Climbing on vertical concrete structures like bridge pylons or dams is still a great challenge for autonomous robots. This paper presents the forceand traction control system of the climbing robot Cromsci which uses a negative pressure system for adhesion and driven wheels for propulsion. Especially in vertical environments the propulsion system must be able to produce enough force for carrying...

River-bed sediments display two universal downstream trends: fining, in which particle size decreases; and rounding, where pebble shapes evolve toward ellipsoids. Rounding is known to result from transport-induced abrasion; however many researchers argue that the contribution of abrasion to downstream fining is negligible. This presents a paradox: downstream shape change indicates substantial a...

In situ abrasion of shingle beach material is a neglected area of study in coastal geomorphology, with reduction in beach volumes normally attributed to longshore and offshore drift. Results from field abrasion experiments conducted on flint shingle beaches on the East Sussex coast, southern England, show that in situ reductions in volume of beach material may be more significant than has been ...

In this study, the synergistic effects of abrasion and corrosion on UNS S30403, S31603 and S32760 stainless steels have been investigated using micro-abrasion test rig. The stainless steel samples have been studied under both pure abrasion (PA) and abrasion–corrosion (AC) conditions imulated by using silicon carbide based slurries in either distilled water or 3.5% sodium chloride solutions. Tes...

A number of devices in MEMS introduce frictional contacts between moving surfaces, resulting in particle generation. In this paper, we explore the nano-scale abrasion characteristics of four materials that are commonly encountered in MEMS devices and packages: aluminum (Al), silicon (Si), Pyrex glass, and glass-mica ceramic (Macor). A commercial scribing tool has been adapted to provide control...

Although concrete abrasion damage is a major maintenance challenge for coastal structures fronted by beaches with hard coarse sediments, there are no readily available field studies that have measured of known mixtures under defined exposure conditions. The objective this investigation to evaluate the abrasive conditions revetment armour units at Cleveleys on Fylde coast U.K. and examine feasib...

This experimental study is aimed at evaluating the hydrodynamic abrasion resistance of concrete produced with recycled waste glass as coarse aggregates. The underwater (ASTM C1138) method used to test concretes containing 0%, 12.5%, 25%, 50% and 100% aggregates replacement for natural To benchmark performance, glass-aggregate compared that a high-strength mixture typically in coastal defences w...