Search results for: Fatigue crack initiation

Authors: Anis S. Shuib, Peter R. Hoskins, William J. Easson

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Cardiovascular disease mostly in the form of atherosclerosis is responsible for 30% of all world deaths amounting to 17 million people per year. Atherosclerosis is due to the formation of plaque. The fatty plaque may be at risk of rupture, leading typically to stroke and heart attack. The plaque is usually associated with a high degree of lumen reduction, called a stenosis. The initiation and progression of the disease is strongly linked to the hemodynamic environment near the vessel wall. The aim of this study is to validate the flow of blood mimic through an arterial stenosis model with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) package. In experiment, an axisymmetric model constructed consists of contraction and expansion region that follow a mathematical form of cosine function. A 30% diameter reduction was used in this study. Particle image velocimetry (PIV) was used to characterize the flow. The fluid consists of rigid spherical particles suspended in waterglycerol- NaCl mixture. The particles with 20 μm diameter were selected to follow the flow of fluid. The flow at Re=155, 270 and 390 were investigated. The experimental result is compared with FLUENT simulated flow that account for viscous laminar flow model. The results suggest that laminar flow model was sufficient to predict flow velocity at the inlet but the velocity at stenosis throat at Re =390 was overestimated. Hence, a transition to turbulent regime might have been developed at throat region as the flow rate increases.

Keywords: Atherosclerosis, Particle-laden flow, Particle imagevelocimetry, Stenosis artery

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Authors: B. Daee, H. M. El Naggar

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This paper presents an experimental study on structural performance of an innovative noise barrier consisting of poly-block, light polyurethane foam (LPF) and polyurea. This wall system (flexi-wall) is intended to be employed as a vertical extension to existing sound barriers in an accelerated construction method. To aid in the wall design, several mechanical tests were conducted on LPF specimens and two full-scale walls were then fabricated employing the same LPF material. The full-scale walls were subjected to lateral loading in order to establish their lateral resistance. A cyclic fatigue test was also performed on a full-scale flexi-wall in order to evaluate the performance of the wall under a repetitive loading condition. The result of the experiments indicated the suitability of flexi-wall in accelerated construction and confirmed that the structural performance of the wall system under lateral loading is satisfactory for the sound barrier application. The experimental results were discussed and a preliminary design procedure for application of flexi-wall in sound barrier applications was also developed.

Keywords: Noise barrier, Polyurethane Foam, Accelerated construction, Full-scale experiment.

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Authors: H. Naghawi, R. Al-Ajarmeh, R. Allouzi, A. AlKlub, K. Masarwah, A. AL-Quraini, M. Abu-Sarhan

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The main objective of this paper is to evaluate the use of plastic waste as a low cost asphalt binder modifier. For this purpose Marshall mix design procedure was used. Marshall mix design procedure seeks to select the Optimum Binder Content (OBC) to be added to a specific aggregate blend resulting in a mixture that satisfies the desired properties of strength and durability. In order to evaluate the plastic waste modified (PWM) asphalt mixtures, the OBC for the conventional asphalt mix was first identified, and then different percentages of crushed plastic waste by weight of the identified OBC were tested. Marshall test results for the modified asphalt mixtures were analyzed to find the optimum PWM content. Finally, the static indirect tensile strength (IDT) was determined for all mixtures using the splitting tensile test. It was found that PWM content of 7.43% by weight of OBC is recommended as the optimum PWM content needed for enhancing the performance of asphalt mixtures. It enhanced stability by 42.56%, flow by 89.91% and strength by 13.54%. This would lead to a more durable pavement by improving the pavement resistance to fatigue cracking and rutting.

Keywords: Binder content modifier, Marshall test, plastic waste, polyethylene terephthalate.

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Authors: Vigen Arakelian

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The balancing of mechanisms is a well-known problem in the field of mechanical engineering because the variable dynamic loads cause vibrations, as well as noise, wear and fatigue of the machines. A mechanical system with unbalance shaking force and shaking moment transmits substantial vibration to the frame. Therefore, the objective of the balancing is to cancel or reduce the variable dynamic reactions transmitted to the frame. The resolution of this problem consists in the balancing of the shaking force and shaking moment. It can be fully or partially, by internal mass redistribution via adding counterweights or by modification of the mechanism's architecture via adding auxiliary structures. The balancing problems are of continue interest to researchers. Several laboratories around the world are very active in this area and new results are published regularly. However, despite its ancient history, mechanism balancing theory continues to be developed and new approaches and solutions are constantly being reported. Various surveys have been published that disclose particularities of balancing methods. The author believes that this is an appropriate moment to present a state of the art of the shaking force balancing studies completed by new research results. This paper presents an overview of methods devoted to the shaking force balancing of mechanisms, as well as the historical aspects of the origins and the evolution of the balancing theory of mechanisms.

Keywords: Inertia forces, shaking forces, balancing, dynamics.

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Authors: Chong Wang, Kellem M. Soares, Luis E. Kosteski

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The problem of toughening in brittle materials reinforced by fibers is complex, involving all of the mechanical properties of fibers, matrix and the fiber/matrix interface, as well as the geometry of the fiber. Development of new numerical methods appropriate to toughening simulation and analysis is necessary. In this work, we have performed simulations and analysis of toughening in brittle matrix reinforced by randomly distributed fibers by means of the discrete elements method. At first, we put forward a mechanical model of toughening contributed by random fibers. Then with a numerical program, we investigated the stress, damage and bridging force in the composite material when a crack appeared in the brittle matrix. From the results obtained, we conclude that: (i) fibers of high strength and low elasticity modulus are beneficial to toughening; (ii) fibers of relatively high elastic modulus compared to the matrix may result in substantial matrix damage due to spalling effect; (iii) employment of high-strength synthetic fibers is a good option for toughening. We expect that the combination of the discrete element method (DEM) with the finite element method (FEM) can increase the versatility and efficiency of the software developed. The present work can guide the design of ceramic composites of high performance through the optimization of the parameters.

Keywords: Bridging stress, discrete element method, fiber reinforced composites, toughening.

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Authors: B.S. Al-Tulaian, M. J. Al-Shannag, A.M. Al-Hozaimy

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The development of new construction materials using  recycled plastic is important to both the construction and the plastic  recycling industries. Manufacturing of fibers from industrial or  postconsumer plastic waste is an attractive approach with such  benefits as concrete performance enhancement, and reduced needs  for land filling. The main objective of this study is to investigate the  effect of Plastic fibers obtained locally from recycled waste on plastic  shrinkage cracking of ordinary cement based mortar. Parameters  investigated include: fiber length ranging from 20 to 50mm, and fiber  volume fraction ranging from 0% to 1.5% by volume. The test results  showed significant improvement in crack arresting mechanism and  substantial reduction in the surface area of cracks for the mortar  reinforced with recycled plastic fibers compared to plain mortar.  Furthermore, test results indicated that there was a slight decrease in  compressive strength of mortar reinforced with different lengths and  contents of recycled fibers compared to plain mortar. This study  suggests that adding more than 1% of RP fibers to mortar, can be  used effectively for controlling plastic shrinkage cracking of cement  based mortar, and thus results in waste reduction and resources  conservation.

 

Keywords: Mortar, plastic, shrinkage cracking, compressive strength, RF recycled fibers.

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Authors: K. Sandjak, B. Tiliouine

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This article presents the main results of three-dimensional (3-D) numerical investigation of asphalt pavement structures behaviour using a coupled Finite Element-Mapped Infinite Element (FE-MIE) model. The validation and numerical performance of this model are assessed by confronting critical pavement responses with Burmister’s solution and FEM simulation results for multi-layered elastic structures. The coupled model is then efficiently utilised to perform 3-D simulations of a typical asphalt pavement structure in order to investigate the impact of two tire configurations (conventional dual and new generation wide-base tires) on critical pavement response parameters. The numerical results obtained show the effectiveness and the accuracy of the coupled (FE-MIE) model. In addition, the simulation results indicate that, compared with conventional dual tire assembly, single wide base tire caused slightly greater fatigue asphalt cracking and subgrade rutting potentials and can thus be utilised in view of its potential to provide numerous mechanical, economic, and environmental benefits.

Keywords: Infinite elements, 3-D numerical investigation, asphalt pavements, dual and wide base tires.

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Authors: Sam S. Hashemi

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The breakage of bonding between sand particles and their dislodgment from the borehole wall are among the main factors resulting in a borehole failure in poorly cemented granular formations. The grain debonding usually precedes the borehole failure and it can be considered as a sign that the onset of the borehole collapse is imminent. Detecting the bonding breakage point and introducing an appropriate failure criterion will play an important role in borehole stability analysis. To study the influence of different factors on the initiation of sand bonding breakage at the borehole wall, a series of laboratory tests was designed and conducted on poorly cemented sand samples. The total absorbed strain energy per volume of material up to the point of the observed particle debonding was computed. The results indicated that the particle bonding breakage point at the borehole wall was reached both before and after the peak strength of the thick-walled hollow cylinder specimens depending on the stress path and cement content. Three different cement contents and two borehole sizes were investigated to study the influence of the bonding strength and scale on the particle dislodgment. Test results showed that the stress path has a significant influence on the onset of the sand bonding breakage. It was shown that for various stress paths, there is a near linear relationship between the absorbed energy and the normal effective mean stress.

Keywords: Borehole stability, experimental studies, total strain energy, poorly cemented sands, particle bonding breakage.

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Authors: A. R. Shahani, E. Mahdavi, M. Amidpour

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Hydrogen diffusion is the main problem for corrosion fatigue in corrosive environment. In order to analyze the phenomenon, it is needed to understand their behaviors specially the hydrogen behavior during the diffusion. So, Hydrogen embrittlement and prediction its behavior as a main corrosive part of the fractions, needed to solve combinations of different equations mathematically. The main point to obtain the equation, having knowledge about the source of causing diffusion and running the atoms into materials, called driving force. This is produced by either gradient of electrical or chemical potential. In this work, we consider the gradient of chemical potential to obtain the property equation. In diffusion of atoms, some of them may be trapped but, it could be ignorable in some conditions. According to the phenomenon of hydrogen embrittlement, the thermodynamic and chemical properties of hydrogen are considered to justify and relate them to fracture mechanics. It is very important to get a stress intensity factor by using fugacity as a property of hydrogen or other gases. Although, the diffusive behavior and embrittlement event are common and the same for other gases but, for making it more clear, we describe it for hydrogen. This considering on the definite gas and describing it helps us to understand better the importance of this relation.

Keywords: Hydrogen embrittlement, Fracture mechanics, Thermodynamic, Stress intensity factor.

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Authors: Simon B. N. Thompson

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Cortisol is essential to the regulation of the immune system and yawning is a pathological symptom of multiple sclerosis (MS). Electromyography activity (EMG) in the jaw muscles typically rises when the muscles are moved and with yawning is highly correlated with cortisol levels in healthy people. Saliva samples from 59 participants were collected at the start and after yawning, or at the end of the presentation of yawning-provoking stimuli, in the absence of a yawn, together with EMG data and questionnaire data: Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Yawning Susceptibility Scale, General Health Questionnaire, demographic, health details. Exclusion criteria: chronic fatigue, diabetes, fibromyalgia, heart condition, high blood pressure, hormone replacement therapy, multiple sclerosis, stroke. Significant differences were found between the saliva cortisol samples for the yawners, t (23) = -4.263, p = 0.000, as compared with the non-yawners between rest and post-stimuli, which was nonsignificant. Significant evidence was found to support the Thompson Cortisol Hypothesis suggesting that rises in cortisol levels are associated with yawning. Further research is exploring the use of cortisol as an early diagnostic tool for MS. Ethics approval granted and professional code of conduct, confidentiality, and safety issues are approved therein.

Keywords: Cortisol, Multiple Sclerosis, Yawning, Thompson’s Cortisol Hypothesis.

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Authors: K. Machida, H. Yamada

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Displacement measurement was conducted on compact normal and shear specimens made of acrylic homogeneous material subjected to mixed-mode loading by digital image correlation. The intelligent hybrid method proposed by Nishioka et al. was applied to the stress-strain analysis near the crack tip. The accuracy of stress-intensity factor at the free surface was discussed from the viewpoint of both the experiment and 3-D finite element analysis. The surface images before and after deformation were taken by a CMOS camera, and we developed the system which enabled the real time stress analysis based on digital image correlation and inverse problem analysis. The great portion of processing time of this system was spent on displacement analysis. Then, we tried improvement in speed of this portion. In the case of cracked body, it is also possible to evaluate fracture mechanics parameters such as the J integral, the strain energy release rate, and the stress-intensity factor of mixed-mode. The 9-points elliptic paraboloid approximation could not analyze the displacement of submicron order with high accuracy. The analysis accuracy of displacement was improved considerably by introducing the Newton-Raphson method in consideration of deformation of a subset. The stress-intensity factor was evaluated with high accuracy of less than 1% of the error.

Keywords: Digital image correlation, mixed mode, Newton-Raphson method, stress intensity factor.

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Authors: Phusit Phukamchanoad

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This study aimed to analyse the application of sufficiency economy in students’ ways of life on campus at Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University. Data was gathered through 394 questionnaires. The study results found that the majority of students were confident that “where there’s a will, there’s a way.” Overall, the students applied the sufficiency economy at a great level, along with being persons who do not exploit others, were satisfied with living their lives moderately, according to the sufficiency economy. Importance was also given to kindness and generosity. Importantly, students were happy with living according to their individual circumstances and status at the present. They saw the importance of joint life planning, self-development, and self-dependence, always learning to be satisfied with “adequate”. As for their practices and ways of life, socially relational activities rated highly, especially initiation activities for underclassmen at the university and the seniority system, which are suitable for activities on campus. Furthermore, the students knew how to build a career and find supplemental income, knew how to earnestly work according to convention to finish work, and preferred to study elective subjects which directly benefit career-wise. The students’ application of sufficiency economy philosophy principles depended on their lives in their hometowns. The students from the provinces regularly applied sufficiency economy philosophy to their lives, for example, by being frugal, steadfast, determined, avoiding negligence, and making economical spending plans; more so than the students from the capital.

Keywords: Application of Sufficiency Economy Philosophy, Way of Living, Undergraduate Students.

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Authors: S. Dikmen Kucuk, A. Tozluoglu, Y. Guner

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In recent years, petroleum-based polymers began to be limited due to effects on human and environmental point of view in many countries. Thus, organic-based biodegradable materials have attracted much interest in the composite industry because of environmental concerns. As a result of this, it has been asked that inorganic and petroleum-based materials should be reduced and altered with biodegradable materials. In this point, in this study, it is aimed to investigate the potential of use of TEMPO (2,2,6,6- tetramethylpiperidine 1-oxyl)-mediated oxidation nano-fibrillated cellulose instead of EPDM (ethylene-propylene-diene monomer) rubber, which is a petroleum-based material. Thus, the exchange of petroleum-based EPDM rubber with organic based cellulose nanofibers, which are environmentally friendly (green) and biodegradable, will be realized. The effect of tempo-oxidized cellulose nanofibers (TCNF) instead of EPDM rubber was analyzed by rheological, mechanical, chemical, thermal and aging analyses. The aged surfaces were visually scrutinized and surface morphological changes were examined via scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results obtained showed that TEMPO oxidation nano-fibrillated cellulose can be used at an amount of 1.0 and 2.2 phr resulting the values stay within tolerance according to customer standard and without any chemical degradation, crack, colour change or staining.

Keywords: EPDM, cellulose, green materials, nanofibrillated cellulose, TCNF, tempo-oxidized nanofiber.

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Authors: Shervin Khazaeli, Shahab Haj-zamani

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Recently, advanced geotechnical engineering problems related to soil movement, particle loss, and modeling of local failure (i.e. discontinua) as well as modeling the in-contact structures (i.e. continua) are of the great interest among researchers. The aim of this research is to meet the requirements with respect to the modeling of the above-mentioned two different domains simultaneously. To this end, a coupled numerical method is introduced based on Discrete Element Method (DEM) and eXtended-Finite Element Method (X-FEM). In the coupled procedure, DEM is employed to capture the interactions and relative movements of soil particles as discontinua, while X-FEM is utilized to model in-contact structures as continua, which may consist of different types of discontinuities. For verification purposes, the new coupled approach is utilized to examine benchmark problems including different contacts between/within continua and discontinua. Results are validated by comparison with those of existing analytical and numerical solutions. This study proves that extended-finite-discrete element method can be used to robustly analyze not only contact problems, but also other types of discontinuities in continua such as (i) crack formations and propagations, (ii) voids and bimaterial interfaces, and (iii) combination of previous cases. In essence, the proposed method can be used vastly in advanced soil-structure interaction problems to investigate the micro and macro behaviour of the surrounding soil and the response of the embedded structure that contains discontinuities.

Keywords: Contact problems, discrete element method, extended-finite element method, soil-structure interaction.

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Authors: Ahmed M. Hemeida, Wael A. Farag, Osama A. Mahgoub

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This paper focuses on developing an integrated reliable and sophisticated model for ultra large wind turbines And to study the performance and analysis of vector control on large wind turbines. With the advance of power electronics technology, direct driven multi-pole radial flux PMSG (Permanent Magnet Synchronous Generator) has proven to be a good choice for wind turbines manufacturers. To study the wind energy conversion systems, it is important to develop a wind turbine simulator that is able to produce realistic and validated conditions that occur in real ultra MW wind turbines. Three different packages are used to simulate this model, namely, Turbsim, FAST and Simulink. Turbsim is a Full field wind simulator developed by National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The wind turbine mechanical parts are modeled by FAST (Fatigue, Aerodynamics, Structures and Turbulence) code which is also developed by NREL. Simulink is used to model the PMSG, full scale back to back IGBT converters, and the grid.

Keywords: FAST, Permanent Magnet Synchronous Generator(PMSG), TurbSim, Vector Control and Pitch Control

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Authors: Asadullah I. Qazi, Mansoor Ahsan, Zahir Ashraf, Uzair Ahmad

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System identification of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), to acquire its mathematical model, is a significant step in the process of aircraft flight automation. The need for reliable mathematical model is an established requirement for autopilot design, flight simulator development, aircraft performance appraisal, analysis of aircraft modifications, preflight testing of prototype aircraft and investigation of fatigue life and stress distribution etc.  This research is aimed at system identification of a fixed wing UAV by means of specifically designed flight experiment. The purposely designed flight maneuvers were performed on the UAV and aircraft states were recorded during these flights. Acquired data were preprocessed for noise filtering and bias removal followed by parameter estimation of longitudinal dynamics transfer functions using MATLAB system identification toolbox. Black box identification based transfer function models, in response to elevator and throttle inputs, were estimated using least square error   technique. The identification results show a high confidence level and goodness of fit between the estimated model and actual aircraft response.

Keywords: Black box modeling, fixed wing aircraft, least square error, longitudinal dynamics, system identification.

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Authors: D. I. De Souza, G. P. Azevedo, R. Rocha

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In this paper we will develop a sequential life test approach applied to a modified low alloy-high strength steel part used in highway overpasses in Brazil.We will consider two possible underlying sampling distributions: the Normal and theInverse Weibull models. The minimum life will be considered equal to zero. We will use the two underlying models to analyze a fatigue life test situation, comparing the results obtained from both.Since a major chemical component of this low alloy-high strength steel part has been changed, there is little information available about the possible values that the parameters of the corresponding Normal and Inverse Weibull underlying sampling distributions could have. To estimate the shape and the scale parameters of these two sampling models we will use a maximum likelihood approach for censored failure data. We will also develop a truncation mechanism for the Inverse Weibull and Normal models. We will provide rules to truncate a sequential life testing situation making one of the two possible decisions at the moment of truncation; that is, accept or reject the null hypothesis H0. An example will develop the proposed truncated sequential life testing approach for the Inverse Weibull and Normal models.

Keywords: Sequential life testing, normal and inverse Weibull models, maximum likelihood approach, truncation mechanism.

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Authors: Manoj Sarda, Abhishek Agarwal, Juhi Kaushik, Vatsal Sanjay, Arup Kumar Das

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Railways in India remain primary mode of transport having one of the largest networks in the world and catering to billions of transits yearly. Catastrophic economic damage and loss to life is encountered over the past few decades due to fire to locomotives. Study of fire dynamics and fire propagation plays an important role in evacuation planning and reducing losses. Simulation based study of propagation of fire and soot inside an air conditioned coach of Indian locomotive is done in this paper. Finite difference based solver, Fire Dynamic Simulator (FDS) version 6 has been used for analysis. A single air conditioned 3 tier coupe closed to ambient surroundings by glass windows having occupancy for 8 people is the basic unit of the domain. A system of three such coupes combined is taken to be fundamental unit for the entire study to resemble effect to an entire coach. Analysis of flame and soot contours and concentrations is done corresponding to variations in heat release rate per unit volume (HRRPUA) of fire source, variations in conditioned air velocity being circulated inside coupes by vents and an alternate fire initiation and propagation mechanism via ducts. Quantitative results of fractional area in top and front view of the three coupes under fire and smoke are obtained using MATLAB (IMT). Present simulations and its findings will be useful for organizations like Commission of Railway Safety and others in designing and implementing safety and evacuation measures.

Keywords: Air-conditioned coaches, fire propagation, flame contour, soot flow, train fire.

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Authors: Seyed Erfan Hosseini, Mohammad K. Alizadeh, Amir Mesbah

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Non-saturated soils that while saturation greatly decrease their volume, have sudden settlement due to increasing humidity, fracture and structural crack are called loess soils. Whereas importance of civil projects including: dams, canals and constructions bearing this type of soil and thereof problems, it is required for carrying out more research and study in relation to loess soils. This research studies shear strength parameters by using grading test, Atterberg limit, compression, direct shear and consolidation and then effect of using cement and lime additives on stability of loess soils is studied. In related tests, lime and cement are separately added to mixed ratios under different percentages of soil and for different times the stabilized samples are processed and effect of aforesaid additives on shear strength parameters of soil is studied. Results show that upon passing time the effect of additives and collapsible potential is greatly decreased and upon increasing percentage of cement and lime the maximum dry density is decreased; however, optimum humidity is increased. In addition, liquid limit and plastic index is decreased; however, plastic index limit is increased. It is to be noted that results of direct shear test reveal increasing shear strength of soil due to increasing cohesion parameter and soil friction angle.

Keywords: Loess Soils, Shear Strength, Cement, Lime.

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Authors: Ahmed. S. Alasmari, M. S. Soliman, Magdy M. El-Rayes

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This study focuses on the effect of the addition of magnesium (Mg) and silver (Ag) on the mechanical properties of aluminum based alloys. The alloying elements will be added at different levels using the factorial design of experiments of 2²; the two factors are Mg and Ag at two levels of concentration. The superior mechanical properties of the produced Al-Cu-Mg-Ag alloys after aging will be resulted from a unique type of precipitation named as Ω-phase. The formed precipitate enhanced the tensile strength and thermal stability. This paper further investigated the microstructure and mechanical properties of as cast Al–Cu–Mg–Ag alloys after being complete homogenized treatment at 520 °C for 8 hours followed by isothermally age hardening process at 190 °C for different periods of time. The homogenization at 520 °C for 8 hours was selected based on homogenization study at various temperatures and times. The alloys’ microstructures were studied by using optical microscopy (OM). In addition to that, the fracture surface investigation was performed using a scanning electronic microscope (SEM). Studying the microstructure of aged Al-Cu-Mg-Ag alloys reveal that the grains are equiaxed with an average grain size of about 50 µm. A detailed fractography study for fractured surface of the aged alloys exhibited a mixed fracture whereby the random fracture suggested crack propagation along the grain boundaries while the dimples indicated that the fracture was ductile. The present result has shown that alloy 5 has the highest hardness values and the best mechanical behaviors.

Keywords: Precipitation hardening, aluminum alloys, aging, design of experiments, analysis of variance, heat treatments.

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Authors: R. Bharanidaran, B. T. Ramesh

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High precision in motion is required to manipulate the micro objects in precision industries for micro assembly, cell manipulation etc. Precision manipulation is achieved based on the appropriate mechanism design of micro devices such as microgrippers. Design of a compliant based mechanism is the better option to achieve a highly precised and controlled motion. This research article highlights the method of designing a compliant based three fingered microgripper suitable for holding asymmetric objects. Topological optimization technique, a systematic method is implemented in this research work to arrive a topologically optimized design of the mechanism needed to perform the required micro motion of the gripper. Optimization technique has a drawback of generating senseless regions such as node to node connectivity and staircase effect at the boundaries. Hence, it is required to have post processing of the design to make it manufacturable. To reduce the effect of post processing stage and to preserve the edges of the image, a cubic spline interpolation technique is introduced in the MATLAB program. Structural performance of the topologically developed mechanism design is tested using finite element method (FEM) software. Further the microgripper structure is examined to find its fatigue life and vibration characteristics.

Keywords: Compliant mechanism, Cubic spline interpolation, FEM, Topology optimization.

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Authors: J. Chatthong, W. Boonchouytan, R. Burapa

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The purpose of study was to design and construction the semi-automatic sliced ginger machine for reduce production times in sheet and slice ginger procedure furthermore, reduced amount of labor of slides and cutting method. Take consider into clean and safety of workers and consumers. The principle of machines, used 1 horsepower motor, rotation speed of sliced blade 967 rpm, the diameter of sliced dish 310 mm, consists of 2 blades for sheet cutting ginger and the power from motor which transfer to rotate the sliced blade roller, rotation speed 440 rpm. The slice cutter roller was sliced ginger from sheet ginger to line ginger. The conveyer could adjustment level of motors, used to the beginning area that sheet ginger was transference to the roller for sheet and sliced cutting in next process. The cover of sliced cutting had channel for 1 tuber of ginger. The semi-automatic sliced ginger machine could produced sheet ginger 81.8 kg/h (6.2 times of labor) and line ginger 17.9 kg/h (2.5 times of labor) compare with, labor work could produced sheet ginger 13.2 kg/h and line ginger 7.1 kg/h, and when timekeeper, the total times of semi auto machine 30.86 kg/h and labor 4.6 kg/h, there for the semi auto machine was 6.7 times of labor. The semiautomatic sliced ginger machine convenient, easy for use and maintain, in addition to reduce fatigue of body and seriousness from works; must be used high skill, and protection accident in slicing procedure. Beside, machine could used with other vegetables for example potato, carrot .etc

Keywords: Sliced Machine, Sliced Ginger, Line Ginger

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Authors: Thanura Abeywardena

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This study recognized the effectiveness of cold-water immersion recovery post short-term exhaustive exercise. The purpose of this study was to understand if 16-20 °C of cold-water immersion would be beneficial in a tropical environment to achieve an optimal recovery in sprint swim performance in comparison to 10-15 °C of water immersion. Two 100 m-sprint swim performance times were measured along with blood lactate (BLa), heart rate (HR) and rate of perceived exertion (RPE) in a 25 m swimming pool with full body head out horizontal water immersions of 10-15 °C, 16-20 °C and 29-32 °C (pool temperature) for 10 minutes followed by 5 minutes of seated passive rest outside; in between the two swim performances. 10 well-trained adult swimmers (5 male and 5 female) within the top twenty in the Sri Lankan nationals swimming championships in 100m Butterfly and Freestyle in the years 2020 & 2021 volunteered for this study. One-way ANOVA analysis (p < 0.05) suggested performance time, BLa and HR had no significant differences between the three conditions after the second sprint, however RPE was significantly different with p = 0.034 between 10-15 °C and 16-20 °C immersion conditions. The study suggested that the recovery post the two cold-water immersion conditions were similar in terms of performance and physiological factors however the 16-20 °C temperature had a better “feel good” factor post sprint 2. Further study is recommended as there was participant bias with the swimmers not reaching optimal levels in sprint 1. Therefore, they might have been possibly fully recovered before sprint 2 invalidating the physiological effect of recovery.

Keywords: Hydrotherapy, blood lactate, fatigue, recovery, sprint-performance, sprint-swimming.

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Authors: Jeries J. Abou-Hanna

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Several techniques exist for determining stress-intensity factors in linear elastic fracture mechanics analysis. These techniques are based on analytical, numerical, and empirical approaches that have been well documented in literature and engineering handbooks. However, not all techniques share the same merit. In addition to overly-conservative results, the numerical methods that require extensive computational effort, and those requiring copious user parameters hinder practicing engineers from efficiently evaluating stress-intensity factors. This paper investigates the prospects of reducing the complexity and required variables to determine stress-intensity factors through the utilization of the stress gradient and a weighting function. The heart of this work resides in the understanding that fracture emanating from stress concentration locations cannot be explained by a single maximum stress value approach, but requires use of a critical volume in which the crack exists. In order to understand the effectiveness of this technique, this study investigated components of different notch geometry and varying levels of stress gradients. Two forms of weighting functions were employed to determine stress-intensity factors and results were compared to analytical exact methods. The results indicated that the “exponential” weighting function was superior to the “absolute” weighting function. An error band +/- 10% was met for cases ranging from a steep stress gradient in a sharp v-notch to the less severe stress transitions of a large circular notch. The incorporation of the proposed method has shown to be a worthwhile consideration.

Keywords: Fracture mechanics, finite element method, stress intensity factor, stress gradient.

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Authors: Tahereh Talebi, Reza Ghomashchi, Pejman Talemi, Sima Aminorroaya

Abstract:

Electrophoretic deposition (EPD) of p-type Bi₂Te₃ material has been accomplished, and a high quality crack-free thick film has been achieved for thermoelectric (TE) applications. TE generators (TEG) can convert waste heat into electricity, which can potentially solve global warming problems. However, TEG is expensive due to the high cost of materials, as well as the complex and expensive manufacturing process. EPD is a simple and cost-effective method which has been used recently for advanced applications. In EPD, when a DC electric field is applied to the charged powder particles suspended in a suspension, they are attracted and deposited on the substrate with the opposite charge. In this study, it has been shown that it is possible to prepare a TE film using the EPD method and potentially achieve high TE properties at low cost. The relationship between the deposition weight and the EPD-related process parameters, such as applied voltage and time, has been investigated and a linear dependence has been observed, which is in good agreement with the theoretical principles of EPD. A stable EPD suspension of p-type Bi₂Te₃ was prepared in a mixture of acetone-ethanol with triethanolamine as a stabilizer. To achieve a high quality homogenous film on a copper substrate, the optimum voltage and time of the EPD process was investigated. The morphology and microstructures of the green deposited films have been investigated using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The green Bi₂Te₃ films have shown good adhesion to the substrate. In summary, this study has shown that not only EPD of p-type Bi₂Te₃ material is possible, but its thick film is of high quality for TE applications.

Keywords: Electrical conductivity, electrophoretic deposition, p-type Bi2Te3, thermoelectric materials, thick films.

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Authors: Simon B. N. Thompson

Abstract:

Cortisol is important to our immune system, regulates our stress response, and is a factor in maintaining brain temperature. Saliva cortisol is a practical and useful non-invasive measurement that signifies the presence of the important hormone. Electrical activity in the jaw muscles typically rises when the muscles are moved during yawning and the electrical level is found to be correlated with the cortisol level. In two studies using identical paradigms, a total of 108 healthy subjects were exposed to yawning-provoking stimuli so that their cortisol levels and electrical nerve impulses from their jaw muscles was recorded. Electrical activity is highly correlated with cortisol levels in healthy people. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Yawning Susceptibility Scale, General Health Questionnaire, demographic, health details were collected and exclusion criteria applied for voluntary recruitment: chronic fatigue, diabetes, fibromyalgia, heart condition, high blood pressure, hormone replacement therapy, multiple sclerosis, and stroke. Significant differences were found between the saliva cortisol samples for the yawners as compared with the non-yawners between rest and post-stimuli. Significant evidence supports the Thompson Cortisol Hypothesis that suggests rises in cortisol levels are associated with yawning. Ethics approval granted and professional code of conduct, confidentiality, and safety issues are approved therein.

Keywords: Cortisol, Diagnosis, Neurological Disease, Thompson Cortisol Hypothesis, Yawning.

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Authors: I. Abuiziah, A. Oulhaj, K. Sebari, D. Ouazar

Abstract:

This paper presents the problem of modeling and simulating of transient phenomena in conveying pipeline systems based on the rigid column and full elastic methods. Transient analysis is important and one of the more challenging and complicated flow problem in the design and the operation of water pipeline systems. Transient can produce large pressure forces and rapid fluid acceleration into a water pipeline system, these disturbances may result in device failures, system fatigue or pipe ruptures, and even the dirty water intrusion. Several methods have been introduced and used to analyze transient flow, an accurate analysis and suitable protection devices should be used to protect water pipeline systems. The fourth-order Runge-Kutta method has been used to solve the dynamic and continuity equations in the rigid column method, while the characteristics method used to solve these equations in the full elastic method. The results obtained provide that the model is an efficient tool for flow transient analysis and provide approximately identical results by using these two methods. Moreover; using the simple surge tank ”open surge tank” reduces the unfavorable effects of transients.

Keywords: Elastic method, Flow transient, Open surge tank, Pipeline, Protection devices, Numerical model, Rigid column method.

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Authors: Abbaas I. Kareem, H. Nikraz

Abstract:

The use of recycled concrete aggregates (RCAs) in hot-mix asphalt (HMA) production could ease natural aggregate shortage and maintain sustainability in modern societies. However, it was the attached cement mortar and other impurities that make the RCAs behave differently than high-quality aggregates. Therefore, different upgrading treatments were suggested to enhance its properties before being used in HMA production. Disappointedly, some of these treatments had caused degradation to some RCA properties. In order to avoid degradation, a coating technique is developed. This technique is based on combining of two main treatments, so it is named as double coating technique (DCT). Dosages of 0%, 20%, 40% and 60% uncoated RCA, RCA coated with Cement Slag Paste (CSP), and Double Coated Recycled Concrete Aggregates (DCRCAs) in place of granite aggregates were evaluated. The results indicated that the DCT improves strength and reduces water absorption of the DCRCAs compared with uncoated RCAs and RCA coated with CSP. In addition, the DCRCA asphalt mixtures exhibit stability values higher than those obtained for mixes made with granite aggregates, uncoated RCAs and RCAs coated with CSP. Also, the DCRCA asphalt mixtures require less bitumen to achieve the optimum bitumen content (OBC) than those manufactured with uncoated RCA and RCA-coated with CSP. Although the results obtained were encouraging, more testing is required in order to examine the effect of the DCT on performance properties of DCRCA- asphalt mixtures such as rutting and fatigue.

Keywords: Recycled concrete aggregates, hot mix asphalt, double coating technique, aggregate crashed value, Marshall parameters.

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Authors: Rehan Waheed, Hasan Aftab Saeed, Wasim Tarar, Khalid Mahmood, Sajid Ullah Butt

Abstract:

Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) shielded doors made from brass extruded channels need to be welded with shielded enclosures to attain optimum shielding performance. Control of welding induced distortion is a problem in welding dissimilar metals like steel and brass. In this research, soldering of the steel-brass joint has been proposed to avoid weld distortion. The material used for brass channel is UNS C36000. The thickness of brass is defined by the manufacturing process, i.e. extrusion. The thickness of shielded enclosure material (ASTM A36) can be varied to produce joint between the dissimilar metals. Steel sections of different gauges are soldered using (91% tin, 9% zinc) solder to the brass, and strength of joint is measured by standard test procedures. It is observed that thin steel sheets produce a stronger bond with brass. The steel sections further require to be welded with shielded enclosure steel sheets through TIG welding process. Stresses and deformation in the vicinity of soldered portion is calculated through FE simulation. Crack formation in soldered area is also studied through experimental work. It has been found that in thin sheets deformation produced due to applied force is localized and has no effect on soldered joint area whereas in thick sheets profound cracks have been observed in soldered joint. The shielding effectiveness of EMI shielded door is compromised due to these cracks. The shielding effectiveness of the specimens is tested and results are compared.

Keywords: Dissimilar metals, soldering, joint strength, EMI shielding.

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Authors: Tessy Treesa Jose, Sripathy M. Bhat

Abstract:

Nursing is recognized as a stressful occupation and has indicated a probable high prevalence of distress. It is a helping profession requiring a high degree of commitment and involvement. If stress is intense, continuous and repeated, it becomes a negative phenomenon or "distress," which can lead to physical illness and psychological disorders. The frequency of common psychosomatic symptoms including sleeping problems, tension headache, chronic fatigue, palpitation etc. may be an indicator of nurses’ work-related stress level. Objectives of the study were to determine psychiatric morbidity among nurses and to find its association with selected variables. The study population consisted of 1040 registered nurses working in selected medical college hospitals and government hospitals of Udupi and Mangalore districts. Descriptive survey design was used to conduct the study. Subjects were selected by using purposive sampling. Data were gathered by administering background proforma and General Health questionnaire. Severe distress was experienced by 0.9% of nurses and 5.6% had some evidence of distress. Subjects who did not have any distress were 93.5%. No significant association between psychiatric morbidity in nurses and demographic variables was observed. With regard to work variables significant association is observed between psychiatric morbidity and total years of experience (z=10.67, p=0.03) and experience in current area of work (z=9.43, p=0.02).

Keywords: Psychiatric morbidity, nurse, selected hospitals, working.

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