This article presents the results of an experimental investigation of using carbon fiber–reinforced polymer sheets to enhance the behavior of reinforced concrete deep beams with large web openings in shear spans. A set of 18 specimens were fabricated and tested up to a failure to evaluate the structural performance in terms of cracking, deformation, and load-carrying capacity. All tested specimens were with 1500-mm length, 500-mm cross-sectional deep, and 150-mm wide. Parameters that studied were opening size, opening location, and the strengthening factor. Two deep beams were implemented as control specimens without opening and without strengthening. Eight deep beams were fabricated with openings but without strengthening, while the other eight deep beams were with openings in shear spans and with carbon fiber–reinforced polymer sheet strengthening around opening zones. The opening size was adopted to be 200 × 200 mm dimensions in eight deep beams, while it was considered to be 230 × 230 mm dimensions in the other eight specimens. In eight specimens the opening was located at the center of the shear span, while in the other eight beams the opening was attached to the interior edge of the shear span. Carbon fiber–reinforced polymer sheets were installed around openings to compensate for the cutout area of concrete. Results gained from the experimental test showed that the creation of openings in shear spans affect the load-carrying capacity, where the reduction of the failure load for specimens with the opening but without strengthening may attain 66% compared to deep beams without openings. On the other hand, the strengthening by carbon fiber–reinforced polymer sheets for beams with openings increased the failure load by 20%–47% compared with the identical deep beam without strengthening. A significant contribution of carbon fiber–reinforced polymer sheets in restricting the deformability of deep beams was observed.
The thermal performance of indirect expansion solar assisted heat pump, IX-SAHP, was investigated experimentally under Iraqi climate. An Indirect-Solar Assisted Heat Pump system was designed, built, instrumented and tested. Experimental tests were conducted by varying the controlling parameters to investigate their effects on the thermal performance of the IX-SAHP such as cooling water flow rate, heating water flow rate, ambient temperature and solar radiation intensity. The investigation covered values of cooling water flow rate of (2, 3, 4, 5 l/min) and heating water flow rate of (2, 3, 4, 5 l/min) under meteorological condition of Baghdad from November 2014 to January 2015.
The results indicated that the performance of the IX-
... Show MoreThis study was chosen because of the entry of our regions into the seismic zone recently, where Diyala governorate was hit by the Halabja earthquake in 2017 by 7.3Mw. Therefore, the impact of earthquakes will be studied on the AL-Mafraq bridge foundations piles located in Iraq- east of Baghdad in Diyala Governorate and the extent of its resistance to the Halabjah, EL-Centro, and Kobe earthquakes with acceleration 0.1g, 0.34g, and 0.58g respectively. After modeling and performing the analysis by using Midas Gts-Nx software, the settlement (mm) results at nine nodes (four nodes for the pile cap and five nodes for the piles) were obtained for each of Halabjah, EL-Centro, and Kobe earthquakes to know the resistance of the br
... Show MoreFree cement refractory concrete is a type of refractory concrete with replacing alumina cement by bonding materials such as white kaolin, red kaolin and fumed silica. The free cement refractory concrete used in many applications like Petrochemicals, iron furnaces and cement production industries. The research clarifies the effect of steel fibers with two types crimped steel fibers and hooked steel
fibers with percentages 0.5%, 1% and 1.5% by volume from weight of bauxite aggregates. The additions of steel fibers with two types gave good properties in high temperatures where the specimens keep the dimension without failure and the properties made the best. the percentage of increasing for thermal conductivity was 44% for 1.5% crimped
For the purpose of determining the impact of three levels of nitrogen fertilizer (0, 60, and 120 kg.ha-1) and sulfur fertilizer (0, 40, and 60 kg.ha-1) on production and growth indicators (number of leaves, number of branches, chlorophyll pigments, and fresh and dry weights), a field experiment was carried out during the winter season (2021/2022) in the fields of Al-Diwaniyah Province, Ministry of Agriculture, Diwaniyah Agriculture Directorate, Al-Nouriyah Forest Division. Means were compared using the least significant difference test (LSD) at a 0.05 level of probability. In a factorial experiment employing a wholly randomized block design wi
The main target of the current study is to investigate the microbial content and mineral contaminants of the imported meat available in the city of Baghdad and to ensure that it is free from harmful bacteria, safe and it compliances with the Iraqi standard specifications. Some trace mineral elements such as (Iron, Copper, Lead, and Cadmium) were also estimated, where 10 brands of these meats were collected. Bacteriological tests were carried out which included (total bacterial count,
Ecosystems provide humans with services that include benefits from food, fresh water, climate regulation, and socio-economic assets. The Mesopotamian marshlands are among the largest wetlands in the Middle East and they provide various benefits. However, ecosystem services of the Marshlands are consistently undervalued in national economic analysis and decision making. This study focusses on the Central Marshes, the first National Park in Iraq, and is the first attempt at valuing a series of ecosystem services from a valuable natural ecosystem in Iraq. We adopted the Toolkit for Ecosystem Services Site-Based Assessment (TESSA) for the determination of biophysical and economic values of services at the site level. Data on key ecosystem se
... Show MoreSelf-compacted concrete (SCC) is a highly flowable concrete, with no segregation which can be spread into place by filling the structures framework and permeate the reinforcement without any compaction or mechanical consolidation ACI 237R-14. One of the most important problems faced by concrete industry in Iraq and Gulf Arab land is deterioration due to internal sulfate attack (ISA) that causes damage of concrete and consequently reduces its compressive strength, increases expansion and may lead to its cracking and destruction. The experimental program was focused to study two ordinary Portland cements with different chemical composition with (5, 10 and 15) % percentage of high reactivity metakaoline (HRM)
... Show MoreImproving the permanent deformation resistance of asphalt pavements is a vital challenge. Nanomaterials have emerged as promising additives due to their ability to enhance the binder stiffness and elasticity. This study evaluated the influence of five nanomaterials, namely Nano-Silica (NS), Nano-Alumina (NA), Nano-Zinc (NZ), Nano-Titanium (NT), and Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs) incorporated into a base asphalt binder at varying dosages, with up to 10% for NS, NA, and NT, and up to 5% for NZ and CNT. Fifteen modified binders were assessed using the Multiple Stress Creep Recovery (MSCR) test to obtain non-recoverable creep compliance (Jnr), while the corresponding hot mix asphalt samples underwent repeated load testing and rut depth predict
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