The article is based on the authors’ experimental research into dependence between destruction of plates made of low-carbon structural steel, if loaded along their outer edge by the shearing force, whereby the loading is accompanied by deformationinduced heat generation. The authors provide more accurate data on the influence of patterns of particular structural defects on heat generation and initiation of destruction.The experiments conducted by the authors have proven that structural defects of shifted structural elements cause localization of deformations in the zone of defects, whereas the average temperature of the steel surface in the zone of defects may go up by several dozens of degrees and predetermine initiation and development of the seat of destruction in the place exposed to shear forces.Structural defects of shifted elements of structures cause localization of deformations in the zones of defects, especially in the event of elastoplastic and plastic behaviour of steel, while the average temperature of the steel surface exposed to deformations may increase by several dozens of degrees and pre-determine the pattern for development of destructions.

The author argues that two approaches dominate the study of amenable algebras, groups, modules, etc. They are the homological approach and the approach based on the invariance in respect of a particular group of transformations. In the latter case, an invariant mean serves as a convenient instrument. In particular, a mean is determined as a positive finitely additive measure which is identified using the algebra of all subsets of the group in question.In the first part of the article, the author introduces definitions of an inversely amenable module and an inversely amenable C* algebra. The criteria for the inverse amenability for C* algebras is formulated using virtual diagonals constructed with the help of means, which are invariant in respect of components of amenability in a certain space of limited functions. In the further part of the article, the author presents necessary and sufficient conditions of inverse amenability based on the existence of approximate diagonals. Unlike the standard approach applied to describe amenable Banach algebras, the above approach offers a set of invariant means that are more easily perceived by intuition.

Through beams are widely used in the construction of large-span civil and industrial buildings, bridge engineering and mechanical engineering. They include open-frame girders and castellated beams. In order to determine their stress-strain state, software systems based on the finite element method are used or approximate calculations using simplified calculation patterns of Virendel beams are performed. Recently, many projects have been completed, in which A.R. Rzhanitsyn’s theory of compound rods is applied to calculate through structures.In this model, discrete links connecting upper and lower belts of the structure are re-placed by cross ties and shift connections continuously distributed along the length of the joint. Cross links hinder the convergence or separation of belts from one another. As a rule, pliability of cross links is neglected. This assumption, which substantially facilitates the calculation, is consistent with the hypothesis that there is no lateral strain in individual rods, calculated according to the theory. Therefore, whenever a compound rod is loaded, all its layers, and in this case – belts, are deformed according to the same curve pattern. In calculations, elastically compliant shift connections are replaced by the required distribution function of shear forces distributed along the length of the beam joint. Thus, the calculation of a through-beam is reduced to the solution of three ordinary differential equations of the second order, on the basis of which the following functions should be defined: beam deflection, bending moment and shear stress in the beam joint.The author discusses development of a numerical method of calculation of through beams based on the A.R. Rzhanitsyn’s theory of compound rods. To solve the system of differential equations, difference equations of the successive approximations method are involved to take account of finite discontinuities of the desired function, its first derivative and the right-hand side of the original differential equation. They demonstrate high accuracy if compared to well-known finite difference method equations.To illustrate the algorithm, the author provides sample calculations of open-frame girders and perforated beams having openings of different shapes. The results obtained by the authors are compared with a well-known analytical solution and a numerical solution based on the finite element method.

In this paper, the author considers the issues of design of domed space lattice frames, circular in plan and having rectangular center nets. These structures have several variables influencing their mass. Span width and dome rise are their modifiable parameters. Their fixed parameters include topology, net-to-net distance, length of top net rods, type of the transverse cross-section of rods, and the construction material. Their constraints include the tensile strength of elements, the stability of compressed elements, restrictions applied to the rigidity of a structure, and restrictions applied to the span size. The task of finding the optimal rise-to-span ratio was solved by introducing successive changes into variables. The value of the span was changed at the increments of 10 meters, while the rise was changed at the increments equal to 5 meters.As a result of a series of calculations, values of variable parameters of a convex spatial lattice frame having tubular sections and different ratios were obtained. If the value of a span is within the 30 m≤l< 60 meters range (where l is the span of a structure), the optimal rise value rests within (1/5 to 1/8)l. The optimal rise is (1/4 to 1/5)l for spans above 60 meters.

The author proposes original grounds for the classification of the full range of soil masses as a supplement to the classification of soils provided in GOST 25100—2011. The author proposes four classes of soil masses, each class having several types and sub-types of soils. The classification will improve the accuracy of engineering and geological surveys and computer models of the geological environment developed for the purpose of design of buildings and structures. The author offers a classification of soils to identify the geological environment comprising one or more types of soil which are genetically and structurally distinct. Any soil mass type differs by its origin, and, as a consequence, its internal geological structure, stress-strain state and inherent geological processes. Any genetically isolated type of soils a specific program of research, both in terms of methods and in terms of density testing in the point of sampling. The behavior of rock masses together with the engineering structure is pre-determined by the properties of the rock, its relative position (geological structure), a network of cracks and other weakening factors, and the natural state of stress. The fracture network is of paramount importance. Cracks are characterized by direction, length, width, surface roughness of walls, and a distance between parallel cracks.

The essence of the new development, proposed by the co-authors, consists in the following engineering solution: a concrete spreader, designated for the molding of products to be made of concrete mixtures and composed of a self-moving gantry, is equipped with a hoisting smoothing mechanism and a cart having a travel mechanism that has a roll-over hopper and a dispenser with a shutter, that is kinematically connected to the power engine. The shutter has an elastoplastic lining. The hoisting smoothing mechanism represents a rack having rigidly connected top and bottom plates. The longitudinal groove of the smoothing plate has teeth with a conical body. The teeth are attached to the springs hinged to the bottom surface of the top plate rigidly connected to the rod of the hydrocylinder and a frame installed on the guide of the gantry. The proposed construction of the vibration-induced smoothing rack of a concrete spreader improves the quality of the smoothed surface of concrete mixtures thanks to the higher intensification and compaction of the concrete mixture surface because of deeper penetration of vibrations into inner concrete layers and higher pressure produced on the concrete mixture.

This article covers the study of the properties of lightweight solutions and products made of extruded cement mixtures having hollow glass microspheres. The author presents data on the average density, strength, water vapour permeability, thermal conductivity, per-unit energy consumption, and crack resistance in the course of deformation and complete destruction. The author presents the findings of the studies of the microstructure of hollow glass microspheres; the conclusion is that if the extruded cement mixture has effective and active hollow glass microspheres, the water flow will be less intensive, while compressive strength, bending strength, fracture toughness go up. Analysis of the data shows that the fracture toughness of the material, having hollow glass microspheres and made of the extruded mixture, is higher. This material has a 30...40% higher fracture strength, bending strength and compressive strength, than a regular lightweight composition mixed with HGMS. This article is the fourth one in aseries of articles that discuss methods of extrusion of lightweight cement mixtures.

Particle capturing efficiency inside the filter matrix of a magnetic separator used in the treatment of ceramic suspensions, minerals, condensates, other liquids and gas depends immediately on the intensity of its magnetization capacity. Chains of granules of a filter matrix represent effective magnetization channels. Demagnetization intensity influences the magnetization intensity of the whole filter matrix and its separate chains that are also considered as magnetization channels. The pattern of calculation of demagnetization factor N (coefficient of demagnetization) for such channel magnets is of utmost academic interest, and this pattern is provided in this article. The author provides values for demagnetization factor N for quasi solid cores ofchains of granules having with various lengths L and diameters d (metal concentra-tion 0.78—0.99), if magnetized by the field having the intensity of Н =18–175 kА/m. It isproven that the values of N and √ L / d have an exponential relation.Earlier, the author identified that the values of N for the porous media having a cylindrical form depend on the ratio of the length of magnet L to its diameter D . It is proven that the values of N and those of √ L / D also have an exponential relation. Therefore, this reciprocal conformity of relations in respect of the demagnetization factor for samples of the granulated medium (consisting of chains of magnets-channels) and for cores of magnets-channels (having different porosity values) has confirmed the similarity of the demagnetization factor for magnets having substantial and high concentration of the ferromagnetic material. The analytical description (the formula) of the coefficient of demagnetization of channel cores is provided in the article.

The authors study the philosophical correlation between postmodernism and the concept of sustainable development. The author assesses modernism as the place of origin of postmodernism and its basic principles. The author also demonstrates the principal laws of sustainable development as the opposition to the global ecological crisis. Postmodernism is perceived as the most adequate expression of the intellectual and emotional personification of the epoch. Besides, philosophical postmodernism strives to act as the general theory of the modern art. As a result, postmodernism is regarded as the expression of the spirit of the time in all spheres of human life: art, sociology, science, economics, politics, etc. It has been identified that since the acceptance of the Rio Declaration, its results have been discussed for over 20 years. Spiritual fundamentals of modernism include commonsense, progress, and emancipation. In their turn, postmodernists believe that these ideas have been perverted in their new European version, as it represents the ideology of the consumer society and the “Gold Billion”. Criticism of three fundamentals of modernism and postmodernism, and the main provisions of the concept of sustainable development, considered by the authors, serve as the confirmation of the authors’ assumption that sustainable development is the expression of postmodernism.

Reduction of energy consumption by devices designated for cooling residential buildings in the hot and dry climate of Central Asia is a most important challenge. The author uses a large apartment building (105 series), built in the 1980ies in the city of Khujand, to study the energy consumption required to cool the building after its renovation and modernization. Basic methods of reducing energy consumption for cooling buildings in hot, dry climates were applied. According to the findings of the research performed using a model residential house, ambient solar heat gain is reduced by 65 % during the hot season lasting from April to September. To cool the building, old windows are replaced by new insulated ones having a low solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC — 0.4) and external awnings are installed to protect windows looking to the West.The typical internal room temperature of +25 °C is assumed for the thermal calculations in the summer conditions. In summer, the outside temperature exceeds 40 °C in the northern regions of Tajikistan. A typical difference between the inside and outside air temperature is 15 °C. This extensive temperature difference has a negative effect on the human body. Frequently, the human body has no time to adapt to rapid temperature changes. Aged and sick people are especially sensitive to rapid temperature changes. They are more likely to experience headaches, exacerbated hypertension, atherosclerosis and other diseases. Moderate fluctuations of the air temperature are preferable, as they reduce pressure on the body's thermoregulatory mechanisms.It is noteworthy that people who remain inside buildings are not isolated from the external environment, and they must be careful to avoid sudden temperature changes. In the European regulations aimed at warm, rather than hot summer conditions, internal residential air temperature of +25 °C is considered comfortable. On the contrary, the internal temperature in residential buildings in northern Tajikistan varies from +27 °C to +28 °C. High temperatures can cause significant discomfort in the hot and dry climate like the one in Tajikistan.It is recommended to remain indoors during the day, to keep the windows open at night, and to run air conditioners in residential buildings in summer at certain time intervals.The author proposes a method of optimization of the design temperature of residential rooms using PMV and PPD indices. Optimal air circulation through open windows at night is identified to ensure comfort in modernized residential buildings.

Presently, offshore projects have moved to a new level. Advanced technologies are employed to develop those oil and gas deposits that were inaccessible in the past. SPAR and FPSO platforms are used to develop deposits at a depth of over 2,000 meters. Versatile technologies, including suction piles, represent a major factor of successful implementation of these projects.Renewable energy sources arouse more interest. Wind energy is a most ambitions area of research. Wind farms may be installed along the coastline or a shelf. Today many offshore projects are implemented using renewable energy sources. Presently, wind power generators represent sophisticated structures having blades with a diameter of up to 150 m. One of the main objectives is to have them strongly attached to the seabed. Suction piles are often used to solve this task. Suction piles minimize the work at sea, and they are used to install both fixed and floating platforms. The authors consider modern constructions used in similar projects and present the history of suction piles and their use in different offshore projects. The authors also analyze the most recent developments in the area of anchor design for suction piles.The area of research covered in the article is highly relevant. Anchors and foundations based on suction piles can be widely used to develop offshore projects in Russia.

The authors study the dependence of the hydraulic friction coefficient on the Froude number for open steady uniform flows in channels having a high relative roughness. In the article, the authors provide the equation, which describes the hydraulic resistance in open channels having rough bottoms.Experiments were conducted in the rectangular tray (6,000×100×200 mm). Metal balls having the diameter of 15.1 mm were used to simulate uniform roughness. Aqueous solutions of glycerol were added as operating fluids. Average roughness was identified as k = 0.8d. The range of values of the main factors was as follows: inclination 0.011 —0.06; the Froude number 0.13 — 6.02; relative smoothness 0.3 — 1.36. The authors have proven that the value of the coefficient of hydraulic friction in the zone of the laminar flow is not dependent on the Froude number.The influence of the Froude number on the hydraulic friction is manifested in the areas of the turbulent flow.

The article deals with the dam site shape effect produced on values of displacements in the perimeter joint of the 100 m high rockfill dam having a reinforced concrete face. Six alternative options of the dam site were considered: 3 sites having trapezoidal shape and 3 sites having triangular shape. The options also differ in slopes of rock sides (1:2, 1:5, 1:1). Displacements in a perimeter joint were identified based on the analyses of stress-strain states of rockfill dams, completed using the method of contact finite element to model the behaviour of joints. According to the author’s findings, displacements in the perimeter joint occur in three directions: the opening, the outline deflection of the face and the longitudinal displacement of the face. In the course of the modeling process, the perimeter joint opened in all six options, because horizontal displacements of the face (in the direction along the river channel) turned to be approximately equal to its settlement. In case of narrow (triangular) sites, the maximal opening of the joint occurs on the rock sides. In case of wide sites, opening at low levels increases to a considerable extent; large openings are observed not only on dam sides, but in the river channel, as well. An opening of the perimeter joint means reduction of values of tensile forces on the face. If the perimeter joint opens, the face is free to move in other directions. Deflections may reach large values, especially if the dam site is wide and has steep rock sides. Deflections reach maximum values in the points, where the reinforced concrete face demonstrates its maximum deflection. The studies prove that the width of the dam part in the river channel has the major effect on values of displacements in the perimeter joint.

The author considers the state of the housing market in the Ukraine, the expediency of the new legislation contemplating compilation of the unified state register of households in need of better housing conditions. The structure, statistics, and values characterizing the condition of the housing stock of the Ukraine and the residential housing provided to certain categories of the population of the Ukraine has proven that the housing needs of the Ukrainian population remain unsatisfied. The analysis of the housing market is performed to assess the government policy and the outcome of housing-related reforms in the country. The domestic practice of solving housing problems in the Soviet style was based on a system of state funding and free distribution of state-funded housing. Today many Ukrainian households have no access to the housing market, even when state support and various socio-economic housing programs are available because of harsh mortgage conditions and high RE prices. Therefore, the objective of the research consists in the analysis of the housing register aimed at the identification of the reasons for the deficiency of the housing stock and liquidation of its deficiency in the future. The research performed by the author has proven that the conclusions made independently by various researchers and scholars coincide, and RE market regularities and phenomena, specified in the national legislation, are properly understood by the market players. The housing market development continues within the legal framework. In the course of the last 12 years the number of Ukrainian households registered as those in need of better housing conditions has gone down, although the housing stock accrues every year.

The essences of management influence the pricing process in the construction industry. The balance in the market of construction products, both in terms of supply and demand, is the objective of this influence. Construction organizations are ready to reduce prices for their products. However they must be confident that their products will generate profits on the ongoing basis. Authorities responsible for pricing management must help construction organizations to identify their reserves and excessive production expenses to help these companies to cut their prices. These efforts will reduce the inflation to the level needed to resolve the problem of affordable prices for building products. The Russian economy must be based on innovative grounds. Control over the economic concentration is an effective action. It’s used to prevent monopolization in the construction market.

At present, most markets demonstrate fierce competition; therefore, only those companies that have distinctive competitive advantages develop successfully in this environment. Development and maintenance of competitive advantages is a key objective of any enterprise. A competitive company is a sustainable and profitable undertaking.Competitive ability of an organization is a factor of its success in the market. Presently, the majority of markets experience tough competition, and any success in this environment requires a clear marketing strategy. Gaining and maintaining competitive advantages is the key objective of an enterprise.The degree of improvement of goods has also reached the limit beyond which consumers are no longer able to recognize the real qualitative change. As a result, businesses have to make skyrocketing efforts towards advertising. Only advertizing can showcase the degree of modernization of consumer products and convince customers of superiority of one product over another. The fight for a consumer is transferred from the "price vs. quality" domain into the domain of the company's ability to showcase new features of consumer products. The present-day system of competition management through pricing has lost some of its paramount importance to nonprice competitive practices. Market success makes companies polish their competitive strengths and abilities through effective marketing strategies that take account of the marketing techniques employed by their competitors, as well as the needs of their current and future customers. Most of them are focused on advanced computer technologies, the most important element of which is the Internet.

Present-day urban construction trends make buildings taller and the urban environment denser. These developments result in the growth of negative effects produced on existing structures. That’s why the monitoring of the technical condition of structures is of vital importance. Now the most efficient way of forecasting and preventing emergency situations consists in the installation of automated monitoring systems operating in continuous and periodic modes.Monitoring systems may comprise various sensors, devices and measurement elements. Any signal must be coordinated to make sure that the data are accurate and reliable. Moreover, the proposed system (or network) composed of various items of equipment (often produced by various manufacturers) demands appropriate integrated software. The database of LabVIEW drivers can be employed for this purpose.LabVIEW environment is applied for the measurement, testing and management of applications that constitute embedded programming tools needed to develop complex applications designated for computer-aided measurements and data processing. The library of drivers is employed to assure the availability of the most common types of interfaces, sensors and devices. If a user lacks a particular driver, it can be either integrated or developed. The authors have successfully collected and processed the data in the LabVIEW environment of a measurement system based on tensometric sensors attached to experimental items of equipment.

A mathematical model of an active system is considered in the article. An active system represents an organizational model. The authors research into the problem of inconsistency between the concerns of the management authority and those of the managed subject. The managed subject acts for its benefit and supplies realistic information to the management authority. The main method of research into the above systems is based on the mathematical simulation of administrative decision making procedures. The theoretical grounds represent the systems analysis, the game theory, the decisionmaking theory, operations research, discrete mathematics and the management theory. The active system theory is based on a coordinated mechanism of choice. If the coordinated mechanism of choice is unavailable, the mechanism closest to the coordinated one must be developed. In this case, the authors believe it appropriate to consider additional criteria characterizing the "proximity" of a decision to coordinated and cumulative criteria, which are equal to the sum of additional criteria adjusted by particular coefficients of importance. A set of plans that cannot be coordinated at the same time is composed on the basis of the analysis of additional criteria and the cumulative criterion. Model testing and mathematical simulation are presented in the article.

He authors discuss construction of surfaces having two families of light lines using topological transformations of the sphere. The light framework of surfaces, meeting esthetic requirements, is designed in various ways, which can be reduced to the design of a framework of proportional and congruent curves. Topological transformation of the sphere into a surface of the same topological class is considered as a method for design of continuous surfaces having two families of light lines. Transformation of points of the constructed surface is performed together with the space of three mutually perpendicular beam planes, as well as beams of radial planes. This method, employed for the construction of the frame surface and light lines, may be used to generate aesthetically attractive surfaces. The shape of the contour surface can be varied within certain limits, although it maintains its pre-set parameters.