Volume 115 (2018): Issue 8 (August 2018)

Mental hospitals from the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries resembled independent cities and were designed to fulfil all patients’ needs, including spiritual. The idea of psychiatric care and healing also embraced the spiritual aspect of life. Churches, chapels and cemeteries were an indispensable part of many mental asylums of the time. The article explores the position of sites of worship in psychiatric hospitals and examines the place of sacred architecture and spaces in their layout and composition.

One of the indications of pro-environmental change is the construction of thermal waste processing plants, which occupy an excessive amount of space and are controversial structures in terms of public perception; however, they also create new potential possibilities for the areas in which they are placed. The objective of this study is to address the issue of the spatial significance of thermal waste processing plants from the points of view of accessibility, location and relations with the urban tissue; their architectural and visual significance within the environments they occupy is also considered. The study covered twelve Italian thermal waste processing plants located in varying spatial, economic and social conditions. The results of field analyses and the conclusions drawn from them can serve when conducting comparative studies of other structures of this type, both in Italy and further afield.

In this paper, we present the review of modern technologies for obtaining valuable biomass-derived chemicals, such as furfural, levulinic acid, adipic acid, dihydroxyacetone, lactic acid and acrylic acid. We have included our own research approach using the nano-design of zeolites for the dehydration of lactic acid into acrylic acid.

This paper reports the results of research on the mechanical properties of hDPe-matrix composite filled with three types of neuburg siliceous earth (nse). The hDPe/nse composites are prepared by twin-screw direct extrusion, with the filler content ranging between 0wt% and 60wt%. Thereby, the prepared molded pieces are subjected to tests in order to determine Young’s modulus and tensile strength, impact strength and hardness. The results are thoroughly examined based on the morphological and geometrical features of the applied fillers, such as particle size (2–10 μm) and specific surface (7–9 m2/g). The effect of the chemical properties of the filler surface on its interaction with the matrix and strength is determined. The effects of the chemical activation of the filler surface by vinyl-functional silanes on their strength properties is described, and the variations in interactions on the matrix-filler interface are explained.

This paper presents experimental results relevant to the thermal utilisation of rubber wastes. The investigation employed a laboratory-scale bubbling fluidised bed combustor, (BFBC) running on liquefied petroleum gas with quartz sand as the inert bed material. When rubber samples (tyre fragments) were added, the reactor temperature and flue gas concentrations of CO, VOC, SO₂, NO_x and HCl were monitored. Tests were performed with bed temperatures of 800-1000°C and two different masses of the bed. It has been found that the emitted quantities of NO_x and CO were dependent not only on the sample mass but also on the mass (depth) and temperature of the fluidised bed and dropped whilst the bed depth was increased and its temperature was raised.

The paper addresses the problem of the efficient shaping of curved steel rod structures conducted based on the enneper surface. The proposed parametric design process consists in linking the geometric shaping of grid models with their structural analysis and optimization, which is realized through the application of design tools working in the rhinoceros 3D software. The mechanical performance of lattices covered with glass panels is evaluated and the structures are pre-dimensioned. The presented aesthetic grid shells with good structural characteristics may constitute original coverings. however, the analysis, which targets an early stage of the design, aims at providing design guidelines to facilitate communication between architects and civil engineers.

Due to their numerous advantages, epoxy resin coatings are a common way to finish industrial floors. Obtaining coating strength at the level declared by the manufacturer requires preparation of the cement substrate through mechanical treatment, for example, in the form of sandblasting. The next step is the thorough cleaning and vacuuming of the surface and the application of the adhesives. The aim of this research was to improve the strength parameters of a coating in which no adhesive were used. materials which have a potentially positive effect on epoxy resins are mineral additives. This paper presents the results of tests aimed at improving the adhesion between a concrete foundation and an epoxy resin coating modified with waste glass powder obtained from the production of glass microspheres.

The aim of this paper is to investigate driver behaviour in order to develop a method for improving micro-and macrosimulation traffic models with a particular focus on traffic calming solutions. Therefore, speed profiles were calculated, a PTv vissim model was created, and an attempt to estimate volume-delay functions was made. Driver behaviour was modelled on the basis of video recordings of traffic in traffic-calmed links. speed profiles were divided into parts where the speed is influenced with the traffic calming and not, and speed distributions were calculated in order to be used in vissim. vissim microsimulation was tested on various traffic volumes, with various traffic compositions, in order to identify the relationship between traffic flow and travel time.

This article presents the results of studies relating to the possibility of the practical use of the preliminary hazard analysis method to assess the risk of damage to the telecommunications copper access network. use of the Pha method allows the identification and evaluation of risk factors; it enables the comparison of the risk of damage to components of the telecommunications copper access network located in different geographical areas. This generates the possibility of the effective application of a comparative analysis (including the service quality) by the operator for different network areas. The method also allows the setting of benchmarks for improving the effectiveness of the technical services of the operator.

In this paper, a modified bat algorithm with fuzzy inference mamdani-type system is applied to the problem of document clustering in a semantic features space induced by SVD decomposition. The algorithm learns the optimal clustering of the documents as well as the optimal number of clusters in a concept space; thus, making it suitable for a large and spare dataset which occur in information retrieval system. a centroid-based solution in multidimensional space is evaluated with a silhouette index. A TF-IDF method is used to represent documents in vector space. The presented algorithm is tested on the 20 newsgroup dataset.

The requirement for high reliability and safety in the operation of measuring and control systems is particularly relevant in critical applications in which system failure can lead to large material losses and can constitute threat to health and even to life. railway traffic control systems are one such application. There is a requirement for the use of powerful tools and methods of modelling the function and operation of this system. The purpose of this publication is to present the use of a Petri net in modelling automatic reserve switching device controllers of railway traffic control system power. The publication also shows the practical implementation of such a controller. It was implemented using the hardware platform of the NI CompactRIO family of controllers and an application made in the national labview graphical programming environment.

This paper presents an investigation in which bio-based polyamide 10.10 was used as a polymer matrix. Composites were reinforced in three different ways including: 10 wt% and 30 wt% of walnut shell flour as well as 30 wt% of glass fibres. The composites were prepared by injection moulding. mechanical properties (tensile strength (σ_t), modulus of elasticity (E_t) as well as flexural modulus (E_f) and flexural stress at 3.5% strain (σ_f)) were obtained. The mechanical data of analysis showed that tensile strength and tensile stiffness significantly decreased after four years of storage. another state was noted for the bending module, where the decrease in value was at a level of 5% compared to results obtained immediately after injection. additionally, sem images were taken to assess the distribution of particles and the adhesion of fillers to the matrix.

The article presents the results of laboratory tests, the aim of which was to measure cutting forces during parallel turning of an ams 5643 steel bar. The cutting trials were registered with a 3-axis Kisler 9257b piezoelectric dynamometer, and the DynoWare computer program was used to archive and analyse the results. The experimental test plan for variable cutting parameters (v_c, a_p, f) was created according to the Taguchi method and the statistical analysis of the results was performed using anOva. The work involved carrying out 9 tests with the use of an uncoated carbide cutting insert. The obtained test results will be used to specify a simulation model of the cutting process.

The paper presents the laboratory measurements results of temperature distribution in the cutting zone during orthogonal turning of a GrDe 2 titanium tube. The cutting tool used during the tests was a bimetallic cut-off tool with an uncoated insert made of P10 sintered carbide. The test plan was developed using the miniTab16 computer application and the Taguchi method. The tests were performed in accordance with orthogonal table l9, which describes nine cutting trials for two independent factors, cutting speed v_c [m/min] and feed rate f [mm/rev], at three different values. The temperature distribution in the cutting zone was measured by means of a flIr sC 620 thermal imaging camera. The archiving and processing of measurement results was performed with the ThermaCamresearcher Pro 2.9 computer application. The obtained results were used to determine the average temperature for each of the nine trials; then, a statistical analysis of the results was performed.

This paper concerns the assessment of the impact of tyre pressure and additional vehicle loading which is inconsistent with the manufacturer’s requirements on the results of wheel alignment measurement. a sample of results from tests performed on a second generation Toyota Prius and a fifth generation volkswagen Passat are presented. The tested vehicles differed in the types of front axle wheel suspension. an analysis of the obtained results was conducted. The analysis revealed differences between the results of reference tests performed in accordance with the requirements of vehicle manufacturers and those conducted for incorrectly prepared vehicles. The values of these differences depended, inter alia, on the type of suspension.