scholarly journals Tensile response and fracturing process in moderate- and high-plasticity clays

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Giulia Forlati ◽  
Paul Shepley

Sinkholes in clay soils can be considered as the collapse of a soil layer previously bridging a void. Here, flexural deformation in the clay drives the formation of tensile cracks from the lowest surface of the layer and the consequent soil collapse is from crack propagation. Considering a simplified model of the sinkhole geometry, this paper aims to describe the tensile and fracture behaviour of clay soils with different plasticity indices. Speswhite kaolin, London, and Durham clays were tested using direct tensile and bending tests. Moderate- and high-plasticity clays showed a nonlinear fracture response with increasing moisture content, while low-plasticity clays demonstrated a linear response. Bending tests confirmed the importance of the moisture content while the plasticity index confirmed the difference in ductile or fragile collapse for fracture propagation. To assess the results, elasto-plastic fracture mechanics (EPFM) theory was applied to clays with appropriate modifications. The analysis demonstrated that EPFM theory provides a good baseline for predicting tensile fracture behaviour in clay soils, which can be extended in future research.

2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 693-702 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine Holyfield ◽  
Sydney Brooks ◽  
Allison Schluterman

Purpose Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) is an intervention approach that can promote communication and language in children with multiple disabilities who are beginning communicators. While a wide range of AAC technologies are available, little is known about the comparative effects of specific technology options. Given that engagement can be low for beginning communicators with multiple disabilities, the current study provides initial information about the comparative effects of 2 AAC technology options—high-tech visual scene displays (VSDs) and low-tech isolated picture symbols—on engagement. Method Three elementary-age beginning communicators with multiple disabilities participated. The study used a single-subject, alternating treatment design with each technology serving as a condition. Participants interacted with their school speech-language pathologists using each of the 2 technologies across 5 sessions in a block randomized order. Results According to visual analysis and nonoverlap of all pairs calculations, all 3 participants demonstrated more engagement with the high-tech VSDs than the low-tech isolated picture symbols as measured by their seconds of gaze toward each technology option. Despite the difference in engagement observed, there was no clear difference across the 2 conditions in engagement toward the communication partner or use of the AAC. Conclusions Clinicians can consider measuring engagement when evaluating AAC technology options for children with multiple disabilities and should consider evaluating high-tech VSDs as 1 technology option for them. Future research must explore the extent to which differences in engagement to particular AAC technologies result in differences in communication and language learning over time as might be expected.


2006 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-72
Author(s):  
István Patay ◽  
Virág Sándor

Clod crushing is a principal problem with soils of high clay content. Therefore, there is a need for determining the conditions for clod breaking and clod crushing. The objective of the work was to develop a special purpose tool for single clod breaking both by rigid support of the clod and by a single clod supported by soil and to develop a machine for clod crushing. Furthermore, the purpose was to determine the relationship between the specific energy requirement for clod crushing in the function of soil plasticity and the soil moisture content by the means of the developed tool and machine. The main result of the experiments is summarized in a 3D diagram where the specific energy requirement for soil clod crushing is given in the function of the moisture content and the plasticity index for different clay soils.


Author(s):  
A. D. Terenteva

In civil engineering in Russia, trenching for utilities is currently under digging. To perform such works, it is necessary to use high-precision construction machinery, because inaccurate performance of works can lead to the break down of existing utilities, thereby affecting the residents of nearby houses and demanding the additional works for renewal.The most universal labour saver to perform construction works is hydraulic driven single-bucket excavators, which provide up to 38% of works. Therefore, to improve technical characteristics that affect the accuracy of the work performed is an important task.High requirements for the performance of works are defined by existing construction regulations: an allowable soil layer to remain is at most 0.05 m. To fulfil such requirements, an exact assessment of the working mechanism position and a trench profile is necessary.Examination of a manually operated digging process shows that an operator provides operations untimely, however an automated control system can solve this problem. Dynamic phenomena in the working mechanism have the greatest impact on the accuracy of the works performed.To assess the bucket digging edge position accuracy, a mathematical model of the working mechanism has been created. Based on the cycle scheme of the working process, the excessive displacements of the hydraulic cylinder rods under the load are taken into account. By the end of the cycle, the difference between the specified and obtained positions along the vertical coordinate has been 0.0892 m.A dynamic error of the hydraulic drive system of the working mechanism is considered as a sum of the error due to excessive displacements of the hydraulic cylinder rods and the error due to delay of the hydraulic drive, with the latter being calculated for the average time of delay taking into account the data available in the literature. The total error of the bucket digging edge position of the working mechanism is 0.1176 m, which is 2 times more than the value of 0.05 mConformity of all the links with specification requirements does not guarantee compliance with the required displacement accuracy of the bucket digging edge, and, thus, the soil layer to remain in the base of the trench can exceed the regulated value of 0.05 m.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 4121
Author(s):  
Hana Tomaskova ◽  
Erfan Babaee Tirkolaee

The purpose of this article was to demonstrate the difference between a pandemic plan’s textual prescription and its effective processing using graphical notation. Before creating a case study of the Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) of the Czech Republic’s pandemic plan, we conducted a systematic review of the process approach in pandemic planning and a document analysis of relevant public documents. The authors emphasized the opacity of hundreds of pages of text records in an explanatory case study and demonstrated the effectiveness of the process approach in reengineering and improving the response to such a critical situation. A potential extension to the automation and involvement of SMART technologies or process optimization through process mining techniques is presented as a future research topic.


2020 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Corina E. Brown ◽  
Ben Whaley ◽  
Richard M. Hyslop

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of three methods used to assist in teaching molecular geometry to college chemistry students. A pre- and post-test quasi-experiment was used to collect data about students’ performance in a given chemistry exercise. One research question was intended to evaluate and compare the effectiveness of the three methods in assisting students to understand the topic and carry out the exercise correctly, and a second research question addressed students’ attitudes towards the use of Virtual Reality (VR) in chemistry education. Results show a positive attitude towards the use of VR as an assisting tool to aid in understanding chemistry concepts. While the difference among the three methods was not significant, the results show that the VR brought more enthusiasm and positive attitudes toward the topic of molecular geometry among the students. Educational implications and recommendations for future research are presented as well.


Author(s):  
Alexander Baturo ◽  
Johan A. Elkink

Abstract How can one assess which countries select more experienced leaders for the highest office? There is wide variation in prior career paths of national leaders within, and even more so between, regime types. It is therefore challenging to obtain a truly comparative measure of political experience; empirical studies have to rely on proxies instead. This article proposes PolEx, a measure of political experience that abstracts away from the details of career paths and generalizes based on the duration, quality and breadth of an individual's experience in politics. The analysis draws on a novel data set of around 2,000 leaders from 1950 to 2017 and uses a Bayesian latent variable model to estimate PolEx. The article illustrates how the new measure can be used comparatively to assess whether democracies select more experienced leaders. The authors find that while on average they do, the difference with non-democracies has declined dramatically since the early 2000s. Future research may leverage PolEx to investigate the role of prior political experience in, for example, policy making and crisis management.


2013 ◽  
Vol 726-731 ◽  
pp. 3803-3806
Author(s):  
Bing Ru Liu ◽  
Jun Long Yang

In order to revel aboveground biomass of R. soongorica shrub effect on soil moisture and nutrients spatial distribution, and explore mechanism of the changes of soil moisture and nutrients, soil moisture content, pH, soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) at three soil layers (0-10cm,10-20cm, and 20-40cm) along five plant biomass gradients of R. soongorica were investigated. The results showed that soil moisture content increased with depth under the same plant biomass, and increased with plant biomass. Soil nutrient properties were evidently influenced with plant biomass, while decreased with depth. SOC and TN were highest in the top soil layer (0-10 cm), but TN of 10-20cm layer has no significant differences (P < 0.05). Moreover, soil nutrient contents were accumulated very slowly. These suggests that the requirement to soil organic matter is not so high and could be adapted well to the desert and barren soil, and the desert plant R. soongorica could be acted as an important species to restore vegetation and ameliorate the eco-environment.


Holzforschung ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 67 (8) ◽  
pp. 941-948 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroshi Yoshihara

Abstract The flexural Young’s modulus of western hemlock, medium-density fiberboard, and 5-plywood (made of lauan) has been determined by conducting three- and four-point bending tests with various span lengths and by flexural vibration test. The Young’s modulus was significantly influenced by the deflection measurement method. In particular, the Young’s modulus was not reliable based on the difference between the deflections at two specific points in the specimen, although this test is standardized according to ISO 3349-1975 and JIS Z2101-2009.


2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. 567-577
Author(s):  
Halil Ibrahim Ünal ◽  
Hakan Atapek ◽  
Baran Gürkan Beleli ◽  
Seyda Polat ◽  
Serap Gümüs ◽  
...  

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the fracture of grade X42 microalloyed steel used as pipe material after tensile test at room temperature and impact tests at 0, −20 and −40°C, respectively. Design/methodology/approach – In the first stage of the study, X42 steels in the form of sheet and pipe materials were selected and etched samples were characterized using light microscope. In the second stage, mechanical properties of steels were obtained by microhardness measurements, static tensile and impact tests and all the broken surfaces were examined by scanning electron microscope to determine the fracture type as a function of both microstructure and loading. Findings – The examinations revealed that: first, the sheet material had a typical ferritic-pearlitic matrix, second, the transverse section of the sheet steel exhibited a matrix consisting of polygonal ferrite-aligned pearlite colonies and the longitudinal one had elongated ferrite phase and pearlite colonies in the direction of rolling, third, ferrite and pearlite distribution was different from the sheet material due to multiaxial deformation in the pipe material, fourth, tensile fracture surfaces of the steels had typical dimple fracture induced by microvoid coalescence, fifth, impact fracture surfaces of the steels changed as a function of the test temperature and cleavage fracture mode of ferritic-pearlitic matrix became more dominant as the temperature decreased, and sixth, grain morphology had an effect on the fracture behavior of the steels. Originality/value – The paper explains the fracture behaviour of X42 microalloyed pipeline steel and its fractographical analysis.


Entropy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 450
Author(s):  
Chao Wang ◽  
Ravi P. Agarwal

As an effective tool to unify discrete and continuous analysis, time scale calculus have been widely applied to study dynamic systems in both theoretical and practical aspects. In addition to such a classical role of unification, the dynamic equations on time scales have their own unique features which the difference and differential equations do not possess and these advantages have been highlighted in describing some complicated dynamical behavior in the hybrid time process. In this review article, we conduct a survey of abstract analysis and applied dynamic equations on hybrid time scales, some recent main results and the related developments on hybrid time scales will be reported and the future research related to this research field is discussed. The results presented in this article can be extended and generalized to study both pure mathematical analysis and real applications such as mathematical physics, biological dynamical models and neural networks, etc.


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