Plastic Deformation Resistance of Steel Grades EP450-Sh and EP823-Sh in Hot and Cold State

Metallurgist - The article presents the results of plastometric studies on hot deformation and studies on the hardening curves in cold deformation of EP450-Sh (12H12M1BFR-Sh) and EP823-Sh...     

Remelting of Iron Shavings with the Synergistic Effect of Minimum Metal Loss

Metallurgist - The well-known technologies of remelting iron shavings lead to significant (30%) losses of metal. An electroslag smelting furnace with graphite electrodes is proposed for remelting...     

Combustion in Ni–Al System with Cu Additive (Powder or Rod). Experiment and Mathematical Model

Russian Journal of Non-Ferrous Metals - Experimental studies have been carried out with theoretical calculations of wave synthesis in the Ni–Al–Cu system using a mathematical model....     

Ensuring Strength in Laser Welds Made Using the Dispersion-Hardened EP693 Nickel Alloy

Russian Journal of Non-Ferrous Metals - The process of making a weld using the heat-resistant EP693 alloy (Ni–Cr–W–Co–Co–Mo system) to make assemblies and components...     

Production of Powdered α-Fe2O3 with Multilevel Gradient Porosity

Russian Journal of Non-Ferrous Metals - This article discusses methods for producing a material with gradient multilevel porosity by sintering layer-by-layer distributed α-Fe2O3 nanopowders...     

The Influence of Hydrogen Concentration in an Ar–H2 Mixture on the Electrical Properties of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

Powder Metallurgy and Metal Ceramics - Fuel cells are today among the most efficient and environmentally friendly devices for the production of electricity. They are developing rapidly and are...     

A resilience assessment method for urban water systems

Infrastructure planning for Urban Water Systems (UWSs) is challenged by, inter alia, increasing uncertainty in both demand and availability of water and aging infrastructure, and this is already impacting the climate-proofing of cities. In this context, the idea of resilience has been gradually embraced by the water sector, but the term itself is not yet universally defined, nor operationalised. Here, we propose a methodology to assess the resilience of a UWS, defining it as the degree to which the UWS continues to perform under increasing stress. A resilience assessment method is then proposed as a ‘stress-test’ of UWS configurations, under increasingly more stressful scenarios. We then demonstrate a toolbox assembled for the proposed analysis using, as a proof of concept, a semi-synthetic case study. Results are promising, suggesting that the approach could assist in the uptake and evolution of resilience thinking in strategic water infrastructure decision making, leading to water-wiser cities.     

Managerial identity work in action: performative narratives and anecdotal stories of innovation

Innovation is invariably accepted as a central component of construction sector competitiveness. Yet, there remains a paucity of empirical research, which explores the gap between the way innovation is promoted in the policy discourse and how it is interpreted in practice. We follow the “narrative turn” in organization studies to explore the ways in which senior executives in the UK construction sector ascribe themselves with informal roles while advocating the cause of innovation. Empirical data is derived from narrative interviews with 32 senior executives who self-identify as “innovation champions”. When talking about innovation, the respondents were found to oscillate between performative narratives of innovation and more personalized stories derived from their own experience. The narratives were invariably pre-rehearsed often to the point of being monotonous. In contrast, the personalized stories tended to be engaging and emotionally laden. The tendency for senior executives to oscillate between narratives and stories is seen as an important means through which they search for meaning while at the same time legitimizing their self-identities as “innovation champions”. Of particular note is the way in which senior managers self-ascribe themselves with informal roles which are notably at odds with those described in more formalized narratives.     

Problems with the Moscow office

When the new Office Building for the United States Embassy in Moscow was in the final construction stage, visible defects caused work on the building to be suspended; a detailed structural analysis was then carried out by the NBS Center for Building Technology. Its report highlights the problems that can arise both with a structural design — such as guarding against buckling and progressive collapse — and with the detailed execution of that design.     

Equivalent linear limit states

The replacement of any limit state function by an equivalent linear function is discussed in detail and it is shown that there are several methods by which such an equivalence may be established. In the case of multiple failure mode problems the definition of fully equivalent linear functions requires the additional consideration of mode correlations. The manner in which this may be carried out is discussed and it is shown that, for most practical cases, a relatively simple analysis is likely to be sufficient to define the set of equivalent linear limit states, with the advantage that the established theory of such linear limit states may then be employed in the majority of reliability analyses.