A novel demountable shear connector for precast steel-concrete composite bridges is presented. The connector uses high-strength steel bolts, which are fastened to the top flange of the steel beam with the aid of a special locking nut configuration that prevents bolts from slipping within their holes. Moreover, the connector promotes accelerated construction and overcomes the typical construction tolerance issues of precast structures. Most importantly, the connector allows bridge disassembly. Therefore, it can address different bridge deterioration scenarios with minimum disturbance to traffic flow including the following: (1) precast deck panels can be rapidly uplifted and replaced; (2) connectors can be rapidly removed and replaced; and (3) steel beams can be replaced, whereas precast decks and shear connectors can be reused. A series of push-out tests are conducted to assess the behavior of the connector and quantify the effect of important parameters. The experimental results show shear resistance, stiffness, and slip capacity significantly higher than those of welded shear studs along with superior stiffness and strength against slab uplift. Identical tests reveal negligible scatter in the shear load-slip displacement behavior. A design equation is proposed to predict the shear resistance with absolute error less than 8%.
Fatigue cracking is the most common distress in road pavement. It is mainly due to the increase in the number of load repetition of vehicles, particularly those with high axle loads, and to the environmental conditions. In this study, four-point bending beam fatigue testing has been used for control and modified mixture under various micro strain levels of (250 μƐ, 400 μƐ, and 750 μƐ) and 5HZ. The main objective of the study is to provide a comparative evaluation of pavement resistance to the phenomenon of fatigue cracking between modified asphalt concrete and conventional asphalt concrete mixes (under the influence of three percentage of Silica fumes 1%, 2%, 3% by the weight of asphalt content), and (chan
... Show MoreCorrosion inhibiting admixtures are unique among other methods to protect reinforced concrete from corrosion damage. In this study, the effect of furfural on the fresh and hardened properties of concrete mixes of 35 and 45 MPa compressive strengths as well as the corrosion inhibition of furfural was evaluated. Furfural was added at different dosages (1, 2 and 3% by weight of cement) with and without superplasticizer (HRWR). Different electrochemical measurements were performed (Half-cell potential, Tafel plot and linear polarization resistance). Electrochemical measurements confirmed that furfural dramatically reduces the rate of corrosion; the inhibition efficiencies were 62.7 and 63.8 % due to 3% furfural addition to 35 and 45MPa-concr
... Show MoreThis study focuses on the behavior of simply supported perforated prestressed concrete rafters (PPCRs) under single midspan monotonic static loading. The experimental program consisted of testing seven specimens; one solid (control) rafter, and six perforated with quadrilateral openings. The main investigated variables are the number and height of the openings. The test findings indicate that, in comparison to the solid rafter, the presence of quadrilateral openings in the PPCRs led to reducing the load capacity by (4.3-36%) and increase the midspan deflection at ultimate by (14.8-33%). Also, increasing the number of concrete posts between openings resulted in increasing the failure load and decreasing the deflection at all stages o
... Show MoreThe Iraqi houses flattening the roof by a concrete panel, and because of the panels on the top directly exposed to the solar radiation become unbearably hot and cold during the summer and winter. The traditional concrete panel components are cement, sand, and aggregate, which have a poor thermal property. The usage of materials with low thermal conductivity with no negative reflects on its mechanical properties gives good improvements to the thermal properties of the concrete panel. The practical part of this work was built on a multi-stage mixing plan. In the first stage the mixing ratio based on the ratios of the sand to cement. The second stage mixing ratios based on replacing the coarse aggregate quantities with the
... Show MoreImplementation of Warm Mix Asphalt concrete (WMA) is getting global acceptance due to the restrictions for protecting the environment and the requirements to reduce fuel consumption. In this investigation, two WMA mixtures have been prepared in the laboratory using medium curing cutback (MC-30) and Cationic emulsion asphalt. Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) was also prepared for comparison. The cylinder specimens (63.5mm) in height and (101.6mm) in diameter were constructed from the mixtures and subjected to indirect tensile strength test to determine the Tensile Strength Ratio (TSR). The cylinder specimens of (101.6mm) in height and (101.6mm) in diameter were also constructed from those mixtures and subjected to static compressive
... Show MoreIn this study, two types of mixes were adopted by using two grading of coarse aggregate. The practical side of this study was to produce no-fine aggregate concrete by using crushed clay brick aggregates. The durability of the produced concrete and internal sulfate attack was studied. For durability assessment, it is found that the no-fine concrete made with crushed brick aggregate lost about (15-25) % of its compressive strength after being subjected to 60 cycles of wetting and drying with age 120 days. The curing condition showed that the water curing improved the compressive strength with a rate higher than that when sealed or air dry curing were used. The crushed brick no-fine concrete de
... Show MoreThe efforts embedded in this paper have been devoted to designing, preparing, and testing warm mix asphalt (WMA) mixtures and comparing their behavior against traditional hot mix asphalt mixtures. For WMA preparation, the Sasobit wax additive has been added to a 40/50 asphalt binder with a concentration of 3%. An experimental evaluation has been performed by conducting the Marshall together with volumetric properties, indirect tensile strength, and wheel tracking tests to acquire the tensile strength ratio (TSR), retained stability index (RSI), and rut depth. It was found that the gained benefit of reduction in mixing and compaction temperatures was reversely associated with a noticeable decline in Marshall properties and moisture s
... Show MorePathological blood clot in blood vessels, which often leads to cardiovascular diseases, are one of the most common causes of death in humans. Therefore, enzymatic therapy to degrade blood clots is vital. To achieve this goal, bromelain was immobilized and used for the biodegradation of blood clots. Bromelain was extracted from the pineapple fruit pulp (Ananas comosus) and purified by ion exchange chromatography after precipitation with ammonium sulphate (0-80 %), resulting in a yield of 70%, purification fold of 1.42, and a specific activity of 1175 U/mg. Bromelain was covalently immobilized on functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT), with an enzyme loading of 71.35%. The results of the characterization of free and immobilized
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