Evaluation of NDT methods for detection of prestressing steel damage at post-tensioned concrete structures

For an assessment of the risk potential of existing structures, where in the case of prestressing steel damage the load-bearing capacity could be significantly affected, non-destructive testing techniques which enable reliable evaluation of the condition of the prestressing steels are of utmost importance. During the demolition of a post-tensioned concrete bridge in Berlin where damage of prestressing wires due to hydrogen-induced stress corrosion cracking were found in former investigations, parts of the girders of the bridge superstructure could be taken out. After non-destructive investigations by means of two testing techniques based on magnetic leakage flux measurement and one technique based on electromagnetic resonance measurement, subsequent removal of the concrete cover up to the ducts, opening the ducts and evaluation of the prestressing steels allowed a verification of the results obtained by the NDT methods. From the results it can be concluded that areas with fractures of several wires can be detected by the two techniques based on magnetic leakage flux measurement.     

Effect of bipolar turn-on on the static current-voltagecharacteristics of scaled vertical power DMOSFET's

The parasitic bipolar transistor inherent in the power vertical Double Diffused MOSFET (DMOSFET) structure can have a significant impact on its performance and reliability. Selectively formed TiSi₂ films on source contacts were used to reduce the contact resistance to n ⁺ source diffusion. These devices exhibit “kinks” in the output I-V characteristics. High contact resistance of TiSi₂ to moderately doped p-body diffusion causes high output conductance. Detailed two-dimensional numerical simulations are used to investigate the effect of the parasitic bipolar transistor on the static characteristics of scaled silicided DMOSFET's. The high contact resistance of TiSi₂-p-body interface leads to a floating potential and causes significant reduction in the MOS gate threshold voltage and results in a premature bipolar turn-on. It is shown that the parasitic bipolar turn-on places an important constraint on the scalability of the device into the submicron regime. A novel self-aligned DMOSFET structure with a shallow diffused p⁺ region is shown to eliminate this effect. Numerical simulations are shown to be in excellent agreement with the measured data at various temperatures     

Apparatus for steady-state kinetic measurements of the catalytic reduction of nitric oxide by ammonia on iron oxide

The reduction of nitric oxide with ammonia on an unsupported iron oxide catalyst has been studied in a continuous-flow recycle reactor using simulated flue gas. The responses of the employed reactor system to step and pulse inputs of tracer indicate that the system could be regarded as a continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR). Preliminary tests were carried out to determine the effect of temperature and particle size on the measured reaction rates. Additional experiments were performed in order to study the influence of oxygen and water concentration on these rates. A gas chromatographic system has been developed to analyze the gas components NO, N₂O, NO₂, NH₃, H₂O, O₂, CO₂ and N₂. In addition, the concentrations of NO and NO₂ were measured with a nondisperse infrared (NDUV/NDIR) analyzer.     

Fast method to compute the scalar product of gradient and given vector

The paper deals with a special problem in Automatic Differentiation. Letf be a rational function ofn variables, let #(f) denote the number of operations to evaluatef(x), letg denote the gradient off. Many algorithms for minimizingf(x) require the scalar productg(u) ^tv. In the standard method for computingg(u) ^tv the amount of work grows withn·#(f). In this note a new method for computingg(u) ^tv is presented. The new method is considerably faster, its amount of work only grows with #(f).     

A numerical investigation on the geometry dependence of the crack growth resistance in CT specimens

The influence of the specimen thickness B and the ligament length b on the J _R -curves is numerically investigated for CT specimens. The thickness effect is taken into account with 2-D analyses by dividing a plain sided specimen into a plane stress part and a plane strain part. The fracture process is controlled by experimentally determined critical values of the crack tip opening displacement for crack growth initiation (CTOD_i) and the crack tip opening angle for stable crack growth (CTOA_C). It is shown that for the global behaviour of a plain sided specimen, the B/b ratio is essential. The difference between the geometry dependence of the initiation value of the J-integral and the geometry dependence of the slope of the J _R -curves is also shown.     

Influence of Solution Composition on the Formation of Crystalline Scales

Scale formation is a difficulty encountered with water containing ions of sparingly soluble salts that can readily precipitate on heat transfer surfaces in evaporative concentration operations. Scale formation, hindering the heat transfer process, increases specific energy consumption and operating costs and causes frequent shut down of the evaporator for cleaning. The effects of changes in composition of the solution due to evaporation and CO₂ release on the formation of crystalline scales in seawater evaporators are studied. A model that predicts the CO₂ release is presented. The carbonate system in the salt solution on its whole flow path through the evaporator and the scaling (crystallization) tendency are described. Simulation results for different process configurations are shown and the differences are discussed, particularly with regard to the incrustation tendency.