In this research, experimental and numerical studies were carried out to investigate the performance of encased glass-fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) beams under fire. The test specimens were divided into two peer groups to be tested under the effect of ambient and elevated temperatures. The first group was statically tested to investigate the monotonic behavior of the specimens. The second group was exposed to fire loading first and then statically tested to explore the residual behavior of the burned specimens. Adding shear connectors and web stiffeners to the GFRP beam was the main parameter in this investigation. Moreover, service loads were applied to the tested beams during the fire. Utilizing shear connectors, web stiffeners, and both enhanced the load-carrying capacities of the encased beams by 100.6%, 97.3%, and 130.8%, respectively. Comparisons between the burned and unburned peer beams were presented with losses in the load-carrying capacity of the burned beams. These losses were the highest in the cases of shear connectors and web stiffeners due to the obtained severe damage, which led to more reductions in the residual behavior of the burned beams. Numerical analyses were performed using the general-purpose finite element (FE) ABAQUS package to conduct a parametric study. The investigated parameters included the effect of the exposure duration and the temperature level. The results of the FE analysis showed good agreement with the experimental results. Additional reductions in the residual capacities of the fire-damaged beams were observed due to exposure to longer fire durations. The improvements in the beam capacities due to using shear connectors and web stiffeners relative to the reference beams under the same exposure time decreased as the exposure duration increased. Furthermore, increasing the temperature to 700 °C, 800 °C, 900 °C, and 950 °C caused reductions in the residual capacities by about 25%, 45%, 70%, and 80%, respectively, for the encased beams in comparison to their peers at ambient temperature.
The dynamical behavior of a two-dimensional continuous time dynamical system describing by a prey predator model is investigated. By means of constructing suitable Lyapunov functional, sufficient condition is derived for the global asymptotic stability of the positive equilibrium of the system. The Hopf bifurcation analysis is carried out. The numerical simulations are used to study the effect of periodic forcing in two different parameters. The results of simulations show that the model under the effects of periodic forcing in two different parameters, with or without phase difference, could exhibit chaotic dynamics for realistic and biologically feasible parametric values.
Previous experimental studies have suggested that hot mixed asphalt (HMA) concrete using hydrated lime (HL) to partially replace the conventional limestone dust filler at 2.5% by the total weight of all aggregates showed an optimum improvement on several key mechanical properties, fatigue life span and moisture susceptibility. However, so far, the knowledge of the thermal response of the modified asphalt concrete and thermal influence on the durability of the pavement constructed are still relatively limited but important to inform pavement design. This paper, at first, reports an experimental study of the tensile fatigue life of HMA concrete mixes designed for wearing layer application. Tests were conducted under three different temperatur
... Show MoreThe study was conducted at the fields of the Dept. of Horticulture and Garden Engineering, College of the Agricultural Engineering Sciences, Jadriyah in the fall season of 2020-2021 aiming to culture the coral lettuce with green and red leaves under the hydroponics system using the modified nutrient solution film NFT and study the effect of aqueous extracts of alfalfa and berseem sprouted seeds on the quantitative and qualitative yield of the lettuce crop. The research was conducted as an experiment of split plots within the Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) of three replicates. The seedlings of the green coral lettuce, Locarno RZ, and red coral lettuce, Locarno RZ, symbolized by A and B respectively, were transferred to the c
... Show MoreThe current research examines the employment of indicators of stereotypes and the dimensions of organizational clarification to achieve planned organizational behaviour on a sample of employees in a number of departments of the Faculties of Engineering, University of Kufa, for a sample of (122) teaching staff. This research proposes the use of positive indicators of stereotypes for both the organization and employees and their awareness of what they want to obtain and what should be done for both parties and the removal of organizational clarity represented by the functional dimension that explores to what degree the employee's understanding of the internal strategy of the organization and the strategic dimension that searches fo
... Show MoreThe phenomenon of negative behavior has studied as a social and psychological phenomenon that effect on the performance and life of workers inside and outside the organization. The adoption of this phenomenon is studied in terms of the role of the internal environment of the organization in addressing this behavior, being the variables belong to the field of organizational behavior to see the results of those variables on the Iraqi organizations, since the specificities of it differ from the rest of the Arab and foreign environments. Therefore, this study focused on testing the relationship of the internal environment of the organization and its role in addressing the negative behavior of the workers.
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... Show MoreThe gas-lift method is crucial for maintaining oil production, particularly from an established field when the natural energy of the reservoirs is depleted. To maximize oil production, a major field's gas injection rate must be distributed as efficiently as possible across its gas-lift network system. Common gas-lift optimization techniques may lose their effectiveness and become unable to replicate the gas-lift optimum in a large network system due to problems with multi-objective, multi-constrained & restricted gas injection rate distribution. The main objective of the research is to determine the possibility of using the genetic algorithm (GA) technique to achieve the optimum distribution for the continuous gas-lift injectio
... Show MoreThree-dimensional cavity was investigated numerical in the current study filled with porous medium from a saturated fluid. The problem configuration consists of two insulated bottom and right wall and left vertical wall maintained at constant temperatures at variable locations, using two discretized heaters. The porous cavity fluid motion was represented by the momentum equation generalized model. The present investigation thermophysical parameters included the local thermal equilibrium condition. The isotherms and streamlines was used to examine energy transport and momentum. The meaning of changing parameters on the established average Nusselt number, temperature and velocity distribution are highlighted and discussed.
Two dimensional meso-scale concrete modeling was used in finite element analysis of plain concrete beam subjected to bending. The plane stress 4-noded quadrilateral elements were utilized to model coarse aggregate, cement mortar. The effect of aggregate fraction distribution, and pores percent of the total area – resulting from air voids entrapped in concrete during placement on the behavior of plain concrete beam in flexural was detected. Aggregate size fractions were randomly distributed across the profile area of the beam. Extended Finite Element Method (XFEM) was employed to treat the discontinuities problems result from double phases of concrete and cracking that faced during the finite element analysis of concrete beam. Crac
... Show MoreA new, easy‐to‐manufacture, and low‐cost integrated cubical solar collector tank for domestic usage is concerned in this work. Three models are prepared, side by side, and tested to point out their seasonal performance. Tank Model I has three vertical sides, black painted and glazed to act as an absorber; the other sides are insulated. Tank Model II has two black painted and glazed sides, with four insulated surfaces. The models are south‐oriented at different positions and tested versus the conventional tank (Model III) to validate and assess their performance in summer and winter. In summer, the temperatures in Models I and II are lower than those for Model III since they have insulated sid