Effects of Corrosion on Compressive Arch Action and Catenary Action of RC Frames to Resist Progressive Collapse Based on Numerical Analysis

Many negative factors can influence the progressive collapse resistance of reinforced concrete (RC) frame structures. One of the most important factors is the corrosion of rebar within the structure. With increasing severity of corrosion, the duration, robustness, and mechanical performance can be greatly impaired. One specific side effect of rebar corrosion is the significant loss of protection against progressive collapse. In order to quantify the effects of rebar corrosion on load-resisting mechanisms (compressive arch action (CAA) and tensile catenary action (TCA)) of RC frames, a series of numerical investigations were carried out in this paper. The previous experimental results reported in the literature provide a benchmark for progressive collapse behavior as a sound condition and validate the proposed numerical model. Furthermore, based on the verified numerical model, the CAA and TCA with increasing corrosion and an elapsed time from 0 to 70 years are investigated. Comparing with the conventional empirical model, the proposed numerical model has shown the ability and feasibility in predicting the collapse resistance capacity in structures with corroded rebar. Therefore, this numerical modeling strategy provides comprehensive insights into the change of load-resisting mechanisms in these structures, which can be beneficial for optimizing the design.

Nano-vault architecture mitigates stress in silicon-based anodes for lithium-ion batteries

Nanomaterials undergoing cyclic swelling-deswelling benefit from inner void spaces that help accommodate significant volumetric changes. Such flexibility, however, typically comes at a price of reduced mechanical stability, which leads to component deterioration and, eventually, failure. Here, we identify an optimised building block for silicon-based lithium-ion battery (LIB) anodes, fabricate it with a ligand- and effluent-free cluster beam deposition method, and investigate its robustness by atomistic computer simulations. A columnar amorphous-silicon film was grown on a tantalum-nanoparticle scaffold due to its shadowing effect. PeakForce quantitative nanomechanical mapping revealed a critical change in mechanical behaviour when columns touched forming a vaulted structure. The resulting maximisation of measured elastic modulus (~120 GPa) is ascribed to arch action, a well-known civil engineering concept. The vaulted nanostructure displays a sealed surface resistant to deformation that results in reduced electrode-electrolyte interface and increased Coulombic efficiency. More importantly, its vertical repetition in a double-layered aqueduct-like structure improves both the capacity retention and Coulombic efficiency of the LIB.

Dynamics of a Pipeline Span on an Elastic Seabed

Natural frequencies, mode shapes and modal damping ratios must be estimated to assess subsea pipeline spans for vortex-induced vibrations (VIV) and response to direct wave loading. Several approximate solutions exist for a linearly elastic pipe under constant axial force supported by linearly elastic springs beyond the span’s shoulders. An exact analytical solution has only recently been published. That solution is used here in a Rayleigh-Ritz approximation to account for arch action arising from combined effects of sag under gravity loads and axial restraint at the shoulders. The method allows survey data to be used directly to quantify arch action. Its accuracy is confirmed by finite element analysis. Further, the modal damping ratio is estimated based on the fractions of the potential energy in bending, the axial force, and the soil springs, all of which are determined analytically. Thus, it is found that the effective modal damping ratio increases without a bound as the axial load approaches the buckling load in compression.

Numerical investigation on load transfer mechanism of bonded post-tensioned concrete beam-column substructures against progressive collapse

This paper presents the high-fidelity finite-element-based numerical models for modeling the behavior of prestressed concrete (PC) beam-column substructures to resist progressive collapse under column removal scenario. After careful calibration against data, the validated numerical models are further employed to shed light on the influence of bonded post-tensioned tendons (BPT) with a parabolic profile on the load transfer mechanisms of PC frames against progressive collapse. The effects of parameters, including initial effective prestress, profile of tendon and lateral constraint stiffness at the beam ends, are also investigated. The study shows that, due to the presence of prestressed tendons, the mobilization of compressive arch action in the beam at small deflections demands stronger lateral constraints, and the ultimate load resistance of PC beam-column substructures depends on combined catenary action from non-prestressed reinforcement and BPT at large deflections. For a given constraint stiffness, the initial effective prestress of BPT has less significant effect on the overall structural behavior. For prestressed tendon, a straight profile usually employed in structural strengthening can improve the initial structural stiffness and yield strength, but is less effective in enhancing the ultimate resistance against progressive collapse than the parabolic profile.

Experience of Urban Hospitality: An Ecological Approach to the Migrants’ World

This article was inspired by a collaborative action-research experience undertaken in Brussels by ARCH (Action Research Collective for Hospitality), aimed at further understanding the dynamics of hospitality and improving hospitality towards refugees, based on collaboration with actors of civil society. In a context of spreading policies of hostility and exclusion in Europe and the lack of arrival infrastructures for undocumented migrants, asylum seekers and refugees, the people tend to occupy public spaces of the city. Consequently, these spaces become the central nodes where civil society organizes the humanitarian aid and practices of hospitality and at the same time are places for interactional tensions and institutional violence. In other words, they become an urban stage where the tension between hospitality and exclusion is played out. Based on this research, our article proposes to take the urban consequences of hostility policies seriously by analyzing the ecology of the migrants’ world in the city. Our aim is to understand their experience of segregation and hospitality in the urban environment—and more specifically in public spaces. Public spaces are indeed the only livable spaces for people for whom no room has been made. However, what constitutes their hospitality for migrants, i.e., their capacity to be inhabited, enters into tension with the constitutive dimensions of urban publicness (like accessibility, visibility, or urbanity). Understanding the experience of hospitality in urban public spaces for those who have no other place to live is seen as a condition as well as a means to enhance their urban inclusion.