The provision of openings in serviceable reinforced concrete beams may result in a substantial decline in the beam's capacity and integrity, indicating the necessity of opening strengthening. The present study investigates the experimental response of reinforced concrete T-beams with multiple web-strengthened openings disposed in shear span to static and impact loads. Fourteen RC T-beams were tested in two groups, each of seven beams. The first group was tested under static loading up to failure, while the second group was tested under repeated impact loading until the width of shear cracks reached 0.3 mm. The residual static strengths of the beams subjected to impact loading were then determined. The test variables considered were: number of web openings, the method used to strengthen the member at openings and the height of drop during impact tests. All beams were simply supported with load applied at mid – span. Static results indicated that T-beams with four and six un-strengthened web circular openings whose diameter is 48% of the web depth have strength capacities less than those without openings by 30% and 41%, respectively. However, strengthening of webs results in an increase in the strength capacities ranging between 27% and 92%, depending on the type of strengthening. Impact results indicated that the beam with four openings did not show a remarkable increase in the maximum mid-span deflection compared with the solid beam, while that with six openings showed an increase in the maximum mid-span deflections by about 75% greater than the maximum mid-span deflection of the solid beam. Strengthening of specimens could overcome the increase in deflections.
A novel demountable shear connector for precast steel-concrete composite bridges is presented. The connector uses high-strength steel bolts, which are fastened to the top flange of the steel beam with the aid of a special locking nut configuration that prevents bolts from slipping within their holes. Moreover, the connector promotes accelerated construction and overcomes the typical construction tolerance issues of precast structures. Most importantly, the connector allows bridge disassembly. Therefore, it can address different bridge deterioration scenarios with minimum disturbance to traffic flow including the following: (1) precast deck panels can be rapidly uplifted and replaced; (2) connectors can be rapidly removed and replaced; and (
... Show MoreA simple and highly sensitive cloud point extraction process was suggested for preconcentration of micrograms amount of isoxsuprine hydrochloride (ISX) in pure and pharmaceutical samples. After diazotization coupling of ISX with diazotized sulfadimidine in alkaline medium, the azo-dye product quantitatively extracted into the Triton X-114 rich phase, dissolved in ethanol and determined spectrophotometrically at 490 nm. The suggested reaction was studied with and without extraction and simple comparison between the batch and CPE methods was achieved. Analytical variables including concentrations of reagent, Triton X-114 and base, incubated temperature, and time were carefully studied. Under the selected opti
... Show MoreCarbon dioxide geo-sequestration (CGS) into sediments in the form of (gas) hydrates is one proposed method for reducing anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere and, thus reducing global warming and climate change. However, there is a serious lack of understanding of how such CO2 hydrate forms and exists in sediments. We thus imaged CO2 hydrate distribution in sandstone, and investigated the hydrate morphology and cluster characteristics via x-ray micro-computed tomography in 3D in-situ. A substantial amount of gas hydrate (∼17% saturation) was observed, and the stochastically distributed hydrate clusters followed power-law relations with respect to their size distributions and surface area-volume relationships. The layer-
... Show MoreThe temperature control process of electric heating furnace (EHF) systems is a quite difficult and changeable task owing to non-linearity, time delay, time-varying parameters, and the harsh environment of the furnace. In this paper, a robust temperature control scheme for an EHF system is developed using an adaptive active disturbance rejection control (AADRC) technique with a continuous sliding-mode based component. First, a comprehensive dynamic model is established by using convection laws, in which the EHF systems can be characterized as an uncertain second order system. Second, an adaptive extended state observer (AESO) is utilized to estimate the states of the EHF system and total disturbances, in which the observer gains are updated
... Show MoreThis work investigates experimentally the effect of using a skirt with a square foundation of 100 mm width resting on dry gypseous soil (i.e., loose soil with 33% relative density), and subjected to an inclined load. Previous works did not study the use square skirted foundation rested on gypseous soil and subjected to inclined load. The investigated soil was brought from Tikrit city with 59% gypsum content. Standard physical and chemical tests on selected soil were carried out. Model laboratory tests were carried out to determine the effect of using a skirt with a square foundation on the load-settlement behavior of gypseous soil and subjected to inclined load with various Skirt depth (Ds) to foundation width (B) ratio
... Show MoreIn this paper a comparison of the experimental of evacuated tube solar water heater systems with and without mirror flat reflector. The aim of using the reflector to improve thermal efficiency, and the data gathered which are (temperature, solar irradiation and time) for three days were compared. the results from compared data the temperature lower increase in evacuated tube solar water heater system without reflector than the temperature increase in evacuated tube solar water heater system with reflector .The results show (53, 39, 35) % for three days respectively that the evacuated tube solar water heater system with reflector has higher thermal efficiencies than the results (47, 28, 30) % for three days respectively thermal efficiencies
... Show MoreIn current article an easy and selective method is proposed for spectrophotometric estimation of metoclopramide (MCP) in pharmaceutical preparations using cloud point extraction (CPE) procedure. The method involved reaction between MCP with 1-Naphthol in alkali conditions using Triton X-114 to form a stable dark purple dye. The Beer’s law limit in the range 0.34-9 μg mL-1 of MCP with r =0.9959 (n=3) after optimization. The relative standard deviation (RSD) and percentage recoveries were 0.89 %, and (96.99–104.11%) respectively. As well, using surfactant cloud point extraction as a method to extract MCP was reinforced the extinction coefficient(ε) to 1.7333×105L/mol.cm in surfactant-rich phase. The small volume of organi
... Show MoreThe Planning and Resource Development Department of the Iraqi Ministry of Health is very interested in improving medical care, health education, and village training programs. Accordingly, and through the available capabilities of the ministry, itdesires to allocate seven health centers to four villages in Baghdad, Iraq therefore the ministry needs to determine the number of health centers allocated to each of these villages which achieves the greatest degree of the overall effectiveness of the seven health centers in a fuzzy environment. The objective of this study is to use a fuzzy dynamic programming(DP) method to determine the optimal allocation of these centers, which allows the greatest overall effectiveness of these health centers
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