Two novel demountable shear connectors for precast steel-concrete composite bridges are presented. The connectors use high-strength steel bolts, which are fastened to the steel beam with the aid of a special locking configuration that prevents slip of bolts within their holes. Moreover, the connectors promote accelerated construction and overcome typical construction tolerances issues of precast structures. Most importantly, the connectors allow bridge disassembly, and therefore, can address different bridge deterioration scenarios with minimum disturbance to traffic flow, i.e. (1) precast deck panels can be rapidly uplifted and replaced; (2) connectors can be rapidly removed and replaced; and (3) steel beams can be replaced, while precast

Background: the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of different surface acids treatments (37%phospjoric acid, 5%hydrofluoric acid, 1.23 acidulated phosphate fluoride) of feldspathic ceramic VITA 3D MASTER , and the effect of thermocycling on shear bond strength using a ceramic repair kit (ivoclar/vivadent). Material and Methods: sixty Nickel-Chromium metal base plates were prepared(9mm diameter,3mm depth) using lost wax technique, 2mm thick layer of ceramic(VITA 3D MASTER) fused to metal plates, all specimens were embedded in acrylic resin blocks except their examined surfaces and divided into 3 main groups 20 specimens each, Grp A: treatment with 37%phosphoric acid for 2 mins, Grp B: etching with 5% hydrofluoric acid for 2mins,

A reinforced concrete frame is referred as "RIGID FRAMES". However, researches indicate that the Beam-Column joint (BCJ) is definitely not rigid. In addition, extensive research shows that failure may occur at the joint instead of in the beam or the column. Joint failure is known to be a catastrophic type which is difficult to repair.
This study was carried out to investigate the effect of hoops and column axial load on the shear strength of high-strength fiber reinforced Beam-Column Joints by using a numerical model based on finite element method using computer program ANSYS (Version 11.0). The variables are: diameter of hoops and magnitude of column axial load.
The theoretical results obtained from ANSYS program are in a good a

Background: This study was formulated to compare the effect of 5%hydrofluoric acid in comparison to 37%phosphoric acid with and without the application of silane on bond strength of composite to porcelain. Materials and Methods: Specimen preparation was divided in to two phases, metal-disks fabrication (8mm-diameter and 4mm-thickness) and ceramic veneering. Thirty two specimens were prepared, sandblasted with 50 μm aluminum oxide, and divided into four groups of eight samples. Groups I and III were etched with 37%phosphoric acid while groups II and IV were etched with 5%hydrofluoric acid; and groups I and II were silaneted while groups III and IV were not. Heliobond, and resin composite were applied to each specimen using a plastic transpa

The action of high repeated trucks load associated with dramatically elevated ambient temperatures leads to the most harmful distress in asphalt pavements occurred in Iraq known as rutting. Essentially, it is produced from the accumulation of irrecoverable strains, which mainly occurred in the asphalt layers. That visually demonstrated as a longitudinal depression in the wheel paths as well as small upheavals to the sides. Poly Phosphoric Acid (PPA) has been used as a means of producing modified asphalt binders and the interest to use it has increased in recent years. The PPA provides modified asphalt binder, which is relatively cheaply produced compared to polymer-modified asphalt. In this paper, PPA was used by three-percentages 1

        The performance of asphalt concrete pavement has affected by many factors, the temperature is the most important environmental one which has a large effect on the structural behavior of flexible pavement materials. The main cause of premature failure of pavement is the rutting, Due to the viscoelastic nature of the asphalt cement, rutting is more pronounced in hot climate areas because the viscosity of the asphalt binder which is
inversely related to rutting is significantly reduced with the increase in temperature resulting in a more rut susceptible paving mixtures. The objective of this study is to determine the effect of temperatures variations on the permanent deformation parameters (perm

Warm Mix Asphalt (WMA) is a modern energy-saving process that uses environmentally friendly materials, has lower mixing and compaction temperatures, and uses less energy and releases less contaminants than conventional hot mix asphalt. Moisture damage poses one of the main challenges of the material design in asphalt pavements. During its design life, the asphalt pavement is exposed to the effect of moisture from the surrounding environment. This research intends to investigate the role of the polypropylene fibres for modifying the moisture susceptibility for the WMA by using different percentages of polypropylene (namely 2, 4, and 6%) by weight of the binder of the control mixture (WMA). In this paper, the physical characteristics

Soil fertility is a crucial factor in measuring soil quality, it indicates the extent to which soil can support plant life. Soil fertility is measured by the amount of macro and micronutrients, pH, etc. Soil nutrients are depleted after each harvest and therefore must be added. To maintain soil nutrient levels, fertilizer is added to the soil. Adding fertilizer in the precise amount is a matter of great importance because excess or insufficient application can harm plant life and reduce productivity. The use of modern technology is a solution to this problem. Although automated techniques for sowing, weeding, crop harvesting, etc. have been proposed and implemented, none of the techniques are aimed to maintaining soil fertility. The study a

A high settlement may take place in shallow footing when resting on liquefiable soil if subjected to earthquake loading. In this study, a series of shaking table tests were carried out for shallow footing resting on sand soil. The input motion is three earthquake loadings (0.05g, 0.1g, and 0.2g). The study includes a reviewing of theoretical equations (available in literatures), which estimating settlement of footings due to earthquake loading, calibration, and verification of these equations with data from the shaking table test for improved soil by grouting and unimproved soil. It is worthy to note that the grouting materials considered in this study are the Bentonite and CKD slurries. A modification to the seismic set

Experts have given much attention on the use of waste in asphalt paving because of its significance from a sustainability perspective. This paper evaluated the performance properties of asphalt concrete mixes modified with Crumb Rubber (CR) as a partial replacement for two grade sizes of fine aggregate (2.36, and 0.3 mm) at six replacement rates: 0%, 2%, 4%, 6%, 8%, and 10% by weight. Asphalt concrete mixes were prepared at their Optimum Asphalt Content (OAC) and then tested for their engineering properties. Marshall properties, fatigue, rutting, ideal CT index test, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and Energy-Dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy were deployed to examine the crystalline structure and elemental composition of the C