Moment frame connections have high share to withstand deformation caused by earthquakes. Hence, connections of reinforced concrete structures must have sufficient plasticity in addition to resistance. Observations after earthquakes and the results of tests prove that structural damages have been more observed in the connections area. Implementation of reinforcement in limited volume of connection area is difficult and hence improving the behavior of the connection areas has been among the major issues discussed in structural engineering. In addition, corrosion in the bad environmental conditions is one of the main difficulties in implementing steels in concrete arming. Among alternative materials, FRP rebars that have higher durability, were given attention in recent years. In this study, the behavior of the element has been compared in these conditions by modeling the connection area with steel and FRP rebars.

This study investigates the role played by service quality at manufacturer-distributor junction in small-medium manufacturing units, and presents a model that proposes and validates that contribution towards service quality on behalf of both the distributor and manufacturer leading to satisfaction as well as loyalty. The research design for this study includes a combination of literature review, exploratory interviews and a questionnaire survey conducted through interview schedule from 101 respondents working in different small-medium manufacturing units (SMEs) of North India. The study uses Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to develop dual directional scales to measure service quality at manufacturer-distributor junction besides testing a set of propositions related to service quality. A model showing linkages of manufacturing organization’s service quality with distributor service quality leading to mutual satisfaction and loyalty is developed. The model is empirically tested and is found to be fit. This study would be of interest to SME practitioners interested in improving service quality w.r.t. distributors. This study finds support for strengthening relationships with distributors to achieve a win-win situation. Future researchers may validate this scale, and empirically test the proposed model in similar settings. Insights derived from this study may be transferred to other junctions of a manufacturing supply chain such as suppliers, retailers, employees and end customers.

Reinforcement of structural timber members with fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) rods offers merits over that of the conventional steel type. In recent times, near surface mounted (NSM) FRP reinforcement with timber has emerged as a promising alternative for reinforcing timber structures in both flexural and shear loading configurations. Previous investigations have shown that NSM FRP reinforcement technique has higher bond performance than externally bonded equivalents because it (NSM FRP technique) is able to utilise the full capacity of the FRP materials. In spite of these merits, the investigations and the use of this innovative technique are limited. In this paper, an experiment was conducted to investigate the bond characteristics and performance of NSM basalt FRP reinforcement with solid timber structures. In order to predict the performance of the reinforced beam structures, unreinforced control timber members of the same timber characteristics were tested. The results showed that the average bond capacity of the NSM FRP reinforced members was 16% higher than the corresponding unreinforced beams.

Study of behavior of building structures under blast loads is an important issue for design of high reliable structures made of concrete material. Hence, in previous studies the enclosed wall under blast loads, open-air explosion has been investigated through experiments. In this study, the experimental results reported in the literature for dynamic performance of a masonry wall subjected to high strain dynamic loads (i.e. contact blast and air burst test) are simulated numerically using finite element method (FEM) by utilizing soft particle hydrodynamics (SPH). Comparison of simulated numerical results with the experimental data demonstrates the ability and accuracy of FEM analyses in predicting the response of confined masonry walls subjected to dynamic loads.

Today, urban areas have been considerably expanded, which has caused numerous problems due to the large population in metropolitan areas. City logistics models can be effective in solving complicated problems such as traffic congestion, air pollution, accidents, and high energy consumption rate. The present paper proposes a bi-objective mathematical model for designing a city logistics distribution network in order to minimize the economic and environmental costs as well as the response time. The proposed model would make decisions on the location and allocation problems in the city logistics distribution network. In fact, the objective of the problem is to select some fixed sites in order to construct the city distribution centers. The demand for commodities is considered probabilistic and the network is modeled based on the queuing theory. Furthermore, in the proposed model, the policy of putting tax on carbon and applying the low-carbon emission resources are used for establishment at the city distribution centers. Afterwards, in order to validate the proposed model, a numerical example is generated and, then, the results obtained from solving the model via epsilon constraint method are presented. Analysis of the results in the present study indicates that the proposed model was highly efficient in achieving its objectives. Finally, there are some suggestions for future studies that can be taken into account.

Connections represent major challenges in the design of composite structures, mainly because they entail discontinuities in the geometry of the structure and material properties, and introduce high local stress concentrations. Despite some constructability complications, integrated connection could be a reliable solution. In this paper, the structural behaviour of an integrated connection for implementation between adjacent composite sandwich panels in rapid assembly buildings is studied. The integrated connection system consists of 3-D high density polyethylene (HDPE) skin faces, and cores of high-density polyurethane (PUR) foam integrated into the sandwich panels at the moment of their production. The study included experimental investigations regarding the mechanical and structural response of the connection under actual applied loads, and its torsional rigidity, rotational stiffness and behaviour under lateral loading is investigated. Using Finite Element modelling, the stress distribution and the mechanisms of failure are studied. The results show a good agreement between the numerical and experimental results.

The present work predicts the numerical progressive failure response and crack growth of finite plate laminated composites with cutout and multiple cracks under in-plane tensile and compressive loads. The ply to ply failure response of the finite plate is predicted using ABAQUS user define field variables subroutine approach, whereas the extended finite element method is used for examination of crack growth direction for multiple through crack of laminated composite finite plate. The subroutine predicted results are compared and validated with published experimental results and extended finite element method results. The effect of changing mesh size, fibre orientation, crack length, crack inclination angle on failure load, progressive stress intensity factor and damage toughness of various crack types is presented and discussed.

The rise in the worldwide demand of forest products of the last decades predicts an expansion of the forest harvesting industry. In this context, the Argentinian Northeastern Region (NEA) is considered a promising land since the local forest harvesting industry has one of the largest growing rates in the world. Despite its potential, this region faces some challenging obstacles: budget shortage, trade barriers and poor logistic infrastructure. For instance, traditionally the forest products are delivered by truck, which is from three to five times more expensive than other means of transport, like maritime or river transport. This is why in this paper, after a revision of the most recent advances in the worldwide supply chain management practices in the forest industry, recommendations for Argentina in order to overcome its main drawbacks in the forest sector are presented.

This paper examines the spoke and hub location decisions in a routing problem. To minimize the total cost, the study analyzes on how to locate the spokes, hubs and the allocation of spoke nodes to hub nodes, the routing among the nodes and the number of vehicles assigned to each hub thoroughly. As there might be no facility assigned to some points, unsatisfied demands must be distributed to other nodes with available facilities. Furthermore, the realized demand is determined by considering the perceived utility of each path, using The Gravity rule. For this purpose, the proposed nonlinear model is transformed into a linear programming model, where some tightening rules and preprocessing procedures are applied, and also the sequential and integrated approaches are developed to solve the problem. In the sequential method, spokes are allocated, and hubs are selected based on the location of the spokes, after which the routing in the local tour is determined. Meanwhile, in the integrated approach, the aggregated model is solved. A heuristic is presented to address the integrated model. Numerical experiments are run on both approaches, to compare both, and obtain insights from the model.

Research Project Supply Chain is one of the most complex supply networks. The management of this complex system has created new challenges for industry managers and engineers. The optimization of supply chain networks is, therefore, essential within the context of the research projects. The aims of this paper is to design the network of Supply Chain Management for research projects in an Iranian project-based organization. This model integrates strategic decisions in the whole life cycle for research projects using a mathematical approach. This model is a guideline for managers in research projects that will enable them to identify the strategic decisions of PSCM in their own organizations in order to resolve and improve them. It also serves as a useful base for researchers to further expand research concerning PSCM in research projects.