Dynamic properties of soil are important for the design of structures under seismic loadings. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is experiencing significant construction development; however, there is no systematic study to characterize the regional soils for dynamic properties. Also, correlations developed for other regions may not be suitable for the UAE. This research presents the findings of a laboratory testing program involving cyclic (CT) tests along with bender element (BE) testing on representative samples of regional soils. The BE tests are used to evaluate the low strain shear wave velocity (Vs), whereas the CT test is used to evaluate the shear modulus (G) and the damping ratio (?) at different strain levels and confinement pressures. The research presents degradation of the dynamic properties of regional soils. The results of the experimental program indicate that the degradation of dynamic properties generally agrees with previous studies however the model parameters are different.
3D concrete printing, 3DCP, is considered the latest digital technology in the construction industry, it has shown its potential in a wide range of disciplines. 3DCP on a large scale will have several Environmental, economic and societal advantages such as time, cost and waste savings. The lack of advanced research in this technology doesn't allow it to confidently prove itself in the construction industry. This study will assess the compressive and flexural performance of 3DCP reinforced with polypropylene fibers. Cube samples are tested for 3DCP with and without polypropylene fibers. In addition, 4 different concrete mixes are tested to assess its flexural strengths. Traditional concrete beams with and without reinforcement; in addition to fiber reinforced beams with and without reinforcement. Results from the beams were analyzed and compared through deflection-force curves to evaluate the flexural behavior of 3DPC.
In this study bond performance of GFRP bar in normal weight concrete was investigated using the numerical modeling technique. A 3D finite element model (FEM) was developed for direct pullout test in ABAQUS?. The model was calibrated by comparing the numerical findings with the experimental results from the available literature. The validated model was used to conduct a parametric study; compressive strength (f_c^'), size of glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) bars (d_b) and embedded length of GFRP bar (l_d) were chosen as the variables to do this study. Bond strength (?_b) increased when higher compressive strength, lower size of GFRP bar and lesser embedded length were used. The direct pullout test FEM model was compared with beam type pullout test experimental results. Finally, analytical models were proposed to predict the bond-slip performance and bond strength of GFRP-concrete interference and the proposed model was compared with current international standards.
Among different classes of 2D materials, the new interest is focusing on MXene which is extracted from the MAX phase of ceramics. Our study aims to elucidate the potentials for applying MXene as a biosensor system. To achieve the goal, this study analyzes the in vitro cytotoxicity of the material, in other words, the impact of MXene on the viability of macrophage immune cells (RAW 264.7). The viability of macrophages which are classical immune cells within MXene colloidal solution were tested by MTT assay. The cytotoxicity testing results have shown that the MXene is toxic at a certain concentration. The results hypothetically promise that the MXene will perform a high rate of biocompatibility compared to other available 2D materials owing to its high hydrophilicity and large surface area.
As an alternative to open surgery, minimally invasive surgery (MIS) utilizes small skin incisions as ports to insert an endoscope and surgical tools. MIS offers significant advantages, including reduced pain, shorter recovery times, and better cosmetic outcomes than classical surgeries. However, MIS procedures come at the cost of losing the "sense of touch," which surgeons rely on to feel the tissues under operation, palpate organs, and assessing their conditions. This has encouraged researchers to develop smart MIS tools that provide artificial tactile sensation, mostly using electrical- or optical-based tactile sensors. In this work, we introduce a prototype of a smart laparoscopic grasper integrated with force and angle sensing capabilities via off-the-shelf sensors. The specification and design of the smart grasper are presented, as well as a demonstration on stiffness assessment of elastomeric samples and chicken meat. Overall, our prototype exhibits great potential for MIS applications, with room for future improvements.
Emotion recognition is a fast-growing domain of research with many promising applications in the clinical and computing settings. The field of longitudinal data recordings gathered by Experience Sampling Method (ESM) is of a research interest. In this research, developing a reliable emotion recognition model starts with an understanding of emotion labels using methods from regression analysis. This was achieved by modelling the week-long emotion labels recordings of 181 participants, where different Poisson distributions were compared to determine the best fit. Negative Binomial (NB) model on high valence count data showed a best fit with Std. Err. values of 0.019444 and 0.008994 for the variables R(Success) and P(Probability) of the NB function, respectively. Best fit of NB models was also shown for the low valence, high arousal and low arousal count data. This indicates that a NB regression model can be used on emotion count datasets with physiological signals as predictors.
The conventional hydrodesulfurization method currently used for desulfurization is an energy intensive process that is ineffective in the removal of sterically hindered sulfur containing compounds present in raw fuels. In this work, the use of MOFs in adsorptive desulfurization is being investigated. Likewise, the effect of IL incorporation in enhancing the activity of MOFs is studied. A-100 was used to desulfurize model fuel consisting of dibenzothiophene (DBT) in n-hexane. The study shows the effectiveness of A-100 in reaching 100?sulfurization of 500 ppmw n-hexane after 270 min. However, at higher concentrations the ?sulfurization was reduced to 81%. Upon, IL ([Bmim][Cl]) incorporation, IL@MOF samples effectively increased the ?sulfurization from 81% to 90% indicating the benefits of ILs in enhancing the MOF's activity. However, the ?sulfurization decreased with increasing IL content. Hence, further studies are required to reach the optimum IL: MOF necessary to achieve ultra-low sulfur levels in fuels.
With rapid rise in population and economic growth, energy security has become a topic of widespread discussion. An efficient method for meeting end-use energy demand by energy storage and distribution is through thermal energy storage. Phase change materials can be utilized to achieve latent heat storage. The unique properties of ionic liquids have grabbed the attention of many. Enthalpy of fusion, which represents the amount of energy stored or dissipated during phase change, is a critical criterion for judging the effectiveness of the ionic liquid. Hence, an accurate predictive model is needed to estimate the heat of fusion of an ionic liquid while avoiding the complexity of experimental work. A group contribution model is thus being developed. To enhance the results of the predictive model and increase the accuracy, a comprehensive data analysis has been performed to include the affecting parameters into the model.
With the low-cost associate with iron and sulfide, pyrite-based photovoltaics cell can become a suitable alternative to conventional silicon based solar cell. However, despite having most suitable theoretical values of required properties, pyrite has yet to become a practical solution to world energy needs. This study aims to analyze the performance of pyrite thin films in photovoltaic applications fabricated through atomic layer deposition.
In this study two new process are studied to improve the traditional Claus process. The new processes involve the combustion of elemental sulfur to produce SO2. Elemental sulfur combustion has long been used to generate SO2 for the production of sulfuric acid, which is used in the chemical industry, but it is now also being considered as a power generation energy vector. In the first method, sulfur process generates SO2, which is combined with acid gas and sent to catalytic reactors for sulfur recovery, eliminating the need for acid gas combustion. In the second process, SO2 from sulfur combustion at high-temperature is mixed with acid gas in the furnace for sulfur production. The remaining gas is sent to catalytic reactors for further sulfur recovery.
