The conception and experimental assessment of a removable friction-based shear connector (FBSC) for precast steel-concrete composite bridges is presented. The FBSC uses pre-tensioned high-strength steel bolts that pass through countersunk holes drilled on the top flange of the steel beam. Pre-tensioning of the bolts provides the FBSC with significant frictional resistance that essentially prevents relative slip displacement of the concrete slab with respect to the steel beam under service loading. The countersunk holes are grouted to prevent sudden slip of the FBSC when friction resistance is exceeded. Moreover, the FBSC promotes accelerated bridge construction by fully exploiting prefabrication, does not raise issues relevant to precast co

In this paper, an enhanced artificial potential field (EAPF) planner is introduced. This planner is proposed to rapidly find online solutions for the mobile robot path planning problems, when the underlying environment contains obstacles with unknown locations and sizes. The classical artificial potential field represents both the repulsive force due to the detected obstacle and the attractive force due to the target. These forces can be considered as the primary directional indicator for the mobile robot. However, the classical artificial potential field has many drawbacks. So, we suggest two secondary forces which are called the midpoint

With the revolutionized expansion of the Internet, worldwide information increases the application of communication technology, and the rapid growth of significant data volume boosts the requirement to accomplish secure, robust, and confident techniques using various effective algorithms. Lots of algorithms and techniques are available for data security.  This paper presents a cryptosystem that combines several Substitution Cipher Algorithms along with the Circular queue data structure. The two different substitution techniques are; Homophonic Substitution Cipher and Polyalphabetic Substitution Cipher in which they merged in a single circular queue with four different keys for each of them, which produces eight different outputs for

The importance of knowledge is represented in the use of various sources of information, the corresponding to the same level of importance is the use of modern means and technologies in the delivery and investment of these sources to the beneficiaries, among these means and technologies are the multimedia that deal with most of the human senses, but the most important of which is sight and hearing, if these are invested the means in the field of education will give many positive results, such as the speed of receiving information, its clarity, and its freedom from impurities and influences, as well as its stability in memory as it is based on nderstanding, not memorization. On this basis, the experience of supporting the education process

In this study, the modified Rayleigh-Ritz method and Fourier series are used to determine the thermal buckling behavior of laminated composite thin plates with a general elastic boundary condition applied to in-plane uniform temperature distribution depending upon classical laminated plate theory(CLPT). A generalized procedure solution is developed for the Rayleigh-Ritz method combined with the synthetic spring technique. The transverse displacement of the orthotropic rectangular plates is not a different term as a new shape expansion of trigonometric series. In this solution approach, the plate transverse deflection and rotation due to bending are developed into principle Fourier series with a sufficient smoothness auxi

In this investigation, Rayleigh–Ritz method is used to calculate the natural frequencies of rectangular isotropic and laminated symmetric and anti-symmetric cross and angle ply composite plate with general elastic supports along its edges. Each of the admissible functions here is composed of a trigonometric function and an arbitrary continuous function that is introduced to ensure the sufficient smoothness of the so-called residual displacement function at the edges. Perhaps more importantly, this study has developed a general approach for deriving a complete set of admissible functions that can be applied to various boundary conditions. Several numerical examples are studied to demonstrate the accuracy and convergence of the current s

      Laser ablation of a silver target immersed in distilled water using Nd:YAG laser with a fundamental wavelength of 1064nm was carried out to fabricate silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) with different laser energy in the presence and absence of magnetic field. UV-Visible spectrum showed that the nanoparticles are almost spherical in shape. The number of Ag NPs increased by increasing laser energy while their particle size was reduced by increasing  laser energy without magnetic field. In the presence of magnetic field, the size of Ag NPs increased slightly by increasing laser energy. According to AFM results, the presence of magnetic field did not affect the average diameter of Ag NPs. The presence of a magn

    One of the most important problems of IRAQI HEALTH MINISTRY and all healthy instruments in IRAQ is Chronic Diseases because it  have a negative effects on IRAQI population, this is the aim of our study ,to specify the important Chronic diseases which make the population fell weakly, they are six diseases as the IRAQ ministry of health specified (  Diabetes, blood pressure diseases ,Brain diseases ,  Cardiology, Asthma, epilepsy) we got these data from IRAQI HEALTH MINISTRY ,bureau of planning and studies ,for the period 2009-2012,as monthly observations , represent sum of peoples have chronic diseases in Baghdad .

     Our research obj

       The dielectric properties of polyvinyl chloride (PVC)-MnCl2 composite were studied by using the impedance technique. The measurements were carried out as a function of frequency in the range from 10 Hz to 13 MHz and temperature range from 27oC to 55oC. Using a composite of 20 wt. % MnCl2 by weight, it was found that the dielectric constants and the dielectric loss of the prepared films increase with the increasing temperature at law frequency and the enhancement of the ionic conduction which is confirmed by the increase the of AC. conductivity and the decrease of the activation energy of the conduction mechanism at high applied frequency. The observed relaxation and polarization effects of composite a

Thin films of microcrystalline and nanocrystalline -silicon carbide and silicon, where deposited on glass substrate with substrate temperature ranging from 350-400C, with deposition rate 0.5nm per pulse, by laser induced chemical vapor deposition. The deposition induced by TEACO2 laser. The reactant gases (SiH4 and C2H4) photo decompose throughout collision associated multiple photon dissociate. Such inhomogeneous film structure containing crystalline silicon, silicon carbide and amorphous silicon carbide matrix, give rise to a new type of material nanocrystalline silicon carbide in which the optical transmittance is governed by amorphous SiC phase while nanocrystalline grain are responsible for the conduction processes. This new m