• Journal of the Korean housing association
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.13-23
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• 2014

This study explores the daily life patterns and housing adjustment behaviors of low-income Korean elderly immigrants residing in affordable housing in the Chicago metropolitan area. Utilizing an intercultural perspective, the study focuses on identifying the immigrants' their cultural attributes of daily living and coping responses to residential misfits. These housing adjustment behaviors are classified into five modes consisting of residential mobility, structural adaptation, residential alteration, normative adaptation, and behavioral adaptation. Two-hour in-depth interviews with open-ended questions were conducted with 138 participants from 15 affordable housing complexes. Collected information includes demographic data, immigration experiences and cultural identity, daily life patterns, as well as housing evaluation and housing adjustment behaviors. The study results indicate that many research participants maintained their cultural attributes of daily living accumulated from past experiences (i.e. mostly based upon Korean cultural contexts), but also made adjustments as they complied with their aging body and new living conditions. This also reflects that immigrants' cultural needs are not limited to the use of language and ethnic goods, but are also embedded deeply in their daily life patterns to influence one's uses of the dwellings in a broader sense. All five modes of housing adjustment behaviors were observed with research participants within their residential settings. More importantly, normative and behavioral adaptations along with residential alterations occurred more simultaneously rather than sequentially when the respondents perceived discrepancy between oneself (i.e. including one's attributes, needs, and preferences) and his/her dwelling.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.1-6
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• 2015

The actual condition is that environmental pollution due to the development of various industries has recently become a serious issue. An interest in improving the gas mileage is rising due to an increase in the number of vehicles in the era of high oil price in particular. In order to solve this problem, priority should be given to light-weight design of car body, However, at present, a design method enabling the conventional steel plate to be replaced is direly needed in order to guarantee passengers' safety according to excessive light-weight design of car body. In this study, in order to apply a design method that could realize fuel savings and environmental pollution prevention through an improvement in gas mileage together with meeting the safety requirements for vehicles, it was supposed that CFRP/Al composites member would be used as primary structural member. And to this end, it was intended to obtain optimum design data by experimentally implementing external impulsive load applied to the car body. According to results of impact test of CFRP/Al composites member, a collapsed shape of folding, crack, and bending occurred. So, it was possible to find that energy was observed. And in case of specimen having an angle of $90^{\circ}$ in the outermost layer and stack sequence of $[90^{\circ}{_2}/0^{\circ}2]s$, its collapsed length was shown to be short. Therefore, it was possible to find that the absorbed energy was shown to be higher by 20% or above at the maximum.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.4 no.5
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• pp.451-470
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• 2013

It generally accepted that most building structures shall exhibit a nonlinear response when subjected to medium-high intensity earthquakes. It is currently known, however, that this phenomenon is not properly modelled in the majority of cases, especially at the design stage, where only simple linear methods have effectively been used. Recently, as a result of the exponential progress of computational tools, nonlinear modelling and analysis have gradually been brought to a more promising level. A wide range of modelling alternatives developed over the years is hence at the designer's disposal for the seismic design and assessment of engineering structures. The objective of the study presented herein is to test some of these models in an existing structure, and observe their performance in nonlinear static and dynamic analyses. This evaluation is done by the use of two of a known range of advanced computer programs: SAP2000 and SeismoStruct. The different models will focus on the element flexural mechanism with both lumped and distributed plasticity element models. In order to appraise the reliability and feasibility of each alternative, the programs capabilities and the amount of labour and time required for modelling and performing the analyses are also discussed. The results obtained show the difficulties that may be met, not only in performing nonlinear analyses, but also on their dependency on both the chosen nonlinear structural models and the adopted computer programs. It is then suggested that these procedures should only be used by experienced designers, provided that they are aware of these difficulties and with a critical stance towards the result of the analyses.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.63 no.2
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• pp.147-160
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• 2017

In this study, the optimum parameters of Tuned Mass Dampers (TMDs) are proposed using Gravity Search Algorithm (GSA) and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) to reduce the responses of the structures. A MATLAB program is developed to apply the new approach to the benchmark 10 and 40-story structures. The obtained results are compared to those of other optimization methods used in the literature to verify the developed code. To show the efficiency and accuracy of the proposed methods, nine far-field and near-field worldwide earthquakes are applied to the structures. The results reveal that in the 40-story structure, GSA algorithm can reduce the Relative Displacement (RD) and Absolute Acceleration (AA) up to 43% and 21%, respectively while the PSO decreases them by 50% and 25%, respectively. In contrast, both GSA and PSO algorithms reduce the RD and AA about 29% and 21% for the 10-story structure. Furthermore, using the proposed approach the required TMD parameters reduce by 47% and 63% in the 40 and 10-story buildings in comparison with the referenced ones. Result evaluation and related comparison indicate that these methods are more effective even by using smaller TMD parameters resulting in the reduction of acting force from TMD, having smaller stiffness and damping factors while being more cost effective due to its decreased parameters. In other words, the TMD with optimum parameters can play a positive role in both tall and typical structures.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.14
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• pp.5741-5747
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• 2015

Purpose: To understand the epidemiology of different upper gastrointestinal (UGI) tract related abnormalities through endoscopic data analysis. Materials and Methods: A retrospective study of three years from January 2009 to December 2011 was conducted with data from endoscopic surveillance of upper GI tract problems, collected from the Gastroenterology Unit, Osmania General Hospital, Hyderabad. MS excel and Medcalc software (comparison of proportions) were used for data analysis. Results: A total of 10,029 (6,468 in males and 3,561 in females) endoscopies were performed during this three-year period. The male to female ratio was 1.8:1. Overall, ~30% of endoscopies evaluated showed patients with acid peptic disorders, 13.6% with vascular-related abnormalities, 10.6% showed structural abnormalities, followed by 6.3% with malignancies. Burden of malignancies was mostly observed in the older age group (60-69 years). Esophageal cancer cases decreased (p=0.0001) whereas stomach cancers increased over this period (p=0.0345). We also observed an increased incidence of acid peptic disease (APD) (p=0.0036) and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) (p=0.0002) cases during this period. Conclusions: Endoscopic diagnosis is useful for early detection of UGI anomalies and helpful for physicians to manage and treat varied kinds of UGI disorders. Analysis of data revealed changing trends in the incidence of various pathologies of the UGI tract. Functional dyspepsia and GERD definitely reduce the quality of life of the individual. The role of our diverse dietary habits and lifestyle associated with these problems have not yet been established, though there have been reports on the effect of coffee, spicy food, wheat-based diet, screening of UGI pathologies along with collection of complete personal and medical history details, can h elp in correlating the patients' condition with various aspects of lifestyle and diet.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.25 no.7
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• pp.1139-1146
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• 2001

The reactor pressure vessel(RPV) is usually cladded with stainless steel to prevent corrosion and radiation embrittlement, and a number of subclad cracks have been found during an in-service-inspection. These subclad cracks should be assured for a safe operation under normal conditions and faulted conditions such as pressurized thermal shock(PTS). Currently available integrity assessment procedure for an RPV, ASME Code Sec. XI, are built on the basis of linear fracture mechanics (LEFM). In PTS condition, however, thermal stress and mechanical stress give rise to high tensile stress at the cladding and elastic-plastic behavior is expected in this area. Therfore, ASME Code Sec. XI is overly conservative in assessing the structural integrity under PTS condition. In this paper, the fracture parameter (stress intensity factor, K, and RT(sub)NDT) from elastic analysis using ASME Sec. XI and finite element method were validated against 3-D elastic-plastic finite element analyses. The difference between elastic and elastic-plastic analysis became significant with increasing crack depth. Therfore, it is recommended to perform elastic-plastic analysis for the accurate assessment of subclad cracks under TPS which causes plastic deformation at the cladding.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.27 no.11
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• pp.1979-1985
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• 2003

Fretting is a kind of surface degradation mechanism observed in mechanical components and structures. The fretting damage decreases in 50-70% of the plain fatigue strength. This may be observed in the fossil power plant and the nuclear power plant used in special environments and various loading conditions. The thermal degradation of material is observed when the heat resisting steel is exposed for long period time at the high temperature. In the present study, the degraded 1Cr-0.5Mo steel used for long period time at high temperature (about 515$^{\circ}C$) and artificially reheat-treated materials are prepared. These materials are used for evaluating an effect of thermal aging on the fretting fatigue behavior. Through the experiment, it is found that the fretting fatigue endurance limit of the reheat-treated 1Cr-0.5Mo steel decreased about 46% from the non-fretting fatigue endurance limit, while the fretting fatigue endurance limit of the degraded 1Cr-0.5Mo steel decreased about 53% from the non-fretting fatigue endurance limit. The maximum value of fatigue endurance limit difference is observed as 57%(244 MPa) between the fretting fatigue of degraded material and non-fretting fatigue of reheat-treated material. These results can be a basic data to a structural integrity evaluation of heat resisting steel considered to thermal degradation effect.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2000.04a
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• pp.43-48
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• 2000

In this study, a small punch creep(SP-Creep) test using miniaturized specimen$(10{\times}10{\times}0.5mm)$ has been described for the development of the newly semi-destructive creep test method for high temperature structural components such as headers and tubes of boiler turbine casino and rotor and reactor vessel. The SP-Creep testing technique has been applied to 2.25Cr-1Mo(STBA24) steel used widely as boiler tube material and the creep test temperature are varied at $550^{\circ}C{\sim}600^{\circ}C$. The overall deformations of SP-Creep curves are definitely depended with applied load and creep test temperature and show the creep behaviors of three steps like conventional uniaxial creep curves. The steady state creep rate${\delta}_{ss}$ of SP-Creep curve for miniaturized specimen increases with increasing creep temperature, but the exponential value with creep loading is decreased. The activation energy$(Q_{spc})$ during SP-Creep deformation with various test temperatures shows 605.7kJ/mol that is g.eater than 467.4kJ/mol reported in uniaxial creep test. This may be caused by the difference of stress states during creep deformation In two creep test. But from the experimental results, e.g. SP-Creep curve behaviors, the steady state creep rate${\delta}_{ss}$ with creep temperature, and the exponential value(n) with creep loading, it can be summarized that the SP-Creep test may be a useful test method to evaluate the creep properties of the heat resisting material.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.203-210
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• 2012

The main rotor control system is an important structural part of a helicopter that manages the thrust and control force of the helicopter. The main rotor control system consists of a swashplate assembly, scissor assembly, pitch rod assembly, guide, etc. The main rotor control system must endure various loads, such as the thrust and control force, and must meet the optimized fatigue safety life. The rotating swashplate is an important structure influenced by the pitch rod load and rotating scissor load. In this paper, the accuracy of a result about the rotating swashplate part of the main rotor control system is proven through comparison between fatigue test and FEM results. Based on this result, we estimate the lifetime and deduce the fatigue safe lifetime.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.61 no.4
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• pp.527-538
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• 2017

The evaluation of the loss-of-support conditions of frictional beam-to-column connections using simplified numerical models describing the transverse response of a portal-like structure is presented in this paper considering the effects of the seismic-hazard disaggregation. Real earthquake time histories selected from European Strong-motion Database (ESD) are used to show the effects of the seismic-hazard disaggregation on the beam loss-of-support conditions. Seismic events are classified according to different values of magnitudes, epicentral distances and soil conditions (stiff or soft soil) highlighting the importance of considering the characteristics of the seismic input in the assessment of the loss-of-support conditions of frictional beam-to-column connections. A rigid and an elastic model of a frame of a precast industrial building (2-DoF portal-like model) are presented and adopted to find the minimum required friction coefficient to avoid sliding. Then, the mean value of the minimum required friction coefficient with an epicentral distance bin of 10 km is calculated and fitted with a linear function depending on the logarithm of the epicentral distance. A complete parametric analysis varying the horizontal and vertical period of vibration of the structure is performed. Results show that the loss-of-support condition is strongly influenced by magnitude, epicentral distance and soil conditions determining the frequency content of the earthquake time histories and the correlation between the maxima of the horizontal and vertical components. Moreover, as expected, dynamic characteristics of the structure have also a strong influence. Finally, the effect of the column nonlinear behavior (i.e. formation of plastic hinges at the base) is analyzed showing that the connection and the column are a series system where the maximum force is limited by the element having the minimum strength. Two different longitudinal reinforcement ratios are analyzed demonstrating that the column strength variation changes the system response.