Punching behavior of BubbleDeck type reinforced concrete slabs

The BubbleDeck type slab (BD) is a reinforced concrete (RC) flat slab that includes recycled plastic hollow spheres (RPHS) in its core for decreasing its dead weight. However, punching capacity of BD slabs can be a critical aspect, thereby this work is devoted to assess experimentally its punching behavior. An experimental program composed of four real scale prototypes, representative of RC flat slabs in punching loading conditions, was carried out. Two of these slabs are of BD type, while the other two do not include the RPHS system, herein denominated as RC solid slab (SS). The test results show that all the tested slabs failed in punching after the occurrence of yield initiation of the flexural reinforcement. The punching capacity and the deflection at failure of BD type slab has decreased up to 14% and up to 44%, respectively, when compared to the corresponding SS type slab. A relatively small ductility index was obtained (between 1.51 and 2.65). In BD type slabs, the punching failure surface had tendency to propagate through the RPHS, at an inclination angle of about 45CAPES, Grant/Award Number: PDSE program/Process number 88881.134825/2016-01; FCT, Grant/Award Number: project ICoSyTec POCI01-0145-FEDER-02799

DEVELOPMENT OF MULTIFUNCTIONAL FORMULATIONS FOR INHIBITION OF WAXES AND ASPHALTENES DEPOSITION

ABSTRACT The development of formulations that solve at least two problems simultaneously (called multifunction or combo formulations) is very useful. In this study, different formulations were prepared in an attempt to find one that could act at the same time to inhibit deposition of waxes and asphaltenes. Formulations were prepared containing EVA 33 and one of the additives for asphaltenes dispersion (dodecylbenzenesulfonic acid, cardanol and two commercial products called INH1 and INH2), at various concentrations. The results showed that none of the asphaltenes stabilizers exhibited any influence on the performance of EVA33. Nevertheless, the EVA33 affected slightly the performance of the asphaltenes stabilizers. The formulations containing cardanol and EVA 33 performed better at inhibiting deposition of both asphaltenes and waxes than the other formulations did

Building a City from Within: Urban Housing Policies in the Municipality of Diadema, São Paulo, Brazil

Diadema is a small overpopulated municipality in metropolitan São Paulo where urban development fell behind the dramatic population increase stimulated by industrialisation, generating housing and infrastructure deficits, and consequently forcing people to live in sub?human conditions in the shanty towns that mushroomed around the industrial parks. The region became a melting pot for social movements in the community and in the trades unions. Since the return to democracy in 1982, the municipality has been governed by left?wing parties with intensive citizen participation in policy elaboration and decisions. This case examines the municipal housing policy from its early days until the present, involving considerable articulation with social movements, and the role played by different community activists from the church and the trades unions

Transdermal Microneedles for Insulin Delivery

Diabetes is a chronic metabolic disease that occurs when there is a deficiency in the production of insulin by the pancreas or when the body cannot effectively use the insulin it produces. Therefore, the treatment of diabetes aims to control the levels of glucose in the blood, which involves many different approaches, including insulin therapy many times. To date, even though many strategies have been proposed as alternative administration routes for insulin, subcutaneous injections still the most common administration route. To overcome the disadvantages imposed by the daily subcutaneous injections of insulin and to increase patient compliance, this thesis aimed to develop stable coated microneedles for rapid transdermal delivery of insulin. For that, polymeric microneedles made of a biocompatible resin class I were developed using 3D printing technology and studied along with a commercial metallic microneedle. The penetration studies showed that the 3D printed MNs presented superior penetration capacity compared to the metallic microneedles. To apply specific doses of insulin on the microneedles, an Inkjet printing technology was used. The SEM revealed the formation of fine layers on the microneedles without loss of insulin during the coating process. Moreover, Micro-CT showed that the films stayed onto the MNs surfaces during the piercing. In order to address the challenges with insulin instability, different polymers and sugars were used as drug carriers to preserve insulin integrity during the coating process as well as to form uniform coating layers and facilitate rapid release rates. Circular dichroism and Raman spectroscopy demonstrated that most of the carriers maintained the secondary structure of insulin in its native form in the films. Moreover, X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that the insulin-carriers tended to originate amorphous films. The release studies using Franz cell diffusion showed that insulin is quickly released from the coated microneedles within 30 min. Furthermore, the animal studies showed that the coated 3D printed microneedles promoted a similar initial profile release to the SC injections, followed by a more sustained release pattern for all tested insulins (bovine, aspart and glargine)

Sequential Tasks Shifting for Participation in Demand Response Programs

In this paper, the proposed methodology minimizes the electricity cost of a laundry room by means of load shifting. The laundry room is equipped with washing machines, dryers, and irons. Additionally, the optimization model handles demand response signals, respecting user preferences while providing the required demand reduction. The sequence of devices operation is also modeled, ensuring correct operation cycles of different types of devices which are not allowed to overlap or have sequence rules. The implemented demand response program specifies a power consumption limit in each period and offers discounts for energy prices as incentives. In addition, users can define the required number of operations for each device in specific periods, and the preferences regarding the operation of consecutive days. In the case study, results have been obtained regarding six scenarios that have been defined to survey about effects of different energy tariffs, power limitations, and incentives, in a laundry room equipped with three washing machines, two dryers, and one iron. A sensitivity analysis of the power consumption limit is presented. The results show that the proposed methodology is able to accommodate the implemented scenario, respecting user preferences and demand response program, minimizing energy costs. The final electricity price has been calculated for all scenarios to discuss the more effective schedule in each scenario.This work has received funding from Portugal 2020 under SPEAR project (NORTE-01-0247-FEDER-040224), in the scope of ITEA 3 SPEAR Project 16001 and from FEDER Funds through COMPETE program and from National Funds through (FCT) under the project UIDB/00760/2020, and CEECIND/02887/2017.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio