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Weigh-in-motion (WIM) systems are essential for efficient transportation and monitoring parameters such as vehicle number, speed, and weight to ensure regulatory compliance and enhance road safety. Recently, WIM measurements using the Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer Fiber Bragg Grating (GFRP-FBG) sensors have shown robustness and effectiveness. However, the accuracy of weight evaluation using the WIM systems based on GFRP-FBG sensors can be significantly influenced by the vehicle-wandering effect, which introduces uncertainties in wheel position determination and weight calculations. This paper assessed the impact of vehicle wandering on the accuracy of a WIM measurement system based on GFRP-FBG sensors by utilizing a new hybrid sensor-camera system that integrates roadside cameras and in-pavement GFRP-FBG sensors. The detailed methodology and framework of the developed hybrid system are introduced, followed by field testing on Highway I-94 in the United States. The field testing results indicate that by using the hybrid system, the wheel load detection accuracy of the WIM system based on GFRP-FBG sensors can be controlled to be a Type I or Type III WIM according to the ASTM 1318E-09 standard, with an average accuracy ranging from 87.83% to 94.65%. At the same time, when the wander distance is less than or equal to 9 cm, the developed WIM system proves to be very cost-effective as it only comprises two GFRP-FBG sensors, one temperature FBG sensor, and one camera. These findings indicate the practical potential to enhance the accuracy of WIM systems based on GFRP-FBG sensors designed for highways for low-coast, reliable, and accurate measurements by addressing vehicle wandering effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims and Objectives: To compare the effect for fracture resistance of different coronally extended post length with two different post materials. Materials and Methods: One hundred and sixty endodontically treated maxillary central incisors embedded in acrylic resin with decoronated root portion were taken for the study. The postspaces were prepared according to standard protocol. The samples were divided into two groups according to the post material: glass-fiber post and Quartz fiber post. These groups were further subdivided on the basis of coronal extension of 4 and 6 mm for glass fiber and Quartz fiber posts, respectively. The posts were then luted with dual-polymerizing resin cement followed by core buildup. Samples were subjected to increasing compressive oblique load until fracture occurred in a universal testing machine. Data were analyzed with one-way ANOVA and independent Student's t-test. Analysis was done using SPSS version 15 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA) Windows software program. Results: Glass fiber post with coronal extension of 4 mm (182.8 N) showed better results than with 6-mm length (124.1 N). Similarly, in quartz fiber posts group, 4-mm postlength (314 N) was better when compared with 6 mm (160 N). The 4-mm coronal extension of quartz fiber post displayed superior fracture resistance. Conclusions: Glass fiber posts showed better fracture resistance than Quartz fiber posts. 4-mm coronal length showed more fracture resistance than 6 mm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: There is limited research to guide physicians and patients in deciding whether it is safe to drive while wearing various forms of upper extremity immobilization. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of below-elbow removable splints and fiberglass casts on automobile driving performance.Methods: 20 healthy subjects completed 10 runs through a closed, cone-marked driving course while wearing a randomized sequence of four different types of immobilization on each extremity (short arm thumb spica fiberglass cast, short arm fiberglass cast, short arm thumb spica splint, and short arm wrist splint). The first and last driving runs were without immobilization and served as controls. Performance was measured based on evaluation by a certified driving instructor (pass/fail scoring), cones hit, run time, and subject-perceived driving difficulty (1-10 analogue scoring).Results: The greatest number of instructor-scored failures occurred while immobilized in right arm spica casts (n=6; p=0.02) and left arm spica casts (n=5; p=0.049). The right arm spica cast had the highest subject-perceived difficulty (5.2±1.9; p<0.001). All forms of immobilization had significantly increased perceived difficulty compared to control, except for the left short arm splint (2.5±1.6; p>0.05). There was no significant difference in number of cones hit or driving time between control runs and runs with any type of immobilization.Conclusions: Drivers should use caution when wearing any of the forms of upper extremity immobilization tested in this study. All forms of immobilization, with exception of the left short arm splint significantly increased perceived driving difficulty. However, only the fiberglass spica casts (both left and right arm), significantly increased drive run failures due to loss of vehicle control. We recommend against driving when wearing a below-elbow fiberglass spica cast on either extremity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of biofiber, or natural fiber, composites by the U.S. automotive industry is on the rise. Biofiber composites are now being considered a meaningful alternative to glass fiber composites. This paper examines the current status of biofiber composites in the automotive sector. The investigation highlights the progress of the application of different types of non-woody and woody cellulosic fibers for designing and fabricating composite automotive components. The improvements in the processing techniques, production methods of different biofiber composites, and the potential applications of these composites in the automotive sector have been taken into consideration. The global emerging trends towards designing and deploying biofiber composite components by leading manufacturers are discussed. Further this study highlights the strengths and obstacles encountered for commercialization and adoption of biofiber composite materials. Current research priorities and global sustainability initiatives further offer insight to future trends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: In the transportation sector, reducing vehicle weight is a cornerstone strategy to improve the fuel economy and energy efficiency of road vehicles. This study investigated the environmental implications of lightweighting two automotive parts (Ford Taurus front end bolster, Chevrolet Trailblazer/GMC Envoy assist step) using glass-fiber reinforced polymers (GFRP) instead of steel alloys. Methods: The cradle-to-grave life cycle assessments (LCAs) for these studies consider a total service life of 150,000 miles for two applications: a 46 % lighter GFRP bolster on the 2010 Ford Taurus that replaced the 2008 steel and GFRP bolster, and a 51 % lighter GFRP running board for the 2007 Chevrolet Trailblazer/GMC Envoy that replaced the previous steel running board including its polymer fasteners. The life cycle stages in these critically reviewed and ISO-compliant LCA studies include the production of upstream materials and energy, product manufacturing, use, and the end-of-life treatment for all materials throughout the life cycle. Results and discussion: The results show that the lighter GFRP products performed better than the steel products for global warming potential and primary energy demand for both case studies. In addition, the GFRP bolster performed better for acidification potential. The savings of fuel combustion and production during the use stage of a vehicle far outweigh the environmental impacts of manufacturing or end-of-life. An even greater benefit would be possible if the total weight reduction in the vehicle would be high enough to allow for the reduction of engine displacement or an elongation of gear ratio while maintaining constant vehicle dynamics. These so-called secondary measures allow the fuel savings per unit of mass to be more than doubled and are able to offset the slightly higher acidification potential of the GFRP running board which occurs when only the mass-induced fuel savings are considered. Conclusions: The lightweight GFRP components are shown to outperform their steel counterparts over the full life cycle mainly due to the reduced fuel consumption of the vehicle in the use phase. To harvest the benefits of light weighting to their full extent, it is recommended that the sum of all mass reductions in the design process be monitored and, whenever feasible, invested into fuel economy by adapting the drive train while maintaining constant vehicle performance rather than leveraging the weight reduction to improve vehicle dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Composite resins were reinforced with glass and polyethylene fibers in this study, and the effect of fiber reinforcement on the color change of composite resins was investigated. After accelerated aging, the effect of fiber reinforcement on the color stability of composite resins was also examined. There were three experimental groups (n=12 disks per group): non-fiber-reinforced composite (non-FRC control), polyethylene fiber (Ribbond-THM)-reinforced composite, and glass fiber (everstick NET)-re info reed composite. According to the critical remarks of color change of National Bureau of Standarts (NSB), glass fiber-reinforced anterior composites showed trace color change and polyethylene-fiber reinforced composites showed slight color change before accelerated aging. After accelerated aging, both control and fiber-re info reed composite groups showed noticeable color change. It was concluded that both the types of fiber reinforcement and composite resin influenced the color change of fiber-reinforced composite resins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Stasilon® is a novel hemostatic woven textile composed of allergen-free fibers of continuous filament fiberglass and bamboo yarn. The development of this product resulted from controlled in vitro thrombogenic analysis of an array of potentially hemostatic textile materials and it has been cleared for both external and internal use by the United States Food and Drug Administration for the arrest of hemorrhage. The goal of the study was to assess the hemostatic and adhesive properties of Stasilon® in the setting of lifethreatening refractory hemorrhage. Case presentation: A 39-year-old Caucasian man presented with severe necrotic pancreatitis that failed multiple aggressive attempts to control associated bleeding with electrocautery, suture ligation, and sequential anatomic packing with cotton-based sponges. Subsequent retroperitoneal packing with Stasilon® produced a non-adherent wound-dressing interface and resulted in the achievement of persistent hemostasis in the operative field. Conclusion: In our patient, Stasilon® was demonstrated to be effective in the arrest of refractory hemorrhage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An assessment of uncertainties for the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) 1016 mm Guarded-Hot-Plate apparatus is presented. The uncertainties are reported in a format consistent with current NIST policy on the expression of measurement uncertainty. The report describes a procedure for determination of component uncertainties for thermal conductivity and thermal resistance for the apparatus under operation in either the double-sided or single-sided mode of operation. An extensive example for computation of uncertainties for the single-sided mode of operation is provided for a low-density fibrous-glass blanket thermal insulation. For this material, the relative expanded uncertainty for thermal resistance increases from 1 % for a thickness of 25.4 mm to 3 % for a thickness of 228.6 mm. Although these uncertainties have been developed for a particular insulation material, the procedure and, to a lesser extent, the results are applicable to other insulation materials measured at a mean temperature close to 297 K (23.9 °C, 75 °F). The analysis identifies dominant components of uncertainty and, thus, potential areas for future improvement in the measurement process. For the NIST 1016 mm Guarded-Hot-Plate apparatus, considerable improvement, especially at higher values of thermal resistance, may be realized by developing better control strategies for guarding that include better measurement techniques for the guard gap thermopile voltage and the temperature sensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A large number of timber bridges are at the end of their service life in North America and the prohibitive costs of replacement make owners face the challenge of developing efficient rehabilitation techniques. This paper presents the results from an experimental program of testing old full scale timber stringers with longitudinal splits. Stringers were reinforced for shear and bending using glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) sheets. A total of nine full-scale Douglas-fir beams were tested in three-point bending after strengthening for flexure and shear with GFRP sheets. Horizontal shear forces in shear reinforcement were calculated using a simplified model. Beams that failed by debonding of shear reinforcement, failed at horizontal shear forces within the range of 150–266 kN. Design charts were constructed on the basis of these calculated forces to simplify the design of shear reinforcement for different sizes and locations of splits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Approximately 2000 PMTs will be used to detect the Cherenkov light generated in quartz fibers embedded in the CMS-HF Forward Calorimeter. The Hamamatsu R7525HA PMT was chosen for this purpose. We measured the transit time, transit time spread, pulse width, rise time, anode dark current, and relative gain for each tube in the test station at the University of Iowa. Life-time, gain versus high voltage, and single photoelectron spectrum measurements were also done on a small sample of PMTs. All the tubes were tested to verify that they conform to the HF requirements. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This article summarizes results of research conducted by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) at its Pittsburgh Research Laboratory. The objective of this work was to determine the correlation between the mass (M) of respirable coal and limestone dusts collected on 25-mm-diameter glass fiber filters mounted in cassettes and the increase in differential pressure (ΔP) that develops across the filters when drawing at constant air flow. Test aerosols were generated inside a laboratory dust chamber using various coal dusts, limestone dust, and mixes of the two. Dusts with different particle size distributions were deposited on the filters by sampling from the chamber through cyclone preclassifiers at different flow rates. Results show that the relationship between differential pressure increase (cm water) and dust mass (mg) is linear and can be approximated by the equation ΔP = KM. The K values (slopes) range from 1.14 to 1.64, depending on the parent coal of the samples. The influence of particle size distribution was also found. The overall K value for all the data summarized in this article is 1.35, with R[sup 2]= 0.84 for the summary equation. When calibrated for individual work sites, or other circumstances where great variability in dust characteristics is avoided, the relationship between collected dust mass and increase in differential pressure may provide an exploitable principle for measurement of respirable dust concentrations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extending the application of fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composite materials into the automotive, aerospace and military manufacturing is a significant advance in recent years. However, few extending have been achieved in civil infrastructure and building construction industry. This gap is partly due to (i) the lack of multiphysics and multiscale models unifying degradation-deformation damage phenomena to assess the safety and durability of newly adopted or proposed material and structural systems, and (ii) no available computational models that are succinctly fundamental and directly interactable with other digital files from architecture designer or manufacturer. To begin addressing this gap, this paper presents a structure level multiphysics model that uses the UV and moisture deterioration variables homogenized from a micromechanics model to integrate a nonlocal continuum damage model in a curvilinear coordinate system. This model links the application of analysis to the architecture or manufacturing digital model by enabling more accurate predictions of mechanical performance. An example of the model is presented for analysis of a group of glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) composite plates in SFMOMA Façade System, the first and largest architectural application of fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) in the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluates the health of retires workers from six plants engaged in the production of fibrous glass insulation materials in the United States. Interrelation between carcinogenicity of asbestos and structural shape of materials; Elevation of respiratory disease on normal retirees; Evidence of chronic bronchitis.

The article presents patents on ophthalmic plastic lenses. A. A. Spycher patented a photochromic plastic lens as U.S. Patent 4,227,950, which describes how the problem of thermal stress can be get over in a sandwich construction lens. U.S. Patent 4,300,821 for glass photochromic layer is not integrated as a sheet of material, but instead as a layer of glass fibre matting. Great Britain Patent Application 2,089,523 is claimed to have an important improvement in constringence over polycarbonate.

The article discusses the functional fibers research headed by Yoel Fink, associate professor of materials science and principal investigator at the Research Lab of Electronics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Massachusetts. Fink and colleagues has developed a functional fiber, a fiber that could detect and produce sound, from elaborate geometrical arrangement of several different materials. The developed fiber's acoustic characteristic is similar to a plastic usually used in microphones. Fink noted that the fiber could be used in capturing speech, monitoring bodily functions and measuring blood flow in capillaries or pressure in the brain.

Focuses on the inspection by Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) of styrene exposure in a fiberglass boat manufacturing operation in the U.S. Classes of inspections conducted by OSHA; Analysis of full-shift and short-term sampling of styrene by OSHA.