A chemical optical fiber sensor based on surface plasmon resonance (SPR) was developed and implemented using multimode plastic optical fiber. The sensor is used to detect and measure the refractive index and concentration of various chemical materials (Urea, Ammonia, Formaldehyde and Sulfuric acid) as well as to evaluate the performance parameters such as sensitivity, signal to noise ratio, resolution and figure of merit. It was noticed that the value of the sensitivity of the optical fiber-based SPR sensor, with 60nm and 10 mm long, Aluminum(Al) and Gold (Au) metals film exposed sensing region, was 4.4 μm, while the SNR was 0.20, figure of merit was 20 and resolution 0.00045. In this work a multimode plastic optical fiber with a core diameter of 980 μm, fluorinated polymer cladding of 20 μm and a numerical aperture of 0.51 was used.
Rock engineers widely use the uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) of rocks in designing
surface and underground structures. The procedure for measuring this rock strength has been
standardized by both the International Society for Rock Mechanics (ISRM) and American Society
for Testing and Materials (ASTM), Akram and Bakar(2007).
In this paper, an experimental study was performed to correlate of Point Load Index ( Is(50))
and Pulse Wave Velocity (Vp) to the Unconfined Compressive Strength (UCS) of Rocks. The effect
of several parameters was studied. Point load test, Unconfined Compressive Strength (UCS) and
Pulse Wave Velocity (Vp) were used for testing several rock samples with different diameters.
The predicted e
When the flange of a reinforced concrete spandrel beam is in tension, current design codes and specifications enable a portion of the bonded flexure tension reinforcement to be distributed over an effective flange width. The flexural behavior of the RC L-shaped spandrel beam when reinforcement is laterally displaced in the tension flange is investigated experimentally and numerically in this work. Numerical analysis utilizing the finite element method is performed on discretized flanged beam models validated using experimentally verified L-shaped beam specimens to achieve study objectives. A parametric study was carried out to evaluate the influence of various factors on the beam’s flexure behavior. Results showed that
... Show MoreGlobal technological advancements drive daily energy consumption, generating additional carbon-induced climate challenges. Modifying process parameters, optimizing design, and employing high-performance working fluids are among the techniques offered by researchers for improving the thermal efficiency of heating and cooling systems. This study investigates the heat transfer enhancement of hybrid “Al2O3-Cu/water” nanofluids flowing in a two-dimensional channel with semicircle ribs. The novelty of this research is in employing semicircle ribs combined with hybrid nanofluids in turbulent flow regimes. A computer modeling approach using a finite volume approach with k-ω shear stress transport turbulence model was used in these simu
... Show MoreCeliac disease (CD) is an immune-mediated disorder caused by gluten in genetically susceptible individuals characterized by chronic inflammation that essentially affects the small intestine. Objective: this study was designed to measure the potential role of some serological biomarkers including vitamin B12 and homocysteine (HCY) in the progression of CD as well as their relations to global DNA methylation (5mC). Materials and methods. Forty CD patients were enrolled in the study with an average age of (36.60 ± 2.03) years (range between 15 and 60). The diagnosis of the disease was confirmed by serological examinations and intestinal endoscopy in Gastroenterology and Liver Teaching Hospital in the Medical City Hospital in Baghdad
... Show MoreIn this paper, an experimental study was conducted to enhance the thermal performance of a double-pass solar air heater (SAH) using phase change material (PCM) for thermal storage at climatic conditions of Baghdad city - Iraq. The double-pass solar air heater integrated with thermal storage system was manufactured and tested to ensure that the air heating reserved after the absence of the sun. The rectangular cavity filled with paraffin wax was used as a latent heat storage and incorporated into the lower channel of solar air heater. Experiments were carried out to evaluate the charging and discharging characteristics of two similar designed solar air collectors with and without using phase change material at a constant
... Show MoreThis paper demonstrates an experimental and numerical study aimed at comparing the influence of openings of different configurations on the flexural behavior of reinforced concrete gable roof beams. The experimental program consisted of testing six simply supported gable beams subjected to mid-point concentrated load. The variable which has been investigated in this work was opening's configuration (quadrilateral or circular) with the same upper and lower chords depth. The results indicate improvement in the beams’ flexural behavior when circular openings were used compared with that of quadrilateral openings, represented by an increase in ultimate load capacity and a decrease in deflection at the service limit. Also, there was an
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