Mitigation of Tsunami Debris Impact on Reinforced Concrete Buildings by Fender Structures

Buildings located in coastal regions are prone to tsunami dangers, which often carry debris in the form of shipping containers and boats. This paper presents an approach for the design of fender structures to minimize debris impacts on buildings. The impact of shipping containers, which are categorized as large debris, is considered in the study. Since the weights of shipping containers are standardized, the impact energy can be related to other debris. For a fender structure, cone-type rubber fenders are used to resist the impact of the shipping container. Various fender reactions are considered as parameters to study the efficiency of the fenders. The displacement-controlled nonlinear static analysis is carried out to determine the building capacity. The energy approach for shipping container impact is used to evaluate the resistance of the building. Capacity curves, energy absorptions, inter-story drift ratios of the buildings with and without a fender structure, and the efficiency of the fender are presented. The buildings with a fender structure can absorb the energy from the impact of a loaded shipping container. Conversely, the building without a fender structure cannot resist the impact of a loaded shipping container. From the obtained results, a recommendation is given for buildings with a fender structure. The hydrodynamic force on the fender structure is transferred to the main building through the fender. Hence, the yield force of the fenders affects the performance of the main building that must be considered in the design.

Extensions to the main building of Lviv Polytechnic at the beginning of the XX century

The article deals with the problem of building up the educational premises of Lviv Polytechnic National University (official name at the time - Imperial Royal Higher Technical School in Lviv) in the early 20th century. The attention is drawn to the reasons that determined the necessity to extend the educational space for the institution, given its development and increased social significance. Based on the analysis of archival materials, the author traces the construction process in detail: from the official permit for extension in May 1903 to the implementation of the project. The persons who were engaged in the Building Committee, formed by the Galician governorship, and the sphere of their responsibility are indicated. The way of conducting such works at that time is specified: a sort of tender was held and a contract for execution of works was signed with a winner (a company that offered the lowest price). The particular enterprises, type of work performed (construction, carpentry, metalwork, etc.) and the amount of money paid are indicated. For example, the extension was carried out by Alfred Kamenobrodsky's firm, carpentry by Wczelak Brothers, varnishing by Alexander Boyarsky and interior design of six new classrooms by Marcin Prugar and Son. A detailed description of equipment necessary for the newly built premises is given, which allows understanding what the lecture halls of the time looked like. It is pointed out that the construction of wings led to other changes in the arrangement of the territory, in particular, a cobblestone path was finally paved from the main building to the chemistry building located nearby. Based on the studied sources and literature, the author concludes that the extension of the premises of the University in the early 20th century was extremely necessary. The addition of two so-called «wings» to the main building, however, did not solve the problem of lack of classroom space, because some of the units were still in rented premises and the professors constantly asked for the construction of new buildings for the needs of Lviv Polytechnic.

Is it Possible to Verify if a Transaction is Spendable?

With the popularity of Bitcoin, there is a growing need to understand the functionality, security, and performance of various mechanisms that comprise it. In this paper, we analyze Bitcoin’s scripting language, Script, that is one of the main building blocks of Bitcoin transactions. We formally define the semantics of Script, and study the problem of determining whether a user-defined script is well-formed; that is, whether it can be unlocked, or whether it contains errors that would prevent this from happening.

Uncovering value creation in innovation ecosystems: paths towards shared value

PurposeAlthough innovation ecosystems (IEs) are generally considered capable of creating shared value (SV), this potentiality has often been taken for granted and not deeply analysed, yet. As a result, in the literature, there is not a framework that defines the process of SV creation in IEs or which aspects should be considered for understanding it. Moving from these considerations, this paper aims to propose a conceptual model of how IEs can create SV, identifying the main building blocks of the process and the aspects that characterize these building blocks.Design/methodology/approachThe authors reviewed the literature on IEs and value creation over the last 15 years, by structurally analysing 120 articles. On the basis of such review, the authors identified main dimensions of analysis focusing on the conceptualization of SV in IEs.FindingsFirst, the authors developed a conceptual model relying on a process-based logic and framing the SV creation in terms of inputs, here intended as four key characteristics (actors, structure, governance and relations), internal processes (strategies and internal mechanisms) and outputs (the value created). Second, each element of value creation is explored, highlighting the main evidence emerging from prior studies in connection to each block.Originality/valueThis paper drives the identification of some relevant relationships that connect the characteristics of the IEs, the strategies and the internal mechanisms to the output of the process, i.e. the SV created.

Elastic Trapped Modes in Solid Acoustic Resonators of Various Shapes

Resonators are one of the main building blocks of many acoustic, photonic, and microwave devices such as metasurfaces, sensing devices, antennas, and many more. One of the main properties of any resonator, which also determines the properties of the structure, based on the resonator, is the quality (Q) factor. Q-factor of the resonator is limited due to material and radiative losses. In this paper, we propose the existence of modes of solid resonators, immersed in a nonviscious fluid, which are non-radiative, and therefore, their Q-factor is limited only by material losses.

The thermal phenomena of Aceh tradisional house due to changes inform spatial planning, building materials and constructure structures

The development of science and technology has influenced the pattern of human life, especially the housing as the basic needs in human life. This can also be seen in the Acehnese people who have made changes to their traditional houses which will unwittingly have an impact on the thermal performance of the building.. This study observes the thermal perception of the occupants of the original and changing Aceh traditional houses, in the form of their responses or reactions in describing environmental conditions when the air temperature is hot, normal, or cold, which is carried out by distributing questionnaires. Measurements were made on traditional house buildings and their occupants for 7 (seven) days on each house. As a thermal reference for occupancy, air temperature conditions in buildings and rooms will be measured using a Thermo Hygrograph and a Sling Thermometer. The results of this study indicate that there is a change in the thermal perception of occupancy in the form of a comfort range and length of time when the building is inhabited, which is caused by changes made to the traditional house building, in the form of adding another room at the back without disturbing the main building (Rumoh Aceh) using other materials and different buildings structures (not a stilt house like the main building).

Toraja culture in relation to the Rambu Solo Cemetery building in Nonongan

Today almost all promotions on Toraja culture are focused on Rambu Solo’ traditional ceremony. One of the values of Rambu solo’ is love and affection for the deceased (siri ’tomate), which is parents, grandmothers or ancestors. However, the Rambu Solo’ experiences a shift in value, due to economic and technological progress. The intrinsic meaning of Rambu Solo’ is less attention, while the highlight is the prestige (siri ’totuo) aspect. The purpose of the research is to restore and clarify the noble values contained in the Rambu Solo’ traditional ceremony and to preserve the philosophical values possessed by the traditional ceremony. This research method uses a rationalistic paradigm with a qualitative approach. By revitalizing traditional values and restoring customary practices in accordance with the prevailing customary rules, in the end it also revitalized cultural preservation considering that bamboo roofing Tongkonan and Alang and Banga poles are the main building in the Rambu Solo’ ceremony. Revitalizing traditional technology in making Tongkonan and Alang, the supply of original materials for making Tongkonan & Alang should also be the point of attention.

On the Buddhist Statues Excavated from Hoeamsa-ji in Yangju

Hoeamsa Temple in Yangju province was one of the most important Buddhist temples in the early days of the Joseon dynasty from the late Koryo, which was the place dwelled by Jigong(指空), Naong(懶翁), and Muhak(無學). Even in the early Joseon Dynasty, Hoeamsa Temple served as a royal temple. Yi Saek witnessed the seven Buddha statues of 15-chuck in height and the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara image of 10-chuck in Hoeamsa and recorded the marvelous features of the temple in his book, Sujo-gi. However, none of these statues remain in modern days, and only fragments of the small stone Buddha statues and other Buddhist deity sculptures have been excavated at Hoeamsa-ji Temple site. It is difficult to ascertain the substance of the Buddhist sculptures of Hoeamsa temple with only a few fragments of small stone statues. From the historical records and the analysis of styles in those fragments, compared with other sculptures in the early Joseon dynasty, we can assume that Prince Hyoryeong supported these stone Buddha images. Since the large Buddha statues that Yi mentioned above were already enshrined in the main building of Hoeamsa Temple, Prince Hyoryeong would have been focused on the construction of stupas or making tiles for the renovation of shrines for the Buddha except for the large Buddha statue. Instead, he would have sponsored the artisans to sculpt small stone Buddhas and bring them to buildings or shrines other than Bokwangjeon, the main hall. Previous research estimated that the materials for those small stone Buddha images were either tuff or sandstone. There are several differences in rock quality, stone particles, color, and homogeneity compared to actual rocks. Unlike the general stone Buddha statues in Korea using granite, the Buddha statues excavated from the Hoeamsa Temple are bright yellowish-white. And the rocks are so fine in quality to make the particles indistinguishable. When we see those pieces of Buddha statues in bare eyes, it looks like kaolin stone. It is necessary to analyze the materials of these stone sculptures and confirm the rock composition or materials through more precise scientific verification. Despite the prestige of the Hoeamsa Temple in the period, the absence of a large Buddha statue is unfortunate. Even if Hoeamsa Temple served as a royal temple, jaboksa, in the early Joseon Dynasty, the hostility of the Confucian scholars was enormous. The absence of the Buddha statues and the thorough destruction of the buildings in Hoeamsa proves that Joseon finally became a Confucian country.

A Brief Roadmap into Uncertain Knowledge Representation via Probabilistic Description Logics

Logic-based knowledge representation is one of the main building blocks of (logic-based) artificial intelligence. While most successful knowledge representation languages are based on classical logic, realistic intelligent applications need to handle uncertainty in an adequate manner. Over the years, many different languages for representing uncertain knowledge—often extensions of classical knowledge representation languages—have been proposed. We briefly present some of the defining properties of these languages as they pertain to the family of probabilistic description logics. This limited view is intended to help pave the way for the interested researcher to find the most adequate language for their needs, and potentially identify the remaining gaps.