The aim for this research is to investigate the effect of inclusion of crack incidence into the 2D numerical model of the masonry units and bonding mortar on the behavior of unreinforced masonry walls supporting a loaded reinforced concrete slab. The finite element method was implemented for the modeling and analysis of unreinforced masonry walls. In this paper, ABAQUS, FE software with implicit solver was used to model and analyze unreinforced masonry walls which are subjected to a vertical load. Detailed Micro Modeling technique was used to model the masonry units, mortar and unit-mortar interface separately. It was found that considering potential pure tensional cracks located vertically in the middle of the mortar and units shows an increase in masonry strength of about 10% than the strength calculated using the procedure recommended by the Masonry Society Joint Committee in the building code.
Methods of estimating statistical distribution have attracted many researchers when it comes to fitting a specific distribution to data. However, when the data belong to more than one component, a popular distribution cannot be fitted to such data. To tackle this issue, mixture models are fitted by choosing the correct number of components that represent the data. This can be obvious in lifetime processes that are involved in a wide range of engineering applications as well as biological systems. In this paper, we introduce an application of estimating a finite mixture of Inverse Rayleigh distribution by the use of the Bayesian framework when considering the model as Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC). We employed the Gibbs sampler and
... Show MoreThis study focuses on the slab-beam interaction in one-way systems. In the context of this study, slab-beam interaction means how beam deflection can affect moment distribution in one-way slabs. This interaction is usually neglected in the traditional approximate analysis that is adopted in engineering practice and design codes. Slab positive moments have been considered as indicators on the accuracy of approximate methods, as they overestimate negative moments while underestimating positive moments.
After proposing of effecting parameters in slab-beam interaction including of panel length and width, beam dimensions, and slab thickness, Buckingham’s theorem has been adopted to transform the dimensional-mo
... Show MoreIn this work, the switching nonlinear dynamics of a Fabry-Perot etalon are studied. The method used to complete the solution of the differential equations for the nonlinear medium. The Debye relaxation equations solved numerically to predict the behavior of the cavity for modulated input power. The response of the cavity filled with materials of different response time is depicted. For a material with a response time equal to = 50 ns, the cavity switches after about (100 ns). Notice that there is always a finite time delay before the cavity switches. The switch up time is much longer than the cavity build-up time of the corresponding linear cavity which was found to be of the order of a few round-trip ti
... Show MoreIn the last few years, there have been a lot of changes in the economy, society, and the environment. This has led to much competition between companies, directly and indirectly affecting production and marketing processes. Most companies are trying to cut production and manufacturing costs by using modern cost techniques such as product life cycle costing and Continuous Improvement (Kaizen) technology, in the method of measuring production costs or service costs, and the need for internal control to keep an eye on how these technologies are being used and how well they work. And to find out the effect of internal control on the implementation of costing techniques in Iraqi companies, 64 questionnaires were given to people who work in the i
... Show MoreThe effect of using grinded rocks of (quartzite and porcelanite) as powder of (10 and 20) % replacement by weight of cement for self-compacting concrete slabs was investigated in this study. Five slabs with 15 concrete cubes were tested experimentally at 28 days to study the compressive strength, ultimate load, ultimate deflection, ductility, crack load and steel strain. The test results show that, the compressive strength improvement when replacement of local rock powder reached to (7.3, 4.22) % for (10 and 20) % quartzite powder and (11.3, 16.1) % for (10 and 20) % porcelanite powder, respectively compared to the reference specimen. The ultimate load percentage increase for slabs with (10 and 20) % rep
... Show MoreThis paper reports a comprehensive study on the behavior of concavely curved soffit reinforced concrete (RC) beams strengthened in flexure with carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites under static loading. The main objective of this paper is to explore the effect of surface concavity on the bond performance of externally bonded wet layup CFRP sheets and laminates. An experimental program consisting of flexural strengthening of 24 RC beams with concavely curved soffits was carried out. All specimens were simply supported RC beams tested under three-point bending. Of the 24 beams, 6 beams were flat soffit RC beams, and the remainder were fabricated with concavely curved soffits with a degree of curvature that is ranging from 5 mm/m
... Show More<p>The directing of a wheeled robot in an unknown moving environment with physical barriers is a difficult proposition. In particular, having an optimal or near-optimal path that avoids obstacles is a major challenge. In this paper, a modified neuro-controller mechanism is proposed for controlling the movement of an indoor mobile robot. The proposed mechanism is based on the design of a modified Elman neural network (MENN) with an effective element aware gate (MEEG) as the neuro-controller. This controller is updated to overcome the rigid and dynamic barriers in the indoor area. The proposed controller is implemented with a mobile robot known as Khepera IV in a practical manner. The practical results demonstrate that the propo
... Show More