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.
A phytoremediation experiment was carried out with kerosene as a model for total petroleum hydrocarbons. A constructed wetland of barley was exposed to kerosene pollutants at varying concentrations (1, 2, and 3% v/v) in a subsurface flow (SSF) system. After a period of 42 days of exposure, it was found that the average ability to eliminate kerosene ranged from 56.5% to 61.2%, with the highest removal obtained at a kerosene concentration of 1% v/v. The analysis of kerosene at varying initial concentrations allowed the kinetics of kerosene to be fitted with the Grau model, which was closer than that with the zero order, first order, or second order kinetic models. The experimental study showed that the barley plant designed in a subsu
... Show MoreCoupling reaction of 2-amino benzoic acid with 8-hydroxy quinoline gave bidentate azo ligand. The prepared ligand has been identified by Microelemental Analysis,1HNMR,FT-IR and UV-Vis spectroscopic techniques. Treatment of the prepared ligand with the following metal ions (ZnII,CdII and HgII) in aqueous ethanol with a 1:2 M:L ratio and at optimum pH, yielded a series of neutral complexes of the general formula [M(L)2]. The prepared complexes have been characterized by using flame atomic absorption, (C.H.N) Analysis, FT-IR and UV-Vis spectroscopic methods as well as conductivity measurements. The nature of the complexes formed were studied following the mole ratio and continuous variation methods, Beer's law obeyed over a concentration range
... Show MoreThe compound 2,2'-(((1H-benzo(d)imidazol-2-yl)methyl)azanediyl)bis(ethan-1-ol) was reacted with benzyl bromide to afford compound (1) which used as row material to prepare a series of compounds through condensation reaction, the starting compound were reacted with tosyl chloride to protect the OH group to afford compound 2, then reacted benzyl bromide to produce compound (2), then the compound (2) treated with three compounds ( 2-mercaptobenzthiazole, 2-mercaptobenimidazol and 2-chloromethyl benzimidazole) to form compounds 3a,b, 4a,b and 5a,b respectively. In the another step the click reaction of compound 2,2'-(((1H-benzo(d)imidazol-2-yl)methyl)azanediyl)bis(ethan-1-ol) with Propargyl bromide produce compound 6 which reacted
... Show MoreThe 3-aminoacetophenone and 4-aminoantipyrine were used as precursors to prepare new six ligands. The three new ligands (L1,L2 and L3) were synthesis by reacting one mole of 3-aminoacetophenone with one mole of (Acetyl chloride), (benzoyl chloride), (4-methoxybenzoyl chloride) and ammonium thiocyanat in acetone as a solvent, they are:- L1 (AAA) =[N-(3-acetylphenylcarbamothioyl)acetamide] L2 (BAA) =[N-(3-acetylphenylcarbamothioyl)benzamide] L3 (MAA) =[N-(3-acetylphenylcarbamothioyl)-4-methoxy benzamide] Also three new derivatives of 4-aminoantipyrine were synthesis by reacting one mole of 4-aminoantipyrine with one mole of (Acetyl chloride), (benzoyl chloride), (4-methoxybenzoyl chloride) and ammonium thio
... Show MoreThe activity of Alanine aminopeptidase( AAP ) was measured in the urine of healthy and urinary tract cancer patients , the results showed higher activity of (AAP) in patients compared to healthy . AAP was Purified from the urine of healthy and patients with urinary tract cancer by dialysis and gel filtration (Sephadex G – 50) and two isoenzymes of (AAP) were separated from urine by using ion-exchang resin (DEAE – Sephadex A – 50 ) in previous study. The kinetics studies showed that both isoenzymes I and II obeyed Michaelis – Menton equation . with optimal concentration of alanine-4-nitroanilide as substrate for isoenzymes I and II which was (2 x 10-3 mol/L ). The two isoenzymes obeyed Arrhenius equation up two 37° C and t
... Show MoreReverse Osmosis (RO) has already proved its worth as an efficient treatment method in chemical and environmental engineering applications. Various successful RO attempts for the rejection of organic and highly toxic pollutants from wastewater can be found in the literature over the last decade. Dimethylphenol is classified as a high-toxic organic compound found ubiquitously in wastewater. It poses a real threat to humans and the environment even at low concentration. In this paper, a model based framework was developed for the simulation and optimisation of RO process for the removal of dimethylphenol from wastewater. We incorporated our earlier developed and validated process model into the Species Conserving Genetic Algorithm (SCG
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