This study was prepared to investigate the performance and behavior of concrete thrust blocks supporting pipe fittings. In the water distribution networks, it is always necessary to change the path of the pipes at different degrees or to create new branches. In these regions, an unbalanced force called the thrust force is generated. In order to counter this force, these regions are supported with concrete blocks. In this article, the system components (soil, pipe with its bend and thrust blocks) have been numerically modeled and simulated by the ABAQUS CAE/2019 software program in order to study the behavior and stability of the thrust block with different burial conditions (several burial depths) by the soil under the influence of the thrust force. Accordingly, 45° bend angles were studied with a specified pipe diameter placed on soil with known properties under the influence of internal hydrostatic test pressure. The obtained results that were relied upon to describe the behavior and stability of the block are (the lateral displacement of the block in the direction of the thrust force, as well as the vertical displacement of the block in addition to the Von Mises stresses transmitted by the block to the soil). It was concluded that the case in which the block is fully supported from its back side represents the optimum state of the block as it provides marginal sliding of the block and the least transmitted stress to the soil. It was also concluded that the transition from the first case (thrust block without soil behind it) to the second case (a quarter of the block is supported by soil), in which the maximum change in the performance of the concrete block was recorded, but after shifting to the other cases, the effect was reduced gradually.
Stability of laminated plate under thermal load varied linearly along thickness, is developed using a higher order displacement field which depend on a parameter “m”, whose value is optimized to get results closest to three-dimension elasticity results. Hamilton, s principle is used to derive equations of motion for laminated plates. These equations are solved using Navier-type for simply supported boundary conditions to obtain non uniform critical thermal buckling and fundamental frequency under a ratio of this load. Many design parameters of cross ply and angle ply laminates such as, number of layers, aspect ratios and E1/E2 ratios for thick and thin plates are investigated. It is observed that linear and uniform distribution of
... Show MoreAn experimental investigation has been made to study the influence of using v-corrugated aluminum fin on heat transfer coefficient and heat dissipation in a heat sink. The geometry of fin is changed to investigate their performance. 27 circular perforations with 1 cm diameter were made. The holes designed into two ways, inline arrangement and staggered in the corrugated edges arrangement. The experiments were done in enclosure space under natural convection. Three different voltages supplied to the heat sink to study their effects on the fins performance. All the studied cases are compared with v-corrugated smooth solid fin. Each experiment was repeated two times to reduce the error and the data recorded after reaching t
... Show MoreThis article investigates the development of the following material properties of concrete with time: compressive strength, tensile strength, modulus of elasticity, and fracture energy. These properties were determined at seven different hydration ages (18 h, 30 h, 48 h, 72 h, 7 days, 14 days, 28 days) for four pure cement concrete mixes totaling 336 specimens tested throughout the study. Experimental data obtained were used to assess the relationship of the above properties with the concrete compressive strength and how these relationships are affected with age. Further, this study investigates prediction models available in literature and recommendations are made for models that are found suitable for application to early age conc
... Show MoreNowadays, energy demand continuously rises while energy stocks are dwindling. Using current resources more effectively is crucial for the world. A wide method to effectively utilize energy is to generate electricity using thermal gas turbines (GT). One of the most important problems that gas turbines suffer from is high ambient air temperature especially in summer. The current paper details the effects of ambient conditions on the performance of a gas turbine through energy audits taking into account the influence of ambient conditions on the specific heat capacity ( , isentropic exponent ( ) as well as the gas constant of air . A computer program was developed to examine the operation of a power plant at various ambient temperature
... Show MoreThis study focuses on the behavior of simply supported perforated prestressed concrete rafters (PPCRs) under single midspan monotonic static loading. The experimental program consisted of testing seven specimens; one solid (control) rafter, and six perforated with quadrilateral openings. The main investigated variables are the number and height of the openings. The test findings indicate that, in comparison to the solid rafter, the presence of quadrilateral openings in the PPCRs led to reducing the load capacity by (4.3-36%) and increase the midspan deflection at ultimate by (14.8-33%). Also, increasing the number of concrete posts between openings resulted in increasing the failure load and decreasing the deflection at all stages o
... Show MoreThe general approach of this research is to assume that the small nonlinearity can be separated from the linear part of the equation of motion. The effect of the dynamic fluid force on the pump structure system is considered vibrates at its natural frequency but the amplitude is determined by the initial conditions. If the motion of the system tends to increase the energy of the pump structure system, the vibration amplitude will increase and the pump structure system is considered to be unstable. A suitable MATLAB program was used to predict the stability conditions of the pump structure vibration. The present research focuses on fluid pump problems, namely, the role played by damping coefficient C, damping factor
... Show MoreThis study aims to find the effect of water-cement ratio on the compressive strength of concrete by using ultrasonic pulse velocity test (UPVT). Over 230 standard cube specimens were used in this study, with dimensions of 150mm, and concrete cubes were cured in water at 20 °C. Also, the specimens used in the study were made of concrete with varied water-cement ratio contents from 0.48 to 0.59. The specimens were taken from Diyarbakir-Turkey concrete centers and tested at the structure and material science lab, civil engineering, faculty of engineering from Dicle University. The UPV measurement and compressive strength tests were carried out at the concrete age of 28 days. Their UPV and compressive strength ranged
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