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281	Rehabilitation of Exterior RC Beam-Column Joints using Web-Bonded FRP Sheets Mahini, Seyed Saeid Unknown Date (has links) In a Reinforced Concrete (RC) building subjected to lateral loads such as earthquake and wind pressure, the beam to column joints constitute one of the critical regions, especially the exterior ones, and they must be designed and detailed to dissipate large amounts of energy without a significant loss of, strength, stiffness and ductility. This would be achieved when the beam-column joints are designed in such a way that the plastic hinges form at a distance away from the column face and the joint region remain elastic. In existing frames, an easy and practical way to implement this behaviour following the accepted design philosophy of the strong-column weak-beam concept is the use a Fibre Reinforced Plastic (FRP) retrofitting system. In the case of damaged buildings, this can be achieved through a FRP repairing system. In the experimental part of this study, seven scaled down exterior subassemblies were tested under monotonic or cyclic loads. All specimens were designed following the strong-column weak-beam principal. The three categories selected for this investigation included the FRP-repaired and FRP-retrofitted specimens under monotonic loads and FRP-retrofitted specimen under cyclic loads. All repairing/retrofitting was performed using a new technique called a web-bonded FRP system, which was developed for the first time in the current study. On the basis of test results, it was concluded that the FRP repairing/retrofitting system can restore/upgrade the integrity of the joint, keeping/upgrading its strength, stiffness and ductility, and shifting the plastic hinges from the column face toward the beam in such a way that the joint remains elastic. In the analytical part of this study, a closed-form solution was developed in order to predict the physical behaviour of the repaired/retrofitted specimens. Firstly, an analytical model was developed to calculate the ultimate moment capacity of the web-bonded FRP sections considering two failure modes, FRP rupture and tension failure, followed by an extended formulation for estimating the beam-tip displacement. Based on the analytical model and the extended formulation, failure mechanisms of the test specimens were implemented into a computer program to facilitate the calculations. All seven subassemblies were analysed using this program, and the results were found to be in good agreement with those obtained from experimental study. Design curves were also developed to be used by practicing engineers. In the numerical part of this study, all specimens were analysed by a nonlinear finite element method using ANSYS software. Numerical analysis was performed for three purposes: to calculate the first yield load of the specimens in order to manage the tests; to investigate the ability of the web-bonded FRP system to relocate the plastic hinge from the column face toward the beam; and to calibrate and confirm the results obtained from the experiments. It was concluded that numerical analysis using ANSYS could be considered as a practical tool in the design of the web-bonded FRP beam-column joints. Reinforced concrete Reinforcement Bar strong-column weak-beam principal Exterior Beam-Column Joints Core Small scale modelling Experimental Test set-up Control Plain specimen Rehabilitation Retrofitting retrofitted Repair Repaired Repairing Strengthening Controlling Relocating Plastic hinge Pre-cracking Cracking Crushing Post-cracking Crack Cracked Penetration Damaged Pre-cracked Web-Bonded Wrapping De-bonding Fibre Reinforced Plastic FRP Sheets Composite Confinement Monotonic loads Cyclic loading Loads Displacement control Load control Regime Phase Loading sequence Procedure Available ductility factor Curvature ductility factor Ultimate First yield Flexural yielding Strength Moment Stiffness Failure mechanism Modes Sudden Brittle failure Measured beam-tip displacement Deflection Numerical analysis ANSYS Solid65 Solid45 Link8 Non-linear Finite Element (FE) Convergence criteria Analytical Closed from FRP rupture tension failure Compression failure Minimum thickness Maximum thickness Compressive Tensile Steel Ratio Design charts Effective Moment of Inertia Compatibility Strain Stress
282	A case for memory enhancement : ethical, social, legal, and policy implications for enhancing the memory Muriithi, Paul Mutuanyingi January 2014 (has links) The desire to enhance and make ourselves better is not a new one and it has continued to intrigue throughout the ages. Individuals have continued to seek ways to improve and enhance their well-being for example through nutrition, physical exercise, education and so on. Crucial to this improvement of their well-being is improving their ability to remember. Hence, people interested in improving their well-being, are often interested in memory as well. The rationale being that memory is crucial to our well-being. The desire to improve one’s memory then is almost certainly as old as the desire to improve one’s well-being. Traditionally, people have used different means in an attempt to enhance their memories: for example in learning through storytelling, studying, and apprenticeship. In remembering through practices like mnemonics, repetition, singing, and drumming. In retaining, storing and consolidating memories through nutrition and stimulants like coffee to help keep awake; and by external aids like notepads and computers. In forgetting through rituals and rites. Recent scientific advances in biotechnology, nanotechnology, molecular biology, neuroscience, and information technologies, present a wide variety of technologies to enhance many different aspects of human functioning. Thus, some commentators have identified human enhancement as central and one of the most fascinating subject in bioethics in the last two decades. Within, this period, most of the commentators have addressed the Ethical, Social, Legal and Policy (ESLP) issues in human enhancements as a whole as opposed to specific enhancements. However, this is problematic and recently various commentators have found this to be deficient and called for a contextualized case-by-case analysis to human enhancements for example genetic enhancement, moral enhancement, and in my case memory enhancement (ME). The rationale being that the reasons for accepting/rejecting a particular enhancement vary depending on the enhancement itself. Given this enormous variation, moral and legal generalizations about all enhancement processes and technologies are unwise and they should instead be evaluated individually. Taking this as a point of departure, this research will focus specifically on making a case for ME and in doing so assessing the ESLP implications arising from ME. My analysis will draw on the already existing literature for and against enhancement, especially in part two of this thesis; but it will be novel in providing a much more in-depth analysis of ME. From this perspective, I will contribute to the ME debate through two reviews that address the question how we enhance the memory, and through four original papers discussed in part three of this thesis, where I examine and evaluate critically specific ESLP issues that arise with the use of ME. In the conclusion, I will amalgamate all my contribution to the ME debate and suggest the future direction for the ME debate. 174

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Rehabilitation of Exterior RC Beam-Column Joints using Web-Bonded FRP Sheets

A case for memory enhancement : ethical, social, legal, and policy implications for enhancing the memory