One of the major disadvantages of conventional fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) strengthening techniques is the premature debonding of the FRP, leading to an underutilization of the materials. The externally bonded reinforcement on grooves (EBROG) method, which has been proven successful in postponing debonding in several structural applications, is examined in this study for the first time for realistic conditions in flat slabs. To this end, two different layouts of the strengthening solution are tested under concentric monotonic loading: one representing roof-level slab-column connections in which carbon FRP (CFRP) sheets are laid on top of the joint region (cross layout); and another one representing intermediate floors, in which the aforementioned layout is not possible due to the presence of the column (grid layout). For each layout, two FRP bonding techniques are used: conventional externally bonded reinforcement (EBR) and EBROG. Another specimen, without FRP strengthening, is used as a reference. It is shown that the EBROG technique is effective in postponing debonding for both layouts. Compared to the specimens in which EBR was used, the load capacity was increased in case of EBROG by 36% when FRP sheets were bonded on top of the joint (cross layout) and by 15% when sheets were attached outside the joint region (grid layout). Debonding strains are shown to be significantly higher in the case of EBROG compared to EBR. The experimentally observed debonding strains were compared with code provisions and predictions of models from the literature. A simple calculation method giving reasonably good results for the load capacity of the FRP-strengthened specimens is presented.

This paper deals with punching of reinforced high strength concrete (HSC) flat slabs. Despite the use of HSC increased significantly in the last years, the experimental research on punching behavior of HSC slabs is still limited. Furthermore, most of this past research adopted concrete compressive strength lower than 90 MPa. In a previous work by this research group three specimens with concrete compressive strength around 120 MPa and one with normal strength concrete (NSC) were tested. The present work represents the continuation of the previous activity and it is focused on the rational use of HSC. Four specimens with HSC and one of NSC were tested under monotonic vertical loading. The HSC was placed only in the slab-column connection region and it was limited to a thin layer in the compressive zone, in order to have a more economical and sustainable solution. This rational use of the HSC showed excellent results in terms of punching strength. Limiting the HSC to a thin layer in the compressive zone resulted in an almost equal punching strength to that obtained with the slab entirely casted in HSC.

This 1st Report of the project CrowdWork21 presents a summary of the information collected about workers in digital platforms by country (German, Hungary, Portugal and Spain). Each national report describes first the scientific debates about workers of digital platforms. After, the reports present the information collected about the national public debates and identifies the angles normally covered by the media in relation to the organisation of digital workers. Lastly, the reports present initial conclusions about the information collected in each country.

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The current research aims to study the behavior of thin reinforced concrete (RC) slabs under concentrated loads as well as to investigate the application of Critical Shear Crack Theory (CSCT) to such slabs. For this purpose, four square 100-mm-thick slabs were cast and subjected to concentrated punching monotonic loading. The experimental parameters were the flexural reinforcement ratio, 0.38% and 1.00%, and the presence or absence of shear headed stud reinforcement. It is shown that the failure criteria of CSCT describe reasonably well the observed failure modes and the ultimate loads of the specimens. However, attention is brought to some peculiarities in the analytical derivation of the load-rotation curve for thin lightly reinforced flat slabs, in which large deformations are experienced. Results showed that in such slabs, the behavior can be highly influenced by the post-yield stress-strain curve of the flexural steel reinforcement. As a result, the constitutive law of steel reinforcement should be explicitly taken into account in such cases. The versatility of CSCT to adapt to these conditions is demonstrated.

We report on measurements of the Kβ diagram, valence-to-core (VtC), and hypersatellite X-ray spectra induced in metallic Cr by photon single and double K-shell ionization. The experiment was carried out at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource using the seven-crystal Johann-type hard X-ray spectrometer of the beamline 6-2. For the Kβ diagram and VtC transitions, the present study confirms the line shape features observed in previous works, whereas the K h β hypersatellite transition was found to exhibit a complex spectral line shape and a characteristic low-energy shoulder. The energy shift of the hypersatellite relative to the parent diagram line was deduced from the measurements and compared with the result of extensive multiconfiguration Dirac–Fock (MCDF) calculations. A very good agreement between experiment and theory was found. The MCDF calculations were also used to compute the theoretical line shape of the hypersatellite. A satisfactory agreement was obtained between the overall shapes of the experimental and theoretical spectra, but deviations were observed on the low- and high-energy flanks of the hypersatellite line. The discrepancies were explained by chemical effects, which were not considered in the MCDF calculations performed for isolated atoms.

We combined different experimental techniques with a theoretical approach to determine a consistent set of diagram lines energies and binding energies. We propose an original approach consisting in determining the mass attenuation coefficients in an energy range covering the L-, M- and N- absorption edges, including a detailed evaluation of the associated uncertainties, to derive precisely the binding energies. We investigated the Lα, Lβ and M spectra of Gd with an independantly calibrated high-resolution anti-parallel double-crystal x-ray spectrometer. All the lines were identified and found in excellent agreement with the binding energies previously derived. Morever, we identified for the first time M5−O2, M4−O2,3 and M4−N2,3 diagram lines.

The results of a series of experiments on four reinforced concrete flat slab specimens with shear studs and a control specimen without any shear reinforcement are presented. The specimens were tested under constant gravity loads and reversed horizontal cyclic displacements. The main test variables were the applied gravity load and the number of perimeters of studs. One of the specimens was tested in two phases to study the postearthquake behavior. Results showed a considerable improvement of the deformation capacity of specimens with studs compared to the reference specimen. In agreement with previous research, increasing the applied gravity shear ratio resulted in a lower experimental drift capacity. It is shown that a better explanation of the observed ultimate drifts can be made by considering also the flexural capacity and the extent of shear reinforcement. The specimen tested in two phases exhibited considerable residual capacity, even after severe horizontal loading.

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Phys. Rev. A 97, 032517 (2018). doi:10.1103/PhysRevA.97.032517

Nowadays technologies relate to so many aspects in our daily life that makes society eager for more and more ways of using it. To keep up with this new technological world, all economic sectors, from industry to services, are trying to adapt their products into this new reality. Presently, cultural heritage is already a field where the application of technology allows a static site to be converted into an intelligent environment, with detailed information about a specific monument or historical place, becoming more interesting, not only for local habitants, but also for tourists. This paper describes an application that allows tourists, managers and historical sites' habitants to experience a completely new way of discovering those places, offering a visit with detailed real-time information taking into account their personal interests. Tourists will have at their disposal a full set of optimized routes, combining their interests with their visiting time.