Strong Axis Research Articles

The politics of vishwas: political mobilization in the 2019 national election

ABSTRACT In this article, I develop a model of the politics of vishwas (trust/belief). This is a form of personal politics in which voters prefer to centralize political power in a strong leader, and trust the leader to make good decisions for the polity – in contrast to the standard models of democratic accountability and issue-based politics. I argue that two factors lead to the BJP using the politics of vishwas to dominate Indian politics. First, like much of the world, there is an increasingly strong axis of conflict between those who believe in a unitary (Hindu) national identity for India and those who view India in ‘multicultural’ terms. This obliges supporters of Hindu nationalism to support political centralization to stymie federalism, which would require negotiation across regional, linguistic, caste, and religious identities. Second, the BJP’s control of media and communication with the voter, in tandem with a strong party machinery, give the party structural advantages in mobilizing voters around the messages of Narendra Modi. I find that this change in Indian politics is reflected in voter turnout behavior in India.

Unified formulae for critical load and unified DSM expressions for pinned-end and fixed-end columns exhibiting pure distortional buckling

Abstract Unified formulae of elastic critical distortional buckling load and unified DSM expressions for columns undergoing pure distortional buckling, are proposed in this study for both pinned-end and fixed-end columns with a C/Z/hat sections. The normal stress distribution of pre-buckling and post-buckling for C-section columns undergoing distortional buckling is presented based on theoretical analysis and literature review. The basic purpose of the DSM expressions is to express the strength problem as a stability problem to determine the ultimate strength of columns experiencing pure distortional buckling. To understand the effects of both pinned-end and fixed-end conditions in the columns undergoing pure distortional buckling, the effective length factor of flexural buckling about the strong axis of a cross-section, is introduced into elastic distortional buckling load formulae and the DSM expressions. Numerical results computed by computer software (CUFSM), along with numerical and experimental results in literature reviews are used to assess the accuracy of the proposed formulae. It is shown that the proposed formulae are accurate and universal.

Insight into the genetic architecture of back pain and its risk factors from a study of 509.000 individuals

Back pain (BP) is a common condition of major social importance and poorly understood pathogenesis. Combining data from the UK Biobank and CHARGE consortium cohorts allowed us to perform a very large genome-wide association study (total N = 5 509.070) and examine the genetic correlation and pleiotropy between BP and its clinical and psychosocial risk factors. We identified and replicated 3 BP-associated loci, including one novel region implicating SPOCK2/CHST3 genes. We provide evidence for pleiotropic effects of genetic factors underlying BP, height, and intervertebral disk problems. We also identified independent genetic correlations between BP and depression symptoms, neuroticism, sleep disturbance, overweight, and smoking. A significant enrichment for genes involved in the central nervous system and skeletal tissue development was observed. The study of pleiotropy and genetic correlations, supported by the pathway analysis, suggests at least 2 strong molecular axes of BP genesis, one related to structural/anatomical factors such as intervertebral disk problems and anthropometrics, and another related to the psychological component of pain perception and pain processing. These findings corroborate with the current biopsychosocialmodel as a paradigm for BP. Overall, the results demonstrateBP to have an extremely complex genetic architecture that overlapswith the genetic predisposition to its biopsychosocial risk factors. The work sheds light on pathways of relevance in the prevention and management of low BP.

Mechanical behaviour of circular steel-reinforced concrete-filled steel tubular members under pure bending loads

To study the mechanical performance of circular steel-reinforced concrete-filled steel tubular (SRCFST) members under pure bending loads, a total of six specimens with various parameters, i.e., cross-section types of profiled steel (I or cruciform section), the loading directions (along strong or weak axis) for I section profiled steel and shear-span ratios (m = 2.42 or 1.82) were tested. Failure modes, lateral deflection, longitudinal strain distribution, bending moment-curvature (M-ϕ) curves and flexural capacity were analysed, respectively. In addition, the numerical models of SRCFST members were established in ABAQUS to analyse the flexural behaviour. Moreover, a simplified calculation formula was also proposed to predict the flexural capacity. The results show that specimens exhibit a flexural failure mode instead of local buckling. Deflection curves of the specimens are similar to the sinusoid shape. The loading directions and cross-section types of profiled steel would affect the flexural capacity of SRCFST members owing to the changing of the moment of inertia. The FEA model was verified by the experimental results and good agreements were achieved in terms of the failure mode and M-ϕ curves. The steel tube carries most of the bending moment by analysing the M-ϕ curves of each component. In addition, the test results are compatible with the proposed formulas, and therefore the calculation method could be used in engineering design.

TRANSPORT MODES AT BAIXADA FLUMINENSE REGION OF RIO DE JANEIRO

Baixada Fluminense is one of the macrozones of the metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro that has emerged as new centrality, especially Nova Iguaçu and Duque de Caxias. This paper intends to compare internal mobility destiny quantities and identify the role of transport modes in serving motives of the trips that occurs in Baixada Fluminense region. It was analyzed 2003 and 2015 data from the Urban Transport Master Plan, and data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. The results identified that more than sixty percent of the trips are carried out within the public transport, configuring the relative independence in relation to capital and provide other benefits for their residents. The endogenous economic dynamics of these cities modified the patterns of urban displacement, transforming them into strong reception axis displacement originated in the Capital.

Experimental investigation on buckling‐restrained braces using mortar‐filled steel tubes with steel lining channels

SummaryA new type of buckling‐restrained braces (BRBs) using mortar‐filled steel tubes with steel lining channels is proposed to reduce the frictional force between the core member and the restraining member. After covering the core plate with the unbonding material, steel lining channels are set on the surface along the longitudinal direction, thus transforming the contact property between the core plate and the restraining member from steel–mortar interface to steel–steel interface. First, comparative cyclic tests are conducted on two new BRBs with steel lining channels and one conventional BRB. All the specimens exhibit stable hysteretic performance without visible global or local instability prior to failure. It is confirmed that the steel lining channels can improve the interface evenness between the core plate and the restraining member, reduce the compression strength adjustment factor, and improve the low‐cycle fatigue behavior and energy dissipation capacity of the BRB. Furthermore, the analytical model for the local stability of the restraining tube is proposed when the core plate buckles about the strong axis, and the corresponding practical design criteria are provided. The influence of various core plate layouts on the local stability of the restraining tube is finally investigated.

Numerical investigation on cyclic behavior of Q690 high strength steel beam-columns

It has been well-recognized that high strength steels possess worse ductility and deformability compared to normal strength steels, leading to greater risk of low-cycle failure. In addition, high strength steels generally exhibit prominent cyclic softening behavior rather than cyclic hardening behavior. These characteristics should be properly implemented into finite element model to gain exclusive numerical simulation on cyclic behavior of high strength steel beam columns. In this paper, finite element models which not only consider the initial imperfection but also incorporate the ductile fracture behavior as well as cyclic softening behavior were established and used to simulate cyclic loading experiments on high strength steel beam-columns bending about strong axis. The simulation results including hysteretic curves and failure modes both provide good agreement with experimental results, verifying the capability of finite element models proposed. Accordingly, a parametric study was conducted to investigate the effects of axial load ratio, flange width-to-thickness ratio and web height-to-thickness ratio on cyclic behaviors of Q690 high strength steel beam-columns. It can be concluded that the increase in flange width-to-thickness ratio and axial load ratio will change the damage mechanism and consequently present different cyclic deterioration characteristics. Furthermore, the increase in flange and web slenderness and axial load ratio results in decrease in deformability and sectional plasticity development ability.

Life Cycle Assessment of Construction Materials: Cradle-To-Gate and Cradle-To-Grave Approach

Sustainability is one of the most important issues for the current world. Sustainability is commonly clouded by differing interpretations and by a bent for the topic to be treated superficially. For most corporations, countries and people UN agency do take the topic seriously the construct of property embraces the preservation of the surroundings similarly as essential development-related problems such as the economical use of resources, continual social progress, stable economic process, and therefore the Wipeout of financial condition. Life cycle assessment is one in all the foremost developed and wide used environmental assessment tools for comparison different technologies. LCA quantifies the amount of materials and energy used and the emissions and waste over the complete supply chain (i.e. life cycles) of goods and services [9]. Life-cycle analysis is use to describe the entire life of a material or product up to the point of disposal. The main aim of the research is to make the comparative environmental analysis of a load-bearing column, with different cross-sections considering both ―cradle-to-gate‖ and cradle-to-grave/cradle approach. A simple-supported column, 5 m long, is considered for this research. The load bearing capacity of the column of an axial force of 5000 kN and a bending moment of 100 kNm (around the strong axis for the profile column). The column is constructed by the materials of steel section, rebars, concrete. The impact for production of construction materials, result of impact, impact for transportation of materials are calculated to know the total impact for production, transportation, waste treatment at cradle to gate to grave approach. From the LCA analysis it is shown that the cradle to gate approach has more environmental effects for each case. The product either steel profile or rebars or composite concrete is used for recycling has less effects on environment for acidification, global warming and photochemical oxidation. But for non-renewable and renewable energy, it has less amount for cradle to grave/cradle approach. So, cradle to grave/cradle approach is eco-friendly for all products.

Effect of thermal cycles on mechanical response of pultruded glass fiber reinforced polymer profiles of different geometries

This study investigates the effect of Thermal cycles on the mechanical properties of GFRP pultruded profiles with different geometries. Bending specimens consisted of I-shaped and U-channel profiles that were tested in three-point bending along their both principal weak and strong axes, whereas box profiles and laminates were used in compression and tension tests, respectively. Each specimen was exposed to a range of thermal cycles, between −20 °C and 20 °C. The failure modes of the profiles were closely investigated at both major and minor scales. Results were analyzed using ANOVA to determine the influence of each factor and a model was developed to predict the strength retention of profiles after exposure to thermal cycles. The results showed that the thermal cycles have a significant effect on the strength of the resin and a minor effect on the strength of the fibers. Bending specimens experienced a lower strength loss along their principal weak axis than that along their strong axis after conditioning. Tension specimens performed better in comparison to compression specimens in terms of strength retention after thermal exposure. These results are expected to contribute significantly toward the understanding of the influence of thermal cycles on the behavior of GFRP profiles.

Experimental investigation on cyclic behavior of Q690D high strength steel H-section beam-columns about strong axis

Q690 high strength steel (HSS) is a structural steel with yield-to-tensile ratio being generally greater than 0.90 and elongation lower than 20%, resulting in considerable decrease in steel member ductility. In seismic affecting zones, steel members are usually designed as compact sections to avoid premature local buckling for attaining fully developed plasticity. However, this approach increases the potential risk of fracture for Q690 steel structures. Thus, cyclic behaviors of Q690D HSS compact section beam-columns need to be thoroughly investigated. To this end, this paper conducted five cyclic loading tests of Q690 HSS compact H-section beam-columns based on a reliable testing system. The influences of the flange width-to-thickness ratio, web height-to-thickness ratio, axial-load ratio and overall slenderness on the failure mode, energy dissipation capacity and hysteretic behavior were analyzed. It shows that plastic local buckling dominates the failure mechanism of all the specimens without overall buckling being observed. The ultimate inter-story drift ratio was more than 1/50. The Q690 welded beam-columns with Class 1 and Class 2 H-section exhibit not only favorable plastic deformability but also excellent energy dissipation capacity and therefore could be applied in seismic steel frames. To attain accurate evaluation of damage and cyclic response, two damage models and two point-oriented hysteretic models were selected and combined to form four damage-based hysteretic models. The four hysteretic models were then implemented to simulate the cyclic loading experiments. It was found that the ultimate strength-oriented hysteretic model incorporated with Kumar Satish damage model provides the most accurate simulation. The hysteretic model parameters were calibrated using experiments data. The simulation results of the developed hysteretic model match well with those experimental curves.

Insight into the genetic architecture of back pain and its risk factors from a study of 509,000 individuals.

Back pain (BP) is a common condition of major social importance and poorly understood pathogenesis. Combining data from the UK Biobank and CHARGE consortium cohorts allowed us to perform a very large genome-wide association study (total N = 509,070) and examine the genetic correlation and pleiotropy between BP and its clinical and psychosocial risk factors. We identified and replicated 3 BP-associated loci, including one novel region implicating SPOCK2/CHST3 genes. We provide evidence for pleiotropic effects of genetic factors underlying BP, height, and intervertebral disk problems. We also identified independent genetic correlations between BP and depression symptoms, neuroticism, sleep disturbance, overweight, and smoking. A significant enrichment for genes involved in the central nervous system and skeletal tissue development was observed. The study of pleiotropy and genetic correlations, supported by the pathway analysis, suggests at least 2 strong molecular axes of BP genesis, one related to structural/anatomical factors such as intervertebral disk problems and anthropometrics, and another related to the psychological component of pain perception and pain processing. These findings corroborate with the current biopsychosocial model as a paradigm for BP. Overall, the results demonstrate BP to have an extremely complex genetic architecture that overlaps with the genetic predisposition to its biopsychosocial risk factors. The work sheds light on pathways of relevance in the prevention and management of low BP.

On again, off again: Acute stress response and negative feedback together predict resilience to experimental challenges

Abstract Individuals often vary markedly in their ability to cope with stressors, but the drivers of this variation remain poorly understood. Many studies have tested relationships among individual variation in glucocorticoid levels and the response to challenges—often finding inconsistent patterns; however, few have addressed whether variation in the capacity to terminate the stress response through negative feedback is associated with stress resilience. While conceptual models predict that interactions among different components of hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis regulation may be important predictors of the phenotypic and fitness effects of stress, we are aware of no previous experimental tests of this hypothesis. We investigate whether individual variation in HPA axis regulation is related to resilience to experimental challenges in free‐living tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor). We mimicked salient natural challenges by temporarily reducing flight efficiency or increasing perceived predation risk during incubation, and determined whether HPA axis responsiveness prior to treatments predicted resilience. Females that exhibited both a robust HPA axis activation and strong negative feedback were less likely to abandon nests during incubation. Our results suggest that exhibiting a strong HPA axis activation coupled with effective negative feedback may predict stress resilience. Therefore, the ability to turn on and then off the HPA axis efficiently may be important for fitness. Our results also suggest that the interactions between different components of the HPA axis may provide greater insight into differences in stress coping capacity. A plain language summary is available for this article.

Manifestation of strong magnetic and giant Raman anisotropy in single crystals of Cu for H substituted strontium hydroxyapatite

The linear [O–Cu–O]− reveals a strong easy axis magnetic anisotropy with a high energy of 4 × 102 cm−1 probed by magnetization measurements and polarized Raman spectroscopy of a single crystal.

ATATÜRK's Sarcophagus Acoustic Properties

This research investigates the acoustical characteristics of Atatürk sarcophagus. The Hall of Honor, which included the Atatürk's sarcophagus, was elevated from the whole mass, as it seemed strongly to the outside architect. The first floor is surrounded by this hall. The monument was built on a platform raised by six meters with a staircase in the direction of the square, with the ground closed and a massive wall with small windows, which was turned over with stone columns. The east entrance of the monument is at the beginning of the Aslan Road. At the beginning of this road, the entrance is strengthened by two guards, four meters high stairs are raised. When the monument is placed on the hill, two strong axes perpendicular to each other are taken as principal. Results, at the research, include equivalent sound pressure levels (Leq) as a function of location, frequency, and time of day. Special and important days like Revolution days are also researched. The spectra are generally flat over the 63–2000 Hz octave bands, with higher sound levels at lower frequencies, and a gradual roll off above 2000 Hz. Many units exhibit little if any reduction of sound levels in the nighttime.

Numerical Modeling and Dynamic Analysis of a Floating Bridge Subjected to Wind, Wave, and Current Loads

Designing reliable and cost-effective floating bridges for wide and deep fjords is very challenging. The floating bridge is subjected to various environmental loads, such as wind, wave, and current loads. All these loads and associated load effects should be properly evaluated for ultimate limit state design check. In this study, the wind-, wave-, and current-induced load effects are comprehensively investigated for an end-anchored curved floating bridge, which was an early concept for crossing the Bjørnafjorden. The considered floating bridge is about 4600 m long and consists of a cable-stayed high bridge part and a pontoon-supported low bridge part. It also has a large number of eigen-modes, which might be excited by the environmental loads. Modeling of wind loads on the bridge girder is first studied, indicating that apart from aerodynamic drag force, aerodynamic lift and moment on the bridge girder should also be considered due to their significant contribution to axial force. Turbulent wind spectrum and spatial coherence play an important role and should also be properly determined. The sway motion, axial force, and strong axis bending moment of the bridge girder are mainly induced by wind loads, while the heave motion, weak axis bending moment, and torsional moment are mainly induced by wave loads. Turbulent wind can cause significant larger low-frequency eigen-mode resonant responses than the second-order difference frequency wave loads. Current loads mainly contribute damping and reduce the variations of sway motion, axial force, and strong axis bending moment.

Prestressed cold-formed steel beams: Concept and mechanical behaviour

An innovative concept, whereby the load-carrying capacity and serviceability performance of cold-formed steel beams are enhanced by utilising prestressing techniques, is presented. The prestressing force is applied by means of a high-strength steel cable, which is housed at a location eccentric to the strong geometric axis within the bottom hollow flange of the cold-formed steel beam, inducing initial stresses in the beam that are opposite in sign to those introduced during the subsequent loading stage. As a consequence, the development of local instabilities during loading is delayed and thus the capacity of the beam is enhanced. Furthermore, the pre-camber induced during prestressing, as well as the contribution of the cable to the bending stiffness of the system, decrease the overall vertical deflections of the beam. The conceptual development of prestressed cold-formed steel beams and a study investigating the potential benefits are presented. The mechanical behaviour of the proposed beams in both the prestressing and imposed loading stages is described in terms of analytical expressions, while failure criteria for the design of the cold-formed steel beam and the cable are also developed by employing interaction equations in conjunction with the Direct Strength Method. Geometrically and materially nonlinear finite element analysis with imperfections is employed to simulate the behaviour of the proposed beams. Sample numerical results are presented and compared with the developed analytical expressions and failure criteria, demonstrating the substantial enhancement in moment capacity and serviceability performance offered by these beams.

Lateral torsional buckling of STEEL beams strengthened with GFRP plate

The present study investigates the lateral-torsional buckling of wide flange steel members strengthened by a Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) plate bonded to one of the flanges through an adhesive layer. A variational formulation and two finite elements are developed for the problem. The formulation captures global and local warping effects, shear deformation due to bending and twist, and partial interaction between the steel and GFRP provided by the flexible layer of adhesive. The destabilizing effects due to strong axis bending, axial force and load height effect are incorporated into the formulation. The first element involves two nodes and 16 buckling degrees of freedom (DOFs) while the second element involves three nodes and 14 DOFs. Comparisons of present model results against those based on 3D finite element analysis based on solid elements demonstrate the ability of the present models to accurately predict the buckling loads and mode shapes at a fraction of the modelling and computational efforts. Practical examples quantify the gain in elastic buckling strength achieved by GFRP strengthening, and characterize the moment gradient factors and load height effects. Elastic buckling interaction diagrams are developed for beam-columns and comparisons are provided to interaction diagrams of un-strengthened beams.

LOAD-MOMENT INTERACTION DIAGRAMS OF SLENDER PARTIALLY ENCASED COMPOSITE COLUMNS

Partially Encased Composite (PEC) Columns consist of thin-walled built-up H-shaped steel sections with links welded near the flange tips and concrete cast between the flanges. To predict the strength and ductility of slender PEC columns, Newmark’s numerical iterative procedure is implemented. Overall column slenderness ratio, flange plate slenderness ratio and concrete strength are the selected parameters to observe the variation of strength and ductility of slender PEC column. Bending of column about both the strong and weak axis is considered to observe the significance of the selected parameters. In strong axis bending, a decrease in strength is found with the increase of overall slenderness ratio and flange plate slenderness ratio. Again, failure envelope of column strength curve becomes smaller with the increase of overall slenderness ratio. It implies the ductility of slender PEC column decreases with the increase of the overall slenderness ratio. Moreover, similar behaviour is observed with the increase of flange plate slenderness ratio. As the strength of concrete increases, strength of slender PEC column is observed to increase by significant amount. Similar behaviour is observed in weak axis bending along with some drop in strength

An Experimental Study of Bending Behaviour of Double Channel and Hollow Sections of Light Gauge Steel

This paper presents experimental results of the double channel and hollow sections of light gauge steel carrying a bending moment on their strong axis. The double channel sections were built from two channels which were joined using sufficient screws to form two combination models, i.e., Box Model (DC-Box) and Back to Back Model (DC-I). Bending behavior of five beam specimens: two specimens of Hollow Section, two specimens of DC-Box, and one specimen of DC-I, have been observed when they were subjected to two point loads which increased monotonically. It was found that the Hollow Section and DC-Box had the same failure model when they reached the ultimate load, i.e., permanent local buckling. Buckling occurred on top flange and web of the section, and the structures lost their resistance significantly. Meanwhile, elastic lateral torsional buckling prevented the DC-I specimen reached the higher load. The experimental results were compared to an analytical calculation based on the formula in the codes. Material properties obtained from tensile tests were used in the calculation. Comparison between the experimental data and the analytical results showed discrepancies within the range 18% - 59%. Based on this study, it is suggested a lower beam capacity of bending to obtain a conservative design of the structures.

Wave load effect analysis of a floating bridge in a fjord considering inhomogeneous wave conditions

When designing a floating bridge crossing a deep and wide fjord, a homogeneous wave field is usually assumed for simplicity. However, waves in fjords are commonly inhomogeneous, and hence the mentioned design practice introduces uncertainty, which should be assessed for the design. In this study, we proposed an approach to account for the inhomogeneous wave load effect on a floating bridge and applied it on a floating bridge that was initially proposed for crossing the Bjørnafjorden. The floating bridge considered is end-anchored, about 4600 m long and consists of a cable-stayed high bridge and a low bridge supported by 19 pontoons. Wave excitation loads on each pontoon were proposed to be modeled and applied separately to account for inhomogeneous waves. By considering 1-year and 100-year wave conditions, dynamic responses of the floating bridge subjected to homogeneous and inhomogeneous waves were analyzed and compared. It is found that inhomogeneous waves cause relatively larger sway motion, axial force, and strong axis bending moment, as well as significantly larger weak axis bending moment along the bridge girder than homogeneous waves. These responses depend on the inhomogeneity level of waves considered. Proper description of the wave field is therefore very important for evaluating the effect of inhomogeneous waves and associated uncertainties.