The Dynamic Load Factor (DLF) is defined as the ratio between the maximum dynamic and static responses in terms of stress, strain, deflection, reaction, etc. DLF adopted by different design codes is based on parameters such as bridge span length, traffic load models, and bridge natural frequency. During the last decades, a lot of researches have been made to study the DLF of simply supported bridges due to vehicle loading. On the other hand, fewer works have been reported on continuous bridges especially with skew supports. This paper focuses on the investigation of the DLF for a highly skewed steel I-girder bridge, namely the US13 Bridge in Delaware State, USA. Field testing under various load passes of a weighed load vehicle was used to validate full-scale three-dimensional finite element models and to evaluate the dynamic response of the bridge more thoroughly. The results are presented as a function of the static and dynamic tensile and compressive stresses and are compared to DLF code provisions. The result shows that most codes of practice are conservative in the regions of the girder that would govern the flexural design. However, the DLF sometimes exceeds the code-recommended values in the vicinity of skewed supports. The discrepancy of the DLF determined based on the stress analysis of the present study, exceeds by 13% and 16% the values determined according to AASHTO (2002) for tension and compression stresses respectively, while, in comparison to BS5400, the differences reach 6% and 8% respectively.
A field experiment was carried out in one of the orchards of Al-Qassim district in Babel Governorate to find out the ability of a locally manufactured platform to serve palm trees by working in flat and uneven orchard land, palm tree heights of 4, 8, and 12 meters, and it performs pollination, pruning and harvesting services. The time of ascent and descent, the palm service, and the palm/hour productivity were measured. A randomized complete block design with three replications used a split split-plot arrangement. The nature of the land (flat or uneven) represented the main plots, the height of the palm trees (4, 8, 12) meters, the sub-plots, and the palm service operations (pollinati
BP algorithm is the most widely used supervised training algorithms for multi-layered feedforward neural net works. However, BP takes long time to converge and quite sensitive to the initial weights of a network. In this paper, a modified cuckoo search algorithm is used to get the optimal set of initial weights that will be used by BP algorithm. And changing the value of BP learning rate to improve the error convergence. The performance of the proposed hybrid algorithm is compared with the stan dard BP using simple data sets. The simulation result show that the proposed algorithm has improved the BP training in terms of quick convergence of the solution depending on the slope of the error graph.
CdO films were deposited on substrates from glass, Silicon and Porous silicon by thermal chemical spray pyrolysis technique with different thicknesses (130 and 438.46) nm. Measurements of X-ray diffraction of CdO thin film proved that the structure of the Polycrystalline is cubic lattice, and its crystallite size is located within nano scale range where the perfect orientation is (200). The results show that the surface’s roughness and the root mean square increased with increasing the thickness of prepared films. The UV-Visible measurements show that the CdO films with different thicknesses possess an allowed direct transition with band gap (4) eV. AFM measurement revealed that the silicon porosity located in nano range. Cadmium oxide f
... Show MoreThe current study introduces a novel technique to handle electrochemical localized corrosion in certain limited regions rather than applying comprehensive cathodic protection (CP) treatment. An impressed current cathodic protection cell (ICCPC) was fabricated and firmly installed on the middle of a steel structure surface to deter localized corrosion in fixed or mobile steel structures. The designed ICCPC comprises three essential parts: an anode, a cathode, and an artificial electrolyte. The latter was developed to mimic the function of the natural electrolyte in CP. A proportional-integrated-derivative (PID) controller was designed to stabilize this potential below the ICCPC at a cathodic potential of −850 mV, which is crucial for prote
... Show MoreThe extraction of Eucalyptus oil from Iraqi Eucalyptus Camadulensis leaves was studded using water distillation methods. The amount of Eucalyptus oil has been determined in a variety of extraction temperature and agitation speed. The effect of water to Eucalyptus leaves (solvent to solid) ratio and particle size of Eucalyptus leaves has been studied in order to evaluate the amount of Eucalyptus oil. The optimum experimental condition for the Eucalyptus oil extraction was established as follows: 100˚C extraction temperature, 200 rpm agitation speed; 0.5 cm leave particle size and 6:1 ml: g amount of water to eucalyptus leaves Ratio.
The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of environmental pH on production of biofilms and virulence genes expression in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
Among 303 clinical and environmental samples 109 (61 + 48) isolates were identified as clinical and environmental P. aeruginosa isolates, respectively. Clinical samples were obtained from patients in the Al-Yarmouk hospital in Baghdad city, Iraq. Waste water from Al-Yarmouk hospital was used from site before treatment unit to collect environmental samples. The ability of prod
We describe the synthesis and characterization of a novel 2D-MnOx material using a combination of HR-TEM, XAS, XRD, and reactivity measurements. The ease with which the 2D material can be made and the conditions under which it can be made implies that water oxidation catalysts previously described as “birnessite-like” (3D) may be better thought of as 2D materials with very limited layer stacking. The distinction between the materials as being “birnessite-like” and “2D” is important because it impacts on our understanding of the function of these materials in the environment and as catalysts. The 2D-MnOx material is noted to be a substantially stronger chemical oxidant than previously noted for other birnessite-like manganese oxi
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