Carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRP) were widely used in strengthening reinforced concrete members
in the last few years, these fibers consist mainly of high strength fibers which increase the member capacity in addition to changing the mode of failure of the reinforced concrete beams. Experimental and theoretical investigations were carried to find the behavior of reinforced concrete beams strengthened by CFRP in shear and bending. The experimental work included testing of 12 beams divided into 4 groups; each group contains 3 beams. The following parameters were taken into consideration: - Concrete crushing strength. - CFRP strengthening location (shear strengthening and both shear and flexure strengthening). Reinforced beams were simply supported subjected to two point loads. Each group consists of three beams; the first beam without CFRP, the second one, is strengthened with CFRP in shear and the third is strengthened with CFRP in both flexure and shear. Four groups with different crushing strength of (12, 20, 30 and 39 MPa). The CFRP sheets are attached externally.
It was found that in beam with low crushing strength loads transfer to the CFRP at early stages while in
those of high crushing strength, CFRP contribution only starts when full strength of the beam is fulfilled. A
full bond between CFRP sheets and the concrete is assumed in the theoretical analysis. Comparison between the theoretical and the experimental results revealed the validity of the numerical analysis and the developed methods such that there was a difference of 13% in the ultimate strength for the tested and analyzed beams.
Static loads exposing to mechanical components can cause cracks, which are lead to form stress concentration regions causing the failure of structure. Generally, from 80% to 90% of structure failure is due to initiation of the cracks. Therefore, it is necessary to repair the crack and reduce its effect on the structure where the effect of the crack is modelled as an additional flexibility to the structure. In the last few years, piezoelectric materials have been considered as one of the most favourable repairing techniques. The piezoelectric material converts the applied voltage on it to a bending moment to counter the bending moment caused by the external load on the beam at the crack location. In this study, the design of the piez
... Show MoreBACKGROUND: Mental health problems are reflected and linked to human behavior in many aspects. Medical students are susceptible to a wide variety of events that compromise their mental well-being, social life as well as their academic achievements. AIM: This study aimed to find the impact of social support on medical students’ behavior in Iraq via assessing their depression, anxiety, and stress status. METHODS: A cross-sectional online survey-based study targeted all medical students in Iraq. The employed questionnaires covered mental health status of participants by evaluating their perceptions of depression, anxiety, and stress using. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Analysis System. RESULTS: The study revealed a signifi
... Show MoreA simple all optical fiber sensor based on multimode interference (MMI) for chemical liquids sensing was designed and fabricated. A segment of coreless fiber (CF) was spliced between two single mode fibers to buildup single mode-coreless-single mode (SCS) structure. Broadband source and optical signal analyzer were connected to the ends of SCS structure. De-ionized water, acetone, and n-hexane were used to test the performance of the sensor. Two influence factors on the sensitivity namely the length and the diameter of the CF were investigated. The obtained maximum sensitivity was at n-hexane at 340.89 nm/RIU (at a wavelength resolution of the optical spectrum analyzer of 0.02 nm) when the diameter of the CF reduced from 125 μm to 60 μ
... Show MorePhotonic crystal fiber interferometers are used in many sensing applications. In this work, an in-reflection photonic crystal fiber (PCF) based on Mach-Zehnder (micro-holes collapsing) (MZ) interferometer, which exhibits high sensitivity to different volatile organic compounds (VOCs), without the needing of any permeable material. The interferometer is robust, compact, and consists of a stub photonic crystal fiber of large-mode area, photonic crystal fiber spliced to standard single mode fiber (SMF) (corning-28), this splicing occurs with optimized splice loss 0.19 dB In the splice regions the voids of the holey fiber are completely collapsed, which allows the excitation and recombination of core and cladding modes. The device reflection
... Show MoreThe refractive index sensors based on tapered optical fiber are attractive for many industries due to sensing capability in a variety of application. In this paper, we proposed a refractive index sensor based on multicore fiber (MCF) sandwiched between two standard single mode fibers (SMF). The sensor consisting of three sections, SMF- MCF-SMF is structurally simple and can be easily produced by joining these parts. The MFC contains seven cores and these cores are surrounded by a single cladding. The sensing region is obtained by tapering the MCF section where the evanescent field is generated. The single mode propagating along the SMF is stimulated at the first joint and is coupled to the cladding modes. These modes interfere with the core
... Show More<p> Traditionally, wireless networks and optical fiber Networks are independent of each other. Wireless networks are designed to meet specific service requirements, while dealing with weak physical transmission, and maximize system resources to ensure cost effectiveness and satisfaction for the end user. In optical fiber networks, on the other hand, search efforts instead concentrated on simple low-cost, future-proofness against inheritance and high services and applications through optical transparency. The ultimate goal of providing access to information when needed, was considered significantly. Whatever form it is required, not only increases the requirement sees technology convergence of wireless and optical networks but
... Show MoreModified optical fiber sensors received increasing attention because of their superior properties over electrical sensors. These properties include their immunity towards electromagnetic interference and the ability to be deployed in corrosive and volatile environment. Several optical fiber platforms have been developed for chemical sensing applications based on modifying optical fiber cladding layer such as etched, tapered, D-shaped and etched-tapered. The modifications purpose is to extend the evanescent wave propagating out of the core physical dimensions. Thus, evanescent wave interaction with analyte is enhanced. Modified optical transducing platforms are integrated in gas sensing applications, such as ammonia. Modified optical
... Show MoreSoil pH is one of the main factors to consider before undertaking any agricultural operation. Methods for measuring soil pH vary, but all traditional methods require time, effort, and expertise. This study aimed to determine, predict, and map the spatial distribution of soil pH based on data taken from 50 sites using the Kriging geostatistical tool in ArcGIS as a first step. In the second step, the Support Vector Machines (SVM) machine learning algorithm was used to predict the soil pH based on the CIE-L*a*b values taken from the optical fiber sensor. The standard deviation of the soil pH values was 0.42, which indicates a more reliable measurement and the data distribution is normal.
Background: the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of different surface acids treatments (37%phospjoric acid, 5%hydrofluoric acid, 1.23 acidulated phosphate fluoride) of feldspathic ceramic VITA 3D MASTER , and the effect of thermocycling on shear bond strength using a ceramic repair kit (ivoclar/vivadent). Material and Methods: sixty Nickel-Chromium metal base plates were prepared(9mm diameter,3mm depth) using lost wax technique, 2mm thick layer of ceramic(VITA 3D MASTER) fused to metal plates, all specimens were embedded in acrylic resin blocks except their examined surfaces and divided into 3 main groups 20 specimens each, Grp A: treatment with 37%phosphoric acid for 2 mins, Grp B: etching with 5% hydrofluoric acid for 2mins,
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