The construction of embankment for roadway interchange system at urban area is restricted due to the large geometry requirements, since the value of land required for such construction is high, and the area available is limited as compared to rural area. One of the optimum solutions to such problem is the earth reinforcement technique which requires a limited area for embankment construction. Gypseous soil from Al-Anbar governorate area was obtained and subjected to various physical and chemical analysis to determine it is properties. A laboratory model box of 50x50x25 cm was used as a representative embankment; soil has been compacted in five layers at maximum dry density (modified compaction) and an aluminum reinforcement strips were introduced between layers. The model was subjected to cyclic loading and the vertical and lateral deformations were detected at different stages of loading cycles using LVDT. The reinforced soil embankment under soaking condition exhibited vertical settlement at the top surface was (12.55 mm) while the lateral displacements at (1st, 3rd layer) were (2.18, 1.32) mm respectively at (47 load cycles).For reinforced gypseous soil, embankment without soaking cured for 24 hours, the Number of load cycles was found to be (165) loading cycles with vertical displacement (9.12 mm), that means an improvement of 59%. Accordingly, the lateral displacement in 1st and 3rd layers were (3.28, 2.59) mm respectively which observes improvement by (28% and 5%) respectively. The rates of improvement are taken with respect to the reinforced pure dry soil sample.
Building natural period, T, is a key character in building response for wind and seismic induced forces. In design practice, the period, T, is either estimated from empirical relations proposed by the design codes or determined from analytical or numerical models. The effect of the soil-structure interaction is usually neglected in the design practice and analysis models. This paper uses a sophisticated finite element simulation to investigate the effect of soil-structure modeling on the fundamental period of RC buildings subjected to wind and seismic induced forces. A typical interior building frame has been imitated using the frame element for beams and columns with constrains to mo
This study presents a comprehensive set of laboratory works for the examined soil layers extracted from Baghdad city (specifically from Alkadhimya, Alaitaifiya, and Alhurriya) to illustrate their engineering properties. The researchers have adopted the unified soil classification system for soil classification purposes. Also, the direct shear test was performed for soil samples with various degrees of saturation (0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%). The test results have shown a significant reduction in cohesion property with higher moisture content within soil samples. Also, a noticeable reduction in angle of internal friction value has occurred with such changes. Furthermore, it has been found that the bearing capacity of unsaturated soi
... Show MoreThe current study involves placing 135 boreholes drilled to a depth of 10 m below the existing ground level. Three standard penetration tests (SPT) are performed at depths of 1.5, 6, and 9.5 m for each borehole. To produce thematic maps with coordinates and depths for the bearing capacity variation of the soil, a numerical analysis was conducted using MATLAB software. Despite several-order interpolation polynomials being used to estimate the bearing capacity of soil, the first-order polynomial was the best among the other trials due to its simplicity and fast calculations. Additionally, the root mean squared error (RMSE) was almost the same for the all of the tried models. The results of the study can be summarized by the production
... Show MoreInfluence of metal nanoparticles synthesized by microorganisms upon soil-borne microscopic fungus Aspergillus terreus K-8 was studied. It was established that the metal nanoparticles synthesized by microorganisms affect the enzymatic activity of the studied culture. Silver nanoparticles lead to a decrease in cellulase activity and completely suppress the amylase activity of the fungus, while copper nanoparticles completely inhibit the activity of both the cellulase complex and amylase. The obtained results imply that the large-scale use of silver and copper nanoparticles may disrupt biological processes in the soil and cause change in the physiological and biochemical state of soil-borne microorganisms as well.
The ratio of draft tube to reactor diameters is of decisive importance for the operation behavior of air lift loop reactors. The influence of draft tube geometry was investigated with respect to oxygen mass transfer and mixing time. The diameter ratio was varied between 0.33 and 0.80. The measurements were performed in two loop reactors with liquid capacities of 11.775 and 26.49 liters using aqueous with solutions of different coalescence behavior. The results show that there is no single diameter ratio which would produce most favorable conditions for the two process parameters. With respect to the more important requirements of aerobic cultures, i.e high oxygen mass transfer and efficient mixing, a diameter ratio between 0.5 and 0.6 is
... Show MoreThe effect of considering the third dimension in mass concrete members on its cracking behavior is investigated in this study. The investigation includes thermal and structural analyses of mass concrete structures. From thermal analysis, the actual temperature distribution throughout the mass concrete body was obtained due to the generation of heat as a result of cement hydration in
addition to the ambient circumstances. This was performed via solving the differential equations of heat conduction and convection using the finite element method. The finite element method was also implemented in the structural analysis adopting the concept of initial strain problem. Drying shrinkage volume changes were calculated using the procedure sug
The effect of considering the third dimension in mass concrete members on its cracking behavior is investigated in this study. The investigation includes thermal and structural analyses of mass concrete structures. From thermal analysis, the actual temperature distribution throughout the mass concrete body was obtained due to the generation of heat as a result of cement hydration in addition to the ambient circumstances. This was performed via solving the differential equations of heat conduction and convection using the finite element method. The finite element method was also implemented in the structural analysis adopting the concept of initial strain problem. Drying shrinkage volume changes were calculated using the procedure suggested
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