A new monitoring system for piping systems in fossil fired power plants

A CEC-funded project has been performed to tackle the problem of producing an advanced Life Monitoring System (LMS) which would calculate the creep and fatigue damage experienced by high temperature pipework components. Four areas were identified where existing Life Monitoring System technology could be improved:

1. 1. the inclusion of creep relaxation

2. 2. the inclusion of external loads on components

3. 3. a more accurate method of calculating thermal stresses due to temperature transients

4. 4. the inclusion of high cycle fatigue terms.

The creep relaxation problem was solved using stress reduction factors in an analytical in-elastic stress calculation. The stress reduction factors were produced for a number of common geometries and materials by means of non-linear finite element analysis. External loads were catered for by producing influence coefficients from in-elastic analysis of the particular piping system and using them to calculate bending moments at critical positions on the pipework from load and displacement measurements made at the convenient points at the pipework. The thermal stress problem was solved by producing a completely new solution based on Green's Function and Fast Fourier transforms. This allowed the thermal stress in a complex component to be calculated from simple non-intrusive thermocouple measurements made on the outside of the component. The high-cycle fatigue problem was dealt with precalculating the fatigue damage associated with standard transients and adding this damage to cumulative total when a transient occurred.

The site testing provided good practical experience and showed up problems which would not otherwise have been detected.     

Life cycle cost analysis of alternative vehicles and fuels in Thailand

High crude oil prices and pollution problems have drawn attention to alternative vehicle technologies and fuels for the transportation sector. The question is: What are the benefits/costs of these technologies for society? To answer this question in a quantitative way, a web-based model (http://vehiclesandfuels.memebot.com) has been developed to calculate the societal life cycle costs, the consumer life cycle costs and the tax for different vehicle technologies. By comparing these costs it is possible to draw conclusions about the social benefit and the related tax structure. The model should help to guide decisions toward optimality, which refers to maximum social benefit. The model was applied to the case of Thailand. The life cycle cost of 13 different alternative vehicle technologies in Thailand have been calculated and the tax structure analyzed.     

Gold Medal Award for Life Achievement in the Practice of Psychology.

Announces the 2007 recipient of the Gold Medal Award for Life Achievement in the Practice of Psychology: Patricia M. Bricklin. A brief biography, highlighting areas of special focus in Bricklin's work, is provided. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gold Medal Award for Life Achievement in Psychology in the Public Interest.

Announces the 2007 recipient of the Gold Medal Award for Life Achievement in the Psychology in the Public Interest: Rhoda K. Unger. A brief biography, highlighting areas of special focus in Unger's work, is provided. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

万城华府

作为万柳生态大社区收官之作的万城华府，设计和建造的目的是为了满足高端客户的置业需求。     

大型居住区设计探索——“深圳市新亚洲花园”设计回顾

通过对大型住宅区“深圳市新亚洲花园”工程规划及建筑方案创作构思的分析,实现住宅提升人们生活品质的设计思想,同时,在规划设计上对住宅开发在经济市场上如何提升竞争力做了有益探索。     

Life quality index for the estimation of societal willingness-to-pay for safety

The engineering and management of human safety is an important societal objective that includes extensive efforts by governments, both legislative and administrative, to enhance the health and safety of the public. Although the achievement of safety goals depend primarily on individuals and organizations responsible for safety, much support is drawn from expertise in diverse scientific and engineering disciplines. The activities range from structural safety (dams, tunnels, bridges to tall buildings) to safe operation of hazardous industrial installations (energy generation facilities, LNG terminals, petrochemical plants) to transportation systems (airline, rail, car safety) to technologies designed to minimize adverse impacts on the environment. All these activities are crucially concerned with risk: with the likelihood and the probable effects of various measures on life and health. We have developed a unified rationale and a clear basis for effective strategic management of risk across diverse sectors. Safety is an important objective in society but it is not the only one. The allocation of society's resources devoted to safety must be continually appraised in light of competing needs, because there is a limit on the resources that can be expended to extend life. The paper presents the Life Quality Index (LQI) as a tool for the assessment of risk reduction initiatives that would support the public interest and enhance safety and quality of life. The paper provides an intuitive reformulation of the LQI as equivalent to a valid utility function that is consistent with the principles of rational decision analysis. The LQI is further refined to consider the issues of discounting of life years, competing background risks, and population age and mortality distribution. The LQI is applied to quantify the societal willingness-to-pay, which is an acceptable level of public expenditure in exchange for a reduction in the risk of death that results in improved life-quality.     

Thermal—Mechanical Fatigue Behavior and Life Analysis of Cast Ni—base Superalloy K417

In-phase(IP) and out-of-phase(OP)thermal-mechanical fatigue(TMF) behavior of cast Ni-base superalloy K417 was studied.All experiments were carried out under total strain control with temperature cycling between 400-850℃.Both in-phase and out-of-phase TMF specimens exhibited cyclic hardening followed by cyclic softening at the minimum temperature.Besides,they cyclically hardened in the early stage of life followed by cyclic softening at the minimum temperature.Besides,they cyclically hardened in the early stage of life followed by cyclic softening at the maximum temperature.OP TMF life was longer than of IP TMF.Various damage mechanisms operating in different controlled strain ranges and phasing were discussed.A few life prediction methods for isothermal fatigue were used to handle TMF fatigue and their applicability to superalloy K417 was evaluated.The SEM analysis of the fracture surface showed that transgranular fracture was the principal cracking mode for both IP and OP TMF.Oxidation was the main damage mechanism in causing shorter fatigue life for IP TMF compared with OP TMF.     

Energy use in the life cycle of conventional and low-energy buildings: A review article

A literature survey on buildings’ life cycle energy use was performed, resulting in a total of 60 cases from nine countries. The cases included both residential and non-residential units. Despite climate and other background differences, the study revealed a linear relation between operating and total energy valid through all the cases. Case studies on buildings built according to different design criteria, and at parity of all other conditions, showed that design of low-energy buildings induces both a net benefit in total life cycle energy demand and an increase in the embodied energy. A solar house proved to be more energy efficient than an equivalent house built with commitment to use “green” materials. Also, the same solar house decreased life cycle energy demand by a factor of two with respect to an equivalent conventional version, when operating energy was expressed as end-use energy and the lifetime assumed to be 50 years. A passive house proved to be more energy efficient than an equivalent self-sufficient solar house. Also, the same passive house decreased life cycle energy demand by a factor of three – expected to rise to four in a new version – with respect to an equivalent conventional version, when operating energy was expressed as primary energy and the lifetime assumed to be 80 years.     

Electron Microscopy Imaging Applications of Room Temperature Ionic Liquids in the Biological Field: A Review

For biological imaging using electron microscopy (EM), the use of room-temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) has been proposed as an alternative to traditional lengthy preparation methods. With their low vapor pressures and conductivity, RTILs can be applied onto hard-to-image soft and/or wet samples without dehydration – allowing for a more representative, hydrated state of material and opening the possibility for visualization of in situ physiological processes using conventional EM systems. However, RTILs have yet to be utilized to their full potential by microscopists and microbiologists alike. To this end, this review aims to provide a comprehensive summary of biological applications of RTILs for EM to bridge the RTIL, in situ microscopy, and biological communities. We outline future research avenues for the use of RTILs for the EM observation of biological samples, notably i) RTIL selection and optimization, ii) applications for live cell processes and iii) electron beam and ionic liquid interaction studies.