The utilization and incorporation of glass fiber-reinforced plastics (GFRP) in structural applications and architectural constructions are progressively gaining prominence. Therefore, this paper experimentally and numerically investigates the use of GFRP I-beams in conjunction with concrete slabs to form composite beams. The experimental design incorporated 2600 mm long GFRP I-beams which were connected compositely to concrete slabs with a 500 mm width and 80 mm thickness. The concrete slabs are categorized into two groups: concrete slabs cast using normal-strength concrete (NSC), and concrete slabs prepared using high-strength concrete (HSC). Various parameters like the type of concrete (normal and high-strength concrete), type of stiffeners bonded to the composite section (bolt–epoxy or bolt only), and inclusion of corrugated metal sheets were investigated. To obtain the full shear connection between the GFRP I-sections and concrete slabs, two rows of shear connectors in the form of bolts were utilized. These shear connectors were erected to the top flange of the GFRP I-sections to compositely connect between the GFRP I-beams and the concrete slabs as well as the corrugated metal sheets. The strengthening of the shear webs of GFRP I-beams with GFRP T-section stiffeners resulted in an enhancement in the flexural and shear strength. The failure loads in the case of the bolt–epoxy connection for the stiffeners were 8.2% and 10.0% higher than those in the case of bolt only when the concrete compressive strengths were 20.1 MPa and 52.3 MPa, respectively. Moreover, the effect of the concrete compressive strength was vital where the failure loads increased by 79.9% and 77.1% when HSC was used instead of NSC for the cases of bolt–epoxy and bolt only, respectively. The epoxy adhesive used in conjunction with mechanical connectors, specifically bolts, resulted in sufficient composite action and delayed shear failure within the web of the GFRP beam. For the specimens with bolt–epoxy connection, strain levels in the concrete slabs were consistently higher than in the other specimens with bolts alone at the same loading level. The concrete slabs integrated with HSC registered strain levels that were 20.0% and 21.8% greater for bolt–epoxy and bolt-only connections, respectively, when compared to those using normal-strength concrete (NSC). This discrepancy can likely be credited to the enhanced composite interaction between the concrete slabs and the GFRP I-beams. In addition, ABAQUS software (version 6.2) was used to develop FE models to analyze the tested composite beams and provide a parametric study using the verified models.
Well dispersed Cu2FeSnSe4 (CFTSe) nanofilms were synthesized by hot-injection method. The structural and morphological measurements were characterized using XRD (X-ray diffraction), Raman spectroscopy, SEM (scanning electron microscopy), and TEM (transmission electron microscopy). Chemical composition and optical properties of as-synthesized CFTSe nanoparticles were characterized using EDS (energy dispersive spectroscopy) and UV-Vis spectrophotometry. The average particle size of the nanoparticles was about 7-10 nm. The UV-Vis absorption spectra showed that the synthesized CFTS nanofilms have a band gap (Eg) of about 1.16 eV. Photo-electrochemical characteristics of CFTSe nanoparticles were studied and in
... Show MoreElectrocoagulation is an electrochemical process of treating polluted water where sacrificial anode corrodes to produce active coagulant (usually aluminum or iron cations) into solution. Accompanying electrolytic reactions evolve gas (usually as hydrogen bubbles). The present study investigates the removal of phenol from water by this method. A glass tank with 1 liter volume and two electrodes were used to perform the experiments. The electrode connected to a D.C. power supply. The effect of various factors on the removal of phenol (initial phenol concentration, electrode size, electrodes gab, current density, pH and treatment time) were studied. The results indicated that the removal efficiency decreased as initial phenol concentration
... Show MoreThe reinforced fiberglass in cement slurry reflects the effect on its properties compared to usual additives. Fiberglass is typically used in cement slurry design for one or another of the following goals: (Earth earthquake, bearing storage, and with differential stresses, to enhance cement durability and increase its compressive strength). The main goal is to use glass fiber and ground fiberglass to improve the tensile strength and moderate compressive strength significantly. On the other hand, the use of glass fibers led to a slight increase in the value of thickening time, which is a desirable effect. Eleven glass fiber samples and milled glass fiber were used to show these materials' effect on Iraqi cement with (0.125, 0.25, 0.5
... Show MoreThis contribution provides an atomistic understanding into the impact of W, Nb, and Mo co-substitution at Hf-site of cubic HfO2 lattice to produce Hf1−xTMxO2 system at x = 25%. The calculations have been performed under the framework of density functional theory supported by Habbured parameter (DFT+U). Structural analysis demonstrates that the recorded lattice constants is in good coherence with the previously published results. For the lattice parameters, contraction by 1.33% comparing with the host system has been reported. Furthermore, the doping effect of TM on the band gap leads to its reduction in the resulting Hf0.75TM0.25O2 configurations. The partial density of states (PDOS) indicate that hybridization through localized electroni
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