Evolution of the effective moduli of an anisotropic, dense, granular material

We analyze the behavior of a dense granular aggregate made by identical, elastic spheres, uni-axially compressed at constant pressure. Our goal is to predict the evolution of the effective moduli along the loading path when small perturbations are applied to stressed states. The analytical model is based upon the average strain theory. We show that the moduli in the anisotropic state normalized with the corresponding initial isotropic value, are captured by a so crude model. Numerical simulations support this result.     

Equations to predict female manual arm strength based on hand location relative to the shoulder

The purpose of this study was to develop regression equations to predict manual arm strength for a wide variety of hand locations within the reach envelope. Maximum voluntary manual arm strength was determined from 71 female participants in six exertion directions (superior, inferior, anterior, posterior, medial and lateral), in a total of 28 hand locations. Forces ranged from 51.3 to 164.4 N, and had a pooled coefficient of variation of 29.9%. Across all 168 combinations of hand locations and exertion directions, the multivariate regression equations explained 92.5% of the variance and had a root mean square error (RMSE) of only 6.4 N, using only the anterior, lateral and vertical location of the hand relative to the active shoulder joint as inputs. These equations provide a proof-of-principle for our novel regression approach, and represent a first step towards a more comprehensive equation to estimate maximum acceptable forces for occupational tasks.     

Preliminary study of the use of spent diatomaceous earth from the brewing industry in clay matrix bricks

In this work the effect of spent diatomaceous earth (SDE), as pore forming or silica carrier, on the properties of clay ceramic bricks was investigated. Mixtures of clay and SDE waste were, compacted, dried and fired at 950°C during 6?h. The technological properties of waste-clay bricks were analysed to evaluate the influence of the waste incorporation. The SDE (1–5?wt-%) addition in the clay matrix causes a reduction between 6 and 12% of the bulk density compared with the control samples (only clay) which implies good insulating characteristics. In addition, the waste incorporation increases the water absorption within the range 4–31% and decreases the compressive strength between 12 and 26%. However, the incorporation of the waste is beneficial as no remarkable changes in the technological properties are observed. These results indicate that the waste has a predominant pore forming effect over a pore filling effect.     

Ethnically bounded homeownership: qualitative insights on Los Angeles immigrant homeowners’ experiences during the U.S. Great Recession

Immigrant homeowners’ function within ethnic boundaries in the housing market may have helped or hindered them during the recent U.S. Great Recession. This research explores this theme through interviews with immigrant and non-immigrant homeowners from four ethnic communities in Los Angeles County and the non-profit organizations that tried to assist them. Immigrant homeowners turned to co-ethnics for advice and support and formed multigenerational households as a strategy to achieve and sustain homeownership. Language and cultural barriers primed them for risky loans and thwarted their pursuit of refinance and modification when they struggled to make mortgage payments. These findings conform to existing evidence of ethnic segmentation in the housing market and imply that analyses of home buying and homeownership in areas with significant immigrant populations should factor in the role of ethnicity.     

Estimation of the atmospheric boundary layer height during different atmospheric conditions: a comparison on reliability of several methods applied to lidar measurements

The performance of six numerical methods usually used to determine the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) height from lidar measurements was investigated under different atmospheric conditions: results were compared with those obtained from radiosoundings to analyse their reliability for ABL-height retrievals. The selected methods were the gradient method (GM), the logarithm gradient method (LGM), the inflection point method (IPM), the wavelet covariance transform (WCT), the centroid/variance method (VM), and the cluster analysis (CA). Lidar measurements were carried out in the frame of the ‘Atmospheric Minor Species relevant to the Ozone Chemistry’ (AMISOC) project during a multi-instrument campaign conducted at the INTA/Atmospheric Observatory ‘El Arenosillo’ (INTA/ARN) in south-western Spain from 15 May to 20 June 2012. The goal of this work is to analyse the performance and robustness of the different lidar methods in this region, characterized by particular atmospheric conditions. In particular, both events of sea–land breeze regimes and episodes of Saharan dust intrusions were studied. In most days, similar results were obtained by all lidar methods in the events of sea–land breeze regimes, presenting relative absolute differences between lidar and radiosounding retrievals below 12% in average. However, big discrepancies between lidar and radiosounding retrievals are found when residual layers are present in the measurements. In such cases, the vertical extension of lidar and radiosounding profiles must to be limited to the altitude of the residual layer bottom. In a second analysis, focused on diurnal variability in the ABL heights under non-dusty (ND) and dusty (DD) conditions, the methods were tested against intensive radiosoundings launched every 4 h over 2 days. Under ND conditions, the best results were achieved for the LGM, presenting a mean of the relative absolute differences respect to radiosounding measurements of 10%. The rest of methods also provided good results with relative differences below 20% in average. Under DD conditions, however, an increase of the relative differences is found with mean values of up 32%. In this case, best results are given by CA with a mean relative difference of 20%. Despite the limited data set used in this work, results show that unlike the ND conditions for which all lidar methods provide good results respect to radiosounding retrievals, under DD conditions the election of the lidar method is a key factor for ABL estimation. However, we remark the need of extending our analysis to longer periods of time to better characterize the differences observed in this work.     

Preparation and co-dispersion of TiO2-Y2O3 suspensions through the study of their rheological and electrokinetic properties

The development of Generation IV sodium-cooled fast reactors (SFR) is currently studied by several countries, France in particular. To manufacture the UO₂-PuO₂ fuels for these new types of reactors, new innovative wet colloidal processing routes are investigated. Among these wet colloidal processes, some involve at first the preparation of high solid content water-based suspensions. This key step needs to be investigated in order to obtain highly and easily processable suspensions, featuring optimal viscosity and dispersion state. The structures and properties for all intermediate and final products involved in such ceramic manufacturing processes are heavily affected by these suspension characteristics. Therefore, they are critical to ensure a compliant final product (i.e. fuel pellets) with the required density, homogeneity, mechanical strength and absence of defects. In this scope, preparation process of such suspensions was developed by the use of UO₂ and PuO₂ surrogating (i.e. mimicking) powders, TiO₂ and Y₂O₃ respectively.     

Increasing the Level of Automation in the Forestry Logging Process with Crane Trajectory Planning and Control

Working with forestry machines requires a great deal of training to be sufficiently skilled to operate forestry cranes. In view of this, it would be desirable within the forestry industry to introduce automated motions, such as those seen in robotic arms, to shorten the training time and make the work of the operator easier. Motivated by this fact, we have developed two experimental platforms for testing control systems and motion‐planning algorithms in real time. They correspond to a laboratory setup and a commercial version of a hydraulic manipulator used in forwarder machines. The aim of this article is to present the results of this development by providing an overview of our trajectory‐planning algorithm and motion‐control method, with a subsequent view of the experimental results. For motion control, we design feedback controllers that are able to track reference trajectories based on sensor measurements. Likewise, we provide arguments to design controllers in an open‐loop for machines that lack sensing devices. Relying on the tracking efficiency of these controllers, we design time‐efficient reference trajectories of motions that correspond to logging tasks. To demonstrate performance, we provide an overview of extensive testing done on these machines.     

The behaviour of consolidated Neapolitan yellow Tuff against salt weathering

Bulletin of Engineering Geology and the Environment - Salt crystallization is a strong weathering agent in porous building materials. The crystallization pressure exerted by salt crystals, growing...