One of the main threats to constructions made from rammed earth is destruction due to exposure to water. The way to limit this dangerous phenomenon is to supplement the local soil mixtures with stabilizing agents. The main component used is Portland cement. This article analyses the results of research which focused on the resistance of rammed earth to water erosion. Because of the lack of national standards regarding the method of examining the durability of rammed earth, the research was based on the New Zealand standard NZS 4298: 1998. The results confirm the possibility of using rammed earth stabilized by cement in a temperate climate.

Geomechnical model testing has been widely applied as a kind of research technique in underground engineering problems. However, during the practical application process, due to the influence of many factors, the desired results cannot be obtained. In order to solve this problem, based on the measurement requirements of the model test, combined with FBG(Fiber Bragg Grating) sensor technology and traditional measurement methods, an FBG monitoring system, Micro-multi-point displacement test system, resistance strain test system and surrounding rock pressure monitoring system are developed. Applying the systems to a model test of the tunnel construction process, the displacement in advance laws of tunnel face, radial displacement distribution laws and surrounding rock pressure laws are obtained. Test results show that a multivariate information monitoring system has the advantage of high precision, stability and strong anti-jamming capability. It lays a solid foundation for the real-time data monitoring of the tunnel construction process model test.

Hydraulic fracturing of rocks boosts the production rate by increasing the fracture-face surface area through the use of a pressurized liquid. Complex stress distribution and magnitude are the main factors that hinder the use of information gathered from in situ hydraulic fracturing in other locations. Laboratory tests are a good method for precisely determining the characteristics of these processes. One of the most important parameters is breakdown pressure, defined as the wellbore pressure necessary to induce a hydraulic fracture. Therefore, the main purpose of this investigation is to verify fracture resistance of rock samples fractured with the assistance of the most popular industry fluids. The experiments were carried out using a stand designed specifically for laboratory hydraulic fracturing. Repeatable results with a relative error within the range of 6-11% prove that the experimental methodology was correct. Moreover, the obtained results show that fracturing pressure depends significantly on fluid type. In the case of a water test, the fracturing pressure was 7.1±0.4 MPa. A similar result was achieved for slickwater, 7.5±0.7 MPa; however, a much lower value (4.7±0.5 MPa) was registered in the case of carbon dioxide.

This paper concerns an approach to model the ledger-stand joints of modular scaffolds. Based on the analysis of the working range of the ledger (represented by a linear relationship between load and displacement), two models of the ledger-stand joint are analysed: first – with flexibility joints and second – with rigid joints and with a transition part of lower stiffness. Parameters are selected based on displacement measurements and numerical analyses of joints, then they are verified. On the basis of performed research, it can be stated that both methods of joint modelling recommended in this paper, can be applied in engineering practices.

Studies on food preference of herbivores include no-choice test and test with choice or multiple choice. Conclusions from statistic analyses of these tests are compared descriptively. The definition of compatibility index and consumption growth index has enabled us to use nonparametric test for verification of hypotheses about homogeneity of the consumption growths of selected plant species under no-choice and multiple choice conditions. The studies were conducted on food preference of the slug Deroceras reticulatum. It has been found that Chamaenerion angustifolium, Geraniumpusillum and Potentilla anserina can be used to reduce this slug feeding on cultivated plants. It has been also found that seedlings of Polygonum aviculare can be used as alternative food for slugs.

The present paper is a presentation of results of a study on morphology, chemical composition, material properties (HVIT, HIT, EIT), and nanoindentation elastic and plastic work for carbide precipitates in chromium cast iron containing 24% Cr. It has been found that the carbides differ in chemical composition, as well as in morphology and values characterizing their material properties. The carbides containing the most chromium which had the shape of thick and long needles were characterized with highest values of the analyzed material properties.

The paper presents results of examination of material parameters of cast iron with structure obtained under rapid resolidification conditions carried out by means of the nanoindentation method.

In this paper, an attempt was made to explain the causes of surface delamination in high carbon steel wires during the torsion test. For end wires with 1.7 mm diameter drawn at speeds of 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 m/s, technological tests were carried out. Then the susceptibility of the wire to plastic strain was determined. The microstructure analysis complemented the research. Analysis of the fracture torsion test showed that the wires drawn at speeds exceeding 15 m/s are delamination, which disqualify it as a material for a rope and a spring. The source of delamination in high carbon steel wires is their stronger strengthening, especially of the surface layer, which leads to a decrease in the orientation of the cementite laminaes and an increase in the degree of their fragmentation.

In this paper the effect of soldering technique and thermal shock test were investigated on SAC 305 solder joints, produced by two different solder method. The solder joints were subjected to different cycle numbers up to 5000 thermal shock tests with two different thermal profiles of –30/+110°C and –40/+125°C. Microstructural properties of the tested joints were examined with the focus on intermetallic layer thickness and crack formation/propagation. Thickness of the scallop shaped Cu6Sn5 intermetallic layer was increased with increasing cycle number for both THRS and multiwave joints, but the thickening was more effective for the THRS joints. Cracks typically formed at the solder alloy/ PTH barrel and the solder alloy/pin interfaces and propagated along grain boundaries and precipitations of intermetallic compound.

The aim of this study was to estimate the measurement uncertainty for a material produced by additive manufacturing. The material investigated was FullCure 720 photocured resin, which was applied to fabricate tensile specimens with a Connex 350 3D printer based on PolyJet technology. The tensile strength of the specimens established through static tensile testing was used to determine the measurement uncertainty. There is a need for extensive research into the performance of model materials obtained via 3D printing as they have not been studied sufficiently like metal alloys or plastics, the most common structural materials. In this analysis, the measurement uncertainty was estimated using a larger number of samples than usual, i.e., thirty instead of typical ten. The results can be very useful to engineers who design models and finished products using this material. The investigations also show how wide the scatter of results is.

The propagation of EEG activity during the Continuous Attention Test (CAT) was determined by means of Short-time Directed Transfer Function (SDTF). SDTF supplied the information on the direction, spectral content and time evolution of the propagating EEG activity. The differences in propagation for target and non-target conditions were found mainly in the frontal structures of the brain.

Hard bitumens are used in the construction industry primarily in it’s unmodified form, for instance for the production of the so-called traditional roofing felt. Due to the low price of these types of membranes, the use of a popular but expensive modifying agent, SBS copolymer, is not justified economically. Research carried out by the authors has shown that chemical organic compounds belonging to a group of imidazolines may potentially be used as much cheaper bitumen modifier. It was demonstrated that a new type of modifier based on oleic imidazoline, developed by the authors, has a significant impact on improving the physical properties of bitumen. The use of this modifier results in a significant increase in the bitumen plasticity range, both before and after laboratory ageing .In addition, there was a considerable increase of bitumen’s resistance to aging. Its use can help improve the quality and durability of popular waterproofing products manufactured with the use of hard bitumen.

The national total expenditure of a country is precipitated on several factors of which revenue generated could be one and very significant. This paper therefore examines the contribution of some selected sources of Nigerian government revenue to total national expenditure. Statistical and econometric techniques used for the data analysis are unit root test, cointegration test, combined estimators’ analysis, the error correction model (ECM) and the feasible generalized linear (FGLS) estimators. Results showed that the variables are non stationary but are stationary at first difference. The long-run relationship of total expenditure on oil revenue, non-oil revenue, federation account and federal retained revenue revealed that the variables are co-integrated and required the use of combined estimators. The effect of non-oil revenue and federal retained revenue is very significant. Investigations on the short-run modeling necessitated the use of FGLS estimators. The effect of ECM and federal retained revenue is very significant. Consequently, other sources of revenue apart from federal retained revenue need to be enhanced and tailored towards improving economic growth and development through national expenditure.

Various trading strategies have been proposed that use estimates of the Hurst coefficient, which is an indicator of long-range dependence, for the calculation of buy and sell signals. This paper introduces frequency-domain tests for long-range dependence which do, in contrast to conventional procedures, not assume that the number of used periodogram ordinates grow with the length of the time series. These tests are applied to series of gold price returns and stock index returns in a rolling analysis. The results suggest that there is no long-range dependence, indicating that trading strategies based on fractal dynamics have no sound statistical basis.

The aim of the study was to determine the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for the Speech Reception Threshold (SRT) for young persons with normal hearing. The following three tests available for Polish language were used: the New Articulation Lists (NAL-93) version of 2011, the Polish Sentence Test (PST) and the Polish Sentence Matrix Test (PSMT). When using PST and PSMT the masking signal was babble noise made of the language material contained in the test. For NAL-93 the masking signal was speech noise. The speech reception threshold (SRT) was found to be (−6:8 ± 1.1), (−4:8 ± 1.6), (−3:5 ± 1.8) and (−3:4 ± 2.0) dB SNR for PST, PSMT, NAL-93 (constant stimuli method) and NAL-93 (short method), respectively. The values of SRT depend on semantic redundancy of the language material. Differences in SRT were statistically non-significant only for NAL-93 (constant stimuli method) and NAL-93 (short method). Moreover, it was shown that the time needed for presentation of a single word list (NAL-93, short method) or single sentence list (PST, PSMT) was comparable and equal to 2–3 minutes. The most uniform SRT values were obtained for PST. The PSMT was the least demanding for the listener, experimenter and equipment.

This paper presents the results of measurements of liquid metal fluidity and linear shrinkage of nickel alloy IN-713C in vacuum induction

melting furnace Balzers VSG-2. Because of limited volume of the furnace chamber special models for technological trials were designed

and constructed to fit in the mould of dimensions 170x95x100mm. Two different designs of test models were proposed: horizontal round

rods and modified spiral. Preliminary studies were carried out for alloys Al-Si. Horizontal round rods test was useful for evaluation of

fluidity of hypoeutectic silumin, however in case of nickel superalloy the mould cavity was completely filled in each test because of high

required pouring temperature. Positive results were obtained from the modified spiral test for all alloys used in the research. Relationship

between the linear shrinkage for the test rod and a specific indicator of contraction defined on a spiral was observed.