Non-prismatic reinforced concrete (RC) beams are widely used for various practical purposes, including enhancing architectural aesthetics and increasing the overall thickness in the support area above the column, which gives high assurance to services that this will not result in the distortion of construction features and can reduce heights. The hollow sections (recess) can also be used for the maintenance of large structural sections and the safe passage of utility lines of water, gas, telecommunications, electricity, etc. They are generally used in large and complex civil engineering works like bridges. This study conducted a numerical study using the commercial finite element software ANSYS version 15 for analysing RC beams, hollow longitudinally sectioned and retrofitted with carbon fibre reinforced polymers (CFRPs), which were subjected to concentrated vertical loads. The numerical analysis results on the simulated beam models were in excellent agreements with the previous experimental test results. This convergence was confirmed by a statistical analysis, which considered the correlation coefficients, individual arithmetic means and standard deviations for all the calculated deflections of the simulated beam models. A proposed numerical simulation model with the hypotheses can be considered suitable for modelling the behaviours of simple supported non-prismatic RC beams under vertical concentrated loads. The numerical results showed that altering the cross-section from solid to hollow could reduce the load carrying capacities of the beams by up to 53% and increase the corresponding deflections by up to 40%, respectively. Using steel pipes for making recesses could enhance the loading capacity by up to 56%, increase the ductility, and reduce the corresponding deflections by up to 30%, respectively. Finally, it was found that bonding the CFRP sheets in the lower middle tensile areas of the hollow beams could improve the resistance and reduce the deformations by up to 27%. The failure patterns for all the numerical models were shear failure. The cylinder compressive strength could be used as a mechanical parameter for modelling and assessing the structural behaviours of the beam models, as its increase could improve the load carrying capacities and reduce the deflections by 30–50%.
Apple slice grading is useful in post-harvest operations for sorting, grading, packaging, labeling, processing, storage, transportation, and meeting market demand and consumer preferences. Proper grading of apple slices can help ensure the quality, safety, and marketability of the final products, contributing to the post-harvest operations of the overall success of the apple industry. The article aims to create a convolutional neural network (CNN) model to classify images of apple slices after immersing them in atmospheric plasma at two different pressures (1 and 5 atm) and two different immersion times (3 and again 6 min) once and in filtered water based on the hardness of the slices usin
Natural Bauxite (BXT) mineral clay was modified with a cationic surfactant (hexadecy ltrimethy lammonium bromide (BXT-HDTMA)) and characterized with different techniques: FTIR spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The modified and natural bauxite (BXT) were used as adsorbents for the adsorption of 4- Chlorophenol (4-CP) from aqueous solutions. The adsorption study was carried out at different conditions and parameters: contact time, pH value, adsorbent dosage and ionic strength. The adsorption kinetic (described by a pseudo-first order and a pseudo-second order), equilibrium experimental data (analyzed by Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin isotherm models) and thermodynamic parameters (change in s
... Show MoreIn the midst of rapid changes and difficultiesand the tough competition faced by the Iraqi banks, it has become necessary to focus on a significant aspect of administrative work; that is strategic planning and the key role of implementation within this process in improving the banking service quality. It has emerged as a critical and main competitive weapon for distinguishing the services provided by banks from each other in an effort to participate in increasing market share of the bank in question in question; in its growth, continuation and profit increase.
The research has addressed the relation between the independent variable (implementation within strategic planning), and the dependent variable (banking service quality and
... Show MoreEach organization has values and objectives, tangible and intangible properties of its products. The reflection of properties on the brand constitutes the identity of the brand that contributes to building the customer's convictions about the products or services provided by any organization and its brand in a positive or negative way. This is reflected in purchasing behavior, which may push forward the progress towards marketing goals or deviation from them. Therefore, the current research came to identify the brand identity, its types and the factors affecting them and how they affect to achieve each of the marketing goals. At a time when
... Show MoreFrom the responses of Imam Abi Zakaria al-Nawawi 676 AH on the grammarians in his commentary on Sahel Muslim
Hypertension is a major health problem throughout the world because of its high prevalence and its association with increased risk of cardiovascular diseases. It is defined as systolic blood pressure ≥ 140 mmHg and/or diastolic blood pressure ≥ 90 mmHg. The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy, safety and cardiovascular disease risk lowering ability, of three antihypertensive drug regimens.
A retrospective study was carried out on 66 hypertensive patients, divided in to three groups based on their antihypertensive drug regimens (ACE inhibitors, β-blockers treated and combination antihypertensive therapy, the combination therapy consist of two or more of the following antihypertensive drugs ACE inhibitor di
... Show MoreBackground: Antimicrobial prescribing patterns have an important role in the emergence of resistance, and community pharmacists have a substantial influence on this issue. Objective: To assess community pharmacists' behaviors and attitudes toward antimicrobial dispensing, determine their proportions and categories, and examine the underlying rationales for this practice. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional survey of community pharmacists in Iraq was conducted from June to August 2023, using a self-administered validated questionnaire. The attitudes, practices, and motivations driving the distribution of antimicrobials without a prescription (AWP) were explored in three areas. Results: A sizable proportion (61.6%) of respondents rejected
... Show MoreThe research utilizes data produced by the Local Urban Management Directorate in Najaf and the imagery data from the Landsat 9 satellite, after being processed by the GIS tool. The research follows a descriptive and analytical approach; we integrated the Markov chain analysis and the cellular automation approach to predict transformations in city structure as a result of changes in land utilization. The research also aims to identify approaches to detect post-classification transformations in order to determine changes in land utilization. To predict the future land utilization in the city of Kufa, and to evaluate data accuracy, we used the Kappa Indicator to determine the potential applicability of the probability matrix that resulted from
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