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Restructuring of Australia's electricity supply industry during the 1990s led to two clear lines of business emerging, (i). regulated utilities (i.e. poles & wires), and (ii). merchant utilities (i.e. competitive generation and retail). There are dozens of utility businesses in Australia but only four were listed on the Australian Stock Exchange — two regulated and two merchant. Over the past decade the Australian Energy Regulator entered a 'tightening phase' vis-à-vis Opex and Capex allowances, with regulated utilities arguing regulated rates of return were sub-optimal. In this article, earnings, dividends and market valuations of Australia's ASX-listed regulated and merchant utilities are analysed over the period 2007–2021. The practical evidence is Australia's regulated utilities avoided the large swings in earnings that characterised merchant utilities, exhibiting outcomes consistent with the lifecycle theory of dividend policy (i.e. falling cost of capital). Soaring valuations culminated in the simultaneous takeover events of Australia's two ASX-listed regulated utilities. This makes criticisms of regulatory policy on rates of return hard to reconcile, at least from an historic perspective. However, the industry now faces a very different trajectory and set of market conditions — rising rates, higher inflation and an unwinding of lifecycle theory effects given substantial network investments required to meet climate change objectives. This may in turn require returns policy recalibration. Unfortunately for policymakers, all regulated utilities have now been delisted, ending our ability to observe 'real' capital market responses to regulatory change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global decarbonisation is driving investments in intermittent renewable generation, with most plant entering the market by way of a Power Purchase Agreement. In Australia's National Electricity Market, a surprising number of renewable generators have entered on a merchant basis. To maintain tractable revenues some minimum level of hedging is required, but in an energy-only electricity market with a very high market price cap, merchant intermittent generators require some level of associated firming capacity to ensure spot price exposures can be adequately managed. This article uses unit commitment, battery arbitrage and stochastic discounted cashflow valuation models to compare an Open Cycle Gas Turbine and a battery as firming options for a hypothetical wind farm in the South Australian region of the NEM. Using historic market data from 2010–2020, we find OCGT firming capacity helps the wind farm to generate consistent net cash flows, allowing it to withstand the highs and lows of spot market prices whilst covering required contract-for-difference payments associated with hedging. When battery firming is deployed, the wind farm/ battery portfolio generated higher cash flows at specific times, reflecting participation in price arbitrage under low spot price scenarios. However, battery performance was constrained by costly storage capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the decision of the Illinois Third District Court in case Kalkman v. Nedved related to the Residential Real Property Disclosure Act in which court dismissed the claim made by plaintiff. Topics discussed include information on the Residential Real Property Disclosure Act that mandates the seller to disclose any defects in materials, information on the seller-friendly caveat emptor doctrine and consequences of the Kalkman ruling.

Abstract: The push for the use of e-bidding is on the increase. In many countries, e-bidding has become part of the public procurement reform. However, previous studies have reported the low uptake of e-bidding in the construction industry. This study develops a theoretical structural model representing the impact six latent variables on the willingness of construction organizations to participate in e-bidding. Data from a questionnaire survey of 64 respondents from clients, contractors, consultants, and suppliers organizations was used to analyze the model. The result of the data analysis suggests that perceived barriers, cost, the perceived benefits of e-bidding and security concerns are the factors influencing willingness participate in e-bidding with perceived barriers being the most significant influencing factor. The perception about the adequacy of the existing traditional paper-based tendering and the perception about the non-readiness of business partners are the underlying barriers that need to be addressed when introducing e-biding. This study also discovers that when the respondents concern about the cost of e-bidding is high, their reported willingness to participate in e-bidding is higher when the perceived benefits is high that when the perceived benefits is low. To enhance the participation of the industry in e-bidding, public sector and large private clients would need to take leadership by making bidder''s capability for e-bidding and e-project management at all project phases a criteria in bid evaluation. E-bidding developers and promoters need to use test project cases to monitor, measure, and document the benefits of e-bidding. To disseminate the perceived benefits, promoters would need to work closely with industry professional associations to develop promotional programmes linked to continuous professional development (CPD) points. The analytical approach used in this study should assist other researchers who might wish to address a similar research problem under a similar data and model constraints. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Construction material suppliers are usually exposed to financial risks as a consequence of a high debt capital structure and the nature of the material import business. There is demand for a tool that is able to predict whether such a material supplier, based on its financial status, should use derivatives to hedge financial risks. The research objective is to develop a prediction model using the Support Vector Machine (SVM) to determine whether employing risk hedging based on derivatives usage would be beneficial. The scope of this research limits the database to 640 financial statements published over the last 5years from 32 listed construction material suppliers. A total of 10 input determinants were identified and verified from the literature review, t-test results, and collinearity diagnosis. Using data trimming and normalization, these 640 sets were downsized to 520 sets which contained 248 effective and 272 ineffective risk-hedging sets. The SVM prediction model, based on the kernel radial basis function and normalized data, yields a prediction accuracy rate of 80.65%. The evaluation, using logistics and small sets of data, shows the validation and practicality of this model. This research concludes that 10 financial determinates are proven candidates for financial risk hedging. From the viewpoint of derivatives usage and the proposed SVM prediction model it appears feasible for construction material suppliers to apply this model. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The mining and processing industries of laminated calcite tile are an important economic sector in the State of Ceará. However, they generate a large amount of wastes, which are a source of contamination and environmental pollution. This study aimed to characterize the laminated calcite tile sawing waste and evaluate its suitability as an alternative ceramic raw material for the production of bricks and roof tiles. The waste was characterized by chemical composition determination, X-ray diffraction, differential thermal analyses, particle size distribution determination, and morphological analysis by electronic scanning microscopy. Several formulations were prepared and sample bodies were prepared by uniaxial pressing. The sample bodies were fired at different temperatures. Sintered samples were characterized in terms of water absorption and mechanical strength. The results showed that the waste is composed of calcite and dolomite, that presents a high level of fines. As such, it is possible to incorporate up to 10% for the production of ceramic bricks and roof tiles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A parametric study of artificial roughness geometry of expanded metal mesh type in the absorber plate of solar air heater duct has been carried out and compared with smooth duct. The performance evaluation in terms of energy augmentation ratio (EAR), effective energy augmentation ratio (EEAR) and exergy augmentation ratio (EXAR) has been carried out for various values of Reynolds number (Re) and roughness parameters of expanded metal mesh roughness geometry in the absorber plate of solar air heater duct. It is found that the augmentation ratios decrease at faster rate with Re in the order of EAR, EEAR and EXAR. It is also found that augmentation ratios increase with increase in duct depth and intensity of solar radiation. The artificially roughened solar air heater duct performs better as per EAR or heat energy gain criteria for any values of Re and roughness parameters of expanded metal mesh. The EAR is high for the parameters of expanded metal mesh type roughness geometry which create more turbulence, however the pump work required for flow of air will also increase. The EXAR is a more suitable criterion to incorporate the quality of heat collected and pump work required. The EXAR is more for higher duct depth and low Re range. Based on EXAR the suitable design parameters of expanded metal mesh roughness geometry are determined. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Phosphogypsum (calcium sulfate) is a naturally occurring part of the process of creating phosphoric acid (H3PO4), an essential component of many modern fertilizers. For every tonne of phosphoric acid made, from the reaction of phosphate rock with acid, commonly sulfuric acid, about 3t of phosphogypsum are created. There are three options for managing phosphogypsum: (i) disposal or dumping, (ii) stacking, (iii) use-in, for example, agriculture, construction, or landfill. This paper presents the valorization of two Tunisian phosphogypsums (referred as G and S) in calcium sulfoaluminate cement in the following proportions: 70% phosphogypsum–30% calcium sulfoaluminate clinker. The use of sample G leads to the production of a hydraulic binder which means that it is not destroyed when immersed in water. The binder including sample S performs very well when cured in air but is not resistant in water. Formation of massive ettringite in a rigid body leads to cracking and strength loss. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A three-dimensional meshfree method for modeling arbitrary crack initiation and crack growth in reinforced concrete structure is presented. This meshfree method is based on a partition of unity concept and formulated for geometrically non-linear problems. The crack kinematics are obtained by enriching the solution space in order to capture the correct crack kinematics. A cohesive zone model is used after crack initiation. The reinforcement modeled by truss or beam elements is connected by a bond model to the concrete. We applied the method to model the fracture of several reinforced concrete structures and compared the results to experimental data. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) is a non-destructive geophysical technique that is used to analyse soils and structures by providing continuous images of the interior of the media being analysed. In this paper, we present the methodology and results of a study of the reinforced concrete base of a large block of flats, where flow water and flooding are common in the wet and dry seasons. There are also a large number of cracks and fissures in the soil under the base. The damaged building is located in Valencia (Spain). The measurements were taken during two different seasons to include a period when flooding occurred and a period without flooding. The aim of the study was to determine whether the base would remain watertight in future and to analyse the depth of the damage observed on the surface. The results provided us with a detailed map of the damage and the zones that require more detailed analysis. Such damage affects the whole concrete slab. In addition to this analysis, several measurements were carried out to determine the possible causes of the inundations by locating potential wet areas and zones with high water content. A water table and a well were detected, which could be the cause of the humidity damage. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This work reports the most recent laboratory results from zinc-based point anodes performance in two different humidity environments (constant ∼95% and at outdoors with ∼77% relative humidities) in reinforced concrete small beams (10×15×60cm and 20×30×120cm), with and without chloride contamination (contaminated between 1% and 3.5wt% by cement weight). The commercially available point zinc-based anodes were placed at one end of the chloride-free or chloride-contaminated concrete beams to determine the polarization performance of these anodes along the reinforcing steel. Half cell potentials, current distribution, and polarization decay due to the anode interconnection with the reinforcing steel bar (rebar) were measured. A detailed discussion of the system efficiency at both humidities is included in this report. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The considerable influence of steel’s mechanical behaviour on the dissipative capacity of r.c. structures has led to increasing interest in optimizing the mechanical properties of the reinforcing bars used for seismic applications. The work presented herein is part of a broad-ranging study on the potential utilization of highly innovative types of steel for reinforced concrete earthquake-resistant structures. In particular, we present the main results obtained in experimental trials on a low-C, Mn–Si steel in the form of concrete reinforcing bars subjected to intercritical tempering treatment in a temperature range between 740 and 820 ∘C to obtain various dual-phase ferrite–martensite structures. The samples were characterized via mechanical tests and metallographic analyses in order to correlate the bars’ characteristics with the microstructure of the steel itself. Experimental characterization of this steel has allowed for the development of a mathematical model to enable the evaluation of the ductility performance of concrete structural elements reinforced with dual-phase steel bars. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The F R(LT)–F R(HT) phase transition and pyroelectric properties of porous Zr-rich lead zirconate ceramics were investigated. There was a relatively slight change of dielectric constant and a maximum peak of pyroelectric coefficient during F R(LT)–F R(HT) phase transition. The F R(LT)–F R(HT) and F R(HT)–P C phase transition temperature changed slightly with an increase in porosity The dielectric constant and pyroelectric coefficient at F R(LT)–F R(HT) phase transition temperature decreased with increasing porosity. However, the pyroelectric figure of merit (F v) increased with an increase in porosity due to a further decrease in dielectric constant with increasing porosity. When porosity exceeded 18.7%, the figure of merit of porous PZT ceramics was higher than that of dense PZT ceramics, which demonstrated figure of merit of PZT ceramics can be enhanced by inducing porosity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]