A study of the feasibility of stabilizing Putman soil with hydrated lime and portland cement in combination

This paper is the report of a feasibility study of the combined use of hydrated lime and portland cement to stabilize the troublesome Putnam soil of northern Missouri. In its natural state, this soil is highly plastic, possesses great shrinkage and swell characteristics when the moisture content is changed and is classified as an A-7-5 soil by the A. A. S. H. O. Standards for the Classification of Highway Subgrade Materials. During the course of this investigation, the following tests were performed: (1) Moisture-Density Relationships for soil with admixtures; (2) Triaxial Compression Test; (3) Unconfined Compression Tests; (4) Freeze-Thaw Tests; and (5) Wet-Dry Tests. In the above tests, the following percentages of lime/cement admixtures were used: 2/6, 2/8, 2/10, 4/4, 4/6, 4/8, 4/10, 6/4, 6/6, 6/8, 8 /4, 8/6 and 10/4. In no case were more than fourteen percent total additive used to insure economy and practicality. The results obtained showed the use of lime increases the friability and caused the soil to be flocculated, thus permitting easy mixing. The shrinkage and swell characteristics were virtually eliminated as were abnormal volume changes. Increases in the percent of constant lime additive generally reduced the unit weight. The results of the Confined and Unconfined Compression Tests were erratic, but did show the structure of the soil was changed sufficiently to increase the internal angle of friction and cohesion to a range generally accepted for base course material. The Freeze-Thaw and Wet-Dry Tests investigated the durability aspect of the soil with admixtures and showed that samples with as low as six percent lime and four percent cement by weight successfully withstood the complete twelve (12) cycle tests --Abstract, pages 5-6

Virtual Instrument for the Analysis of Vibrations in Rotary Machines

In this chapter, the implementation of a “Virtual Instrument” developed in MATLAB/Simulink® that allows the analysis of the measurement of mechanical vibrations in rotating machines is presented. To accomplish this, we identified the main rotating machines used in industry, the parameters that can be relevant when an analysis of vibration is made, the typical vibration frequency spectra of certain electrical and mechanical failures, the most common regulations employed by the industry with respect to vibration levels in rotating machinery, the tools that are used for vibration analysis, and tools for developing MATLAB software that includes features for storing and managing data from a database, also allowing an analysis and diagnosis of vibration in rotating machines

Design, Simulation, and Control of a Hexapod Robot in Simscape Multibody

In this chapter, we present the design, simulation, and control of a hexapod robot using tools available in MATLAB software. In addition, we design and implement a dynamic model (using the Simscape Multibody™ toolbox) as well as a three-dimensional model of the robot, using Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML), that help to visualize the robot’s walking sequence. This three-dimensional model is interconnected with the Simscape Multibody™ blocks using MATLAB’s virtual reality blocks. Apart from this, and following specific requirements, we design and implement a Proportional–Integral–Derivative controller in order to obtain a pre-established displacement for the robot that, thanks to the developed computer simulations, proved to be satisfactory. Special emphasis is put in obtaining a modular representation of the dynamic model of the studied robot because it will permit to design more sophisticated nonlinear controllers in future works, allowing a good dynamic behavior of the robot in front of environmental perturbations, an issue that will become evident through computer simulations of its displacement

Characteristics of changeable systems across value chains

Engineering changes (ECs) are inevitable for businesses due to increasing innovation, shorter lifecycles, technology and process improvements and cost reduction initiatives. The ECs could propagate and cause further changes due to existing system dependencies, which can be challenging. Hence, change management (CM) is a relevant discipline, which aims to reduce the impact of changes. EC assessment methods form the basis of CM that support in assessing system dependencies and the impact of changes. However, there is limited understanding of which factors influence the change-ability across value chains (VCs). This research adopted a VC approach to EC assessment. Dependencies in products and processes were captured, followed by the risk (i.e. likelihood x impact) assessment of ECs using change prediction method (CPM). Four case studies were conducted from two industries (automotive, furniture) to identify design (product) and manufacturing (process) elements with high risk to be affected by ECs. Based on the case results, characteristics were identified that influence change-ability across VC. This contributed to the CM domain while businesses could also use the results to assess ECs across VC, and improve the design of products and processes by increasing their changeability across VC e.g. by proactive decoupling or reactive handling of system dependencies.Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), UK under Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative (AMSCI

Crisis management, burden sharing and solidarity mechanisms in the EU: a follow-up study to financial supervision and crisis management in the EU

The financial crisis that began in 2007 as a liquidity crisis for banks has transformed itself into a sovereign debt crisis that threatens the viability of the eurozone and the foundations of the European Union. In this study, we analyse some of the recent regulatory initiatives in response to the crisis and their implications for the EU financial system and economy. Although EU policymakers are adopting important institutional reforms to create a more robust macro-prudential supervisory framework, serious gaps and weakness remain in EU regulation, crisis management, and burden sharing. We conclude that in liberalised international financial markets it will always be very difficult for regulators to control systemic risks and that alternative regulatory approaches should be considered