Explosion resistance performance of reinforced concrete box girder coated with polyurea:Model test and numerical simulation

To study the anti-explosion protection effect of polyurea coating on reinforced concrete box girder,two segmental girder specimens were made at a scale of 1:3,numbered as G(without polyurea coating)and PCG(with polyurea coating).The failure characteristics and dynamic responses of the specimens were compared through conducting explosion tests.The reliability of the numerical simulation using LS-DYNA software was verified by the test results.The effects of different scaled distances,reinforcement ratios,concrete strengths,coating thicknesses and ranges of polyurea were studied.The results show that the polyurea coating can effectively enhance the anti-explosion performance of the girder.The top plate of middle chamber in specimen G forms an elliptical penetrating hole,while that in specimen PCG only shows a very slight local dent.The peak vertical displacement and residual displacement of PCG decrease by 74.8% and 73.7%,respectively,compared with those of specimen G.For the TNT explosion with small equivalent,the polyurea coating has a more significant protective effect on reducing the size of fracture.With the increase of TNT equivalent,the protective effect of polyurea on reducing girder displacement becomes more significant.The optimal reinforcement ratio,concrete strength,thickness and range of polyurea coating were also drawn.

Effect of dynamic loading conditions on the dynamic performance of MP1 energy-absorbing rockbolts:Insight from laboratory drop test

Energy-absorbing rockbolts have been widely adopted in burst-prone excavation support, and their serviceability is closely related to the frequency and magnitude of seismic events. In this research, the splittube drop test with varying impact energy was conducted to reproduce the dynamic performance of MP1rockbolts under a wide range of seismic event magnitudes. The test results showed that the impact process could be subdivided into four distinct stages, i.e. mobilization, strain hardening, plastic flow(ductile), and rebound stage, of which strain hardening and plastic flow are the primary energy absorbing stages. As the impact energy per drop increases from 8.1 to 46.7 k J, the strain rate of the shank varies between 1.20 and 2.70 s^(-1), and the average impact load is between 240 and 270kN, which may be considered as constant. The MP1 rockbolt has a cumulative maximum energy absorption(CMEA) of 31.9–40.0 k J/m, with an average of 35.0 k J/m, and the elongation rate is 11.4%–14.7%, with an average of 12.7%, both of which are negatively correlated with the impact energy per drop. Regression analysis shows that energy absorption and shank elongation, as well as momentum input and impact duration,conform to the linear relationship. The complete dynamic capacity envelope of MP1 rockbolts is proposed, which reflects the dynamic bearing capacity, elongation, and distinct stages. This study is helpful to better understand the dynamic characteristics of energy-absorbing rockbolts and assist design engineers in robust reinforcement systems design to mitigate rockburst damage in seismically active underground excavations.

Full-scale multi-functional test platform for investigating mechanical performance of track–subgrade systems of high-speed railways

Motivated by the huge practical engineering demand for the fundamental understanding of mechanical characteristics of high-speed railway infrastructure,a fullscale multi-functional test platform for high-speed railway track–subgrade system is developed in this paper,and its main functions for investigating the mechanical performance of track–subgrade systems are elaborated with three typical experimental examples.Comprising the full-scale subgrade structure and all the five types of track structures adopted in Chinese high-speed railways,namely the CRTS I,the CRTS II and the CRTS III ballastless tracks,the double-block ballastless track and the ballasted track,the test platform is established strictly according to the construction standard of Chinese high-speed railways.Three kinds of effective loading methods are employed,including the real bogie loading,multi-point loading and the impact loading.Various types of sensors are adopted in different components of the five types of track–subgrade systems to measure the displacement,acceleration,pressure,structural strain and deformation,etc.Utilizing this test platform,both dynamic characteristics and long-term performance evolution of high-speed railway track–subgrade systems can be investigated,being able to satisfy the actual demand for large-scale operation of Chinese high-speed railways.As examples,three typical experimental studies are presented to elucidate the comprehensive functionalities of the full-scale multi-functional test platform for exploring the dynamic performance and its long-term evolution of ballastless track systems and for studying the long-term accumulative settlement of the ballasted track–subgrade system in high-speed railways.Some interesting phenomena and meaningful results are captured by the developed test platform,which provide a useful guidance for the scientific operation and maintenance of high-speed railway infrastructure.

Evaluation of a Rapid Diagnostic Test, Boson Biotech SARS CoV-2 Ag, for the Detection of SARS-CoV-2 in Gabon

1) Background: Rapid and acurate diagnostic testing for case identification, quarantine, and contact tracing is essential for managing the COVID 19 pandemic. Rapid antigen detection tests are available, however, it is important to evaluate their performances before use. We tested a rapid antigen detection of SARS-CoV-2, based on the immunochromatography (Boson Biotech SARS-CoV-2 Ag Test (Xiamen Boson Biotech Co., Ltd., China)) and the results were compared with the real time reverse transcriptase-Polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) (Gold standard) results;2) Methods: From November 2021 to December 2021, samples were collected from symptomatic patients and asymptomatic individuals referred for testing in a hospital during the second pandemic wave in Gabon. All these participants attending “CTA Angondjé”, a field hospital set up as part of the management of COVID-19 in Gabon. Two nasopharyngeal swabs were collected in all the patients, one for Ag test and the other for RT-PCR;3) Results: A total of 300 samples were collected from 189 symptomatic and 111 asymptomatic individuals. The sensitivity and specificity of the antigen test were 82.5% [95%CI 73.8 - 89.3] and 97.9 % [95%CI 92.2 - 98.2] respectively, and the diagnostic accuracy was 84.4% (95% CI: 79.8 - 88.3%). The antigen test was more likely to be positive for samples with RT-PCR Ct values ≤ 32, with a sensitivity of 89.8%;4) Conclusions: The Boson Biotech SARS-CoV-2 Ag Test has good sensitivity and can detect SARS-CoV-2 infection, especially among symptomatic individuals with low viral load. This test could be incorporated into efficient testing algorithms as an alternative to PCR to decrease diagnostic delays and curb viral transmission.

Aseismic performances of constrained damping lining structures made of rubber-sand-concrete

Flexible damping technology considering aseismic materials and aseismic structures seems be a good solution for engineering structures.In this study,a constrained damping structure for underground tunnel lining,using a rubber-sand-concrete(RSC)as the aseismic material,is proposed.The aseismic performances of constrained damping structure were investigated by a series of hammer impact tests.The damping layer thickness and shape effects on the aseismic performance such as effective duration and acceleration amplitude of time-domain analysis,composite loss factor and damping ratio of the transfer function analysis,and total vibration level of octave spectrum analysis were discussed.The hammer impact tests revealed that the relationship between the aseismic performance and damping layer thickness was not linear,and that the hollow damping layer had a better aseismic performance than the flat damping layer one.The aseismic performances of constrained damping structure under different seismicity magnitudes and geological conditions were investigated.The effects of the peak ground acceleration(PGA)and tunnel overburden depth on the aseismic performances such as the maximum principal stress and equivalent plastic strain(PEEQ)were discussed.The numerical results show the constrained damping structure proposed in this paper has a good aseismic performance,with PGA in the range(0.2-1.2)g and tunnel overburden depth in the range of 0-300 m.

A Study of Performance Testing in Configurable Software Systems

Customizing applications through program configuration options has been proved by many open-source and commercial projects as one of the best practices in software engineering. However, traditional performance testing is not in synch with this industrial practice. Traditional performance testing techniques consider program inputs as the only external factor. It ignores the performance influence of configuration options. This study aims to stimulate research interest in performance testing in the context of configurable software systems by answering three research questions. That is, why it is necessary to conduct research in performance testing, what are the state-of-the-art techniques, and how do we conduct performance testing research in configurable software systems. In this study, we examine the unique characteristics and challenges of performance testing research in configurable software systems. We review and discuss research topics on the performance bug study, performance anti-patterns, program analysis, and performance testing. We share the research findings from the empirical study and outline the opening opportunities for new and advanced researchers to contribute to the research community.

The Performance Test of the BUPT-IN System

The performance test of Intelligent Network (IN) system is an important phase in developing IN system. We designed a set of simple and practical methods on the basis of the characteristics of IN for the performance test of the prototype of the BUPT-IN system. The test result is well satisfied and shows that the performance of the BUPT-IN system reaches the original goal.

The engine performance LabVIEW virtual instrument test system design

This paper adopts American National Instruments (NI) Company’s LabVIEW and LabVIEW RT virtual instrument softwareplatform and lots of things for this engine performance LabVIEW virtual instrument test system, such as the matched NI PCI dataCollection Card, NI SCXI signal-adjusting instrument and NI compact FieldPoint (cFP) distributed I/O real time system hardware.This system has realized multi performances’parallel test; and it can complete load, torsional moment, rotate speed, power, pressureand temperature’s real time monitoring automatically according to user’s setting; and finally through TCP/IP protocol it realizes testdata’s teleshare and telecontrol that user put on the test system. This system has such character as short development period, highuse efficiency and low cost, at the same time it has strong extensibility and reusability, so it has very high applied cost.

Oxidation Modification of Polyacrylonitrile-Based Carbon Fiber and Its Electro-Chemical Performance as Marine Electrode for Electric Field Test

A novel sensor for ocean electric field testing has been fabricated by polyacrylonitrile-based on carbon fibers with electro-chemical oxidation.The surface profile characteristics of the carbon fibers were characterized by scanning electron microscope,Fourier transform infrared spectra and contact angle.Cyclic voltammetry and Tafel curves have been used to study its electro-chemical performances.Two identical electrodes in sea water as the electric field sensor will swiftly respond to applied electric field which causes positive and negative ions to move in opposite direction,resulting in a electric potential difference(ΔE).Test result indicates that the offset potential is typically below 1 m V with a drift of 60-170μVd^-1.Typical self noise level is 1.07 nV√Hz^(1/2)@1 Hz.The electric field response indicates that the modified electrode pair shows better response to AC sine signal of amplitude and frequency(5 mV and 1 mHz)respectively than its blank.The electric field response model of the modified electrodes is creatively presented according to its electric double layer capacitance and Faraday pseudo-capacitance.Many advantages of the carbon fiber electric field electrode will make it have potential application prospect.

Seismic performance evaluation of an infilled rocking wall frame structure through quasi-static cyclic testing

Earthquake investigations have illustrated that even code-compliant reinforced concrete frames may suffer from soft-story mechanism.This damage mode results in poor ductility and limited energy dissipation.Continuous components offer alternatives that may avoid such failures.A novel infilled rocking wall frame system is proposed that takes advantage of continuous component and rocking characteristics.Previous studies have investigated similar systems that combine a reinforced concrete frame and a wall with rocking behavior used.However,a large-scale experimental study of a reinforced concrete frame combined with a rocking wall has not been reported.In this study,a seismic performance evaluation of the newly proposed infilled rocking wall frame structure was conducted through quasi-static cyclic testing.Critical joints were designed and verified.Numerical models were established and calibrated to estimate frame shear forces.The results evaluation demonstrate that an infilled rocking wall frame can effectively avoid soft-story mechanisms.Capacity and initial stiffness are greatly improved and self-centering behavior is achieved with the help of the infilled rocking wall.Drift distribution becomes more uniform with height.Concrete cracks and damage occurs in desired areas.The infilled rocking wall frame offers a promising approach to achieving seismic resilience.

Identification of Kinematic Errors of Five-axis Machine Tool Trunnion Axis from Finished Test Piece

Compared with the traditional non-cutting measurement,machining tests can more accurately reflect the kinematic errors of five-axis machine tools in the actual machining process for the users.However,measurement and calculation of the machining tests in the literature are quite difficult and time-consuming.A new method of the machining tests for the trunnion axis of five-axis machine tool is proposed.Firstly,a simple mathematical model of the cradle-type five-axis machine tool was established by optimizing the coordinate system settings based on robot kinematics.Then,the machining tests based on error-sensitive directions were proposed to identify the kinematic errors of the trunnion axis of cradle-type five-axis machine tool.By adopting the error-sensitive vectors in the matrix calculation,the functional relationship equations between the machining errors of the test piece in the error-sensitive directions and the kinematic errors of C-axis and A-axis of five-axis machine tool rotary table was established based on the model of the kinematic errors.According to our previous work,the kinematic errors of C-axis can be treated as the known quantities,and the kinematic errors of A-axis can be obtained from the equations.This method was tested in Mikron UCP600 vertical machining center.The machining errors in the error-sensitive directions can be obtained by CMM inspection from the finished test piece to identify the kinematic errors of five-axis machine tool trunnion axis.Experimental results demonstrated that the proposed method can reduce the complexity,cost,and the time consumed substantially,and has a wider applicability.This paper proposes a new method of the machining tests for the trunnion axis of five-axis machine tool.

Study on soil-pile-structure-TMD interaction system by shaking table model test

The success of the tuned mass damper (TMD) in reducing wind-induced structural vibrations has been well established. However, from most of the recent numerical studies, it appears that for a structure situated on very soft soil, soil-structure interaction (SSI) could render a damper on the structure totally ineffective. In order to experimentally verify the SSI effect on the seismic performance of TMD, a series of shaking table model tests have been conducted and the results are presented in this paper. It has been shown that the TMD is not as effective in controlling the seismic responses of structures built on soft soil sites due to the SSI effect. Some test results also show that a TMD device might have a negative impact if the SSI effect is neglected and the structure is built on a soft soil site. For structures constructed on a soil foundation, this research verifies that the SSI effect must be carefully understood before a TMD control system is designed to determine if the control is necessary and if the SSI effect must be considered when choosing the optimal parameters of the TMD device.

Accurate parameter estimation of systematic odometry errors for two-wheel differential mobile robots

Odometry using incremental wheel encoder sensors provides the relative robot pose estimation.However,the odometry suffers from the accumulation of kinematic modeling errors of wheels as the robot's travel distance increases.Therefore,the systematic errors need to be calibrated.The University of Michigan Benchmark(UMBmark)method is a widely used calibration scheme of the systematic errors in two-wheel differential mobile robots.In this paper,the accurate parameter estimation of systematic errors is proposed by extending the conventional method.The contributions of this paper can be summarized as two issues.The first contribution is to present new calibration equations that reduce the systematic odometry errors.The new equations were derived to overcome the limitation of conventional schemes.The second contribution is to propose the design guideline of the test track for calibration experiments.The calibration performance can be improved by appropriate design of the test track.The simulations and experimental results show that the accurate parameter estimation can be implemented by the proposed method.

Analytical exploration of γ-function explicit method for pseudodynamic testing of nonlinear systems

It has been well studied that the γ-function explicit method can be effective in providing favorable numerical dissipation for linear elastic systems. However, its performance for nonlinear systems is unclear due to a lack of analytical evaluation techniques. Thus, a novel technique is proposed herein to evaluate its efficiency for application to nonlinear systems by introducing two parameters to describe the stiffness change. As a result, the numerical properties and error propagation characteristics of the γ-function explicit method for the pseudodynamic testing of a nonlinear system are analytically assessed. It is found that the upper stability limit decreases as the step degree of nonlinearity increases; and it increases as the current degree of nonlinearity increases. It is also shown that this integration method provides favorable numerical dissipation not only for linear elastic systems but also for nonlinear systems. Furthermore, error propagation analysis reveals that the numerical dissipation can effectively suppress the severe error propagation of high frequency modes while the low frequency responses are almost unaffected for both linear elastic and nonlinear systems.

APPROXIMATE POWER OF HETEROSCEDASTICITY TEST IN NONLINEAR MODELS WITH ARIMA（0,1,0） ERRORS

This paper presents an approach for estimating power of the score test, based on an asymptotic approximation to the power of the score test under contiguous alternatives. The method is applied to the problem of power calculations for the score test of heteroscedasticity in European rabbit data （Ratkowsky, 1983）. Simulation studies are presented which indicate that the asymptotic approximation to the finite-sample situation is good over a wide range of parameter configurations.

A new bracing system for improvement of seismic performance of steel jacket type offshore platforms with float-over-deck

In this paper, the seismic response of a newly designed steel jacket offshore platform with a float over deck （FOD） system in the Persian Gulf was investigated through incremental dynamic analysis. Comparison of incremental dynamic analysis results for both directions of the platform shows that the lateral strength of the platform in the float over direction is less than its lateral strength in other direction. Dynamic characteristics measurement of a scale model of platform was also performed using forced vibration tests. From experimental measurement of the scaled model, it was observed that dynamic characteristic of the platform is different in the float over direction compared to the other direction. Therefore, a new offshore installed bracing system for the float over direction was proposed for improvement of seismic performance of this type of platform. Finally, the structure with the modified system was assessed using the probabilistic seismic assessment method as well as experimental measurement of its dynamic characteristics. It was observed that the proposed offshore installed bracing system improves the performance of platforms subjected to strong ground motion.

Performance Testing of Tractor Hydraulic Fluids to Simulate In-Use Conditions

Tractor hydraulic fluids are tested to maximize their performance levels and to ensure manufacturer′s standards are met.Common tractor hydraulic fluid tests include: Gear Wear Protection,Brake Chatter Reduction,Wet-Clutch Capacity,and Pump Performance tests.These tests are run by Southwest Research Institute,in the U.S.A.,for tractors built by John Deere and Case-New Holland.This paper details current methods for evaluating tractor hydraulic fluids.The tests that are described utilize full size equipment and were developed by the tractor′s original equipment manufacturers(OEMs).

Investigation on Relationship between Test Anxiety and Academic Performance of Nursing and Midwifery Students in Tabriz and Maragheh—Iran

Background and Aim: Given the dramatic decline in the ability of test due to test anxiety, the goal of this study was to evaluate the relationship between test anxiety and academic performances in students. Materials and Methods: This descriptive-analytical study was performed on 216 Iranian nursing and midwifery students in 2011-2012, utilizing Sarason Anxiety Inventory, demographic checklist and the average mark of students in the period of midterm and final exam. Multinomial logistic regression analyses by reporting odds ratios and their 95% confidence intervals were performed by SPSS17 software to assess the relationship between test anxiety and academic performances. Results: Mild, moderate and sever test anxiety was observed in 30.6, 43.1 and 26.4 percent of students respectively. Test anxiety was significantly related to academic performance (average), major and city. Also, there was 52.9% decrease for odds of having sever anxiety (compared to mild anxiety) with 1 point increase in average (OR = 0.471, 95% CI = (0.298 - 0.745) and p = 0.001). Conclusions: Due to inverse relationship between test anxiety and academic performance, performing preventive programs such as in time treatment of anxiety, empowering the students to deal with anxiety and conducting consulting services for how to studying are very important. Consequently it would be a big step in decreasing the test anxiety and therefore in improving the academic performance.

Evaluation of Dosimetric Performance and Global Uncertainty of the Harshaw 6600 Plus System Used to Staff Monitoring in Côte d’Ivoire

The objective of this work is to check the dosimetric performances of the TLD-100 as stated by the manufacturer as well as the technical standards of radiation protection. The purpose of the performance audit is to assess the inhomogeneity of TLD sensitivity, repeatability and reproducibility, linearity, energy dependence, angular dependence, and fading. All tests were performed under the conditions of ambient temperature and relative humidity recommended by the manufacturer. We began the study by calibrating the Harshaw 6600 Plus, and checking its performance. The TLD-100 performance verification results were all acceptable and in accordance with the manufacturer’s advertised values and the radiation protection technical standards. However the performance of the TLD-100 that we have evaluated may have some limitations;these limits, which are sources of uncertainty, have been taken into account in this work by evaluating the overall uncertainty of the Hp (10) dose in the uncertainty range 9.45% to 15.80% by simple formulas. The TLD-100 personal dosimeters and the 6600 Plus reader system indicate that the calculated values of the overall uncertainty Hp (10) are well below the allowable values of 21% to 42% suggested for personal dosimetry services. The obtained data encourage the use of the system for the routine evaluation of the external exposure of workers under ionizing radiation in our laboratory.