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.
One of the most severe problems with flexible asphalt pavements is permanent deformation in the form of rutting. Accordingly, the practice of adding fiber elements to asphalt mix to improve performance under dynamic loading has grown significantly in order to prevent rutting distress and ensure a safe and long-lasting road surface. This paper explores the effects of a combination of ceramic fiber (CF), a low-cost, easily available mineral fiber, and thermal insulator fiber reinforced to enhance the Marshall properties and increase the rutting resistance of asphalt mixes at high temperatures. Asphalt mixtures with 0%, 0.75%, 1.5%, and 2.25% CF content were prepared, and Marshall stability and wheel tracking tests were employed to stu
... Show MoreTest results of nine reinforced concrete one way slab with and without lacing reinforcement are reported. The tests were designed to study the effect of the lacing reinforcement on the flexural response of one way slabs. The test parameters were considered is the lacing steel ratios of (0, 0.0025, 0.0045, and 0.0065), flexural steel ratios of (0.0025, 0.0045, and 0.0065) and span to the effective depth ratios of (11, 13, and 16). Two specimens had no lacing reinforcement and the remaining seven specimens had the lacing reinforcement. Four point bending test were carried out, one of the specimens was tested under the static load applied gradually up to failure and the other specimens were tested under repeated load (5 cyc
... Show MoreCarbon-fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) is widely acknowledged as a leading advanced material structure, offering superior properties compared to traditional materials, and has found diverse applications in several industrial sectors, such as that of automobiles, aircrafts, and power plants. However, the production of CFRP composites is prone to fabrication problems, leading to structural defects arising from cycling and aging processes. Identifying these defects at an early stage is crucial to prevent service issues that could result in catastrophic failures. Hence, routine inspection and maintenance are crucial to prevent system collapse. To achieve this objective, conventional nondestructive testing (NDT) methods are utilized to i
... Show MoreIn this research, the effect of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) on the alumina/chromia (Al2O3/Cr2O3) nanocomposites has been investigated. Al2O3/Cr2O3-MWCNTs nanocomposites with variable contents of Cr2O3 and MWCNTs were fabricated using coprecipitation process and followed by spark plasma sintering. XRD analysis revealed a good crystallinity of sintered nanocomposites samples and there was only one phase presence of Al2O3-Cr2O3 solid solution. Density, Vickers microhardness, fracture toughness and fracture strength have been measured in the sintered samples. The results show tha
... Show MoreIn this study, epoxy was used as a matrix for composite materials, with E-glass fiber, jute and PVC fiber which was woven roving fiber, as reinforcement with volume fraction (Vf= 30%). There are two of prepared types of epoxy non reinforced, epoxy reinforced with E-glass, jute and PVC fibers including study of mechanical tests (Impact test, Bending test) different temperature and thermal conductivity and calculating the temperatures coefficient at different temperature. Results show that elastic modulus at rate values decrease to the increase of temperature and the impact strength, impact energy and thermal conductivity increase with increase temperature.
The interlaminar fracture toughness of polymer blends reinforced by glass fiber has
been investigated. Epoxy (EP), unsaturated polyester(UPE), polystyrene (PS),
polyurethane (PU) and their blends with different ratios (10%PS/90%EP),
(20%PS/80%EP), (20%PU/80%EP) and (20%PU/80%UPE) were chosen as a matrices A
sheet of composites were prepared using hand lay -up method, these sheet were cut as the
double cantilever beam (DCB) specimen to determine interlaminar fracture toughness of
these composites .Its found that, blending of EP,UPE with 20% of PU will improve the
interlaminar fracture toughness ,but the adding of 10% PS, 20%PS to EP will decrease
the interlaminar toughness of these composites.
Experimental research was carried out to investigate the performance of CFRP wrapping jackets used for retrofitting twelve square reinforced concrete (CR) column specimens damaged by exposure to fire flame, at different temperatures of 300, 500 and 700ºC, except for two specimens that were not burned. The specimens were then loaded axially till failure after gradual or sudden cooling. The specimens were divided into two groups containing two main reinforcement ratios, ρ= 0.0314 and ρ= 0.0542. This was followed by the retrofitting procedure that included wrapping all the specimens with two layers of CFRP fabric sheets. The test results of the retrofitted specimens showed that the fire damaged RC
... Show MoreThis experimental study demonstrates the gable-reinforced concrete beams’ behavior with several number of openings (six and eight) and posts’ inclination, aimed to find the strength reduction in this type of beam. The major results found are: for the openings extending over similar beam length it is better to increase the number of posts (openings),
Cholelithiasis is one of the commonest surgical problems and one of the most common gastrointestinal diseases throughout the world but its pathogenesis remains unclear. Many theories have been proposed forward to explain the mechanism of stone formation. It is not fully clear if symptomatic gallstone disease is associated with a specific pattern of some biochemical abnormalities, as lipid profile and fasting blood sugar in serum of patients.
This study was designed to estimate lipid profile and fasting blood sugar in the sera of patients with cholelithiasis in comparison with normal individuals (control).
In this study, 104(male=16, female=88) were symptomatic gallstone patients (aged 42.79± 12.18 years), and 38(male=6
... Show MoreExtreme conditions will cause the water level of high fill canal segment to change suddenly, which will affect the velocity and pore pressure of the slope. A 9 km irrigation earth canal in the city of Alsyahy, 15 km away from Al-Hilla city, and branching off from the left side of Shatt Al-Hilla at 57 km, was studied. The aim of this work is to study and analyze the effect of rationing system on the Birmana earthen canal during rapid drawdown case. Finite element modeling with Geo-Studio software was used in the present study to analyze the combined seepage and slope stability for three cycles. The resulting minimum safety factor obtained from the analysis using the saturated and