This paper presents an experimental analysis of flexural capacity and deformability of structural concrete slabs prepared as composite members consisting of two concrete layers made of reinforced ordinary concrete (N) and fiber reinforced concrete (SFRC). The reinforced concrete composite slabs used in the tests were prepared in the dimensions of 600 x 1200 x 80 mm. The basis was composed of two layers consisting of SFRC, one as the top layer, and one as ordinary concrete. The results of the analysis confirm a significant improvement of structural properties of the composite slab in comparison to the slabs prepared wholly of ordinary concrete.

The application of stone column technique for improvement of soft soils has attracted a considerable attention during the last decade. However, in a very soft soil, the stone columns undergo excessive bulging, because of very low lateral confinement pressure provided by the surrounding soil. The performance of stone column can be improved by the encapsulation of stone column by geosynthetic, which acts to provide additional confinement to columns, preventing excessive bulging and column failure. In the present study, a detailed experimental study on behavior of single column is carried out by varying parameters like diameter of the stone column, length of stone column, length of geosynthetic encapsulation and stiffness of encapsulation material. In addition, finite-element analyses have been performed to access the radial deformation of stone column. The results indicate a remarkable increase in load carrying capacity due to encapsulation. The load carrying capacity of column depends very much upon the diameter of the stone column and stiffness of encapsulation material. The results show that partial encapsulation over top half of the column and fully encapsulated floating column of half the length of clay bed thickness give lower load carrying capacity than fully encapsulated end bearing column. In addition, radial deformation of stone column decreases with increasing stiffness of encapsulation material.

In the present theoretical analysis, the combined effects of slider curvature and non-Newtonian pseudoplastic and dilatant lubricants (lubricant blended with viscosity index improver) on the steady and dynamic characteristics of pivoted curved slider bearings have been investigated for Rabinowitsch fluid model. The modified Reynolds equations have been obtained for steady and damping states of bearing. To solve the modified Reynolds equations, perturbation theory has been adopted. The results for the steady state characteristics (steady state film pressure, load carrying capacity and centre of pressure) and dynamic characteristics (dynamic damping and dynamic stiffness) have been calculated numerically for various values of viscosity index improver using Mathematica. In comparison with the Newtonian lubricants, higher values of film pressure, load carrying capacity, dynamic damping and dynamic stiffness have been obtained for dilatant lubricants, while the case was reversed for pseudoplastic lubricants. Significant variations in the bearing characteristics have been observed for even small values of pseudoplastic parameter, that is, with the non-Newtonian dilatant and pseudoplastic behaviour of the fluid.

Many tourist cities face the problems regarding the social impact of short-term tourist rental. The rapid development of the tourism economy in recent years, combined with the development of digital technologies and the emergence of peer-to-peer digital platforms, has brought both positive and negative effects of the transformations. The problem is difficult and complex because the attitudes of local stakeholders vary. While residents look only through the phenomenon of gentrification and quality of life, entrepreneurs see in the short-term lease unconditional economic benefits. Cities, protecting the public interest, try to eliminate the adverse effects of tourist short-term rental in various ways. The article presents the attitudes of three groups of stakeholders in Cracow towards the phenomenon of short-term rental, namely residents, hoteliers and restaurateurs.