This paper presents an experimental study for strengthening existing columns against axial compressive loads. The objective of this work is to study the behavior of concrete square columns strengthening with circulation technique. In Iraq, there are significantly more reinforced rectangular and square columns than reinforced circular columns in reinforced concrete buildings. Moreover, early research studies indicated that strengthening of rectangular or square columns using wraps of CFRP (Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer) provided rather little enhancement to their load-carrying capacity. In this paper, shape modification technique was performed to modify the shape (cross section) of the columns from square columns into circular columns. Shape modification technique is also called circularization technique because the cross section is modified from square into circular cross section. Then, the circularized columns were wrapped with CFRP wraps. Shape modification is the strengthening method adopted in this paper as a mean to strengthen existing square columns. Columns studied in this paper are short columns with square sections as a special case of rectangular columns. Columns in this study are plain concrete columns (having concrete strength of = 24.41 MPa) with no internal steel reinforcement. The aim of this research is to study experimentally the behavior of circularized concrete square columns confined with CFRP wraps. Then, for better understanding, the results were compared with another, more widely used, strengthening technique which is the direct wrapping of square columns with CFRP wraps. Thus, investigating experimentally the effectiveness of the two aforementioned strengthening techniques in increasing the load-carrying capacity and ductility of the existing concrete columns. The methodology of this research is that six plain concrete short square columns were casted. These six columns were exerted to compressive pressure using concrete testing machine. These six columns were divided into three groups, each group consisted of 2 columns. The three groups were classified as follows: first group (titled L0) consisted of two square columns which were not strengthened by any method, second group (titled L1) consisted of two square columns confined by one layer of CFRP wraps, finally, the third group (titled LC1) consisted of two circularized square columns confined by one layer of CFRP wraps.Experimental results showed that load bearing capacity and ductility of square columns have been significantly enhanced. Test results showed that shape modification technique (columns LC1) produced enhancement in load carrying capacity about 167.8 % of the original non-strengthened columns (columns L0). Furthermore, square columns wrapped by one layer of CFRP wraps (columns L1) produced enhancement in load carrying capacity about 56.1% of the original non-strengthened columns (columns L0). As such, it was evident that circularization technique resulted in enhancement in load carrying capacity far more than the enhancement obtained from wrapping the square columns with CFRP wraps.
Generally, radiologists analyse the Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) by visual inspection to detect and identify the presence of tumour or abnormal tissue in brain MR images. The huge number of such MR images makes this visual interpretation process, not only laborious and expensive but often erroneous. Furthermore, the human eye and brain sensitivity to elucidate such images gets reduced with the increase of number of cases, especially when only some slices contain information of the affected area. Therefore, an automated system for the analysis and classification of MR images is mandatory. In this paper, we propose a new method for abnormality detection from T1-Weighted MRI of human head scans using three planes, including axial plane, co
... Show MoreObjective: The goal of this research is to load Doxorubicin (DOX) on silver nanoparticles coupled with folic acid and test their anticancer properties against breast cancer. Methods: Chitosan-Capped silver nanoparticles (CS-AgNPs) were manufactured and loaded with folic acid as well as an anticancer drug, Doxorubicin, to form CS-AgNPs-DOX-FA conjugate. AFM, FTIR, and SEM techniques were used to characterize the samples. The produced multifunctional nano-formulation served as an intrinsic drug delivery system, allowing for effective loading and targeting of chemotherapeutics on the Breast cancer (AMJ 13) cell line. Flowcytometry was used to assess therapy efficacy by measuring apoptotic induction. Results: DOX and CS-Ag
... Show MoreThe objective of an Optimal Power Flow (OPF) algorithm is to find steady state operation point which minimizes generation cost, loss etc. while maintaining an acceptable system performance in terms of limits on generators real and reactive powers, line flow limits etc. The OPF solution includes an objective function. A common objective function concerns the active power generation cost. A Linear programming method is proposed to solve the OPF problem. The Linear Programming (LP) approach transforms the nonlinear optimization problem into an iterative algorithm that in each iteration solves a linear optimization problem resulting from linearization both the objective function and constrains. A computer program, written in MATLAB environme
... Show MoreThis paper introduces a non-conventional approach with multi-dimensional random sampling to solve a cocaine abuse model with statistical probability. The mean Latin hypercube finite difference (MLHFD) method is proposed for the first time via hybrid integration of the classical numerical finite difference (FD) formula with Latin hypercube sampling (LHS) technique to create a random distribution for the model parameters which are dependent on time [Formula: see text]. The LHS technique gives advantage to MLHFD method to produce fast variation of the parameters’ values via number of multidimensional simulations (100, 1000 and 5000). The generated Latin hypercube sample which is random or non-deterministic in nature is further integ
... Show MoreVehicular Ad Hoc Networks (VANETs) are integral to Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), enabling real-time communication between vehicles and infrastructure to enhance traffic flow, road safety, and passenger experience. However, the open and dynamic nature of VANETs presents significant privacy and security challenges, including data eavesdropping, message manipulation, and unauthorized access. This study addresses these concerns by leveraging advancements in Fog Computing (FC), which offers lowlatency, distributed data processing near-end devices to enhance the resilience and security of VANET communications. The paper comprehensively analyzes the security frameworks for fog-enabled VANETs, introducing a novel taxonomy that c
... Show MoreFeature selection (FS) constitutes a series of processes used to decide which relevant features/attributes to include and which irrelevant features to exclude for predictive modeling. It is a crucial task that aids machine learning classifiers in reducing error rates, computation time, overfitting, and improving classification accuracy. It has demonstrated its efficacy in myriads of domains, ranging from its use for text classification (TC), text mining, and image recognition. While there are many traditional FS methods, recent research efforts have been devoted to applying metaheuristic algorithms as FS techniques for the TC task. However, there are few literature reviews concerning TC. Therefore, a comprehensive overview was systematicall
... Show More