Mt. Washington Summit Facility Design and Wastewater Plant Analysis

The goal of this project was to design an environmental research facility with an adequate fire protection system and to improve the wastewater treatment on the summit. This project assessed building and wastewater treatment needs for the extreme weather conditions on the summit of Mount Washington in New Hampshire. Two separate structural frames using structural steel and concrete were designed, and the structural steel frame was recommended as the best option. An INERGEN fire protection system was selected for the proposed research facility. The current package wastewater treatment plant\u27s influent and effluent characteristics were analyzed. Recommendations were made to modify the processes of the current wastewater treatment plant and to improve influent characteristics

31st Annual Meeting and Associated Programs of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC 2016) : part two

Background The immunological escape of tumors represents one of the main ob- stacles to the treatment of malignancies. The blockade of PD-1 or CTLA-4 receptors represented a milestone in the history of immunotherapy. However, immune checkpoint inhibitors seem to be effective in specific cohorts of patients. It has been proposed that their efficacy relies on the presence of an immunological response. Thus, we hypothesized that disruption of the PD-L1/PD-1 axis would synergize with our oncolytic vaccine platform PeptiCRAd. Methods We used murine B16OVA in vivo tumor models and flow cytometry analysis to investigate the immunological background. Results First, we found that high-burden B16OVA tumors were refractory to combination immunotherapy. However, with a more aggressive schedule, tumors with a lower burden were more susceptible to the combination of PeptiCRAd and PD-L1 blockade. The therapy signifi- cantly increased the median survival of mice (Fig. 7). Interestingly, the reduced growth of contralaterally injected B16F10 cells sug- gested the presence of a long lasting immunological memory also against non-targeted antigens. Concerning the functional state of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), we found that all the immune therapies would enhance the percentage of activated (PD-1pos TIM- 3neg) T lymphocytes and reduce the amount of exhausted (PD-1pos TIM-3pos) cells compared to placebo. As expected, we found that PeptiCRAd monotherapy could increase the number of antigen spe- cific CD8+ T cells compared to other treatments. However, only the combination with PD-L1 blockade could significantly increase the ra- tio between activated and exhausted pentamer positive cells (p= 0.0058), suggesting that by disrupting the PD-1/PD-L1 axis we could decrease the amount of dysfunctional antigen specific T cells. We ob- served that the anatomical location deeply influenced the state of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes. In fact, TIM-3 expression was in- creased by 2 fold on TILs compared to splenic and lymphoid T cells. In the CD8+ compartment, the expression of PD-1 on the surface seemed to be restricted to the tumor micro-environment, while CD4 + T cells had a high expression of PD-1 also in lymphoid organs. Interestingly, we found that the levels of PD-1 were significantly higher on CD8+ T cells than on CD4+ T cells into the tumor micro- environment (p < 0.0001). Conclusions In conclusion, we demonstrated that the efficacy of immune check- point inhibitors might be strongly enhanced by their combination with cancer vaccines. PeptiCRAd was able to increase the number of antigen-specific T cells and PD-L1 blockade prevented their exhaus- tion, resulting in long-lasting immunological memory and increased median survival

Heat transfer through mass timber connections

The advance in mass timber products has allowed buildings to be revolutionised. Medium rise buildings can utilise these panels as the main structural components achieving suitable strength and rigidity. Structural connections often pose the weakest element in timber construction and having an understanding of how they perform structurally in ambient as well as in fire conditions is important. This research paper presents an analysis of heat transfer through mass timber connections with boundary conditions defined appropriately for fire conditions. The model does not seek to replicate furnace conditions. A proper understanding of the boundary conditions and energy balance on the surface of the specimens is needed in order to correctly model timber connections in fire. The experiments in this research project use radiant panels to provide a consistent known heat flux to the samples. The experimental results were verified with two finite element models which proved similar

Critical heat flux and mass loss rate for extinction of flaming combustion of timber

The critical mass loss rate and critical heat flux for self-extinction of flaming combustion during steady-state burning of timber was measured in this study for a range of timber species. A vertical mass loss calorimeter was used to provide the external heat flux and to measure the mass loss of the timber samples. The results showed that the critical mass loss rate was dependent upon the timber species but did not show a clear dependency with the timber density. Critical mass loss rates and heat fluxes for self-extinction exist for each of the timber species tested for both the solid timber and cross laminated timber (CLT). Debonding of both the char layer and the individual lamella of the CLT caused increased mass loss rates, re-ignition after self-extinction and increased flame lengths. Both char and ply fall-off were observed

Self-extinction of timber

Self-extinction of timber after the removal of an external incident heat flux is necessary to ensure that structures with exposed wood do not contribute to a fire after the building contents are fully consumed. Two series of tests with solid wood and cross-laminated timber were conducted to study the conditions leading to self-extinction. The heat fluxes and heating duration were varied systematically. For each test, the evolution of the in-depth temperature distribution was measured using thermocouples while the mass loss rate was measured using a load cell. The experiments were allowed to reach a steady-state mass loss rate. The in-depth temperature gradient, which represents in-depth heat losses from the pyrolysis zone, was calculated from thermocouple measurements until it reached steady-state. As the external incident heat flux increases, the mass loss rate as well as the in-depth thermal gradient reach a steady-state value. Once the steady-state mass loss rate and temperature gradient were attained, the external heat flux was removed and the flame was allowed to extinguish. Over the entire range of heat fluxes (30-100 kW/m) and heating periods used in the tests, and for all the wood types used, self-extinction was observed

Delamination occurrence in engineered mass timber products at elevated temperatures

An experimental study was conducted to elucidate the effects of thermal penetration on delamination and the potential changes in failure mode of CLT. The first test series studied thermal penetration depths at various heat fluxes. The second test series consisted of single lap shear tests at homogeneous elevated temperatures followed by a third test series that used the results of the previous tests to study the overall behaviour of CLT as a thermal wave progressed through the material. If charring progresses at similar rates as the thermal wave, then failure due to loss of cross section prevails. Results from the tests showed that the thermal penetration depth before the onset of charring increases at lower heat fluxes. Bond lines with elevated temperatures affected the failure mode of CLT beams. If the thermal wave propagates much faster than charring, then bond failure dominates the behaviour of the beams. The evolution of the thermal loads exhibited in compartment fires therefore have the potential to change the failure mode of CLT members from charring timber failure to cohesion failure with delamination of timber plies

Experimental evaluation of the heat flux induced by tunnel fires

Traffic tunnel closures are highly undesirable and some of the lengthiest are attributed to structural failures. Historical data shows that these failures are closely linked to fire. Furthermore, the parameters necessary for proper thermo-mechanical analysis of structural members are poorly defined or absent from literature. The energy transferred to the structure (i.e. heat flux) is the fundamental parameter for determining structural performance in fire. However, current research focuses on identifying heat release rates and temperature histories which are difficult to use for structural analyses. In this study, full-scale experiments were undertaken on passenger vehicles resulting in heat fluxes between 20 and 70\ua0kW/m. The analyses show fire duration is linked to a vehicle's mass and small vehicle fires can be scaled as a function of the ratio between the tunnel diameter and the characteristic height of the desired vehicle. Appropriate design values are outlined for engineers to undertake informed thermo-mechanical analyses to minimise the risk of structural tunnel failure in fires

Bond behavior of CFRP-to-steel bonded joints at mild temperatures: experimental study

The performance of steel structures strengthened with externally bonded fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) rely heavily on the interfacial shear stress transfer mechanism of the FRP-to-steel bonded interface. Much is known about the behavior of FRP-to-steel bonded joints under mechanical loading, but little is known about the performance of this type of bonded joints at elevated temperatures. Almost all adhesives typically used in FRP-to-steel applications experience a change in their mechanical behavior at temperature