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Examines the tenth published year of the ITCRR. Runs the whole gamut of textile innovation, research and testing, some of which investigates hitherto untouched aspects. Subjects discussed include cotton fabric processing, asbestos substitutes, textile adjuncts to cardiovascular surgery, wet textile processes, hand evaluation, nanotechnology, thermoplastic composites, robotic ironing, protective clothing (agricultural and industrial), ecological aspects of fibre properties – to name but a few! There would appear to be no limit to the future potential for textile applications.

Examines the ninth published year of the ITCRR. Runs the whole gamut of textile innovation, research and testing, some of which investigates hitherto untouched aspects. Subjects discussed include cotton fabric processing, asbestos substitutes, textile adjuncts to cardiovascular surgery, wet textile processes, hand evaluation, nanotechnology, thermoplastic composites, robotic ironing, protective clothing (agricultural and industrial), ecological aspects of fibre properties – to name but a few! There would appear to be no limit to the future potential for textile applications.

Discusses the 6th ITCRR, its breadth of textile and clothing research activity, plus the encouragement given to workers in this field and its related areas. States that, within the newer research areas under the microscope of the community involved, technical textiles focuses on new, ‘smart’ garments and the initiatives in this field in both the UK and the international community at large. Covers this subject at length.

Looks at the eighth published year of the ITCRR and the research, from far and near, involved in this. Muses on the fact that, though all the usual processes are to the fore, the downside part of the industry is garment making which is the least developed side. Posits that the manufacture of clothing needs to become more technologically advanced as does retailing. Closes by emphasising support for the community in all its efforts.

Disruptive behavioural disorders (DBD) of children are a major concern for teachers while engaging in the classroom. Correspondingly, primary school teachers should be well-equipped to manage child learners with DBD. This study explored what factors influence primary school teachers' access, utilisation and appraisal of vital health information for managing students with DBD.

The data used in the current paper was collected through in-depth interviews with teachers working in public lower primary schools in central Kerala, India. The refined data was then analysed thematically.

Four focal themes emerged from the input data: bridging social capital, classroom strategies, trained incapacity and role strain. The study found that the charismatic authority of teachers influences child learners with behavioural disorders only in the short term. Additionally, the study asserts that in-service teacher training programmes often overlook the behavioural and social components of health.

This study significantly advances our understanding of how the social embeddedness of health literacy among teachers influences their management of child learners with behaviour disorders. Specifically, it unravels the unique ways teachers utilise social networks to access health information (how), identifies the effective strategies they employ (what) and elucidates the underlying reasons for these strategies (why). The merit of this study lies in its comprehensive analysis of the interplay between social structures, social networks and health literacy, providing novel insights into practices followed by teachers in managing child learners with DBD.

The researchers and policy makers worldwide have proposed many ideas for smart cities and homes in urban areas. The extensive work done for urban smart homes neglects the unique constraints of homes at remote mountain tops and deserts and rural village homes. The purpose of this paper is to propose a smart energy management system for a self-sustained home of any type situated in any geographical location with the availability of renewable energy sources like solar, etc. The purpose is mainly to highlight the importance and advantages of direct current (DC) homes with DC loads rather than a conventional alternating current (AC) home with both AC and DC loads. An attempt has been made to evolve a multi-agent coordinated control for the low voltage direct current (LVDC) smart home system.

LVDC supply systems with in situ power generation are providing an efficient solution for the energy needs of a DC smart home. The individual sub-systems of the LVDC system have their unique functions and priorities and hence require both coordinated and independent control. The entire DC smart home system is modeled in the Matlab and codes are implemented for each agent of the home. LVDC grid is operating either in battery connected mode or utility grid-connected mode, and the DC link voltage is held constant in both the cases. Energy imported from the utility grid is minimized by load shedding during the rectifier mode of the bidirectional converter. In addition, load shedding is also done when the battery is discharging to increase the discharge time of the battery. Load shedding is done on the basis of a fixed priority of loads. A 48 s simulation is performed on the Matlab model to bring out the 24-hour operation of the proposed system. Various modes are simulated and the corresponding actions of the agents are tested.

A new control strategy with agents for each sub-system of the LVDC system is presented. Each individual agent works in tandem with other agents and meets its own control imperatives without compromising the requirements of the overall system. Unlike the centralized control system, the proposed control strategy is a distributed control system. The control algorithm for each of the agents is developed, and the pseudo code is presented. The results of the simulation of the proposed scheme are presented to confirm the usefulness of the new control approach.

The multi-agent concept for an energy management system is less addressed and thus its potential for efficient home energy management is presented. The proposed multi-agent strategy for a complete DC smart home with exclusive DC loads is not done earlier and is reported for the first time. The success of this strategy can be extended to other DC micro-grid systems like telecom power systems, ships, aircraft, datacentres, server rooms, residential complexes and commercial malls.

The Reinforced Concrete(RC) elements are known to perform well during exposure to elevated temperatures. Hence, RC elements are widely used to resist the extreme heat developing from accidental fires and other industrial processes. In both of the scenarios, the RC element is exposed to elevated temperatures. However, the primary differences between the fire and processed temperatures are the rate of temperature increase, mode of exposure and exposure durations. In order to determine the effect of two heating modalities, RC beams were exposed to processed temperatures with slow heating rates and fire with fast heating rates.

In the present study, RC beam specimens were exposed to 200 °C, to 800 °C temperature at 200 °C intervals for 2 h' duration by adopting two heating modes; Fire and processed temperatures. An electrical furnace with low-temperature increment and a fire furnace with standard time-temperature increment is adapted to expose the RC elements to elevated temperatures.

It is observed from test results that, the reduction in load-carrying capacity, first crack load, and thermal crack widths of RC beams exposed to 200 °C, and 600 °C temperature at fire is significantly high from the RC beams exposed to the processed temperature having the same maximum temperature. As the exposure temperature increases to 800 °C, the performance of RC beams at all heating modes becomes approximately equal.

In this work, residual performance, and failure modes of RC beams exposed to elevated temperatures were achieved through two different heating modes are presented.

The aim of the current study is to inspect the influence of high temperatures on the compressive and split-tensile-strength (STS) of concrete mixtures produced by replacing natural river sand with waste-foundry sand (WFS) at 25%, 50%, 75% and 100%. When the experimental findings and the projected outcomes were compared by IS:456-2000 code equations, the STS results predicted by the suggested mathematical equations exhibit lower variations. It is proposed to employ the presented mathematical formulas to evaluate the STS of concrete cylindrical specimens at higher temperatures.

After fabricating, concrete mixtures were allowed to cure for 28 days. For the purpose of avoiding explosive spalling during the heating process, concrete samples are taken out from the curing chamber after 28 days and allowed to dry for two days. The manufactured concrete specimen is exposed to 100 °C, 200 °C, 300 °C, 400 °C, 500 °C and 600 °C temperatures for a duration of 2 h. After the specimens have cool down to room temperature (RT), the physical test, ultrasonic-pulse-velocity (UPV) test, compressive strength test and STS test are carried out.

With an increase in WFS content, concrete specimens' residue compressive-strength and STS decreases. The STS of samples declines as the WFS content rises with increase in temperature interval. According to the UPV test, the concrete samples quality is “good” up to 400 °C; after 500 °C, it ranges from “doubtful to poor.” The UPV values of various mixes declined as the temperature increased. Mass losses increase with exposure to greater temperatures and with an increase in the proportions of WFS in concrete specimens. For mixtures MWFS-0, MWFS-1, MWFS-2, MWFS-3 and MWFS-4 (0%, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% WFS content), no cracks were present on any of the samples below 400 °C. Concrete surfaces start to show cracks whenever the intervals of temperature increase above 400 °C.

In this investigation, WFS elements are totally substituted for natural sand in concrete mixtures. The residue strength properties, including residual compressive strength and residual STS, were found to be lower after exposures to greater temperature when comparisons were made to referral mixtures. When comparing specimens’ compressive strength, higher temperatures have more effects on the STS of samples with higher WFS contents.

The purpose of the paper is to study the effect of elevated temperature on load carrying capacity of reinforced self compacting concrete beams and the performance of deteriorated beams after retrofitting by GFRP sheets. The reinforced beams which were exposed to sustained elevated temperature and tested for flexural load-carrying capacity. Further deteriorated beams (exposed from 500°C to 800°C) were re-strengthened by adopting retrofitting with GFRP sheets.

The investigation includes the concrete specimens, i.e. cubes of 150 mm, cylinders of size 150 mm dia with 300 mm height and beams of 150 × 150 × 1,100 mm, reinforced with minimum tension reinforcement according to IS 456–2000. The specimens were subjected to elevated temperature from 300°C to 800°C with an interval of 100°C for 2 h. The residual compressive strength, modulus of elasticity, load at first crack of beams and load-carrying capacity of beams for 5-mm deflection were measured before and after retrofitting.

The result shows that there is a gain in residual compressive strength at 300°C and beyond which it decreases. The modulus of elasticity, load at first crack and load-carrying capacity of beams reduces continuously with an increase in temperature. The decrease in load-carrying capacity of beams is observed from 27.55% and up to 38.77% between the temperature range of 500°C–800°C and after the retrofitting of distressed beams, the load carrying capacity increases up to 24.48%.

Better performance was observed with retrofitting by GFRP sheets when the specimens were distressed due to elevated temperatures.

Concrete is a widely used construction material which can be prepared using locally available resources (aggregates, cement and water) by following relevant standard guidelines. The residual properties of concrete determined by heating in an electric furnace may not produce a similar effect of fire. The purpose of this paper is to compare the effect of a fire with that coming from the exposure of normal strength concrete to predetermined reference temperatures, for which two sets of specimens were heated in a fire furnace provided with gas burners and an electric furnace.

The concrete cubes and cylinders were subjected to 200^oC, 400^oC, 600oC and 800^oC temperature in a gas-controlled fire furnace and an electric furnace for 2 h. The physical properties and mechanical properties of concrete were determined after cooling the specimens in air. The quality of concrete specimens was determined using the ultrasonic pulse velocity test, and surface hardness of the heat-exposed cubes was recorded using the Schmidt rebound hammer.

The fire-exposed specimens were found to have lower residual compressive strength, tensile strength and higher porosity/voids/internal cracks than the specimens heated in an electric furnace at the same temperature. Further, a good agreement with compressive strength and rebound numbers was observed for each of the two heating systems (flames coming from gas burners and electric furnace).

Normal strength concrete specimens exposed to heat in an electric furnace will not give the same effect of fire having the same maximum temperature. Further, it is noticed that concrete subjected to elevated temperature is sensitive to heating modalities, be it the flames of a gas furnace or the radiation of an electric furnace.