Over the last few decades, fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) has been increasingly used in strengthening different structural concrete members. The main objective of this research is to study the influence of curvature on the performance of curved soffit reinforced concrete (RC) bridge girders that have been strengthened with carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRP). This experimental program was designed to evaluate the effect of concavity and soffit curvature on the CFRP laminate utilization and load capacity, compared to flat soffit RC beams strengthened with the same CFRP system. Accordingly, five beams, 2.7 m in length and having the same degree of soffit curvature (20 mm per 1 meter) extending over 2 meters of the span length, were tested under three-point monotonic static loading up to failure. CFRP pre-cured laminates were used for external strengthening in flexure. It was observed that 20 mm/m degree of curvature reduced the load-carrying capacity of strengthened concavely curved RC beams by 15.9 – 17.8%.

Implementation of Warm Mix Asphalt concrete (WMA) is getting global acceptance due to the restrictions for protecting the environment and the requirements to reduce fuel consumption. In this investigation, two WMA mixtures have been prepared in the laboratory using medium curing cutback (MC-30) and Cationic emulsion asphalt. Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) was also prepared for comparison. The cylinder specimens (63.5mm) in height and (101.6mm) in diameter were constructed from the mixtures and subjected to indirect tensile strength test to determine the Tensile Strength Ratio (TSR). The cylinder specimens of (101.6mm) in height and (101.6mm) in diameter were also constructed from those mixtures and subjected to static compressive
... Show MoreThis study focuses on the behavior of simply supported perforated prestressed concrete rafters (PPCRs) under single midspan monotonic static loading. The experimental program consisted of testing seven specimens; one solid (control) rafter, and six perforated with quadrilateral openings. The main investigated variables are the number and height of the openings. The test findings indicate that, in comparison to the solid rafter, the presence of quadrilateral openings in the PPCRs led to reducing the load capacity by (4.3-36%) and increase the midspan deflection at ultimate by (14.8-33%). Also, increasing the number of concrete posts between openings resulted in increasing the failure load and decreasing the deflection at all stages o
... Show MoreCorrosion inhibiting admixtures are unique among other methods to protect reinforced concrete from corrosion damage. In this study, the effect of furfural on the fresh and hardened properties of concrete mixes of 35 and 45 MPa compressive strengths as well as the corrosion inhibition of furfural was evaluated. Furfural was added at different dosages (1, 2 and 3% by weight of cement) with and without superplasticizer (HRWR). Different electrochemical measurements were performed (Half-cell potential, Tafel plot and linear polarization resistance). Electrochemical measurements confirmed that furfural dramatically reduces the rate of corrosion; the inhibition efficiencies were 62.7 and 63.8 % due to 3% furfural addition to 35 and 45MPa-concr
... Show MoreIn this study, two types of mixes were adopted by using two grading of coarse aggregate. The practical side of this study was to produce no-fine aggregate concrete by using crushed clay brick aggregates. The durability of the produced concrete and internal sulfate attack was studied. For durability assessment, it is found that the no-fine concrete made with crushed brick aggregate lost about (15-25) % of its compressive strength after being subjected to 60 cycles of wetting and drying with age 120 days. The curing condition showed that the water curing improved the compressive strength with a rate higher than that when sealed or air dry curing were used. The crushed brick no-fine concrete de
... Show MoreNowadays, energy demand continuously rises while energy stocks are dwindling. Using current resources more effectively is crucial for the world. A wide method to effectively utilize energy is to generate electricity using thermal gas turbines (GT). One of the most important problems that gas turbines suffer from is high ambient air temperature especially in summer. The current paper details the effects of ambient conditions on the performance of a gas turbine through energy audits taking into account the influence of ambient conditions on the specific heat capacity ( , isentropic exponent ( ) as well as the gas constant of air . A computer program was developed to examine the operation of a power plant at various ambient temperature
... Show MoreMale reproductive health is intricately regulated by molecular and physiological processes, with the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) playing a crucial role. AhR is activated by various ligands and influences the onset and progression of diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of AhR on spermatogenesis in adult male rats were affected by resveratrol (RES) and CH223191, an AhR antagonist. The study include forty rats were randomly divided into four equal groups: Control group, DMSO group, RES group and AhR‾ group, the rats received respective treatments intraperitoneally twice weekly for 60 days, and various parameters related to male reproductive health were evaluated. The AhR that activation by the RES treatment w
... Show MoreThe hydrodynamics behavior of gas - solid fluidized beds is complex and it should be analyzed and understood due to its importance in the design and operating of the units. The effect of column inside diameter and static bed height on the minimum fluidization velocity, minimum bubbling velocity, fluidization index, minimum slugging velocity and slug index have been studied experimentally and theoretically for three cylindrical columns of 0.0762, 0.15 and 0.18 m inside diameters and 0.05, 0.07 and 0.09 m static bed heights .The experimental results showed that the minimum fluidization and bubbling velocities had a direct relation with column diameter and static bed height .The minimum slugging velocity had an
... Show More