Rehabilitation of a high‐rise coupled shear wall system in a 56‐storey residential reinforced concrete building (Tehran Tower), based on nonlinear dynamic time‐history analyses

Tehran Tower is a 56‐storey reinforced concrete tall building consisting of three wings with identical plan dimensions each approximately 48 m by 22 m. The three wings are at 120° from each other and have no expansions/seismic joints. This paper contains the consideration of the rehabilitation of the Tehran Tower based on the findings of an exhaustive investigation of the nonlinear performance evaluation efforts. It has tried to show the procedure followed, methodologies utilized and the results obtained for life‐safety (LS) and collapse‐prevention (CP) evaluations of the building. Moreover, the weak zones of the structure due to analysis results are introduced and appropriate retrofit technique for satisfaction related to LS and CP criteria is presented. In this project, to improve the local behaviour of coupling panels that are regularly located in spine walls, and definitely have been recognized as the most vulnerable structural elements, making use of steel plates that are connected to concrete members by chemical anchors has been used as the best rehabilitation method for this case. Therefore, in the final section, the professional practical method utilized to perform the aforementioned project is explained. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Practical application of failure criteria in determining safe mud weight windows in drilling operations

Wellbore instability is reported frequently as one of the most significant incidents during drilling operations.Analysis of wellbore instability includes estimation of formation mechanical properties and the state of in situ stresses.In this analysis,the only controllable parameter during drilling operation is the mud weight.If the mud weight is larger than anticipated,the mud will invade into the formation,causing tensile failure of the formation.On the other hand,a lower mud weight can result in shear failures of rock,which is known as borehole breakouts.To predict the potential for failures around the wellbore during drilling,one should use a failure criterion to compare the rock strength against induced tangential stresses around the wellbore at a given mud pressure.The Mohr–Coulomb failure criterion is one of the commonly accepted criteria for estimation of rock strength at a given state of stress.However,the use of other criteria has been debated in the literature.In this paper,Mohr–Coulomb,Hoek–Brown and Mogi–Coulomb failure criteria were used to estimate the potential rock failure around a wellbore located in an onshorefield of Iran.The log based analysis was used to estimate rock mechanical properties of formations and state of stresses.The results indicated that amongst different failure criteria,the Mohr–Coulomb criterion underestimates the highest mud pressure required to avoid breakouts around the wellbore.It also predicts a lower fracture gradient pressure.In addition,it was found that the results obtained from Mogi–Coulomb criterion yield a better comparison with breakouts observed from the caliper logs than that of Hoek–Brown criterion.It was concluded that the Mogi–Coulomb criterion is a better failure criterion as it considers the effect of the intermediate principal stress component in the failure analysis.     

Application of a weakly compressible smoothed particle hydrodynamics multi-phase model to non-cohesive embankment breaching due to flow overtopping

The subject of present study is the application of mesh free Lagrangian two-dimensional non-cohesive sediment transport model applied to a two-phase flow over an initially trapezoidal-shaped sediment embankment. The governing equations of the present model are the Navier-Stocks equations solved using Weakly Compressible Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (WCSPH) method. To simulate the movement of sediment particles, the model considers a powerful two-part technique; when the sediment phase has rigid behavior, only the force term due to shear stress in the Navier-Stokes equations is used for simulation of sediment particles’ movement. Otherwise, all the Navier-Stokes force terms are used for transport simulation of sediment particles. In the present model, the interactions between different phases are calculated automatically, even with considerable difference between the density and viscosity of phases. Validation of the model is performed using simulation of available laboratory experiments, and the comparison between computational results and experimental data shows that the model generally predicts well the flow propagation over movable beds, the induced sediment transport and bed changes, and temporal evolution of embankment breaching.     

Behaviour of End-Plate Connections in 3D Frames Under Fire Conditions: Experimental Study

Due to high vulnerability of steel structures to elevated temperatures and the need for taking adequate and effective measures to reduce human and financial losses in fires, a thorough understanding of such behaviour is of utmost importance. In this research, a half-scale 3D model, comprising moment-resisting frames, equipped with flush end-plate connections, in one direction, and braced frames in the other, was subjected to a scaled ISO 834 standard fire. The maximum attained temperature was 1055 °C. The results showed that the structure tolerates high temperatures for an appreciable amount of time before collapsing. Moreover, for thick flush end-plates, which were used in this study, the collapse was initiated by bolt failure, giving rise to the idea of using more/stronger bolts and weaker end-plates to delay the overall collapse of the structure.     

Surface properties of fluorinated polyimides exposed to VUV and atomic oxygen

The effect of atomic oxygen flux and VUV radiation alone and in combination on the surface of fluorinated polyimide films was studied using XPS spectroscopy. Exposure of fluorinated polyimides to VUV radiation alone caused no observable damage to the polymer surface, while an atomic oxygen flux resulted in substantial oxidation of the surface. On the other hand, exposure to VUV radiation and atomic oxygen in combination caused extensive oxidation of the polymer surface after only 2 min of exposure. The amount of oxidized carbon on the polymer surface indicated that there is aromatic ring-opening oxidation. The changes in the O1s/C1s, N1s/C1s, and F1s/C1s ratios suggested that an ablative degradation process is highly favorable. A synergistic effect of VUV radiation in the presence of atomic oxygen is clearly evidenced from the XPS study. The atomic oxygen could be considered as the main factor in the degradation process of fluorinated polyimide films exposed to a low earth orbit environment. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Stability analysis of an electrostatically actuated out of plane MEMS structure

In the present research, stability and static analyses of microelectromechanical systems microstructure were investigated by presenting an out-of-plane structure for a lumped mass. The presented model consists of two stationary electrodes in the same plane along with a flexible electrode above and in the middle of the two electrodes. The nonlinear electrostatic force was valuated via numerical methods implemented in COMSOL software where three-dimensional simulations were performed for different gaps. The obtained numerical results were compared to those of previous research works, indicating a good agreement. Continuing with the research, curves of electrostatic and spring forces were demonstrated for different scenarios, with the intersection points (i.e., equilibrium points) further plotted. Also drawn were plots of deflection versus voltage for different cases and phase and time history curves for different values of applied voltage followed by introducing and explaining pull-in and pull-out snap-through voltages in the system for a specific design. It is worth noting that, at voltages between the pull-in and pull-out snap-through voltages, the system was in bi-stable state. Based on the obtained results, it was observed that the gap between the two electrodes and the applied voltage play significant roles in the number and type of the equilibrium points of the system.

     

Transient liquid phase bonding of 304 stainless steel using a Co-based interlayer

Transient liquid phase bonding of AISI 304 austenitic stainless steel was carried out using a Co-based interlayer with 40?μm thickness. The effect of bonding time and solid-state homogenisation time on the microstructure and mechanical properties of samples was investigated. The results showed that isothermal solidification was completed within 30?min at a constant temperature of 1180°C. With increasing homogenisation time, at 1000°C, a more uniform distribution of alloying elements and hardness profile across the joint region was achieved. The average shear strength of homogenised samples was about 72% that of the base metal at the same heat treatment cycle.     

Wound dressings: Current advances and future directions

Wound healing is a complicated and continuous process affected by several factors, which needs an appropriate surrounding to achieve accelerated healing. Wound healing process recruits three different phases: inflammation, proliferation, and maturation. Due to the different types of wounds, as well as the advancement in medical technology, various products have been developed to repair different skin lesions. Our objective is to investigate the advancement in wound dressings from traditional to the current methods of treatment. The article presents the characteristics of an ideal wound dressing, the requirements for the appropriate selection of different types of wounds, and a detailed classification of wound dressings. Animal origin, herbal origin, and synthetic dressings are firstly introduced and reviewed. Then, nonmedicated dressings including alginate, hydrogel, and hydrocolloid dressings, as well as medicated dressings are discussed. Finally, the developmental prospectives of the new generations of wound dressings for future researches are presented. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 136, 47738.     

Characterization of New Wire Gauze-Structured Packing: Experimental Study

Structured packings are usually employed for increasing the surface contact between vapor and liquid in the absorber and distillation of columns. Experimental investigations are performed to present a high-capacity new wire gauze-structured packing, namely, PACK-1300XY, which is the combination of PACK-1300X and PACK-1300Y. The new PACK-1300XY shows improved efficiency of separation and pressure drop. Comprehensive parametric investigations are carried out to calculate the efficiency of mass transfer and the wet/dry pressure drops under different operating conditions. The new wire gauze-structured packing reduces wet and dry pressure drops by more than 10 % in comparison to PACK-1300Y. In addition, PACK-1300XY decreases the height equivalent to a theoretical plate by more than 5 % compared to PACK-1300X.