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.
Polymer electrolytes were prepared using the solution cast technology. Under some conditions, the electrolyte content of polymers was analyzed in constant percent of PVA/PVP (50:50), ethylene carbonate (EC), and propylene carbonate (PC) (1:1) with different proportions of potassium iodide (KI) (10, 20, 30, 40, 50 wt%) and iodine (I2) = 10 wt% of salt. Fourier Transmission Infrared (FTIR) studies confirmed the complex formation of polymer blends. Electrical conductivity was calculated with an impedance analyzer in the frequency range 50 Hz–1MHz and in the temperature range 293–343 K. The highest electrical conductivity value of 5.3 × 10-3 (S/cm) was observed for electrolytes with 50 wt% KI concentration at room
... Show MoreComputational study of three-dimensional laminar and turbulent flows around electronic chip (heat source) located on a printed circuit board are presented. Computational field involves the solution of elliptic partial differential equations for conservation of mass, momentum, energy, turbulent energy, and its dissipation rate in finite volume form. The k-ε turbulent model was used with the wall function concept near the walls to treat of turbulence effects. The SIMPLE algorithm was selected in this work. The chip is cooled by an external flow of air. The goals of this investigation are to investigate the heat transfer phenomena of electronic chip located in enclosure and how we arrive to optimum level for cooling of this chip. These par
... Show MoreIn the case where a shallow foundation does not satisfy with design requirements alone, the addition of a pile may be suitable to improve the performance of the foundation design. The lack of in-situ data and the complexity of the issues caused by lagging in the research area of pile foundations are notable. In this study, different types of piles were used under the same geometric conditions to determine the load-settlement relationships with various sandy soil relative densities. The ultimate pile capacity for each selected pile is obtained from a modified California Bearing Ratio (CBR) machine to be suitable for axial pile loading. Based on the results, the values of Qu for close-ended square pile were increased by 15
... Show MoreBackground: Glass ionomers have good biocompatibility and the ability to adhere to both enamel and dentin. However, they have certain demerits, mainly low tensile and compressive strengths. Therefore, this study was done to assess consistency and compressive strength of glass ionomer reinforced by different amount of hydroxyapatite. Materials and Methods: In this study hydroxyapatite materials were added to glass ionomer cement at different ratios, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25% and 30% (by weight). The standard consistency test described in America dental association (ADA) specification No. 8 was used, so that all new base materials could be conveniently mixed and the results would be of comparable value and the compressive strength test described by
... Show MoreOne of the major problems in modern construction is the accumulation of construction and demolition waste; this study thus examines the consumption of waste brick in concrete based on the use of blended nano brick powder as replacement for cement and as a fine aggregate. Seven concrete mixes were developed according to ACI 211.1 using recycled waste brick. Nano powder brick at 0, 5, and 10% was used as a replacement by cement weight, with other mixes featuring 10, 20, and 30% partial replacement by volume of river sand with brick. The experimental results for replacement of cement with nano brick powder showed an enhancement in mechanical properties (compressive, flexural, and tensile strength) at 7,
In this paper, mesoscale modeling is performed to simulate and understand fracture behavior of two concrete composites: cement and asphalt concrete using disk-shaped compact tension (DCT) tests. Mesoscale models are used as alternative to macroscale models to obtain better realistic behavior of composite and heterogeneous materials such as cement and asphalt concrete. In mesoscale models, aggregate and matrix are represented as distinct materials and each material has its characteristic properties. Disk-shaped compact tension test is used to obtain tensile strength and fracture energy of materials. This test can be used as a better alternative to other tests such as three points bending tests because it is more convenient for both field and
... Show MoreThe High Modulus Asphalt Concrete Mixture (HMACM) or (EME) (Enrobes a Module Eleve) developed in France, since, 1980 by Laboratories Central des Ponts et Chaussees (LCPC). Due to the increasing in traffic intensity and axle loading this type of mixing were suitable for pavement subjected to heavy duty. Experiments showed that EME mixtures have an excellent moisture damage resistance permanent deformation, fatigue cracking and reducing costs of maintenance and a significant reduction in thickness of pavement. Because of the high stiffness of EME mixes, the stresses transformed to the bottom laid layer by repeated traffic wheel loads were reduced effectively. This study intend to focus the light into the possibility of producing asphalt mixtu
... Show MoreThe behavior of externally prestressed composite beams under short term loading has been studied. A computer program developed originally by Oukaili to evaluate curvature is modified to evaluate the deflection of prestressed composite beam under flexural load. The analysis model based on the deformation compatibility of entire structure that allows to determine the full history of strain and stress distribution along cross section depth, deflection and stress increment in the external tendons .
The evaluation of curvatures for the composite beam involves iterations for computing the strains vectors at each node at any loading stage. The stress increment determined using equations depended on the member deflection at points of connecti