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This study delineates the effect of cover thickness on reinforced concrete (RC) columns and beams under an elevated fire scenario. Columns and beams are important load-carrying structural members of buildings. Under all circumstances, the columns and beams were set to be free from damage to avoid structural failure. Under the high-temperature scenario, the RC element may fail because of the material deterioration that occurs owing to the thermal effect. This study attempts to determine the optimum cover thickness for beams and columns under extreme loads and fire conditions.

Cover thicknesses of 30, 40, 45, 50, 60 and 70 mm for the columns and 10, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 50, 60 and 70 mm for the beams were adopted in this study. Both steady-state and transient-state conditions under thermomechanical analysis were performed using the finite element method to determine the heat transfer through the RC section and to determine the effect of thermal stresses.

The results show that the RC elements have a greater influence on the additional cover thickness at extreme temperatures and higher load ratios than at the service stages. The safe limits of the structural members were obtained under the combined effects of elevated temperatures and structural loads. The results also indicate that the compression members have a better thermal performance than the flexural members.

Numerical investigations concerning the high-temperature behavior of structural elements are useful. The lack of an experimental setup encourages researchers to perform numerical investigations. In this study, the finite element models were validated with existing finite element models and experimental results.

The obtained safe limit for the structural members could help to understand their resistance to fire in a real-time scenario. From the safe limit, a suitable design can be preferred while designing the structural members. This could probably save the structure from collapse.

There is a lack of both numerical and experimental research works. In numerical modeling, the research works found in the literature had difficulties in developing a numerical model that satisfactorily represents the structural members under fire, not being able to adequately understand their behavior at high temperatures. None of them considered the influence of the cover thickness under extreme fire and loading conditions. In this paper, this influence was evaluated and discussed.

This study aims to extend the application of the quality category approach in rapid fatigue assessment of complex welded structures containing defects under arbitrary loadings, following the investigation of their core data and fatigue assessment procedures based on fracture mechanics.

The analysis methods and procedures for calculating equivalent sizes of semi-elliptic cracks and initial sizes of through-width cracks at the weld toe were developed based on the life equivalence principle. Different stress concentration solutions, i.e. 2D-M_k and 3D-M_k solutions, and different bending ratios were considered. Then, approximate equations were proposed to calculate the crack size under combined stress. In addition, a procedure for calculating the fatigue life by interpolation was proposed and applied to engineering examples.

The fatigue lives of fillet and butt weld joints obtained with the 3D-M_k solution for large L/B are longer than those obtained with the 2D-M_k solution. The results of the fatigue life of the brake unit bracket show that the average error between the proposed approximation equations and the quality category approach is 1.6%.

The quality category and equivalent size curves of different stress concentration solutions under combined membrane and bending stresses are newly added, which further expands the application of the quality category approach. When the proposed fatigue life calculation methods are employed, the remaining life can be quickly derived in addition to the qualitative conclusion on the safety of the structure. These provide the necessary conditions to perform a rapid fatigue assessment adapted to engineering purposes.

Lean manufacturing (LM) concepts have been widely adopted in diverse industrial sectors. However, no literature review focusing on case studies describing LM implementation is available. Case studies represent the actual implementation and provide secondary data for further analysis. This study aims to review the same to understand the pathways of LM implementation. In addition, it aims to analyse other related review questions, such as how implementing LM impacts manufacturing capabilities and the maturity level of manufacturing organisations that implemented LM, to name a few.

A literature review of case studies that discuss the implementation of LM during the last decade (from 2010 to 2020) is carried out. These studies were synthesised, and content analyses were performed to reveal critical insights.

The implementation pattern of LM significantly varies across manufacturing organisations. The findings show simultaneous improvement in manufacturing capabilities. Towards the end of the last decade, organisations implemented LM with radio frequency identification, e-kanban, simulation, etc.

Reviewing the case studies documenting LM implementation to comprehend the various nuances is a novel attempt. Furthermore, potential future research directions are identified for advancing the research in the domain of LM.

This study embarks on a comprehensive investigation into the intricate relationship between consumer trust in e-commerce platforms and the adoption of Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM). It delves into a multifaceted analysis of how these dynamics influence the landscape of online shopping, with a specific focus on four critical dimensions: the efficiency of online purchasing processes, the fulfillment of product delivery commitments, the convenience associated with e-platform utilization, and the safeguarding of consumers' personal information.

This research employs sophisticated Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) techniques, facilitated by SPSS and SmartPLS software, to meticulously analyze the amassed data and subject the formulated hypotheses to rigorous testing. The empirical foundation of this study draws from a sample of 377 randomly selected online shoppers, providing a robust basis for its insights.

At its core, this research is squarely focused on unraveling the dynamics of consumer trust within e-commerce platforms and highlighting the pivotal role played by GSCM in making online shopping more ecologically responsible and sustainable. Of paramount importance is the novel dimension introduced by this study the integration of trust in e-commerce platforms, GSCM practices, and the multifarious dimensions of online shopping all within a unified conceptual framework. Trust on e-commerce platforms leads to GSCM. GSCM determines online shopping satisfaction, i.e. efficiency, fulfillment, convenience, and privacy. Finally, GSCM mediates between trust on e-commerce platforms and online shopping satisfaction.

This holistic approach represents a ground-breaking contribution to the existing body of literature. It presents a fresh perspective on the intricate interactions that define the contemporary e-commerce landscape.

This initial research integrates trust in e-commerce platforms, GSCM, and online shopping in a single framework through UTAUT2.

The present study aims to provide a practical and robust assessment technique for assessing countries' investability in global supply chains to practitioners. Thus, the proposed approach can help decision-makers evaluate and select appropriate countries in the expansion process of the global supply chains and reduce risks concerning country (market) selection.

The present study proposes a novel decision-making approach, namely the REF-Sort technique. The proposed approach has many valuable contributions to the literature. First, it has an efficient basic algorithm and can be applied to solve highly complicated decision-making problems without requiring advanced mathematical knowledge. Besides, some characteristics differentiate REF-Sort apart from other techniques. REF-Sort employs the value or value range that reflects the most typical characteristic of the relevant class in assignment processes. The reference values in REF-Sort and center profiles are similar in this regard. On the other hand, class references can be defined as ranges in REF-Sort. Secondary values, called successors, can also be employed to assign a value to the appropriate class. REF-Sort can also determine the reference and successor values/ranges independently of the decision matrix. In addition, the proposed model is a maximally stable and consistent decision-making tool, as it is resistant to the rank reversal problem.

The current papers' findings indicate that countries have different features concerning investment. Hence, the current paper pointed out that only 22% of the 95 countries are investable, whereas 19% are risky. Thus, decision-makers should make detailed evaluations using robust, powerful, and practical decision-making tools to make more reasonable and logical decisions concerning country selection.

The current paper proposes a novel decision-making approach to evaluate. According to the authors' information, the proposed model has been applied to evaluate investable countries for the global supply chains for the first time.

This study aims to explore the relationship between financing constraints and the innovation performance of Internet enterprises in the cross-border innovation cooperation network. The study also analyzes the moderating effect of the location of the cross-border innovation cooperation network.

The authors selected patent data, related transaction data and other data of A-share listed companies on Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges from 2014 to 2019. The generalized moment estimation method of instrumental variables (IV-GMM) method was used to analyze the relationship between financing constraints and the innovation performance of Internet firms and the moderating effect of the cross-border innovation cooperation network location. The threshold value of the moderating effect of the network structure hole was calculated with the threshold model.

The empirical results show a significant inverted U-shaped relationship between financing constraints and the innovation performance in the cross-border innovation cooperation network of Internet enterprises. Network centrality positively moderates this relationship. There is a threshold for the adjustment effect of network-structural holes, and the adjustment intensity of structural holes changes before and after the threshold.

This study provides a new perspective for Internet firms in innovation cooperation networks to alleviate the negative impact of financing constraints on innovation performance. The inverted U-shaped relationship between financing constraints and the innovation performance of Internet enterprises is in two stages. The moderating range of network centrality and the structural hole besides the threshold of the moderating effect of a structural hole are detailed.