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Go to Editorial ManagerIn this study, previous researches were reviewed in relation to the seismic evaluation and retrofitting of an existing building. In recent years, a considerable number of researches has been undertaken to determine the performance of buildings during the seismic events. Performance based seismic design is a modern approach to earthquake resistant design of reinforcement concrete buildings. Performance based design of building structures requires rigorous non-linear static analysis. In general, nonlinear static analysis or pushover analysis was conducted as an efficient instrument for performance-based design. Pushover analysis came into practice after 1970 year. During the seismic event, a nonlinear static analysis or pushover analysis is used to analyze building under gravity loads and monotonically increasing lateral forces. These building were evaluated until a target displacement reached. Pushover analysis provides a better understanding of buildings seismic performance, also it traces the progression of damage and failure of structural components of buildings.
Openings in reinforced concrete (RC) slabs are usually created as a result of variations in construction function, architectural or mechanical necessities. Heavy equipment loads resulting from mechanical system of any building are often carried by RC slabs. Even the static analysis and design of RC slabs with opening is not clearly stated in the available international Codes, dynamic analytical solution for such structure is complex._x000D_ In this paper, numerical analysis based on finite element approach is utilized to implement the modal analysis of RC slabs. Opening size and position was parametrically studied. Slab natural frequency or periods in addition to, the mode shape were registered. The results showed that the opening size and position involved in RC slab had a significant change in the value of natural frequency and period for the high level modes. The material nonlinearity affect on free vibration analysis of RC opening slab with different levels of stiffness modifiers was taken into account. The dynamic characteristics of RC opening slab as a function of stiffness modifier degree was numerically measured for six mode shapes. The paper found that a reduction in stiffness modifier value greatly reduce the .natural frequency of RC opening slab.
In this paper, a dynamic analysis has been carried out on zoned earthdam subjected to earthquake excitation in which pore water pressure, effective stresses and displacements are calculated. The finite element method is used and the computer program Geo-Studio is adopted in the analysis through its sub-programs SEEP/W and QUAKE/W. A case study is considered to be Khassa Chai dam which is located on Khassa Chai river north of Iraq and consists of zoned embankment with a total length of 3.34 km. The selected earthquake for the analysis is El-Centro earthquake with a period of 10 sec and different amplitudes of acceleration. The time of the analysis is taken as 600 sec. with a time step (?t = 0.05 sec.) to investigate the behavior of the soil for a period of time after the earthquake has stopped, a free vibration period is included in the analysis. It was concluded that the value of pore water pressure generated at the base of the core is greater than that in the upper parts of dam. The horizontal and vertical effective stresses continue to decrease during the period of analysis 600 sec. which indicates that the soil continues to weaken during this period, the horizontal displacement increases with depth of the point from the crest and the largest horizontal displacement will be at the base of the dam at time 60 sec and There is attenuation of the acceleration to some degree depending on the amplitude of the input horizontal acceleration. The maximum horizontal displacement decreases by about 37%, 45% and 49% when using a horizontal drain 2 m thick at the downstream under a peak acceleration of 0.05g, 0.1g and 0.2g, respectively.
This extensive and thorough review aims to systematically outline, clarify, and examine the numerous exploratory data analysis techniques that are employed in the intriguing and rapidly advancing domain of functional MRI research. We will particularly focus on the wide array of software applications that are instrumental in facilitating and improving these complex and often nuanced analyses. Throughout this discourse, we will meticulously assess the various strengths and limitations associated with each analytical tool, offering invaluable insights relevant to their application and overall efficacy across diverse research contexts and environments. Our aim is to create a comprehensive understanding of how these tools can be best utilized to enhance research outcomes. Through this analysis, we aspire to equip researchers with critical knowledge and essential information that could profoundly influence their methodological selections in upcoming studies. By carefully considering these factors, we hope to contribute positively to the ongoing progression of this important field of inquiry, fostering innovation and enhancing the impact of future research findings in functional MRI studies.
Many researchers have applied several experiments and research studies by developing criteria's design of drainage to improve the drainage process, and to show that the filters plays an important role to improve and maintain the drainage system from being blocked due to siltation. There are several types of filters, including granular mineral materials and organic materials, the other filter that was used is made from a special fabric material such as paper, burlap, or special fabric textile material. The objective of this study is to evaluate the performance of textile filters, and if it is desirable and suitable for Iraqi soil using statistical analysis. This study was conducted in the laboratory using sand tank model and two types of filters (graded crushed gravel and textile) with two types of soil (sandy soil and loamy soil) to compare and evaluate the hydraulic performance and the efficiency of utilizing textile filter instead of graded crushed gravel filter in drainage systems using statistical analysis methods. These statistical analysis show that there was a good agreement between measured and theoretical values of entrance resistance when using the two filters in sandy soil. On the other hand, the results showed that there was a weak performance when textile filters in were used in heavy soil (loamy soil) due to the high value of root mean square error (RMSE) and low value of agreement index (d). The results of statistical analysis show that the textile filter is desirable and suitable for Iraqi soil especially for sandy soil due to low entrance resistance of flow compared to loamy soil.
The mixing technique was applied in this study to enhance the strength performance of the cement. The addition of 3% by weight of hydroxyapatite (HA) nanoparticles were mixed with 97% polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) acrylic polymer, which has a nano size to serve as the matrix material. The surface roughness and continuous porosity of the bone cement were found to be slightly increased by the incorporation of nanoparticles, which enhanced bone-implant osseointegration and ingrowth. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) analysis revealed that the addition of hydroxyapatite (HAp) nanoparticles resulted in a surface roughness value (Sa) of 16.25 nm, which is similar to that of natural bone. The energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) mapping results discover precentor material and uniform distribution. The Sample exhibited promising results in the antibacterial test, showing efficacy against bacteria both with and without sterilization, confirming its antibacterial properties. The mechanical tests conducted on the sample, including tensile, compression, bending and Vickers hardness tests, yielded favorable results and indicated that the sample is suitable for its intended application. In the theoretical works the design of the bone, screw, and bone plate was conducted using SolidWorks, followed by an analysis using ANSYS under both axial and bending load conditions. The theoretical analysis revealed that the safety factor was less than 1 when an axial load of 13 N was applied and a bending load of 2 N was applied, indicating that the structure may not be able to withstand these loads safely. Under both ambient and physiologically relevant conditions in the human body, HA and PMMA have demonstrated to be excellent choices for enhancing the clinical performance of bone cement. This, in turn, can lead to increased longevity of implants, decreased patient risk, and lower healthcare costs
In this vast world after an earthquake lessons are learned; many strategies have been considered in order to achieve a proper seismic strength capacity.The aim of this paper is studying the seismic behavior of a typical reinforced concrete bridge pier in Iraq and implementing a proper technique of strengthening in order to fix any damage that had happened.Structure of a full scale three-dimensional finite element model was used in order to simulate a reinforced concrete pier via the computer software ABAQUS/CAE 2017 using concrete plasticity damage model (CDP).Under the action of Halabja earthquake, which was recorded at city of Halabja in Iraq on 12 November 2017, the behavior of model was traced, analyzed and the resulted damages were managed.The finite element analysis results indicated that the proposed configuration of carbon fiber reinforced polymers laminates substantially increases the lateral load strength and deformation capacity of the bridge pier
The aim of this study was to support surgeons to decide where to place the screws in order to achieve an optimal fracture healing and to prevent implant failure after a femoral shaft fracture So this paper focus on the analysis of bone-plate construct by using Finite element Analysis (FEA), comminuted femur fractured bone fixed with Dynamic Compression Plate (DCP) 16 holes by 4.5 Cortex screws, to investigate the effects of screws configuration on the mechanical behavior of different seven model as Interfragmentary strain which is the most important factor for femur fracture healing. The results state the relationships between the Von-Mises stress, Total deformation and Interfragmentary strain with respect to the screws configuration. The study shows the regions of maximum stress from stress distribution and also founded that we can decrease the Interfragmentary strain by increasing the number of screws.
The transportation cost problem of solid waste presents the biggest part of the budget allocated by municipalities for SWM. So, there is no comprehensive plan to address transport routes optimization problems in SWM that including the transfer of solid waste from transfer stations to final landfill sites. Therefore, the aim of the study finding a scientific method to solve the transportation problem of solid waste transport suitable Baghdad city that tries to find feasible solutions that ensure reducing total transport costs and leads to an effective solid waste management system. In this research, a new methodology has been developed to select the optimal transport routs of SWM in Baghdad city which involves determining the best-supposed scenario. the proposed methodology includes integration of Global Positioning System (GPS) technologies with Network Analysis model (NA). Therefore, this work provides an advanced framework of decision-makers for analysis and simulation of the optimal transport routs problem related to SWM. Applying these modeling tools to select the scenario that can provide economic benefits by minimizing travel time, travel distance and reduction of total transportation costs. The Results of work implementation show that all solutions that include current state S1 and suggested scenarios have been evaluated. The scenarios generated include (S2, S3) by applying the proposed technique for analyzed and identified the optimal routes. The solutions of scenario S2, specified with two landfill sites while scenarios S3 specified with four landfill sites. Finally, this work shows the Scenario S3 is the best scenario of the solution, that include applied GPS and Network Analysis for four landfill sites.
In order to avoid losing sense of sight in a large portion of the working population, Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) identification during broad examination for diabetes is crucial. To prevent blindness in the future, early illness detection and measurement of disease development are essential. DR is diagnosed through medical image analysis. After the success of Deep Learning (DL) in other applications in the real world, it is considered a vital tool for upcoming health sector applications, providing solutions with accurate results for medical image analysis. This review provides a comprehensive survey of the state-of-the-art DL models for DR detection and grading using retinal fundus photography. This review thoroughly examined and summarized 81 relevant publications that were published through IEEE Xplore, Web of Science, PubMed, and Scopus between 2018 and 2023 based on the available database with binary or multiclass CNN classification models as well as the main preprocessing techniques. According to the findings of this review, transfer learning has proven to be an excellent technique for addressing the problems of limited resources for data for DR analysis. CNN models having tens or hundreds of layers are the most frequently utilized frameworks for DR classification. The most extensively utilized datasets for DR categorization are Aptos 2019 and EyePACS. Although DL has attained or surpassed human-level DR classification accuracy, there is still more work to be done in real-world clinical procedures.
Total hip replacement (THR) is an elective surgical procedure with the primary indication being pain relief. The aim of this study is to analyze gait dynamics for patients after they underwent a unilateral THR surgery and compare it with normal parameters. To investigate the gait dynamics a gait analysis was performed on five patients after they underwent a unilateral THR surgery; only two of them were examined before the surgery. The gait analysis was performed using a digital video camera with two force plates. Kinematics data were obtained from 2D trajectories of seven passive markers using SkillSpector software. MATLAB software has been used for inverse dynamics computation. General gait parameters, Harris Hip Score, joints’ angles, forces, moments and powers were obtained during gait cycle. It was found that the average of improvement in Harris Hip Score (for four patients who were examined 1.5, 2.5, 3 and 9 months after surgery) is 61.8 points, which is an indication of pain relief. In the other hand, the general gait parameters were found slightly lower than normal after THR surgery. The average hip reaction force was found to be 2.988 N/BW, which is within normal range. Also, the average of maximum hip extension and maximum hip flexion angles were found to be 25.69 and -13.524 degree respectively, which both are within normal ranges. Furthermore, hip, knee and ankle moments and powers results showed some abnormality. Therefore as a conclusion, patient satisfaction and functional improvement are not related to general gait parameter. And it is not unusual that gait mechanics improvement would not reach normal after months of recovery. Also, the results of gait dynamics which are from the engineer’s perspective are compatible with Harris Hip Score, which is from the physician’s perspective, in quantifying surgical results and subsequent recovery progress.
Due to significant increasing in seismic activity in world during the last decades especially in Middle East region; engineers have been giving increasing attention to the design of buildings for earthquake resistance. In this study 3-D seismic behavior of piles is investigated using the finite element program PLAXIS 3D 2013. _x000D_ Piles are one of the most commonly used foundations in seismic areas where the soil is inadequate to carry the load on its own. In these seismic areas, piles often pass through (penetrate) shallow loose and/or soft soil deposits and rests on competent end bearing soils. Thus a model of soil - pile system is simulated in the finite element program._x000D_ The dynamic parameters of soil are used as input dynamic data of PLAXIS 3D program, in addition to the static properties of soil collected from soil investigation works._x000D_ The research showed the susceptibility of PLAXIS 3D program in analyzing piles with different soil conditions under earthquake action. The results also showed the importance of studying seismic behavior of soil-pile system using 3-D analysis rather than 2-D analysis because the problem is truly 3-D and should be analyzed as such.
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.
One of the health issues that many people encounter on a daily basis is bone fracture, which can happen for a number of reasons, such as arthritis, sprains, or external trauma . The patient experiences instability as a result of these issues . Internal fixation is a type of surgery used to support and mend a damaged bone Treatment options include ankle joint fixation, a surgical procedure employing pins, plates, rods, or screws. This study uses gait analysis methods to assess lower limb biomechanics . Gait analysis is vital for understanding walking patterns and intervention effectiveness. The impact of different shoe designs on ankle mechanics, using the finite element method and ANSYS, is investigated The results of the EMG and the GRF were discussed._x000D_ This research deepens our understanding of lower limb biomechanics and ankle joint health. By evaluating stress effects and designing custom shoes, it enhances ankle injury treatment and management strategies._x000D_ The patient, a 70-year-old woman with an internal fixation on her ankle joint, underwent a CT scan of her ankle. The patient underwent a number of experiments to evaluate her stability. EMG was used to determine the muscle stress for a brief period of time, and ground reaction force was then used to determine the pressure of walking. Both EMG and GRF have two walking speeds of1.5and 2 km/h while wearing four different types of shoes. The behavior of the EMG demonstrates that the stress on the muscle increases as walking speed increases, and the results varies depending on the shoe. The patient is afraid to apply pressure to the injured foot, so the health foot has better pressure over the entire foot_x000D_
Laser annealing represents a powerful method for tailoring the properties of silver nanofilms on quartz substrates, offering advantages in terms of precision, scalability, and functionalization. Continued research efforts are expected to deepen our understanding and broaden the applications of this promising technology in diverse fields. In this work, laser annealing of silver nanofilms deposited on quartz substrates was performed and investigated. RF CO2 laser of variable power in the range 1–20 W with beam quality of 1.1 was used to anneal silver nanofilms. AFM analysis emphasized that nanocrystal sizes of 60 nm were obtained for silver nanofilms. Furthermore, the optimum absorbance peak occurred at about 449 nm for smaller film thickness. Thermal simulation and analysis of the annealing process were also conducted using COMSOL Multiphysics software. It was observed that optimal temperature of 729 K was achieved when 10 W laser power and 2 mm/s scanning speed were used to anneal 20 nm silver film thickness. Design of expert analysis was also used to better understand the laser annealing process of silver nanofilms since convolution of several process parameters affect the process output.
Action of applied external loads, early thermal by hydration of cement in reinforced concrete (RC) structures, creep and shrinkage and seasonal effects due to environmental conditions are the main causes of inducing cracks in RC members. Most Design Codes of RC structures have underestimated the distribution steel requirements based on stating nominal or minimum requirements for early thermal and moisture movement especially in watertight continuous constructions. Three dimensional finite element analysis for a verification problem was carried out on a continuous reinforced concrete members with different bar diameter subjected to different applied temperatures values which represent the early-age and seasonal effects. The results of this analysis were compared with the available BS Code equations for crack control for early thermal movements. The comparison between the Code equation and finite element analysis was met in a good agreement. The resulted data was used to study parametrically the crack characteristics in terms of crack width and spacing of RC members in term of the effects of three different construction exposures (Class A, B and C), three values of temperatures with three different bar size diameter (10mm, 12, 16) for each one. The present work was indicated as the bar diameter increases, the required steel ratio increases proportionality to match the assumed crack width. So, to get the minimum steel ratio this is the target. It must use smallest bar diameter. But unfortunately this is limited by minimum practical bar spacing. The overall of present study was indicated that the continuous construction required high steel area especially for class A exposure.
Recently microwave photonic filter (MPF) have a great interest due to their advantages which include low loss, wide bandwidth tunability, reconfigurability, and no electromagnetic interference. This paper presented a comprehensive optical transmission analysis of a reflective-type microring resonator (R-MRR) using coupled mode theory, and design guidelines for MPF through two cascaded R-MRR using COMSOL software simulation results. The design was implemented on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) platform-based MPF which exhibits wide bandwidth tunability and reconfigurability by adjusting the coupling coefficient in the two coupling regions. In this structure, a grating coupler (GC) reflector is introduced to the drop port of MRR. The analysis and simulation results were confirmed by utilizing a GC reflector and Mach-Zehender Interferometer (MZI). The results of the proposed MPF at laser light input of (1.55*10^6- m) wavelength showed the bandwidth and center frequency are adjusted from 0.3 to 6 GHz and 13 to 54.8 GHz, respectively, with a high rejection ratio reaching 70 dB. Overall, the structure represents a significant step towards designing the MPFs, which show perfect flexibility and have numerous applications in such fields as radar, sensor, and wireless communications.
Pressure vessels are the heart of plants and oil refineries stations. In many engineering applications such vessels can be subjected to periodic loading either internally due to the charging and discharging process or externally due to the excitation from other nearby components such as pumps, compressors or from seismic. So that in spite of a good design according static assumption it may be critical in dynamics. In this work a horizontal pressure vessel with accessories subjected to liquefied petroleum gas pressure LPG is considered. Three models of different head types are investigated herein namely; Deep torispherical, Elliptical 2:1 and Hemispherical. The design and material selections are chosen as per ASME. For practical service many accessories are attached to the vessel such as manhole, supports, inlet and outlet opining. Finite Element method via ANSYS R18.2 is introduced for the numerical analysis. The fatigue life in case of fully reversed cyclic loading are estimated and located. Vibration characteristics such as mode shapes and natural frequencies for the lowest five modes are evaluated and compared. It is found that the fatigue life can be increased as higher as 180% for hemi- spherical head as compared with deep torispherical head pressure vessel and the lowest four natural frequencies are nearly identical for all models, however significant change observed in the fifth natural frequency.
In this work it had been focused on the possibility of replacement of steel spring in suspension system by fiber reinforced polymer composite that is responsible for light weight of spring which leads to reduces the weight of vehicle and improve fuel efficiency. This type of spring used in motor cycles, light weight vehicle. The design will be simulated by ANSYS workbench. Then, E-Glass fiber has been used to fabricate helical compression spring of 40% fiber volume fraction of glass. with polyester resin. The deflection of glass reinforced composite spring is more than steel spring but within permissible limit. weight of composite spring is reduced by 57% than of steel.
Hybrid metal composite materials, combining diverse metal components, have emerged as promising alternatives in engineering applications, offering a unique synergy of mechanical properties. This review comprehensively examines the fatigue life of hybrid metal composites, delving into the intricate interplay of materials, manufacturing processes, and environmental factors. Drawing from a rich array of literature, the review explores the evolution of hybridization strategies, emphasizing their impact on fatigue resistance. Key factors influencing fatigue behavior, including material selection, manufacturing techniques, and environmental conditions, are systematically analyzed. The article highlights the significance of strategic hybridization in enhancing fatigue characteristics, reducing costs, and optimizing the overall performance of metal composites. The insights presented contribute to advancing the understanding of fatigue mechanisms in hybrid metal composite materials, offering valuable guidance for future research and engineering applications. Hybrid metal composite materials, characterized by the combination of diverse metal components, have garnered significant attention in engineering applications due to their potential to provide a unique synergy of mechanical properties. This comprehensive review delves into the intricate aspects of the fatigue life of hybrid metal composites, offering a thorough analysis of the interplay between materials, manufacturing processes, and environmental factors.
Soil’s characteristics are essential for the successful design of projects such as airports runway and flexible pavement. CBR (California Bering Ratio) is one of the significant soil characteristics for highways and airports projects. Thus, the CBR property can be used to determine the subgrade reaction of soil through correlations. Many of the soil geotechnical parameters such as compaction characteristics (Maximum Dry Density, MDD; Optimum Moisture Content, OMC), and consistency parameters (Liquid Limit, LL; Plastic Limit, PL; Plasticity Index, PI) can be in charge of changes that happen in soil CBR value. Soaked and/or non-soaked conditions of soils also affect CBR value. Hence, testing soils in a laboratory for CBR calculation is time-consuming that needs notable effort. Therefore, this study aims to generate some useful correlations for soil’s CBR with compaction and consistency parameters for 85 samples of fine-grained soils. The study trials were applied on natural soil samples of various places in Sulaimani Governorate, Northern Iraq. Statistical analysis has been carried out by using SPSS software (Version 28). Soaked CBR is counted, which is important for conditions such as rural roads that remain prone to water for few days. Based on the statistical analysis, there is a significant correlation between LL, PL, PI, MDD, and OMC with CBR as the dependent variable as a single variable equation with R2 of 0.7673, 0.5423, 0.5192, 0.6489, and 0.51, respectively. In addition, the highest value of R2 correlation was obtained between CBR value with consistency and compaction properties as a multiple regression equation with R2 of 0.82. The obtained equations for correlation purposes are successfully achieved and can be used, notably, to estimate CBR value.
This study concerns utilization of nonlinear finite element method for to evaluate the role of longitudinal soffit-bonded CFRP strips in elevating the shear behavior of RC beams without stirrups. All beams cross-sections were of 150 mm breadth and 200 mm depth, the overall length was 1500 mm with clear span 1300 mm. One beam was provided by minimum web reinforcement according to the ACI 318M-14, while the other five were without web reinforcement but externally strengthened by a variety of CFRP-strip combinations consisting of longitudinal soffit-bonded strips. The predictions of a proposed ANSYS (version 14.5) model for six of the test beams including modeling of concrete, steel rebars, CFRP strips and supports and loading steel plates, by SOLID65, LINK180, SHELL41 and SOLID185 elements, respectively, show high agreements with experimental evidence, which stands as a definite witness to the efficiency and reliability of the present numerical model.
Fourier series and finite element analysis are utilized to obtain the solution of simply supported beams resting on elastic foundations with different loadings in order to arrive at a free vibration. The equation of the free vibration of beam on elastic foundation is derived and solved. Good agreement has been obtained between the results of the present study Fourier and finite element analysis and other previous solutions. The effect of modulus of subgrade reaction, axial tension force (foundation modulus) and beam depth on the behavior is studied.
With the occurrence of pathological disorders in some people or aging, metabolic energy consumption begins significantly due to the weakness of the peripheral muscles and the increase in body fat with time, which aggravates the issues for this type of people, causing the rest hours extremely lengthy and consequently may produce heart or arterial diseases and elevate the mortality rate. Regarding the significance of the matter, this study examines a number of previous researches that featured several approaches to energy calculation and strategies for lowering energy consumption through the use of various external assistance devices, such as exosuits or exoskeletons, to assist people in carrying out their everyday tasks. And additionally discussed musculoskeletal simulation employs a variety of programs, especially OpenSim, which enables users to build models of musculoskeletal structures and produce dynamic movement simulations. According to the research findings, exoskeletons and other assistive technology can successfully lower the cost of metabolic energy to varying extents, depending on the device's weight, placement within the body, and whether it is active, semi-active, or inactive. In the future, the work to design and simulate a semi-active torsional ankle-foot exoskeleton with a specialized mechanism aimed to minimize metabolic energy.
Two lasers were utilized for silicon processing using photoelectrochemical etching and laser texturing in order to produce nano/micro structures, respectively. Photoelectrochemical etching process utilizes a CW diode laser of 532 nm wavelength was used to support electrochemical etching for both n-type and p-type conductivity. While laser texturing process was employed using pulsed fiber laser of 1064 nm wavelength. Various characterization methods were devoted to examine silicon micro/nanostructures surfaces produced by lasers. These methods include AFM, SEM and Raman scattering to provide clear evidence about formation of micro/nanostructures abundant at silicon surfaces. Moreover, FTIR analysis for the laser produced silicon surfaces could emphasize whether the resultant silicon surface is hydrophilic or hydrophobic. Image analysis software adopted a side view micro image was used to measure the contact angle between the water droplet and silicon micro/nano-surfaces. It is found that the laser produced silicon nanostructure by photoelectrochemical etching creates a hydrophobic surface and even super hydrophobic with contact angle of 130 degrees for 50 nm average size. In addition, utilizing fiber laser of high repetition rate for laser texturing produces microstructures that are super hydrophilic with contact angle could reach 8 degrees for a surface dimension of 50 μm.
Applying conjunctive use between surface water and ground water is getting widely used at many regions in the world, due to the increasing need of water resources, especially when large quantities of water and for long time are used for irrigation purposes to meet agricultural production requirements.The linear programming has been formulated to optimize the optimum allocation of water. An economic analysis of conjunctive use for Al-Wand project in Iraq has been done for a certain cropping pattern using two scenarios of management and operation of ground water and surface water. One suggested scenario was to use ground tank to save the water during the period of water excess to be used during the shortage period. The other scenario was to operate the reservoir dam to supply the water requirements during the agriculture years. The main concerns of this research were: the fluctuation of the ground water and how to estimate the deficit of yield which is caused by using the decreased water in irrigation. The economic analysis has been done by calculating the overall cost and the annual estimation of return. It can be concluded that the operation of surface water at (60 and 70%) from total available surface is a compromise, because some of the water still flow in the river and canals and the ground water reservoirs were not affected especially its storage capacity.
The finite element method is one of the important methods in analyzing geotechnical engineering problems; its main advantage is the ability to apply for the materials exhibiting non-linear stress-strain behavior. In this study the finite element program PLAXIS 3D 2013 is used to study the behavior of the piles under the influence of seismic waves in saturated sandy soil and the effect of adding geogrid with the pile foundation. The program has been used to facilitate the representation of the real model, input the required soil parameters and implementation of seismic data. Seismic wave, the soil geometry and the pile dimensions were fixed in all models, while dimension and depth of the geogrid used were varied to study the influence of different depth and dimension in reducing the pile displacements and the pore water pressure of soil. The results show that The reduction in settlement ratio (the difference between settlement of pile without and with using geogrid to the settlement without using geogrid) for ( ×L/2), (L×L) and (2L×2L) are 10.6%, 17% and 21.3% respectively. And the settlement ratio for geogrid at depths 8.33% and 12.5% of pile length are 9.6% and 17% respectively.
Construction joints are separations between successive concrete pours. They are critical in the building of large concrete structures, since these structures cannot be cast in a single pour. Self-consolidation concrete is a relatively new kind of concrete that is considered suitable for a wide range of construction applications, especially those needing a high early resistance. Certain findings from earlier experimental tests were adopted and analyzed using finite element analysis. ANSYS program was used to analyze the impact of utilizing high strength concrete (fc') and the secondary reinforcement ratio (ρv) on the behavior of reinforced self-consolidating concrete beams having a horizontal construction joint. Nine beams analyzed in this study have the same dimensions (150×180×1200) mm (width× height ×length). Between the two supports, the clear span was 1100 mm. Two-point loads were applied to the simply supported beams during testing. One of the beams acts as a control beam (without a construction joint) and the remaining beams were with horizontal construction joint in the tension zone. The ultimate loads obtained analytically vary by between 3.1% and 7.8 % from those found experimentally. The presence of the horizontal construction joints made the beam less stiff. Utilizing a 70 MPa high strength concrete resulted in a 47.4 % in ultimate load over the experimental value for regular strength concrete (28 MPa). Increasing the ratio of secondary reinforcement (0.01229 to 0.049) resulted in a 10.3% increase in ultimate load magnitude, while decreasing the ratio of secondary reinforcement (0.01229 to 0.0025) with spanning the spacing between stirrups led to a reduction in ultimate load magnitude by 55.8%.
This paper provides a theoretical framework for analysis of consensus algorithm for multi-agent networked systems considering the role of directed information flow. Improvement of the performance of the implemented consensus algorithm has been achieved by using Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO). Concepts of information consensus in networks and methods of convergence are applied as well. Our analysis framework is based on tools algebraic Graph Theory (GT). Simulation of multi-agent system and the performance of a consensus algorithm have been discussed. Acceleration the network while approaching the required goal has been accomplished and elimination of undesired swing that appears during the acceleration was proved.
The experimental analysis is conducted under the Iraqi climate conditions to investigate the performance enhancement of a solar updraft tower system (SUTS) using the porous copper foam as an absorber plate and conventional absorber plate with absorber inclination angle of 18°. In the present work, a semicircular collector is divided into two identical quarter thermal collectors to become two identical SUTS. One of the quarter circular thermal collectors contains on the metal foam as an absorber plate, while the other quarter collector on the conventional flat copper absorber plate. In this study the air inlet height is changed of (3, 5, and 8) cm. The experimental tests carried out in Baghdad city (latitude 33.3° N). Results showed that the air inlet height variation caused to enhance the solar updraft tower performance. The highest values was recorded when the air inlet height is 3 cm using porous absorber compared to flat absorber plate. Copper material foam as an endothermic surface causes a marked decrease in average surface temperature of the plate. The maximum hourly thermal efficiency of solar collector was increased to about 41.6 % and the maximum enhancement of the power output to about 45.2 % compared with flat absorber plate.
An orthogonal chaotic vectors based differential chaos shift keying (OCV-DCSK) digital communication system is presented. In this system the data transmission rates are increased by sending M bits in the same frame without needing for synchronization and channel state information since it use the benefit of non-coherent modulation of the DCSK and the orthogonality of chaotic vectors in the same scenario as QCSK system but instead of using Hilbert transform to create two orthogonal signals in QCSK, Gram Schmidt process is used to create M orthogonal chaotic signals from the M non-orthogonal chaotic signal. In the proposed system the analytical expression for OCV-DCSK are derived in AWGN and multipath fading channels. The simulation results show that the derived analytical expression have matched the Monte-Carlo simulation of the proposed system. Furthermore, comparison between orthogonal chaotic vectors and non-orthogonal, that are generated either as different initial conditions with the same chaotic generator or as different types of chaotic maps, reveals its superior BER performance in multipath fading channel.
In this research, we investigate the nonlinear vibration of functionally graded carbon nanotubes (FG-CNTs) for simply supported sandwich cylindrical panels. The sandwich consisting of three layers formed of (FG-CNTs) and isotropic material as (CNT, ALMINUME, CNT). Mechanical properties of the sandwich media are acquired according to a re?ned rule of blend approach. The governing equations were derived using a first-order deformation theory (FOSDT). Four kinds of carbon nanotubes of sandwich cylindrical panels were analyzed. The volume fraction of CNTs is varied. The properties of nonlinear responses and free vibration are studied. The numerical approach employs the fourth-order Runge-Kutta and Galerkine procedure. Which conducted for the dynamic analysis of the panels to present the natural frequencies and non-linear dynamic response expression. The results show that; the natural frequencies and the nonlinear vibration amplitude decrease with the volume fraction and thickness ratio increase. The nonlinear vibration amplitude response increases when increasing the excitation force. The initial imperfection and the elastic foundation have a minor impact on the nonlinear vibration response of the panel. The Pasternak Foundation has a larger impact than the Winkler foundation. The structure formed of FG-CNT present an excellent choice for high-performance of engineering applications.
Accurately identifying the kind and amount of dissolved metal salts in wastewater used in oil refining processes is an iconic feature of ultraviolet and visible absorption spectroscopy. This method relies on the dissolved metal salts' ability to absorb light at certain wavelengths after reacting with it. The experiments were conducted in a lab setting with a broadband source (200-800 nm) to measure the absorbance of dissolved element salts and precisely identify the lowest concentration up to 2 ppm. A mixture of the mineral salts from oil refining operations was prepared and diluted to different concentrations using a standard solution. This allowed us to study and compare this result with the absorbance behavior of the wastewater from the Al-Dora Refinery. The two results reinforced that we can accurately estimate the detection parameters for the lowest water contamination. These materials are lead nitrate (PbNO3), phenol, calcium carbonate (CaCO3), sodium chloride (NaCl2), sulfide (SO4), and nitrate (NO3). At wavelengths of 340, 404, and 741 nm, the concentrations (10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, and 100) ppm were found, and for the concentration of 10ppm, the absorbance (0.15323, 0.15326, and 0.14685) was found, respectively. The process that has been tested with varying concentrations is considered and simulates the variation in river water concentrations caused by the river's water level and flow rate changes by the effect of rain abundance and thawing. It is fast, accurate data analysis, and a lower cost compared with the other chemical analysis and conventional methods.
In this paper, a quick stop device technique and the streamline model were employed to study the chip formation in metal cutting. The behavior of chip deformation at the primary shear zone was described by this model. Orthogonal test of turning process over a workpiece of the 6061-T6 aluminum alloy at different cutting speeds was carried out. The results of the equivalent strain rate and cumulative plastic strain were used to describe the complexity of chip formation. Finite element analysis by ABAQUS/explicit package was also employed to verify the streamline model. Some behavior of formation and strain rate distribution differs from the experimental results, but the overall trend and maximum results are approximately close. In addition, the quick stop device technique is described in detail. Which could be used in other kinds of studies, such as the metallurgical observation.
The growing use of “distributed energy resources (DER)” will result in a significant increase in the total number of gadgets or devices that users and third parties own and control. These gadgets rely largely on digital communication and control, placing them in danger due to cyber threats. This study presents a comprehensive framework that is resistant to attacks for defending integrated DER and major power grid infrastructure from hostile cyber-attacks, ensuring the safe integration of DER without jeopardizing system dependability and stability. This research focuses on the development of a cyber-physical power system that incorporates a significant integration of DER and analyses the particular cyber security problems brought about by DER integration. Following that, we provide a systematic DER resilience analysis approach, in addition to effective and measurable resilience measurements and concepts concerning design, and we summarize important DER assault scenarios. In conclusion, we suggest preventive, detective, and responsive measures against cyber-attacks, specifically tailored for integrating Distributed Energy Resources (DER) throughout the physical, cyber device, and regulatory levels of an eventual smart grid.
This study compares two different sockets, traditional and smart. It includes designs, manufacturing, and testing to evaluate the influence of the socket designs on gait symmetry. The proposed materials are locally available in the prosthetics center where traditional sockets are manufactured. and smart socket designs with the same materials as traditional additions. A simple electronic system programmed to control the movement of the stump by pneumatic pads and prevent slipping during movement is considered an advanced suspension system. A gait cycle test was carried out to evaluate the sockets. it was performed on a patient with AK amputation in two cases: the first when the patient was wearing the traditional and the second when wearing the smart. Where the difference in (gait cycle time, step velocity, heel contact, and mid-stance) between the left and right leg is equal to (0.54, 4.3, 0.19, and 0.34) respectively, when the patient uses the traditional, while these values reduce to (0.09, 0.7, 0.07, and 0.27) respectively when the patient used the smart, it improves comfort by modifying pressure distribution, relieving pressure points, and enhancing functionality through gait analysis. They adjust to the volume of the residual limb, ensuring an effective fit. Real-time monitoring and remote modifications decrease the need for in-person meetings and enhance user confidence. The smart socket, designed to fit user requirements, provides enhanced comfort, functionality, and independence. The studies will explore its long-term benefits and broader applications, focusing on its originality, practical implications, and outcome measurement.
This study presents a numerical analysis for point contact Elasto-hydrodynamic lubrication EHL. The oils used are (0W-30 and 10W-40) as lubricants. The pressure and film-thickness profiles for point contact EHL are evaluated. The aims of this study are to estimate the effect of oil’s temperature on friction force, coefficient of friction and load carrying capacity. By using FORTRAN program, the Forward-iterative method is used, to solve two dimensional (2D) EHL problem. The viscosity is updating in the solution by using Roeland’s model. After the convergence of pressure is done, the friction force, friction power losses, and friction coefficient are calculated. The temperature used ranges from (-20 to 120 oC). The results showed the film-thickness decreases with the increasing of temperature. Though the maximum pressure is not affected, only the pressure distribution and profile are changed, inlet pressure decreases and the pressure profile tends towards a hertzian (dry contact) one. The friction force and the coefficient of friction decrease with the increasing of temperature.
One of the unique properties of laser heating applications is its powerful ability for precise pouring of energy on the needed regions in heat treatment applications. The rapid rise in temperature at the irradiated region produces a high temperature gradient, which contributes in phase metallurgical changes, inside the volume of the irradiated material. This article presents a comprehensive numerical work for a model based on experimentally laser heated AISI 1110 steel samples. The numerical investigation is based on the finite element method (FEM) taking in consideration the temperature dependent material properties to predict the temperature distribution within the irradiated material volume. The finite element analysis (FEA) was carried out using the APDL scripting language (ANSYS Parametric Design Language) that is provided by the commercial code ANSYS. Infrared (IR) thermography technique was used to explore the workpiece surface and to validate the obtained results. The work takes into account the effect of different speeds of the laser beam and pulses overlap on the temperature pattern of the material surface and depth.
The modern development in prosthetics field demand the evaluation of the dynamical behavior and automatic control .The key process in the design and implement of these devices is the determination of the model parameters inherited with the transfer function .In such complicated structures it is so difficult to evaluate transfer function analytically ,however experimental approaches can serve as a simple and effective tool for estimating transfer function and model parameters .In this regard computer software such as Matlab is used .System Identification SID refers to the method for estimating the system transfer function from experimental tests by using computer .In the present paper; SID method is employed for analyzing below-knee prosthesis leg .In order to simulate with the practical requirement for design and evaluation ,two phases of human gait are considered ,namely; swing phase and single support of stance phase .The validity of this method is firstly checked by applying it on clamped-clamped beam model where the required parameters are evaluated and compared theoretically (via modal analysis) and experimentally (via System identification) .It is found that ; the error in estimating the transfer function parameter of beam is not exceeded 6% . Then the transfer function of the prosthesis are estimated for two phases of gait cycle .It is found that; the estimated transfer function of the prosthesis leg is highly affected by the phase type of gait cycle , where ;the natural frequency highly increases, the static gain decrease for support phase as compared with the swing phase ,however the damping ratio does not affected .
The research aims to improve the quality of the product through improving the quality of production processes by relying on the principle of quality control, the aim of this research is to identify the reality of quality control in the industrial public sector companies in Syria, and explaining the advantages of using the principle of quality control producing information and data that contribute to improve the quality of production, where the research was based on theoretical side to provide an explanation on the quality and its objectives and the principle of quality control and production processes, but on the practical side, the workers were surveyed at the General Company for Wool and Carpets in Hama._x000D_ To achieve the objective of the research and to prove or deny the impact of quality control on the quality of production processes was based on the descriptive analytical method and using the appropriate statistical methods, where statistical analysis was carried out using SPSS 19 program._x000D_ The statistical results have shown that there is a strong correlation between the quality control and improving the quality of production processes._x000D_ The researcher recommended the need to form an administrative structure or forming a team work to improve the quality or using the consultants and researchers in order to supervise on the principle of quality control.
This paper presents a study of a nonholonomic differential drive wheeled mobile robot (WMR) of the type (BOE-Bot). In this paper, two aims are presented: the first is the study of the WMR movement on a specific trajectories to get the desired goals positions and the second is the evaluation of the kinematic performance factor of the WMR movement. The kinematic model of the robot movement in terms of the robot wheels velocity is studied by making the robot to move on the desired trajectories. The determination of the actual robot centre position in two dimensions (X) and (Y) is done by tracking the movement of a red point located above the robot by using a fixed camera attached to the ceiling. The position error between the theoretical and actual WMR position vectors is studied and calculated in global and local coordinates' frames. The values of the position error percentage ratios when the robot moved on a (S-shape) trajectory were higher than its values when the robot moved on a (straight-line) trajectory because of the existence of a gyroscopic torque resulted from the WMR circular movement around an axis perpendicular to the axis of the WMR wheels rotation. Finally, the kinematic performance factor of the WMR movement is evaluated depending on the position error in the global coordinate.
Gait analysis can be described as a field of biomechanical engineering dealing with the subject of human locomotion. This study aimed to identify the effect of Ilizarov on gait when the presence the above-knee prosthesis. The study was made on a 50-year-old male patient was underwent correction right tibia with Ilizarov fixation due to war accident in July 2012. Also, this accident led to trans-femoral amputation. Two-dimensional gait system of a synchronized 25 Hz camera with an AMTI force platform was use for measuring gait kinematics and kinetics data while walking at a self-selected speed. These data can be used as standard measures in pathology studies, as input to theoretical joint models, and as input to mechanical joint simulators treated with Ilizarov and prosthetics.
This paper presents a numerical investigation to study the effect of variations in displacement history sequence and magnitude on cyclic response of RC tapered (haunched) beams (RCHBs).Five simply supported RCHBs (four haunched and one prismatic) were selected from experimental work carried out by Aranda et al. The selected variables included were five loading history types. The first part of this study focused to verify the finite element analysis with selected experimental work and the second part of this study focused too studying the effect of varying in loading history to the response of RCHBs. The finite element code Abaqus was used in the modeling. The adopted cyclic simulation performance of the selected beams using the plastic- damage model for concrete developed by Lubliner and Lee & Fenves. The constitutive model of plain concrete describing the uniaxial compression response under cyclic loading proposed by Thorenfeldt, and the uniaxial tension response follows the softening law proposed by Hordijk was used in the modeling. Menegotto-Pinto model was used to simulate the steel response. Model verification has shown A good agreement to the selected experimental work. The variations in loading history will decrease the ultimate load and corresponding deflection with increase in the number of cycles at ultimate load.
The effect of defect on structures and machines has negative consequences on them and it always takes researchers concern and attention in order to find feasible solutions to trace and detect the location of the defect accurately.In this research, the effect of a hole with different diameters on a square composite plate is studied as well as the effects of both the boundary condition and the plate thickness, furthermore, Vibration analysis of composite plate has been studied numerically and experimentally. The Numerical analysis has been carried out by using FEM by building MATLAB program as well as (ANSYS 15). The experimental part of this research is done by using vibration measuring instruments. The rate of error among the experimental tests and the numerical solution is less than 15%. These results have been used an inputs to the Genetic Algorithm model that the defect is located by, with a high percentage of success.
In an original article, an addition was made to the well-known Taguchi’s methodical design literature by proposing how Poisson distribution may be incorporated into the Taguchi method for enhanced performance analysis in optimization. While the article is recent, it was found compelling enough to apply this novel concept of Poisson distribution to a growing area of maintenance research known as maintenance downtime analysis. Consequently, this paper contributes to the expanding research neighborhood through a Taguchi optimization method based on Poisson distribution related to the maintenance process optimization. A valuable method to optimize maintenance downtime was developed wherein the Poisson distribution was used to achieve the probability of maintenance downtime. An important foundation of the method is the Taguchi scheme. These elements were transformed into the factor-level design of the Poisson enhanced Taguchi scheme while the framework was tested using data from a process industry for validation. Interesting, the Taguchi's signal-to-noise quotient led to an enhanced set of limiting factors for better reliability of the system as G1H1I1J1K3. By interpretation, the following was found: downtime (204.61 mins), probability density function (0.00187), and cumulative density function (0.00776). The combination of these factors and levels will enhance maintenance downtime in the process industry as a result of their contributions. The outcome revealed the competence of the model to optimization schemes.
Flexible and rigid pavements are commonly built for airport pavements to support the moving loads of aircraft during the pavement design life. Airport pavements represent a cornerstone of the aviation world. Their condition profoundly impacts safety, operational efficiency, airport capacity, and financial well-being. These meticulously engineered surfaces must withstand the immense stresses generated by aircraft during takeoff, landing, and taxiing. At the planning stage, the pavement structure, materials, aircraft loads, environmental conditions, and pavement damage models should be evaluated. Comparing with road pavement design, airport pavement structural design is unique in terms of the traffic loads supported by pavements with high load magnitude, significant tire pressure, and dynamic traffic conditions. Over time, deterioration stemming from environmental exposure, aircraft loading, and other factors becomes inevitable. This study aims to explore the various factors influencing airport pavement performance, review the existing methodologies for pavement design and maintenance, and propose enhancements to current practices to ensure long-term durability and safety of airport pavements. This study aims to explore the various factors influencing airport pavement performance, review the existing methodologies for pavement design and maintenance, and propose enhancements to current practices to ensure long-term durability and safety of airport pavements.
The purpose of this study is to investigate the potential of biochar derived from Peganum harmala (Pgh) seeds as an adsorbent material for wastewater treatment. Biochar is a cost-efficient, ecologically friendly, and effective bio-sorbent for a wide range of pollutants in wastewater. Researchers are investigating the production of biochar from novel biomass sources. Phosphoric acid (H3PO4) was utilized in a chemical activation technique to produce biochar at various concentrations (20%, 30%, and 40%). The pyrolysis process lasted three hours at 600°C in a tube furnace with an inert nitrogen gas atmosphere. Elemental analysis, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) nitrogen adsorption, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), The biochar was characterized using several techniques, including elemental analysis, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) nitrogen adsorption, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The findings demonstrate the significant potential of Pgh seed-derived biochar as an inexpensive and ecologically acceptable sorbent material. A large surface area (691.58 m2g−1) was achieved at 600◦C for three hours with 40% H3PO4 activation.
The technique of recording muscle signals is crucial in determining how effectively they can be utilized for individual benefit. This study focuses on hand movements recognized by using the Myo armband and Motion Processing Unit (MPU) 6050 sensors. Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA), K-nearest neighbors (k-NN), and Support Vector Machine (SVM) were employed for classification. sEMG signals using the Myo armband for 7 hand gestures and 2 elbow movements were recorded from 10 healthy subjects. Results showed that SVM outperforms LDA and k-NN in accuracy in both cases, the sensor is worn once on the arm and again on the forearm. regions. The window size and choice of features significantly influence system accuracy, with SVM achieving an average accuracy of 89.84%. Besides that, the fusion of Myo Armband sensor and gyroscope sensor through OR rule makes significant enhancement in recognition accuracy with which is reached to 97.0135%. In conclusion, the Myo armband, when worn on the forearm, proves practical for hand gesture recognition, with SVM offering superior recognition accuracy. Furthermore, the combination of the Myo Armband sensor and the gyroscope sensor showed higher recognition accuracy.
The free vibration analysis of rotating multi-layered cylindrical shell is investigated based on the first order shear deformation theory (FSDT) of shell. Cylindrical shell consists of three layers; outer and inner layers are isotropic material and the middle layer is a functionally graded material (FGM). The material properties for middle layer are assumed to be graded in the thickness direction. Based on Hamilton’s principle, the equilibrium equations and the equations of motion are derived and then solved by using the differential quadrature method (DQM) as a numerical tool. MATLAB software was adopted for programming the equations and the related boundary condition. The effect of (FGM) layer thickness, angular speed, index power law, circumferential wave number on the natural frequency of the clamped-clamped rotating cylindrical shell were examined. The numerical results showed that a reasonable agreement between the present study and analytical data available in the literature.
As internet network developed rapidly in the past ten years, and its operating environment is constantly changing along with the development of computer and communication technology, the congestion problem has become more and more serious. Since TCP is the primary protocol for transport layers on the internet, the data transmitted via the transport protocol utilizes Vegas Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) as the congestion control algorithm, where it uses increasing in delay round trip time (RTT) as a signal of network congestion. However, this congestion control algorithm will attempt to fill network buffer, which causes an increase in (RTT) determined by Vegas, thereby reducing the congestion window, and making the transmission slower, Therefore Vegas has not been widely adopted on the Internet. In this paper, an improved algorithm called TCP Vegas-A is proposed consist of two parts: the first part is sending the congestion window used by the algorithm for congestion avoidance along with the TTL (Time To Live) mechanism that limits the lifetime of a packet in the network. While the second part of the algorithm is the priority-based packet sending strategy, and jitter is used as a congestion signal indication. The combination of the two is expected to improve the efficiency of congestion detection. A mathematical model is established, and the analysis of the model shows that the algorithm has better effects on controlling congestion and improving the network throughput, decreasing packet loss rate and increasing network utilization, the simulation is done using NS-2 network simulation platform environment and the results support the theoretical analysis.
The objective of this paper is find the effect of using iron oxide as a filler on the Marshall stability, flow and the volumetric properties of HMA and compared the results with conventional HMA using limestone dust. Three blends were used: coarse, mid and fine with neat bitumen (AC 40-50). One aggregate type (crushed) with two types of fillers: limestone and iron oxide III (?- ) with three different filler content 6%, 8% and 10%. The Marshall mix design was conducted on the three blends and the optimum binder content is computed for each blend. The Marshall stability test results and the volumetric properties analysis showed that increasing the iron oxide content from 6% to 10% increases the stability about 28%, 17% , 16% for the coarse , mid and fine mixtures respectively. This increment in stability of mixtures using iron oxide related to the increment in specific gravity of the mix (Gmb) by (1.3% to 1.5% about 30 to 50 kg/m3). On the other hand, the flow of mixtures is decreased about (5%) for mixes using iron oxide than the ones that used limestone as filler. The fine blend with 10% iron oxide exhibit the highest stability of 13.3 kN. While the coarse blend stability was 10 kN for the same filler type and content. Generally, the Marshall Test results of HMA using iron oxide as filler showed better resistance to plastic deformation, also produce denser HMA with higher stiffness. On the other hand, the volumetric properties analysis showed lesser values as compared with conventional mixture where the void in mineral aggregates and void filled with asphalt has decreased but within the acceptable limits.
Thyroid nodules (TNs) are discrete abnormalities located within the thyroid gland that are radiologically different from the surrounding thyroid tissue. Ultrasound is an accurate and efficient way to diagnose thyroid nodules. Recently, several methods of AI were proposed to improve the detection of thyroid nodules ultrasound images with good performances. However, in some cases related to the type or size of the dataset using machine or transfer deep learning methods alone is unable to achieve high accuracy and high specificity. Consequently, the addition of feature selection)FS) to the deep learning method enhances the results by reducing the high features and the time needed for training the dataset. This study proposes two deep-learning models for classifying thyroid nodule US images into two categories: benign and malignant. ResNet50 was the first model used to extract deep features from US images. The second model integrates ResNet50 and principal component analysis (PCA) for feature selection, intending to reduce dataset dimensionality while maintaining the greatest data variance possible before classification. The proposed model was created using a freely available dataset. The dataset consists of 800 images, 400 benign and 400 malignant. The suggested system was accessed based on accuracy, precision, recall, and F1 score. The classification accuracy for ResNet50 was 85%, while ReNet50-PCA was 89.16%. The combination of deep learning and FS techniques in this research produces an interesting diagnostic framework that can potentially increase efficiency and accuracy in thyroid cancer detection, especially in local healthcare centers.
Shear walls are effective structural elements used mainly in multi-story buildings to provide resistance against lateral loadings such as earthquake and wind loadings. There are several types and shapes of shear walls depending mainly on geometry and height of the building. Both type and shape of the shear wall affect the efficiency of resisting lateral loadings. In this study, fifty six building models have been analyzed using the finite element method by using the SAP2000 V14 computer program. Each model have ten stories, subjected to earthquake loadings, with various numbers of bays, and with three types of shear walls, namely: side shear walls, middle shear core, and double shear cores, provided that each type of the shear walls (or cores) has the same material volume. The analysis outputs have been investigated to select the appropriate type and location of the shear walls (or cores) for the multi-story buildings subjected to earthquake loadings. Specified conclusions have been presented to obtain the optimum behavior for the multi-story buildings under the effects of earthquake loadings.
Medical image segmentation plays a crucial role in the realm of medical imaging. The process involves the division of an image to obtain a comprehensive view and ensure precise diagnostics. There are various methods that are employed, ranging from traditional approaches to the more advanced deep learning techniques. Both play a significant role in enhancing healthcare. With the continuous advancement in technology, there is a growing need for accurate segmentation. While traditional methods such as thresholding and region growing are effective, they may require human intervention for complex cases. Deep learning techniques, particularly Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs), have significantly improved the process by learning intricate details and accurately segmenting the image. When these methods are combined, healthcare professionals can achieve high-quality, precise results. Furthermore, with the advancements in hardware and technology, real-time segmentation is now possible. Generally, the process of dividing medical images into segments is extremely important for the progress of healthcare with the help of artificial intelligence and the most recent advancements in the industry, such as explainable AI and multimodal learning. However, this meticulously detailed and in-depth review provides an all-encompassing and extensive analysis of the current methods utilized, their multitude of applications across various fields, and the promising emerging advancements that have the potential to pave the way for remarkable future improvements and innovations.
This study was devoted in investigating the optimum geometric parameters for underactuated linkage three phalanges robotic finger. New kinematic and kinetic equations of grasping were derived in this research taking into account the angle for the ternary solid links of the four-bar linkages. To obtain the target of optimization, a gradient descent method was used which consists of three stages to find the optimal geometric parameters with high accuracy. Five criteria were selected to find the optimal solution by using multi objectives function algorithm, these are percentage of the grasping stability, the grasp forces, squeezing force, Mimic function for grasping task, and transmission angle for grasping operation. Gradient descent method starts by detecting the optimal geometric parameters for each criterion and choosing the best geometric parameters from the five criteria functions. At the optimum solution, the underactuated robotic finger prototype was built from hard Polylactic acid (PLA) plastic using rapid prototyping and was tested performance by grasping objects. Finally, the results have been shown that the robotic finger adapts to the wanted configurations.
This paper discusses the development of a seven-band coherent wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) system covering the T to U systems, aiming to enhance the capacity and system efficiency. Seven multiband systems (C+L, S+C+L, S+C+L+U, E+S+C+L, E+S+C+L+U, O+E+S+C+L+U, and T+O+E+S+C+L+U) are designed with 40 GBaud symbol rate, 50 GHz channel spacing, and dual-polarization (DP)-16QAM signaling. The analysis adopted the enhanced Gaussian noise model, considering the amplified spontaneous emission of inline optical amplifiers and nonlinear interference (NLI) from fiber nonlinear optics, including Kerr effect and stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) which it implemented using Matlab (Ver. 2020b) program. The results show that the optimal powers are -4, -5, -5, -4.5, -3.5, -6, and -4.5 dBm for the seven WDM systems, respectively. Further, with a fiber span length of 100 km, the C+L system has the longest transmission reach of 20 span. However, using S+C+L+U system gives the highest bit rate-distance product of 1619 Tbps.km. The O+E+S+C+L+U and T+O+E+S+C+L+U systems are designed with 50 km-span length to reduce the effect of NLI caused by the large numbers of channels (1060 and 1200, respectively).
Magnesium oxide nanoparticles were deposited by laser pyrolysis process. Three types of lasers were employed CW CO2, Q-switched Nd-YAG (short pulses) and long pulses Nd-YAG lasers. The size and density of nanoparticles vary with laser energy, power, pulse duration and the scanning speed of the laser. In this method, MgO nanoparticles were deposited by a laser beam on a quartz substrate from aqueous solution of magnesium nitrate. AFM images reveal formation of small nanoparticle size of 24.5 nm with surface roughness 6.97nm by Q-switched Nd-YAG laser (10 ns) when the energy was 1J. While for CO2 laser, the smallest size was 18.8 nm at 0.4mm/s scanning speed with surface roughness 5.21nm at the same scanning speed. Moreover, long Nd-YAG pulses laser produces relatively larger average size of 37.5nm at 0.8ms pulse duration. The absorption spectra from UV-Visible spectroscopy were also conducted. The best absorption intensity was obtained at a wavelength ranging between 420-430 nm for both lasers. Finally, Thermal analysis using COMSOL Multiphysics software for the deposition process reveals that maximum temperature about 440Kfor Q-Switched Nd-YAG laser at 1J laser energy. While for RF CO2 laser, the maximum temperature obtained at 0.4mm/s scanning speed is 850K.This work provides a good knowledge for the deposition of nanoparticles using laser beams.
In this research, experimental and analytical deep drawing of the several-stages design mold is produce hexagonal cup and also proved the influence of the thickness of the sheet on the allocation of strain and laminating in curvature of the cup area for all stages of the drawing. Three stages deep drawing mold was designed and constructed to carry out the experimental work required to produce a hexagonal cup of (28.25 mm by 24.5 mm) , (60 mm) high drawn from a circular flat sheet (80 mm diameter), made from low carbon steel (1006–AISI). Analysis program (ANSYS11.0) to perform the finite element method to accomplish the analytical side of the search. Three types of thickness sheet (tt°= 0.5, 0.7,1 mm) with constant radius of curvature of punch equal to (RRpp =4) mm, radius of curvature of die equal to (RRdd=8 mm)and radius of curvature of wall of die (RRcc= 4 mm) were used. From the experimental and analytical results of the three stages of drawing, it has been found that drawing load less than the more advanced stages of drawing operation on the wall of cup, maximum laminating take place at curvature of the cup area with sheet thickness equal to (tt°=0.5 mm) and maximum thickeningtake place at the at throat cup with sheet thickness equal to (tt°=1 mm), the maximum values of strains (radial, hoop, thickness andeffective)take place at throat cup with sheet thickness equal to (tt°=1 mm).
This study has been performed to compare the compartmental modeling of two types of extravascular routes, sustained-release (SR) oral dosage forms and intramuscular (IM) injection. Twenty healthy volunteers received a single dose of 100 mg Diclofenac Sodium (DS) sustained-release tablet, then 75 mg DS Intramuscular injection after two weeks washout period. The concentrations of DS in plasma were measured using reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The data analyzed using compartmental modeling, with single time-variant input and output. Primary kinetic parameters for both formulations, ( , , ) and other kinetic parameters were evaluated. The result shows that the IM injection needs a shorter time to reach the maximum concentration with convergent bioavailability to SR oral dosage forms, in another hand the data of IM injection fitted to single-compartment model with a correlation coefficient of 0.93 and the data of SR tablet fitted to two-compartment models with a correlation coefficient of 0.97.
Free Space Optics (FSO) plays a vital role in modern wireless communications due to its advantages over fiber optics and RF techniques where a transmission of huge bandwidth and access to remote places become possible._x000D_ The specific aim of this research is to analyze the Bit-Error Rate (BER) for FSO communication system when the signal is sent the over medium of turbulence channel, where the fading channel is described by the Gamma-Gamma model. The signal quality is improved by using Optical Space-Time Block- Code (OSTBC) and then the BER will be reduced. Optical 2×2 Alamouti scheme required 14 dB bit energy to noise ratio (Eb/N0) at 10-5 bit error rate (BER) which gives 3.5 dB gain as compared to no diversity scheme._x000D_ The results show that using Multiple-Input-Multiple-Output (MIMO) technique represented by Alamouti scheme gives the improved BER performance as compared with no diversity (Single-Input-Single-Output (SISO)) technique.
The Unified Power Flow Controller (UPFC) is a most complex power electronic device, which can simultaneously control a local bus voltage and optimize power flows in the electrical power transmission system. This paper presents the effect of installing the UPFC on the Iraqi (400 kV) grid transmission system to control the active and reactive power flow by choosing the optimal location and parameters of Unified Power Flow Controllers (UPFCs), which were specified based on the Genetic Algorithm (GA) optimization method. The objectives are improving voltage profile, reducing power losses, treating power flow in overloaded transmission lines, and reducing power generation. The steady state model of UPFC has been adopted on (400 kV) Iraq transmission lines and simulated using the MATLAB programming language. The Newton-Raphson (NR) numerical analysis method has been used for solving the load flow of the system. The practical part has been solved through Power System Simulation for Engineers (PSS\E) software Version 32.0. The Comparative results between the experimental and practical parts obtained from adopting the UPFC were too close and almost the same under different loading conditions, which are (5%, 10%, 15% and 20%) of the total load.
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is one of the most common children's neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD) with an estimated global incidence of 1% to 2%. There are two aims for this research, first, to propose a data mining architecture that combines behavioural and clinical characteristics with demographic data. Second, to provide a quick, acceptable and easy way to support the ASD diagnosis. this can be performed by conducting a comparison study to determine the efficacy of four possible classifiers: logistic regression (LR), sequential minimum optimization (SMO), naïve Bayes, and instance-based technique based on k-neighbors (IBK). These classifiers have been performed with Waikato Environment for Knowledge Analysis (WEKA) tools to distinguish autistic adults from healthy, normal subjects. The results showed that, with 99.71%, SMO classification accuracy was 99.71, which exceeded the accuracy of other classifiers. The proposed architecture allows for early detection of ASD, distinguishing between ASD and healthy control subjects. This study could help doctors and clinicians by giving them a better idea of what the future holds for people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and by improving therapy programs, allowing people with ASD to live a long and happy life.
Experiments were conducted to study the effect of quenching medium carbon steel in water-based MWCNTs nanofluids at 0.05 % wt. concentration quenchant, a large cylindrical sample with 46 mm diameter and 40 mm length made from medium carbon steel used with three K-type thermocouples with a diameter of 1.5 mm inserted in three locations for sample (center of the sample, mid-point between center and surface and 1 mm from the surface). A time-temperature reading data system was used to read temperature history during cooling stage.The same experiments were simulated using ANSYS Workbench with Thermal Transient Version 19, the cooling curves at three locations for the cylindrical steel sample calculated during quenching in MWCNTs nanofluids. Quench factor analysis was used to predict the hardness results from the calculated and measured cooling curves, and these results compared with the hardness test results conducted in the significant sample from the center to the surface. The results show excellent compatibility when compared between the hardness results from cooling curves, and it also shows a good agreement with the results of the hardness test, especially at the sample surface.
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 microstructural analysis and electrochemical measurements tests were used to investigate the behaviors of (TiO2) and (HAp)-coated Ti-6Al-7Nb alloy in the SBF solution .By using RF sputtering, a thin TiO2 layer coated the substrate, while a thick layer of HAp coated the outer side of surface. The generated middle layer consist of the composite of TiO2 and HAp which is by AFM characterized as uniformly distributed coating system with nano size. The images of the scan electron microscopy (SEM) shows that there is no any cracking observed in the outer layer of tested samples due to the use of thin film TiO2 as mid lead to reduce the difference in the thermal expansion between the HAp material and Ti-6Al-7Nb substrate .The HAp upper layer significantly improve the bioactivity of the Ti-6Al-7Nb alloy. In this study, the bonding strength and the corrosion resistance was improved by using thin layer of TiO2. From electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) study Bod plot, the composite layer of TiO2 and HAp was suggested by the capacitive act as barrier layer coated substrate and prevent the relays of the ion from metallic. The results shows the values of Rox (309.2 k? cm2)are greater than for Rct(19.2 k? cm2), by assumes the presence oxide film increases for coated substrate are greater than that of uncoated, which is a result of the presence of coated film that improve the corrosion resistance of the sample.
This research aims to develop and validate a smart PMS. The PMS will create a foundation for PMSs that will be used by organizations in the digital era. A three-step methodology was used in the current research. First, the archival literature analysis was used to identify the features and elements of the robust PMSs. Second, a generic PMS was constructed based on the results of the first step. Third, the generic PMS was amended, implemented in the workshop, and validated by discussing the results with a focus group of experts. The academic and technical contribution can be seen in proposing a generic Virtual Organizational Deoxyribonucleic Acid (V-DNA) concept and smart PMS (Performance Management Dashboard (PMD) and Decision-Making Tool (DMT)) based on the features and elements of the robust PMSs. The generic V-DNA and PMS were amended and implemented in the stated workshop. Then, the validation process was done by presenting the implementation results to a focus group of academic experts and taking their feedback. Applying the PMD and the DMT to monitor, analyze, and manage workshop performance was successful. The PMD proved a useful tool that can provide a holistic view of the workshop performance areas instead of focusing on isolated business aspects such as workshop productivity or efficiency. The decision-makers directly identified the low-performing and highly performing KPIs/processes/sub-processes and identified the root causes of low and high performance. The DMT proved a useful tool. The decision-makers could evaluate all sub-processes and rank them based on the values and weights of the decision-making criteria, highlighting the areas that need improvement. The originality and novelty of the proposed PMS and the V-DNA were proved through a systematic literature review process. The implications of the research can be seen in the possibility of testing the generic V-DNA and the PMS templates in organizations of different sizes and sectors to check their applicability. Moreover, other layers of the organizational V-DNA can be proposed. The current research assists the practitioners and managers in constructing the PMSs they need for their workshops/factories/companies.
In the present work, theoretical and experimental Study of vibration of a drum type of Horizontal Washing Machine. The effect of the Isolators stiffness, damping coefficient and the drum mass for specific laundry capacity also has been studied. The work in this research has been carried out analytically by using MATLAB, and Study experimentally the effect of different speed and unbalance force during the spinning cycle of the washing machine at four sides of it. This analysis aims to reducing the excited vibration. This was achieved theoretically by investigate the effect of various parameters in order to assign property values to increase the isolation efficiency to reach optimum design. The results is show that drum vibration amplitude reduced to 42 % at spinning speed 1000 rpm and 41% at 1200, 1400 rpm when the applied selected parameters.
In this research, polymer polymethyl methacrylate PMMA composite with nano ceramic Zr and HAp material were used to manufacture one part of the implant system (femoral ball head of hip implant). Three set of hybrid materials were fabricated and tested for this study; the first mixtures which contains 100% (PMMA), the second mixtures which contains (90% (PMMA) + 8% (Zr) + 2% (HAp)), and the third mixtures which contains (80% (PMMA) + 18% (Zr) + 2% (HAp)) were investigated. The mechanical properties for these mixtures increased with the increasing of nano ceramic concentration (Zr and HAp) composite material in the polymer compared to pure polymer PMMA sample. However, an increase in the concentration of Zr from 8% to 18% content cause a considerable decrease of the hardness where a drop of homogeneity in Zr- matrix PMMA contact occurred, V Hardness value are (68 ,80 and 70) Kg.mm for three mixture respectively. The wear test was in agreement with results of the hardness test. The weight loss of the above samples of the wear test were (0.041, 0.035 and 0.037) respectively. According to mechanical properties, the best sample contains (90% (PMMA) + 8% (Zr) + 2% (HAp)). The Scanning electron microscopy resolute showed the particles forming semi-continuous network along grain boundaries polymer for second sample mixtures containing (90% (PMMA) + 8% (Zr) + 2% (HAp)), provides a low atomic packing and high energy. This will make the grain boundaries more reactive and strengthen mechanical performance. The Optical microscopy, Scanning electron microscopy and Xray spectroscopy analysis for In vitro test using SBF shows the growth of HAp layer with an increase in concentration of Ca and P elements formed on the surface of the second sample. This display of good results is a proof of the biocompatibility of the polymer sample.
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.
The toxicity of permanent implants is the main concern. The release of ions from the substrate leads to toxicity. Because of how the human body works biologically, the toxicity of corrosion compounds is a byproduct of wear and fretting debris. aimed to improve the corrosion resistance of a 316L stainless steel substrate. Bio ceramic Nano-hydroxyapatite (HA) was coated using the Electrophoretic Deposition (EPD) technique. Stainless steel has good mechanical properties and high compatibility, but it suffers from body fluid attack due to its chloride content, which can penetrate the passivation layer, resulting in the release of chromium and nickel ions. Tissues and organs are damaged by the ions and debris that are released. To address this problem, it was coated with bioceramic using the EPD method. Suspensions of various powders—hydroxyapatite, magnesium oxide, zinc oxide, and the composite—were prepared and coated by electrophoretic deposition. The coated samples were dried at room temperature to ensure a homogeneous coating structure. The zeta potential test for magnesium oxide and hydroxyapatite suspensions was positive, while zinc oxide and complex suspensions were negative. One of the important parameters for achieving electrolyte and implant balance is the open circuit potential (OCP). A substantial change towards a more noble direction (less negative) was seen in the OCP-coated (316 L) alloy, suggesting excellent thermodynamic stability. Tafel extrapolation analysis was used to obtain the corrosion potential (Ecorr) and corrosion current density (Icorr) values of composite-coated stainless steel 316L, which are generally derived from the polarization curve. The findings that are in line with the MgO, HA, and ZnO coatings show a significant decrease in corrosion current (Icorr), an increase in corrosion potential (Ecorr), and a decrease in corrosion rate from (4.386 × 10-¹ mm/y) Stainless Steel 316 L to (1.417 × 10-² mm/y) MgO Coated and (1.222 × 10-³ mm/y) (65%MgO+25%ZnO+10%HA coated).
The behaviour of slabs under impact loading differs significantly from that observed under short-term or long-term static loading conditions. Such dynamic loading scenarios typically arise from vehicular collisions, explosive events, or other forms of sudden impact. This paper aims to synthesise and critically evaluate the extant literature concerning the response of slabs subjected to impact loading. The investigation encompasses an analysis of the salient factors influencing slab behaviour, elucidation of failure mechanisms, examination of methodologies for simulating impact loading, and a critical appraisal of pertinent design code recommendations. Through this comprehensive review, it has been ascertained that reinforcement configuration plays a pivotal role in augmenting the resistance of slabs to impact loading. Furthermore, the predominant mode of failure observed in such scenarios is punching shear. This finding underscores the necessity for meticulous consideration of shear capacity in the design of impact-resistant slab structures.
CFDSST Concrete Filled Double-skinned steel tubular columns are composite columns consisting of two concentric circular steel tubes with concrete filler in between. Finite elements method is considered through the use of the computer program ABAQUS to model CFDSST columns numerically under cyclic axial compression. Damage plasticity model was considered to model the concrete while elastic-plastic model used to model the steel tubes. six CFDSST specimens and three ordinary Concrete Filled Steel Tubular (CFST) specimens were analyzed under static axial compression, while three CFDSST specimens were considered for analysis under cyclic axial compression. The numerical results were presented in terms of axial load axial strain displacement curves. It was found that the ultimate axial load carrying capacity calculated numerically in good agreement with that of the experimentally tested specimens. Also it was concluded that Damage plasticity model used for simulating the behavior of concrete and metal plasticity model used for simulating the behavior of steel produced accurate results as compared to the experimental results.
Concrete is considered the most important and widely used building material in the world of construction and building due to its durability, high efficiency in shaping, and relatively reasonable cost. The main component of concrete is cement, and one of the most important problems related to cement is the environmental problems associated with cement manufacturing, as the cement manufacturing process releases a large amount of carbon dioxide. Despite the essential role of concrete in construction, we cannot ignore its environmental impact. Some claim that exploring alternative materials or innovative building techniques would reduce the carbon footprint and enhance sustainability in the industry. Partial cement replacement with pozzolanic materials like zeolite is a key technique to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Zeolite, which reduces permeability, is a typical concrete ingredient that strengthens and lasts. Recently, natural zeolite has become a prominent concrete pozzolanic component. For environmental preservation and sustainable development, various experiments were done on concrete with pozzolanic components partially substituting cement and compared to ordinary concrete. A partial replacement of cement with zeolite improves the properties of concrete up to a certain age and mixing ratio. More than 44 relevant articles from 2004–2024 were selected from 762 papers evaluated for this paper. This paper reviews natural zeolite research in real applications. Additionally, it provided a cutting-edge review of natural zeolite literature through a critical analysis of various previous investigations. It also helped to understand how zeolite influences concrete mixture workability, strength, and durability. Since zeolite is a major concrete ingredient, it should be promoted as a sustainable resource.
It is essential to review and develop a system of water control structures and canals that can be used to manage high-flow discharges and the flood control plan requirement to modify the system's capacity. Al-Ramadi Project System is considered one of the main flood control projects on the Euphrates River within Anbar Governorate, Western Iraq. This study will focus on Al-Majjarah Canal and Regulator, which is part of Al-Ramadi Project and has the function of a link canal between Al-Habbaniyah and Al-Razazza lakes, and describe the capacity of the canal under typical operating conditions and during floods. The study used HEC-RAS 6.1 software to run a numerical model to simulate this canal. According to previous research studies near the research region on the Euphrates River, for the main canal, the roughness coefficient was taken at 0.026, and for the flood plain, it was taken at 0.03. The same parameter value was applied to Al-Majjarah Canal. Due to the study region's similar geology and nature. Moreover, a sensitivity analysis was made of the roughness coefficient and its influence on the water surface elevation for the canal. The model result indicated in the current situation of Al-Majjarah Canal can pass a flow rate of 1300 m3/s when Al-Razazza Lake is at an average water level that has been approved by the Ministry of Water Resources at 32.02 m.a.m.s.l.. If the water level in Al-Razazza Lake is in the semi-filled position of 40 m.a.m.s.l., it causes floods for the canal because the water level rises above the banks of the canal at the last kilometer from the canal, even when passing a few discharges through the canal. Accordingly, it is not possible to safely pass the flow rate for a flood wave with a 500-year return period predicted by the "Study of Strategy for Water and Land Resources in Iraq (2014)", which is 2000 m3/s for this canal, without making modifications to the expansion of Al-Majjarah Regulator by adding additional gates, expanding the entrance and exit of the Regulator, reshaping and expanding some cross-sections, and raising some of the banks for the canal. The above-mentioned modification were applied for the purpose of passing the expected discharge from the canal, while maintaining a freeboard of 1 m between the water surface and the canal banks.
In this Research Geometric network modeled for combined sewer network pipe design were establish for AL-Nahrain University site by Arc map and GIS tools which is built within a feature dataset in the geodatabase. The geometric networks consist of lines and points which refer to the pips and junctions respectively. Data were collected for manholes location, flow direction, slop and elevations. Many influencing features were used in multi criteria decision making (MCDM) vie Super decision 2.0.8 software which be selected to fix the problem and find the alternative for two sewer networks. The first sewer network (A) considered the existing one and the second was the alternative one (B) , Bentley sewer Cad V8 have the ability to work with ArcGIS program as a part of it by export data as shape file from GIS then by scenario report form program that exam the part of network and find the alternative . The purpose of this research was to use this data GIS model, and developed it in future event by predicting some function like rainfall amount or adding population increasing density represent by both student and employers. As a result using (ANP) analysis this method allow to make consideration alternative we found the network(A) need to add some routs depending in the amount of person daily consumption with the amount of rain fall Intensity for the next years., judgment based on expert advice is obtained through pair-wise comparisons. Afterwards, the corresponding matrix is established, and sanity of the comparisons is checked by super decision software. Finally Existing network (A) shows highest benefit score and efficiency in this time for steady case depends on two criteria coast and optimum flow for person consumption.
This paper aims to assess the structures' seismic response with a system of Single-degree-of-freedom exposed to near-fault earthquakes, taking into account the effect of pulse period, shear wave velocity (VS30), and fault mechanism. Strong ground motion data were taken for different events in different places around the world and the prism software program is used for the analysis of seismic response for structures recognized as single-degree-of-freedom systems. Results show that the ground motion with a higher value of (VS30) provides an acceleration response higher than that of the lower value of (VS30). However, the findings revealed that the peak displacement requirements are observed in a nearby of the pulse period limits. In addition, it is noticed that there is an obvious increase in spectrum demand with longer pulse periods. Finally, results show at short vibration periods (T? 0.6sec) for both types (strike slip and dip slip) comparable results while an increment is observed in the results of the strike-slip for vibration periods more than (0.6sec) of the acceleration response spectrum. Nonetheless, for the velocity response spectrum dip-slip continuous in flocculating with a significant increase.
This study evaluates the performance and efficiency of four deep learning models—VGG-16, ResNet-50, Inception-V3, and DenseNet-121—in detecting pneumonia from chest X-rays, addressing the critical need for balanced accuracy and computational efficiency in clinical diagnostics. Methods: A dataset of 5,234 chest X-rays (3,875 pneumonia, 1,341 normal) was augmented via rotation, flipping, and zooming to mitigate class imbalance. Models were trained on an RTX 2060 GPU for 40 epochs, with performance assessed using accuracy, F1 score, sensitivity, specificity, precision, and computational metrics (training time, memory usage). Statistical significance was validated via paired t-tests (p < 0.05). Results: DenseNet-121 achieved the highest accuracy (95.2% ± 0.8), F1 score (95.1% ± 0.7), and throughput (400 images/sec) with minimal memory usage (33MB). ResNet-50 and Inception-V3 showed moderate performance, while VGG-16 exhibited overfitting tendencies. In conclusion, DenseNet-121 showed strong performance compared to other models, both in terms of accuracy and processing speed, which is essential for use in real-time clinical settings. However, the small size of the validation set and limited population diversity are important limitations that should be addressed in future studies. Moreover, more testing on larger datasets is needed to confirm the stability of the model and see how the model will work in different settings. Future work should address ethical considerations in AI-driven diagnostics and validate findings across multi-institutional datasets.
This work involved two major parts: the first one is the experimental part which included treatment of scoliosis deformity by manufacturing thoracolumbosacral orthosis, measuring the cobb angle of deformity, measuring the gait cycle data and walk path for both legs and suggesting a composite material to improve the mechanical properties of the orthosis and finally the interface pressure between trunk and orthosis is measured for twelve points covering of the total TLSO surface area by using f-socket devise. The second part of this study is the numerical simulation part during which the stresses are calculated using Ansys software for calculating stresses due to interface pressure loading boundary condition. The result shows no deference in gait cycle phases but the clear difference noted in walking path due to deviate center of mass, maximum pressure recorded left thoracic region with 900KPa due to correct spinal deformity while the minimum pressure recorded at right chest with l40KPa because of it is tissue region and Maximum value of stress was recorded at the left thoracic region with 2.81MPa due to Maximum interface pressure at this point.
In recent years, nanoparticles have gained significant attention in the field of cancer treatment due to their extensive potential and wide range of uses. The research mostly focuses on the inorganic chemicals, with a specific emphasis on metals, in order to enhance the comprehension of functional nanoparticles synthesis. This undertaking is motivated by the distinctive characteristics exhibited by these materials, which provide significant advantages for both fundamental scientific inquiry and practical implementations, notably those focused on cancer. The objective of this review is to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the diverse applications of nanocomposites, with a specific focus on their utilization in medication delivery.
This study implements the soft computing techniques such as Artificial Neural Network (ANN) and an adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy (ANFIS) approach. Thus to model the rutting prediction with the aid of experimental uniaxial creep test results for asphalt mixtures. Marshall samples, having Maximum Nominal Size of 12.5 mm, have been selected from previous studies. These samples have been prepared and tested under different conditions. They were also subjected to different loading stress (0.034, 0.069, 0.103) MPa, and tested at various temperature (10, 20, 40, and 55) °C. The modeling analysis revealed that both approaches are powerful tools for modeling creep behavior of pavement mixture in terms of Root Mean Square Error and Correlation Coefficient. The best results are obtained with the ANFIS model.
The hydraulic characteristics of dams can be predicted with high precision and reliability of physical and numerical models depending on accurate hydraulic data. The model is operated and simulated to get a more efficient, optimized utilization of the dam. This research included a comprehensive overview and literature examination of the Makhool Dam which is considered one of the most important dams under construction in Iraq. Previous studies of the dam focused on different topics in the operation of the dam and analyses of its properties, part of which focused on the dam ability to manage flood and how it works best with other dams in critical times, and another part studied the properties of the stilling basin, velocity in the dam reservoir, pressure, seepage and other characteristics that affect the operating the dam. Despite this research and the variety of topics discussed, there is no well-established research on the operation of the bottom and emergency spillway of the dam by using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation software. CFD is considered an essential tech because it has an important influence in determining the hydraulic properties of a spillway and studying its effectiveness under different operating conditions. Because the spillway is an important element in the dam body, the research highlighted the necessity of performing a simulation using appropriate CFD software for this part. This research has also reviewed previous research on CFD software and their ability to simulate previously constructed or under-construction dams to analysis of its hydraulic properties.
Contemporary urban discourse is paying increasing attention to the issue of urban resilience, due to the stresses, disasters and disturbances (natural and human) that the cities of the world are experiencing and facing, which confirms the need to be familiar with the concept of urban resilience, its dimensions, practices, and characteristics at different levels; In order to reach the aspects of developing the urban energy sector in them, and in a way that supports the preparedness of cities to face potential expected and unexpected disturbances in the future, as cities are usually formed from many main and sub-systems that are dynamically intertwined with each other, such as: the social and economic system, infrastructure systems, land use, and media Various transports, which have a high level of direct interactions with the natural environment; ; It is therefore necessary to understand how the city deals with the odds of threats and challenges in an integrated manner; To overcome its weaknesses and enhance its resilience of use, which aims to make cities more secure, resilient and sustainable in the future, as well as that requires rethinking the field of expanding the use of renewable energies and the general urban landscape. To become a search problem “Failure to exploit the potential of natural energies on the possibility of exploiting renewable natural energies with their components (active and passive) in the production of resilience urban formations in cities.” The aim of the research is to try to "extract an integrated theoretical framework on the characteristics of urban energy resilience from international and Arab experiences, and to diagnose its most important planning and design pillars and indicators, which can be adopted to evaluate the reality of urban energy resilience in local cities." The research hypothesized that “the exploitation of energy systems produced from renewable natural resources, for the purposes of environmental treatments for resilient cities, especially in the buildings of housing projects and their urban surroundings, reduces the consumption of fossil energies for the city, frees its sites from linking to depleted energy transmission networks, and reduces potential environmental pollution problems, which contributes to in the production of flexible energy systems and helps in the generation of flexible cities." The descriptive analysis method was adopted.
Kids carrying heavy loads as a part of everyday activity may be related to bend their trunks forward to maintain body posture and balance while walking. This study was to determine a correlation between the weight of a child's backpack, their body weight, and certain features of their body posture. The study group consisted of 6 children, in age of primary school. The anthropometry (age, length, weight) were taken for each volunteers. A school backpack was specially built for the present study. Walking gait was filmed in three cases: (zero kg, 3 kg and 6 kg) backpack.Posture was analyzed by using (Kenova and MATLAB) computer programs.The results show that the forward inclination of the trunk increases when the load and the walking distance are increased, this forward inclination segment may impose greater stress over the vertebral column (ligaments and intervertebral disks) and increase the risk of back problems.Spine and back health may be adversely affected by load carriage and it may be important to use spinal curvature as a measure of posture for load carriage. This study shows that the backpack load cause a lumbar asymmetry by 10 to 20 degree according to the load which has a significant amount of back pain in kids.
Specimens with the structure of a face-centered cubic were produced using several sets of printing conditions. An experimental testing is conducted to carefully evaluate the microstructural analysis and compressive strength of this structure. The results include the measurement of mechanical properties, such as the peak stress. Fused deposition modeling is employed for the additive manufacturing of experimental specimens made from shape memory polymer thermoplastic polyurethane (MM-3520). We take into account the impact of printing factors on lattice structures, such as layer thickness, printing temperature, and printing speed. Analyzing the microstructure of the printed specimens exhibits that the specimens with highest printing temperature, lowest printing speed and thinner printing layer have better layers adhesion and lower porosities. All the mechanical tests are performed on specimens with the same structure and at a relatively constant density. Among the tested printing parameters, using a layer height of 0.1 mm, a printing temperature of 230 °C, and a printing speed of 20 mm/s yields the highest strength in the specimens. However, specimens printed with a layer height of 0.2 mm, a printing temperature of 220 °C, and a printing speed of 30 mm/s also exhibit good strength, albeit slightly lower than the maximum values. Additionally, when using these specific settings (0.3 mm – 210 °C – 40 mm/s), the mechanical qualities are minimized, yet the stress-strain curves exhibit characteristics similar to elastomers.
Fourier transformation Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) has been used to characterize and measure the concentration of acid sites (Si-OH-Al groups) in NaH-13 X Zeolites. Ion exchange was followed by dealumination to get (28, 40, 65, 85.8 and 97.5 Wt. %) of NaH-13 X Zeolites samples. The conclusion of homogeneity of OH groups was obtained by analysis of Fourier transformation infrared spectroscopy absorption bands of OH groups after adsorption and desorption of Ammonia. It found that there were different acid sites on a broader absorption (3,800-3,000 cm-1) corresponds to hydroxyl groups of the less acidic Brønsted acid sites approximately at 3464cm-1 and the more acidic at 3441cm-1 and Lewis acid sites was found at 1636 cm-1 which is few and weak acid sites . It can be conclusion that concentrations of OH groups increased with increasing the exchange degree and delamination. The concentration of acid sites in samples were calculated from stretching frequencies and extinction coefficients of OH bands, also the frequency shift ??OH = 23 cm-1 which was due to the hydrogen bonding of OH groups with ammonia in 97.5 % NaH-13 X Zeolites. Knowing the acidity of catalyst is important for the reactions which required acidic surface.
Recently, major part of convection heat transfer researches focus on increasing fins efficiency by increasing thermal performance for the same fin volume. Metal foam is a promising way to achieve this aim. Performance analysis has been carried out to investigate the heat transfer characteristics of copper fin foam samples. The samples have been compared with the solid metal fin heat transfer. A forced convection heat transfer had been applied to a four specimens. An electrical heater heats up the fins, which are subjected to a stream of the ambient air driven by a blower fan as heat dissipated. The heat flux had been fixed along the tests with three different air velocity used; the forced heat convection had been simulated. The pores density of copper fin foam is varied in the range of 10, 20 & 40 pores per inches (PPI). Thermal performance of copper fin foam has been evaluated in terms of average Nusselt number and thermal resistance of heat sinks. The increasing in the heat transfer rate and average Nusselt number when used metal foam has been found in the range of 36-133 % compare to solid copper. Furthermore, it has been proven that this increment reaches the maximum value for a given PPI even when raise the air velocity.
In Republic of Iraq, ready-mix concrete production plants have been adversely affected by the lack of modern and advanced technology to assess their performance in line with technological advancements. Current evaluation methods rely on traditional approaches and financial measures, yielding unrealistic performance results. To address this problem, there is a need to utilize modern models and methods for performance evaluation. The study's main objective This was achieved by employing a literature survey methodology and utilizing digital databases such as the Iraqi Scientific Journals website, virtual libraries, and scientific platforms like ScienceDirect, Springer, Google Scholar, and Gate Research between 2015 and 2023. The research study provided a comprehensive overview of performance evaluation, including its definitions, importance, and an introduction to modern models and evaluation methods. The study found that no previous studies have been conducted in Iraq to evaluate ready-mix concrete production plants. However, four studies were found in Egypt, Sudan, and India. The previous similar relevant studies discussed various topics and related studies. Firstly, they discussed the classification, advantages, and disadvantages of concrete mixing plants. Additionally, the previous studies analyzed the factors that most influence the performance of concrete production plants, including laboratory manager efficiency, work team efficiency, communication and relationships within work teams, plant operator, material transportation method, and time and courses. Furthermore, the previous research studies present a comprehensive analysis of all variable data simultaneously using the statistical package for Social Science (SPSS) input stage. The evaluation also extends to the evaluation of laboratories, encompassing plant arrangement, internal quality control systems, and final product quality. The overall evaluation results of previous studies. Indicate that 75% of the concrete production plants failed to meet the required criteria, while only 25% demonstrated satisfactory performance. The study proposed improvements to enhance the performance rate of ready-mix concrete production plants by leveraging the most influential variables, which will be considered in the study.
The human body poses the most important aim for many researchers. In nowadays, the science complex required the involvement of many resources and the coordinated team work of doctors, engineers, and other from the specialists. In the case of dental medicine, due to the nature of teeth material, their dimension and geometrical position, very important problems, like cavities that led to tooth losses. In this study, both the Experimental methods as well as the numerical finite element method have been used to analyze the stress within human teeth under forces similar to those that usually occur during chewing process with different type of food in experimental work. It was manufactured a device Resembling chewing process with vertical movement by converting circular movement into reciprocating. And used DAQ system (strain gauge sensor, DAQ and LABVIEW program) to measure the stress and strain resulted from tooth during the mastication process. Models of Natural lower first molars teeth were collected. All the teeth were cleaned from the soft tissue and stored in saline at room temperature. The teeth were randomly divided into two experimental groups according to the treated cavities shape (class I and class II) each class restored with two type of dental fillings material (Nanohybrid composite and Microhybrid composite), and then strain gauge was bonded at a buccal surface of tooth used. Their installed in acrylic jaws and applied different vertical loads. With used various morsels with different elastic modulus. The stress was calculated at the crown. In numerical 2D model of teeth were created by software Auto CAD (V.14) using wheeler 's data were transfer to ANSYS mechanical APDL (V. 16), subjected load at model similar at that applied at the Experimental work. Class I exhibited the highest stresses compared with class II, in two case Nanohybrid bear stress higher than microhybrid composite. At class I the stress at Nanohybrid is higher than Microhybrid for all morsels by rate (12.96%, 21.48%, 41.8%, 16.56%, 16.86% and 15.74%) at (E1, E2, E3, E4, E5 and E6) respectively, and the stress at Nanohybrid is higher than Microhybrid by almost (36.67%, 45.69%, 47.89%, 34.21%, 41.2% and 165.01%) respectively at the same morsels used at class II. _x000D_ Keywords: , , .
Numerical analysis of the performance of reinforced concrete (RC) deep beam subjected to static and fixed-point pulsating loading at the midpoint has been investigated. Three-dimensional nonlinear finite element model using the Strut and Tie approach was adopted. The damage level under the influence of the applied fixed pulsating loading is higher than the static applied loading, hence early crack was observed because of the stepwise loading in the form of vibration. Although the Strut and Tie approach gave a good estimation of the resistance capacity of the beam, the beam undergo high shear damage when subjected to these two types of loading. Material strength properties, applied loadings and cross-sections adopted are some of the factors that affect the performance of the deep beam.
This work has studied the size of the mean time between failures (MTBF) because it has a vital role in assessing reliability in manufacturing systems. Previous studies have indicated that the reliability value depends on the size of MTBF, so they indicated only 11 types of time that reliability value depends on, and they used methods of DFR and RCM to enhance the reliability level. To assess and increase reliability value, this work referred to the four main times: mean time between failures (MTBF), mean time to diagnosis (MTTD), mean time to repair (MTTR), and mean time to failure (MTTF) in more detail. Also, it designed a new arrangement of failure notification time, failure diagnosis time, downtime, failure repair, testing time, and recovery periods for ongoing operations in manufacturing systems through a new redistribution of 19 times and time intervals in detail between the four main times, so it revealed and added 8 types of other times and time intervals more than previous studies because they have vital roles in increasing reliability value. Thus, the new arrangement contains two parallel pathways and 19 types of times and time intervals. The first pathway represents 5 positions and 11 types of start and end times; the second pathway represents 4 positions and 8 time intervals. Consequently, MTBF becomes longer because the new arrangement shortens the time distances between the start of failure and repair process end, between diagnosis end and test, and between inspection end and the system's return to normal operating conditions. The motivations are to raise the reliability value, quality level, and effective maintenance and save costs. This work used the data collection and analysis method. The results showed that there is a higher reliability for manufacturing systems when the time arrangement is better, MTBF is longer, MTTD is shorter, MTTR is smaller, MTTF is longer, and the error rate is lower.
This paper presents a comparison of using different techniques for stir spot welding of Aluminum 2024-T3, which are refill friction stir spot welding (RFSSW), edited (RFSSW-pin) and conventional friction stir spot welding (FSSW), depending on the obtained tensile shear strength property. Specimens were prepared from AA2024-T3 sheet for chemical analysis and mechanical tests. Workpieces were stir spot welded utilizing the above mentioned techniques at four rotational speeds (2000, 2500, 3000 and 4000 rpm) using tool pin diameters (5 and 7 mm) for conducting the tensile shear tests. The microhardness along the cross section of the welded specimens was conducted at the best conditions as well as the microstructure examination. The comparison results revealed that at the rotational speeds (2000 and 4000 rpm) in both cases of tool pin (5 and 7 mm), the ultimate tensile shear force was slightly higher than that for other speeds. However, the ultimate tensile shear force was found higher at 3000 rpm speed with a tool pin 7 mm. The microhardness results manifested a W-shape at the best conditions. Finally, the microstructure examination depicted the morphology of the main zones of the weld joint.
In this paper the ability of fabricating laminate composites by manual layup was discussed. Heating method was used to manufacture the composites; heat was applied to approximately 12 hours with specific heat temperature. There were four types of laminate composites fabricated and studied in this research, containing Aluminum alloy 6061 as the common element in all types, two types of fibers; woven Carbon fiber with two different orientations: ±45°, ±60°, random fiberglass and with two types of resin; epoxy resin and polyester resin. Different types of composites were made to determine the effect of CNC milling machine to the measured surface roughness and for specified parameters. The weight fraction ratio of the fibers is 37%, polymer is 34% and 29% for Aluminum. The parameters selected are spindle speed, feed rate and depth of cut. The L9 Taguchi orthogonal arrays, signal to noise (S/N) ratio and analysis of variance (ANOVA) are selected to determine the effect of these parameters; it was analyzed by MINITAB 17 program. The results showed that the parameter were significant more to the epoxy resin specimens than polyester resin specimens. The optimal milling parameters for good surface finish for Aluminum – Carbon fiber composite are at 3000RPM, 1200mm/min, 1.2mm, and for Aluminum – Fiberglass composite are 5000RPM, 1800 mm/min, 2.0mm.
With the development of manufacturing techniques, the demands have increased on tools with flexible components that can produce parts with different shapes and sizes only by replacing the rigid part of these tools, since the flexible part can match the required geometry. This study is focused on effects of rubber hardness and sheet thickness on the springback developed on the produced parts. Silicone rubber with three hardness (40,60 ,80) Shore A hardness scale was used. The material of workpiece was Aluminum (3003) with three different thicknesses of (0.8,1,1.2) mm and three holding time of (0,10,20) seconds. The results demonstrate that, the springback decreases with any increase in the rubber hardness or sheet thickness. In addition, the holding time showed a significant effect only with a harder rubber.
This work suggests a Deep Learning (DL) architecture based on You Only Look Once YOLOv11 for Skin Cancer (SC) detection. The similarity between malignant and benign lesions makes visual inspection a failure to distinguish between them. To solve this problem, the proposed approach uses a 3-step pre-processing stage, namely hair removal, color normalization, and Contrast Limited Adaptive Histogram Equalization (CLAHE) contrasts, has been conducted to eliminate artifacts and improve image quality. Balanced data augmentation on the training set of the PROVe-AI dataset. In this process, YOLOv11 with C3k2 module and C2PSA module showed significant results in optimized multi-scale feature collection and spatial interest. The experimental outcome demonstrates that the proposed model has a classification accuracy of 93.09% and led the baseline models, such as Convolutional Neural Network (CNN), Recurrent Neural Network (RNN), Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM), and Artificial Neural Network (ANN). The proposed optimized YOLOv11 architecture allows for skin cancer detection in a computationally efficient framework with promising preliminary results so that the proposed approach can be a beneficial Artificial intelligence (AI) tool for early diagnosis, particularly in a lack of high-tech medical facilities.
Expansive soil poses significant challenges for civil engineers worldwide since it seriously affects the structures built upon it. This soil has a very active group of minerals called montmorillonite, which is responsible for the significant volume change it exhibits. For a number of years, chemical additives have been utilized to stabilize soil, with various levels of success. Soil stabilization has involved the use of a variety of additives, including cement, lime, polymers, salts, and combinations of these. However, lime is very often used for expansive soil stabilization as it improves the soil's mechanical properties. The effects of adding three percentages of lime (3%, 6%, and 9%) to expansive soil to improve its engineering properties are investigated through several tests. The laboratory tests consist of standard compaction, sieve analysis, atterberg limits, hydrometer, California bearing ratio, consolidation test, swelling potential, and specific gravity. The test results displayed that the plasticity index, liquid limit, swelling potential, and maximum dry density, specific gravity decreased using (3%, 6%, and 9%) lime. In contrast, the plastic limit, and optimum moisture content increased using (3%, 6%, and 9%) lime. The California bearing ratio is increased from (12.13% to 14.65%) by adding (9% L). The swelling index and compression index are decreased from (0.070 to 0.030) and from (0.581 to 0.193) respectively by adding (9% L). The swelling percentage is reduced from (18.77% to 6.03%) by adding (9% L).
This research deals with the extent to which corrosion affects the behavior of buckling for 6061-T4 aluminum alloy under increasing compressive dynamic loads. Two types of columns, long, and intermediate were used.1% of the length column is the allowable lateral deflection. This is called the critical buckling of the columns. For the purpose of calculating the critical deflection, a digital dial gauge was used and set at a distance of 0.7 of column length from the fixed end condition for the column. The experimental analysis revealed that the corrosion time negatively affects the mechanical properties of materials such as the corroded specimens of 60 days (The least time to observe the corrosion of aluminum in the soil) which have approximately 2.7 % reduction in ultimate strength compared with the non-corroded specimen. Increasing the corrosion time reduces the critical load such as the maximum reduction will be 4.24% in critical buckling load for 60 days’ corrosion time. The results obtained were experimentally compared with the theoretical formulas of the Perry-Robertson and Euler-Johnson formula with the results of the ANSYS. It was found that the Perry-Robertson formula has a good agreement with the experimental results with a safety factor of 1.2, while the Euler-Johnson formula agreed with the experimental results taking a safety factor of 1.5. The ANSYS results showed a good agreement between the measured and calculated values by taking 1.1 factor of safety.
The oil industry has a direct impact on the economic feasibility of other sectors and is considered to be the most important energy source used to turn the wheels of other industries. Therefore, it was necessary to pay attention and continuously develop this industry, to find the best modern techniques for designing, pre-commissioning and controlling process, to improve efficiency, preserve energy and achieve the highest production of costly components with the highest purity of the product. This study aims to provide a literary analysis of the stages of development and progress of the dynamics and control of the petroleum industry, in particular the distillation column, because it is multivariable with high interaction between control cycles, nonlinear behaviour and large gains. Control processes have undergone many developments and modernizations to achieve the best results. Various control methods have been used, ranging from simple proportional-integral-derivative controller (PID) to advanced control strategies such as model predictive control (MPC), multivariate model predictive control (MMPC), fuzzy logic control (FLC), quadratic dynamic matrix control (QDMC), artificial neural network control (ANN) and other advanced control techniques. The authors concluded from the review that the advanced control strategies superior than the conventional methods.
A failing heart can be supported in several ways, including cardiopulmonary bypass pumps (CPB), extracorporeal membrane oxygenators (ECMOs), and other types of auxiliary heart pumps. The intra-aortic-balloon-pump (IABP) is one technique of internal counter-pulsation that supports maintaining the circulatory system It continues to be used as a vascular support device to critically unwell cardiac patients. Many recent studies have focused on the problems of the (IABP) in open-heart surgery, while other researchers concentrated on the positioning and size of the balloon, some of them studied the timing of the balloon's inflation and deflation. this paper has reviewed a brief Introduction, the basic principles of the balloon, how to trigger the balloon pump as well as the use of IABP in Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG), balloon mistiming of inflation and deflation, balloon timing usage within open-heart surgery and finally a balloon position and sizing.
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that severely impacts cognitive functions such as memory, attention, and reasoning, ultimately affecting daily life. Early and accurate detection is crucial for timely intervention and management. Traditional diagnostic methods, including neuroimaging and cognitive assessments, can be expensive and time-consuming, necessitating more accessible and efficient alternatives. This study aims to develop an automated and efficient deep learning-based detection system that uses Electroencephalogram (EEG) signals to accurately classify AD and healthy individuals. A Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) model was designed to extract meaningful features from preprocessed EEG data. The architecture consists of convolutional layers with max pooling, dropout regularization, and fully connected layers to improve classification accuracy. The model was trained and evaluated on a comprehensive EEG dataset, using key performance metrics such as accuracy, recall, precision, and F1-score. The proposed CNN model achieved a high classification accuracy of 94.56%, a low loss of 0.2162, and an AUC value of 0.93828, demonstrating superior classification capability. The results indicate that the model effectively distinguishes between AD and healthy individuals, outperforming several state-of-the-art approaches. The findings highlight the potential of deep learning-based EEG analysis for AD detection, providing an accessible and cost-effective tool for early diagnosis. The high accuracy of the proposed CNN model suggests that it can assist medical professionals in making well-informed decisions, ultimately improving patient outcomes.
This paper studies the effect of contact areas on the transient response of mechanical structures. Precisely, it investigates replacing the ordinary beam of a structure by two beams of half the thickness, which are joined by bolts. The response of these beams is controlled by adjusting the tightening of the connecting bolts and hence changing the magnitude of the induced frictional force between the two beams which affect the beams damping capacity._x000D_ A cantilever of two beams joined together by bolts has been investigated numerically and experimentally. The numerical analysis was performed using ANSYS-Workbench version 17.2. A good agreement between the numerical and experimental results has been obtained. In general, results showed that the two beams vibrate independently when the bolts were loosed and the structure stiffness is about 20 N/m and the damping ratio is about 0.008. With increasing the bolts tightening, the stiffness and the damping ratio of the structure were also increased till they reach their maximum values when the tightening force equals to 8330 N, where the structure now has stiffness equals to 88 N/m and the damping ratio is about 0.062. Beyond this force value, increasing the bolts tightening has no effect on stiffness of the structure while the damping ratio is decreased until it returned to 0.008 when the bolts tightening becomes immense and the beams behave as one beam of double thickness.