Papers by Keyword: Assessment

Abstract: Offshore pipelines are crucial for transporting fluids from offshore platforms to onshore processing facilities. However, these pipelines are susceptible to damage from third-party activities, such as collisions with ship anchors. An inspection revealed a dent in the pipeline with a depth of 111 mm, resulting in a dent depth to outside diameter ratio of 31.21%. According to various regulatory codes, this ratio indicates failure. Despite this, no leaks or ruptures were observed during the inspection. To assess the pipeline's integrity, finite element analysis (FEA) using Abaqus was conducted to determine the maximum stress in the dented area. The analysis produced a graph illustrating the relationship between stress and the allowable operating pressure of the pipeline.

Abstract: Safety, by definition, is a state of protection against hazards, which implies measures for reduction/evasion/exclusion of risks. Safety is relative, depending on the degree of implementation of measures in specific conditions. The concept of security should only be considered as a result of risk management. Modern risk management practice is the basic risk levels and balancing between the need to ensure a certain level of security and the economic feasibility of investment in security measures. In practice, despite the declared safety priorities, industries are balanced between investment in security and an acceptable level of risk, without considering the nature and degree of influence of security measures at the stage of their development. This method of balancing is characterized by the desire of business to formally meet the general standards of risk management in order to minimize costs, minimize social and other types of responsibility, for the sake of maximizing income, which is a common problem. This problem is particularly acute in the context of national and industrial security.

Abstract: Renewable energy technologies are considered clean sources of energy and optimal use of these resources minimizes environmental impacts and is sustainable based on current and future economic and societal needs. In Namibia, wind energy can be considered one of the available renewable energy sources. Despite the abundance of wind speed distribution over Namibia, there is a lack of properly analyzed and documented data that could reveal the capabilities of wind energy generation in Namibia. This research aims to assess the wind energy generation potential for Ongwediva and with specific application to the University of Namibia Engineering Campus to determine its suitability. Data for the Jose Eduardo dos Santos (JEDS) Campus was collected from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Data Access Viewer. The collected data was analyzed and modelled using the Weibull probability distribution function. Results from the model predict the wind speed distribution pattern and energy density which constitute the decision variables for the suitability of wind energy application at the selected site. The yearly averaged wind speeds for the study location varied between 3.456 and 3.698 m/s while the calculated yearly averaged wind power density ranged between 22 - 27 W/m² for a single turbine. The study concluded that the appropriate wind turbine for the range of wind speed and power density for Ongwediva was the Vestas V100 which could produce 1800 kW of electrical power which may provide CO₂ savings of 4,974 tons/year. This assessment provides data for advancing wind resource development and application in the Engineering campus or around Ongwediva town.

Abstract: The implementation of Industry 4.0 is based, among other things, on the digitization and greening of manufacturing systems. Most traditional manufacturing systems are known for low productivity and efficiency. They are also known for the impact they have on the environment, with relatively high carbon footprints. The paper transfers a series of knowledge on the steps to be taken to transition a traditional manufacturing system to a digitized and green one. Customization of this discussion is done for manufacturing systems that have joining processes (welding and soldering). Each set of measures, whether aimed at the transition to digital or aimed at the transition to green, has two components: a technical component, directly related to the transformation of the hardware system (equipment, devices, measuring instruments) and a component auxiliary which is related to the transformation of the human resource, the modification of the working conditions and the continuous optimization of the newly created system. As no change is possible without removing employee misunderstandings and suspicions, the communication to be implemented must be clear, prompt, cover all levels of staff and continuously provide confidence by presenting successful cases and related beneficial figures.

Abstract: The article deals with the assessment problems of especially essential structures. Increased demands on prevention of emergency situations and minimizing the consequences in the event of their occurrence require constant determination of especially essential structures condition. Achieving the goal of reliability and continuity of information is possible by coating the structure surface by a layer of electroconductive concrete, working as a monitoring system sensor. The study of the electrical properties of concrete was performed using the voltmeter – ammeter scheme. After the measurements had been made, the conditional electrical resistance of the electrode pair was calculated. The analysis of the above dependencies found that the change in the electrical resistance of the material from its stress approaches the linear law at lower values of W/C over a larger section of the studied interval. Processing of the obtained data showed that the measurement results were significantly affected by the shape and size of the electrodes used during the experiments.

Abstract: Construction industry has many drivers. The main one is investments. The bigger investment is the more importance takes the assessment of construction production. The investor makes the decision to invest based on assessment of construction production, organisational and technological reliability. The rapid technology and construction management tools development obliges the investor and his team to create new approaches. The article authors propose to consider it in the identification, analysis and subsequent management of pure project risks. Pure risks are defined as risk events, which implementation is clearly negative or has a neutral outcome. Generally the pure risks are not directly related to financial risk events and are not considered as classical approaches of risk management, which adversely affects the construction project prediction. Consideration of the pure construction risks at different stages of building production allows considering the project from the point of view of potential risks. So the investor can quickly make the decision to invest in the project and to assess the possible additional costs of construction, as the construction manager for different production stages would be able to foresee and prevent some risks implementation.

Abstract: The paper aims to the determination of load-bearing capacity of reinforced/prestressed concrete bridges subjected to the combination of all components of internal forces according to Eurocode standards for assessment of existing structures. Undoubtedly bridge load rating is laborious hand-iterative process, especially when it comes to reinforced and/or prestressed concrete bridges. The engineer can spend days and weeks trials and errors in the estimation of bridge load-carrying capacity. The problem lies in the determination of load-bearing capacity of cross-section subjected to the combination of normal and shear forces, bending and torsional moments. Due to the different effects of permanent and variable loads and the non-linear behavior of structural materials, the problem becomes non-linear and its solution requires the use of suitable iterative method. Optimized iterative solution was implemented into IDEA StatiCa software and the results are presented in this paper.

Abstract: Infrastructure has to be adequately planned, designed, executed and maintained to keep its structural performance over respective requirements throughout its life-cycle. However, infrastructure suffering from serious deterioration in structural members and subsequent loss in performance have been often found due to various reasons. To meet these facts, it is extremely important to pursue coordination of engineering work in the stages of design, execution and maintenance. The infrastructure management including the concepts of the life-cycle management and the asset management is an organized system to support engineering-based decision making for ensuring sufficient structural performance and long life of a structure at the design, execution, maintenance, and all related work during its life-cycle. This paper deals with infrastructure management system and an example of its application for a road bridge from seriously deteriorated.

Abstract: Nowadays the noise level increased due to the expanding of the urbanization and the extended number of vehicles. The aim of the study is to assess the level noise in the area of an urban intensive traffic road. The selected road has residential buildings on both sides and it makes the link between two major areas in the town. Last year, along with the rehabilitation of the bridge on this road and of the street’s pavement, a protection barrier has been mounted on the sidewalk.Measurements of the noise levels were taken during a workday, within rush-hours and low-traffic hours, using a sound level measuring instrument. The measurements were taken along the road, in three characteristic spots of the ramp input on the bridge: 1 – close to the traffic light (with the vehicles at rest), 2 - mid ramp (area of maximum acceleration) and 3 - at the end of the ramp, thus determining the noise level in the area. Measurements were also made perpendicular to the road: at the border of the sidewalk, behind the protective barrier and near the facade of the building, to determine the effectiveness of the protection barrier.Maximum, minimum and the mean value of the urban noise level in the area have been determined and compared to the legal standards for urban residential roads.By analyzing measured data it can be concluded that the mean values exceed the maximum permitted levels.

Abstract: The engineered nanoparticles are more and more entering in Romanian working places, both in research laboratories and in manufacturing processes. Ever increasingly numerous evidence shows that this materials science revolution can generate significant health, safety and environmental hazards, in addition to the social, economic and ethical challenges involvedBased on the precautionary principle recommended be the European Union and a thorough literature review, this research is intended to introduce a framework for further development of an Occupational Health and Safety risk management foundation in this field of concern. Starting from a systematic approach in terms of occupational exposure, the paper emphasizes certain feasible means aimed at nanoparticle’s risk assessment, particularly in a qualitative manner. Recommendations are provided for the industry in order to meet the safety regulations, which in turn should be adapted to the findings of researches, considering that we are facing emerging risks whose nature is often unknown.