This 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

Corrosion 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

In 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

Material obtained from the demolition of concrete structures and milling of flexible pavements has the highest potential for recyclability. This study aimed to evaluate the performance of hot mix asphalt with the concurrent use of recycled asphalt pavement (RAP) and recycled concrete aggregate (RCA). Contents of RAP and RCA were varied from 0% to 50% by fixing the total recycling materials percentage to 50%. Penetration grade 40/50 virgin binder and waste engine oil (WEO) as rejuvenator were used in the present study. A series of tests, such as Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Marshall stability, indirect tensile strength test, IDEAL CT, uniaxial compression test, and resilient modulus test, were carried out to assess the performance of

The impact of exposure to different sizes of particulate matter (PM1, PM2.5, PM7, and PM10) was evaluated in  Babylon concrete plant workers who had been exposed to concrete dust for at least 10 years.  The effects of  these particles on the hematological parameters, malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, and  antioxidant enzymes (catalase and glutathione peroxidase ) were examined. The results exhibited that the levels of PM2.5 and PM10 were higher than the acceptable limits approved by the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). The blood parameters, namely white blood cells (WBC), red blood cell (RBC) and platelets counts, demonstrated non-significant differences between workers exposed to the PM as compared to the control gro

In this study, aluminum nanoparticles (Al NPs) were prepared using explosive strips method in double-distilled deionized water (DDDW), where the effect of five different currents (25, 50, 75, 100 and 125 A) on particle size and distribution was studied. Also, the explosive strips method was used to decorate zinc oxide particles with Al particles, where Al particles were prepared in suspended from zinc oxide with DDDW. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV-visible absorption spectroscopy, and x-ray diffraction are used to characterize the nanoparticles. XRD pattern were examined for three samples of aluminum particles and DDDW prepared with three current values (25, 75 and 125 A) and three samples prepared with the same currents for zin

        In this study, Zinc oxide nanostructures were synthesized via a hydrothermal method by using zinc nitrate hexahydrate and sodium hydroxide as a precursor. Three different annealing temperatures were used to study their effect on ZnO NSs properties. The synthesized nanostructure was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), Atomic force microscope (AFM), and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). Their optical properties were studied by using UV -visible spectroscopy. The XRD analysis confirms that all ZnO nanostructures have the hexagonal wurtzite structure with average crystallite size within the range of (30.59 - 34

The herbal remedy individually or in combination with standard medicines has been used in diverse medical treatises for the cure of different diseases. Pumpkin seed oil is one of the recognized edible oil and has substantial medicinal properties due to the presence of unique natural edible substances. Inflammation is an adaptive response that is triggered by noxious stimuli and conditions, which involves interactions amongst many cell types and mediators, and underlies many pathological processes. Unsaturated fatty acids (UFAs) can influence inflammation through a variety of mechanisms, and have been indicated as alternative anti-inflammatory agents to treat several inflammatory skin disorders. Pumpkin seed oil is rich in (UFAs), that its t