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.
An experiment was conducted in pots under field conditions during fall seasons of 2017 and 2018. This study aimed to improve a weak growth of seedlings under salt stress in sorghum. Three factors were studied. 1st factor was three cultivars (Inqath, Rabeh, and Buhoth70). 2nd factor was seed priming (primed and unprimed seed). Seed were primed by soaking for 12 hours in a solution containing 300 + 70 mg L−1 of gibberellic (GA3) and salicylic (SA) acids, respectively. 3rd factor was irrigation with saline water (6, 9 and 12 dS m−1) resulting from dissolving sodium chloride in distilled water in addition to control treatment (distilled water). Randomized complete block design was used with four replications. In both seasons: the re
... Show MoreMorphologies of ceramic hollow fiber membranes prepared by a combined phase-inversion and sintering method were studied. The organic binder spinning solution containing suspended Al₂O₃ powders was spun to a hollow fiber precursor, which was then sintered at elevated temperatures( 300 ˚C, 1400 ˚C, 25 ˚C) in order to obtain the Al₂O₃ hollow fiber membranes. The spinning solution consisted of polyether sulfone (PES), N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP), which were used as polymer binder, solvent, respectively. The prepared Al₂O₃ hollow fiber membranes were characterized by a scanning electron microscope (SEM). It is believed that finger-like void formation in asymmetric ceramic membranes is initiated by hydrodynamically unstable vis
... Show MoreIn this work, a step-index fiber with core index and cladding index has been designed. Single-mode operation can be obtained by using a fiber with core diameters 4–13 µm operating at a wavelength of 1.31 µm and by 4–15 µm at 1.55 µm. The fundamental fiber mode properties such as phase constant, effective refractive index, mode radius, effective mode area and the power in the core were calculated. Distributions of the intensity and the amplitude were shown.
A design for a photovoltaic-thermal (PVT) assembly with a water-cooled heat sink was planned, constructed, and experimentally evaluated in the climatic conditions of the southern region of Iraq during the summertime. The water-cooled heat sink was applied to thermally manage the PV cells, in order to boost the electrical output of the PVT system. A set of temperature sensors was installed to monitor the water intake, exit, and cell temperatures. The climatic parameters including the wind velocity, atmospheric pressure, and solar irradiation were also monitored on a daily basis. The effects of solar irradiation on the average PV temperature, electrical power, and overall electrical-thermal efficiency were investigated. The findings i
... Show MoreThis paper includes an experimental study of hydrogen mass flow rate and inlet hydrogen pressure effect on the fuel cell performance. Depending on the experimental results, a model of fuel cell based on artificial neural networks is proposed. A back propagation learning rule with the log-sigmoid activation function is adopted to construct neural networks model. Experimental data resulting from 36 fuel cell tests are used as a learning data. The hydrogen mass flow rate, applied load and inlet hydrogen pressure are inputs to fuel cell model, while the current and voltage are outputs. Proposed model could successfully predict the fuel cell performance in good agreement with actual data. This work is extended to developed fuel cell feedback
... Show MoreThe work is concerned with the characterization of as cast films of neat and UV-stabilized nylon 6,6 by employing FTIR measurements. Band assignment is made for neat and UVstabilized nylon 6,6 using FTIR spectra confirm their molecular structure. UV-stabilizer added to nylon 6,6 has caused reduction in the absorbance of the vibrational bands and thus stabilizes the behavior of the polymer in the end and uses specially in harsh environment.
The main objective of this work was to adopt an environmentally friendly technology with enhanced results. The technology of magnetic water (MW) treatment system can be used in concrete mixture production instead of potable water (PW) to improve both workability and strength. Two types of concrete were adopted: normal concreter production with two grades 25 and 35 MPa and the self-compacted concrete (SCC) with 35 MPa grade. The concrete mixes containing MW instead of PW results showed that, for 25 MPa grade, an improvement in a compressive strength of 15.1, 14.8, and 10.2% was achieved for 7, 28, and 90 days, respectively. For 35 MPa grade, an improvement of 13.6, 11.5, and