Performance of Embedded Fiber Optic Sensors in Composite Structures

The technology of fiber optic sensors, initially developed for use in aerospace industry, is currently investigated for its applicability in civil engineering. Advances in the structural application of this technology will facilitate the use of built-in monitoring capability in reinforced concrete members, and consequently enable the production of smart structures. This paper investigates the development of a Fiber Optic Bragg Grating Sensor (FOBGS) for embedding in concrete members to measure strain and monitor cracks. Tests were carried out on a steel plate subjected to flexural stress and reinforced concrete beams subjected to axial tensile stress and temperature change. The FOBGS was employed to track the behaviour of these members under loading conditions. A theoretical analysis was performed on the tested specimens to estimate strain values and cracking loads. Good agreement was found between the theoretical and the experimental results

Experimental Studies on Reinforced Hollow-Block Concrete Sections

This study evaluates two different types of techniques for concrete hollow-block sections reinforced with traditional steel rebars and wire meshes, and compares their structural behaviour to that of an ordinary reinforced concrete beam section. The comparisons are based on the responses both before and after they were repaired with Glass Fibre Reinforced Polymers (GFRP). The specimens were subjected to concentrated loading up to initial failure. After failure, the specimens were repaired and loaded once again until ultimate failure. It was shown that the success of the repair by GFRP depended on the mode of failure of the hollow-block concrete beams

PENGGUNAAN MULTIMEDIA ANIMASI UNTUK MENINGKATKAN KEMAMPUAN BERPIKIR KRITIS DALAM PEMBELAJARAN MATERI BIDANG GESER PADA MATA KULIAH MATERIAL TEKNIK.

Dilihat dari hasil penelitian yang dilakukan oleh dosen Mata Kuliah Material Teknik, terdapat 60% mahasiswa yang mengalami kesulitan dalam menguasai pokok bahasan Bidang Geser. Kesulitan pada pokok bahasan Bidang Geser salah satunya disebabkan oleh karakteristik materinya yang abstrak, dinamis, dan kompleks. Untuk memahami materi tersebut, multimedia animasi dapat digunakan sebagai media pembelajaran, karena memiliki karakteristik memanipulasi model teoritis (gambar) menjadi model realistis (animasi). Selain itu, mahasiswa juga dituntut memiliki kemampuan berpikir, yaitu kemampuan berpikir kritis agar dapat memahami pokok bahasan Bidang Geser tersebut. Penelitian ini dilakukan dalam upaya memecahkan permasalahan yang dialami oleh mahasiswa, dengan tujuan untuk mengetahui peningkatan kemampuan berpikir kritis pada kelompok unggul, menengah dan rendah (upper, middle dan lower). Metode penelitian yang digunakan adalah metode penelitian Pre-Experimental Designs, dengan One-Group Pretest-Posttest Design. Pengumpulan data menggunakan tes esai, yang dilakukan sebelum dan sesudah mahasiswa diberikan treatment. Hasil penelitian menunjukan bahwa, penggunaan multimedia animasi dalam pembelajaran materi bidang geser dapat meningkatkan kemampuan berpikir kritis mahasiswa pada kelompok lower, middle, maupun upper.------------- Judging from the results of research conducted by lecturers of Material Engineering course, there are 60% of students who have difficulty in mastering the subject of slip plane. One of the difficulties in slip plane subject caused by the characteristics of the abstract, dynamic and complexity of the material. To understand the material, multimedia animation can be used as a medium of learning, because it has the characteristics of manipulating the theoretical model (pictured) to be the model realistic (animated). in addition , students are also required to have the ability to think, and that is the critically think ability in order to understand the subject of materials slip plane. This research was conducted in an effort to solve a problem that students have by, with the aim to determine the increment in critical thinking skills in the group of upper, medium and lower. The research method was quasi-experimental with nonequivalent control group design. Data collecting using essay test, which was conducted before and after the students are given treatment. The research results after comparing the pre and post test, the use of multimedia animation in slip plane subject learning in the can improve students' critical thinking ability in the group of lower, middle and uppe

Physical Properties of Steel Fiber Reinforced Cement Composites Made with Fly Ash

The structural behaviour of steel fiber reinforced fly ash concrete under compression and flexure was studied by conducting tests on standard control specimens. The use of steel fibers in fly ash concrete improves its structural properties, especially the flexural tensile strength. Increasing the percentages of fly ash upto 30% and steel fibers upto 1.5% in concrete enhances the flexural tensile strength as well as the compressive strength. Finally, the use of fiber reinforced fly ash concrete is recommended as an alternative to fiber reinforced plain concrete

Relationships between intercultural contact and L2 motivation for a group of undergraduate Saudi students during their first year in the UK

Using the L2 Motivational Self System (Dörnyei (2005), this mixed methods approach study aimed to investigate two key issues. First, to investigate the possible relationships between prior levels of ICC and self-reported motivation to learn English among newly arrived (during their first month of arrival) undergraduate (pre-foundation) Saudi students in the United Kingdom. Second, to explore whether the reported motivational profiles (high Ideal L2 Self and strong Ought to L2 Self) on arrival help to explain the behaviour of a sample of new arrivals (4 participants) during their first year of study in terms of recognising and responding to ICC opportunities and L2 learning. The study began with a quantitative phase, using an online survey distributed to 257 new Saudi pre-foundation students across the UK in October 2012 to investigate their prior ICC and reported motivation to learn English (n = 257: 36 females and 221 males). Correlation analysis of the data revealed a relationship between the new Saudi arrivals' ICC and aspects of their L2 motivation. Regression analysis revealed that one construct of the L2MSS in particular (the Ideal L2 Self) had the strongest association with ICC, which suggested that prior ICC might have promoted the participants’ Ideal L2 Self. Furthermore, regression analysis revealed that Language Learning Attitudes were better predictor of the reported L2 learning effort than Ideal L2 Self and Ought to L2 Self, which may have indicated that the positive attitudes of the participants towards the L2 learning environment was based on their realisation of the importance attached to English for their future. Finally, Ought to L2 Self was a stronger predictor of the reported L2 learning effort than Ideal L2 Self, which may have underscored the importance of the collective nature of Saudi society where family expectations serve as a powerful source of motivation. A qualitative phase followed the quantitative phase when four study participants (males) were selected based on their representation of distinct motivational profiles: strong Ideal L2 Self and strong Ought to L2 Self (two participants for each). These were to be interviewed three times (November 2012, February 2013, and May 2013). Their distinct motivational profiles did not help to explain the behaviour of the participants as they all showed similar ICC behaviour and similar L2 learning behaviour. Instead, the analysis of the qualitative data suggested that a number of social, cultural, and personal issues may have had a stronger impact on the behaviour of the new Saudi sojourners than their Ideal L2 Self or Ought to L2 Self. In conclusion, the study strongly suggests the significance of being involved in ICC (direct or indirect) to give Saudi L2 learners reasons to study English and create a vision of themselves as future L2 users, which is likely to help them to establish and maintain their L2 motivation. Given the collective nature of Saudi society, English teachers and parents play a crucial role in encouraging and supporting L2 learners in such a process. Finally, the study suggested a number of cultural, social and personal issues that stakeholders and policymakers in study abroad programmes and in international universities need to pay close attention to in order to understand and help visiting students to make the most of their stay abroad

Peran Guru Bimbingan Dan Konseling Dalam Mengembangkan Minat Dan Bakat Program Pilihan Studi Keterampilan Peserta Didik Man 1 Magelang

Latar belakang penelitian ini mengingat pentingnya seorang peserta didik dalam mengetahui minat dan bakatnya untuk dikembangkan/disalurkan. MAN 1 Magelang selain menyediakan program penjurusan umum yaitu penjurusan IPA, IPS, Bahasa, dan Agama. Disekolah ini juga menyediakan program studi pilihan keterampilan peserta didik berbasis SMK. Disinilah minat dan bakat peserta didik dapat tersalurkan dan bisa sangat menentukan kemana arah peserta didik setelah lulus dari MAN 1 Magelang, namun pada Kenyataannya banyak sekali peserta didik yang belum bisa mengenali minat dan bakatnya sendiri. Penelitian ini adalah penelitian kualitatif, dengan mengambil latar MAN 1 Magelang. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui peran guru bimbingan dan konseling dalam mengembangkan minat program pilihan studi keterampilan peserta didik MAN 1 Magelang. Subyek dalam penelitian ini adalah guru BK, guru keterampilan, dan lima peserta didik. Obyek dalam penelitian ini adalah peran guru bimbingan dan konseling dalam mengembangkan minat dan bakat.Teknik pengumpulan data dilakukan dengan observasi dan wawancara. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa peran guru BK dalam mengembangkan minat dan bakat program pilihan studi keterampilan peserta didik MAN 1 Magelang yaitu sebagai tester, sebagai pemberi informasi, sebagai perencana program bimbingan dan konseling, sebagai administrator bimbingan, sebagai penasihat, dan sebagai konsultan

Extending the user capacity of MU-MIMO systems with low detection complexity and receive diversity

Multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) based technologies are considered as an integral part of the upcoming 5G communications to fulfil the ever-increasing demands of wireless applications with high spectral efficiency requirements. However, in uplink multiuser MIMO (MU-MIMO) channels, the number of allowed users is limited by the number of receive antennas associated with radio frequency (RF) chains at the base-station and the complexity burden of multiuser detection (MUD). In this paper, a novel group layer MU-MIMO scheme with low complexity MUD is proposed to increase the number of served users well beyond the available RF chains. By taking the advantage of power control and inherent path loss in cellular systems, the allowed users are divided into groups based on their received power. Efficient group power allocation and group layer MUD (GL-MUD) are utilized to provide a valuable tradeoff between complexity and achieved performance. Furthermore, when more receive antennas than RF chains is implemented, a generalized norm based antenna selection algorithm is proposed to enhance the error performance. Symbol error probability expressions are derived and the effectiveness of proposed scheme is demonstrated through numerical simulations compared with the conventional MU-MIMO and non-orthogonal multiple-access (NOMA) systems over Rayleigh fading channels. The results show a substantial increase in user capacity up to two-fold for the available number of RF chains. In addition, significant signal-to-noise ratio gain is achieved using GL-MUD compared with different MUD techniques

Eucalyptus and spearmint oils inhibit the biological activity of lesser grain borer and red flour beetles

The objective of this investigation was to assess the insecticidal efficacy of essential oils derived from eucalyptus (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) and spearmint (Mentha spicata) against two species of stored-product insects. The process of Clevenger-type water distillation was employed to extract essential oils from two distinct plant species. Subsequently, the insecticidal properties of these oils were evaluated against specimens of the American wheat weevil (Rhyzopertha dominica) and the red flour beetle (Tribolium castaneum), belonging to the Coleoptera: Bostrichidae and Tenebrionidae families, respectively. Eucalyptus oil exhibited the highest level of inhibition of insects’ reproduction. Still, when tested on adults of both types of insects, eucalyptus and spearmint oils were more effective than the control treatment. A complete inhibition of egg-laying activity (100%) was achieved using a 7% concentration of eucalyptus oil. The trials were done within controlled laboratory settings, with a notable absence of tests conducted under authentic operational conditions. Researchers who want to learn more about using essential oils as insecticides in the future should focus on making pesticide formulations that work well in a wide range of production settings