Ground Maintenance Research Articles

Low-Velocity, High-Mass, Wide-Area Blunt Impact on Composite Panels

Impact damage caused by ground vehicles and equipment colliding with the structural components of aircraft is a significant source of damage to commercial aircraft that may go unreported. Most common are blunt impacts from ground maintenance and service vehicles and equipment with attached elastomeric bumpers that protect the aircraft to some degree but may not leave externally visible evidence of an impact. This research examines the types of impact threats to a composite airplane fuselage, impact testing of composite specimens that simulate airplane fuselage specimens, and the visible detectability of the damage. The test program has two distinct aspects: (a) prediction through analysis and (b) small- and large-scale quasistatic indentation testing.

The Influence of Soil Upkeep upon the Properties of Cambic Chernozem on the "Bujoru Hills” Vineyard (Covurlui Plateau)

Recent specialty literature has pointed out both the advantages and the disadvantages of soil upkeep systems in vine plantations practiced in the world with a view to the ecological conditions in vineyards: black field, herbicide treatment, sod establishment with annual and perennial cultures and mixed systems in a given spatio-temporal succession (Agulhon, 1999). Physical, chemical and biological properties of cambic chernozem were influenced by different types of ground maintenance. Analytical data resulting from researches show us that they are different regarding the influence of soil tillage upon its characteristics. Values of soil attributes that characterize the depth profile registers a decrease in the depth profile, with noticeable differences between the annual work as black field and other types of soil maintenance. Soil biological activity depends on the climatic conditions and its technological management. This research aims at the dynamics of soil microorganisms which ensure the nitrogen circuit. The results of this research may stand as background for certain conclusions of practical importance.

Aircraft jet source noise measurements of a Lockheed Martin F-22 fighter jet using a prototype near-field acoustical holography measurement system.

Military jet aircraft generate high levels of noise which require innovative measurement and analysis methods to characterize the jet noise. A near-field acoustic holography (NAH) system is being developed to provide model refinement and benchmarking, evaluate performance of noise control devices, and predict ground maintenance personnel and community noise exposure. A prototype NAH system was used to perform jet source noise measurements of an F-22 at Holloman AFB, NM. This NAH system utilizes a patch and scan measurement approach using a 90 channel microphone array and over 50 reference microphones. The microphone array was used to make pressure measurements on a planar surface extending from the jet nozzle to 75 ft along the plume and over 6 ft in height. These measurements were made parallel either to the shear layer or to the nozzle center line of the jet plume at three different offset distances. Measurements were made every 6 in. on the surface which results in over 1800 measurements per offset distance. The ground based fixed reference microphones were located parallel to the nozzle center line. The measurement approach and pressure measurements for four power conditions detailing the source size, frequency content, and ground effect will be detailed. [Work supported by AFRL SBIR.]

Finding a Place for Environmental Studies: Tertiary Institutions as a Locus of Practice for Education for Sustainability

Finding a Place for Environmental Studies: Tertiary Institutions as a Locus of Practice for Education for Sustainability Education for sustainability (EfS) involves not only curriculum, but also demands responses in terms of management of resources and of grounds. It is asserted here that inclusion of education for sustainability in the curriculum, whether in a school or university context, is hollow and insincere in the absence of practical and social action on site and perhaps beyond. The present study focuses on students' views of opportunities and barriers with regard to issues, such as maintenance of grounds and management of resources in a tertiary institution context. A cohort of approximately 140 third year primary teacher education students were surveyed to ascertain their views on the value of, barriers to and opportunities for practical sustainability projects conducted by students in their tertiary context. Such projects are a precursor to similar endeavours that could be undertaken in the students' school contexts.

Letter to the Editor

Development of the GCA Radar Landing System: A Memoir by C.A. Fowler, I was clearing out some packing boxes in the garage and came across an album of photos and memorabilia that my Mother saved from my Army Air Force service in Germany from 1946 to 1948. Included was a Munich Air Base newspaper published in February 1947, showing photos of the Munich GCA and an explanation of the Airways and Air Communications Service (AACS) that included the GCA installation! I have enclosed a photocopy of the newspaper. Would you be kind enough to send this to Mr. Fowler? [We have. - Editors] I entered the Army Air Corps in October 1945 (age 17) and was trained as a Ground Maintenance Mechanic for Airborne and Ground Radio equipment. I served in the AACS from July 1946 to July 1948. In September 1946, I was assigned to Bremerhaven, Germnany Air Base in the AACS Detachment and took care of Control Tower Radios (UHF and Ground-to-Ground (HIP) Air Traffic Control transmitters from September to December 1946.

Surface Temperature Mapping of the University of Northern Iowa Campus Using High Resolution Thermal Infrared Aerial Imageries.

The goal of this project was to map the surface temperature of the University of Northern Iowa campus using high-resolution thermal infrared aerial imageries. A thermal camera with a spectral bandwidth of 3.0-5.0 μm was flown at the average altitude of 600 m, achieving ground resolution of 29 cm. Ground control data was used to construct the pixel- to-temperature conversion model, which was later used to produce temperature maps of the entire campus and also for validation of the model. The temperature map then was used to assess the building rooftop conditions and steam line faults in the study area. Assessment of the temperature map revealed a number of building structures that may be subject to insulation improvement due to their high surface temperatures leaks. Several hot spots were also identified on the campus for steam pipelines faults. High-resolution thermal infrared imagery proved highly effective tool for precise heat anomaly detection on the campus, and it can be used by university facility services for effective future maintenance of buildings and grounds.

ISS rises to the challenge of effective HR management

Purposethis paper aims to describe how UK facility‐services company ISS has improved its human resource management and client service using a new time and attendance management system.Design/methodology/approachThe paper outlines the particular HR management challenges facing ISS – which has more than 42,000 employees, working for a wide range of geographically dispersed clients, often to different service‐level agreements, on tasks that range from office cleaning to catering, from pest control to internal‐mail delivery, and from building and grounds maintenance to staffing the help desk – and how the new time and attendance system is helping to overcome them.FindingsThe paper reveals that productivity has improved since ISS implemented the system. The company now has more accurate records of employees' working hours and so can manage its labor budget more effectively.Practical implicationsThe paper advances the view that, with improved management information, ISS can deliver an enhanced service by demonstrating precisely where its employees have been and what they have done.Originality/valueThe paper highlights other benefits from the system, including monitoring conformance with health and safety regulations, visa and other requirements.

Degrading the labourer: The reform of local government manual work

Market mechanisms in the local-government sector have transformed service delivery and the management of manual municipal labour. Low pay has traditionally been tolerated in these services in exchange for job security; and the relative autonomy entailed by non-profit production methods had permitted the continuation of a public-service ethos. But in a labour-intensive sector, the move from democratically determined to market-led production within ever-decreasing levels of central funding is only possible through job loss, work intensification and insecurity. Case study findings show how these pressures were played out in school cleaning and grounds maintenance in a Labour local authority.

Let’s you do that: Sharing the cognitive burdens of dialogue

Three accounts of common ground maintenance make different assumptions about speakers’ responsibilities regarding listener-privileged information. Duplicated responsibility requires each interlocutor to assimilate the other’s knowledge before designing appropriate utterances. Shared responsibility appeals to least collaborative effort [Clark, H. H., & Wilkes-Gibbs, D. (1986). Referring as a collaborative process. Cognition, 22, 1–39.], requiring each interlocutor to report her own privileged knowledge. Cognitive load [Horton, W. S., & Gerrig, R. J. (2005b). The impact of memory demands on audience design during language production. Cognition, 96(2), 127–142.] assumes duplicated responsibility curtailed by processing limitations, so that simpler cues to listener knowledge should be preferred. Three experiments track genuine gaze of instructors at simulated projected gaze of confederate followers whom they guide along a map route. Though instructors can correct off-route gaze, a simply interpretable cue to listener knowledge, they habitually rely on inaccurate, underspecified verbal feedback instead and begin corrections without first checking the follower’s gaze. Time pressure discourages corrections accompanied by gaze checking. The results argue for shared responsibility attributable to a limitation in capacity to seek and integrate listener knowledge.

Use of a National Reporting System for Occupational Injuries in Costa Rica

Occupational injury surveillance in developing countries may be hindered by the lack of health data infrastructure as well the large numbers of informal-sector workers. The goal of this study was to elucidate the scope of occupational injury in the Monteverde district of Costa Rica using data collected through the national workers social security system. A list of occupational injuries occurring in the district reported to the National Insurance Institute (INS) central office between 1998 and 2002 was taken to the regional INS office, and the original injury reports for the cases were pulled. Specific data on the injuries were collected. There were 184 injuries reported during the five year period. Occupations with the highest number of injuries included production, building and grounds maintenance, and agricultural/forestry/fishing. Descriptive data showed that prevention efforts in this rural region should target food manufacturing, hotels, and construction.

Radar: the evolution since World War II

Modern radar design has benefited from the evolution of specialized digital processing, allowing high resolution ground mapping, target identification, and target tracking under many conditions. Air-to-air interception makes use of complex decision processes to select from many modes that depend on the clutter backgrounds and flight profiles. Today's multimode radars provide this information for each task while minimizing distractions. Fire control radars support a wide selection of weapons, including cannons and guided missiles. This is possible because of advanced digital processing. In the interval since WW II, radar design evolved from vacuum tubes to semiconductors and then to massively integrated circuits. Computers specialized for fast Fourier transforms (FFTs) have revolutionized radar data processing. System reliability has improved from a few hours to hundreds of hours. Effective built-in test informs ground maintenance personnel of problems for easy maintenance and low failure rates reduce or eliminate field maintenance benches at forward locations. Airborne surveillance radars, such as AW ACS Joint Stars have changed the nature of warfare. Commanders have virtually full view of enemy and friendly forces. Radars, in combination with other remote sensors, provide precise weapon delivery, reducing collateral damage and making all weapons more effective.

Race- and course-level risk factors for fatal distal limb fracture in racing Thoroughbreds.

Considerable variation in the rates of equine fatality at different racecourses draws attention to probable risk factors at the level of course or race that might be partly responsible. Distal limb fractures are the most common cause of equine fatality on UK racecourses and identification of risk factors for such injuries and subsequent implementation of intervention strategies could significantly reduce the total number of racecourse fatalities. To identify race- and course-level risk factors for fatal distal limb fracture in Thoroughbreds on UK racecourses. A case-control study design was used. Case races were defined as those in which one or more horses sustained fatal fracture of the distal limb. Controls were selected in 2 different ways. Firstly, 3 races in which no fracture occurred were selected from all races of the same type held within 5 days of the case race (Analysis 1). Secondly, 3 control races were selected for each case race from all races of the same type held in the same year (Analysis 2). One hundred and nine cases were included in the study. Information about the race and the racecourses was collected from Computer Raceform. Conditional logistic regression was used to identify the relationship between a number of independent variables and the likelihood of fracture in a race. Longer races with a larger number of runners were more likely to contain a fracture. Firmer going and fewer days since the last race on the same course were associated with an increased risk of fracture. The going at the course at the previous race meeting was also associated with the likelihood of fracture. Modifications to the going on the day of a race and greater emphasis on ground maintenance between race meetings may have an impact on the risk of fatal distal limb fracture during racing. Modification of risk factors such as the going and number of days since the last race meeting could reduce the number of equine fatalities on UK racecourses. The condition of the racecourse may be an important risk factor and future research should focus on the identification of course maintenance techniques that produce the safest possible racing surfaces.

A simple method for assessing minimum flows in regulated rivers: the case of sea lamprey reproduction

Abstract The sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) is an anadromous species that occurs in some large Iberian rivers, such as the Tagus, and their tributaries. The sea lamprey populations of the River Tagus are threatened by habitat loss and overexploitation, which means that conservation measures, including maintenance of the spawning grounds, are urgent. Habitat loss is mainly due to hydroelectric and flood‐control dams that have affected the migration and spawning habitats of anadromous species. The main objective of this study was to use a simple, cost‐effective method to assess a minimum instream flow for the regulated River Tagus. The method used was based on the wetted perimeter–discharge relationship, but accounted for the habitat requirements of spawning sea lampreys. In 1998, a habitat survey was conducted along a 30 km segment of the River Tagus downstream from Belver Dam (the first impassable obstacle for fish movements), a stretch that includes potential habitats for spawning sea lampreys. Four spawning areas were identified, and in each one a representative reach was selected along which to collect elevation and geo‐positional data. For a range of flows from 0 to 50 m3 s−1, hydraulic modelling and studies of spawning habitat availability were conducted, both for each reach and for the total wetted area of the four reaches. The availability of spawning habitat was limited by flow. Results showed that the present minimum flow downstream from Belver Dam (8 m3 s−1) is insufficient to ensure suitable habitat conditions in a significant part of the segment studied; gains in wetted usable area were more substantial with discharges of up to 20 m3 s−1, and thus a minimum flow of 10–20 m3 s−1 was recommended. Potential spawning habitat could be improved by increasing instream flow to at least 50 m3 s−1. The impacts of the Belver release regime on anadromous species are discussed and a more ‘ecologically oriented’ form of water management is suggested . Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Perfluoro-n-butyl iodide: acute toxicity, subchronic toxicity and genotoxicity evaluations.

Perfluoro-n-butyl iodide (PFBI) is a promising alternative to chlorofluorocarbon solvents used in aircraft ground maintenance operations and other military and commercial operations, because it cleans well, has zero ozone depletion potential, and has extremely low global warming properties. Toxicity tests were performed with PFBI to determine and evaluate its health hazard. Using standard testing guidelines (e.g., Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development [OECD]), tests included acute (4-h) and 4-week (6 h/day, 5 days/week) inhalation (nose-only) toxicity studies in rats, acute (10-min) inhalation cardiac sensitization study in dogs, in vitro chromosomal aberrations experiments in human lymphocytes, and in vitro mutagenic experiments in Salmonella typhimurium and Escherichia coli. There were no mortalities in rats (n = 10) exposed for 4 h to 10,000 ppm PFBI, but all rats (n = 10) died within 2 h when exposed to 20,000 ppm PFBI. The 4-h LC50 (95% confidence limits) was 14,000 ppm (13,000 ppm to 16,000 ppm). Signs (nasal discharge and labored breathing) observed in the rats exposed to 10,000 ppm returned to normal within 48 h. PFBI has the potential to cause cardiac sensitization in epinephrine-challenged dogs at 6200 ppm. A concentration of 3900 ppm was a no-observed-adverse-effect level (NOAEL) in the cardiac sensitization study. In the 4-week inhalation study (5 rats/sex/group), respiratory mucosal hypertrophy/hyperplasia was observed in rats of the 10,000-ppm group. A NOAEL of 1000 ppm was selected for the 4-week study on the basis that the mild increase in T4 observed at 1000 ppm was considered adaptive, not adverse, because of the absence of frank effects in the thyroid. In the in vitro studies, PFBI showed no evidence of either mutagenic or clastogenic activity. The toxicity profile of PFBI was compared to trifluoroiodomethane. In conclusion, the results of these studies indicate a low order of general toxicity and an absence of genotoxicity following PFBI exposure.

コンクリート床下地の施工労力と床の品質および保全労力に関する実験的研究

The purpose of this study is to investigate effect of execution effort of concrete ground work to the quality of floor surface and the maintenance work of floor. Four specimens of concrete ground work constructed in the different execution conditions are provided for the exoeriment. For each specimens measured flatness of floor surface, finished by polyvinyl chloride sheet, is compared with the time spent for execution of concrete ground work and maintenance of floor. The result shows that the more effort of concrete ground work spent, the higher quality of floor surface realized, and the less work of maintenance needed.

Theme: Local Government: With a Little Help From My Friends: Managing Public Participation in Local Government

As the system of Best Value develops and matures, this article argues that there is a need within the literature for more research into the micro-management processes of public participation within local government. The article presents the findings of a study into the management of ‘friends’ groups as a form of public participation in a Best Value pilot council for parks and grounds maintenance situated in northern England. The conclusion is that this form of innovative community involvement is unlikely to be successful without substantial two-way commitment on the part of both the local council and the community, and unless parks officers are able to manage groups of this kind through their clearly demarcated developmental stages.

Providing an evidence base for community strategies

The technical services provided or procured by local authorities have a significant impact on the health and sense of well-being of their communities. For example, lighting has implications for crime and fear of crime, transportation has implications for safety and pollution as well as access, waste management and grounds maintenance have an impact on the local physical environment. The power to promote or improve economic, social or environmental well-being and the duty to prepare community strategies demand new ways of working from local authorities. Joined-up planning and service delivery requires interdepartmental and inter-agency working. Underlying this joint working is a growing need for evidence-based decision-making. This paper outlines the political and administrative context for developing community strategies and presents a model for providing the evidence base that will assist in targeting resources and monitoring progress.

Outsourcing Basic Physical Education Instruction to Enhance Student Enrichment

The number of outsource-service providers is growing among college and universities because of declining budgets and cutbacks in private support. Typically, these efforts have involved non-instructional services, such as custodial operations, grounds maintenance, and food services. While this has been a common practice, few universities have outsourced instructional programs. This paper presents Utah State University's successful model for outsourcing basic activity classes. Enabling authority is discussed along with budgetary arrangement and departmental oversight. Appropriate classes are identified for ease in outreaching and advantages and disadvantages of the program are given. Finally, the logistical steps in program organization are listed for those who wish to try outreaching.

The effects of airborne vibration on human body vibration response

Aircraft ground operations and maintenance personnel can be exposed to whole-body vibration via the airborne transmission of acoustical energy. The purpose of this study was to characterize human body vibration response during exposures to airborne vibration generated by military fighter aircraft during high-power ground engine runs. Miniature triaxial accelerometers were mounted on the head (bitebar), chest, spine, and lower leg of the subject. Measurements were made for selected locations along a line parallel to the longitudinal axis of the aircraft at specified engine-power settings. The highest accelerations occurred in the fore-and-aft (X) chest response. One-third-octave analysis showed a distinct peak in the chest between 50 and 100 Hz not observed in the noise levels, strongly suggesting the presence of a chest resonance. These peaks increased as the subject moved aft of the aircraft. While the noise levels also increased, it was difficult to determine a relationship between acceleration and noise without additional data due to differences in the results between power settings. The subject did report an increased sensation of vibration in the upper torso, which coincided with the increased noise levels. These data will be used in the development of human airborne vibration exposure guidelines.

Prison Inmates Become Master Gardeners in South Carolina

The first prison-based Master Gardener (MG) program in South Carolina was piloted at a minimum security prison for men and women in Columbia in 1991. Since then, 130 inmates have become certified MGs at 7 South Carolina Department of Corrections institutions. Certification is awarded after the inmates complete 40 hours of training provided by grounds maintenance staff, county extension agents, and MGs. Besides offering green-industry job skills, successfully completing the program offered inmates a sense of academic accomplishment and sparked their interest in horticulture.