Concrete structures are exposed to aggressive environmental conditions that lead to corrosion of the embedded reinforcement and pre-stressing steel. Consequently, the safety of concrete structures may be compromised, and this requires a significant budgets to repair and maintain critical infrastructure. Prediction of structural safety can lead to significant reductions in maintenance costs by maximizing the impact of investments. The aim of this paper is to establish a framework to assess the reliability of existing post-tensioned concrete bridges. A time-dependent reliability analysis of an existing post-tensioned involving the assessment of Ynys-y-Gwas bridge has been presented in this study. The main cause of failure of this bridge was corrosion of tendons, making it a relevant case study to evaluate the effect of corrosion on bridge safety. Uncertainties associated with material properties, geometry, loads and corrosion parameters are taken into account. The probabilistic models of the uncertainties are combined with a non-linear finite element analysis to study the effect of tendons pitting corrosion on the post-tensioned concrete bridge. The limit state function considered is flexural strength. The Monte-Carlo simulation (MCS) method is used to compute the statistical parameters of the resisting bending moment through a MATLAB code running ABAQUS. It was found that the reliability index for the first year of bridge service life is below the minimum value acceptable for structures. The study confirmed that this bridge was a high risk structure due to its design and location. The proposed framework can be used by engineers and researchers as a tool to support decision for segmental post-tensioned (PT) bridges maintenance since they need for a regular inspection due to their risk to corrosion.
The aim of this study is to investigate the behavior of composite castellated beam in which the concrete slab and steel beam connected together with headed studs shear connectors. Four simply supported composite beams with various degree of castellation were tested under two point static loads. One of these beams was built up using standard steel beam, i.e. without web openings, to be a reference beam. The other three beams were fabricated from the same steel I-section with various three castellation ratios, (25, 35, and 45) %. In all beams the concrete slab has the same section and properties. Deflection at mid span of all beams was measured at each 10 kN load increment. The test results show that the castellation process leads to
... Show MorePermeability is one of the essential petrophysical properties of rocks, reflecting the rock's ability to pass fluids. It is considered the basis for building any model to predict well deliverability. Yamama formation carbonate rocks are distinguished by sedimentary cycles that separate formation into reservoir units and insulating layers, a very complex porous system caused by secondary porosity due to substitute and dissolution processes. Those factors create permeability variables and vary significantly. Three ways used for permeability calculation, the firstly was the classical method, which only related the permeability to the porosity, resulting in a weak relationship. Secondly, the flow zone indicator (FZI) was divided reservoir into
... Show MoreIn this paper, the reliability of the stress-strength model is derived for probability P(Y<X) of a component having its strength X exposed to one independent stress Y, when X and Y are following Gompertz Fréchet distribution with unknown shape parameters and known parameters . Different methods were used to estimate reliability R and Gompertz Fréchet distribution parameters, which are maximum likelihood, least square, weighted least square, regression, and ranked set sampling. Also, a comparison of these estimators was made by a simulation study based on mean square error (MSE) criteria. The comparison confirms that the performance of the maximum likelihood estimator is better than that of the other estimators.
Worldwide attention is being focused on nanocrystalline zeolites and they are replacing conventional ones due to their pronounced potential in many fields. In this study, NaY zeolite has been prepared hydrothermally using sol –gel method and modified to the proton type by ion –exchange process. Characterization is made using X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Atomic force microscopy (AFM), Brunauer –Emmet- Teller (BET) nitrogen adsorption method, Ammonia Temperature programmed desorption (NH3-TPD) and Scanning electron microscopy( SEM). The effect of aging time, silica to alumina ratio is studied and the results sh
... Show MoreBackground: Colostomy minimizes the risk of leakage at expense of requiring a second operation. In Iraq, published on colostomy closure in penetrating abdominal wall injuries is scarce.
Objective: to Study the prognosis of colostomy closure in post-conflict patients in Iraq.
Method: This is a retrospective study of 52 patients subjected to colostomy closure, recruited for the period 2008 to 2009 from Al-Yarmouk Teaching Hospital and Children Central Teaching Hospital. Demographic data and information about colostomy (type, methods of preparation … etc.) were studied.
Results: Trauma was noticed in 57.7% patients. Transverse colon was the commone
... Show MoreThe aim: In this study, we present and evaluate the vest-over-pants technique as a simple way to correct urethrocutaneous fistulas after hypospadias. Materials and methods: Between October 2018 and June 2020, twenty male patients aged 5 to 20 years came to us with post hypospadias repair fistula, these patients underwent vest-over-pant repair of their fistula. The size of fistula was ranging between 2.5-5 mm. The distribution of fistula was coronal (3 patients), distal penile (9 patients), midshaft (2 patients) and proximal penile (6 patients). In 14 patients there were single fistula and 6 patients had more than one fistula. Eleven of patients were exposed to a previous failed fistula repair procedure. Results: Six months after the operati
... Show MoreThe research aims at the identity of the accounting information and its characteristics, and then to study the possibility of using accounting information in rationalizing the decisions of capital expenditure. The study relied upon the descriptive analytical approach it is suitable to the nature of this study, the hypotheses of the study were tested by using a number of statistical methods by relying on statistical package program (SPSS), and the research concluded that the companies listed in Khartoum Stock Exchange using accounting information in the comparison between investment alternatives available and estimating the number of years required to recover of the investment cost, the challenges that cause weakness in using the
... Show MoreThis study was done to find a cheap, available and ecofriendly materials that can remove eosin y dye from aqueous solutions by adsorption in this study, two adsorbent materials were used, the shells of fresh water clam (Cabicula fluminea) and walnut shells. To make a comparison between the two adsorbents, five experiments were conducted. First, the effects of the contact time, here the nut shell removed the dye quickly, while the C. flumina need more contact time to remove the dye. Second, the effects of adsorbent weight were examined. The nut shell was very promising and for all used adsorbent weight, the R% ranged from 94.87 to 99.29. However C. fluminea was less effective in removing the dye with R% ranged from 47.59 to 55.39. The thi
... Show More
The organization of sporting activities at the local and international levels requires a lot of money, which has increased interest in marketing in the sports field, as it is one of the modern topics that represent the basic knowledge needed by the sports marketer and which represents one of the basic concepts to enhance the benefits and returns of sports clubs. The research problem was the weak awareness of the members of the administrative body of Iraqi sports clubs of the role of sports marketing in the dimensions of competitive superiority and not exploiting them in the optimal way that enables clubs to achieve competitive superiority. The research aims to know the role of sports marketing in competitive superi
... Show More