Search results for "technical"
showing 10 items of 955 documents
Spatial diversity of chlorine residual in a drinking water distribution system: application of an integrated fuzzy logic technique
2014
A reduction in the concentration of chlorine, which is used as a chemical disinfectant for water in drinking water distribution systems, can be considered to be an index of the progressive deterioration of water quality. In this work, attention is given to the spatial distribution of the residual chlorine in drinking water distribution systems. The criterion for grouping the water-quality parameters normally used is highly subjective and often based on data that are not correctly identified. In this paper, a cluster analysis based on fuzzy logic is applied. The advantage of the proposed procedure is that it allows a user to identify (in an automatic way and without any specific assumption) …
Technical Note:Study of the Cl−-Induced Breakdown of the Passive Layer on Steel
1991
Abstract The Cl−-induced breakdown of the passive layer on a standard steel has an induction time that increases in a nearly linear fashion with the previous holding time (at the passivation potent...
Assessing, measuring and modelling erosion in calanchi areas: A review
2016
Calanchi are erosion landforms characterised by a heavily dissected terrain with steep, unvegetated slopes and channels with a dendritic pattern, which rapidly incise and extend headwards. Recent literature focusing on badland systems highlights their similarity with other larger fluvial landforms, stating that these behave as a full size laboratory, due to their rapid development in space and time and to the diversity of geomorphic processes involved. In this paper, a brief review of the most important results on badland research is firstly presented. Then, the morphometric similarity between calanchi and other erosion landforms is discussed. Finally, models quantitatively relating the vol…
Bitumen stabilized ballast: a potential solution for railway track-bed
2016
Railway ballast degradation under dynamic loads progressively leads to loss of mechanical performance and geometry of the track, so that maintenance interventions are frequently needed. In order to system- atically avoid this issue, recently solutions have been proposed to reinforce track-bed by using polyur- ethane and/or resins as well as asphalt layers among others. Nonetheless, their main limitations are related to the high initial cost and low productivity. To cope with these limitations, in this study, bitumen stabilized ballast (BSB) is proposed as a new solu- tion for ballast stabilization. This method aims at improving durability and reducing settlement by mod- ifying both stiffnes…
Use of bitumen-stabilised ballast for improving railway trackbed conventional maintenance
2018
Despite its many advantages, ballasted track needs frequent maintenance to ensure an adequate quality of service. However, tamping, traditionally used to correct geometry, causes ballast degradation and loosening of the already compacted ballast layer, which quickly returns the track to its pre-maintenance position. Then, other maintenance techniques such as stoneblowing, as well as diverse solutions that reinforce trackbed, have been developed to reduce ballast settlement and particles degradation. Given the need to further advance research in this field, bitumen-stabilised ballast (BSB) has started to be investigated by the authors as a feasible solution thanks to its easy and quick appl…
Effect of temperature and traffic on mix-design of bituminous asphalt for railway sub-ballast layer
2017
A wide integrated research has been carried out to assess the suitability of bituminous mixtures as the sub-ballast layer in railways. The influence of temperature on the mechanical characteristics and thermal susceptibility of the bituminous conglomerate—which forms sub-ballast layer of railway lines—has provided the motivation for carrying out a measurement of the thermal cycles in this layer. The evaluation of the average seasonal temperatures has proven to be well interpolated by sinusoidal functions, of which characteristic parameters are determined. To expand the validity of the study in different weather situations apart from Sicily, where the experiment was held, we proceeded to app…
Different scenarios of electric mobility: Current situation and possible future developments of fuel cell vehicles in Italy
2020
The diffusion of electric vehicles in Italy has started but some complications weight its spread. At present, hybrid technology is the most followed by users, due particularly to socioeconomic factors such as cost of investment and range anxiety. After a deep discussion of the Italian scenario, the aim of the paper is to recognize whether fuel cell technology may be an enabling solution to overcome pollution problems and respect for the environment. The opportunity to use fuel cells to store electric energy is quite fascinating&mdash
Performance of Steel Fibrous Reinforced Concrete Corbels Subjected to Vertical and Horizontal Loads
2009
A softened strut-and-tie macromodel able to reproduce the flexural behavior of corbels in plain and fibrous concrete and with the presence of steel bars, including softening of compressed struts and yielding of main and secondary steel bars, is presented in this paper. The main focus of the proposed model is the determination of the load-deflection curves of corbels subjected to the coupled effects of vertical and horizontal forces bearing in mind the influence of the type of concrete (normal or high strength), of the fiber percentage and of the arrangement and percentage of the main and secondary (horizontal stirrup) steel bars. A validation of the proposed model is made therefore with ref…
Influence of a thin horizontal weak layer on the mechanical behaviour of shallow foundations resting on sand
2021
The presence of minor details of the ground, including soil or rock masses, occurs more frequently than what is normally believed. Thin weak layers, shear bands, and slickensided surfaces can substantially affect the behaviour of foundations, as well as that of other geostructures. In fact, they can affect the failure mechanisms, the ultimate bearing capacity of footings, and the safety factor of the geotechnical system. In this research, numerically conducted through Finite Element Code Plaxis 2D, the influence of a horizontal thin weak layer on the mechanical behaviour of shallow footings was evaluated. The obtained results prove that the weak layer strongly influences both the failure me…
Experimental Observations of Flow and Bed Processes in Large-Amplitude Meandering Flume
2009
Meanders of large amplitude often exhibit asymmetric planform shape or subsidiary bends. The present work is aimed at improving on understanding of the morphodynamic phenomena affecting the bed evolution of large amplitude meandering channels. Attention is focused on the development of the steady point bar-pool configuration and of the superimposed large-scale migrating bed forms; of particular interest is the role of the changing channel curvature and bed topography variation on flow pattern. A series of experiments was carried out in a sine-generated large-amplitude meandering flume, for two values of width-to-depth ratio. Maps documenting the bed topography and the flow pattern along the…