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Search results for: EFFICIENCY DECREASE
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Effect of conventional cooking on changes in the contents of basic composition and glucosinolates in kale
PublicationBrassica vegetables have been strongly recommended as part of human diet because of its high content of bioactive sulphur compounds, eg glucosinolates. The nutrient and health promoting compounds in kale are significantly affected by traditional cooking. The study investigated changes in the levels of dry mass, ash, fat, total protein, dietary fibre as well as total and individual glucosinolates in the kale due to the traditional...
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The response of three colliding models of steel towers to seismic excitation
PublicationA number of past and recent observations have confirmed that collisions between adjacent, insufficiently-separated structures occurring as a result of seismic excitation (structural pounding) may result in serious damage to structural elements and can even lead to their total destruction. This paper summarises the results obtained from a shaking table experimental study which investigated structural pounding between three adjacent...
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Numerical analysis of crack propagation in silicone nitride
PublicationThe properties of ceramics, specifically low density, high hardness, high temperature capability and low coefficient of thermal expansion are of most interest to rolling element manufacturers. The influence of ring crack size on rolling contact fatigue failure has been studied using numerical fracture analysis. Such cracks are very often found on ceramic bearing balls and decrease fatigue life rapidly. The numerical calculation...
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Optical Spectroscopic Studies of Tetrahydrofuran Fragmentation Induced by Collisions with Dihydrogen Cations
PublicationCollisions of dihydrogen cations with tetrahydrofuran molecules have been studied. Luminescence spectra and the emission functions of the excited products at projectile energies ranging from 8 to 1000 eV have been measured using collision-induced emission spectroscopy. The recorded spectra are dominated by the atomic lines of the hydrogen Balmer series, whose intensities decrease more quickly than derived by the quantum-theoretical...
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A detector of sleep disorders for using at home
PublicationObstructive sleep apnea usually requires all-ni ght examination in a specialized clinic, under the supervision of a medical staff. Because of those requirements it is an expensive and a non-widely utilized test. Moving the examination procedure to patients’ home with automatic analysis algorithms involved will decrease the costs and make it available for larger group of patients. The developed device allows all-night recordings...
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Utilization of ionic liquids for the enrichment of biogas
PublicationThis article discusses the dependence of biogas composition on organic feed material. High amounts of CO2 decrease the calorific value of biogas. Several technologies are reviewed which can be used to increase the calorific value. Special emphasis is laid on ionic liquids as a new absorbing material. ILs have a number of advantages due to their unique properties such as: low melting point, high thermal conductivity, no flammability,...
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total number and biomass of bacteria in drinking water distribution systems.
PublicationIn the vast water supply network using traditional methods of treatment it is often impossible to maintain a constant and acceptable microbiological quality of water. In Poland the main reason of bacterial re-growth is presence of organic matter and nutrients in the circulating water and prolonged water retention in the network systems due to the decrease of water consumption, which has been observed for the last 20 years. In the...
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Microstructure, mechanical properties, and flame retardancy of nanoclay-incorporated polyurethane flexible foam composites
PublicationThe present work seeks to investigate microstructure, mechanical properties, and flame retardancy of polyurethane/nanoclay flexible foam composites. In this regard, we prepared various nanocomposites with and without nanoclay and observed the resulting morphologies to correlate them with the other corresponding characteristics. The results provided support for the fact that tensile strength and compression set will increase with...
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Structure and thermoelectric properties of bismuth telluride—Carbon composites
PublicationCarbon nanotubes and amorphous carbon have been introduced into a bismuth telluride matrix (0.15 and 0.30 wt.% ratio) to investigate the influence of the carbon on the composite’s thermoelectric properties. Composites with well-dispersed additives have been obtained by sonication and ball-milling methodology. Carbon nanotubes and an amorphous carbon addition led to a decrease in electric conductivity from 1120 S/cm to 77 S/cm....
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Revealing the Frank–Evans “Iceberg” Structures within the Solvation Layer around Hydrophobic Solutes
PublicationUsing computer simulations, the structural properties of solvation water of three model hydrophobic molecules, methane and two fullerenes (C60 and C80), were studied. Systems were simulated at temperatures in the range of 250−298 K. By analyzing both the local ordering of the molecules of water in the solvation layers and the structure of hydrogen bond network, it is shown that in the solvation layer of hydrophobic molecules, ordered...
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PHOTON LUMINESCENCE STUDIES OF TETRAHYDROFURAN FOLLOWING TRIHYDROGEN CATIONS IMPACT IN THE 20–1000 EV ENERGY RANGE
PublicationPhoton emission arising during tetrahydrofuran (C4H8O, THF) fragmentation initiated by H3 + ion impact has been studied experimentally. Luminescence fragmentation spectra and the relative emission cross-sections of the excited fragments have been measured using collision-induced emission spectroscopy in the 20–1000 eV energy range. The main features in the spectra are the H Balmer series lines, whose intensities decrease with increasing...
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Effect of Overloaded Vehicles on Whole Life Cycle Cost of Flexible Pavements
PublicationThe phenomenon of vehicle overloading—illegal exceeding of maximum legal weight of vehicles, is a serious problem both in developing and developed countries around the world. Overloaded vehicles occur less frequently in comparison to properly loaded vehicles but due to their greater potential to cause damage they significantly contribute to distress of pavement structure. As studies show, the number of overloaded vehicles increases...
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The Influence of Laser Alloying of Ti13Nb13Zr on Surface Topography and Properties
PublicationThe laser alloying is a continually developing surface treatment because of its significant and specific structuration of a surface. In particular, it is applied for Ti alloys, being now the most essential biomaterials` group for load-bearing implants. The present research was performed on the Ti13Nb13Zr alloy subject to laser modification in order to determine the treatment effects on surface topography and its some mechanical...
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Mixed conductivity in tungstenite-phosphate glasses containing alkali metal ions
PublicationThe conductivity of glasses in the 50WO3-(50-x)P2O5-xA2O (A = Na, K, Cs) system has been investigated as a function of composition. It is shown that in tungstenite-phosphate glasses containing different alkali metal ions the conductivity decreases with an increase in the alkali metal ion content. A decrease in conductivity is larger for heavier ions and reaches more than seven orders of magnitude in the case of glass containing...
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Deep compaction control of sandy soils
PublicationVibroflotation, vibratory compaction, micro-blasting or heavy tamping are typical improvement methods for the cohesionless deposits of high thickness. The complex mechanism of deep soil compaction is related to void ratio decrease with grain rearrangements, lateral stress increase, prestressing effect of certain number of load cycles, water pressure dissipation, aging and other effects. Calibration chamber based interpretation...
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Vertical vibration reduction and audible sound analysis in surface grinding with electroplated tools
PublicationOne of the first approaches to the development of a grinding process monitoring system based on audible sound sensors is presented in the paper. Electroplated diamond tools (abrasive D64 and D107) were used in a modified single-disc lapping machine configuration for flat grinding of ceramics (Al2O3). The main aim of the machine modification was to reduce the vertical vibration in order to decrease the tool wear and to increase...
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Granulometric analysis to etimate influence of anionic surfactrant on activated sludge structure
PublicationThe work concerns the evaluation of the possibility of using laser diffraction analyzer to determine changes in the distribution of sludge floc size in the presence of anionic surfactant. As a model of surfactant linear alkylbenzyne sulphonate (LAS) was used. The granulometric analysis showed that the pure activated sludge was composed of particles with a size of 0,001 to 2 mm. The largest and fastest changes in the distribution...
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Al(III) and Cu(II) simultaneous foam separation: Physicochemical problems
PublicationSimultaneous removal of Al(III) and Cu(II) from dilute aqueous solutions by ion and precipitate flotation methods is investigated. Influence of the pH of the initial solution, the surface active collector concentration and the gas flow rate on the final removal ratio and the course of ion and precipitate flotations is presented. Results show that simultaneous flotations of Al(OH)3 and Cu(OH)2 insoluble species occur allowing to...
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Rigid polyurethane foams modified with ground tire rubber - mechanical, morphological and thermal studies
PublicationRigid polyurethane foams, prepared by a single step method, were modified with the two types of ground tire rubber particles, i.e. untreated and thermo-mechanically reclaimed by using a co-rotating twin screw extruder. The foaming process as well as the structure and the physical, mechanical and thermal properties of the resulting foams were investigated. The presence of ground tire rubber decreased the velocity of polymerization....
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The Creation of an Antimicrobial Coating on Contact Lenses by The Use of Nanocopper
PublicationThe aim of the research was to creation an antimicrobial coating on contact lens and examine the ability of copper nanoparticles to decrease microbial adhesion and prevent the growth of bacteria. The creation was based on the immersion method in solution with dispersed nanoparticles of copper at concentration 200 pm. There were evaluated follows factors: time of immersion and base to dispersed nanoparticles. Three solutions: ethyl...
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Clustering Context Items into User Trust Levels
PublicationAn innovative trust-based security model for Internet systems is proposed. The TCoRBAC model operates on user profiles built on the history of user with system interaction in conjunction with multi-dimensional context information. There is proposed a method of transforming the high number of possible context value variants into several user trust levels. The transformation implements Hierarchical Agglomerative Clustering strategy....
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Reduction of the Multipath Propagation Effect in a Hydroacoustic Channel Using Filtration in Cepstrum
PublicationDuring data transmission in a hydroacoustic channel, one of the problems is the multipath propagation effect, which leads to a decrease in the transmission parameters and sometimes completely prevents it. Therefore, we have attempted to develop a method, which is based on a recorded hydroacoustic signal, that allows us to recreate the original (generated) signal by eliminating the multipath effect. In our method, we use cepstral...
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Influence of Phase Composition on Dielectric Properties of Bismuth-Based Ceramics with Scheelite-Type Structure
PublicationGoal of the present research was to study dielectric properties of BiNbO4 ceramics fabricated by solid state reaction route followed with pressureless sintering. The samples were fabricated from the mixture of oxides, viz. Nb2O5 and Bi2O3. Apart from stoichiometric amount an excess of 3%, 5% and 10% by mole of Bi2O3 was used. It was found that an excess amount of Bi2O3 oxide caused formation of Bi5Nb3O15 minor phase in amount of...
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Speech codec enhancements utilizing time compression and perceptual coding
PublicationA method for encoding wideband speech signal employing standardized narrowband speech codecs is presented as well as experimental results concerning detection of tonal spectral components. The speech signal sampled with a higher sampling rate than it is suitable for narrowband coding algorithm is compressed in order to decrease the amount of samples. Next, the time-compressed representation of a signal is encoded using a narrowband...
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EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF SURFACE ROUGHNESS EFFECT ONTHE RHEOLOGICAL BEHAVIOR OF MR FLUID
PublicationPaper presents the results of shear stress measurements of a commercial magnetorheological fluid using a plate-plate type geometry with a modified working surface. The purpose of the study was to determine the effect of changing the roughness of the measuring plate on the obtained shear stress results. Controlled shear rate tests and Magneto Sweep measurements were carried out for three MR fluid layer heights. The tests were...
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Pharmacomicrobiomics of cell-cycle specific anti-cancer drugs – is it a new perspective for personalized treatment of cancer patients?
PublicationIntestinal bacteria are equipped with an enzyme apparatus that is involved in the active biotrans-formation of xenobiotics, including drugs. Pharmacomicrobiomics, a new area of pharmacology, analyses interactions between bacteria and xenobiotics. However, there is another side to the coin. Pharmacotherapeutic agents can significantly modify the microbiota, which consequently affects their efficacy. In this review, we comprehensively...
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Application of Extreme Doses of Aluminium for Growth Control of Filmentous Bacteria Microthrix Parvicella in an Activated Sludge System - Laboratory Investigations
PublicationLaboratory investigations of aluminium (PAX-16) application for control of population of filamentous bacteria Microthrix Parvicella in a three-phase bioreactor in lab-scale were performed. Dosing of small aluminium doses (approximately 0.5 mgAl/gMLSS·d) in the period preceding seasonal growth of M.Parvicella failed to prevent mass growth of this microorganism leading to activated sludge bulking phenomenon (SVI-250 ml/gMLSS)...
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Application of bioassays in studies on the impact of pharmaceuticals on the environment
PublicationDrug interactions are often desirable particularly in medicine, when treatment of a patient requires using a mixture of drugs in specific doses to produce the adequate therapeutic effect. Unfortunately, interactions between drugs in the environment are not as desirable, despite the fact that drugs are present in the environment at low concentration levels [1]. Pharmaceuticals are present in the environment in a mixture of compounds,...
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Features of Nonlinear Sound Propagation in Vibrationally Excited Gases
PublicationWeakly nonlinear sound propagation in a gas where molecular vibrational relaxation takes place is studied. New equations which govern the sound in media where the irreversible relaxation may take place are derived and discussed. Their form depends on the regime of excitation of oscillatory degrees of freedom, equilibrium (reversible) or non-equilibrium (irreversible), and on the comparative frequency of the sound in relation to...
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Microstructure and residual stresses in surface coatings with PTFE reservoirs
PublicationThe paper presents the results of experimental study into the microstructure and changes in residual stresses resulting from sliding and rolling/sliding loaded interaction between metallic surface coatings with embedded PTFE reservoirs and various counter faces. It was found that before testing surface coatings had compressive residual stresses. Molybdenum coating with all types of PTFE reservoirs displayed, as a result of testing,...
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Analysis of the structure of the atomized fuel spray with marine diesel engine injector in the early stage of injection
PublicationThis paper presents the results of the experimental research of the atomized fuel spray with the marine diesel engine injector in the constant volume chamber. The specificity of the phenomena occurring in the marine engine cylinder was the reason to use the optical visualisation method in the studies – the Mie scattering technique. This work presents an analysis of the influence of different geometry of outlet orifice and opening...
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How does climate change affect ice formation and presence in rivers, lakes and oceans, as well as its impact on infrastructure
PublicationIce season in rivers, lakes, seas and oceans is sensitive to climate change due to the high homologous temperature. Two vital aspects of the predicted climate change are increasing average air temperature and increasing variability in the weather. These cause delayed formation of ice, thinner ice and shorter duration of seasonal ice covers, the geographical ice margin to move further away from the equator, the perennial ice to...
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Driving Performance Indicators of Electric Bus Driving Technique: Naturalistic Driving Data Multicriterial Analysis
PublicationThe issue of electric energy saving in public transport is becoming the key area of interest. By improving of driving techniques and the implementation of eco-driving, it is possible to save electric energy. Systems that help to decrease energy consumption and to reduce fuel emissions are becoming popular in vehicles powered by diesel engines. However, these methods have not yet gained popularity in electric vehicles. Therefore,...
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Application of Diversity Combining with RLS Adaptive Filtering in Data Transmission in a Hydroacoustic Channel
PublicationWhen transmitting data in a hydroacoustic channel under difficult propagation conditions, one of the problems is intersymbol interference (ISI) caused mainly by the effect of multipath propagation. This phenomenon leads to a decrease in transmission parameters, and sometimes completely prevents it. Therefore, we have made an attempt to use diversity combining with Recursive Least Squares (RLS) adaptive filtering to improve the...
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Signal propagation in electromagnetic media described by fractional-order models
PublicationIn this paper, signal propagation is analysed in electromagnetic media described by fractional-order (FO) models (FOMs). Maxwell’s equations with FO constitutive relations are introduced in the time domain. Then, their phasor representation is derived for one-dimensional case of the plane wave propagation. With the use of the Fourier transformation, the algorithm for simulation of the non-monochromatic wave propagation is introduced....
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Geotechnical characterization of soft soil deposits in Northern Poland
PublicationThis paper presents a geotechnical characterization of deltaic soft soil deposits in the Vistula Marshlands, northern Poland. It shows the limited applicability of organic soil classifications based on Cone Penetration Tests (CPTU) and Dilatometer Tests (DMT). None of the in-situ-based classifications correctly identifies peat. Analysis of the behaviour of contractive/dilative soil layers according to Robertson's updated classification...
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Emission and properties of airborne wear particles from train brake friction materials based on novolac phenolic resins and butadiene rubbers
PublicationThe emission of airborne particulate matter from a train brake depends on the formulation of its friction material. This study investigates the emission and properties of wear particles from train brake friction materials based on straight or resorcinol-modified novolac phenolic resin and nitrile or styrene butadiene rubber used as binding ingredients. The wear particles are generated by a pin-on-disc tribomachine inside an aerodynamic...
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Effect of culinary treatment on chnages in the contents of selected nutrients and non-nutrients in curly kale (Brassica oleracea var. acephala)
PublicationKale has a great nutritive value, very high antioxidant activity and pro-healthypotential. The level of phytochemicals and related bioactive compounds arestrongly dependent on pre and postharvest stages of production chain (domestic orindustrial). The study investigated changes in the levels of vitamin C, b-carotene,total polyphenols, antioxidant activity, degradation products of glucosinolates aswell as nitrates and nitrites in...
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The determinants of morphology and properties of the nanohydroxyapatite coating deposited on the Ti13Zr13Nb alloy by electrophoretic techniqe
PublicationThe titanium and its alloys belong at present to the most preferred and commonly applied biomaterials for load- bearing implants. The surfaces of biomaterials are subjected to modification, including the hydroxyapatite coatings deposited in order to ensure corrosion resistance and better joining between an implant and a bone through the possibility of ingrowth bone into the coating. In this paper, the morphology and properties...
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Principles of smoking
PublicationTreatment of a large variety of foods with wood smoke has been practiced for centuries—predominantlymeats, poultry, and fish, but also scallops, cheeses, prunes, paprika, and themalt used to produce whiskey and some sorts of beer.The process usually includes salting and partial drying; it may also be coupled with heating. The aim is to increase the shelf life of the products, prevent food poisoning, and add a desirable smoky flavor....
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The consideration to the dynamic systems parameter identification
PublicationIn this paper, a concept for continuous-time dynamic systems parameter identification using modulating function approach is presented. It refers to linear as well as selected non-linear systems. It shows the possibility of direct application without converting differential equation. In particular cases direct application can decrease the amount of computation in non-linear system identification, which generally requires Fourier...
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NUMERICAL ANALYSIS OF RUBBER BUMPERS INFLUENCE ON THE COLLIDING STEEL STRUCTURES
PublicationProblem of collisions of neighbouring structures is one of the important issues related to the safety of civil engineering structures. The safety and reliability of steel structures under impact loading is among a number of different aims during the design state. The aim of this paper is to present the results of numerical investigation of dynamic behavior of closely-separated steel structures under seismic excitation. Modal and transient...
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The effect of current signal filtering method on the value of cutting power while sawing wood
PublicationThe goal of this work was to investigate an effect of various signal pre-processings on the outline of the electrical power curve and its influence on the measured cutting force estimation. Two signal processing methods were selected for the needs of the experiment, including digital filter and wavelet transform. The filter used was Butterworth, 3rd order band-stop with the cut-out band from 45 Hz to 55 Hz. The second approach...
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Laboratory assessment of permeability of sand and biopolymer mixtures
PublicationLaboratory assessment of permeability of sand and biopolymer mixtures. This research presents a method of creating seepage barriers in a sandy soil using biopolymer additives (biosubstance), which consist of polysaccharides and water. Polysaccharides strongly interact with water to produce a viscous suspension. The paper aims to investigate the infl uence of a biosubstance employed in a highly permeable sandy soil. Amount of the...
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Effects of the polyhistidine tag on kinetics and other properties of trehalose synthase from Deionococcus geothermalis
PublicationTwo recombinant trehalose synthases from Deinococcus geothermalis (DSMZ 11300) were compared. A significant influence of the artificial polyhistidine tag was observed in protein constitution. The recombinant trehalose synthase from D. geothermalis with His6 -tag has a higher K m value of 254 mM, in comparison with the wild-type trehalose synthase (K m 170 mM), and displayed a lower activity of maltose conversion when compared...
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Structural design and sensitivity analysis of semi-rigid pavement of a motorway
PublicationThis paper presents application of mechanistic-empirical methods in design of semi-rigid pavement for a section of a motorway in Poland. The stage construction was assumed. Three fatigue criteria were applied in the design. For asphalt fatigue cracking and subgrade soil the criteria from the Asphalt Institute (USA) were applied. For fatigue cracking of cement stabilized bases the Dempsey (USA) and De Beer (South Africa) criteria...
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Experimental dynamic study on a timber-frame house using shaking table
PublicationThe aim of this paper is to show the results of the shaking table experimental study concerning the behaviour of the model of the timber-frame house under earthquake excitation and impact loading. In order to determine the basic dynamic properties of the undamaged structure, the free vibration and the sweep-sine tests were first conducted. Then, the model was excited using the time history record of the El Centro earthquake of...
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Diagnosis of Damage in a Steel Tank Model by Shaking Table Harmonic Tests
PublicationThe aim of the present paper is to show the results of the shaking table experimental study concerning the diagnosis of damage in a model of cylindrical steel tank with self-supported roof which is filled with liquid. During the tests, the base of the structure was excited under the harmonic loading with variable frequency. The tests were repeated for different stages of damage, which was introduced in the model by easing the bolts...
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Fabrication and properties of electrode material composed of ordered titania nanotubes and pEDOT:PSS
PublicationWe report on the two-stage preparation method of electrode material composed of titania nanotubes and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiopene):poly(2-styrenesulphonate) conductive polymer (pEDOT:PSS). Initially, titania nanotube arrays were produced by the anodization process of Ti substrate. Next, the polymer was potentiostatically deposited onto the thermally annealed nanotube arrays from the electrolyte containing monomer and counter...
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Computing methods for fast and precise body surface area estimation of selected body parts
PublicationCurrently used body surface area (BSA) formulas give satisfactory results only for individuals with typical physique, while for elderly, obese or anorectic people accurate results cannot be expected. Particularly noteworthy are the results for individuals with severe obesity (body-mass index greater than 35 kg/m2), for which BSA estimation errors reached 80%. The main goal of our study is the development of precise BSA models for...