We consider an elastic plate of infinite length and constant width supported simply along its two parallel edges and having a finite length crack along its centreline. In particular, we look for and find trapped modes (localised oscillations) in the presence of the crack. An explicit wide-spacing approximation based on the Wiener-Hopf technique applied to incident wave scattering by semi-infini...

Road infrastructures contribute to a healthy economy throughout a sustainable distribution of goods and services. A road network requires timely programmed maintenance treatments in order to keep roads assets in good condition, providing maximum safety for road users under a cost-effective approach. Surface Distress is the key element to identify road condition and may be generated from many di...

In this paper, a method to obtain crack initiation, location and width in concrete structures subjected to bending and instrumented with an OBR system (Optical Backscattered Reflectometer) is proposed. Continuous strain data with high spatial resolution and accuracy are the main advantages of the OBR system. These characteristics make this Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) technique a useful t...

This paper presents an experimental study on the fundamental performances of a sprayed engineered cementitious composite (ECC) in repair systems. ECC serving as a repair material has been expected to be highly effective in providing durable repaired structures because of the tight crack width control and high delamination resistance. For this study, a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fiber-reinforced EC...

There are many ways that women support their use of crack cocaine, including sex-for-crack bartering and other forms of prostitution. Empirical studies conducted in the mid-1970s and in the mid-1980s in New York City, and in Chicago in the late 1980s to early 1990s are compared, analyzing similarities and differences between the contemporary crack-prostitution scene and previous prostitution sc...