The fractional free volume (Fh) in polystyrene (PS) as a function of neutron -irradiation dose has been measured, using positron annihilation lifetime (PAL) method. The results show that Fh values decreased with increasing n-irradiation dose up to a total dose of 501.03× 10-2 Gy.
A percentage reduction of 2.14 in Fh values is noticed after the initial n-dose corresponding to a percentage reduction in the free volume equal to 42.14/Gy.
The total n-dose induces a percentage reduction of 7.26, corresponding to a percentage reduction of 1.45/Gy. These results indicate that cross -linking is the predominant process induced by n-irradiation.
The results suggest that n-irradiation induces structure changes in PS, causing cross-linking in PS chains, whereas the presence of oxygen during irradiation causes retardness of cross-linking yield, which consequently affects the values of the above mentioned parameter with respect to their values in case the irradiation is performed in vacuum
Flexure members such as reinforced concrete (RC) simply supported beams subjected to two-point loading were analyzed numerically. The Extended Finite Element Method (XFEM) was employed for the treatment the non-smooth h behaviour such as discontinuities and singularities. This method is a powerful technique used for the analysis of the fracture process and crack propagation in concrete. Concrete is a heterogeneous material that consists of coarse aggregate, cement mortar and air voids distributed in the cement paste. Numerical modeling of concrete comprises a two-scale model, using mesoscale and macroscale numerical models. The effectiveness and validity of the Meso-Scale Approach (MSA) in modeling of the reinforced concrete beams w
... Show MoreIn high-dimensional semiparametric regression, balancing accuracy and interpretability often requires combining dimension reduction with variable selection. This study intro- duces two novel methods for dimension reduction in additive partial linear models: (i) minimum average variance estimation (MAVE) combined with the adaptive least abso- lute shrinkage and selection operator (MAVE-ALASSO) and (ii) MAVE with smoothly clipped absolute deviation (MAVE-SCAD). These methods leverage the flexibility of MAVE for sufficient dimension reduction while incorporating adaptive penalties to en- sure sparse and interpretable models. The performance of both methods is evaluated through simulations using the mean squared error and variable selection cri
... Show MoreThrough the last decade, Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) methodology considers one of the new contractual relations that are also on the way to further integrate the process of combining design and instruction. On the other hand, Building Information Modeling (BIM) made significant advancements in coordinating the planning and construction processes. It is being used more often in conjunction with traditional delivery methods. In this paper, the researcher will present the achievement of IPD methodology by using BIM through applying on the design of the financial commission building in Mayssan Oil Company in Iraq. The building has not been constructed yet and it was designed by usin
Accurate predictive tools for VLE calculation are always needed. A new method is introduced for VLE calculation which is very simple to apply with very good results compared with previously used methods. It does not need any physical property except each binary system need tow constants only. Also, this method can be applied to calculate VLE data for any binary system at any polarity or from any group family. But the system binary should not confirm an azeotrope. This new method is expanding in application to cover a range of temperature. This expansion does not need anything except the application of the new proposed form with the system of two constants. This method with its development is applied to 56 binary mixtures with 1120 equili
... Show MoreThe purpose of this work is to concurrently estimate the UVvisible spectra of binary combinations of piroxicam and mefenamic acid using the chemometric approach. To create the model, spectral data from 73 samples (with wavelengths between 200 and 400 nm) were employed. A two-layer artificial neural network model was created, with two neurons in the output layer and fourteen neurons in the hidden layer. The model was trained to simulate the concentrations and spectra of piroxicam and mefenamic acid. For piroxicam and mefenamic acid, respectively, the Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm with feed-forward back-propagation learning produced root mean square errors of prediction of 0.1679 μg/mL and 0.1154 μg/mL, with coefficients of determination of
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