This paper gives a brief review of the acoustic emission technique and its applications to bridge health monitoring. Emphasis is given to the discussion of available techniques of AE data processing, ...both qualitative and quantitative. An assessment of the statistical quantitative analysis technique, intensity analysis, is illustrated through two case studies. This technique of damage quantification is applied to AE data collected from two genres of bridges in Louisiana: a prestressed concrete slab-on-girder bridge and a steel bridge with a concrete deck. Although there were limitations concerning the number and type of sensors used, much information was collected and useful inferences were made that may help better diagnose the health of bridges monitored in the future using this technique.
AbstractA literature review of the latest advancements in recycled aggregate concretes with regards to identifying properties, improving performance, and numerical modeling is presented in this ...paper. Although the properties of recycled aggregate concrete are widely considered to be inferior to those of natural aggregate concrete, research in the field still is of merit due to growing awareness of environmental concerns relating to the concrete construction and demolition industry. In addition, some methods have been proposed to improve the properties of recycled aggregate concrete, with the use of geopolymer binders in place of portland cement showing the most potential. In addition to further research regarding the improvement of properties of concrete made with recycled aggregates, the development of numerical models that accurately represent the behavior of recycled aggregate concrete under loading are essential to the industrial implementation of the technology.
AbstractThe vehicles moving on a bridge excite bridge vibration and can also serve as response receivers because the vehicle dynamic response contains the vibration information of the bridge. A ...methodology was proposed in a previous study for extracting bridge modal properties, such as natural frequencies and modal shapes, from the vehicle dynamic responses. A specialized test vehicle consisting of a tractor and two following trailers was developed in which the two trailers towed by the tractor moving along the bridge were used as the dynamic response receivers. The responses of one trailer with a time shift were subtracted from the responses of the other to obtain the residual responses that were then processed with fast Fourier transformation (FFT) and short-time Fourier transformation (STFT) to extract the bridge modal properties. In the present paper, field test data of an existing bridge were adopted to verify the proposed methodology. In the vehicle and bridge system, a bridge finite-element (FE) model was updated using the measured accelerations and strains of the bridge; two types of test vehicle models were proposed for use in simulations of the tractor–trailer test system; and the measured surface-roughness profile was used in the numerical simulation. Parametric studies have been conducted to determine the trailer mass and stiffness. Vehicle Model I shows a good capacity for extracting bridge frequencies and the first two modal shapes with a dominant vertical component. However, Vehicle Model II performed better than Vehicle Model I on the extraction of bridge modal shapes that are dominant in lateral bending.
Abstract
1
T
-TaS
2
undergoes successive phase transitions upon cooling and eventually enters an insulating state of mysterious origin. Some consider this state to be a band insulator with interlayer ...stacking order, yet others attribute it to Mott physics that support a quantum spin liquid state. Here, we determine the electronic and structural properties of 1
T
-TaS
2
using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and X-Ray diffraction. At low temperatures, the 2π/2c-periodic band dispersion, along with half-integer-indexed diffraction peaks along the
c
axis, unambiguously indicates that the ground state of 1
T
-TaS
2
is a band insulator with interlayer dimerization. Upon heating, however, the system undergoes a transition into a Mott insulating state, which only exists in a narrow temperature window. Our results refute the idea of searching for quantum magnetism in 1
T
-TaS
2
only at low temperatures, and highlight the competition between on-site Coulomb repulsion and interlayer hopping as a crucial aspect for understanding the material’s electronic properties.
The dynamic effect of moving vehicles on bridges is generally treated as a dynamic load allowance (or dynamic impact factor) in many design codes. Due to the road surface deterioration of existing ...bridges, studies have shown that the calculated impact factors from field measurements could be higher than the values specified in design codes that mainly target at new bridge designs. This paper develops a 3D vehicle–bridge coupled model to simulate the interaction between a bridge and vehicles and investigates the impact factor for multi-girder concrete bridges. The effects of bridge span length, vehicle speed, and road surface condition on the impact factor are examined. Chi-square tests are then performed on the impact factors and it is found that the impact factors obtained under the same road surface condition follow the Extreme-I type distribution. Finally, simple expressions for calculating the impact factors are suggested applicable to both new and existing bridges. Corresponding confidence levels with the proposed impact factors for the five studied bridges indicate that the proposed expressions can be used with considerable confidence. The proposed expressions for impact factor can be used as a modification of the AASHTO specifications when dealing with short bridges and old bridges with poor road surface condition for which the AASHTO specifications may underestimate the impact factor.
Weigh-in-motion technology is an effective tool that has been extensively used to monitor traffic on highways. Pavement-based weigh-in-motion systems usually have poor durability and will cause ...traffic interruption during their installation and maintenance process. The recently developed bridge weigh-in-motion technology provides a more convenient and cost-effective alternative to the pavement-based weigh-in-motion technology. Bridge weigh-in-motion systems can be installed without interrupting the traffic. Also, bridge weigh-in-motion systems have the potential to deliver better accuracy than pavement-based weigh-in-motion systems. Due to these significant advantages, the bridge weigh-in-motion technology has been playing an increasingly important role in bridge health monitoring and overweight truck enforcement, and many studies have been conducted to continuously improve the bridge weigh-in-motion technology. In this review, the common algorithms for bridge weigh-in-motion are discussed in detail, and the typical instrumentation of bridge weigh-in-motion systems is also introduced. Meanwhile, much effort is made to identify the remaining issues in the application of bridge weigh-in-motion technology, and the corresponding future research is proposed.
AbstractSynthesis of geopolymer using metakaolin (MK) usually requires a relatively high curing temperature, which limits the application of MK-based geopolymers in the practice of civil engineering. ...With the goal of developing a cementitious composite that can be cured at room temperature, in the present study, ground granulated blast furnace slag powder was incorporated into MK for the synthesis of a geopolymer. With the aid of compressive strength tests, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), the influence of slag’s impact on the consistency, gelling time, and mechanical properties of the gelling system, as well as the reaction mechanism of the composite system, were investigated. The results showed that the incorporation of slag into MK improved the consistency of the slurry and shortened the setting time. A high-strength paste was synthesized successfully using the MK-slag composite system under ambient temperature curing. Results of XRD and FTIR analyses indicated that MK geopolymerization and slag hydration occurred simultaneously in the MK-slag composite system via alkali activation. The structure of hardened paste consists of both C-S-H-type and N-A-S-H-type gels. The activator module and the MK/slag mass ratio were the main factors affecting the strength of the synthesized products: when the slag replacement ratio was no more than 40%, the strength of the reaction products decreased with an increase of the activator module; when the slag replacement ratio reached or exceeded 60%, the strength of the reaction products increased with the increasing activator module.
•The inhomogeneous wind fields at the bridge site were measured in detail by wind tunnel tests.•The wind coherence along the bridge girder was determined in three situations.•The inhomogeneous wind ...attack angles decrease the critical flutter velocity of the bridge.
The wind characteristics as well as the flutter performance of a long-span suspension bridge located in a deep-cutting gorge terrain were investigated in the present study. To address the spatially variable or inhomogeneous wind fields (InWF) at the bridge site, a large terrain model surrounding the bridge site was installed in a large-scale wind tunnel. The mean wind speed, turbulence intensity, wind attack angle, wind power spectral density (PSD) and wind coherence all varying along the bridge girder were measured and analyzed in detail. Also, the stationarity and the cumulative distribution functions of the turbulent flow along the bridge girder were evaluated. Then, the flutter performance under four different InWF cases were comprehensively investigated. The results show that the turbulence components u as well as w along the bridge girder can be considered as stationary Gaussian stochastic processes. The wind PSDs significantly vary along the bridge girder, and the traditional wind PSDs obtained from the relatively flat terrains are not accurately applicable here. A two-parameter root coherence function model was developed to address the complex wind coherence over the deep-cutting gorge, and the wind coherence along the bridge girder was determined in three situations. When the wind fields along the bridge girder are assumed as homogeneous, the critical flutter velocity is overestimated by 10.1%. When inhomogeneous wind attack angles are considered, the contribution of the first symmetrical torsional mode to the critical flutter state become larger.
The metabolic functions of androgen receptor (AR) in normal prostate are circumvented in prostate cancer (PCa) to drive tumor growth, and the AR also can acquire new growth-promoting functions during ...PCa development and progression through genetic and epigenetic mechanisms. Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT, surgical or medical castration) is the standard treatment for metastatic PCa, but patients invariably relapse despite castrate androgen levels (castration-resistant PCa, CRPC). Early studies from many groups had shown that AR was highly expressed and transcriptionally active in CRPC, and indicated that steroids from the adrenal glands were contributing to this AR activity. More recent studies showed that CRPC cells had increased expression of enzymes mediating androgen synthesis from adrenal steroids, and could synthesize androgens de novo from cholesterol. Phase III clinical trials showing a survival advantage in CRPC for treatment with abiraterone (inhibitor of the enzyme CYP17A1 required for androgen synthesis that markedly reduces androgens and precursor steroids) and for enzalutamide (new AR antagonist) have now confirmed that AR activity driven by residual androgens makes a major contribution to CRPC, and led to the recent Food and Drug Administration approval of both agents. Unfortunately, patients treated with these agents for advanced CRPC generally relapse within a year and AR appears to be active in the relapsed tumors, but the molecular mechanisms mediating intrinsic or acquired resistance to these AR-targeted therapies remain to be defined. This review outlines AR functions that contribute to PCa development and progression, the roles of intratumoral androgen synthesis and AR structural alterations in driving AR activity in CRPC, mechanisms of action for abiraterone and enzalutamide, and possible mechanisms of resistance to these agents.
AbstractThe dynamic response of moving vehicles on a bridge carries the vibration information of the bridge, which a few researchers have studied to extract the bridge modal properties such as ...natural frequencies and mode shapes. However, the vehicle response contains not only the frequency characteristics of the bridge and vehicle, but also other information such as the driving-related frequencies and road roughness effects, which makes the extraction difficult. To this end, the present study proposes a method using a specialized test vehicle consisting of a tractor and two following trailers, which can eliminate those effects and more efficiently extract the bridge modal properties. The two trailers towed by the tractor moving along the bridge were used as dynamic response receivers. In order to eliminate the effects previously discussed, the responses of one trailer were subtracted by the responses of the other with a time shift to obtain the residual responses. The residual responses were then processed with the fast Fourier transformation (FFT) and short-time Fourier transformation (STFT) to extract the bridge modal properties. Firstly, a theoretical study was conducted to derive the residual responses of the two trailers in a simplified vehicle-bridge coupled (VBC) system and extract the bridge mode shape squares (MSS) by applying the STFT. Then, numerical studies were conducted to demonstrate and verify the proposed method that is very effective and robust in extracting bridge modal properties, especially under ongoing traffic flows and different road surfaces. Finally, vehicle parameters, such as the trailers’ mass and stiffness, spacing, and traveling speed, were studied to design a proper test vehicle for field applications.
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