Concrete structures is affected by a deleterious reaction, which is known as Alkali Aggregate Reaction (AAR). AAR can be defined as a chemical reaction between the alkali content in the pore water solution of the cement paste and reactive forms of silica hold in the aggregate. This internal reaction produces expansion and cracking in concrete, which can lead to loss of strength and stiffness. Carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) is one of the methods used to suppress further AAR expansion and rehabilitate and support damaged concrete structures. In this research, thirty-six cylindrical specimens were fabricated from non-reactive and reactive concrete, which contained fused silica as
The goal of this investigation is to prepare zinc oxide (ZnO) nano-thin films by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique through Q-switching double frequency Nd:YAG laser (532 nm) wavelength, pulse frequency 6 Hz, and 300 mJ energy under vacuum conditions (10-3 torr) at room temperature. (ZnO) nano-thin films were deposited on glass substrates with different thickness of 300, 600 and 900 nm. ZnO films, were then annealed in air at a temperature of 500 °C for one hour. The results were compared with the researchers' previous theoretical study. The XRD analysis of ZnO nano-thin films indicated a hexagonal multi-crystalline wurtzite structure with preferential growth lines (100), (002), (101) for ZnO nano-thin films with different thi
... Show MoreThe aim of this study is to investigate the kinetics of copper removal from aqueous solutions using an electromembrane extraction (EME) system. To achieve this, a unique electrochemical cell design was adopted comprising two glass chambers, a supported liquid membrane (SLM), a graphite anode, and a stainless-steel cathode. The SLM consisted of a polypropylene flat membrane infused with 1-octanol as a solvent and bis(2-ethylhexyl) phosphate (DEHP) as a carrier. The impact of various factors on the kinetics constant rate was outlined, including the applied voltage, initial pH of the donor phase solution, and initial copper concentration. The results demonstrated a significant influence of the applied voltage on enhancing the rate of c
... Show MoreRoller-Compacted Concrete is a no-slump concrete, with no reinforcing steel, no forms, no finishing and wet enough to support compaction by vibratory rollers. Due to the effect of curing on properties and durability of concrete, the main purpose of this research is to study the effect of various curing methods (air curing, 7 days water curing, and permanent water curing) and porcelanite (local material used as an Internal Curing agent) with different replacement percentages of fine aggregate (volumetric replacement) on some properties of Roller-Compacted Concrete and to explore the possibility of introducing practical Roller-Compacted Concrete for road pavement with minimum requirement of curing. Specimens were sawed fro
... Show MoreBACKGROUND: Tribulus terrestris has been commonly used in folk medicine to energize, vitalize and improve sexual function and physical performance in men and laboratory rats. OBJECTIVE: To study the effect of Tribulus terrestris on the number of Leydig cells. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Tribulus terrestris was given to mature male rats as an oral single herbal suspension in a dose of 2.0mg /1000gbody weight for 14 days to stimulate spermatogenesis. Formalin fixed paraffinembedded tissue sections were performed for histological, immunohistochemical and morphometrical studies. RESULTS: Histological study revealed wider seminiferous tubules and increased spermatocytes population with an increased sperm density inside the lumen of the tubul
... Show MoreThis study aimed at evaluating the torsional capacity of reinforced concrete (RC) beams externally wrapped with fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) materials. An analytical model was described and used as a new computational procedure based on the softened truss model (STM) to predict the torsional behavior of RC beams strengthened with FRP. The proposed analytical model was validated with the existing experimental data for rectangular sections strengthened with FRP materials and considering torque-twist relationship and crack pattern at failure. The confined concrete behavior, in the case of FRP wrapping, was considered in the constitutive laws of concrete in the model. Then, an efficient algorithm was developed in MATLAB environment t
... Show MoreThis paper presents ABAQUS simulations of fully encased composite columns, aiming to examine the behavior of a composite column system under different load conditions, namely concentric, eccentric with 25 mm eccentricity, and flexural loading. The numerical results are validated with the experimental results obtained for columns subjected to static loads. A new loading condition with a 50 mm eccentricity is simulated to obtain additional data points for constructing the interaction diagram of load-moment curves, in an attempt to investigate the load-moment behavior for a reference column with a steel I-section and a column with a GFRP I-section. The result comparison shows that the experimental data align closely with the simulation
... Show MoreAmputation of the upper limb significantly hinders the ability of patients to perform activities of daily living. To address this challenge, this paper introduces a novel approach that combines non-invasive methods, specifically Electroencephalography (EEG) and Electromyography (EMG) signals, with advanced machine learning techniques to recognize upper limb movements. The objective is to improve the control and functionality of prosthetic upper limbs through effective pattern recognition. The proposed methodology involves the fusion of EMG and EEG signals, which are processed using time-frequency domain feature extraction techniques. This enables the classification of seven distinct hand and wrist movements. The experiments conducte
... Show MoreThe change in the optical band gap and optical activation energy have been investigated for pure Poly (vinyl alcohol)and Poly (vinyl alcohol) doped with Aluminum sulphate to proper films from their optical absorption spectra. The absorption spectra were measured in the wave range from (200-700) nm at temperature range (25-140) 0C. The optical band gap (Eg) for allowed direct transition decrease with increase the concentration of Aluminum sulphate. The optical activation energy for allowed direct transition band gap was evaluated using Urbach- edges method. It was found that ?E increases with increasing the concentration of Al2 (SO4)3 and decreases when temperature increases.