• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
• /
• v.2 no.3
• /
• pp.283-300
• /
• 2015

Visual condition inspections remain paramount to assessing the current deterioration status of a bridge and assigning remediation or maintenance tasks so as to ensure the ongoing serviceability of the structure. However, in recent years, there has been an increasing backlog of maintenance activities. Existing research reveals that this is attributable to the labour-intensive, subjective and disruptive nature of the current bridge inspection method. Current processes ultimately require lane closures, traffic guidance schemes and inspection equipment. This not only increases the whole-of-life costs of the bridge, but also increases the risk to the travelling public as issues affecting the structural integrity may go unaddressed. As a tool for bridge condition inspections, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) or, drones, offer considerable potential, allowing a bridge to be visually assessed without the need for inspectors to walk across the deck or utilise under-bridge inspection units. With current inspection processes placing additional strain on the existing bridge maintenance resources, the technology has the potential to significantly reduce the overall inspection costs and disruption caused to the travelling public. In addition to this, the use of automated aerial image capture enables engineers to better understand a situation through the 3D spatial context offered by UAV systems. However, the use of UAV for bridge inspection involves a number of critical issues to be resolved, including stability and accuracy of control, and safety to people. SLAM (Simultaneous Localisation and Mapping) is a technique that could be used by a UAV to build a map of the bridge underneath, while simultaneously determining its location on the constructed map. While there are considerable economic and risk-related benefits created through introducing entirely new ways of inspecting bridges and visualising information, there also remain hindrances to the wider deployment of UAVs. This study is to provide a context for use of UAVs for conducting visual bridge inspections, in addition to addressing the obstacles that are required to be overcome in order for the technology to be integrated into current practice.

• Smart Structures and Systems
• /
• v.23 no.3
• /
• pp.263-278
• /
• 2019

Moving train load parameters, including train speed, axle spacing, gross train weight and axle weights, are identified based on strain-monitoring data. In this paper, according to influence line theory, the classic moving force identification method is enhanced to handle time-varying velocity of the train. First, the moments that the axles move through a set of fixed points are identified from a series of pulses extracted from the second derivative of the structural strain response. Subsequently, the train speed and axle spacing are identified. In addition, based on the fact that the integral area of the structural strain response is a constant under a unit force at a unit speed, the gross train weight can be obtained from the integral area of the measured strain response. Meanwhile, the corrected second derivative peak values, in which the effect of time-varying velocity is eliminated, are selected to distribute the gross train weight. Hence the axle weights could be identified. Afterwards, numerical simulations are employed to verify the proposed method and investigate the effect of the sampling frequency on the identification accuracy. Eventually, the method is verified using the real-time strain data of a continuous steel truss railway bridge. Results show that train speed, axle spacing and gross train weight can be accurately identified in the time domain. However, only the approximate values of the axle weights could be obtained with the updated method. The identified results can provide reliable reference for determining fatigue deterioration and predicting the remaining service life of railway bridges.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
• /
• v.56 no.1
• /
• pp.98-103
• /
• 2019

Optical filters to control light wavelength of displays or cameras are fabricated by multi-layer stacking process of low and high index thin films. The process of multi-layer stacking of thin films has received much attention as an optimal process for effective manufacturing in the optical filter industry. However, multi-layer processing has disadvantages of complicated thin film process, and difficulty of precise control of film morphology and material selection, all of which are critical for transmittance and coloring effect on filters. In this study, the composite $TiO_2$, which can be used to control of UV absorption, coated on nano hollow silica sol, was synthesized as a coating material for optical filters. Furthermore, systematic analysis of the process parameters during the chemical reaction, and of the structural properties of the coating solutions was performed using SEM, TEM, XRD and photo spectrometry. From the structural analysis, we found that the 85 nm nano hollow silica with 2.5 nm $TiO_2$ shell formation was successfully synthesized at proper pH control and titanium butoxide content. Photo luminescence characteristics, excited by UV irradiation, show that stable absorption of 350 nm-light, correlated with a 3.54 eV band gap, existed for the $TiO_2$ shell-nano hollow silica reacted with 8.8 mole titanium butoxide solution. Transmittance observed on substrate of the $TiO_2$ shell-nano hollow silica showed effective absorption of 200-300 nm UV light without deterioration of visible light transparency.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
• /
• v.47 no.4
• /
• pp.1159-1168
• /
• 2020

The conduits of agricultural reservoirs undergo deterioration over a considerable period of time and this is highly likely to cause structural problems such as cracks. It is therefore important to consider the effects of structural defects on the body from the viewpoint of stability and maintenance of the embankment. In this study, basic data on the effects of the crack location on the stability of the embankment is obtained by identifying, comparing, and analyzing the erosion characteristics and pore water pressure behavior through a large-scale model experiment that involves classifying the location of the conduit cracks. From the results of the experiment, it was confirmed that when a crack occurred, the amount of leakage increased as the location of the crack portion was closer to the water level, and the internal erosion phenomenon accelerated, thereby increasing the possibility of piping. It was also found that an upstream conduit crack affects the erosion and water pressure change of the central and downstream conduit of the embankment, and the conduit crack has a very large effect on the pore water pressure despite the low upstream water level. Therefore, the seepage behavior of the embankment for each conduit crack identified in this study is considered to be useful basic data for preparing a repair and reinforcement plan according to the crack location in the future.

• Conservation Science in Museum
• /
• v.27
• /
• pp.57-66
• /
• 2022

This study conducted conservation treatment of a briefcase used by a soldier who fought in the Korean War as a member of the United Nations Forces. The zooid characteristics of its main material, leather, were analyzed in collaboration with the researchers at the National Palace Museum of Korea who have conducted relevant research. A plan for conservation treatment was established based on the results of this analysis. The briefcase was made of leather with a wooden frame. The many densely arranged tiny pores in different patterns on the leather's surface suggests calf leather. The wooden frame and leather had suffered deformation over long years of deterioration and thus required conservation treatment to enhance their structural stability. The conservation treatment began with the removal of contaminants from the exterior and interior of the briefcase. The stiffened leather was softened through humidification, and torn or separated areas were restored using cowhide glue. It is expected that the results of this conservation treatment and analysis of the leather material will serve as useful sources for basic research on leather items as well as wartime and military items.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
• /
• v.25 no.6
• /
• pp.95-102
• /
• 2021

Elastometic bearings using flexible rubber materials have recently been widely applied for seismic retrofit of bridges. However, due to various factors, the aging of the rubber material progresses, which causes the shear stiffness change of the bearing, which affects the seismic performance of the bridge. For natural rubber, accelerated heat aging test was performed with variables of heating temperatures and exposure time to analyze shear characteristics. As aging progresses (i.e. increase of temperature and exposure time), the maximum shear stress and shear strain decrease. Also, the shear stiffness is greatly increased at the same shear strain. This means that the rubber material is hardened, implying that the seismic performance of the elastomeric bearing becomes poor.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.81 no.3
• /
• pp.293-303
• /
• 2022

As infrastructure ages and traffic load increases, serious public concerns have arisen for the well-being of bridges. The current health monitoring practice focuses on large-scale bridges rather than short span bridges. However, it is critical that more attention should be given to these behind-the-scene bridges. The relevant information about the construction methods and as-built properties are most likely missing. Additionally, since the condition of a bridge has unavoidably changed during service, due to weathering and deterioration, the material properties and boundary conditions would also have changed since its construction. Therefore, it is not appropriate to continue using the design values of the bridge parameters when undertaking any analysis to evaluate bridge performance. It is imperative to update the model, using finite element (FE) analysis to reflect the current structural condition. In this study, a FE model is established to simulate a concrete culvert bridge in New South Wales, Australia. That model, however, contains a number of parameter uncertainties that would compromise the accuracy of analytical results. The model is therefore updated with a neural network (NN) optimisation algorithm incorporating Monte Carlo (MC) simulation to minimise the uncertainties in parameters. The modal frequency and strain responses produced by the updated FE model are compared with the frequency and strain values on-site measured by sensors. The outcome indicates that the NN model updating incorporating MC simulation is a feasible and robust optimisation method for updating numerical models so as to minimise the difference between numerical models and their real-world counterparts.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
• /
• v.25 no.6
• /
• pp.131-142
• /
• 2021

For old piers constructed when seismic design code had not been developed, lap splices usually exist in plastic hinge region. Corrosion of rebars causes decreasement in cross-sectional area of rebar and deterioration of lap-splice behaviour, thereby reducing the seismic performance of the old piers. In this research, according to these characteristics of old piers, test specimens are designed and manufactured considering rebar corrosion, lap splice, seismic design details, and seismic reinforcement. These effects are investigated through experiments. As a result of these experiment, rebar corrosion as well as lap splice reduces displacement ductility. When seismic design details or steel-plate reinforcement are applied, sufficient displacement ductility is expressed. For non-seismically designed specimens, loosening of the lap splice of transverse rebars caused buckling of longitudinal rebars and crushing of core concrete in plastic hinge region . For seismically designed specimen, area-reducing and untying of transverse rebars due to corrosion of rebars caused buckling of longitudinal rebars and crushing of core concrete.

• Computers and Concrete
• /
• v.32 no.2
• /
• pp.119-138
• /
• 2023

Concrete carbonation is a prevalent phenomenon that leads to steel reinforcement corrosion in reinforced concrete (RC) structures, thereby decreasing their service life as well as durability. The process of carbonation results in a lower pH level of concrete, resulting in an acidic environment with a pH value below 12. This acidic environment initiates and accelerates the corrosion of steel reinforcement in concrete, rendering it more susceptible to damage and ultimately weakening the overall structural integrity of the RC system. Lower pH values might cause damage to the protective coating of steel, also known as the passive film, thus speeding up the process of corrosion. It is essential to estimate the carbonation factor to reduce the deterioration in concrete structures. A lot of work has gone into developing a carbonation model that is precise and efficient that takes both internal and external factors into account. This study presents an ML-based adaptive-neuro fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) approach to predict the carbonation depth of fly ash (FA)-based concrete structures. Cement content, FA, water-cement ratio, relative humidity, duration, and CO2 level have been used as input parameters to develop the ANFIS model. Six performance indices have been used for finding the accuracy of the developed model and two analytical models. The outcome of the ANFIS model has also been compared with the other models used in this study. The prediction results show that the ANFIS model outperforms analytical models with R-value, MAE, RMSE, and Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency index values of 0.9951, 0.7255 mm, 1.2346 mm, and 0.9957, respectively. Surface plots and sensitivity analysis have also been performed to identify the repercussion of individual features on the carbonation depth of FA-based concrete structures. The developed ANFIS-based model is simple, easy to use, and cost-effective with good accuracy as compared to existing models.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
• /
• v.10 no.3
• /
• pp.195-202
• /
• 2006

Deterioration of sewer concrete is representative that biochemical corrosion according to the $H_2S$ has growth by inhabit sulfur-oxidzing bacteria because of special environment in sewer. But in case of domestic, fundamentally, sulfur-oxidzing bacteria could moderate development of repair material method is need because of corrosion prevent method is inconsideration with carry out to improve project. In this paper, after development of spread type antibiotic with antibio-metal, antibacterial performance about sulfur-oxidzing bacteria of antibiotic and tested to estimate fundamental properties of bonding strength, abrasion contents, contents of water absorption, contents of air permeability, carbonation depth, chloride ion penetration depth and chemical resistance of spread with antibiotic restorative mortar.