1,718 research outputs found
Motives and expectations for studying accounting: A case study of a polytechnic in New Zealand
New Zealand schools, universities, and institutes are known worldwide for their high standards. From 2007 to 2012 the international enrolments in postgraduate courses rose to 74.3%. In 2012, 47,668 international students enrolled with New Zealand’s funded tertiary education providers and 90,120 enrolled in 2013. This study aims to explore why international students choose to study accounting at a New Zealand polytechnic and what are their expectations of their study. To get answers to the above questions the qualitative research methods are used. Semi-structured interviews were conducted. The participants were mainly international students who were enrolled for an accounting course so that first-hand feedback could be received with an inductive approach. The findings from this research will help educational institutes to gain a better understanding of student’s expectations and accordingly tailor their qualifications. After conducting the interviews, few findings were related to the research literature. The research is still not complete as interviews are yet to be conducted with a couple of participants. As of now, the participants have expressed their interest of studying in New Zealand so that they can work in the economy. Since there are many small-medium sized enterprises, there is a good opportunity for accountants as most of their accounting needs are outsourced. After conducting sufficient interviews, data can be extracted to gain a precise understanding
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FE Investigation of Perforated Sections with Standard and Non-Standard Web Opening Configurations and Sizes
The objective of this work is to investigate and compare, through an analytical study, the behaviour of perforated steel beams with different shape configurations and sizes of web openings. In this investigation the ‘Vierendeel’ failure mechanisms of steel beams with web openings are examined through a Finite Element study. The shear and flexural failures of standard perforated sections are controlled mainly by the size (i.e. depth) of the web openings, whilst the ‘Vierendeel’ mechanism is primarily controlled by the critical length of the web openings. Three main categories of web opening shape configurations and sizes are considered in this work. Standard, non-standard and elongated web opening configurations are examined, each with three different opening sizes. Four Advanced UB beams are used in the investigation in order to cover a range of sections and demonstrate the main differences in behaviour. The results of this comprehensive FE study are presented and include the position of plastic hinges, the critical opening length of perforated steel sections and the ‘Vierendeel’ parameters. The yield patterns and the failure modes do not differ dramatically. The results of this study are considered as relevant for practical applications as: (i) the reduction of the moment capacities of the tee-sections due to combination of axial and shear forces is smaller compared to the previous conservative linear interaction formula, and (ii) the formation of the initial plastic hinges at the low moment side (LMS) of the top tee-sections of the web openings does not usually cause failure, meaning that the beams can continue to carry additional load until all four plastic hinges are formed in the vicinity of the web openings and a ‘Vierendeel’ mechanism is fully established
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Coupled thermo-mechanical damage modelling for structural steel in fire conditions
This paper aims at developing a coupled thermo-mechanical damage model for structural 6 steel at elevated temperatures. The need for adequate modelling of steel deterioration behaviour 7 remains a challenging task in structural fire engineering because of the complexity inherent in 8 the damage states of steel under combined actions of mechanical and fire loading. A fully three9 dimensional damage-coupled constitutive model is developed in this work based on the hypothesis 10 of effective stress space and isotropic damage theory. The new coupling model, adapted from 11 an enhanced Lemaitre’s ductile damage equation and taking into account temperature-dependent 12 thermal degradation, is a phenomenological approach where the underlying mechanisms that govern 13 the damage processes have been retained. The proposed damage model comprises a limited number 14 of parameters that could be identified using unloading slopes of stress-strain relationships through 15 tensile coupon tests. The proposed damage model is successfully implemented in the finite element 16 software ABAQUS and validated against a comprehensive range of experimental results. The 17 damage-affected structural response is accurately reproduced under various loading conditions and 18 a wide temperature range, demonstrating that the proposed damage model is a useful tool in giving a 19 realistic representation of steel deterioration behaviour for structural fire engineering applications
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Web buckling study of the behaviour and strength of perforated steel beams with different novel web opening shapes
This paper presents an experimental and analytical study on the behaviour of perforated steel beams with closely spaced web openings. Seven specimens including two typical cellular beams (i.e. circular web openings) and five perforated beams with novel web opening shapes were tested to investigate the failure mode and load strength of the web-post between two adjacent web openings. Fourteen numerical test specimens were developed and analysed by the finite element method and the results were compared with the full scale experiments. The effect of web opening spacing/web opening depth of web-posts was studied to investigate the effective ‘strut’ action of the web-post buckling. The effect of the web opening depth/web thickness was also studied to investigate the stability (slenderness) of the web-post subjected to vertical shear load. Two hundred and twenty-fine elastic-plastic finite element analyses were then employed in a comprehensive parametric study to propose an empirical formula which predicts the ultimate vertical shear load strength of web-posts formed from the particular web opening shapes. Perforated beams with standard circular, hexagonal and elongated web openings are mostly used nowadays. Various non-standard web opening shapes are introduced through this paper. These new pioneering web opening shapes improve the structural performance of the perforated beams when examined under the web-post buckling failure mode. In addition, the manufacturing procedure of these non-standard web openings show great advantage in comparison with the manufacturing way of the more popular perforated beams with circular web openings (i.e. cellular beams)
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Finite Element Investigation on Web-Post Buckling of Perforated Steel Beams with Various Web Opening Shapes subjected under different shear-moment interaction
The current method of assessment is based on FE models which still lack computational efficiency and are restricted by a number of limitations. Therefore, this work aims at the feasibility of developing FE models which are applicable to deformation and strength prediction of full scale perforated steel beams. The main area of interest is the stability of the web-post under the combined effect of shear and compression, especially at the edge of the web openings, where the stabilizing effect of tension field action is less than that at the centre of the web-post
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Experimental Study of Ultra Shallow Floor Beams (USFB) with Perforated Steel Sections
ABSTRACT: In modern building construction design, floor spans are becoming longer. Hence, steel framed structures have become more competitive when compared with traditional reinforced concrete framed buildings. In order to minimise the structural section of the composite sections, and for economic reasons, steel perforated beams are designed to act compositely with the floor slab. When the concrete slab lies within the steel flanges, as in the Ultra Shallow Floor Beam (USFB), there is an additional benefit when considering fire resistance. The aim of this study is to investigate the contribution of the concrete in composite cellular beams in the case where the concrete slab lies between the beam flanges of a steel section, when resisting vertical shear forces. The concrete between the flanges enhances the load-carrying capacity by providing a load path to transfer the shear force. Four specimens of steel-concrete composite beams with web openings in the steel section were tested in this study. One bare steel section with web openings was also tested as a comparison. This is the first such investigation of the failure mode under shear resistance (Vierendeel action) of the Ultra Shallow Floor Beam. In the test specimens, the web opening diameter is 76% of the beam depth, which is the largest currently available. This represents the worst case in terms of Vierendeel bending forces generated in the vicinity of the web openings. The smaller the hole is, the easier it is for the trapped concrete between the flanges to transfer shear across the opening. The results from the composite beam tests show a significant increase in shear resistance. The percentage of the shear capacity improvement of the particular case is presented herein as well as the failure mode of the composite beams. The shear enhancement demonstrated in this study has been utilised software that is used in design practice
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