The use of Near-Surface Mounted (NSM) Carbon-Fiber-Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) strips is an efficient technology for increasing flexural and shear strength or for repairing damaged Reinforced Concrete (RC) members. This strengthening method is a promising technology. However, the thin layer of concrete covering the NSM-CFRP strips is not adequate to resist heat effect when directly exposed to a fire or at a high temperature. There is clear evidence that the strength and stiffness of CFRPs severely deteriorate at high temperatures. Therefore, in terms of fire resistance, the NSM technique has a significant defect. Thus, it is very important to develop a set of efficient fire protection systems to overcome these disadvantages. This paper presents a numerical study that investigates the fire behavior of thermally insulated RC beams flexurally strengthened with NSM-CFRP strips and subjected to fire exposure according to the ISO 834 standard. The numerical study considered three-dimensional finite element models in the ABAQUS software that have been developed to simulate and predict the performance (thermal and structural response) of fire endurance tests on strengthened, uninsulated strengthened, and thermally insulated beams strengthened with NSM-CFRP strips, which were exposed to fire and had different fire insulation schemes. The insulation used was plaster from local material with a thickness range of 25 to 50mm. The variation of the thermal and mechanical properties with the temperature of the constituent materials was considered. All beams' mechanical and thermal responses were adequately simulated using numerical models. The results of the numerical simulations were in good agreement with the experimental data. The fire behavior of the NSM-CFRP strengthened RC beams was examined and particularly the efficiency of the NSM strengthening system during the fire. The behavior in the fire of the NSM-CFRP strengthening system on the RC beams thermally protected with different fire insulation schemes was assessed. Finally, the effectiveness of fire insulation was studied.
Background: Nutritional condition was reported as one of the factors affecting the oral health status, particularly among underprivileged groups. Orphans are one of the known high-risk groups. The aims of this study were to assess the nutritional status of orphans, and its impact on the oral health status. Materials and Methods: Five-hundred children aged 6-12 years old, 254 males and 246 females: institutionalized, non-institutionalized orphans and controls were participated in this study. Nutritional status assessed according to body mass index (BMI). Ramfjord index teeth were examined to assess oral cleanliness and gingival condition. All data were analyzed using SPSS version 23. Results this study revealed the institutionalized orphans
... Show MoreThe accuracy of the Moment Method for imposing no-slip boundary conditions in the lattice Boltzmann algorithm is investigated numerically using lid-driven cavity flow. Boundary conditions are imposed directly upon the hydrodynamic moments of the lattice Boltzmann equations, rather than the distribution functions, to ensure the constraints are satisfied precisely at grid points. Both single and multiple relaxation time models are applied. The results are in excellent agreement with data obtained from state-of-the-art numerical methods and are shown to converge with second order accuracy in grid spacing.
The relationship of hyperuricemia to kidney disease, diabetes, hypertension and the risk of cardiovascular diseases remain controversial. The aim of this study is to evaluate the use of uric acid (UA) levels to find the higher risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in patients with end stage renal disease that have diabetic nephropathy (DN), nephropathy with hypertension (NH) and patients with both diabetic nephropathy with hypertension (DNH). This study deals with 115 patients with end-stage renal disease under hemodialysis sub-grouped into 35 patients with (DN), 40 patients with (NH), and 40 patients with (DNH). Some biochemical parameters were determined in the serum of all participants such as HbA1c, fasting blood glucose (FBG), UA, urea,
... Show MoreThe addition of new reactive sites on the surface area of the inert sand, which are represented by layered double hydroxide nanoparticles, is the primary goal of this work, which aims to transform the sand into a reactive material. Cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) surfactant is used in the reaction of calcium extracted from solid waste-chicken eggshells with aluminum prepared from the cheapest coagulant-alum. By separating amoxicillin from wastewater, the performance of coated sand named as "sand coated with (Ca/Al-CTAB)-LDH" was evaluated. Measurements demonstrated that pH of 12 from 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12, CTAB dosage of 0.05 g from 0, 0.03, 0.05, and 0.1 g, ratio of Ca/Al of 2 from 1, 2, 3, and 4, and mass of sand of 1 g/50 mL from
... Show MoreThe impact of exposure to different sizes of particulate matter (PM1, PM2.5, PM7, and PM10) was evaluated in Babylon concrete plant workers who had been exposed to concrete dust for at least 10 years. The effects of these particles on the hematological parameters, malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, and antioxidant enzymes (catalase and glutathione peroxidase ) were examined. The results exhibited that the levels of PM2.5 and PM10 were higher than the acceptable limits approved by the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). The blood parameters, namely white blood cells (WBC), red blood cell (RBC) and platelets counts, demonstrated non-significant differences between workers exposed to the PM as compared to the control gro
... Show MoreThe direct electron transfer behavior of hemoglobin that is immobilized onto screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCE) modified with silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and chitosan (CS) was studied in this work. Cyclic voltametry and spectrophotometry were used to characterize the hemoglobin (Hb) bioconjunction with AgNPs and CS. Results of the modified electrode showed quasi-reversible redox peaks with a formal potential of (-0.245 V) versus Ag/AgCl in 0.1 M phosphate buffer solution (PBS), pH7, at a scan rate of 0.1 Vs-1. The charge transfer coefficient (α) was 0.48 and the apparent electron transfer rate constant (Ks) was 0.47 s-1. The electrode was used as a hydrogen peroxide biosensor with a linear response over 3 to 240 µM and a detection li
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