Strengthening of composite beams is highly needed to upgrade the capacities of existing beams. The strengthening methods can be classified as active or passive techniques. Therefore, the main purpose of this study is to provide detailed FE simulations for strengthened and unstrengthened steel–concrete composite beams at the sagging and hogging moment regions with and without profiled steel sheeting. The developed models were verified against experimental results from the literature. The verified models were used to present comparisons between the effect of using external post-tensioning and CFRP laminates as strengthening techniques. Applying external post-tensioning at the sagging moment regions is more effective because of the e

Most reinforced concrete (RC) structures are constructed with square/rectangular columns. The cross-section size of these types of columns is much larger than the thickness of their partitions. Therefore, parts of these columns are protruded out of the partitions. The emergence of columns edges out of the walls has some disadvantages. This limitation is difficult to be overcome with square or rectangular columns. To solve this problem, new types of RC columns called specially shaped reinforced concrete (SSRC) columns have been used as hidden columns. Besides, the use of SSRC columns provides many structural and architectural advantages as compared with rectangular columns. Therefore, this study was conducted to explain the structura

This research aimed to explore the use of foamed concrete (FC), a lightweight concrete, by replacing sand with crushed plastic from washing machines to improve environmental and thermal properties. The primary components included traditional materials like cement, water, and a foaming agent, along with the innovative use of waste plastic (WP). Utilizing Minitab software, the study applied the Response Surface Method to optimize mix designs, reducing the experimental mixtures to 31, which were then tested for dry density, porosity, water absorption, shrinkage, compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, and thermal conductivity. Results indicated a significant 24% reduction in dry density when using plastic as fine and coarse aggregate

Deep beams are used in wide construction fields such as water tanks, foundations, and girders in multi-story buildings to provide certain areas free of columns. In practice it is quite often occurring to create web opening in deep beams to supply convenient passage of ventilation ducts, cable channels, gas and water pipes. Experimental studies of ten 10 deep beams were carried out, where two of them are control specimens without openings and eight with large web openings in the shear spans. The variables that have been adopted are the ratio of the shear span to the overall depth of the member cross-section, location and dimensions of the opening. Test results showed that there was a decrease in the load carrying capacity of deep bea

A novel demountable shear connector for precast steel-concrete composite bridges is presented. The connector uses high-strength steel bolts, which are fastened to the top flange of the steel beam with the aid of a special locking nut configuration that prevents bolts from slipping within their holes. Moreover, the connector promotes accelerated construction and overcomes the typical construction tolerance issues of precast structures. Most importantly, the connector allows bridge disassembly. Therefore, it can address different bridge deterioration scenarios with minimum disturbance to traffic flow including the following: (1) precast deck panels can be rapidly uplifted and replaced; (2) connectors can be rapidly removed and replaced; and (

The research was carried out in lathhouse on one-year-old apple seedlings of the Ibrahimi variety in the Karma-Fallujah region for the 2021 growing season to study the effect of methods of adding nano-fertilizer and humic acid on seedling growth. A two-factor experiment was designed according to a randomized complete block design, with three replicates and two seedlings per experimental unit, so the number of seedlings was 54. The first factor includes NPK nanofertilizer at three levels (0- and 2-ml L-1 foliar spray and 5 ml L-1 soil application). The second factor is humic acid at three levels (0 and 5 g of seedlings - 1 foliar spray and 10 g of seedlings - 1 soil application). The results of the study show that the NPK nano-fertil

Abstract: In the present work, the heat transfer of Nano Aluminum Oxide -NAO- has been studied practically to define the appropriate insulation conditions.  This study focuses on finding of the amount of heat transfer through a glass substrate that is coated with nanoalumina doped on PMMA matrix. The optical and thermal properties were systematically investigated. The density of heat flow rate, was calculated in the range values (240-260) W/m2 while the optimum values confine between (250-260) W/m2 at temp. (25-35)C^o. The results showed that the thermal insulation of the sample was significantly enhanced at temp. (30-50)C^o. The simulated net heat transfer through window decreased linearly with incr

After harvesting, Alfalfa plant was washed, dried and ground to get fine powder used in treatment water. We used alfalfa plant with ethanol to made alcoholic extract and characterized it applying (GC-Mass, FTIR, UV) spectroscopy to determine active compounds. Alcoholic extract was used to prepare zinc nanoparticle. We characterized Zinc nanoparticles by using FTIR, UV, SEM, EDX Zeta potential and AFM. Zinc nanoparticle with Alfalfa extract and alfalfa powder was used to treat pollutant water with pesticides and negative ions by two methods, namely Batch and continuous processing. Batch process was used two times firstly, with Alfalfa plant to treat water affected by pesticides and negative ions, after 1h pesticides (glyphosate 44.76%, sulfo