Damage assessment for concrete structure using image processing techniques on acoustic borehole imagery

The deterioration of concrete structures is a growing problem worldwide. Drilled cores are usually collected from large dams for testing the concrete and rock foundation underneath to assess their safety. However, the borehole itself can be used to assess cracks and other damage and collect additional information on the surrounding materials. This paper evaluates various edge-detection algorithms, as well as transform and statistical-based methods, for their effectiveness in assessing damage in a concrete dam from digital borehole imagery obtained using an acoustic televiewer. The statistical-based approach was found to be the most efficient technique for damage assessment from acoustic imagery. A clustering technique was used to quantify damage from the imagery, such as vertical cracks, horizontal cracks, voids, stains, and foundation damage. Results were verified using log data. Further damage analysis consisted of determining minimum, maximum and mean crack-width openings.     

Thermodynamic and volumetric databases and software for magnesium alloys

Extensive databases for the thermodynamic and volumetric properties of magnesium alloys have been prepared by critical evaluation, modeling, and optimization of available data. Software has been developed to access the databases to calculate equilibrium phase diagrams, heat effects, etc., and to follow the course of equilibrium or Scheil-Gulliver cooling, calculating not only the amounts of the individual phases, but also of the microstructural constituents.     

Influence of thermal and mechanical surface modifications induced by laser shock processing on the initiation of corrosion pits in 316L stainless steel

Pure mechanical and thermo-mechanical laser shock processing treatments have been carried out on an AISI 316L stainless steel. Surface properties, mostly mechanical and metallurgical modifications, were analysed at different scales: a local scale using the nano-indentation technique and AFM analysis, and a more macroscopic scale, using microhardness, optical microscopy and residual stress determinations. After a pure mechanical laser-peening treatment, a significant improvement in the pitting corrosion resistance (+0.1 V) was observed in 0.05 M NaCl. This improvement was attributed to the combined effects of compressive residual stresses and work-hardening, and, in turn, to a mechano-electrochemical phenomenon by which a modification of cathodic reactions occurs during electrochemical tests. For the surface treated by thermo-mechanical laser peening (combination of a surface ablation and shock waves), a tendency for decreasing resistance against pitting corrosion was shown, and attributed to the processing-specific surface texture (ablation craters), which made the material susceptible for the creation of occluded cells.

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Experimental and theoretical investigation of the pixel saturation effect in digital holography

This paper presents an experimental investigation and an analytical modeling of the nonlinear pixel saturation effect in digital off-axis holography. The theoretical analysis is based on a semiempirical modeling and supported by the experimental analysis. Taking into account the nonlinearity of the phenomenon, an exponential law for the high-order harmonic amplitude is proposed and validated by the experimental results. The conclusion of this analysis is that the saturation effect can be described by the use of a linear operator that involves autoconvolution of the initial object wave, even though the saturation phenomenon is nonlinear.     

Naturalistic conversation improves daytime motorway driving performance under a benzodiazepine: A randomised,crossover, double-blind,placebo-controlled study

The adverse effects of benzodiazepines on driving are widely recognised. The aims of this study were both to determine the impact of naturalistic conversation on the driving ability of drivers under a benzodiazepine, and to measure the accuracy of drivers’ assessments of the joint effects of the benzodiazepine and conversation. Sixteen healthy male participants (29.69 ± 3.30 years) underwent a randomised, crossover, double-blind, placebo-controlled study with the benzodiazepine lorazepam (2 mg). They drove 200 km (125 miles) on a motorway in the morning. We measured two driving ability-related variables (i.e., lane-keeping performance), and collected a set of self-assessed variables (i.e., self-assessment of driving performance) during two 10-min sequences of interest (no conversation vs. conversation). An analysis of variance revealed an interaction whereby lane-keeping performance under lorazepam was worse in the no-conversation condition than in the conversation condition. No such difference was detected under placebo. Pearson's correlation coefficients revealed that self-assessments were (i) not at all predictive of lane-keeping when performed before the drive, but (ii) moderately predictive of lane-keeping performance when performed during or after the drive. We conclude that conversation with a passenger may contribute to safer lane-keeping when driving under a benzodiazepine. Moreover, a degree of awareness may be attained after some experience of driving under the influence of this type of medication.     

Analysis of solar chemical processes for hydrogen production from water splitting thermochemical cycles

This paper presents a process analysis of ZnO/Zn, Fe₃O₄/FeO and Fe₂O₃/Fe₃O₄ thermochemical cycles as potential high efficiency, large scale and environmentally attractive routes to produce hydrogen by concentrated solar energy. Mass and energy balances allowed estimation of the efficiency of solar thermal energy to hydrogen conversion for current process data, accounting for chemical conversion limitations. Then, the process was optimized by taking into account possible improvements in chemical conversion and heat recoveries. Coupling of the thermochemical process with a solar tower plant providing concentrated solar energy was considered to scale up the system. An economic assessment gave a hydrogen production cost of 7.98$ kg⁻¹ and 14.75$ kg⁻¹ of H₂ for, respectively a 55 MW_th and 11 MW_th solar tower plant operating 40 years.     

Biodistribution and clearance of instilled carbon nanotubes in rat lung

Background  

Constituted only by carbon atoms, CNT are hydrophobic and hardly detectable in biological tissues. These properties make biokinetics and toxicology studies more complex.     

Influence of a Sealing Treatment on the Behavior of Plasma-Sprayed Alumina Coatings Operating in Extreme Environments

In numerous applications developed at the Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique, Direction de l’Energie Nucléaire (CEA-DEN, French Atomic Agency, Atomic Energy Department), particularly those encountered in the processing of nuclear wastes, metallic components are subjected to extreme environments in service, in terms, for example, of ageing at moderated temperature (several months at about 300 °C) coupled to thermal shocks (numerous cycles up to 850 °C for a few seconds and a few ones up to 1500 °C) under a reactive environment made of a complex mixture of acid vapors in the presence of an electric field of a few hundred volts and a radioactive activity. Alumina plasma-sprayed coatings manufactured with feedstock of different particle size distributions, graded alumina-titania coatings, and phosphate-sealed alumina coatings were investigated to improve the properties of metallic substrates operating in such extreme environments. The effects of particle size distribution, phosphate sealant, and graded titania additions on the dielectric strength of the as-sprayed, thermally cycled and thermally aged coatings were investigated. Thermal ageing test was realized in furnace at 350 °C for 400 h and thermal shocks tests resulted from cycling the coating between 850 and 150 °C using oxyacetylene flame and compressed air-cooling. Alumina coating structures and phase content were characterized in parallel by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled to image analysis and stereological protocols and X-ray diffractometry (XRD). The dielectric strength was assessed by measuring the breakdown voltage at 50 Hz during and after the thermal tests.     

High-Pressure Device for Fluid Extraction from Porous Materials: Application to Cement-Based Materials

A high-pressure device, reaching an axial pressure of 1000 MPa, intended to the extraction of the pore solution of rigid and slightly porous materials, has been developed to improve the efficiency of extraction. This paper gives an application of fluid extraction from mortars made with Portland cement. It includes an experimental study of the performance of the apparatus, and an analysis of the results in terms of efficiency of extraction, repeatability of measurement, and effect of the squeezing pressure on the pore solution composition. Results shows that: (1) the squeezing efficiency using our apparatus is higher than those found in the literature; (2) the measurement uncertainty ranges between 1.5% and 14%; (3) no significant effect of pressure (up to 1000 MPa) is observed for concentrations of Ca, Na, K, and Si. This paper suggests conducting extraction at 1000 MPa, especially on old concrete or concrete made with low W / C ratios.     

Evaluation of the inelastic heat fraction in the context of microstructure-supported dynamic plasticity modelling

Under dynamic adiabatic conditions, the plastic work is known to dissipate into heat and induce thermal softening. From both theoretical and numerical viewpoints, the proportion of effectively dissipated plastic work is commonly evaluated using the so-called Taylor–Quinney coefficient usually assumed to be a constant empirical value. On the other hand, experimental investigations have shown its dependence on strain, strain rate and temperature.