Analysis of time-step size and initial particle distribution effects on particle dispersal studies

Water Qualit

Application of TELEMAC-2D and SISYPHE to complex estuarine regions to inform future management decisions

Water Qualit

The application of social network analysis to team sports

This article reviews how current social network analysis might be used to investigate individual and group behavior in sporting teams. Social network analysis methods permit researchers to explore social relations between team members and their individual-level qualities simultaneously. As such, social network analysis can be seen as augmenting existing approaches for the examination of intra-group relations among teams and provide detail of team members\u27 informal connections to others within the team. Social network analysis is useful in addressing the issue of interdependencies in the data inherent in team structures. Social network terms are introduced and explained by way of an example team, software and resources are discussed, and a statistical approach to social network analysis is introduced. <br /

Characterising the tidal stream power resource around France using a high-resolution harmonic database

International audienc

Predicting the flexural load–deflection response of steel fibre reinforced concrete from strain, crack-width, fibre pull-out and distribution data

A semi-analytical model is presented, based on conventional principles of mechanics, to predict the flexure behaviour of steel fibre reinforced concrete. The model uses a stress-block approach to represent the stresses that develop at a cracked section by three discrete stress zones: (a) a compressive zone; (b) an uncracked tensile zone; and (c) a cracked tensile zone. It is further shown that the stress-block, and hence flexural behaviour, is a function of five principal parameters: compressive stress–strain relation; tensile stress–strain relation; fibre pull-out behaviour; the number and distribution of fibres across the cracked section in terms of their positions, orientations and embedment lengths; and the strain/crack-width profile in relation to the deflection of the beam. An experimental investigation was undertaken on both cast and sprayed specimens to obtain relationships for use in the model. The results of the study showed a reasonable agreement between the model predictions and experimental results. However, the accuracy of the model is probably unacceptable for it to be currently used in design. A subsequent analysis highlighted the single fibre pull-out test and the sensitivity of the strain analysis tests as being the main cause of the discrepancies

Flexural strain and crack width measurement of steel-fibre-reinforced concrete by optical grid and electrical gauge methods

A research programme is discussed, which has investigated the fracture of steel-fibre-reinforced sprayed concrete under flexural loading, with the aim of developing a stress-block model to predict flexural behaviour in the form of a load–deflection response. This paper reports the work associated with establishing the strain and crack width profiles in relation to mid-span beam deflection. A strain analysis technique is described, which combines the use of electrical strain gauges with a semiautomated grid method (using digital image processing) for measuring and monitoring the strain and crack width profile over the depth of a fibre-reinforced beam during a flexural test. This novel strain analysis technique has established strain/crack width data, which forms a key part of a stress-block approach for predicting residual flexural strength, an essential requirement of a much needed design rationale for steel-fibre-reinforced concrete