• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.105-113
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• 2018

Maillard reaction products like melanoidins present in industrial fermentation wastewaters are complex compounds with various functional properties. In this work, novel ultrafiltration (UF) mixed matrix membrane (MMM) composed of polysulfone (PSF) and nanocomposites was prepared through a phase inversion process for the recovery of melanoidins. Nanocomposites were prepared with acid functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) as the reinforcing filler for chitosan-thermoplastic starch blend. Higher nanocomposites content in the PSF matrix reduced the membrane permeability and melanoidins retention indicating tighter membrane with surface defects. The membrane surface defects could be sealed with dilute polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) solution. The best performing membrane (1% nanocomposites in 18% PSF membrane sealed with 0.25% PVA coating) resulted in uniform melanoidins retention of 98% and permeability of 3.6 L/m2 h bar over a period of 8h. This demonstrates a low fouling PSF membrane for high melanoidins recovery.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.321-336
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• 2005

The structural feasibility of a variety of non-conventional sludge digesters, in the form of thin shells of revolution constructed in concrete, has formed the subject of investigation of a recent programme of research at the University of Cape Town. Such forms are usually known in the literature as "egg-shaped", and the advantages of these over conventional digesters of the wide-cylindrical type are now well-recognised: superior mixing efficiency, less accumulation of deposits at the bottom, easier removal of bottom deposits and surface crust, reduced heat losses, and so forth. With the aim of exploring the structural feasibility of various non-conventional forms for concrete sludge digesters, and making available usable analytical data and practical guidelines for the design of such thin shell structures, a number of theoretical studies have recently been undertaken, and these have covered conical assemblies, spherical assemblies and parabolic ogival configurations. The purpose of the present paper is to bring together the different analytical approaches employed in each of these studies, summarise the main findings in each case, draw comparisons among the various studied configurations with regard to structural efficiency and functional suitability, and make appropriate conclusions and recommendations.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.41 no.6
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• pp.691-710
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• 2012

One of the most popular and commonly used strengthening techniques to protect against earthquakes is to infill the holes in reinforced concrete (RC) frames with fully reinforced concrete infills. In some cases, windows and door openings are left inside infill walls for architectural or functional reasons during the strengthening of reinforced concrete-framed buildings. However, the seismic performance of multistory, multibay, reinforced concrete frames that are strengthened by reinforced concrete wing walls is not well known. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the experimental behavior of vulnerable multistory, multibay, reinforced concrete frames that were strengthened by introducing wing walls under a lateral load. For this purpose, three 2-story, 2-bay, 1/3-scale test specimens were constructed and tested under reversed cyclic lateral loading. The total shear wall (including the column and wing walls) length and the location of the bent beam bars were the main parameters of the experimental study. According to the test results, the addition of wing walls to reinforced concrete frames provided significantly higher ultimate lateral load strength and higher initial stiffness than the bare frames did. While the total shear wall length was increased, the lateral load carrying capacity and stiffness increased significantly.

• Advances in robotics research
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.101-126
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• 2014

In this article we present modular neural control for a leg-wheel hybrid robot consisting of three legs with omnidirectional wheels. This neural control has four main modules having their functional origin in biological neural systems. A minimal recurrent control (MRC) module is for sensory signal processing and state memorization. Its outputs drive two front wheels while the rear wheel is controlled through a velocity regulating network (VRN) module. In parallel, a neural oscillator network module serves as a central pattern generator (CPG) controls leg movements for sidestepping. Stepping directions are achieved by a phase switching network (PSN) module. The combination of these modules generates various locomotion patterns and a reactive obstacle avoidance behavior. The behavior is driven by sensor inputs, to which additional neural preprocessing networks are applied. The complete neural circuitry is developed and tested using a physics simulation environment. This study verifies that the neural modules can serve a general purpose regardless of the robot's specific embodiment. We also believe that our neural modules can be important components for locomotion generation in other complex robotic systems or they can serve as useful modules for other module-based neural control applications.

• Coupled systems mechanics
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.329-344
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• 2014

In this work, quantum molecular dynamics simulations (QMD) are preformed to study the hydrogen molecules in three types of carbon nanostructures, $C_{60}$ fullerene, (5,5) and (9,0) carbon nanotubes and graphene layers. Interactions between hydrogen and the nanostructures is of importance to understand hydrogen storage for the development of hydrogen economy. The QMD method overcomes the difficulties with empirical interatomic potentials to model the interaction among hydrogen and carbon atoms in the confined geometry. In QMD, the interatomic forces are calculated by solving the Schrodinger's equation with the density functional theory (DFT) formulation, and the positions of the atomic nucleus are calculated with the Newton's second law in accordance with the Born-Oppenheimer approximation. It is found that the number of hydrogen atoms that is less than 58 can be stored in the $C_{60}$ fullerene. With larger carbon fullerenes, more hydrogen may be stored. For hydrogen molecules passing though the fullerene, a particular orientation is required to obtain least energy barrier. For carbon nanotubes and graphene, adsorption may adhere hydrogen atoms to carbon atoms. In addition, hydrogen molecules can also be stored inside the nanotubes or between the adjacent layers in graphite, multi-layer graphene.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.179-189
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• 2019

This study aimed to investigate the effect of temperature and solid retention time (SRT) on membrane fouling in a membrane bioreactors (MBRs). For this purpose, a lab-scale submerged MBR system was used. This system operated at two SRTs of 15 and 5 days, three various temperatures (20, 25 and $30^{\circ}C$) and hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 8 h. The results indicated that decreased the cake layer resistance and increased particles size of foulant due to increasing temperature and SRT. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis show that the cake layer formed on the membrane surface, contained high levels of proteins and especially polysaccharides in extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) but absorbance intensity of EPS functional groups decreased with temperature and SRT. EEM analysis showed that the peak on the range of Ex/Em=220-240/350-400 in SRT of 15 and temperature of $30^{\circ}C$ indicates the presence of fulvic acid in the cake. In addition, as the temperature rise from 20 to $30^{\circ}C$, concentration of soluble microbial products (SMP) increased and COD removal reached 89%. Furthermore, the rate of membrane fouling was found to increase with decreasing temperature and SRT.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.661-668
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• 2019

Seismic vulnerability assessment is a useful tool for rational safety analysis and planning of large and complex structural systems; it can deal with the effects of uncertainties on the performance of significant structural systems. In this study, an efficient dynamic reliability approach, probability density evolution methodology (PDEM), is proposed for seismic vulnerability analysis of earth dams. The PDEM provides the failure probability of different limit states for various levels of ground motion intensity as well as the mean value, standard deviation and probability density function of the performance metric of the earth dam. Combining the seismic reliability with three different performance levels related to the displacement of the earth dam, the seismic fragility curves are constructed without them being limited to a specific functional form. Furthermore, considering the seismic fragility analysis is a significant procedure in the seismic probabilistic risk assessment of structures, the seismic vulnerability results obtained by the dynamic reliability approach are combined with the results of probabilistic seismic hazard and seismic loss analysis to present and address the PDEM-based seismic probabilistic risk assessment framework by a simulated case study of an earth dam.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.293-304
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• 2019

The optimum cost of a reinforced concrete plane and space frames have been found by using the Genetic Algorithm (GA) method. The design procedure is subjected to many constraints controlling the designed sections (beams and columns) based on the standard specifications of the American Concrete Institute ACI Code 2011. The design variables have contained the dimensions of designed sections, reinforced steel and topology through the section. It is obtained from a predetermined database containing all the single reinforced design sections for beam and columns subjected to axial load, uniaxial or biaxial moments. The designed optimum beam sections by using GAs have been unified through MATLAB to satisfy axial, flexural, shear and torsion requirements based on the designed code. The frames' functional cost has contained the cost of concrete and reinforcement of steel in addition to the cost of the frames' formwork. The results have found that limiting the dimensions of the frame's beams with the frame's columns have increased the optimum cost of the structure by 2%, declining the re-analysis of the optimum designed structures through GA.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.69 no.5
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• pp.511-525
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• 2019

This paper presents an analytical study of wave propagation in simply supported graduated functional plates resting on a two-parameter elastic foundation (Pasternak model) using a new theory of high order shear strain. Unlike other higher order theories, the number of unknowns and governing equations of the present theory is only four unknown displacement functions, which is even lower than the theory of first order shear deformation (FSDT). Unlike other elements, the present work includes a new field of motion, which introduces indeterminate integral variables. The properties of the materials are assumed to be ordered in the thickness direction according to the two power law distributions in terms of volume fractions of the constituents. The wave propagation equations in FG plates are derived using the principle of virtual displacements. The analytical dispersion relation of the FG plate is obtained by solving an eigenvalue problem. Numerical examples selected from the literature are illustrated. A good agreement is obtained between the numerical results of the current theory and those of reference. A parametric study is presented to examine the effect of material gradation, thickness ratio and elastic foundation on the free vibration and phase velocity of the FG plate.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.727-741
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• 2019

A reinforced concrete water tank is a typical functional liquid storage structure and cracks are the greatest threat to the liquid storage structure. Tanks are readily cracked due to seismic activity, thereby leading to the leakage of the stored liquid and a loss of function. In order to study the effect of cracks on liquid storage tanks, self-healing and leakage tests for bending cracks and through cracks in the walls of a reinforced concrete water tank were conducted. Material performance tests were also performed. The self-healing performance of bending cracks in a lentic environment and through cracks in a lotic environment were tested, thereby the self-healing width of bending micro-cracks in the lentic environment in the short term were determined. The through cracks had the capacity for self-healing in the lotic environment was found. The leakage characteristics of the bending cracks and through cracks were tested with the actual water head on the crack. The effects on liquid leakage of the width of bending cracks, the depth of the compression zone, and the acting head were determined. The relationships between the leakage rate and time with the height of the water head were analyzed. Based on the tests, the relationships between the crack characteristics and self-healing as well as the leakage were obtained. Thereby the references for water tank structure design and grading earthquake damage were provided.