Synthetic microfibers and tyre wear particles pollution in aquatic systems: Relevance and mitigation strategies

Automatic Transmission (AT) system is efficient in the aspects of vehicle safety, comfort, reliability and driving performance. The objectives of this paper are to collect the oil samples from AT systems of engine bus according to manufacturer's recommendations and analyse collected oil samples using oil analysis technique. The sample transmission fluid which was taken from the AT gearbox has been experimentally analyzed. The oil samples were taken with an interval of 5,000km, 30,000km, 50,000km, 80,000km, 180,000km and 300,000km for AT bus operation. These samples then have been analyzed by comparing between new and used transmission fluid using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Oil analysis by FTIR is a form of Predictive Maintenance (PdM) to avoid major failure in machine elements. Most machine elements are not easily accessible in the transmission system. Having a reliable technique would avoid the needs to open the components unnecessarily, hence, help to prevent catastrophic failure which are very costly, and ease of regular monitoring. In order to identify the major failures of automatic gearbox, forecasts can be made regarding the lube transmission fluid analysis test. By using this test, the minor problems can be determined before they become major failures. At the end of this research, the wear particles profile for interval mileage of AT system was obtained. Keywords: Wear, Automatic Transmission (AT), Transmission fluid, Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), Oil analysis.

Download Full-text

Evaluation of the Mitigation Strategies for Dry Spell impacts on Livestock Production in Homa Bay County, Kenya

International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications (IJSRP) ◽

10.29322/ijsrp.9.09.2019.p9321 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (9) ◽

pp. p9321

Author(s):

Japheth.O. Ogenga ◽

Edward. M. Mugalavai

Keyword(s):

Livestock Production ◽

Mitigation Strategies ◽

Dry Spell

Download Full-text

SEISMIC RISK AND RESILIENCE ASSESSMENT OF INDUSTRIAL FACILITIES: CASE STUDY ON A BLACK CARBON PLANT

10.31219/osf.io/5aswh ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

George Karagiannakis

Keyword(s):

Seismic Risk ◽

Numerical Models ◽

Fragility Curves ◽

Human Life ◽

Mitigation Strategies ◽

Economic Losses ◽

Risk And Resilience ◽

Industrial Plants ◽

Plant Equipment

This paper deals with state of the art risk and resilience calculations for industrial plants. Resilience is a top priority issue on the agenda of societies due to climate change and the all-time demand for human life safety and financial robustness. Industrial plants are highly complex systems containing a considerable number of equipment such as steel storage tanks, pipe rack-piping systems, and other installations. Loss Of Containment (LOC) scenarios triggered by past earthquakes due to failure on critical components were followed by severe repercussions on the community, long recovery times and great economic losses. Hence, facility planners and emergency managers should be aware of possible seismic damages and should have already established recovery plans to maximize the resilience and minimize the losses. Seismic risk assessment is the first step of resilience calculations, as it establishes possible damage scenarios. In order to have an accurate risk analysis, the plant equipment vulnerability must be assessed; this is made feasible either from fragility databases in the literature that refer to customized equipment or through numerical calculations. Two different approaches to fragility assessment will be discussed in this paper: (i) code-based Fragility Curves (FCs); and (ii) fragility curves based on numerical models. A carbon black process plant is used as a case study in order to display the influence of various fragility curve realizations taking their effects on risk and resilience calculations into account. Additionally, a new way of representing the total resilience of industrial installations is proposed. More precisely, all possible scenarios will be endowed with their weighted recovery curves (according to their probability of occurrence) and summed together. The result is a concise graph that can help stakeholders to identify critical plant equipment and make decisions on seismic mitigation strategies for plant safety and efficiency. Finally, possible mitigation strategies, like structural health monitoring and metamaterial-based seismic shields are addressed, in order to show how future developments may enhance plant resilience. The work presented hereafter represents a highly condensed application of the research done during the XP-RESILIENCE project, while more detailed information is available on the project website https://r.unitn.it/en/dicam/xp-resilience.

Download Full-text

Validation to Spanish version of the COVID-19 Stress Scale

10.31234/osf.io/rcqx3 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Edgar Guillermo Pulido

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Goodness Of Fit ◽

National Sample ◽

Mitigation Strategies ◽

Dimensional Structure ◽

Psychosocial Effects ◽

Stress Scale ◽

Global Consensus ◽

Reliability Indicators ◽

Effective Assessment

There is a global consensus about the potential of the COVID-19 pandemic to affect people's mental health. In this context, and prior to the formulation of mitigation strategies, tools are required that allow an objective and effective assessment of mental health risk. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the psychometric characteristics of COVID-19 Stress Scale, formulated by Taylor et al. (2020), based on the concept of COVID-19 Stress Syndrome. A national sample of 1214 participating adults was taken in Colombia, who answered a translated version of the scale. Evidence of a hexa-dimensional structure was obtained whose goodness of fit indicators were Chi2 = 1215,759, Sig. =. 000, CMIN / DF = 2.202, RMSEA = .044, NFI = .943, TLI = .964, CFI =. 968 and FMIN = 1,967. Regarding reliability, an α = .924 and Spearman-Brown = .824 were obtained for the entire scale; the reliability indicators of the 6 subscales were also high. The similarities and differences in the findings with respect to the original psychometric study of the scale are discussed, as well as the utility and importance of the instrument as a tool in future efforts to mitigate the psychosocial effects of the pandemic.

Download Full-text