A model of material failure for reinforced concrete via continuum strong discontinuity approach and mixing theory

In this work a two-dimensional formulation describing the fracture process in reinforced concrete is developed, implemented and validated. The cracks in the material are captured by means of continuum strong discontinuity approach (CSDA) (Oliver 1996) and the constitutive model of composite material is defined through mixing theory (Truesdell & Toupin 1960). The composite material consists of one or two groups of long fibers or steel bars embedded within a concrete matrix. Likewise, each component is characterized by a constitutive model. The concrete is described by a damage model with degradation in tension and compression (Oliver, Cervera et al. 1990). A uniaxial plasticity model (Simó & Hughes 1998) is used for the steel. Also, phenomena as bond-slip and dowel action (Park & Paulay 1975) are included and represented by additional models of interaction between concrete and steel. The initiation and propagation of cracks are understood as a strain localization process described by means of CSDA. A bifurcation analysis of composite material is proposed to establish the bifurcation time and direction of the crack. The model has been implemented in a two-dimensional analysis program using the finite element method (FEM), where it is assumed material non-linearity and infinitesimal strains. An implicit-explicit integration scheme for the constitutive equation (Oliver, Huespe et al. 2004; Oliver, Huespe et al. 2006) ensures a positive defined stiffness matrix of the problem and increases the robustness and stability of the solution. On the other hand, a strategy to tracking discontinuity paths (Samaniego 2002; Oliver & Huespe 2004), allows that the discontinuity paths correspond among the elements. According to the proposed formulation, on each point of solid, the strain and stress fields of the reinforced concrete are described as a composite material. This has the following advantages: first, the model facilitates the implementation on the finite element method, since many ingredients of standard numerical process remain, and secondly, the macroscopic scale of analysis avoids the discretization of each component material and the interaction effects, and consequently the computational cost is reduced. The model can reproduce two different stages of cracking in the reinforced concrete. Initially, the steel capacity and the adherence in the interface produce a stable stage of distributed cracking, where appear many cracks with constant spacing and opening. Afterward, a localization cracking stage is characterized by few cracks while the structural response decreases. Reinforced concrete members subjected to tension, bending and shear are simulated. The numerical results, mainly the structural response and the crack pattern, are compared with experimental test (Leonhardt 1965; Collins, Vecchio et al. 1985; Ouyang & Shah 1994; Ruiz, Elices et al. 1998). The correlation between numerical results using the proposed formulation and actual results is quantitative and qualitatively satisfactory

Stability and robustness issues in numerical modeling of material failure in the strong discontinuity approach

Robustness and stability of the Continuum Strong Discontinuity Approach (CSDA) to material failure are addressed. After identification of lack of symmetry of the finite element  formulation  and  material  softening  in  the  constitutive  model  as  possible  causes  of  loss  of  robustness,  two  remedies  are  proposed:  1) a  symmetric  version  of  the  elementary  enriched  finite  element  with  embedded  discontinuities,  and 2) an implicit explicit integration of the  internal variable, in the constitutive model, that renders the tangent constitutive algorithmic operator positive definite and constant. The combination of both developments leads to finite element formulations with constant and non-singular tangent structural stiffness, these allowing dramatic improvements in terms of robustness and computational costs. After assessing the convergence properties of the new strategies, three-dimensional numerical simulations of failure problems illustrate the performance of the proposed procedures

Un modelo del fallo material en el hormigón armado, mediante la metodologia de discontinuidades fuertes de continuo y la teoría de mezclas

Esta monografía presenta una reformulación de la metodología de discontinuidades fuertes de continuo para la simulación numérica del fallo material de estructuras. Los objetivos buscados han sido mejorar la robustez de este tipo de análisis numérico y proporcionar una serie de herramientas que garanticen la confiabilidad de los resultados obtenidos. La metodología de discontinuidades fuertes de continuo [50]-[51] es una aproximación numérica al fenómeno de la localización de deformaciones por ablandamiento. Al contrario de las aproximaciones discretas, utiliza un formato continuo tensión-deformación para describir todo el proceso de agotamiento del material. Gracias a una regularización (reinterpretación) de la cinemática del problema y del módulo de ablandamiento se garantiza que la disipación del modelo venga dada por la densidad superficial de energía de fractura [52]. Adicionalmente, la utilización de un algoritmo tipo térmico de captura y gestión de las superficies de localización de deformaciones permite abordar el análisis de problemas con multifisuración [57]. La mejora en la robustez del análisis numérico se ha conseguido adoptando la formulación simétrica cinemáticamente consistente y formulando un nuevo esquema de integración, denominado IMPL-EX, que garantiza la definición positiva de los operadores algorítmicos que intervienen en el problema. La confiabilidad en el resultado numérico se asegura mediante un algoritmo de control del error cometido y mediante un nuevo esquema de limitación de la longitud de arco. Estos dos algoritmos han sido desarrollados específicamente para el esquema de integraciónn IMPL-EX. La formulación así definida ha sido aplicada en el estudio de dos fenómenos propios de la mecánica de la fractura: el estudio de la influencia del tamaño de una estructura en su resistencia nominal (efecto tamaño) y el estudio/medición de la longitud de procesamiento de fractura. Por último se presentan una serie de ensayos numéricos del fallo material en estructuras tridimensionales. Estos ensayos se dividen en tres grupos: ensayos donde el modo de fallo predominante es en modo I, ensayos donde el modo de fallo predominante es de deslizamiento (análisis de taludes) y ensayos donde el modo de fallo moviliza mecanismos resistentes tridimensionales (análisis del efecto arco en presas con simple y doble curvatura)

Is mitochondrial gene expression coordinated or stochastic?

© 2018 Portland Press Ltd. All rights reserved. Mitochondrial biogenesis is intimately dependent on the coordinated expression of the nuclear and mitochondrial genomes that is necessary for the assembly and function of the respiratory complexes to produce most of the energy required by cells. Although highly compacted in animals, the mitochondrial genome and its expression are essential for survival, development, and optimal energy production. The machinery that regulates gene expression within mitochondria is localised within the same compartment and, like in their ancestors, the bacteria, this machinery does not use membrane-based compartmentalisation to order the gene expression pathway. Therefore, the lifecycle of mitochondrial RNAs from transcription through processing, maturation, translation to turnover is mediated by a gamut of RNA-binding proteins (RBPs), all contained within the mitochondrial matrix milieu. Recent discoveries indicate that multiple processes regulating RNA metabolism occur at once but since mitochondria have a new complement of RBPs, many evolved de novo from nuclear genes, we are left wondering how co-ordinated are these processes? Here, we review recently identified examples of the co-ordinated and stochastic processes that govern the mitochondrial transcriptome. These new discoveries reveal the complexity of mitochondrial gene expression and the need for its in-depth exploration to understand how these organelles can respond to the energy demands of the cell

Evolutionary signal enhancement based on Hölder regularity analysis

International audienceWe present an approach for signal enhancement based on the analysis of the local Hölder regularity. The method does not make explicit assumptions on the type of noise or on the global smoothness of the original data, but rather supposes that signal enhancement is equivalent to increasing the Hölder regularity at each point

Fidelity and coordination of mitochondrial protein synthesis in health and disease

The evolutionary acquisition of mitochondria has given rise to the diversity of eukaryotic life. Mitochondria have retained their ancestral α-proteobacterial traits through the maintenance of double membranes and their own circular genome. Their genome varies in size from very large in plants to the smallest in animals and their parasites. The mitochondrial genome encodes essential genes for protein synthesis and has to coordinate its expression with the nuclear genome from which it sources most of the proteins required for mitochondrial biogenesis and function. The mitochondrial protein synthesis machinery is unique because it is encoded by both the nuclear and mitochondrial genomes thereby requiring tight regulation to produce the respiratory complexes that drive oxidative phosphorylation for energy production. The fidelity and coordination of mitochondrial protein synthesis are essential for ATP production. Here we compare and contrast the mitochondrial translation mechanisms in mammals and fungi to bacteria and reveal that their diverse regulation can have unusual impacts on the health and disease of these organisms. We highlight that in mammals the rate of protein synthesis is more important than the fidelity of translation, enabling coordinated biogenesis of the mitochondrial respiratory chain with respiratory chain proteins synthesised by cytoplasmic ribosomes. Changes in mitochondrial protein fidelity can trigger the activation of the diverse cellular signalling networks in fungi and mammals to combat dysfunction in energy conservation. The physiological consequences of altered fidelity of protein synthesis can range from liver regeneration to the onset and development of cardiomyopathy. (Figure presented.)

Luminosity functions for galaxies and quasars in the Spitzer Wide-area Infrared Extragalactic Legacy Survey

We construct rest-frame luminosity functions (LFs) at 3.6, 4.5, 5.8, 8 and 24 μm over the redshift range 0 < z < 2 for galaxies and 0 < z < 4 for optical quasi-stellar objects (QSOs), using optical and infrared (IR) data from the Spitzer Wide-area Infrared Extragalactic (SWIRE) Survey. The 3.6- and 4.5-μm galaxy LFs show evidence for moderate positive luminosity evolution up to z∼ 1.5, consistent with the passive ageing of evolved stellar populations. Their comoving luminosity density was found to evolve passively, gradually increasing out to z∼ 0.5–1 but flattening, or even declining, at higher redshift. Conversely, the 24-μm galaxy LF, which is more sensitive to obscured star formation and/or active galactic nuclei (AGN) activity, undergoes strong positive evolution, with the derived IR energy density and star formation rate (SFR) density ∝ (1 +z)γ with γ= 4.5+0.7−0.6 and the majority of this evolution occurring since z∼ 1. Optical QSOs, however, show positive luminosity evolution in all bands, out to the highest redshifts (3 < z < 4). Modelling as L*∝ (1 +z)γ gave γ= 1.3+0.1−0.1 at 3.6 μm, γ= 1.0+0.1−0.1 at 4.5 μm and stronger evolution at the longer wavelengths (5.8, 8 and 24 μm), of γ∼ 3. Comparison of the galaxy LFs to predictions from a semi-analytic model based on cold dark matter (CDM) indicates that an initial mass function (IMF) skewed towards higher mass star formation in bursts compared to locally be preferred. As a result, the currently inferred massive SFRs in distant submm sources may require substantial downwards revision

The challenges of intersectionality: Researching difference in physical education

Researching the intersection of class, race, gender, sexuality and disability raises many issues for educational research. Indeed, Maynard (2002, 33) has recently argued that ‘difference is one of the most significant, yet unresolved, issues for feminist and social thinking at the beginning of the twentieth century’. This paper reviews some of the key imperatives of working with ‘intersectional theory’ and explores the extent to these debates are informing research around difference in education and Physical Education (PE). The first part of the paper highlights some key issues in theorising and researching intersectionality before moving on to consider how difference has been addressed within PE. The paper then considers three ongoing challenges of intersectionality – bodies and embodiment, politics and practice and empirical research. The paper argues for a continued focus on the specific context of PE within education for its contribution to these questions

Long‐term trends in the distribution, abundance and impact of native “injurious” weeds

Questions: How can we quantify changes in the distribution and abundance of injurious weed species (Senecio jacobaea, Cirsium vulgare, Cirsium arvense, Rumex obtusifolius, Rumex crispus and Urtica dioica), over long time periods at wide geographical scales? What impact do these species have on plant communities? To what extent are changes driven by anthropogenically induced drivers such as disturbance, eutrophication and management? Location: Great Britain. Methods: Data from national surveys were used to assess changes in the frequency and abundance of selected weed species between 1978 and 2007. This involved novel method development to create indices of change, and to relate changes in distribution and abundance of these species to plant community diversity and inferred changes in resource availability, disturbance and management. Results: Three of the six weed species became more widespread in GB over this period and all of them increased in abundance (in grasslands, arable habitats, roadsides and streamsides). Patterns were complex and varied by landscape context and habitat type. For most of the species, there were negative relationships between abundance, total plant species richness, grassland, wetland and woodland indicators. Each individual species responds to a different combination of anthropogenic drivers but disturbance, fertility and livestock management significantly influenced most species. Conclusions: The increase in frequency and abundance of weeds over decades has implications for landscape‐scale plant diversity, fodder yield and livestock health. This includes reductions in plant species richness, loss of valuable habitat specialists and homogenisation of vegetation communities. Increasing land‐use intensity, excessive nutrient input, overgrazing, sward damage, poaching and bare ground in fields and undermanagement or too frequent cutting on linear features may have led to increases in weeds. These weeds do have conservation value so we are not advocating eradication, rather co‐existence, without dominance. Land management policy needs to adapt to benefit biodiversity and agricultural productivity

Ultra-red Galaxies Signpost Candidate Protoclusters at High Redshift

We present images obtained with LABOCA of a sample of 22 galaxies selected via their red Herschel SPIRE colors. We aim to see if these luminous, rare, and distant galaxies are signposting dense regions in the early universe. Our 870 μm survey covers an area of ≈1 deg2 down to an average rms of $3.9\,\mathrm{mJy}\,{\mathrm{beam}}^{-1}$, with our five deepest maps going ≈2× deeper still. We catalog 86 dusty star-forming galaxies (DSFGs) around our "signposts," detected above a significance of 3.5σ. This implies a ${100}_{-30}^{+30} \%$ overdensity of ${S}_{870}\gt 8.5\,\mathrm{mJy}$ (or {L}_{\mathrm{FIR}}=6.7\times {10}^{12}\mbox{--}2.9\times {10}^{13}\,{L}_{\odot }) DSFGs, excluding our signposts, when comparing our number counts to those in "blank fields." Thus, we are 99.93% confident that our signposts are pinpointing overdense regions in the universe, and ≈95% [50%] confident that these regions are overdense by a factor of at least ≥1.5 × [2×]. Using template spectral energy distributions (SEDs) and SPIRE/LABOCA photometry, we derive a median photometric redshift of z = 3.2 ± 0.2 for our signposts, with an inter-quartile range of z = 2.8–3.6, somewhat higher than expected for ~850 μm selected galaxies. We constrain the DSFGs that are likely responsible for this overdensity to within $| {\rm{\Delta }}z| \leqslant 0.65$ of their respective signposts. These "associated" DSFGs are radially distributed within (physical) distances of 1.6 ± 0.5 Mpc from their signposts, have median star formation rates (SFRs) of $\approx (1.0\pm 0.2)\times {10}^{3}\,{M}_{\odot }\,{\mathrm{yr}}^{-1}$ (for a Salpeter stellar inital mass function) and median gas reservoirs of $\sim 1.7\times {10}^{11}\,{M}_{\odot }$. These candidate protoclusters have average total SFRs of at least $\approx (2.3\pm 0.5)\times {10}^{3}\,{M}_{\odot }\,{\mathrm{yr}}^{-1}$ and space densities of ~9 × 10−7 Mpc−3, consistent with the idea that their constituents may evolve to become massive early-type galaxies in the centers of the rich galaxy clusters we see today