Search results for " Structural"
showing 10 items of 1751 documents
A qualitative study on the role of the built environment for short walking trips
2015
The present study uses a qualitative approach with the aim to identify built environmental factors influencing short walking distances for transportation among adults (18-65 years), with special attention to micro-scale attributes. Three focus groups were held in Valencia (Spain) and conducted with participants who undertook, at least once a week, one short non-shopping trip in any travel mode (were "short trip" is defined as less than 3045 min walking distance). A thematic analysis of the data was performed and six categories of factors emerged related to the built environment. Factors were also classified as either barriers to walking, or secondary factors related to the attractiveness of…
On the hyperporous non-linear elasticity model for fusion-relevant pebble beds
2010
Abstract Packed pebble beds are particular granular systems composed of a large amount of small particles, arranged in irregular lattices and surrounded by a gas filling interstitial spaces. Due to their heterogeneous structure, pebble beds have non-linear and strongly coupled thermal and mechanical behaviours whose constitutive models seem limited, being not suitable for fusion-relevant design-oriented applications. Within the framework of the modelling activities promoted for the lithiated ceramics and beryllium pebble beds foreseen in the Helium-Cooled Pebble Bed breeding blanket concept of DEMO, at the Department of Nuclear Engineering of the University of Palermo (DIN) a thermo-mechani…
Effect of two novel bio-based rejuvenators on the performance of 50% RAP mixes - a statistical study on the complex modulus of asphalt binders and as…
2019
An experimental study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of two bio-additives as rejuvenators on the properties of asphalt mixtures containing 50% RAP and their binder constituents containing 37% RAP binder. Before mixing, the rejuvenators were blended with fresh bitumen and the extracted and recovered RAP bitumen, and changes in the rheological properties of the binders were assessed using performance grading (PG) criteria. The results showed that both rejuvenators could improve the low-temperature performance of the aged RAP binder and restore its low-temperature properties. Master curves for the unaged, RTFO-aged, and PAV aged blends were constructed using both the Christensen-A…
Are drivers’ attentional lapses associated with the functioning of the neurocognitive attentional networks and with cognitive failure in everyday lif…
2013
Abstract Driver distraction and inattention are considered among the major contributing factors in road traffic crashes. One of the most widely used tools to study drivers’ attentional lapses and other types of aberrant behaviour is the Driver Behaviour Questionnaire (DBQ). In the present work, further evidence of the feasibility of the DBQ to study driver inattention is provided. The relationships between the DBQ and both a computer-based neurocognitive test on attentional performance (the Attention Network Test for Interactions and Vigilance, ANTI-V) and a self-reported measure of cognitive failure (the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire, CFQ) are analysed. Results show that attentional lap…
Data Compression Approach for Long-Term Monitoring of Pavement Structures
2019
Pavement structures are designed to withstand continuous damage during their design life. Damage starts as soon as the pavement is open to traffic and increases with time. If maintenance activities are not considered in the initial design or considered but not applied during the service life, damage will grow to a point where rehabilitation may be the only and most expensive option left. In order to monitor the evolution of damage and its severity in pavement structures, a novel data compression approach based on cumulative measurements from a piezoelectric sensor is presented in this paper. Specifically, the piezoelectric sensor uses a thin film of polyvinylidene fluoride to sense the ener…
Pollutant Emissions in Ports: A Comprehensive Review
2021
In recent decades, maritime transport demand has increased along with world population and global trades. This is associated with higher pollution levels, including the emissions of GHG and other polluting gases. Ports are important elements within maritime transport and contribute themselves to pollutant emissions. This paper aims to offer a comprehensive yet technical review of the latest related technologies, explaining and covering aspects that link ports with emissions, i.e., analyzing, monitoring, assessing, and mitigating emissions in ports. This has been achieved through a robust scientific analysis of very recent and significant research studies, to offer an up-to-date and reliable…
Concrete arch bridges built by lattice cantilevers
2013
In this paper a study about concrete arch bridges built by lattice cantilevers is presented. Lattice cantilevers are partial structures composed of deck, arch, piers and provisional steel diagonals, organized as reticular cantilever girders, in order to build arch bridges without the use of centrings, supports or temporary towers. Characteristics of this construction methodology with its variants are explained together with their implications in the erection sequence. Partial elastic scheme method is implemented in order to find initial forces of temporary cables and a forward analysis is carried out to follow the actual sequence of construction, by extending a procedure already applied to …
Phosphorus recovery by struvite crystallization in WWTPs: Influence of the sludge treatment line operation
2010
Phosphorus recovery by struvite (MgNH(4)PO(4).6H(2)O) crystallization is one of the most widely recommended technologies for treating sludge digester liquors especially in wastewater treatments plants (WWTP) with enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR). In this paper, phosphorus recovery by struvite crystallization is assessed using the rejected liquors resulting from four different operational strategies of the sludge treatment line. Phosphorus precipitation and recovery efficiencies of between 80-90% and 70-85%, respectively, were achieved in the four experiments. The precipitates formed were mainly struvite, followed by amorphous calcium phosphate and, in some experiments, by calci…
Laboratory Measurements of Flow and Turbulence in Discontinuous Distributions of Ligulate Seagrass
2007
Turbulent flow characteristics were investigated in laboratory flume studies of a ligulate plant canopy interrupted by a gap representing discontinuities observed in seagrass prairies. The reliability of velocity measurements obtained using an acoustic Doppler velocimeter within the canopy was shown using specifically designed experiments. In relatively fast flow (mean velocity 5.5 cm s−1), the mean flow profile was logarithmic above the canopy, had an inflection point near its top, and uniformly low values within it. Within the gap, a recirculation cell formed. Reynolds stress maxima were approximately coincident with the mean flow inflection point. Quadrant analysis revealed an ejection-d…
Determination of Evapotranspiration and Annual Biomass Productivity of a Cactus Pear [Opuntia ficus-indica L. (Mill.)] Orchard in a Semiarid Environm…
2013
A micrometeorological approach based on the surface energy balance was adopted to estimate evapotranspiration fluxes and crop coefficient data from an irrigated cactus pear [Opuntia ficus-indica L. (Mill.)] orchard under Mediterranean climatic conditions. Highfrequency temperature readings were taken above the canopy top to get sensible heat flux values (HSR) using the surface renewal technique. These values were compared against eddy covariance sensible heat fluxes (HEC) for calibration. Latent heat flux (or evapotranspiration, ET) was obtained by solving the daily energy balance equation. Measurements of soil hydraulic components were integrated with the analysis of the surface energy flu…