Damage quantification techniques in acoustic emission monitoring

Acoustic emission (AE) analysis is one of the several diagnostic techniques available nowadays for structural health monitoring (SHM) of engineering structures. Some of its advantages over other techniques include high sensitivity to crack growth and capability of monitoring a structure in real time. The phenomenon of rapid release of energy within a material by crack initiation or growth in form of stress waves is known as acoustic emission (AE). In AE technique, these stress waves are recorded by means of suitable sensors placed on the surface of a structure. Recorded signals are subsequently analysed to gather information about the nature of the source. By enabling early detection of crack growth, AE technique helps in planning timely retrofitting or other maintenance jobs or even replacement of the structure if required. In spite of being a promising tool, some challenges do still exist behind the successful application of AE technique. Large amount of data is generated during AE testing, hence effective data analysis is necessary, especially for long term monitoring uses. Appropriate analysis of AE data for quantification of damage level is an area that has received considerable attention. Various approaches available for damage quantification for severity assessment are discussed in this paper, with special focus on civil infrastructure such as bridges. One method called improved b-value analysis is used to analyse data collected from laboratory testing

Program latihan industri di Kolej Universiti Teknologi Tun Hussein Onn : kajian terhadap perlaksanaan sistem penilaian

Kajian yang dijalankan adalah bertajuk "Program Lalilian lndustri Di Kolej Universiti Teknologi Tun Hussein Onn : Kajian Terhadap Perlaksanaan Sistem Penilaian". Sampel terdin daripada 6 orang pakar serta 63 orang pelajar yang terlibat dalam latihan industri. Maklumat yang diperolehi berdasarkan kaedah kualitatif dan kuantitatif Data dianalisis untuk meninjau kaedah penilaian yang dijalankan dan seterusnya memastikan apakali sistem penilaian yang perlu diperbaiki. Secara keseluruhannya, kebanyakan responden berpendapat bahawa sistem penilaian yang sedia ada adalah perlu diperbaki dan disistematikkan selaras dengan ISO 9000 : 2001. Berdasarkan daripada keputusan yang diperolehi dan bimbingnan pakar dari Unit Latihan lndustri KUiTTHO, maka satu "Buku Panduan Penilaian Latihan lndustri" dihasilkan dengan panduan yang ringkas dan lampiran borang-borang yang telah diperbaiki dan diubahsuai. Diharapkan produk mi dapat digunakan untuk masa-masa akan datang

Human response to vibration in residential environments (NANR209), technical report 3 : calculation of vibration exposure

The Technical Report 3 describes the research undertaken to develop a methodology by which human exposure to vibration in residential environments can be calculated. That work has carried out by the University of Salford supported by the Department of environment food and rural affairs (Defra). The overall aim of the project is to derive exposure-response relationships for human vibration in residential environments. This document in particular focuses on the methods used to calculate vibration exposure from measured vibration signals due to different sources. The main objective of this report is to describe the different approaches used for calculating the different source-specific exposure. Reported here are findings obtained and a description of the feasibility of the methods used for evaluating exposure for different sources. In addition, an evaluation of the uncertainty related to the exposure calculation is considered

Characterizing the Load Environment of Ferry Landings for Washington State Ferries and the Alaska Marine Highway System

INE/AUTC 13.0

Technical and vocational skills (TVS): a means of preventing violence among youth in Nigeria

Technical and vocational skills are an important tool for reducing violence among youth, especially in Nigeria, who face security challenges due to different kinds of violence. This paper focusses on the policies and programmes intended to provide youth with skills that can help them improve their life instead of engaging in violence. The paper also studies youth participation in violence. The study shows that youth in Nigeria participate in violence because of unemployment and economic pressure. These youth are mostly from poor families and are mostly used by others to achieve their own unlawful ambition. The data were collected from various secondary sources such as textbooks, journals and conference papers that were carefully reviewed. The results obtained from the literature revealed that youth are not committed, sensitised and mobilised to taking advantage of the opportunities available to them. The results also revealed that almost all the programmes meant to provide youths with skills have failed. Poverty alleviation programmes established to create jobs, self-employment and self-reliance have been unsuccessful. Therefore, alternatives must be provided to help the younger generations. Based on the literature reviewed, the paper discusses related issues and outcomes and ends with recommendations to improve the situation

Influence of vibrations on structures

One type of occasional structural load is a seismic load. Earthquakes and blasts are typical sources of vibrations, but vibration generated during urban tunnel construction can represent a significant problem. Evaluation of the harmful impact of vibrations transmitted through rock massif into buildings is solved using experimental measurements, detailed analyses of measured signals, knowledge of geological pattern and constructional analysis. Seismic load of structures due to earthquakes is solved using the EUROCODE 8 standard. The earthquake movements at a certain location on the surface are determined by an elastic response spectrum to the ground acceleration. Eurocode 8 puts emphasis especially on the robust foundations and simplicity of construction systems. It is also mentioned vibration effect on historical buildings and effect under the surface, for example, in mine spaces. Historical structures are usually even more prone to vibration damage than, for example, typical wood-frame homes. The greater concerns over historic structures arise from the design, structure age, building materials and building methods used. The peak values of vibration generated by earthquake decrease with depth; the decrease is faster in shallow layers compared with the deeper part. Technical vibrations differ from natural earthquakes, for a comparable value of maximum vibration amplitudes, especially in the frequency range of the signal and mostly its duration. Evaluation of technical seismicity is more complicated because there are usually used national standards. To document some common information about vibration effects on structures, some experimental measurements are presented. Examples of real wave patterns document common shapes and also signals with significant resonant vibrations. Very interesting is an example of resonant vibration that was generated as the influence of basin structures on the shape of wave patterns due to quarry blasts. To obtain complete information, measurement system has to keep sufficient parameters, especially the frequency range of the whole seismic channel, sampling frequency, and proper anchoring of the sensor. The basic methodology for evaluation of vibration on structures is outlined.Web of Science23331129

Performance of Cpred/Cobs concentration ratios as a metric reflecting adherence to antidepressant drug therapy

Background: Nonadherence is very common among subjects undergoing pharmacotherapy for schizophrenia and depression. This study aimed to evaluate the performance of the ratio of the nonlinear mixed effects pharmacokinetic model predicted concentration to observed drug concentration (ratio of population predicted to observed concentration (Cpred/Cobs) and ratio of individual predicted to observed concentration (Cipred/Cobs) as a measure of erratic drug exposure, driven primarily by variable execution of the dosage regimen and unknown true dosage history. Methods: Modeling and simulation approaches in conjunction with dosage history information from the Medication Event Monitoring System (MEMS, provided by the "Depression: The search for treatment relevant phenotypes" study), was applied to evaluate the consistency of exposure via simulation studies with scenarios representing a long half-life drug (escitalopram). Adherence rates were calculated based on the percentage of the prescribed doses actually taken correctly during the treatment window of interest. The association between Cpred/Cobs, Cipred/Cobs ratio, and adherence rate was evaluated under various assumptions of known dosing history. Results: Simulations for those scenarios representing a known dosing history were generated from historical MEMS data. Simulations of a long half-life drug exhibited a trend for overprediction of concentrations in patients with a low percentage of doses taken and underprediction of concentrations in patients taking more than their prescribed number of doses. Overall, the ratios did not predict adherence well, except when the true adherence rates were extremely high (greater than 100% of prescribed doses) or extremely low (complete nonadherence). In general, the Cipred/Cobs ratio was a better predictor of adherence rate than the Cpred/Cobs ratio. Correct predictions of extreme (high, low) 7-day adherence rates using Cipred/Cobs were 73.8% and 64.0%. Conclusion: This simulation study demonstrated the limitations of the Cpred/obs and Cipred/obs ratios as metrics for actual dosage intake history, and identified that use of MEMS dosing history monitoring combined with sparse pharmacokinetic sampling is a more reliable approach. © 2011 Feng et al