Search results for: Reinforcement Index

Authors: Timothy E. Frank, Peter J. Amaddio, Elizabeth D. Decko, Alexis M. Tri, Darcy A. Farrell, Cole M. Landes

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Ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) is a class of cementitious composites with a relatively large percentage of cement generating high compressive strength. Additionally, UHPC contains disbursed fibers, which control crack width, carry the tensile load across narrow cracks, and limit spalling. These characteristics lend themselves to a wide range of structural applications when UHPC members are reinforced with longitudinal steel. Efficient use of fibers and longitudinal steel is required to keep lifecycle cost competitive in reinforced UHPC members; this requires full utilization of both the compressive and tensile qualities of the reinforced cementitious composite. The objective of this study is to investigate the shear response of steel-reinforced UHPC beams to guide design decisions that keep initial costs reasonable, limit serviceability crack widths, and ensure a ductile structural response and failure path. Five small-scale, reinforced UHPC beams were experimentally tested. Longitudinal steel, transverse steel, and casting direction were varied. Results indicate that an increase in transverse steel in short-spanned reinforced UHPC beams provided additional shear capacity and increased the peak load achieved. Beams with very large longitudinal steel reinforcement ratios did not achieve yield and fully utilized the tension properties of the longitudinal steel. Casting the UHPC beams from the end or from the middle affected load-carrying capacity and ductility, but image analysis determined that the fiber orientation was not significantly different. It is believed that the presence of transverse and longitudinal steel reinforcement minimized the effect of different UHPC casting directions. Results support recent recommendations in the literature suggesting that a 1% fiber volume fraction is sufficient within UHPC to prevent spalling and provide compressive fracture toughness under extreme loading conditions.

Keywords: Fiber orientation, reinforced ultra-high performance concrete beams, shear, transverse steel.

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Authors: Bishnupriya Sahoo, Prasad K. Bhaskaran

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Tropical cyclone is one among the worst natural hazards that results in a trail of destruction causing enormous damage to life, property, and coastal infrastructures. In a global perspective, the Indian Ocean is considered as one of the cyclone prone basins in the world. Specifically, the frequency of cyclogenesis in the Bay of Bengal is higher compared to the Arabian Sea. Out of the four maritime states in the East coast of India, Odisha is highly susceptible to tropical cyclone landfall. Historical records clearly decipher the fact that the frequency of cyclones have reduced in this basin. However, in the recent decades, the intensity and size of tropical cyclones have increased. This is a matter of concern as the risk and vulnerability level of Odisha coast exposed to high wind speed and gusts during cyclone landfall have increased. In this context, there is a need to assess and evaluate the severity of coastal risk, area of exposure under risk, and associated vulnerability with a higher dimension in a multi-risk perspective. Changing climate can result in the emergence of a new hazard and vulnerability over a region with differential spatial and socio-economic impact. Hence there is a need to have coastal vulnerability projections in a changing climate scenario. With this motivation, the present study attempts to estimate the destructiveness of tropical cyclones based on Power Dissipation Index (PDI) for those cyclones that made landfall along Odisha coast that exhibits an increasing trend based on historical data. The study also covers the futuristic scenarios of integral coastal vulnerability based on the trends in PDI for the Odisha coast. This study considers 11 essential and important parameters; the cyclone intensity, storm surge, onshore inundation, mean tidal range, continental shelf slope, topo-graphic elevation onshore, rate of shoreline change, maximum wave height, relative sea level rise, rainfall distribution, and coastal geomorphology. The study signifies that over a decadal scale, the coastal vulnerability index (CVI) depends largely on the incremental change in variables such as cyclone intensity, storm surge, and associated inundation. In addition, the study also performs a critical analysis on the modulation of PDI on storm surge and inundation characteristics for the entire coastal belt of Odisha State. Interestingly, the study brings to light that a linear correlation exists between the storm-tide with PDI. The trend analysis of PDI and its projection for coastal Odisha have direct practical applications in effective coastal zone management and vulnerability assessment.

Keywords: Bay of Bengal, coastal vulnerability index, power dissipation index, tropical cyclone.

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Authors: M. S. Said, J. A. Ghani, Che Hassan C. H., N. N. Wan, M. A. Selamat, R. Othman

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Metal matrix composites (MMCs) attract considerable attention as a result from its ability in providing a high strength, high modulus, high toughness, high impact properties, improving wear resistance and providing good corrosion resistance compared to unreinforced alloy. Aluminium Silicon (Al/Si) alloy MMC has been widely used in various industrial sectors such as in transportation, domestic equipment, aerospace, military, construction, etc. Aluminium silicon alloy is an MMC that had been reinforced with aluminium nitrate (AlN) particle and become a new generation material use in automotive and aerospace sector. The AlN is one of the advance material that have a bright prospect in future since it has features such as lightweight, high strength, high hardness and stiffness quality. However, the high degree of ceramic particle reinforcement and the irregular nature of the particles along the matrix material that contribute to its low density is the main problem which leads to difficulties in machining process. This paper examined the tool wear when milling AlSi/AlN Metal Matrix Composite using a TiB2 (Titanium diboride) coated carbide cutting tool. The volume of the AlN reinforced particle was 10% and milling process was carried out under dry cutting condition. The TiB2 coated carbide insert parameters used were at the cutting speed of (230, 300 and 370m/min, feed rate of 0.8, Depth of Cut (DoC) at 0.4m). The Sometech SV-35 video microscope system used to quantify of the tool wear. The result shown that tool life span increasing with the cutting speeds at (370m/min, feed rate of 0.8mm/tooth and DoC at 0.4mm) which constituted an optimum condition for longer tool life lasted until 123.2 mins. Meanwhile, at medium cutting speed which at 300m/m, feed rate of 0.8mm/tooth and depth of cut at 0.4mm we found that tool life span lasted until 119.86 mins while at low cutting speed it lasted in 119.66 mins. High cutting speed will give the best parameter in cutting AlSi/AlN MMCs material. The result will help manufacturers in machining process of AlSi/AlN MMCs materials.

Keywords: AlSi/AlN Metal Matrix Composite milling process, tool wear, TiB2 coated cemented carbide tool.

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Authors: A. Akin

Abstract:

This study was carried out on Italia grape variety (Vitis vinifera L.) in Konya province, Turkey in 2016. The cultivar is five years old and grown on 1103 Paulsen rootstock. It was determined the effects of applications of the Control (C), 1/3 Cluster Tip Reduction (1/3 CTR), 1/6 Cluster Tip Reduction (1/6 CTR), 1/9 Cluster Tip Reduction (1/9 CTR), 1/3 CTR+Boric Acid (BA), 1/6 CTR+BA, 1/9 CTR+BA, on yield and yield components of the Italia grape variety. The results were obtained as the highest fresh grape yield (4.74 g) with 1/9 CTR+BA application; the highest cluster weight (220.08 g) with 1/3 CTR application; the highest 100 berry weight (565.85 g) with 1/9 CTR+BA application; as the highest maturity index (49.28) with 1/9 CTR+BA application; as the highest must yield (685.33 ml/kg) with 1/3 CTR+BA and (685.33 ml/kg) with 1/9 CTR+BA applications. To increase the fresh grape yield, 100 berry weight and maturity index in the Italia grape variety, the 1/9 CTR+BA application can be recommended.

Keywords: Italia grape variety, boric acid, cluster tip reduction, yield, yield components.

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Authors: S. Fawzia, M. A. Karim

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The use of externally bonded Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) reinforcement has proven to be an effective technique to strengthen steel structures. An experimental study on CFRP bonded steel plate with double strap joint has been conducted and specimens are tested under tensile loadings. An empirical model has been developed using stress-based approach to predict ultimate capacity of the CFRP bonded steel structure. The results from the model are comparable with the experimental result with a reasonable accuracy.

Keywords: Carbon fibre reinforced polymer, shear stress, slip, effective bond, steel structure.

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Authors: Stefan V. Stefanescu

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We intend to point out the differences which exist between the classical Gini concentration coefficient and a proposed bipolarization index defined for an arbitrary random variable which have a finite support. In fact Gini's index measures only the "poverty degree" for the individuals from a given population taking into consideration their wages. The Gini coefficient is not so sensitive to the significant income variations in the "rich people class" . In practice there are multiple interdependent relations between the pauperization and the socio-economical polarization phenomena. The presence of a strong pauperization aspect inside the population induces often a polarization effect in this society. But the pauperization and the polarization phenomena are not identical. For this reason it isn't always adequate to use a Gini type coefficient, based on the Lorenz order, to estimate the bipolarization level of the individuals from the studied population. The present paper emphasizes these ideas by considering two families of random variables which have a linear or a triangular type distributions. In addition, the continuous variation, depending on the parameter "time" of the chosen distributions, could simulate a real dynamical evolution of the population.

Keywords: Bipolarization phenomenon, Gini coefficient, income distribution, poverty measure.

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Authors: Tessy Badriyah, Jim S. Briggs, Dave R. Prytherch

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It is well known that Logistic Regression is the gold standard method for predicting clinical outcome, especially predicting risk of mortality. In this paper, the Decision Tree method has been proposed to solve specific problems that commonly use Logistic Regression as a solution. The Biochemistry and Haematology Outcome Model (BHOM) dataset obtained from Portsmouth NHS Hospital from 1 January to 31 December 2001 was divided into four subsets. One subset of training data was used to generate a model, and the model obtained was then applied to three testing datasets. The performance of each model from both methods was then compared using calibration (the χ2 test or chi-test) and discrimination (area under ROC curve or c-index). The experiment presented that both methods have reasonable results in the case of the c-index. However, in some cases the calibration value (χ2) obtained quite a high result. After conducting experiments and investigating the advantages and disadvantages of each method, we can conclude that Decision Trees can be seen as a worthy alternative to Logistic Regression in the area of Data Mining.

Keywords: Decision Trees, Logistic Regression, clinical outcome, risk of mortality.

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Authors: Maya S. Rathod, Bahadur Singh Hathan

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Mustard leaves are rich in folates, vitamin A, K and B-complex. Mustard greens are low in calories and fats and rich in dietary fiber. They are rich in potassium, manganese, iron, copper, calcium, magnesium and low in sodium. It is very rich in antioxidants and Phytonutrients. For the optimization of process variables (moisture content and mustard leave powder), the experiments were conducted according to central composite Face Centered Composite design of RSM. The mustard leaves powder was replaced with composite flour (a combination of rice, chickpea and corn in the ratio of 70:15:15). The extrudate was extruded in a twin screw extruder at a barrel temperature of 120°C. The independent variables were mustard leaves powder (2-10 %) and moisture content (12-20 %). Responses analyzed were bulk density, water solubility index, water absorption index, lateral expansion, antioxidant activity, total phenolic content, and overall acceptability. The optimum conditions obtained were 7.19 g mustard leaves powder in 100g premix having 16.8% moisture content (w.b).

Keywords: Extrusion, mustard leaves powder, optimization, response surface methodology.

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Authors: M. Meriem-Benziane, Sabah A. Abdul-Wahab, H. Zahloul, M. Belhadri

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This paper made an attempt to investigate the problem associated with enhancement of emulsions of light crude oil-water recovery in an oil field of Algerian Sahara. Measurements were taken through experiments using RheoStress (RS600). Factors such as shear rate, temperature and light oil concentration on the viscosity behavior were considered. Experimental measurements were performed in terms of shear stress–shear rate, yield stress and flow index on mixture of light crude oil–water. The rheological behavior of emulsion showed Non-Newtonian shear thinning behavior (Herschel-Bulkley). The experiments done in the laboratory showed the stability of some water in light crude oil emulsions form during consolidate oil recovery process. To break the emulsion using additives may involve higher cost and could be very expensive. Therefore, further research should be directed to find solution of these problems that have been encountered.

Keywords: Emulsion, Flow index, Herschel-Bulkley model, Newton model, Oil field, Rheology, Yield stress

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Authors: S. M. Feroz, K. Yoshimura, A. Hagihara

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The forest stand consisted of four layers. The species composition between the third and the bottom layers was almost similar, whereas it was almost exclusive between the top and the lower three layers. The values of Shannon-s index H' and Pielou-s index J ' tended to increase from the bottom layer upward, except for H' -value of the top layer. The values of H' and J ' were 4.21 bit and 0.73, respectively, for the total stand. High woody species diversity of the forest depended on large trees in the upper layers, which trend was different from a subtropical evergreen broadleaf forest grown in silicate habitat in the northern part of Okinawa Island. The spatial distribution of trees was overlapped between the third and the bottom layers, whereas it was independent or slightly exclusive between the top and the lower three layers. Mean tree weight of each layer decreased from the top toward the bottom layer, whereas the corresponding tree density increased from the top downward. This relationship was analogous to the process of self-thinning plant populations.

Keywords: Canopy multi-layering, limestone habitat, mean tree weight-density relationship, species diversity, subtropical forest.

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Authors: Magdi M. E. Zumrawi, Khalid A. Eltayeb

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Chemical stabilization is a technique commonly used to improve the expansive soil properties. In this regard, an attempt has been made to evaluate the influence of Calcium Chloride (CaCl2) stabilizer on the engineering properties of expansive soil. A series of laboratory experiments including consistency limits, free swell, compaction, and shear strength tests were performed to investigate the effect of CaCl2 additive with various percentages 0%, 2%, 5%, 10% and 15% for improving expansive soil. The results obtained shows that the increase in the percentage of CaCl2decreased the liquid limit and plasticity index leading to significant reduction in the free swell index. This, in turn, increased the maximum dry density and decreased the optimum moisture content which results in greater strength. The unconfined compressive strength of soil stabilized with 5% CaCl2 increased approximately by 50% as compared to virgin soil. It can be concluded that CaCl2 had shown promising influence on the strength and swelling properties of expansive soil, thereby giving an advantage in improving problematic expansive soil.

Keywords: Calcium chloride, chemical stabilization, expansive soil, improving.

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Authors: Amer Ezoji, Mohammad Sedighi

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In the article, the wire winding process for the reinforcement of a pressure vessel frame has been studied. Firstly, the importance of the wire winding method has been explained and literature was reviewed. The main step in the design process is the methodology axial force control. The frame consists of two columns and two semi-cylinders with circumstantial wires. A computational algorithm has been presented based on the governing equations and relations on stress-strain behavior of the whole system of the frame.  Then a case study was studied to calculate the frame dimensions and wire winding procedure.

Keywords: Wire winding, Frame, stress, Design for Manufacturing.

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Authors: Binay K. Dutta, Tayseir M. Abd Ellateif, Saikat Maitra

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In the present work homogeneous silica film on silicon was fabricated by colloidal silica sol. The silica sol precursor with uniformly granular particle was derived by the alkaline hydrolysis of tetraethoxyorthosilicate (TEOS) in presence of glycerol template. The film was prepared by dip coating process. The templated hetero-structured silica film was annealed at elevated temperatures to generate nano- and meso porosity in the film. The film was subsequently annealed at different temperatures to make it defect free and abrasion resistant. The sol and the film were characterized by the measurement of particle size distribution, scanning electron microscopy, XRD, FTIR spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, measurement of the refractive index, thermal conductivity and abrasion resistance. The porosity of the films decreased whereas refractive index and dielectric constant of it `increased with the increase in the annealing temperature. The thermal conductivity of the films increased with the increase in the film thickness. The developed porous silica film holds strong potential for use in different areas.

Keywords: Silica film, Nanoporous, Sol-gel, Templating, Dip coating.

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Authors: Arafat A. A. Shabaneh

Abstract:

Harsh environments require developed detection by an optical communication system to ensure a high level of security and safety. Fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) are emerging sensing instruments that respond to variations in strain and temperature by varying wavelengths. In this study, a cascaded uniform FBG is designed as a strain sensor for 6 km length at 1550 nm wavelength with 30 °C temperature by analyzing dynamic strain and wavelength shifts. The FBG is placed in a small segment of an optical fiber that reflects light with a specific wavelength and passes on the remaining wavelengths. Consequently, periodic alteration occurs in the refractive index in the fiber core. The alteration in the modal index of the fiber is produced by strain effects on a Bragg wavelength. When the developed sensor is exposed to the strain (0.01) of the cascaded uniform FBG, the wavelength shifts by 0.0000144383 μm. The sensing accuracy of the developed sensor is 0.0012. Simulation results show the reliability and effectiveness of the strain monitoring sensor for remote sensing application.

Keywords: Remote sensing, cascaded fiber Bragg grating, strain sensor, wavelength shift.

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Authors: Nor Fazlina Iryani Abdul Hamid, Mohamad Khatim Hasan

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Numbers of software quality measurement system have been implemented over the past few years, but none of them focuses on telecommunication industry. Software quality measurement system for telecommunication industry was a system that could calculate the quality value of the measured software that totally focused in telecommunication industry. Before designing a system, quality factors, quality attributes and quality metrics were identified based on literature review and survey. Then, using the identified quality factors, quality attributes and quality metrics, quality model for telecommunication industry was constructed. Each identified quality metrics had its own formula. Quality value for the system was measured based on the quality metrics and aggregated by referring to the quality model. It would classify the quality level of the software based on Net Satisfaction Index (NSI). The system was designed using object-oriented approach in web-based environment. Thus, existing of software quality measurement system was important to both developers and users in order to produce high quality software product for telecommunication industry.

Keywords: Software Quality, Quality Measurement, Object-oriented Approach, Net satisfaction Index.

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Authors: Mustafa M. Donma, Orkide Donma, Murat Aydin, Muhammet Demirkol, Burcin Nalbantoglu, Aysin Nalbantoglu, Birol Topcu

Abstract:

Childhood obesity is an ever increasing global health problem, affecting both developed and developing countries. Accurate evaluation of obesity in children requires difficult and detailed investigation. In our study, obesity in children was evaluated using new body fat ratios and indices. Assessment of anthropometric measurements, as well as some ratios, is important because of the evaluation of gender differences particularly during the late periods of obesity. A total of 239 children; 168 morbid obese (MO) (81 girls and 87 boys) and 71 normal weight (NW) (40 girls and 31 boys) children, participated in the study. Informed consent forms signed by the parents were obtained. Ethics Committee approved the study protocol. Mean ages (years)±SD calculated for MO group were 10.8±2.9 years in girls and 10.1±2.4 years in boys. The corresponding values for NW group were 9.0±2.0 years in girls and 9.2±2.1 years in boys. Mean body mass index (BMI)±SD values for MO group were 29.1±5.4 kg/m² and 27.2±3.9 kg/m² in girls and boys, respectively. These values for NW group were calculated as 15.5±1.0 kg/m² in girls and 15.9±1.1 kg/m² in boys. Groups were constituted based upon BMI percentiles for age-and-sex values recommended by WHO. Children with percentiles >99 were grouped as MO and children with percentiles between 85 and 15 were considered NW. The anthropometric measurements were recorded and evaluated along with the new ratios such as trunk-to-appendicular fat ratio, as well as indices such as Index-I and Index-II. The body fat percent values were obtained by bio-electrical impedance analysis. Data were entered into a database for analysis using SPSS/PASW 18 Statistics for Windows statistical software. Increased waist-to-hip circumference (C) ratios, decreased head-to-neck C, height ‘to’ ‘two’-‘to’-waist C and height ‘to’ ‘two’-‘to’-hip C ratios were observed in parallel with the development of obesity (p≤0.001). Reference value for height ‘to’ ‘two’-‘to’-hip ratio was detected as approximately 1.0. Index-II, based upon total body fat mass, showed much more significant differences between the groups than Index-I based upon weight. There was not any difference between trunk-to-appendicular fat ratios of NW girls and NW boys (p≥0.05). However, significantly increased values for MO girls in comparison with MO boys were observed (p≤0.05). This parameter showed no difference between NW and MO states in boys (p≥0.05). However, statistically significant increase was noted in MO girls compared to their NW states (p≤0.001). Trunk-to-appendicular fat ratio was the only fat-based parameter, which showed gender difference between NW and MO groups. This study has revealed that body ratios and formula based upon body fat tissue are more valuable parameters than those based on weight and height values for the evaluation of morbid obesity in children.

Keywords: Anthropometry, childhood obesity, gender, Morbid obesity.

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Authors: S. Sadegzadeh, A. Mousavi

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Temperature-dependent tunable photonic crystals have attracted widespread interest in recent years. In this research, transmission characteristics of a one-dimensional photonic crystal structure with a single defect have been studied. Here, we assume two different defect layers: InSb as a semiconducting layer and HgBa₂Ca₂Cu₃O₁₀ as a high-temperature superconducting layer. Both the defect layers have temperature-dependent refractive indexes. Two different types of dielectric materials (Si as a high-refractive index dielectric and MgF₂ as a low-refractive index dielectric) are used to construct the asymmetric structures (Si/MgF₂)^NInSb(Si/MgF₂)^N named S.I, and (Si/MgF₂)^NHgBa₂Ca₂Cu₃O₁₀(Si/MgF₂)^N named S.II. It is found that in response to the temperature changes, transmission peaks within the photonic band gap of the S.II structure, in contrast to S.I, show a small wavelength shift. Furthermore, the results show that under the same conditions, S.I structure generates an extra defect mode in the transmission spectra. Besides high efficiency transmission property of S.II structure, it can be concluded that the semiconductor-dielectric photonic crystals are more sensitive to temperature variation than superconductor types.

Keywords: Defect modes, photonic crystals, semiconductor, superconductor, transmission.

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Authors: P. Tej, P. Kněž, M. Blank

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The paper presents design and production of thin-walled U-profile footbridge made of UHPFRC. The main structure of the bridge is one prefabricated shell structure made of UHPFRC with dispersed steel fibers without any conventional reinforcement. The span of the bridge structure is 10 m and the clear width of 1.5 m. The thickness of the UHPFRC shell structure oscillated in an interval of 30-45 mm. Several calculations were made during the bridge design and compared with the experiments. For the purpose of verifying the calculations, a segment of 1.5 m was first produced, followed by the whole footbridge for testing. After the load tests were done, the design was optimized to cast the final footbridge.

Keywords: Footbridge, UHPFRC, non-linear analysis, shell structure.

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Authors: Z. Sakka, I. Assakkaf, T. Al-Yaqoub, J. Parol

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reliability-based methodology for the assessment and evaluation of reinforced concrete (R/C) structural elements of concrete structures is presented herein. The results of the reliability analysis and assessment for R/C structural elements were verified by the results obtained through deterministic methods. The outcomes of the reliability-based analysis were compared against currently adopted safety limits that are incorporated in the reliability indices β’s, according to international standards and codes. The methodology is based on probabilistic analysis using reliability concepts and statistics of the main random variables that are relevant to the subject matter, and for which they are to be used in the performance-function equation(s) associated with the structural elements under study. These methodology techniques can result in reliability index β, which is commonly known as the reliability index or reliability measure value that can be utilized to assess and evaluate the safety, human risk, and functionality of the structural component. Also, these methods can result in revised partial safety factor values for certain target reliability indices that can be used for the purpose of redesigning the R/C elements of the building and in which they could assist in considering some other remedial actions to improve the safety and functionality of the member.

Keywords: Concrete Structures, FORM, Monte Carlo Simulation, Structural Reliability.

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Authors: Ahmed Mohammed Youssef Mohammed, Mohammad Reza Okhovat, Koichi Maekawa

Abstract:

The large and small-scale shaking table tests, which was conducted for investigating damage evolution of piles inside liquefied soil, are numerically simulated and experimental verified by the3D nonlinear finite element analysis. Damage evolution of elasto-plastic circular steel piles and reinforced concrete (RC) one with cracking and yield of reinforcement are focused on, and the failure patterns and residual damages are captured by the proposed constitutive models. The superstructure excitation behind quay wall is reproduced as well.

Keywords: Soil-Structure Interaction, Piles, Soil Liquefaction.

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Authors: Sandra Ghavam Shirazi, Komeil Valipourian, Mohammad Reza Golhashem

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This paper represents the basic idea and mechanisms associated with the durability of geomembranes and discusses the factors influencing the service life and temperature of geomembrane liners. Geomembrane durability is stated as field performance and laboratory test outcomes under various conditions. Due to the high demand of geomembranes as landfill barriers and their crucial role in sensitive projects, sufficient service life of geomembranes is very important, therefore in this paper, the durability, the effect of temperature on geomembrane and the role of this type of reinforcement in different types of soil will be discussed. Also, the role of geomembrane in the earthquake will be considered in the last part of the paper.

Keywords: Geomembrane, durability temperature soil mechanic.

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Authors: Cha’o-Kuang Chen, Ching-Chang Cho

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The study investigates the mixing performance of electrokinetically-driven power-law fluids in a microchannel containing patterned trapezoid blocks. The effects of the geometry parameters of the patterned trapezoid blocks and the flow behavior index in the power-law model on the mixing efficiency within the microchannel are explored. The results show that the mixing efficiency can be improved by increasing the width of the blocks and extending the length of upper surface of the blocks. In addition, the results show that the mixing efficiency increases with an increasing flow behavior index. Furthermore, it is shown that a heterogeneous patterning of the zeta potential on the upper surfaces of the trapezoid blocks prompts the formation of local flow recirculations, and therefore improves the mixing efficiency. Consequently, it is shown that the mixing performance improves with an increasing magnitude of the heterogeneous surface zeta potential.

Keywords: Non-Newtonian fluid, Power-law fluid, Electroosmotic flow, Passive mixer, Mixing, Micromixer.

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Authors: José Luis Oslinger, Luis Carlos Castro

Abstract:

Measurements of capacitance C and dissipation factor tand of the stator insulation system provide useful information about internal defects within the insulation. The index k is defined as the proportionality constant between the changes at high voltage of capacitance DC and of the dissipation factor Dtand . DC and Dtand values were highly correlated when small flat defects were within the insulation and that correlation was lost in the presence of large narrow defects like electrical treeing. The discrimination between small and large defects is made resorting to partial discharge PD phase angle analysis. For the validation of the results, C and tand measurements were carried out in a 15MVA 4160V steam turbine turbogenerator placed in a sugar mill. In addition, laboratory test results obtained by other authors were analyzed jointly. In such laboratory tests, model coil bars subjected to thermal cycling resulted highly degraded and DC and Dtand values were not correlated. Thus, the index k could not be calculated.

Keywords: Aging, capacitance, dissipation factor, electrical treeing, insulation condition, partial discharge.

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Authors: Hu-Hsiao Hsu, Po-Ren Chung, Ming-Chin Ho, Chieh-Feng Tsai, Che-Ming Chiang, Shin-Ku Lee

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Lighting upgrades involve relatively lower costs which allow the benefits to be spread more widely than is possible with any other energy efficiency measure. In order to popularize the adoption of CFL in Taiwan, the authority proposes to implement a new energy efficient lamp comparative label system. The current study was accordingly undertaken to investigate the factors affecting the performance and the deviation of actual and labeled performance of commercially available integrated CFLs. In this paper, standard test methods to determine the electrical and photometric performances of CFL were developed based on CIE 84-1989 and CIE 60901-1987, then 55 selected CFLs from market were tested. The results show that with higher color temperature of CFLs lower efficacy are achieved. It was noticed that the most packaging of CFL often lack the information of Color Rendering Index. Also, there was no correlation between price and performance of the CFLs was indicated in this work. The results of this paper might help consumers to make more informed CFL-purchasing decisions.

Keywords: Compact fluorescent lamp (CFL), Efficacy, Color Rendering Index (CRI), Energy saving.

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Authors: Sung-yong Choi, Woo-tai Jung, Young-hwan Park

Abstract:

This study intends to improve the bond performance of the polypropylene fiber used as reinforcing fiber for concrete by changing its shape into double crimped type through the enhancement its fabrication process. The bond performance of such double crimped fiber is evaluated by applying the JCI SF-8 (dog-bone shape) testing method. The test results reveal that the double crimped fiber develops bond performance improved by more than 19% compared to the conventional crimped type fiber. 

Keywords: Bond, Polypropylene, Fiber reinforcement, Macro fiber, Shape change.

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Authors: A. Shayeghi, H. Shayeghi, H. Eimani Kalasar

Abstract:

In recent years, tuned mass damper (TMD) control systems for civil engineering structures have attracted considerable attention. This paper emphasizes on the application of particle swarm application (PSO) to design and optimize the parameters of the TMD control scheme for achieving the best results in the reduction of the building response under earthquake excitations. The Integral of the Time multiplied Absolute value of the Error (ITAE) based on relative displacement of all floors in the building is taken as a performance index of the optimization criterion. The problem of robustly TMD controller design is formatted as an optimization problem based on the ITAE performance index to be solved using the PSO technique which has a story ability to find the most optimistic results. An 11- story realistic building, located in the city of Rasht, Iran is considered as a test system to demonstrate effectiveness of the proposed method. The results analysis through the time-domain simulation and some performance indices reveals that the designed PSO based TMD controller has an excellent capability in reduction of the seismically excited example building.

Keywords: TMD, Particle Swarm Optimization, Tall Buildings, Structural Dynamics.

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Authors: David Xiaoqian Sun, Khairunnisa Binti Haji Sibah, Jr., Lejak Anak Ambol

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The purpose of the study was to examine the relationships between objectively measured physical activity levels (PALs), enjoyment of physical activity (EPA), and body mass index (BMI) among adolescents. A total of 188 12-14-year-old Bruneian secondary school adolescents (88 boys and 100 girls) voluntarily took part in this study. Subjects wore the RT3 accelerometer for seven consecutive days in order to measure their PALs. Times of students’ engagement in total (TPA), light (LPA), moderate (MPV), and vigorous PA (VPA) were obtained from the accelerometer. Their BMIs were calculated from their body height and weight. Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale (PACES) was administrated to obtain their EPA levels. Four key enjoyment factors including fun factors, positive perceptions, unexciting in doing activities, and negative perceptions were identified. Subjects’ social economic status (SES) was provided by school administration. Results show that all the adolescents did not meet the recommended PA guidelines even though boys were engaged in more MVPA than girls. No relationships were found between BMI and all PALs in both boys and girls. BMI was significantly related to the PACES scores (r = -.22, p = 0.01), fun factors (r = -.20, p = 0.05) and positive perceptions (r =- .21, p < 0.05). The PACES scores were significantly related to LPA (r = .18, p = 0.01) but not related to MVPA (r = .04, p > 0.05). After controlling for age and SES, BMI was only significantly related to the PACES scores in girls (r = -.27, p < .01) but boys (r = -.06, p > 0.05). Fun factors were significantly related to LPA and MVPA (p < .01) in girls while negative perceptions were significantly related to LPA and MVPA (p < .01) in boys. This study provides evidence that enjoyment may be a trigger of LPA but MVPA and may be influenced by their BMI status particularly in girls. Based on these findings, physical and health educators are suggested to not only make PA more enjoyable, but also consider gender differences in promoting adolescents' participation in MVPA

Keywords: Accelerometer, body mass index, enjoyment of physical activity, moderate to vigorous physical activity.

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Authors: A. Shayeghi, H. Eimani Kalasar, H. Shayeghi

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This paper emphasizes on the application of genetic algorithm (GA) to optimize the parameters of the TMD for achieving the best results in the reduction of the building response under earthquake excitations. The Integral of the Time multiplied Absolute value of the Error (ITAE) based on relative displacement of all floors in the building is taken as a performance index of the optimization criterion. The problem of robustly TMD controller design is formatted as an optimization problem based on the ITAE performance index to be solved using GA that has a story ability to find the most optimistic results. An 11–story realistic building, located in the city of Rasht, Iran is considered as a test system to demonstrate effectiveness of the proposed GA based TMD (GATMD) controller without specifying which mode should be controlled. The results of the proposed GATMD controller are compared with the uncontrolled structure through timedomain simulation and some performance indices. The results analysis reveals that the designed GA based TMD controller has an excellent capability in reduction of the seismically excited example building and the ITAE performance, that is so for remains as unknown, can be introduced a new criteria - method for structural dynamic design.

Keywords: Tuned Mass Damper, Genetic Algorithm, TallBuildings, Structural Dynamics.

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Authors: Jixin Liu, Zheming Lu

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In this paper, a novel multipurpose audio watermarking algorithm is proposed based on Vector Quantization (VQ) in Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) domain using the codeword labeling and index-bit constrained method. By using this algorithm, it can fulfill the requirements of both the copyright protection and content integrity authentication at the same time for the multimedia artworks. The robust watermark is embedded in the middle frequency coefficients of the DCT transform during the labeled codeword vector quantization procedure. The fragile watermark is embedded into the indices of the high frequency coefficients of the DCT transform by using the constrained index vector quantization method for the purpose of integrity authentication of the original audio signals. Both the robust and the fragile watermarks can be extracted without the original audio signals, and the simulation results show that our algorithm is effective with regard to the transparency, robustness and the authentication requirements

Keywords: Copyright Protection, Discrete Cosine Transform, Integrity Authentication, Multipurpose Audio Watermarking, Vector Quantization.

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Authors: Zhaojun Wang, Zongdi Sun, Yongjie Chen, Manman Chen, Linghui Wang

Abstract:

This paper uses the analytic hierarchy process to study the execution effect of the minimum purchase price of grain in different regions and various grain crops. Firstly, for different regions, five indicators including grain yield, grain sown area, gross agricultural production, grain consumption price index, and disposable income of rural residents were selected to construct an evaluation index system. We collect data of six provinces including Hebei Province, Heilongjiang Province and Shandong Province from 2006 to 2017. Then, the judgment matrix is constructed, and the hierarchical single ordering and consistency test are carried out to determine the scoring standard for the minimum purchase price of grain. The ranking of the execution effect from high to low is: Heilongjiang Province, Shandong Province, Hebei Province, Guizhou Province, Shaanxi Province, and Guangdong Province. Secondly, taking Shandong Province as an example, we collect the relevant data of sown area and yield of cereals, beans, potatoes and other crops from 2006 to 2017. The weight of area and yield index is determined by expert scoring method. And the average sown area and yield of cereals, beans and potatoes in 2006-2017 were calculated, respectively. On this basis, according to the sum of products of weights and mean values, the execution effects of different grain crops are determined. It turns out that among the cereals, the minimum purchase price had the best execution effect on paddy, followed by wheat and finally maize. Moreover, among major categories of crops, cereals perform best, followed by beans and finally potatoes. Lastly, countermeasures are proposed for different regions, various categories of crops, and different crops of the same category.

Keywords: Analytic hierarchy process, grain yield, grain sown area, minimum grain purchase price.

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