Canadian Standards Association Research Articles

Comparing International Standards to North American Standards for Large Adjustable-Speed Drives

The world of legal responsibility, liability, and safety is driving the industry to have equipment built to an increasing number of standards. End users and specifiers often require adjustable-speed drives (ASDs) to be in compliance with many standards like the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), American National Standards Institute, Canadian Standards Association, Underwriters Laboratory, etc. This is done to insure that they are protected in buying products that are built to high standards. Depending on the specifier, European and/or North American standards may be referenced and required to be met. However, what is required to meet these standards is often not understood. Sometimes, the details of the standards are in conflict with each other. This paper will attempt to compare major areas of the existing standards for similarity and differences. European IEC standards will be compared to the most applicable North American standards. The goal of this paper will be to help the readers better understand what the standards mean to their plants and how they can then include standards in their specifications that will best meet their requirement, yet do so in a cost-effective manner.

Redundancy and Robustness in the Design and Evaluation of Bridges: European and North American Perspectives

In this paper, current and proposed methodologies for assessing the robustness and redundancy of bridge structures are discussed and an overview of the latest advances in research is presented along with proposals for implementation in bridge design and evaluation codes. In particular, European and North American standard codes and guidelines, including the Eurocode, AASHTO, and the Canadian Standards Association (CSA), as well as some national European codes and related guidelines, are compared. Research projects, including those of the European Cooperation of Science and Technology (COST) and the U.S. National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP), represent key links between research activities and the need for implementing concepts of structural redundancy and robustness into the codes. The activities undertaken by COST and NCHRP constitute attempts to synthetize, simplify, and implement theoretical concepts that have been discussed over many years. This review shows that the U.S. approach concentrates on developing tools and criteria for the numerical evaluation of the capability of a bridge structure to continue to carry load after the failure of a member, whereas the European approach, still in a more theoretical phase, lacks specific guidelines for bridges and uses available building recommendations. This paper also presents a critical assessment of the state of the art and argues that criteria implementable in future generations of bridge codes should be based on quantifiable measures of risk, which is a subject still in its very early stages of development.

Should helmets be mandatory for skiers and snowboarders in Ontario?

Every year, approximately 15% of Canadians participate in snow sports. Among skiers and snowboarders, 9%–19% suffer potentially disabling injuries to the head. Case-control studies have shown that ski helmets can reduce the risk of head injury by 29%–60%. Opponents of mandatory ski helmet use have presented a series of arguments against ski helmets. However, numerous studies have demonstrated that ski helmets improve the safety of skiers and represent a benefit. Currently, there is no ski helmet legislation in Ontario. Few jurisdictions have legislation mandating the use of ski helmets. In Canada, only Nova Scotia has legislation regarding the use of ski helmets. In Canada, there are no mandatory safety standards for the manufacturing of ski helmets despite the publication of standards by the Canadian Standards Association in 2008.

High Standards

This article discusses recent updates to standard codes for elevator safety and operation. This article gives a look at today’s ASME A17.1-2010/CSA B44-10, Safety Code for Elevators and Escalators. The standard jointly developed by ASME and the Canadian Standards Association shows how the original 1921 safety code has developed through the years. It now includes requirements for escalators and moving walkways as well as software and hardware requirements that did not exist 90 years ago. A group of organizations spearheaded by ASME held a symposium in December 2010 to look into elevator use during high-rise evacuations, which was a continuation of the earlier work started after 2001. Committee members spoke to experts on human factors and human conditioning when writing the requirements. The new provisions may better serve designers, manufacturers, contractors, and operators of wind turbine tower elevators by providing added confidence and consistency in the design and operation of such equipment, according to an ASME statement.

Seismic Performance Parameter Quantification of Shear-Critical Reinforced Concrete Masonry Squat Walls

AbstractIn North America, the design of reinforced masonry (RM) shear walls as a seismic force-resisting system (SFRS) is very conservative in terms of quantifying the wall’s shear strength and ductility capacity. In the current study, eight full-scale squat RM walls were tested at McMaster University under quasi-static reversed cyclic loading to quantify their shear strength, idealized displacement ductility, drift-damage relationships, lateral stiffness degradation, and hysteretic damping. The test walls demonstrated shear-strength capacities up to 200% of those predicted by the Canadian Standards Association’s (CSA) masonry design code. In addition, the results demonstrated that the Canadian shear strength expression was, on average, 32 and 34% more conservative than the Masonry Standards Joint Committee (MSJC) and the New Zealand Standards (NZS) design codes for masonry, respectively. Moreover, the simplified modified compression field theory (SMCFT), adopted directly from the Canadian concrete design...

The Governance of Privacy Through Codes of Conduct: International Lessons for U.S. Privacy Policy

The recent White Paper on privacy from U.S. Department of Commerce encourages, the development of voluntary, enforceable privacy codes of conduct in specific industries through collaborative efforts of multi-stakeholder groups, Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and a Privacy Policy Office within Department of The policy envisages a coordination of multi-stakeholder groups through a new Privacy Policy Office which would work with FTC, “to develop voluntary but enforceable codes of conduct. Compliance with such a code would serve as a safe harbor for companies facing certain complaints about their privacy practices. Privacy codes of practice have extensive histories in a number of countries outside United States. At various times, they have been adopted to anticipate privacy legislation, to supplement privacy legislation, to preempt privacy legislation, and to implement privacy legislation. This paper draws upon international experiences and interviews with chief privacy officers to offer important lessons for American policymakers about how codes of practice might best encourage privacy protection on ground.Despite obvious differences, Canadian policy experience may be especially instructive. Private sector regulation was originally based on a bottom-up approach through which legislation, called Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act of 2000, was based on a voluntarily negotiated standard through Canadian Standards Association (CSA). This in turn was based on existing sectoral codes of practice, of kind envisaged by U.S. Department of Commerce. What has been experience over last decade? What useful lessons can be drawn for U.S. policy? What are economic, technological, legal, and social conditions under which codes of practice might promote better privacy protection?

Networking at ESW 2013 [Standards

This issue of the magazine is dedicated to electrical safety. The author has been asked to outline some of the advancements in the standards that have resulted from the IEEE Industry Applications Society (IAS) Electrical Safety Workshop (ESW). Over the years, the ESW has provided this networking opportunity for attendees working on better and safer ways to work for other organizations such as the Canadian Standards Association, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), the International Electrotechnical Commission, and government organizations such as the US Department of Energy. The collaborative IEEE and NFPA study on arc-flash hazards not only meets at the workshop but informs the attendees of their progress each year. This is an open invitation to the members of any IEEE standards working group who feel that they would benefit having a meeting in conjunction with the ESW and opening their group's membership to ESW attendees. Please contact us through our Web site: http://sites.ieee.org/ias-esafc/ .

극한해석에 근거한 철근 콘크리트 깊은 보의 현재 설계기준에 대한 타당성 검토

콘크리트 깊은 보의 전단강도 및 정착길이 산정을 위해 현행 미국 콘크리트 학회(ACI) 및 캐나다 표준 규격 협회(CSA)의 설계기준은 스트럿-타이 모델을 이용할 것을 제안하고 있다. 비록 이 접근방식이 유용하지만 설계의 품질이 설계자가 구성한 트러스 모델 적합성에 크게 좌우된다. 따라서 본 논문에서는 현행 미국 콘크리트 학회 및 캐나다 표준 규격 협회의 콘크리트 깊은 보 설계기준의 타당성을 홍성걸 등에 의해 제안된 콘크리트 소성학에 근거한 전단강도식의 예측치와 비교함으로써 평가한다. 비교 결과 미국 콘크리트 학회 및 캐나다 표준 규격 협회의 스트럿-타이 모델에 의해 설계된 깊은 보 부재는 소성학에 근거한 전단강도식의 예측치와 유사한 강도를 보유하고 있으나, 이들 설계기준의 깊은 보 단부의 정착길이에 대한 요구조건은 다소 과도함을 알 수 있다. The current American Concrete Institute (ACI) and Canadian Standard Association (CSA) code provisions on the shear strength of a simply supported concrete deep beam and its end anchorage details suggest that deep beams should be designed using the strut-and-tie model approach. Although this is a useful methodology to design members in disturbed regions, the quality of the design is highly dependent on the truss model that designers create. In this paper, we investigate the validity of the current ACI and CSA design codes on these issues by comparing the estimates by the codes with those of the shear strength equations of concrete deep beams proposed by Hong et al. (2002) The comparison shows that deep beam members designed by the ACI and CSA strut-and-tie approaches retain the shear strengths close to the values predicted by the shear strength equations, but its requirements on end anchorage details may be rather conservative.

DETERMINISTIC EVALUATION OF DELAYED HYDRIDE CRACKING BEHAVIORS IN PHWR PRESSURE TUBES

Pressure tubes made of Zr-2.5 wt% Nb alloy are important components consisting reactor coolant pressure boundary of a pressurized heavy water reactor, in which unanticipated through-wall cracks and rupture may occur due to a delayed hydride cracking (DHC). The Canadian Standards Association has provided deterministic and probabilistic structural integrity evaluation procedures to protect pressure tubes against DHC. However, intuitive understanding and subsequent assessment of flaw behaviors are still insufficient due to complex degradation mechanisms and diverse influential parameters of DHC compared with those of stress corrosion cracking and fatigue crack growth phenomena. In the present study, a deterministic flaw assessment program was developed and applied for systematic integrity assessment of the pressure tubes. Based on the examination results dealing with effects of flaw shapes, pressure tube dimensional changes, hydrogen concentrations of pressure tubes and plant operation scenarios, a simple and rough method for effective cooldown operation was proposed to minimize DHC risks. The developed deterministic assessment program for pressure tubes can be used to derive further technical bases for probabilistic damage frequency assessment.

An evolutionary approach for modeling of shear strength of RC deep beams

In this study, a new variant of genetic programming, namely gene expression programming (GEP) is utilized to predict the shear strength of reinforced concrete (RC) deep beams. A constitutive relationship was obtained correlating the ultimate load with seven mechanical and geometrical parameters. The model was developed using 214 experimental test results obtained from previously published papers. A comparative study was conducted between the results obtained by the proposed model and those of the American Concrete Institute (ACI) and Canadian Standard Association (CSA) models, as well as an Artificial Neural Network (ANN)-based model. A subsequent parametric analysis was carried out and the trends of the results were confirmed via some previous laboratory studies. The results indicate that the GEP model gives precise estimations of the shear strength of RC deep beams. The prediction performance of the model is significantly better than the ACI and CSA models and has a very good agreement with the ANN results. The derived design equation provides a valuable analysis tool accessible to practicing engineers.

An empirical model for shear capacity of RC deep beams using genetic-simulated annealing

This paper presents an empirical model to predict the shear strength of RC deep beams. A hybrid search algorithm coupling genetic programming (GP) and simulated annealing (SA), called genetic simulated annealing (GSA), was utilized to develop mathematical relationship between the experimental data. Using this algorithm, a constitutive relationship was obtained to make pertinent the shear strength of deep beams to nine mechanical and geometrical parameters. The model was developed using an experimental database acquired from the literature. The results indicate that the proposed empirical model is properly capable of evaluating the shear strength of deep beams. The validity of the proposed model was examined by comparing its results with those obtained from American Concrete Institute (ACI) and Canadian Standard Association (CSA) codes. The derived equation is notably simple and includes several effective parameters.

New Certification Framework for Carbon Dioxide Storage Sites

This paper introduces a new certification framework for carbon dioxide storage sites published by DNV in 2012, Service Specification (DSS) 402. This framework is supported by Recommended Practice DNV-RP-J203 that describes a system for the selection, qualification and management of geological storage sites for carbon dioxide. The way in which DSS-402 may be used to issue verification statements and certificates in accordance with RP-J203 is described together with the underlying principles of performance based certification. DNV-RP-J203 is also compared and contrasted with the Canadian Standards Association standard CSA Z741-11 for geological storage of carbon dioxide that is due for publication in the fourth quarter of 2012. Reference is also made to the recently initiated process of standardization within the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

Guidelines for Selection and Use of Coarse Recycled-Concrete Aggregates in Structural Concrete

This paper presents guidelines for using recycled-concrete aggregate (RCA) as a full or partial replacement for natural coarse aggregate in new concrete (RCA concrete). Several international standards and guidelines for the use of RCA in concrete are reviewed and contrasted to identify areas in which further development is required. The main results of an extensive experimental research program by the authors are summarized here to provide a basis for the development of a framework for using RCA in structural concrete. Several RCA performance classes are proposed, each with a specific set of requirements and suitable applications. The proposed performance classes define further requirements and guidance for the use of RCA beyond the requirements of Canadian Standards Association A23.1 and ASTM C33. The authors propose a detailed decision tree to allow engineers, concrete producers, aggregate suppliers, and contractors to assess whether a particular RCA source is suitable for use in reinforced concrete or plain concrete or as fill material.

Direct and indirect methods for the measurement of occupational sound exposure from communication headsets

The measurement of sound exposure for individuals using communication headsets and headphones in the workplace imposes many technical challenges, and it has been difficult to integrate such measurements in national and international standards on occupational noise exposure. This paper reviews existing methods to measure sound exposure directly under listening devices, including the use of specialized acoustic manikins, artificial ears and real-ear procedures, and the associated field logistics and data analysis procedures. An alternative indirect calculation method is proposed that uses the main determinants of exposure as input parameters into the assessment, such as the external noise around the user, the attenuation of the device, and the user's listening signal-to-noise ratio. The advantages and disadvantages of the different methods are discussed. Together, they form the basis for a set of four measurement methods and one calculation method on assessing occupational sound exposure from headsets and headphones under consideration by a technical Working Group of the Canadian Standards Association

Shear strength of palm oil clinker concrete beams

This paper presents experimental results on the shear behavior of reinforced concrete beams made of palm oil clinker concrete (POCC). Palm oil clinker (POC) is a by-product of palm oil industry and its utilization in concrete production not only solves the problem of disposing this solid waste but also helps to conserve natural resources. Seven reinforced POCC beams without shear reinforcement were fabricated and their shear behavior was tested. POCC has been classified as a lightweight structural concrete with air dry density less than 1850kg/m3 and a 28-day compressive strength more than 20MPa. The experimental variables which have been considered in this study were the POCC compressive strength, shear span–depth ratio (a/d) and the ratio of tensile reinforcement (ρ). The results show that the failure mode of the reinforced POCC beam is similar to that of conventional reinforced concrete beam. In addition, the shear equation of the Canadian Standard Association (CSA) can be used in designing reinforced POCC beam with ρ⩾1. However, a 0.5 safety factor should be included in the formula for ρ<1.

Evaluation of Shear Strength Design Methodologies for Slender Shear-Critical RC Beams

This paper seeks to examine the concrete contribution to shear strength and determine the inclination of the compressive strut within the variable truss model for slender RC shear-critical beams with stirrups. Using the modified compression field theory in place of the conventional statistical regression of experimental data, the expression for the concrete contribution to shear strength was derived, and the inclination of compressive struts was determined. A simplified explicit expression for shear strength was then provided, with which shear strength can be calculated without extensive iterative computations. This method was then verified using the available experimental data of 209 RC rectangular beams with stirrups and compared with the current methods from the American Concrete Institute and the Canadian Standards Association. The theoretical results are shown to be consistent with the experimentally observed behavior of shear-critical RC beams.

Seismic force demand on ductile reinforced concrete shear walls subjected to western North American ground motions: Part 1 — parametric study

A parametric study of regular ductile reinforced concrete (RC) cantilever walls designed with the 2010 National building code of Canada and the 2004 Canadian Standards Association (CSA) standard A23.3 for Vancouver is performed to investigate the influence of the following parameters on the higher mode amplification effects, and hence on the seismic force demand: number of storeys, fundamental lateral period (T), site class, wall aspect ratio, wall cross-section, and wall base flexural overstrength (γw). The study is based on inelastic time-history analyses performed with a multilayer beam model and a smeared membrane model accounting for inelastic shear–flexure–axial interaction. The main conclusions are that (i) T and γware the studied parameters affecting the most dynamic shear amplification and seismic force demand, (ii) the 2004 CSA standard A23.3 capacity design methods are inadequate, and (iii) a single plastic hinge design may be inadequate and unsafe for regular ductile RC walls with γw &lt; 2.0.

Seismic force demand on ductile reinforced concrete shear walls subjected to western North American ground motions: Part 2 — new capacity design methods

This paper proposes for the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) standard A23.3 new capacity design methods, accounting for higher mode amplification effects, for determining, for a single plastic hinge design, capacity design envelopes for flexural and shear strength design of regular ductile reinforced concrete cantilever walls used as seismic force resisting system for multistorey buildings. The derivation of these methods is based on the outcomes from a review on various capacity design methods proposed in the current literature and recommended by design codes and from the extensive parametric study presented in the companion paper. A discussion on the limitations of the proposed methods and on their applicability to various wall systems is presented.

Preventing playground injuries

With concerns increasing around childhood obesity and inactivity, playgrounds offer a chance for children to be active. But playgrounds also have risks, with injuries from falls being the most common. Research has shown that playground injuries can be reduced by lowering the heights of play equipment and using soft, deep surfaces to cushion falls. The Canadian Standards Association has published voluntary standards for playgrounds to address these risks for several years. Parents can further reduce injury risks by following simple playground strategies. This statement outlines the burden of playground injuries. It also provides parents and health care providers with opportunities to reduce injury incidence and severity through education and advocacy, and to implement evidence-informed safety standards and safer play strategies in local playgrounds. This document replaces a previous Canadian Paediatric Society position statement published in 2002.

Shell of Protection: Arc-Flash PPE Research Update

This article is intended to update the practical research in arc flash while avoiding the specifics of any method. Personal protective equipment (PPE) in the electric arc has been evolving since the early 1990s. With the introduction of safety and health standards of the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and arc test methods of American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) International, the growth of PPE knowledge and the proliferation of PPE for electric arc has grown throughout the world. In 1995, National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 70E began addressing arc-flash boundaries, and National Electrical Safety Code (NESC) added the safety requirements for electrical safety. Misunderstandings and errors in marketing still abound, but knowledgeable users, manufacturers, and researchers have helped to make materials more comfortable, protective, and available for many more work situations. OSHA 1910.269 in 1994, NESC in 2007, NFPA 70E in 2000, 2004, and 2009, and now Canadian Standards Association (CSA) Z462 have codified the clothing for electric arc. The International Electrotechnical Committee (IEC) standards use the open arc method developed in the United States and Canada and kept current in ASTM and the box method developed in Germany to offer an International Standards Organization (ISO) path for arcflash research. Brazil, Peru, Russia, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, and, recently, China are codifying laws related to arc-flash PPE, so the international focus is critical. The international method ASTMF1959 is still the ipso facto standard because of its maturity and repeatability. Other methods provide insight to arc phenomena such as plasma and molten metal expulsion. Research continues with the purpose of improving worker protection, but the two characteristics of preventing ignition and melting materials from being used in arc flash and maintaining a shell of protection during the arc are not easily surpassed with other methods.