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Magnetic anisotropy strongly influences the performance of the magnetocaloric effect. We investigated the magnetocaloric properties of the NdAlGe single crystal with I41md structure. The temperature-dependent magnetization revealed significant anisotropic properties; stable antiferromagnetic transition at TN = 6 K for H//a and meta-magnetic spin reorientation at low temperature (T ≤ 5 K) within an intermediate field (H = 2 T) for H//c. During the metamagnetic spin reorientation, the abrupt change of the magnetic entropy leads to a significant magnetocaloric effect with negative magnetic entropy change (∆SM) by −13.80 J kg−1 K−1 at TC = 5.5 K for H = 5 T along the H//c axis. In addition, the antiferromagnetic state for H//a shows the inverse magnetocaloric effect(I-MCE) by positive entropy change ∆SM = 2.64 J kg−1 K−1 at TN = 6 K for H = 5 T. This giant MCE accompanied by the metamagnetic transition resulted in a significantly large relative cooling power (158 J/kg at H = 5 T) for H//c. The giant MCE and I-MCE can be applied to the rotational magnetocaloric effect (R-MCE) depending on the crystal orientations. NdAlGe exhibits rotational entropy change ∆Sc−a = −12.85 J kg−1 K at Tpeak = 7.5 K, H = 5 T. With comparison to conventional MCE materials, NdAlGe is suggested as promising candidate of R-MCE, which is a novel type of magnetic refrigeration system.

Cable-stayed bridges are infrastructure facilities of a highly public nature; therefore, it is essential to ensure operational safety and prompt response in the event of a collapse or damage, which are caused by natural and social disasters. Among social disasters, blast accidents can occur in cable-stayed bridges as a result of explosions produced by vehicle collisions or terrorist attacks; this can lead to the degradation in their structural performances and subsequent collapse. In this research, a procedure to assess structural blast-resistance performance is suggested based on a numerical analysis approach, and the feasibility of the procedure is demonstrated by performing an example assessment. The suggested procedure includes (1) selection of major structural components that severely affect the global structural behavior, (2) set-up blast hazard scenarios consisting of various blast levels and locations, and (3) assessment of the components using numerical blast simulation. By performing an example assessment, the critical blast level for each component could be determined and the blast location that affects the considering components the most severely could be found as well. The scenario-based assessment process employed in this study is expected to facilitate the evaluation of bridge structures under blasts in both existing bridges and future designs.