Deflection Calculation of FRP Reinforced Concrete Beams Based on Modifications to the Existing Branson Equation

Fundamental concepts of tension stiffening are used to explain why Branson’s equation for the effective moment of inertia Ie does not predict deflection well for fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) reinforced concrete beams. The tension stiffening component in Branson’s equation is shown to depend on the ratio of gross-to-cracked moment of inertia (Ig/Icr), and gives too much tension stiffening for beams with an Ig/Icr ratio greater than 3. FRP beams typically have an Ig/Icr ratio greater than 5, leading to a much stiffer response and underprediction of computed deflections as observed by others in the past. One common approach to computing deflection of FRP reinforced concrete beams has been to use a modified form of the Branson equation. This paper presents a rational development of appropriate modification factors needed to reduce the tension stiffening component in Branson’s original expression to realistic levels. Computed deflections using this approach give reasonable results with the right modification factor, and compare well with a more general unified approach that incorporates a realistic tension stiffening model. Comparison is made with the existing and past correction factors recommended by ACI 440 for predicting deflection of FRP beams. The method presently used by ACI 440 gives reasonable estimates of deflection for glass and carbon FRP reinforced beams. However, this method underestimates deflection of aramid FRP reinforced beams and is restricted to rectangular sections. A proposal is made for adoption of a simple modification factor that works well for all types of FRP bar and beam cross-sectional shape.     

Construction experiences with SSC collider dipole magnets atFermilab

Full length and short model SSC (Superconducting Super Collider) 50 mm bore dipoles are being built and tested at Fermilab. The mechanical design of these magnets has been determined from experience with the construction of previous superconducting magnets. Construction experience includes coil fabrication, ground insulation, instrumentation, collaring, and yoke assembly. Fabrication techniques are explained, and construction problems and their solutions are reviewed. The relationship of short to long model construction is discussed     

Indomethacin inhibits the natriuretic effects of neuropeptide Y in anesthetized rats

Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is a unique modulator of renal function that enhances urine flow and sodium excretion despite marked reductions in renal blood flow. We investigated whether the cyclooxygenase inhibitor indomethacin alters the renal NPY effects in anesthetized rats. Treatment with 5 mg/kg indomethacin i.p. lowered urinary prostaglandin excretion by approximately 85%. Systemic infusion of NPY elevated mean arterial pressure by approximately 15 mm Hg and renovascular resistance by approximately 8.0 mm Hg/ml/min, whereas the related peptide YY3-36 (PYY3-36) did not. Nevertheless, both peptides enhanced urine flow rate by approximately 250 and approximately 100 microl/15 min, respectively, and sodium excretion by approximately 15 micromol/15 min. Treatment with indomethacin did not affect NPY- and PYY3-36-induced alterations of systemic and renovascular hemodynamics but completely abolished NPY- and PYY3-36-induced diuresis and natriuresis. Endogenous creatinine clearance was not affected by any treatment. We conclude that cyclooxygenase-derived arachidonic acid metabolites are not involved in the systemic or renal hemodynamic effects of NPY and PYY3-36 but mediate NPY- and PYY3-36-induced diuresis and natriuresis.     

Fiber Coating Concepts for Brittle-Matrix Composites

The current interest in tough, high-temperature materials has motivated fiber coating development for brittle-matrix composites with brittle reinforcements. Such coatings are needed for controlled interface debonding and frictional sliding. The system investigated in this study was sapphire fiber-reinforced alumina. This system is thermochemically stable for severe use conditions, exhibits little thermal expansion mismatch, and utilizes the excellent strength and creep resistance of sapphire reinforcements. Porous oxide and refractory metal coatings which satisfy requirements for toughness improvement in these composites were identified by employing a variety of newly developed mechanical testing techniques for determining the interfacial fracture energies and sliding resistances.     

Experiences with large-scale operational trials of ALTO-enhanced P2P filesharing in an intra-ISP scenario

Application Layer Traffic Optimization (ALTO) has recently gained attention in the research and standardisation community as a way for a network operator to guide the peer selection process of distributed applications by providing network layer topology information. In particular P2P applications are expected to gain from ALTO, due to the many connections peers form among each other, often without taking network layer topology information into account. In this paper, we present results of an extensive intra-ISP trial with an ALTO-enhanced P2P filesharing software. In summary, our results show that—depending on the concrete setting and on the distribution of upload capacity in the network—ALTO enables an ISP to save operational costs significantly while not degrading application layer performance noticeably. In addition, based on our experience we are able to give advice to operators on how to save costs with ALTO while not sacrificing application layer performance at all.     

Data access in distributed simulations of multi-agent systems

Distributed simulation has emerged as an important instrument for studying large-scale complex systems. Such systems inherently consist of a large number of components, which operate in a large shared state space interacting with it in highly dynamic and unpredictable ways. Optimising access to the shared state space is crucial for achieving efficient simulation executions. Data accesses may take two forms: locating data according to a set of attribute value ranges (range query) or locating a particular state variable from the given identifier (ID query and update). This paper proposes two alternative routing approaches, namely the address-based approach, which locates data according to their address information, and the range-based approach, whose operation is based on looking up attribute value range information along the paths to the destinations. The two algorithms are discussed and analysed in the context of PDES-MAS, a framework for the distributed simulation of multi-agent systems, which uses a hierarchical infrastructure to manage the shared state space. The paper introduces a generic meta-simulation framework which is used to perform a quantitative comparative analysis of the proposed algorithms under various circumstances.     

Precise selective deposition of microparticles on electrodes of microelectronic chips

We examined the high precision deposition of toner and polymer microparticles with a typical size of approximately 10 microm on electrode arrays with electrodes of 100 microm and below using custom-made microelectronic chips. Selective desorption of redundant particles was employed to obtain a given particle pattern from preadsorbed particle layers. Microparticle desorption was regulated by dielectrophoretic attracting forces generated by individual pixel electrodes, tangential detaching forces of an air flow, and adhesion forces on the microchip surface. A theoretical consideration of the acting forces showed that without pixel voltage, the tangential force applied for particle detachment exceeded the particle adhesion force. When the pixel voltage was switched on, however, the sum of attracting forces was larger than the tangential detaching force, which was crucial for desorption efficiency. In our experiments, appropriately large dielectrophoretic forces were achieved by applying high voltages of up to 100 V on the pixel electrodes. In addition, electrode geometries on the chip's surface as well as particle size influenced the desorption quality. We further demonstrated the compatibility of this procedure to complementary metal oxide semiconductor chip technology, which should allow for an easy technical implementation with respect to high-resolution microparticle deposition.     

Determination of fat in olestra-containing savory snack products by capillary gas chromatography

A quantitative method to determine fat in olestra-containing savory snack products was validated within the AOAC Peer-Verified Methods Program. The method may be used to demonstrate compliance with the guidelines of the U.S. Nutrition Labeling and Education Act for labeling products as "fat free" or "low fat." The method can measure total and saturated fat in savory snacks when present at levels of 0.2-10 g total fat and 0.1-3 g saturated fat per 30 g serving. The method is standardized to measure C6-C24 fatty acids. Extraction of olestra-containing savory snack samples with chloroform-methanol (modified AOAC Official Method 983.23) yields a lipid extract containing the total fat and olestra. The extracted lipid is hydrolyzed by lipase, yielding fatty acids and unreacted olestra. The fatty acids are precipitated as calcium soaps. Olestra is extracted from insoluble soaps with hexane and then discarded. The isolated soaps are converted back into fatty acids with hydrochloric acid and extracted with hexane. The isolated fatty acids are converted to methyl esters with boron trifluoride-methanol and quantitated by capillary gas chromatography using internal standard. Test samples were prepared by blending olestra-containing and full-fat (triglyceride) snacks to obtain 6 levels of spiking (0-10 g total fat added/30 g serving) in potato chips, potato crisps, cheese puffs, and nacho cheese-flavored corn chips. Results were linear (r2 > 0.997) between 0 and 10 g fat/30 g serving for each product matrix. Mean recovery was 101 +/- 6% standard deviation (SD) for total fat and 104 +/- 6% SD for saturated fat. Mean recovery by peer laboratory was 88 +/- 5% SD for total fat and 95 +/- 4% SD for saturated fat in potato chips (0-3 g total fat added/30 g serving). Two sets of 10 replicates of potato chips (0.5 g total fat/30 g serving and 0.16 g saturated fat/30 g serving) and potato crisps (0.5 g total fat/30 g serving and 0.16 g saturated fat/30 g serving) were analyzed by submitting and peer laboratories. Repeatability relative standard deviations ranged from 3.90 to 7.33% for total fat and from 4.01 to 11.53% for saturated fat. Reproducibility relative standard deviations were 7.33% (total fat, potato chips), 7.15% (total fat, potato crisps), 11.36% (saturated fat, potato chips), and 13.50% (saturated fat, potato crisps).     

Quantification of statistical type i and ii errors in correlation analysis of simulated functional magnetic resonance imaging data

The potential of statistical analyses of functional magnetic resonance images using various threshold strategies in combination with correlation analysis was studied by simulating brain activation. Differences in statistical Type I () and II () errors are substantial for the various thresholds. Absolute thresholds and individualized thresholds based on the assumption of a gaussian noise distribution are producing constant -errors and thus do not sufficiently improve discrimination of truly activated pixels even for very high contrast-to-noise ratios (CNR). Only relative threshold strategies related to the maximum correlation coefficient and thus the individual data quality and activation level, i.e., a data-driven approach, can perfectly discriminate true positives, at least for CNR>2.5. To further improve discrimination of activated and non-activated pixel in studies with lower CNR, additional prior knowledge would be necessary. From the data presented, one would also expect that the best performing threshold strategy in this simulation study would perform best underin vivo conditions.Preliminary results presented in abstract form at the 13th Annual ESMRMB Meeting, Prague, Czech Republic, September 12–15, 1996.