This study presents experimental and numerical investigations on seven one-way, reinforced concrete (RC) slabs with a new technique of slab weight reduction using polystyrene-embedded arched blocks (PEABs). All slabs had the same dimensions, steel reinforcement, and concrete compressive strength. One of these slabs was a solid slab, which was taken as a control slab, while the other six slabs were cast with PEABs. The main variables were the ratio of the length of the PEABs to the length of the slab (lp/L) and the ratio of the height of the PEABs to the total slab depth (hP/H). The minimum decrease in the ultimate load capacity was about 6% with a minimum reduction in the slab weight of 15%. In contrast, the maximum decrease in the ultimate load capacity was about 24% with a maximum reduction in the slab weight of 40%. Moreover, the mode of failure changed from flexure to shear failure, especially for those slabs with an lP/L ratio equal to one. The geometric and material non-linearity was adopted in the proposed finite element (FE) model to simulate the slabs with PEABs using Abaqus software. Good agreement was obtained between the developed FE and experimental results.
This paper considers approximate solution of the hyperbolic one-dimensional wave equation with nonlocal mixed boundary conditions by improved methods based on the assumption that the solution is a double power series based on orthogonal polynomials, such as Bernstein, Legendre, and Chebyshev. The solution is ultimately compared with the original method that is based on standard polynomials by calculating the absolute error to verify the validity and accuracy of the performance.
The primary objective of the current paper is to suggest and implement effective computational methods (DECMs) to calculate analytic and approximate solutions to the nonlocal one-dimensional parabolic equation which is utilized to model specific real-world applications. The powerful and elegant methods that are used orthogonal basis functions to describe the solution as a double power series have been developed, namely the Bernstein, Legendre, Chebyshev, Hermite, and Bernoulli polynomials. Hence, a specified partial differential equation is reduced to a system of linear algebraic equations that can be solved by using Mathematica®12. The techniques of effective computational methods (DECMs) have been applied to solve some s
... Show MoreObjective: This in vitro study is aimed to compare and evaluate the cyclic fatigue of four varying NiTi rotary instrumentation systems. Method: In this study, four types of rotary files were used in four groups (10 files for each group), namely, Group A: Wave One Gold; Group B: AF Blue R3; Group C: One Curve; Group D: F6 SkyTaper. These groups were evaluated by a cyclic fatigue apparatus to measure cyclic fatigue resistance within the artificial metallic simulating canal that has a 60 angle of curvature, the curvature radius was 5 mm, whereas the inner diameter of the canal was 1.5 mm. All the files were rotated in artificial canals until they fracture. The resistance to cyclic fatigue was determined by counting the number of cycles to frac
... Show MoreThe political situation experienced by Iraq before the events of 2003 that led to the collapse of infrastructure. rebuilding costs were estimated after 2003 by187(million USD) according to the estimates of the basic needs as stated in Five-Year Plan 2010-2014. The difficult in financing projects and the continuous demands for maintenance and operating cost, and working by contemporary styles in different countries, the strategic option is to adopt the government entering the private sector as a partner in the development process. Since public _private partnership (PPP's) is at a germinating stage of development in Iraq, it has been studied the critical success factors(CSF's) in the experiences of countries that have implemented the style
... Show MoreThis work concerns the thermal and sound insulation as well as the mechanical properties of polymer matrix composite reinforced with glass fibers. These fibers may have dangerous effect during handling, for example the glass fibers might cause some damage to the eyes, lungs and even skin. For this reason the present work, investigates the behavior of polymer composite reinforced with natural fibers (Plant fibers) as replacement to glass fibers. Unsaturated Polyester resin was used as matrix material reinforced with two types of fibers, one of them is artificial (Glass fibers) and the other type is natural (Jute, Fronds Palm and Reed Fibers) by hand lay-up technique. All fibers are untreated with any chemical solvent. The Percentage of mi
... Show MoreBiodegradable polymers have garnered increasing attention as eco-friendly alternatives to conventional petroleum-derived plastics, which pose a global environmental challenge due to their difficult recycling and slow degradation. This study focuses on the preliminary evaluation of surface functional properties of chitosan films reinforced with TiO₂ or ZnO nanoparticles (NPs). These films were prepared at different loading ratios using the solution-casting method. Structural and morphological properties were characterized using FTIR and FESEM, while functional properties were evaluated by surface wettability, UV–Vis spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis and antibacterial activity testing. FTIR results showed significant changes in abs
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