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 paper includes an experimental study of hydrogen mass flow rate and inlet hydrogen pressure effect on the fuel cell performance. Depending on the experimental results, a model of fuel cell based on artificial neural networks is proposed. A back propagation learning rule with the log-sigmoid activation function is adopted to construct neural networks model. Experimental data resulting from 36 fuel cell tests are used as a learning data. The hydrogen mass flow rate, applied load and inlet hydrogen pressure are inputs to fuel cell model, while the current and voltage are outputs. Proposed model could successfully predict the fuel cell performance in good agreement with actual data. This work is extended to developed fuel cell feedback
... Show MoreIn this study, a cholera model with asymptomatic carriers was examined. A Holling type-II functional response function was used to describe disease transmission. For analyzing the dynamical behavior of cholera disease, a fractional-order model was developed. First, the positivity and boundedness of the system's solutions were established. The local stability of the equilibrium points was also analyzed. Second, a Lyapunov function was used to construct the global asymptotic stability of the system for both endemic and disease-free equilibrium points. Finally, numerical simulations and sensitivity analysis were carried out using matlab software to demonstrate the accuracy and validate the obtained results.
The current study aimed to standardize the multi-position suicidal tendency scale MAST in the Saudi environment as well as to assess suicidal tendencies in adolescents. Moreover, the study aimed to test the psychometric characteristics of the scale among a sample of (490) high school and undergraduate students, in the adolescence who ranging in age from (16-21) years. The scale demonstrated satisfactory internal consistency in terms of validity and reliability tests. as the results showed of exploratory factor analysis to the four dimensions of suicidal tendencies loading on two factors that accommodate 74.60% of the overall variance of the scale (1) the attitude toward life, and absorbs 43, 20% of the total variance of the scale,
... Show MoreReinforced concrete slabs are one of the most important and complicated elements of a building. For supported edges slabs, if the ratio of long span to short span is equal or less than two then the slab is considered as two-way slab otherwise is consider as one-way slab. Two-way reinforced concrete slabs are common in use in reinforced concrete buildings due to geometrically arrangement of columns suggested by architects who prefer a symmetric distribution of columns in their plans. Elastic theory is usually used for analysis of concrete slabs. However, for several reasons design methods based on elastic principles are limited in their function. Correspondingly, limit state analysis o
Purpose: Providing practical knowledge of the requirements of a detailed feasibility study for selecting the investment project.
Findings: Directing the private sector towards investing in productive projects - the pre-cast reinforced concrete project - as it achieves a financial return as well as providing Providing foreign currencies by reducing imports and exploiting available natural resources
Practical implications: The importance of a detailed feasibility study to determining whether the project can be implemented or not.
The precast concrete method is one of the best modern c
... Show MoreIn Australia, most of the existing buildings were designed before the release of the Australian standard for earthquake actions in 2007. Therefore, many existing buildings in Australia lack adequate seismic design, and their seismic performance must be assessed. The recent earthquake that struck Mansfield, Victoria near Melbourne elevated the need to produce fragility curves for existing reinforced concrete (RC) buildings in Australia. Fragility curves are frequently utilized to assess buildings’ seismic performance and it is defined as the demand probability surpassing capacity at a given intensity level. Numerous factors can influence the results of the fragility assessment of RC buildings. Among the most important factors that can affe
... Show MoreIn recent decades, there has been increasing interest in wastewater treatment because of its direct impact on the environment and public health. Over time, other forms of treatment have been developed and modified, including extended aeration. This process is included in the suspended growth system. In this paper, a comparative study was conducted between the efficiency of the extended aeration plant and that of the trickling filter plant in removal of BOD and COD. The method of comparison was done by knowing the value of the pollutant before and after the treatment and then extract the removal ratio of each pollutant within each plant. The results showed that the percentage of removal of BOD in the trickling filte
... Show MoreOne-third of the total waste generated in the world is construction and demolition waste. Reducing the life cycle of building materials includes increasing their recycling and reuse by using recycled aggregates. By preventing, the need to open new aggregate quarries and reducing the amount of construction waste dumped into landfills, the use of recycled concrete aggregate in drum compacted concrete protects the environment. Four samples of PRCC were prepared for testing (compressive strength, tensile strength, flexural strength, density, water absorption, porosity) as the reference mix and (10, 15, and 20%) of fine recycled concrete aggregate as a partial replacement for fine natural aggregate by volume. The mix is designed according to
... Show MoreThe fractional order partial differential equations (FPDEs) are generalizations of classical partial differential equations (PDEs). In this paper we examine the stability of the explicit and implicit finite difference methods to solve the initial-boundary value problem of the hyperbolic for one-sided and two sided fractional order partial differential equations (FPDEs). The stability (and convergence) result of this problem is discussed by using the Fourier series method (Von Neumanns Method).