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.
Iraq's water crisis represents one of the most pressing environmental and socioeconomic challenges facing the country today. This study examines the evolution of water resource problems in Iraq through a comprehensive historical comparison between the pre-2003 period under Saddam Hussein's regime and the post-2003 era following the U.S.-led invasion and subsequent political transformation. The research employs a mixed-method approach, analyzing quantitative data on water flow rates, infrastructure development, and qualitative assessments of policy impacts across both periods. Key findings reveal that while the pre-2003 period was characterized by deliberate environmental destruction, particularly the draining of the Mesopotamian Marshes, an
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This study aimed to provide a conceptual model for the use and benefits of the e-Government as related to administrative fraud and financial corruption. The study also looked into their concepts, forms, dimensions and types and the role of e-Government on fraud reduction, corruption in administration and finance and its impact on the government performance. From the result, it is revealed that there is need for electronic government for implementation in order to curb the rate of fraud and administrative and financial corruption and improve the quality of service provision for better performance
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The efforts embedded in this paper have been devoted to designing, preparing, and testing warm mix asphalt (WMA) mixtures and comparing their behavior against traditional hot mix asphalt mixtures. For WMA preparation, the Sasobit wax additive has been added to a 40/50 asphalt binder with a concentration of 3%. An experimental evaluation has been performed by conducting the Marshall together with volumetric properties, indirect tensile strength, and wheel tracking tests to acquire the tensile strength ratio (TSR), retained stability index (RSI), and rut depth. It was found that the gained benefit of reduction in mixing and compaction temperatures was reversely associated with a noticeable decline in Marshall properties and moisture s
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This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a novel concrete-encased column (CE) using small circular steel tubes filled with cementitious grouting material (GFST) as the primary reinforcement instead of traditional steel bars. The research involved three different types of reinforcement: conventional steel bars, concrete-filled steel tubes with 30% of the reinforcement ratio of steel bars, and concrete-filled steel tubes with the same reinforcement ratio as steel bars. Twenty-four circular concrete columns were tested and categorized into six groups based on the type of reinforcement employed. Each group comprised four columns, with one subjected to concentric axial load, two subjected to eccentric axial load (with eccentrici
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The aim of this study was the discrimination of Salmonella isolated from chicken and their feed and drinking water for the epidemiological control of salmonellosis. Totally, 289 samples, including 217 chicken cloaca swabs, 46 water, and 26 feed samples were collected from five different farms in Karbala governorate, Iraq. Conventional bacteriology tests, API 20E, Vitek 2, and serology were used for bacterial identification. Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD)-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was applied to analyze the genetic relationships among Salmonella isolates. The isolation rate of Salmonella spp. was 21.1% (61/289). While the water samples constituted the highest rate (30.4%), a rate of
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The aim of this study is to propose reliable equations to estimate the in-situ concrete compressive strength from the non-destructive test. Three equations were proposed: the first equation considers the number of rebound hummer only, the second equation consider the ultrasonic pulse velocity only, and the third equation combines the number of rebound hummer and the ultrasonic pulse velocity. The proposed equations were derived from non-linear regression analysis and they were calibrated with the test results of 372 concrete specimens compiled from the literature. The performance of the proposed equations was tested by comparing their strength estimations with those of related existing equations from literature. Comparis
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