A ‘locking-bolt’ demountable shear connector (LBDSC) is proposed to facilitate the deconstruction and reuse of steel-concrete composite structures, in line with achieving a more sustainable construction design paradigm. The LBDSC is comprised of a grout-filled steel tube and a geometrically compatible partially threaded bolt. The latter has a geometry that ‘locks’ the bolt in compatible holes predrilled on the steel flange and eliminates initial slip and construction tolerance issues. The structural behaviour of the LBDSC is evaluated through nine pushout tests using a horizontal test setup. The effects of the tube thickness, strength of concrete slab, and strength of infilled grout on the shear resistance, initial stiffness, and ductility of the LBDSC are assessed. The experimental results show that the LBDSC can achieve higher shear resistance and similar initial stiffness as compared to traditional welded studs. In addition, all tested LBDSCs exhibited slip capacities ranging from 14 to 32 mm and can be classified as ductile shear connectors according to Eurocode 4. A detailed finite element model was also created and found to be reliable to reproduce the experimental behaviour. Parametric studies were subsequently conducted using the validated model to study further parameters and generalise the experimental results. Due to the specific test setup, non-negligible uplift forces were generated in the connector and the potential implications are discussed.
The paired sample t-test for testing the difference between two means in paired data is not robust against the violation of the normality assumption. In this paper, some alternative robust tests have been suggested by using the bootstrap method in addition to combining the bootstrap method with the W.M test. Monte Carlo simulation experiments were employed to study the performance of the test statistics of each of these three tests depending on type one error rates and the power rates of the test statistics. The three tests have been applied on different sample sizes generated from three distributions represented by Bivariate normal distribution, Bivariate contaminated normal distribution, and the Bivariate Exponential distribution.
Regression analysis models are adopted by using SPSS program to predict the 28-day compressive strength as dependent variable and the accelerated compressive strength as independent variable. Three accelerated curing method was adopted, warm water (35ºC) and autogenous according to ASTM C C684-99 and the British method (55ºC) according to BS1881: Part 112:1983. The experimental concrete mix design was according to ACI 211.1. Twenty eight concrete mixes with slump rang (25-50) mm and (75-100)mm for rounded and crushed coarse aggregate with cement content (585, 512, 455, 410, 372 and 341)Kg/m3.
The experimental results showed that the acc
... Show MoreBackground: The present study was conducted to evaluate the effects of different bleaching methods on the shear bond strength of orthodontic Sapphire brackets bonded to human premolars teeth using light cured composite resin and to determine the predominant site of bond failure. Materials and Methods: Thirty freshly extracted human premolars were selected and randomly divided into three groups (10 per group). These groups are: control (unbleached) group, hydrogen peroxide group (HP) 37.5% ; which is the in- office bleaching method group, carbamide peroxide group (CP) 16%; which is the at- home bleaching method group. After bleaching process was performed, all the teeth stored in distilled water in a sealed container at room temperature for
... Show MoreBackground: The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of surface treatments of zirconia (grinding and sandblast with 50μm, 100 μm) on shear bond strength between zirconia core and veneering ceramic. Material and methods: Twenty-eight presintered Y-TZP ceramic specimens (IPS e.max ZirCAD, Ivoclar vivadent) were fabricated and sintered according to manufacturer’s instructions. The core specimens were divided randomly in to 4 groups, group 1: no surface treatment, group2: zirconia specimens were ground with silicon carbide paper up to1200 grit under water cooling, group3: zirconia specimens were ground and sandblast with 100 μm alumina, group 4: zirconia specimens were ground and sandblast with 50 μm alumina. Surfa
... Show MoreThe effects of the permeation cement grout with fly ash on the sandy soil skeleton were studied in the present work in two phase; first phase the shear strength parameters, and the second phase effect of these grouted materials on volume grouted zone by injection (51) cm³ of slurry in sandy soil placed in steel cylinder model with dimension 15 cm in diameter and 30 cm in height. The soil sample was obtained from Karbala city and it is classified as poorly graded sand (SP) according to USCS. The soil samples were improved by cement grout with three percentages weight of water cement ratio (w:c); (0.1w:0.9c, 0.8w:0.2c, and 0.7w:0.3c), while the soil samples were dehydrated for one day
... Show MoreBackground: the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of different surface acids treatments (37%phospjoric acid, 5%hydrofluoric acid, 1.23 acidulated phosphate fluoride) of feldspathic ceramic VITA 3D MASTER , and the effect of thermocycling on shear bond strength using a ceramic repair kit (ivoclar/vivadent). Material and Methods: sixty Nickel-Chromium metal base plates were prepared(9mm diameter,3mm depth) using lost wax technique, 2mm thick layer of ceramic(VITA 3D MASTER) fused to metal plates, all specimens were embedded in acrylic resin blocks except their examined surfaces and divided into 3 main groups 20 specimens each, Grp A: treatment with 37%phosphoric acid for 2 mins, Grp B: etching with 5% hydrofluoric acid for 2mins,
... Show MoreAbstract: Polarization beam splitter (PBS) integrated waveguides are the key components in the receiver of quantum key distribution (QKD) systems. Their function is to analyze the polarization of polarized light and separate the transverse-electric (TE) and transverse-magnetic (TM) polarizations into different waveguides. In this paper, a performance study of polarization beam splitters based on horizontal slot waveguide has been investigated for a wavelength of . PBS based on horizontal slot waveguide structure shows a polarization extinction ratio for quasi-TE and quasi-TM modes larger than with insertion loss below and a bandwidth of . Also, the fabrication tolerance of the structure is analyzed.<
... Show MoreAn experimental and numerical study has been carried out to investigate the heat transfer by natural convection in a three dimensional annulus enclosure filled with porous media (silica sand) between two inclined concentric cylinders with (and without) annular fins attached to the inner cylinder under steady state condition; The experiments were carried out for a range of modified Rayleigh number (0.2 ≤Ra*≤ 11) and extended to Ra* =500 for numerical study, annulus inclination angle of (δ = 0˚, 30˚, 60˚ and 90˚). The numerical study was to write the governing equation under an assumptions used Darcy law and Boussinesq’s approximation and then solved numerically using finite difference approximation. It was found that the averag
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The research aims to measure, assess and evaluate the efficiency of the directorates of Anbar Municipalities by using the Data Envelopment Analysis method (DEA). This is because the municipality sector is consider an important sector and has a direct contact with the citizen’s life. Provides essential services to citizens. The researcher used a case study method, and the sources of information collection based on data were monthly reports, the research population is represented by the Directorate of Anbar Municipalities, and the research sample consists of 7 municipalities which are different in terms of category and size of different types. The most important conclusion reached by the research i
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