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B.K.Raghu Prasad¹, Rabindra Kumar Saha¹, A.R.Gopalakrishnan¹
Structural Longevity, Vol.1, No.3, pp. 135-154, 2009, DOI:10.3970/sl.2009.001.135
Abstract Several different models have been proposed to characterize mode-I crack propagation in concrete. The fictitious crack model proposed by Hillerborg et al. and the blunt crack band theory developed by Bazant & Oh are particularly well suited for a finite element analysis. The two-parameter fracture model proposed by Jenq & Shah is found to be applicable only for beams with s/w=4, where s=span & w=depth of the beam. The general applicability of the model for other testing configurations is not published. In the present study an experimental verification of a one-parameter model based on fundamental equation of equilibrium developed by… More >

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C.S. Lin, T.C. Chen, C.C. Yu,M.E. Wu, Y.H. Tu¹
Structural Longevity, Vol.1, No.3, pp. 155-162, 2009, DOI:10.3970/sl.2009.001.155
Abstract Most old apartments in Taiwan lack fire prevention equipment, making fire awareness and escape difficult, as well as timely fire fighting, which leads to increased death tolls from fire incidents. This research utilizes Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) software to analyze and simulate the fire accident that occurred in a single old-style five-story apartment on Siu-Lang Road, Chung-Ho City. In this event, many occupant vehicles were parked at the front door of the apartment building or in nearby parking lanes. The fire engine can only drive in after vehicles were cleared from the fire area, a situation that delayed emergency fire… More >

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Helen Hongniao Chen¹, Ray Kai Leung Su¹
Structural Longevity, Vol.1, No.3, pp. 163-174, 2009, DOI:10.3970/sl.2009.001.163
Abstract In this study, Electronic Speckle Pattern Interferometry (ESPI) technique was used to measure the surface displacement and strain fields around cracks in concrete beams. ESPI has high accuracy and can determine full-field deformations of concrete. However, tiny rigid-body movements of beam specimens can spoil the ESPI measurement and cause virtual deformations and false strains. Based on the theory of geometrical optics, this paper proposes a method to eliminate the false strains caused by rigid-body motion. The correction procedure was validated experimentally. Furthermore, the crack evolution in a pre-notched beam is presented. The critical minimum crack width of a microcrack is… More >

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Essam E Khalil¹
Structural Longevity, Vol.1, No.3, pp. 175-180, 2009, DOI:10.3970/sl.2009.001.175
Abstract The cultural heritage left by the Egyptian Pharaohs in the tombs of the Valley of the Kings represents some of the key elements of the Egyptian cultural and tourism wealth and standing monuments demonstrating the wealth and technology of the pharaohs. These tombs were prepared to bury the Kings’ mummies and artifacts for eternal life. Many of the wall paintings identifying the various ancient rituals and life style are in good conditions as the tombs were only recently opened to the public and resulted, in many instances, to dramatic deterioration of the wall paintings due in part to excessive humidity.… More >

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L. Zhang¹, T. Boulet¹, J. Hein¹, M. Arnoult¹, M. Negahban¹
Structural Longevity, Vol.1, No.3, pp. 181-190, 2009, DOI:10.3970/sl.2009.001.181
Abstract The modeling of the response of the human head to blast like loading is of importance for many applications including the study of traumatic brain injury resulting from improvised explosive devices. One key issue in simulating the response of the head is to have models that are characteristic of the response of the head and its components under these conditions. We review different characterization efforts for evaluating the response of the skin, skull, and brain within this window of response and use these results to develop models appropriate for the characterization of each component. We discuss efforts made to construct… More >

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