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%.
Due to its safety, low cost, real-time nature, and widespread availability, ultrasound has been employed as a diagnostic technique for numerous intraocular disorders. Unfortunately, speckle artifact that depends on the tissue is seen in ultrasound imaging. In this study, we present a technique for lowering speckle noise and enhancing ultrasound images to enhance human diagnostic performance. This technique combines the undecimated wavelet transform (UDWT) with a wavelet coefficient mapping function, which was utilized to improve the contrast of the denoised images acquired from the first component after the noise was removed using the UDWT. This technique can be used to enhance the visual quality of medical photographs as well as to enha
... Show MoreObjectives: The study aims to assess the nurses knowledge toward prevention of complications related to valvular replacement surgery and to find out the relationship between nurses knowledge and their demographic and occupational characteristic's Which as (Age, gender, level of education ,years of experience in Surgical Department , and training sessions)
Methodology: A descriptive design (a cross-sectional study ) was carried out from December 2017 to May 2018 in order to assess nurses' knowledge of preventing complications Valvular Replacement Surgery at Surgical Department in Nasiriyah Heart Center on a purposive (non-probability) sample
... Show MoreBinary mixtures of three heavy oil-stocks had been subjected to density measurments. The data had been aquired on the volumetric behaviour of these systems. The heavy oil-stocks used were of good varity, namely 40 stock , 60 stock, and 150 stock, 40 stock is the lightest one with the API gravity 33.7 while 60 stock is middle type and 150 stock is heavy one, with API gravity 27.7 and 23.8 respectively. Stocks with Kerosene or Xylene for non-ideal mixtures for which excess volume can be positive or negative. Mixture of heavy-oil stocks with paraffinic spike (Kerosene) show negative excess volume. While, aromatic rings results a lower positive excess volume, as shown in Xylene when blending with 40 stock and 60 stock but a negati
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This study investigated the optimization of wear behavior of AISI 4340 steel based on the Taguchi method under various testing conditions. In this paper, a neural network and the Taguchi design method have been implemented for minimizing the wear rate in 4340 steel. A back-propagation neural network (BPNN) was developed to predict the wear rate. In the development of a predictive model, wear parameters like sliding speed, applying load and sliding distance were considered as the input model variables of the AISI 4340 steel. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to determine the significant parameter affecting the wear rate. Finally, the Taguchi approach was applied to determine
... Show MoreLaser beam has been widely used to improve the mechanical properties of the metals. It used for cutting, drilling, hardening, welding……etc. The use of Laser beam has many features in accuracy and speeding in work, also in the treatment of metals locally, and in the places that is hard to reach by traditional ways. In this research a surface treatment was done to medium carbon steel (0.4%C) which is common kind of steel that is used in industry. Pulsing Neodymium -YAG Laser has been used and 1.06 micrometer wave length and 5 msec and the distance is about 30 centimeter between the exit area of the Laser beam from the system and the piece that treated . We are going to check the fatigue resistance for samples that is
... Show MoreIn this paper, the behavior of spliced steel girders under static loading is investigated. A group of seven steel I-girders were tested experimentally. Two concentrated loads were applied to each specimen at third points and the load was increased incrementally up to the yield of the specimen. Two types of splices were considered; the bearing type and the friction-grip type splices. For comparison, an analytical study was made for the tested girders in which the finite element analysis program (Abaqus) was used for analysis. It was found that the maximum test load for spliced girders with bearing type splices was in the range of (34%) to (67%) of the maximum test load for the reference girder. For girders spliced by using friction-grip t
... Show MoreFor the time being, the cold-formed sections are widely used due to their simple manufacturing and construction processes. To be feasible, the strength of cold-formed columns should be determined based on their post-buckling behavior. Post-buckling relations are cumbersome and need design aids similar to those of American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) to be applicable. These design aids have been developed to sections and materials other than those available in the local market. Therefore, this paper tries to develop a general finite element model to simulate the postbuckling behavior of cold-formed steel columns. Shell element has been used to discretize the web, flanges, and lips of the column. A linear bucking analy
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