Subsurface Characterization at Ground Failure Sites in Adapazari, Turkey

Ground failure in Adapazari, Turkey during the 1999 Kocaeli earthquake was severe. Hundreds of structures settled, slid, tilted, and collapsed due in part to liquefaction and ground softening. Ground failure was more severe adjacent to and under buildings. The soils that led to severe building damage were generally low plasticity silts. In this paper, the results of a comprehensive investigation of the soils of Adapazari, which included cone penetration test (CPT) profiles followed by borings with standard penetration tests (SPTs) and soil index tests, are presented. The effects of subsurface conditions on the occurrence of ground failure and its resulting effect on building performance are explored through representative case histories. CPT- and SPT-based liquefaction triggering procedures adequately identified soils that liquefied if the clay-size criterion of the Chinese criteria was disregarded. The CPT was able to identify thin seams of loose liquefiable silt, and the SPT (with retrieved samples) allowed for reliable evaluation of the liquefaction susceptibility of fine-grained soils. A well-documented database of in situ and index testing is now available for incorporating in future CPT- and SPT-based liquefaction triggering correlations.     

Monodisperse‐porous poly(styrene‐co‐divinylbenzene) beads providing high column efficiency in reversed phase HPLC

A multistage polymerization protocol, the so‐called “modified seeded polymerization,” was developed for the production of monodisperse‐porous poly(styrene‐co‐divinylbenzene) providing high column efficiency as a packing material in reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography (RPLC). In the first stage of the multistage production, uniform polystyrene seed particles, produced by dispersion polymerization, were swollen by an organic agent (i.e., the diluent) and then by a monomer mixture containing styrene and divinylbenzene. The final porous particles were obtained in the monodisperse form by the polymerization of monomer mixture in the seed particles. By the use of a small size seed latex with low molecular weight and by the selection of the appropriate diluent, relatively small monodisperse‐porous particles with suitable pore structure could be achieved. In the reversed phase separation of alkylbenzenes, under isocratic conditions, theoretical plate numbers up to 40,000 plates/m were achieved by using 5.2 μm porous particles, obtained by a toluene‐dibutyl phthalate mixture as the diluent. No significant decrease in the resolution power was observed by the fourfold increase in the mobile phase flow rate. The column efficiency and the resolution observed with 5.2 μm monodisperse‐porous particles were significantly higher with respect to the currently available polymer based packing materials used in the reversed phase HPLC. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 95: 1430–1438, 2005     

Induced-charge electro-osmosis of polymer-containing fluid around a metallic rod

Induced-charge electro-osmotic (ICEO) flow of polymer-containing electrolyte solution around a cylindrical gold-coated stainless steel rod under AC electric field is measured by micro-particle image velocimetry (micro-PIV) for the first time. The ICEO flows as functions of the amount of non-ionic PEG (polyethylene glycol), cationic PDADMA (polydiallyldimethylammonium chloride), and anionic PVSASS (polyvinylsulfonic acid sodium salt) polymers added into the salt solution, frequency, and strength of the AC electric field are measured. The ICEO flow of polymer-containing fluid around the rod is quadrupolar with four vortices and is proportional to the square of imposed electric field. The ICEO flow velocity exponentially decreases with an increased concentration of neutral PEG. Ionic polyelectrolytes significantly increase ICEO velocities due to the enriched net charge within the induced electric double layer arising from the electrostatic interaction between the polarized rod’s surface and the charged polyelectrolytes in ionic polymer solution. In addition, polymer concentration affects the dependence of the ICEO flow on the frequency of AC electric field.     

Micro-PIV measurements of induced-charge electro-osmosis around a metal rod

A cylindrical gold-coated stainless steel rod was positioned at the center of a straight microchannel connecting two fluid reservoirs on either end. The microchannel was filled with 1 mM KCl containing 0.5 μm diameter carboxylate-modified spherical particles. Induced-charge electro-osmotic (ICEO) flow occurred around the metallic rod under a sinusoidal AC electric field applied using two platinum electrodes. The ICEO flows around the metallic rod were measured using micro particle image velocimetry (micro-PIV) technique as functions of the AC electric field strength and frequency. The present study provides experimental data about ICEO flow in the weakly nonlinear limit of thin double layers, in which, the charging dynamics of the double layer cannot be presented analytically. The measured ICEO flow pattern qualitatively agrees with the theoretical results obtained by Squires and Bazant (J Fluid Mech 509:217–252, 2004). Flow around the rod is quadrupolar, driving liquid towards the rod along the electric field and forcing it away from the rod in the direction perpendicular to the imposed electric field. The measured ICEO flow velocity is proportional to the square of the electric field strength, and depends on the applied AC frequency.     

A data fusion framework with novel hybrid algorithm for multi-agent Decision Support System for Forest Fire

In this study Forest Fire Decision Support System (FOFDESS) which is a multi-agent Decision Support System for Forest Fire has been presented. Depending on the existing meteorological state and environmental observations, FOFDESS does the fire danger rating by predicting the forest fire and it can also approximate fire spread speed and quickly detect a started fire. Some data fusion algorithms such as Artificial Neural Network (ANN), Naive Bayes Classifier (NBC), Fuzzy Switching (FS) and image processing have been used for these operations in FOFDESS. These algorithms have been brought together by a designed data fusion framework and a novel hybrid algorithm called NABNEF (Naive Bayes Aided Neural-Fuzzy Algorithm) has been improved for fire danger rating in FOFDESS. In this state, FOFDESS is an integrated system which includes the dimensions of prediction, detection and management. As a result of the experiments, it was found out that FOFDESS helped determining the most accurate strategy for fire fighting by producing effective results.     

Modelling of residual stresses in the shot peened material C-1020 by artificial neural network

This study consists of two cases: (i) The experimental analysis: Shot peening is a method to improve the resistance of metal pieces to fatigue by creating regions of residual stress. In this study, the residual stresses induced in steel specimen type C-1020 by applying various strengths of shot peening, are investigated using the electrochemical layer removal method. The best result is obtained using 0.26 mm A peening strength and the stress encountered in the shot peened material is ?276 MPa, while the maximum residual stress obtained is ?363 MPa at a peening strength of 0.43 mm A. (ii) The mathematical modelling analysis: The use of ANN has been proposed to determine the residual stresses based on various strengths of shot peening using results of experimental analysis. The back-propagation learning algorithm with two different variants and logistic sigmoid transfer function were used in the network. In order to train the neural network, limited experimental measurements were used as training and test data. The best fitting training data set was obtained with four neurons in the hidden layer, which made it possible to predict residual stress with accuracy at least as good as that of the experimental error, over the whole experimental range. After training, it was found the R² values are 0.996112 and 0.99896 for annealed before peening and shot peened only, respectively. Similarly, these values for testing data are 0.995858 and 0.999143, respectively. As seen from the results of mathematical modelling, the calculated residual stresses are obviously within acceptable uncertainties.     

Continuous Airborne Communication Relay Approach Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

As a result of unmanned aerial vehicles being widely used in different areas, studies about increasing the autonomous capabilities of unmanned aerial vehicles are gaining momentum. Today, unmanned aerial vehicle platforms are especially used in reconnaissance, surveillance and communications areas. In this study, in order to achieve continuous long-range communication relay infrastructure, artificial potential field based path planning of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles is discussed. A novel dynamic approach to relay-chain concept is proposed to maintain the communication between vehicles. Besides dynamically keeping vehicles in range and appropriate position to maintain communication relay, artificial potential field based path planning also provides collision avoidance system. The performance of the proposed system is measured by applying a simulation under the Matlab Simulink and Network Simulator environment. Artificial potential field based flight patterns are generated in Matlab, and performance of the communication between vehicles is measured in Network Simulation environment. Finally the simulation results show that an airborne communication relay can be established autonomously by using artificial potential filed based autonomous path planning approach. Continues state communication is provided by obtaining a resistant communication relay which depends on artificial potential field based positioning algorithm.     

Chemical and microbiological status and volatile profiles of mouldy Civil cheese,a Turkish mould‐ripened variety

The objective of this study is to characterise the gross chemical and microbiological status and identify the volatile compounds of mouldy Civil cheeses. A total of forty‐one samples were surveyed, and gross compositional status of the cheeses was (as mean values): 6.5 for pH, 6.2% for fat‐in‐dry matter, 51.8% for moisture and 15.3% for water‐soluble nitrogen (as% of total nitrogen). Chemical composition of the cheese samples varied widely. Mouldy Civil cheese has similar pH values and moisture contents when compared with blue‐type cheeses, but it has distinct feature for fat contents. The microbiological counts of the samples were found to be high and some samples contained coliform bacteria. A total of 95 volatiles, including esters (28), acids (6), ketones (12), aldehydes (3), alcohols (15), terpenes (10), sulphur compounds (3) and miscellaneous (18), were identified in the volatile fractions of the cheeses, and principal volatile groups were esters, alcohols and ketones.