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.
This study was conducted to estimate the extent of damage to the population in Basra, southern Iraq, specifically the areas adjacent to the Shatt al-Arab and the Arabian Gulf, which are the Al-Fao district and the Al-Siba region. They are affected by the progression of saline water resulting from the lack of water imports and the Karun River interruption, which led to high concentrations of salts in the Shatt Al-Arabs. Consequently, its effect on lands and all life types in these areas requires correcting a map of the study area to drop the groundwater sites as well as calculate the total dissolved salts, electrical conductivity and pH. This study concluded that the groundwater contains very high percentages of total dissolved solid
... Show MoreCutaneous leishmaniasis is one of endemic diseases in Iraq. It is considered as widely health problem and is an uncontrolled disease. The aim of the study is to identify of Leishmania species that cause skin lesions among patients in Thi-Qar Province, South of Iraq, also to detect some virulence factors of L. tropica. This study includes three local locations, Al-Hussein Teaching, Suq Al-Shyokh General and Al-Shatrah General Hospitals in Province for the period from the beginning of December 2018 to the end of September 2019. The samples were collected from 80 patients suffering from cutaneous leishmaniasis, both genders, different ages, various residence places and single and multiple lesions. Nested-PCR technique was
... Show MoreZinc Oxide (ZnO) thin films of different thickness were prepared
on ultrasonically cleaned corning glass substrate, by pulsed laser
deposition technique (PLD) at room temperature. Since most
application of ZnO thin film are certainly related to its optical
properties, so the optical properties of ZnO thin film in the
wavelength range (300-1100) nm were studied, it was observed that
all ZnO films have high transmittance (˃ 80 %) in the wavelength
region (400-1100) nm and it increase as the film thickness increase,
using the optical transmittance to calculate optical energy gap (Eg
opt)
show that (Eg
opt) of a direct allowed transition and its value nearly
constant (~ 3.2 eV) for all film thickness (150
A theoretical and protection study was conducted of the corrosion behavior of carbon steel surface with different concentrations of the derivative (Quinolin-2-one), namly (1-Amino-4,7-dimethyl-6-nitro-1H-quinolin-2-one (ADNQ2O)). Theoretically, Density Functional Theory (DFT) of B3LYP/ 6-311++G (2d, 2p) level was used to calculate the optimized geometry, physical properties and chemical inhibition parameters, with the local reactivity to predict both the reactive centers and to locate the possible sites of nucleophilic and electrophilic attacks, in vacuum, and in two solvents (DMSO and H2O), all at the equilibrium geometry. Experimentally, the inhibition efficiencies (%IE) in the saline solution (of 3.5%) NaCl were studied using potentiomet
... Show MoreCommunication skills are essential for health professionals to achieve a positive relationship with patients, improving their health and quality of life. Communication is the foundation for obtaining medical history and conveying a diagnosis and treatment plan.
To assess the knowledge, practice of communication skills among primary care physicians, to find out any barriers related to the communication skills, and the association between the studied variables with knowledge and practice of communicati
The current study examines the combined impacts of ultrasonic waves and nano silica (NS) on reducing the viscosity Sharqy Baghdad heavy crude oil with an API gravity of 20.32. NS of an average particle size of 59.93 nm and 563.23 m²/g surface area were produced utilizing the sol-gel technique from Iraqi sand. The XRD analysis indicates the existence of an amorphous silica, the SEM analysis showed that NS tends to agglomerate, and the FTIR spectra exhibited the presence of siloxane and silanol groups. In addition, the TGA analysis demonstrated a total weight loss of 15.62%, validating the thermal stability of the NS. The experiments included a study of the impact of ultrasonic power, exposure time, duty cycle, temperature, and the c
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