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Optimum design of composite prestressed concrete girder railway bridges
No full textThis paper deals with the formulation of design optimisation of pretsressed concrete bridges. The bridge is of a slab-on-girder type, hence modeled as an equivalent orthotropic plate. The whole bridge system is considered as a simply supported right angle plate. Following linear elastic behaviour, the governing fourth order differential equation of the plate for patch load is solved in order to find out load distribution on the girders forming the bridge as well as the deflections and internal forces at critical sections of the whole bridge. The optimisation problem is formulated for various cross sectional geometries including rectangular, symmetrical I, unsymmetrical I, box, T and inverted T sections. The design variables are the main cross sectional dimensions, prestressing force and tendon eccentricity. The objective function comprises the cost of concrete material, formwork and prestressing steel tendons. The constraint functions are set to satisfy design requirements as per British Standards for bridges (BS 5400). Nonlinear optimisation method based on sequential unconstrained minimisation technique (SUMT) is employed to achieve optimum bridge configuration for specific design parameters of span length, concrete compressive strength and railway loading patterns. A purpose built computer program is set up to carry out the solution of the design optimisation problem efficiently in terms of time and effort. A typical example of unsymmetrical I-section having a small bottom flange as compared to the top flange width with composite deck effect is presented. The results show that the total cost increases as the span increases due to the increase of the initial prestressing force. Furthermore, the total cost decreases as the concrete compressive strength increases in spite of the increasing of the prestressing force. This is due to decrease of the overall depth, top and bottom flange widths, hence leading to a smaller girder size. Such finding will encourage engineers to adopt high strength concrete for bridges as it will help reducing not only the initial cost but also the life cycle cost of the bridge over its entire life
Durable Timber Bridges - Final Report and Guidelines [Elektronisk resurs]
No full textThis is the final report from the project DuraTB - Durable Timber Bridges. The goal of the project was to contribute to the development of sustainable timber bridges by making guidelines for moisture design and developing new and improved bridge concepts and details in terms of durability and maintenance aspects.In this report the analyzes, surveys, results and guidelines are described. More detailed descriptions are referred to the many publications that the project has delivered.The research leading to these results has received funding from the WoddWisdom-Net Research Programme which is a transnational R&D programme jointly funded by national funding organisations within the framework of the ERA-NET WoodWisdom-Net 2.</p
Use of Railroad Flat Cars for Low-Volume Road Bridges; TR-421, August 1999
No full textIn an attempt to solve the bridge problem faced by many county engineers, this
investigation focused on a low cost bridge alternative that consists of using railroad flatcars (RRFC) as the bridge superstructure. The intent of this study was to determine whether these types of bridges are structurally adequate and potentially feasible for use on low volume roads. A questionnaire was sent to the Bridge Committee members of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) to determine their use of RRFC bridges and to assess the pros and cons of these bridges based on others’ experiences. It was found that these types of bridges are widely used in many states with large rural populations and they are reported to be a viable bridge alternative due to their low cost, quick and easy installation, and low maintenance.
A main focus of this investigation was to study an existing RRFC bridge that is located in
Tama County, IA. This bridge was analyzed using computer modeling and field load testing. The dimensions of the major structural members of the flatcars in this bridge were measured and their properties calculated and used in an analytical grillage model. The analytical results were compared with those obtained in the field tests, which involved instrumenting the bridge and loading it with a fully loaded rear tandem-axle truck. Both sets of data (experimental and theoretical) show that the Tama County Bridge (TCB) experienced very low strains and deflections when loaded and the RRFCs appeared to be structurally adequate to serve as a bridge superstructure. A calculated load rating of the TCB agrees with this conclusion. Because many different types of flatcars exist, other flatcars were modeled and analyzed. It was very difficult to obtain the structural plans of RRFCs; thus, only two additional flatcars were analyzed. The results of these analyses also yielded very low strains and displacements. Taking into account the experiences of other states, the inspection of several RRFC bridges in Oklahoma, the field test and computer analysis of the TCB, and the computer analysis of two additional flatcars, RRFC bridges appear to provide a safe and feasible bridge alternative
for low volume roads
Polyphony and the anxiety of influence in the fiction of Henry James
No full textJames's fiction, especially in the Middle Phase, centres
on the figure of the artist and is characterized by, the two
interrelated aspects which previous criticism has largely
overlooked: the Bakhtinian 'polyphonic' -creation of
'author-thinkers'; and the conflict between ephebes and
precursors, for which Harold-Bloom's concept of 'the-anxiety of
influence' is the most illuminating model. Polyphony is the
narrative mode, and influence is the intra-artistic, theme.
These, as the Introduction to the thesis makes clear, are
rehearsed in James's inaugural novel, Roderick Hudson. Rowland
Mallet is an author-thinker, and his failure is caused by
authorial limitations. His monologism -is impaired by his
mistaking empathy for the authorial sympathy. Likewise,
Hudson's failure does not arise from a mercurial temperament,
but from a polyphonic shortcoming: not possessing the power of
fiction to contain the fiction of power in, his mentor. And the
relationships among the three artists - Gloriani, Hudson and
Singleton - perfectly exemplify the Bloomian-theme. It is these
two concepts, polyphony and influence, which are the major
preoccupation in the Middle Phase; as, the works chosen
demonstrate. These are a novella, a novel, and a number of
short stories all of which have been unjustifiably neglected.
Chapter One, on The Aspern Papers, argues that Tina Bordereau,
far from being, the artless victim seen by many critics,
actually challenges and defeats the narrator by the very form
of her narrative. Her 'realist' discourse undermines his
language of 'romance', and shows up its internal unstability.
Chapter Two is an extensive study of the critical reception of
The Tragic Muse. The most common areas of critical attention
have been its contemporary topicality, its relation to previous
novels on similar themes, and the possible genealogy of Gabriel
Nash. Those have all missed the core of the work. - Chapter Three
demonstrates how polyphony and the anxiety of influence make
the novel what it really is. Influence arises from the
juxtaposition of, and the wrestling between, artistic ephebes
and their precursors (Nick and Nash,, Miriam and Madame Carre).
The dialogic quality defined by Bakhtin is crucial to the
proper, and even-handed, characterization of all, the conflicts
in the novel. And since most of James's tales in the eighties
and nineties -are about 'masters - and acolytes, the anxiety of
influence remains central. Chapter Four is a study of 'The
Author of Beltraffiol' and 'The Lesson of the Master'. Again the
characters' manipulations are a crucial focus in a way that
G6rard Genette's terminology helps to illuminate. The fact that
the ephebe is the author-thinker emphasizes the inextricability
of the Bakhtinian and the Bloomian in James. Just as
polyphony offers a different focus for explicating the poetics
of James's fiction; so the ephebal conflict provides the basis
for a fresh perception of James's own artistic struggle
Alternative Solutions to Meet the Service Needs of Low Volume Bridges in Iowa; TR-452, June 2004
No full textThere is a nationwide need for a safe, efficient and cost effective transportation
system. An essential component of this system is the bridges. Local agencies perhaps
have an even greater task than federal and state agencies in maintaining the low
volume road (LVR) bridge system due to lack of sufficient resources and funding.
The primary focus of this study was to review the various aspects of off-system bridge
design, rehabilitation, and replacement. Specifically, a reference report was developed
to address common problems in LVR bridges. The source of information included
both Iowa and national agencies. This report is intended to be a “user manual” or
“tool box” of information, procedures and choices for county engineers to employ in
the management of their bridge inventory plus identify areas and problems that need to
be researche
James Bond: international man of gastronomy
No full textThis article is concerned with the representation of food and drink in Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels. In particular, it examines how the author uses Bond’s culinary knowledge and habits of consumption as an important constituent of his hero’s character. Similarly, the food choices of other characters, notably villains, are shown to be linked, by Fleming, to core aspects of their identity − principally their ethnicity. Bond’s impulse to observe and classify, very much in evidence in the novels’ food sequences, is examined in terms of the texts’ construction of Bond as a skilled identifier of signs
Receipt to A. V. Darby, James R. Bridges.
No full textReceipt to A. V. Darby, James R. Bridges.https://mavmatrix.uta.edu/specialcollections_taylordarbyfamily/1287/thumbnail.jp
A critical comparison of William James and Søren Kierkegaard on religious belief
No full textThis thesis is a critical comparison of the accounts of religious belief proposed byWilliam James and Søren Kierkegaard. Both James and Kierkegaard greatly emphasizethe subjective aspects of religious belief. In view of this fact, surprisingly littlecomparative work has been done in this area. I contribute to this literature in two ways.Firstly, I make a brief assessment of what James knew of Kierkegaard’s work.Secondly, I draw four comparisons between Kierkegaard and James. In Chapter One Iexamine the claim that Kierkegaard proposes a pragmatist account of faith of the kindthat James sets out in his essay The Will To Believe. I argue that this claim rests on amisunderstanding of Kierkegaard’s argument that to have faith is to take a risk. In thefollowing chapter I discuss James’s and Kierkegaard’s views on formal proofs for theexistence of God. Both philosophers reject the notion that faith can be based on suchproofs. I distinguish between their positions, and argue in favour of Kierkegaard’s. Inthe third chapter I compare Kierkegaard’s and James’s accounts of religious experience.James views religious experiences as a special kind of evidence for the existence ofGod. For Kierkegaard it is a mistake to view religious experiences as evidence. Suchexperiences should be understood in relation to the concept of religious authority. In thefinal chapter I examine Kierkegaard’s conception of faith as a life-view. I argue that forKierkegaard a life-view is a fundamental perspective on one’s existence. I compare thisconception with James’s concept of philosophical temperament and in relation to hisdiscussion of the sick soul
Field Trip to Ban Houei Sai
No full textA letter from James R. Chamberlain concerning a trip to Ban Houei Sai and contact with a rural group in Pha Te
Orlando, James (James H.). Automatic transfer of juveniles from juvenile to criminal court
No full text"October 29, 2021.""October 29, 2021."Discusses when a juvenile offender in Connecticut must be transferred from juvenile to criminal court. Updates OLR research report 2019-R-024
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