In this work, precise gas pressure control based on a closed pneumatic circuit was achieved with a mechanically driven gas pressure controller (MDGPC), consisting of a variable-volume bellows chamber and linear actuator. The linear actuator was employed to change an axial dimension of the bellows chamber with the proportional (P) and proportional-integral (PI) controls for fast, stable, and precise pressure control of the gas inside the bellows chamber. The pressure control stability and resolution of the MDGPC were approximately 1.5 Pa and 10 Pa for the P control and 1 Pa and 5 Pa for the PI control, respectively. Despite the more stable and precise control characteristics of the PI control method, overshoots and undershoots observed during the set-point pressure changes and recoveries from pressure disturbances rendered it unsuitable for the MDGPC control method. In contrast, the MDGPC operated under the P control did not show any significant overshoots or undershoots when the set-point pressure abruptly changed or when the MDGPC was exposed to pressure disturbances. Therefore, it was concluded that a fast, precise, and stable gas pressure control in a closed manner was attainable with the MDGPC under the P control.

Transportation machine manufacturers are putting in efforts on research based on weight reduction. One of the representative materials for weight reduction is Fiber Reinforced Plastic (FRP). Increased used of FRP, glass fiber and carbon fiber could be a way of weight reduction. It is almost unavoidable to generate holes or notches during structural design. Little research have been carried out based on cracks with respect to materials used for design. The utilization of finite element analysis and the reliability of the analysis methods are increasing in order to promptly cope with the damages in materials. In this study, Compact Tension (CT) model based on ASTM E647 was designed using SM45C, steel for structural use, short fiber Glass Fiber Reinforced Plastic (GFRP), and woven type Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic (CFRP). In addition, J-Integral, which is a factor for determination of growth of crack that appears in cracks, was applied to general structure analysis. J-Integral is an equation of the body force of the material and strain energy in accordance with the loading force, and illustrates the crack growth using energy release rate. J-Integral values of SM45C, short fiber GFRP and woven type CFRP were found to be approximately 74,978 mJ/mm², 7492.3 mJ/mm² and 6222.4 mJ/mm², respectively.

The CSU (continuous ship uploader) is one of the most advanced and high-tech machines among the logistics facilities. It is giant heavy equipment and has a number of driving systems compared to a general crane. In general, CSU is designed to have a life of 20 years, but recently it has been increased up to 30-50 years or is being used as a semi-permanent facility. In this study, based on the structural analysis and the elasto-plastic fracture mechanics, fracture toughness test was performed on the front tension bar, which is the main load bar of the CSU machine. The J-integral analysis was performed on the front tension bar. Based on the results of the J-integral analysis and fracture resistance test, the critical crack length without instantaneous fracture was calculated and analyzed for each operating load.