• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.11-19
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• 2016

This paper focuses on the estimation of durability and service-life of reinforced concrete structures in Wolsong Low- and intermediate-level wastes Disposal Center (WLDC) in Korea. There are six disposal silos located in the saturated environment. The silo concrete is degraded due to reactions with groundwater and chemical attacks, and finally it will lose its properties as a transport barrier. The infiltration of sulfate and magnesium, leaching of potassium hydroxide, and chlorine induced corrosion are the most significant factors for degradation of reinforced concrete structure in underground environment. From the result of evaluation of the degradation time for each factor, the degradation rate of the reinforced concrete due to sulfate and magnesium is $1.308{\times}10^{-3}cm/yr$, and it is estimated to take 48,000 years for full degradation while potassium hydroxide is leached in depth of less than 1.5 cm at 1,000 years after the initiation of degradation. In case of chlorine induced corrosion, it takes 1,648 years to initiate corrosion in the main reinforced bar and 2,288 years to reach the lifetime limit of the structural integrity, and thus it is evaluated as the most significant factor.

• Proceedings of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute Conference
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• 2000.04b
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• pp.347-354
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• 2000

The seismic behaviors of a bridge system with several simple spans are examined to see the effects of the longitudinal stiffness degradation due to abutment-soil interaction. The abutment-backfill system is modeled as one degree-of-freedom-system with nonlinear spring and linear damper. various soil-conditions surrounding the abutment such as loose sand, medium dense sand, and dense sand are considered in the bridge seismic analysis. The idealized mechanical model for the whole bridge system is modeled by adopting the multiple-degree-of-freedom system, which can consider components such as pounding phenomena, friction at the movable supports, rotational and translational motions of foundations, and the nonlinear pier motions. The stiffness of the abutment is found to be rapidly reduced at the beginning of the earthquakes, and to be converged to constant values shortly after the displacement approaches to the Predefined critical values. It is observed that the maximum relative distanced an maximum relative displacements are generally Increased as the relative density of a soil decreases As the peak ground acceleration increases, the response ratio of the case considering stiffness degradation to the case considering constant stiffness decreases.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.311-320
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• 1998

The cryogenic fracture behaviors of austenitic stainless steel HN2 developed for nuclear fusion reactor were evaluated quantitatively by using the small punch(SP) test. The electrochemical polarization test was applied to study thermal aging degradation of HN2 steel. The X-ray diffraction(XRD) analysis was conducted to detect carbides and nitrides precipitated on the grain boundary of the heat treated HN2 steel. The mechanical properties of the HN2 steel significantly decreased with increasing time and temperature of heat treatment or with decreasing testing temperature. The integrated charge(Q) obtained from electrochemical polarization test showed a good correlation with the SP energy(ESP) obtained by means of SP tests. From the results observed in the x-ray diffraction and anodic polarization curve, it was known that the material the grain boundary. Combining SP test and electrochemical polarization test, it could be useful tools to non-destructively evaluate the cryogenic fracture behaviors and the aging degradation for cryogenic structural material.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.54 no.2
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• pp.199-219
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• 2015

This paper presents the non-destructive evaluation of a high-speed railway bridge using train-induced strain responses. Based on the train-track-bridge interaction analysis, the strain responses of a high-speed railway bridge under moving trains with different operation status could be calculated. The train induced strain responses could be divided into two parts: the force vibration stage and the free vibration stage. The strain-displacement relationship is analysed and used for deriving critical displacements from theoretical stain measurements at a forced vibration stage. The derived displacements would be suitable for the condition assessment of the bridge through design specifications defined indexes and would show certain limits to the practical application. Thus, the damage identification of high-speed railways, such as the stiffness degradation location, needs to be done by comparing the measured strain response under moving trains in different states because the vehicle types of high-speed railway are relatively clear and definite. The monitored strain responses at the free vibration stage, after trains pass through the bridge, would be used for identifying the strain modes. The relationship between and the degradation degree and the strain mode shapes shows certain rules for the widely used simply supported beam bridges. The numerical simulation proves simple and effective for the proposed method to locate and quantify the stiffness degradation.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.52 no.4
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• pp.701-721
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• 2014

In the assessment of existing RC buildings, the reliable appraisal of the compressive strength of in-situ concrete is a fundamental step. Unfortunately, the data that can be obtained by the available testing methods are typically affected by a high level of uncertainty. Moreover, in order to derive indications about the degradation and ageing of the materials by on site tests, it is necessary to have the proper terms of comparison, that is to say, to know the reference data measured during the construction phases, that are often unavailable when the building is old. In the cases when such a comparison can be done, the in situ strength values typically turn out to be lower than the reference strength values (tests performed on taken samples during the construction). At this point, it is crucial to discern and quantify the specific effect induced by different factors: ageing of the materials; poor quality of the placement, consolidation or cure of the concrete during the construction phases; damage due to drilling. This paper presents a procedure for correlating the destructive compressive tests and non-destructive tests (ultrasonic pulse velocity tests) with the data documenting the compressive strength tested during the construction phases. The research work is aimed at identifying the factors that induce the difference between the in-situ strength and cubes taken from the concrete casting, and providing, so, useful information for the assessment procedure of the building.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.75 no.1
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• pp.19-32
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• 2020

Due to repetitive traffic loadings and environmental attacks, reinforced concrete (RC) bridge deck slabs are suffering from severe degradation, which makes structural repairing an urgency. In this study, the fatigue performance of an RC bridge deck repairing technique using ultra-high performance fiber reinforcement concrete (UHPFRC) overlay is assessed experimentally with a wheel-type loading set-up as well as analytically based on finite element method (FEM) using a crack bridging degradation concept. In both approaches, an original RC slab is firstly preloaded to achieve a partly damaged RC slab which is then repaired with UHPFRC overlay and reloaded. The results indicate that the developed analytical method can predict the experimental fatigue behaviors including displacement evolutions and crack patterns reasonably well. In addition, as the shear stress in the concrete/UHPFRC interface stays relatively low over the calculations, this interface can be simply simulated as perfect. Moreover, superior to the experiments, the numerical method provides fatigue behaviors of not only the repaired but also the unrepaired RC slabs. Due to the high strengths and cracking resistance of UHPFRC, the repaired slab exhibited a decelerated deterioration rate and an extended fatigue life compared with the unrepaired slab. Therefore, the proposed repairing scheme can afford significant strengthen effects and act as a reference for future practices and engineering applications.

• Journal of Surface Science and Engineering
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.223-230
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• 1997

Tungsten oxide and nickel oxide thin films were deposited onto ITO(Indium Tin Oxide) transparent glass by the E-beam evaporation and were used as a cathode and an anode for the EC(Electrochromic) smart window, respectively. Stoichiometric structures of the deposited films were investigated by the implementation of XPS(X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy) analysis and the results were $WO_{2.42}$ and $NiO_{0.44}$. This oxygen deficincy might affect affect the transparency of the thin films. The electrolyte for the EC smart windows was PAN-$LiCIO_4$ conducting polymer. EC(Ethylene Carbonate)and PC(Propylene Carbonate) were added as plasticizer to enhance ion conductivity. When the weight ratio of the EC : PC was 3 : 1, transmission difference and cycle life performance were tested. Polymer EC windows showed 40% $\Delta$T at 1.5V operating volage for 3,200 cycles. Structural degradation was observed by the SIMS(Secondary Ion Mass Spectroscopy) analysis and it was confirmed that structural degradation of polymer caused by the solvent evaporation was the main cause to degrade EC smart windows.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.741-758
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• 2013

In this study, inelastic displacement ratios are investigated for existing systems with known lateral strength considering soil structure interaction. For this purpose, SDOF systems for period range of 0.1-3.0 s with different hysteretic behaviors are considered for a number of 18 earthquake motions recorded on soft soil. The effect of stiffness degradation on inelastic displacement ratios is investigated. The Modified Clough model is used to represent structures that exhibit significant stiffness degradation when subjected to reverse cyclic loading and the elastoplastic model is used to represent non-degrading structures. Soil structure interaction analyses are conducted by means of equivalent fixed base model effective period, effective damping and effective ductility values differing from fixed-base case. For inelastic time history analyses, Newmark method for step by step time integration was adapted in an in-house computer program. A new equation is proposed for inelastic displacement ratio of system with SSI with elastoplastic or degrading behavior as a function of structural period ($\tilde{T}$), strength reduction factor (R) and period lengthening ratio ($\tilde{T}$/T). The proposed equation for $\tilde{C}_R$ which takes the soil-structure interaction into account should be useful in estimating the inelastic deformation of existing structures with known lateral strength.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.9 no.5
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• pp.957-981
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• 2015

Earthquakes occur as a cluster in many regions around the world where complex fault systems exist. The repeated shaking usually induces accumulative damage to affected structures. Damage accumulation in structural systems increases their level of degradation in stiffness and also reduces their strength. Many existing analytical tools of modeling RC structures lack the salient damage features that account for stiffness and strength degradation resulting from repeated earthquake loading. Therefore, these tools are inadequate to study the response of structures in regions prone to multiple earthquakes hazard. The objective of this paper is twofold: (a) develop a tool that contains appropriate damage features for the numerical analysis of RC structures subjected to more than one earthquake; and (b) conduct a parametric study that investigates the effects of multiple earthquakes on the response of RC moment resisting frame systems. For this purpose, macroscopic constitutive models of concrete and steel materials that contain the aforementioned damage features and are capable of accurately capturing materials degrading behavior, are selected and implemented into fiber-based finite element software. Furthermore, finite element models that utilize the implemented concrete and steel stress-strain hysteresis are developed. The models are then subjected to selected sets of earthquake sequences. The results presented in this study clearly indicate that the response of degrading structural systems is appreciably influenced by strong-motion sequences in a manner that cannot be predicted from simple analysis. It also confirms that the effects of multiple earthquakes on earthquake safety can be very considerable.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.643-671
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• 2015

Chloride induced reinforcement corrosion is widely accepted to be the most frequent mechanism causing premature degradation of reinforced concrete members, whose economic and social consequences are growing up continuously. Prevention of these phenomena has a great importance in structural design, and modern Codes and Standards impose prescriptions concerning design details and concrete mix proportion for structures exposed to different external aggressive conditions, grouped in environmental classes. This paper focuses on reinforced concrete column section load carrying capacity degradation over time due to chloride induced steel pitting corrosion. The structural element is considered to be exposed to marine environment and the effects of corrosion are described by the time degradation of the axial-bending interaction diagram. Because chlorides ingress and consequent pitting corrosion propagation are both time-dependent mechanisms, the study adopts a time-variant predictive approach to evaluate residual strength of corroded reinforced concrete columns at different lifetimes. Corrosion initiation and propagation process is modelled by taking into account all the parameters, such as external environmental conditions, concrete mix proportion, concrete cover and so on, which influence the time evolution of the corrosion phenomenon and its effects on the residual strength of reinforced concrete columns sections.