Roller compacted concrete with contaminated recycled aggregates

Recycling waste building materials from construction and demolition (C&D) sites is increasingly investigated for economical and environmental reasons. Roller compacted concrete (RCC) is a special dry concrete mix; laid down and compacted like a soil, it is especially used for the construction of massive structures like dams or large horizontal surfaces like road foundation. In this paper, natural concrete slabs were cured in water, sea water, chloride solutions or sulphate solutions and then crushed to obtain virgin and contaminated (polluted) recycled aggregates. The aim of this research is the total replacement (100% coarse and fine) of natural aggregates (NA) by recycled concrete aggregates (RA) in the composition of a roller compacted concrete. The natural and recycled aggregates are characterised and compared. The mechanical properties and durability performances of concrete with contaminated RA are analysed. The experimental results showed that the polluted RA are much richer in chlorides than in sulphates and are leached if they are soaked in water. Significant differences were observed between the properties of original and new concrete and the results demonstrated the need of taking these contaminations into account.     

Nanotechnology: Advantages and drawbacks in the field of construction and building materials

Nanotechnology seems to hold the key that allows construction and building materials to replicate the features of natural systems improved until perfection during millions of years. This paper reviews current knowledge about nanotechnology and nanomaterials used by the construction industry. It covers the nanoscale analysis of Portland cement hydration products, the use of nanoparticles to increase the strength and durability of cimentitious composites, the photocatalytic capacity of nanomaterials and also nanotoxicity risks.     

An efficiency-optimization controller for induction motor drives

When working close to their nominal operating point, induction motors are high-efficiency machines. However, at low load, efficiency is greatly reduced when magnetization flux is maintained at nominal value. Therefore, it is necessary to adjust the flux level according to the load, so as to decrease iron and copper losses. This paper deals with a field-oriented scheme for induction motor drives leading to efficiency optimization. It is based on optimal power factor tracking by adjusting magnetization current component with to respect the torque current component. Simulation results are presented to highlight the feasibility and validity of the proposed method     

Testing Address Decoder Faults in Two-Port Memories: Fault Models, Tests, Consequences of Port Restrictions, and Test Strategy

A two-port memory contains two duplicated sets of address decoders, which operate independently. Testing such memories requires the use of single-port tests as well as special two-port tests; the test strategy determines which tests have to be used. Many two-port memories have ports which are read-only or write-only; this impacts the possible tests for single-port and two-port memories, as well as the test strategy. In this paper the effects of interference and shorts between the address decoders of the two ports on the fault modeling are investigated. Fault models and their tests are introduced. In addition, the consequences of the port restrictions (read-only or write-only ports) on the fault models and tests are discussed, together with the test strategy.     

Non‐Uniform Distribution of Two‐Phase Flows through Parallel Identical Paths

When a single‐phase fluid splits, passes through identical paths in parallel, and then recombines, the flow distributes itself uniformly among the multiple paths. However, when multi‐phase suspensions travel through identical parallel paths, the flow distribution can be significantly non‐uniform. Although the uniform distribution is a solution of the governing equations, this solution may be an unstable steady‐state solution between two or more stable solutions, or one of an array of possible steady‐state solutions. This multiplicity has arisen in practice for multiple vertical channels within fluidized beds, for cyclones in parallel, and for distributed feed suspension flows. Simple theories are employed to explain the principles involved for two cyclones and for a pair of risers in parallel.     

Contact stress distributions in a turbine disc dovetail type joint - a comparison of photoelastic and finite element results

Two dimensional photoelastic frozen stress techniques were used to investigate the stress distributions of an axially loaded dovetail joint as is found in the design of some turbine blade-disc fixings. The internal stress distributions were obtained by the shear difference method and were compared to results obtained by using the finite element method. It was found that steep principal stress gradients were present immediately below the contact surfaces in the zone adjacent to the fillet radius of the dovetail fixing, which could be an important consideration in the fatigue strength of the joint. The finite element model used gave the same trends of stress as the photoelastic model, predicted higher peak principal stresses and did not exhibit the same detailed variations of stress distribution.     

2099 Aluminum-Lithium with Key-Locked Inserts for Aerospace Applications

The purpose of this study was to determine the acceptability of nonpenetrating, key-locked inserts in 2099 aluminum-lithium. The tests conducted to make this assessment were: (1) microscopic examination for thread damage and delaminations after key installation, (2) pull-out load at 21 °C (70 °F) and −179 °C (−290 °F), and (3) mechanical cycling tests at room temperature and −179 °C (−290 °F). The test results indicated that for the three sizes evaluated, key-locked inserts in 2099-T6 and 2099-T8 were acceptable and although delaminations did occur on some T6 temper specimens, it was only as a failure mode at ultimate load and such behavior was judged to be acceptable.     

Optimal Sizing of a DBD Ozone Generator Using Response Surface Modeling

Dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) reactors used as ozone generators are well known today and widely used for water treatment and air disinfection. The purpose of this article is to propose an experimental procedure based on the response surface modeling in order to optimize the geometrical dimensions of the cylindrical shape ozone generator, i.e., the discharge gap and the electrodes length. Because an effective ozone generator is expected to give high ozone concentration with a minimum of power requirements, the applied high voltage was associated with the geometrical parameters to carry out a composite centered faces design. Obtained results indicate that for an efficient ozone generator, length of the electrodes needs to be optimized while the discharge gap should be minimized.     

The Tyrosine Gate of the Bacterial Lectin FimH: A Conformational Analysis by NMR Spectroscopy and X‐ray Crystallography

Urinary tract infections caused by uropathogenic E. coli are among the most prevalent infectious diseases. The mannose‐specific lectin FimH mediates the adhesion of the bacteria to the urothelium, thus enabling host cell invasion and recurrent infections. An attractive alternative to antibiotic treatment is the development of FimH antagonists that mimic the physiological ligand. A large variety of candidate drugs have been developed and characterized by means of in vitro studies and animal models. Here we present the X‐ray co‐crystal structures of FimH with members of four antagonist classes. In three of these cases no structural data had previously been available. We used NMR spectroscopy to characterize FimH–antagonist interactions further by chemical shift perturbation. The analysis allowed a clear determination of the conformation of the tyrosine gate motif that is crucial for the interaction with aglycone moieties and was not obvious from X‐ray structural data alone. Finally, ITC experiments provided insight into the thermodynamics of antagonist binding. In conjunction with the structural information from X‐ray and NMR experiments the results provide a mechanism for the often‐observed enthalpy–entropy compensation of FimH antagonists that plays a role in fine‐tuning of the interaction.