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Go to Editorial ManagerSoil classification is a significant tool for the interpretation of soil properties and the selection of the appropriate parameters to express soil types in geotechnical engineering applications. In this paper, a comparative analysis on the prediction of soil classification using different soil parameters via Neural Network, Decision Tree, and Ensemble classifier algorithms in the machine learning tool box of MATLAB is conducted. The data is classified into 14 sets of input parameters according to the parameters of the Unified Soil Classification System (USCS), which is a standard system in practice for classifying soils based on their physical properties and their engineering behavior. The input parameters of the USCS, Passing No. 4 Sieve, Passing No. 200 Sieve, Gravel, Sand, Fines, Liquid Limit, Plastic Limit and Plasticity Index, are specified within the certain ranges to generate a synthetic data base including 478 data for the purpose of training and testing. Five Neural Network models (Medium, Trilayered, Bilayered, Narrow and Wide), three Decision Tree models (Fine, Medium, Coarse) and three Ensemble models (Boosted Trees, Bagged Trees, RUSBoosted Trees) are tested for the different test split ratios (10, 20, and 30). The results show that the Neural Network models proposed in this study have the highest prediction capability, with a classification accuracy of up to 100 % for some variable sets, and can classify soils automatically and precisely based on the soil index properties. Among the individual models, WNN and NNN generally showed the best performance for all variable sets. The Ensemble models presented high prediction capability with respect to generalization. Among the DT models, although they are fast, they presented relatively lower accuracy than the other models, especially the Coarse Tree model. This study can be used as a reference for the future development of automated soil classification systems and can offer practical suggestions for the selection of machine learning models for geotechnical engineering problems.
Mathematical programming techniques have been used to minimize the cost of reinforced concrete T-beam floor. The floor system consists of one way continuous slab and simply supported T-beams. The study presents a formulation based on elastic analysis followed by the ultimate strength method of design with the consideration of serviceability constraints as per ACI Code. The formulation of optimization problem has been made by utilizing the interior penalty function method as an optimization method with the purpose of minimizing the objective function representing the cost of one-meter length of the floor system. The cost includes cost of concrete, reinforcement, and formwork. The design variables considered in this study are the dimensions and the amounts of reinforcement for the slab and beams, in addition to the spacing of the beams. Many examples are solved to show the effect of these design variables on the optimum solution of the floor system. The effect on the optimum design of the compressive strength of concrete, yield strength of steel, concrete cost ratios, and formwork cost ratios has also been studied.
In the present study, the dynamic analysis of jacket type offshore structures under the action of sea waves is carried out. The finite element method is adopted for the solution of the problem. The effect of soil-structure interaction on the dynamic behavior of the offshore structure is taken into account due to the deformations of the soil caused by the motion of the structure, which in turn modify the response of the structure. The supporting elastic foundation is represented by Winkler type model having normal and tangential moduli of subgrade reaction. These moduli may be constant or varying linearly or nonlinearly along the embedded length of the piles that support the offshore structure. The pile tip conditions are also considered. A time domain solution is recommended. The generalized Morison's equation is used to calculate the wave forces and Airy's linear theory to describe the flow characteristics. Both free and forced vibration analyses are studied. The dynamic response has been obtained by modal analysis in conjunction with Wilson-0 method. As an example, a modified model of an actual jacket type offshore platform is analyzed under the action of wave forces.
In the present study, the dynamic analysis of jacket type offshore structures under the action of sea waves is carried out. The finite element method is adopted for the solution of the problem. The effect of soil-structure interaction on the dynamic behavior of the offshore structure is taken into account due to the deformations of the soil caused by the motion of the structure, which in turn modify the response of the structure. The supporting elastic foundation is represented by Winkler type model having normal and tangential moduli of subgrade reaction. These moduli may be constant or varying linearly or nonlinearly along the embedded length of the piles that support the offshore structure. The pile tip conditions are also considered. A time domain solution is recommended. The generalized Morison's equation is used to calculate the wave forces and Airy's linear theory to describe the flow characteristics. Both free and forced vibration analyses are studied. The dynamic response has been obtained by modal analysis in conjunction with Wilson-θ method. As an example, a modified model of an actual jacket type offshore platform is analyzed under the action of wave forces.
The effect of pore fluid chemistry on the engineering properties of soil in Garmatt-Ali zone of Basrah was investigated. The tested soil is described as silty clay of low plasticity. The pore fluid was altered to include distilled water, raw sewage, and solutions of various salts such calcium carbonate, magnesium sulphate, and calcium chloride. Also, the solutions of salts were used with different concentration (0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1.0 normality). The prepared samples of soil were tested after different exposure periods. The test program included determination of shear strength characteristics, consolidation characteristics, and Atterberg limits. The changes in shear strength, coefficient of permeability, void ratio – effective stress relationship, and Atterberg limits were recorded with the change in exposure period or the concentration of pore fluid solution. Generally, it was found that there are reductions in the shear strength of soil when the pore fluid is changed from distilled water to solutions of salts or raw sewage. Also it was found that there is a change in the calculated values of permeability, upon changing the type of pore fluid. The coefficient of consolidation for polluted soil was found to be less than that for the reference samples with distilled water.
Chemical additives were used in this research to improve the properties of the road subgrade layer. Cement, lime, and ferric chloride were used. Laboratory tests such as unconfined compressive strength, consistency limits, and wheel truck test were conducted. The results showed that adding these chemicals to the soil increases the ability of the soil to work, its resistance, and its durability. The optimum percentage of chemical additives that is suitable for the addition to the soil of Al-Nasiriya city were 9 %, 10 %, and 2 % corresponding to cement, lime, and ferric chloride, respectively. According to the unconfined compressive strength test and with increase curing period, which gave good results in improving the strength of the soil. As for the consistency limits, all additives reduced the liquid limit and plasticity index and increased the plastic limit, according to the wheel track test, at 10,000 passes the Rutting depth was 32 mm for natural soil, also the depths were (14, 19, and 17 mm) with chemical additives, respectively.
Several governments around the world announced new strategies regarding their construction industry. These strategies focus on reducing construction projects' time, cost and improving their impact on the environment. To achieving these goals within the proposed time scale, these authorities advise their stakeholders to start to implement different methods in project delivery such as Building Information Modeling (BIM), Integrated Project Delivery (IPD), Geographic Information System (GIS), and many more. All these new technologies and methods will reduce human errors in the project lifecycle which will lead to reducing project waste. In addition, this will pave the road to automation in construction. Automation will help to mitigate the huge number of clashes and mistakes. Iraq an oil-depended country suffering from economic crises due to the considerable reduction in oil prices. This struggle must enforce the government to use this opportunity to solve current project problems such as project delays and budgets overrun and rethink how to reduce construction project time and cost. However, the applicability and understanding of these new methods and technologies need to be explored first among the Iraqi construction industry. This paper will investigate the understanding of automation in construction among different disciplines working with different experiences in the Iraq construction industry. The method of survey was used to sightsee their view regarding automation in construction understanding, benefits, and the challenges. The results reveal that there a positive view in terms of understating the meaning of automation in construction. In addition, several benefits are identified as the most effective gains if these new methods are implemented. Furthermore, more than a few challenges also have been acknowledged that need to be considered to increase the successfulness of implementing automation in construction.
A significant quantity of pollutants are contained within domestic wastewater which creates a substantial environmental issue with a large quantity of effluent that contains high amounts of contaminants. Turbidity is a major indicator of water quality and a measure of suspended solids. The purpose of this investigation was to study the use of electrocoagulation (EC) as a method of removing turbidity from municipal wastewater using aluminum electrodes. Using a Design of Experiments (DOE) approach, specifically Response Surface Methodology (RSM), the effect of three important operating variables was studied. These were: the initial pH of the wastewater in the range from 3 to 9; the current (or amperage, ranged from 0.1 A to 1.1 A); and the time for which the wastewater was treated by the EC process (ranged from 10 minutes to 20 minutes). The initial turbidity of each of the municipal wastewaters used in the testing remained constant at 336 NTU (nephelometric turbidity units) throughout the entire investigation. The effect of a number of different experiments was made in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the EC process for removing turbidity from the municipal wastewaters, and in addition take a measure of a predictive model of turbidity removal efficiency. The main conclusion drawn from the investigation was that the EC process will be very effective for removing turbidity from municipal wastewaters, which can vary from 5% removal to total removal (as high as 97%). There appeared to be a statistical correlation between the removal efficiency and the three experimental variables: pH (r=0.4316); amperage (r=0.3714); and time of treatment (r=0.3965). The removal efficiency was highest using the variables of Run 8 whereby the pH was equal to 9, the current was held constant at 0.6 A and the treatment time was 10 minutes, resulting in a turbidity removal efficiency of 97%. The various data showed that both slightly acid (pH=6) and alkaline (pH=9) gave a markedly superior removal than acid (pH=3) for obtaining constant, high removal efficiencies (average of 90.00% and 90.33%, respectively). Also, it was determined that a current of 0.6 A provided the most optimum amperage, giving an average removal efficiency of 95.33%. In addition, it was shown that long treatment times resulted in high removal efficiency, with the most averages of removal efficiencies recorded when the time of treatment was set.
It is very crucial to minimize the environmental impact that induced from the development of industry, by applying strict policies and innovate eco-friendly industries. Indeed, construction manufacture considered as one of the most industries that affect the environment, especially concrete production and usage in structural buildings. For instance, traditional concrete, which is consists of a high amount of cement, is contributed to the emission of CO 2 . Therefore, researchers seeking to develop a new technology of concrete by replacement some amount of cement by materials which are considered to become more friendly to the environment. Nowadays, this new technology is known as Green Concrete. The importance of using green concrete is not only to decrease the emission amounts of CO 2 but also to replace cement by industrial waste. In this paper, a review has been presented to understand green concrete benefits and materials that may be used instead of cement and aggregate.
Since the 1970s, rainwater harvesting has gained more attention, specifically in semi-arid and arid areas. It is essential to take into account how much water can be collected from a single catchment site. Rainfall that has been harvested provides an alternative source of water in the northern region of Iraq. Numerous scholars have developed and executed a range of strategies and guidelines to choose appropriate locations and methods for rainwater harvesting (RWH). However, choosing the optimal method or set of rules for the choice of site is challenging. This study's primary goal was to evaluate previous research regarding the selection of appropriate RWH locations in northern Iraq by assembling a list of the most important techniques and guidelines that evolved over the previous thirty years. The primary factors considered in the process of choosing acceptable locations for RWH were soil type, slope, land use/cover, rainfall, and runoff. A literature review for RWH indicated that these criteria were chosen more frequently and significantly, and the opinions of experts should be used to establish the weight of each criterion. The majority of studies select RHW sites using geographic information systems, hydrological models, and multi-criteria analysis.
Groundwater in arid and semi-arid regions, such as the studied area (Safwan Al-Zubair area, south of Iraq), is of specific meaning as a major source for domestic use and irrigation demand. There is a need to better understand the interactions between groundwater and surface water (Shatt Al-Basrah Canal). These interactions can negatively affect the quality of groundwater in this area, especially that the water of Shatt Al- Basrah Canal contains highly concentrated pollutants. The aim of the study is to investigate the temporal disparity of river-aquifer interactions and count the amount of river interchange among canal and aquifer. In this research, a new concept of paradigm will be advanced utilizing RIVER package of Groundwater River Paradigm (MODFLOW) for the simulation of river-aquifer interaction operations. Six monitoring wells are chosen to evaluate the preliminary and historical groundwater hydraulic heads for six months and then use all collected data in Modflow to execute the simulation of numerical modeling to assessment the interaction between surface water and groundwater. The amount of seepage out from the canal towards the aquifer was (64.99 m 3 /day) in wet season (winter season), as a result of the high levels of the surface water compared to the hydraulic heads of groundwater. The amount of seepage in dry season towards the aquifer is equal to (336.8 m 3 /day).
This research is an analytical study for simulation both sediment transport and flow within the Tigris river reach located downstream of the Al-Amarah barrage within the Maysan province. This study adopted a three-dimensional program (SSIIM) which use the Navier-Stokes equations for calculating the flow, and the convection-diffusion equations for calculating the sediment transport by the finite volume method as approximated method. A structured non-orthogonal three-dimensional grid is employed to perform the simulation. The obtained results are subsequently compared to the field measurements. The determination coefficient ( R 2 ) for this comparison is 0.96 for flow velocity distribution and 0.94 for sediment concentration distribution. The results also showed through the simulation of the water flow, the state of the secondary flow and its effect on both the main flow and the erosion of the river bed in the studied cross sections. According to the high convergence of the results of this model with the field measurements, this model is a powerful tool for simulating flow and sediment concentrations in river systems and channels.
A linked simulation-optimization model for obtaining the optimum management of groundwater flow is presented in this research. (MODFLOW, 98) packages are used to simulate the flow of the groundwater system. This model is integrated with an optimization model which is based on the genetic algorithm (GA). Three management cases were undertaken by running the model with adopted calibrated parameters. In the first case found the optimum value of the objective function is (0.32947E+08 m3/year), in other words, the pumping rates could be raised to nine times the current pumping rates, with a highest decline in the hydraulic heads of groundwater compared with initial hydraulic heads reached to 6 cm. In a second case twenty six wells out of thirty five can be operated with "on/off" status associated with each well to obtain the maximum value of pumping rate. In third case is allowed to move a location of well anywhere within a user defined region of the model grid until the optimal location is reached. The optimum value of objective function in third case is (0.35539E+08 m3/year) with 8% increasing of the pumping rates compared with the first case. This is due to the random distribution of existing well locations.
This study addresses of contraction scour affect in Tigris River on Al-Nuhairat Bridge on the Basrah Governorate. It includes an analysis of key hydraulic variables and their interaction with the geological nature of the river and structural behavior of the concrete bridge, influencing the development of erosion. The data were entered and analyzed into the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) hydraulic toolbox. The data were collected through a field survey of the bridge site and information obtained from the Directorate Irrigation of Basrah, some tests was also conducted at the Soil Laboratory of the University of Basrah. Two computational methods were used to determine the scour depth, erosion through clear-water and live -bed scour and cohesive soil erosion. The results of the study showed that the depth of scour in the live-bed and clear water flow method increases by 25% approximately with each increase in the depth of flow and the amount of discharge. However, in the cohesive soil method, it depends on the effect of the shear force resulting from the velocity and depth of flow, which is much less, as its effect is 1% approximately with each increase in these parameters. The results of each method were discussed in detail, and the necessary recommendations were made to mitigate the effects resulting from the occurrence of such a type of scour and its impact on the Al-Nuhairat bridge.
A part of Basra water network which is near to Bradia water treatment plant is analyzed by using water cad program, water cad is also used for studying the water quality in the model by calculating the age and chlorine concentration for each pipe on the model. This model consist of (21)pipe ,(15)node or junction ,(6)loops, two water pumps one is operated and the second is stand by(each pump has a discharge equal to 0.6 mP3P/sec and a head of 60 m and an electrical control which related with the elevation of water in the tank),one elevated tank &one reservoir of water. The model studied hydraulically for two cases, the first case when the pump is power on and the second case when the pump is power off. Also the direction and discharge for each pipe are calculated. Different results are obtained in two cases. Also the results of water quality studies show that both the age of water and chlorine concentration at any pipe depended on its location with respect to the water treatment plant. Finally the calibration of the model is done in order to check the accuracy of the results.
In recent decades, the need for strengthening and repairing reinforced concrete structures has increasingly arisen. One common method is the use of concrete jackets. Slurry Infiltrated Fiber Concrete (SIFCON), a newly developed material, offers superior mechanical properties, making it a preferred choice for strengthening and repairing concrete structures. However, there is limited understanding of its bonding performance when used as an overlay on a Normal Strength Concrete (NSC) substrate. This study conducted a direct Shear Test (DST) to evaluate the bond performance using reinforced NSC cubes externally bonded with SIFCON jackets subjected to direct shear. Eighteen reinforced cubes were strengthened with various bonding systems to investigate how different factors affect the bond performance between the NSC substrate and SIFCON overlay. The parameters studied included surface preparation methods, binder types, jacket configurations, bonding conditions (fresh overlay on hardened substrate and hardened overlay on hardened substrate), dowel placement, and bonding mechanisms. The results show that using bonding agents significantly improved bond strength, with epoxy proving more effective than latex. Specimens prepared by chipping showed better bonding performance compared to those prepared through diamond cutting. Chipping increased bond strength by 8.91% to 13.84% over diamond cutting in the case of fresh SIFCON overlay on hardened substrate. Using dowels in the bonding systems also improved bond performance by 10.89% to 16.97%. Applying jackets to three sides instead of two increased the ultimate failure load by 31.76% when dowels were used in both the two-sided and three-sided strengthened samples, and by 35.45% in the absence of dowels in both types of strengthened specimens. The cast-in-situ specimens demonstrated superiority over those strengthened with precast jacket layers.
Basrah is considered as the economic capital of Iraq. In recent years, it showed a rapid growth in population and, accordingly, an increasing investment in construction industries. This paper presents information about the geotechnical characteristics of Basrah soil. For this purpose, geotechnical data have been collected covering wide areas of the city. The study area was divided into two zones, one of them was further divided into three subzones. For each of the zones considered, geotechnical information including typical soil profiles, Standard Penetration Test (SPT-N) values, Atterberg limits, sieve analysis results, consolidation test results and other physical aspects were given. Furthermore, chemical analysis of Basrah soil was also presented. According to field and laboratory results, soils in this region can be classified into two distinct zones. The eastern zone, which mainly forms of soft and medium cohesion soils extended from the soil surface down to a depth of (16 – 26) m, and, the western zone, which can be identified by the sandy surficial and stratigraphic soil.
This study investigates the shear strength behavior of two-layer reinforced concrete beams consisting of two different types of concrete. One of the layers made of lightweight concrete (LWC) and the other was normal weight concrete (NWC). A total of 16 shear deficient reinforced concrete beams were fabricated and cast with NWC, LWC, and two-layer beam of both material with different configuration. All the beams were tested under four-point loading after 28 days. The variables of the experimental program include the ratio of thickness of the lightweight concrete layer to the overall depth of beam ( h LW / h ), and concrete compressive strength. Experimental results which include load-deflection response curves along with failure modes for NWC, LWC and two-layer beams. The results showed that all beams failed in a similar mode, due to diagonal tension shear crack. Based on the experimental results it can be also concluded that the shear load is governed by compressive strength of lower layer of the concrete when the shear span to overall depth ( a / h ) of the beams is 2.75 or more. While for the a / h 2.375 and 2.00 the two-layer beam has a significant reduction in the shear capacity compared to the NWC beams and increasing compared to LWC beam. The ratio of experimental shear stress divided by the root square of concrete compressive strength (vexp √f c ' ) , which demonstrates the diagonally cracked concrete's ability to transfer strain and shear was maintained for all configurations greater than 0.17, which is the minimal value recommended by ACI318-19.
This numerical study aimed to investigate the torsional behaviour of hollow cross section reinforced concrete members strengthened with steel fibers (end hooked and corrugated), subjected to pure torsion. The numerical results were compared with experimental results and show good agreement. The experimental study was conducted on ten steel fiber reinforced concrete specimens with low longitudinal reinforcement ratio to investigate the torsional behavior under pure torsion. For this analysis, a computer program (ANSYS 18.2) was used. The brick elements 8-nodes (SOLID65) were used to concrete simulation, while the steel bars simulated as axial members (link 180). The steel fibre was represented theoretically by the stress-strain relationship. The theoretical results indicated that the adopted smeared crack model is capable of making relatively acceptable estimations of cracking and ultimate torsional capacity of the members.
This study is to investigate the effect of partially replacement of coarse aggregate by waste plastic and using the paper sludge as additive material at concrete, on the hardened concrete properties and its impact on structural behavior of the reinforced concrete members (slab, column, and beam). Plastics and paper are widely used in daily life in huge amounts. Both incineration and landfilling are options for disposing of plastic and paper waste, but either one could be harmful to the environment. Therefore, reducing waste or increasing its value can reduce pollution and reduce disposal costs. The variables of the experimental program include the ratio of waste plastic and paper sludge, the used ratios for plastic and paper were (5%, 10%, and 15%) by volume. Hardened concrete properties were investigated for concrete include: flexural strength, modulus of elasticity, and splitting tensile strength. For each structural reinforced member, the (Load – Deflection) curve has been extracted. The study shows that the plastic waste negatively affects most of concrete properties. The research indicates that using waste plastic in reinforced concrete members with percentage of (5% and 10%) by volume as a partially replacement of coarse aggregate giving acceptable results. However, when adding (5%) by mixture volume of waste paper in reinforced concrete members, the load-deflection behavior and ultimate load-bearing capacity have been improved. In general, using waste plastic and paper sludge in concrete mixtures lead to reduction in ultimate load ranging between (4.62%-10.82%) for slab under point load, (4.85-18.99%) slab under distributed load, (3.72%-12.21%) column, and (1.78%-7.16%) beam specimens respectively.
Although estuarine locations provide natural safety and protection for the construction of harbours and other infrastructure, they are prone to natural filling due to sediment settlement. As a result, dredging is required regularly to keep navigation channels and harbours safe and functional. A numerical model has been developed in this study to compute annual sediment load in Khour Al-Zubair Port, South of Iraq, setting up a MIKE 21 FM model. MIKE 21 FM was developed by the Danish Hydraulic Institute (DHI) where provides the capability of simulation of a hydrodynamic model (HD) coupled with the mud transport model (MT). The model operates with an unstructured mesh of triangles and quadrilateral elements of different sizes. Field and experimental data were provided during two periods (Neap and Spring) for calibration and verification process. According to the sensitivity analysis results, it is clear that the settling velocity is an essential parameter. Based on the results of the calibrated model, there is annual sedimentation of 1220500.64 tons/year. The primary deposition took place in the meandering of the Khour Al-Zubair estuary and behind the piers.
Constructed wetlands are engineered systems used for wastewater treatment with the objective of reusing water under controlled conditions by mimicking natural treatment mechanisms involving porous media, plants, and microbial communities. This study investigates the performance of a horizontal subsurface flow constructed wetland, where wastewater flows through a gravel bed and vegetation roots, allowing contact with biofilm developed within the wetland substrate. To evaluate treated water quality, physical, chemical, and biological parameters were measured. Field results demonstrated that pollutant removal efficiency increased with detention time. After 3, 4, and 6 days of treatment, average removal efficiencies were 47.7%, 53.2%, and 77.5% for COD; 45.1%, 52.8%, and 64.4% for total nitrogen (TN); and 55.4%, 58.8%, and 72.2% for ammonium (NH₄), respectively. Nitrate removal averaged 19.41% after 3 days. These findings confirm that the horizontal flow constructed wetland system is effective in reducing key wastewater pollutants.
Wastewater lagoons have proven to be an economically and environmentally beneficial alternative to traditional methods for treating sewage because of their unique properties, which include simplicity of use and inexpensive construction, energy, and maintenance costs. It is a natural wastewater treatment process that exploits the interactions between bacteria, algae, and other microorganisms and their surroundings to remove pathogens, organic matter, suspended particles, phosphates, ammonia, and nitrates. Stabilization lagoons are widely used throughout the world as they have proved to be a perfectly acceptable and satisfactory treatment system, the effluents produced in tertiary lagoons have been used for irrigation and aquaculture in many countries, indicating the high quality achieved during treatment in these units. This aim of this research is to overview the literature on lagoons' classification, design, and historical development. It also includes a set of relevant pilot and laboratory-scale experiments. As well as a comprehensive review of factors affecting lagoon performance, including sun's light, DO, pH, temperature, and nutrients. The relationship between these factors and their use in efficient contaminant removal is also discussed.
Submarine pipelines are essentially used for the transmission of gas and oil across oceans between countries or for transport between shore and offshore installations. The pipeline applications were studied to be installed in deep water, which exposed to different loads such as currents and waves in various directions, barge movements, seafloor interaction, etc. This paper developed a dynamic analysis of the J-lay suspended submarine pipeline during laying, taking into account the effect of water depth, the direction of the wave heading, and sea state without vessel movement. The finite element program ANSYS R17.2 is used for modeling and analysis of the pipelines. The random sea state is modeled using the JONSWAP spectrum. It was found that the effect of the direction of wave heading on the bending moment from dynamic analysis of pipeline is obvious in a depth of (2 m) below water surface, and then gradually decreases until it disappears in depth of (100 m). Whereas the effect of wave height is obvious in a depth of (2 m) and then gradually decreases until it disappears in depth of (120 m).
The land surface erosion is controlled by multifarious of different parameters, such as slope, soil physical properties (texture, structure, permeability, etc.), rainfall, runoff, and crop cover. However, it is impossible to develop precise simplest mathematical model that can predict the values of land surface soil erosion due to the behavior of controlled parameters. This paper presents the Neural Networks Model for assessing land surface soil erosion as amass per unit area per unit of time. The model derives from the analysis data obtained from available literature and was formulated as linear regression model and back propagation algorithm neural model. Both models were built by correlating firstly five watersheds variables with land surface erosion and secondly ten watershed variables with land surface erosion. The coefficients for independent variables were highly significant for both models. The case of correlating 10- watershed variables with land surface erosion gives R=0.978 & 0.976 for both models which is higher than that for 5- watershed variables. The mean absolute relative error (MARE%) is another procedure that used in order to evaluate the accuracy of the model and The average error % is 0.025 for (5) variables and 0.0064 for (10) variables. Both the supporting practices (P) and the slope length and slope steepness (LS) coefficients have a marked effect on the amount of land surface erosion in the case of 5- watershed variables. The amount of land surface erosion show a high level of sensitivity to the content of fine sand% in soil (FS) watershed variables on The amount of land surface soil erosion.
The finite element method is used to simulate the soil vibration behavior due to the Basrah-Baghdad passenger train and its effect on a targeted building in the Al-Ma'qal quarter, Basrah governorate. Three-dimensional dynamic elastic analyses are performed to calculate the particle velocities for a train speed of 120 km/hr. The effectiveness of screening using active (10 m long) open trench barriers with variable depth (2 m - 5 m) and width (0.4 m - 0.8 m), is being studied. For a given trench width (0.4 m), the results of the parametric study revealed a considerable effect of trench depth where the screening capability near the trench is increased by (10.4 %, 26.1 %, 36.3 %) due to a (50 %, 100 %, 150 %) increase in depth. The results are less sensitive to the variation in trench width. The screening capability of a double open (0.4 m × 10 m × 2 m) trench system was also investigated, where a mitigation improvement of (36.4 %) was achieved. The vibration mitigation using single and double trench systems, filled with (40 %) rubber content mixture, was also analyzed. It is concluded that using the additional passive trench increases the mitigation of the single system by around 19.1 %. An important finding is that the (40 % rubber + 60 % native cohesive soil) mixture proved to be a good filling material, since the infilled-trench systems produced comparable screening ratios to the open systems, where (97.7 %) and (85.4 %) were accomplished for the single and double systems, respectively.
Recently, methods have emerged to assess the vulnerability of groundwater to pollution, which has been adopted by many countries that depend on groundwater as an important and supportive resource for surface water to protect groundwater and monitor and control its pollution. Assessment methods adopt vulnerability maps and compare them with the real-life pollution map of the region. The study was conducted in Al-Teeb area, which is located in the northeast of Missan province, south of Iraq. This area is about 2450 km 2 . This study applied four models DRASTIC, GOD, SINTACS and Modified DRASTIC of vulnerability maps are analyzed using GIS technique and compared with the reality map which represent the nitrate concentration map as a basic comparison map; in order to choose the closest one with respect to the realistic acting. The results showed that 80.29 % of study area is classified under low vulnerability in DRASTIC method and moderate vulnerability in GOD, SINTACS and MD-DRASTIC which are covered 54.12 %, 83.18 % and 72.35 % of study area respectively. Pearson's correlation coefficient was used to compare the four methods with the nitrate concentration map, where the correlation value for DRASTIC, GOD, SINTACS and MD-DRASTIC was 73.05, 49.79, 83.23 and 87.94 %, respectively. So, the MD-DRASTIC is represented the best technique for evaluating vulnerability map in the study area which can be recommended.
Fracture mechanics approach is important for all mechanical and civil projects that might involve cracks in metallic materials the purpose of this paper is to determine a crack tip opening displacement fracture toughness experimentally, also study the effect of thickness on CTOD fracture toughness of low carbon steel and study the effect of Wire Electrical Discharge Machine (WEDM) to have a pre-crack, instead of fatigue pre-crack by using a CT specimen of low carbon steel with a thickness of (8,10, and15 mm), a width of 30mm, crack length of 15mm, and pre-crack of 1.3mm for all samples, this dimension according to ASTM-E399-13, by pulling the specimen in a 100 KN universal testing machine at a slow speed rate of 0.5 mm/min, the load applied on the specimen is generally a tension load. The crack tip plastically deforms until a critical point P C at this moment a crack is initiated. The computer-controlled universal testing machine gives the value of the load and the displacement transducer gives a crack mouth opening displacement. Critical crack tip opening displacement CTOD is found with the plastic hinge model (PHM) method. The result showed the stress intensity factor K I increases with increased loading in the elastic region and t he thickness effect refers to the effect of the plastic zone at the crack tip on the stress intensity factor, In a thin specimen, a plastic zone is large at the fracture tip leads to a high-stress intensity factor at the fracture tip but in the thick specimen, on the other hand, has a small a plastic zone and a low-stress intensity factor around the crack tip. The fracture toughness is found to increase with an increase in the thickness of specimens.
The trend of using natural fibers in geotechnical engineering has become of great interest to improve weak soils due to some of its advantages such as local availability, environmental friendliness, and lower cost. In this study, a set of unconfined compression strength and direct shear tests were conducted to evaluate the performance of Al-Nasiriya clayey soil reinforced with natural fibers. Three different types of natural fibers were investigated as sustainable ones, including wheat straw fiber and palm frond fiber, as well as imperata cylindrica fiber. The effects of various fiber contents (0.25 %, 0.5 %, 0.75 %, and 1 %) and lengths (20 mm, 30 mm, and 40 mm) were experimentally evaluated. The results indicated that the compressive strength increased significantly with the increase of fiber content and length up to an optimum value and then decreased. The optimum fiber content and length were 0.5 % and 30 mm, respectively. Compared to the unreinforced soil, the compressive strength values at the optimum content and length increased by 102 %, 126 %, and 66 % for samples reinforced with wheat straw, palm fronds, and imperata cylindrica fibers, respectively. The shear properties improved due to soil reinforcement with natural fibers. Compared to the unreinforced soil, the internal friction angle of the samples reinforced with wheat straw, palm fronds, and imperata cylindrica fibers increased by 17.7 %, 42 %, and 9 %, respectively. Forever, the cohesion and shear strength are also improved due to inclusion of natural fibers.
Higher education institutions, as one of the powerful actors contributing to pollution and impact on the environment, are not an exception in adoption of sustainable practices. Thus, this study aims to investigate the sewage disposal condition at University of Basrah situated adjacent to the Shatt al-Arab, which is estimated as the artery that feeds water to Basra/southern Iraq regions. The release of non-treated or poorly treated water is a real danger to the aquatic and terrestrial species in Governorate. Consequently, samples were collected for analysis during summer and winter seasons to investigate their physical, chemical and biological characteristics acknowledged as basic criteria for assessment of environmental degradation: DO, TDS, NO3, NO2, PO4, SO4 pH. Also, measured are BOD and COD. Preliminary studies suggest that wastewater properties differ with its origin and associated practices. These differences emphasize the need for targeted management strategies depending on the origin of wastewater. In order to be able to decide whether the treatment of wastewater and measures for environmental protection are appropriate, this study provides valuable information on the nature of wastewater generated in University of Basrah, College of Engineering. The findings help decision makers in the field of wastewater management for implementing the exact strategies of sustainable sewage treatment and disposal legislations, which consequently saving water resources.
The present study deals with the analysis of short reinforced concrete columns subjected to axial load. One of the efficient techniques is applied, known as artificial neural networks. The descent gradient backpropagation algorithm is employed for analysis. The optimum topology (which gives the least mean square error for both training and testing with a fewer number of epochs) is presented. The effects of the number of nodes in input and hidden layer(s), and selecting of leaming rate and momentum coefficient, on the behavior of the neural network, have been investigated. Due to the slow convergence of results when using descent gradient backpropagation, the faster algorithm called "resilient backpropagation algorithm" has been used to improve the performance of the neural network and the results have been compared with those obtained using the descent gradient backpropagation algorithm.
A spandrel beam is a structural member lies at the edge of a frame and is connected by a joint to the floor beam extending into the slab. The spandrel beams are primarily responsible for transferring forces from a slab to the supporting edge columns. This work investigates the possibility of using the artificial neural networks to model the complicated nonlinear relationship between the various input parameters associated with reinforced concrete spandrel beams and the actual ultimate strength of them. The descent gradient backpropagation algorithm was employed for predicting the ultimate strength of the reinforced concrete spandrel beams. The optimum topology (which gives least mean square error for both training and testing with fewer number of epochs) is presented. Effects of parameters such as, number of hidden layer(s), number of nodes in the input layer, output layer and hidden layer(s), initialization weight factors and selection of the learning rate and momentum coefficient on the behaviour of the neural network have been investigated. Because of the slow convergence of results when using descent gradient backpropagation, another algorithm which is faster called "resilient backpropagation algorithm" has been used. The neural network trained with the resilient backpropagation RPROP algorithm gives better results than that trained with the steepest descent algorithm with momentum GDM algorithm.
There is a vacuum created when water goes past a pipe constriction. Air may be pulled into the main flow by drilling a hole in the pipe near where the vacuum happens. Venturi aerator is an example of the application in action. A vacuum is formed at the suction holes of the Venturi tube when there is a small difference in pressure between the input and output sides. To demonstrate the link between total flow rate and Venturi aerator performance, a Venturi aerator (model 1584) was introduced at a specific point in a Biopipe system. For this purpose, a physical model on a pilot scale was constructed and installed in an existing sewage treatment plant. Dissolved oxygen concentrations were measured at four locations along the Biopipe at different values of wastewater flowrates. The study results showed that raising the total flow rate increased the amount of air injected by the Venturi aerator. When the total flow rate was less than 4 m 3 /hour, the Venturi aerator stops sucking air and produces negative consequences.
This study presents an attempt for establishment of sustainable development and management policies for utilization of Basrah coastal aquifer. The simulation/optimization approach is used with application to Um-Qasr aquifer in Basrah. In this research, 5 management schemes for sustainable use of a coastal aquifer exposed to seawater intrusion were developed and solved. The objective of the management models is to maximize the total amount of water pumped from the aquifer for beneficial use, and optimum location, numbers and redistribution of wells. Salt concentration of the pumped water from each of the pumping well was considered as a main constraint together with the minimum water head which is considered to control saltwater intrusion by heads balances with time. Solutions of the management schemes are based on a linkage between a simulation module SEAWAT and Simulated Annealing (SA) algorithm optimization module. The heads and concentrations, calculated by the simulation model based on pumping rates, are used in a SA optimization procedure to achieve an optimum solution. The five multi-objective management schemes were applied on Um-Qasr coastal aquifer. The results show that using simulation / optimization approach in Um- Qasr region can improve planning and management policies and can give better decision for aquifer utilization. The results show that the aquifer can safely increase its pumping rate by (175%) greater than its current abstraction according to the results of schemes 1.
During the pouring of concrete deck, the installation of external bracing between the inner and outer girders may be necessary when the bridge has sharp curve in order to control the deflection and rotation of the girders. However, it is important to minimize the number of external bracing members, as they have expensive cost and they also have opposite effects for the fatigue features of the steel tub girders. The analysis of curved box girder bridges is carried out numerically by the use of finite element method through (ANSYS 19.2) software. The curved box girder with the intermediate external diaphragms was modeled and the analysis was carried out for many parameters like external bracing sections, girders with or without concrete deck, girders with end diaphragms or without them. The study concluded that ANSYS program has a good ability in evaluating the external bracing force comparing with code equations.
A computer program has been generated to calculate the optimum dimensions and the amount of reinforcements for open reinforced concrete circular cylindrical tanks rest on ground. The design is based on limit state method for both ultimate and serviceability limit states in accordance with the British Standards B.S. 8110 and B.S. 5337. The cost of concrete, steel, and formwork are considered. The procedure is based on the interior penalty method to find the optimum solution for the non-linear programming problem. The tank consists of cylindrical wall and circular base and the joint between them was considered as partially fixed. The design variables consist of tank geometric variables in addition to steel content in seven positions. The effect of the design capacity of the tank, bearing capacity of the soil, unit price of steel and concrete, and finally unit cost of formwork was studied. It is found that the reduction of the bearing capacity of the soil linearly increases the cost of the tank. The increase of concrete and steel unit costs leads to increasing the tank height while the increase of formwork unit cost enhances the tank diameter, to reach the optimal design.
A Laboratory study was conducted in a tilting flume, 0.6 m wide and 3.0 m long to study the effect of regular and irregular bed material on the resistance to the flow of different bed material. The results show that the maximum increase in Manning's roughness coefficient happens when the bed is regular and the maximum reduction in Manning roughness coefficient happens when the bed is irregular.
New composite reinforced concrete beams, in which reinforced concrete component is connected to steel T-section, are proposed. The stirrups of the beam were utilized as shear connectors by passing them through drilled holes in the web of the steel T-section. Experimental test and numerical analysis were conducted to determine the behaviour of such beams when subjected to combined shear, torsion, and bending stresses. Full scale one conventional reinforced concrete curved in plan beam C1, and four composite reinforced concrete ones, C2 to C5, were tested. The degree of shear connection between the two components of beams C2 to C5 was changed by varying the number of stirrups which are used as shear connectors. The increase in load carrying capacity of the composite reinforced concrete beams reached 55 % for beam C4 as compared to that of ordinary reinforced concrete beam. The experimental results demonstrated that the stirrups are very effective in providing the interaction between the two components of the beams. The degree of shear connection emerged not to have effect on the behaviour of tested beams. Three-dimensional finite element analysis was conducted using commercial software ABAQUS. To model the shear connection in composite reinforced concrete beam, the stirrups were connected to the web of the steel T-section by springs at the location of the stirrups. Good agreement is obtained between the results of the experimental tests and the finite element analysis.
A series of unconfined compression and direct shear tests were carried out to investigate the compressive strength and shear strength parameters of clay soil reinforced with different contents and lengths of wheat straw and palm frond fibers and by adding different percentages of furnace slag. The bearing capacity and settlement characteristics of the rectangular footing based on a clay soil layer reinforced with wheat straw fibers, palm fronds and furnace slag at different thicknesses were also studied by conducting model footing tests. The results indicated that the compressive strength and shear strength parameters improved significantly when adding 0.5% of natural fibers and 20% of furnace slag. The maximum compressive strength of soil samples reinforced with wheat straw fiber MT1 and palm frond fiber MT2 was 365 and 407 kPa, respectively. Compared to the unreinforced sample, samples reinforced with natural fibers and furnace slag significantly improve the shear strength parameters c and ϕ . The cohesion of soil sample reinforced with wheat straw and palm frond fibers increased by 8% and 43% respectively, while the internal friction angles improved by 19% and 40% respectively. The sample treated with furnace slag MT3 showed improved significantly in cohesion by 76% and less effect in internal friction angle. Compared to unreinforced soil samples, the cohesion of soil samples reinforced with wheat straw and palm fibers and treated with furnace slag MT4 and MT5 increased by 77% and 92% respectively, and less effect in internal friction angle. Moreover, the bearing capacity and settlement characteristics of the rectangular footing improved significantly with the increase in the thickness of the top layer reinforced with natural fibers and treated with furnace slag. The ultimate bearing capacity of layer reinforced with wheat straw fibers MT1 increases to 193.2, 220.15 and 247.5 kPa at thicknesses of 0.5 B, 1.0 B, and 1.5 B respectively, while the settlement decreased by 10.4%, 15% and 20.48% respectively at same thicknesses.
This work deals with the effect of using Recycled Concrete Aggregate (RCA) as a partial replacement of coarse aggregate in Self-Compacting Concrete (SCC), on the structural behavior (flexure and shear) of reinforced concrete one-way slabs. To the authors’ knowledge, this study is one of limited studies concerning the behavior of recycled aggregate concrete one-way slabs subjected to line loading with significant replacement of conventional aggregates by recycled concrete aggregate (up to 75 %). Three replacement ratios were considered: 25 %, 50 %, and 75 %. The mixes (with natural stone coarse aggregate, NCA) have an averaged compressive strength of ($F_{cu} = 42 \text{ MPa}$) at the age of 28 days with a tolerance of ($\pm 1.5 \text{ MPa}$). While, the mixes (with RCA) have an averaged compressive strength of ($38.5, 36.5, \text{ and } 34 \text{ MPa}$) for the three replacement ratios respectively, at the age of 28 days with a tolerance of ($\pm 2 \text{ MPa}$). All the slabs were cast with length of ($1600 \text{ mm}$), width of ($600 \text{ mm}$), while the thickness was variable. For this purpose, sixteen reinforced concrete one-way slabs were cast and divided into five groups (G1 to G5). Different parameters that affect the behavior of one-way slabs were studied and include type of failure, replacement ratios of NCA by RCA, amount of main reinforcement, thickness and locations of line loadings along the span. Hardened concrete specimens results show that the **compressive strength** $F_{cu}$, **tensile strength** $F_t$, **modulus of rupture** $F_r$, and **modulus of elasticity** $E$ were decreased as the RCA replacement increased. The experimental results of slabs show that the **ultimate capacity** of slabs decreased as the RCA replacement increased, the **deflection** and **strain** increase as the RCA replacement increases and the **crack width** increases as the RCA replacement increases. From the results of ultimate capacity, cracking load and moment, deflections, crack width and pattern and concrete surface strains, it can be concluded that the recycled concrete aggregate can be used as a partial replacement of natural coarse aggregate to produce self-compacting concrete mixes. Also, the behavior of one way slabs cast with SCC containing RCA is acceptable.
Al-Robat and Al-Jubyla creeks, which composes the study area, are two of the main six creeks branched from Shatt Al- Arab river in Basrah province, south of Iraq. They are used as open drains for discharging untreated sanitary sewage which caused the depletion of their dissolved oxygen and subsequently the deterioration of their water quality. To study the impact of discharging untreated sanitary sewage on study area water quality, measured in terms of dissolved oxygen concentration, it is necessary to determine the values of deoxygenation coefficient ( K 1 ). The aim of this study is to find K 1 values for the study area using laboratory results of BOD time series analyses. For this purpose, water samples were collected from eight locations distributed along the study area. Thomas graphical method was applied to calculate K 1 . The results showed that the K 1 values for Al-Robat and Al-Jubyla creeks ranged from 0.279 to 0.488 day ˗ 1 at 20 °C with ultimate BOD values varied over the range (40.5-258.6) mg/l. These results revealed that the water in Al-Robat and Al-Jubyla creeks has the characteristics of raw sewage.
This numerical study was conducted to simulate and analyze the pushout test for the new shear connector in a new steel-concrete composite system. In this system, the shear stirrups of the reinforced concrete beam are used as shear connectors when passed through holes drilled in the web of inverted steel T-section. The numerical analysis was performed by creating a three-dimensional finite element model using the finite element program ANSYS 21 student version to simulate the behavior of the new innovative shear connectors. The pushout specimens analyzed in this study have been tested experimentally by the same researchers earlier. A total of fifty-six push-out specimens were modeled and analyzed to investigate the effect of many parameters on the shear strength and slip capacity of the shear connector. The parameters studied in this investigation were the specimen dimensions (length and width), the diameter of stirrups (shear connector), the number of connectors per specimen, concrete strength, size of T-section, and shape of the specimen. The finite element analysis using ANSYS gave a good prediction of the effect of studied parameters on connector strength, the failure modes, the form and intensity of deformations in the model, and the load-slip response. The maximum difference in connector strength which was observed between the numerical and experimental results was 15 %.
Scour around bridge foundations is one of the major causes of severe damage to bridge structures. This study experimentally investigated the effects of key parameters, including pier shape, foundation shape, foundation level, flow intensity, and Froude number, on local scour for non-uniform pier geometries. Three foundation shapes (rectangular, oblong, and hexagonal) and three pier shapes (rectangular, oblong, and hexagonal) were examined, with a constant foundation depth of 8 cm. The results demonstrated that scour depth is strongly influenced by foundation level and by the shapes of both piers and foundations. Among the tested configurations, the hexagonal foundation exhibited the lowest scour depth, followed by oblong and rectangular shapes, respectively. Positioning the foundation below the bed level further reduced scour depth around the pier. Additionally, the hexagonal pier produced the minimum scour because of its smaller exposed surface area. These findings highlight the importance of structural geometry and foundation placement in minimizing local scour at bridge piers.
This paper investigates the possibility of recycled aggregate use in concrete slabs with hollow cores. The main variables considered in the experimental study for the slabs were the recycled aggregate percentage and the hollow core number. Six slabs with dimensions of (1000 × 500 × 120) mm was fabricated and tested. The results showed that the addition of recycled aggregate in the concrete slabs affected the ultimate strength, ductility, and energy absorption of the concrete members. An increase of the recycled aggregate percentage to 25 % decreased the ultimate strength capacity by 3.54 %, but the increase of recycled aggregate to 50 % led to a decrease in the ultimate strength of about 6.64%. The existence of a hollow core reduced the cracking and ultimate load capacity of the RCA slabs, and this reduction was according to the core number which the fabrication of more cores caused more decrement. The ductility and energy absorption were decreased when the replacement ratio of the recycled aggregate increased. Also, the core number affected the ductility and energy absorption. The energy absorption was the most property affected by the core number increase which caused an average reduction of 71.5 % when the core number increased from two to three hollow cores.
This paper deals with the behavior of reinforced concrete anchor blocks for underground steel pipelines.~ under the effect of loads caused by internal pressure and temperature variation due to the transportation of hydrocarbon products. The finite element method is used to carry out the analysis using the ANSYS 5.4 program. To study the effect of oil, it is represented by springs with different values for the modulus of subgrade reaction in normal and tangential reactions. It is concluded that increasing the values of the modulus of subgrade reactions, kn and ks of the soil surrounding the reinforced concrete anchor block causes an increase in the failure loads of the block. But at high values of these modules, the rate of this increase in the failure load will decrease. The area of the passive face of the concrete anchor block is found to have the main effect on the failure load as compared to the length of that block. The failure load of the concrete anchor blocks that have square cross sections is 1.33 times larger compared to that of rectangular sections. It is also concluded that locating the steel flange at the middle of the block leads to a larger resistance of anchor blocks as compared to any other position.
The shear panels of plate girder made from corrugated in the web is investigated in this research. A corrugated web beam of plate is attached in the shear zone of the web as part of an experimental and theoretical investigation into plate girders. In experiments, seven plate girder specimens were tested under two points of load. Six of them were made of different shape of corrugated plate in the web, the last specimen was tested without corrugation as a reference specimen called control. In this study investigated the effected of (corrugation plate, thickness of corrugation with number layers of corrugated and the shape of corrugated plate) on (buckling and ultimate loads also on lateral and vertical deflection) and compared with reference specimen, these specimens have the same dimensions, the main variable was the thickness of the corrugated plate in the web (0.5, 1, and 2) mm, the depth was constant (300 mm). According to results of the experiment, the corrugated plates primarily increase the plate girder's stability. A corrugation of plate increases the buckling load and ultimate load significantly through the contribution of the corrugation to delay buckling of the plate girder in the web. In addition, it was found that increasing the plate-girder thickness leads to increased buckling and ultimate loads, because the stiffness will increase and delay the buckling. Also, the trapezoidal corrugation and the diagonal corrugate that placed perpendicular on the tension field action, give higher buckling and ultimate load than control beam. Ansys (version 17.0) computer program was used in this research represent the steel and nonlinear large structural shell was used to represent the corrugated web beam of the plate in the finite element analysis model.
The main objective of this study is to investigate the effect of repeated load on the strength and behavior of the spandrel beam by considering eight specimens divided into four groups based on the design methods; type of cross-section of the spandrel beam and the type of loading. Two design methods, two types of loading and two types of cross sel.1ions for spandrel beam are considered, the first is a solid rectangular section, while the other is a hollow rectangular section. The effect of repeated loads on the crack's width, deflections, torque, and angle of twist is studied using two stages of loading, the first stage is at the soft-cracking stage after the occurring of cracks in the spandrel beam and the second stage is the yielding of the bottom longitudinal reinforcement of the floor beam.
The reason for the widespread use of steel box girders is that they have high structural efficiency due to the high bending, high torsional stiffness and rapid erection. For bottom flange of the girders, the buckling behavior during production and erection due to compression strength can be a problem. The compression plate with longitudinal stiffeners typically renders an economic. The optimal design of longitudinal stiffeners is discussed. The results are based on 3-D FEA (ANSYS19.2) of many stiffened compression bottom flange models, the moment of inertia requirement of bottom flange longitudinal stiffener is investigated by studying the effect of many parameters as longitudinal stiffeners numbers, stiffener sections, plate aspect ratio and compression flange thickness. Also, the stiffeners effect on the compression panel plate stresses were studied by modeling girder with and without longitudinal stiffeners. The finite element method is useful as they can be used to study the plate with stiffeners in an economical way, and we don’t need experimental and laboratory tests.
An investigation was conducted to study the effect of loading level with respect to shear center and span length on lateral torsional buckling of steel I-section beams using linear and nonlinear finite element analysis available in ANSYS (version 12.0) computer program. The steel beams which have been studied included prismatic beams and linearly web- tapered beams with web tapering ratio of (0.5). The maximum height of all beams was 300 mm with span length of 4, 6 and 8 m. The critical buckling loads for prismatic and linearly tapered cantilever and simply supported beams subjected to point load and uniformly distributed load were determined. The results showed that, the bottom flange loading gives a buckling loads higher than that of the top flange loading with percentage increases of 148% and 155% for the linear and nonlinear analysis respectively for the prismatic beams. While for the tapered beams, these percentages increases were 61% and 67% respectively.
This research concerns with the fracture behavior of reinforced concrete beams without shear reinforcement numerically. The software ABAQUS is adapted to simulate the crack propagation using the eXtended Finite Element Method (XFEM), taking into account materials nonlinearities using concrete damage plasticity CDP criteria. XFEM is used to solve the discontinuity problems in the simulation. The maximum principal stress failure criterion is selected for damage initiation, and an energy-based damage evolution law based on a model- independent fracture criterion is selected for damage propagation. The traditional nonlinear finite element analysis is used to specify the crack initiation position, which is required to specify the crack location in the analysis of beams using XFEM. Three-dimensional reinforced concrete beam models are investigated subjected to three and four-point loading tests. Simply supported beams under the effect of applied static load are investigated. An elastic perfectly plastic model is used for modeling the longitudinal steel bars. The main variables considered in the study are beam depth and the shear span with beam length. The numerical results are compared with the available experimental results to demonstrate the applicability of the model. The XFEM provides the capability to predict the concrete member fracture behavior.
Time series analysis for hydrological phenomena has an important role in water resources engineering. In this study, seven models of ARIMA family are tested for forecasting the monthly discharge at Hit station on Euphrates river in Iraq. The statistical analyses were done for models with help of IBM SPSS statistics 21 software, The number of observations used is equal to 480 reading, start from October 1932 and end at September 1972, this period represents the near-natural stream flow of the river before the construction of dams in Syria and Turkey. Statistical tests such as T-test and F-test were used to detect any change in Mean and Variance at 95% significant probability level. Results showed that the best model is (2,0,1)×(0,1,1) 12 which gives minimum error and good agreement between observed and forecast discharge.
Previous concrete is a special, highly porous concrete used in applications that allow water to pass through it, such as parking areas and park walkways. In this research, three pervious concrete mixes were designed and produced by fixing all amounts of their raw materials (cement, water and gravel) but changing the gravel particle sizes as (4.75-10 mm), (10-14 mm) and (14-20 mm). by adopting 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional techniques, porosity (pore volume), compressive strength and permeability of the selected mixes were investigated. The results showed that the volumetric pore volume (3D porosity) of pervious concrete can be predicted by adopting the Image analysis technique (2D method). In addition, using smaller-sized aggregate (4.75-10 mm) helped in enhancing the pore structure, compressive strength (30% more) and permeability (80% less) of pervious concrete than using the bigger-sized aggregate (14-20 mm). Finally, it was found that the best-fitting line for both 2D and 3D porosities and permeability was an exponential model.
The paper deals with neural networks identification of ultimate moment capacity of steel-concrete composite beams on base of experimental results. Basic information on artificial neural networks and its parameters suitable for analysis of experimental results are given. Two types of neural network algorithms are used. Results of identification are reported. The results show that artificial neural networks are highly suitable for assessing the ultimate moment capacity of composite section. The proposed neural network was also used to explore the effect of the various parameters on the behaviour of composite beams.
The objective of the present paper is to evaluate the effects of the soil-structure interaction on the seismic evaluation in the building when a framed building is supported on raft foundation. Also the foundation-soil interaction effect has been considered by replacing it with equivalent springs. Nonlinear static pushover analyses of eight-storey reinforced concrete hospital building located at Delhi-India has been performed using the Capacity Spectrum Method of ATC-40. The deformations define the state of damage in the structure through three limit states of the NEHRP Guidelines and the FEMA-356 have been used to evaluate the performance level of the building for drift, the plastic hinge stage of the crack and shear under the condition of the fixed base and the effect of the soil-structure interaction. The performance of the building and individual components has been estimated for Design Basis Earthquake and Maximum Considered Earthquake. The weight of the slab was distributed as triangular and trapezoidal loads to the surrounding beams as per IS 456:2000. The weight of the brick masonry was distributed uniformly on the beams. The results show that the soil structure interaction has marked effect on the roof displacement, storey drift, design base shear, effective damping and crack pattern for beams and columns while there is a minor effect on the torsional behavior of the building. The building is more critical in the performance level when considering the soil flexibility.
The studying of fluid flow throughout fracture in the reservoir is one of the most vital subjects attracted much attention from engineers and geologists. In the present paper, the Dual Porosity-Dual Permeability (DPDP) model has been applied to represent the fluid flow within the fractured reservoirs. This work aimed to demonstrate the utility of the fractures in the petroleum reservoir and how could be used the positive effect of these fractures on the productivity as well. The productivity of single-phase fluid flow within the single horizontal fracture, multi horizontal fractures, and inclined fracture with different orientations (20 o , 30 o , 45 o , and 70 o ) have been implemented by using ANSYS- CFX program and compared with the productivity of conventional (without fractures) reservoirs. In addition to, visualize the velocity streamlines within fracture and matrix zones for the DPDP model. To verify this work the comparison has been made with published paper, which studies the fluid flow through fractures, and a good agreement has been obtained with each other. The study indicates that the presence of macro scale fractures in petroleum reservoirs contributes to increasing the total productivity of these reservoirs. Clearly, the productivity index of multi-horizontal fractures domain is more than twice of nonfractured domain. It is also clear that, when comparing the fractured and nonfractured reservoir, the improvement percentage of the productivity index reaches to (71.8) for a single horizontal fracture with 9 ft length. While this percentage would be about (116.88) if the fracture is inclined with 20 o .
A composite beam is an accumulation of different materials so as to form a single unit to exploit the prominent quality of these materials according to their position within the cross-section of the composite beam. The present study investigates the structural behavior of six simply supported composite beams, in which a reinforced concrete T-beam is connected together with a steel channel located at the bottom of a T-beam by means of headed stud shear connectors. The used degrees of shear connection are (100%, 75%, 50%, and 38%). Three dimensional nonlinear finite element analysis has been used to conduct the numerical investigation for the general behavior of beams which are subjected to central point load. ANSYS 12.1 program code was used to estimate the ultimate loads, deflections, stresses, strains, end slip. Concrete was modeled by brick element (SOLID65), while the steel channel was modeled as brick element (SOLID45). Two-node discrete elements (LINK8) are used to represent the steel reinforcement and shear connectors. Perfect bond between the reinforcing rebars and the concrete was assumed. The load on beams was applied monotonically in increments up to failure. The reduction of the degree of shear connection from 100% to 38% causes increasing of strain, mid span deflection and end slip with an average of 3.95%, 13%, and 111% respectively, while the ultimate load decreases with an average of 7.3%. In order to observe the efficiency of the 3-D model, a comparison was made with available experimental work. Good agreement was obtained throughout this work between the finite element and available test results.
Concrete roof-folded plates have been shown to be inherently resilient to earthquakes, despite limited research on the reasons for their apparent seismic resistance. It is possible to make very thin, folded concrete plates because of their high structural efficiency. It is implicitly resistant to earthquake forces because thin, folded plat structures are relatively lightweight. Typically, folded plate structures are designed to perform under ideal gravity loads that are transported primarily as a result of membrane activity across the surface. It is possible for concrete-folded plate structures to be damaged by bending stresses when earthquakes induce unexpected horizontal forces. Through a parametric analysis of an 8-cm-thick concrete roof folded plate structure, it has been shown that thin concrete roof folded plates with a span < 30 m can be intrinsically earthquake-resistant. Despite having a low mass and high geometric stiffness, these buildings have fundamental frequencies that are substantially higher than those connected to seismic events that actually occur. This characteristic causes the folded plate to behave elastically under earthquake excitation without exceeding the maximum concrete strength. The vertical components of earthquake vibrations exert greater stress on a shallow, folded plate than the horizontal components. The values of the stresses imposed by the changing span were relatively small. They ranged from (3.5-4.4) MPa for the Landers earthquake, while for the El Centro earthquake, they ranged from (2.7-8.6) MPa. In addition, by raising the folded big plates and inclining them to a greater angle, it will become more common and lessen the harm caused by earthquake shaking in the vertical direction. In general, this paper aims to present an examination of earthquakes and their consequences for folded concrete plates.
The study aimed to investigate the structural behavior of indirectly loaded flanged deep reinforced concrete beams. Twenty-one flanged deep beams were tested. The behavior of beams under loading was observed. Cracking and ultimate loads were recorded.
This research is devoted to investigate the effect of Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) strips on the behaviour and load carrying capacity of strengthened and repaired reinforced concrete corbels. Experimental investigation were carried. The experimental program variables include location, direction, amount of CFRP strips and effect of shear span to effective depth (a/d) ratio on the behaviour of strengthened corbels. All corbels had the same dimensions and flexural reinforcement and they were without horizontal shear steel reinforcement. The experimental results obtained from the adopted strengthening and repairing CFRP techniques showed a significant improvement in the behaviour and carrying capacity of the tested corbels. An increase of about (44.5 - 60) % in the ultimate load has been obtained for specimens strengthening by inclined technique compared to the ultimate load of control corbel and (14.7 - 31.2)% for specimens strengthening horizontal technique. For corbels repaired with CFRP strips, an increase of (56%) with respect to the ultimate load of control corbel is achieved. Also the strengthened corbels show stiffer load deflection response than corresponding control corbels (unstrengthened corbels).
This paper is concerned with the application of finite element techniques to the nonlinear analysis of ferrocement slabs. Both material and geometric nonlinearities are considered in the analysis. Concrete compression is modelled by a plasticity model and smeared cracking approach is used for tensile cracking. Degenerated thick shell elements employing a layered discretization through the element are adopted. Analyzing of a ferrocement slab does validation of the proposed model.
Shatt Al-Arab River is the main water source for all water treatment plants in Basrah governorate. In order to assess its suitability as a source for domestic water supply and the performance of some of main water treatment plants, water quality index (WQI) is obtained for both raw and treated water for 10 water treatment plants. Physic-chemical parameters were monitored for the calculation of WQI for Winter, Spring, Summer, and Autumn seasons from March- 2011 to March- 2012.The parameter which were taken into account for the present work are pH, turbidity, electric conductivity, total alkalinity, total hardness, Ca, Mg, Cl, SO4, TDS, Na, and K. The results indicate that Shatt Al Arab is very poor for domestic, industrial, and irrigation purposes during Winter, Spring, Summer, and Autumn seasons, while seven of ten of consider of water treatment plants produce water of poor quality.
This paper explores the potential of using artificial neural networks to predict the ultimate moment capacity of steel-concrete composite beams with metal deck slabs. Basic information on artificial neural networks and parameters suitable for the analysis of experimental results are given. A multilayer backpropagation neural network is used for training and testing the experimental data. A comparison study between the experimental values and two models (neural network and AJSC models) is also carried out. It was found that 1he neural network model provides better results. The proposed neural network is also used to explore the effect of the various parameters on the behavior of beams.
The objective function is to satisfy certain constraints and achieve minimum capital, maintenance, and operation costs. Ion exchange unit was used in this study. This study includes development of computer program for advanced wastewater treatment plants design adopting genetic algorithm. The program was developed using Matlab software. The output of the genetic algorithm includes the finding of optimum design criteria for advanced wastewater treatment plants. The obtained design criteria are satisfying the required effluent quality with minimum treatment cost. Based on results of applying GA on ion exchange treatment plant, it was found that the optimum values of bed depth, service flowrate, regenerate flowrate, and back wash rate are 0.71m, 25m3/m3.hr, 8 m3/m3.hr, and 55 m/hr respectively.
This paper presents an exact solution for the load settlement relationship of axially loaded piles embedded in nonhomogeneous elastic foundation. The governing differential equation is reduced to modified Bessel equation of order v. The solution is represented by Bessel's functions of the first kind of order v. The stiffness coefficients are then derived from the exact solution. Numerical comparison with approximate solutions of special cases verify the accuracy and efficiency of the adopted method.
The principle aim of this research is concentrated to analyze the effect of cracks and their propagations on the mechanical behavior of a quasi-brittle material such as concrete. The singularity (stress concentration to infinity at the tip of crack) is avoided by using the principal of fracture energy with the fictitious crack approach. The concrete crack is divided into two major zones; the first one is the fracture zone (a combination of bridging effect and the cohesive microscopic cracking) which obeys a special law permitting the transmission of stress across the two faces of crack, this zone is considered as partially cracked concrete. When the opening of the crack exceeds a specific value, this zone is converted to a real crack (an open crack) and cannot transmit any stress across the two faces of a crack. The program of finite element used in this research is prepared by the researcher using discrete-crack approach with the experimental data obtained from the flexural test on notched beam loaded under three-point bending, where fracture mode I is dominated. The response of the applied load-crack mouth opening displacement (CMOD) with appropriate fracture energy is selected. The results show that the cohesive microscopic cracking zone for the plain concrete is very wide. The cohesive stress distributions across the microcracks with the corresponding crack openings are drawn from the first crack appearance till the beam failure.
The goal of the present paper is to study the adequacy of torsional provisions in the international buildings code (IBC) for irregular building taken into account effect of the angles of seismic attacks. The responses of the frame-shear-wall twelve- story asymmetric building under earthquake loading by using equivalent lateral force procedure and dynamic response spectrum analysis have been studied intensively in this present research paper. This study performs static and dynamic response analyses of building models under earthquake ground motions compatible with the design response spectrum defined in the international buildings code. The dynamic response spectrum was scaled according to the code static base shear. The static and dynamic base shear with different angles of seismic attacks has been calculated. The scaling factors, angles of seismic attacks, accidental storey torsions, storey shear, dynamic and static base shear have been evaluated here. The torsional moment at different storey levels for dynamic analysis has been estimated and compared with the static values.
The study investigates the behavior of reinforced concrete cylindrical shells under monotonically increasing loads. Three-dimensional models of six small-scale experimental shells with length-to-radius ratios ranging from short (0.84) to long (5.0) are implemented within the context of the finite element method, through use of the ANSYS computer code, and the nonlinear response is traced throughout the entire load range up to failure. Cracking occurs at working load levels, with subsequent reduction in shell stiffness. Increasing loads lead to failure modes varying from a beam failure in long shells, combined longitudinal and transverse cracking in intermediate length shells, and abrupt diagonal with limited transverse cracking in short shells. Ultimate load capacities range from 5.0 kPa to 60.0 kPa increasing with decreasing length-to-radius ratios.
This research has been conducted in order to evaluate the compression index of Gypsiferous soil. A series of consolidation experimental tests with different percentage between 5% - 20% of gypsum added to the soil have been performed. From results. It had been seen that with increasing percentage of gypsum the compression index increased, with a maximum percentage of 30.4%.
A large number of RC structures or at least some of their members need strengthening or rehabilitation. Among the typical failure modes, the shear failure is more dangerous and less predictable, because of usually brittle behavior and sudden collapse. Therefore, there are necessities for upgrading the shear capacity and the local ductility of reinforced concrete beams. In this study, four different techniques of concrete jacketing were used to improve the behaviors of the shear deficiencies beams. The four techniques used in this study to enhance the behavior of the beams were by using a Self-Compacted Fiber Reinforced Concrete jacket without stirrups (S.-J. + Steel Fiber), a concrete jacket of Self Compacted Concrete with stirrups (S.-J. + Stirrups), a concrete jacket of ferrocement jacket (S.-J. + Ferrocement), and a concrete jacket of ferrocement jacket with external steel reinforcing bars (S.-J. + Ferrocement + R). These techniques contributed to enhancing the load-carrying capacity and delaying the appearance of the first crack in tested beams compared with the control beam by a percentage of (35, 59, 30, 6) % and (18, 35, 81, 80) %, respectively. The specimen (S.-J. + Stirrups) showed the best performance in comparison with the other used strengthening techniques used in this study in terms of stiffness and the ultimate load-carrying capacity. The ferrocement jacket (S.-J. + Ferrocement) was found to be the most suitable jacketing system used to enhance the shear capacity in terms of cracking load.
The paper presents an experimental and theoretical study on the behavior of circular concrete filled aluminum tubular columns. The main purpose of the experimental program was to investigate the structural behavior of aluminum-concrete composite columns under axial compression loading conditions. Twenty four specimens were tested to investigate the effect of diameter, D/t ratio and slenderness ratio of a aluminum tube on the load carrying capacity of the concrete filled tubular columns. Diameter to wall thickness ratio ranged between 11.9 ≤ D/t ≤ 22.8, and the length to tube diameter ratios of 3 ≤ L/D ≤ 10 were investigated. The main purpose of the theoretical investigation was to predict the strength of aluminum -concrete composite columns subjected to axial compression loading conditions. The empirical equations proposed in the present study are capable of predicting the values of ultimate loads of aluminum -concrete composite columns and were in good agreement with the experimental values. The average values of ratios of experimental to predicted values of ultimate loads are 1.0104 for the proposed empirical equations. The circular hollow section tubes were fabricated by extrusion using 6061-T6 heat-treated aluminum alloy. The column strengths, load-axial shortening relationship and failure modes of columns were presented.
An experimental and theoretical study of light weight concrete filled aluminum tubes having circular hollow section is presented in this paper. The structural performance of columns was investigated using different light weight concrete fashions and compressive strengths. The column specimens were subjected to uniform axial compression with two different loading styles, in the first one (composite action); aluminum tube is utilized to be axially loaded as well as its confining function, and in the second loading style (confinement action), aluminum tube is utilized to confine concrete core only. The aluminum circular hollow sections have nominal proof stress, f 0.2 = 170 MPa. A grade of light weight expansion clay aggregate (LECA) is used to fabricate light weight concrete. The strengths, axial load- shortening displacement relationship, axial and lateral strains, and failure modes of columns are presented. The unfactored strengths predicted are found to be in a good agreement with the experimental values using the general design guidelines specified in the American specifications and Euro code.
The study investigates the behaviour of reinforced concrete corner joints under monotonically increasing loads which tend to increase the right angle between the two joint members. The experimental results for two case studies are considered, and the ANSYS computer code is employed to create three-dimensional models for corner joints within the context of the finite element method. The effect of reinforcement details at the corner joint is studied for commonly used detailing systems, and the nonlinear response is traced throughout the entire load range up to failure. The results obtained are generally in good agreement with the experiments, and show that the detailing system has a significant effect on corner joint behaviour, with efficiencies ranging from as low as 54% up to 147%.
Supplying drinking water in Al-Dewanyia city to meet Iraqi Drinking Water Guidelines is a challenge as source waters contain high concentrations of Natural Organic Matter (NOM) that often exceed 12 mg/L Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC). The US EPA indicates that enhanced coagulation is the best available technology to control DOC in drinking water treatment plants. A water director of Al-Qadissiya has used enhanced coagulation at Al-Dewanyia Water Treatment Plants (WTP’s) in Iraq since 2004 to improve water quality in the distribution system. NOM reduction has led to treated water with a lower chlorine demand allowing a greater residual penetration enabling improved bacteriological compliance. Since the cost of DOC (and Disinfection by-product DBPs) determination was high, it was decided to study the traditional analysis of COD as a surrogate measure to detect the organic constituents in raw water and the extent to which optimized coagulation with ferric chloride can increase COD removal. The water samples studied belonged to Al-Dewanyia River. For samples the observed values of COD removal by coagulation at lower pH (about 1-1.5 pH values less than the regular pH (5.8 ~ 8.5)) were about 85-95 percent without making water turbidity unacceptable. In order to determine the effects of organic content on coagulation, The results indicated that a modified coagulation process without need to much increasing the amount of coagulant can be developed for these water samples.
Water pollution is the most important tasks facing all countries in the world to obtain suitable water for municipal, industrial, and agricultural uses. This study concerns with the effect of Bagdad city waste water on pollution and quality of Tigris River water using index of Aquifer water quality (IAWQ). The accuracy of chemical analyses of the selected water samples are conduced according to world standards of health classifications. Results of these analysis show that only two types of the 13th tested sample are ( certain ) ,while the other patterns ( models )are of the ( probable certain ). Cluster analysis is applied to evaluate the studied water characteristic. The results of the cluster analysis show the presence of three varying groups in their impact on their chemical properties on water .According to the cluster analysis and permissible limits of the variables, three chemical variables cadmium, lead, and calcium are selected to indicate its impact on the studied area. It is found that when using (IAWG) for the Tigris River, there is an increase in the values of the index along the river from its entry to Baghdad until it meets the Diyala river, showing a clear pollution of the Tigris river water.