The conception and experimental assessment of a removable friction-based shear connector (FBSC) for precast steel-concrete composite bridges is presented. The FBSC uses pre-tensioned high-strength steel bolts that pass through countersunk holes drilled on the top flange of the steel beam. Pre-tensioning of the bolts provides the FBSC with significant frictional resistance that essentially prevents relative slip displacement of the concrete slab with respect to the steel beam under service loading. The countersunk holes are grouted to prevent sudden slip of the FBSC when friction resistance is exceeded. Moreover, the FBSC promotes accelerated bridge construction by fully exploiting prefabrication, does not raise issues relevant to precast construction tolerances, and allows rapid bridge disassembly to drastically reduce the time needed to replace any deteriorating structural component (e.g., the bridge deck). A series of 11 push-out tests highlight why the novel structural details of the FBSC result in superior shear load-slip displacement behavior compared to welded shear studs. The paper also quantifies the effects of bolt diameter and bolt preload and presents a design equation to predict the shear resistance of the FBSC.
In this paper, a self-tuning adaptive neural controller strategy for unknown nonlinear system is presented. The system considered is described by an unknown NARMA-L2 model and a feedforward neural network is used to learn the model with two stages. The first stage is learned off-line with two configuration serial-parallel model & parallel model to ensure that model output is equal to actual output of the system & to find the jacobain of the system. Which appears to be of critical importance parameter as it is used for the feedback controller and the second stage is learned on-line to modify the weights of the model in order to control the variable parameters that will occur to the system. A back propagation neural network is appl
... Show MoreComputer systems and networks are increasingly used for many types of applications; as a result the security threats to computers and networks have also increased significantly. Traditionally, password user authentication is widely used to authenticate legitimate user, but this method has many loopholes such as password sharing, brute force attack, dictionary attack and more. The aim of this paper is to improve the password authentication method using Probabilistic Neural Networks (PNNs) with three types of distance include Euclidean Distance, Manhattan Distance and Euclidean Squared Distance and four features of keystroke dynamics including Dwell Time (DT), Flight Time (FT), mixture of (DT) and (FT), and finally Up-Up Time (UUT). The resul
... Show MoreIn this paper, first and second order sliding mode controllers are designed for a single link robotic arm actuated by two Pneumatic Artificial Muscles (PAMs). A new mathematical model for the arm has been developed based on the model of large scale pneumatic muscle actuator model. Uncertainty in parameters has been presented and tested for the two controllers. The simulation results of the second-order sliding mode controller proves to have a low tracking error and chattering effect as compared to the first order one. The verification has been done by using MATLAB and Simulink software.
Background: This study is to evaluate the necessity of prescribing prophylactic antibiotics for nasal packing in spontaneous epistaxis. There are few published papers of infective complications in such patients.
Methods: This prospective study analysed 149 consecutive patients admitted to AL-Kindy teaching hospital with spontaneous, epistaxis, who underwent nasal packing over 2 years period . in the first year, 78 patients received prophylactic antibiotics , In the second year 71 patients were not given prophylatic antibiotics. Exclusion criteria included antibiotics prescribed for unrelated pathology and post-operative epistaxis. Signs and symptoms of acute otitis m
... Show MoreIncreasing the variety of products that are being designed with sculptured surfaces, efficient machining of these surfaces has become more important in many manufacturing industries. The objective of the present work is the investigation of milling parameters for the sculptured surfacesthat effecting of surface roughness during machining of Al-alloy. The machining operation implemented on C-TEK CNC milling machine. The influence of the selected variables on the chosen characteristics have been accomplished using Taguchi design approach, also ANOVA had been utilized to evaluate the contributionsof each parameter on proc
... Show MoreObjectives: To identify quality of life (QOL) in Myocardial Infarction (MI) patients, and to find out the
relationship between QOL in MI patients and demographic characteristics.
Methodology: A descriptive colTelation study which utilized an assessment approach. The study was carried out
from March 2007 through November 2007 in order to assess the quality of life for patients with myocardial
infarction. A purposive "non-probability" sample of (75) patients with myocardial infarction who were attending
to Baquba General Hospita`l through their visits to that hospital. A questionnaire was adapted and developed
from the World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale (1998). The questionnaire was designed and
consisted
The road network serves as a hub for opportunities in production and consumption, resource extraction, and social cohabitation. In turn, this promotes a higher standard of living and the expansion of cities. This research explores the road network's spatial connectedness and its effects on travel and urban form in the Al-Kadhimiya and Al-Adhamiya municipalities. Satellite images and paper maps have been employed to extract information on the existing road network, including their kinds, conditions, density, and lengths. The spatial structure of the road network was then generated using the ArcGIS software environment. The road pattern connectivity was evaluated using graph theory indices. The study demands the abstractio
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