Generating Confidence in Inspection Results

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. V. Booler ◽  
W. L. Daniels ◽  
J. P. Taggart
Keyword(s):  
Structural Integrity ◽  
Probability Of Detection ◽  
Nuclear Industry ◽  
Life Extension ◽  
Safety Critical ◽  
Safety Margins ◽  
Critical Components ◽  
High Level ◽  
The Impact

Crucial decisions, based upon NDE results, are made regarding the operation of safety critical components. Materials investigations identify degradation mechanisms, and defect assessments determine what defects are tolerable, but NDE is generally the only method of determining whether unacceptable defects actually exist in a component. Consequently, it is vital that we have confidence in the NDE results. This paper describes the measures that are taken to ensure confidence in the NDE being applied and the interactions that are needed with other structural integrity disciplines. In particular, we describe the role of Inspection Qualification as a formal process that has been adopted to address the uncertainties in NDE performance identified through round robin trials. Although the examples used are from the nuclear industry they pertain to any industry sector where NDE plays an important role in assessing structural integrity. Increasing interest in applying risk-informed inspection scopes, plant life extension and the world-wide nuclear new build programme are imposing new requirements on NDE of safety-critical components. We describe how the NDE community is responding to these challenges in providing quantitative inspection information (probability of detection) and maintaining a high level of confidence in the results. The paper aims to inform other structural integrity disciplines and plant operators of the impact their decisions may have on the NDE. For example, the pessimisms and safety margins applied to determine acceptance standards often impose extremely onerous requirements on the NDE resulting in long development times and high cost. In addition we discuss how the NDE can impact on the decisions regarding safe and reliable operation of plant.

ROLE OF MECHANICS IN PLEX: A TECHNICAL PERSPECTIVE

1993 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 97-109
Author(s):  
Y.S. Garud
Keyword(s):  
Life Prediction ◽  
Structural Integrity ◽  
Interdisciplinary Approach ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Life Extension ◽  
Degradation Mechanisms ◽  
Critical Crack ◽  
Plant Life ◽  
Safety Margins

The mechanics of materials and structures plays an important role in majority of life prediction and structural integrity evaluations. In many industrial systems this role gets integrated with effects of service environment and material aging; corrosion, oxidation, and irradiation are examples of such effects which require an interdisciplinary approach. Degradation mechanisms related to these effects have been identified as potentially significant to plant life extension (PLEX). In-service inspection and component monitoring are some of the cost effective steps emphasized in the life extension works; usefulness of the results of these steps can be enhanced through the methods needed for the component condition assessment. These methods, therefore, demand an ever increasing accuracy and improvements requiring a better appreciation and integration of the mechanics. The above aspects of PLEX are critically examined in this paper with a review of key degradation mechanisms elucidating the role of mechanics. Current design basis and recent developments in the life prediction techniques are discussed identifying areas of further work. Stress corrosion cracking, corrosion fatigue, pressurized thermal shock, and long term material stability under thermal and irradiation aging are some of the phenomena emphasized in this work. The significance of mechanics in treating the sub-critical crack growth due to these phenomena is discussed. Also, from the point of view of final failure step, the role of impact energy and fracture toughness is examined with consideration of the time dependent changes in these properties. The additional objective of this presentation is to provide a perspective on the assessment of remaining life and safety margins with particular reference to the needs and challenges of the plant life extension.

scholarly journals Sustainable Innovation in Higher Education: The Impact of Gender on Innovation Competences

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 5004
Author(s):  
Raquel Ferreras-Garcia ◽  
Jordi Sales-Zaguirre ◽  
Enric Serradell-López
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Business Students ◽  
Bachelor's Degree ◽  
Sustainable Innovation ◽  
Educational Implications ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
High Level ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Innovation In Higher Education

There is currently an increasing interest for sustainable innovation in our society. The European agendas highlight the role of higher education institutions in the formation and development of innovation competences among students. Our study aimed to contribute to the analysis of the level of achievement of students’ innovation competences by considering two sustainable development goals (SDG) of the 2030 United Nations’ Agenda: Gender Equality (SDG 5) and Quality Education (SDG 4). This article tries to answer how business students perceive their own innovation competences and which innovative competences are best achieved by students, as well as if there are differences in the achievement of these competences depending on the students’ gender. Our results, from a sample of 360 students in the Business Administration and Management Bachelor’s Degree at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, confirm the extensive development of innovation competences. Moreover, female students present a high level of preparation for innovation-oriented action. These findings have educational implications for potentiating the innovation competences and environments where females can attain innovation skills.

scholarly journals The Effect of Attribute Alignability on Product Purchase: The Moderating Role of Product Familiarity and Self-Construal

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yong Zhang ◽  
Yuwen Wen ◽  
Min Hou
Keyword(s):  
Structural Alignment ◽  
Personal Characteristics ◽  
Product Positioning ◽  
Self Construal ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Product Familiarity ◽  
High Level ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Moderating Role

Previous studies on the Structural Alignment Model suggest that people compare the alignable attributes and nonalignable attributes during the decision-making process and preference formation process. Alignable attributes are easier to process and more effective in clue extracting. Thus, it is believed that people rely more on alignable than nonalignable attributes when comparing alternatives. This article supposes that consumers’ product experience and personal characteristics also play a significant role in regulating consumers’ reliance on attribute alignability. The authors conducted three experiments to examine the moderating role of consumers’ product familiarity and self-construal in the impact of attribute alignability on consumer product purchase. The results show the following: (1) When making a purchase decision, consumers with a high level of product familiarity will rely more on nonalignable attributes, while those with a low level of product familiarity will rely more on alignable attributes. (2) The difference in consumer dependency on attribute alignability is driven by their perceived diagnosticity of attributes. (3) The dependency of consumers with different levels of familiarity on attribute alignability will be further influenced by consumers’ self-construal. Individuals with interdependent self-construal rely more on alignable attributes when unfamiliar with the product, while relying more on nonalignable attributes when familiar with the product. Individuals with independent self-construal, however, rely more on nonalignable attributes regardless of the degree of product familiarity. The conclusions of this paper can be used as references for enterprises to establish product positioning and communication strategies.

scholarly journals Influence of Top Management Supports on Informationization Performance: Based on the Mediating Role of Informationization Strategy

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (11) ◽  
pp. 71
Author(s):  
Ming Zhong ◽  
Fuangfa Amponstira
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Theory ◽  
Performance Information ◽  
Information Strategy ◽  
Enterprise Information ◽  
Enterprise Informatization ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Relationship Model ◽  
High Level ◽  
The Impact

Based on cognitive theory and high-level echelon theory, this paper studies the impact of executive support on the performance of enterprise informatization. Constructed the relationship model of corporate executive support, informatization strategy and informatization reform. Through a questionnaire survey of enterprises in Guangdong Province, China, a total of 420 valid questionnaires was collected, and the data were empirically analyzed using SPSS25 statistical software. The paper found that: executive support positively affects enterprise information performance. Information strategy positively affects enterprise information performance. Information strategy has an intermediary effect between executive support and information performance. This paper helps to understand the mechanism of executive support and informatization performance in-depth, enhance the support of executives to informatization management, and provide relevant suggestions for the development of enterprise informatization.

scholarly journals Vimentin filaments drive migratory persistence in polyploidal cancer cells

2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (43) ◽  
pp. 26756-26765
Author(s):  
Botai Xuan ◽  
Deepraj Ghosh ◽  
Joy Jiang ◽  
Rachelle Shao ◽  
Michelle R. Dawson
Keyword(s):  
Cancer Cells ◽  
Cancer Progression ◽  
Structural Integrity ◽  
Single Cell Analysis ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Critical Function ◽  
Rna Knockdown ◽  
Interfering Rna ◽  
The Impact

Polyploidal giant cancer cells (PGCCs) are multinucleated chemoresistant cancer cells found in heterogeneous solid tumors. Due in part to their apparent dormancy, the effect of PGCCs on cancer progression has remained largely unstudied. Recent studies have highlighted the critical role of PGCCs as aggressive and chemoresistant cancer cells, as well as their ability to undergo amitotic budding to escape dormancy. Our recent study demonstrated the unique biophysical properties of PGCCs, as well as their unusual migratory persistence. Here we unveil the critical function of vimentin intermediate filaments (VIFs) in maintaining the structural integrity of PGCCs and enhancing their migratory persistence. We performed in-depth single-cell analysis to examine the distribution of VIFs and their role in migratory persistence. We found that PGCCs rely heavily on their uniquely distributed and polarized VIF network to enhance their transition from a jammed to an unjammed state to allow for directional migration. Both the inhibition of VIFs with acrylamide and small interfering RNA knockdown of vimentin significantly decreased PGCC migration and resulted in a loss of PGCC volume. Because PGCCs rely on their VIF network to direct migration and to maintain their enlarged morphology, targeting vimentin or vimentin cross-linking proteins could provide a therapeutic approach to mitigate the impact of these chemoresistant cells in cancer progression and to improve patient outcomes with chemotherapy.

scholarly journals The structure of business preferences and Eurozone crisis policies

2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 165-207 ◽  
Author(s):  
José Fernández Albertos ◽  
Alexander Kuo
Keyword(s):  
Structural Characteristics ◽  
Economic Hardship ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Firm Characteristics ◽  
Eurozone Crisis ◽  
Political Orientations ◽  
Fiscal Austerity ◽  
High Level ◽  
The Impact

AbstractWhat explains business views regarding policy preferences in the Eurozone crisis? Although recent literature examines the impact of the crisis on citizen views, few studies examine business preferences towards adjustment policies. We present unique data from a new representative survey of 500 high-level firm representatives from Spain to test theories about such preferences, in particular views about the euro, fiscal austerity, and wage devaluation, as well as plausible mechanisms for such preferences. We test three broad families of theories to explain such preferences, focusing on the role of structural firm characteristics, economic hardship, and political leanings of firm managers. We find that first, there is a strong conservative position regarding all of these policies. Second, we find that contra conventional approaches to explaining preferences, for the domestic policies (but not for euro views), the political leanings of firms matter much more than baseline structural characteristics. Third, we find that surprisingly economic hardship does not cause firms to demand more left-wing policies, as it might for voters; in fact, firms that have suffered are likely to be more skeptical of such measures. These findings indicate the need to better measure political orientations of firm respondents and suggest that this is a larger division among firms than previously recognized.

The Role of Helplessness in the Appraisal of Illness Uncertainty in Women With Fibromyalgia

2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 346-352
Author(s):  
Melody D. Reibel ◽  
Marianne H. Hutti
Keyword(s):  
Survey Design ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Regression Analyses ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Illness Uncertainty ◽  
High Level ◽  
The Impact

Fibromyalgia is a chronic pain disorder characterized by uncertainty in etiology, symptomatology, diagnosis, treatment, and outcome. The high level of illness uncertainty that results from fibromyalgia is a risk factor for maladjustment to illness. A cross-sectional survey design was used to examine the relationships among illness uncertainty, helplessness, and subjective well-being in 138 women with fibromyalgia. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to examine a predictive model for mediation. We found illness uncertainty is negatively associated with subjective well-being and that helplessness strongly influences the impact of illness uncertainty on subjective well-being in women with fibromyalgia.

Safety Assessment of Fuel Storage Ponds Following Cooling Faults

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Webb ◽  
Charles Bridgford
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Structural Integrity ◽  
Spent Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Nuclear Safety ◽  
Nuclear Industry ◽  
Spent Fuel ◽  
Cooling Systems ◽  
External Cooling ◽  
Safety Case

For spent nuclear fuel stored within a cooling pond, the essential nuclear safety functions of control, cooling and containment are fulfilled by maintaining an appropriate depth of water above the fuel. External cooling systems remove the decay heat generated by the spent fuel stored within the pond, in order to maintain the temperature of the water at a constant level. In the event of a fault within these external cooling systems, there is the potential for a temperature excursion within the pond. Historically the UK nuclear industry has considered that such faults would pose no threat to the structural integrity of the pond containment and hence the only loss of water would be due to evaporation following a loss of cooling. However, more recently, it has been recognised that such temperature excursions may result in through-wall cracking leading to a loss of water and undermining of these essential safety functions. This paper outlines the safety case implications of these realisations and the way in which they are being addressed within the UK’s nuclear power stations. The paper considers the effects of thermal transient faults on the concrete pond structure and the potential nuclear safety issues which may occur as a result of this. In response to potential pond cooling faults, consideration is given to the requirement for engineered protection systems along with the safety role of the operator in identifying and responding to faults of this kind. Operators provide a versatile mechanism for identifying fault conditions and taking remedial actions, however, the benefit which can be formally claimed for their role within a safety case is generally limited by the availability or reliability of instrumentation to reveal a fault condition. Post fault operator actions may also be limited by the timescales available following a fault, or by other demands on the operators, which may occur in the event of an external hazard which affects multiple site systems. To quantify the timescales available for post fault remedial action, it is necessary to quantify the rate of water loss from the pond, along with the relationship between pond water depth and the radiological consequences both on-site and off-site. This paper investigates the difficulties which may be encountered in quantifying the role of post fault operator actions within such a safety case, and in demonstrating that the overall nuclear safety risk is acceptably low and as low as reasonably practicable (ALARP).

Features of teaching a foreign language in the digital educational environment of the University

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-57
Author(s):  
Tat'yana Tancura
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Educational Process ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Learning Tools ◽  
Language Competence ◽  
Electronic Learning ◽  
High Level ◽  
The Impact

The article examines the impact of the digitalization process on the creation and use of modern electronic tools and technologies for teaching a foreign language in higher education. The article presents the main electronic tools and technologies that are used in the Financial University during the educational process of teaching a foreign language. The author notes the effectiveness of the implementation of the personality-oriented approach, which is provided by individualization and differentiation of training using the Bank of test tasks created by university teachers, and the electronic educational platform Rosetta Stone Advanced. The use of electronic learning tools and digital technologies allows to develop self-organization of the student. Changing the role of the teacher to the role of the manager of educational activities contributes to the formation of the ability to constant self-studying the student throughout his professional and social life. The effectiveness of the electronic learning tools use is proved by the high level of students’ foreign language competence and their assessment of the foreign language teachers’ pedagogical activity with the results of the survey "Students’ view on teachers".

Advances in Bonded Insulated Rail Joints to Improve Product Performance

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Korhan Ciloglu ◽  
Peter C. Frye ◽  
Scott Almes ◽  
Sidney Shue
Keyword(s):  
Structural Integrity ◽  
Load Transfer ◽  
Material Selection ◽  
Field Testing ◽  
Insulation Material ◽  
Element Analysis ◽  
Heavy Haul ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Critical Components ◽  
The Impact

Insulated rail joints (IJs) are critical components of railroad track infrastructure. It is essential for IJs to maintain railroad track’s structural continuity while having an important role in track circuit design and implementation. The structural integrity and performance of IJs have been recognized as a key interest area by the railroads as a result of increasing average axle loads and train traffic. While there are many different designs offered by various manufacturers around the globe, the main approach utilized by heavy haul railroads in the US, Canada and many other countries has been to use adhesively bonded insulated joint bars between two rails. This approach offers the benefit of a composite assembly where the continuous bond between rails and bars offer a geometrically uninterrupted transfer of loads between rails and bars. The main components of a bonded IJ are joint bars, insulation material, adhesive, endpost, and bolts or other fasteners. This paper summarizes recent design improvements on these components. The main focus areas of the research are bar design, bar material selection, insulator and adhesive selection and using a novel endpost design for load transfer between two rails. Track support conditions’ impact on IJ performance has also been considered as a factor influencing IJ performance in track and incorporated in the study. The impact of insulation material selection on IJ performance is discussed. Finite element analysis was used extensively in the study where the analysis results were supported by laboratory and field testing. The results of the study indicate dynamic stresses in bonded IJs can be reduced nearly 40% in joint bars by a combination of design improvements on IJ components. Improved bar material properties are expected to lead to considerably reduced risk of bar fatigue failures in track.

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