In this paper, an exact stiffness matrix and fixed-end load vector for nonprismatic beams having parabolic varying depth are derived. The principle of strain energy is used in the derivation of the stiffness matrix.
The effect of both shear deformation and the coupling between axial force and the bending moment are considered in the derivation of stiffness matrix. The fixed-end load vector for elements under uniformly distributed or concentrated loads is also derived. The correctness of the derived matrices is verified by numerical examples. It is found that the coupling effect between axial force and bending moment is significant for elements having axial end restraint. It was found that the decrease in bending moment was
in the

Elbow stiffness is hard to treat and commonly resulted from trauma or degenerative arthritis. This study aimed to demonstrate the effectiveness of using ultrasound therapy in management of stiff elbow joint resulted from several etiological factors. A total number of 42 patients (35 male and 7 female) allocated randomly from the Department of Physiotherapy at Al-yarmouk Teaching Hospital during 2013. Each patient examined physically by physiotherapist taking in consideration the measurement of the joint movement angle using goniometer in flexion and the extension, and the pain score using visual analogue scale (VAS). Ultrasound therapy initiated thrice weekly for two weeks. At the time of entry, the means degree of flexion and extension

Concrete pavements are essential to modern infrastructure, but their low tensile and flexural strengths can cause cracking and shrinkage. This study evaluates fiber reinforcement with steel and carbon fibers in various combinations to improve rigid pavement performance. Six concrete mixes were tested: a control mix with no fiber, a mix with 1% steel fiber (SF1%), a mix with 1% carbon fiber (CF1%), and three hybrid mixes with 1% fiber content: 0.75% steel /0.25% carbon fiber (SF0.75CF0.25), 0.25% steel /0.75% carbon fiber (SF0.25CF0.75), and 0.5% steel /0.5% carbon fiber ((SF0.5CF0.5). Laboratory experiments including compressive, flexural, and splitting tensile strength tests were conducted at 7, 28, and 90 days, while Finite Element Analys

A restrictive relative clause (RRC hereafter), which is also known as a defining relative clause, gives essential information about a noun that comes before it: without this clause the sentence wouldn’t make much sense. A RRC can be introduced by that, which, whose, who, or whom. Givon (1993, 1995), Fox (1987), Fox and Thompson (1990) state that a RCC is used for two main functions: grounding and description. When a RRC serves the function of linking the current referent to the preceding utterance in the discourse, it does a grounding function; and when the information coded in a RRC is associated with the prior proposition frame, the RRC does a proposition-linking grounding function. Furthermore, when a RRC is not used to ground a new di

In this paper, the behavior of structural concrete linear bar members was studied using numerical model implemented in a computer program written in MATLAB. The numerical model is based on the modified version of the procedure developed by Oukaili. The model is based on real stress-strain diagrams of concrete and steel and their secant modulus of elasticity at different loading stages. The behavior presented by normal force-axial strain and bending moment-curvature relationships is studied by calculating the secant sectional stiffness of the member. Based on secant methods, this methodology can be easily implemented using an iterative procedure to solve non-linear equations. A comparison between numerical and experimental data, illustrated

      In this research, a variable stiffness actuator is proposed to enhance the damping of the mechanical vibrating system. The frequency response analysis of the vibrating system is dependant in order to analyze and synthesis this semi-active damping, where the suggested process is using active filter to estimate the present frequency of the vibration system, and this will limit the value of the stiffness of the vibrated system. Two active filter s are needed, low-pass-filter (LPF) to choose the higher stiffness of the actuator at small frequencies as well as more damping and high-pass-filter (HPF) to choose the lower stiffness of the actuator at high frequencies as well as more damping, and so