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Testing Techniques (testing + techniques)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Engineering	63%

Selected Abstracts

Verifizierung zerstörungsfreier Prüfverfahren zur Detektion von Spannstahlschäden an Spannbetonbauteilen mit nachträglichem Verbund

BETON- UND STAHLBETONBAU, Issue 8 2005
Jürgen Mietz Dr.-Ing.
Für die Beurteilung des Gefährdungspotentials bestehender Bauwerke, bei denen im Falle von Spannstahlschäden die Tragfähigkeit nennenswert beeinflußt werden kann, sind zerstörungsfreie Prüfverfahren zur Bewertung des Zustandes der Spannstähle von herausragender Bedeutung. Während des Abrisses der Hohenzollerndammbrücke in Berlin, bei der in früheren Untersuchungen Spannstahlschäden infolge wasserstoffinduzierter Spannungsrißkorrosion festgestellt worden waren, konnten Teile der Stege des Brückenüberbaus entnommen werden. Nach der zerstörungsfreien Untersuchung der dort enthaltenen Spanndrähte mit Hilfe von zwei auf der magnetischen Streufeldmessung sowie einem auf elektromagnetischer Resonanzmessung basierenden Verfahren wurden die Hüllrohre freigelegt und die Spanndrähte inspiziert, um die Ergebnisse der zerstörungsfreien Prüfung im Hinblick auf ihre Zuverlässigkeit zu beurteilen. Die Auswertung zeigt, daß Bereiche mit Brüchen mehrerer Drähte mit den zwei magnetischen Streufeldmeßverfahren detektiert werden können. Verification of Non-Destructive Testing Techniques for Detection of Prestressing Steel Damage at Post-Tensioned Concrete Members For an assessment of the risk potential of existing structures where in the case of prestressing steel damage the load-bearing capacity could be significantly affected non-destructive testing techniques which enable reliable evaluation of the condition of the prestressing steels are of utmost importance. During the demolition of the Hohenzollerndamm bridge in Berlin where damage of prestressing wires due to hydrogen-induced stress corrosion cracking were found in former investigations parts of the girders of the bridge superstructure could be taken out. After non-destructive investigation by means of two testing techniques based on magnetic leakage flux measurement and one technique based on electromagnetic resonance measurement the single wires were inspected in order to verify the non-destructive testing results with respect to their reliability. From the results it can be concluded that areas with fractures of several wires could be detected by the two techniques based on magnetic leakage flux measurement. [source]

Determination of mechanical properties of traditional masonry walls in dwellings of Faial Island, Azores

EARTHQUAKE ENGINEERING AND STRUCTURAL DYNAMICS, Issue 7 2002
Aníbal Costa
Abstract The determination of mechanical properties of masonry walls is a fundamental pre-requisite for the characterization of the seismic response of traditional buildings, which helps on the definition of adequate rehabilitation and strengthening procedures. This paper presents a testing campaign carried out in the Cedros region of Faial Island, Azores, hit by the July 98 earthquake, aiming at the determination of physical and mechanical properties of stone masonry walls, namely the mass density and Young's modulus. The paper describes the developed testing techniques as a contribution to the study and the preservation of traditional masonry buildings. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Identifying connections in a fractured rock aquifer using ADFTs

GROUND WATER, Issue 3 2005
Todd Halihan
Fractured rock aquifers are difficult to characterize because of their extremely heterogeneous nature. Developing an understanding of fracture network hydraulic properties in these aquifers is difficult and time consuming, and field testing techniques for determining the location and connectivity of fractures in these aquifers are limited. In the Clare Valley, South Australia, well interference is an important issue for a major viticultural area that uses a fractured aquifer. Five fracture sets exist in the aquifer, all dipping >25°. In this setting, we evaluate the ability of steady-state asymmetric dipole-flow tests (ADFTs) to determine the connections between a test well and a set of piezometers. The procedure involves dividing a test well into two chambers using a single packer and pumping fluid from the upper chamber to the lower chamber. By conducting a series of tests at different packer elevations, an "input" signal is generated in fracture zones connected to the test well. By monitoring the "output" response of the hydraulic dipole field at piezometers, the connectivity of the fractures between the test well and piezometers can be determined. Results indicate the test well used in this study is connected in a complex three-dimensional geometry, with drawdown occurring above and below areas of potentiometric buildup. The ADFT method demonstrates that the aquifer evaluated in this study cannot be modeled effectively on the well scale using continuum flow models. [source]

Experimental analysis of compaction of concrete and mortar

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL AND ANALYTICAL METHODS IN GEOMECHANICS, Issue 15 2001
Nicolas Burlion
Abstract Compaction of concrete is physically a collapse of the material porous microstructure. It produces plastic strains in the material and, at the same time, an increase of its bulk modulus. This paper presents two experimental techniques aimed at obtaining the hydrostatic response of concrete and mortar. The first one is a uniaxial confined compression test which is quite simple to implement and allows to reach hydrostatic pressures of about 600 MPa. The specimen size is large enough so that concrete with aggregate sizes up to 16 mm can be tested. The second one is a true hydrostatic test performed on smaller (mortar) specimens. Test results show that the hydrostatic response of the material is elasto-plastic with a stiffening effect on both the tangent and unloading bulk moduli. The magnitude of the irreversible volumetric strains depends on the initial porosity of the material. This porosity can be related in a first approximation to the water/cement ratio. A comparison of the hydrostatic responses obtained from the two testing techniques on the same material show that the hydrostatic response of cementitious materials cannot be uncoupled from the deviatoric response, as opposed to the standard assumption in constitutive relations for metal alloys. This feature should be taken into account in the development of constitutive relations for concrete subjected to high confinement pressures which are needed in the modelling of impact problems. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Numerical aspects of a real-time sub-structuring technique in structural dynamics

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN ENGINEERING, Issue 11 2007
R. Sajeeb
Abstract A time domain coupling technique, involving combined computational and experimental modelling, for vibration analysis of structures built-up of linear/non-linear substructures is developed. The study permits, in principle, one or more of the substructures to be modelled experimentally with measurements being made only on the interfacial degrees of freedom. The numerical and experimental substructures are allowed to communicate in real time within the present framework. The proposed strategy involves a two-stage scheme: the first is iterative in nature and is implemented at the initial stages of the solution in a non-real-time format; the second is non-iterative, employs an extrapolation scheme and proceeds in real time. Issues on time delays during communications between different substructures are discussed. An explicit integration procedure is shown to lead to solutions with high accuracy while retaining path sensitivity to initial conditions. The stability of the integration scheme is also discussed and a method for numerically dissipating the temporal growth of high-frequency errors is presented. For systems with non-linear substructures, the integration procedure is based on a multi-step transversal linearization method; and, to account for time delays, we employ a multi-step extrapolation scheme based on the reproducing kernel particle method. Numerical illustrations on a few low-dimensional vibrating structures are presented and these examples are fashioned after problems of seismic qualification testing of engineering structures using real-time substructure testing techniques. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Periodontal growth factors and tissue carriers: Biocompatibility and mitogenic efficacy in vitro

JOURNAL OF BIOMEDICAL MATERIALS RESEARCH, Issue 1 2006
Claudio Cesari
Clinical research has long been testing techniques of integrating biomaterials with many external factors, such as simple proteins or more complicated devices, in order to achieve the restitutio ad integrum of periodontium. This study assessed the in vitro effectiveness of platelet derivate growth factor-BB (PDGF) and insulin growth factor I (IGF); the biocompatibility of materials like Paroguide, Oclastim membranes, Gingistat sponges, Surgiplaster, and Capset; and their efficacy as carriers for the platelet derivate growth factor-BB (PDGF) and insulin growth factor I (IGF). Fibroblasts from the human periodontal ligament were incubated with growth factors free or vehiculated. Mitogenic effect was evaluated by measuring the growth rate and biocompatibility by observing cell morphology at SEM. PDGF was the most effective in stimulating cell proliferation both in solution (p < 0.001) and vehiculated (p < 0.01). Surgiplaster and Capset were more biocompatible; however, final analysis to assess their efficacy as carriers failed to disclose significant differences between experimental findings and control. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 2006 [source]

Cointegration, Efficiency and Forecasting in the Currency Market

JOURNAL OF BUSINESS FINANCE & ACCOUNTING, Issue 1-2 2001
Wilson H. S. Tong
Existing literature on using the cointegration approach to examine the efficiency of the foreign exchange market gives mixed results. Arguments typically focus on econometric testing techniques, with fractional cointegration being the most current one. This paper tries to look at the issue from an economic perspective. It shows that the cointegrating relationship, whether cointegrated or fractionally cointegrated, is found mainly among the currencies of the European Monetary System which are set to fluctuate within a given range. Hence, there is no inconsistency with the notion of market efficiency. Yet, exploiting such a cointegrating relationship is helpful in currency forecasting. There is some evidence that restricting the forecasting model to consist of only cointegrated currencies improves forecasting efficiency. [source]

A review of the influence of freeze-thaw cycles on soil geotechnical properties

PERMAFROST AND PERIGLACIAL PROCESSES, Issue 3 2006
Jilin Qi
Abstract Freeze-thaw cycling affects the geotechnical properties of soils and must be taken into account when selecting soil parameters for stability and deformation analysis of slopes, embankments and cuts in cold regions, especially those underlain by permafrost. This review examines methods of investigation, testing techniques and the impact of freeze-thaw processes on the physical and mechanical properties of soils. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Use of Intradermal Dilutional Testing and Skin Prick Testing: Clinical Relevance and Cost Efficiency

THE LARYNGOSCOPE, Issue 9 2006
Dr. Merritt Seshul MD, FAAOA
Abstract Objectives/Hypothesis: The objective was to determine the agreement of the positive results from a multiple skin prick test (SPT) device with the ability to determine a definable endpoint through intradermal dilutional testing (IDT) to compare semiquantitatively the degree of positivity of SPT results with quantitative results from IDT and to analyze the cost of immunotherapy based on SPT compared with IDT guided by SPT. Study Design: Retrospective review of clinical data (random accrual). Methods: One hundred thirty-four patients underwent allergy screening using a multiple SPT device. Antigens testing positive by skin prick device were tested using IDT on a separate day. Antigens testing negative by SPT were not evaluated by IDT. Regional allergy testing practice patterns were determined, and a cost analysis using Medicare rates was performed Results: There was good agreement between an antigen testing positive by SPT and the determination of a definable endpoint (93.33%, n = 1,334 antigens). The degree of positivity from the SPT correlated poorly with the final endpoint concentration (r = 0.40, P < .0001). Blended testing techniques were similar in cost when compared with several commonly used allergy testing protocols. Conclusions: Antigens which show reactivity to a multiple SPT device usually have a treatable endpoint that is independent of the degree of positivity of the SPT result. IDT is an important step in the determination of the strongest starting dose of immunotherapy that may be safely administered. Initiating immunotherapy in this manner may potentially create significant health care savings by shortening the time required for a patient to reach their individual maximally tolerated dose. The use of a relatively large screening panel is cost effective and does not increase the average number of antigens treated by immunotherapy. Blended allergy testing techniques that include IDT in their protocol are comparable in cost with commonly used allergy testing protocols. [source]