Currently, the number of construction cases using large-diameter and high-strength steel and high-strength concrete is increasing due to the trend of large buildings. In the case of reinforcing bars that serve as the framework of a structure, the continuous state is the best in terms of structural stability. However, for convenience, it is transported and assembled to a predetermined standard. In this study, a coupler was developed applying SCM440 material with excellent mechanical properties, not S35C and S45C materials, generally used as coupler materials. To this end, high-frequency carburizing and heat treatment was applied to the element parts taking into account the taper angle and stress results, reflecting the results of low- and high-cycle fatigue tests and structural analysis for the applied material. Finally, in the case of a reinforced coupler fastened with hydraulic SD500 reinforcement bars with diameter D25, a reliability test was carried out using the mechanical joint inspection method of reinforced concrete reinforcement bars. Results were obtained that satisfied the characteristic performance values.

This study aims to investigate the fatigue life of T-Type fillet welded joints for excavators subjected to bending loads, and also to verify the predicted fatigue life of the welded part using the effective notch stress method. Moreover, this study aims to determine an optimal toe angle of the T-Type fillet welded structure. In this context, the fatigue lives of T-Type fillet welded specimens (SM490A) were measured and the effective notch stress method for predicting the fatigue life of the T-Type fillet welded structure was verified by comparing with the FAT-225 curve of IIW (International Institute of Welding) as was suggested for the current types of welded structures. Considering simultaneously the scattering factor of the welded structure, the stress condition at the toe part higher than the root part, and the stress minimization condition of the toe part, the optimum toe angle at the T-Type fillet welding was identified at 30°. Likewise, the maximum stress (310.5 MPa) when the toe angle was 30° was about 14% less than the maximum stress (354.0 MPa) at 45°, and the fatigue life was improved by about 30%.

This study aims to investigate the effect of the post weld treatments on the fatigue life of T-type welded structure made by a SM50A steel material, generally used for excavators, because changes in the geometry, material and surface properties of welded regions affect the fatigue life of welded structures. T-type test specimens were prepared by the CO2 welding of rolled steel plates (SM50A steel) with a thickness of 10 mm at a welding speed of 30 cm/min and these T-type welded specimens were further treated by UIT (Ultrasonic Impact Treatment) and/or toe-grinding post welding treatment methods. In order to investigate improvements on the fatigue life of the samples. 3-point bending fatigue tests were conducted with a stress ratio of R=0.1 under a cyclic loading environment at a frequency of 5 Hz, via a hydraulic fatigue testing machine (±100 kN, MTS 809). The tests were performed at room temperature. The fatigue life of UIT specimens was approximately 25 times longer than that of as-welded specimens at a stress amplitude of 281 MPa, while toe-grinding specimens exhibited 4.15 times longer fatigue life. The current results could provide important guidelines to determine the proper post weld treatment methodologies of T-type welded parts for excavators with a satisfactory fatigue life although under severe operating conditions.

In this study, an optimized design of a triaxial load cell has been developed by the use of finite element analysis, design of experiment and response surface method. The developed optimal design was further validated by both stress-strain analysis and natural vibration analysis under an applied load of 30 ㎏f. When vertical, horizontal, and axial loads of 30 ㎏f were applied to the load cell with the optimal design, the calculated strains were satisfied with the required strain range of 500×10^-6±10%. The natural vibration analysis exhibited that the fundamental natural frequency of the optimally designed load cell was 5.56 ㎑ and higher enough than a maximum frequency of 0.17 ㎑ which can be applied to the load cell for wind-tunnel tests. The satisfactory sensitivity in all triaxial directions also suggests that the currently proposed design of the triaxial load cell enables accurate measurements of the multi-axial forces in wind-tunnel tests.

Since a long work piece influences the natural frequency of the entire system with a miniature high speed spindle, a bar-feeder is used for a long work piece to improve the vibration characteristics of a spindle system. Therefore, it is very important to design optimally support positions between a bar-feeder and a long work piece for a miniature high speed spindle system. The goal of the current paper is to present an optimization method for the design of support positions between a bar-feeder and a long work piece. This optimization method is effectively composed of the method of design of experiment (DOE), the artificial neural network (ANN) and the genetic algorithm (GA). First, finite element models which include a high speed spindle, a long work piece and the support conditions of a bar-feeder were generated from the orthogonal array of the DOE method, and then the results of natural vibration analysis using FEM were provided for the learning inputs of the neural network. Finally, the design of bar-feeder support positions was optimized by the genetic algorithm method using the neural network approximations.

The objective of this study was to compare micro-scale friction coefficients with and without synovial fluid, and micro-scale measurements were performed using atomic force microscopy (AFM) with a 5 ㎛ spherical probe. Four cylindrical cartilage specimens were harvested from two fresh bovine humeral heads (4-6 months old). Average±standard deviation values of the micro-scale AFM frictional coefficients calculated from the linear fit of friction versus normal force was 0.177±0.012 and 0.130±0.010 with and without synovial fluid coating on AFM probe respectively, showing its reduction by ~27% with synovial fluid. To the best of our knowledge, this experimental study investigates the first such comparisons of frictional response of articular cartilage with and without synovial fluid coating on AFM probe, and provides significant insights into the role of synovial fluid in the articular cartilage friction and lubrication independently of the confounding effect of fluid pressurization in the articular cartilage.

The objective of this study was to characterize the role of synovial fluid and hyaluronan in the frictional response of bovine articular cartilage. Seven cylindrical cartilage specimens were harvested from three fresh bovine humeral heads (4-6 months old). Reciprocal sliding motion (1㎜/s) was provided by a custom-made friction testing apparatus with a normal load of 22.3 N. From the measured time-dependent normal and frictional forces, the minimum and maximum frictional coefficients were calculated. Synovial fluid reduced the minimum frictional coefficient by -75 % and maximum frictional coefficient by -11%, while the reduction of the minimum and maximum frictional coefficients with hyaluronan was -42% and -24%, respectively To the best of our knowledge, this experimental study investigates the first such comparisons of frictional response of articular cartilage with and without synovial fluid and hyaluronan, and provides significant insights into their role in the articular cartilage friction and lubrication.

One of the unresolved questions in articular cartilage biomechanics is the magnitude of the dynamic modulus and tissue compressive strains under physiological loading conditions. The objective of this study was to characterize the dynamic modulus and compressive strain magnitudes of bovine articular cartilage at physiological compressive stress level and loading frequency. Four bovine calf shoulder joints (ages 2-4 months) were loaded in Instron testing system under load control, with a load amplitude up to 800 N and loading frequency of 1 ㎐, resulting in peak engineering stress amplitude of ~5.8 ㎪. The corresponding peak deformation of the articular layer reached ~27% of its thickness. The effective dynamic modulus determined from the slope of stress versus strain curve was -23 ㎪, and the phase angle difference between the applied stress and measured strain which is equivalent to the area of the hystresis loop in the stress-strain response was ~8.3°. These results are representative of the functional properties of articular cartilage in a physiological loading environment. This study provides novel experimental findings on the physiological strain magnitudes and dynamic modulus achieved in intact articular layers under cyclical loading conditions.