• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제46권1호
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• pp.101-108
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• 2014

About 40% of reactors in the world are being operated beyond design life or are approaching the end of their life cycle. During long-term operation, various degradation mechanisms occur. Fatigue caused by alternating operational stresses in terms of temperature or pressure change is an important damage mechanism in continued operation of nuclear power plants. To monitor the fatigue damage of components, Fatigue Monitoring System (FMS) has been installed. Most FMSs have used Green's Function Approach (GFA) to calculate the thermal stresses rapidly. However, if temperature-dependent material properties are used in a detailed FEM, there is a maximum peak stress discrepancy between a conventional GFA and a detailed FEM because constant material properties are used in a conventional method. Therefore, if a conventional method is used in the fatigue evaluation, thermal stresses for various operating cycles may be calculated incorrectly and it may lead to an unreliable estimation. So, in this paper, the modified GFA which can consider temperature-dependent material properties is proposed by using an artificial neural network and weight factor. To verify the proposed method, thermal stresses by the new method are compared with those by FEM. Finally, pros and cons of the new method as well as technical findings from the assessment are discussed.

• Computers and Concrete
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• 제20권5호
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• pp.595-603
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• 2017

Piezoceramic transducers have been widely used in the health monitoring of civil structures. However, in most cases, they are used as sensors either to measure strain or receive stress waves. This paper proposes a method of using piezoelectric transducers as strain gauges and acoustic emission (AE) sensors simultaneously. The signals received by piezoceramic transducers are decomposed into different frequency components for various analysis purposes. The low-frequency signals are used to measure strain, whereas the high-frequency signals are used as acoustic emission signal associated with local damage. The b-value theory is used to process the AE signal in piezoceramic transducers. The proposed method was applied in the bending failure experiments of two reinforced concrete beams to verify its feasibility. The results showed that the extracted low-frequency signals from the piezoceramic transducers had good agreement with that from the strain gauge, and the processed high-frequency signal from piezoceramic transducers as AE could indicate the local damage to concrete. The experimental results verified the feasibly of structural health monitoring using piezoceramic transducers as strain gauges and AE sensors simultaneously, which can advance their application in civil engineering.

• 한국터널지하공간학회 논문집
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• 제14권2호
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• pp.117-129
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• 2012

본 논문에서는 1995년 서울지하철 5, 7, 8호선 터널구조물에 국내 최초로 설치되어 운영 중에 있는 터널 유지관리 계측시스템에 대한 측정 및 분석주기를 국내 및 국외 적용사례와 국내 터널의 유지관리계측 분석결과 및 시설물안전관리 관계법령기준을 검토하여 향후에 적용할 터널 유지관리계측의 측정 및 분석주기를 설정하고자 연구를 수행하였다. 현재까지의 계측주기로 계측관리를 한 결과 계측주기에 따른 문제는 없는 것으로 판단되었다. 국내 지하철 5, 6호선 4개 터널의 유지관리계측 분석결과 콘크리트 라이닝 응력과 철근응력이 약 45개월 경과시점에서 서서히 수렴하는 것으로 분석되어 계측기 설치 후 약 4년 까지는 계측 측정 및 분석주기를 빈번하게 하고, 4년 이후에는 빈도를 늦추는 것이 타당할 것으로 판단된다.

• 한국지열·수열에너지학회논문집
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• 제11권2호
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• pp.12-18
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• 2015

The energy pile, used for both structural foundations and heat exchangers, brings about heat exchange with the ground formation by circulating a working fluid for heating and cooling buildings. As heat exchange occurs in the energy pile, thermal stress and strain is generated in the pile body and surrounding ground formation. In order to investigate the thermo-mechanical behavior of an energy pile, a comprehensive experimental program was conducted, monitoring the thermal stress of a cast-in place energy pile equipped with five pairs of U-type heat exchanger pipes. The heating and cooling simulation both continued for 30 days. The thermal strain in the longitudinal direction of the energy pile was monitored for a 15 operation days and another 15 days monitoring followed, without the application of heat exchange. In addition, a finite element model was developed to simulate the thermo-mechanical behavior of the energy pile. A non-linear contact model was adopted to interpret the interaction at the pile-soil interface, and thermal-induced structure mechanics was considered to handle the thermo-mechanical coupled multi-field problem.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• 제38권4호
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• pp.381-395
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• 2024

With the wide application of urban subway tunnels, the foundation pits of new stations and existing subway tunnels are becoming increasingly close, and even zero-distance close-fitting construction has taken place. To optimize the construction support scheme, the existing tunnel's vertical displacement is theoretically analyzed using the two-stage analysis method to understand the action mechanism of the construction of zero-distance deep large foundation pits on both sides of the existing stations; a three-dimensional numerical calculation is also performed for further analysis. First, the additional stress field on the existing tunnel caused by the unloading of zero-distance foundation pits on both sides of the tunnel is derived based on the Mindlin stress solution of a semi-infinite elastic body under internal load. Then, considering the existing subway tunnel's joints, shear stiffness, and shear soil deformation effect, the tunnel is regarded as a Timoshenko beam placed on the Kerr foundation; a sixth-order differential control equation of the tunnel under the action of additional stress is subsequently established for solving the vertical displacement of the tunnel. These theoretical calculation results are then compared with the numerical simulation results and monitoring data. Finally, an optimized foundation pit support scheme is obtained considering the pit corner effect and external corner failure mode. The research shows a high consistency between the monitoring data,analytical and numerical solution, and the closer the tunnel is to the foundation pit, the more uplift deformation will occur. The internal corner of the foundation pit can restrain the deformation of the tunnel and the retaining structure, while the external corner can cause local stress concentration on the diaphragm wall. The proposed optimization scheme can effectively reduce construction costs while meeting the safety requirements of foundation pit support structures.

• Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering:BBE
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• 제8권6호
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• pp.338-348
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• 2003

In the past decade, considerable progress has been made in developing the appropriate biotechnology for microalgal mass cultivation aimed at establishing a new agro-industry. This review points out the main biological constraints affecting algal biotechnology outdoors and the requirements for making this biotechnology economically viable. One of them is the availability of a wide variety of algal species and improved strains that favorably respond to varying environmental conditions existing outdoors. It is thus just a matter of time and effort before a new methodology like genetic engineering can and will be applied in this field as well. The study of stress physiology and adaptation of microalgae has also an important application in further development of the biotechnology for mass culturing of microalgae. In outdoor cultures, cells are exposed to severe changes in light and temperature much faster than the time scale re-quired for the cells to acclimate. A better understanding of those parameters and the ability to rapidly monitor those conditions will provide the growers with a better knowledge on how to optimize growth and productivity. Induction of accumulation of high value products is associated with stress conditions. Understanding the physiological response may help in providing a better production system for the desired product and, at a later stage, give an insight of the potential for genetic modification of desired strains. The potential use of microalgae as part of a biological system for bioremediation/detoxification and wastewater treatment is also associated with growing the cells under stress conditions. Important developments in monitoring and feedback control of the culture behavior through application of on-line chlorophyll fluorescence technique are in progress. Understanding the process associated with those unique environmental conditions may help in choosing the right culture conditions as well as selecting strains in order to improve the efficiency of the biological process.

• Annals of Clinical Neurophysiology
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• 제20권2호
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• pp.57-65
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• 2018

Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) monitoring has been used mainly to detect reduced perfusion of the brain during orthostatic stress in order to assess orthostatic intolerance (OI). Many studies have investigated the use of NIRS to reveal the pathophysiology of patients with OI. Research using NIRS in other neurological diseases (e.g., stroke, epilepsy, and migraine) is continuing. NIRS may play an important role in monitoring the regional distribution of the hemodynamic flow in real time and thereby reveal the underlying pathophysiology and facilitate the management of not only patients with OI symptoms but also those with various neurological diseases.

• 한국압력기기공학회 논문집
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• 제13권2호
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• pp.1-18
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• 2017

세계적으로 원자력발전소의 안정적 운영 및 안전성 확보를 위해 수명기간 중 주요 기기 및 배관의 실제 운전 과도상태를 체계적으로 관리하고, 피로 손상의 정량적 평가 및 관리를 위한 체계적인 시스템이 요구되고 있는 실정이다. 이에 본 논문에서는 원자력발전소의 안전등급 1 설비에 대한 피로 평가요건을 분석하였고, 피로 감시방법 및 절차와 웹 기반으로 개발된 피로 감시 시스템인 NuFMS 개발 및 검증 내용을 기술하였다. NuFMS는 설계 시 고려한 과도상태 발생 횟수 대 비발전소의 특정 운전 시점에서의 실제 발생 횟수를 비교하여 안전 여유도의 정량적 확인이 가능하며, 누적피로사용계수 도출을 통해 정확한 피로영향 분석뿐만 아니라 손상 관리가 가능하다. 이와 같이 NuFMS의 적용을 통해 원자력발전소 기기 및 배관의 피로 건전성을 확인하고 운영 신뢰도를 향상시킬 수 있으며, 발전소의 안전성 유지 및 운영비용 절감 등의 효과를 기대할 수 있다. 따라서 향후 국내 전 원전에 NuFMS를 확대 적용할 예정이며, 이러한 기술의 해외 수출을 적극 추진 중이다.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• 제6권5_6호
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• pp.641-659
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• 2010

Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) gradually becomes a technique for ensuring the health and safety of civil infrastructures and is also an important approach for the research of the damage accumulation and disaster evolving characteristics of civil infrastructures. It is attracting prodigious research interests and the active development interests of scientists and engineers because a great number of civil infrastructures are planned and built every year in mainland China. In a SHM system the sheer number of accompanying wires, fiber optic cables, and other physical transmission medium is usually prohibitive, particularly for such structures as offshore platforms and long-span structures. Fortunately, with recent advances in technologies in sensing, wireless communication, and micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS), wireless sensor technique has been developing rapidly and is being used gradually in the SHM of civil engineering structures. In this paper, some recent advances in the research, development, and implementation of wireless sensors for the SHM of civil infrastructures in mainland China, especially in Dalian University of Technology (DUT) and Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT), are introduced. Firstly, a kind of wireless digital acceleration sensors for structural global monitoring is designed and validated in an offshore structure model. Secondly, wireless inclination sensor systems based on Frequency-hopping techniques are developed and applied successfully to swing monitoring of large-scale hook structures. Thirdly, wireless acquisition systems integrating with different sensing materials, such as Polyvinylidene Fluoride(PVDF), strain gauge, piezoresistive stress/strain sensors fabricated by using the nickel powder-filled cement-based composite, are proposed for structural local monitoring, and validating the characteristics of the above materials. Finally, solutions to the key problem of finite energy for wireless sensors networks are discussed, with future works also being introduced, for example, the wireless sensor networks powered by corrosion signal for corrosion monitoring and rapid diagnosis for large structures.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제41권10호
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• pp.1315-1322
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• 2009

The present article is concerned with the application of an electrochemical noise (EN) monitoring technique to analyze the initiation and propagation of Pb-assisted stress corrosion cracking (SCC) of an Alloy 600 material in a simulated environment of a steam generator (SG) sludge pile at high temperatures. A typical increase of electrochemical current noise (ECN) and electrochemical potential noise (EPN) was frequently recorded from the EN measurement in a caustic solution with such impurities as PbO and CuO, indicating that there are localized corrosion events occurring. With the aid of microscopic and spectral analyses, the EN data involving information on such stochastic processes as uniform corrosion and the initiation and propagation of SCC, were analyzed based on a stochastic theory.