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For instantaneous non-linear analysis of steel concrete composite bridges that are subjected to a service load, a cracked span length beam element has been proposed. The element consists of two cracked zones at the ends and one uncracked zone between the cracked zones. The element has been used to develop a hybrid analytical–numerical procedure for composite bridges. The procedure yields crack lengths and deflections as well as redistributed moments. The procedure would lead to a considerable reduction in the computational effort in the case of continuous steel concrete composite bridges that consist of a large number of spans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High count rate single photon detection at telecom wavelengths has been demonstrated using a thermoelectrically-cooled semiconductor diode. The device consists of a single InGaAs avalanche photodiode driven by a 2 GHz gating frequency signal and coupled to a tunable self-differencing circuit for enhanced detection sensitivity. The count rate is linear with the photon flux in the single photon detection regime over approximately four orders of magnitude, and saturates at 1 gigacount/s at high photon fluxes. This result highlights promising potential for APDs in high-bit-rate quantum information applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]