Wood Infill Walls in Reinforced Concrete Frame Structures: A Wood/concrete Construction Niche

This thesis investigated light-frame wood/concrete hybrid construction as part of the NSERC Strategic Network on Innovative Wood products and Building Systems (NEWBuildS). A review of eight wood/concrete niche areas identified three with potential to be used in mid- to high-rise structures. Light-frame wood structures of seven or more storeys with wood/concrete hybrid flooring seem to have little feasibility unless a concrete lateral-load-resisting system is provided and material incompatibilities are solved. Non-load-bearing light-frame wood infill walls in reinforced concrete frame structures were recognized to have potential feasibility in mid- to high-rise structures. A full-scale, single frame test apparatus was successfully designed and constructed at the Insurance Research Lab for Better Homes. The frame is statically loaded to accurately replicates realistic horizontal sway and vertical racking deformations of a typical eight storey reinforced concrete frame structure at SLS and ULS. A linear-elastic analysis of the test apparatus was generally able to predict the results during testing. The 2.4m x 4.8m (8 ft. x 16 ft.) infill wall specimen did not satisfy serviceability deflection limitations of L/360 when subjected to representative out-of-plane wind pressures of +1.44/-0.9 kPa. The out-of-plane response was not significantly affected by horizontal sway deflections of +/-7.2mm or vertical racking deflections of +9.6mm. Although a nominal 20mm gap was provided to isolate the wall from the surrounding frame, insulation foam sprayed in the gap facilitated load transfer between them

An Analysis of Economic-Environmental Interrelations in the Lower Rio Grande Region of Texas

This report presents the basic results of an analysis of interrelationships of economic change and environmental impacts in the Lower Rio Grande Valley. The analytical method employed is an input-output model augmented to include environmental factors that are a part of the economic production process. Detailed information is presented on total dollar sales, purchases, exports and imports for 78 economic sectors and levels of use and/or output of 16 environmental factors. Direct and indirect effects on the environment of each sector\u27s level of production are estimated, Trade-offs between economic factors and environmental factors are estimated in the form of environmental-income, environmental-employment and environmental-output multipliers. Economic and environmental impacts of possible, selected developments are presented

Calibration of a compact survey probe for pitot pressure, Mach number, and flow angularity measurements

Calibration of compact survey probe for pitot pressure, Mach number, and flow angularity measurement

Absolute physical calibration in the infrared

We determine an absolute calibration for the Multiband Imaging Photometer for Spitzer 24 μm band and recommend adjustments to the published calibrations for Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS), Infrared Array Camera (IRAC), and IRAS photometry to put them on the same scale. We show that consistent results are obtained by basing the calibration on either an average A0V star spectral energy distribution (SED), or by using the absolutely calibrated SED of the Sun in comparison with solar-type stellar photometry (the solar analog method). After the rejection of a small number of stars with anomalous SEDs (or bad measurements), upper limits of ~1.5% root mean square (rms) are placed on the intrinsic infrared (IR) SED variations in both A-dwarf and solar-type stars. These types of stars are therefore suitable as general-purpose standard stars in the IR. We provide absolutely calibrated SEDs for a standard zero magnitude A star and for the Sun to allow extending this work to any other IR photometric system. They allow the recommended calibration to be applied from 1 to 25 μm with an accuracy of ~2%, and with even higher accuracy at specific wavelengths such as 2.2, 10.6, and 24 μm, near which there are direct measurements. However, we confirm earlier indications that Vega does not behave as a typical A0V star between the visible and the IR, making it problematic as the defining star for photometric systems. The integration of measurements of the Sun with those of solar-type stars also provides an accurate estimate of the solar SED from 1 through 30 μm, which we show agrees with theoretical models

IR observations of MS 1054-03: Star Formation and its Evolution in Rich Galaxy Clusters

We study the infrared (IR) properties of galaxies in the cluster MS 1054-03 at z=0.83 by combining MIPS 24 micron data with spectra of more than 400 galaxies and a very deep K-band selected catalog. 19 IR cluster members are selected spectroscopically, and an additional 15 are selected by their photometric redshifts. We derive the IR luminosity function of the cluster and find strong evolution compared to the similar-mass Coma cluster. The best fitting Schechter function gives L*_{IR}=11.49 +0.30/-0.29 L_sun with a fixed faint end slope, about one order of magnitude larger than that in Coma. The rate of evolution of the IR luminosity from Coma to MS 1054-03 is consistent with that found in field galaxies, and it suggests that some internal mechanism, e.g., the consumption of the gas fuel, is responsible for the general decline of the cosmic star formation rate (SFR) in different environments. The mass-normalized integrated SFR within 0.5R_200 in MS 1054-03 also shows evolution compared with other rich clusters at lower redshifts, but the trend is less conclusive if the mass selection effect is considered. A nonnegligible fraction (13%) of cluster members, are forming stars actively and the overdensity of IR galaxies is about 20 compared to the field. It is unlikely that clusters only passively accrete star forming galaxies from the surrounding fields and have their star formation quenched quickly afterward; instead, many cluster galaxies still have large amounts of gas, and their star formation may be enhanced by the interaction with the cluster.Comment: 49 pages, 9 figures, accepted by Ap

Spitzer Observations of Low Luminosity Isolated and Low Surface Brightness Galaxies

We examine the infrared properties of five low surface brightness galaxies (LSBGs) and compare them with related but higher surface brightness galaxies, using Spitzer Space Telescope images and spectra. All the LSBGs are detected in the 3.6 and 4.5um bands, representing the stellar population. All but one are detected at 5.8 and 8.0um, revealing emission from hot dust and aromatic molecules, though many are faint or point-like at these wavelengths. Detections of LSBGs at the far-infrared wavelengths, 24, 70, and 160um, are varied in morphology and brightness, with only two detections at 160um, resulting in highly varied spectral energy distributions. Consistent with previous expectations for these galaxies, we find that detectable dust components exist for only some LSBGs, with the strength of dust emission dependent on the existence of bright star forming regions. However, the far-infrared emission may be relatively weak compared with normal star-forming galaxies.Comment: 20 pages, 8 figures, accepted to Ap