Nonlinear finite element analysis of composite and reinforced concrete beams
Nonlinear Finite Element Analysis of Composite and Reinforced Concrete Beams presents advanced methods and techniques for the analysis of composite and FRP reinforced concrete beams. The title introduces detailed numerical modeling methods and the modeling of the structural behavior of composite beams, including critical interfacial bond-slip behavior. It covers a new family of composite beam elements developed by the authors. Other sections cover nonlinear finite element analysis procedures and the numerical modeling techniques used in commercial finite element software that will be of particular interest to engineers and researchers executing numerical simulations.
Interfacial Nanochemistry : Molecular Science and Engineering at Liquid-Liquid Interfaces
The presence of liquid-liquid interface means that real liquids are far from ideal liquids that must be miscible with any kinds of liquids and have no interface. Thus it can be said that the non-ideality of liquids might generate the liquid-liquid interface indeed and that biological systems might be generated from the non-ideal interface. The liquid-liquid interface has been, therefore, studied as a model of biological membrane. From pairing two-phases of gas, liquid and solid, nine different pairs can be obtained, which include three homo-pairs of gas-gas, liquid-liquid and solid-solid pairs. The gas-gas interface, however, is practically no use under the ordinary conditions. Among the interfaces produced by the pairing, the liquid-liquid interface is most slippery and difficult to be studied experimentally in comparison with the gas-liquid and solid-liquid interfaces, as the liquid-liquid interface is flexible, thin and buried between bulk liquid phases. Therefore, in order to study the liquid-liquid interface, the invention of innovative measurement methods has a primary importance.
Il cancro e la ricerca del senso perduto = Cancer and the search for lost meaning
Cancer disease can be approached with the aim of killing diseased cells or with that of making them go backwards on the road that leads from a state of natural equilibrium to the disease. This book tells an original research by the author inspired by this biological vision of cancer, research that led to the production and use of anticancer products. Inevitably, the history of research slips into a vision of the world and of life that presents the features of a documented critique of the values and priorities that characterize the world in which we live. A profound and human book, which makes you think, which makes you hope.
Human battle against obesity
Obesity is one of the most common preventable diseases and it is a medical condition in which excess fat has accumulated in the body, mostly in the subcutaneous tissues. Clinical obesity is considered to be present when a person has a body mass index of 30 or over. Obesity results from a chronic positive energy balance regulated by a complex interaction between endocrine tissues and the central nervous system, This activity reviews the pathophysiology of obesity, inflammatory markers secreted by excessive fat deposition in adipose tissue, and their effects on chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, and dyslipidemia.
Handbook of contact mechanics : Exact solutions of axisymmetric contact problems
This book contains a structured collection of complete solutions of all significant axially symmetric contact problems. It provides solutions for classical profiles such as the sphere, cone or flat cylindrical punch as well as a multitude of other technically relevant shapes, e.g. the truncated cone, the worn sphere, rough profiles, hollow cylinders, etc. Normal, tangential and torsional contacts with and without adhesion are examined. Elastically isotropic, transversally isotropic, viscoelastic and functionally graded media are addressed. The solutions of the contact problems cover the relationships between the macroscopic quantities of force and displacement, the contact configuration as well as the stress and displacement fields at the surface and in some cases within the half-space medium. The solutions are obtained by the simplest available method – usually involving the method of dimensionality reduction or approaches of reduction to the non-adhesive normal contact problem.
Geotechnical Slope Analysis
The influence of initial stresses, pore water pressures and seismic forces has been explored not only on performance indicators such as the ‘Factor of Safety’ but also on the location of critical slip surfaces. In addition to these factors, it is shown that the chosen method of analysis may also have a significant influence on the location of the critical slip surface. This book focuses on research studies concerning slope behaviour, the occurrence of landslides and the use of alternative methods of analysis and interpretation. The importance of uncertainties in slope performance and, more broadly, in geotechnical engineering is emphasised.
Generalized Plasticity
The book is divided into five major parts: 1. Yield function and choice; 2. Constitutive relation; 3. Slip-line Field Theory for plane strain problems, Characteristics Field Theory for plane stress problems and Characteristics Field Theory for spatial axisymmetrical problems; 4. Plastic zone analysis at crack tip and fracture criterion for mixed mode crack; 5. Limit loads and shakedown loads for pressure vessel. Examples of applications and problems are given for most chapters.
Euthanasia : Searching for the full story : Experiences and insights of Belgian doctors and nurses
This book has been written by ten Belgian health care professionals, nurses, university professors and doctors specializing in palliative care and ethicists who, together, raise questions concerning the practice of euthanasia.
Enhancing the Dissolution Rate of Atorvastatin by Solid Dispersion Technique
In the last few decades, solid dispersion (SD) technology had been studied as an approach to produce an amorphous carrier to enhance the solubility, dissolution rate, and bioavailability of poorly water-soluble drugs. The use of suitable carrier and methodology in the preparation of SDs play a significant role in the biological behavior of the SDs. Atorvastatin is a statin group HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor drug that is commonly used to adverse cardiovascular events and to lower blood total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol. the solubility of atorvastatin in water is very low (0.1 mg mL− 1), which results in reduced bioavailability. In order to enhance its solubility, we have prepared solid dispersions (SDs) of atorvastatin at different drug: polymer ratios (1:2, 1:10, 1:20,1:25 and 1:40), using polyethylene glycol 6000 as polymer and different preparation methods (co-precipitate and melting methods) The characterization of the SDs was performed using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) The solubility of AT was improved by the incorporation PEG6000.
Dissonant Heritages and Memories in Contemporary Europe
This book discusses political, economic, social, and humanitarian challenges that influence both how people deal with their past and how they build their identities in contemporary Europe. Ongoing debates on migration, on local, national, inter- and transnational levels, prove that it is a divisive issue with regards to understanding European integration and identity. At the same time, the European Union increasingly invests in projects related to European heritage, museums, and cultural memory networks, while having to take dissonant heritages into account. These processes in their combination offer an interesting dynamic and form the complex puzzle that poses challenging questions for anyone involved in academic research, heritage practices, and policy debates. With this puzzle at its core, this book explicitly focuses on slippery and transforming notions of Europe and critically discusses ongoing and transforming power structures of heritage and memory in today’s Europe.
3D-Position Tracking and Control for All-Terrain Robots
Rough terrain robotics is a fast evolving field of research and a lot of effort is deployed towards enabling a greater level of autonomy for outdoor vehicles. This book demonstrates how the accuracy of 3D position tracking can be improved by considering rover locomotion in rough terrain as a holistic problem. In this work, a mechanical structure allowing smooth motion across obstacles with limited wheel slip is used. In particular, it enables the use of odometry and inertial sensors to improve the position estimation in rough terrain. A method for computing 3D motion increments based on the wheel encoders and chassis state sensors is developed. The algorithm runs online and can be adapted to any kind of passive wheeled rover. Finally, sensor fusion using 3D-Odometry, inertial sensors and visual motion estimation based on stereovision is presented. The experimental results demonstrate how each sensor contributes to increase the accuracy and robustness of the 3D position estimation.










