Concrete structures are exposed to aggressive environmental conditions that lead to corrosion of the embedded reinforcement and pre-stressing steel. Consequently, the safety of concrete structures may be compromised, and this requires a significant budgets to repair and maintain critical infrastructure. Prediction of structural safety can lead to significant reductions in maintenance costs by maximizing the impact of investments. The aim of this paper is to establish a framework to assess the reliability of existing post-tensioned concrete bridges. A time-dependent reliability analysis of an existing post-tensioned involving the assessment of Ynys-y-Gwas bridge has been presented in this study. The main cause of failure of this bridge was corrosion of tendons, making it a relevant case study to evaluate the effect of corrosion on bridge safety. Uncertainties associated with material properties, geometry, loads and corrosion parameters are taken into account. The probabilistic models of the uncertainties are combined with a non-linear finite element analysis to study the effect of tendons pitting corrosion on the post-tensioned concrete bridge. The limit state function considered is flexural strength. The Monte-Carlo simulation (MCS) method is used to compute the statistical parameters of the resisting bending moment through a MATLAB code running ABAQUS. It was found that the reliability index for the first year of bridge service life is below the minimum value acceptable for structures. The study confirmed that this bridge was a high risk structure due to its design and location. The proposed framework can be used by engineers and researchers as a tool to support decision for segmental post-tensioned (PT) bridges maintenance since they need for a regular inspection due to their risk to corrosion.
Scheduling considered being one of the most fundamental and essential bases of the project management. Several methods are used for project scheduling such as CPM, PERT and GERT. Since too many uncertainties are involved in methods for estimating the duration and cost of activities, these methods lack the capability of modeling practical projects. Although schedules can be developed for construction projects at early stage, there is always a possibility for unexpected material or technical shortages during construction stage. The objective of this research is to build a fuzzy mathematical model including time cost tradeoff and resource constraints analysis to be applied concurrently. The proposed model has been formulated using fuzzy the
... Show MoreIn this study, we attempt to provide healthcare service to the pilgrims. This study describes how a multimedia courseware can be used in making the pilgrims aware of the common diseases that are present in Saudi Arabia during the pilgrimage. The multimedia courseware will also be used in providing some information about the symptoms of these diseases, and how each of them can be treated. The multimedia courseware contains a virtual representation of a hospital, some videos of actual cases of patients, and authentic learning activities intended to enhance health competencies during the pilgrimage. An examination of the courseware was conducted so as to study the manner in which the elements of the courseware are applied in real-time learn
... Show MoreThe reaction of LAs-Cl8 : [ (2,2- (1-(3,4-bis(carboxylicdichloromethoxy)-5-oxo-2,5- dihydrofuran-2-yl)ethane – 1,2-diyl)bis(2,2-dichloroacetic acid)]with sodium azide in ethanol with drops of distilled water has been investigated . The new product L-AZ :(3Z ,5Z,8Z)-2- azido-8-[azido(3Z,5Z)-2-azido-2,6-bis(azidocarbonyl)-8,9-dihydro-2H-1,7-dioxa-3,4,5- triazonine-9-yl]methyl]-9-[(1-azido-1-hydroxy)methyl]-2H-1,7-dioxa-3,4,5-triazonine – 2,6 – dicarbonylazide was isolated and characterized by elemental analysis (C.H.N) , 1H-NMR , Mass spectrum and Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometer (FT-IR) . The reaction of the L-AZ withM+n: [ ( VO(II) , Cr(III) ,Mn(II) , Co(II) , Ni(II) , Cu(II) , Zn(II) , Cd(II) and Hg(II)] has been i
... Show MoreA bolted–welded hybrid demountable shear connector for use in deconstructable steel–concrete composite buildings and bridges was proposed. The hybrid connector consisted of a partially threaded stud, which was welded on the flange of a steel section, and a machined steel tube with compatible geometry, which was bolted on the stud. Four standard pushout tests according to Eurocode 4 were carried out to assess the shear performance of the hybrid connector. The experimental results show that the initial stiffness, shear resistance, and slip capacity of the proposed connector were higher than those of traditional welded studs. The hybrid connector was a ductile connector, according to Eurocode 4, with slip capacity higher than 6 mm. A nonli
... Show MoreIn recent years, Bitcoin has become the most widely used blockchain platform in business and finance. The goal of this work is to find a viable prediction model that incorporates and perhaps improves on a combination of available models. Among the techniques utilized in this paper are exponential smoothing, ARIMA, artificial neural networks (ANNs) models, and prediction combination models. The study's most obvious discovery is that artificial intelligence models improve the results of compound prediction models. The second key discovery was that a strong combination forecasting model that responds to the multiple fluctuations that occur in the bitcoin time series and Error improvement should be used. Based on the results, the prediction acc
... Show MoreThe availability of low- cost adsorbent namely Al-Khriet ( a substance found in the legs of Typha Domingensis) as an agricultural waste material, for the removal of lead and cadmium from aqueous solution was investigated. In the batch tests experimental parameters were studied, including adsorbent dosage between (0.2-1) g, initial metal ions concentration between (50-200) ppm (single and binary) and contact time (1/2-6) h. The removal percentage of each ion onto Al-Khriet reached equilibrium in about 4 hours. The highest adsorption capacity was for lead (96%) while for cadmium it was (90%) with 50 ppm ions concentration, 1 g dosage of adsorbent and pH 5.5. Adsorption capacity in the binary mixture were reduce at about 8% for lead a
... Show MoreIn this paper, a compartmental differential epidemic model of COVID-19 pandemic transmission is constructed and analyzed that accounts for the effects of media coverage. The model can be categorized into eight distinct divisions: susceptible individuals, exposed individuals, quarantine class, infected individuals, isolated class, infectious material in the environment, media coverage, and recovered individuals. The qualitative analysis of the model indicates that the disease-free equilibrium point is asymptotically stable when the basic reproduction number R0 is less than one. Conversely, the endemic equilibrium is globally asymptotically stable when R0 is bigger than one. In addition, a sensitivity analysis is conducted to determine which
... Show MoreArtificial pancreas is simulated to handle Type I diabetic patients under intensive care by automatically controlling the insulin infusion rate. A Backstepping technique is used to apply the effect of PID controller to blood glucose level since there is no direct relation between insulin infusion (the manipulated variable) and glucose level in Bergman’s system model subjected to an oral glucose tolerance test by applying a meal translated into a disturbance. Backstepping technique is usually recommended to stabilize and control the states of Bergman's class of nonlinear systems. The results showed a very satisfactory behavior of glucose deviation to a sudden rise represented by the meal that increase the blood glucose
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The dependable and efficient identification of Qin seal script characters is pivotal in the discovery, preservation, and inheritance of the distinctive cultural values embodied by these artifacts. This paper uses image histograms of oriented gradients (HOG) features and an SVM model to discuss a character recognition model for identifying partial and blurred Qin seal script characters. The model achieves accurate recognition on a small, imbalanced dataset. Firstly, a dataset of Qin seal script image samples is established, and Gaussian filtering is employed to remove image noise. Subsequently, the gamma transformation algorithm adjusts the image brightness and enhances the contrast between font structures and image backgrounds. After a s
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