A Study on Tensile Behavior According to the Design Method for the CFRP/GFRP Grid for Reinforced Concrete

In the present study, fiber-reinforced plastics (FRP) grid-reinforced concrete with very rapid hardening polymer (VRHP) mortar composites were fabricated using three types of design methods for the FRP grid (hand lay-up method, resin infusion method, and prepreg oven vacuum bagging method), along with two types of fibers (carbon fiber and glass fiber) and two types of sheets (fabric and prepreg). The FRP grid was prepared by cutting the FRP laminates into a 10 mm thick, 50 mm × 50 mm grid. The tensile behavior of the FRP grid embedded in composites was systematically analyzed in terms of the load extension, fracture mode, partial tensile strain, and load-bearing rate. The CFRP grid manufactured by the prepreg OVB method showed the best tensile behavior compared to the CFRP grid manufactured by the hand lay-up and resin infusion methods. The load-bearing of each grid point was proportional to the height from the load-bearing part when reaching the maximum tensile load. In addition, finite element analysis was conducted to compare the experimental and analysis results.

Structural analysis of the Theistareykir Fissure Swarm (NE Iceland) using field survey integrated with UAV-based - Structure from Motion techniques

<p>Due to its position at the boundary between American and European plates, Iceland represents an ideal natural laboratory to study active rifting processes, where rifting mechanisms are complicated by the superimposition of tectonic and magmatic stresses. In order to contribute to the study of such processes, we focused our attention on the southern sector of the Theistareykir Fissure Swarm (ThFS), an active volcanic rift belonging to the Northern Volcanic Zone of Iceland, affected by both volcanic and seismic hazard.</p><p>We studied an area which is about 22 km<sup>2</sup>-large, situated 12 km south of the intersection of the ThFS with the Husavik Flatey Fault (HFF), a dextral strike-slip lineament belonging to the Tjornes Fracture Zone (TFZ). The area is characterized by the presence of normal faults and a dense swarm of extension fractures, affecting prevalently post-glacial, Holocene lavas, dated 8-10 and 11-12 ka. Only in the western sector of the area a Late Quaternary interglacial lava crops out, while the northeastern sector is covered by a Weichselian subglacial hyaloclastite. The southern sector of the area has been investigated with classical field survey, whereas in the northern part a 3.87 km<sup>2</sup>-large area has been reconstructed using the Structure from Motion (SfM) techniques, combined with an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), obtaining orthomosaics, DSMs and 3D models with a centimetric resolution through 4189 UAV photos, collected in 7 different missions during summer 2018.</p><p>In the whole area, we recognized and mapped a total of 624 structures (comprising 583 extension fractures and 41 normal faults), and we took various measurements at 626 structural stations along extension fractures, and 132 along normal faults. Regarding extension fractures, we collected the strike and, in 441 cases where it was possible, the opening direction and the amount of opening; along normal faults we measured the strike, dip and vertical offset.</p><p>Our approach allowed to calculate stretch values across the rift comprised between 1.002 and 1.013, and an average opening direction value of 104.4°N, normal to the average extension fracture strike measured at the structural stations (14°N), suggesting a pure extensional opening in the studied area. Actually, in 281 cases out of our 441 stations along extension fractures we noticed a lateral component > 5°. Furthermore, 49% of data is not consistent with tectonics, neither with regard to the extensional fracture strike, nor with regard to opening directions. This suggests that stresses linked to regional tectonics are not the only cause of deformation, which could have been affected by different processes like dyke intrusion, deglaciation, and inflation/deflation of the Theistareykir volcano magma chamber.</p>

Variation of the tectono-magmatic activity along the Reykjanes Ridge: Influence of the Iceland hotspot on the accretionary processes

<p>The Reykjanes Ridge is a 900 km long oblique slow-spreading ridge, formed by individual “en echelon” axial volcanic ridges (AVR), directly under the influence of the Iceland hotspot. From the Reykjanes Peninsula to the Bight fracture zone, the Reykjanes Ridge shows variations in lava chemistry, crustal thickness, thermal structure and ridge morphology, which has been attributed to this influence. Our study focuses on four areas of the ridge mapped and sampled during the cruise MSM75 in 2018. The northern area is characterized by the only known hydrothermal field discovered along the Reykjanes Ridge. The two central areas are located in a region of increasing magma supply. Finally, the southernmost area is underlined by the only magma body ever detected seismically below the Reykjanes Ridge. The analysis combines 15 m resolution ship-based bathymetry, ground-truthing from ROV dives and geochemical analysis of glass samples to look at variations of magma composition, fault density, seamount density and morphology along the ridge axis. Two major parameters influence the distribution and geometry of faults and seamounts: the distance from the hotspot and the accretion state of individual AVR (i.e., magmatic extension vs. tectonic extension). Fracture geometry is highly influenced by the depth of the brittle-ductile boundary that deepens with distance from the plume center, while fault density at the axis reflects different development stages of individual AVR. Seamount morphologies may also reflect individual AVR development, but we also show morphological variation with distance from the hotspot, correlated with the average variation in lava composition and mantle temperature.</p>

Comparative Assessment of Outcomes of Surgical Treatment of Smith and Colles Distal Radius Fractures

Background. The aim of the present study was to assess the effectiveness of surgical treatment of distal radial fractures following open reduction and fixation with an angle-stable plate in relation to the type of injury (flexion vs. extension fracture). Material and methods. A group of 25 patients with Colles fractures and 25 patients with Smith fractures treated surgically in the years 2012-2013 was analysed retrospectively. The results were evaluated using the quickDASH and Mayo Wrist Score. Radiographic follow-up assessments included radial inclination, radial height, volar tilt and articular step-off. Results. The mean Mayo Wrist Score was 72.8 points for Colles fractures and 68.3 points for Smith fractures. The mean quickDASH score was 18.2 points for Colles fractures and 20.5 points for Smith fractures. However, these differences were not statistically significant. The only significant difference in the radiographic parameters investigated was in volar tilt, which was normal in the group of patients with Smith fractures (11°), whereas in the group with Colles fractures it was 5°. Conclusions. 1. In fractures of the distal radius, the type of displacement has no significant effect on the final outcome of surgical plate fixation. 2. In fractures with dorsal displacement of fragments, it is more difficult to restore volar tilt from a volar approach.

Mesoscopic and magnetic fabrics in arcuate igneous bodies: an example from the Mandi-Karsog pluton, Himachal Lesser Himalaya

Field, microstructural and anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) data from the Palaeozoic Mandi-Karsog pluton in the Lesser Himalayan region reveal a concordant relationship between fabric of the Proterozoic host rock and the granite. The pluton displays a prominent arcuate shape on the geological map. The margin-parallel mesoscopic and magnetic fabrics of the granite and warping of the host rock fabric around the pluton indicate that this regional curvature is either synchronous or pre-dates the emplacement of the granite body. Mesoscopic fabric, magnetic fabric and microstructures indicate that the northern part of the pluton preserves its pre-Himalayan magmatic fabric while the central and southern part shows tectonic fabric related to the Tertiary Himalayan orogeny. The presence of NW–SE-trending aplitic veins within the granite indicates a post-emplacement stretching in the NE–SW direction. Shear-sense indicators in the mylonites along the margin of the pluton suggest top-to-the-SW shearing related to the Himalayan orogeny. Based on these observations, it is envisaged that the extension that gave rise to this rift-related magmatism had a NE–SW trend, that is, normal to the trend of the aplite veins. Subsequently, during the Himalayan orogeny, compression occurred along this same NE–SW orientation. These findings imply that the regional curvature present in the Himachal Lesser Himalaya is in fact a pre-Himalayan feature and the pluton has formed by filling a major pre-Himalayan arcuate extension fracture.