• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.55 no.4
• /
• pp.1244-1249
• /
• 2023

Recently, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) announced the development of first-of-a-kind(FOAK) and most advanced futuristic vertical city and named as 'The LINE'. The project will have zero carbon dioxide emissions and will be powered by clean energy sources. Therefore, a study was designed to understand which clean energy sources might be a better choice. Because of its nearly carbon-free footprint, nuclear energy may be a good choice. Nowadays, the development of very small modular reactors (vSMRs) is gaining attention due to many salient features such as cost efficiency and zero carbon emissions. These reactors are one step down to actual small modular reactors (SMRs) in terms of power and size. SMRs typically have a power range of 20 MWe to 300 MWe, while vSMRs have a power range of 1-20 MWe. Therefore, a study was conducted to discuss different vSMRs in terms of design, technology types, safety features, capabilities, potential, and economics. After conducting the comparative test and analysis, the fuel cycle modeling of optimal and suitable reactor was calculated. Furthermore, the levelized unit cost of electricity for each reactor was compared to determine the most suitable vSMR, which is then compared other generation SMRs to evaluate the cost variations per MWe in terms of size and operation. The main objective of the research was to identify the most cost effective and simple vSMR that can be easily installed and deployed.

• Earthquakes and Structures
• /
• v.23 no.3
• /
• pp.221-229
• /
• 2022

The external post-tension technique is one of the best strengthening methods for reinforcement and improvement of the various steel structures and substructure components such as beams. In the present work, the load carrying capacity of the post-tensioned tapered steel beams with external shape memory alloy (SMA) tendons are studied. 3D nonlinear finite element method with ABAQUS software is used to determine the effects of the increase in the flexural strength, and the improvement of the load carrying capacity. The effect of the different parameters, such as geometrical characteristics and the post-tension force applied to the tendons are also studied in this research. The results reveal that the external post-tension with SMA tendons in comparison with the steel tendons causes a significant improvement of the loading capacity. According to this, using SMA tendon for the reinforcement of the tapered beams causes a decrease in weight of these structures and as a consequence causes economic benefits for their application. This method can be used extensively for steel beams due to low executive costs and simplicity of the operation for post-tension.

• Advances in nano research
• /
• v.15 no.3
• /
• pp.277-283
• /
• 2023

This research aims to explore factors influencing creativity among the employees of nanotechnology companies. Further, this survey aimed to investigate the role of psychological capital (PS), job satisfaction (JS) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) as sources to foster creativity. Participants included 375 employees of nanotechnology companies in China. Sequential mediation analysis revealed that creativity was significantly influenced by psychological capital, job satisfaction and corporate social responsibility. Furthermore, not only psychological capital, job satisfaction and corporate social responsibility were directly and indirectly related to creativity but also explained 67.35% variance of it. It seems that having more psychological resources, more well-being and good feelings concerning performance in the workspace and the efforts of companies to improve employee welfare are among the most important factors in increasing employee creativity. Our findings can help companies, especially nontechnology companies, in focusing on factors fostering the creativity of employees, because creativity enhances and promotes the performance and success of companies.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.34 no.5
• /
• pp.681-698
• /
• 2020

The paper addresses contribution to the modeling and optimization of major machinability parameters (cutting force, surface roughness, and tool wear) in finish dry hard turning (FDHT) for machinability evaluation of hardened AISI grade die steel D₃ with PVD-TiN coated (Al₂O₃-TiCN) mixed ceramic tool insert. The turning trials are performed based on Taguchi's L₁₈ orthogonal array design of experiments for the development of regression model as well as adequate model prediction by considering tool approach angle, nose radius, cutting speed, feed rate, and depth of cut as major machining parameters. The models or correlations are developed by employing multiple regression analysis (MRA). In addition, statistical technique (response surface methodology) followed by computational approaches (genetic algorithm and particle swarm optimization) have been employed for multiple response optimization. Thereafter, the effectiveness of proposed three (RSM, GA, PSO) optimization techniques are evaluated by confirmation test and subsequently the best optimization results have been used for estimation of energy consumption which includes savings of carbon footprint towards green machining and for tool life estimation followed by cost analysis to justify the economic feasibility of PVD-TiN coated Al₂O₃+TiCN mixed ceramic tool in FDHT operation. Finally, estimation of energy savings, economic analysis, and sustainability assessment are performed by employing carbon footprint analysis, Gilbert approach, and Pugh matrix, respectively. Novelty aspects, the present work: (i) contributes to practical industrial application of finish hard turning for the shaft and die makers to select the optimum cutting conditions in a range of hardness of 45-60 HRC, (ii) demonstrates the replacement of expensive, time-consuming conventional cylindrical grinding process and proposes the alternative of costlier CBN tool by utilizing ceramic tool in hard turning processes considering technological, economical and ecological aspects, which are helpful and efficient from industrial point of view, (iii) provides environment friendliness, cleaner production for machining of hardened steels, (iv) helps to improve the desirable machinability characteristics, and (v) serves as a knowledge for the development of a common language for sustainable manufacturing in both research field and industrial practice.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.51 no.3
• /
• pp.487-502
• /
• 2014

In buildings structures, the flexural stiffness reduction of beams and columns due to concrete cracking plays an important role in the nonlinear load-deformation response of reinforced concrete structures under service loads. Most Seismic Design Codes do not precise effective stiffness to be used in seismic analysis for structures of reinforced concrete elements, therefore uncracked section properties are usually considered in computing structural stiffness. But, uncracked stiffness will never be fully recovered during or after seismic response. In the present study, the effect of concrete cracking on the lateral response of structure has been taken into account. Totally 120 cases of 3 Dimensional Dynamic Analysis which considers the real and accidental torsional effects are performed using ETABS to determine the effective structural system across the height, which ensures the performance and the economic dimensions that achieve the saving in concrete and steel amounts thus achieve lower cost. The result findings exhibits that the dual system was the most efficient lateral load resisting system based on deflection criterion, as they yielded the least values of lateral displacements and inter-storey drifts. The shear wall system was the most economical lateral load resisting compared to moment resisting frame and dual system but they yielded the large values of lateral displacements in top storeys. Wall systems executes tremendous stiffness at the lower levels of the building, while moment frames typically restrain considerable deformations and provide significant energy dissipation under inelastic deformations at the upper levels. Cracking found to be more impact over moment resisting frames compared to the Shear wall systems. The behavior of various lateral load resisting systems with respect to time period, mode shapes, storey drift etc. are discussed in detail.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• v.18 no.5
• /
• pp.515-525
• /
• 2019

A karst collapse, as a natural hazard, is totally different to a normal collapse. In recent years, karst collapses have caused substantial economic losses and even threatened human safety. A risk assessment model for karst collapse was developed based on the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) and grey relational analysis (GRA), which is a simple and effective mathematical algorithm. An evaluation index played an important role in the process of completing the risk assessment model. In this study, the proposed model was applied to Jiaobai village in southwest China. First, the main controlling factors were summarized as an evaluation index of the model based on an investigation and statistical analysis of the natural formation law of karst collapse. Second, the FAHP was used to determine the relative weights and GRA was used to calculate the grey relational coefficient among the indices. Finally, the relational sequence of evaluation objects was established by calculating the grey weighted relational degree. According to the maximum relational rule, the greater the relational degree the better the relational degree with the hierarchy set. The results showed that the model accurately simulated the field condition. It is also demonstrated the contribution of various control factors to the process of karst collapse and the degree of collapse in the study area.

• Smart Structures and Systems
• /
• v.32 no.3
• /
• pp.153-166
• /
• 2023

Health monitoring of civil infrastructures, in particular, old bridges that are still in service, has become more than necessary, given the risk that a possible degradation or failure of these infrastructures can induce on the safety of users in addition to the resulting commercial and economic impact. Bridge integrity assessment has attracted significant research efforts over the past forty years with the aim of developing new damage identification methods applicable to real structures. The bridge of Ouled Mimoun (Tlemcen, Algeria) is one of the oldest railway structure in the country. It was built in 1889. This bridge, which is too low with respect to the level of the road, has suffered multiple shocks from various machines that caused considerable damage to its central part. The present work aims to analyze the stability of this bridge by identifying damages and evaluating the damage rate in different parts of the structure on the basis of a finite element model. The applied method is based on an inverse analysis of the normal stress responses that were calculated from the corresponding recorded strains, during the passage of a real train, by means of a set of strain gauges placed on certain elements of the bridge. The results obtained from the inverse analysis made it possible to successfully locate areas that were really damaged and to estimate the damage rate. These results were also used to detect an excessive rigidity in certain elements due to the presence of plates, which were neglected in the numerical reference model. In the case of the continuous bridge monitoring, this developed method will be a very powerful tool as a smart health monitoring system, allowing engineers to take in time decisions in the event of bridge damage.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
• /
• v.61 no.3
• /
• pp.378-387
• /
• 2023

Petrochemical is an energy consuming industry that consumes about 30% of total industrial energy consumption and is a representative carbon dioxide (CO₂) emission source. Among them, the Naphtha Cracking Center (NCC), which produces ethylene, propylene, propane and mixed C4, consumes large amounts of energy and emits significant amounts of CO₂. For this reason, an integrated techno economic- environmental impact assessment aimed at reducing energy consumption and environmental impact factors is necessary to ensure efficiency in terms of economics and environment. This study aims to analyze the efficiency of the heat exchanger network used in the existing NCC base on the pinch analysis and select an improvement plan that can reduced energy consumption. In order to reduces the utility consumption in the process, an optimal heat exchanger network considering the high-temperature and low-temperature stream was derived, and the economic evaluation was conducted by considering the trade-off between the reduction in utility consumption and the increase in heat exchanger installation cost. In addition, an environmental impact assessment was conducted on the reduced CO₂ emission in consideration of the environmental aspect, and the economic environmental impact assessment used the payback period to recover the invested funds to come up with an energy saving plan that can be applied based on the actual process. As a result of considering the economic-environmental impact assessment, when the environmental impact assessment was not considered, it was 4.29 months, 3.21 months, and 3.39 months for each case, and when considering the environmental impact assessment, it was 4.24 months, 3.17 months, and 3.35 months for each case. These results appeared equally both when the environmental impact assessment was not include and when it was include. In addition, a sensitivity analysis was conducted for each case to determine how important factors affect the payback period. As a result of the sensitivity analysis, the cost of the heat exchanger was identified as a major factor influencing the overall cost.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• v.16 no.3
• /
• pp.285-293
• /
• 2018

In densely populated urban areas with a large amount of infrastructure, ground subsidence events can result in massive casualties and economic losses. In South Korea, the incidence of ground subsidence in urban areas has increased in recent years and the number of underground cavities suspected of causing such events has significantly increased. Therefore, it is essential to develop techniques to prevent the occurrence of underground and ground subsidence. In this study, a field test, laboratory test, and numerical analysis were conducted to determine the optimal compaction degree of the upper support layer of any underground cavity below the level of sewer pipes in order to prevent such cavities from collapsing and leading to ground subsidence accidents. During the field test, an underground cavity was simulated using ice, and the generation of the cavity was confirmed using ground penetrating radar. The ground investigation was performed using a cone penetration test, and the compaction of the ground where ground subsidence occurred was evaluated with a laboratory test. The behaviour of the ground under various conditions was predicted using a numerical analysis based on the data obtained from the field test and previous studies. Based on these results, the optimal compaction degree of the ground required to prevent the underground cavity from causing ground subsidence was predicted and presented.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.35 no.4
• /
• pp.599-609
• /
• 2020

The tension-only braced frames (TOBFs) are widely used as a lateral force resisting system (LFRS) in low-rise steel buildings due to their simplicity and economic advantage. However, the system has poor seismic energy dissipation capacity and pinched hysteresis behavior caused by early buckling of slender bracing members. The main concern in utilizing the TOBF system is the determination of appropriate performance factors for seismic design. A formalized approach to quantify the seismic performance factor (SPF) based on determining an acceptable margin of safety against collapse is introduced by FEMA P695. The methodology is applied in this paper to assess the SPFs of the TOBF systems. For this purpose, a trial value of the R factor was first employed to design and model a set of TOBF archetype structures. Afterwards, the level of safety against collapse provided by the assumed R factor was investigated by using the non-linear analysis procedure of FEMA P695 comprising incremental dynamic analysis (IDA) under a set of prescribed ground motions. It was found that the R factor of 3.0 is appropriate for safe design of TOBFs. Also, the system overstrength factor (Ω₀) was estimated as 2.0 by performing non-linear static analyses.