• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.877-895
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• 2015

Connections to circular hollow steel sections (CHS) are considered one of the most complex and time consuming connections in steel construction. Such connections are usually composed of gusset plates welded to the outside of the steel tube or penetrating the steel tube. Design guides, accounting for the effect of connection configuration on the strength of the connection, are not present. This study aims to investigate, through experimental testing and a parametric study, the influence of connection configuration on the strength of one sided branch plate-to-CHS members. A notable effect was observed on the behavior of the connections due to its detailing changes with respect to capacity, failure mode, ductility, and stress distribution. A parametric study is performed using the calibrated analytical model to include a wider range of parameters. The study involves 26 numerical analyses of finite element models including parameters of the diameter-to-thickness (D/t) ratio, length of gusset plate, and connection configuration. Accordingly, a modification to the formulas provided by the current design recommendations was suggested to include connection configuration effects for the one sided branch plate-to-CHS members.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.7 no.5
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• pp.463-476
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• 2016

In this study, application of polypropylene hollow fiber membrane contactors for $CO_2$ removal from water in liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) mode was simulated. For this purpose, a steady state 2D mathematical model was developed. In this model axial and radial diffusion was considered to $CO_2$ permeation through the hollow fibers. $CO_2$ laden water is fed at a constant flow rate into the lumen side, permeated through the pores of membrane and at the end of this process, $CO_2$ solution in the lumen side was extracted by means of aqueous diethanolamine (DEA) and chemical reaction. The simulation results were validated with the experimental data and it was found a good agreement between them, which confirmed the reliability of the proposed model. Both simulation and experimental results confirmed the reduction in the percentage of $CO_2$ removal by increment of feed flow rate.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.449-474
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• 2010

A smart hollow cylinder consisting of a host functionally graded elastic core layer and two surface homogeneous piezoelectric layers is presented in this paper. The bonding between the layers can be perfect or imperfect, depending on the parameters taken in the general linear spring-layer interface model. The effect of such weak interfaces on free vibration and steady-state response is then investigated. Piezoelectric layers at inner and outer surfaces are polarized axially or radially and act as a sensor and an actuator respectively. For a simply supported condition, the state equations with non-constant coefficients are obtained directly from the formulations of elasticity/piezoelasticity. An approximate laminated model is then introduced for the sake of solving the state equations conveniently. It is further assumed that the hollow cylinder is embedded in an elastic medium and is simultaneously filled with compressible fluid. The interaction between the structure and its surrounding media is taken into account. Numerical examples are finally given with discussions on the effect of some related parameters.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.1-24
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• 2011

The deficiency of clean water is a major global concern because all the living creatures rely on the drinkable water for survival. On top of this, abundant of clean water supply is also necessary for household, metropolitan inhabitants, industry, and agriculture. Among many purification processes, advances in low-energy membrane separation technology appear to be the most effective solution for water crisis because membranes have been widely recognized as one of the most direct and feasible approaches for clean water production. The aim of this article is to give an overview of (1) two new emerging membrane technologies for water reuse and desalination by forward osmosis (FO) and membrane distillation (MD), and (2) the molecular engineering and development of highly permeable hollow fiber membranes, with polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and polybenzimidazole (PBI) as the main focuses for the aforementioned applications in National University of Singapore (NUS). This article presents the main results of membrane module design, separation performance, membrane characteristics, chemical modification and spinning conditions to produce novel hollow fiber membranes for FO and MD applications. As two potential solutions, MD and FO may be synergistically combined to form a hybrid system as a sustainable alternative technology for fresh water production.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.189-194
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• 2016

We report a facile method for preparing KIT-1 mesoporous silicates with two different macroporous structures by dual templating. As a template for macropores, polystyrene (PS) beads are assembled into uniform three dimensional arrays by ice templating, i.e., by growing ice crystals during the freezing process of the particle suspension. Then, the polymeric templates are directly introduced into the precursor-gel solution with cationic surfactants for templating the mesopores, which is followed by hydrothermal crystallization and calcination. Later, by burning out the PS beads and the surfactants, KIT-1 mesoporous silicates with macropores are produced in a powder form. The macroporous structures of the silicates can be controlled by changing the amount of EDTANa4 salt under the same templating conditions using the PS beads and inverse-opal or hollow structures can be obtained. This strategy to prepare mesoporous powders with controllable macrostructures is potentially useful for various applications especially those dealing with bulky molecules such as, catalysis, separation, drug carriers and environmental adsorbents.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.353-362
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• 2009

A new method and equipment for measuring the zeta potential of the external surface of hollow fiber (HF) membranes is reported. An existing commercial streaming potential analyzer in conjunction with home-made test cells was used to determine the electrokinetic surface characteristics of various HF membranes. It was shown that measurements of the external surface of HF membrane using the home-made test cells designed in this study were easy and reliable. The zeta potential values were quite accurate and reproducible. By varying the physical shape of the test cells to adjust hydrodynamics inside the test cells, several upgrade versions of home-made test cells were obtained. It was shown that the zeta potential of the external surface of HF membranes was most influenced by membrane materials as well as the way of surface modification. However, the overall surface charge of tested HF membranes were much less than that of commercial polyamide thin-film-composite (TFC) reverse osmosis (RO) membranes due to the lack of surface functional groups. For the HF membranes with the same material, the effect of pore size on the zeta potential was not significant, implying the potential of accurate zeta potential measurements for various HF membranes. The results obtained in this study are expected to be useful for better understating of electrokinetic surface characteristics of the external surface of HF membranes.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.141-149
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• 2012

The aeration provided in a Submerged Membrane Bioreactor (SMBR) improves membrane filtration by creating turbulence on the membrane surface and reducing membrane resistance. However, conventional hollow fiber membrane modules are generally packed in a vertical orientation which limits membrane scouring efficiency, especially when aeration is provided in the axial direction. In the present research, 3 innovative hollow-fiber membrane modules, each with a different membrane orientation, were developed to improve membrane scouring efficiency and enhance permeate flux. Pilot testing was performed to investigate the permeate flux versus time relationship over a 7-day period under different intermittent modes. The results indicated that the best module experienced an overall permeate flux decline of 3.3% after 7 days; the other two modules declined by 13.3% and 18.3%. The lower percentage of permeate flux decline indicated that permeate productivity could be sustained for a longer period of time. As a result, the operational costs associated with membrane cleaning and membrane replacement could be reduced over the lifespan of the module.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.181-199
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• 2014

The infill walls, whose contribution to the earthquake resistance of a structure is generally ignored due to their limited lateral rigidities, constitute a part of the lateral load bearing system of an RC frame structure. A common method for improving the earthquake behavior of RC frame structures is increasing the contribution of the infill walls to the overall lateral rigidity by strengthening them through different techniques. The present study investigates the influence of externally bonded perforated steel plates on the load capacities, rigidities, and ductilities of hollow brick infill walls. For this purpose, a reference (unstrengthened) and twelve strengthened specimens were subjected to monotonic diagonal compression. The experiments indicated that the spacing of the bolts, connecting the plates to the wall, have a more profound effect on the behavior of a brick wall compared to the thickness of the strengthening plates. Furthermore, an increase in the plate thickness was shown to result in a considerable improvement in the behavior of the wall only if the plates are connected to the wall with closely-spaced bolts. This strengthening technique was found to increase the energy absorption capacities of the walls between 4 and 14 times the capacity of the reference wall. The strengthened walls reached ultimate loads 30-160% greater than the reference wall and all strengthened walls remained intact till the end of the test.

• Transactions of Materials Processing
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.340-347
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• 2015

Multi-pass shape drawing is used to manufacture long products of arbitrary cross-sectional shapes. This process allows smooth surface finishes and closely controlled dimensions of the cross-sectional shape. Tube shape drawing for hollow type products provides material savings and weight reduction. The intermediate die shapes are very important in multi-pass tube shape drawing. In the current paper, the design method for the intermediate dies in a tube shape drawing process is developed using a die offset for corner filling (DOCF) method. Underfill defects are related to the radial velocity distribution of each divided section in the deformation zone. The developed intermediate die shape design was applied to the two-pass tube shape drawing with fixed mandrel for manufacturing a hollow linear motion (LM) guide rail. The proposed design method led to uniform and steady metal flow at each divided section. FE-simulations and experiments were conducted to validate the effectiveness of the proposed method in multi-pass tube shape drawing process.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.19 no.11
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• pp.1315-1322
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• 2010

A membrane bioreactor (MBR) was designed using polyvinylidene fluoride(PVDF)-type hollow fiber membrane modules with a treatment capacity of 10 ton/day. A pilot plant was installed in a sewage treatment plant and was operated with an intermittent aeration method which avoids any concentration gradient of suspended solids (SS) in the MBR. For continuous operation, the pilot plant was first tested with influent (mixed liquor suspended solid:MLSS of 1000-2000 mg/L) of aeration tanks in the sewage treatment plant. The MBR was pre-treated with washing water, 10% ethanol solution, 5% NaOCl solution and finally washing water, one after another. To demonstrate the effect of the MBR on sewage treatment, compared with conventional activated sludge processes, we investigated the relationships among permeate amount (LMH), change in operation conditions, influent MLSS level and sludge production. It was found that the optimum aeration rate and suction pressure were $0.3\;m^3$/min and 30~31 cmHg, respectively. Under stable conditions in aeration, suction pressure, influent flow rate and drainage, the SS removal efficiency was more than 99.99% even when the MLSS loading rate changes. Compared with conventional activated sludge processes, the MBR was more effective in cost reduction by 27% based on permeate amount and by 51.5% on sludge production.