The impacts of numerous important factors on the Energy Absorption (EA) of torsional Reinforced Concrete (RC) beams strengthened with external FRP is the main purpose and innovation of the current research. A total of 81 datasets were collected from previous studies, focused on the investigation of EA behaviour. The impact of nine different parameters on the Torsional EA of RC-beams was examined and evaluated, namely the concrete compressive strength (f’c), steel yield strength (fy), FRP thickness (tFRP), width-to-depth of the beam section (b/h), horizontal (ρh) and vertical (ρv) steel ratio, angle of twist (θu), ultimate torque (Tu), and FRP ultimate strength (fy-FRP). For the evaluation of the energy absorption capacity at different levels, Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was implemented in this study. Also, to fit the measured results, Quadratic and Line models were created. The results show that the RSM technique is a highly significant tool that can be applied not only to energy absorption-related problems examined in this research, but also to other engineering problems. An agreement is observed between Pareto and standardized charts with the literature showing that the EA capacity of the torsional FRP-RC beams is mostly affected by the concrete compressive strength, followed by the vertical reinforcement ratio. The newly suggested model in this article exhibits a satisfactory correlation co-efficient (R), of about 80%, with an adequate level of accuracy. The obtained results also reveal that the EA acts as a safety index for the FRP-strengthened RC beams exposed to torsional loadings to avoid sudden structural damage. Doi: 10.28991/cej-2020-SP(EMCE)-07 Full Text: PDF
Background: Periodontitis and type 2 diabetes mellitus are both considered as a chronic disease that affect many people and have an interrelationship in their pathogenesis. Objective: The aim is to evaluate the salivary levels of interleukin-17 (IL-17) and galectin-3 in patients with periodontitis and type-2 diabetes mellitus. Materials and Methods: The samples were gathered from 13 healthy (control group) and 75 patients split into 3 groups, 25 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and healthy periodontium (T2DM group), 25 patients with generalized periodontitis (P group), and 25 patients with generalized periodontitis and type 2 diabetes mellitus (P-T2DM group). Clinical periodontal parameters were documented. The concentration of IL-17
... Show MoreBackground: The interest in herbal extracts as antimicrobial agents has increased over the past few years in endodontic therapy. Nasturtium officinale (watercress) is a promising plant with great medicinal values. This study aimed to investigate the antifungal activity of watercress oil in combination with calcium hydroxide against Candida albicans as intracanal medicament. Materials and Methods: Candida albicans was isolated from patients with necrotic root canal or failed root canal treatment. The sensitivity of Candida albicans to different concentrations of watercress oil extract was determined by using the agar well diffusion method in comparison with calcium hydroxide paste. The agar plate method was used to determine the minimum fung
... Show MoreObjective: The study aimed to evaluate knowledge and practices of nursing staff at the orthopedic units
regarding the existing care of patient with skin traction.
Methodology: The sample consists of (40) nurses, (20) of them from Emergency Teaching Hospital in Duhok
and the other (20) of them from Erbil Teaching Hospital in Erbil from 1st Dec. 2004 to the end of June 2005 in
Kurdistan Region.
Two instruments were constructed to evaluate knowledge and practices. Evaluation of knowledge was done by
using of multiple choice questions composed of (25) questions, and evaluation of practice was done by using the
observational check list which consist of four main category (pre skin traction, during skin traction, post skin
The efficient behavior of a low-concentrating photovoltaic-thermal system with a micro-jet channel (LCPV/T-JET) and booster mirror reflector is experimentally evaluated here. Micro-jets promote the thermal management of PV solar cells by implementing jet water as active cooling, which is still in the early stages of development. The booster mirror reflector concentrates solar irradiance into solar cells and improves the thermal, electrical, and combined efficiencies of the LCPV/T-JET system. The LCPV/T-JET system was tested under ambient weather conditions in the city of Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia, and all data was recorded between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Parametric studies were conducted to compare the performance of the LCPV/T-JET system
... Show MoreBreast cancer (BC) is the most common malignant tumor in women and the leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. This work was conducted to estimate the roles of oxidative stress, vitamin B12, homocysteine (HCY), and DNA methylation in BC disease progression. Sixty BC patients (age range 33–80 years) and 30 healthy controls were recruited for this study. Patients with BC were split to group 1 consisted of stage II BC women (low level), and group 2 consisted of patients in stages III and IV (high level). Malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione peroxidase 3 (GPX3), HCY, and vitamin B12 levels in the study groups were measured. Also, the 5-methylcytosine (5mC) global DNA methylation levels were evaluated. The results showed a significant
... Show MorePhase-change materials (PCMs) have a remarkable potential for use as efficient energy storage means. However, their poor response rates during energy storage and retrieval modes require the use of heat transfer enhancers to combat these limitations. This research marks the first attempt to explore the potential of dimple-shaped fins for the enhancement of PCM thermal response in a shell-and-tube casing. Fin arrays with different dimensions and diverse distribution patterns were designed and studied to assess the effect of modifying the fin geometric parameters and distribution patterns in various spatial zones of the physical domain. The results indicate that increasing the number of
This study aims at identifying the notion of Post-Occupancy Evaluation (POE) pertinent to the performance of three general hospitals constructed inside the Sulaimani City, tracing the relationship between the quality of the indoor environments and medical staff (doctors and nurses) satisfaction level. Using some indoor environment elements in the right way will positively influence the mood, stress level of the medical staff, and patient recovery as a result. The POE toolkits (AEDET and ASPECT) have been implemented on targeted wards at the selected hospitals. AEDET and ASPECT questionnaires were distributed among 152 medical staff to obtain their perspectives. In total, 112 valid questionnaires were received. The medica
... Show MoreThe aim of this study is to propose mathematical expressions for estimation of the flexural strength of plain concrete members from ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) measurements. More than two hundred pieces of precast concrete kerb units were subjected to a scheduled test program. The tests were divided into two categories; non-destructive ultrasonic and bending or rupture tests. For each precast unit, direct and indirect (surface) ultrasonic pulses were subjected to the concrete media to measure their travel velocities. The results of the tests were monitored in two graphs so that two mathematical relationships can be drawn. Direct pulse velocity versus the flexural strength was given in the first relationship while the second equation des
... Show MoreThe action of high repeated trucks load associated with dramatically elevated ambient temperatures leads to the most harmful distress in asphalt pavements occurred in Iraq known as rutting. Essentially, it is produced from the accumulation of irrecoverable strains, which mainly occurred in the asphalt layers. That visually demonstrated as a longitudinal depression in the wheel paths as well as small upheavals to the sides. Poly Phosphoric Acid (PPA) has been used as a means of producing modified asphalt binders and the interest to use it has increased in recent years. The PPA provides modified asphalt binder, which is relatively cheaply produced compared to polymer-modified asphalt. In this paper, PPA was used by three-percentages 1
... Show MoreMoisture damage is a primary mode of distress occurring in hot mix asphalt (HMA) pavements in Iraq. Because of the loss of bond, or stripping, caused by the presence of moisture between the asphalt and aggregate, which is a problem in some areas and can be severe in some cases, it is requires to evaluate the design asphalt mixture to moisture susceptibility. Many factors such as aggregate characteristics, asphalt characteristics, environment, traffic, construction practices and drainage can contribute to stripping. Asphalt concrete mixes were prepared at their optimum asphalt content by superpave system and then tested to evaluate their engineering properties, which include tensile strength, resilient modulus, and perman
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