Soils encounter cyclic loading conditions in situ, for example during the earthquakes and in the construction sequences of pavements. Investigations on the local scale displacements of the soil grain and their failure patterns under the cyclic loading conditions are relatively scarce in the literature. In this study, the local displacement fields of a dense sand layer interacting with a rigid footing under the plane-strain condition are examined using both experiments and simulations. Three commonly used types of cyclic loading conditions were applied on the footing. Digital particle image velocimetry (DPIV) is used to measure the local scale displacement fields in the soil, and to understand the evolution of the failure envelopes in the sand media under the cyclic loading conditions. The experimental results are compared with corresponding finite element analysis (FEA), in which experimentally-characterised constitutive relations are fed as an input into the FEM simulations. For comparison purposes, the case of footing subjected to the quasi-static loading condition was also studied. In general, the results show a good level of agreement between the results of the experiments and simulations conducted here. Overall, relatively shallower but wider displacement fields are observed under the cyclic loading, when compared with that of the quasi-static load test. The vorticity regions are highly localized at the shear bands in the sand media under the ultimate load. The research contributes to new understanding on the local scale displacement fields and their link to the bearing capacity of the footing under the cyclic loading environments.
This study reports the fabrication of tin oxide (SnO2) thin films using pulsed laser deposition (PLD). The effect of 60Co (300, 900, and 1200 Gy) gamma radiation on the structural, morphological, and optical features is systematically demonstrated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and ultraviolet-visible light analysis (UV-Vis), respectively In XRD tests, the size of the crystallites decreased from 45.5 to 40.8 nm for the control samples and from 1200 Gy to 60Co for the irradiated samples. Using FESEM analysis, the particle diameter revealed a similar trend to that attained using XRD; in particular, the average diameters were 93.8 and
... Show MoreThe research included studying the effect of different plowing depths (10,20and30) cm and three angles of the disc harrows (18,20and25) when they were combined in one compound machine consisting of a triple plow and disc harrows tied within one structure. Draft force, fuel consumption, practical productivity, and resistance to soil penetration. The results indicated that the plowing depth and disc angle had a significant effect on all studied parameters. The results showed that when the plowing depth increased and the disc angle increased, leads to increased pull force ratio, fuel consumption, resistance to soil penetration, and reduce the machine practical productivity.
A hydroponic experiment was carried out at the College of Agricultural Engineering Sciences - University of Baghdad during the fall season of 2019-2020 in order to improve the quality traits of broccoli grown hydroponically under the modified Nutrient Film Technique (NFT), using an internationally approved standard solution and alternative solution, the plant was enriched with ozone and the foliar application of organic nutrients. The Hydroponic study included two experiments with the standard solution (Cooper's solution) and the alternative solution (ABEER). Both experiments were implemented within the Nested Design with three replications, and both included the gas type in the main plot, which were oxygen and ozone, while the sub-
... Show MoreForward-swept wings were researched and introduced to improve maneuverability, control, and fuel efficiency while reducing drag and they are often used alongside canards, to further enhance their characteristics. In this research, the effects of canard dihedral angles on the wing loading of a forward-swept wing in transonic flow conditions were studied, as the wing loading provides a measure of wing’s efficiency (lift/drag). A generic aircraft model from literatures was selected, simulated, and compared to, using CFD software ANSYS/Fluent where the flow equations were solved to calculate the aerodynamic characteristics. The research was carried at two different Mach numbers, 0.6 and 0.9, for five different canard dihedral angles which tra
... Show MoreThis study was conducted to investigate the effect of feeding diets containing different levels of parsley on the hematological traits of local Iraqi geese. A total of twenty-four local geese, one year old, were used in this experiment. The birds were allocated into four treatment groups, consisting of six geese each. Treatment groups were: control diet (C) (free from parsley); T1: control diet + 80 g/d parsley; T2: control diet + 160 g/d parsley; and T3: control diet + 240 g/d parsley. At the end of the experiment, blood samples were obtained from all geese from the brachial vein by venipuncture. Hematological traits included in this study were red blood cells count (RBC), hemoglobin concentration (Hb), packed cell volume (PCV), mean cell
... Show MoreThis study was aimed to produce bacteriocin from Bacillus. licheniformis isolated from local soil of corn and sunflower fields and using as antimicrobial agent . Fourteen of local isolates of Bacillus sp. were obtained and ability of these isolates for growth on Brain heart infusion agar (BHI) at 550C were tested. Isolate C4 was revealed high growth density in comparison with other isolates. Isolate C4 was identified as Bacillus licheniformis according to morphological, cultural and biochemical tests, Moreover genetic analysis for 16S rRNA gene and given accession number MT192715.1 in GenBank of NCBI . Production of bacteriocin from this isolate was carried out in Luria Broth (LB) and partially purified by precipitation with 30-70 % saturat
... Show MoreBackground. Bone healing is a complex and dynamic process that represents a well-orchestrated series of biological events of cellular recruitment, proliferation, and differentiation. The use of medicinal plants in bone healing has attracted increasing interest because of their lower side effects. Punica granatum seed oil (PSO) contains high levels of phenolic compounds, promotes osteoblast function, and plays an important role in bone remodeling. A gelatin sponge (Spongostan) is a hemostatic agent that is extensively applied as scaffolds in engineering and as drug carriers in the medical field. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of PSO for bone healing enhancement. Twenty adult male New Zealand rabbits, weighing an avera
... Show MoreBackground: The healing process involves the restoration of the body’s structural integrity. The extracellular matrix, blood cells, cytokines, and growth factors are all involved in this dynamic, intricate, multicellular process. Hemostasis, the inflammatory phase, the proliferative phase, and the maturation phase are all included. Opuntia ficus-indica oil (OFI) and Punica grantum (PGS) oil are extensively used natural treatments that are regarded as advantageous for their sedative, spasmolytic, and anti-inflammatory properties, as well as for angiogenesis promotion, fibroblast increase, collagen production and deposition, and extracellular-matrix remodeling. Materials and methods: Twenty-four New Zealand rab
... Show MoreThis study examines the impact of different curing methods on the compressive strength of concrete. It investigates techniques such as air curing, periodic water spraying, full water submersion, and polyethylene encasement. Artificial neural network models were employed to evaluate the compressive strength under each curing condition. A model for calculating compressive strength that considers surrounding conditions was created using an artificial neural network. The current study’s figures were generated using this model. The research thoroughly examined the impact of curing environments and concrete mix components on strength properties, taking into account factors such as tempera