Search

South Africa's water resources are unequally distributed over space and time and an already stressed water resource situation will only be exacerbated by climate change if current predictions are correct. The potential for conflict over increasingly strained water resources in South Africa is thus very real. In order to deal with these complex problems, national legislation is demanding that water resource management be decentralized to the local level where active participation can take place in an integrated manner in accordance with the principles of Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM). However, administrative and political boundaries rarely match those of catchments as, throughout South Africa, rivers have been employed extensively to delineate administrative and political boundaries at a number of spatial scales. The aim of this research is to determine if rivers act as dividing or uniting features in a socio-political landscape and whether topography will influence their role in this context. The Orange-Senqu River is used as a case study. This paper goes on to consider the implications of this for catchment management in South Africa. No study known to the authors has explored the effect of the river itself, and its topographic setting, on the drivers that foster either conflict or cooperation, and allow for participatory management. This study presents evidence that the topography of a catchment has the ability to aggravate or reduce the impact of the variables considered by water managers and thereby influence the role of a river as a dividing or uniting feature. South Africa's proposed form of decentralized water management will have to contend with the effects of different topographies on the way in which rivers are perceived and utilized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, are described a series of tests that have been undertaken to elucidate the effects of geometry, material properties and reinforcement location on the flexural properties of laminated veneer lumber. The fracture modes are found to be a function of the properties and location of the reinforcement and ultimately the strength of bonding between the components. The use of high modulus reinforcements is beneficial to enhancing the stiffness of laminated veneer lumber, whereas lower stiffness reinforcements are beneficial for the enhancement of strength. Lowered fractions of rod and plate reinforcement are as beneficial as higher fractions of rod and plate reinforcement in reinforcing timber, provided they are judiciously positioned in the timber and have a stable bond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adhesives used for bonded-in steel or composite pultruded rods and plate to make connections in timber structures are commonly room temperature cure adhesives. The room temperature cure, applied without pressure, thixotropic, and shear thinning characteristics of the adhesives, is for ease of application when repairs and reinforcement are being made in situ in the field. The room temperature cure adhesive may not fully cross-link and this may cause brittleness. Therefore to improve the toughness properties of such adhesives, nano-particles can be added. This paper reports the experimental investigation carried out on the fracture toughness of three thixotropic and room temperature cured epoxy-based adhesives formulated specifically for in situ timber bonding, namely, CB10TSS (standard adhesive), Albipox is CB10TSS with the addition of nanodispersed carboxyl-terminated butadiene acrylonitrile (CTBN), and Timberset is an adhesive formulation containing ceramic microparticles. The fracture toughness behavior of the adhesives was investigated using the Charpy impact test on unnotched and notched specimens conditioned at 20 °C/65%RH to evaluate notch sensitivity, and a single-edge notched beam (SENB) test was performed to evaluate the stress intensity factor K/c- The fracture surfaces were investigated using scanning electron microscopy. Under high impact rate, toughness was in the order of CB10TSS, Albipox, and Timberset. CB10TSS and Albipox were found to be ductile in the unnotched state and brittle when notched. Timberset was brittle in both unnotched and notched states. Under low strain rate (SENB) conditions the addition of CTBN significantly improved the fracture toughness of Albipox compared with CB10TSS and Timberset. Examination of the topography of the fractured surface revealed marked changes in crack propagation due to the addition of nano- or microfillers accounting for the variation in toughness properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The environmental stability of three room temperature cure epoxy adhesives was evaluated following exposure to temperatures of 20°C, 30°C, and 50°C at 95%RH, to 50°C in air and soaked in water for up to 90 days. The adhesives contained nano- and micro-particles and were especially formulated for bonded-in timber connections, and the properties of bulk adhesives and adhesively bonded block shear specimens were evaluated. After 90 days of aging the results demonstrate critical temperature effects controlled by the glass transition temperature. The apparent free volume for all the adhesives remains constant as moisture is absorbed but plasticization takes place at high temperature and relative humidity, evidenced by the increased elongation and yield observed by strain values and scanning electron microscope. Exposure at 50°C in air causes the adhesives to postcure enhancing strength but high humidity causes degradation. Nanofiller additions enhance environmental stability but the addition of microparticles provides better moisture resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Results of an experimental investigation into the thermal behavior and mechanical properties of a room-temperature-cured epoxy adhesive (diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A, DGEBA) cross-linked with polyetheramines and filled with different fillers, namely nanosilica, liquid rubber (CTBN), and clay, are reported. The nanosilica and liquid rubber increased the flexural strength and elastic modulus of the adhesive systems; the addition of clay particles raised the elastic modulus significantly, but embrittled the adhesive. Establishing a correct cure time is very important for bonded-in timber structures, as it will affect the bond strength. A study on the effect of cure time on the flexural strength was carried out, from which it follows that the adhesives should be cured for at least 20 days at room temperature. The damping characteristics and the glass-transition temperature of the adhesives were determined by using a dynamic mechanical thermal analysis. The results showed that the filled adhesives had a higher storage modulus, which was in agreement with the elastic moduli determined from static bending tests. The introduction of the fillers increased its glass-transition temperature considerably. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]