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 slip of bolts within their holes. Moreover, the connector promotes accelerated construction and overcomes typical construction tolerances issues of precast structures. Most importantly, the connector allows bridge disassembly, and therefore, can address different bridge deterioration scenarios with minimum disturbance to traffic flow, i.e. (i) precast deck panels can be rapidly uplifted and replaced; (ii) connectors can be rapidly removed and replaced; and (iii) steel beams can be replaced, while 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%.
Matrix acidizing is a good stimulation process in which acid is introduced into the reservoir near the wellbore area via the wellbore or coil tubing. In the oil industry, formation damage is a prevalent problem. Bypassing wellbore damage by producing wormholes in carbonate reservoirs is the main purpose of acidizing the matrix of the formation. When doing lab tests, scientists are looking for a wormhole-inducing injection rate that can be used in the field. Meantime the ongoing works on the Ahdeb oil field's Mishrif reservoir, several reports have documented the difficulties encountered during stimulation operations, including high injection pressures that make it difficult to inject acid into the reservoir formation; and only a few
... Show MoreThis study was aimed to develop an optimized Dy determination method using differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). The Plackett-Burman (PB) experimental design was used to select significant factors that affect the electrical current response, which were further optimized using the response surface method-central composite design (RSM-CCD). The type of electrolyte solution and amplitude modulation were found as two most significant factors, among the nine factors tested, which enhance the current response based on PB design. Further optimization using RSM-CCD shows that the optimum values for the tw
... Show MoreBackground: This study aims to investigate the effect of fixed orthodontic appliances and/or antihypertensive drugs on the weight of experimental rats. Materials and Methods: Thir-ty-six male Wistar albino rats were subjected to a split-mouth design study, in which an orthodontic appliance was inserted in one side to move the first molar mesially for 2 weeks while the other side acted as a control to tooth movement. The rats were allocated into three groups: group A (n = 12), without any pharmacological treatment; group B (n = 12), subcu-taneous injection of bisoprolol fumarate (5 mg/kg) daily; and group C (n = 12), subcutaneous injection of valsartan (10 mg/kg) daily. A fixed orthodontic appliance with a closing coil spring delivering 5
... Show MoreThe present experimental work is conducted to examine the influence of adding Alumina (Al2O3) nanoparticles and Titanium oxide (TiO2) nanoparticles each alone to diesel fuel on the characteristic of the emissions. The size of both Alumina and Titanium oxide nanoparticles which have been added to diesel fuel to obtain nano-fuel is about 20 nm and 25 nm respectively. Three doses of (Al2O3) and (TiO2) were prepared (25, 50, and 100) ppm. The nanoparticles mixed with gas oil fuel by mechanical homogenous (manual electrical mixer) and ultrasonic processor. The study reveals that the adding of Aluminum oxide (Al2O3) and Titanium oxide (TiO2) to g
... Show MoreBased on nonlinear self- diffraction technique, the nonlinear optical properties of thin slice of matter can be obtained. Here, nonlinear characterization of nano-fluids consist of hybrid Single Wall Carbon Nanotubes and Silver Nanoparticles (SWCNTs/Ag-NPs) dispersed in acetone at volume fraction of 6x10-6, 9x10-6, 18x10-6 have been investigated experimentally. Therefore, CW DPSS laser at 473 nm focused into a quartz cuvette contains the previous nano-fluid was utilized. The number of diffraction ring patterns (N) has been counted using Charge - Coupled- Device (CCD) camera and Pc with a certain software, in order to find the maximum change of refractive index ( of fluids. Our result show that the fraction volume of 18x10-6 is more nonli
... Show MoreAl-Rustamiyah plant is the oldest and biggest sewage treatment plant in Iraq; it locates in the south of Baghdad city. The plant suffers from serious problems associated with overflow and low capacity. The present work aims to upgrade the heart of biological treatment process through suggesting the use of membrane bioreactor; (MBR). In this work, fouling of membrane during sewage treatment has been analyzed experimentally and theoretically by fouling mechanisms. Aeration has been applied in order to control fouling through producing effective diameters of air bubbles close to the membrane walls. Effect of air flow rate on flux decline was investigated. Hermia's models were used to investigate the fouling mechanisms. The results showed th
... Show MoreIn this study the effect of fiber volume fraction of the glass fiber on the thermal conductivity of the polymer composite material was studied. Different fiber volume fraction of glass fibers were used (3%, 6%, 9%, 12%, and 15%). Specimens were made from polyester which reinforced with glass fibers .The fibers had two arrangements according to the direction of the thermal flow. In the first arrangement the fibers were parallel to the direction of the thermal flow, while the second arrangement was perpendicular; Lee's disk method was used for testing the specimens. The experimental results proved that the values of the thermal conductivity of the specimens was higher when the fibers arranged in parallel direction than that when the fibers
... Show MoreDrug nanocrystals are nanoscopic crystals of the parent compound with dimensions less than 1 µm. A decrease in particle size will lead to an increase in effective surface area in the diffusion layer, which, in turn, increases the drug dissolution rate. Drug nanocrystals are one of the most important strategies to enhance the oral bioavailability of hydrophobic drugs.
Cefixime is the first member of what is generally termed the third generation orally active cephalosporins. These third generation cephalosporins are distinct from the older β-lactam antibiotics in their intensive antibacterial activity against a wide range of gram-negative bacteria.
The aim of this study is to prepare nanocrystals of cefixime as a caps
... Show MoreThe aim of this study is to formulate and evaluate ezetimibe nanoparticles using solvent antisolvent technology. Ezetimibe is a practically water-insoluble drug which acts as a lipid lowering drug that selectively inhibits the intestinal absorption of cholesterol and related phytosterols. Ezetimibe prepared as nano particles in order to improve its solubility and dissolution rate.
Thirty formulas were prepared and different stabilizing agents were used with different concentrations such as poly vinyl pyrrolidone (PVPK-30), poly vinyl alcohol (PVA), hydroxy propyl methyl cellulose E5 (HPMC), and poloxamer. The ratios of drug to stabilizers used to prepare the nanoparticles were 1: 2, 1:3 and 1:4.
The prepared nanoparticles
... Show MoreThe present study is to formulate and evaluate Acyclovir (ACV) microspheres using natural polymers like chitosan and sodium alginate. ACV is a DNA polymerase inhibitor used in treating herpes simplex virus infection and zoster varicella infections. Acyclovir is a suitable candidate for sustained-release (SR) administration as a result of its dosage regimen twice or thrice a day and relatively short plasma half-life (approximately 2 to 4 hours). Microspheres of ACV were prepared by an ionic dilution method using chitosan and sodium alginate as polymers. The prepared ACV microspheres were then subjected to FTIR, SEM, particle size, % yield, entrapment efficiency, in vitro dissolution studies and release kinetics mechanism. The FTI
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