This study expands the state of the art in studies that assess torsional retrofit of reinforced concrete (RC) multi-cell box girders with carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) strips. The torsional behavior of non-damaged and pre-damaged RC multi-cell box girder specimens externally retrofitted by CFRP strips was investigated through a series of laboratory experiments. It was found that retrofitting the pre-damaged specimens with CFRP strips increased the ultimate torsional capacity by more than 50% as compared to the un-damaged specimens subjected to equivalent retrofitting. This indicated that the retrofit has been less effective for the girder specimen that did not develop distortion beforehand as a result of pre-loading. From experimental observations, when the girder specimen was cracked and the transverse steel reinforcement bars started straining, the CFRP strips started to work more effectively and contributed together with the transverse steel reinforcement to resist torsion load. Additionally, Finite Element (FE) simulations were developed using Abaqus to model the torsional behavior of the retrofitted girders, the results of which were validated with the experimental data. With the numerical model, the effect of concrete compressive strength, transverse reinforcement spacing, and CFRP strip spacing were examined. The effectiveness of the CFRP strips in enhancing the torsional strength of the girder was found to increase with increasing the spacing between the transverse reinforcement.
The ejector refrigeration system is a desirable choice to reduce energy consumption. A Computational Fluid Dynamics CFD simulation using the ANSYS package was performed to investigate the flow inside the ejector and determine the performance of a small-scale steam ejector. The experimental results showed that at the nozzle throat diameter of 2.6 mm and the evaporator temperature of 10oC, increasing boiler temperature from 110oC to 140oC decreases the entrainment ratio by 66.25%. At the boiler temperature of 120oC, increasing the evaporator temperature from 7.5 to 15 oC increases the entrainment ratio by 65.57%. While at the boiler temperature of 120oC and
... Show MoreUndesirable growth of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) crop under an excessive N fertilizer application is the main obstacle presently. This research was conducted to investigate the response of different potato cultivars; Russet Burbank, Shepody, and Superior, and its qualitative characteristics under a series of N rates. Six rates of N fertilization (0–280 kg ha−1) were applied on 11 sites in a randomized complete block design, with four replications. Sites with ≥30 g kg−1 of soil organic matter (OM) produced total tuber yield, marketable yield, and tuber weight per plant 39.5, 45.2, and 54.9%, respectively, higher than sites with ≤30 g kg−1 of OM. Tubers specific gravity increased by 0.18% in the sites with ≥30 g kg−1 of OM.
... Show MoreIn this study the thermal conductivity of the epoxy composites were characterized as function of volume fraction, particle size of fillers and the time of immersion(30,60,90)days in water .Composites plates were prepared by incorporating (bi-directional) (0º-90º) glass fiber and silicon carbide (SiC) particles of (0.1,0.5,1)mm as particle size at (10%,20%,30%,40%) percent volume in epoxy matrix.
The composites shows slightly increase of the thermal conductivity with increasing volume fraction, particle size and increase with increasing the days of immersion in water. The maximum thermal conductivity (0.51W/m.K) was obtained before the immersion in water at 90 days for epoxy reinforcement by bi-directional glass fiber and SiC particl
An aromatic ester containing two azo groups namely p-nitro phenyl azo-β-naphthyl-(4'-azobenzoic acid)-4-benzoate was synthesized by esterfiaction of 4,4'-azo dibenzoic acid with p-nitro phenyl azo-β-naphthol. Synthesized ester was characterized by CHN-Elemental analysis, FTIR, 1H NMR and 13C NMR. A modified PVA polymer was obtained by grafting 10 g of PVA-polymer via partial esterification with (2, 3, 4 g) p-nitro phenyl azo-1-naphthyl-4-azobenzoic acid)-4-azo benzoate. Grafting PVA-polymer behaviours was studied, by physical measurements (solubility, swelling), thermal properties (DSC) and tensile.
Acrylic polymer/cement nanocomposites in dark and light colors have been developed for coating floors and swimming pools. This work aims to emphasize the effect of cement filling on the mechanical parameters, thermal stability, and wettability of acrylic polymer. The preparation was carried out using the casting method from acrylic polymer coating solution, which was added to cement nanoparticles (65 nm) with weight concentrations of (0, 1, 2, 4, and 8 wt%) to achieve high-quality specifications and good adhesion. Maximum impact strength and Hardness shore A were observed at cement ratios of 2 wt% and 4 wt%, respectively. Changing the filling ratio has a significant effect on the strain of the nanocomposites. The contact angle was i
... Show MoreGraphite Coated Electrodes (GCE) based on molecularly imprinted polymers were fabricated for the selective potentiometric determination of Risperidone (Ris). The molecularly imprinted (MIP) and nonimprinted (NIP) polymers were synthesized by bulk polymerization using (Ris.) as a template, acrylic acid (AA) and acrylamide (AAm) as monomers, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) as a cross-linker and benzoyl peroxide (BPO) as an initiator. The imprinted membranes and the non-imprinted membranes were prepared using dioctyl phthalate (DOP) and Dibutylphthalate (DBP) as plasticizers in PVC matrix. The membranes were coated on graphite electrodes. The MIP electrodes using
... Show MoreIn this research, the effect of adding two different types of reinforcing particles was investigated, which included: nano-zirconia (nano-ZrO2) particles and micro-lignin particles that were added with different volume fractions of 0.5%, 1%, 1.5% and 2% on the mechanical properties of polymer composite materials. They were prepared in this research, as a complete prosthesis and partial denture base materials was prepared, by using cold cure poly methyl methacrylate (PMMA) resin matrix. The composite specimens in this research consist of two groups according to the types of reinforced particles, were prepared by using casting methods, type (Hand Lay-Up) method. The first group consists of PMMA resin reinforced by (nano-ZrO
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