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 c

This work investigates the effect of the gas nitriding process on the surface layer microstructure and mechanical properties for steel 37, tool steel X155CrVMo12-1 and stainless steel 316L. Nitriding was conducted at a temperature of 550 °C for 2 hours during the first stage and at 750 °C for 4 hours during the second stage. SEM and X-ray diffraction tests were performed to evaluate the microstructural features and the major phases formed after surface treatment. SEM and X-ray diffraction tests were performed to assess the microstructural features and the primary phases formed after surface treatment. The new secondary precipitates were identified as γ′-Fe4N, ε (Fe2–3N), and α-Fe, exhibiting an uneven chain-like pattern wit

Television white spaces (TVWSs) refer to the unused part of the spectrum under the very high frequency (VHF) and ultra-high frequency (UHF) bands. TVWS are frequencies under licenced primary users (PUs) that are not being used and are available for secondary users (SUs). There are several ways of implementing TVWS in communications, one of which is the use of TVWS database (TVWSDB). The primary purpose of TVWSDB is to protect PUs from interference with SUs. There are several geolocation databases available for this purpose. However, it is unclear if those databases have the prediction feature that gives TVWSDB the capability of decreasing the number of inquiries from SUs. With this in mind, the authors present a reinforcement learning-ba

Prediction of accurate values of residual entropy (SR) is necessary step for the
calculation of the entropy. In this paper, different equations of state were tested for the
available 2791 experimental data points of 20 pure superheated vapor compounds (14
pure nonpolar compounds + 6 pure polar compounds). The Average Absolute
Deviation (AAD) for SR of 2791 experimental data points of the all 20 pure
compounds (nonpolar and polar) when using equations of Lee-Kesler, Peng-
Robinson, Virial truncated to second and to third terms, and Soave-Redlich-Kwong
were 4.0591, 4.5849, 4.9686, 5.0350, and 4.3084 J/mol.K respectively. It was found
from these results that the Lee-Kesler equation was the best (more accurate) one

The increasing use of plastics in various aspects of modern life resulted in the availability of enormous amount of wastes, including a negative effect on the environment and humans. So it is necessary to find solutions to deal with these wastes and ensure to use them as solutions to use in concrete mix . In this research the production of concrete containing high and low density polyethylene has been used by (5, 10, 15)% as a replacement of part of the volume of sand, so as to obtain concrete good compressive strength as well as other benefits such as improved possibility of pumping concrete and reduce the loss of concrete for workability polymer is a material that is non-absorbable of water . It is also intended to dispose of these was

As asphalt concrete wearing course (ACWC) is the top layer in the pavement structure, the material should be able to sustain stresses caused by direct traffic loading. The objective of this study is to evaluate the influence of aggregate gradation and mineral filler type on Marshall Properties.  A detailed laboratory study is carried out by preparing asphalt mixtures specimens using locally available materials including asphalt binder (40-50) penetration grade, two types of aggregate gradation representing SCRB and ROAD NOTE 31 specifications and two types of  mineral filler including limestone dust and coal fly ash. Four types of mixtures were prepared and tested. The first type included SCRB specification and

In recent decades, tremendous success has been achieved in the advancement of chemical admixtures for Portland cement concrete. Most efforts have concentrated on improving the properties of concrete and studying the factors that influence on these properties. Since the compressive strength is considered a valuable property and is invariably a vital element of the structural design, especially high early strength development which can be provide more benefits in concrete production, such as reducing construction time and labor and saving the formwork and energy. As a matter of fact, it is influenced as a most properties of concrete by several factors including water-cement ratio, cement type and curing methods employed.
Because of acce

To enhance the structural performance of concrete-filled steel tube (CFST) columns, various strengthening techniques have been proposed, including the use of internal steel stiffeners, external wrapping with carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) sheets, and embedded steel elements. However, the behavior of concrete-filled stainless-steel tube (CFSST) columns remains insufficiently explored. This study numerically investigates the axial performance of square CFSST columns internally strengthened with embedded I-section steel profiles under biaxial eccentric loading. Finite element (FE) simulations were conducted using ABAQUS v. 6.2, and the developed models were validated against experimental results from the literature. A comprehen

The main factors that make it possible to get the corrosion of reinforcing steel in concrete are chloride ions and the absorption of carbon dioxide from the environment, and each of them works with a mechanism which destroys the stable immunity of rebar in the concrete. In this work the effect of carbon dioxide content in the artificial concrete solution on the corrosion behavior of carbon steel reinforcing bar (CSRB) was studied, potentiostatically using CO₂ stream gas at 6 level of concentrations;  0.03 to 2.0  weight percent, and the effect of rising electrolyte temperature was also followed  in the range 20 to 50^ᴼ C. Tafel plots and cyclic polarization procedures were obeyed to investigate the c