Este trabalho visa o refinamento do procedimento para estimativa dos parâmetros elasto-plásticos de tenacidade à fratura, integral J e CTOD, incorporando o efeito de dissimilaridade mecânica devido à introdução de juntas soldadas utilizando a metodologia eta, tal efeito não é previsto na formulação das atuais normas de avaliação de tenacidade à fratura, porém a dissimilaridade mecânica afeta fortemente a relação entre o carregamento global do espécime e as forças motrizes na ponta da trinca. Para o desenvolvimento das análises foi empregada a geometria normalizada C(T), compacta, pois esta pode apresentar potencias vantagens sobre a geometria SE(B), flexão três pontos, como menor consumo de material para a confecção dos espécimes, menor capacidade do aparato experimental e fácil manipulação na prática dos testes laboratoriais, porém carece de fatores eta quando comparados ao tradicional espécime SE(B). Os principais objetivos deste trabalho são gerar um compêndio de fatores eta e propor uma formulação robusta que incorpore os efeitos de dissimilaridade mecânica para o cálculo de integral J e CTOD. Para tal intento a matriz de análise deste trabalho abrange diferentes comprimentos de trinca, níveis de dissimilaridade mecânica e larguras de cordão de solda, 0.45a/W0.6 e 1M y 1.3, 10 mm2h20 mm respectivamente. As análises numéricas foram realizadas nas condições de estado plano de deformação (2D) e tridimensional (incluindo o efeito acoplado entre os campos de tensões e deformações no plano e fora do plano), os resultados fornecem um bom suporte ao uso da geometria C(T) com trinca central no cordão de solda para avaliação de tenacidade à fratura em juntas soldadas de materiais comumente aplicados na construção de dutos e vasos de pressão. / This work focuses on the evaluation procedure to determine the elastic-plastic J integral and CTOD fracture toughness based upon the eta-method for C(T) fracture specimens including overmatched weldments. Since fracture toughness test protocols do not address weld strength mismatch effect, this effect strongly alters the relationship between global loads and crack driving forces. The objectives of this investigation are to enlarge plastic eta-factor data base for C(T) specimen and to develop a robust formulation to address weld strength mismatch. The present analyses enable the introduction of a larger set of plastic eta-factors for a wide range of crack sizes (as measured by the a/W-ratio) and material properties, including different levels of weld strength mismatch, applicable to structural, pipeline and pressure vessel steels. Very detailed non-linear finite element analyses for plane-strain and full 3D models of standard C(T) fracture specimens provide the evolution of load with increased crack mouth opening displacement (and LLD) required for the estimation procedure. The results provide a strong support to use the plastic eta-factor in J integral and CTOD estimation procedures for center notch welded C(T) fracture specimen.

O diagnóstico rotineiro da dengue é realizado com amostra de sangue dos casos suspeitos. A coleta tradicional de sangue (por punção venosa) é um procedimento que dificulta a realização de exames e pesquisas por ser um procedimento invasivo que nem sempre é prático para crianças e bebês, requer pessoal especializado e necessita de um local para armazenamento da amostra sob refrigeração ou congelamento. O propósito deste estudo foi coletar amostras por punção digital com uma nova tecnologia (FTA Card) e compará-la com amostras coletadas por punção venosa, avaliando-as através de uma técnica molecular de PCR em tempo real. Sendo o PCR em Tempo Real a técnica molecular atualmente disponível de maior rapidez, sensibilidade e especificidade, padronizamos uma metodologia de passo único de PCR em Tempo Real com SYBR green baseando-se na região 3 não codificante do vírus e utilizando primers degenerados, capazes de detectar os quatro sorotipos de uma só vez. A avaliação das técnicas de coleta e amplificação foram feitas com amostras suspeitas de dengue, obtidas em Goiânia durante surto ocorrido no ano de 2008. O limite de detecção da reação padronizada no presente estudo foi de aproximadamente 100 cópias/ml e uma especificidade de 100%. Para tipagem das amostras positivas a técnica empregada foi o PCR multipex. Dentre as 89 amostras coletadas 60 (67%) foram positivas para àquelas coletadas por punção venosa e 14 (16%) para àquelas coletadas por punção digital. Dentre as 89 amostras para o PCR em Tempo Real, apenas 29 (32%), foram tipadas pelo método de PCR multiplex, sendo 3 casos do vírus da dengue 1 (10%), 16 casos do vírus da dengue 2 (55%), e 10 casos do vírus da dengue 3 (35%). Descritores: Dengue/diagnóstico, coleta de amostras sanguíneas, reação em cadeia da polimerase, corantes fluorescentes / The collection by venipuncture is a procedure that is difficult to carry out in diagnosis and research because it is an invasive procedure that is not always practical for children and babies , requires specialized staff, needs a place to store the sample under refrigeration or forzen, This study aimed to collect samples by fingerstick puncture with a new technology named FTA card and compare it with samples collected by venipuncture, using a realtime PCR to evaluate if FTA card collection would have a similar performance to standard blood sampling. Towards that, we obtained viral load values in order to estimate the differences not only qualitatively (e.g. pos or neg) but also in numbers.. We used an one-step SYBR Green I Real-Time PCR based on the region 3 \'noncoding virus using degenerate primers which was able to detected all four serotypes of dengue virus. Among the 89 samples collected 60 (67%) were positive for those collected by venipuncture and 14 (16%) to those collected by fingerstick, Only 29 (32%) were possible to be typed by PCR multiplex. Three cases were dengue virus 1 (10%), 16 cases were dengue virus 2 (55%) and 10 cases were dengue virus 3 (35%). The limit of detection obtained was approximately 100 copies / ml and aspecificity of 100% was observed. Keywords: Dengue / diagnosis, collection of blood samples, polymerase chain reaction, fluorescent dyes

Este trabalho visa o refinamento do procedimento para estimativa dos parâmetros elasto-plásticos de tenacidade à fratura, integral J e CTOD, incorporando o efeito de dissimilaridade mecânica devido à introdução de juntas soldadas utilizando a metodologia eta, tal efeito não é previsto na formulação das atuais normas de avaliação de tenacidade à fratura, porém a dissimilaridade mecânica afeta fortemente a relação entre o carregamento global do espécime e as forças motrizes na ponta da trinca. Para o desenvolvimento das análises foi empregada a geometria normalizada C(T), compacta, pois esta pode apresentar potencias vantagens sobre a geometria SE(B), flexão três pontos, como menor consumo de material para a confecção dos espécimes, menor capacidade do aparato experimental e fácil manipulação na prática dos testes laboratoriais, porém carece de fatores eta quando comparados ao tradicional espécime SE(B). Os principais objetivos deste trabalho são gerar um compêndio de fatores eta e propor uma formulação robusta que incorpore os efeitos de dissimilaridade mecânica para o cálculo de integral J e CTOD. Para tal intento a matriz de análise deste trabalho abrange diferentes comprimentos de trinca, níveis de dissimilaridade mecânica e larguras de cordão de solda, 0.45a/W0.6 e 1M y 1.3, 10 mm2h20 mm respectivamente. As análises numéricas foram realizadas nas condições de estado plano de deformação (2D) e tridimensional (incluindo o efeito acoplado entre os campos de tensões e deformações no plano e fora do plano), os resultados fornecem um bom suporte ao uso da geometria C(T) com trinca central no cordão de solda para avaliação de tenacidade à fratura em juntas soldadas de materiais comumente aplicados na construção de dutos e vasos de pressão. / This work focuses on the evaluation procedure to determine the elastic-plastic J integral and CTOD fracture toughness based upon the eta-method for C(T) fracture specimens including overmatched weldments. Since fracture toughness test protocols do not address weld strength mismatch effect, this effect strongly alters the relationship between global loads and crack driving forces. The objectives of this investigation are to enlarge plastic eta-factor data base for C(T) specimen and to develop a robust formulation to address weld strength mismatch. The present analyses enable the introduction of a larger set of plastic eta-factors for a wide range of crack sizes (as measured by the a/W-ratio) and material properties, including different levels of weld strength mismatch, applicable to structural, pipeline and pressure vessel steels. Very detailed non-linear finite element analyses for plane-strain and full 3D models of standard C(T) fracture specimens provide the evolution of load with increased crack mouth opening displacement (and LLD) required for the estimation procedure. The results provide a strong support to use the plastic eta-factor in J integral and CTOD estimation procedures for center notch welded C(T) fracture specimen.

Há atualmente um grande aumento na demanda por fontes de energia renováveis e de combustíveis que sejam menos poluentes, isto faz com que o etanol ganhe uma grande notoriedade como uma boa alternativa as fontes convencionais de energia. A tendência é de um grande aumento no consumo deste produto, para os próximos anos, o que vai exigir meios de transporte e estocagem seguros e eficientes, desde os produtores até os terminais de distribuição. Economicamente o melhor modo de transportar este produto é, sem nenhuma dúvida, através de dutos de aço, no entanto, existem estudos comprovando que alguns tipos de etanol são nocivos ao material empregado nos dutos. Dentre os modos de avaliar esta influência está a avaliação da tenacidade do material frente ao meio de interesse. Este trabalho tem por objetivo avaliar a tenacidade de um aço API 5L X70 quando exposto aos meios etanol de milho e etanol de cana, variando também o tempo de exposição do material no meio. Além disto, neste trabalho foram feitos diagramas FAD com os valores de tenacidade encontrados em escala reduzida para obter-se um indicativo da integridade estrutural do duto. Para tanto, foram preparados 10 corpos de prova do tipo C(T) entalhados e pré-trincados, respeitando a norma ASTM E647-08 e distribuídos da seguinte forma: 2 corpos de prova para ensaios ao ar, 4 corpos de prova para ensaios em meio etanol de cana e 4 corpos de prova para os ensaios em etanol de milho, além disto, foi utilizado o programa Vindio para a confecção dos diagramas FAD. Os resultados mostraram que os meios etanólicos de cana obtiveram resultados muito parecidos com os ensaiados ao ar, enquanto que no meio etanólico de milho fica evidenciada a fragilidade do material. Nas imagens fractográficas dos corpos de prova ensaiados foi confirmada a diferença na forma de fratura (frágil, no caso do etanol de milho e dúctil no etanol de cana e ao ar). / Nowadays, there is a large increase in the demand for renewable sources of energy and fuels more environment-friendly, this fact fortifies the ethanol’s image as a attractive alternative to conventional energy sources. The upward trend in the consumption of this product in the coming years will require safety and efficiently transportation and storage from producers to distribution terminals. Undoubtedly, the most economically way to transport this product is through pipelines, however, there are studies showing that some types of ethanol are damaging to the pipes material. One way to evaluate this harmful effect of ethanol is the toughness study of the material in the environment of interest. This study aims to assess the tenacity of the API 5L X70 steel when exposed to corn ethanol and sugarcane ethanol for different immersion times. Furthermore, to obtain an indication of the pipe’s structural integrity, FAD’s diagrams were plotted with toughness values determined in the small scale test. For this proposal, 10 C(T) specimens were notched and pre-cracked in accordance to the ASTM E647-08 and distributed as follows: 2 CPs for air test, 4 CPs for the sugarcane ethanol medium and 4 CPs for the corn ethanol. In addition, the Vindio software was used to make the FAD’s diagrams. The results showed that the tests realized in the air and in the sugarcane ethanol medium were very similar, while in the corn ethanol medium is evident the fragility of the material. The surface fracture confirmed the fragile behavior for specimen tested in the corn ethanol medium and ductile behavior for the sugarcane ethanol medium.

<p>The aims of this work were to image and analyze the needle behavior at automated core biopsy, to investigate the clinical utility of an alternative core biopsy technique using a semiautomated gun in breast and axillary lesions, and also to compare core biopsy with surgical specimens in malignant breast lesions regarding histologic features and hormone receptor expression.</p><p>In two experimental studies, using butter and silicon phantoms, respectively, the needle pass was imaged and its dynamic behavior studied. It was shown that the needle took a curved course in phantoms. It deviated to the same side as where the tip lay, and the degree of the curvature increased with increasing hardness of the phantoms. Our experimental methods can be applied for imaging of needle behavior and thereby improvement of needle configuration.</p><p>In two clinical studies, a semiautomated gun was used for large needle core biopsy of breast and axillary lesions in two series of 145 and 21 patients, respectively. The sensitivity of the method for diagnosis of malignancy was 87% (108/124), and in 37% (31/83) of cases the full length of the needle notch was filled with specimen. No injury to the neurovascular structures of the axillary area was observed. It was concluded that the semiautomated gun can be used as an alternative to the automated gun when the size and location of the lesion render use of the automatic device uncertain or dangerous, e.g., in small breast lesions or lesions located in the axilla.</p><p>In a series of 129 cases of breast cancer, comparison of core biopsy and surgical specimens showed that core biopsy provided enough information on the histologic type and grade of the lesions. Also, there was moderate to high concordance between the two methods for assessment of progesterone receptors and estrogen receptors (Spearman`s kappa 0.67 and 0.89, respectively).</p>

The aims of this work were to image and analyze the needle behavior at automated core biopsy, to investigate the clinical utility of an alternative core biopsy technique using a semiautomated gun in breast and axillary lesions, and also to compare core biopsy with surgical specimens in malignant breast lesions regarding histologic features and hormone receptor expression. In two experimental studies, using butter and silicon phantoms, respectively, the needle pass was imaged and its dynamic behavior studied. It was shown that the needle took a curved course in phantoms. It deviated to the same side as where the tip lay, and the degree of the curvature increased with increasing hardness of the phantoms. Our experimental methods can be applied for imaging of needle behavior and thereby improvement of needle configuration. In two clinical studies, a semiautomated gun was used for large needle core biopsy of breast and axillary lesions in two series of 145 and 21 patients, respectively. The sensitivity of the method for diagnosis of malignancy was 87% (108/124), and in 37% (31/83) of cases the full length of the needle notch was filled with specimen. No injury to the neurovascular structures of the axillary area was observed. It was concluded that the semiautomated gun can be used as an alternative to the automated gun when the size and location of the lesion render use of the automatic device uncertain or dangerous, e.g., in small breast lesions or lesions located in the axilla. In a series of 129 cases of breast cancer, comparison of core biopsy and surgical specimens showed that core biopsy provided enough information on the histologic type and grade of the lesions. Also, there was moderate to high concordance between the two methods for assessment of progesterone receptors and estrogen receptors (Spearman`s kappa 0.67 and 0.89, respectively).

Alkali Silica Reaction in concrete is a chemical deterioration process occurring between alkalis in cement paste and reactive aggregates. ASR increases expansion and cracking as well as other durability problems such as freezing and thawing. It is most probable that concrete structure will collapse unless mechanical, mineral, or chemical preventive measures are taken against ASR or this problem is realized and solved in the design stage of the concrete structure or later on. Rather than ordinary preventive measures in which mineral admixtures are used, mechanical ones were investigated in this study. In the experiment done by using the accelerated mortar bar method, reinforced concrete specimens on which pre-stressing force was applied were examined. The effects of reinforcement ratio and pre-stressing force on ASR based expansion and cracking were studied. Expansion and cracking developments in time were followed, and the connection between these phenomena and the energy produced by ASR was made. By applying the same mechanical preventive measures on the specimens prepared by using different reactive aggregates, the effectiveness of these methods with respect to the degree of v ASR was investigated. Also, the methods in question were compared with traditional preventive measures (fly ash). The investigation results show that reinforcement and pre-stressing force play a significant role in diminishing the effects of ASR.Keywords:Alkali-Silica Reaction, Reinforced Concrete Specimen, Pre-stressed Concrete, Mechanical Preventive Measures, Energy of ASR

Flattened Brazilian disc and modified ring test methods are attractive methods being simpler compared to the other mode I fracture toughness testing methods on rock cores. The aim of this study is to improve these simple methods to yield fracture toughness values that are close to the ones determined by the suggested methods. ABAQUS finite element program was used to determine stress intensity factors of models with various dimensions. Comparing fracture toughness to the results obtained by semicircular bending method tests (0.94 MPa&amp / #8730 / m for andesite and 0.56 MPa&amp / #8730 / m for marble) and the cracked chevron notched Brazilian disc method tests (1.45 MPa&amp / #8730 / m for andesite and 1.08 MPa&amp / #8730 / m for marble), proper geometrical parameters were investigated by changing diameter, central-hole diameter, and loading angle of Ankara andesite and Afyon marble specimens. Semicircular bending method results were lower than the cracked chevron notched Brazilian disc method results. With flattened Brazilian disc method, the closest results (1.45 MPa&amp / #8730 / m for andesite and 1.12 MPa&amp / #8730 / m for marble) to the suggested method was obtained by 54 mm diameter discs with loading angles between 32.5&deg / and 38.0&deg / and with thicknesses between 19 mm and 34 mm. With modified ring test on andesite, the closest results to the suggested method was obtained by 75 mm diameter discs with 8 mm central-hole diameter and 25&deg / loading angle (1.47 MPa&amp / #8730 / m for andesite and 1.07 MPa&amp / #8730 / m for marble), and with 14 mm central-hole diameter and 16&deg / loading angle (1.50 MPa&amp / #8730 / m for andesite and 1.05 MPa&amp / #8730 / m for marble).

In this study, low temperature cracking of asphalt concrete is investigated based on a laboratory experimental program including the design variables of aggregate type, gradation, asphalt content, binder grading, binder modification, and the experimental variables of cooling rate, and specimen size. The design of experiment is proposed according to the fractional factorial design principles to reduce the required number of test specimens. Mix designs are performed according to the Superpave mix design guidelines using materials obtained from the Turkish General Directorate of High-ways. In the course of this study, a test setup for thermal stress restrained specimen test for asphalt concrete is developed and used successfully to test a number of as-phalt concrete beam specimens. The same setup is also used for measuring the glass transition temperatures to obtain various thermo-volumetric properties of mixtures. Statistical methods are used to identify the effect of experimental variables on frac-ture strength, fracture temperature and other dependent variables obtained from the testing program. Statistical models are also developed to predict the fracture strength, fracture temperature and other thermo-volumetric properties of mixtures. Results of analyses show that aggregate type, binder modification, and asphalt content significantly affect both the fracture strength and fracture temperature of asphalt concrete. While the glass transition temperature is affected by only aggregate type, coefficients of contraction before and after the glass transition temperature are not influenced by any of the experimental variables. The results of this study provide an important basis to prevent low temperature cracking in asphalt concrete pavements.

The paper presents results of a research project founded by the Swiss Federal Nuclear Inspectorate concerning the application of the Master Curve approach in nuclear reactor pressure vessels integrity assessment. The main focus is put on the applicability of pre-cracked 0.4T-SE(B) specimens with short cracks, the verification of transferability of MC reference temperatures T0 from 0.4T thick specimens to larger specimens, ascertaining the influence of the specimen type and the test temperature on T0, investigation of the applicability of specimens with electroerosive notches for the fracture toughness testing, and the quantification of the loading rate and specimen type on T0. The test material is a forged ring of steel 22 NiMoCr 3 7 of the uncommissioned German pressurized water reactor Biblis C. SE(B) specimens with different overall sizes (specimen thickness B=0.4T, 0.8T, 1.6T, 3T, fatigue pre-cracked to a/W=0.5 and 20% side-grooved) have comparable T0. T0 varies within the 1σ scatter band. The testing of C(T) specimens results in higher T0 compared to SE(B) specimens. It can be stated that except for the lowest test temperature allowed by ASTM E1921-09a, the T0 values evaluated with specimens tested at different test temperatures are consistent. The testing in the temperature range of T0 ± 20 K is recommended because it gave the highest accuracy. Specimens with a/W=0.3 and a/W=0.5 crack length ratios yield comparable T0. The T0 of EDM notched specimens lie 41 K up to 54 K below the T0 of fatigue pre-cracked specimens. A significant influence of the loading rate on the MC T0 was observed. The HSK AN 425 test procedure is a suitable method to evaluate dynamic MC tests. The reference temperature T0 is eligible to define a reference temperature RTTo for the ASME-KIC reference curve as recommended in the ASME Code Case N-629. An additional margin has to be defined for the specific type of transient to be considered in the RPV integrity assessment. This margin also takes into account the level of available information of the RPV to be assessed.