Three-dimensional modeling of steel portal frame buildings

The realistic strength and deflection behavior of industrial and commercial steel portal frame buildings are understood only if the effects of rigidity of end frames and profiled steel claddings are included. The conventional designs ignore these effects and are very much based on idealized two-dimensional (2D) frame behavior. Full-scale tests of a 1212 m steel portal frame building under a range of design load cases indicated that the observed deflections and bending moments in the portal frame were considerably different from those obtained from a 2D analysis of frames ignoring these effects. Three-dimensional (3D) analyses of the same building, including the effects of end frames and cladding, were carried out, and the results agreed well with full-scale test results. Results clearly indicated the need for such an analysis and for testing to study the true behavior of steel portal frame buildings. It is expected that such a 3D analysis will lead to lighter steel frames as the maximum moments and deflections are reduced.

Distributed plasticity analysis of steel frame structures comprising non-compact sections

Application of 'advanced analysis' methods suitable for non-linear analysis and design of steel frame structures permits direct and accurate determination of ultimate system strengths, without resort to simplified elastic methods of analysis and semi-empirical specification equations. However, the application of advanced analysis methods has previously been restricted to steel frames comprising only compact sections that are not influenced by the effects of local buckling. A research project has been conducted with the aim of developing concentrated plasticity methods suitable for practical advanced analysis of steel frame structures comprising non-compact sections. A primary objective was to produce a comprehensive range of new distributed plasticity analytical benchmark solutions for verification of the concentrated plasticity methods. A distributed plasticity model was developed using shell finite elements to explicitly account for the effects of gradual yielding and spread of plasticity, initial geometric imperfections, residual stresses and local buckling deformations. The model was verified by comparison with large-scale steel frame test results and a variety of existing analytical benchmark solutions. This paper presents a description of the distributed plasticity model and details of the verification study.

Pull-through failures of crest-fixed steel claddings initiated by transverse splitting

Crest-fixed steel claddings made of thin, high strength steel often suffer from local pull-through failures at their screw connections during high wind events such as storms and hurricanes. Currently there aren't any adequate design provisions for these cladding systems except for the expensive testing provisions. Since the local pull-through failures in the less ductile steel claddings are initiated by transverse splitting at the fastener hole, analytical studies have not been able to determine the pull-through failure loads. Analytical studies could be used if a reliable splitting criterion is available. Therefore a series of two-span cladding tests was conducted on a range of crest-fixed steel cladding systems under simulated wind uplift loads. The strains in the sheeting around the critical fastener holes were measured until the pull-through failure. This paper presents the details of the experimental investigation and the results including a strain criterion for the local pull-through failure.

Diffusion of extreme weather-proofing technology in the built environment

This study addresses the research question: ‘What are the diffusion determinants for extreme weather-proofing technology in the Australian built environment?’ In order to effectively identify diffusion determinants, a synthesis of literature in both technical and management fields was conducted from a system-wide perspective. Review results where then interpreted through an innovation system framework, drawn from innovation systems literature, in order to map the current state of extreme weather-proofing technology diffusion in the Australian built environment industry. Drivers and obstacles to optimal diffusion are presented. Results show the important role to be played by Australian governments in facilitating improved weather proofing technology diffusion. This applies to governments in their various roles, but particularly as regulators, clients/owners and investors in research & development and education. In the role as regulators, findings suggest Australian governments should be encouraging the application of innovative finance options and positive end-user incentives to promote the uptake of weather proofing technology. Additionally, in their role as clients/owners, diffusion can be improved by adjusting building and infrastructure specifications to encourage designers and constructors to incorporate extreme weather proofing technology in new and redeveloped built assets. Finally, results suggest greater investment is required in research and development and improved knowledge sharing across the construction supply chain to further mitigate risks associated with greater incidences of extreme weather events.

School children’s personal exposure to ultrafine particles in the urban environment

There has been considerable scientific interest in personal exposure to ultrafine particles (UFP). In this study, the inhaled particle surface area doses and dose relative intensities in the tracheobronchial and alveolar regions of lungs were calculated using the measured 24-hour UFP time series of school children personal exposures for each recorded activity. Bayesian hierarchical modelling was used to determine mean doses and dose intensities for the various microenvironments. Analysis of measured personal exposures for 137 participating children from 25 schools in the Brisbane Metropolitan Area showed similar trends for all the participating children. Bayesian regression modelling was performed to calculate the daily proportion of children's total doses at different microenvironments. The proportion of alveolar doses in the total daily dose for \emph{home}, \emph{school}, \emph{commuting} and \emph{other} were 55.3\%, 35.3\%, 4.5\% and 5.0\%, respectively, with the \emph{home} microenvironment contributing a majority of children's total daily dose. Children's mean indoor dose was never higher than the outdoor's at any of the schools, indicating there were no persistent indoor particle sources in the classrooms during the measurements. Outdoor activities, eating/cooking at home and commuting were the three activities with the highest dose intensities. Personal exposure was more influenced by the ambient particle levels than immediate traffic.

Investigation into the bond between CFRP and steel tubes

CFRP material has been widely used to strengthen concrete structures. There is an increasing trend of using CFRP in strengthening steel structures. The bond between steel and CFRP is a key issue. Relatively less work has been done on the bond between CFRP and a curved surface which is often found in tubular structures. This paper reports a study on the bond between CFRP and steel tubes. A series of tensile tests were conducted with different bond lengths and number of layers. The types of adhesive and specimen preparation methods varied in the testing program. High modulus CFRP was used. Tests were carried out to measure the modulus and tensile strength of CFRP. Strain gages were mounted on different layers of CFRP. The stress distributions across the layers of the CFRP were established. Models were developed to estimate the maximum load for a given CFRP arrangement.

Retaining the thin blue line : What shapes workers' intentions not to quit the current work environment

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between workplace factors and the intentions of police officers to quit their current department. Design/methodology/approach – Data from a survey of Baltimore officers, designed to examine the relationship between police stress and domestic violence in police families were used. Using multivariate regression analysis, the authors focus on the officers' stated intentions to look for alternative employment, with proxies for social and workplace factors. Findings – Higher levels of cooperation (trust), interactional justice and work-life-balance reduce police officers' intentions to quit. While high levels of physical and psychological strain and trauma are not correlated with intentions to quit. Research limitations/implications – A discernible limitation of this study is the age of the data analyzed and that many changes have occurred in recent times (policing and social). It would be of great interest to repeat this study to gauge the true effect. Practical implications – There are policy implications for retention and recruitment: it may possible to decrease the ethnic and gender gaps, through identifying officers at risk and creating programs to hold existing minorities, recruit more, whilst maintaining a strong, happy and healthy department. Originality/value – This study examines the impact of workplace factors on quitting intention for police officers. It is demonstrated that social capital, fairness and work-life balance are moderators for quitting, adding to the literature on worker retention, as little research has been done using multivariate analysis on quitting intentions.

The Work-Retirement Environment

For most individuals who have the opportunity, paid work is a defining background to achievement in life. Employment has the potential to satisfy economic necessities, educational achievements, professional development, and social and cultural objectives. In many cases, it also assists individuals to define their identity, grow their self esteem, achieve personal ambitions, explore and develop collegial and professional relationships, grow skills and wisdom, and transmit this to the following generations. For many individuals, this process is not now defined and limited by a mandatory retirement date. Individuals are choosing to extend their engagement in the paid workforce and this has its benefits and challenges. This chapter examines these issues in the background of an increasingly ageing population.

Monitoring and benchmarking government policies and actions to improve the healthiness of food environments : a proposed Government Healthy Food Environment Policy Index

Government action is essential to increase the healthiness of food environments and reduce obesity, diet-related non-communicable diseases (NCDs), and their related inequalities. This paper proposes a monitoring framework to assess government policies and actions for creating healthy food environments. Recommendations from relevant authoritative organizations and expert advisory groups for reducing obesity and NCDs were examined, and pertinent components were incorporated into a comprehensive framework for monitoring government policies and actions. A Government Healthy Food Environment Policy Index (Food-EPI) was developed, which comprises a ‘policy’ component with seven domains on specific aspects of food environments, and an ‘infrastructure support’ component with seven domains to strengthen systems to prevent obesity and NCDs. These were revised through a week-long consultation process with international experts. Examples of good practice statements are proposed within each domain, and these will evolve into benchmarks established by governments at the forefront of creating and implementing food policies for good health. A rating process is proposed to assess a government's level of policy implementation towards good practice. The Food-EPI will be pre-tested and piloted in countries of varying size and income levels. The benchmarking of government policy implementation has the potential to catalyse greater action to reduce obesity and NCDs.

Atmospheric particles as a pollutant source in the urban water environment in Sri Lanka – current research trends and future directions

Human and ecosystem health impacts imposed by water pollution are a major problem in the urban areas of Sri Lanka. A primary source of pollutants to urban water sources is atmospheric particles. Hence, it is important to develop a detailed understanding of atmospheric particle characteristics, their sources of origin and the transport pathways. Several research studies have been conducted in Sri Lanka on atmospheric pollution and these studies have tended to differ in their scope, study region and the investigated pollutants. The objectives of this paper are: (1) to report the outcomes of a detailed state-of-art literature review of atmospheric pollution related studies in Sri Lanka to understand the current trends and (2) to discuss the future research activities necessary to generate the important knowledge required for the development of effective strategies to control the adverse impacts of atmospheric pollution on urban waterways.

The role of sleepiness, sleep disorders, and the work environment on heavy-vehicle crashes in 2 Australian states

Heavy-vehicle driving involves a challenging work environment and a high crash rate. We investigated the associations of sleepiness, sleep disorders, and work environment (including truck characteristics) with the risk of crashing between 2008 and 2011 in the Australian states of New South Wales and Western Australia. We conducted a case-control study of 530 heavy-vehicle drivers who had recently crashed and 517 heavy-vehicle drivers who had not. Drivers' crash histories, truck details, driving schedules, payment rates, sleep patterns, and measures of health were collected. Subjects wore a nasal flow monitor for 1 night to assess for obstructive sleep apnea. Driving schedules that included the period between midnight and 5:59 am were associated with increased likelihood of crashing (odds ratio = 3.42, 95% confidence interval: 2.04, 5.74), as were having an empty load (odds ratio = 2.61, 95% confidence interval: 1.72, 3.97) and being a less experienced driver (odds ratio = 3.25, 95% confidence interval: 2.37, 4.46). Not taking regular breaks and the lack of vehicle safety devices were also associated with increased crash risk. Despite the high prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea, it was not associated with the risk of a heavy-vehicle nonfatal, nonsevere crash. Scheduling of driving to avoid midnight-to-dawn driving and the use of more frequent rest breaks are likely to reduce the risk of heavy-vehicle nonfatal, nonsevere crashes by 2–3 times.

Results of the Queensland 2007-2012 roadside drug testing program : the prevalence of three illicit drugs

The purpose of this investigation is to present an overview of roadside drug driving enforcement and detections in Queensland, Australia since the introduction of oral fluid screening. Drug driving is a problematic issue for road safety and investigations of the prevalence and impact of drug driving suggest that, in particular, the use of illicit drugs may increase a driver’s involvement in a road crash when compared to a driver who is drug free. In response to the potential increased crash involvement of drug impaired drivers, Australian police agencies have adopted the use of oral fluid analysis to detect the presence of illicit drugs in drivers. This paper describes the results of roadside drug testing for over 80,000 drivers in Queensland, Australia, from December 2007 to June 2012. It provides unique data on the prevalence of methamphetamine, cannabis and ecstasy in the screened population for the period. When prevalence rates are examined over time, drug driving detection rates have almost doubled from around 2.0% at the introduction of roadside testing operations to just under 4.0% in the latter years. The most common drug type detected was methamphetamine (40.8%) followed by cannabis (29.8%) and methamphetamine/cannabis combination (22.5%). By comparison, the rate of ecstasy detection was very low (1.7%). The data revealed a number of regional, age and gender patterns and variations of drug driving across the state. Younger drivers were more likely to test positive for cannabis whilst older drivers were more likely to test positive for methamphetamine. The overall characteristics of drivers who tested positive to the presence of at least one of the target illicit drugs are they are likely to be male, aged 30-39 years, be driving a car on Friday, Saturday or Sunday between 6:00PM and 6:00AM and to test positive for methamphetamine.

Testing an extended theory of planned behavior to predict young people's intentions to join a bone marrow donor registry

An extended theory of planned behavior (TPB) was used to understand the factors, particularly control perceptions and affective reactions, given conflicting findings in previous research, informing younger people's intentions to join a bone marrow registry. Participants (N  = 174) completed attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control (PBC), moral norm, anticipated regret, self-identity, and intention items for registering. The extended TPB (except PBC) explained 67.2% of variance in intention. Further testing is needed as to the volitional nature of registering. Moral norm, anticipated regret, and self-identity are likely intervention targets for increasing younger people's bone marrow registry participation.

Dynamic load sharing in heavy vehicle suspensions - further analysis of the equalisation effects of larger air lines

This paper provides details on comparative testing of axle-to-chassis forces of two heavy vehicles (HVs) based on an experimental programme carried out in 2007. Dynamic forces at the air springs were measured against speed and roughness values for the test roads used. One goal of that programme was to determine whether dynamic axle-to-chassis forces could be reduced by using larger-than-standard diameter longitudinal air lines. This paper presents a portion of the methodology, analysis and results from that programme. Two analytical techniques and their results are presented. The first uses correlation coefficients of the forces between air springs and the second is a student’s t-test. These were used to determine the causality surrounding improved dynamic load sharing between heavy vehicle air springs with larger air lines installed longitudinally compared with the standard sized air lines installed on the majority of air-sprung heavy vehicles.

Design and flight testing of an integrated solar powered UAV and WSN for remote gas sensing

This paper describes a generic and integrated solar powered remote Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAV) and Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) gas sensing system. The system uses a generic gas sensing system for CH4 and CO2 concentrations using metal oxide (MoX) and non-dispersive infrared sensors, and a new solar cell encapsulation method to power the UASs as well as a data management platform to store, analyse and share the information with operators and external users. The system was successfully field tested at ground and low altitudes, collecting, storing and transmitting data in real time to a central node for analysis and 3D mapping. The system can be used in a wide range of outdoor applications, especially in agriculture, bushfires, mining studies, opening the way to a ubiquitous low cost environmental monitoring. A video of the bench and flight test performed can be seen in the following link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bwas7stYIxQ.