Rationalising assessment approaches for masonry arch bridges

Masonry arch bridges, most of which have far exceeded modern design lives, have demonstrated themselves to be sustainable structures with low life-cycle costs. However, increased traffic loading and material deterioration over time necessitate periodic reassessment of these structures. There are numerous different analytical methods available for the assessment of masonry arch bridges. The expectation is that for increasing levels of assessment complexity an increase in load capacity converging on the ultimate capacity would be achieved. In this paper it is demonstrated that this is not always the case. This has cost implications for both the bridge assessment itself and for costs associated with load restrictions and strengthening measures. Five different assessment methods were selected to assess a set of 11 single-span bridges, ranging in span from 2·4 m to 15·2 m, with the objective of reviewing and rationalising current assessment guidelines for masonry arch bridges. The bridges chosen are a representative sample of the stone arch bridges on the Irish National Roads network. It was found that there is a significant variation in assessed capacity depending on the assessment method used. Limit state analysis methods were found to generally result in higher ratings for segmental bridges while elastic methods resulted in higher ratings for three-centred or semi-circular bridges. Assessment ratings found using the Military Engineering Experimental Establishment (MEXE) method were difficult to rationalise across the bridge set considered in this study. Following a review of the origins of the MEXE method and its current form as set out in the assessment guidance, it is recommended that its use as the predominant tool in a simplified assessment procedure is not appropriate and that a more rational approach is required for a more realistic and reliable calculation of bridge capacity. The development of an improved assessment methodology is being considered as part of the current study. </jats:p

Development and validation testing of a short nutrition questionnaire to identify dietary risk factors in preschoolers aged 12-36 months.

Background: Although imbalances in dietary intakes can have short and longer term influences on the health of preschool children, few tools exist to quickly and easily identify nutritional risk in otherwise healthy young children. Objectives: To develop and test the validity of a parent-administered questionnaire (NutricheQ) as a means of evaluating dietary risk in young children (12–36 months). Design: Following a comprehensive development process and internal reliability assessment, the NutricheQ questionnaire was validated in a cohort of 371 Irish preschool children as part of the National Preschool Nutrition Survey. Dietary risk was rated on a scale ranging from 0 to 22 from 11 questions, with a higher score indicating higher risk. Results: Children with higher NutricheQ scores had significantly (p<0.05) lower mean daily intakes of key nutrients such as iron, zinc, vitamin D, riboflavin, niacin, folate, phosphorous, potassium, carotene, retinol, and dietary fibre. They also had lower (p<0.05) intakes of vegetables, fish and fish dishes, meat and infant/toddler milks and higher intakes of processed foods and non-milk beverages, confectionery, sugars and savoury snack foods indicative of poorer dietary quality. Areas under the curve values of 84.7 and 75.6% were achieved for ‘medium’ and ‘high’ dietary risk when compared with expert risk ratings indicating good consistency between the two methods. Conclusion: NutricheQ is a valid method of quickly assessing dietary quality in preschoolers and in identifying those at increased nutritional risk

"Like Birds in Cages" Community Definitions and Concepts of Home, Rights, Justice, and Citizenship in Rohingya Camps

A participatory action research project was undertaken from November 2020 to February 2021 in which three Rohingya researchers asked 33 of their fellow Rohingya refugees living in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh camps to share their own definitions and concepts regarding four terms: home, justice, rights, and citizenship. Out of the 33 respondents, 21 of the project respondents were youth aged 18-29; one third (11) were female and two were elders. This report is the third in a three-part series that uses ‘participatory action research’ to uncover how displaced communities in Cox’s Bazar camps have experienced the Covid-19 pandemic and the ensuing lockdown. As with the past reports, the emphasis is on Rohingya youth perspectives, targeting the viewpoints of those aged 18-29 years old. The overall aim of this round of research was to better understand Rohingya conceptualisations of terms that are often used in programming delivered by the international community that is intended to benefit Rohingya. An appreciation for different interpretations amongst Rohingya community members--and between Rohingya and those engaged in international humanitarian response efforts--is crucial for ensuring that service delivery is appropriate and is informed by what displaced people living in Cox’s Bazar want for themselves and their families now and in the future. The project explored questions such as ‘What is home’ at a time where ideas of home were fluctuating for Rohingya. Not only have fires devastated parts of the Cox’s Bazar camps and caused many to lose their houses, but as the research project was coming to a close the February 2021 coup in Myanmar cast hopes of returning ‘home’ in a new light

Research data supporting "Strain Data for Manufacture of Concrete TY Beam BM2 for Bridge UB11 - ME01 Project"

Strain data collected during the manufacture of a prestressed concrete TY beam, BM2, for a single span rail-over-water bridge, UB11. The data was collected from 22/01/2015 - 29/01/2015 at Explore Manufacturing, Worksop, UK. The data was collected for the ME01 project being carried out in the Department of Engineering at the University of Cambridge. The ME01 project is a fibre optic instrumentation and dynamic monitoring programme at Norton Bridge, UK, part of the Stafford Area Improvements Programme (Staffordshire Alliance).This data supports a publication "Monitoring the early age behaviour of prestressed concrete beams using fibre optic sensors", which will be published in Proceedings of the 16th European Bridge Conference. This data is embargoed until publication. This record will be updated.This work was supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council [grant number EP/L010917/1] and by Innovate UK. EPSRC Innovate U

Research data supporting “Evaluating the Early-Age Behaviour of Full-Scale Prestressed Concrete Beams using Distributed and Discrete Fibre Optic Sensors”

Strain data collected during the casting, curing, detensioning and storage of 4 prestressed concrete bridge beams manufactured at EXPLORE Industrial Park, Worksop, UK. The data was collected/generated for the ME01 project being carried out in the Department of Engineering at the University of Cambridge. The ME01 project is a fibre optic instrumentation and dynamic monitoring programme at Norton Bridge, UK, part of the Stafford Area Improvements Programme. The strain data was collected using fibre optic monitoring technologies based on Brillioun Optical Time Domain Reflectometry (BOTDR) and fibre Bragg gratings (FBG).EPSRC [EP/L010917/1], Innovate U

Research data supporting “Development of Self-Sensing Concrete Sleepers for Next-Generation Rail Infrastructure”

Strain data collected during the casting, curing, and detensioning of prestressed concrete sleepers manufactured by CEMEX UK in Birmingham. The data was collected for the ME01 project being carried out in the Department of Engineering at the University of Cambridge. The ME01 project is a fibre optic instrumentation and dynamic monitoring programme at Norton Bridge, UK, part of the Stafford Area Improvements Programme. The strain data was collected using fibre optic monitoring technologies based on fibre Bragg gratings.EPSRC [EP/L010917/1], Innovate U

Development and validation testing of a short nutrition questionnaire to identify dietary risk factors in preschoolers aged 12-36 months.

Background: Although imbalances in dietary intakes can have short and longer term influences on the health of preschool children, few tools exist to quickly and easily identify nutritional risk in otherwise healthy young children. Objectives: To develop and test the validity of a parent-administered questionnaire (NutricheQ) as a means of evaluating dietary risk in young children (12–36 months). Design: Following a comprehensive development process and internal reliability assessment, the NutricheQ questionnaire was validated in a cohort of 371 Irish preschool children as part of the National Preschool Nutrition Survey. Dietary risk was rated on a scale ranging from 0 to 22 from 11 questions, with a higher score indicating higher risk. Results: Children with higher NutricheQ scores had significantly (p<0.05) lower mean daily intakes of key nutrients such as iron, zinc, vitamin D, riboflavin, niacin, folate, phosphorous, potassium, carotene, retinol, and dietary fibre. They also had lower (p<0.05) intakes of vegetables, fish and fish dishes, meat and infant/toddler milks and higher intakes of processed foods and non-milk beverages, confectionery, sugars and savoury snack foods indicative of poorer dietary quality. Areas under the curve values of 84.7 and 75.6% were achieved for ‘medium’ and ‘high’ dietary risk when compared with expert risk ratings indicating good consistency between the two methods. Conclusion: NutricheQ is a valid method of quickly assessing dietary quality in preschoolers and in identifying those at increased nutritional risk