Traditional Support Structures Research Articles

Double pandemic for Sub-Saharan African women during COVID-19: A Critical Patriarchal Exposé with Intervention Strategies

The Covid-19 pandemic presented a lot of macro and micro challenges throughout the entire world. While some of these impacts were immediately felt, others have long term consequences. Some of the major impacts were the macroeconomic challenge which left many governments, organisations and individuals in a state of disarray - causing a lot of physical and mental health issues among both men and women. However, research suggests that women were disproportionately affected by mental health issues. This is because women especially in Sub-Saharan Africa are considered to be ‘vulnerable’ to several of the major challenges facing the continent and the burdens they carry make them susceptible to mental health problems. Against this background, this study explores three key areas: the relationship between patriarchy and gender-based violence during COVID-19 in Africa, how the pandemic exacerbated existing gender inequalities, and the impact of COVID-19 on women's mental health. This study is a literature review that draws on academic journals, books, reports, media sources and electronic databases. The study concludes that the COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately impacted African women, leading to a rise in gender-based violence, a widening of existing gender inequalities, and a negative impact on women’s mental health. The study recommends strengthening existing traditional social support structures, such as families and women's groups, to better equip them to assist women during crises.

Advanced Support Structures in Metal Additive Manufacturing: A Comparative Analysis of Porous Media for Enhanced Part Quality and Removal Efficiency

In laser powder bed fusion additive manufacturing support, structures are crucial for constructing overhang features and maintaining dimensional accuracy. However, traditional support structures exhibit inherent drawbacks, including compromised surface quality, prolonged post‐processing times, and other challenging requirements. This study investigates innovative approaches to address these issues by analyzing two types of specimens—cuboid and lap shear. The cuboid samples explore the manipulation of process parameters to adjust energy densities, transitioning from powder to porous support structures, with porosity measurement assessment. Subsequently, a shear test specimen objectively evaluates porous support parameters alongside traditional block‐type support, analyzing their impact on removal force, distortion, and surface quality. Results reveal that optimized porous support structures surpass traditional counterparts, showcasing superior surface quality, reduced removal forces, and minimized part distortion. Specifically, the shear test demonstrates a 94.25% reduction in removal forces and a 33.67% decrease in upper part distortion. Moreover, the maximum surface roughness (Rz) improves by 22.8% with the implementation of porous supports. By introducing a methodology for comparative analyses of measurable performance indicators, this research enhances understanding of support structure dynamics in additive manufacturing, facilitating advancements in efficiency and quality within the field.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Observed Characterization of Multi‑level Retaining Structure for Deep Excavation of Subway Station

Traditional support structures cannot meet the complex conditions of different excavation depths and areas in underground transportation hubs. On the basis of fully considering the spatial position relationship of foundation pit groups, this article proposes a multilevel retaining system that meets the requirements of multilevel foundation pit excavation. The evolution law of the support structure during the excavation process of the inner pit was explored using on-site monitoring and numerical simulation methods. The results indicate that the excavation of the inner pit reduces the passive earth pressure, and the deformation of the outer support structure can be effectively suppressed by setting a retaining structure or a bottom slab in the bench zone. The excavation of the inner pit causes significant vertical deformation of the support structure adjacent to the foundation pit, while the impact on the structure far away from the foundation pit is relatively small. According to the contact force chain and soil pressure between the two rows of support structure, the soil in this area is divided into a “relaxation zone” and a “compression zone.” The evolution mechanism of earth pressure in the case of mutual-effect failure between two rows of piles is revealed. This paper addresses the deformation properties of multilevel support structures as well as the mechanism of earth pressure evolution between structures.

Primitive Accumulation in the East Africa Groundnut Scheme

ABSTRACT This paper revisits the Groundnut Scheme, a postwar colonial development project in East Africa infamous for its catastrophic failure. It examines the plans made by British state managers and the Scheme’s planners at both the United Africa Company and the Overseas Food Corporation to transform African colonial subjects into stabilized wage-labourers. The paper seeks to understand this social transformation in the context of the contradictory nature of capitalist social relations. This is achieved by using Marx’s concept of primitive accumulation: the separation of the worker from their means of subsistence. The paper focuses on two aspects of this process. Firstly, the creation of remote villages for the Scheme’s workers, physically separating them from traditional support structures. Secondly, the creation of a new gendered division of labour that would have transformed the homelife of the Scheme’s workers.

The COVID-19 pandemic’s effect on family leisure activities of working parents with pre-school aged children

ABSTRACT The COVID-19 pandemic and its associated lockdown in South Africa led to the closure of leisure spaces, and Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres, forcing parents who were non-essential employees to work from home. This created a crisis for families, with significant consequences for family leisure time and activities. This paper explored the impact of the pandemic for parents with pre-school aged children (PSAC) and aimed to identify changes to family leisure during this period. Data was collected through self-administered questionnaires (n = 140) among parents at three selected ECD centres in Cape Town. The findings indicated that participants experienced higher emotional and tiredness levels because of the pandemic-induced changes, often neglecting themselves in their attempt to balance work, life and care for their PSAC, without their traditional support structures. The findings confirm a significant impact on family leisure, with leisure activities decreasing, and switching from outdoor, relational to home and family-based activities. The study identifies the type of leisure activities and changes caused by the pandemic and the effect it had on parents’ work-life balance and overall wellbeing.

Research on topology optimization method of surface support structure based on leaf vein growth process

In this paper, a biomimetic topology optimization design method that simulates the growth pattern of leaf veins is proposed for the design of the support structure of ultra-light airfoil-like solar cells in the solar powered unmanned aerial vehicle. This method simulates the optimal growth process of main vein morphology through the topology change of dynamic point groups to obtain an optimized topological main support structure and then generates a Voronoi grid structure in the area surrounded by the main support structure to increase the local support for the battery. The whole process is combined with genetic algorithm to simulate the optimal distribution strategy of leaf vein growth by inputting a small number of parameters. Compared with the traditional grid support structure, the support structure obtained by simulating the leaf vein growth optimization strategy can provide more efficient support for the solar panel and avoid damage to the solar cell.

Manufacturing of mesoscale non-assembly mechanism with water-soluble support in projection stereolithography process

Additive manufacturing (AM) excels at building complex three-dimensional objects. With the help of support methods, macroscale non-assembly mechanisms can be built in a single step, eliminating complex and time-consuming assembly process. However, mesoscale non-assembly mechanisms built by AM are scarce for the lack of appropriate support methods. Projection stereolithography (PSL) is most fitted to manufacture mesoscale non-assembly mechanisms for its high resolution and high speed. Clearances in non-assembly mechanisms usually appear with internal overhang characteristic, requiring supports to be built successfully. However, traditional support structure in stereolithography cannot be fitted into these small internal gaps to achieve small clearances, which in turn prevents traditional stereolithography from fabricating mesoscale non-assembly mechanisms. A novel water-soluble support method is presented to overcome this restriction by incorporating water-soluble resin as support via custom-built multi-material PSL process. Internal overhangs and fragile overhangs can be built with fast support removal in mild release conditions. Mesoscale non-assembly mechanism with tight clearances is successfully fabricated. Material design, process parameters and approach to control material cross-contamination of this method are described. This support method may facilitate building functional mesoscale multi-material non-assembly mechanisms for miniaturized robotic applications.

Grid-tree composite support structures for lattice parts in selective laser melting

Metal lattice structure has excellent mechanical properties to develop lightweight parts, and selective laser melting (SLM) makes it possible to construct complex lattice parts without molds. Support structures are required in SLM to remove heat away from the process and reduce geometrical distortions. However, traditional support structure generation methods have some problems, such as low generation efficiency, difficulty in the removal and not meeting the fabrication requirements of lattice parts. Therefore, this article proposes a grid-tree composite support structure generation algorithm for lattice parts. First, optimize the build orientation of the lattice parts considering the surface quality of functional features and the processability of lattice structures. Then, identify the frame’s overhang area and the point overhang of lattice structures. Finally, generate the grid-tree composite support structure for lattice parts. We conducted experiments to verify our approach and compare our method with three supports of Magics RP. Experimental results reveal that our method is effective in reducing support volume and warpage deformation.

A home away from home: building an organic online support community for Chinese students using WeChat

Traditional university support structures have generally been predicated on a ‘one size fits all’ approach that stresses a mechanistic, bureaucratic approach. Support is transactional in nature with students accessing it only when needed. Support focuses on both individual tutorial and centralised mechanisms which have proved effective for only some students. This paper proposes an organic student support system that is based around five features: agility in the environment, a tutor-student partnership, informal two-way communication, a student-led community, the inclusion of a knowledge-hub. The student support system in this article is based around Chinese students at a large UK university who felt disenfranchised by the current support mechanisms, so an alternative model was set up using the group-based instant-messaging social media platform, WeChat. The findings of surveys and interviews with Chinese students demonstrated that the featured organic student support system proved extremely successful and is something that could be replicated with other groups of students in the future in UK higher education.

Seismic fragility assessment of traditional air-cooled support structure and air-cooled support energy dissipation structure based on IDA method

In this paper, the effectiveness of the modeling method is verified by the finite element analysis of the preliminary test. Three finite element models of traditional air-cooled support structure, ‘large diameter RC tubular columns + LBRB’ energy dissipation structure and ‘small diameter RC tubular columns + LBRB’ energy dissipation structure are established. Based on IDA method, the fragility of air-cooled support structure and energy dissipation structures is studied. The study shows that the addition of LBRB can effectively improve the horizontal-torsional coupling phenomenon of the structure, improve the ductility and seismic performance, and reduce the failure probability of the structure. Adding LBRBs and reducing the diameter of RC tubular columns can play the role of LBRB energy dissipation to a greater extent, so that the structure can obtain stronger anti-collapse capacity and better economy, which is more conducive to the realization of seismic performance-based fortification goal. It is suggested that three-dimensional ground motion input should be used for fragility analysis. If the dimension of ground motion input is reduced, the assessment results will be biased to danger.

Research on Influence Factors of Bearing Capacity of Concrete-Filled Steel Tubular Arch for Traffic Tunnel

When a traffic tunnel passes through special strata such as soft rock with high geo-stress, expansive rock, and fault fracture zones, the traditional supporting structure is often destroyed due to complicated loads, which threatens the construction and operation safety of tunnel engineering. Concrete-filled steel tubular (CFST) structure gives full play to the respective advantages of steel and concrete and has better bearing capacity and economic benefits than traditional support structure, which has achieved good results in some underground engineering applications. In order to promote the application of CFST in the construction of traffic tunnels with complex geological conditions and improve the bearing capacity of the initial supporting structure of tunnels, the influencing factors of the bearing capacity of CFST arch were studied by numerical simulation. The main achievements are as follows: (1) The load-displacement curves of CFST members under different material parameters are basically consistent. CFST members have significant restrictions on displacement in the elastic stage and have high ultimate bearing capacity. Although the bearing capacity decreases obviously after reaching the peak, it shows good extension performance. (2) The height of the steel tube section, the thickness of the steel tube wall and the grade of the core concrete have an approximately linear positive correlation with the bearing capacity of CFST arch, but the influence of these three factors on the bearing capacity of CFST arch decreases in turn, and when the grade of core concrete increases above C50, it has no significant effect on the bearing capacity of members.

Field Experimental Study on Mechanical Properties of Frame Support Structure Composed of Subway Foundation Pit Retaining Pile and Steel Strut Rigid Joint

In order to study the advantages of frame support structure composed of rigid joint between steel strut and retaining pile in restraining the lateral displacement of retaining structure and maintaining the stability of foundation pit, foundation pit failure test was carried out. Compared with the traditional support structure, which can only bear pressure composed of steel strut and retaining pile lap joint, the variation characteristics of pile lateral displacement and support axial force of frame support structure under the influencing factors, such as weak stratum, pit side loading, groundwater level rise, and support drop, are studied. The test results show that, compared with the traditional steel strut, the pile‐strut frame support structure can not only bear the compressive stress, but also the tensile stress caused by the lateral displacement of the top of the retaining pile outside the foundation pit. The overall stability is better, and the axial force distribution of each layer of support is more uniform so as to reduce the overall lateral displacement of the retaining pile. In the process of foundation pit collapse, the frame support structure will not have the problem of strut falling, which can maintain part of the support capacity, prolong the collapse time of retaining piles, strive for more escape time for front‐line construction workers, and reduce the number of casualties.

Fabrication of Sophisticated Microstructures using Weak Support in 3D Printing

AbstractProjection‐based stereolithography (PSL) is one of the most competitive 3D printing technologies in fabricating complex microstructures because of its high accuracy and remarkable efficiency. Due to the layer‐by‐layer forming manner, some structures with cantilever features tend to collapse in the PSL process, for which support structures are required. However, the design, adding, and post‐treatment of traditional support structures can be extremely time‐consuming, and the manual removal step is always destructive and sometimes impossible, thus not suitable for sophisticated microstructures. Here a simple 3D printing method is proposed to fabricate sophisticated microstructures rapidly and precisely using weak support. Grayscale projection is used to produce partially cured photopolymer as weak support, which fills the lower space of overhanging structures and is constrained by a fully cured wall structure. The weak support is sufficient to support the printed parts while easy to remove because of incomplete photocured state. To determine the curing state of weak support, curing characteristics of the resin are measured and the relationship between curing energy and support effectiveness is investigated. Improvement in efficiency and applicability is observed in fabricating sophisticated microstructures using weak support method, which gives a promising solution to fabricate fragile microstructures with inaccessible overhang characteristics.

User Competence with Enterprise Systems: The Effects of Work Environment Factors

Enterprise system users are required to improve competence to gain the system’s value. The development of user competence to effectively use a complex system is socially constructed. Based on the job demands-resources model, we propose and empirically validate how two types of work contextual factors, namely, job demands and job resources, are directly and interactively related to user competence. Results of a longitudinal survey from users in six organizations suggest that all three job resource factors considered—leader–member exchange, traditional support structures, and peer support structure—allow users to acquire both the technical and business knowledge needed for effective application of the system for work. But, work overload, as the job demand factor, has no significant effect on user competence. Further analysis shows the relationship between work overload and user competence is moderated by leader–member exchange, but not the two support structures. Our findings are of great importance for practice, as they suggest job resources are conducive to the development of user competence, whereas work overload is an inevitable, acute problem.

Designing Resilient Creative Communities Through Biomimetic Service Design

Creative communities are grassroots, bottom-up initiatives of people who through their diffuse design capacity propose new, desirable service futures that address the problems of everyday life. These creative communities exist within a transition from modernity towards sustainment, their adversarial character embodies alternative values such as conviviality, solidarity, openness and shift the focus from growth to flourishing. The sociotechnical system that is a creative community creating social innovation faces constant threats due to the collapse of traditional support structures and their disruptive, adversarial character and so, identifying strategies to increase its resilience is necessary. We turn to nature for inspiration and mentoring. Biomimisis is a framework that designs solutions inspired by biological systems. We argue that permaculture, provides an interesting direction for the development and research in the context of social innovation.

A qualitative exploration of the experiences of community health animation on malaria control in rural Malawi

BackgroundWhile great strides have been achieved in fighting malaria through the Roll Back Malaria (RBM) strategy, the recent world malaria report shows an increase in malaria-related deaths compared to previous years. Malaria control tools are efficacious and effective in preventing the disease; however, the human behaviour aspect of the intervention strategies is weak due to heavy reliance on positive human health behaviour. The challenge lies in adoption of control interventions by the target population which, to an extent, may include access to prevention and treatment tools. We present a qualitative assessment of the use of the Health Animator (HA) model for Information, Education and Communication (IEC) to improve adoption and use of malaria control by promoting positive health behaviours.ResultsWe conducted 3 Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and 23 individual in-depth interviews (IDIs) with HAs. Each FGD consisted of 8 participants. Data was analysed using QSR International NVivo 10 software. There are four main themes emerging regarding HA experiences. The perceptions include; collaborative work experience, personal motivation and growth, community participation with health animation and challenges with implementation. Results suggest that HAs were pleased with the training as they gained new information regarding malaria, which affected their use of malaria control interventions within their families. Knowledge was well assimilated from the trainings and influenced personal growth in becoming a community leader. Support from the leadership within the village and the health system was important in legitimising the main messages. The community responded positively to the workshops valued the information imparted. The voluntary nature of the work in a poverty-stricken community affected sustainability.ConclusionsThere is need to empower communities with strategies within their reach. Functioning traditional social support structures are a crucial element in sustainability. Voluntarism is also key for sustainability, especially for rural and remote communities with limited sources of income.

Design and Analysis of Hydrogen Storage Tank with Different Materials by Ansys

Pressure vessels are used for large commercial and industrial applications such as softening, filtration and storage. It is expected that high-pressure hydrogen storage vessels will be widely used in hydrogen-fuelled vehicles. Progressive failure properties, the burst pressure and fatigue life should be taken into account in the design of composite pressure vessels. In this work, the model and analysis of hydrogen storage vessels along with complete structural and thermal analysis. Liquid hydrogen is seen as an outstanding candidate for the fuel of high altitude, long-endurance unmanned aircraft. The design of lightweight and super-insulated storage tanks for cryogenic liquid hydrogen is since long identified as crucial to enable the adoption of the liquid hydrogen. The basic structural design of the airborne cryogenic liquid hydrogen tank was completed in this paper. The problem of excessive heat leakage of the traditional support structure was solved by designing and using a new insulating support structure. The thermal performance of the designed tank was evaluated. The structure of the tank was analyzed by the combination of the film container theory and finite element numerical simulation method. The structure of the adiabatic support was analyzed by using the Hertz contact theory and numerical simulation method. A simple and effective structure analysis method for a similar container structure and point-contact support structure was provided. Bases for further structural optimization design of hydrogen tank will be provided also. The analysis will be carried out with different materials like titanium, nickel alloy and some coated powders like alumina, Titania and zirconium oxide. The results will be compared with that.

AGING IN RURAL ETHIOPIA: IMPACT ON FILIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND INTERGENERATIONAL SOLIDARITY

As migration and urbanization continue to progress in developing nations, the filial support and traditional support mechanisms that serve as buffers against the plight of older people are diminishing. Agrarian families find themselves in a rapidly changing world that severely limits their ability to assume caregiving roles for elders. With these trends in mind, a phenomenological approach was used to explore the lived experiences of 10 rural elders in Ethiopia. Prominent themes in the elders’ narratives was the nostalgia of filial responsibility and intergenerational solidarity in the “good old days” and a strong sense of devaluation. Elders expressed feeling devalued by their children, grandchildren, and youth in general. As one elder shared, “These days, there is no respect for an older person. We are treated like a broken utensil thrown away which is considered as useless anymore.” Compared to how they treated their own parents, elders believed that their children’s sense of moral obligation was weak and unreliable. Interactions with children and grandchildren were described as abusive, undermining, and embarrassing, triggering deep sorrow. Elders were pessimistic about the prospect of reliable caregivers, even expressing a wish to die before they become dependent on others for care. Despite the challenges they face in their daily lives, all participants viewed aging as a privilege that should be celebrated. As traditional family support structures in developing nations continue to deteriorate, new models of community-based care are needed to ensure that elders can expect adequate care throughout their lives.

Comparative Analysis of Torsion Resistance Performance between Traditional Support Structure System and Structure with Diagonal Brace

Traditional support structure system of air-cooled condense adopts hybrid structure system of steel truss and reinforced concrete pipe column, and this type of structure has a remarkable torsion effect because that the quality and rigidity is badly non-uniform at the vertical direction. In order to study the natural vibration period, vibration type and dynamic response under multidimensional ground motions, this paper chooses the support structure system with diagonal brace to analysis the dynamic characteristic and lateral-torsional coupled seismic response of the structure, and compares the results with the traditional structures to study the reasons of these changes so as to make recommendations on the designing of structure. The results show that this new-type structure could reduce the torsional effect, lateral displacement and strengthen overall seismic capacity.

Highly removable water support for Stereolithography

Current stereolithography (SL) technology can print there-dimensional (3D) objects with high precision and fast speed. However, for a complex computer-aided design (CAD) model, the fabricated structures have a significant amount of additional support structures that are required in order to ensure the model can be fabricated. However, these support structures may be difficult to remove. Even worse, the removal of the support structures may cause unexpected damage to delicate features and leave undesired surface marks. Although some special materials have been utilized in support structures such as water-soluble materials for the fused deposition modeling (FDM) process and wax for the multi-jet modeling (MJM) process, such support materials have not been available for the SL process. In this paper, a novel SL process using highly removable and widely available water as supports is presented. The process uses solid ice to surround the built parts in the layer-by-layer fabrication process. A cooling device is used to freeze the water into ice for each layer. The photocurable resin is spread on ice surface and then solidified by a projection image. Accordingly, a complex 3D object can be fabricated without using traditional support structures. After the fabrication process, the additional ice structure can easily be removed leaving no undesired marks on the bottom surfaces. Two test cases are presented to show the effectiveness of the presented highly removable water support method.