Structural Performance of a Precast Concrete Modular Beam Using Bolted Connecting Plates

In modular structures, prefabricated modular units are joined at the construction site. Modular structures must ensure splicing performance by connecting modular units sufficiently. The bolted connection using steel plates may suffer from alignment issues and corrosion problems. In a precast concrete (PC) modular system, there is difficulty grouting the sleeves when splicing reinforcing bars. This study proposed a PC modular beam using a bolted connecting plate to deal with issues in typical steel modules and PC modules. The structural performance was evaluated by flexural and shear tests on two monolithic beams and two proposed PC specimens. The test results showed that the structural performance of the PC modular specimen was 88% of that of the monolithic reinforced concrete (RC) beam specimen and 102% of the strength calculated by ACI 318-19. Therefore, the proposed PC modular system using bolted connecting plates can solve the problems observed in typical steel and PC modules and improve the structural performance.

SIMPLIFIED MODELLING OF NOVEL NON-WELDED JOINTS FOR MODULAR STEEL BUILDINGS

Prefabricated modular steel (PFMS) construction is a more efficient and safe method of constructing a high-quality building with less waste material and labour dependency than traditional steel construction. It is indeed critical to have a precise and valuable intermodular joining system that allows for efficient load transfer, safe handling, and optimal use of modular units' strength. Thus, the purpose of this study was to develop joints using tension bolts and solid tenons welded into the gusset plate (GP). These joints ensured rigid and secure connectivity in both horizontal and vertical directions for the modular units. Using the three-dimensional (3D) finite element (FE) analysis software ABAQUS, the study investigated the nonlinear lateral structural performance of the joint and two-storey modular steel building (MSB). The solid element FE models of joints were then simplified by introducing connectors and beam elements to enhance computational efficiency. Numerous parameters indicated that column tenons were important in determining the joint's structural performance. Moreover, with a standard deviation (SD) of 0.025, the developed connectors and beam element models accurately predicted the structural behaviour of the joints. As a result of their simplification, these joints demonstrated effective load distribution, seismic performance, and ductility while reducing computational time, effort, and complexity. The validity of the FE analysis was then determined by comparing the results to the thirteen joint bending tests performed in the reference.

Growing-Service Systems: New Business Models for Modular Urban-Vertical Farming

To secure sustainable and resilient food systems, new approaches, innovations, techniques, and processes are needed. In recent years, urban farming firms have been developing and experimenting with innovative approaches to expand their offerings and connect with consumers in new ways. New business models are being developed to provide functions and services instead of traditional products to meet demands from consumers, retailers, and users. As such, modular growing systems are increasing in popularity to provide fresh produce, visual appeal, transparency, and other tailor-made functions and services in so-called “growing-service systems” (GSS). Using GSS approaches, firms are developing and providing modular and small-scale farms in restaurants, residential spaces, supermarkets, and other commercial spaces, often including a large degree of automation and optimization of digital solutions to remotely control their operation. Using qualitative methods, the aim of this study is to explore and analyze the development of these novel GSS systems, highlighting different strategies, business models, motivations, and challenges. The results illustrate the divergence in approaches to GSSs for vertical farming. This includes different scales of modular units and varying business models for capturing value from the combination of products and services. All of the systems include varying degrees of automation and digitalized solutions to ensure the services are monitored, which is done to improve growing conditions and improve the experience for the users. Business-to-business systems are being developed as both market expansion and awareness-building strategies, where modular units are provided as a rental or subscription model that includes a number of services. Business-to-consumer systems are being introduced as an alternative for consumers, particularly in urban areas, to have greater control and access over growing their own fresh produce. The modules are purchased by consumers, which includes a number of ongoing services from the GSS firms. By categorizing and exploring these systems, this article offers novel insights and a first endeavor to distinguish these new GSS systems in the growing segment of urban agriculture, controlled-environment agriculture, and product-service system literature.

Post-Breakage Vibration Frequency Analysis of In-Service Pedestrian Laminated Glass Modular Units

The vibration performance of pedestrian structures has attracted the attention of several studies, especially with respect to unfavourable operational conditions or possible damage scenarios. Specific vibration comfort levels must be commonly satisfied in addition to basic safety requirements, depending on the class of use, the structural typology and the materials involved. Careful consideration could be thus needed at the design stage (in terms of serviceability and ultimate limit state requirements), but also during the service life of a given pedestrian system. As for structural health monitoring purposes, early damage detection and maintenance interventions on constructed facilities, vibration frequency estimates are also known to represent a preliminary but rather important diagnostic parameter. In this paper, the attention is focused on the post-breakage vibration analysis of in-service triple laminated glass (LG) modular units that are part of a case-study indoor walkway in Italy. On-site non-destructive experimental methods and dynamic identification techniques are used for the vibration performance assessment of a partially cracked LG panel (LGF), compared to an uncracked modular unit (LGU). Equivalent material properties are derived to account for the fractured glass layer, and compared with literature data for post-breakage calculations. The derivation of experimental dynamic parameters for the post-breakage mechanical characterization of the structural system is supported by finite element (FE) numerical models and parametric frequency analyses.

A Pragmatic Approach to Adverse Outcome Pathway Development and Evaluation

The adverse outcome pathway (AOP) framework provides a practical means for organizing scientific knowledge that can be used to infer cause-effect relationships between stressor events and toxicity outcomes in intact organisms. It has reached wide acceptance as a tool to aid chemical safety assessment and regulatory toxicology by supporting a systematic way of predicting adverse health outcomes based on accumulated mechanistic knowledge. A major challenge for broader application of the AOP concept in regulatory toxicology, however, has been developing robust AOPs to a level where they are peer reviewed and accepted. This is because the amount of work required to substantiate the modular units of a complete AOP is considerable, to the point where it can take years from start to finish. To help alleviate this bottleneck, we propose a more pragmatic approach to AOP development whereby the focus becomes on smaller blocks. First, we argue that the key event relationship (KER) should be formally recognized as the core building block of knowledge assembly within the AOP knowledge base (AOP-KB), albeit framing them within full AOPs to ensure regulatory utility. Second, we argue that KERs should be developed using systematic review approaches, but only in cases where the underlying concept does not build on what is considered canonical knowledge. In cases where knowledge is considered canonical, rigorous systematic review approaches should not be required. It is our hope that these approaches will contribute to increasing the pace at which the AOP-KB is populated with AOPs with utility for chemical safety assessors and regulators.

Self-reconfigurable multilegged robot swarms collectively accomplish challenging terradynamic tasks

Swarms of ground-based robots are presently limited to relatively simple environments, which we attribute in part to the lack of locomotor capabilities needed to traverse complex terrain. To advance the field of terradynamically capable swarming robotics, inspired by the capabilities of multilegged organisms, we hypothesize that legged robots consisting of reversibly chainable modular units with appropriate passive perturbation management mechanisms can perform diverse tasks in variable terrain without complex control and sensing. Here, we report a reconfigurable swarm of identical low-cost quadruped robots (with directionally flexible legs and tail) that can be linked on demand and autonomously. When tasks become terradynamically challenging for individuals to perform alone, the individuals suffer performance degradation. A systematic study of performance of linked units leads to new discoveries of the emergent obstacle navigation capabilities of multilegged robots. We also demonstrate the swarm capabilities through multirobot object transport. In summary, we argue that improvement capabilities of terrestrial swarms of robots can be achieved via the judicious interaction of relatively simple units.

Pincho: A Modular Approach to High Quality De Novo Transcriptomics

Transcriptomic reconstructions without reference (i.e., de novo) are common for data samples derived from non-model biological systems. These assemblies involve massive parallel short read sequence reconstructions from experiments, but they usually employ ad-hoc bioinformatic workflows that exhibit limited standardization and customization. The increasing number of transcriptome assembly software continues to provide little room for standardization which is exacerbated by the lack of studies on modularity that compare the effects of assembler synergy. We developed a customizable management workflow for de novo transcriptomics that includes modular units for short read cleaning, assembly, validation, annotation, and expression analysis by connecting twenty-five individual bioinformatic tools. With our software tool, we were able to compare the assessment scores based on 129 distinct single-, bi- and tri-assembler combinations with diverse k-mer size selections. Our results demonstrate a drastic increase in the quality of transcriptome assemblies with bi- and tri- assembler combinations. We aim for our software to improve de novo transcriptome reconstructions for the ever-growing landscape of RNA-seq data derived from non-model systems. We offer guidance to ensure the most complete transcriptomic reconstructions via the inclusion of modular multi-assembly software controlled from a single master console.

Modular Clause Composition in Plautus

The iambic trimeters of Plautus are analyzed by syntactic boundaries and shown to be composed in a very narrow range of clause-measures using regular termini points in trimeters—line-end and the two caesuras. The five most frequently used syntactic measures account for half of trimeter composition. Plautus composed in modular units of syntax. This paper demonstrates: 1) the most frequent clause-type in Plautus’ trimeters is a trimeter in length, 2) the most frequent clause-type involving enjambment is exactly two trimeters in length, 3) certain clause-types appear with greater frequency in certain plays of Plautus, 4) clause-types can be shown to have distinctive, rhythmic cadences associated with each type. This modular method of clause composition must have been the product of its functional service to the playwright as he generated plays, to the actors who memorized them, and to the audience who heard discourse delivered in regular clause-packets.

MODULAR PLANT FOR THE PRODUCTION OF MEDICINAL MIXED FEEDSAND PREMIXES IN FARMS

The article presents the results of research on the optimization of machine technology and rational design of modular units for fractional grinding of grain components of the farms own production and a ball mixer that provides high uniformity of compound feeds and a mixture of premixes from medicinal preparations, vitamin and mineral additives with filler. The specified fractional composition of the grinding (crushing ratio) is the original design of hammer mill with a vertical cylindrical interchangeable perforated sieve with perforations 4; 5; 6 mm (instead of 2 or 3 mm as used crushers) through which the particle grinding as their education freely transported by the air stream from the crusher through the cyclone to woven sieve mill, where the grinding is divided into checkpoint – specified fraction and not the checkpoint – the gathering – a large part of which is 10…15 % and pitched the Board shall be sent to the crusher for re-crushing. This results in the grinding of a given fraction, a multiple reduction in the presence of flour dust, and the elimination of energy costs for its formation. Experience has proven (23) that the fractional grinding unit provides a grinding modulus of 1,8 versus 2,4 on the crushers used, reducing the specific energy costs by 1,8…2,7 times, and operating costs are lower by 29 %. The modularity of the units with a capacity of 2,0, 4,0 and 6,0 t/h is based on the constructive interchangeability. It is taken as the basic unit with a capacity of 4,0 t/h, and in the rest, only the power of the electric motor for driving the crusher and small design changes of the crushing chamber are replaced. The set of modular installations does not have a large and metal-intensive mixer. A ball chopper-mixer is proposed, which provides a high degree of homogeneity of the mixture (95…98 %) due to simultaneous selective and diffusive mixing methods. The forms for calculating the plant's performance are presented, taking into account the daily demand and the time lost for troubleshooting, configuration and maintenance

EVALUATING THE EFFICIENCY OF HOUSEHOLD STORMWATER DETENTION SYSTEM

This paper describes the evaluation of water storing capacity of a household stormwater detention system based on field data. Collection of field data is often sidelined due to the cost and human capital incurred. However, the true value of field data is demonstrated here by comparing the observed and design data. A field test is completed in a real-life terrace house, utilizing the house’s 95m2 side canopy as roof catchment and 4.40m x 4.70m car porch area to station a detention tank. Precast concrete modular units with 3.9m3 effective storage volume are assembled within the tank. Downpipe with 0.1m diameter is installed to connect the roof gutter to the detention tank; while pipeline with 0.05m diameter is installed as the outlet from tank to the house perimeter drain. The mentioned setup is subjected to actual rainfalls from December 2019 till February 2020 that corresponded with the peak of Northeast Monsoon season. Ten observed storm events with peak hourly total rainfall readings ranging from 22 to 48mm are selected for analysis. Rainfall and water level readings from the field test allow the derivation of roof runoff volume and detained water volume in the tank. It is found that the household stormwater detention system is able to capture about 50% of the roof runoff. However, the current setup is found to cause flooding for rainfall over 40mm. The flooding issue, however, is undetected by the design data that underestimated the water storing capacity. This is due to the use of uncommon precast concrete modular units that may not have its flow characteristics represented by existing formula and model. No matter how uncommon the modular units be, various types and forms of stormwater detention system are becoming the new normal in the industry and field test is the best tool to validate their performances.