Dominant Effect Research Articles

ANALISIS PENGARUH FAKTOR SOSIAL DAN EKONOMI TERHADAP RUMAH TANGGA MISKIN DI KABUPATEN GIANYAR TAHUN 2017-2021

Gianyar Regency is one of Indonesia areas that is concern by the government. The research motivated by the increased of poor households population in several years. The purposes are to obtain empirical evidence regarding the relationship of education level, income and unemployment rate simultaneously and partially in poor households, also variables that has a dominant effect with Gianyar Regency as the research location. The study used purposive sampling that the 100 sampled households must included in 2021’s poor households category. This research used Multiple Linear Analysis as data analysis technique. Based on the research results, the relation of education level, income and unemployment rate simultaneously has a significant effect on poor households, the relation of education level and income has a positive effect, and the relation of the unemployment rate has a negative effect on poor households. The research implications are this research is in line with the Culture of Poverty Theory, this research providing policy implications for the government to organize programs to encourage changes in people mindset in the aim of driving economic activity, paying attention on employment, education and income sector which has potential to reduce the existence of poor households in Gianyar Regency, Bali.
 keyword: Poor Households, Education, Income, Unemployment
 Klasifikasi JEL: G51, I25, D31, E24

Inbred Selection for Increased Resistance to Kernel Contamination with Fumonisins.

In temperate world-wide regions, maize kernels are often infected with the fumonisin-producing fungus Fusarium verticillioides which poses food and feed threats to animals and humans. As maize breeding has been revealed as one of the main tools with which to reduce kernel contamination with fumonisins, a pedigree selection program for increased resistance to Fusarium ear rot (FER), a trait highly correlated with kernel fumonisin content, was initiated in 2014 with the aim of obtaining inbred lines (named EPFUM) with resistance to kernel contamination with fumonisins and adapted to our environmental conditions. The new released EPFUM inbreds, their parental inbreds, hybrids involving crosses of one or two EPFUM inbreds, as well as commercial hybrids were evaluated in the current study. The objectives were (i) to assess if inbreds released by that breeding program were significantly more resistant than their parental inbreds and (ii) to examine if hybrids derived from EPFUM inbreds could be competitive based on grain yield and resistance to FER and fumonisin contamination. Second-cycle inbreds obtained through this pedigree selection program did not significantly improve the levels of resistance to fumonisin contamination of their parental inbreds; however, most EPFUM hybrids showed significantly better resistance to FER and fumonisin contamination than commercial hybrids did. Although European flint materials seem to be the most promising reservoirs of alleles with favorable additive and/or dominance effects for resistance to kernel contamination with fumonisins, marketable new Reid × Lancaster hybrids have been detected as they combine high resistance and yields comparable to those exhibited by commercial hybrids. Moreover, the white kernel hybrid EPFUM-4 × EP116 exploits the genetic variability within the European flint germplasm and can be an alternative to dent hybrid cultivation because white flint grain can lead to higher market prices.

An internal circulation iron–carbon micro-electrolysis reactor for aniline wastewater treatment: Parameter optimization, degradation pathways and mechanism

Aniline is a vital industrial raw material. However, highly–toxic aniline wastewater usually deteriorated effluent quality, posed a threat to human health and ecosystem safety. Therefore, this study reported a novel internal circulation iron–carbon micro-electrolysis (ICE) reactor to treat aniline wastewater. The effects of reaction time, pH, aeration rate and iron–carbon (Fe/C) ratio on the removal rate of aniline and the chemical oxygen demand were investigated using single-factor experiments. This process exhibited high aniline degradation performance of approximately 99.86% under optimal operating conditions (reaction time = 20 min, pH = 3, aeration rate = 0.5 m3·h−1, and Fe/C = 1:2). Based on the experimental results, the response surface method was applied to optimize the aniline removal rate. The Box–Behnken method was used to obtain the interaction effects of three main factors. The result showed that the reaction time had a dominant effect on the removal rate of aniline. The highest aniline removal rate was obtained at pH of 2, aeration rate of 0.5 m3·h−1 and reaction time of 30 min. Under optional experimental conditions, the aniline content of effluent was reduced to 3 mg·L–1 and the removal rate was as high as 98.24%, within the 95% confidence interval (97.84%–99.32%) of the predicted values. The solution was treated and the reaction intermediates were identified by high–performance liquid chromatography, ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy, Fourier–transform infrared spectroscopy, gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, and ion chromatography. The main intermediates were phenol, benzoquinone, and carboxylic acid. These were used to propose the potential mechanism of aniline degradation in the ICE reactor. The results obtained in this study provide optimized conditions for the treatment of industrial wastewater containing aniline and can strengthen the understanding of the degradation mechanism of iron–carbon micro-electrolysis.

Impacts of landscape patterns on plant species diversity at a global scale

Landscape patterns are important drivers of biodiversity. Owing to differences in vegetation types, sampling methods, diversity measures, spatial scales, and landscape levels, the impact of landscape patterns on biodiversity remains widely debated. Using a global standardized plant community database and land use and land cover maps at 30-m resolution, for the period 1990–2017, we calculated plant species α- and β-diversity, and landscape metrics at patch- and landscape-levels, and discerned the direct and indirect impacts of landscape patterns on plant species diversity based on environmental factors, namely climate, spatial features, and human disturbance. We found that landscape patterns exhibited the main indirect effects, whereas climate factors exhibited dominant direct effects on plant α-diversity via the direct effects of patch patterns and functional traits. With respect to β-diversity, landscape-level patterns exerted more direct than indirect effects. These effects are strongly dependent on scale. Landscape- and patch-level patterns had opposite effects on plant diversity, depending on their composition and spatial structure, demonstrating that their effects could be mediated by one another. The adaptation of plants to landscape patterns is mainly through variations in leaf area, plant height, specific leaf area, stem density, seed biomass, and other seed-dispersal traits, which vary across vegetation types. Our findings highlight the importance of functional traits and diversity in understanding the mechanism by which landscape patterns influence plant species diversity; accordingly, we recommend balancing the spatial structure of patch- and landscape-level patterns to enhance variation in functional traits, and, ultimately, to maintain global plant diversity.

Early selection for drought tolerance in popcorn based on gene effects estimated in seedlings.

Low rainfall rates are becoming increasingly frequent because of climate change, causing droughts and threatening world food security. For popcorn, drought is the most limiting abiotic factor for plant's growth and development. Thus, the water deficit directly impacts for crop productivity. Based on knowledge of the genetic basis of traits involved in stages of popcorn germination and seedling development under water stress, genotypes with potential for adaptation to adverse growing conditions can be selected early. Therefore, data on genetic effects and combining ability of 10 popcorn parents were compiled to propose breeding strategies for the development of cultivars with greater adaptation to water stress in the early stages. Forty-five diallel hybrids were evaluated under two different water regimes, that is, water stress and full irrigation. This corresponded to a water retention capacity of 25% and 70% of the germination paper. The plants were watered daily as needed for seven days. A range of factors were evaluated, that is, germination traits including the germination speed index and germination on the seventh day; shoot traits including length and dry weight; and root system including length, dry weight, root-to-shoot ratio, maximum root number, root network area, specific and root network length, and root volume. Breeding for drought adaption in the early stages of popcorn development can be successful when hybrids are used, because of the genetic effects of dominance (ϕs). These control the traits evaluated at the seedling stage. The combinations L61 x P2 and L71 x P3 were recommended, in view of the more successful performance estimated for traits related to the shoot and root system.

Mechanistic insights into Sb(III) and Fe(II) co-oxidation by oxygen and hydrogen peroxide: Dominant reactive oxygen species and roles of organic ligands

Sole O2 or H2O2 oxidant hardly oxidize Sb(III) on a time scale of hours to days, but Sb(III) oxidation can simultaneously occur in Fe(II) oxidation by O2 and H2O2 due to the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). However, Sb(III) and Fe(II) co-oxidation mechanisms regarding the dominant ROS and effects of organic ligands require further elucidation. Herein, the co-oxidation of Sb(III) and Fe(II) by O2 and H2O2 was studied in detail. The results indicated that increasing the pH significantly increased Sb(III) and Fe(II) oxidation rates during Fe(II) oxygenation, while the highest Sb(III) oxidation rate and oxidation efficiency was obtained at pH 3 with H2O2 as the oxidant. HCO3− and H2PO4−anions exerted different effects on Sb(III) oxidation in Fe(II) oxidation processes by O2 and H2O2. In addition, Fe(II) complexed with organic ligands could improve Sb(III) oxidation rates by 1 to 4 orders of magnitude mainly due to more ROS production. Moreover, quenching experiments combined with the PMSO probe demonstrated that .OH was the main ROS at acidic pH, whereas Fe(IV) played a key role in Sb(III) oxidation at near-neutral pH. In particular, the steady-state concentration of Fe(IV) ([Fe(IV)]ss) and kFe(IV)/Sb(III) were determined to be 1.66×10−9 M and 2.57×105 M−1 s−1, respectively. Overall, these findings help to better understand the geochemical cycling and fate of Sb in Fe(II)- and DOM-rich subsurface environments undergoing redox fluctuations and are conductive to developing Fenton reactions for the in-situ remediation of Sb(III)-contaminated environments.

Wind Effects on Wave Overtopping at a Vertical Sea Defense

The wind effect on the efficiency of a coastal defense structure is studied in this paper. It is normally assumed that the strength of the wind impact is characterized by the impulse parameter. If it is lower than a certain value, the wind is expected to have a dominant effect on the wave overtopping rate. In contrast to the regular observation, this study reports a new regime of wave overshoot when a low value of the impulse parameter does not lead to increased importance of wind. It is argued that the new regime appears due to the triplet instability previously studied by others. The variation of the standing wave height and the overshooting jet between the sequential cycles results in independence of the overtopping rates of the wind speed.

Sulfur deficiency mediated visible emission of ZnS QDs by magnesium dopant and their application in waste water treatment

The photocatalyst with antimicrobial activity serves as a better candidate material for wastewater treatment, as wastewater contains microbes, hazardous dyes, and heavy metals. Hence, the present study extensively examines the photocatalytic and antibacterial activities against two waterborne bacterial strains, namely Salmonella typhi and Escherichia coli. Pure and Mg-doped ZnS (Mg:ZnS) quantum dots (QDs) were synthesized using a low-cost and simple co-precipitation method. The QDs' structural, surface morphology, chemical purity, and optical characteristics were analyzed through XRD, SEM, EDAX, TEM, UV–visible, and photoluminescence spectra. The incorporation of Mg dopants did not introduce significant alterations to the cubic blende structure of ZnS, nor did it induce substantial changes in the structural parameters. However, the QDs exhibited a slight sulfur deficiency, which was further increased by the presence of Mg dopant. The Mg dopant, due to its dominant compositional effect, reduced the band gap. Several optical emission bands were observed in the UV, violet, blue, and green regions, corresponding to NBE emission, sulfur-related defects, and Zn-related defects. Initially, Mg doping enhanced visible emission related to defects, while NBE emission was suppressed by the Mg dopant. However, increasing the concentration of the Mg dopant led to a slight increase in NBE emission. The Mg dopant enhanced the photocatalytic activity of the QDs, and a strong correlation was found between photocatalytic activity and NBE emission. The presence of the Mg dopant led to an increased rate of ROS-based decolorization by reducing the electron-hole recombination rate.

Bubble structure evolution and electron injection controlled by optical cycles in wakefields

The evolution of bubble structure and electron injection in laser wakefield acceleration with different optical cycles is investigated through three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. Under fixed transverse and longitudinal ponderomotive force, the effect of optical cycles on the evolution of bubble structure and electron injection is studied by changing the laser wavelength. For a multi-cycle laser, electron acceleration is dominated by the ponderomotive force that produces symmetrical bubble and continuous injection. As the optical cycles decrease, the dominant effect of the electron acceleration can transition from the ponderomotive force to the carrier wave, and the carrier envelope phase shift can cause transverse oscillation of the bubble and periodic electron injection in the direction of laser polarization. The criterion for the dominant acceleration mechanism and the dependence of transition distance on the optical cycles and pulse width are obtained. The results are beneficial for manipulating electron acceleration and betatron radiation generation.

Paper 19: Fatigue of the Dynamic Stabilizers of the Medial Elbow in Baseball Pitchers

Objectives: The flexor carpi ulnaris (FCU) and flexor digitorum superficialis (FDS) are thought to provide dynamic stability to the medial elbow, with a lesser contribution from the pronator teres (PT). The purposes of this study were to: (1) determine whether middle finger (MF) and/or ring finger (RF) flexion strength tests selectively activate the FCU and FDS, and (2) determine if MF or RF fatigue are more sensitive measures of pitching fatigue than grip strength. It was hypothesized that MF and RF flexion strength tests would selectively activate the FCU and FDS and that MF and RF fatigue during a pitching performance would occur earlier and be more pronounced than grip fatigue. Methods: Surface electromyographic (EMG) signals were recorded from the FCU, FDS and PT during hand-held dynamometry testing of MF and RF flexion strength in 10 healthy men (36±12 yr). EMG amplitudes, expressed as percent of maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) based on standard MVC tests for each muscle, were compared between tests and muscles with repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA). Field Testing was performed in 18 baseball pitchers (age 17±4 yr) throwing 4 innings of a simulated game (16 pitches per inning plus 5 warm up pitches each inning; 10 fast balls, 4 curve balls, 2 change ups per inning). MF flexion, RF flexion, and grip strength were recorded prior to the game and after each inning. A standard full grip test (FG) and a modified 3 finger grip test (3F) were employed. Fatigue responses for the 4 tests (MF, RF, FG, 3F) were compared between tests with 4x4 (innings by test) repeated measures ANOVA. Additionally, fatigue was classified as marked (>20% loss), moderate (10-20% loss) or minimal (<10% loss). It was estimated that with 18 pitchers there would be 80% power to detect a 10% difference in fatigue between tests (P<0.05). Results: The MF and RF tests activated the FCU (MF 66%, RF 93%) and FDS (MF 74%, RF 61%) more than the PT (MF 35%, RF 23%; muscle effect P=0.008) indicating that both tests targeted the dynamic stabilizers of the medial elbow. In the baseball pitchers MF strength was greater on the dominant versus nondominant hand (7% P=0.039). There was no hand dominance effect for the other three tests (RF P=0.154, FG P=0.790, 3F P=0.897). The fatigue responses differed significantly between tests (P<0.001). After the fourth inning MF fatigue (21%) was greater than RF (7%, P<0.001), FG (5%, P=0.002) and 3F (5%, P<0.001) fatigue. MF fatigue was evident early and was progressive. After the first inning 4 pitchers (22%) had marked MF fatigue and 3 (17%) had moderate MF fatigue. By the end of the fourth inning 10 pitchers (56%) had marked MF fatigue and 6 (33%) had moderate MF fatigue. By contrast, after four innings only 5 pitchers (28%) had marked RF fatigue, and only 3 pitchers (17%) had marked FG or 3F fatigue. Conclusions: The MF flexion test is a valid test of fatigue in the dynamic stabilizers of the medial elbow during a baseball pitching performance. After only 4 innings more than 50% of pitchers had marked MF fatigue and 89% had some evidence of MF fatigue. MF flexion training to improve fatigue resistance is recommended to maintain dynamic stability of the medial elbow during a pitching performance.

The Influence of Price, Service Quality, and Store Atmosphere on Purchase Decisions on Awesam Malang Distro Consumers

The purpose of this study is to test and analyze the effect of price on purchasing decisions at Awesam, to test and analyze the effect of service quality on purchasing decisions at Awesam, to test and analyze the effect of store atmosphere on purchasing decisions at Awesam, to find out and analyze price, quality variables. services and store atmosphere that have a dominant influence on purchasing decisions on Awesam. The type of survey used is a quantitative survey with a total sample of 100 respondents. The population in this study are consumers who have made purchases at the Awesam distro in Malang City. The data analysis technique uses multiple regression analysis with the t-test. From the results of the research and discussion conducted, it can be concluded that price has a significant effect on purchasing decisions. service quality has a significant effect on purchasing decisions, store atmosphere has a significant effect on purchasing decisions and price has a dominant effect on purchasing decisions.

Analisis Determinan Financing to Deposit Ratio Pada Bank Umum Syariah di Indonesia Periode 2017-2022

This study aims to determine the magnitude of the influence of the variables Third Party Funds (DPK), Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR), Return on Assets (ROA), Net Operating Margin (NOM), and Inflation on Financing to Deposit Ratio (FDR) at at Sharia Commercial Banks in Indonesia 2017-2022 period. The population used is Sharia Commercial Banks in Indonesia. The data used is secondary data derived from the annual report for the 2017-2022 period which is available on each BUS website. The research method used is quantitative research with panel data regression analysis. The result of this study conclude that DPK has a negative no significant effect on FDR, CAR has a significant positive effect on FDR, ROA has a negative no significant effect on FDR, NOM has a positive no significant effect on FDR, and Inflation has a negative no significant effect on FDR. Car has a dominant effect on FDR.

MAQASID SYARIAH REVIEW OF KOTA BANDA ACEH QANUN NUMBER 3 OF 2021 CONCERNING PARKING SERVICE FEES ON THE EDGE OF PUBLIC ROADS

Based on Qanun Number 3 of 2021, The Kota Banda Aceh Government set new tariffs at several locations to increase local revenue. This qanun inspired the writer to examine the policy based on the maqāṣid al-syarī'ah review. This study is a normative legal research that uses maqāṣid as its approach. The author performs tarjih maslahat through four steps to test the validity of maqāṣid al-khalq. This study found that the Kota Banda Aceh Government has not improved the management of parking fees, so local revenue is not optimal. From the perspective of maqāṣid al-syarī‘ah, if optimizing parking management is not carried out first, then the rate increase is tertiary (al-maqāṣid al-taḥsīniyyāt). Based on the analysis of tarjih maslahat, the tertiary benefits should not undermine secondary benefits. In addition, the new parking rate policy has more dominant mafsadat effects than maslahat because management has not optimally prevented fraud. This study concluded that resisting damage is more important than realizing benefits. Thus, in this policy, there is a conflict between maqāṣid al-khalq and maqāṣid al-syarī'ah.

Spatial–Temporal Changes and Prediction of Carbon Storage in the Tibetan Plateau Based on PLUS-InVEST Model

The changes in the recent and future spatial–temporal patterns of carbon storage of the Tibetan Plateau and its dominant factors in different periods were unclear, and were conducive to optimizing the spatial layout of land. Exploring the spatial and temporal changes in terrestrial ecosystem carbon storage and their influencing factors during a long study period had important theoretical and practical significance for achieving the goal of carbon neutrality. In this study, the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs model (InVEST) was used to analyze the changes in carbon storage based on vegetation-type data during 2000–2020. The Path-generating Land-Use Simulation model (PLUS) was then used to predict the spatial distribution of carbon storage in the Tibetan Plateau in 2030 and 2060 under inertial development, farmland protection and ecology priority scenarios. The results showed that: (1) The degradation of vegetation types reduced the carbon storage during the study period. During 2000–2020, the desert shrub and non-vegetation area expanded by 63.21% and 13.35%, respectively, while the deciduous scrub, mixed forest and low coverage grassland decreased accordingly. The carbon storage of the Tibetan Plateau showed a decreasing trend by 0.37 × 106 t. (2) The spatial distribution patterns of carbon storage were consistent with that of the vegetation types. (3) In 2030 and 2060, under the constraint of the ecological priority development, the reduction in carbon storage was the smallest, at 0.01 × 106 t and 0.16 × 106 t, respectively. Under the constraint of the inertial development, carbon storage had the largest reduction, at 0.12 × 106 t and 0.43 × 106 t, respectively. (4) During 2000–2020, the dominant single factor that had the greatest impacts on the changes in carbon storage was FVC (vegetation coverage), with q values of 0.616, 0.619 and 0.567, respectively. The interactive dominant effects were mainly nonlinear enhancement and double-factor enhancement. The interactive dominant factors that had the greatest impact were FVC and the DEM (Digital Elevation Model), with q values of 0.94, 0.92 and 0.90, respectively. Therefore, ecological land with a high FVC should be protected and the expansion of non-vegetation areas should be restricted in future planning to improve the carbon storage level of the Tibetan Plateau and achieve the goal of carbon neutrality.

Cerebral dominance in spatial hearing and working memory abilities in adults with normal hearing sensitivity

BackgroundCerebral dominance refers to the biological description of the brain, where one cerebral hemisphere is dominant over the other in certain cerebral functions. There is scanty literature on cerebral dominance and its impact on auditory spatial processing and working memory, which is explored in the study.MethodsA total of 45 participants with normal hearing were divided into three groups of 15 participants. The groups were categorized based on scores obtained on the alert scale of the cognitive style checklist as the bilateral dominant, left dominant, and the right dominant group. The spatial hearing was assessed using interaural time difference (ITD), the interaural level difference (ILD), and virtual acoustic space identification (VASI) tests, whereas the auditory working memory abilities were tested using forward span, backward span, ascending digit span, descending digit span, and 2n back tests.ResultsMONOVA results indicated that there is no significant main effect of cerebral dominance on all auditory working memory tests. In spatial hearing, although ILD and ILD thresholds were not influenced by cerebral dominance, the main effect of cerebral dominance was seen on VASI accuracy scores. Post-hoc analyses of VASI scores showed that the bilateral dominant group demonstrated significantly better spatial perception scores compared to the left and right dominant groups, with latter groups showing similar performance.ConclusionsWhile ITD and ILD tests fall short of revealing cerebral asymmetry, VASI’s power in capturing cerebral dominance effects makes it a valuable tool in spatial processing assessment. The study’s findings highlight the need for assessing cerebral dominance, before administering spatial hearing tests.

The Development of a Multiphysics Coupled Solver for Studying the Effect of Dynamic Heterogeneous Configuration on Particulate Debris Bed Criticality and Cooling Characteristics

For a sodium-cooled fast reactor, the capability for stable cooling and avoiding re-criticality on the debris bed is essential for achieving in-vessel retention when severe accidents occur. However, an unexploited uncertainty still existed regarding the compound effect of the heterogeneous configuration and dynamic particle redistribution for the debris bed’s criticality and cooling safety assessment. Therefore, this research aims to develop a numerical tool for investigating the effects of the different transformations of the heterogeneous configurations on the debris bed’s criticality/cooling assessment. Based on the newly proposed methodology in this research, via integrating the Discrete Element Method (DEM) with Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and Monte-Carlo-based Neutronics (MCN), the coupled CFD–DEM–MCN solver was constructed with the originally created interface to integrate two existing codes. The effects of the different bed configurations’ transformations on the bed safety assessments were also quantitively confirmed, indicating that the effect of the particle-centralized fissile material had the dominant negative effect on the safety margin of avoiding re-criticality and particle re-melting accidents and had a more evident impact than the net bed-centralized effect. This coupled solver can serve to further assess the debris bed’s safety via a multi-physics simulation approach, leading to safer SFR design concepts.

An experimental study of off-centred rotating thermal convection: a laboratory model for the tidal effects

A novel experiment was performed in rotating Rayleigh–Bénard convection (RRBC), wherein the convection cell with radius $R$ was shifted away from the rotation axis by a distance $d$ . In this case, the centrifugal force felt by a fluid parcel (characterized by the Froude number $Fr$ ) can be decomposed into an axisymmetrical part $Fr_R$ and a directed one $Fr_d$ . It has been reported that the global heat transport enhances at $Fr_{d,c}$ and then reaches an optimal state at $Fr_{d,max}$ (Hu et al., Phys. Rev. Lett., vol. 127, 2021, 244501). In this paper, the local properties after the offset effects set in are investigated further, which show different features before and after $Fr_{d,max}$ . The local temperature measurements at the cell centre reveal that the bulk flow turns from a turbulent state into a laminar state at $Fr_{d,max}$ , which is consistent with the particle image velocimetry results. This transition can be qualitatively understood by an equivalent tilted RRBC system. As for the hot and cold coherent structures near the sidewall, their vertical temperature variations reach a minimum at $Fr_{d,max}$ , implying that these structures are mostly uniform in the vertical direction at $Fr_{d,max}$ . Their temperature contrasts show a linear dependence on $Fr_d$ and start to deviate from this linear behaviour when $Fr_d>Fr_{d,max}$ . Besides the dominant effects of $Fr_d$ , the secondary effects of $Fr_R$ are also investigated. Due to the positive effect of $+Fr_R$ on the cold structure and the negative effect of $-Fr_R$ on the hot one, the cold structure is more coherent than the hot one, but its size is smaller. The shift of the cold cluster centre from the farthest point is also larger than the shift of the hot one from the nearest point.

Systematic effect of particle roundness/angularity on macro- and microscopic behavior of granular materials

Roundness/angularity is a vital shape descriptor that significantly impacts the mechanical response of granular materials and is closely associated with many geotechnical problems, such as liquefaction, slope stability, and bearing capacity. In this study, a series of biaxial shearing tests are conducted on dual-size aluminum circular and hexagonal rod material. A novel image analysis technique is used to estimate particle kinematics. A discrete element model (DEM) of the biaxial shearing test is then developed and validated by comparing it with the complete experimental data set. To systematically investigate the effect of roundness/angularity on granular behavior, the DEM model is then used to simulate eight non-elongated convex polygonal-shaped particles. Macroscopically, it is observed that angular assemblies exhibit higher shear strengths and volumetric deformations, i.e., dilations. Moreover, a unique relationship is observed between the critical state stress ratio and particle roundness. Microscopically, the roundness shows a considerable effect on rotational behavior such that the absolute mean cumulative rotation at the same strain level increases with roundness. A decrease in roundness results in relatively stronger interlocking, restricting an individual particle’s free rotation. Furthermore, the particles inside the shear band exhibit significantly higher rotations and are always associated with low coordination numbers. Generally, the geometrical shape of a particle is found to have a dominant effect on rotational behavior than coordination number.Graphical

Ground-Motion Model for Hard-Rock Sites by Correction of Surface Recordings (Part 1): Comparison of Site-Response Estimates at KiK-Net Sites

ABSTRACT Site-specific seismic hazard assessment involves the prior knowledge of (1) the input ground motion at the local bedrock and (2) the site response. In this article and its companion, we address the deconvolution approach to obtain a reference ground-motion model, which consists of removing site effects from surface ground-motion recordings. Laurendeau et al. (2018) applied this approach on the KiK-net network with site response from 1D SH-wave (1DSH) simulations, calculated using the VS profiles available for most sites. Indeed, this approach presents several limitations with 1DSH site response if it is considered to be applied to other networks, especially in the European context. First, the approach requires identification of sites with dominant 1D effects. Second, it needs the presence of accurately measured VS profiles. In this context, we propose to derive deconvolved ground-motion models using site response from generalized inversion techniques () for two main reasons. The first reason is that the GIT delivers empirical site response for all types of sites, conditioned by the presence of sufficient amount of data, and the second is that it reduces the need for VS profiles. We focus on the estimation of site effects from different approaches and present a methodology to obtain reliable site terms from GIT based on the experience from previous studies. We also introduce and detail the difference between absolute and relative site response, which mainly depends on the chosen reference. We estimate and compare site response for the KiK-net stations with different methods, that is, empirical and theoretical 1DSH. We also conclude a list of 1D sites based on comparisons between theoretical and empirical estimates of site response. The results obtained in this article will be the primary input for the deconvolution approach applied in the companion article.

Numerical investigation of melting process for phase change material (PCM) embedded in metal foam structures with Kelvin cells at pore scale level

The present numerical study analyzes the melting process of phase change material (PCM) embedded in a metallic foam structure at pore scale level. The computational domain consists of two different sizes of 3D cubic boxes. The analyzed domain is filled with Kelvin cell-structures with different Cell Per Length (CPL) and constant porosity of 0.956. A constant temperature, higher than the melting temperature of PCM, is assigned to one external surface of the enclosure, while the other surfaces are adiabatic. The conjugate problem for the heat transfer between the PCM and the solid structure with Kelvin cells is developed. Enthalpy-porosity method is used to describe the PCM melting process. The finite volume method is used to solve the conjugate heat transfer problem at pore scale level by Ansys-Fluent code. A comparison of different CPL values is reported in terms of liquid fraction, average temperature of the PCM, and energy storage. The comparison is also considered between the two different volumes of the cubic boxes. The presence of the metallic structured Kelvin cells increases the overall heat transfer rate and decreases the melting time. Results for smaller cavity indicates that as the CPL number increases, the time required for the PCM melting process decreases. Furthermore, the total heat accumulation process takes a shorter time to reach the maximum value. The melting time and the duration of heat accumulation are worsened for the large cubic box (L = 4 inch) at CLP>6. This is due to the dominant viscous effect, which decreases the velocity induced by the buoyancy forces because of higher contact surface area. In these cases, heat transfer between liquid and solid phases of the PCM decreases substantially.