Experimental and finite element analysis of a double strap joint between steel plates and normal modulus CFRP

Strengthening of steel structures using externally-bonded carbon fibre reinforced polymers ‘CFRP’ is a rapidly developing technique. This paper describes the behaviour of axially loaded flat steel plates strengthened using carbon fibre reinforced polymer sheets. Two steel plates were joined together with adhesive and followed by the application of carbon fibre sheet double strap joint with different bond lengths. The behaviour of the specimens was further investigated by using nonlinear finite element analysis to predict the failure modes and load capacity. In this study, bond failure is the dominant failure mode for normal modulus (240 GPa) CFRP bonding which closely matched the results of finite elements. The predicted ultimate loads from the FE analysis are found to be in good agreement with experimental values.

Unpacking the entrepreneurial process : A step-by-step guide to a successful venture in the entertainment industry

Unpacking the Entrepreneurial Process: A Step-by-Step Guide to a Successful Venture in the Entertainment Industry introduces a step-by-step guide to either students, entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs to fully understand the necessary steps to both unleash their entrepreneurial capabilities and to foster the development of new ones.

Intention, foresight and ending life : a response to "The Double Effect effect" by Charles Foster, Jonathan Herring, Karen Melham and Tony Hope, (CQ 20(1))

In this paper I examine the recent arguments by Charles Foster, Jonathan Herring, Karen Melham and Tony Hope against the utility of the doctrine of double effect. One basis on which they reject the utility of the doctrine is their claim that it is notoriously difficult to apply what they identify as its 'core' component, namely, the distinction between intention and foresight. It is this contention that is the primarily focus of my article. I argue against this claim that the intention/foresight distinction remains a fundamental part of the law in those jurisdictions where intention remains an element of the offence of murder and that, accordingly, it is essential ro resolve the putative difficulties of applying the intention/foresight distinction so as to ensure the integrity of the law of murder. I argue that the main reasons advanced for the claim that the intention/foresight distinction is difficult to apply are ultimately unsustainable, and that the distinction is not as difficult to apply as the authors suggest.

Palliative care, double effect and the law in Australia

Care and decision-making at the end of life that promotes comfort and dignity is widely endorsed by public policy and the law. In ethical analysis of palliative care interventions that are argued potentially to hasten death, these may be deemed to be ethically permissible by the application of the doctrine of double effect, if the doctor’s intention is to relieve pain and not cause death. In part because of the significance of ethics in the development of law in the medical sphere, this doctrine is also likely to be recognized as part of Australia’s common law, although hitherto there have been no cases concerning palliative care brought before a court in Australia to test this. Three Australian States have, nonetheless, created legislative defences that are different from the common law with the intent of clarifying the law, promoting palliative care, and distinguishing it from euthanasia. However, these defences have the potential to provide less protection for doctors administering palliative care. In addition to requiring a doctor to have an appropriate intent, the defences insist on adherence to particular medical practice standards and perhaps require patient consent. Doctors providing end-of-life care in these States need to be aware of these legislative changes. Acting in accordance with the common law doctrine of double effect may not provide legal protection. Similar changes are likely to occur in other States and Territories as there is a trend towards enacting legislative defences that deal with the provision of palliative care.

A human capital framework : designed for convergence

The 21" century business environment is dominated by unprecedented change across a broad spectrum of social, economic, technological and cultural factors (Nowotny, Scott & Gibbons 2001). Among these, two broad trends -economic globalisation and rising knowledge intensity (Hart 2006)have come to distinguish organisational life. Under the weight of these transformational influences, the developed world, it seems, has arrived at a transformational moment. The far-reaching effects of the global financial crisis and its shadowy twin: the threat of a double dip recession, continue to exert an unsteadying influence on global and corporate finances. Growth in developed economies has slumped, share prices have declined, the market value of corporations has slipped and unemployment rates, in the vast majority of developed economies, have risen. Gross domestic product (GDP) growth has retreated from the strong growth experienced in the late 1990s to negative growth in 2009 and a sluggish and unsteady recovery in 2010. In response, the reach of Government in terms of its participation in markets has been extended, bringing with it the need to transition to new governance and regulatory arrangements. Ongoing concerns regarding the pace and sustainability of the recovery remains a front-of-mind concern with bailouts, buybacks, borrowings and BP dominating news services: 'We are witnessing the reweaving of the social, political and economic fabric that binds our planet, with long-term consequences that are as or more profound than those of the industrial era' (Tapscott & Williams 2006, p. 59).

An additional step towards modelling the mechanical behaviour of sugar cane bagasse

A better understanding of the behaviour of prepared cane and bagasse, especially the ability to model the mechanical behaviour of bagasse as it is squeezed in a milling unit to extract juice, would help identify how to improve the current milling process; for example to reduce final bagasse moisture. Previous investigations have proven with certainty that juice flow through bagasse obeys Darcy’s permeability law, that the grip of the rough surface of the grooves on the bagasse can be represented by the Mohr- Coulomb failure criterion for soils, and that the internal mechanical behaviour of the bagasse can be represented by critical state behaviour similar to that of sand and clay. Current Finite Element Models (FEM) available in commercial software have adequate permeability models. However, commercial software does not contain an adequate mechanical model for bagasse. Progress has been made in the last ten years towards implementing a mechanical model for bagasse in finite element software code. This paper builds on that progress and carries out a further step towards obtaining an adequate material model. In particular, the prediction of volume change during shearing of normally consolidated final bagasse is addressed.

A nod to consent : in step with the UCPR

This article considers the decision of Robin DCJ in CTP Manager Limited v Ascent Pty Ltd [2011] QDC 74 and the likely impact of the decision on the practice in the court registries in similar circumstances.

Sulfate intercalated layered double hydroxides prepared by the reformation effect

The removal of the sulfate anion from water using synthetic hydrotalcite (Mg/Al LDH) was investigated using powder x-ray diffraction (XRD) and thermogravimetric analysis (TG). Synthetic hydrotalcite Mg6Al2(OH)16(CO3)∙4H2O was prepared by the co-precipitation method from aluminum and magnesium chloride salts. The synthetic hydrotalcite was thermally activated to a maximum temperature of 380°C. Samples of thermally activated hydrotalcite where then treated with aliquots of 1000ppm sulfate solution. The resulting products where dried and characterized by XRD and TG. Powder XRD revealed that hydrotalcite had been successfully prepared and that the product obtained after treatment with sulfate solution also conformed well to the reference pattern of hydrotalcite. The d(003) spacing of all samples was found to be within the acceptable region for a LDH structure. TG revealed all products underwent a similar decomposition to that of hydrotalcite. It was possible to propose a reasonable mechanism for the thermal decomposition of a sulfate containing Mg/Al LDH. The similarities in the results may indicate that the reformed hydrotalcite may contain carbonate anion as well as sulfate. Further investigation is required to confirm this.

Zinc aluminium layered double hydroxides for the removal of iodine and iodide from aqueous solutions

129I is a radioactive isotope of iodine that is readily absorbed by the body. In this paper we investigated the potential of a 3:1 Zn/Al layered double hydroxide (LDH) as a sorbent for the removal of iodine and iodide from water. Synthetic Zn6Al2(OH)16(CO3)∙4H2O was prepared by the co-precipitation before thermal activation. The LDH was treated with solutions containing iodide and iodine. It was found that iodine could be more easily removed from solution than iodide. Powder X-ray diffraction revealed the destruction of the LDH structure during thermal activation and the successful reformation of a similar LDH material after treatment with the iodide or iodine solution. Thermal decomposition of all samples studied by thermogravimetry appeared to be similar. A new decomposition mechanism similar to one previously described in the literature was proposed for the Zn/Al LDH. The total mass loss of samples treated with iodide and iodine was significantly lower than that of the original LDH indicating that iodine species may form non-removable anions when intercalated into the LDH structure. Evolved gas mass spectrometry failed to detect any iodine species lost as gases during the decomposition of iodide treated LDH however, small quantities of iodine species were observed during decomposition of samples treated with iodine solution.

Double diffusive magneto-convection fluid flow in a strong cross magnetic field with uniform surface heat and mass flux

In this study, magnetohydrodynamic natural convection boundary layer flow of an electrically conducting and viscous incompressible fluid along a heated vertical flat plate with uniform heat and mass flux in the presence of strong cross magnetic field has been investigated. For smooth integrations the boundary layer equations are transformed in to a convenient dimensionless form by using stream function formulation as well as the free variable formulation. The nonsimilar parabolic partial differential equations are integrated numerically for Pr ≪1 that is appropriate for liquid metals against the local Hartmann parameter ξ . Further, asymptotic solutions are obtained near the leading edge using regular perturbation method for smaller values of ξ . Solutions for values of ξ ≫ 1 are also obtained by employing the matched asymptotic technique. The results obtained for small, large and all ξ regimes are examined in terms of shear stress, τw, rate of heat transfer, qw, and rate of mass transfer, mw, for important physical parameter. Attention has been given to the influence of Schmidt number, Sc, buoyancy ratio parameter, N and local Hartmann parameter, ξ on velocity, temperature and concentration distributions and noted that velocity and temperature of the fluid achieve their asymptotic profiles for Sc ≥ 10:0.

Experiences of a walking intervention in a University community : Qualitative perspectives

Background: This study explored the experiences of university employees that participated in a walking intervention that encouraged individuals to walk more throughout their workday. The 10-week program was comprised of 5 phases (i.e. baseline, anticipating barriers, short planned walks, longer planned walks and maintenance) and utilized a pedometer diary and an online website for logging steps. The pedometer diary included “action plans” for addressing barriers and planning walking and the online dashboard provided graphical outputs that allowed participants to visualize whether they were reaching or exceeding their step targets. Methods: A subsample of 12 academic and administrative employees from the study completed open ended questionnaires at the end of the study. The questions focused on capturing the major themes of benefits/mediators and problems/moderators of the program and were assessed using phenomenological approaches. Results: Participants found a raised consciousness of physical inactivity throughout the work day. They also found it useful to have a graphical display of physical activity patterns, but found time constraints and lack of managerial support to be the primary barriers/moderators of the program. Those most likely to withdraw from the program experienced technical difficulties with objective monitors and the online website. Conclusions: Findings highlight the value in being involved in a group forum and provide insights into the challenges of supporting such programs within the workplace.

A double-blind randomised controlled trial of a natural oil-based emulsion containing allantoin versus aqueous cream for managing radiation-induced skin reactions in patients with cancer

Background: Radiation-induced skin reaction (RISR) is one of the most common and distressing side effects of radiotherapy in patients with cancer. It is featured with swelling, redness, itching, pain, breaks in skin, discomfort, and a burning sensation. There is a lack of convincing evidence supporting any single practice in the prevention or management of RISR. Methods/Designs: This double-blinded randomised controlled trial aims to investigate the effects of a natural oil-based emulsion containing allantoin (as known as Moogoo Udder Cream®) versus aqueous cream in reducing RISR, improving pain, itching and quality of life in this patient group. One group will receive Moogoo Udder Cream®. Another group will receive aqueous cream. Outcome measures will be collected using patient self-administered questionnaire, interviewer administered questionnaire and clinician assessment at commencement of radiotherapy, weekly during radiotherapy, and four weeks after the completion of radiotherapy. Discussion: Despite advances of radiologic advances and supportive care, RISR are still not well managed. There is a lack of efficacious interventions in managing RISR. While anecdotal evidence suggests that Moogoo Udder Cream® may be effective in managing RISR, research is needed to substantiate this claim. This paper presents the design of a double blind randomised controlled trial that will evaluate the effects of Moogoo Udder Cream® versus aqueous cream for managing in RISR in patients with cancer. Trial registration: ACTRN 12612000568819