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.
The study aims to determine the concentrations of radon, humidity, and CO2 in residences within the Mitham Al-Tammar neighbourhood of Kufa, utilising an Airthings 2960 Wave Plus device in the living rooms of each household. The concentration of radon varied, with a minimum value of 13 ± 3.9 Bq/m3 and a maximum value of 90 ± 5.8 Bq/m3, yielding an average rate of 35.8 ± 4.889 Bq/m3. The concentrations of total VOCs in residences ranged from 69.26 ppb to 810.14 ppb, with a mean of 321.4855 ± 40.4. The humidity percentages exhibited a minimum concentration of 51.68% and a maximum of 122.97%, averaging 76.594 ± 4.298. The concentrations of volatile organic compounds and
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The aim of the research is to identify the effect of using the self-questioning strategy on the achievement of fourth-grade students in science and the development of their reflective thinking in physics in the city of Baghdad. The research sample was divided into two groups: an experimental group of (20) students and a control group of (20) students. The researchers developed two tools: a test of (40) multiple-choice questions. The second tool is a test to measure the reflective thinking skills of fourth-grade students. It consists of (25) multiple-choice questions distributed on skills as follow: reflection and observation, detection of inaccuracies, reaching conclusions, giving clear explanations, an
... Show MorePurpose: To explore whether baseline matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-8 level in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) (exposure) can predict the outcome (reduction in probing pocket depth (PPD) (outcome)) of nonsurgical periodontal therapy (NSPT) (manual or ultrasonic or both) in patients with periodontitis (population/problem) after 3 months. Methods: Six databases (PubMed, Cochrane library, ProQuest, Ovid, Scopus, EBSCO) were searched for relevant articles published until 30 July 2021. Retrieved articles were passed through a three-phase filtration process on the basis of the eligibility criteria. The primary outcome was the change in PPD after 3 months. Quality of the selected articles was assessed using Cochrane Risk of Bias tool (RoB2
... Show MorePhase change materials are known to be good in use in latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) systems, but one of their drawbacks is the slow melting and solidification processes. So that, in this work, enhancing heat transfer of phase change material is studied experimentally for in charging and discharging processes by the addition of high thermal conductive material such as copper in the form of brushes, which were added in both PCM and air sides. The additions of brushes have been carried out with different void fractions (97%, 94% and 90%) and the effect of four different air velocities was tested. The results indicate that the minimum brush void fraction gave the maximum heat transfer in PCM and reduced the time
... Show MoreAbstract: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of bone density value in Hounsfield unit derived from cone beam computed tomography (CBCT), and implant dimensions in relation to implant stability parameters namely the resonance frequency analysis and the insertion torque (IT) value. It included 24 patients who received 42 dental implants (DI). The bone density of the planned implant site was preoperatively measured using cone beam computed tomography. The implant stability was measured using Osstell implant stability quotient (ISQ). The ISQ values were recorded immediately postoperatively and after 16 weeks. The IT value was categorized as 35 N/cm or > 35 N/cm. The mean (standard deviation) primary stability was 79.58 (5.27) ISQ,
... Show MoreIn this paper, several combination algorithms between Partial Update LMS (PU LMS) methods and previously proposed algorithm (New Variable Length LMS (NVLLMS)) have been developed. Then, the new sets of proposed algorithms were applied to an Acoustic Echo Cancellation system (AEC) in order to decrease the filter coefficients, decrease the convergence time, and enhance its performance in terms of Mean Square Error (MSE) and Echo Return Loss Enhancement (ERLE). These proposed algorithms will use the Echo Return Loss Enhancement (ERLE) to control the operation of filter's coefficient length variation. In addition, the time-varying step size is used.The total number of coefficients required was reduced by about 18% , 10% , 6%
... Show MoreObjectives The gold standard in the field of periodontal research currently is to find a valid biomarker that can reliably be used for diagnosing periodontal diseases. Given the limitations of the current diagnostic tools that stall to predict susceptible individuals and determine whether active tissue destruction is occurring, there is an increased urge to develop alternative diagnostic techniques that would compensate for the problems inherited in these available methods, such as measuring levels of biomarkers present in oral fluids such as saliva; so the aim of this study was to determine the diagnostic potential of interleukin-17 (IL-17) and IL-10 to differentiate periodontal health
The interest of application of liquid membrane (pertraction) processes for recovery of medicinal compounds from dilute ammoniacal leach solutions is demonstrated. Selectivity of the liquid membrane ensures a preferential transport of the desired solute from the native extract into the strip solution, vinblastine was successfully extracted from basic media (pH 9.2) and stripped by acidic media of sulfuric acid (pH= 1.3) applying continuous pertraction in a rotating discs contactor and using n-decane as liquid membrane. Transport of vinblastine in three-liquid-phase system was studied and performed by means of a kinetic model involving two consecutive irreversible first-order reactions. The kinetic parameters (apparent rate constants of th
... Show MoreAcute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) is triggered by a variety of insults, such as bacterial and viral infections, including SARS-CoV-2, leading to high mortality. In the murine model of ARDS induced by Staphylococcal enterotoxin-B (SEB), our previous studies showed that while SEB triggered 100% mortality, treatment with Resveratrol (RES) completely prevented such mortality by attenuating inflammation in the lungs. In the current study, we investigated the metabolic profile of SEB-activated immune cells in the lungs following treatment with RES. RES-treated mice had higher expression of miR-100 in the lung mononuclear cells (MNCs), which targeted mTOR, leading to its decreased expression. Also, Single-cell RNA-seq (scRNA seq)
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