The effects of protected beams and their connections on the fire resistance of composite buildings

According to full-scale fire tests, it is noticed that tensile membrane action within the concrete floor slabs plays an important role in affecting the fire resistance of composite buildings. It is well known that the development of tensile membrane actions relies on the vertical support along the edges of the slab panel. However, there is at present a lack of research into the influence of vertical supports on the tensile membrane actions of the floor slabs. In this paper, the performances of a generic three dimensional 45m x 45m composite floor subjected to ISO834 Fire and Natural Fire are investigated. Different vertical support conditions and three steel meshes are applied in order to assess the impact of vertical supports on tensile membrane action of floor slabs. Unlike other existing large scale modelling which assumes the connections behave as pinned or rigid for simplicity, two robust 2-node connection element models developed by the authors are used to model the behaviour of end-plate and partial end-plate connections of composite structures under fire conditions. The impact of connections on the 3D behaviour of composite floor is taken into consideration. The load-transfer mechanisms of composite floor when connections fail due to axial tension, vertical shear and bending are investigated. Based on the results obtained, some design recommendations are proposed to enhance the fire resistance of composite buildings

eXtended Variational Quasicontinuum Methodology for Lattice Networks with Damage and Crack Propagation

Lattice networks with dissipative interactions are often employed to analyze materials with discrete micro- or meso-structures, or for a description of heterogeneous materials which can be modelled discretely. They are, however, computationally prohibitive for engineering-scale applications. The (variational) QuasiContinuum (QC) method is a concurrent multiscale approach that reduces their computational cost by fully resolving the (dissipative) lattice network in small regions of interest while coarsening elsewhere. When applied to damageable lattices, moving crack tips can be captured by adaptive mesh refinement schemes, whereas fully-resolved trails in crack wakes can be removed by mesh coarsening. In order to address crack propagation efficiently and accurately, we develop in this contribution the necessary generalizations of the variational QC methodology. First, a suitable definition of crack paths in discrete systems is introduced, which allows for their geometrical representation in terms of the signed distance function. Second, special function enrichments based on the partition of unity concept are adopted, in order to capture kinematics in the wakes of crack tips. Third, a summation rule that reflects the adopted enrichment functions with sufficient degree of accuracy is developed. Finally, as our standpoint is variational, we discuss implications of the mesh refinement and coarsening from an energy-consistency point of view. All theoretical considerations are demonstrated using two numerical examples for which the resulting reaction forces, energy evolutions, and crack paths are compared to those of the direct numerical simulations.Comment: 36 pages, 23 figures, 1 table, 2 algorithms; small changes after review, paper title change

Conforming restricted Delaunay mesh generation for piecewise smooth complexes

A Frontal-Delaunay refinement algorithm for mesh generation in piecewise smooth domains is described. Built using a restricted Delaunay framework, this new algorithm combines a number of novel features, including: (i) an unweighted, conforming restricted Delaunay representation for domains specified as a (non-manifold) collection of piecewise smooth surface patches and curve segments, (ii) a protection strategy for domains containing curve segments that subtend sharply acute angles, and (iii) a new class of off-centre refinement rules designed to achieve high-quality point-placement along embedded curve features. Experimental comparisons show that the new Frontal-Delaunay algorithm outperforms a classical (statically weighted) restricted Delaunay-refinement technique for a number of three-dimensional benchmark problems.Comment: To appear at the 25th International Meshing Roundtabl

A progressive refinement approach for the visualisation of implicit surfaces

Visualising implicit surfaces with the ray casting method is a slow procedure. The design cycle of a new implicit surface is, therefore, fraught with long latency times as a user must wait for the surface to be rendered before being able to decide what changes should be introduced in the next iteration. In this paper, we present an attempt at reducing the design cycle of an implicit surface modeler by introducing a progressive refinement rendering approach to the visualisation of implicit surfaces. This progressive refinement renderer provides a quick previewing facility. It first displays a low quality estimate of what the final rendering is going to be and, as the computation progresses, increases the quality of this estimate at a steady rate. The progressive refinement algorithm is based on the adaptive subdivision of the viewing frustrum into smaller cells. An estimate for the variation of the implicit function inside each cell is obtained with an affine arithmetic range estimation technique. Overall, we show that our progressive refinement approach not only provides the user with visual feedback as the rendering advances but is also capable of completing the image faster than a conventional implicit surface rendering algorithm based on ray casting

Comparison of continuous and discontinuous collisional bumpers: Dimensionally scaled impact experiments into single wire meshes

An experimental inquiry into the utility of discontinuous bumpers was conducted to investigate the collisional outcomes of impacts into single grid-like targets and to compare the results with more traditional bumper designs that employ continuous sheet stock. We performed some 35 experiments using 6.3 and 3.2 mm diameter spherical soda-lime glass projectiles at low velocities (less than 2.5 km/s) and 13 at velocities between 5 and 6 km/s, using 3.2 mm spheres only. The thrust of the experiments related to the characterization of collisional fragments as a function of target thickness or areal shield mass of both bumper designs. The primary product of these experiments was witness plates that record the resulting population of collisional fragments. Substantial interpretive and predictive insights into bumper performance were obtained. All qualitative observations (on the witness plates) and detailed measurements of displaced masses seem simply and consistently related only to bumper mass available for interaction with the impactor. This renders the grid bumper into the superior shield design. These findings present evidence that discontinuous bumpers are a viable concept for collisional shields, possibly superior to continuous geometries

Topological Quantum Gate Construction by Iterative Pseudogroup Hashing

We describe the hashing technique to obtain a fast approximation of a target quantum gate in the unitary group SU(2) represented by a product of the elements of a universal basis. The hashing exploits the structure of the icosahedral group [or other finite subgroups of SU(2)] and its pseudogroup approximations to reduce the search within a small number of elements. One of the main advantages of the pseudogroup hashing is the possibility to iterate to obtain more accurate representations of the targets in the spirit of the renormalization group approach. We describe the iterative pseudogroup hashing algorithm using the universal basis given by the braidings of Fibonacci anyons. The analysis of the efficiency of the iterations based on the random matrix theory indicates that the runtime and the braid length scale poly-logarithmically with the final error, comparing favorably to the Solovay-Kitaev algorithm.Comment: 20 pages, 5 figure

Progressive Shape Models

International audienceIn this paper we address the problem of recovering both the topology and the geometry of a deformable shape using temporal mesh sequences. The interest arises in multi-camera applications when unknown natural dynamic scenes are captured. While several approaches allow recovery of shape models from static scenes, few consider dynamic scenes with evolving topology and without prior knowledge. In this nonetheless generic situation, a single time observation is not necessarily enough to infer the correct topology of the observed shape and evidences must be accumulated over time in order to learn this topology and to enable temporally consistent modelling. This appears to be a new problem for which no formal solution exists. We propose a principled approach based on the assumption that the observed objects have a fixed topology. Under this assumption, we can progressively learn the topology meanwhile capturing the deformation of the dynamic scene. The approach has been successfully experimented on several standard 4D datasets and we believe that it paves the way to more general multi-view scene capture and analysis.Dans cet article nous nous concentrons sur un problème récurrent des systèmes d'acquisition 4D : l'apprentissage de la géométrie et de la topologie d'une scène déformable à partir d'une séquence temporelle de maillages. Il s'agit d'une étape fondamentale dans le traitement de scènes naturelles et dynamiques. Tandis que de nombreux travaux ont été menés pour la reconstruction de scènes statiques, assez peu considèrent le cas de scènes dynamiques dont la topologie évolue et sans connaissances \apriori. Dans cette situation, une simple observation à un unique instant de temps n'est souvent pas suffisante pour retrouver entièrement l'information de topologie propre à la scène observée. Il semble ainsi évident que les indices sur la forme doivent être accumulés intelligemment sur une séquence complète afin d'acquerir une information aussi complète que possible sur la topologie de la scène et permettre l'apprentissage d'un modèle cohérent à la fois spatialement et temporellement. A notre connaissance cela semble un problème nouveau pour lequel aucune solution formelle n'a été proposée. Nous formulons dans cette thèse un principe de solution basé sur l'hypothèse que les objets composant la scène observée possèdent une topologie fixe. A partir de cette hypothèse de base nous pouvons progressivement apprendre la topologie et en parallèle capturer les déformations d'une scène dynamique. Les travaux présentés dans cette partie visent à retrouver une information de basse fréquence sur la géométrie de la scène. En l'état actuel, la méthode que nous proposons ne peut pas être directement utilisée pour accumuler les informations de bas niveau (détails de la surface) sur une séquence de maillages

FAS-dependent cell death in α-synuclein transgenic oligodendrocyte models of multiple system atrophy

Multiple system atrophy is a parkinsonian neurodegenerative disorder. It is cytopathologically characterized by accumulation of the protein p25α in cell bodies of oligodendrocytes followed by accumulation of aggregated α-synuclein in so-called glial cytoplasmic inclusions. p25α is a stimulator of α-synuclein aggregation, and coexpression of α-synuclein and p25α in the oligodendroglial OLN-t40-AS cell line causes α-synuclein aggregate-dependent toxicity. In this study, we investigated whether the FAS system is involved in α-synuclein aggregate dependent degeneration in oligodendrocytes and may play a role in multiple system atrophy. Using rat oligodendroglial OLN-t40-AS cells we demonstrate that the cytotoxicity caused by coexpressing α-synuclein and p25α relies on stimulation of the death domain receptor FAS and caspase-8 activation. Using primary oligodendrocytes derived from PLP-α-synuclein transgenic mice we demonstrate that they exist in a sensitized state expressing pro-apoptotic FAS receptor, which makes them sensitive to FAS ligand-mediated apoptosis. Immunoblot analysis shows an increase in FAS in brain extracts from multiple system atrophy cases. Immunohistochemical analysis demonstrated enhanced FAS expression in multiple system atrophy brains notably in oligodendrocytes harboring the earliest stages of glial cytoplasmic inclusion formation. Oligodendroglial FAS expression is an early hallmark of oligodendroglial pathology in multiple system atrophy that mechanistically may be coupled to α-synuclein dependent degeneration and thus represent a potential target for protective intervention

Optimal packet loss protection of progressively compressed 3D meshes

©20009 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. However, permission to reprint/republish this material for advertising or promotional purposes or for creating new collective works for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or to reuse any copyrighted component of this work in other works must be obtained from the IEEE.This material is presented to ensure timely dissemination of scholarly and technical work. Copyright and all rights therein are retained by authors or by other copyright holders. All persons copying this information are expected to adhere to the terms and constraints invoked by each author's copyright. In most cases, these works may not be reposted without the explicit permission of the copyright holder.We consider a state of the art system that uses layered source coding and forward error correction with Reed- Solomon codes to efficiently transmit 3D meshes over lossy packet networks. Given a transmission bit budget, the performance of this system can be optimized by determining how many layers should be sent, how each layer should be packetized, and how many parity bits should be allocated to each layer such that the expected distortion at the receiver is minimum. The previous solution for this optimization problem uses exhaustive search, which is not feasible when the transmission bit budget is large.We propose instead an exact algorithm that solves this optimization problem in linear time and space. We illustrate the advantages of our approach by providing experimental results for the CPM (Compressed Progressive Meshes) mesh compression techniqueDFG Research Training Group GK-1042