Search results for " Structural"
showing 10 items of 1751 documents
Non-dimensional groups for air solar collectors
2003
Abstract The radiant heat captured by a passive air solar collector during a day divides itself into three fractions, of which one is transmitted by conduction to the backside, one is collected by the convective air flow, and the last one is lost through glazing. Some calculations of heat transfer taking place in a collector in 24-h periodic regime have been done with different combinations of the values of the relevant thermo-physical variables. Calculation results were the fractions of energy transmitted to the internal room through the wall by conduction and with the air flow by convection, and lost through the glazing. The results give rise to a correlation among non-dimensional variabl…
On the impact of the heat transfer modelling approach on the prediction of EU-DEMO WCLL breeding blanket thermal performances
2020
Abstract The Water-Cooled Lithium-Lead Breeding Blanket is a key component of a fusion power plant, in charge of ensure Tritium production, shield Vacuum Vessel and magnets and remove the heat power deposited by radiation and particles arising from plasma. The last function is fulfilled by First Wall and Breeding Zone independent cooling systems. Several layouts of BZ coolant system have been investigated in the last years to identify a configuration that might guarantee EUROFER temperature below the limit (550 °C) and good thermal-hydraulic performances (i.e. water outlet temperature of 328 °C). A research activity is conducted to study and compare different modelling approaches to simulat…
Heat transfer calculation in a free convection air solar collector
1998
This paper deals with the free convective air flow developing in a vertical channel with a rectangular cross-section heated on one side. The channel geometric and physical properties are such as to simulate an air solar collector suitable for building heating. A calculation method that can be applied to the transient combined heat transfer by conduction through the wall and by convection from the wall to the air stream is presented. The conduction across the wall is computed with a one-dimensional, time-dependent finite difference scheme, with convective boundary conditions at both wall surfaces. For the free convective flow along the channel, the air flow rate and the mean convective coeff…
Mixed MHD convection and Tritium transport in fusion-relevant configurations
2005
Mixed MHD flow and Tritium transport were computed for a slender poloidal duct, representative of a DEMO HCLL blanket element. 2-D flow and temperature fields were computed in the duct's cross section under the assumption of parallel, fully developed flow, while Tritium concentration C was found by solving a fully 3-D problem with simplifying assumptions at the duct's ends. The spatial distribution of C depended on the intensity and direction of the forced flow. Significant peak factors were obtained if the net flow rate was so low that re-circulation occurred; C maxima were attained near the walls for upward flow, in the core region for downward flow.
Effects of confinement level, cross-section shape and corner radius on the cyclic behavior of CFRCM confined concrete columns
2014
Abstract The main results of an experimental research aiming to investigate the behavior of medium-size low-strength concrete columns wrapped with Carbon Fiber Reinforced Cementitious Matrix (CFRCM) under monotonic and cyclic compressive axial loads are presented. Thirty columns with circular, square and rectangular cross-sections were tested under monotonic and cyclic axial loads to investigate the effect of the confinement level, the cross-section shape and the corner radius on the stiffness, strength, and ductility of CFRCM confined concrete columns under cyclic loads. The results prove that CFRCM confining jackets provide substantial gain in compressive strength, deformability and absor…
Impacts of COVID-19 and pandemic control measures on public transport ridership in European urban areas – The cases of Vienna, Innsbruck, Oslo, and A…
2021
The study uses the case of two regions with small and medium sized cities (Agder in Norway and the greater Innsbruck area in Austria) and two European capitals, Vienna and Oslo, to showcase the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on public transport ridership in northern and central Europe. The comprehensive timeline of actions taken by governments and public transport providers in Austria and Norway, and their impact on public transport ridership in the first and second waves of the pandemic form the basis of a descriptive study. Comparing the data, a strong negative impact on the public transport patronage in the first wave of the pandemic was found, despite a comparable low number of cases p…
Degraded Gerber Saddles in RC Bridges
2023
Sudden failure of reinforced concrete (RC) or prestressed concrete (PC) Gerber saddles of bridges and viaducts has occurred all around in the word in the last few years due to corrosion of steel bars. The danger of sudden and brittle failure is often due to general and pitting corrosion of steel bars, concrete crushing, and loss of bond in steel bars. In this paper, the flexural response of reinforced concrete Gerber supports under their self-weight with or without service loads was investigated through determination of the load-deflection response of beams, with the focus on the consequences of pitting corrosion and loss of bond in steel bars. A simplified strut-and-tie model was developed…
Flexural behavior of corroded RC beams
2018
Synopsis: A handily model to evaluate the bending resistance and the ductility of corroded beams critical in flexure and shear is proposed and debated. Effects of diffused and pitting corrosion on steel bars, compressive concrete strength reduction and concrete bond strength reduction due to rust creation are modelled. Practical method derived on limit state theory was here used to calculate the flexural and shear strength and the available ductility. The effectiveness of the model was also corroborated against numerous results collected in the literature pertaining to bending and shear resistance.
Variable kinematics models and finite elements for nonlinear analysis of multilayered smart plates
2015
Abstract A variable kinematics approach for moderately large deflection analysis of smart magneto-electro-elastic multilayered plates is presented. The approach is based on the condensation of the electro-magnetic state into the plate kinematics, whose nonlinear strain–displacement relationships are expressed in the von Karman sense. This leads to models resulting in an effective mechanical plate, which takes the multifield coupling effects into account by the plate stiffness, inertia and loading characteristics, consistently defined as combinations of the layers material properties. By a unified approach, both equivalent single layer and layerwise models are developed formulating the assoc…
Reconfigurable waveguides defined by selective fluid filling in two-dimensional phononic metaplates
2022
Abstract We investigate two-dimensional phononic metaplates consisting of a periodic array of cups on a thin epoxy plate that is perforated with periodic cross holes. The cups are individually filled with water or remain empty, in view of creating reconfigurable phononic waveguides. Phononic band gaps exist for empty or filled epoxy cups, leading to waveguides defined with either positive or negative contrast. Straight and 90° bent waveguides are considered experimentally. Lamb waves are excited by a piezoelectric patch glued onto the metaplate and are imaged using a scanning laser vibrometer. Experimental results are compared to a three-dimensional finite element model of fluid–structure i…