The Influence of Freezing and Thawing Process on the Bending Moment Capacity of L-Shaped Heat-Treated Wood Dowel Joints

In this work, the influence of the freezing and thawing process on the bending moment capacity of L-shaped heat-treated wood dowel joints is analysed. The parts of the joints were made of heat-treated ash (Fraxinus excelsior) wood. Half of the analysed joints were randomly divided in two groups. One group was frozen and thawed in a climatic chamber and the other group was kept in laboratory environmental conditions. The bending moment capacity was calculated by means of ultimate failure load, which was experimentally obtained. One-way analysis of variance (One-way ANOVA) was applied to figure out if there is a significant difference between the analysed groups. Based on the obtained results, it was concluded that the freezing and thawing process did not significantly affect the strength of the L-shaped heat-treated wood dowel joints.

An Algorithm of Vocabulary Enhanced Intelligent Question Answering Based on FLAT1

The main purpose of the intelligent question answering system based on the knowledge graph is to accurately match the natural language question and the triple information in the knowledge graph. Among them, the entity recognition part is one of the key points. The wrong entity recognition result will cause the error to be done propagated, resulting in the ultimate failure to get the correct answer. In recent years, the lexical enhancement structure of word nodes combined with word nodes has been proved to be an effective method for Chinese named entity recognition. In order to solve the above problems, this paper proposes a vocabulary-enhanced entity recognition algorithm (KGFLAT) based on FLAT for intelligent question answering system. This method uses a new dictionary that combines the entity information of the knowledge graph, and only uses layer normalization for the removal of residual connection for the shallower network model. The system uses data provided by the NLPCC 2018 Task7 KBQA task for evaluation. The experimental results show that this method can effectively solve the entity recognition task in the intelligent question answering system and achieve the improvement of the FLAT model, and the average F1 value is 94.72

A Design Method to Induce Ductile Failure of Flexural Strengthened One-Way Reinforced Concrete Slabs

Strengthening existing reinforced concrete (RC) slabs using externally bonded materials is increasingly popular due to its adaptability and versatility. Nevertheless, ductility reduction of the rehabilitated flexural members with these materials can lead to brittle shear failure. Therefore, a new approach for strengthening is necessary. This paper presents a methodology to induce ductile failure of flexural strengthened one-way RC slabs. Ultimate failure loads can be considered to develop the proposed design methodology. Different failure modes corresponding to ultimate failure loads for RC slabs are addressed. Flexural and shear failure regions of RC slabs can be established by considering the failure modes. The end span of the concrete slab is shown for a case study, and numerical examples are solved to prove the essentiality of this methodology.

EXPERIMENTAL BEHAVIOR AND DESIGN OF RECTANGULAR CONCRETE-FILLED TUBULAR BUCKLING-RESTRAINED BRACES

This paper proposes a new design method for concrete-filled tubular buckling-restrained braces (CFT-BRBs) by incorporating the confinement effect on pre-buckling rigidity. A series of experiments are performed to investigate the effects of concrete strength and sectional dimension on the initial stiffness, ultimate strength, and energy dissipation behaviors. Experimental results indicate that the confined concrete plays an important role in the energy dissipating capacity of CFT-BRBs. On the other hand, the sectional dimensions of the steel tube and core are influential factors governing the ultimate failure modes of CFT-BRBs. The findings in study provide technical supports to optimize the design methods for ductile seismic performance of CFT-BRBs in low-rise and high-rise steel buildings.

The proliferation of secular religions

The term ‘secular religion’ first appeared in the description of modern totalitarian ideologies but soon became a general category applied to other political, socio-economic and cultural phenomena. The first problem with this approach is the inherent contradiction of the term, since ‘secular’ by all modern definitions means ‘non-religious’, making a secular religion something like a ‘nonreligious religion’. The second is the wide range of examples from communism to liberalism, from capitalism to ecology, or from transhumanism to social media, which suggests that with some creativity almost anything can be described as secular and religious at the same time. The first part of the paper deals with the terminological difficulties, while the second outlines the history of drawing secular-religious analogies, concluding that the ultimate failure to give a coherent narrative of secular religions is rooted in the impossibility of giving an adequate definition of religion in the first place.

A Comprehensive Flexural Analysis for Sustainable Concrete Structure Reinforced by Embedded Parts

In this research, the plate embedded parts and grooved embedded parts reinforced concrete structures were investigated. Two types of plate embedded parts and three types of grooved embedded parts experienced coating treatment to enable sustainable function. Later, the ultimate failure capacity by bending experiments was conducted and compared with the theoretically calculated results. Moreover, three grooved embedded parts were simulated by ABAQUS to compare the results with the experimental exploration results, which was in close agreement with the theoretically calculated results and finite element analysis results. The result indicated that the failure modes of the embedded specimens under the five working conditions are all concrete vertebral failure. The plate-type embedded components were proved to exhibit higher ultimate bearing capacity than the grooved embedded parts. Moreover, the flexural and shear capacity of these five types of embedded parts has not been fully developed. The ultimate flexural and shear capacity of these five types of embedded parts could be further explored by adjusting the higher concrete grade.

Mexico and Bolivia in Comparative Perspective and the Sociology of Party Formation

This chapter measures up existing approaches to party formation against the rise of the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) in post-revolutionary Mexico (1929–1946) and the attempt but ultimate failure of Bolivia’s Movimiento Nacionalista Revolucionario (1953–1964) to undertake a homologous process in the aftermath of the 1952 uprising, despite similarity in conditions. The chapters offers a critical review of existing theories of mass party formation and area studies literature, pointing to the limitations of ‘reflective’ and ‘state-modernizations’ approaches to the study of parties. Finally, it lays out the methodological and analytical strategy guiding the empirical chapters of Part II of the book.

An Experimental Study of the Cyclic Compression after Impact Behavior of CFRP Composites

The behavior of impact damaged composite laminates under cyclic load is crucial to achieve a damage tolerant design of composite structures. A sufficient residual strength has to be ensured throughout the entire structural service life. In this study, a set of 27 impacted coupon specimens is subjected to quasi-static and cyclic compression load. After long intervals without detectable damage growth, the specimens fail through the sudden lateral propagation of delamination and fiber kink bands within few load cycles. Ultrasonic inspections were used to reveal the damage size after certain cycle intervals. Through continuous dent depth measurements during the cyclic tests, the evolution of the dent visibility was monitored. These measurements revealed a relaxation of the indentation of up to 90% before ultimate failure occurs. Due to the distinct relaxation and the short growth interval before ultimate failure, this study confirms the no-growth design approach as the preferred method to account for the damage tolerance of stiffened, compression-loaded composite laminates.

Axial Compression Behavior of Ferrocement Geopolymer HSC Columns

Geopolymer concrete (GC) is a substantial sort that is created by utilizing metakaolin, ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS), silica fumes, fly ash, and other cementitious materials as binding ingredients. The current study concentrated on the structural behavior of the ferrocement geopolymer HSC-columns subjected to axial loading and produced using rice straw ash (RSA). The major goal of this research was to use the unique features of the ferrocement idea to manufacture members that function as columns bearing members. As they are more cost-effective and lower in weight, these designed elements can replace traditional RC members. The study also intended to reduce the cost of producing new parts by utilizing low-cost materials such as light weight expanded and welded wire meshes, polyethylene mesh (Tensar), and fiber glass mesh. For this purpose, an experimental plan was conducted and a finite element prototype with ANSYS2019-R1 was implemented. Nine geopolymer ferrocement columns of dimensions of 150 mm × 150 mm × 1600 mm with different volume-fraction and layers as well as a number of metallic and nonmetallic meshes were examined under axial compression loading until failure. The performance of the geopolymer columns was examined with consideration to the mid-span deflection, ultimate failure load, first crack load with various phases of loading, the cracking patterns, energy absorption and ductility index. Expanded or welded ferrocement geopolymer columns showed greater ultimate failure loads than the control column. Additionally, using expanded or welded columns had a considerable effect on ultimate failure loads, where the welded wire mesh exhibited almost 28.10% compared with the expanded wire mesh. Columns reinforced with one-layer of nonmetallic Tensar-mesh obtained a higher ultimate failure load than all tested columns without concrete cover spalling. The analytical and experimental results were in good agreement. The results displayed an accepted performance of the ferrocement geopolymer HSC-columns.

The Kentucky Campaign of 1862 and Drought

In the late summer and early autumn of 1862, Gen. Braxton Bragg’s Kentucky Campaign failed to regain Tennessee or add Kentucky to the Confederacy. Starting in Mississippi, Bragg’s Confederate army had first entered Tennessee. After Maj. Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith’s smaller Confederate army invaded Kentucky, Bragg followed. Maj. Gen. Don Carlos Buell’s Federal army trailed Bragg north before diverting to Louisville. Summer heat and a massive drought made campaigning onerous, while supporting Confederate actions in northeastern Mississippi failed to divert troops from Bragg’s path. Bragg won a confused tactical victory at Perryville, but his outnumbered army retreated to Tennessee along with Kirby Smith. Throughout the campaign, enslaved Kentuckians seeking emancipation sought protection from Union forces. On the fringes, a brutal guerrilla war flared up. Bragg’s ultimate failure secured Union control of Kentucky for the remainder of the war.