A novel demountable shear connector is proposed to link a concrete slab to steel sections in a way that resulting steel-concrete composite floor is demountable, i.e. it can be easily dismantled at the end of its service life. The proposed connectors consist of two parts: the first part is a hollow steel tube with internal threads at its lower end. The second part is a compatible partially threaded bolted stud. After linking the stud to the steel section, the hollow steel tube can be fastened over the threaded stud, which create a complete demountable shear connector. The connector is suitable for use in both composite bridges and buildings, and using cast in-situ slabs, precast solid slabs, or hollow-core precast slabs. A series of push-off tests with different parameters including wall thickness of steel tube, compressive strength of concrete slab and infilled grout were carried out to study shear strength, shear stiffness, failure modes and relative slip characteristics of demountable shear connectors. Experimental results indicated that the shear connector has a high strength and initial stiffness, also the slip capacity that is higher than the requirements of the current codes of practice. Finally, it is suggested that under applied loading, concrete slabs do not crack or crush, demountable connectors can yield into plastic state, therefore, concrete slabs and steel beams can be easily replaced, repaired or reused.
Gas lift is one of the most important artificial lift methods for increasing oil production, as wells often require this method after the reservoir's energy has decreased. In this research, an optimal gas lift system is designed for five horizontal wells in the Ahdab oil field, which suffers from low production. At the same time, water cut in some of these wells reaches 66%, while the productivity index is low in others, which makes the challenges clear, and a deep analysis is needed to find an optimal system. The Pipesim program is used to design the optimal gas lift system, which contains features that facilitate the implementation of the appropriate design and provide the ability to analyze and determine the optimal design v
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The research stems from the problem that focuses on a number of questions. They are as follows: What is the extent of interest in the topic of efficiency by the banks and their role in raising the efficiency of the banking business and its development? Is the banking efficiency used in Iraqi banks clear and specific for the Iraqi banking sector? How the banking sector efficiency is measured and what are the approaches adopted in determining the banking inputs and outputs? What is the level of efficiency in the research sample of the banks and what are the causes of its decline or rise in private banks individually and in the Iraqi banking sector in general?
The re
... Show MoreThis paper provides the result of an investigation to use of crushed clay brick as
aggregates in producing concrete. Eight different crushed clay brick aggregate concretes were
used in this investigation. Compressive strength, splitting tensile strength and pulse velocity of
crushed clay brick aggregates concrete were determined and compare to natural aggregate
concrete. The compressive strength of crushed clay brick aggregates concretes were always
lower than the compressive strength of natural aggregates concrete regardless the age of
concrete, but the crushed clay brick aggregates concrete showed better performance as the age of
concrete increases and average reduction in compressive strength were 33.5% at the age
Prediction of the structural response of reinforced concrete to the time-dependent, creep and shrinkage, volume changes is complex. Creep is usually determined by measuring the change, with time, in the strain of specimens subjected to a constant stress and stored under appropriate conditions. This paper brings into view the development of creep strain for four self-compacting concrete mixes: A40, AL40, B60 and BL60 (where 40 and 60 represent the compressive strength level at 28 days and L indicates to Portlandlimestone cement). Specimens were put under sustained load and exposed to controlled conditions in a creep chamber (ASTM C512). The test results showed that normal strength Portland-limestone mixes have yielded lower ultimate c
... Show MoreIn this paper, the time-history responses of a square plan two-story reinforced concrete prototype building, considering the elastic and inelastic behavior of the materials, were studied numerically. ABAQUS software was used in three-dimensional (3D) nonlinear dynamic analysis to predict the inelastic response of the buildings. Concrete Damage Plasticity Model (CDPM) has been used to model the inelastic behavior of the reinforced concrete building under seismic excitation. The input data included geometric information, material properties, and the ground motion. The building structure was designed only for gravity load according to ACI 318 with
... Show MoreWater absorbent polymers (WAP) are new component in producing building materials. They provide internal curing which reduces autogenous cracking, eliminates autogenous shrinkage, mortar strength increased, enhance early age strength to withstand strain, improve the durability, introduce higher early age compressive strength, have higher performance and reduce the effect of insufficient external curing. This research used different percent of polymer balls to choose the percent that provides good development in compressive strength with time for both water and air curing. The water absorption polymer balls in this research have the ability to absorb water and after usage in concrete they spill out the water (internal curing) and shri
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