Characterisation of land types and agro-ecological conditions for production of Jatropha as a feedstock for biofuels in Zimbabwe

There is increasing interest in Zimbabwe in developing a biofuels industry based on the production of biodiesel using Jatropha as the main feedstock. This has led to the introduction of Jatropha as a commercial energy crop in the country. There are plans to grow 1220 km² of Jatropha which will supply about 365,000 t of seed. This will provide about 110 dam³ of biodiesel required to achieve a blending level of 10% with petro-diesel. The availability and suitability of land for the production of Jatropha cannot be taken for granted, particularly given the fact that the concept and practice of production of feedstocks for biofuels remain contested on the threat they pose to food security. Determining the land that is potentially available for biofuels is a non-trivial task. A multiplicity of factors needs to be considered. It is important to determine the spatial extent of areas with suitable growth conditions for Jatropha. The interaction of soil type and land use is an important interface in agriculture. Added to this is the need to balance food, fodder and fuel supply in land use planning. This paper attempts to assess the availability and suitability of various land types as well as agro-ecological conditions for the production of Jatropha in Zimbabwe.     

Thin circular hollow section-to-plate T-joints: Stress concentration factors and fatigue failure under in-plane bending

Welded thin-walled (t<4 mm) tube-to-plate T-joints made up of cold-formed circular hollow sections welded onto a plate to form a moment resistant connection are used in the road transport and agricultural industry to manufacture equipment and other structural systems. Fatigue design of these joints is not available in current standards. An understanding of the stress concentrations and failure in these connections is therefore necessary as a step towards understanding the fatigue behaviour of these connections. Stress concentration factors (SCFs) of welded thin-walled (t<4 mm) circular hollow section (CHS)-to-plate T-joints are determined at different locations along the weld toes on the tubular brace. The distribution of SCFs along the weld toes shows that the highest SCF occurs at the weld toes in the circular brace at the 0° line. The ratio of the end of test fatigue life (N4) to the through-thickness fatigue life (N3) in the thin CHS-plate T-joints is found to fall within the range of N4/N3 found in previous research of both thick and thin-walled joints. Surface crack growth monitoring is used to obtain an approximation of the length of surface crack at the point of occurrence of a through-thickness crack. The relationship between surface crack length and the occurrence of a through-thickness crack is important in that it can be used as a measure of the criticality of a surface crack during structural health monitoring of equipment or structures.     

Optimization of biogas production by anaerobic digestion for sustainable energy development in Zimbabwe

There is increasing international interest in developing low carbon renewable energy technologies. Biomass is increasingly being utilized as an energy source throughout the world. Several modern technologies have been developed that convert biomass to bioenergy. Anaerobic digestion is a mature energy technology for converting biomass to biogas, which is a renewable primary energy source. Biogas is a robust fuel that can be used to supply heat, electricity, process steam and methanol. There are vast biomass resources in Zimbabwe that have good potential for biogas production by anaerobic digestion. However, anaerobic digestion is not being optimally used as a biomass conversion technology in the country. This paper presents an overview of biogas production in Zimbabwe and outlines technical options that can be utilized to optimize biogas production by anaerobic digestion in the country.     

Study of electrochemical stability and physical characteristics of ball milled tantalum carbide as a support for oxygen evolution reaction electrocatalysts

Tantalum carbide (TaC) is investigated as a potential support for oxygen evolution reaction electrocatalysts. It is ball milled with zirconia balls for 7 and 14 days. The particle size and surface area of the ball milled TaC are analyzed using scanning electron microscopy and nitrogen physisorption methods, respectively. After 14 days of ball milling, the TaC shows smaller particle size and larger surface area compared to after 7 days of ball milling and unmilled TaC. The long-term electrochemical stability of the ball milled TaC is evaluated under oxygen evolution reaction conditions using cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry. The ball milled support at a fixed voltage of 1.6 V is shown to be stable up to 5000 cycles. Chronoamperometric measurement also shows the ball milled TaC remains stable over the 70 h of the test.     

Square hollow section (SHS) T-joints with concrete-filled chords subjected to in-plane fatigue loading in the brace

In recent years, there has been an increased use of concrete-filled composite tubular joints in bridge construction. The reliability of these joints under fatigue therefore need to be investigated to avoid any catastrophic failures. In this paper, hollow section T-joints made up of square hollow section (SHS) chords and braces are investigated. The chords of the SHS–SHS T-joints were concrete-filled thereby forming welded composite tubular T-joints. The SHS–SHS T-joints with concrete-filled chords were strain gauged and tested under static loading to determine stress concentration factors (SCFs) at hot spot locations, where cracks are likely to propagate. Fatigue tests of the welded composite joints were also carried out under cyclic in-plane bending in the brace to obtain stress range vs. number of cycles (S–N) data. The maximum stress concentration factor (SCF) at hot spot locations in a welded composite tubular T-joint was found to be generally lower than the maximum SCF in an empty (or called unfilled) hollow section SHS–SHS T-joint. Fatigue failure in welded composite tubular T-joints occurred through the initiation and propagation of cracks at weld toes in either the chord or brace member, with the majority of tests exhibiting the first visual crack at weld toes in the chord. The welded composite tubular T-joints were found to have better fatigue strength compared to the empty hollow section SHS–SHS T-joints. Design rules are recommended for the SHS–SHS T-joints with concrete-filled chords through analysis of fatigue test data using the hot spot stress method.     

Plastic mechanism analysis of welded thin-walled T-joints made up of circular braces and square chords under in-plane bending

Welded thin-walled T-joints made up of circular hollow section (CHS) braces and square hollow section (SHS) chords were tested under static in-plane bending load. The hollow sections are cold-formed and have thicknesses less than 4 mm. The CHS-SHS T-joints are used in building the undercarriages and structural supports of equipment and structural systems used in the road transport and agricultural industries. Failure in the CHS-SHS T-joints was observed to occur as a result of chord-face yielding. Chord cracking was also observed after large deformations, resulting in a peak load being attained in these joints. There is no design formula in the existing CIDECT design guides, IIW static recommendation and Eurocode 3 for CHS-SHS T-joints under in-plane bending. In this paper, load versus chord flange indentation graphs, for the CHS-SHS T-joints are used to determine the deformation limit that defines the ultimate strength of the joints. The deformed shape of the chord observed from experimental tests is used to create a yield line model. The weld size and the rounded corners of the SHS chord are considered in the model. A formula is derived, for the ultimate strength of the CHS brace and SHS chord vierendeel connections based on a plastic mechanism analysis using yield line theory. There is a reasonably good agreement between the ultimate strength predicted using this formula and that determined experimentally.     

平面内疲劳荷载作用下带有钢管混凝土弦杆的方形中空截面T形节点的受力分析

近年来,钢管混凝土节点在桥梁工程中的应用越来越广泛。因此需要对这些节点在疲劳荷载作用下的可靠性进行研究,以避免可能突然发生的灾难。对由具有方形中空截面(SHS)的弦杆和支撑构成的中空截面T形节点进行了分析。具有中空截面的弦杆中填充了混凝土,因此形成了焊接组合管状T形节点。对此类节点进行的静力加载试验,校验了应变状态,以确定容易产生裂纹的热点区的应力集中系数。同时也对平面内弯曲循环荷载作用下的支撑的焊接组合节点进行了疲劳试验,以得到应力范围-循环次数(S-N)关系曲线的数据。在焊接的组合管状T形节点的热点区得到的应力集中系数最大值远远小于无任何填充的中空截面T形节点中的应力集中系数最大值。无论是弦杆还是支撑,其中的焊接组合管状T形节点中的疲劳破坏,都是在构件的焊趾处形成初始裂纹以及裂纹的发展过程中产生的。大量的试验也表明,破坏往往是先在弦杆的焊趾处产生第一道裂纹。研究同时发现,填充的焊接组合管状T形节点也比无填充的中空T形节点具有更好的抗疲劳强度。通过运用热点区应力方法进行的疲劳分析,提出了应用于填充混凝土弦杆的中空T形节点的设计方法。