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Masonry structures are frequently constructed in developing countries because of their affordability and ease of construction, even though they are vulnerable and perform poorly during earthquakes. Experimental and numerical studies were carried out to determine the optimum thickness of the isolation layer for a recently developed, low-cost seismic isolation system known as the Reinforced-Cut-Wall (RCW). The parameters of the isolation layer were optimized during the experimental and numerical investigations using hollow concrete blocks. Quasi-static cyclic tests were performed on a 1:3 reduced-scale brick masonry wall incorporating the RCW isolation scheme, validating the better performance of the proposed isolation technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, punchout distress in continuously reinforced concrete pavement (CRCP) frequently occurs even if the reinforcement design strictly adheres to specifications. In this study, a new concept called reinforced concrete pavement with large spacing joints (RCPS) is proposed, and a new isolation layer is applied to the RCPS on the basis of laboratory results. Finally, a test road is constructed to verify the rationality of the structure of RCPS. The results show that reducing the friction and bonding strength between the isolation layer and pavement is the key to implement RCPS. The design method of RCPS not only retains the good bearing capacity of CRCP but also overcomes the problem in which the dry shrinkage and temperature stresses of CRCP cannot be released, which leads to punchouts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents research on the applications of SU-8-based structural material for three different types of semiconductor processing. The processing method using SU-8 as a cost-effective final protection layer replaces the traditional SiNxor SiO2thin films in integrated passive devices (IPDs). To evaluate the moisture resistance of the SU-8 films, SU-8 and SiNxare subjected to 1,000 h, 85°C, 85% relative humidity (RH) reverse bias tests and the results are compared. SU-8 is also applied as an isolation layer in light-emitting diode (LED) module fabrication processing, which provides electrical isolation and protection for the ground Cu/Ni/Au-plated metal interconnection. Finally, SU-8 is used in high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) input/output matching circuit as a dielectric layer for the realization of DC block capacitor. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]