Search results for "cost"
showing 10 items of 5421 documents
Life Cycle Costing: a tool to manage the urban water cycle
2013
The Water Framework Directive puts much emphasis on the role of economics for improving the management of water resources. In the context of the urban water cycle, previous studies have proven that Life Cycle Costing (LCC) is a useful methodology for assessing the costs of the whole cycle. However, there are many elements and factors that can influence the results of the LCC assessment and therefore affect the decision making process. The main aim of this study is to identify the main difficulties for carrying out LCC studies in the urban water cycle and to propose some solutions to overcome them. Hence, the conclusions obtained from the assessment of several case studies will be more robus…
Evaluation of infilled frames: an updated in-plane-stiffness macro-model considering the effects of vertical loads
2015
The influence of masonry infills on the in-plane behaviour of RC framed structures is a central topic in the seismic evaluation and retrofitting of existing buildings. Many models in the literature use an equivalent strut member in order to represent the infill but, among the parameters influencing the equivalent strut behaviour, the effect of vertical loads acting on the frames is recognized but not quantified. Nevertheless a vertical load causes a non-negligible variation in the in-plane behaviour of infilled frames by influencing the effective volume of the infill. This results in a change in the stiffness and strength of the system. This paper presents an equivalent diagonal pin-jointed…
FE Calculation Methodology for the Thermodynamic Fatigue Analysis of an Engine Component
2006
Thermo mechanical fatigue problem is treated to define an analysis methodology permitting the strength evaluation by reliability viewpoint. The main difficulty is the lack of both theoretical and experimental information; consequently the problem is treated verifying continually the validity and the limits of the developing solution method. The main task of the activity described in this paper was the development of a numerical methodology, based on FE analyses, for the evaluation of the structural behavior of engine components subjected to thermo mechanical fatigue phenomena. The chosen application was the exhaust manifold of an IC engine; FE analyses were executed following the standard m…
The Transverse Crack Tension test revisited
2016
Several problems arise when measuring the mode II interlaminar fracture toughness using a Transverse Crack Tension specimen; in particular, the fracture toughness depends on the geometry of the specimen and cannot be considered a material parameter. A preliminary experimental campaign was conducted on TCTs of different sizes but no fracture toughness was measured because the TCTs failed in an unacceptable way, invalidating the tests. A comprehensive numerical and experimental investigation is conducted to identify the main causes of this behaviour and a modification of the geometry of the specimen is proposed. It is believed that the obtained results represent a significant contribution in …
Frictional effects in structural behavior of no-end-connected steel-jacketed RC columns: Experimental results and new approaches to model numerical a…
2017
Steel jacketing of reinforced concrete (RC) columns is a common retrofitting technique used to restore bearing and deformation capacity of buildings presenting structural deficiencies. For practical reasons, steel angles are in several cases arranged leaving a gap with the end beams or slabs. Despite this disconnection, the angles are still able to support a non-negligible portion of load because of the frictional forces developed along the column-angle contact interface. In these cases, the definition of computational numerical and analytical models for the assessment of reinforced cross sections becomes more complex and must be handled with care. The actual load-carrying capacity of the a…
A novel frequency domain method for predicting fatigue crack growth under wide band random loading
2007
This work deals with the evaluation of the fatigue crack growth rate of structural components subjected to uniaxial Gaussian stationary wide band random loading. In detail, a new frequency domain method that allows the user to estimate the expected crack growth rate directly from the PSD data is proposed. Using a stochastic mean function properly, introduced and described by simple closed form relationships implemented by systematic numerical simulations of a high number of wide band random processes, the proposed method permits to avoid the onerous time domain simulations and provides in general crack growth rate predictions in a good accordance with the so-called time domain method. Pract…
Unified formulation for a family of advanced finite elements for smart multilayered plates
2016
AbstractFamilies of layer-wise and equivalent single-layer advanced finite elements for the analysis of smart multilayered plates are formulated in a unified framework. The proposed modeling strategy reduces the multifield problem to an effective mechanical plate by the condensation of the electromechanical state into the plate kinematics, which is assumed as a variable order expansion along the plate thickness. Carrera Unified Formulation is invoked to derive the elemental stiffness and mass matrices and the mechanical and magneto-electric equivalent forces. The obtained smart plate finite element equations involves kinematical variables only and this extends the tools developed for multil…
A novel visual pipework inspection system
2017
The interior visual inspection of pipelines in the nuclear industry is a safety critical activity conducted during outages to ensure the continued safe and reliable operation of plant. Typically, the video output by a manually deployed probe is viewed by an operator looking to identify and localize surface defects such as corrosion, erosion and pitting. However, it is very challenging to estimate the nature and extent of defects by viewing a large structure through a relatively small field of view. This work describes a new visual inspection system employing photogrammetry using a fisheye camera and a structured light system to map the internal geometry of pipelines by generating a photorea…
3D simulations and experiments of guided wave propagation in adhesively bonded multi-layered structures
2010
Understanding guided wave propagation in multi-layered plates and interaction with discontinuities can be difficult, as well as the interpretation of the ultrasonic signals. Propagation of guided waves can be studied analytically solving the equations of motion with the proper boundary conditions; nevertheless analytical models can be difficult to solve for complex multi-layered structures or having inner discontinuities. The problem can be efficiently studied using numerical techniques. Simulation of guided wave propagation in multi-layered structures, for ultrasonic waves in the MHz range, is solved here with the finite element analysis based on an explicit integration rule to solve the e…
Influence of secondary torsion on curved steel girder bridges with box and I-girder cross-sections
2015
Steel curved girder bridges are largely used today in motorways and railways. They are often composed of thin-walled crosssections, entirely made of steel or with an upper concrete slab. The deck may have I-girders or box cross-sections: in any case curved girders are subjected to twisting moment, associated with bending, even for dead loads. Moreover, in thin-walled sections the influence of non-uniform torsion becomes sizable with respect to Saint Venant torsion, modifying the state of tangential stresses in the section and introducing axial stresses due to warping being prevented. Open sections of I-girder bridges are especially subject to these phenomena and warping can be significant n…