Influence of concrete strength and length/diameter on the axial capacity of CFT columns

This paper presents an experimental analysis of the confinement effects in steel–concrete composite columns regarding two parameters: concrete compressive strength and column slenderness. Sixteen concrete-filled steel tubular columns with circular cross section were tested under axial loading. The tested columns were filled by concrete with compressive strengths of 30, 60, 80, and 100 MPa, and had length/diameter ratios of 3, 5, 7, and 10. The experimental values of the columns’ ultimate load were compared to the predictions of 4 code provisions: the Brazilian Code NBR 8800:2008, Eurocode 4 (EN 1994-1-1:2004), AINSI/AISC 360:2005, and CAN/CSA S16-01:2001. According to the results, the load capacity of the composite columns increased with increasing concrete strength and decreased with increasing length/diameter ratio. In general, the code provisions were highly accurate in the prediction of column capacity. Among them, the Brazilian Code was the most conservative, while Eurocode 4 presented the values closest to the experimental results.     

Effects of pressure on poly(ether-ether-ketone) (PEEK) sintering mechanisms

This study deals with the understanding of the sintering mechanisms that occur during consolidation of an ultra-high-performance polymer: poly(ether-ether-ketone). In particular, we investigated the effects of uniaxial pressure during spark plasma sintering (SPS) processing. Glass-transition temperature (T_g) measurements under loading, stress–strain curves and scanning electron microscopy analysis allowed us to determine the role of pressure intensity and temperature of application on macromolecular chain mobility in both the bulk and the surface of the particles. First, a loss of chain mobility in the bulk of the particles was observed under high pressure. Second, it was shown that high pressure applied at low temperature leads to friction effects between the particles which enhances chain mobility in the particle shell through a local melting phenomenon. These experimental conditions favor the healing of particles and high cohesion was then observed in the resulting sintered samples. The level of friction is enhanced when pressure is applied at a low temperature since the powders are still in a glassy state. Finally, the achievement of cohesive grain boundaries was found to be related to the location and conformation of chain ends. Good healing between particles can only occur if a sufficient number of chain ends are available at the surface of the particle shell. We showed that the native powder state plays a significant role. The direct use of as-received powder leads to final material exhibiting good cohesion whereas pretreatments of the native powder are highly detrimental. It should be noted that this processing does not affect the high initial degree of crystallinity because no bulk melting is observed during consolidation by sintering. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 136, 47645.     

Binding of malaria T cell epitopes to DR and DQ molecules in vitro correlates with immunogenicity in vivo: identification of a universal T cell epitope in the Plasmodium falciparum circumsporozoite protein

The efficacy of a malaria peptide vaccine would be enhanced by the inclusion of a parasite-derived universal T cell epitope to ensure that all vaccinees develop parasite-specific cellular and humoral immunity. Two circumsporozoite (CS) protein T cell epitopes, previously identified by CD4+ T cell clones derived from Plasmodium falciparum sporozoite-immunized volunteers, were studied to determine their HLA class II binding potential. One epitope, located in amino acid (aa) 326-345 of the P. falciparum (NF54 strain) CS protein, was "universal" in that it could bind to multiple DR and DQ molecules in vitro. In contrast, the second epitope, T1, which is located in the CS repeat region, was recognized by T cells in the context of DQ6 (DQB1*0603) and did not bind with high affinity to any of the class II molecules tested in the peptide binding assays. The in vitro patterns of peptide/HLA interactions correlated with immunogenicity in vivo. A multiple antigen peptide (MAP) containing the aa 326-345 epitope elicited responses in eight inbred strains (H-2(a,b,d,k,p,q,r,s)), while the T1 MAP was recognized by only a single haplotype, H-2b. The combination of the universal aa 326-345 T cell epitope and the T1 repeat in a di-epitope MAP overcame the genetic restriction to the P. falciparum CS repeat region and elicited antisporozoite Ab responses in all of the MAP-immunized mice. Synthetic peptide malaria vaccines containing the aa 326-345 universal T cell epitope would be expected to elicit parasite-specific immune responses in both sporozoite-primed and naive individuals of diverse genetic backgrounds.     

Modelling the Influence of Aquatic Vegetation on the Hydrodynamics of an Alternative Bank Protection Measure in a Navigable Waterway

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) has become an effective tool for assessing hydrodynamics in complex environments. This paper reports on a CFD study of navigation‐induced flows in a shallow, wave‐protected, littoral habitat of the urban Spree River. It was constructed as a rehabilitation structure for aquatic organisms and subject to abundant growth of aquatic and riparian vegetation. This study aims to quantify the hydrodynamics induced by vessel movements and its consequences for water exchange and lateral connectivity between the habitat and the main channel with three representative, natural densities of aquatic plants. The simulations revealed both high efficiency of the rehabilitation structure in reducing hydrodynamic forces in the littoral and a superimposed reduction of hydrodynamic forces, and increase of flushing time with increased plant cover. Higher vegetation density resulted in lower wave propagation and lower connectivity of the rehabilitation structure with the fairway. Thus, natural succession of aquatic vegetation in the shallow habitats leads to increasing isolation and finally to terrestrialization. Maintaining the functionality of the rehabilitation structure as habitat for other aquatic organisms requires either plant removal or preferably adaptive modification, e.g. by successively increasing the openings to the main channel and letting the plants take over the protective function of the technical facilities. The developed CFD model helps to find hydrodynamically optimized solutions and to support decision‐making process for maintaining littoral refuges for plants and weak swimming organisms in navigable waterways. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Consolidation by spark plasma sintering (SPS) of polyetheretherketone

The present study deals with the consolidation of an ultra‐high performance polymer, the poly(ether ether ketone) (PEEK), for structural applications, using the powder metallurgy (PM) way, and more precisely the Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) processing. The effects of SPS parameters such as temperature, pressure, and dwell time on density and mechanical properties of PEEK were investigated via a Design of Experiments (DoE). A temperature of 250 °C, a pressure of 40 MPa, and a dwell time of 20 min have been identified as the optimal SPS process parameters. In these conditions, a density of 1.31 g / cm³ was reached and homogeneous mechanical properties in the volume determined by means of compression tests were found with a compressive modulus of 2.75 GPa, a yield strength of 134 MPa, and a maximum compressive strain of 43%. These results are better than those of commercial products obtained by injection molding. The pressure appears to be a significant parameter on PEEK properties and plays positive or negative roles according to the responses of DoE studied. To our knowledge, it is one of the first studies based on the application of the PM techniques for PEEK consolidation showing the possibility to process below its melting point. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017 , 134, 44911.     

Effect of vinylacetate content on crystallinity and second-order transitions in ethylene—vinylacetate copolymers

Thermal characteristics of ethylene—vinylacetate (EVA) copolymers having vinylacetate contents ranging from 5 to 40 w/w % are studied by differential scanning calorimetry. It is first shown that EVA copolymers having a vinylacetate content lower than 30 w/w % obey the Flory and Burfield theories of copolymer crystallisation. The minimum sequence length of CH₂ ethylenic entities required to participate in a crystalline lamella is also deduced. One can conclude that EVA copolymers represent cases of “total exclusion” of the noncrystallizable comonomer. Moreover, it is observed that when the vinylacetate content is increased, the relative quantity of polyethylene amorphous phase increases and the degree of crystallinity decreases; whereas the β transition temperature of a characteristic-oriented amorphous phase is kept constant. A phase model of ethylene-vinylacetate copolymers, based on an enrichment process of the interlamellar amorphous phase by polyethylene segments originating from the crystalline phase, at increasing vinylacetate content, is proposed. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 64: 1903–1912, 1997     

Structural characterization of In2O3 hierarchical microwires synthesized through decomposition thermal treatment of InSe single crystal

In this paper, we report the obtention of In₂O₃ nanostructured microwires by the decomposition thermal treatment of InSe single crystal in two-steps under an oxygen–ammonia flow without the presence of any catalyst. Long In₂O₃ microwires with uniform shape and homogeneous surface were first synthesized through thermal treatment of InSe single crystal at temperature of about 640 °C; then, furnace temperature was increased to 750 °C and, as annealing time proceeded, the obtained microwires served as substrates on which nanorod branches grew. The shape and the structure of the microarchitectures were characterized by means scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, selected area diffraction pattern, X-Ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. Our results indicated that In₂O₃ primary wires with a clean surface grew in the [100] direction and that the secondary protuberances grew in the [011] direction. A possible growth mechanism of the hierarchical microwires was also proposed.     

Influence of the Extra Layer on the Transport Properties of NdFeAsO1?0.14F0.14 and FeSe0.88 Superconductors from Magneto Dynamic Analysis

In this letter, the electromagnetic response of the NdFeAsO_1?0.14F_0.14 (T _c =49?K) superconductor system, characterized by FeAs and NdO alternating layers, has been compared with that of FeSe_0.88. We have studied the flux dynamics of these two systems by means of ac multi-harmonic magnetic susceptibility. The analysis shows that although characterized by larger thermal fluctuations due to its higher T _c , NdFeAsO_1?0.14F_0.14 exhibits a stronger pinning force relative to FeSe_0.88. The further Irreversibility Line (IL) analysis also points out that both superconductors have a 3D flux pinning behavior. We associate the stronger pinning force in the NdFeAsO_1?0.14F_0.14 structure to the presence of the extra NdO layer. Different pinning contributions can be associated to the structural stress associated to FeAs superconducting layers and/or to the Nd³⁺ ions magnetic moment (????3.6???_B) contribution on the flux cores. We will also show that these pinning are over imposed to a weak collective contribution due to the dopant F atoms.     

Applying rock mass classifications to carbonate rocks for engineering purposes with a new approach using the rock engineering system

Classical rock mass classification systems are not applicable to carbonate rocks, especially when these are affected by karst processes. Their applications to such settings could therefore result in outcomes not representative of the real stress–strain behavior. In this study, we propose a new classification of carbonate rock masses for engineering purposes, by adapting the rock engineering system (RES) method by Hudson for fractured and karstified rock masses, in order to highlight the problems of implementation of geomechanical models to carbonate rocks. This new approach allows a less rigid classification for carbonate rock masses, taking into account the local properties of the outcrops, the site conditions and the type of engineering work as well.     

Numerical simulations of the IPPE target geometry flows

A high speed water and liquid lithium (Li) flow is computed over the IPPE geometry to evaluate the performance of different turbulence models in 2D and 3D simulations. Results reported are the thickness of the liquid jet, irregularities in the surface, transient phenomena at the wall which can affect fluid surface and effect of the variation in bulk velocity on these quantities. All models show good near wall resolution of the boundary layer and expected profiles for the free surface flow. Predicted turbulent kinetic energy compare well with published data. Fluctuations of the flow surface at the control location (center of the curved section) and elsewhere are well within 1 mm for all models. However it was observed that the predictions are strongly dependent on the model used. Overall, the predictions of RANS models are close to each other whereas predictions of laminar simulations are close to those obtained with LES models.