Full scale investigation of GCL damage mechanisms in small earth dam retrofit applications under earthquake loading

This paper reports results of full scale testing to further explore potential GCL damage mechanisms in earth dam retrofit applications in seismically active areas; in particular, to a) investigate whether shear displacements could reduce the magnitude of GCL panel overlap during earthquake shaking; b) explore the influence of gravel particles on GCL thickness at localised point of contact; and c) observe the consequences of an accidental exposure of an uncovered GCL to short duration rainfall in terms of moisture content and effects during subsequent compaction. The results of these experiments indicate that even under severe shaking no movements were detected at the GCL panel overlap. Whereas gravel particles were observed to locally reduce the thickness of the GCL to 2.2 mm, no plowing of the particle into the GCL occurred due to a lack of shear displacement at the interface, resulting in no localised internal erosion through the barrier. Furthermore, hydration of GCL panels during construction due to surface wetting was observed to result in a state of hydration less than its post-construction state. These results indicate that although each of the three GCL damage mechanisms cannot be ruled out to ever be relevant in practice, the performance of the GCL retrofitted earth dam tested was satisfactory under even severe Level 2 earthquake shaking, and suggests that the retrofitting of small earth dams with GCLs is a promising strategy to improve their static and seismic resistance.     

High-performance molecular-separation ceramic membranes derived from oxidative cross-linked polytitanocarbosilane

Polytitanocarbosilane (TiPCS)-derived ceramic membranes were fabricated using a pre-ceramic polymer. Special attention was focused on a process of thermal-oxidative curing that was used to induce cross-linking and the effect of this process on the ceramic yield, thermal stability, oxidation resistance, and microstructure of TiPCS. The cross-linked TiPCS powders showed a ceramic yield and thermal stability that were higher than that from the non-cross-linked version. In addition, the cross-linked TiPCS with uniform micropores showed higher levels of N₂ and CO₂ adsorption capacity, BET surface area, and micropore volume than the non-cross-linked versions, and the cross-linking process enhanced the stability of the pore structure at high temperature. The cross-linked TiPCS membranes showed high H₂ permeance (1.49 × 10⁻⁶ mol/(m² s Pa)) with sub-nanopores (H₂/SF₆ selectivity: 12 000, H₂/N₂: 10), and in addition higher oxidation resistance than their non-cross-linked counterparts. Furthermore, the influence of the concentration of the TiPCS precursor coating solution was optimized and the hydrothermal stability of the membranes at high temperatures was also evaluated. The optimized membrane demonstrated great performance for the pervaporation removal of methanol in binary azeotropic systems of either MeOH/butyl acetate or MeOH/toluene, and it also showed high hydrothermal stability with excellent dehumidification performance under high temperatures.     

Fine-tuned,molecular-composite,organosilica membranes for highly efficient propylene/propane separation via suitable pore size

Fine-tuned, molecular-composite, organosilica membranes were fabricated via the co-condensation of organosilica precursors bis(triethoxysilyl)acetylene (BTESA) and bis(triethoxysilyl)benzene (BTESB). Fourier transform infrared and UV–vis spectra confirmed the co-condensation behaviors of BTESA and BTESB. The evolution of the network structure indicated that the incorporated BTESB decreased the membrane pore size, which was determined by a modified gas translation model according to the steric effect of the phenyl groups. The incorporation of BTESB to BTESA finely tuned the membrane structure and endowed the resultant composite membrane with improved separation properties. The BTESAB 9:1 membrane (molar ratio of BTESA/BTESB was 9:1) exhibited high C₃H₆ permeance at 4.5 × 10⁻⁸ mol m⁻² s⁻¹ Pa⁻¹ and a C₃H₆/C₃H₈ permeance ratio of 33 at 50°C. One of the most important developments of this study involved clearly defining the relationship between membrane pore size and C₃H₆/C₃H₈ separation performance for organosilica membranes in single and binary separation systems.     

Visual image of neighbors to elicit wandering behavior in the soldier crab

The soldier crab appears in great numbers and feeds while wandering during daytime low tide. When they see an approaching object, they screw themselves into the sand. The mechanism of formation of mass wandering has not been clarified. In this study, to investigate if the soldier crabs use visual images of neighbors as a stimulus for wandering, dummy crabs were presented to crabs. In the experiments, one, two, four, or eight dummies were placed in a circle on a sand arena. Each crab was placed in the center of the arena and observed whether it burrowed into the sand or wandered. The proportions of wandering individuals in each experimental treatment were compared with the expected value. Significantly more crabs were wanderers when only two and four dummies were present. This result suggests that soldier crabs chose burrowing or wandering depending on visual image of the distribution of the neighbors.     

Oxygen doped Ge crystals Czochralski-grown from the B2O3-fully-covered melt

Local vibrations of oxygen in Ge crystals grown from a melt fully covered by B₂O₃ were evaluated by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. Ge single crystals containing oxygen were grown by the Czochralski method under various growth conditions. Oxygen concentrations in the crystals were determined to be in the range between 8.5 × 10¹⁵ and 5.5 × 10¹⁷ cm⁻³ from the infrared absorption at 855 cm⁻¹ originating in local vibration of Ge-O_i-Ge quasi-molecules. Absorption peaks relating to GeO_x, SiO_x and Si-O_i-Si were not detected in the as-grown crystals. The calibration coefficient for determining oxygen concentration in Ge crystals from the absorption peak intensity at 1264 cm⁻¹ was estimated to be 1.15 × 10¹⁹ cm⁻².     

Self-healing capability of porous polymer film with corrosion inhibitor inserted for corrosion protection

Porous polymer films with varying pore sizes were prepared by changing the evaporation time of an organic solvent. A specimen was prepared consisting of porous polymer film containing corrosion inhibitor coated onto carbon steel. The specimens were scratched with a knife-edge, and the polarization resistance was monitored in a sodium chloride solution. An increase in polarization resistance was confirmed, and the films with larger-sized pores demonstrated a higher self-healing capability.     

Methylcyclohexane dehydrogenation for hydrogen production via a bimodal catalytic membrane reactor

The dehydrogenation of methylcyclohexane (MCH) to toluene (TOL) for hydrogen production was theoretically and experimentally investigated in a bimodal catalytic membrane reactor (CMR), that combined Pt/Al₂O₃ catalysts with a hydrogen‐selective organosilica membrane prepared via sol‐gel processing using bis(triethoxysilyl) ethane (BTESE). Effects of operating conditions on the membrane reactor performance were systematically investigated, and the experimental results were in good agreement with those calculated by a simulation model with a fitted catalyst loading. With H₂ extraction from the reaction stream to the permeate stream, MCH conversion at 250°C was significantly increased beyond the equilibrium conversion of 0.44–0.86. Because of the high H₂ selectivity and permeance of BTESE‐derived membranes, a H₂ flow with purity higher than 99.8% was obtained in the permeate stream, and the H₂ recovery ratio reached 0.99 in a pressurized reactor. A system that combined the CMR with a fixed‐bed prereactor was proposed for MCH dehydrogenation. © 2015 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 61: 1628–1638, 2015     

3—THE FINITE-DEFORMATION THEORY OF PLAIN-WEAVE FABRICS PART I: THE BIAXIAL-DEFORMATION THEORY

Theories of the biaxial tensile properties, the uniaxial tensile properties, and the shear-deformation properties of plain-weave fabrics are presented in a general form, a simplified stereo-model of the structure of plain-weave fabrics being used throughout these theories.

In the first part of this series, the biaxial tensile-deformation theory is presented with the aid of the model, and the forces required to stretch the fabric along the warp and weft directions at the same time are theoretically calculated from the properties of yarns and from the structure of the fabrics. In this biaxial theory, both warp and weft yarns are assumed to be perfectly flexible, and the forces caused by yarn-bending are ignored. The compressibility of the yarn under the action of a lateral compressive force is also introduced into the theory, and it is shown that the compressive properties of yarns have a great influence on the tensile properties of the fabrics.     

28—THE LOSS OF CRIMP AND CRIMP RECOVERY OF WOOL FIBRES DURING HIGH-SPEED WORSTED SPINNING

Wool fibres are subjected to severe mechanical actions during the worsted-spinning process, especially on a high-speed system. The loss of crimp and crimp recovery of single wool fibres are examined by measuring the crimp shrinkage of single fibres and the bulkiness of fibre bundles sampled at various stages in a commonly used worsted-spinning system. It is found that the crimp and crimp recovery of single fibres gradually decrease with progress through the spinning system, the reduction being particularly noticeable during carding. Fibre bundles with a high crimp level showed greater bulkiness.     

The Validity of a “Linearizing Method” for Predicting the Biaxial-extension Properties of Fabrics

The “linearizing method” is a method used to predict the stress/strain relation of fabrics under biaxial extension in the warp and weft directions. The stress/strain relation is firstly linearized by using a transformed strain such as e_i = ?_i ⁿ where e_i is the transformed strain (i =1, 2), ?_i the strain, and n a constant, and the stress F_i is then expressed by a linear equation in e_i. The elastic parameters are determined by strip–biaxial–extension experiments in the warp and weft directions. This method was proposed by Kawabata in 1985 without sufficient examination of its validity. In this paper, the validity of the method is inspected by biaxial–extension experiments for various kinds of fabric. It is concluded that the linearizing method has sufficient capacity to enable the biaxial–extension behaviour of the fabric to be estimated with considerable accuracy. For the case when the stress/strain relation is linearized in two zones of strain, the double–zone linearization is presented here to improve the accuracy of prediction and to expand the validity of this method over a wider range of strains.