Deterioration Estimation of Reinforced Concrete Building Structures Using Material Testing Data Base

This study aims to investigate the material factors that affect the degree of deterioration of reinforced concrete structures and develop an integrating evaluation model. Also, the durability indices were generated using the analytic hierarchy process for the overall durability assessment of structures, which corresponded to the durability grades referred as the maintenance, reinforcement, or demolishment. The status of concrete includes compressive strength, resistance coefficient, concrete cracks, honeycomb and spalling. And the reinforcement status includes corrosion potential, corrosion current, chloride ion content, neutralization depth and protective layer thickness. Durability indicators were determined through the findings on the structural inspection process of reinforced concrete structures and the evaluation methods related to materials testing and industry standards. Case studies were also presented to illustrate the methodology of the assessment system. The durability methodology can be summarized as the comprehensive evaluation methods considering the earthquake potential factors, structural factors, environmental factors, and material deterioration factors

Biomechanical comparison of pedicle screw fixation strength among three different screw trajectories using single vertebrae and one-level functional spinal unit

Three key factors are responsible for the biomechanical performance of pedicle screw fixation: screw mechanical characteristics, bone quality and insertion techniques. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no study has directly compared the biomechanical performance among three trajectories, i.e., the traditional trajectory (TT), modified trajectory (MT) and cortical bone trajectory (CBT), in a porcine model. This study compared the pullout strength and insertion torque of three trajectory methods in single vertebrae, the pullout strength and fixation stiffness including flexion, extension, and lateral bending in a one-level instrumented functional spinal unit (FSU) that mimics the in vivo configuration were clarified. A total of 18 single vertebrae and 18 FSUs were randomly assigned into three screw insertion methods (n = 6 in each trajectory group). In the TT group, the screw converged from its entry point, passed completely inside the pedicle, was parallel to the superior endplate, was located in the superior third of the vertebral body and reached to at least the anterior third of the vertebral body. In the MT group, the convergent angle was similar to that of the TT method but directed caudally to the anterior inferior margin of the vertebral body. The results of insertion torque and pullout strength in single vertebrae were analyzed; in addition, the stiffness and pullout strength in the one-level FSU were also investigated. This study demonstrated that, in single vertebrae, the insertion torque was significantly higher in CBT groups than in TT and MT groups (p < 0.05). The maximal pullout strength was significantly higher in MT groups than in TT and CBT groups (p < 0.05). There was no significant difference in stiffness in the three motions among all groups. The maximal pullout strength in FSUs of MT and CBT groups were significantly higher than the TT groups (p < 0.05). We concluded that either MT or CBT provides better biomechanical performance than TT in single vertebrae or FSUs. The lack of significance of stiffness in FSUs among three methods suggested that MT or CBT could be a reasonable alternative to TT if the traditional trajectory was not feasible

Automatic Morphological Subtyping Reveals New Roles of Caspases in Mitochondrial Dynamics

Morphological dynamics of mitochondria is associated with key cellular processes related to aging and neuronal degenerative diseases, but the lack of standard quantification of mitochondrial morphology impedes systematic investigation. This paper presents an automated system for the quantification and classification of mitochondrial morphology. We discovered six morphological subtypes of mitochondria for objective quantification of mitochondrial morphology. These six subtypes are small globules, swollen globules, straight tubules, twisted tubules, branched tubules and loops. The subtyping was derived by applying consensus clustering to a huge collection of more than 200 thousand mitochondrial images extracted from 1422 micrographs of Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells treated with different drugs, and was validated by evidence of functional similarity reported in the literature. Quantitative statistics of subtype compositions in cells is useful for correlating drug response and mitochondrial dynamics. Combining the quantitative results with our biochemical studies about the effects of squamocin on CHO cells reveals new roles of Caspases in the regulatory mechanisms of mitochondrial dynamics. This system is not only of value to the mitochondrial field, but also applicable to the investigation of other subcellular organelle morphology

Evaluation of cementitious repair mortars modified with polymers

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of added polymers on the properties of repair mortars. Two types of polymers, ethylene vinyl acetate and polyvinyl acetate–vinyl carboxylate, were used as a replacement for 3%, 5%, and 8% of the cement (by weight). All tests were conducted using two water–cement ratios of 0.5 and 0.6. The effectiveness of the repair materials was evaluated according to setting time, drying shrinkage, thermal expansion, compressive strength, and bond strength. Specimens containing polyvinyl acetate–vinyl carboxylate at a water–cement ratio of 0.5 presented the highest compressive and bond strength. Specimens containing ethylene vinyl acetate presented strength characteristics exceeding those of the control at 28 days. The drying shrinkage of polyvinyl acetate–vinyl carboxylate specimens was similar to that of the control. At a water–cement ratio of 0.5, the thermal expansion of polyvinyl acetate–vinyl carboxylate specimens was lower than that of ethylene vinyl acetate specimens; however, at a water–cement ratio of 0.6, the thermal expansion was independent of the type of polymer

Deterioration Estimation of Reinforced Concrete Building Structures Using Material Testing Data Base

This study aims to investigate the material factors that affect the degree of deterioration of reinforced concrete structures and develop an integrating evaluation model. Also, the durability indices were generated using the analytic hierarchy process for the overall durability assessment of structures, which corresponded to the durability grades referred as the maintenance, reinforcement, or demolishment. The status of concrete includes compressive strength, resistance coefficient, concrete cracks, honeycomb and spalling. And the reinforcement status includes corrosion potential, corrosion current, chloride ion content, neutralization depth and protective layer thickness. Durability indicators were determined through the findings on the structural inspection process of reinforced concrete structures and the evaluation methods related to materials testing and industry standards. Case studies were also presented to illustrate the methodology of the assessment system. The durability methodology can be summarized as the comprehensive evaluation methods considering the earthquake potential factors, structural factors, environmental factors, and material deterioration factors

Properties of Controlled Low Strength Material with Circulating Fluidized Bed Combustion Ash and Recycled Aggregates

This study aims to investigate the effect of adding circulating fluidized bed combustion (CFBC) ash, desulfurization slag, air-cooled blast-furnace slag and coal bottom ash to the controlled low-strength material (CLSM). Test methods include slump flow test, ball drop test, water soluble chloride ion content measurement, compressive strength and length change measurement. The results show that (1) the use of CFBC hydration ash with desulfurization slag of slump flow is the best, and the use of CFBC hydration ash with coal bottom ash and slump flow is the worst; (2) CFBC hydration ash with desulfurization slag and chloride ion content is the highest; (3) 24 h ball drop test (diameter ≤ 76 mm), and test results are 70 mm to 76 mm; (4) CFBC hydration ash with desulfurization slag and compression strength is the highest, with the coal bottom ash being the lowest; increase of CFBC hydration ash can reduce compressive strength; and (5) the water-quenched blast furnace slag and CFBC hydration ash would expand, which results in length changes of CLSM specimens