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.
Patients are very concerned about the lengthy nature of orthodontic treatment. It is necessary to find a non-invasive way to quicken physiologic tooth movement. This study's objective was to assess the effectiveness of low-intensity laser therapy in shortening the time and discomfort of orthodontic treatment. Experimental work: Using a split-mouth study to compare tooth movement with conventional treatment and laser-accelerated orthodontic tooth movement. A patient presenting with a class II division I malocclusion characterized by the misalignment of the upper and lower teeth as classified by Angle’s molar classification system was indicated to undergo fixed orthodontic appliance orthodontic treatment. The treatment plan involved bila
... Show MoreObjectives To tailor composites of polyethylene–hydroxyapatite to function as a new intracanal post for the restoration of endodontically treated teeth (ETT). Methods Silanated hydroxyapatite (HA) and zirconium dioxide (ZrO2) filled low-density polyethylene (LDPE) composites were fabricated by a melt extrusion process and characterised using infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). The flexural strength and modulus were determined in dry state and post ageing in simulated body fluid and fractured surfaces analysed by SEM. The water uptake and radiographic appearance of the experimental composites were also measured and compared with a commercially known endodontic fibre
... Show MoreLaser scanning has become a popular technique for the acquisition of digital models in the field of cultural heritage conservation and restoration nowadays. Many archaeological sites were lost, damaged, or faded, rather than being passed on to future generations due to many natural or human risks. It is still a challenge to accurately produce the digital and physical model of the missing regions or parts of our cultural heritage objects and restore damaged artefacts. The typical manual restoration can become a tedious and error-prone process; also can cause secondary damage to the relics. Therefore, in this paper, the automatic digital application process of 3D laser modelling of arte
The research deals with a new type of high-performance concrete with improved physical properties, which was prepared by using metal additives minutes (Metakaolin) and by studing their impact on the properties of mortar and concrete high-performance through destructive and non destructive tests. This type of concrete is used broadly in public buildings and in other structures . The research involved a number of experiments such as finding the activity index of burned at a temperature of 750 º C according to the standard ( ASTM C-311/03), as well as casting models for the cubic mortar mixtures and concrete containers at different rates of metakaolin ranging between (5% - 20%) as an added part to the cement mix to get a high- compressive
... Show MoreFootball has progressed from being a ritual and a celebration to become an amateur sport, a professional sport, and now, increasingly, a commercial sport. In the analysis of football business model, the systemic approach should be adopted. If sport is regarded as one of the business sectors, then the application of business system methodology can be fully justified. The interest to create strong football business system calls for the search of the ways of popularizing football business model and boosting the economic potential of its participants. In the research literature tend to ignore the business processes within the sports business. Besides, the systemic approach in football business is usually limited to p
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This Research aims for harnessing critical and innovative thinking approaches besides innovative problem solving tools in pursuing continual quality improvement initiatives for the benefit of achieving operations results effectively in water treatment plants in Baghdad Water Authority. Case study has been used in fulfilling this research in the sadr city water treatment plant, which was chosen as a study sample as it facilitates describing and analyzing its current operational situation, collecting and analyzing its own data, in order to get its own desired improvement opportunity be done. Many statistical means and visual thinking promoting methods has been used to fulfill research task.
... Show MoreThe Dirichlet process is an important fundamental object in nonparametric Bayesian modelling, applied to a wide range of problems in machine learning, statistics, and bioinformatics, among other fields. This flexible stochastic process models rich data structures with unknown or evolving number of clusters. It is a valuable tool for encoding the true complexity of real-world data in computer models. Our results show that the Dirichlet process improves, both in distribution density and in signal-to-noise ratio, with larger sample size; achieves slow decay rate to its base distribution; has improved convergence and stability; and thrives with a Gaussian base distribution, which is much better than the Gamma distribution. The performance depen
... Show MorePeriodontitis is a chronic inflammation affecting the tooth-supporting periodontal tissues. It is diagnosed by measuring periodontal parameters. However, documenting this data takes effort and may not discover early periodontitis. Biomarkers may help diagnose and assess periodontitis. This study aimed to evaluate the potential diagnostic of the salivary tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and receptor-activator of nuclear factor ĸ-B-ligand (RANKL) in distinguishing between periodontitis and healthy periodontium.
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Sheet piles are necessary with hydraulic structures as seepage cut-off to reduce the seepage. In this research, the computational work methodology was followed by building a numerical model using Geo-Studio program to check the efficiency of using concrete sheet piles as a cut-off or reducer for seepage with time if the sheet piles facing the drawdown technique. Al-Kifil regulator was chosen as a case study, an accurate model was built with a help of observed reading of the measuring devices, which was satisfactory and helped in checking the sheet piles efficiency. Through the study, three scenarios were adopted (with and without) drawdown technique, it was found that at the short time there's no effect of the drawdown technique on
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