Four simply supported reinforced concrete (RC) beams were test experimentaly and analyzed using the extended finite element method (XFEM). This method is used to treat the discontinuities resulting from the fracture process and crack propagation in that occur in concrete. The Meso-Scale Approach (MSA) used to model concrete as a heterogenous material consists of a three-phasic material (coarse aggregate, mortar, and air voids in the cement paste). The coarse aggregate that was used in the casting of these beams rounded and crashed aggregate shape with maximum size of 20 mm. The compressive strength used in these beams is equal to 17 MPa and 34 MPa, respectively. These RC beams are designed to fail due to flexure when subjected to load as a two-point loading. To model the coarse aggregate realistically, the aggregate must distributed randomly according to the gradient and amount actually used in the mix design. This property is not found in the ABAQUS program that resulted in the use of an alternate program to represent the aggregate randomly. Next, the random representation of the aggregate were transfered to the ABAQUS program by using commands and instructions that the program can understand, to draw as a sketch. The comparison between experimental and numerical results showed that the XFEM is a good method used to simulate the non-smooth behavior in RC beams such as discontinuitiy and singularity. While a mesoscale model can be simulated the non-homogeneity in the concrete.
This study explores the barriers to adopting green environmental criteria in Supplier Selection (SS) within the Iraqi food industry. It aims to enhance the understanding of sustainable supply chain management in developing nations, with a particular focus on the Iraqi context. A case study approach was utilized to identify eleven key green environmental criteria and 54 sub-criteria, alongside seven major barriers to their adoption. The Best–Worst Method (BWM) was employed to rank the criteria, and Fuzzy Stepwise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis (SWARA) was used to prioritize the barriers. The analysis revealed that Environmental Management Systems are the most critical criterion for SS. On the other hand, legislation and policies emerged
... Show MoreNew series of metal ions complexes have been prepared from the new ligand 1,5- Dimethyl-4- (5-oxohexan-2- ylideneamino) -2-phenyl- 1H-pyrazol-3 (2H)-one derived from 2,5-hexandione and 4-aminophenazone. Then, its V(IV), Ni(II), Cu(II), Pd(II), Re(V) and Pt(IV) complexes prepared. The compounds have been characterized by FT-IR, UV-Vis, mass and 1H and 13C-NMR spectra, TGA curve, magnetic moment, elemental microanalyses (C.H.N.O.), chloride containing, Atomic absorption and molar conductance. Hyper Chem-8 program has been used to predict structural geometries of compounds in gas phase, the heat of formation, (binding, total and electronic energy) and dipole moment at 298 K.
Multilocus haplotype analysis of candidate variants with genome wide association studies (GWAS) data may provide evidence of association with disease, even when the individual loci themselves do not. Unfortunately, when a large number of candidate variants are investigated, identifying risk haplotypes can be very difficult. To meet the challenge, a number of approaches have been put forward in recent years. However, most of them are not directly linked to the disease-penetrances of haplotypes and thus may not be efficient. To fill this gap, we propose a mixture model-based approach for detecting risk haplotypes. Under the mixture model, haplotypes are clustered directly according to their estimated d
Fuzzy logic is used to solve the load flow and contingency analysis problems, so decreasing computing time and its the best selection instead of the traditional methods. The proposed method is very accurate with outstanding computation time, which made the fuzzy load flow (FLF) suitable for real time application for small- as well as large-scale power systems. In addition that, the FLF efficiently able to solve load flow problem of ill-conditioned power systems and contingency analysis. The FLF method using Gaussian membership function requires less number of iterations and less computing time than that required in the FLF method using triangular membership function. Using sparsity technique for the input Ybus sparse matrix data gi
... Show MoreManipulation is a discursive concept which plays a key role in political discourse by which politicians can impose some impact on their recipients through using linguistic features, most prominent of which are personal pronouns (Van Dijk, 1995). The aim of this study is to investigate how politicians utilize the personal pronouns, namely; We and I and their possessive forms as a tool of manipulating the audience's mind based on Van Dijk's "ideological square" which shows positive-self representation and negative-other representation (Van Dijk,1998:p.69). To this end, American President Donald Trump's 2020 State of the Union speech was chosen to be the data of analysis. Only (8)
... Show MoreLanguage and politics go hand in hand and learning and comprehending political genre is to learn a language created for codifying, extending and transmitting political discourse in any text/talk. Drawing upon the theoretical framework of Fairclough’s CDA and Rhetoric, the current study aims at investigating Donald Trump’s First Speech, from the point of frequency and functions of some rhetorical strategies (Parallelism, Anaphora and the Power of Three, Antithesis and Expletive, etc.), Nominalization, Passivization, We-groups and Modality as well as Lexical and Textual Analysis, presented to the UN delivered on Sep. 19, 2017. Specifically, the study seeks to determine: (1) how President Trump succeeded in conveying his notions an
... Show MoreThe crude enzyme Nattokinase produced by Bacillus subtilis was used in ripening cheddar cheese by adding three concentration of enzyme 80, 160 and 320mg/Kg beside the control treatment without enzyme, the product was checked for three months to determine humidity, protein, fat, non-protein nitrogen, soluble nitrogen and pH, sensory evaluation was conducted, it was noticed that the variety in protein percentages and the soluble nitrogen percentage during second month of ripening for T2, T3 and T4 treatments were (11.2, 15.54 and 18.48) respectively, in comparison with control which was 7.6%, while in the third month it was (17.37, 20.67 and 22.26) respectively, in comparison with control which was only 10%, on the other hand, non-protein
... Show MoreDeveloping and researching antenna designs are analogous to excavating in an undiscovered mine. This paper proposes a multi-band antenna with a new hexagonal ring shape, theoretically designed, developed, and analyzed using a CST before being manufactured. The antenna has undergone six changes to provide the best performance. The results of the surface current distribution and the electric field distribution on the surface of the hexagonal patch were theoretically analyzed and studied. The sequential approach taken to determine the most effective design is logical, and prevents deviation from the work direction. After comparing the six theoretical results, the fifth model proved to be the best for making a prototype. Measured results rep
... Show More