Probabilistic Strength Estimates and Reliability of Damaged Parallel Wire Cables

Cable reliability analysis involves the combined evaluation of cable capacity and cable load in a probabilistic manner. Assessment of cable capacity is only possible through visual inspections of the wires, field sampling, laboratory analysis of the degraded wire populations, and analytical techniques. In addition to a brief presentation of cable mechanics and deterministic models that approximate cable strength, this paper discusses inspection methodologies and statistical methods of estimation of the sizes of the degraded wire populations, and wire properties, leading to cable capacities. These capacities are described by probability distributions. The paper also discusses fundamentals of reliability analysis as they apply to bridge cables. Load criteria of present standard specifications (such as AASHTO or other international codes) are not applicable to long-span suspension bridges. The paper discusses criteria of bridge loading and reliability indices for bridge cables. More work is needed in the evaluation of loading for long-span bridges.     

燃气红外线辐射器的节能与环保特性分析

论述了燃气红外线辐射器的基本原理 ,对其节能与环保特性的分析表明 :与大气式燃烧器相比 ,红外线辐射器的燃料节约率为 15 %～ 45 % ,CO2 排放量减少率为 15 %～ 48% ,CO排放量减少率为 96.2 %～ 97.7% ,NOx 减少率为 94.9%～ 96.9% ,具有显著的节能与环保效果     

离心式高炉鼓风机扩压叶片断裂事故分析及处理

通过高炉鼓风机扩压叶片断裂事故，从化学分析、物理检验，结合使用情况对扩压叶片断裂原因进行了详细分析，并提出了改进措施。     

Prediction of Undrained Sinkhole Collapse

Sinkholes are surface depressions or shafts resulting from the collapse of a submerged cavity in soil. The cavities that lead to sinkholes form as a result of underlying geology in limestone areas, or as a result of human activity such as mining or leakage from a sewer. The formation of sinkholes is often sudden and can lead to extensive damage and loss of life, especially in urban areas. Much of the literature on the subject of sinkhole formation is empirical in nature, often being associated with specific locations. This paper presents the results of a study, using numerical modeling, of the undrained stability of the submerged cavities that lead to sinkhole formation. Finite-element limit analysis techniques (using programs developed at the University of Newcastle) are used to obtain upper and lower bound values of a suitable load parameter, which bracket the exact solution. The results are compared to analytical solutions, both from literature and derived independently.     

Economic Model to Optimize Underground Utility Protection

The need for better protecting our vital infrastructure from being damaged or destroyed has received increased attention since the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. The tragedy of having thousands of innocent people die before the eyes of an entire nation awakened people to the reality of “managed” attacks of unthinkable magnitudes. However, tragedies of a smaller scale are a daily occurrence but accepted as “collateral damage” of work in an unsafe environment. This paper presents a cost-benefit analysis to address the question of how much money should be spent in protecting underground utilities from damage. During the study of an actual incident it was found that the total costs of such accidents are vastly underreported because only costs for emergency responses and repair are tallied up. This paper makes the case that a comprehensive approach for assessing the total economic impact of such incidents on the public, business, and government is the critical stepping stone to a mathematical optimization of expenditure for damage prevention. In addition, the reader will quickly realize that the use of the presented optimization model provides theoretical underpinning for the engineering profession in its effort to better protect our critical infrastructure from terrorist attacks.     

Prediction of spectral reflectance factor distribution of automotive paint finishes

It is necessary to determine the accurate reflectance of painted surfaces for the review of paint finishes by computer graphics (CG) before actual painting of the exterior color of automobiles, and for quality control during production and inspection processes. We have optimized a method for measuring reflectance by using a statistical technique. We have found that the reflectance of a painted surface is best measured at an incident angle of 60° and at five aspecular angles of 10°, 18°, 28°, 40°, and 90°. Our method makes it possible to accurately reproduce reflection characteristics of paint finishes containing special flake pigments, such as pearl mica. Also it was proved that our method can apply not only to solid and metallic coatings but to all painted surfaces. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 30, 275–282, 2005; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/col.20125     

Copolymerization of bromophenylmaleimide with ethyl or butyl methacrylate

N‐p‐Bromophenylmaleimide (BrPMI) does not polymerize in solution by conventional free radical mechanism. However, it readily polymerized in bulk when mixed with a free radical initiator and heated in a microwave oven for 7–8 min. Copolymerization of ethyl methacrylate or butyl methacrylate with BrPMI was conducted in dioxane. The copolymers were characterized by IR and ¹H NMR spectroscopy and gel permeation chromatography. The monomer reactivity ratios were calculated by a non‐linear least‐square analysis. Thermal analysis indicated a great improvement in thermal stability of the copolymers compared with the methacrylate homopolymers. BrPMI was also polymerized in bulk in the DSC pan, which allowed the calculation of the activation energy of its polymerization. Copyright © 2003 Society of Chemical Industry     

The effects of glycol methacrylate as a dehydrating agent on the dimensional changes of liver tissue

The dimensional changes of liver sections during the course of processing with glycol methacrylate (GMA) or with ethanol are described. Tissue processing with ethanol served as a control. During prolonged processing steps (24 h each), linear shrinkage of tissue specimens dehydrated with GMA at room temperature was 13.2%. Subsequent infiltration with GMA resulted in trivial swelling, and polymerization in slight shrinkage (2.3%). In comparison, processing with cold GMA resulted in shrinkage during dehydration (about 10.8%), a slight swelling in pure GMA, followed by shrinkage during polymerization (2.2%). Short routine processing schedules resulted in similar shrinkage/swelling patterns, although precise values differed slightly. In all experiments, ethanolic dehydration resulted in smaller dimensional tissue changes than did GMA dehydration. The dimensional changes of tissue sections during stretching on water, mounting and drying compensated for the major part of the shrinkage manifested during processing.     

Possibilities and extension of XRD material response analysis in failure research for the advanced evaluation of the damage level of Hertzian loaded components

Due to clearly distinguishable damage symptoms, it is differentiated between the surface and sub‐surface failure mode of rolling bearings. Material states red out by X‐ray diffraction (XRD) residual stress measurements point to a variety of loading conditions especially at raceway surfaces that are associated with several competing failure mechanisms. The corresponding lifetime reduction can range from the lower fatigue strength region to material ratcheting in extreme cases. Relevant position of the microstructural changes and nature of the failure mechanisms are characterized. The time alteration of the XRD material parameters measured at or near the surface and at the depth of the maximum equivalent stress correlates, in a different manner, with the statistical parameter of the 10 % bearing life. Both failure modes are illustrated by concrete examples. Contaminated lubricant and boundary lubrication, which represent practically important surface‐induced failures, are discussed in more detail. Gray staining, i.e. shallow pitting, often occurs without distinct indication of global material aging by means of XRD characteristics. Here, scanning electron microscopy observations and electron microprobe analyses point to corrosion fatigue as acting surface failure mechanism. The interaction between material and lubricant under complex loading regimes particularly of mixed friction and corrosion opens further failure research areas in the field of tribology.