Anchor Effect Research Articles

Effect of the anchors' free length that made of tubular screw rods on the forces distribution in pile-anchor retaining structures on highways

Pile-supported retaining structures are widely used to protect road sections from landslide processes. The article describes the design and calculation peculiarities of pile-supported retaining structures reinforced with a drill and inject anchors from tubular screw rods. The authors considered two options for this type of anchors setup: without free length and with a pre-set free length. In the software geotechnical complex Plaxis, on the finite element method basis, mathematical modeling and calculation of a pile-supported anchor retaining structure with different free anchors lengths from tubular screw rods for various soils types have been performed. Numerical relationships have been obtained between the anchors' free length and the resulting forces in the retaining structure. The performed calculations series of the test scheme showed that with an increase in the free anchors' length in the retaining structure, there is a decrease in the applied load in its load-bearing elements due to the horizontal displacements growth. The article presents the survey results of a real road section, on which a landslide displacement is being prepared, and considers a design solution for a pile-supported anchor retaining structure to ensure its safe operation. Performed a series of calculations for various landslide process development stages in this area showed that the effect of the anchors' free length also largely depends on the state of the adjacent soil mass. Obtained results clearly show that the design of a free length section for anchors made of tubular screw rods makes it possible to design more cost-effective pile-supported anchor holding structures without reducing their reliability.

Mechanical model based on a BVP for FRPs applied on flat and curved masonry pillars with anchor spikes

The use of fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) materials for strengthening interventions of existing constructions is a consolidated and widespread technique. In this context, although strengthening interventions generally involve curved masonry elements (arches, vaults, domes, etc.), only a few studies specifically concern the influence of the geometry curvature, or the effect of mechanical anchors (widely used in current practice for preventing premature failures), on the bond behavior of FRPs. The present paper proposes an interface exponential model for simulating the bond behavior of curved masonry pillars reinforced with FRP strips applied at the intrados or extrados by both epoxy adhesive and anchor spikes. The proposed model is based on a relatively simple boundary value problem (BVP) obtained by assuming for the spike a constitutive behavior under shear forces quantitatively deduced by post-processing the numerical data from a finite element micro-modeling approach previously proposed by the authors. The application of the proposed model to experimental cases carried out by the authors underlines the stability of solution and the reliability of the proposed approach to account for the effect of both the curvature of the substrate and the presence of the spike anchor on the bond behavior of FRPs.

An approach to effectively improve the interfacial bonding of nano-perfused composites by in situ growth of CNTs

Abstract Nano molding technology (NMT) has shown great potential in the preparation of metal/resin composites, which can integrate resin and metal into a lightweight, high-strength metal matrix composite. However, due to the poor interfacial bonding strength between metal and polymer, the application of the metal/polymer composites is limited. In this paper, we proposed a novel method to improve the bonding strength between Fe–Co–Ni alloy and epoxy resin by Nano Perfusion Technology (NPT), featuring in situ growth of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in the pores on anodized Fe–Co–Ni alloy porous surface, followed by a perfusion of epoxy resin throughout the pores that had been in situ grown CNTs. Due to the “anchor effect” of CNTs, the bonding strength between the epoxy and the alloy matrix is improved. The results showed that the interfacial bonding between the in situ CNTs-modified alloy and the resin was significantly improved compared to the metal-resin composites surface treated with T-treatment in traditional method of NMT. The maximum interfacial bonding force of the alloy-CNTs/epoxy composite reached up to 691.80 N, which was 460, 315, and 267% higher than those by mechanical treatment, without CNTs and T-treatment, respectively. This work provides a new approach to protect metals or alloys from environmental corrosion, impact damage, and so on.

Verdict spotting: investigating the effects of juror bias, evidence anchors and verdict system in jurors

The Scottish verdict of not proven represents a second acquittal verdict which is not legally defined. Existing research into the influence of the not proven verdict on jury decision making is modest. The main aim of the current study was therefore to investigate the influence of verdict systems (two vs three) on juror decision making. The effect of pre-trial bias and evidence anchors on juror judgements were also examined. One-hundred and twenty-eight mock jurors listened to two homicide vignettes and were asked to rate their belief of guilt of the accused and to give a verdict in both trials. The results suggest that pre-trial bias was a significant predictor of both verdict choice and belief of guilt, whereas evidence anchors were not a significant predictor of either. Finally, both guilty and not guilty verdicts were given with increased frequency in the two-verdict system when compared to the three-verdict system.

Effectiveness of geocell wall, geogrid and micropile anchors for mitigation of unstable slopes

Slope failure mitigation practices are well developed in recent years. Recently, geosynthetic, geocell, and geogrid combined with micropiles are being used extensively in various slope stabilization works. But integrated approaches are still lacking. In this study, a method of slope stabilization is proposed by integrated use of micropile, geocell and geogrid from an engineering and economical point of view. The study was done on slope failure located at Chandragiri Hill, south west of Kathmandu, Nepal. Geotechnical problems of the site, the design of geocell foundation, micropile and geogrid are done on the based on numerical analysis using Phase-2 software with field data. The results of analytical studies revealed that, the use of a combination of geocell, micropile and geogrid is beneficial in increasing slope stability. As per numerical analysis, in the slope failure site, geocell gravity walls each of 3.8 m, is constructed in different step. Beneath the geocell wall, different layers of geogrid were placed filled with granular materials. The geocell wall is connected with micropile from inside. The micropile works as an anchorage and support for geocell wall, which increases the stability of a failed slope.

Mechanical properties of a new string capsule drainage anchor and its supporting effect in deep foundation pit

With the increase of the scale and depth of urban underground space construction in coastal soft soil area, the traditional anchoring technology has been difficult to meet the requirements of deep foundation pit excavation and support. This paper puts forward a new type of string capsule drainage anchor supporting structure, introduces its structure composition, analyzes its working mechanism and mechanical characteristics, the calculation formula of ultimate bearing capacity of small cylindrical shear failure between anchor and surrounding soil is given, finally, the supporting effect of the new structure in deep foundation pit engineering is simulated and analyzed by finite element software. It is concluded that the stress of the new type of anchor can be divided into three stages: static earth pressure, plastic zone development and plastic zone breaks through; the new anchor can quickly dissipate the pore water pressure in the surrounding soil, which is more conducive to the stability of foundation pit; the axial force distribution presents a “sawtooth” shape, and the axial force increases sharply in the expanding section; the supporting effect of the new anchor is more obvious than that of the traditional anchor, which can more effectively inhibit the horizontal displacement of the slope.

Age biases the judgment rather than the perception of an ambiguous figure

Older participants who are briefly presented with the ‘my wife/mother-in-law’ ambiguous figure estimate its age to be higher than young participants do. This finding is thought to be the result of a subconscious social group bias that influences participants’ perception of the figure. Because people are better able to recognize similarly aged individuals, young participants are expected to perceive the ambiguous figure as a young woman, while older participants are more likely to recognize an older lady. We replicate the difference in age estimates, but find no relationship between participants’ age and their perception of the ambiguous figure. This leads us to conclude that the positive relationship between participants’ age and their age estimates of the ambiguous ‘my wife/mother-in-law’ figure is better explained by the own-age anchor effect, which holds that people use their own age as a yard stick to judge the age of the figure, regardless of whether the young woman or the older lady is perceived. Our results disqualify the original finding as an example of cognitive penetrability: the participants’ age biases their judgment of the ambiguous figure, not its perception.

Analysis of the effects of thermal anchors on the reduction of the parasitic load to the EU-DEMO TF coils

The design of the superconducting magnet system of the EU-DEMO tokamak reached the end of the pre-conceptual design phase, and a careful investigation of the parasitic heat load from the room-temperature environment is needed. A possible route for the parasitic heat to enter the toroidal field (TF) coils is by conduction through their Gravity Supports (GSs), which provide mechanical support to the TFs, the Vacuum Vessel (VV) and attached coils, acting as a thermal bridge to the TF casing. A thermal anchoring of the GS using Supercritical helium (SHe) at 4.5 K, re-routing a fraction of the coolant from the TF casing cooling loop, downstream of the casing, is addressed in this study. A 3D thermal model is developed for a plausible design of the EU-DEMO GS, coupled to fluid lines that account for the active cooling by SHe. The effect of the location of the Thermal Anchor (TA) at different heights of the GS plates is investigated parametrically and the beneficial reduction of the parasitic heat load to the TF coil is demonstrated. The reduction of the static heat load to the TF winding pack, when the TA is enabled, is computed and discussed.

Anchor-Based Promotions in Retailing: How Consumers Respond to an Additional Anchor?

Research on anchor-based promotions suggests that retailers can increase promotional sales by presenting an irrelevant purchase quantity anchor in a price promotion. While several studies have examined such single-anchor promotions, the potential and limits of dual-anchor promotions remain unexplored. Therefore, this article examines how complementing a single-anchor promotion with an additional quantity anchor influences consumers’ purchase quantity decisions. The results of four studies demonstrate that the effect of an additional anchor on intended purchase quantity depends on the additional-by-original anchor interaction, so that complementing a small original anchor with a large additional anchor increases intended purchase quantity. The findings show that this positive effect is robust to the order of the two anchors and conditional on the additional anchor being a product quantity number. Process evidence indicates that the effect arises due to the increased mental accessibility of anchor-consistent information. The findings also suggest that while complementing a small original anchor with a large additional anchor increases intended purchase quantity substantially, using a single-anchor promotion based on a large anchor increases intended purchase quantity even more. The article concludes with a discussion of the theoretical and managerial implications of the findings.

Carbon dots-based room-temperature phosphorescent test strip: Visual and convenient water detection in organic solvents

Room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP) has got more and more attentions in sensing due to its specific optical properties of longer lifetime and higher signal-to-noise ratio. However, developing low-cost RTP test strip (RTP-TS) for visual and convenient detection is still a challenging. Here, we reported the construction of new RTP-TS based on N-doped carbon dots (N-CDs), which was synthesized with a simple hydrothermal method using isophthalic acid (IPA) and ethylenediamine (EDA) as precursors. The constructed RTP-TS exhibited bright green RTP emission under UV excitation (365 nm) with a longer lifetime of 0.769 s. The mechanism studying indicates the efficient RTP emission of RTP-TS is from the N/O-rich CDs and the anchor effect of polyacrylic acid (PAA), which can restrict the varication/rotation of N-CDs by H-bonds, and suppress the nonirradiative quenching processes. Nevertheless, the presence of H2O can destroy these H-bonds and therefore effectively quench the RTP emission of RTP-TS, the changes of RTP intensity is inversely proportional to H2O concentration. Based on this, the RTP-TS has been successfully used for visual and convenient water detection in several common organic solvents (ethanol, acetone, acetonitrile, tetrahydrofuran) with high sensitivity, excellent stability, accuracy and reliability. This work will open a new approach to construct visual RTP-TS for practical use in sensing.

Fabrication of Three-Dimensional Microstructure Film by Ni-Cu Alloy Electrodeposition for Joining Dissimilar Materials

Metals with a three-dimensional microstructure film can be joined to plastics by the anchor effect. The three-dimensional microstructure films can be electrodeposited by a Ni-Cu alloy. In this study, the effects of the ratio of the concentration of Ni amidosulfate and Cu sulfate in the plating solution and plating current density on the shapes and microstructures of electrodeposited films were investigated. When the ratio of the concentration of the Ni amidosulfate and the Cu sulfate is 0.47-1.4:0.06 (M/L), a dendritic-type electrodeposited structure was generated at plating current density of 10 mA/cm2. When the ratio of the concentration of the Ni amidosulfate and the Cu sulfate is 0.47:0.6-1.2 (M/L), a feathery-type and needle-type electrodeposited structure was generated.

Arthroscopic repair of Bankart lesion with bioabsorbable suture anchors

To evaluate early clinical effects of bioabsorbable suture anchors for the treatment of Bankart lesion. Total 23 patients with the Bankart lesion were treated with arthroscopic repair using bioabsorbable suture anchors from January 2010 to June 2017. There were 20 males and 3 females, with an average age of (23.4±3.9) years old (ranged, 19 to 34 years old). Fourteen patients had injuries on the right shoulder joint and 9 patients had the injuries on the left side. The mechanism of primary dislocation included 17 cases of training, 5 cases of sports injury and 1 case of falling down. The mean interval time from injury to surgery was(10.9±5.8) months (ranged, 3 to 36 months). The Bankart lesion was repaired by bio-cortical suture anchors. The Rowes rating system for Bankart repair was used to evaluate therapeutic effects. All 23 patients were followed up, with a mean duration of(24.5±3.7) months(ranged, 18 to 39 months). At the latest follow up, there was no recurrent dislocation occurred, and all patients had returned to sports and work. The Rowes rating system for Bankart repair was 53.91±11.67 pre-operationally and 91.74±12.30 post operationally, respectively (P<0.01). According to the Rowes rating system, there were 0 case of excellent, 0 case of fine, 9 cases of good and 14 cases of bad pre-operationally;16 cases of excellent, 4 case of fine, 3 cases of good and 0 cases of bad post operationally;the difference was statistically significant (P<0.01). Applying bio-cortical bone suture anchors for the Bankart lesion is a reliable, efficient and cost effective treatment, which is also suitable for the revision of the Bankart lesion.

Determinants of the renminbi anchor effect: From the perspective of the belt and road initiative

AbstractThe scope of this study is to empirically test the renminbi's (RMB) anchor effect. Since the proposal of the Belt and Road (B&amp;R) Initiative, the RMB is shown to have made more remarkable progress as an anchor currency in B&amp;R countries compared to non‐B&amp;R countries. The ordered logit model is then used to examine the determinants of the RMB anchor effect. The results show that the probability of the RMB being an anchor currency increases with the higher the trade integration, the higher the investment dependence, the better the RMB infrastructure and the closer the policy cooperation. The results also provide evidence on how to further strengthen the RMB anchor effect and promote the RMB internationalization in the long run. On the basis of strengthening its policy cooperation with B&amp;R countries, China should use its sustainable growth of trade and investment to provide the impetus for RMB internationalization. Furthermore, it should optimize the layout of the RMB offshore market, increase the openness of the financial market, and strengthen currency cooperation among central banks to provide guarantees for RMB internationalization.

Experimental investigation on the installation and loading performance of model-scale deep helical piles in very dense sand

The use of helical piles has grown over the years owing to different advantages, such as large uplift capacity due to the anchor effect of the helix and installation torque-capacity correlation. Although the use of helical foundations is expanding worldwide, some key aspects fundamental to the design are not well understood to date. Practical experience indicates that the installation forces and loading performance of helical piles in sand are dependent on the helices characteristics and confining stresses. Therefore, for a better understanding of these dependencies, the effects of the helix-to-shaft diameter ratio (wing ratio) and vertical confining stress on the installation torque and forces, and on the uplift and compression capacities of helical piles, were evaluated from nine calibration chamber tests, conducted on instrumented single-helix piles in very dense sand. Among other findings, this study indicated that for a certain shaft diameter (i) the wing ratio influences the installation torque, but does not affect the installation vertical force; (ii) the ultimate uplift pressure mobilized on the helix decreases with the increase of the wing ratio; (iii) the growth rate of the helix bearing resistance with the confining pressure, for vertical stresses higher than 100 kPa, becomes reduced for piles with a larger wing ratio.

Anchoring effect in judgments of objective fact and subjective preference

The way by which various sources of external information interact in their effects on judgment is rarely investigated. Here, we report two experiments that examine how two sources of external information—an anchor (a reference price) and an eco-label—influence judgments of an objective fact (product price) and a subjective preference (willingness-to-pay for the product). Participants’ price judgments were drawn in the direction of the anchor point, whereas the eco-label resulted in higher judgments of objective fact (Experiment 1) but did not influence subjective preference (Experiment 2). Interestingly, the eco-label seemed to strengthen the effect of the high anchor in judgments of objective fact. Further, participants with higher environmental concern answered a higher price on the subjective preference questions when they received a high anchor, as well as a lower price when they received a low anchor in comparison to the low environmental concern group. This study demonstrates that various external information sources can strengthen each other’s effects on consumer belief about products, while the effects are weaker for consumers’ preferences. The implications of the results for decision making are discussed.

Anchor effects in appraisals: do information and theoretical knowledge matter?

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of theoretical knowledge related to financial behaviour and especially anchor effects.Design/methodology/approachThe study design is based upon an experiment divided into two parts, before and after the development of the course curriculum for the course introducing behavioural finance for undergraduate real estate students.FindingsThe study concludes that the anchor effect is persistent also after introducing theoretical knowledge regarding financial behaviour and anchor effects. To conclude the results, in this study, indicates that the appraisal of properties are dependent on the individual’s cognitive capacity to mitigate anchor effects. There are epistemological assumptions underlying the belief in the individuals’ capacity to handle anchor effects that might provide biased appraisals. These assumptions need to be carefully tested and treated to increase the accuracy of property appraisals.Practical implicationsThe study result also highlights the possibility that current literature in valuation, and learning activities, does not emphases and stimulate readers to critical thinking. This paper would, therefore, propose also other real estate education programmes to be aware of the potential lack of critical thinking among the students.Originality/valueIt provides an insight regarding how appraisal of properties is dependent on the individual’s cognitive capacity to mitigate anchor effects.

Investigating the stability and anchor support parameters of slopes subjected to wetting and drying cycles in relation to the Nanfen open-pit mine, China

Periodic rainfall and evaporation have a major influence on slope instability. In order to explore the changes in seepage characteristics and the stability of slopes under wetting–drying cycles, finite element numerical simulations have been conducted using a case study of the Nanfen open-pit mine in China. The slope stability analysis has been based on the strength reduction method and the effectiveness of anchors was also studied. The results showed that the slope safety factor decreased nonlinearly under the action of the wetting–drying cycles. The pore water pressure of the slope responded quickly to the wetting–drying cycles and had a certain lag, which changed periodically with the process of rainfall and evaporation. When strengthening the slope with anchors, the effects of the anchoring parameters such as anchor length, inclination angle, and installation position on the slope reinforcement effect needs to be investigated. The change in anchor parameters was found to affect the position and depth of the potential sliding surface, thus affecting the stability of the slope. When installing anchors in a slope, the combined effect of the favorable parameters should be considered to ensure a balance between the benefits of the anchor in improving the stability of a slope and the associated economics of the anchoring system.

An investigation on the effect of high energy storage anchor on surrounding rock conditions.

High pre-tension bolt is an effective strata control technique and is the key to ensure the stability of anchorage and roadway. Based on the performances of high energy storage tension rock bolts in different rock properties, this study proposed a constitutive model to describe the energy balance of anchor under uniaxial compression. UDEC was used to simulate the behaviour of anchor in coal under uniaxial compression and the results were analysed to study the rock mechanical properties, degree of damage and energy evolution. Simulation results showed that tension rock bolts can improve the mechanical properties and energy storage capacities of the anchor. The energy evolution was divided into three stages: (i) the external work was stored in the form of elastic strain energy (Ue) in the anchor prior to the yielding strength; (ii) the elastic strain energy reached its maximum near the peak strength; (iii) energy was dissipated from fracture friction (Wf), plastic deformation (Wp) and acoustic emission (Ur) during post-peak stage. The installation of tension rock bolts was more suitable for medium hard rock (e.g. sandy mudstone), whereas it was not effective for hard rock (e.g. sandstone).

Amino-rich carbon quantum dots ultrathin nanofiltration membranes by double “one-step” methods: Breaking through trade-off among separation, permeation and stability

To coordinate trade-off among separation, permeation and stability, we prepared an amino-rich carbon quantum dots (CQDs-NH2) nanofiltration (NF) membrane with a granular surface structure, an ultra-thin active layer and abundant amine groups by double “one-step” methods (synthesizing CQDs-NH2 by heating of poly-ethylenimine polymer first and then polymerizing trimesoyl chloride (TMC) and CQDs-NH2). Through the in-situ small angle X-ray scattering, we observed that the radius of CQDs-NH2 first decreased slightly and then increased significantly with the heating temperature increasing, and the minimum average radius was 4.64 nm. The optimized conditions of 1.6 wt% CQDs-NH2 solution, 0.2 wt% TMC solution, 60 ℃ curing temperature and 7.5 min curing time were used to prepare polyethersulfone/CQDs-NH2-TMC NF membrane, which exhibited the remarkable performance with permeation flux of 11.98 L·m−2·h−1·bar−1 and SLi,Mg of 14.42. The original interfacial binding force of polyethersulfone/CQDs-NH2-TMC composite membrane was 146.6 μN, which was two times higher than that of polyethersulfone/poly-ethylenimine-TMC composite membrane due to the “anchor effect” and compatibility. Importantly, during a 120-h continuous filtration, the permeate flux and separation performance were still stable with only small fluctuations, same as the interfacial binding force.

Effects of PEG anchors in PEGylated siRNA lipoplexes on invitro gene‑silencing effects and siRNA biodistribution in mice.

Polyethylene glycol (PEG)-modifications (PEGylations) of cationic liposome/small interfering RNA complexes (siRNA lipoplexes) can enhance their systemic stability. The present study determined the effects of PEG anchors in PEGylated siRNA lipoplexes on in vitro gene-silencing effects and siRNA biodistribution after intravenous injection. Three types of dialkyl or trialkyl cationic lipids were used in the current study for the preparation of cationic liposomes. Additionally, various PEGylated siRNA lipoplexes that contained PEG-1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine (DSPE), PEG-1,2-distearoyl-rac-glycero-3-methylpolyoxyethylene (DSG), PEG-cholesterol (PEG-Chol) and PEG-chondroitin sulfate conjugate (PEG-CS) were prepared. The results revealed that PEGylation of siRNA lipoplexes with PEG-DSPE strongly decreased gene-silencing effects in cells. In contrast, those with PEG-DSG, PEG-Chol and PEG-CS did not largely decrease gene-silencing effects. However, regardless of the PEG-derivative type, PEGylation of siRNA lipoplexes decreased their agglutination with erythrocytes. Furthermore, intravenous injection of PEGylated siRNA lipoplexes markedly decreased the accumulation of siRNA in the lungs, regardless of the type of PEG-derivative. However, non-PEGylated siRNA lipoplexes accumulated mainly in the lungs regardless of the siRNA lipoplex cationic lipid type. The results indicated that PEGylation of siRNA lipoplexes with PEG-DSG, PEG-Chol and PEG-CS may improve systemic stability without losing transfection activity by PEGylation.