• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.499-516
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• 2007

An experimental method denoted as Impulse Method is proposed as a cost-effective non-destructive technique for the on-site evaluation of concrete elastic modulus in existing structures: on the basis of Hertz's quasi-static theory of elastic impact and with the aid of a simple portable testing equipment, it makes it possible to collect series of local measurements of the elastic modulus in an easy way and in a very short time. A Hypothesis Testing procedure is developed in order to provide a statistical tool for processing the data collected by means of the Impulse Method and assessing the possible occurrence of significant variations in the elastic modulus without exceeding some prescribed error probabilities. It is based on a particular formulation of the renowned sequential probability ratio test and reveals to be optimal with respect to the error probabilities and the required number of observations, thus further improving the time-effectiveness of the Impulse Method. The results of an experimental investigation on different types of plain concrete prove the validity of the Impulse Method in estimating the unknown value of the elastic modulus and attest the effectiveness of the proposed Hypothesis Testing procedure in identifying significant variations in the elastic modulus.

• Advances in Computational Design
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.257-271
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• 2017

There are many plain concrete arch bridges in Iran that have been used as railway bridges for more than seventy years. Owe to the fact that these bridges have not been designed seismically, and even may be loaded under high-speed trains, evaluation of fundamental frequencies of the bridges against earthquake and high-speed train vibrations is necessary for considering dynamics effects. To evaluate complex behavior of these bridges, results of field tests are useful. Since it is not possible to perform field tests for all arch bridges, these structures should be simulated correctly by computers for structural assessment. Several parameters are employed to describe the bridges, such as number of spans, length of spans, geometrical and material properties. In this study, results of field tests are used for modal analysis and adapted for 64 three dimensional finite element models with various physical parameters. Computer simulations show length of spans has important effect on fundamental frequencies of plain concrete arch bridge and modal deformations of bridges is in longitudinal and transverse directions. Also, these results demonstrate that fundamental frequencies of bridges decrease after increasing span length and number of spans. Plus, some relations based in the number of spans (n) and span length (l) are proposed for calculation of fundamental frequencies of plain concrete arch bridge.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.629-639
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• 2018

In this paper, the vibroacoustic responses of baffled laminated composite sandwich flat panel structure under the influence of harmonic excitation are studied numerically using a novel higher-order coupled finite-boundary element model. A numerical scheme for the vibrating plate has been developed in the frame work of the higher-order mid-plane kinematics and the eigen frequencies are obtained by employing suitable finite element steps. The acoustic responses are then computed by solving the Helmholtz wave equation using boundary element method coupled with the structural finite elements. The proposed scheme has been implemented via an own MATLAB base code to compute the desired responses. The validity of the present model is established from the conformance of the current natural frequencies and the radiated sound power with the available benchmark solutions. The model is further utilized to scrutinize the influence of core-to-face thickness ratio, modular ratio, lamination scheme and the support condition on the sound radiation characteristics of the vibrating sandwich flats panel. It can be concluded that the present scheme is not only accurate but also efficient and simple in providing solutions of the coupled vibroacoustic response of laminated composite sandwich plates.

• Advances in aircraft and spacecraft science
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• v.5 no.6
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• pp.653-669
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• 2018

This work has the objective to analyze multibody mechanisms of inflatable structures for manned space applications. The focus is on the evaluation of the main characteristics of MaxFlex, a new module of MSC Adams including the effect of nonlinear flexible bodies. MaxFlex integrates the nonlinear Finite Element Analysis (FEA) of Nastran-SOL400-and the Adams multibody capabilities in one unique solver, providing an improvement concerning the concept and technology based on the co-simulation among solvers. MaxFlex converts the equations of motion of the nonlinear FEA into phase-space form and discretizes them according to the multibody system integrator framework. The numerical results deal with an inflatable manned space module having rigid components and a flexible coating made of Kevlar. This paper is a preliminary assessment of the computational capabilities of the software and does not provide realistic guidelines for the actual design of the structure. The analysis leads to some recommendations related to the main issues to consider in a nonlinear simulation including both rigid and flexible components. The results underline the importance of realistic deployment times and applied forces. Also, a proper structural modeling is necessary, but can lead to excessive computational overheads.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.74 no.4
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• pp.521-532
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• 2020

A floating dry dock is an advanced structure that can provide a solution for dry dock space shortages. The critical point in floating dock operation is compensating the deflection caused by a heavy payload by adjusting the water level in the ballast system. An appropriate ballasting plan warrants safe and precise construction on a floating dock. Particularly, in the case of a 2D floating dock, ballasting plan evaluation is crucial due to complex deformation modes. In this paper, we developed a method to calculate the optimal ballasting plan for accurate and precise construction on a 2D floating dock. The finite element method was used for considering the flexibility of the floating dock as well as the construction blocks. Through a gradient-based optimization algorithm, the optimal ballasting plan for the given load condition was calculated in semi-real time (5 min). The present method was successfully used for the actual construction of an offshore structure on the 2D floating dock.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Agricultural Machinery Conference
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• 1998.06b
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• pp.206-216
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• 1998

The structural characteristics of small scale rice polisher was analyzed to improve its performance. Spraying characteristic of nozzles used for rice polishing was also analyzed by a machine vision system. The internal pressure of the polishing chamber was measured according to outlet resistance, water spraying , and roller shaft speed. In addition , the performance of the rice polisher was evaluated to improve it in the basis of internal pressure in polishing chamber, whiteness , and broken rice ratio of clean rice according to the operating conditions. Actual nozzle discharge rate and drop size were 125cc/min and 86.97㎛, respectively. In the case of water spraying on rices, the internal pressure showed 4.9-9.8N/㎠ increase, broken rice ration decreased , and there was no difference in whiteness . The internal pressure increased up to two time with the increase of the outlet resistance. Also, the pressure at the upper part of screen was one and half times as high as the pressure at the lower part. In the case of water spraying rate of 150 cc/min, the roller shaft speed of 850 rpm resulted in no difference in whiteness and decrease of 0.3%in broken rice ratio, comparing to the roller shaft speed of 950 rpm.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.111-117
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• 2004

An analytical study was carried out to evaluate the regenerative cooling characteristics in the liquid rocket engine of a 10tf-thrust level using kerosene as a fuel. As a supplementary cooling method, a radiative cooling was applied to the nozzle extension. It was found out from this work that the cooling system with the regenerative and radiation cooling only is not adaptable for the liquid rocket engine of a 10tf-thrust level using kerosene as a fuel for the $2^{nd}$ stage of the space launch vehicle, with the viewpoint of the thermal and thermo-structural instability and the excessive pressure drop in the cooling channel.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.9 no.5
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• pp.1107-1112
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• 2008

Since vibration properties of a building structure were not easy to find out through a test, it was very difficult to in advance evaluate an influence of earthquake or other excitations on the building structure. However, currently, along with the development of the vibration analysis technique, it is possible to predict the structural performances of the buildings. The prediction of the vibration properties of the building structure has mainly employed a two-dimensional plane analysis so far, but not a three-dimensional analysis. The two-dimensional plane analysis encounters a reliability problem when the building is asymmetrical. This study has performed a three-dimensional modeling and vibration analysis on residential buildings when a subway passes below.

• Advances in Computational Design
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.61-77
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• 2016

Seismic performance of structures depends on the force flow mechanism inside the structure. Discontinuity regions, like beam-column joints, are often affected during earthquake event due to the complex and discontinuous load paths. The evaluation of shear strength and identification of failure mode of the joint region are helpful to (i) define the strength hierarchy of the beam-column sub-assemblage, (ii) quantify the influence of different parameters on the behaviour of beam-column joint and, (iii) develop suitable and adequate strengthening scheme for the joints, if required, to obtain the desired strength hierarchy. In view of this, it is very important to estimate the joint shear strength and identify the failure modes of the joint region as it is the most critical part in any beam-column sub-assemblage. One of the most effective models is softened strut and tie model which was developed by incorporating force equilibrium, strain compatibility and constitutive laws of cracked reinforced concrete. In this study, softened strut and tie model, which incorporates force equilibrium equations, compatibility conditions and material constitutive relation of the cracked concrete, are used to simulate the shear strength behaviour and to identify failure mechanisms of the beam-column joints. The observations of the present study will be helpful to arrive at the design strategy of the joints to ensure the desired failure mechanism and strength hierarchy to achieve sustainability of structural systems under seismic loading.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.1-18
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• 2010

Bonding of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites has become a popular technique for strengthening concrete structures in recent years. The bond stress between concrete and CFRP is the main factor determining the strength, rigidity, failure mode and behavior of a reinforced concrete member strengthened with CFRP. The accurate evaluation of the strain is required for analytical calculations and design processes. In this study, the strain between concrete and bonded CFRP sheets across the notch is tested. In this paper, indirect axial tension is applied to CFRP bonded test specimen by a four point bending tests. The variables studied in this research are CFRP sheet width, bond length and the concrete compression strength. Furthermore, the effect of a crack- modeled as a notch- on the strain distribution is studied. It is observed that the strain in the CFRP to concrete interface reaches its maximum values near the crack tips. It is also observed that extending the CFRP sheet more than to a certain length does not affect the strength and the strain distribution of the bonding. The stress distribution obtained from experiments are compared to Chen and Teng's (2001) analytical model.