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Two dimensional meso-scale concrete modeling was used in finite element analysis of plain concrete beam subjected to bending. The plane stress 4-noded quadrilateral elements were utilized to model coarse aggregate, cement mortar. The effect of aggregate fraction distribution, and pores percent of the total area – resulting from air voids entrapped in concrete during placement on the behavior of plain concrete beam in flexural was detected. Aggregate size fractions were randomly distributed across the profile area of the beam. Extended Finite Element Method (XFEM) was employed to treat the discontinuities problems result from double phases of concrete and cracking that faced during the finite element analysis of concrete beam. Crac

The main objective of this paper is to study the behavior of Non-Prismatic Reinforced Concrete (NPRC) beams with and without rectangular openings either when exposed to fire or not. The experimental program involves casting and testing 9 NPRC beams divided into 3 main groups. These groups were categorized according to heating temperature (ambient temperature, 400°C, and 700°C), with each group containing 3 NPRC beams (solid beams and beams with 6 and 8 trapezoidal openings). For beams with similar geometry, increasing the burning temperature results in their deterioration as reflected in their increasing mid-span deflection throughout the fire exposure period and their residual deflection after cooling. Meanwhile, the existing ope

      Several studies have shown that certain microbes, mainly bacteria may have the ability to digest plastic wastes. The goal of this study was to see how well Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus lentus, Aeromonas hydrophila, Sphingomonas paucimobilis and Kocuria paedia degrade three kinds of oil-based plastics: low-density polyethylene (LDPE), polystyrene (PS) and polyvinylchloride (PVC) polymer sheets. The experiment was conducted for 30 days under laboratory conditions with occasional shaking at 180 rpm and 32°C. Biodegradation was measured in terms of weight loss.. Accordingto IR Spectroscopy, the C-H stretch band at 2920cm-1 improved as a result of bacterial degradation of polyethyl

This paper describes the problem of online autonomous mobile robot path planning, which is consisted of finding optimal paths or trajectories for an autonomous mobile robot from a starting point to a destination across a flat map of a terrain, represented by a 2-D workspace. An enhanced algorithm for solving the problem of path planning using Bacterial Foraging Optimization algorithm is presented. This nature-inspired metaheuristic algorithm, which imitates the foraging behavior of E-coli bacteria, was used to find the optimal path from a starting point to a target point. The proposed algorithm was demonstrated by simulations in both static and dynamic different environments. A comparative study was evaluated between the developed algori

Aluminum Metal Matrix Composites (ALMMCs) was prepared by using stir casting technique for AA 7075 aluminum alloy as a matrix reinforced with SiC particles at various percentages (3, 6, 9 and 12 wt. % ) and 75µm in grain size. The prepared composite material can be used for many applications such as aerospace, automobiles and many industrial sectors. Abrasive wear test was carried out by two stages: the first stage was done by changing the emery papers at various grit sizes 180, 320, 500, and 1000µm with constant applied load 15N. While the second stage was carried out by changing the applied loads 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25N with constant emery paper at 320 µm grit size. Microstructure examination, hardness test and roughn

The use of biopolymer material Chitosan impregnated granular activated carbon CHGAC as adsorbent in the removal of lead ions  pb.2+   from aqueous solution was studied using batch adsorption mode. The prepared CHGAC was characterized by Scanning Electronic Microscopy (SEM) and atomic-absorption  pectrophotometer. The adsorption of lead ions onto Chitosan-impregnated granular activated carbon was examined as a function of adsorbent weight, pH and
contact time in Batch system. Langmuir and Freundlich models were employed to analyze the resulting experimental data demonstrated that better fitted by Langmuir isotherm model than Freundlich model, with good correlation coefficient. The maximum adsorption capacity calculated f

Adsorption techniques are widely used to remove organics pollutants from waste water particularly, when using low cost adsorbent available in Iraq. Al-Khriet powder which was found in legs of Typha Domingensis is used as bio sorbent for removing phenolic compounds from aqueous solution. The influence of adsorbent dosage and contact time on removal percentage and adsorb ate amount of phenol and 4- nitro phenol onto Al-Khriet were studied. The highest adsorption capacity was for 4-nitrophenol 91.5% than for phenol 82% with 50 mg/L concentration, 0.5 gm. dosage of adsorbent and pH 6 under a batch condition. The experimental data were tested using different isotherm models. The results show that Freundlich model resulted in the best fit also

     This paper describes the application of consensus optimization for Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) system. Consensus algorithm is usually conducted within a certain number of iterations for a given graph topology. Nevertheless, the best Number of Iterations (NOI) to reach consensus is varied in accordance with any change in number of nodes or other parameters of . graph topology. As a result, a time consuming trial and error procedure will necessary be applied
to obtain best NOI. The implementation of an intellig ent optimization can effectively help to get the optimal NOI. The performance of the consensus algorithm has considerably been improved by the inclusion of Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO). As a case s

We present a reliable algorithm for solving, homogeneous or inhomogeneous, nonlinear ordinary delay differential equations with initial conditions. The form of the solution is calculated as a series with easily computable components. Four examples are considered for the numerical illustrations of this method. The results reveal that the semi analytic iterative method (SAIM) is very effective, simple and very close to the exact solution demonstrate reliability and efficiency of this method for such problems.