Technology transfer: Transportation

Standard Research Institute (SRI) has operated a NASA-sponsored team for four years. The SRI Team is concentrating on solving problems in the public transportation area and on developing methods for decreasing the time gap between the development and the marketing of new technology and for aiding the movement of knowledge across industrial, disciplinary, and regional boundaries. The SRI TAT has developed a methodology that includes adaptive engineering of the aerospace technology and commercialization when a market is indicated. The SRI Team has handled highway problems on a regional rather than a state basis, because many states in similar climatic or geologic regions have similar problems. Program exposure has been increased to encompass almost all of the fifty states

Peculiarities of britlle and ductile materials destruction and deformation during the explosion of industrial shaped charges

Purpose. To study the laws of deformation and destruction of brittle and ductile rocks and concretes under explosion of industrial shaped charges. Methods. In experiments, the following methods of investigation were used: method of contact sensors for determination of jet velocity; determination of the ultrasonic wave velocity in the concrete samples; methods of optical and electronic microscopy; X-ray phase analysis; measuring and visual analysis of the dimensions and nature of deformation and destruction zones. Findings. The work describes the experimental data on the destruction of barriers made of concrete, granite, steel ST 3, AMC-n alloy, and zinc by the explosions of shaped charges of serial production with porous liners. Calculation formulas for estimating the radius of a destruction zone of geomaterials and rocks in case of a semi-infinite barrier are suggested. The calculation method is based on the estimation of energy impact on the rock by jet penetration velocity into the barrier. Jet velocities are determined experimentally and by engineering methods. The reasons for deviations in the hole shape and deflection of the destruction zone from the symmetry axis were determined. Originality. The modes of penetration of shaped jets into rocks of different porosity, the size of the fracture zone around the hole and the causes and mechanisms of the deviations of the hole shape from the symmetric one are established. Practical implications. The results of the research will be used to design blasting-and-perforation operations in geotechnological wells and can be used to design initiating devices for borehole charges.Мета. Дослідження закономірностей деформування й руйнування крихких і пластичних гірських порід та бетонів при вибуху промислових кумулятивних зарядів. Методика. Метод контактних датчиків для визначення швидкості струменя; визначення швидкості ультразвукових хвиль у зразках бетону; оптична та електронна мікроскопія; рентгенофазний аналіз; вимірювання й візуальний аналіз розмірів та характеру зон деформування і руйнування. Результати. В роботі описані експериментальні дані про деформацію та руйнування перешкод з бетону, граніту, пінобетону, сталі Ст 3, сплаву АМЦ-н і цинку вибухами кумулятивних зарядів серійного виробництва з пористим облицюванням. Запропоновано розрахункові формули для оцінки радіусу зони руйнування геоматеріалів і гірських порід у разі напівнескінченної перешкоди. Визначено причини відхилень форми отвору і зони руйнування від осі симетрії. Наукова новизна. Визначено режими проникнення кумулятивних струменів у породи різної пористості, розміри зони руйнування навколо отвору, а також причини і механізми відхилення форми отвору від симетричної. Практична значимість. Результати досліджень будуть використані для проектування вибухо-прострілочних робіт у геотехнологічних свердловинах і можуть бути використані для конструювання ініціюючих пристроїв свердловинних зарядів.Цель. Исследование закономерностей деформирования и разрушения хрупких и пластичных горных пород и бетонов при взрыве промышленных кумулятивных зарядов. Методика. Метод контактных датчиков для определения скорости струи; определение скорости ультразвуковых волн в образцах бетона; оптическая и электронная микроскопия; рентгенофазный анализ; измерение и визуальный анализ размеров и характера зон деформирования и разрушения. Результаты. В работе описаны экспериментальные данные о деформировании и разрушении преград из бетона, гранита, пенобетона, стали Ст 3, сплава АМЦ-н и цинка взрывами кумулятивных зарядов серийного производства с пористыми облицовками. Предложены расчетные формулы для оценки радиуса зоны разрушения геоматериалов и горных пород в случае полубесконечной преграды. Определены причины отклонений формы отверстия и зоны разрушения от оси симметрии. Научная новизна. Определены режимы проникания кумулятивных струй в породы различной пористости, размеры зоны разрушения вокруг отверстия, а также причины и механизмы отклонения формы отверстия от симметричной. Практическая значимость. Результаты исследований будут использованы для проектирования взрыво-прострелочных работ в геотехнологических скважинах и могут быть использованы для конструирования инициирующих устройств скважинных зарядов.The authors extend their sincere gratitude to the staff of Scientific Research Centre “Materialoobrobka vybukhom” (Processing Materials by Explosion) of the Paton Institute of Electric Welding affiliated with the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine for the assistance in organization and conducting of the research. We would like to express special thanks to S.I. Kochetkov for the provided data on the velocity of longitudinal sound in solid sandy rocks, and to V.P. Bugaits for the assistance in experiments

Service Life Assessment of Harbor Structures - Case studies of chloride ingress into concrete and sheet piling corrosion rates

The two most used building materials in harbor structures are undoubtedly steel and concrete. These two materials are often combined in the structures of wharfs and quays where the steel sheet pile walls often have cap beams of reinforced concrete. The degradation processes of these structures must be taken into account both when designing new structures and when inspecting existing harbor structures with the purpose of determining their remaining service life. Since the environmental loads on these structures differ substantially depending on their location, both globally and locally, the degradation processes of the structures also differ. Assessment of these types of structures must therefore combine general knowledge about degradation processes with knowledge about the local conditions. This PhD-project has focused on degradation of steel and concrete structures in harbor environments. The purpose of the work has been to increase the understanding of the degradation processes in order to optimize the design of new structures in marine environment, and to make better predictions of the remaining service life for existing load carrying structures. The results presented in this thesis come from both laboratory studies and from field studies in three Swedish harbors together with a large inventory of earlier performed ultrasonic thickness measurements on sheet pile quays along the Swedish coast. The degradation of concrete structures in the marine environment mainly consists of corrosion of the reinforcement due to chloride ingress. When the chlorides have passed through the concrete cover and reached the reinforcement, the passivating protection of the rebars is lost and the corrosion processes starts. When designing new concrete structures in marine environments, the only ways to increase the length of the expected service life of reinforced concrete structures are to either increase the thickness of the concrete cover and/or to use high quality concrete with a low water cement ratio that makes the concrete less permeable. Another way to secure non corroding rebars is, of course, to use rebars of stainless steel but this is expensive and is rarely used in ordinary construction works today. Field studies in sampling concrete for chloride content analysis was performed in two harbors on the Swedish south coast. The sampling was done by dry drilling and dust sampling. In these studies the local climate, with a focus on the dominating wind direction, has also been studied. The results from the chloride analysis shows that if a surface on a concrete structure is exposed to open sea without any sheltering barriers in front of it, the chloride content tends to be much higher than in sheltered parts of the structure or in structures facing other directions. This is true irrespective of the dominating wind direction in the area. Concrete slabs were exposed to saline water in laboratory. When the slabs had been exposed for about seven months, concrete sampling was performed with the purpose of testing different sampling methods. Both core drilling with a 100 mm core and dry drilling with different drill diameters was performed on the slabs. The cores were grinded and the dust from both grinding and dust sampling by dry drilling were analyzed with respect to chloride content. The results showed that dry drilling with small diameters collecting mixed samples from several nearby drill holes gave almost the same result as grinding the 100 mm core with respect to chloride content in percent by mass of CaO. The chloride content in a sample from one of the exposed slabs was mapped with EPMA (Electron Probe Micro Analyzer) with the purpose of testing another sampling method. The result from the EPMA analysis was used to simulate drilling with different drill diameters and to compare these results with the results from the sampling made in the laboratory. The results from both dry drilling and the EPMA measurements showed that if the chloride content is presented as percent by mass of CaO instead of as percent by mass of concrete, the variations in chloride concrete were substantially decreased. Chloride data should therefore be presented per mass of CaO or per mass of cement. The requested service life of steel structures in marine environments such as harbors is usually achieved either by over-dimensioning the steel thickness and assuming a certain even and constant corrosion rate in mm/year, or by applying a protective coating such as a paint on the structures to prevent corrosion. Car ramps and other steel structures that are not in direct contact with salt water are often coated with protective paint to prevent corrosion, while structures like sheet pile walls which are in direct contact with sea water most commonly are unprotected. A third way to protect wharfs from corrosion is to use cathodic protection with sacrificial anodes or by an impressed current cathodic protection system. Cathodic protection is common on ships and sheet pile walls. A field study measuring the remaining steel thickness on existing quays was performed in the harbor of Halmstad on the Swedish west coast. An inventory of data from earlier measurements of steel thicknesses in harbors along the Swedish coast was also performed in this work. The purpose of these studies was to investigate whether the recommended design values on corrosion rates in the existing construction codes are accurate. In this study, corrosion rate design values from USA, Australia, Europe (Eurocode) and Sweden were compared with the results from measurements in Swedish harbors. The results from the corrosion rate measurements show that the measured corrosion rate is generally lower than the recommended Swedish design values, but in the same order as the recommended design values given in the European design code for sheet piles in marine environment. With the purpose of investigating the corrosion loss on steel in a marine environment in a controlled way, steel plates were exposed to a marine environment for almost one year. The plates where mounted on ropes at different depths at three sites in the harbor of Halmstad. One of the exposure sites was located in the river of Nissan (fresh water) which has its outflow in the sea of Kattegatt. The two other sites were located inside the docks. The purpose of this study was also to determine if salinity affects the corrosion rate since the salinity in the fresh water river is generally lower than in the docks. The result from this study showed that salinity (and pH) did not influence the corrosion loss in the short time perspective (about 50 weeks). The corrosion losses on the exposed plates was almost three times as high as the measured corrosion losses on the existing sheet pile walls in the same harbor. This result suggests that the corrosion rate is non-linear in the short time perspective with the highest losses in the beginning of the exposure. This agrees with recent models of steel corrosion in marine environments. However, for harbor structures with 100 year service life, the thickness decrease can be modelled as being proportional to time. The results from the present studies have implications both for the design of new harbor structures and for the assessment and maintenance of aged harbor structures. Increased knowledge of sampling procedures and improved degradation models make it possible to make more precise predictions of remaining service life for existing structures and will lead to more accurate design values for new steel and concrete structures in marine environments. Periodical inspections could be used for more accurate predictions of remaining service life of a given structure, for example using the method of Bayesian updating

Hybridism: a practice-led investigation

Keele University PhD Thesi

Co-composition processes: form, structure and time across sculpture and sound

This practice-based research employs sculptural and sound practices, and their mediation through representation, notation, technologies and performance, to develop an innovative compositional process named co-composition, in which physical and sonic material can be concurrently produced, rearranged and transformed.\nAt the core of this thesis is a multi-layered mode of thinking, informed by an understanding of emerging morphologies and the relationships formed between and across the two modalities of sound and sculpture. Taking as starting point materials and their qualities, while engaging with aesthetics and theories of minimalism and sound studies, this research seeks to introduce a co-compositional mode of creative and critical engagement, as the main research tool. Central themes are action, process, trace and time.\nMoving beyond an approach of forming analogies between modalities, this research explores a mode of navigating\nacross dimensions of sculpture and sound through a dialogue between theory and practice. The methodological approach is reflective and generative, borrowing from both traditions to develop new methods through practical exploration which emerge as part of the research process. Furthermore, analytical tools and technological mediation are employed to inform and expand how co-composition takes place in a solo environment and how this process is experienced by both the artist-performer and audience.\nThe thesis comprises a series of practical works and experimentations on co-composition, and a written text, which is critically engaging with the concepts and the progression of the research