A model for the prediction of the punching resistance of steel fibre reinforced concrete slabs centrically loaded

With the aim of contributing for the development of design guidelines capable of predicting with high accuracy the punching resistance of steel fibre reinforced concrete (SFRC) flat slabs, a proposal is presented in the present paper and its predictive performance is assessed by using a database that collects the experimental results from 154 punching tests. The theoretical fundaments of this proposal are based on the critical shear crack theory proposed by Muttoni and his co-authors. The proposal is capable of predicting the load versus rotation of the slab, and attends to the punching failure criterion of the slab. The proposal takes into account the recommendations of the most recent CEB-FIP Model Code for modelling the post-cracking behaviour of SFRC. By simulating the tests composing the collected database, the good predictive performance of the developed proposal is demonstrated.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

Conceptual Design of the LHC Interaction Region Upgrade: Phase-I

The LHC is starting operation with beam. The primary goal of CERN and the LHC community is to ensure that the collider is operated efficiently and that it achieves nominal performance in the shortest term. Since several years the community has been discussing the directions for maximizing the physics reach of the LHC by upgrading the experiments, in particular ATLAS and CMS, the LHC machine and the CERN proton injector complex, in a phased approach. The first phase of the LHC interaction region upgrade was approved by Council in December 2007. This phase relies on the mature Nb-Ti superconducting magnet technology with the target of increasing the LHC luminosity to 2 to 3 10^34 cm^-2s^-1, while maximising the use of the existing infrastructure. In this report, we present the goals and the proposed conceptual solutions for the LHC IR Upgrade Phase-I which include the recommendations of the conceptual design review

New Late Permian paleomagnetic data from Argentina: Refinement of the apparent polar wander path of Gondwana

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/95004/1/ggge1994.pd

A Large Hadron Electron Collider at CERN

This document provides a brief overview of the recently published report on the design of the Large Hadron Electron Collider (LHeC), which comprises its physics programme, accelerator physics, technology and main detector concepts. The LHeC exploits and develops challenging, though principally existing, accelerator and detector technologies. This summary is complemented by brief illustrations of some of the highlights of the physics programme, which relies on a vastly extended kinematic range, luminosity and unprecedented precision in deep inelastic scattering. Illustrations are provided regarding high precision QCD, new physics (Higgs, SUSY) and electron-ion physics. The LHeC is designed to run synchronously with the LHC in the twenties and to achieve an integrated luminosity of O(100) fb$^{-1}$. It will become the cleanest high resolution microscope of mankind and will substantially extend as well as complement the investigation of the physics of the TeV energy scale, which has been enabled by the LHC

Bio-chronostratigraphic calibration of the Upper Carnian-Lower Norian magnetostratigraphic scale at Pizzo Mondello (Sicani Mountains, Sicily).

Pizzo Mondello section is known since 15 years because of the continuous Late Triassic pelagic record of great significance for the establishment of an integrated chronostratigraphy of the Late Triassic (Gullo et al. 1996; Muttoni et al. 2001, 2004). During the last 4 years, Pizzo Mondello section has been studied in detail to provide a new and high resolution integrated bio-chronostratigraphy for the calibration of the magnetostratigraphy and chemostratigraphy proposed by Muttoni et al. (2001, 2004), and now it is one of the GSSP candidates for the definition of the base of the Norian. The lowest 143 m of the Cherty Limestone, straddling the C/N boundary have been studied in detail. The preliminary data of the ongoing research have been presented in all the meetings of the STS from Albuquerque 2007 and here we summarize the final results. The key correlation to the standard marine Triassic Scale is provided by the ammonoids. They are relatively rare, however the available collections document the Upper Carnian Discotropites plinii and Gonionotites italicus Subzones, from meter 15 to meter 80 from the base of the section. The following 15 meters are poor in ammonoids, while higher up the lower part of the Lower Norian Guembelites jandianus Zone is documented by Dimorphites cf. n. sp.1 of Krystyn, 1980. Conodonts are very abundant and have a great potential as practical tool for global correlations. The abundance of specimens at Pizzo Mondello gave the opportunity to point out clear relationships among the five most widespread Upper Camian/Lower Norian conodont genera (Paragondolella, Carnepigondolella, Metapolygnathus, Epigondolella and Norigondolella) and to identify trends of the generic turnovers (Mazza et al. 2010). The two biomarkers so far proposed as possible marker events for the GSSP were the FAD of E. quadrata (sample FNP88A) and the FAD of M. communisti (sample NA35). However, the FAD of E. quadrata occurs within the Gonionotites italicus Subzone, while the FAD of M. communisti is on its top. Halobiids are extremely common in the Cherty Limestone and they have also a great potential for large scale correlations. Nine species of Halobia have been recognized: Halobia carnica, H. lenticularis, H. simplex, H. superba, H. cf. rugosa, H. radiata, H. austriaca, H. styriaca and H. mediterranea. The best possible marker for the base of the Norian is the first occurrence of Halobia austriaca, that is recorded in the middle of the interval between the record of the Gonionotites italicus Subzone and the Guembelites jandianus Zone. Radiolarians were found in few samples but with high diversity assemblages. In the upper Gonionotites italicus Subzone to the Guembelites jandianus Zone there is an overlap of species previously considered Late Carnian with species usually regarded as Early Norian. About 4 m above the FAD of E. quadrata, in the Gonionotites italicus Subzone, the first assemblage with Capnuchosphaera deweveri Kozur & Mostler, Capnuchosphaera tricornis De Wever, Kahlerosphaera norica Kozur & Mock and Xiphothecaella longa Kozur & Mock, usually referred to Early Norian, occurs. These integrated bio-chronostratigraphic studies lead to identify some possible GSSP marker events especially on conodonts and halobiids, which occur in the upper part of magnetozone PM 4n, within PM 4r and in the lower part of PM 5n. Possibly the most suitable magnetostratigraphic event to recognize the basal Norian is the base of magnetozone PM 5n, as already suggested by Krystyn et al. 2002 and Muttoni et al. 2004

Probability based design of punching shear resistance of column to slab connections

The paper analyzes the dependence of punching shear strength reliability index β, calculated according to EN 1992-1-1:2004 (2004) and STR 2.05.05:2005 (2005) in reinforced concrete floor slab-to-column joint on the values of random factors. The paper deals with theoretical research of the influence of independent random variables, such us the value of the characteristic compressive strength fck of concrete, the area As of the longitudinal reinforcement, effective cross-section depth d and the ratio of the self-weight and the effective load on the value of the reliability index β. The paper presents experimental results of reinforced concrete slabs with different longitudinal reinforcement ratio ρ subjected to a concentrated load. I t was determined that when the effective load makes around 50% of the construction self-weight load, i.e. Gk /Qk = 2 and when minimal variation coefficient estimates are taken (for concrete strength δfc = 0.1, for effective depth δd = 0,1 and for the area of longitudinal reinforcement cross-section δAs = 0.05 or δAs = 0.075 and when Gk = Qk i.e. Gk /Qk = 1 where δfc = 0.1, δd = 0.1 and δAs = 0.05) the reliability index β of the analyzed slabs calculated according to EN 1992-1-1:2004 (2004) as well as β calculated according to STR 2.05.05:2005 (2005), is bigger than EN 1990:2002 (2002) recommendation for the minimum value of reliability index – 3.8 for RC2 construction reliability class ultimate. In other cases the reliability index β is close to 3.8 or much smaller than 3.8

Late Permian palaeomagnetic data east and west of the Urals

We studied Upper Permian redbeds from two areas, one between the Urals and the Volga River in the southeastern part of Baltica and the other in north Kazakhstan within the Ural-Mongol belt, which are about 900 km apart; a limited collection of Lower-Middle Triassic volcanics from north Kazakhstan was also studied. A high-temperature component that shows rectilinear decay to the origin was isolated from most samples of all three collections. For the Late Permian of north Kazakhstan, the area-mean direction of this component is D = 224.3°, I =−56.8°, k = 161, Α 95 = 2.7°, N = 18 sites, palaeopole at 53.4°N, 161.3°E; the fold test is positive. The Triassic result ( D = 55.9°, I =+69.1°, k = 208, Α 95 = 4.2°, N = 7 sites, pole at 57.0°N, 134.1°E) is confirmed by a positive reversal test. The corresponding palaeomagnetic poles from north Kazakhstan show good agreement with the APWP for Baltica, thus indicating no substantial motion between the two areas that are separated by the Urals. Our new mean Late Permian direction for SE Baltica ( D = 42.2°, I = 39.2°, k = 94, Α 95 = 3.5°, N = 17 sites; palaeopole at 45.6°N, 170.2°E) is confirmed as near-primary by a positive tilt test and the presence of dual-polarity directions. The corresponding pole also falls on the APWP of Baltica, but is far-sided with respect to the coeval reference poles, as the observed mean inclination is shallower than expected by 13°± 4°. In principle, lower-than-expected inclinations may be attributed to one or more of the following causes: relative tectonic displacements, quadrupole and octupole terms in the geomagnetic field, higher-order harmonics (incl. secular variation) of the same field, random scatter, non-removed overprints, or inclination error during remanence acquisition and/or diagenetic compaction. Our analysis shows that most mechanisms from the above list cannot explain the observed pattern, leaving as the most likely option that it must be accounted for by inclination shallowing. Comparison with selected coeval results from eastern Baltica (all within Russia) shows that all of them are biased in the same way. This implies that they cannot be used for analysis of geomagnetic field characteristics, such as non-dipole contributions, without a more adequate knowledge of the required correction for inclination shallowing.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/71899/1/j.1365-246X.2008.03727.x.pd