Introduction This unit is from our archive and it is an adapted extract from Systems thinking: principles and practice (T205) which is no longer in presentation. If you wish to study formally at the Open University, you may wish to explore the courses we offer in this curriculum area.
This unit has been written because it is all too easy not to take an active approach t
3.5 Design of the bridge The design of the original structure was governed by applicable standards in 1926. The official inquiry found that the design and build fell within those limits, the most important being the allowable stress in the eye-bar chain of 345 MPa. The steel was to be made with a maximum elastic limit of 520 MPa, with a safety factor on the strength of the steel of 2.75. It was argued at the time that over 70 per cent of the load was from the self-weight of the structure. Other suspension bridges of
3.4.6 Residual stress One factor that can cause serious problems in any material is the presence of residual tensile stress. The problem often arises as a direct result of manufacturing, when hot material is shaped and then allowed to cool to ambient temperatures. For large castings like those needed to make the eye bars, such residual stress would be modified by the subsequent heat treatment to strengthen the steel, but had to be studied as part of the research effort into the catastrophic failure of the bridge.<
3.3.1 Sequence of events It was important to establish the precise sequence of events leading up to and during the collapse. From which part had the collapse started? Why had so much of the structure been destroyed? Was there any prior warning of the failure? What part had the weather conditions at the time played? Eyewitnesses were plentiful, and each had a different perspective of the bridge as it fell. There were some common parts to their statements. Most of the witnesses, especially survivors from vehicles
2.6.3 Boiler explosions Stress corrosion cracks can also build up in other structures. These were a particular problem in locomotive boilers in the early days of the railways in Britain. All such boilers were made from wrought-iron sheet, riveted together to form a cylinder. In the earliest engines, the boilers were constructed using a single line of rivets, thus forming two corners, one inside and the other outside (Author(s):
2.4 Corrosion processes: galvanic corrosion When two dissimilar metals are in contact, or in close proximity with a conducting fluid in between, an electrochemical cell can be formed that leads to the more reactive metal becoming an anode and the less reactive metal a cathode. This kind of corrosion is known as galvanic corrosion. It is not uncommon, since metals are often coated with others of different E0, and different metals are often in close contact with a common electrolyte. One of the earlie
2.2 Degradation, dissolution and corrosion A variety of common terms are used to describe the ways in which structural materials can be attacked by environments and although they do have specific connotations, they are frequently used as blanket terms for material deterioration. I shall attempt to define them in a more specific way, namely: Degradation: loss of strength of non-metals such as wood, rope or textile. Dissolution: removal of material in solution owing to the attac
References 1.4 Portraying a character
Click on 'View document' below to read ‘Portraying a character’, which outlines the main methods of revealing character in fiction. 1.1 Creating characters
Click on 'View document' below to read the first few paragraphs from Novakovich's chapter on ‘Character’. 8.8 Hinduism as ‘a world religion’: a more recent understanding Traditionally, as we have seen, a Hindu was someone born to Hindu parents and into a caste with its appropriate dharma. The link between religious practice and a whole way of life bound the individual into a community from birth. Regional factors, parentage and caste affiliation largely determi 8.4 Hinduism in eastern India: religion in Calcutta The Hinduism of Bengal, as in other regions of India with their own languages and distinctive historical traditions, has absorbed and retained many local elements which make it peculiarly the Hinduism of Bengal. The city of Calcutta has exerted its own considerable influence upon the surrounding region. Calcutta, the capital of West Bengal, was founded in 1690 originally as a British trading post on the Hugli, a stretch of the Ganges (or Ganga), a river sacred to Hindus (see Author(s): 8.2 The diversity of Hinduism The complex tradition now known as Hinduism has emerged largely from the coming together of four main elements: The traditions of the original inhabitants of India, some of which may still continue in the cultures of India's more remote tribal peoples. The influences of the Indus Valley civilisation that flourished in northwest India until approximately the middle of the second millenium bce. 6.2 Days and time The separating out of a special day or time in the week runs in parallel with the marking out of a space that is set aside for worship, ritual and communal activity (material dimension). The place where a religious community gathers speaks powerfully about the convictions shared by its members. 5.3 Scholarly definitions of religion Scholars offer us many different definitions of religion, but these definitions tend to be of two types. The first type is known as a substantive definition: that is, a definition that tells us what kind of thing religion is by pointing to its distinguishing characteristic – usually its beliefs and/or practices. We can find an example of a substantive definition of religion in my summary of the definitions found in the Concise Oxford Dictionary. Think again about d. Acc 5.2 The ‘answer’ in your dictionary Please now look at the definition of ‘religion’ given in your dictionary. Do you think that the definition is going to help you when deciding what is or is not religion? Please give 4.4 Religion and social policy Understanding religious beliefs and practices and what we mean by ‘religion’ is not merely of academic interest. It is often bound up with social policy and so relates to the rights and privileges of individuals. In Britain, for example, the Church of Scientology has not been allowed to register i 4.2 Reasons for studying religion Identify and jot down reasons that you think might prompt someone to make a study of religion. Here are some reasons in no special or
Activity 7
Activity 1
Exercise 9
Exercise 7
Discussion
