Ultrafast transfer strength of reinforced concrete sleepers by Using complex additives

The influence of superplasticizers-polycarboxylates and their complex additives withaccelerants - electrolytes and dispersion of calcium hydroxylates on the early strength of concretefor concrete of concrete sleepers has been studied. It was found that the use of superplasticizerspolycarboxylates can improve the early strength of the concrete after heat treatment, but eachadditive must be checked for consistency with the cement used. Approx Complex additives withaccelerators in conditions of natural hardening ensure an increase in the early strength of concrete,but some of them, which accelerate natural hardening, can reduce the strength after WWTP and mustbe checked before use. Electron-microscopic examinations of the structure of cement stone withadditives were carried out and it was found that the additive of only policarboxylate does not changethe structure of hydration products. Complex additives lead to formation of additional number ofcrystalline hydrates of AFm- and/or AFt-phases. The scheme of development of the cement hardeningprocess and the initial stage of cement hardening without or with additives has been developed. Bymeans of which the highest accelerating effect of the complex addition of polycarboxylate andcalcium hydroxylate dispersions was established by experimental investigations, Dispersion particlesincrease surface area where crystallization (condensation) of cement hydration products takes placeand ensures faster filling of spaces between cement particles (mineral additives) with them, fillers)with establishment of lances with electro-heterogeneous contacts. As a result of potentiodynamic andmicroscopic investigations it was established that the tested additives in the dosages do not causecorrosion effect on the steel reinforcement bars. Transmission strength values of 32 MPa for sleepersafter 24 years of hardening under low-heat regime and after 2 days of natural hardening have beenachieved. The formula for economic efficiency of using additives to reduce the energy intensity ofproduction of concrete sleepers has been proposed.

Using satellite data in the Land Surface Model to estimate water availability of arid agricultural region

<p>The water availability of agricultural arid regions can be assessed at presence using the physical-mathematical model of water and heat exchange between land surface and atmosphere LSM (Land Surface Model) adapted to satellite-derived estimates of meteorological and vegetation characteristics. The LSM is designed to calculate soil water content W, evapotranspiration Ev, vertical heat fluxes and other water and heat regime elements. Soil and vegetation characteristics were used in the LSM as parameters and meteorological characteristics were utilized as input variables.</p><p>The case study was carried out for the territory of the Saratov and Volgograd Trans-Volga region (the left-bank part of the Saratov and Volgograd regions) of 66600 km<sup>2</sup> for the vegetation seasons 2016-2018.</p><p>The satellite measurement data from radiometers AVHRR/NOAA, SEVIRI/Meteosat-10, -11, -8, and MSU-MR/Meteor-M No. 2 in visible and IR ranges were thematic processed to built estimates of vegetation index NDVI, emissivity E, vegetation cover fraction B, leaf index LAI, land surface temperature LST and precipitation.</p><p>LAI and B estimates were obtained using empirical dependencies on NDVI. The adequacy of the LAI and B estimates obtained from all sensor data was verified when comparing the LAI time behavior built for named vegetation seasons. Errors of determining B and LAI were 15 and 20%, respectively.</p><p>Satellite-derived estimates of daily, decadal and monthly precipitation sums for each pixel were obtained using the Multi Threshold Method (MTM) for detecting clouds, identifying its types allocating precipitation zones and determining their maximum intensity. The MTM is based on the developed algorithm of the transition from the assessment of precipitation intensity to the assessment of their daily amounts. Testing of the method was carried out when comparing these amounts with observed at meteorological stations. The probability of satellite-detected precipitation zones corresponded to the actual ones was ~ 80% for all radiometers.</p><p>Based on the MTM, computational algorithm to evaluate the LST was developed and verified on the study region data. Comparison of ground-measured and satellite-derived LST showed that the latter estimates for the overwhelming number of observation turned out to be comparable in accuracy with each other and with the ground-based data.</p><p>Calculations of water and heat regime elements (being the final products of the simulation) were carried out when replacing ground-based estimates of precipitation, LST, LAI and B in the LSM by satellite-derived ones at each time step in all nodes of the computational grid. The efficiency of such replacement procedures was confirmed by comparing measured and calculated values of W and Ev (the difference between them didn’t exceed 15% for W and 25% for Ev).</p><p>The possibility of using soil surface moisture estimates obtained from all-weather measurements by the scatterometer ASCAT/MetOp in the microwave range when simulating soil water content was also revealed. These estimates may use to set initial conditions for the vertical soil water transfer equation, as well as for calculating evaporation from the soil surface and the subsequent formation of the upper boundary condition for this equation.</p><p>As a summary, the described approach can be considered as a method for assessing the water availability for agricultural arid region.</p>

Thermal Inactivation of Inoculum of Two Phytophthora Species by Intermittent Versus Constant Heat

Research on solarization efficacy has examined the critical temperature and minimum exposure time to inactivate soilborne pathogens. Most mathematical models focus on survival of inoculum subjected to a constant heat regime rather than an intermittent heat regime that better simulates field conditions. To develop a more accurate predictive model, we conducted controlled lab experiments with rhododendron leaf disks infested with Phytophthora ramorum and P. pini. Focused in vitro experiments with P. ramorum showed significantly longer survival of inoculum exposed to intermittent versus constant heat, indicating that intermittent heat is less damaging. A similar trend was observed in soil. Damage was evaluated by comparing the reduction in subsequent survival time of inoculum subjected to different intensities of sublethal heat treatments. Inoculum exposure to continuous heat reflected an increasing rate of damage accumulation. Multiple sublethal heat events resulted in a constant rate of damage accumulation which allowed us to calculate total damage as the sum of damage from each heat event. A model including a correction for an intermittent heat regime significantly improved the prediction of thermal inactivation under a temperature regime that simulated field conditions.

Determining the Heat Regime in the Working of a Coupling with Sliding Motion

Following the sliding motion between two surfaces a heat release occures which leads to a changing of the mechanical properties of the surfaces in contact. Amongst the factors that influence the heat release one may name the loading, the velocity, the surface topography, the surface material, the lubrication and last but not the least, the environment. The present paper proposes a computation model to determine the temperature in the working of a coupling to which the mechanical characteristics of the materials are not affected by changes which, at their turn, lead to undesired effects.