Probabilistic Seismic Design of Pile Foundations in Non Liquefiable Soil by Response Spectrum Approach

The behavior of pile foundations in non liquefiable soil under seismic loading is considerably influenced by the variability in the soil and seismic design parameters. Hence, probabilistic models for the assessment of seismic pile design are necessary. Deformation of pile foundation in non liquefiable soil is dominated by inertial force from superstructure. The present study considers a pseudo-static approach based on code specified design response spectra. The response of the pile is determined by equivalent cantilever approach. The soil medium is modeled as a one-dimensional random field along the depth. The variability associated with undrained shear strength, design response spectrum ordinate, and superstructure mass is taken into consideration. Monte Carlo simulation technique is adopted to determine the probability of failure and reliability indices based on pile failure modes, namely exceedance of lateral displacement limit and moment capacity. A reliability-based design approach for the free head pile under seismic force is suggested that enables a rational choice of pile design parameters.

Screening of new lines of cereal grains for inclusion in Near Infra Red Scan calibrations

The project will provide enough data for a reliable and robust NIRs. It will more fully develop the in vitro method to enable less costly assessment of grains in the future. It will also provide a reliable assessment for DE which is the most expensive component of pig feed.

Regional development, commercialisation and target adoption of new integrated management techniques for Sheep industry

This Sheep CRC2 project is directed towards regional development of, support for, commercialisation and target adoption of, new integrated management techniques, which will lift productivity and better match product with market specification. The outputs and benefits will help support and improve the productivity and profitability of producers remaining in the industry, and support industry in the current move towards one in which both meat and wool will be joint drivers of industry productivity.

Magnetic superconductors: Model theories and experimental properties of rare-earth compounds

Superconducting and magnetically long-range ordered states were believed to be mutually exclusive phenomena. The discovery of rare-earth compounds in recent years, which exhibit both superconductivity and magnetic ordering (ferromagnetic, antiferromagnetic or sinusoidal), has led to considerable theoretical and experimental work on such systems. In the present article, we give a review of various theoretical models and important experimental results. In the theoretical sections, we start with the Abrikosov-Gorkov pair breaking theory for dilute alloys and discuss its improvement in the work of Müller-Hartmann and Zittartz. Then, in the context of magnetic superconductors, various microscopic theories that have been advanced are presented. These predict re-entrant behaviour in some systems (ferromagnetic superconductors) and coexistence regions in others (particularly antiferromagnetic superconductors). Following this, phenomenological generalized Ginzburg-Landau theories for two kinds of orders (superconducting and magnetic) are presented. A section dealing with renormalization group analysis of phase diagrams in magnetic superconductors is given. In experimental sections, the properties of each rare-earth compounds (ternary as well as some tetranery) are reviewed. These involve susceptibility, heat capacity, resistivity, upper critical field, neutron scattering and magnetic resonance measurements. The anomalous behaviour of the upper critical field of antiferromagnetic superconductors near the Néel temperature is discussed both in theory sections and experimental section for various systems.

Advances in gene delivery through molecular design of cationic lipids

This feature article describes the recent developments in the design of cationic lipids and their applications in gene delivery. Various structure-activity investigations explaining the variations in gene transfection efficacies with respect to different molecular structures of the cationic lipids have been discussed. Gene transfer abilities are presented in relation to aggregation properties of different aqueous formulations such as cationic liposomes and surfactant aggregates from various amphiphiles and cationic lipids, as a function of their hydrophobic parts, linkers and head groups.

Analysis and design of DC blocks

Four types of microstrip coupled line DC blocks are analysed and expressions for the theoretically possible maximum bandwidth for a given ripple are derived. A procedure for designing a DC block to meet a given set of ripple and bandwidth specifications is indicated.

Optimum design of a Lanchester damper for a viscously damped single degree of freedom system subjected to inertial excitation

The problem of designing an optimum Lanchester damper for a viscously damped single degree of freedom system subjected to inertial harmonic excitation is investigated. Two criteria are used for optimizing the performance of the damper: (i) minimum motion transmissibility; (ii) minimum force transmissibility. Explicit expressions are developed for determining the absorber parameters.