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.
Objective: To measure the serum levels of Fetuin-A, ischemia-modified albumin (IMA), and ferritin in hospitalized patients with severe COVID-19in Baghdad, Iraq. Moreover, to determine these biomarkers' cut-off valuesthat differentiate between severely ill patients and control subjects. Methods: This case-control study was done from 15 September to the end of December 2021 and involved a review of the files and collectionof blood samples from patients (n=45, group1) hospitalized in COVID-19 treatment centersbecause of severe symptoms compared tohealthy subjects as controls (n=44, group2). Results: Fetuin-A serum levels were not statistically different between patients and controls. In contrast, IMA and ferritin levels were significan
... Show MoreThis paper presents the first data for bremsstrahlung buildup factor (BBUF) produced by the complete absorption of Y-91 beta particles in different materials via the Monte Carlo simulation method. The bremsstrahlung buildup factors were computed for different thicknesses of water, concrete, aluminum, tin and lead. A single relation between the bremsstrahlung buildup factor BBUF with both the atomic number Z and thickness X of the shielding material has been suggested.
Baghdad is considered the largest city in Iraq, with a population of approximately nine million people, according to the 2022 statistics. Due to this population increase, the city of Baghdad has experienced horizontal expansion rather than vertical expansion, resulting in a shortage of basic services, an increase in population migration, and a rise in prices. Therefore, our research focuses on shedding light on the patterns of population concentrations in the city of Baghdad and the nature of population distribution within it. We addressed the topic from various angles, starting with the population distribution among the city's districts and their density. Additionally, we explored the factors influencing population density in the province
... Show MoreReactive Powder Concrete (RPC) is one of the most advanced recent high compressive strength concrete. This work explored the effects of using glass waste as a fractional replacement for fine aggregate in reactive powder concrete at levels of 0%, 25%, 50%, and 100%. Linear and mass attenuation coefficients have been calculated as a function of the sample's thickness and bremsstrahlung energy. These coefficients were obtained using energy selective scintillation response to bremsstrahlung having an energy ranging from (0.1-1.1) MeV. In addition, the half-value thickness of the samples prepared has been investigated. It was found that there is a reversal association between the attenuation coefficient and the energy of the bremsstrahlu
... 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 MoreRecently, Qatar, a well-known oil production country, has been convinced as a successful case in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) as a smaller economy. This paper aims to investigate how FDI inflows affect Qatar’s business cycles. Time series data was selected from 1990 to 2010 as available. The VAR Impulse Responses and the Granger Causality test were mainly employed by using Eviews. The derived result shows that the FDI inflows and the economic growth in Qatar interact with each other in a relatively long term.
La disciplina sémantica siendo una rama de la lingüística y relacionada con los significados que residen detrás de los vocablos sería muy intereseante ser estudiada y investigada, sobre todo cuando tratamos de penetrarnos dentro de la evolución semántica y los motivos por los que se suceden estos cambios. Pues, es injusto dejar de dar una definición aclaratoria sobre esta disciplina y sus componentes.
El significado de los léxicos que se forma por un conjunto de semas o rasgos significativos mínimos. Sin embargo, no todos esos semas son igualmente intervenidos por los hablantes de una comunidad lingüística, sino que hay algunos de ellos que siempre están presentes, mientras que otros varían. Es decir, el significado
... Show MoreIndustrial development has recently increased, including that of plastic industries. Since plastic has a very long analytical life, it will cause environmental pollution, so studies have resorted to reusing recycled waste plastic (sustainable plastic) to produce environmentally friendly concrete (green concrete). In this research, producing environmentally friendly load-bearing concrete masonry units (blocks) was considered where five concrete mixtures were compressed at the blocks producing machine. The cement content reduced from 400 kg/m3 (B-400) to 300 kg/m3 (B-300) then to 200 kg/m3 (B-200). While (B-380) was produced using 380 kg/m3 cement and 20 kg/m3 nano-sil
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