Strengthening of the existing structures is an important task that civil engineers continuously face. Compression members, especially columns, being the most important members of any structure, are the most important members to strengthen if the need ever arise. The method of strengthening compression members by direct wrapping by Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) was adopted in this research. Since the concrete material is a heterogeneous and complex in behavior, thus, the behavior of the confined compression members subjected to uniaxial stress is investigated by finite element (FE) models created using Abaqus CAE 2017 software. The aim of this research is to study experimentally and numerically, the beha

The biometric-based keys generation represents the utilization of the extracted features from the human anatomical (physiological) traits like a fingerprint, retina, etc. or behavioral traits like a signature. The retina biometric has inherent robustness, therefore, it is capable of generating random keys with a higher security level compared to the other biometric traits. In this paper, an effective system to generate secure, robust and unique random keys based on retina features has been proposed for cryptographic applications. The retina features are extracted by using the algorithm of glowworm swarm optimization (GSO) that provides promising results through the experiments using the standard retina databases. Additionally, in order t

In this study, simply supported reinforced concrete (RC) beams were analyzed using the Extended Finite Element Method (XFEM). This is a powerful method that is used for the treatment of discontinuities resulting from the fracture process and crack propagation in concrete. The mesoscale is used in modeling concrete as a two-phasic material of coarse aggregate and cement mortar. Air voids in the cement paste will also be modeled. The coarse aggregate used in the casting of these beams is a rounded aggregate consisting of different maximum sizes. The maximum size is 25 mm in the first model, and in the second model, the maximum size is 20 mm. The compressive strength used in these beams is equal to 26 MPa.

The subje

    In the drilling and production operations, the effectiveness of cementing jobs is crucial for efficient progress. The compressive strength of oil well cement is a key characteristic that reflects its ability to withstand forceful conditions over time. This study evaluates and improves the compressive strength and thickening time of Iraqi oil well cement class G from Babylon cement factory using two types of additives (Nano Alumina and Synthetic Fiber) to comply with the American Petroleum Institute (API) specifications. The additives were used in different proportions, and a set of samples was prepared under different conditions. Compressive strength and thickening time measurements were taken under different conditions. The amoun

This investigation integrates experimental and numerical approaches to study a novel solar air heater aimed at achieving an efficient design for a solar collector suitable for drying applications under the meteorological conditions of Iraq. The importance of this investigation stems from the lack of optimal exploitation of solar energy reaching the solar collector, primarily attributable to elevated thermal losses despite numerous designs employed in such solar systems. Consequently, enhancing the thermal performance of solar collectors, particularly those employed in crop drying applications, stands as a crucial focal point for researchers within this domain. Two identical double-pass solar air heaters were designed and constructed for

One of the main parts in hydraulic system is directional control valve, which is needed in order to operate hydraulic actuator. Practically, a conventional directional control valve has complex construction and moving parts, such as spool. Alternatively, a proposed Magneto-rheological (MR) directional control valve can offer a better solution without any moving parts by means of MR fluid. MR fluid consists of stable suspension of micro-sized magnetic particles dispersed in carrier medium like hydrocarbon oil. The main objectives of this present research are to design a MR directional control valve using MR fluid, to analyse its magnetic circuit using FEMM software, and to study and simulate the performance of this valve. In this research, a

The cement slurry is a mixture of cement, water and additives which is established at the surface for injecting inside hole. The compressive strength is considered the most important properties of slurry for testing the slurry reliability and is the ability of slurry to resist deformation and formation fluids. Compressive strength is governed by the sort of raw materials that include additives, cement structure, and exposure circumstances. In this work, we use micro silica like pozzolanic materials. Silica fume is very fine noncrystalline substantial. Silica fume can be utilized like material for supplemental cementations for increasing the compressive strength and durability of cement. Silica fume has very fine particles size less

this study deals with effect of diabetes and hypertension on quality of life