This research investigated the influence of water-absorbent polymer balls (WAPB) on reinforced concrete beams’ structural behavior experimentally. Four self-compacted reinforced concrete beams of identical geometric layouts 150 mm × 200 mm × 1,500 mm, reinforcement details, and compressive strength
Applying load to a structural member may result in a bottle-shaped compression field especially when the width of the loading is less than the width of bearing concrete members. At the Building and Construction Department – the University of Technology-Iraq, series tests on fibre reinforced concrete specimens were carried out, subjected to compression forces at the top and bottom of the specimens to produce compression field. The effects of steel fibre content, concrete compressive strength, transverse tension reinforcement, the height of test specimen, and the ratio of the width of loading plate to specimen width were studied by testing a total of tenth normal strength concrete blocks with steel fibre and one normal s
... Show MoreReflection cracking in asphalt concrete (AC) overlays is a common form of pavement deterioration that occurs when underlying cracks and joints in the pavement structure propagate through an overlay due to thermal and traffic-induced movement, ultimately degrading the pavement’s lifespan and performance. This study aims to determine how alterations in overlay thickness and temperature conditions, the incorporation of chopped fibers, and the use of geotextiles influence the overlay’s capacity to postpone the occurrence of reflection cracking. To achieve the above objective, a total of 36 prism specimens were prepared and tested using an overlay testing machine (OTM). The variables considered in this study were the thickness of the
... Show MoreReflection cracking in asphalt concrete (AC) overlays is a common form of pavement deterioration that occurs when underlying cracks and joints in the pavement structure propagate through an overlay due to thermal and traffic-induced movement, ultimately degrading the pavement’s lifespan and performance. This study aims to determine how alterations in overlay thickness and temperature conditions, the incorporation of chopped fibers, and the use of geotextiles influence the overlay’s capacity to postpone the occurrence of reflection cracking. To achieve the above objective, a total of 36 prism specimens were prepared and tested using an overlay testing machine (OTM). The variables considered in this study were the thickness of the
... Show MoreThis study reports the fabrication of tin oxide (SnO2) thin films using pulsed laser deposition (PLD). The effect of 60Co (300, 900, and 1200 Gy) gamma radiation on the structural, morphological, and optical features is systematically demonstrated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and ultraviolet-visible light analysis (UV-Vis), respectively In XRD tests, the size of the crystallites decreased from 45.5 to 40.8 nm for the control samples and from 1200 Gy to 60Co for the irradiated samples. Using FESEM analysis, the particle diameter revealed a similar trend to that attained using XRD; in particular, the average diameters were 93.8 and
... Show MoreIn this work, Pure and Cu: doped titanium dioxide nano-powder was prepared through a solid-state method. the dopant concentration [Cu/TiO2 in atomic percentage (wt%)] is derived from 0 to 7 wt.%. structural properties of the samples performed with XRD revealed all nanopowders are of titanium dioxide having polycrystalline nature. Physical and Morphological studies were conducted using a scanning electronic microscope SEM test instrument to confirm the grain size and texture. The other properties of samples were examined using an optical microscope, Lee's Disc, Shore D hardness instrument, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). Results showed that the thermal conductivity
... Show MoreIn this work, (ZnO)1-x(MnO2)x compounds were synthesized with composition (x=0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, and 0.5) of manganese oxide content using solid state reaction. Thin films were prepared from these compounds on glass substrates at room temperature using pulsed laser deposition method. The structure of the prepared compounds and thin films were analyzed using x-ray diffraction while the optical properties was measured using UV-visible spectrophotometry. It was found that the synthesized composites declared many peaks in the diffraction pattern which indicate polycrystalline structure with hexagonal wurtzite hexagonal structure of ZnO, and MnO2 and Mn2O3 secondary phases. A narrowing in the optical energy gap was found as Mn content increas
... Show MoreThe design, construction and investigation of experimental study of two compound parabolic concentrators (CPCs) with tubular absorber have been presented. The performance of CPCs have been evaluated by using outdoor experimental measurements including the instantaneous thermal efficiency. The two CPCs are tested instantly by holding them on a common structure. Many tests are conducted in the present work by truncating one of them in three different levels. For each truncation the acceptance half angle (θc) was changed. Geometrically, the acceptance half angle for standard CPC is (26o). For the truncation levels for the other CPC 1, 2 and 3 the acceptance half angle were 20o, 26o and 5
... Show MoreIn this work, (CdO)1-x (CoO)x thin films were prepared on glass slides by laser-induced plasma using Nd:YAG laser with (λ=1064 nm) and duration (9 ns) at different laser energies (200-500 mJ) with ratio (x=0.5), The influence of laser energy on structural and optical properties has been studied. XRD patterns show the films have a structure of polycrystalline wurtzite. As for AFM tests results for the topography of the surface of the film, where the results showed that the grain size and the average roughness increase with increasing laser energy. The optical properties of all films were also studied and the results showed that the absorption coefficient for within the wavelength range (280-1100 nm), The value of the optical power gap fo
... Show MoreTwisted tape insertion in smooth plain tube is one of types of passive methods that is used to enhance heat transfer. Swirl fluid flow inside tube and related heat transfer characteristics are very complex. ANSYS FLUENT (V 16.1) and ASPEN industrial program are used in analyzing this technique for enhancement heat transfer. A circular plain tube has length L=8534mm and 17 mm inner diameter with twisted tape has twist ratio of y = (H/D) = (150/17) =8.8 along with a plain tube were considered for this study. Eight Reynolds numbers (Re) of 784, 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000, 5000, 6000 and 7000 are used to analyze the response of thermal performance. Crude oil API 28 exit temperature, film heat transfer coefficient, Nusselt number
... Show MoreTwisted tape insertion in the smooth plain tube is one of the types of passive methods that are used to enhance heat transfer. Swirl fluid flow inside the tube and related heat transfer characteristics are very complex. ANSYS FLUENT (V 16.1) and ASPEN industrial program are used in analyzing this technique for enhancement heat transfer. A circular plain tube has length L=8534mm and 17 mm inner diameter with a twisted tape of twist ratio of y = (H/D) = (150/17) =8.8 along the plain tube were considered for this study. Eight Reynolds numbers (Re) of 784, 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000, 5000, 6000 and 7000 are used to analyze the response of thermal performance. Crude oil API 28 exit temperature, film heat transfer coefficient, Nus
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