One of the most important parameters determining structural members' durability and strength is the fire flame's influence and hazard. Some engineers have advocated using advanced analytical models to predict fire spread impact within a compartment and considering finite element models of structural components to estimate the temperatures within a component using heat transfer analysis. This paper presented a numerical simulation for a reinforced concrete beam’s structural response in a case containing Water Absorbing Polymer Spheres (WAPS) subjected to fire flame effect. The commercial finite element package ABAQUS was considered. The relevant geometrical and material parameters of the reinforced concrete beam model at elevated temperature are first suggested as a numerical model. After that, the suggested numerical model was validated against the experimental tests conducted in this study. The validated numerical model was used to conduct a parametric study to investigate the effects of two important parameters on the structural behavior after being exposed to fire flame. The effect of burning temperatures (500, 600, and 700) oC, as well as the influence of fire duration (1 and 2) hours, were included. The experimental program validation requirement comprised four self-compacted reinforced concrete beams each of the same geometric layout (150x200x1500) mm, reinforcing details, and compressive strength (fc'=50 MPa). Four percentages of (WAPS) were considered (0, 1, 2, and 3)%. The specimens were exposed to a fire flame with a steady-state temperature (500°C), a rising rate compatible with ASTM-E119, a one-hour duration, and a sudden cooling procedure. A static (two-point) load was applied to the burned beams. Through the assessed numerical model, the numerical analysis offered by the WAPS ratio effect was carried out for the reinforced concrete beam under the effect of static load. The findings revealed that the WAPS ratio substantially impacted structural behavior. The numerical model's results were in reasonable agreement with the experimental results. Concerning the fire exposure duration (two hours) at 500 oC, the specimens containing a ratio (3%) of WAPS improved the ultimate load and the ultimate deflection by about (46.63 and 72.24)%, respectively. The highest percentage variation of the absorbed energy at failure load was also detected in the ratio (3%) to be (139.43) %. As for the hardening concrete properties (compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, and modulus of elasticity), the residual strength was (61.06, 48.87, and 32.00)%, respectively. Regarding the steady-state burning temperature (500, 600, and 700)oC for a one-hour duration, the specimens with a ratio of (3%) WAPS improved the ultimate load by about (40.70, 62.00, and 40.76)%, respectively, corresponding to zero percentage of WAPS. The residual compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, and modulus of elasticity were (72.40, 56.12, and 43.78)%, (74.36, 56.50, and 44.79)%, and (45.23, 36.57, and 28.94)%, respectively.
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Transforming the common normal distribution through the generated Kummer Beta model to the Kummer Beta Generalized Normal Distribution (KBGND) had been achieved. Then, estimating the distribution parameters and hazard function using the MLE method, and improving these estimations by employing the genetic algorithm. Simulation is used by assuming a number of models and different sample sizes. The main finding was that the common maximum likelihood (MLE) method is the best in estimating the parameters of the Kummer Beta Generalized Normal Distribution (KBGND) compared to the common maximum likelihood according to Mean Squares Error (MSE) and Mean squares Error Integral (IMSE) criteria in estimating the hazard function. While the pr
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Health service institutions suffer from challenges resulting from the great changes that our world is witnessing today. This has affected the value that these institutions add to the patient.
This research aims to identify the effect of integrating each of the techniques of QFD and value engineering for the health services provided to the patient to improve the value for him and thus obtain his satisfaction, which is reflected in the reputation of the surveyed hospitals. To achieve this, the descriptive analytical method was used, and a questionnaire was designed to collect the necessary data, which represents a measure of this research. The questionnaire was distri
... Show MoreSimple and sensitive kinetic methods are developed for the determination of Paracetamol in pure form and in pharmaceutical preparations. The methods are based on direct reaction (oxidative-coupling reaction) of Paracetamol with o-cresol in the presence of sodium periodate in alkaline medium, to form an intense blue-water-soluble dye that is stable at room temperature, and was followed spectrophotometriclly at λmax= 612 nm. The reaction was studied kinetically by Initial rate and fixed time (at 25 minutes) methods, and the optimization of conditions were fixed. The calibration graphs for drug determination were linear in the concentration ranges (1-7 μg.ml-1) for the initial rate and (1-10 μg.ml-1) for the fixed time methods at 25 min.
... Show MoreForeign trade receives a good deal of economists' attention for its active contribution to economic growth, and imports of goods and services that could not be produced locally constitute an important share of the local economy. Agricultural imports constitute an important share of the total imports due to their role in fulfilling the needs of local markets; however, the agricultural sector in Iraq contributes no more than a limited share of the country's need, which has encouraged the import of a variety of fruits, vegetables and strategic crops and different types of red and white meat. For the sake of identifying the factors affecting the demand on agricultural imports in Iraq, the following factors has been analyzed: th
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This study investigates the influence of fear, refuge, and migration in a predator–prey model, where the interactions between the species follow an asymmetric function response. In contrast to some other findings, we propose that prey develop an anti-predator response in response to a concentration of predators, which in turn increases the fear factor of the predators. The conditions under which all ecologically meaningful equilibrium points exist are discussed in detail. The local and global dynamics of the model are determined at all equilibrium points. The model admits several interesting results by changing the rate of fear of predators and predator aggregate sensitivity. Numerical simulations have been performed to verify our theoret
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Human resources have been regarded as the most important asset for any organization because of its essential part in achieving the sustainable competitive advantage and survival. Managing human resources is very challenging and requires an effective bundle of practices that contribute to attaining the organizational goals. This study tries to confirm the importance of HRM practices in small businesses which came to play a vital role in the economies of the world, through clarifying the influence of HRM practices on the organizational performance, using a mediating variable (employees’ outcomes). Also the study attempts to highlight the key role of governmental support from view point of small businesses, through verifying the significant
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