Stress distribution in masonry infills connected with stiff and flexible interface

Masonry infills are largely used in RC structures for various purposes, and in seismic zones, they are also preferred for providing earthquake resistant systems. However, due to the rigid connection between infills and RC frames, these systems are vulnerable when large deformations are demanded. Cyclic loads that are occurring during seismic excitations cause stress concentration level to increase, particularly in frame-infill contact zones. As a result of stress increment, infill panels get weaker in terms of both in-plane and out-of-plane resistance. These drawbacks cause loss of lives and properties, thus affecting governments and societies adversely. In order to overcome this obstacle, an innovative solution is proposed which uses flexible polymers (Polyurethane PM) as joint elements for protecting the structural elements. The research is focused on numerical analyses of three types of frames with masonry infills, which are excited through both in-plane and out-of-plane directions by different earthquake records. Infill walls are connected to the frames in three manners: stiffly (classical approach), with flexible joints at 3-boundaries and with flexible joints at 4-boundaries. Differences in calculated stress distribution as well as some other linear and non-linear results are presented and discussed. The primary results give promising outcomes that this new method might be used in seismic zones for protecting structures

Optimization of anthocyanins extraction from black carrot pomace with thermosonication

PubMedID: 28764021A study was conducted to identify optimal ultrasound processing conditions (ultrasound energy density and temperature) to maximize the extraction of anthocyanin colorants from black carrot pomace. The treatment maximized the yield of five different anthocyanin compounds from black carrot pomace with cyanidin-3-xyloside-galactoside-glucoside-ferrulic acid (C3XGGF, 60.85–74.22 mg/L) as the most abundant anthocyanin compound, followed by cyanidin-3-xyloside-galactoside (C3XG, 49.56–70.12 mg/L). The response surface models predicted that if extraction conditions were conducted at 183.1 J/g energy density and 50 °C, the yield of various anthocyanin compounds would be maximized from the black carrot pomace. Response surface models were developed correlating anthocyanin yield with ultrasonication treatment parameters. The study showed the synergy of combining ultrasonication and temperature for the extraction of anthocyanin pigments from black carrot pomace. Results of the study also further demonstrate the potential of ultrasonication technology as a tool for the extraction of valuable components waste products from fruits and vegetables juice industry. © 2017 Elsevier Lt

Optimization of thermosonication conditions for cloudy strawberry nectar with using of critical quality parameters

PubMedID: 30409624The optimum thermosonication parameters, temperature and ultrasound energy density (UED), determined by using response surface methodology to inactivate polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and protecting the quality parameters, especially color of strawberry nectar. The PPO inactivation was successfully achieved by thermosonication treatment. Increasing of temperature resulted with decreasing of browning index and increasing of hydroxymethyl furfural. High temperature-low UED combination can be applied to obtain minimum change in ?E* and maximum protection of ascorbic acid. Thermosonication at mild temperature (~50 °C) and UED (~230 J/g) ensured the maximum levels of total monomeric anthocyanin and total phenolic content. The combination of 59 °C and 455 J/g was the conditions of optimum thermosonication to minimize quality parameters which cause undesirable changes like color degradation in nectar and maximize desirable ones which have beneficial effects on characteristics of nectar or on human health like phenolic content of nectar. © 2018 Elsevier LtdFYL-20178267The authors thank to Cukurova University , Turkey (Project no: FYL-20178267 ) for financial supports. The authors also thank to Cukurova University, Department of Horticulture for providing the strawberries used in study

Recycling of Coal Ash as A Building Material Via A Stabilization/Solidification Method

This study examines stabilization/solidification (S/S) techniques for coal ash/cement systems that involve the production of construction products while minimizing contamination and recycling the coal ash (CA). In these techniques, the polluted components of coal ash are fixed in a cement body via adsorption and confinement mechanisms, and thus, the possible impact of these pollutants on the environment is minimized. In the first step of this study, the physical, chemical, radioactive and mineralogical properties of the material used were determined. Second, coal ash (CA) was used to replace portland cement (PC) in the following proportions: 0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, 30%, 40% and 50% of PC by weight. Finally, the usability of coal ash as a construction product and the environmental effects of such usage were determined.project TUBITAKTurkiye Bilimsel ve Teknolojik Arastirma Kurumu (TUBITAK) [108Y233]This paper was developed under the support of the project TUBITAK, 108Y233: The investigation of the use of building materials with the aim of disposing of different ash and mud samples

Paracladius alpicola (Zetterstedt, 1850), A New Chironomid Species for the Turkish Limnofauna

Paracladius alpicola (Zetterstedt, 1850) is reported for the first time for Turkish limnofauna from Lake Kartal (Denizli, Beyagac), southwestern Turkey. Specifically including P conversus and other similar taxon under genus Paracladius, the morphological characteristics of the fourth-instar P alpicola larvae, and ecological attributes of the habitat are described

A field study on bio-ecology of deronectes toledoi (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae) in the Eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey

Deronectes toledoi Fery, Erman and Hosseinie, 2001 (Dytiscidae) is an endemic aquatic beetle only known from Turkey (Erzurum, Toprakkale). Relatively little has been learned about this beetle since it was discovered. We conducted a study to determine some bio-ecological characteristics of D. toledoi and determine the impact of physico-chemical parameters on aquatic Coleoptera species diversity. Mature specimens of aquatic Coleoptera were collected once a month from vegetated part of the brook running parallel to the Erzurum-İspir road around Erzurum, Aziziye district, Toprakkale Village during March November 2009 period and were assessed in relation to environmental variables. Redundancy Analysis (RDA) showed that water temperature, dissolved oxygen and calcium explained 82 % of the taxa variance of the creek. Not only these parameters but also air temperature and precipitation were also found out to be important factors for the ecology of D. toledoi. Higher evenness in the creek showed that D. toledoi was not a dominant species but its tolerance to environmental parameters was higher than other species in the creek. This study was conducted to take a step to understand the habitat preferences of D. toledoi but further multidisciplinary studies of the biological diversity in streams, which are important for natural conservation, are necessary to understand the ecology of rare and endemic species. © 2018 Gazi Entomological Research Society. All Rights Reserved