Geotechnical engineers have always been concerned with the stabilization of slopes. For this purpose,
various methods such as retaining walls, piles, and geosynthetics may be used to increase the safety factor of slopes prone to failure. The application of stone columns may also be another potential alternative for slope stabilization. Such columns have normally been used for cohesive soil improvement. Most slope analysis and design is based on deterministic approach i.e a set of single valued design parameter are adopted and a set of single valued factor of safety (FOS) is determined. Usually the FOS is selected in view of the understanding and knowledge of the material parameters, the problem geometry, the method of analysis and the consequences of failure. This results in different FOS obtained by different designers. This inherent variability characteristic dictates that slope stability problem is a probabilistic problem rather than deterministic problem. Furthermore, the FOS approach cannot quantify the probability of failure or level of risk associated with a particular design situation. The objective of this study is to integrate probabilistic approach as a rational means to incorporate uncertainty in the slope stability analysis. The study was made through a hypothetical problem which includes a sensitivity analysis. The methodology is based on Monte Carlo simulation integrated in commercially available computer program SLOPE/W. The output of the analysis is presented as the probability of failure as a measure of the likelihood of the slope failure. Results of this study have verified that the probability of failure is a better measure of slope stability as compared to the factor of safety because it provides a range of value rather than a single value.
In this study, six square reinforced concrete flat plates with dimensions of (1500×1500×100) mm were tested under a concentrated load applied on a column located at the center of the slabs. One of these slabs was the control specimen, whereas, in the others, steel angles (steel collars) were used, fixed at the connection region between the slab and the column to investigate the effect of the presence of these collars on punching shear strength. Five thicknesses were used (4, 5, 6, 8, 10mm) with constant legs of angles (75×75) mm of the steel collars to investigate the effects on the punching shear resistance with respect to the control slab. The results of the experimental study show that the punching shear resistance increased b
... Show MorePulkhana anticline is located in Tuzhurmatu area, about 50 km SE of Kirkuk city. The study area forms a part of the Zagros Folded Zone which is situated in the unstable shelf of Iraq within the physiographic zone called Foothill Zone (in the middle of Hemrin- Makhul subzone). The north eastern limb of the anticline reaches to 50ᵒ and the dip of the south western limb reaches to 70ᵒ. The core of the structure comprises the rocks of Fat’ha Formation surrounded by rocks of Injana and Mukdadiya Formations, whereas Bai-Hasan Formation forms the slopes of the low hills surrounding the anticline. These Formations range in age from Middle Miocene to Pliocene. More than 761 readings of joint planes were collected from 20
... Show MoreThe study of vegetative change of cities is one of the most important studies related to human life because of its direct correlation with the temporal conditions that occur. These include the economic problems that force people to move and look for job opportunities in the city, which leads to an increase in the population density of cities, especially for cities with an important economic and administrative location as in the capital city of Baghdad. In this study, the effect of the increasing in population density was analyzed on the urban planning of Baghdad city. The decreasing in vegetation was due to the increasing of urban areas on the outskirts of the city, which led to an increase in its area. Moreover, urban cities increased t
... Show MoreAbstract\
The developed financial infrastructure is one of the most important elements for achieving stable financial system in a country. The importance of developed financial infrastructure comes from its role in create economic and financial context attractive for foreign investments. Thus, this paper aims first to measure an index of financial infrastructure, and secondly, to gauge the nexus between the developed financial infrastructure and foreign investments inflow in Malaysia and Indonesia. We estimate the index of financial infrastructure by using different indicators such as (the institutional environment, access to finance, legal environment, and others).
By using the G
... Show MoreThe study aims at diagnosing the importance of environmental analysis (external, industrial and internal) in the organization's strategy for the development of public organizations. The theoretical problem derived from the existence of a knowledge gap for studies and research that dealt with the variables of the study. Three public organizations were selected as the study society (the Civil Defense Directorate, the Directorate of Nationality, Passports and Residency, the General Traffic Directorate). The sample of the study was a sample of (215) managers (managers, department managers, Analysis of the data and hypothesis testing using the appropriate statistical tools, Pearson, the simple and multiple regression coefficient to te
... Show MoreBackground: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic and systemic autoimmune disease that is characterized by severe synovial inflammation, cartilage erosion, bone loss, and generalized vasculopathy. Although the immunologic mechanism of RA is still unclear, it is now thought to be a primarily Th17-driven disease. Along with other factors, IL-23 stimulates the expansion of Th17 cells from naive CD4+ T cells.
Objective: The objective of this study is to assess the circulating levels of interleukin (IL)-23 in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and determine the correlation between plasma/serum IL-23 levels and disease activity. So, we performed a systematic review with meta-analysis comparing
... Show MoreTo create a highly efficient photovoltaic-thermal (PV-T) system and maximise the energy and exergy efficiency, this study aims to propose an innovative configuration of a PV-T system comprising wavy tubes with twisted-tape inserts. Following the validation of a numerical model, a parametric study has been conducted to assess the geometrical effects of twisted tape and wavy tubes, as well as the coolant fluid type and velocity, on the overall performance of a PV-T system, located in Shiraz, Iran. It is found that employing twisted tape improves the energy and exergy efficiency by approx. 6.3%. The best configuration yields 12.4% and 16.8% increase in energy and exergy efficiency compared to conventional PV systems. This is achieved at 15% vo
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