Some principles of generating seismic input for calculating structures

In this paper different models of seismic input are analyzed. The most essential characteristics of seismic effects are peak ground acceleration, peak ground velocity, peak ground displacement, Arias intensity, cumulative absolute velocity, seismic energy density, harmonic coefficient κ, pseudo spectral kinematic characteristics, root-mean-square peak kinematic characteristics, plastic forces work and damage spectrum. The influence of seismic impulse on characteristics of seismic input is studied. A.A. Dolgaya’s and L.N. Dmitrovskaya’s models with seismic impulse are compared. L.N. Dmitrovskaya’s model allows to reach estimated values of energy characteristics of seismic input with the smallest deviation. When generating such processes, it is important to take into account both the properties of real actions and the limiting state of the calculated structure. The considered models of seismic inputs should be applied in the following cases: a) in case of designing mass construction projects when it is not possible to get a package of design accelerograms, b) in typical designing when the design object can be located on sites with different seismic and geological conditions, c) at early stages of designing important objects when the package of design accelerograms is not available yet but it is necessary to make technical solutions

On estimating the reduction factor of bridge piers

Estimating the reduction factor for calculating massive reinforced concrete bridge piers was made. For this purpose a quasi-static “force-displacement” diagram was built up using the ANSYS software. This diagram has the form of a bilinear one, and the character of the bilinearity depends on the diameter of the reinforcing bars insignificantly. The percentage of reinforcement affects only the moment when all reinforcement bars begin to flow. The reinforcement flow takes place in the displacement interval from 3 to 5 cm. The collapse will occur when the reaction of the bearing part goes beyond the pier cross-section at pier displacements from 5 to 20 cm. Using “force-displacement” diagram, the behavior of the single-mass model with a bilinear deformation diagram and the limit displacement of 20 cm was analyzed. Then, it became possible to obtain for each accelerogram the limit elastic displacement and the limit position of the point corresponding to the maximum structure displacement during structure oscillations. It was done using real accelerograms of earthquakes with intensity 9 on the MSK scale without normalizing their amplitudes. In this case, long-period accelerograms had smaller peak accelerations, but resulted in greater plastic deformations. As a result, no evident dependence of plastic deformation on the input spectral composition was found and the value of reduction factor K1 turned out to be 0.25-0.27. However, it is shown that this reduction factor cannot be used to make transition from seismic loads obtained on the basis of time-history analysis by accelerograms to design loads

Measures of thyroid function among Belarusian children and adolescents exposed to iodine-131 from the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear plant.

BACKGROUND: Thyroid dysfunction after exposure to low or moderate doses of radioactive iodine-131 (131I) at a young age is a public health concern. However, quantitative data are sparse concerning 131I-related risk of these common diseases. OBJECTIVE: Our goal was to assess the prevalence of thyroid dysfunction in association with 131I exposure during childhood (≤ 18 years) due to fallout from the Chernobyl accident. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, autoimmune thyroiditis (AIT), serum concentrations of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), and autoantibodies to thyroperoxidase (ATPO) in relation to measurement-based 131I dose estimates in a Belarusian cohort of 10,827 individuals screened for various thyroid diseases. RESULTS: Mean age at exposure (± SD) was 8.2 ± 5.0 years. Mean (median) estimated 131I thyroid dose was 0.54 (0.23) Gy (range, 0.001-26.6 Gy). We found significant positive associations of 131I dose with hypothyroidism (mainly subclinical and antibody-negative) and serum TSH concentration. The excess odds ratio per 1 Gy for hypothyroidism was 0.34 (95% CI: 0.15, 0.62) and varied significantly by age at exposure and at examination, presence of goiter, and urban/rural residency. We found no evidence of positive associations with antibody-positive hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, AIT, or elevated ATPO. CONCLUSIONS: The association between 131I dose and hypothyroidism in the Belarusian cohort is consistent with that previously reported for a Ukrainian cohort and strengthens evidence of the effect of environmental 131I exposure during childhood on hypothyroidism, but not other thyroid outcomes

In Situ X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy Cells for High Pressure Homogeneous Catalysis

We have designed, built, and tested two cells for in situ and, potentially, operando X-ray absorption spectroscopy experiments in transmission and fluorescence modes. The cells were developed for high-pressure and high-temperature conditions to study the catalytic processes under relevant industrial conditions. Operation of the cells was tested for Ru and Rh-based homogeneous and heterogeneous catalytic systems. Using synchrotron-based in situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy we tracked the evolution of active metal species during catalytic reactions. Our setup proved that it was capable to investigate liquid-state homogeneous and heterogenous systems under elevated temperatures, high pressures of reactive gasses, and in the presence of corrosive reagents