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 (

The 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

In 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

This study evaluates the flexural behavior of ultra-thin (50 mm) one‑way reinforced‑concrete (RC) slabs retrofitted with near‑surface mounted (NSM) carbon‑fiber‑reinforced polymer (CFRP) rods under quasi‑static loading. T300‑grade CFRP rods (≈4 mm diameter) were bonded in pre‑cut 7 mm × 7 mm grooves using a two‑part epoxy. As a proof-of-concept experimental baseline, three simply‑supported specimens (1000 mm × 500 mm × 50 mm) were tested in a six‑point bending configuration (four applied loads + two reactions): two conventional controls and one strengthened slab. A load‑control rate of ~15 kN/min was applied; the controls were cycled twice and the strengthened slab four times. Relative to the average of

In this study, the photodegradation of Congo red dye (CR) in aqueous solution was investigated using Au-Pd/TiO2 as photocatalyst. The concentration of dye, dosage of photocatalyst, amount of H2O2, pH of the medium and temperature were examined to find the optimum values of these parameters. It has been found that 28 ppm was the best dye concentration. The optimum amount of photocatalyst was 0.09 g/75 mL of dye solution when the degradation percent was ~ 96 % after irradiation time of 12 hours, while the best amount of hydrogen peroxide was 7μl/75 mL of dye solution at degradation percent ~97 % after irradiation time of 10 hours, whereas pH 5 was the best value to carry out the reaction at the highest degradation percent. In additio

The fall angle of sun rays on the surface of a photovoltaic PV panel and its temperature is negatively affecting the panel electrical energy produced and efficiency. The fall angle problem was commonly solved by using a dual-axis solar tracker that continually maintains the panel orthogonally positioning to the sun rays all day long. This leads to maximum absorption for solar radiation necessary to produce maximum amount of energy and maintain high level of electrical efficiency. To solve the PV panel temperature problem, a Water-Flow Double Glazing WFDG technique has been introduced as a new cooling tool to reduce the panel temperature. In this paper, an integration design of the water glazing system with a dual-axis tracker has been ac