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Go to Editorial ManagerPoly(vinyl chloride) photodecomposition films that contains melamine Schiff base (0.5% by weight) as photostabilizers upon preservation with an ultraviolet light (UV) was investigated. The photodecomposition rate constant was reduced significantly in existence of melamine Schiff base compared to PVC (blank). The Schiff base 1 was found to most effective additive in PVC photostabilization films. Photodecomposition rate content for PVC films containing Schiff base 1 was found to be 5 × 10-3 sec-1 compared to 8.7 × 10-3 sec-1 for blank film. Ultraviolet radiation aging behaviors of PVC films were studied through leaching test by measuring the degree of migration. The surface morphology of PVC films was inspected by scanning electron microscope.
This paper proposes robust control for three models of the linear inverted pendulum (one mass linear inverted pendulum model, two masses linear inverted pendulum model and three masses linear inverted pendulum model) which represents the upper, middle and lower body of a bipedal walking robot. The bipedal walking robot is built of light-weight and hard Aluminum sheets with 2 mm thickness. The minimum phase system and non-minimum phase system are studied and investigated for inverted pendulum models. The bipedal walking robot is programmed by Arduino microcontroller UNO. A MATLAB Simulink system is built to embrace the theoretical work. The results showed that one linear inverted pendulum is the worst performance, worst noise rejection and the worst set point tracking to the zero moment point. But two masses linear inverted pendulum models and three masses linear inverted pendulum model have a better performance, a better high-frequency noise rejection characteristic and better set-point tracking to the zero moment point.
Due to the Kurdistan regional government-KRG district mission potential towards huge solar energy power generation plant investments by global investors, a genuine study is required to explore the impact of PV-panels installation angles on power generation gain within all seasons duration as the KRG located in four season area which, affect the annual total power gain due to daylight duration effect in each season. The proposed study was conducted within a duration of “513” days utilizing three PV tilt installation angle tests of “ 30⁰, 35⁰, and 40⁰ ” with “ 545 watts single side PV plates” selecting the Erbil district area gaining a crucial role in maximizing energy output for comparison, Results presented a significant variation in power gain due to deviations in annual effective daylight duration effectively mostly a reduction in cold seasons within 25%-37.7% drops compared to the hot season, while the sunset and sunrise duration presented a significant influence of 5%-10% drops in power generated. The season change shows a significant influence of weather variation in each calendar on power gain annually. The installation orientation angle impact presented divergence in production within the cold season only. Process output can potentially unlock a novelty awareness of the investors toward innovative yield project optimization in the area as it will affect the annual power purchasing influence and production divergence with interest.
Normal concrete is weak against tensile strength, has low ductility and also insignificant resistance to cracking. The addition of diverse types of fibers at specific proportions can enhance the mechanical properties as well as the durability. Discrete fiber, which is commonly used, have many disadvantages such as balling the fiber, random distribution, and limitation of the used Vf ratio. Based on this vision, a new technique was discovered, enhancing concrete by textile-fiber to avoid all the problems mentioned above. This paper presents all important consequence and conclusions obtained from previous studies on how to strengthen concrete with two-dimensional and three-dimensional textile-fibers, and focuses on the flexural behavior of concrete members. The results indicate that there was an improvement in flexural strength, deformation capacity, and toughness with different load conditions when using different types of textile-fiber. It was observed that the effect of textile-fibers would increase when this fiber was coated by epoxy. In TRC system, there is a significant impact on the number of textile-fiber layers used.
Heritage buildings are part of the connection between the past and the present. By paying attention to their occupancy, we keep the present and future generations in touch with what our ancestors achieved, hence sustaining them being part of the living heritage. Restoration and renovation procedures must be carried out to make them capable of meeting contemporary needs, However, it is essential to recognize the architectural characteristics that resonate with long term occupants. This research focuses on the effect of design characteristics on the psychological relationship between heritage buildings and their occupants, through case studies of two heritage buildings in Baghdad. The first is the previous Theological college building of Al al-Bayt University of the 1920s, now the College of education for girls, and the second is the 19th century Ottoman Al-Qishla building. The study relies on conducting a questionnaire for the occupants about their response to design characteristics of each building. The questionnaire concluded that the design characteristics of the heritage building have a significant impact on the psychological response of its occupants. The majority of respondents indicated that characteristics such as clarity of function, clarity of elements, sense of security, privacy, and flexibility, were satisfactory. The majority of respondents expressed appreciation for heritage buildings, as well as positive evaluations and appreciation for the reflection of the past in these buildings, indicating that “architectural characteristics of the heritage building” has a significant impact on the psychological connection felt by the occupants of the heritage building.
A new robust control algorithm is proposed for a class of nonlinear systems represented by a Single Link Manipulator (SLM) system. This algorithm is based on new techniques and methods in order to obtain a controller for the SLM system. First of all, the system is simplified using Variable Transformation Technique (VTT) in order to fit the analysis procedure. Then, a new idea of designing a model reference for the multiple states (n=4) system is presented to correspond the control design. Next, the Lyapunov Stability Analysis (LSA) is used to figure out a proper controller that can compensate the stability and the performance of the SLM system. After that, the Most Valuable Player Algorithm (MVPA) is applied to find the optimal parameters of the proposed controller to accomplish the optimum performance improvement. Finally, it can be concluded that the proposed control algorithm has improved the stability and the performance of the SLM system. In addition, the simulation results show the remarkable effects of the proposed nonlinear controller on the SLM system.
Basrah is the richest town and the economic capital of Iraq. It suffers from lack of drinking water. This project is a dream to supply drinking water to Basrah citizens within WHO standards. Water should pass sedimentation and filtration stages before interring reverse osmosis unit. The design is carried out using lewaplus2 software. Several parameters should be selected in the design step membrane type, number of stages, number per element in each stage, and the recovery percentage. An optimization is carried out using Minitab ver. 18 for the acceptable limit of TDS and minimum cost and it was found that the optimum conditions were 52% for first stage, the numbers of vessels are 20 for both the first and second stage. In addition, results showed that the pressure and the total dissolved solid increase with increasing the recovery while parameters like the feed flow rate per vessel, the power, and the cost are decreasing with the recovery. Mathematical model described the cost was conducted and statistical study was also done to ensure the results.
Recently, three-dimensional models 3DM in the prosthetics field gained popularity, especially in the context of residual limb shape creation resulting from collecting medical images in Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine DICOM format from a magnetic resonance imaging MRI after image processing accurately. In this study, a three-dimensional model of the residual limb for a patient with transtibial amputation was realized with the integration of artificial intelligence and a computer vision approach demonstrating the benefits of AI segmentation tools and artificial algorithms to generate higher accuracy three-dimensional model before prosthetic socket design or in case of comparison the 3D model generated from MRI with another 3D model generated from another technique, where a residual limb of a 23 years old male patient with amputation in the left leg wearing a prosthetic socket liner, and having 62 kg weight, 168 cm height, with high activity level. The patient was scanned using GE Medical Systems, 1,5 Tesla Signa Excite. MRI images in DICOM format were read to retrieve essential metadata such as pixel spacing and slice thickness. These images were processed to obtain a model that reflects the real shape of the residual limb using a specific algorithm, and the 3D model was extracted using AI segmentation tools. The obtained 3D model result with high resolution proves the potential of the artificial intelligence approach with deep learning to reconstruct 3D models concluding that AI has an instrumental role in medical image analysis, particularly in the areas of organ and tissue classification and segmentation., thus generating automatic and repetitive a 3D model.
The assessment of prosthetic aortic valves through echocardiography, a pivotal noninvasive tool, encounters challenges, with discordant findings compared to invasive measurements, particularly in transvalvular gradients. To address these complexities, this comprehensive review article explores diverse methodologies and modalities for assessing prosthetic aortic valve performance. As these life-saving devices advance in complexity, the demand for precise and innovative assessment techniques intensifies. This journey through established and emerging modalities aims to inform clinical practice, foster experimental innovation, and enhance patient care in the realm of aortic valve prosthetic assessment. Ultimately, a profound understanding of the hemodynamic milieu engendered by aortic prosthetic valves serves as the cornerstone for optimizing valve design and clinical utility. The primary objective of this comprehensive review is to elucidate, with utmost precision, the multifaceted methodologies employed in the investigation and evaluation of mechanical prosthetic aortic valve.
The present investigation looked at whether the Bailey approach to aggregate gradation could be used to construct Superpave HMA blends. It also looked at how this approach influenced the rutting performance associated with these mixes and compared it to mixes of asphalt created by Superpave gradations. The current research included four aggregate gradations: both fine and coarse gradations for the Superpave and Bailey gradation procedures. The repeated loading test was utilized to assess the rutting performance. The findings indicated that temperature, stress level, and aggregate gradation all had a significant impact on rutting performance. In contrast to the other three gradations, the third mixture gradation exhibited the least amount of non-reversible deformation. It translates to pavement that is more resistant to rutting and less susceptible to it.
The interest in the Eye-tracking technology field dramatically grew up in the last two decades for different purposes and applications like keeping the focus of where the person is looking, how his pupils and irises are reacting for a variety of actions, etc. The resulted data can deliver an extraordinary amount of information about the user when it's interlocked through advanced data analysis systems, it may show information concerned with the user’s age, gender, biometric identity, interests, etc. This paper is concerned about eye motion tracking as an unadulterated tool for different applications in any field required. The improvements in this area of artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and deep learning (DL) with eye-tracking techniques allow large opportunities to develop algorithms and applications. In this paper number of models were proposed based on Convolutional neural network (CNN) have been designed, and then the most powerful and accurate model was chosen. The dataset used for the training process (for 16 screen points) consists of 2800 training images and 800 test images (with an average of 175 training images and 50 test images for each spot on the screen of the 16 spots), and it can be collected by the user of any application based on this model. The highest accuracy achieved by the best model was (91.25%) and the minimum loss was (0.23%). The best model consists of (11) layers (4 convolutions, 4 Max pooling, and 3 Dense). Python 3.7 was used to implement the algorithms, KERAS framework for the deep learning algorithms, Visual studio code as an Integrated Development Environment (IDE), and Anaconda navigator for downloading the different libraries. The model was trained with data that can be gathered using cameras of laptops or PCs and without the necessity of special and expensive equipment, also It can be trained for any single eye, depending on application requirements.