Time-dependent reliability of ageing structures: an approximate approach

Concrete structures may deteriorate over time due to aggressive service environments, leading to a reduction in their strengths, stiffnesses and reliabilities. In general, the assessment of time-dependent reliability of ageing structures must consider uncertainties in structural deterioration as well as non-stationarities in the structural load processes. This paper develops an approximate method for assessing the impact of structural deterioration and non-stationary live loads on structures, which requires only low-dimensional integration and reduces the cost of assessing time-dependent reliability over a service life extending to 50 years significantly. This approximate method is demonstrated through several examples. The importance of non-stationarities in the resistance and load processes on time-dependent reliability is illustrated and the accuracy of the method is confirmed in several cases utilising Monte Carlo simulation.     

ESMRMB 2017, 34th Annual Scientific Meeting,Barcelona, ES,October 19–October 21: Abstracts,Thursday

Objective

Current magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) axon diameter measurements rely on the pulsed gradient spin-echo sequence, which is unable to provide diffusion times short enough to measure small axon diameters. This study combines the AxCaliber axon diameter fitting method with data generated from Monte Carlo simulations of oscillating gradient spin-echo sequences (OGSE) to infer micron-sized axon diameters, in order to determine the feasibility of using MRI to infer smaller axon diameters in brain tissue.

Materials and methods

Monte Carlo computer simulation data were synthesized from tissue geometries of cylinders of different diameters using a range of gradient frequencies in the cosine OGSE sequence . Data were fitted to the AxCaliber method modified to allow the new pulse sequence. Intra- and extra-axonal water were studied separately and together.

Results

The simulations revealed the extra-axonal model to be problematic. Rather than change the model, we found that restricting the range of gradient frequencies such that the measured apparent diffusion coefficient was constant over that range resulted in more accurate fitted diameters. Thus a careful selection of frequency ranges is needed for the AxCaliber method to correctly model extra-axonal water, or adaptations to the method are needed. This restriction helped reduce the necessary gradient strengths for measurements that could be performed with parameters feasible for a Bruker BG6 gradient set. For these experiments, the simulations inferred diameters as small as 0.5 μm on square-packed and randomly packed cylinders. The accuracy of the inferred diameters was found to be dependent on the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), with smaller diameters more affected by noise, although all diameter distributions were distinguishable from one another for all SNRs tested.

Conclusion

The results of this study indicate the feasibility of using MRI with OGSE on preclinical scanners to infer small axon diameters.

     

Fitting interrelated datasets: metabolite diffusion and general lineshapes

Objective

Simultaneous modeling of true 2-D spectroscopy data, or more generally, interrelated spectral datasets has been described previously and is useful for quantitative magnetic resonance spectroscopy applications. In this study, a combined method of reference-lineshape enhanced model fitting and two-dimensional prior-knowledge fitting for the case of diffusion weighted MR spectroscopy is presented.

Materials and methods

Time-dependent field distortions determined from a water reference are applied to the spectral bases used in linear-combination modeling of interrelated spectra. This was implemented together with a simultaneous spectral and diffusion model fitting in the previously described Fitting Tool for Arrays of Interrelated Datasets (FiTAID), where prior knowledge conditions and restraints can be enforced in two dimensions.

Results

The benefit in terms of increased accuracy and precision of parameters is illustrated with examples from Monte Carlo simulations, in vitro and in vivo human brain scans for one- and two-dimensional datasets from 2-D separation, inversion recovery and diffusion-weighted spectroscopy (DWS). For DWS, it was found that acquisitions could be substantially shortened.

Conclusion

It is shown that inclusion of a measured lineshape into modeling of interrelated MR spectra is beneficial and can be combined also with simultaneous spectral and diffusion modeling.

     

Ultrafast terahertz responses in monolayer graphene

ABSTRACT

We theoretically investigate the ultrafast terahertz (THz) properties of monolayer graphene. The analytical formulations of the photon carrier, electric polarization and optical current are obtained by solving the Bloch-equations in present of the ultrafast THz Gaussian pulse. Graphene shows a large nonlinear and ultrafast optical response at THz frequencies due to the gapless and relativistic Dirac particles with nearly linear energy dispersion. It is found that the photon carrier density, electric polarization and optical current density increase with increasing the frequency of the THz pulse. These theoretical results are in agreement with recent experimental findings. This study confirms further that graphene exhibits important features and is relevant to the applications in the ultrafast THz fields.     

Sensitive magnetic field sensor using 2D magnetic photonic crystal slab waveguide based on BIG/GGG structure

A kind of magnetic field sensor (MFS) using a two-dimensional (2D) magnetic photonic crystal (MPC) slab waveguide as the sensing structure is proposed and investigated numerically. The slab structure is based on bismuth iron garnet (BIG), a well-known magnetic material with effective magnetooptical (MO) properties, sandwiched with gadolinium gallium garnet (GGG) as substrate. The complete photonic bandgap (PBG) of the 2D MPC is simulated and optimized for realization of polarization-independent waveguides. The simulation results show that the width and position of the complete PBG depend on the thickness of the BIG slab and the radius of the air holes used in the design. By reducing the lightwave propagation losses and enhancing the mode conversion ratio, increased sensitivity is obtained. Based on the Faraday effect, a good linear relationship is observed between the normalized output light intensity and the magnetic field strength as the gyrotropy parameter g is varied from 0.13 to 0.19, a g-range used as the sensor dynamic range. The remarkable enhancement in sensing performance due to the MO effect makes the designed device suitable for magnetic field sensing. The results are discussed to provide a basis for investigation of 2D MPC slab waveguides based on the same structure, which are of particular interest for development of highly sensitive MFSs.     

唐口煤业9301工作面“绿色”充填开采技术

本文叙述了唐口煤业公司首个充填开采工作面-9301工作面的充填原理及相关的充填技术要求,并且论述了沿空留巷技术方案以及为满足9301充填工作面通风要求而进行的工作面推进3.5m时的切眼留巷技术方案。预计9301工作面通过的充填开采,下沉较小,地表建(构)筑物采动损害等级均在轻微的Ⅰ级采动损害范围内。     

“建筑”作为公共话语的出现:一个词语的断代史

回顾从19世纪末到20世纪初在中国近代社会观念和文教制度剧变的特定背景下,“建筑”这个词语在现代汉语以及社会大众观念话语中的历史性出现的过程,并试图多角度全方位地阐明这一历史性的事件是“如何可能”的.以词语或概念为建筑史研究的对象,是希望以词为镜,折射出宏观的社会观念史在特定历史时刻的变迁.     

基于现场试验的水文地质参数计算可视化程序设计与应用

水文地质参数的计算工作一直是工程地质和水文地质界工程师们所关注的重点问题之一,传统的计算方法比较繁琐、费时,国内外目前也没有比较全面的水文地质求参软件,因此,本文利用Visual Basic语言研究开发了一款基于现场试验的水文地质参数计算的新型软件SHP,通过数据库调用Excel文件录入数据,利用最小二乘法原理拟合直线。实现了手动配线和自动配线两种方法求参。通过南京市玄武湖隧道工程实例的校验,结果表明,该软件实用性强、计算精度较高、人机交互简单,满足工程需要。     

Erratum to: Experimental research on overlying strata movement and fracture evolution in pillarless stress-relief mining

International Journal of Coal Science & Technology -