Search results

This paper aims to research steel wire corrosion pitting distribution characteristics and evolution, the shape, number and size of corrosion pits from one tied arch bridge were tested, analyzed and researched.

The probability distribution model of corrosion pits of different shapes was established, and the law of corrosion pit growth and evolution was researched. The relationship between the steel wire local corrosion parameters and the average degree of corrosion was explored.

The results revealed that the pits of steel wires can be divided into four categories of shapes: a deep ellipsoidal shape, a shallow ellipsoidal shape, a groove shape and a saddle shape. When developing to a certain degree, the small dark narrow type corrosion pit will turn into a large open pit of either a shallow ellipsoidal shape, a groove shape or a saddle shape.

The maximum depth of the corrosion pits was close to the Weibull distribution, and the maximum width and length of the wire corrosion pits were close to the logarithmic normal distribution, causing a large error when using a uniform corrosion model of steel wire mechanics.

This paper aims to investigate the electrochemical corrosion rate of galvanized steel wires for bridge cables.

The electrochemical corrosion test and response surface analysis of galvanized steel wires were carried out, and the variety of polarization curves of galvanized steel wires under different corrosion parameters was discussed. The expression of corrosion rate of galvanized steel wires under the action of single and multi-factor coupling was established.

The polarization curves of galvanized steel wires under different Cl- concentrations, pH value and temperature were basically similar, but all show different degrees of deviation and some anodic polarization curves had inflection points. For example, when the Cl- concentration reached 3.5%, the corrosion rate of galvanized steel wire was four times that of pure water.

The influence relationship of single and multi-factor coupling on the corrosion rate of galvanized steel wires was as follows: RCl > RT * Cl > RT > RpH > RpH * T > RpH * Cl.

This paper aims to investigate the equivalent relationship of accelerated corrosion and compilation method of environmental spectrum of corroded steel wires.

Based on Faraday’s law and the principle of equivalent corrosion damage, the method for compiling the equivalent environmental spectrum of accelerated corrosion was established. The equivalent conversion relationship of steel wire under different temperature and pH conditions and the relationship between corrosion factors and corrosion rate through the electrochemical tests were proposed.

The high temperature had a greater impact on the equivalent conversion coefficient than the low temperature. When the temperature increased from 15°C to 60°C, the equivalent conversion coefficient increased by about 3–6 times. The weak acid had a greater impact on equivalent conversion coefficient compared with strong acid. The effect of temperature on the equivalent conversion coefficient was much greater than that of pH value.

The compilation method of corrosion environment spectrum of bridge operation and the calculation method of corrosion depth proposed in this paper were reasonable, and the corrosion depth and service life of cable components could be predicted.

The present study aims to examine how and when authoritarian leadership affects employee creativity. Based on social exchange theory and team identification literature, the present research attempts to simultaneously explore how leader–member exchange (LMX) and team identification serve as two important mediating processes in the relationship between authoritarian leadership and employee creativity. Furthermore, this research uncovers the mechanism under which conditions the effects of authoritarian leadership will be magnified or minimized.

A survey has been conducted in China by using a questionnaire to collect data. The study sample consisted of 325 employees. LISREL 8.7 and SPSS 18.0 were used to test the mediating and moderating effects, respectively.

Results from 325 employees revealed that both LMX and team identification mediated the negative relationships between authoritarian leadership and employee creativity. Specifically, the relationship between two mediators was that LMX was positively related to team identification. In addition, the relationship between authoritarian leaderships and LMX and team identification was moderated by power distance, such that the negative relationships will be weaker with high power distance and stronger with low power distance.

First, firms and managers should recognize and take actions to reduce the negative effects of authoritarian leadership, such as effective selection system and interventional mechanisms because authoritarian leadership is important in influencing employee creativity. Second, managers are suggested to take specific actions, such as increasing communications and team-building activities, to promote LMX and team identification, thereby enhancing employee creativity. Third, managers should engage in behaviors that motivate employee creativity, such as empowerment behaviors, other than authoritarian leadership, when the employee has low power distance.

The primary contribution of this research is that two psychological processes (i.e. LMX and team identification) have been identified through which authoritarian leadership is related to employee creativity. Meanwhile, this study explores the relationship between LMX and team identification. Moreover, the current research deepens our understanding of power distance by empirically examining the moderating effect of power distance. Overall, the findings extend our understanding about the relationship between authoritarian leadership and employee creativity and contribute to literature on authoritarian leadership and creativity.

The solder interconnection of components to printed circuit boards normally utilises a flux to enable the efficient removal of oxide layers from the metals to be joined. While this produces a strong metallurgical bond, the flux residue left behind after the soldering process can be detrimental to the long‐term performance of the product. Therefore, after assembly, a cleaning process is often employed to remove the residue, however, this incurs extra financial and environmental costs. In this work, organic coatings have been used to preserve copper surfaces in an oxide free state, enabling fluxless soldering to take place. These coatings, if stored appropriately, were found to be effective in preventing the oxidation of copper for several weeks, however, they are readily displaced by the soldering process allowing the active copper surface to be wetted. Wetting balance testing and surface analysis have been used to assess the preservation of copper coupons following storage in air.

The above quotations highlight the adverse consequences of corruption in many countries around the world today. Indeed, the research taboo on corruption, which Gunnar Myrdal identified in 1968, no longer exists, and the silence on the “C” word (corruption) in the World Bank was broken by James Wolfensohn in his famous October 1996 speech, which focused on the negative consequences of the “cancer of corruption” on the World Bank's aid programs.

Four decades ago, the Swedish economist, Gunnar Myrdal (1970, p. 230) attributed the paucity of research on corruption in South Asia to the research taboo on this topic. Fortunately, this taboo has been gradually eroded since the 1990s as reflected in the tremendous amount of research that has been done on corruption in the Asia-Pacific countries. Corruption has emerged in the 1990s as “a truly global political issue eliciting a global political response” (Glynn, Kobrin, & Naim, 1997, p. 7). Indeed, the globalization of corruption has given rise to an overriding concern with how to combat corruption in many countries among their governments and many international agencies. Consequently, many international organizations like the Asian Development Bank, Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management, Eastern Regional Organization for Public Administration, International Institute for Administrative Sciences, Organization of American States, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, Transparency International, United Nations Development Programme, World Bank, and World Economic Forum have organized numerous conferences, symposia and workshops on various aspects of corruption.