The semi-rigid behaviour of three-dimensional steel beam-to-column joints subjected to proportional loading. Part I. Experimental evaluation

An experimental investigation of statically loaded extended end-plate connections in both major and minor column axes was undertaken at the University of Navarra, Spain. The aim was to provide insight into the behaviour of these joints when a proportional load is applied to both axes (three-dimensional loading). The rotational stiffness of the joints increases with this type of three-dimensional loading. The findings also show that an increase in the end-plate thickness results in an increase in the connection’s flexural strength and stiffness, and a decrease in its rotation capacity.     

Performance of wall-stud cold-formed shear panels under monotonic and cyclic loading: Part I: Experimental research

The ever-increasing need for housing generated the search for new and innovative building methods to increase speed, efficiency and enhance quality, one direction being the use of light thin steel profiles as load bearing elements and different materials for cladding. The same methodology can be employed to build small steel structures for offices, schools or other purposes. Earthquake behaviour of these structures is influenced, together with other parameters, by the hysteretic characteristics of the shear wall panels. Results of a full-scale shear test programme on wall panels are presented, together with some numerical results concerning expectable earthquake performance of this structural typology.     

Comparison of 2-chlorobenzoic acid biodegradation in a membrane bioreactor by B. cepacia and B. cepacia bearing the bacterial hemoglobin gene

Degradation of 2-chlorobenzoic acid (2-CBA), a model recalcitrant chlorinated organic compound, by pure cultures of Burkholderia cepacia strain DNT with (transformed B. cepacia) and without (untransformed B. cepacia) the bacterial hemoglobin (Vitreoscilla hemoglobin, VHb) gene, vgb, was investigated in parallel membrane bioreactors (MBRs). This was done aseptically to prevent contamination during the operation of the MBRs. The objective was to determine whether the degradation of 2-CBA by cometabolism, using acetate as a primary carbon source, under hypoxic conditions might be enhanced for vgb-bearing cells in MBRs. The 2-CBA removal efficiency of transformed B. cepacia (97-99%) was slightly higher than that of untransformed B. cepacia (95-99%) at all stages. The average amount of chloride released from 2-CBA by transformed cells was also higher than for untransformed cells, 92-96% compared to 64-84% of the maximum theoretical amount, the exact value depending on the operating conditions. These results indicate that 2-CBA degradation/transformation is not accompanied by the stoichiometric release of chloride for the untransformed strain. The difference between percentages of 2-CBA removal and chloride release by untransformed cells was attributed to persistence, under hypoxic conditions, of the 2-CBA chlorine atom in 2-CBA metabolites. Growth of transformed cells was also significantly enhanced under hypoxic conditions compared to untransformed cells. For varying media compositions, the transformed cells reached higher cell densities (3.2-5.4 g/L) relative to untransformed cells (2.8-4.7 g/L) at food to microorganism ratios ranging from 0.44-0.59 to 0.38-0.49 g COD/g biomass-d The observed yields thus ranged from 0.16-0.20 and 0.15-0.18 g TSS/g COD for untransformed and transformed cells, respectively. The value of the yield depended on medium composition. The MBR system using vgb-containing B. cepacia maintained a high biomass concentration without oxygen limitations and provided cell-free effluent. Hence, it may be useful for treating high volumes of water contaminated with low levels of recalcitrant organics.     

水泥颗粒分布对水泥和混凝土性能的影响

实施水泥新国家标准后 ,水泥强度明显下降。本文对水泥颗粒分布进行了试验研究 ,分析了对水泥强度、混凝土的工作性能及强度等性能的影响     

在弯矩、剪力和反复扭矩复合作用下的碳纤维布加固RC箱梁抗扭性能试验研究

为研究碳纤维布加固弯矩、剪力和反复扭矩复合作用下的钢筋混凝土箱梁的抗扭性能,共设计制作了4根钢筋混凝土箱梁试件,其中3根采取碳纤维布加固、1根不加固作为对比试件。试验在自行研制的扭转试验装置上进行,对箱梁试件同步施加弯矩、剪力和反复扭矩作用。以加固方式和加固数量为主要研究参数,分析了箱梁试件的破坏机理、承载能力、变形能力和滞回性能等。通过各箱梁试件的碳纤维布和钢筋的应变变化规律,探讨了碳纤维布加固箱梁的抗扭工作机理;通过测得的各试件的扭矩-扭转角滞回曲线和骨架曲线,提出了碳纤维布加固钢筋混凝土箱梁的抗扭恢复力模型。从而为碳纤维布加固钢筋混凝土箱梁抗扭性能的理论研究和工程应用提供了重要的依据。     

铝塑复合板幕墙抗风压性能试验研究

为研究铝塑复合板幕墙在风压作用下的抗变形能力,对7组不同规格的铝塑复合板试件进行了抗风压试验研究,得到了铝塑复合板的风压-变形曲线,并将试验结果与规范JGJ133—2001的计算结果进行比较。结果表明:随着风压的增加,铝塑复合板的风压-变形曲线呈明显的非线性关系;现行行业规范中关于铝塑复合板挠度的计算值大于试验值,偏于保守;不同铝材牌号对铝塑复合板的抗风压性能影响不大,但是对其残余变形的影响较大。     

Fire Safety Engineering Research and Technology Centre (FireSERT) University of Ulster: Recent Developments

The Institute of Fire Safety Engineering Research and Technology Centre (FireSERT) at the University of Ulster in Northern Ireland has been a major provider of higher technical fire safety education, fire related research and services to industry for over 20 years. Its internationally recognised research spans the fields of fire dynamics, structural fire engineering, human behaviour in fire and more recently fire (CFD) modelling. Since 1991, it has offered the only PG Dip/MSc Fire Safety Engineering programme in the United Kingdom. In September 2000 FireSERT was the recipient of a £5.7 m Joint Infrastructure Fund (JIF) Award to build new fire safety engineering laboratories on the University's Jordanstown campus. These new facilities unparallel in the University sector in the UK offer greater scope and depth to the FireSERT's research portfolios. The new facilities will be extensively used in support of FireSERT's suite of MSc Fire Safety Engineering and DPhil programmes. This paper presents a brief history of FireSERT and its achievements, together with an update on the new facility, current research themes, taught programmes, research opportunities and visions for the future.     

Elastic local post-buckling of elliptical tubes

The elastic local post-buckling behaviour of elliptical tubes under compression is analysed in this paper. A brief outline of the local, distortional and global buckling behaviour of EHS tubes is firstly provided, where it is shown that local buckling modes govern the stability of short to intermediate length tubes while distortional modes control the stability of intermediate length to moderately long tubes and global buckling dominates the behaviour of longer tubes. Following this, an in-depth numerical study employing shell finite element modelling, of the elastic local post-buckling behaviour of compressed elliptical hollow section (EHS) tubes is presented. It is concluded that EHS tubes with a low to moderate aspect ratio can support loads up to their limit loads but are imperfection sensitive (shell-type behaviour), while EHS tubes with a moderate to high aspect ratio can carry loads higher than their limit loads (plate-type behaviour) and are imperfection insensitive. The slope of the ascending post-buckling path increases with the EHS aspect ratio and can reach values up to 40% of the slope of the linear primary path. The bound imperfection amplitude concept, separating the imperfection amplitude ranges where the EHS tube is sensitive and insensitive, is proposed. It is also found that, for increasing EHS aspect ratio, the compressive stresses grow and accumulate near the zones of minimum radius of curvature while the zones of maximum radius of curvature possess an approximately uniform and relatively low compressive stress level. Therefore, it is expected that an approach based on the effective width concept widely used for the evaluation of the strength of flat plates may be adapted to the design of EHS tubes with moderate to high aspect ratios.     

Flexural strengthening of reinforced lightweight polystyrene aggregate concrete beams with near-surface mounted GFRP bars

Application of near-surface mounted (NSM) fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) bars is emerging as a promising technology for increasing flexural and shear strength of deficient reinforced concrete (RC) members. In order for this technique to perform effectively, the structural behaviour of RC elements strengthened with NSM FRP bars needs to be fully characterized. This paper focuses on the characterization of flexural behaviour of RC members strengthened with NSM glass-FRP bars. Totally, 10 beams were tested using symmetrical two-point loads test. The parameters examined under the beam tests were type of concretes (lightweight polystyrene aggregate concrete and normal concrete), type of reinforcing bars (GFRP and steel), and type of adhesives. Flexural performance of the tested beams including modes of failure, moment–deflection response and ultimate moment capacity are presented and discussed in this paper. Results of this investigation showed that beams with NSM GFRP bars showed a reduction in ultimate deflection and an improvement in flexural stiffness and bending capacity, depending on the PA content of the beams. In general, beams strengthened with NSM GFRP bars overall showed a significant increase in ultimate moment ranging from 23% to 53% over the corresponding beams without NSM GFRP bars. The influence of epoxy type was found conspicuously dominated the moment–deflection response up to the peak moment. Besides, the ultimate moment of concrete beams reinforced with GFRP bars could be predicted satisfactorily using the equation provided in ACI 318-95 Building Code.