Two novel demountable shear connectors for precast steel-concrete composite bridges are presented. The connectors use high-strength steel bolts, which are fastened to the steel beam with the aid of a special locking configuration that prevents slip of bolts within their holes. Moreover, the connectors promote accelerated construction and overcome typical construction tolerances issues of precast structures. Most importantly, the connectors allow bridge disassembly, and therefore, can address different bridge deterioration scenarios with minimum disturbance to traffic flow, i.e. (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, while precast decks and shear connectors can be reused. A series of push-out tests and a beam test were conducted to assess the behavior of the connectors and quantify the effect of important parameters. The experimental results showed that shear resistance and slip capacity can reach 2.5 and 2.7 times respectively of those of welded shear studs along with superior stiffness and strength against slab uplift. Additionally, shear stiffness of M16 mm LNSC was equal to that of M19 mm welded studs. Identical tests reveal negligible scatter in the shear load – slip displacement behavior. Design equations are proposed to predict the shear resistance with minimum deviations.
Objective: To enhance bonding strength between thermoplastic denture base and acrylic soft liner through ethyl acetate surface treatment. Materials and Methods: Modifications of thermoplastic acrylic denture base surface were investigated with SEM. FTIR was used to detect whether there was a chemical bond between thermoplastic acrylic and the organic solvent. A total of 80 samples were prepared and divided into 20 samples for the surface roughness test and 60 samples for the shear bond strength test. Failure type was assessed visually. Results: Shear bond strength and surface roughness values of un treated samples were lower in comparison to surface treated groups; the greatest post thermocycling bond strength value was recorded for the sam
... Show MoreTo avoid the negative effects due to inflexibility of the domestic production inresponse to the increase in government consumption expenditure leads to more imports to meet the increase in domestic demand resulting from the increase in government consumption expenditure. Since the Iraqi economy economy yield unilateral depends on oil revenues to finance spending, and the fact government consumer spending is a progressive high flexibility the increase in overall revenues, while being a regressive flexibility is very low in the event of reduced public revenues, and therefore lead to a deficit in the current account position. And that caused the deficit for imbalance are the disruption of the
... Show MoreTi6Al4V alloy is widely used in aerospace and medical applications. It is classified as a difficult to machine material due to its low thermal conductivity and high chemical reactivity. In this study, hybrid intelligent models have been developed to predict surface roughness when end milling Ti6Al4V alloy with a Physical Vapor Deposition PVD coated tool under dry cutting conditions. Back propagation neural network (BPNN) has been hybridized with two heuristic optimization techniques, namely: gravitational search algorithm (GSA) and genetic algorithm (GA). Taguchi method was used with an L27 orthogonal array to generate 27 experiment runs. Design expert software was used to do analysis of variances (ANOVA). The experimental data were
... Show MoreThe researcher aims to Diagnose the reality of research variables, strategic leadership and decision support systems, and their impact on crisis management in the General Company for Steel Industries because of their important role in preventing crises and reducing their occurrence for the research company in particular and other companies in general affiliated with the Ministry of Industry and Minerals, as well as clarifying theoretical concepts of research variables As it included the answer to questions related to the research problem, including (Is there an impact of the strategic leadership in managing crises if decision support systems are used), and the researcher adopted the descriptive and analytical approach in its comp
... Show MoreIn this research work, a new type of concrete based on sulfur-melamine modification was introduced, and its various properties were studied. This new type of concrete was prepared based on the sulfur-melamine modification and various ingredients. The new sulfur-melamine modifier was fabricated, and its fabrication was confirmed by IR spectroscopy and TG analysis. The surface morphology resulted from this modifier was studied by SEM and EDS analysis. The components ratios in concrete, chemical and physical characteristics resulted from sulfur-melamine modifier, chemical and corrosion resistance of concrete, stability of concrete against water adsorption, stability of concrete against freezing, physical and mechanical properties and durabi
... Show MoreTest results of nine reinforced concrete one way slab with and without lacing reinforcement are reported. The tests were designed to study the effect of the lacing reinforcement on the flexural response of one way slabs. The test parameters were considered is the lacing steel ratios of (0, 0.0025, 0.0045, and 0.0065), flexural steel ratios of (0.0025, 0.0045, and 0.0065) and span to the effective depth ratios of (11, 13, and 16). Two specimens had no lacing reinforcement and the remaining seven specimens had the lacing reinforcement. Four point bending test were carried out, one of the specimens was tested under the static load applied gradually up to failure and the other specimens were tested under repeated load (5 cyc
... Show MoreExperimental research was carried out to investigate the performance of CFRP wrapping jackets used for retrofitting twelve square reinforced concrete (CR) column specimens damaged by exposure to fire flame, at different temperatures of 300, 500 and 700ºC, except for two specimens that were not burned. The specimens were then loaded axially till failure after gradual or sudden cooling. The specimens were divided into two groups containing two main reinforcement ratios, ρ= 0.0314 and ρ= 0.0542. This was followed by the retrofitting procedure that included wrapping all the specimens with two layers of CFRP fabric sheets. The test results of the retrofitted specimens showed that the fire damaged RC
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