wires undergo a reversible phase transformation from martensite to austenite as temperature increases. This transformation leads to shape recovery and associated recovery strains. If SMA actuators are embedded off the neutral surface and are oriented in arbitrary angles with respect to a beam axis, then the beam bends and twists due to the coupling effects of recovery strains activated. In this study, the bending and twisting of a SMA/Composite beam were controlled by both electric resistive heating and passive elastic tailoring. 3-dimensional finite element formulations were derived and validated to analyze the responses of the SMA/Composite beam. Numerical results show that the shape of the SMA/Composite beam can be controlled by judicious choices of control temperatures, SMA angles, and elastic tailoring.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.1-16
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• 2016

Model Order Reduction (MOR) denotes the theory by which one tries to catch a model of order lower than that of the real model. This is conveniently pursued in view of the design of an efficient structural control scheme, just passive within this paper. When the nonlinear response of the reference structural system affects the nature of the reduced model, making it dependent on the visited subset of the input-output space, standard MOR techniques do not apply. The mathematical theory offers some specific alternatives, which however involve a degree of sophistication unjustified in the presence of a few localized nonlinearities. This paper suggests applying standard MOR to the linear parts of the structural system, the interface remaining the original unreduced nonlinear components. A case study focused on the effects of a helicopter land crash is used to exemplify the proposal.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.187-193
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• 2017

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to confirm the immediate effect of wrist joint mobilization with taping on the range of motion, grip strength, and spasticity. Methods: Thirty stroke patients were randomly divided into two groups: the joint mobilization with taping group (n=15) and a taping group (n=15). For measurement of spasticity and joint range of motion, the modified Tardieu scale, active and passive range of motion of wrist flexion, as well as extension were measured by the Rapael smart glove, and for grip strength measurement, grip dynamometer was performed. Results: The experimental group showed a significant improvement in the range of motion, grip strength, and spasticity after 10 minutes of taping (p<0.05), no significant difference was found in the control group (p>0.05). However, there was no significant difference between the two groups (p>0.05). Conclusion: The study found that wrist joint mobilization with taping has an immediate effect on wrist range of motion, grip strength, and spasticity in stroke patients, whereas it was not effective in the control group with just taping. The long-term change still needs to be evaluated, when taking into consideration of the carryover effect.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.937-960
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• 2015

Tuned mass dampers (TMDs) have been a prevalent vibration control device for suppressing excessive vibration because of environmental loadings in contemporary tall buildings since the mid-1970s. A TMD must be tuned to the natural frequency of the primary structure to be effective. In practice, a TMD may be assembled in situ, simultaneously with the building construction. In such a situation, the respective dynamic properties of the TMD device and building cannot be identified to determine the tuning status of the TMD. For this purpose, a methodology was developed to obtain the parameters of the TMD and primary building on the basis of the eigenparameters of any two complex modes of the combined building-TMD system. The theory was derived in state-space to characterize the nonclassical damping feature of the system, and combined with a system identification technique to obtain the system eigenparameters using the acceleration measurements. The proposed procedure was first demonstrated using a numerical verification and then applied to real, experimental data of a large-scale building-TMD system. The results showed that the procedure is capable of identifying the respective parameters of the TMD and primary structure and is applicable in real implementations by using only the acceleration response measurements of the TMD and its located floor.