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
Grabisch and Labreuche have recently proposed a generalization of capacities, called the bi-capacities. Recently, a new approach for studying bi-capacities through introducing a notion of ternary-element sets proposed by the author. In this paper, we propose many results such as bipolar Mobius transform, importance index, and interaction index of bi-capacities based on our approach.
Objective: To enhance bonding strength between thermoplastic denture base and acrylic soft liner through ethyl acetate surface treatment. Materials and Methods: Modifications of thermoplastic acrylic denture base surface were investigated with SEM. FTIR was used to detect whether there was a chemical bond between thermoplastic acrylic and the organic solvent. A total of 80 samples were prepared and divided into 20 samples for the surface roughness test and 60 samples for the shear bond strength test. Failure type was assessed visually. Results: Shear bond strength and surface roughness values of un treated samples were lower in comparison to surface treated groups; the greatest post thermocycling bond strength value was recorded for the sam
... Show MoreThis paper presents a study (experimentally) for strengthening reinforced concrete (RC) beams with Near-Surface-Mounted (NSM) technique. The use of this technique with CFRP strips or rebars is an efficient technology for increasing the strength for flexure and shear or for repairing damaged reinforced concrete (RC) members. The objective of this research is to study, experimentally, RC beams either repaired or strengthened with NSM CFRP strips and follow their flexural behavior and failure modes. NSM-CFRP strips were used to strengthen three RC beam specimens, one of them was initially strengthened and tested up to failure. Four beam specimens have been initially subjected to preloading to 50% and 80% of ultimate load. Two of the sp
... Show MoreRoller compacted concrete (RCC) is a type of rigid pavement that is designed in a similar way to conventional concrete pavements reflecting its mode of failure. The thickness design of RCC pavements is based on keeping the flexural stresses and fatigue damage in the pavement caused by wheel loads within allowable limits. As in all jointed concrete pavements, there is a greater effect from loads placed along edges and less at interior locations in the pavement. Joints in RCC pavement are clearly critical areas and form weak points. RCC is typically constructed with saw-cut joints to prevent random cracking, improve the appearance of the pavement surface, and maintain the highest possible load transfer across the joints. This paper pr
... Show MoreStructural buildings consist of concrete and steel, and these buildings have confronted many challenges from various aggressive environments against the materials manufactured from them. It contains high water levels and buildings whose concrete cover may be damaged and thus lead to the deterioration and corrosion of steel. It was important to have an alternative to steel, such as the glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP), which is distinguished by its great effectiveness in resisting corrosion, as well as its strong tensile resistance. Still, one of its drawbacks is that it has a low modulus of elasticity. This research article aims to conduct a numerical study using the nonlinear fi
Warm dark matter (WDM) models offer an attractive alternative to the current cold dark matter (CDM) cosmological model. We present a novel method to differentiate between WDM and CDM cosmologies, namely, using weak lensing; this provides a unique probe as it is sensitive to all of the “matter in the beam,” not just dark matter haloes and the galaxies that reside in them, but also the diffuse material between haloes. We compare the weak lensing maps of CDM clusters to those in a WDM model corresponding to a thermally produced 0.5 keV dark matter particle. Our analysis clearly shows that the weak lensing magnification, convergence, and shear distributions can be used to distinguish
In this paper, fire resistance and residual capacity tests were carried out on encased pultruded glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) I-beams with high-strength concrete beams. The specimens were loaded concurrently under 25% of the ultimate load and fire exposure (an increase in temperature of 700 °C) for 70 min. Subsequently, the fire-damaged specimens were allowed to cool and then were loaded statically until failure to explore the residual behaviors. The effects of using shear connectors and web stiffeners on the residual behavior were investigated. Finite Element (FE) analysis was developed to simulate the encased pultruded GFRP I-beams under the effect of fire loading. The thermal analyses were performed using the general-pu
... Show MoreIn this study, a three-dimensional finite element analysis using ANSYS 12.1 program had been employed to simulate simply supported reinforced concrete (RC) T-beams with multiple web circular openings subjected to an impact loading. Three design parameters were considered, including size, location and number of the web openings. Twelve models of simply supported RC T-beams were subjected to one point of transient (impact) loading at mid span. Beams were simulated and analysis results were obtained in terms of mid span deflection-time histories and compared with the results of the solid reference one. The maximum mid span deflection is an important index for evaluating damage levels of the RC beams subjected to impact loading. Three experi
... Show MoreThis study aimed to determine the measurements and classification of Schneider membrane thickness correlated to age and sex factors using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT). Methods: The study included CBCT images for 100 maxillary sinuses of 50 consecutive patients, and the thickness of the maxillary sinus membrane (Schneiderian membrane) was measured in coronal view from the lowest point in the floor of the maxillary sinus to the highest point. The thickness of the Schneiderian membrane was classified into 4 types. Results: The study result revealed that out of the total cases, 45% of sinus membranes were classified as type 2, while only 10% were classified as type 4. The most frequent type of membrane thickness diagnosed in the age gro
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