73 research outputs found
Comportamento à flexão de vigas eco-eficientes de ultra elevada durabilidade
Atualmente, o ecossistema mundial tem vindo a ser confrontado com problemas de grande
importância, a elevada poluição do meio ambiente e a limitação dos recursos energéticos. Estes
problemas têm contribuído para que a sustentabilidade da construção seja uma prioridade cada
vez maior no presente e no futuro. A manutenção e a reabilitação do património construído
surge como uma das medidas mais eficazes para prevenir ou reduzir o consumo de energia no
setor da construção. No caso da construção nova, a tendência é para verificar-se um aumento
da utilização de elementos estruturais pré-fabricados com partes betonadas em obra, obtendose
uma maior rapidez de execução associada a um maior controlo de qualidade.
O betão de ultra elevada durabilidade, reforçado com fibras metálicas, é considerado um
material inovador desenvolvido nas últimas décadas, apresentando um conjunto de
caraterísticas especiais, como a durabilidade, a facilidade de aplicação, as elevadas resistências
mecânicas, tornando-o num produto particularmente atraente para a reabilitação e reforço de
estruturas de betão. No entanto, este betão não deve ser produzido em grandes quantidades
devido ao elevado consumo de cimento e adições, resultando em elevados custos económicos
e ambientais. Considerando estas desvantagens é proposto que o betão de ultra elevada
durabilidade seja usado apenas na camada de recobrimento, formando-se assim uma superskin
que protege o elemento estrutural dos ambientes mais agressivos, isto é, aumenta a durabilidade
das estruturas de betão sem que, no entanto, seja criado um impacte ambiental muito
significativo (a quantidade de CO2 libertada para a atmosfera é menor devido ao menor
consumo de cimento e adições).
A presente dissertação pretende explorar o conceito de superskin do ponto de vista do
comportamento estrutural, nomeadamente, estudar o comportamento de vigas sujeitas a
esforços de flexão, compostas por uma camada exterior de betão de ultra elevada durabilidade,
associado a um núcleo com betão eco-eficiente, com baixa dosagem de cimento, de modo a
obter uma solução mais durável e ao mesmo tempo, ecologicamente mais eficiente.
Foram realizadas oito vigas com diferentes taxas de armadura: quatro vigas produzidas apenas
com betão com baixa dosagem de cimento (usadas como vigas de referência) e quatro vigas
produzidas com um betão de ultra elevada durabilidade na camada de recobrimento e com um
betão com baixa dosagem de cimento no núcleo. As diferentes taxas de armadura longitudinal
permitem avaliar a influência da superskin em vigas com roturas dúcteis e frágeis. Com base
nos dados recolhidos durante os ensaios experimentais estudou-se: (i) relação cargadeslocamento;
(ii) os valores teóricos e experimentais do momento resistente; (iii) a evolução
da curvatura nas secções críticas; (iv) a evolução da rigidez à flexão com a carga aplicada; (v)
a ductilidade; e (vi) a fendilhação e o tipo de rotura. Da análise de resultados foi possível
verificar que o recobrimento em betão de ultra elevada durabilidade é uma solução com aspetos
muito positivos, nomeadamente, aumenta a resistência à flexão das vigas
Mixing and the Decay
We reexamine the decay, adding the
effect of mixing to the amplitude calculated with the aid of
chiral perturbation theory and vector meson dominance. We predict the neutral
decay to occur with a width of \omega \to \pi^{0} \pi^{0} \gamma and also analyze the effect of the mixing
on the \omega \to \pi^{0} \pi^{0} \gamma \omega \to
\pi^{+} \pi^{-} \gamma ratio. Several remarks on the effect of
mixing on certain radiative decays of vector mesons are
presented.Comment: 10 pages, LaTeX, 1 ps-figure. Submitted to Phys. Rev.
Tri-meson-mixing of -- and -- in the light-cone quark model
The radiative transition form factors of the pseudoscalar mesons {,
, } and the vector mesons {, , } are restudied
with -- and -- in tri-meson-mixing
pattern, which is described by tri-mixing matrices in the light-cone
constituent quark model. The experimental transition decay widths are better
reproduced with tri-meson-mixing than previous results in a two-mixing-angle
scenario of only two-meson - mixing and - mixing.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, final version to appear in EPJ
Radiative Decays, Nonet Symmetry and SU(3) Breaking
We re-examine the problem of simultaneously describing in a consistent way
all radiative and leptonic decays of light mesons (V -> P gamma, P -> V gamma,
P -> gamma gamma, V -> e^+ e^-). For this purpose, we rely on the Hidden Local
Symmetry model in both its anomalous and non--anomalous sectors. We show that
the SU(3) symmetry breaking scheme proposed by Bando, Kugo and Yamawaki,
supplemented with nonet symmetry breaking in the pseudoscalar sector, allows
one to reach a nice agreement with all data, except for the K^{*+/-} radiative
decay. An extension of this breaking pattern allows one to account for this
particular decay mode too. Considered together, the whole set of radiative
decays provides a pseudoscalar mixing angle theta_P ~ -11^o and a value for
theta_V which is ~ 3^o from that of ideal mixing. We also show that it is
impossible, in a practical sense, to disentangle the effects of nonet symmetry
breaking and those of glue inside the eta', using only light meson decays.Comment: 36 pages. Published versio
Horizontal Branch Stars: The Interplay between Observations and Theory, and Insights into the Formation of the Galaxy
We review HB stars in a broad astrophysical context, including both variable
and non-variable stars. A reassessment of the Oosterhoff dichotomy is
presented, which provides unprecedented detail regarding its origin and
systematics. We show that the Oosterhoff dichotomy and the distribution of
globular clusters (GCs) in the HB morphology-metallicity plane both exclude,
with high statistical significance, the possibility that the Galactic halo may
have formed from the accretion of dwarf galaxies resembling present-day Milky
Way satellites such as Fornax, Sagittarius, and the LMC. A rediscussion of the
second-parameter problem is presented. A technique is proposed to estimate the
HB types of extragalactic GCs on the basis of integrated far-UV photometry. The
relationship between the absolute V magnitude of the HB at the RR Lyrae level
and metallicity, as obtained on the basis of trigonometric parallax
measurements for the star RR Lyrae, is also revisited, giving a distance
modulus to the LMC of (m-M)_0 = 18.44+/-0.11. RR Lyrae period change rates are
studied. Finally, the conductive opacities used in evolutionary calculations of
low-mass stars are investigated. [ABRIDGED]Comment: 56 pages, 22 figures. Invited review, to appear in Astrophysics and
Space Scienc
The composition and weathering of the continents over geologic time
The composition of continental crust records the balance between construction by tectonics and destruction by physical and chemical erosion. Quantitative constraints on how igneous addition and chemical weathering have modified the continents’ bulk composition are essential for understanding the evolution of geodynamics and climate. Using novel data analytic techniques we have extracted temporal trends in sediments’ protolith composition and weathering intensity from the largest available compilation of sedimentary major element compositions: ∼15,000 samples from 4.0 Ga to the present. We find that the average Archean upper continental crust was silica-rich and had a similar compositional diversity to modern continents. This is consistent with an early Archean, or earlier, onset of plate tectonics. In the Archean, chemical weathering sequestered ∼25 % more CO2 per mass eroded for the same weathering intensity than in subsequent time periods, consistent with carbon mass balance despite higher Archean outgassing rates and more limited continental exposure. Since 2.0 Ga, over long (>0.5 Gyr) timescales, crustal weathering intensity has remained relatively constant. On shorter timescales over the Phanerozoic, weathering intensity is correlated to global climate state, consistent with a weathering feedback acting in response to changes in CO2 sources or sinks
Genetic analyses of the QT interval and its components in over 250K individuals identifies new loci and pathways affecting ventricular depolarization and repolarization
Associations of autozygosity with a broad range of human phenotypes
In many species, the offspring of related parents suffer reduced reproductive success, a phenomenon known as inbreeding depression. In humans, the importance of this effect has remained unclear, partly because reproduction between close relatives is both rare and frequently associated with confounding social factors. Here, using genomic inbreeding coefficients (F-ROH) for >1.4 million individuals, we show that F-ROH is significantly associated (p <0.0005) with apparently deleterious changes in 32 out of 100 traits analysed. These changes are associated with runs of homozygosity (ROH), but not with common variant homozygosity, suggesting that genetic variants associated with inbreeding depression are predominantly rare. The effect on fertility is striking: F-ROH equivalent to the offspring of first cousins is associated with a 55% decrease [95% CI 44-66%] in the odds of having children. Finally, the effects of F-ROH are confirmed within full-sibling pairs, where the variation in F-ROH is independent of all environmental confounding.Peer reviewe
Multi-ancestry study of blood lipid levels identifies four loci interacting with physical activity
Many genetic loci affect circulating lipid levels, but it remains unknown whether lifestyle factors, such as physical activity, modify these genetic effects. To identify lipid loci interacting with physical activity, we performed genome-wide analyses of circulating HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglyceride levels in up to 120,979 individuals of European, African, Asian, Hispanic, and Brazilian ancestry, with follow-up of suggestive associations in an additional 131,012 individuals. We find four loci, in/near CLASP1, LHX1, SNTA1, and CNTNAP2, that are associated with circulating lipid levels through interaction with physical activity; higher levels of physical activity enhance the HDL cholesterol-increasing effects of the CLASP1, LHX1, and SNTA1 loci and attenuate the LDL cholesterol- increasing effect of the CNTNAP2 locus. The CLASP1, LHX1, and SNTA1 regions harbor genes linked to muscle function and lipid metabolism. Our results elucidate the role of physical activity interactions in the genetic contribution to blood lipid levels
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