Thesis: M.S., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering, 1977 / Includes bibliographical references. / by Steven F. Manzi. / M.S. / M.S. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering

To achieve sufficient stability of a structure in a fire scenario, a thorough design of joints in wooden structures are as important as the design of the construction itself. As an earlier study points out, there are no existing design method available to determine the load capacity of an axially loaded screw joint in wooden structures, which complicate the process of a thorough design of the joint in a fire scenario.This research has been made with the aim to establish a sufficient design approach in terms of the most effective mounting of the screw inside a wooden joint with respect to load capacity in a fire scenario. A numerical model has been created in TASEF to evaluate if this type of model can predict the temperatures inside a joint, and further be applicable in the design phase of the joints regarding to the load capacity´s temperature dependency.The objective of this research has been the study of three different types of screw joints exposed to axial load, with two different screw lengths. Laboratory work has been made, where four reference tests were performed to gain reference load capacities to later be compared with the load capacities of twelve fire tests. The fire tests were conducted with fire exposure of 30 and 60 min, where the load capacity and the temperatures inside the joint where measured. Temperature models were created in TASEF to represent each fire test, where the temperatures inside the joints where calculated and evaluated.The results showed that the most effective screw mounting with respect to remaining load capacity after fire exposure was case 3, where a protective dowel was added to the countersunk screw. This type of mounting had the greatest remaining fastening length because the charring did not affect this length in the same extent as for the other two cases. The longer screw had a percentual higher remaining load capacity than the shorter screw. This can also be described by the relationship between the fastening length and the load capacity.In specific points, the numerical model did not correspond to the measured temperatures. One explanation for this scenario can be the fact that the material properties of the screw used in the fire tests were not equal to the properties used in TASEF. This may have affected the conductive heat flux through the joint, leaving different temperatures in the two measuring points. However, a good correlation between the charring of the test specimens and the temperature distribution achieved from the numerical model in TASEF exists and this implies that this model can be used for predicting the general temperature distribution inside a fire exposed joint. / För att uppnå tillräcklig stabilitet i en brandutsatt träkonstruktion är en noggrann design av förbanden lika viktig som designen av konstruktionselementen i sig själva. En tidigare studie har belyst att det idag inte finns någon tillgänglig designmetod för att bestämma lastkapaciteten av ett brandexponerat axiellt belastat skruvförband i träkonstruktioner, vilket komplicerar processen för en noggrann design av förbandets kapacitet i brandfallet.Denna studie har gjorts med målet att etablera ett designscenario där den mest effektiva monteringen av skruven presenteras med hänsyn till lastkapacitet i brandfallet. En numerisk beräkningsmodell har skapats i TASEF för att utvärdera om denna modell kan förutsäga temperaturerna inuti ett brandutsatt träförband och huruvida denna modell vidare kan vara tillämpbar i designen dessa förband med hänsyn till lastkapacitetens temperaturberoende.Tre olika typer av skruvförband utsatta för axiell belastning har studerats inom ramen för detta arbete, där också två skruvlängder har studerats. Experimentella laborationsförsök har genomförts där fyra prover utfördes i normala temperaturer för att erhålla referensvärden för att senare kunna jämföras med lastkapaciteten för tolv efterföljande brandprover. Brandförsöken utfördes med brandexponering under 30 och 60 minuter, där lastkapaciteten och temperaturerna inuti förbandet mättes. Temperaturmodeller skapades i TASEF för att representera varje brandprov, där temperaturerna inuti förbandet beräknades och utvärderades.Resultaten visar att den mest effektiva skruvmonteringen med avseende på kvarvarande lastkapacitet efter brandexponering var fall 3, där en skyddande träplugg sattes på det försänkta skruvhuvudet. Denna typ av montering hade störst kvarvarande infästningslängd eftersom förkolningen inte påverkade denna längd i samma utsträckning som för de andra två fallen. Den längre skruven hade en procentuellt högre kvarvarande lastkapacitet än den kortare skruven. Detta kan också beskrivas av förhållandet mellan fästlängden och kapaciteten.I vissa punkter motsvarade den numeriska modellen inte de uppmätta temperaturerna. En förklaring till denna avvikelse kan vara det faktum att materialegenskaperna som använts i brandproverna inte var lika med de egenskaper som använts i TASEF. Detta kan ha påverkat konduktiviteten i förbandet och genererat olika temperaturer i de två mätpunkterna. Det finns dock en tydlig korrelation mellan förkolningen av provkropparna och den temperaturfördelning som uppnåtts från den numeriska modellen i TASEF, och detta innebär att denna modell kan användas för att förutspå den generella temperaturfördelningen inuti ett brandexponerat förband.

Accelerated Bridge Construction (ABC) techniques have resulted in innovative options that save time and money during the construction of bridges. One such group of techniques that has generated considerable interest is the usage of individual precast concrete members. Utilizing precast concrete decks allows for offsite curing, thus eliminating long delays due to formwork and concrete curing time. These precast concrete decks have inherent joints between the individual panels. These joints are locations for potential leakage, which can lead to corrosion or inadequate long-term performance. Post-tensioning the precast deck panels helps to eliminate leakage; however, conventional longitudinal post-tensioning systems require complete deck replacement in the event of a single faulty deck panel. A proposed post-tensioned, curved-strand connection allows for a single panel to be replaced. The capacity of the proposed curved-strand connection was investigated in order to compare its behavior to other systems that are currently in use. Tests were performed in composite negative bending, beam shear, and positive bending. The curved strand connection was found to behave similarly to the standard post-tensioning system in positive bending and shear. The curved-strand connection was found to be comparable to a standard post-tensioning system. The ultimate capacity of the curved-strand connection in negative bending was found to be 97% of the standard post-tensioning. Pre-stress losses were measured and predicted for the service life of the connection and were found to be 6% at the 75- year service life of a bridge.

The search for new and additional sources of energy -- from sun, wind, waves, and ocean currents -- is necessitating the development of structures in the open environment of the oceans as well as on land. The advantages of round or tubular members for use in such structures are shown; and to avoid the uncertainties of welded joints, two bolted connections are proposed and their feasibility explored.

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Civil Engineering, 1979. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ENGINEERING. / Bibliography: leaf 113. / by Bak Kong Low. / M.S.

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Civil Engineering, 1979. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ENGINEERING. / Bibliography: leaves 174-178. / by Chee-Kuen Yip. / M.S.

The stability of rock masses is influenced by the occurrence of rock joints. Therefore, the shear strength of rock joints must be considered in dimensioning of underground constructions. One way to predict the shear strength is through usage of failure criteria, which are validated from results of direct shear tests under controlled laboratory conditions. Consequently, the quality of the results from the tests are crucial to the accuracy with which the criteria will be able to predict the shear strength. Since rock joints are unique by nature usage of replicas (man-made copies of rock joints) is of importance in parameter studies. The overall objective of this work is to facilitate the development of improved criteria for predictions of the shear strength of rock joints. To support this objective, two sources of uncertainty have been investigated, namely the geometry of replicas and the influence of the normal stiffness of test systems. Two quality assurance parameters for evaluation of geometrical differences between replicas and rock joints based on scanning data have been derived. The first parameter describes the morphological deviations. The second parameter describes the deviations in orientation with respect to the shear plane. The effective normal stiffness approach, which compensates for the influence of the normal stiffness of the test system in direct shear testing, has been developed, validated, and applied. With help of the quality assurance parameters it is demonstrated that it is possible to reproduce replicas within narrow tolerances. Application of the effective normal stiffness approach basically eliminates the normal load error. In all, the results support generation of improved quality of test data and consequently, the development of shear strength criteria with improved accuracy will also be facilitated. / <p>Academic Dissertation which, with due permission of the KTH Royal Institute of  Technology, is submitted for public defence for the Degree of Licentiate of Engineering on Wednesday the 9th June 2021, at 9:00 a.m. in M108, Brinellvägen 23, Stockholm.</p><p><strong>Paper A</strong>: Larsson J, Flansbjer M, Portal N W, Johnson E, Johansson F, and Mas Ivars D. (2020) Geometrical Quality Assurance of Rock Joint Replicas in Shear Tests – Introductory Analysis. Paper presented at the ISRM International Symposium - EUROCK 2020, physical event not held. https://onepetro.org/ISRMEUROCK/proceedings-abstract/EUROCK20/All-EUROCK20/ISRM-EUROCK-2020-101/451187  In Diva: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:ri:diva-51987 </p><p><strong>Paper B:</strong> Larsson J, Johansson F, Mas Ivars D, Johnson E, Flansbjer M and Portal N W. (2021) Rock joint replicas in direct shear testing – Part 1: Extraction of geometrical quality assurance parameters. To be submitted to Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering  In DiVA: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:ri:diva-53111 </p><p><strong>Paper C:</strong> Larsson J and Flansbjer M. (2020) An Approach to Compensate for the Influence of the System Normal Stiffness in CNS Direct Shear Tests. Rock Mechancis and Rock Engineering 53, 2185–2199 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00603-020-02051-0  In DiVA: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:ri:diva-44085  </p><p><strong>Paper D:</strong> Larsson J. (2021) Experimental investigation of the system normal stiffness of a 5 MN direct shear test setup and the compensation of it in CNS direct shear tests. Submitted to ISRM International Symposium - EUROCK 2021  In DiVA: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:ri:diva-53112 </p>

Hand pose estimation is a computer vision challenge that consists of detecting the coordinates of a hand’s key points in an image. This research investigates several deep learning-based solutions to determine whether or not it is possible to improve current state-of-the-art detectors for smartphone applications. Several models are tested and compared based on accuracy, processing speed and memory size. A final network is selected and detailed to compare it to the state-of-the-art. The proposed solution is obtained by combining the Differentiable Spatial to Numerical Transform layer to predict numerical coordinates together with the Fire module presented in the SqueezeNet architecture. This deep neural network contains around 1 million parameters and is able to outperform the current best documented model in all the metrics described above. A qualitative analysis is also performed to examine the predictions of the final solution on test images. / Att bestämma en hands orientering är en utmaning inom bildanalys som består i att detektera koordinaterna för olika nyckelpunkter för handen i en bild. I denna studie undersöks ett antal metoder baserade på djupinlärning för att avgöra huruvida det är möjligt att förbättra existerande detektorer för tillämpningar på smartphones. Flera olika modeller testas och jämförs baserat på noggrannhet, beräkningshastighet och minneskrav. Ett slutligt nätverk väljs, analyseras och jämföras med nuvarande state-of-the-art teknik. Den lösning som föreslås erhålls genom att kombinera ett så kallat Differentiable Spatial to Numerical Transform-lager, för att förutsäga numeriska koordinater, tillsammans med en så kallad Fire-modul som tidigare presenteras som en del av arkitekturen SqueezeNet. Detta djupa neurala nätverk innehåller cirka en miljon parametrar och kan överträffa den nuvarande mest dokumenterade modellen i alla de avseenden som beskrivits ovan. En kvalitativ analys utförs också för att undersöka den slutliga lösningens uppskattningar på testbilder.

The exposed Tertiary carbonates of the Dammam Dome present an opportunity to study fractures in outcrops within the oil-producing region of Eastern Saudi Arabia. The study focuses on: 1) the characterization of fractures, 2) interpretation of their fracturing mechanism, and 3) the implications for the deep carbonate reservoirs of the Dammam Dome. The characterization of the outcrop fractures is integrated with structural analysis of the near-surface horizons mapped from reflection seismic and well data. Fractures are observed within all exposed carbonate units, but predominantly within the widely exposed Middle Rus unit. The fractures are opening-mode, bed-bound joints that form orthogonal sets (NW-SE and NE-SW trending joints). The trends of through-going, primary NW-SE trending joints do not correlate with the trends of remote regional stress associated with compression of Zagros uplift, suggesting they did not develop due to that orogenic event. The primary joints also seem to have developed independently of the observed karst features and interpreted near-surface faults. The analysis of joint pattern and their spacings generally seem to reflect the fold growth of the strata, position on fold and mechanical stratigraphy. The study results provide a first-order conceptual fracture model for the subsurface reservoirs to guide future development.

[pt] O presente trabalho propõe um novo tipo de ligação entre perfis pultrudados que não exija furação do material, seja leve e fabricado por manufatura aditiva. Para isso, fez-se uma revisão do estado da arte no âmbito das ligações entre perfis de compósitos, abordando ligações parafusadas simples, cujos parafusos estão sujeitos apenas ao corte, bem como as ligações semirrígidas, que são menos contempladas pela literatura atual. Além disso, tratou-se do uso de otimização topológica em componentes mecânicos voltados à impressão 3D. Posteriormente, define-se a geometria básica do componente proposto e o respectivo modelo numérico adotado no processo de otimização topológica, expondo todas as condições de contorno, carregamento e otimização. A fim de verificar experimentalmente o comportamento do componente apresentado, ensaios momento-rotação foram realizados em três grupos, sendo um composto por exemplares com a geometria original básica e os demais por componentes otimizados (com e sem reforço). Por fim, foi observado que o caminho de fibras estabelecido foi coerente com as solicitações às quais o componente está submetido, haja vista a maior eficiência manifestada pelo aumento de resistência e rigidez por unidade de massa. A mesma constatação se aplica ao processo de otimização e ajuste. No mais, a utilização do reforço com fibras implicou numa maior repetibilidade na resposta mecânica da ligação. / [en] The current work proposes a new type of joint between pultruded profiles that does not require drilling, is lightweight and build by additive manufacturing. To accomplish that, a state of art review on pultruded profiles joints was carried, addressing simple bolted joints which have their bolts only subjected to shear, as well as semi-rigid joints. Besides, the use of topology optimization on 3D-printed mechanical components is also addressed. Posteriorly, the basic geometry of the proposed component is defined and its respective numeric model used within the topology optimization, presenting their boundary, load and optimization conditions. In order to experimentally verify the behaviour of the component, moment-rotation tests were carried in three groups, namely, the original geometry group, the simple optimized group and the reinforced optimized group. In the end, it was observed that the defined fibre path is consistent with the stresses acting within the component, regarding the greatest efficiency shown in terms of strength and stiffness per unit mass for the reinforced specimens. The same applies to the optimization and adjusting processes. Furthermore, the use of fibre reinforcement led to a greater repeatability of mechanical response.