This study expands the state of the art in studies that assess torsional retrofit of reinforced concrete (RC) multi-cell box girders with carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) strips. The torsional behavior of non-damaged and pre-damaged RC multi-cell box girder specimens externally retrofitted by CFRP strips was investigated through a series of laboratory experiments. It was found that retrofitting the pre-damaged specimens with CFRP strips increased the ultimate torsional capacity by more than 50% as compared to the un-damaged specimens subjected to equivalent retrofitting. This indicated that the retrofit has been less effective for the girder specimen that did not develop distortion beforehand as a result of pre-loading. From experimental observations, when the girder specimen was cracked and the transverse steel reinforcement bars started straining, the CFRP strips started to work more effectively and contributed together with the transverse steel reinforcement to resist torsion load. Additionally, Finite Element (FE) simulations were developed using Abaqus to model the torsional behavior of the retrofitted girders, the results of which were validated with the experimental data. With the numerical model, the effect of concrete compressive strength, transverse reinforcement spacing, and CFRP strip spacing were examined. The effectiveness of the CFRP strips in enhancing the torsional strength of the girder was found to increase with increasing the spacing between the transverse reinforcement.
Fabrication of a photodetector consists of the conjugated polymer "MEH-PPV"- poly (2-methoxy-5-(2'-ethylhexyloxy)-1,4-phenlenevinylene) and MEH-PPV:MWCNT nanocomposite thin film. The volume ratio investigated was 0.75:0.25. MEH-PPV was dissolved in chloroform solvent and doped with MWCNTs. The spin coating method was used to achieve a facile and low cost photodetector. The absorption spectrum decreases by adding the CNTs. The PL spectrum detected recombination curve results by doping the polymer with CNTs, and AFM measurement showed an increase of roughness average from (0.168 to 2.43nm) of "MEH-PPV" and "MEH-PPV:CNTs", respectively. The doping ratio 0.25, which has a higher photoresponsivity, was evaluated at 1.70 A/W and 2.14 A/W of th
... Show MoreSolar cells has been assembly with electrolytes including I−/I−3 redox duality employ polyacrylonitrile (PAN), ethylene carbonate (EC), propylene carbonate (PC), with double iodide salts of tetrabutylammonium iodide (TBAI) and Lithium iodide (LiI) and iodine (I2) were thoughtful for enhancing the efficiency of the solar cells. The rendering of the solar cells has been examining by alteration the weight ratio of the salts in the electrolyte. The solar cell with electrolyte comprises (60% wt. TBAI/40% wt. LiI (+I2)) display elevated efficiency of 5.189% under 1000 W/m2 light intensity. While the solar cell with electrolyte comprises (60% wt. LiI/40% wt. TBAI (+I2)) display a lower efficiency of 3.189%. The conductivity raises with the
... Show MorePPSU hollow fiber nanofiltration membranes are prepared by applying two concentrations and various extrusion pressures according to the phase inversion method. Cross-sectional area and outer structures were characterized by using scanning electron microscope (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). In additional to the pore size distribution, either the mean roughness or the mean pore size of the PPSU hollow fiber surfaces was evaluated by AFM. It was found that the morphology of the PPSU fibers had both sponge-like and finger-like structures through different extrusion pressures and PPSU concentrations. The mean pore size and mean roughness for inner and outer surfaces were seen to be decreased with the increase of extrusion pressure at
... Show MorePhotonic Crystal Fiber Interferometers (PCFIs) are greatly used
for sensing applications. This work presents the fabrication and
characterization of a relative humidity sensor based on Mach-
Zehnder Interferometer (MZI), which operates in reflection mode.
The humidity sensor operation based on the adsorption and
desorption of water vapour at the silica-air interface within the PCF.
The fabrication of this sensor is simple, it only includes splicing and
cleaving the PCF with SMF.PCF (LMA-10) with a certain length
spliced to SMF (Corning-28).
The spectrum of PCFI exhibits good sensitivity to humidity
variations. The PCFI response is observed for a range of humidity
values from (27% RH to 85% RH), the positi
In this study, Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles were synthesized by an easy and eco-friendly technique (green synthesis) using green tea leaves (Camillia sinensis), Nanoparticles were analyzed using structural and optical analysis, the X-ray pattern showed that Titanium Dioxide NPs had a tetragonal structure with (Face Centered Tetragonal) FCT crystal structure, the UV-visible recorded an absorbance peak near 350 nm and calculated energy band gap was 3.5 eV, all measurements were proved the purity and Nano size of prepared Nanoparticles. Biochemical parameters evaluation also mentioned in this research, these analyzes showed that Titanium Dioxide nanoparticles in particular dose (50 mg/kg) have the ability to reduce blood glucose
... Show MoreThe effective insulation design of the stress grading (SG) system in form-wound stator coils is essential for preventing partial discharges and excessive heat generation under pulse-width modulation excitation. This paper proposes a method to find the optimal insulation design of the SG system aimed at reducing the dielectric and thermal stresses in the machine coil. The non-uniform transmission line model is used to predict the voltage propagation along the overhang, SG, and slot regions considering the variation in the physical properties of the insulation layers. The machine coil parameters for different insulation materials are calculated by using the finite element method. Two optimization algorithms, fmincon and particle swarm optimiz
... Show MoreIn the current study, new derivatives were synthesized by reaction of N-hydroxyphthalimide with chloro acetyl chloride in the presence of Et3N as a base to form 1,3-dioxoisoindolin-2-yl 2-chloroacetate (B1), which in turn enters several reactions with different amines where it interacts with primary amines to give 1,3-dioxoisoindolin-2-yl acetate derivatives (B2-B4) in basic medium, in the same way it interacts with these amines but with adding KNCS to form thiourea derivatives (B5-B7). It also reacts with diamines to give bis(azanediyl) derivatives (compounds B8-B10). The prepared derivatives were diagnosed using infrared FTIR and 1HNMR,13CNMR for some derivatives. Compounds B4, B5 and B9 were measured as corrosion inhibitors the inhibitio
... Show MoreAbstract: The development of highly sensitive sensors has become an efficient field of research. In this work, an ArF Excimer laser of 193 nm with a maximum pulse energy of 275 mJ, 15 ns pulse duration and a repetition rate of 1 Hz is utilized to form a Laser Induced Periodic Surface Structures (LIPSS) of three different morphologies (nanochains, contours, grooves) on surface of CR39 polymer at a fluence range above the ablation threshold (250 mJ/cm2). The laser ablated polymer surface is then Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) activated by deposition of a gold layer of 30 nm thickness. The capability of the produced substrate for surface enhanced Raman scattering is evaluated through thiophenol as an analyte molecule. It is observ
... Show MoreThis work deals with the preparation of a zeolite/polymer flat sheet membrane with hierarchical porosity and ion-exchange properties. The performance of the prepared membrane was examined by the removal of chromium ions from simulated wastewater. A NaY zeolite (crystal size of 745.8 nm) was prepared by conventional hydrothermal treatment and fabricated with polyethersulfone (15% PES) in dimethylformamide (DMF) to obtain an ion-exchange ultrafiltration membrane. The permeate flux was enhanced by increasing the zeolite content within the membrane texture indicating increasing the hydrophilicity of the prepared membranes and constructing a hierarchically porous system. A membrane contain