Vikas S. Hakke¹, Uday D. Bagale¹, Sami Boufi², G. Uday Bhaskar Babu¹, Shirish H. Sonawane^1,*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.8, No.3, pp. 239-250, 2020, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2020.08449

Abstract Starch nanocrystals (SNC) were prepared from maize starch using ultrasound assisted acid hydrolysis. The process takes less time for the generation of SNC, which is advantageous over conventional acid hydrolysis. The synthesized SNC were characterized using X-ray diffraction, dynamic light scattering, zeta potential and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Particle size and TEM data show that the particles were near to 150 nm, with oval morphology. The SNC with higher surface charge are obtained with this innovative approach as compared to conventional acid hydrolysis. Because of high surface charge and oval like morphology, the SNC performed well in reinforcing a polyurethane… More >

Karima Ben Hamou^1,2,*, Amal Kadimi¹, Remo Merijs Meri³, Sergei Gaidukov³, Hamid Kaddami¹, Mustapha Raihane¹, Mouhamed Lahcini¹, Fouad Erchiqui²

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.8, No.3, pp. 301-317, 2020, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2020.08141

Abstract This work reports a comprehensive study on poly (Ethylmethacrylateco-Acrylonitrile) Poly(EMA-AN) nanocomposites reinforced with a hybrid mixture of nanoreiforcements based on nanocrystals of cellulose (NCC) (1 or 5% wt) and halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) (1 or 5% wt). The morphology, thermal and mechanical properties of these nanocomposites were characterized. Homogeneous dispersion of the nanofillers has been shown by scanning electron microscopy. A significant increase of the rubbery modulus and glass transition temperature were obtained upon filler addition, due to the reduction of mobility of the matrix macromolecular chains. On the other hand, compared with the neat Poly(EMAAN), the storage modulus of the… More >

Amirabbas Haidarpour, Kong Fah Tee^*

Structural Durability & Health Monitoring, Vol.14, No.1, pp. 1-17, 2020, DOI:10.32604/sdhm.2020.08792

Abstract This paper provides a model updating approach to detect, locate, and characterize damage in structural and mechanical systems by examining changes in measured vibration responses. Research in vibration-based damage identification has been rapidly expanding over the last few decades. The basic idea behind this technology is that modal parameters (notably frequencies, mode shapes, and modal damping) are functions of the physical properties of the structure (mass, damping, and stiffness). Therefore, changes in the physical properties will cause changes in the modal properties which could be obtained by structural health monitoring (SHM). Updating is a process fraught with numerical difficulties. These… More >

Huajing Guo, Baijian Wu, Zhaoxia Li^*

Structural Durability & Health Monitoring, Vol.14, No.1, pp. 37-50, 2020, DOI:10.32604/sdhm.2020.08442

Abstract In order to resolve the safety problem of the existing crane runway girders (CRGs) with defects, the constraint-based R6 criterion is proposed to assess their structural integrity. The existing steel CRGs with defects at the weld joint between the upper flange and web plate, are characterized to three-dimensional finite element models with a semi-ellipse surface crack. The R6 criterion has been modified by considering the constraint effect which is represented by T-stress. The analysis results illustrate that working condition of the cracked CRGs leads to high constraint level along the crack front. The crack aspect ratio (a/c) and runway eccentricity… More >

Chenxiao Su, Haibei Xiong^*

Structural Durability & Health Monitoring, Vol.14, No.1, pp. 81-94, 2020, DOI:10.32604/sdhm.2020.08221

Abstract In order to explore a kind of high-strength, earthquake-resistant, economical and suitable connection, 4 groups of cross-laminated timber wall-to-floor and wall-to-wall bolted connections were tested under monotonic and cyclic loading. The deformation characteristics and failure modes of the cross-laminated timber wall-to-floor and wall-to-wall bolted connections were exploited. Load-slip curves, bearing capacity, yielding point, stiffness and ductility of each group of specimens were analyzed. The test results indicate that the loading process of cross-laminated timber bolted connections under tension can be categorized as five stages, namely the elastic stage, the slip stage, the embedding stage, the yielding stage and the ultimate… More >

Meiling Zhuang^1,2,3, Changqing Miao^1,2,*, Rongfeng Chen^1,2

Structural Durability & Health Monitoring, Vol.14, No.1, pp. 51-79, 2020, DOI:10.32604/sdhm.2020.07663

Abstract Taizhou Yangtze River Bridge as a long-span suspension bridge, the finite element model (FEM) of it is established using the ANSYS Software. The beam4 element is used to simulate the main beam to establish the “spine beam” model of the Taizhou Yangtze River Bridge. The calculated low-order vibration mode frequency of the FEM is in good agreement with the completion test results. The model can simulate the overall dynamic response of the bridge. Based on the vehicle load survey, the Monte Carlo method is applied to simulate the traffic load flow. Then the overall dynamic response analysis of FEM is… More >

Hongyi Yan¹, Dingguo Zhang¹, Liang Li^1,*, Xiaoyu Luo²

Structural Durability & Health Monitoring, Vol.14, No.1, pp. 19-36, 2020, DOI:10.32604/sdhm.2020.07457

Abstract The construction of seaside facilities is a hot topic in the field of ocean engineering. In this paper, a new type of floating breakwater is designed by 3DCAD geometric modeling. Based on the vibration theory and finite element technology, the floating breakwater model is optimized, and the modal analysis of the structure with the bracket as main body and blades as functional attachments is carried out. Natural frequencies and mode shapes of the blades are first calculated, and the effects of the natural frequencies in both dry and wet conditions are taken into account. Modal analysis and harmonic response analysis… More >

Xiangao Jiang¹, Megan Coffee^{2, 3, *}, Anasse Bari^{4, *}, Junzhang Wang⁴, Xinyue Jiang⁵, Jianping Huang¹, Jichan Shi¹, Jianyi Dai¹, Jing Cai¹, Tianxiao Zhang⁶, Zhengxing Wu¹, Guiqing He¹, Yitong Huang⁷

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.63, No.1, pp. 537-551, 2020, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2020.010691

Abstract The virus SARS-CoV2, which causes coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has become a pandemic and has spread to every inhabited continent. Given the increasing caseload, there is an urgent need to augment clinical skills in order to identify from among the many mild cases the few that will progress to critical illness. We present a first step towards building an artificial intelligence (AI) framework, with predictive analytics (PA) capabilities applied to real patient data, to provide rapid clinical decision-making support. COVID-19 has presented a pressing need as a) clinicians are still developing clinical acumen to this novel disease and b) resource limitations… More >

Wenfeng Liu^{1, *}, Yu Zhang¹, Wenjia Zhang¹, Lu Liu¹, Hongli Zhang¹, Binxing Fang¹

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.63, No.1, pp. 521-536, 2020, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2020.07982

Abstract As a critical Internet infrastructure, domain name system (DNS) protects the authenticity and integrity of domain resource records with the introduction of security extensions (DNSSEC). DNSSEC builds a single-center and hierarchical resource authentication architecture, which brings management convenience but places the DNS at risk from a single point of failure. When the root key suffers a leak or misconfiguration, top level domain (TLD) authority cannot independently protect the authenticity of TLD data in the root zone. In this paper, we propose self-certificating root, a lightweight security enhancement mechanism of root zone compatible with DNS/DNSSEC protocol. By adding the TLD public… More >

Yan Liu^{1, *}, Wenxin Hu^{1, *}, Longzhe Han², Maksymyuk Taras³, Zhiyun Chen¹

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.63, No.1, pp. 509-519, 2020, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2020.07519

Abstract Filling techniques are often used in the restoration of images. Yet the existing filling technique approaches either have high computational costs or present problems such as filling holes redundantly. This paper proposes a novel algorithm for filling holes and regions of the images. The proposed algorithm combines the advantages of both the parity-check filling approach and the region-growing inpainting technique. Pairing points of the region’s boundary are used to search and to fill the region. The scanning range of the filling method is within the target regions. The proposed method does not require additional working memory or assistant colors, and… More >