The Changes in the Travel Characteristics Due to Corona Virus Pandemic: A Case Study in Al-Qadisiyah Governorate, Iraq Huda A. Kadhim, Ghufraan Mohammed Aboud, Ahmed Al-Bdairi International Journal of Sustainable Development and Planning, 2023 Many measures have been imposed by governments around the world to limit the spread of COVID-19.Iraqi authorities adopted a continuous cycles of reinforcement and relaxation in the measures, thus travel behaviors are significantly affected as a result of these measures.This study focuses on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on travel pattern in Al-Qadisiyah governorate, Iraq, during three different phases, one phase before pandemic and two phases during the pandemic to study the impact of the variation in imposed measures.Data were collected through a qualitative interviews and online questionnaire surveys that included questions on primary purpose of trip, mode choice of transport, frequency of trips before and during pandemic (including two phases).Descriptive analysis and inferential statistical analysis (especially nonparametric tests) were conducted to analyze the collected data.Results show a significant shifting from work/studying trips to shopping and others trips purposes during the first phase, where distance education and teleworking were imposed.In the second phase, the recommendation for work and study from home were lifted thus the primary trips for work or study purposes have resumed somewhat like their previous pace but with less frequent than its usual in pre-pandemic.A significant reduction in public transport and car-sharing usage was observed during first phase-COVID-19 compared to pre-COVID-19 and second phase-COVID-19.People gave the pandemicrelated factors a higher priority than general factors when selecting a transport mode during the pandemic.However, they put less priority for such factors during second phase of COVID-19 as compared to first phase, due to relaxation in the imposed measures.Changes in travel behavior during a pandemic have an impact on travel demand and favorable transport modes, thus understanding this behavior can help in transportation planning, and decision-making.
NUMERICAL INVESTIGATION OF PLATE GIRDER HAVING CORE WEB WITH ZIGZAG CORRUGATED PANEL Muthana Hussein Muhaisin International Journal of Geomate, 2023 Corrugated steel flat plates have a number of benefits over conventional steel flat plates, including better buckling strength, a greater load capacity, a longer fatigue life, and cheaper construction costs.Corrugated plates have thus been used in a variety of civil engineering projects, including bridges, industrial structures, and steel coupling beams.To further enhance these properties, the web can be constructed as a core composed of two outside flat plates and a middle-corrugated panel.In this research, finite element software (ABAQUS 2017) was used to examine the effectiveness of steel plate girders containing various web types (flat plate, zigzagly corrugated plate, and core web with zigzagly corrugated panel).A large number of simply supported beam specimens were simulated and investigated under a three-point load in order to determine how the type of web affects the performance of girders under shear and flexural loadings.Three shear span-to-depth ratios (a/d) of 1.0, 1.83, and 2.5 were examined.Corrugation depth's impact on girder performance was also explored.The results of the study demonstrated that replacing flat plate web with corrugated plate having a zigzag shape improved the performance of the girders in regards to ultimate load and ductility.Additionally, when a core web was utilized, the performance of the girders was further improved.When compared to a steel girder with a flat web, the ultimate loads for girders with a core web and girders that only consisted of a corrugated plate web increased by 47% and 21%, respectively.
Characterizing the Properties of Sustainable Semi-Flexible Pavement Produced with Polymer Modified Bitumen Basim H. Al-Humeidawi, Osamah H. Chafat, Huda A. Kadhim Periodicals of Engineering and Natural Sciences, 2021 Semi-Flexible Pavement (SFP) is a composite type of pavement produced by manufacturing of porous asphalt mixes using open graded aggregate gradation to create 20-35% of voids filled with grout (cement paste, cement mortar, etc.….). The resulting pavement has the flexibility of asphalt pavement and some strength of concrete pavement. The current study focused on investigation of using widely available (in Iraq) waste material namely Rice Husk Ash (RHA) to replace the Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) partially in grout, also, using Polymer Modified Bitumen (PMB) to develop Open-Graded Asphalt (OGA) pavement without using cellulous fibre. The study focused on assessment of mechanical properties of the obtained SFP mixes with and without PMB. The results of study showed that using of PMB increased the Marshall Stability up to 100% and indirect tensile strength up to 50%. The Marshall Retained Stability gave about 90% which is quite higher the minimum required limit (70%). The results also revealed that RHA can be used as replacement for the OPC in SFP mixes. All investigated percentages showed satisfactory mechanical properties.
Production of high modulus asphalt concrete with high rutting resistanc Arpn Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences, 2018
