The aim of the research is laboratory investigation of aluminium brackets employed to fasten lightweight curtain walls to building facilities. Tensile loads perpendicular to end plates (vertical) were applied here. The author focused on the solutions intended to increase the load-carrying capacity of aluminium brackets applying the plain washer form A (DIN 125; ISO 7089), plain washer with an outer diameter about 3d (DIN 9021; ISO 7093) and additional cover plates (straps) in the location of bolt anchoring on the base plate. The aluminium brackets were tested on a steel base and concrete substrate. The flexibility of anchoring strongly affects the increase of the end plate middle point displacement and movable crosshead displacement.

The article is devoted to contemporary studies on the nineteenth century memoirs written by Russian women. In the nineteenth century women’s memoirs were underestimated and neglected by researchers. Recently, there has been a signifi cant increase in research interest in memoirs written by women. This subject has been taken up by literary scholars, historians, experts on cultural studies and anthropologists. A. Bielova, I. Savkina, W. Laszczak, K. Kosowska, N. Pushkariova, A. Fieduta, W. Ponomarieva, L. Khoroshilova, J. Prikazchikova, A. Stankewich, J. Samofalova, O. Mamaieva, S. Tatarkina are among those who are interested in it. Memoirs are a valuable source of information about the epoch, historical events, outstanding leaders, event-making fi gures, Russian intellectual elites, aristocracy as well as the everyday life of the Russian gentry. They also provide some insight into the way female memoirists expressed themselves in their writings, their views on femininity and the role of women in society.

This paper focuses on an analytical and numerical investigation of aluminium brackets used to fasten light-weight curtain walls to building facilities. The authors propose a solution to increase the load capacity of aluminium brackets by means of additional cover plates (straps). This paper also includes a short survey of literature and material properties concerning the EN AW-6060 T6 aluminium alloy. This paper suggests an initiation of a comprehensive investigation on aluminium brackets.

The scope of the paper is to determine the mechanical properties of the Precontraint 1302 polyester coated fabric under uniaxial and biaxial tensile tests. The results are compared for Precontraint 1302 fabric and other types of coated fabrics. The author applied an orthotropic model and a dense net model to reflect the polyester coated fabric performance under uniaxial and biaxial tensile tests. Material parameters are specified for both constitutive models. In order to observe the variation of immediate mechanical properties, the biaxial cyclic tests are performed for different load ratios. During uniaxial and 1:1 biaxial tensile tests it is barely observable to recognize warp or weft directions on the stress-strain curves. Load history acts strongly on the mechanical properties of the Precontraint 1302 polyester fabrics. The cyclic loads cause variation of immediate longitudinal stiffness with a comparison of values determined for unloaded coated fabrics. The paper can provide scientists, engineers, and designers an experimental and theoretical basis in the field of polyester coated fabrics.

The aim of the research is the laboratory investigation of steel-aluminium brackets employed to fasten lightweight curtain walls to building facilities. Static pressure, suction forces, and cyclic loads parallel to end plates (horizontal – to simulate wind influence) were applied in the study. The steel-aluminium brackets were tested on a reinforced concrete substrate made of C30/37 concrete class to simulate the real working conditions. Laboratory tests were performed to failure of the brackets or damage of anchoring fastened to the concrete elements. Additionally, the tensile capacity of stainless steel bolt connections screwed in aluminium profile was determined. The uniaxial tensile tests were performed for three length variants of the anchorage: 28 mm, 14 mm, and 7 mm of the stainless steel bars screw-in in threading aluminium profiles. In the course of cyclic tests, a hinge formed in the location of bolt connections made the change of the working character of steel-aluminium brackets. The cyclic tests also showed the danger of the strap aluminium profile displacement due to improper connection with the main aluminium profile. The paper is intended to provide scientists, civil engineers, and designers with an experimental assessment of mechanical properties of steel-aluminium brackets under static and cyclic loads.

The scope of the paper is to investigate analytically and determine experimentally the shear resistance of low height reinforced precast concrete lintels. The chosen procedures included in national and international standards applied for the design of structural concrete elements to an estimation of shear behaviour of reinforced concrete elements are described. The characteristic and designed shear strength of precast concrete lintels are determined and compared with experimentally obtained results. The shear resistance for precast concrete lintels was determined by laboratory tests according to a European standard. The assessment of the in-situ compressive strength of concrete in precast concrete lintel is specified. The designed compressive strength class is confirmed. The real reinforcement distribution is verified to assess the wide scatter of experimentally obtained failure forces. A short literature outlook of the papers concerning investigations on lintels and shear resistance of concrete is given also. The paper can provide scientists, engineers, and designers a theoretical and experimental basis in the field of precast concrete lintels shear resistance.

This research aims to determine the influence of the cyclic process of freezing and defrosting on the mechanical properties of the chosen glass fibres and PTFE-coated woven fabrics. The specimens were subjected to freezing at about -20˚C for 4 h and thawing by full immersion into the water at about +20˚C for 4 h. The fabric samples after 25 and 50 frozen cycles were air-dried at room temperature for one week and then subjected to uniaxial tensile tests. The same tests have been performed on a reference group of specimens, which were not exposed to temperature change. The authors determined the tensile strength, and longitudinal stiffnesses resulting from performed tests. Although the investigated coated woven fabrics expressed a reduction in the tensile strength in water soaking conditions, the performed frozen cycles don’t show a significant decrease in strength under uniaxial tensile tests.

This research aims to determine the influence of water-soaking on polyester-based coated woven fabrics for ultimate tensile strength and elongation at break under uniaxial tensile tests. The paper begins with a short survey of literature concerning the investigation of the determination of coated woven fabric properties. The authors carried out the uniaxial tensile tests with an application of a flat grip to establish the values of the ultimate tensile strength of groups of specimens treated with different moisture conditions. SEM fractography is performed to determine the cross-section structures of coated woven fabrics. The change in the mechanical properties caused by the influence of water immersion has not been noticed in the performed investigations.

The proposition of a method to verify the punching resistance for very large supports based on the EN 1992-1-1 standard is described in this paper. The present standard guidelines for the calculation of the punching resistance for large supports are also summarised. The proposed direct method is compared with other standard methods using an example taken from design practice. This method consists of a direct check of the shear forces at specific locations of the control perimeter with the permissible shear force calculated from the EC2 standard. The method showed very good agreement with the experiment while remaining practical for applications. The method presented takes into account the actual distribution of shear forces in the vicinity of the support, taking into account the influence of non-uniform loads, irregular floor geometry, the concentration of internal forces at the corners of the support and the influence of the stiffness of the head used. The paper provides scientists, engineers, and designers new method (called the direct method) for estimation of the punching load-bearing capacity outside the shear cap.

This research aimed to investigate the water vapour transmission properties of chosen EPDM membranes applied in façade and window systems under laboratory tests. The applied procedure included in national and international standards utilized for the laboratory tests of water vapour transmission properties of EPDMmembrane is described. Two main types (outside and inside types) ofEPDMmembranes are laboratory tested. The authors indicated that the EPDM membranes should differ in surface factures. Nevertheless, some manufacturers mark EPDM membranes on each roll (on the package only) without different permanent denotations on the EPDM membranes surfaces. This form of denotations can cause using problems – using the wrong types of the EPDM aprons in building partitions, because when the package is removed there is impossible to visually identify the type of EPDM membrane (outside or inside type) from the texture of the membrane surface. The experimental results of laboratory tests indicated using the wrong type of EPDM membrane in the inside aprons in building partitions in the investigated façade window system. The designed proportion of the sd values (the resistance to movement of water vapour) of inside and out-side EPDM façade membranes should be designed equally to about 3.0 (recommended value 4) to provide proper diffusion properties of partitions around windows in façade systems. The paper can provide scientists, engineers, and designers an experimental basis in the field of the EPDM membranes water vapour transmission properties applied to façades and windows systems.

The use of biostimulants and cultivar selection play an important role in modern potato farming because they influence tuber yield and quality. The nutritional value and processing suitability of potato tubers are affected by their content of total protein, reducing sugars and sucrose. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of biostimulants on the content of total protein, glucose, fructose and sucrose in potato tubers (skin, flesh and whole tubers with skin), at harvest and after 5 months of storage. The experimental materials included tubers of five edible potato cultivars: Irga, Satina, Valfi, Blaue St. Galler and HB Red. During the growing season, potato plants were treated with the following biostimulants: Asahi SL, Bio-Algeen S-90, Kelpak SL and Trifender WP. Control plants were not treated with biostimulants. The total protein content of tubers was determined by the Kjeldahl method. Simple sugars and sucrose were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. At harvest, total protein concentration was significantly higher in purple- and red-fleshed cultivars than in cream- and yellow-fleshed cultivars. An analysis of tuber parts revealed that flesh had the highest protein content. The total protein content of tubers increased during storage. Biostimulants had no significant effect on total protein concentration in tubers at harvest or after storage. The content of simple sugars and sucrose was higher in the skin, flesh and whole tubers of purple- and red-fleshed cultivars, than in cream- and yellow-fleshed cultivars. Potato tubers with colored flesh accumulated the highest amounts of total sugars. Biostimulants, in particular Bio-Algeen S-90 and Kelpak SL, contributed to the accumulation of monosaccharides and the disaccharide in potato tubers, and, in consequence, total sugars. Their concentrations in potato tubers increased during storage.

In the article, the concept, design and realization of the technological demonstrator of a mobile device for generating an electromagnetic curtain (with a name AEGIS) were presented, both in the hardware and software areas. The device is designed to block the radio communication which allow detonating the Radio Controlled Improvised Explosive Devices (RCIEDs). The preliminary laboratory tests of the demonstrator for generating the jamming signal, that were presented in the paper, aimed at assessing the correctness of the device operation and verification of generated signal parameters. On the basis of the obtained results, the ability to jam the cellular systems as well as other radio devices operating in the frequency band from 400 MHz to 2700 MHz was assessed.

Plasma sprayed ceramic coatings serve as protective layers and are frequently exposed to aggressive wear, corrosion, or high-temperature environment. Currently, alumina and alumina-titania are some of the most popular protective ceramic composite coatings used in the industry. The present work deals with the investigation of the influence of TiO₂ content in the feedstock powder on the resulting microstructure and properties of Al₂O₃, Al₂O₃ + 3 wt% TiO₂, Al₂O₃ + 13 wt% TiO₂ and Al₂O₃ + 40 wt% TiO₂ coatings developed via atmospheric plasma spraying (APS). Specifically, the phase composition, morphology, and microstructure, as well as the mechanical and tribological performance of the coatings were examined. Results revealed that higher content of TiO₂ induced the transformation of phases, leading to the formation of intermediary Al₂TiO₅ and Al₂- xTi₁- xO₅ phases. Also, the dominant α–Al₂O₃ to γ–Al₂O₃ transformation confirmed the formulation of well-melted lamellas within the coating structure. It was also shown that the increase in TiO₂ content decreased the micro-hardness of the coatings due to the formation of the intermediary phases as mentioned above and thus, affected their tribological performance. The lowest volumetric wear, equal to 7.2×10⁻⁵ mm³/(N ∙ m), was reported for Al₂O₃ + 13 wt% TiO₂ coating.