It is suitable to use precast steel-concrete composite beams to quickly assemble a bridge or a building, particularly in isolated regions where cast-in-situ concrete is not a practical option. If steel-concrete composite beams are designed to allow demountability, they can also be extremely useful in the aftermath of natural disasters, such as earthquakes or flooding, to replace damaged infrastructure. Furthermore, rapid replacement of slabs is extremely beneficial in case of severe deterioration due to long-term stressors such as fatigue or corrosion. The only way to rapidly assemble and disassemble a steel-concrete composite structure is to use demountable shear connectors to connect/disconnect the steel beams to/from the concrete slab. In an attempt to respond to this demand, recent research developed a removable Friction-Based Shear Connector (FBSC), which eliminates slippage in the steelconcrete interface at SLS (i.e. it offers full-interaction). This paper describes the experimental program that assessed the flexural behaviour of a 9.0 m precast steel-concrete composite beam equipped with FBSCs. The design of the composite beam was based on a 32% degree of partial shear connection, i.e. considerably below the minimum degree specified in Eurocode 4. The paper gives a detailed account of the test results that clearly show that the composite beam with the FBSCs is effective and has properties that match design needs for both SLS and ULS verifications
The Moisture damage is considered as one of the main challenge for the experts in the field of asphalt pavement design. The aims of the present study is to modify moisture resistance of the asphalt concrete by utilizing ceramic fibers as a type of reinforcement incorporated with hydrated lime. For this purpose, a penetration grade of the asphalt cement (40-50) was utilized as a binder with an aggregate of the maximum nominal size of 12.5mm and mineral filler limestone dust. A series of specimens has been fabricated by utilizing 0.50, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 percentages of ceramic fibers. For each of these contents, another subsequent group of specimens with hydrated lime with 0.0, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 percentages were moulded. For the additi
... Show MoreThe aim of this study to investigate the tongue morphology and histology in house gecko Hemidactylus flaviviridis using light and scanning electron –microscopy (SEM ) technique.The morphology result revealed the presence of three parts : apex , body and lingual root .The light microscopy result showed that the tongue is covered with mucous membrane composed of non keratinized stratified squamous epithelium based on lamina propria which contain bundles of striated muscles its fibers in different directions including connective tissue , blood vessels and nerves. The lingual mucosa of the dorsal surface is covered with different pattern of lingual papillae which are widely distributed all over the dorsal surface except the apex. Noticed on t
... Show MoreThe adsorption of Malonic acid, Succinic acid, Adipic acid, and Azelaic acid from their aqueous solutions on zinc oxide surface were investigated. The adsorption efficiency was investigated using various factors such as adsorbent amount, contact time, initial concentration, and temperature. Optimum conditions for acids removal from its aqueous solutions were found to be adsorbent dose (0.2 g), equilibrium contact time (40 minutes), initial acids concentration (0.005 M). Variation of temperature as a function of adsorption efficiency showed that increasing the temperature would result in decreasing the adsorption ability. Kinetic modeling by applying the pseudo-second order model can provide a better fit of the data with a greater correla
... Show MoreThis paper discusses a comparative study to relate parametric and non-parametric mode decomposition algorithms for response-only data. Three popular mode decomposition algorithms are included in this study: the Eigensystem Realization Algorithm with the Natural Excitation Technique (NExT-ERA) for the parametric algorithm, as well as the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and the Independent Component Analysis (ICA) for the non-parametric algorithms. A comprehensive parametric study is provided for (i) different response types, (ii) excitation types, (iii) system damping, and (iv) sensor spatial resolution to compare the mode shapes and modal coordinates of using a 10-DOF building model. The mode decomposition results are also compared using
... Show MoreThe amicus curiae is one of the judicial procedures adopted in many judicial and legal systems around the world, under which a person who is not a party to the case, and without having a personal and direct interest in it, intervenes to draw the court’s attention to many factual and legal aspects
The immune infertility caused by anti-sperm antibodies (ASAs) represented about 10–20% of infertility among the couples. The ASAs interfere with sperm parameters such as sperm motility and sperm ability to penetrate cervical mucus, sperm-oocyte binding, and fertilization and embryo development. Objectives: The present study designed to assess semen analysis, presence of ASAs and DNA fragmentation index as well as correlation within these parameters in normzoospermic Iraqi subjects Patients, Materials, and Methods: A total number of Iraqi subjects (116) with range of age (20-51) years and their mean duration of infertility (4.70 ± 2.77). Seminal fluid for macroscopic and microscopic assessments done according to WHO 2010 criteria. The
... Show MoreThis study aims to use claystone beds exposed in the Injana Formation (Late Miocene) at Karbala-Najaf plateau, middle of Iraq for the manufacturing of perforated and ordinary bricks. The claystone samples were assessed as an alternative material of the recent sediments, which are preferred to remain as agricultural land. The claystones are sandy mud composing of 29.1 - 39.1% clay, 37.2 - 54.8% silt and 14.1-26.8% sand. They consist of kaolinite, illite, chlorite, palygorskite, and montmorillonite with a lot of quartz, calcite, dolomite, gypsum and feldspar. Claystone samples were characterized by linear shrinkage 0.01 - 0.1%, volume shrinkage 0.1 - 0.9%, bulk density 1.2 - 2.11gm/cm3 (1.68 g / cm3 average), and the efflorescence is
... Show MoreThe Ligand 2-(4-nitrophenyl azo)-2,4-dimethylphenol derived from 4-nitroaniline and 2,4-dimethylphenol was synthesized. The prepared ligand was identified by FT-IR and UV-Vis spectroscopic techniques. Treatment of the ligand with the following metal ions ( CuII , ZnII ,CdII and HgII) in aqueous ethanol with a 1:2 M:L ratio. Characterization of these compounds has been done on the basis of FT-IR and UV-Vis, as well as magnetic susceptibility and conductivity measurements. On the basis of physicochemical data tetrahedral geometries were assigned for the complexes.