Fifteen tests on high strength concrete slabs with rectangular supports and three different load patterns are reported. The results show that current code preovisions can overestimate punching resistance in some cases. An investigation, made using the finite element method, shows the influences of the shape of a support and the pattern of loading on the distribution of shear. Factors are proposed to allow for these effects while using the control perimeter and basic shear resistance of the CEB Model Code 90, and it is demonstrated that this approach provides strength estimates better than those of MC 90, BS 8110 and ACI 318. There remains a problem of the punching capacity of slabs almost failing in flexure and this is discussed.

The biotechnological potential of 8 Amazon cyanobacteria was studied and some species shown to be promising biodiesel source.

A new prepared catalyst, 12-molybdophosphoric acid (HPMo) anchored to the mesoporous aluminosilicate AlSiM, synthesized from Amazon kaolin, was characterized and used as a heterogeneous acid catalyst for the production of eugenyl acetate by acetylation of eugenol with acetic anhydride. The effect of various reaction parameters, such as catalyst concentration, eugenol/acetic anhydride molar ratio, temperature and reaction time, was studied to optimize the conditions of maximum conversion of eugenol. The kinetics studies showed that in eugenol acetylation, the substrate concentration follows a first order kinetics. The results of activation energy was 19.96 kJ mol−1 for HPMo anchored to AlSiM. The reuse of the catalyst was also studied and there was no loss of catalytic activity after four cycles of use (from 99.9% in the first cycle to 90% in the fifth cycle was confirmed), and an excellent stability of the material was observed. Based on catalytic and kinetic studies, HPMo anchored to AlSiM is considered an excellent catalyst.

Punching strength is a critical point in the design of flat slabs and due to the lack of a theoretical method capable of explaining this phenomenon, empirical formulations presented by codes of practice are still the most used method to check the bearing capacity of slab-column connections. This paper discusses relevant aspects of the development of flat slabs, the factors that influence the punching resistance of slabs without shear reinforcement and makes comparisons between the experimental results organized in a database with 74 slabs carefully selected with theoretical results using the recommendations of ACI 318, EUROCODE 2 and NBR 6118 and also through the Critical Shear Crack Theory, presented by Muttoni (2008) and incorporated the new fib Model Code (2010).Keywords: flat slab, punching shear, reinforced concrete, codes.O dimensionamento à punção é um ponto crítico no projeto de lajes lisas e devido à falta de um método teórico capaz de explicar este fenômeno a verificação da capacidade resistente de ligações laje-pilar é feita normalmente utilizando-se as recomendações de normas de projeto. Este artigo discute aspectos relevantes do surgimento do sistema de lajes lisas, dos fatores que influenciam na resistência à punção de lajes sem armadura de cisalhamento e faz comparações entre os resultados experimentais de um banco de dados com 74 lajes cuidadosamente selecionadas com resultados teóricos utilizando-se as recomendações das normas ACI 318, EUROCODE 2 e NBR 6118 e também através da Teoria da Fissura Crítica de Cisalhamento, apresentada por Muttoni (2008)

No abstract

This paper presents an experimental study on the behaviour of the bond stress of steel reinforcing bars embedded in steel-fibre-reinforced concrete. In total, 27 specimens were subjected to pull-out tests. The main variables included the volumetric fraction of the fibre, the diameter of the reinforcing bars and the anchorage length. The results showed that the introduction of steel fibres had a significant effect on improving the bond stress performance in terms of the failure load resistance, the tensile resistance of the concrete and the reduction in the anchorage length, resulting in a more ductile bonding behaviour of reinforcing bars with smaller tested diameters. An equation to estimate the ultimate bond stress was proposed based on the prescriptions of the Brazilian design code NBR 6118, which is more accurate and considers the observed effects of the fibre addition.

The objective of this study, for the first time, was to optimize Amazonian cyanobacterial culture conditions for improving cell productivity and lipid content, by analyzing the effect of light intensity and nitrogen concentration, for empirically evaluating biodiesel quality parameters. The strains Synechocystis sp. CACIAM05, Microcystis aeruginosa CACIAM08, Pantanalinema rosaneae CACIAM18, and Limnothrix sp. CACIAM25, were previously identified by morphological and molecular analysis (16S rRNA) and were selected based on their production of chlorophyll a and dry cell weight. Then, factorial planning (22) with central points was applied, with light intensity and NaNO3 concentration as independent variables. As response variables, cell productivity and lipid content were determined. Statistical analysis indicated that for all strains, the independent variables were statistically significant for cell productivity. Analysis of the fatty acid composition demonstrated diversity in the composition of the fatty acid profile from the experimental planning assays of each strain. The Biodiesel Analyzer software predicted the biodiesel quality parameters. CACIAM05 and CACIAM25 obtained better parameters with low levels of light intensity and NaNO3 concentration, whereas CACIAM08 and CACIAM18 obtained better parameters with low NaNO3 concentrations and high luminous intensity.

O concreto, material de composição heterogênea e complexa, é o principal insumo em construções. Do ponto de vista estrutural, ele tem como propriedade principal sua resistência. O estudo do comportamento do concreto, baseado em estudos conceituais da resistência granular, pode conduzir a um projeto estrutural mais seguro e de melhor utilização do material. Este trabalho expõe os resultados de um estudo conduzido para avaliar os efeitos do tipo, tamanho e teor de agregado graúdo no módulo de deformação do concreto de alta resistência. A mistura de concreto estudada contém agregados de basalto e de granito com dimensões máximas características de 9,5 mm e 19 mm e relação água/cimento de 0,35. O módulo de elasticidade do material foi determinado usando o trecho inicial linear da curva Carga-CMOD (deslocamento de abertura da boca da fissura) no ensaio de flexão com três pontos em viga entalhada no meio do vão, seguindo a proposta do comitê técnico 89-FMT da RILEM (Internacional Union of Testing and Research Laboratories for Materials and Structures).