Shape correction factor for drying shrinkage in a concrete cross-section

A concrete member is subjected to loads for a long period of time, during which creep and shrinkage of concrete develop gradually. The prediction of this time-dependent behaviour is important as it may cause serious serviceability problems in concrete structures. A time-dependent analysis is commonly based on empirical equations according to design codes where the function describing the time dependent increment of shrinkage and creep is commonly, among others, defined based on the notional size of the element. In case of imbedded steel or insulated boundaries the moisture transport can be partially affected or prevented. Also, the geometry and size of the cross-section have an important effect on the shrinkage behaviour of a concrete member. Hence, the performance of commonly used empirical formulas may be improved by applying a correction factor on the notional size. In order to investigate the impact of these various factors on the net macroscopic shrinkage used in analysis and design, a discretized 2D physical model was developed. The model was used to simulate drying of a concrete cross-section by determining the moisture distribution in the cross-section as function of time

Assisted reverse electrodialysis : a novel technique to decrease reverse osmosis energy demand

Assisted reverse electrodialysis (ARED) was introduced as a pre-desalination technique for seawater reverse osmosis (RO) for drinking water production. ARED is comparable to an additional applied pressure along the osmotic pressure in pressure assisted osmosis; a small voltage is applied in the same direction as the open cell voltage to increase the desalination speed compared to reverse electrodialysis (RED). This decreases the required membrane area. The concentration of the dilute compartment increases significantly during ARED operation due to the increased speed of desalination. This results in an overall decrease in total cell resistance. Although the energy demand for ARED is higher than for RED, the ARED-RO process still achieves a decrease in overall energy requirements at higher RO recoveries when compared to stand-alone RO. However, ion-exchange membrane prices will have to come down to 1-10 €/m² for the ARED-RO hybrid to become economically viable at current energy prices

Contemporary analysis and numerical simulation of revisited long-term creep tests on reinforced concrete beams from the Sixties

The stresses and deformations in concrete change over time as a result of the creep- and shrinkage deformations of concrete. Different material models are available in literature in order to predict this time-dependent behaviour. These material models mostly have been calibrated on large datasets of creep specimens. In order to verify the accuracy of the contemporary material models with respect to the prediction of the creep behaviour of reinforced concrete beams, a cross-sectional calculation tool which employs the age-adjusted effective modulus has been developed and used to analyse an original set of 4 year-long creep data on reinforced beams from the 1960’s. Six commonly used material models for the prediction of creep and shrinkage are considered in the current investigation: CEB-FIP Model Code 1990–1999, fib Model Code 2010, the model of EN1992-1-1, model B3, the Gardner Lockmann 2000 model, and ACI 209. The data on reinforced beams relates to an experimental investigation in collaboration with six major research institutes in Belgium. From 1967 until 1972 thirty-two reinforced beams with different reinforcement ratios were subjected, up until 4.5 years, to different stress levels in a four point bending configuration with a span of 2.8 m. In this paper a comparison between the measurements and the calculated deflections and strains is reported. Further, the deflections were also predicted using the contemporary creep models in combination with the nonlinear creep correction factor provided in EN1992-1-1, since the maximum concrete stresses in the beams were outside the service stress range of each of the models. Correcting for the nonlinearity of the creep coefficient significantly improves the calculated deflections. The most accurate predictions of the deflections at early age were obtained by the model of fib Model Code 2010. The Gardner Lockmann 2000 model exhibits the highest accuracy with respect to deflections at the end of loading and with respect to the creep rate

Modelling of long-term loading tests on reinforced concrete beams

During the period 1967-1985 the Magnel Laboratory for Concrete Research participated in an extensive Belgian research campaign with respect to the influence of creep and shrinkage on the long-term behaviour of reinforced and prestressed concrete beams. This research campaign, jointly conducted at several Belgian research institutes, comprised the investigation of concrete and reinforced concrete beams (phase 1), prestressed concrete beams (phase 2) and partially prestressed concrete beams (phase 3). The main aim of the research campaign was the determination of the long-term behaviour subjected to permanent loads, considering the influence of the magnitude of the loads, different reinforcement ratios and/or prestressing degrees and/or different cross-sectional shapes. These results were obtained by a joint collaboration of 4 Belgian research institutes, each focussing on a different reinforcement ratio and reinforcement arrangement. With respect to the reinforced concrete beams (phase 1), at each institute 12 beams were tested in a 4point bending configuration, namely 2 static tests at 28 days and 10 long-term tests with a duration of 2 to 4 years, considering different loading levels. In this contribution some results of the reinforced concrete beams (phase 1) will be documented and analysed, comprising the results obtained on 48 reinforced beam specimens with a length of 3.4 m (span of 2.8 m) and cross-section of 0.28 m x 0.15 m. A cross-sectional calculation tool developed at our department-incorporating the current creep and shrinkage models in standards and guidelines-will be employed in order to investigate the accuracy of the available models with respect to their ability to predict the structural behaviour of the documented reinforced concrete beams

No longer diseases of the wealthy : prevalence and health-seeking for self-reported chronic conditions among urban poor in Southern India

Background: The burden of chronic conditions is high in low-and middle-income countries and poses a significant challenge to already weak healthcare delivery systems in these countries. Studies investigating chronic conditions among the urban poor remain few and focused on specific chronic conditions rather than providing overall profile of chronic conditions in a given community, which is critical for planning and managing services within local health systems. We aimed to assess the prevalence and health-seeking behaviour for self-reported chronic conditions in a poor neighbourhood of a metropolitan city in India. Methods: We conducted a house-to-house survey covering 9299 households (44514 individuals) using a structured questionnaire. We relied on self-report by respondents to assess presence of any chronic conditions, including diabetes and hypertension. Multivariable logistic regression was used to analyse the prevalence and health-seeking behaviour for self-reported chronic conditions in general as well as for diabetes and hypertension in particular. The predictor variables included age, sex, income, religion, household poverty status, presence of comorbid chronic conditions, and tiers in the local health care system. Results: Overall, the prevalence of self-reported chronic conditions was 13.8% (95% CI = 13.4, 14.2) among adults, with hypertension (10%) and diabetes (6.4%) being the most commonly reported conditions. Older people and women were more likely to report chronic conditions. We found reversal of socioeconomic gradient with people living below the poverty line at significantly greater odds of reporting chronic conditions than people living above the poverty line (OR = 3, 95% CI = 1.5, 5.8). Private healthcare providers managed over 80% of patients. A majority of patients were managed at the clinic/health centre level (42.9%), followed by the referral hospital (38.9%) and the super-specialty hospital (18.2%) level. An increase in income was positively associated with the use of private facilities. However, elderly people, people below the poverty line, and those seeking care from hospitals were more likely to use government services. Conclusions: Our findings provide further evidence of the urgent need to improve care for chronic conditions for urban poor, with a preferential focus on improving service delivery in government health facilities