• Advances in aircraft and spacecraft science
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.117-144
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• 2019

High Altitude and Long Endurance (HALE) aircraft are capable of providing intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities over vast geographic areas when equipped with advanced sensor packages. As their use becomes more widespread, the demand for additional range, endurance and payload capability will increase and designers are exploring non-conventional configurations to meet the increasing demands. One such configuration is the joined-wing concept. A joined-wing aircraft is one that typically connects a front and aft wings in a diamond shaped planform. One such example is the Boeing SensorCraft configuration. While the joined-wing configuration offers potential benefits regarding aerodynamic efficiency, structural weight, and sensing capabilities, structural design requires careful consideration of elastic buckling resulting from the aft wing supporting, in compression, part of the forward wing structural loading. It has been shown already that this is a nonlinear phenomenon, involving geometric nonlinearities and follower forces that tend to flatten the entire configuration, leading to structural overload due to the loss of the aft wing's ability to support the forward wing load. Severe gusts are likely to be the critical design condition, with flight control system interaction in the form of Gust Load Alleviation (GLA) playing a key role in minimizing the structural loads. The University of Victoria Center for Aerospace Research (UVic-CfAR) has built a 3-meter span scaled and flexible wing UAV based on the Boeing SensorCraft design. The goal is to validate the nonlinear structural behavior in flight. The main objective of this research work is to perform Ground Vibration Tests (GVT) to characterize the dynamic properties of the scaled flight vehicle. Results from the experimental tests are used to characterize the modal dynamics of the aircraft, and to validate the numerical models. The GVT results are an important step towards a safe flight test program.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.265-277
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• 2019

Framed masonry wall structures represent a typical high-rise structural system that are also seismically vulnerable. During ground motions, they are excited in both in-plane and out-of-plane terms. The interaction between the frame and the infill during ground motion is a highly investigated phenomenon in the field of seismic engineering. This paper presents a numerical investigation of two distinct static out-of-plane loading methods for framed masonry wall models. The first and most common method is uniformly loaded infill. The load is generally induced by the airbag. The other method is similar to in-plane push-over method, involves loading of the frame directly, not the infill. Consequently, different openings with the same areas and various placements were examined. The numerical model is based on calibrated in-plane bare frame models and on calibrated wall models subjected to OoP bending. Both methods produced widely divergent results in terms of load bearing capabilities, failure modes, damage states etc. Summarily, uniform load on the panel causes more damage to the infill than to the frame; openings do influence structures behavior; three hinged arching action is developed; and greater resistance and deformations are obtained in comparison to the frame loading method. Loading the frame causes the infill to bear significantly greater damage than the infill; infill and openings only influence the behavior after reaching the peak load; infill does not influence initial stiffness; models with opening fail at same inter-storey drift ratio as the bare frame model.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.197-208
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• 2019

The objective of this study is to propose new seismic intensity parameters based on the Hilbert spectrum and to associate them with the seismic damage potential. In recent years the assessment of even more seismic features derived from the seismic acceleration time-histories was associated with the structural damage. For a better insight into the complex seismic acceleration time-history, Hilbert-Huang Transform (HHT) analysis is utilized for its processing, and the Hilbert spectrum is obtained. New proposed seismic intensity parameters based on the Hilbert spectrum are derived. The aim is to achieve a significant estimation of the seismic damage potential on structures from the proposed new intensity parameters confirmed by statistical methods. Park-Ang overall structural damage index is used to describe the postseismic damage status of structures. Thus, a set of recorded seismic accelerograms from all over the word is applied on a reinforced concrete frame structure, and the Park-Ang indices through nonlinear dynamic analysis are provided and considered subsequently as reference numerical values. Conventional seismic parameters, with well-known seismic structural damage interrelation, are evaluated for the same set of excitations. Statistical procedures, namely correlation study and multilinear regression analysis, are applied on the set of the conventional parameters and the set of proposed new parameters separately, to confirm their interrelation with the seismic structural damage. The regression models are used for the evaluation of the structural damage indices for every set of parameters, respectively. The predicted numerical values of the structural damage indices evaluated from the two sets of seismic intensity parameters are inter-compared with the reference values. The numerical results confirm the ability of the proposed Hilbert spectrum based new seismic intensity parameters to approximate the postseismic structural damage with a smaller Standard Error of Estimation than this accomplished of the conventional ones.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.603-622
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• 2018

Precast concrete structures are erected from individual prefabricated components, which are assembled on-site using different types of connections. In the present design of these structures, beam-to-column connections are assumed pin jointed. Bolted billet beam to-column connections have been used in the precast concrete industry for many years. They have many advantages over other jointing methods in component production, quality control, transportation and assembly. However, there is currently limited information concerning their detailed structural behaviour under vertical loadings. The experimental work has involved the determination of moment-relative rotation relationships for semi-rigid precast concrete connections in full-scale connection tests. The study reported in this paper was undertaken to clarify the behaviour of such connections under symmetrical vertical loadings. A series of full-scale tests was performed on sample column for which the column geometry and bolt arrangements conformed to successful commercial practice. Proprietary hollow core floor slabs were tied to the beams by 2T25 tensile reinforcing bars, which also provide the in-plane continuity across the connections. The contribution of the floor strength and stiffness to the flexural capacity of the joint is currently neglected in the design process for precast concrete frames. The flexural strength of the connections in the double-sided tests was at least 0.93 times the predicted moment of resistance of the composite beam and slab. The secant stiffness of the connections ranged from 0.94 to 1.94 times the flexural stiffness of the attached beam. In general, the double-sided connections were found to be more suited to a semi-rigid design approach than the single sided ones. The behaviour of double sided bolted billet connection test results are presented in this paper. The behaviour of single sided bolted billet connection test results is the subject of another paper.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.6 no.6
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• pp.561-583
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• 2018

A variety of polycarboxylate ether (PCE)-based superplasticizers are commercially available. Their influence on the rheological retention and slump loss in respect of concrete differ considerably. Fluidity and slump loss are the cardinal features responsible for the quality of concrete. These are related to the dispersion of cement particles and the hydration process which are greatly influenced by type of polycarboxylate ether (PCE)-based superplasticizers. On the backdrop of relatively less studies in the context of rheological retention of high strength self-consolidating concrete (HS-SCC), the experimental investigations were carried out aiming at quantifying the effect of the six different PCE polymers (PCE 1-6) on the rheological retention of HS-SCC mixes containing two types of Ordinary Portland Cements (OPC) and unwashed crushed sand as the fine aggregate. The tests that were carried out included $T_{500}$, V-Funnel, yield stress and viscosity retention tests. The supplementary cementitious materials such as fly ash (FA) and micro-silica (MS) were also used in ternary blend keeping the mix paste volume and flow of concrete constant. Low water to binder ratio was used. The results reveal that not only the PCEs of different polymer groups behave differently, but even the PCEs of same polymer groups also behave differently. The study also indicates that the HS-SCC mixes containing PCE 6 and PCE 5 performed better as compared to the mixes containing PCE 1, PCE 2, PCE 3 and PCE 4 in respect of all the rheological tests. The PCE 6 is a new class of chemical admixtures known as Polyaryl Ether (PAE) developed by BASF to provide better rheological properties in even in HS-SCC mixes at low water to binder mix. In the present study, the PCE 6, is found to help not only in reduction in the plastic viscosity and yield stress, but also provide good rheological retention over the period of 180 minutes. Further, the early compressive strength properties (one day compressive strength) highly depend on the type of PCE polymer. The side chain length of PCE polymer and the fineness of the cement considerably affect the early strength gain.

• Advances in nano research
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.241-248
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• 2019

Recent researches demonstrated well promising anticancer activities for antibiotics. Such effects would be significantly increased while nanoparticle based delivery systems were applied. In this study, the goal was aim to improve anticancer and antitoxic effects of Streptomycin by loading on special kind of dendrimer (anionic-linear-globular second generation). In the current study, Size and zeta potential as well as AFM techniques have been used to prove the fact that the loading was performed correctly. The Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) of the drug loaded on dendrimer nanoparticle were determined and compared with both of dendrimer alone and free drug with respect to staphylococcus aureus as the test microorganism. The anticancer activity among three groups including Streptomycin, Streptomycin -G2 dendrimer, and control was measured in vitro. In vitro studies showed that G2 anionic linear-globular polyethylene-glycol-based dendrimer, which loaded on Streptomycin was able to significantly improve the treatment efficacy over clinical Streptomycin alone with respect to proliferation assay. Maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) was calculated to be $257{\mu}g/mL$ for streptomycin alone and $55{\mu}g/mL$ for Streptomycin -G2 dendrimer. In addition, Streptomycin -G2 dendrimer conjugate prevented the growth of MCF-7 cancerous cells in addition to enhance the number of apoptotic and necrotic cells as demonstrated by an annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate assay. Streptomycin -G2 dendrimer conjugate was able to increase Bcl-2/Bax ratio in a large scale compared with the control group and Streptomycin alone. Based on results a new drug formulation based nano-particulate was improved against S. aureus with sustained release and enhanced antibacterial activity as well as anticancer activity shown for functional cancer treatment with low side effects.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.163-173
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• 2019

For Special Concentrically Braced Frame (SCBF), it is common that the damage concentrates at a certain story instead of spreading over all stories. Once the damage occurs, the soft-story mechanism is likely to take place and possibly to result in the failure of the whole system with more damage accumulation. In this study, we use a strongback column which is an additional structural component extending along the height of the building, to redistribute the excessive deformation of SCBF and activate more structural members to dissipate energy and thus avoid damage concentration and improve the seismic performance of SCBF. We tested one-third-scaled, three-story, double-story X SCBF specimens with static cyclic loading procedure. Three specimens, namely S73, S42 and S0, which represent different combinations of stiffness and strength factors ${\alpha}$ and ${\beta}$ for the strongback columns, were designed based on results of numerical simulations. Specimens S73 and S42 were the specimens with the strongback columns, and S0 is the specimen without the strongback column. Test results show that the deformation distribution of Specimen S73 is more uniform and more brace members in three stories perform nonlinearly. Comparing Drift Concentration Factor (DCF), we can observe 29% and 11% improvement in Specimen S73 and S42, respectively. This improvement increases the nonlinear demand of the third-story braces and reduces that of the first-story braces where the demand used to be excessive, and, therefore, postpones the rupture of the first-story braces and enhances the ductility and energy dissipation capacity of the whole SCBF system.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.45-55
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• 2019

Climate change has significantly affected the rainfall characteristics which can influence the pollutant build-up and wash-off patterns from the catchment. Therefore, this study explored the influence of varying rainfall characteristics on urban and agricultural runoff pollutant export using statistical approaches. For this purpose, Mann-Kendall and Pettitt's test were applied to detect the trend and breakpoint in rainfall characteristics time series. In addition, double mass curve and correlation analysis were used to drive the relationship between rainfall-runoff and pollutant exports from both catchments. The results indicate a significant decreased in total rainfall and average rainfall intensity, while a significant increased trend for antecedents dry days and total storm duration over the study periods. The breakpoint was determined to be 2013 which shows remarkable trend shifts for total rainfall, average rainfall intensity and antecedents dry days except total duration. Double mass curve exhibited a straight line with significant rainfall-runoff relationship indicates a climate change effect on both sites. Overall, higher pollutant exports were observed at both sites during the baseline period as compared to change periods. In agricultural site, most of the pollutants exhibited significant (p< 0.05) association with total rainfall, average rainfall intensity and total storm duration. In contrast, pollutants from urban site significantly correlated with antecedent dry days and average rainfall intensity. Thus, total rainfall, average rainfall intensity and total duration were the significant factors for the agricultural catchment while, antecedents dry days and average rainfall intensity were key factors in build-up and wash-off from the urban catchment.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.61-68
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• 2019

This paper presents a computational rational model to predict the ultimate and optimized load capacity of reinforced concrete (RC) beams strengthened by a combination of longitudinal and transverse fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composite plates/sheets (flexure and shear strengthening system). Several experimental and analytical studies on the confinement effect and failure mechanisms of fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) wrapped columns have been conducted over recent years. Although typical axial members are large-scale square/rectangular reinforced concrete (RC) columns in practice, the majority of such studies have concentrated on the behavior of small-scale circular concrete specimens. A high performance concrete, known as polymer concrete, made up of natural aggregates and an orthophthalic polyester binder, reinforced with non-metallic bars (glass reinforced polymer) has been studied. The material is described at micro and macro level, presenting the key physical and mechanical properties using different experimental techniques. Furthermore, a full description of non-metallic bars is presented to evaluate its structural expectancies, embedded in the polymer concrete matrix. In this paper, the mechanism of mechanical interaction of smooth and lugged FRP rods with concrete is presented. A general modeling and application of various elements are demonstrated. The contact parameters are defined and the procedures of calculation and evaluation of contact parameters are introduced. The method of calibration of the calculated parameters is presented. Finally, the numerical results are obtained for different bond parameters which show a good agreement with experimental results reported in literature.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.99-104
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• 2019

In Korea, nonpoint pollutants have a significant effect on rivers' water quality, and they are discharged in very different ways depending on rainfall events. Therefore, preparing an optimal countermeasure against nonpoint pollutants requires much monitoring. The present study was conducted to help prepare a method for installing an automatic nonpoint pollutant measurement system for the cost-effective monitoring of the effect of nonpoint pollutants on rivers. In the present study, monitoring was performed at six sites of a river passing through an urban area with a basin area of $454.3km^2$. The results showed that monitoring could be performed for a relatively long time interval in the upstream and downstream regions, which are mainly comprised of forests, regardless of the rainfall amount. On the contrary, in the urban region, the monitoring had to be performed at a relatively short time interval each time when the rainfall intensity changed. This was because the flow rate was significantly dependent on the rainfall's intensity. The appropriate sites for installing an automatic measurement system were found to be a site before entering the urban region, a site after passing through the urban region, and the end of a river where the effects of nonpoint pollutant sources can be well-decided. The analysis also showed that the monitoring time should be longer for the rainfall events of a higher rainfall class and for the sites closer to the river end. This is because the rainfall runoff has a longer effect on the river. However, the effect of nonpoint pollutant sources was not significantly different between the upstream and the downstream in the cases of rainfall events over 100 mm.