Table of contents

PREFACE

The 2^nd International Conference on Engineering Sciences-University of Kerbala (2^nd ICES-UoK) was held from 26 to 28 March, 2018 in Kerbala, Iraq. The 2^nd ICES-UoK was organized and funded by the College of Engineering at University of Kerbala. The Engineering College which was established in 2006 encompasses seven scientific engineering departments: Civil, Mechanical, Electrical and Electronic, Petroleum, Orthotics and Prosthetics, Biomedical, and Architecture. The college aims to provide the society with skilled and qualified engineers specialized in various engineering disciplines.

The objective of the 2^nd ICES-UoK was to provide a platform for engineers, scientists and industrial partners to discuss and disseminate recent research findings in civil, mechanical and electrical and electronic engineering. Professionals, experts, and scholars from various engineering disciplines were invited to share experiences, innovations, achievements and knowledge. The conference brought together academics, researchers, and practitioners with the aim of bridging the gap between theory and practice in all engineering aspects. The following committees played a significant role in managing and planning conference activities:

Scientific Committee

Prof. Dr. Moneer H. Al-Saadi (Chair)

Prof. Dr. Riadh Al-Mahaidi

Prof. Dr. Adnan Z. Al-Kilani

Prof. Dr. Mohsen J. Jweeg

Prof. Dr. Shakir A. Salih

Prof. Dr. Sabah R. Al-Jabiri

Prof. Dr. Salih M. Al-Qaraawi

Prof. Dr. Zuhair A. Ameer

Assist. Prof. Dr. Ali A. Altahir

Assist. Prof. Dr. Laith Alqarawee

Assist. Prof. Dr. Shakir Al-Busaltan

Assist. Prof. Dr. Haider Ismael

Organizing Committee

Prof. Dr. Basim K. Nile (Chair)

Dr. Murtadha A. Alher

Dr. Raid R. Al-Muhanna

Assist. Prof. Dr. Waqed H.Hassan

Dr. Hazim U. Alwan

Dr. Haider G. Kamil

Dr. Haider N. Azziz

Dr. Haider N. Attia

Dr. Hasan T. Hashim

Prof. Zuhair Al-Jwahrie

Assist. Prof. Dr. Abbas S. Shareef

Dr. Salah N. Al-Nommani

Dr. Alaa M. Shaban

Dr. Alaa Mosa Al-Mosawe

All papers published in this volume of IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering have been peer reviewed through processes administered by the proceedings Editors. Reviews were conducted by expert referees to the professional and scientific standards expected of a proceedings journal published by IOP Publishing.

The control of the urban flooding is one of the major challenges currently facing decision makers and municipalities. Flooding rates increase positively with increases in urbanisation, climate change, and a lack of consideration when using drainage networks. In the Middle East, and in Iraq especially, research in the field of flood control has been rare prior to this study. This study thus aims to provide technical support for decision makers by offering a proposed solution to mitigate flooding in a case study in Kerbala, Iraq. A storm-water management model [SWMM] has been utilised to check the extent to which the proposed solution will mitigate the flooding in the study area. SWMM was used to simulate the network in the study area utilising hourly precipitation intensity data from 2008 to 2016, and with the inclusion of estimated illegitimate sewage quantities. The results indicated that the solution was effective, and the percentage of sewer holes flooding under maximum rainfall intensity of 33.5 mm/hr saw a decrease from 48% to 33%; flooding occurred in the study area only with discharges greater than 0.04 m³/sec, and the flooding duration also decreased from 72 hours to 26 hours.

The standard material used to construct flexible pavement is aggregate. Hot mix asphalt consists of 85 to 95 percent by weight and 75 to 85 percent by volume mineral aggregate, and hot mix asphalt properties and performance are highly affected by these aggregates' morphological properties. One of the most important variables determining the structural number, according to AASHTO design procedures, is the Resilient Modulus of these paving mixtures. In this research, coarse aggregate characteristics such as particle shape (cubical, blade, and disk), particle gradation (upper, middle, and lower specification limits), and surface texture (smooth and rough) were studied to explain their effects on the value of the resilient modulus. To achieve the goal of this study, Marshall Criteria were used to prepare the asphalt concrete mixture at the surface layer at its optimum asphalt content. Using a UTM25 device at a 40°C test temperature and a 200 ms load duration per ASTM D1234 designation, the resilient modulus was then tested. The findings indicate that aggregate morphological properties highly affect hot mix asphalt's resilient modulus. Aggregate gradation had the most significant effect on the value of resilient modulus, followed by aggregate particles shape, and then, finally by surface texture.

Exposure of RC beams to fire may lead to a decrease in their load capacity and stiffness of the beams, both during heating and after the beam has cooled following the fire. The degree of damage is related to the fire's intensity in terms of temperature and duration. This investigation is concerned with the effectiveness and suitability of the CFRP near-surface mounted (NSM) laminate system in terms of repairing RC beams after exposure to elevated temperatures. In the experimental work, the ISO-834 standard fire curve was adopted to test the beams. Two beams were tested at normal temperature exposure, while the other beams were heated to the target temperature using a large horizontal furnace. The experimental parameters involved in this study were the type of heat exposure, the level of heat exposure, and the insulation effect. Although a reduction did occur in the stiffness and ultimate load of affected beams, repairs with NSM laminates were found to offer an effective technique for increasing the overall stiffness and load carrying capacity of the beams.

There are several methods currently used to protect concrete; among the most prominent of these is surface coating. Different types of materials, as well as various coating methods, are used for the purposes of protection and to strengthen the concrete surface; however, universally agreed criteria for the selection of these materials has not yet been established. This work thus aims to investigate the effects of reinforcing epoxy by using waste material (glass or porcelain) to prepare particulate composites as a form of coating material.

Pull-off adhesion tests using controlled concrete specimens are one of the most common methods used to reveal the durability of surface coating systems. This method was thus also adopted for the current work. Samples with and without filler were exposed to hardness and pull off tests to determine the effect of adding the filler content to the epoxy in terms of variation to its properties. Epoxy was reinforced with filler with a 90-micron particle size. Composites of epoxy with varying percentages (0 to 40 wt%) of filler were prepared using a hand lay-up method. The experimental results showed that the addition of waste filler promotes adhesion properties. The 40% percentage of porcelain in the epoxy the largest effect on pull-off strength and hardness tests, reaching 16.12 MPa and 98.62, respectively. For glass composites, the highest hardness result was 97.92 for the 40% percentage.

The final results showed a general improvement in the adhesion properties of composites when glass and porcelains were added, with the porcelain results being much better than those of glass. These results achieved the objective of the current work in terms of developing a better coating material for concrete substrates used for construction applications with reduced costs.

The calculation of water demand for multiple uses including the irrigation of crops and municipal uses in a specified region is an essential and urgent task for sustainable water management in such regions. To achieve the aim of this study, the Soil Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was used with the aid of a Geographic Information System (GIS). The region of Jilawia and Muharam, which lies North of Babylon in Iraq, was selected as a case study so that the water available and demand for that water could be calculated. This region is irrigated from the Great Al–Mussiab Project out to a 12 km radius, covering a 20000 dunum (50 kM²) area, as well as receiving rainfall water. Four types of seasonal crops, Rice, Corn, Wheat, and Cucumbers, are grown, and several residential units have been suggested as planned investment projects in the region of study which will also need sufficient available water. The results of the simulation model in the SWAT covered the period from 2010 to 2020. The Curve Number (CN) and the surface runoff of the region were both calculated, and the SWAT model calibrated against the measured reference evapotranspiration. The results of this calibration were somewhat convergent, demonstrating an error of 12.5%. The results of the calculation of water available and demand showed that sufficient water is available for only municipal uses for 2,300 persons, fulfilling the full capacity of the investment projects, with a deficit of water more generally appearing where both irrigation and municipal use are taken into account. These deficits are 154.70%, 68.97%, and 11.53% with Rice, Corn, and Cucumber crops respectively; however, there is a surplus of water of 34.13% with a Wheat crop. The results also showed that the area of the study region could support 39.25%, 59.17%, and 89.65% of the total available area being turned to Rice, Corn, and Cucumber crops, respectively, to achieve the planned investment projects. SWAT is shown to be an appropriate time saving tool for calculating water demand for multiple uses in a specified region. It can also be concluded that Jilawia and Muharam is a suitable region for the planned investment projects, including managed agriculture and municipal projects, based on the available water in this region.

The most important cause of failure in hydraulic structures is local scour. Local scour around a bridge pier is generally the result of the actions of a complex vortices system that appears due to the modification of flow patterns caused by obstructions associated with the bridge pier. Experimental studies have always been considered to be a powerful tool for understanding and analysing the performance of these complicated flow conditions, and for examining the effect of countermeasures which otherwise could not be subjected to theoretical analysis. This study was thus conducted to determine the efficiency of the proposed method of reducing the depth of scour under laboratory conditions. This was done by conducting scour studies for a pier protected by a guide panels of various heights under different hydraulic conditions suffering from clear water scour. The results showed that as the height of panels decreased, the scour depth also decreased, with a maximum reduction of scour depth equal to 93%, with negligible side effects on the guide panels' scour. Dimensional analysis was used, and based on the laboratory results, an empirical formula was derived using IBM SPSS v.24 with a coefficient of determination R² = 0.967; this indicates considerable convergence between predicated and observed data.

The durability of concrete is an important factor in assessment of concrete elements that require long service lives, particularly elements used in infrastructure systems such as roads and bridges which have high construction costs. The purpose of this research is to investigate the potential for enhancement of the properties of high performance concrete (HPC) girders in terms of both their structural behaviours and mechanical properties using the internal curing method. In this research, crushed brick was implemented as a partial replacement for fine aggregate as an internal curing material. Three different mixes were made, and each mix was tested in the structural field within reinforced concrete beams (1700*150*100 mm), concrete cubes, and cylinders to examine the mechanical properties of the high performance concrete. The first reference mix had no crushed brick replacement, but the two others were brick mixes with 5 and 10% partial replacement of fine aggregate. Tests were carried out at three different ages (28, 90, and 150 days) to examine the effects of age on the enhancement of properties. A high improvement in ultimate load capacity was recorded at later ages with the 10% brick mix, which increased the load capacity by 18.5% at 90 days. Improvement of the compressive and tensile properties of 12.5% was seen for both mixes, despite the fact that the use of crushed brick decreased the ductility of the beams when compared with the reference mix. In general, the obtained results showed that using crushed bricks as an internal curing material can improve the structural and mechanical properties of high performance concrete and improve its durability by showing enhancement with respect to the age of the piece.

Recent increases in the amount of industrial wastes to be removed has made dealing with such waste products and gases an issue that needs to be solved with some urgency. The accelerated hardening mechanisms of light weight concrete (LWC) using carbon dioxide gas were thus studied in an experimental study to investigate the mechanical performance of concrete incorporating waste sawdust. The final results were optimised to maximise strength and minimise density using two different parameters: gas concentrations and sawdust percentages. All samples were subjected to tests of their mechanical and physical properties, including compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, water absorption, and density using the relevant standards. Parts of the samples were also submitted to thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) following the process of accelerated curing in order to quantify the consumed calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)₂) and the produced calcium carbonate (CaCO₃). The results of the study showed an improvement in the physical and mechanical properties of all investigated specimens using the accelerated CO₂ curing method. In addition, a 7% sawdust addition with 53% CO₂ concentration resulted in higher strength in all cases. The TGA results proved that the carbonation curing resulted in lower Ca(OH)₂ and higher CaCO₃ content, with associated enhancement in the mechanical performance. This indicates that CO₂-rich industrial emissions could find a value adding use in carbonation curing of sustainable wood-based concrete.

Waste and by-product materials have a negative impact on the environment due to the pollution associated with them. The conversion of these materials from useless or harmful to valuable substances by, for example, incorporating them into concrete, can thus be considered to be an issue worthy of consideration in the search to reduce this impact. This study aims to prepare and characterise the ash produced from rice husk wastes to discover the ash's effect when used as a cement replacement in recycled aggregate concrete in the presence of styrene butadiene rubber (SBR). The rice husks were burned in the oven at 550 to 650 °C for two hours. Afterward, the rice husk ash (RHA) was characterised using X-rays, FT-IR, and grain size analysis tests. Thereafter, four concrete mixes, 0% RHA + 0% SBR, 1% RHA + 1% SBR, 3% RHA + 1% SBR, and 0% RHA + 1% SBR were made. The RHA was used as cement replacement, while the SBR was used as mixing water replacement, with percentages measured by weight for both materials. Crushed clay bricks were employed as coarse aggregate for all mixes. Compressive strength tests were carried out at 7 and 28 days. The X-ray and FT-IR results demonstrate that an amorphous form of silica with good purity was produced from the prepared RHA. For concrete mixes, the results indicate an important enhancement in compressive strength obtained by using RHA.

The analysis and evaluation of actual hydraulic operation at the level of a distributary canal (secondary level) and its related outlets is based on suitable hydraulic indicators such as equitability (P_E), dependability (P_D), adequacy (P_A), and flexibility (F); this is the basic goal of the present study, which uses the hydrodynamic Simulation Irrigation Canal model (SIC) for the first time in an analysis in Iraq. One of the distributary canals in the Kifil-Shinafiya project (KSP), located at the middle of Iraq, was selected for the study of these indicators by evaluation of the gaps between demand flows and actual deliveries at the outlet structures along the canal. The selected canal serves an area of 710 hectares with, alongside the head regulator, sixteen outlet structures and two cross regulators. The study includes a range of field measurements such as the actual water levels and the actual corresponding discharges at outlets for twenty-four months, covered four cropping seasons, over two years, as eight measurements were taken per month at each outlet from October 2014 to September 2016. The maximum measured discharge at the head regulator during the study period was smaller than the design discharge. The results showed that the equity indicator (P_E) was generally good, except for the months of May and October; while the dependability indicator (P_D) was good in all head outlets but it was only fair for other outlets. The adequacy indicator (P_A) was poor throughout the study period. The dependability and adequacy indicators in the winters were seen to be better than in the summers.

Castellated steel profile sections can be used in order to increase the flexure strength of composite concrete-steel beams for building large spans. Castellated beams are fabricated by cutting I-section steel girders in a special manner before welding to produce an opening throughout the web. The depth of the new section is enhanced by a specific percentage, which increases the performance of the beam against bending. Castellated beams can be used compositely in long span floors where floor beam heights are kept to a minimum by passing services through the web-openings. This paper will focus on the composite behaviour of specimens in two types of concrete with different strengths. The ultimate strength for these types of structures with different degrees of castellation will be considered. The study consisted of two parts: the first part tested six specimens using push out test specimens to understand the real behaviour of their shear connectors. The second part tested eight specimens under a third point static load. Three of the push out test specimens were of normal concrete, and the others were self-compacting concrete.

Four of the composite beam specimens were normal concrete slabs, while the other four specimens were made from self-compacting concrete. The experimental programme also included fabrication of I-section steel beams with different castellation degrees of 0%, 25%, 33.8%, and 50%. The effects of concrete type and degree of were thus studied. It was found that the maximum load capacity was significantly affected by these parameters such that it was increased with both the increase of compressive strength of the concrete and the degree of castellation. The push out test showed that the slip behaviour was linear below 70 to 80% of the ultimate load capacity. At this linear stage, the amount of slip is very low and rarely exceeds 0.5 mm.

This study investigates the behaviour of trapezoidal cross-sections self-compacting reinforced concrete beams under flexural failure, with and without strengthening with carbon fibre reinforced polymer CFRP. The studied beams were divided into two groups according to their cross-sections; each group included five beams, and the first group (T₂₀) were those with trapezoidal cross-sections with dimensions length 1,600 × height 260 × width of 160 mm at the bottom and 200 mm at the top, while second group (T₂₄) consisted of those with trapezoidal cross-sections with dimensions length 1,600 × height 260 × width of 160 mm at the bottom and 240 mm at the top. The experimental programme included studying the effects of top width on the flexural behaviour of beams with trapezoidal cross-sections, in addition to studying the effect of reinforcing those beams with varying numbers, locations, and methods of placement of CFRP strips. The experimental results showed that trapezoidal cross-sections with 240 mm top width gave higher ultimate load capacity by 4 to 11.54%, as well as offering lower deflection, compared to trapezoidal cross-sections with 200 mm top width. In addition, strengthening beams with CFRP strips leads to an increase in the ultimate load capacity by 4 to 24% in trapezoidal cross-section beams, reducing their deflection and delaying the appearance of the first crack in the concrete. It was found that applying CFRP strips to the maximum moment region increased the ultimate load capacity by an average of 4.17 to 7.7 % in comparison to beams strengthened with strips applied along the beam

Older asphalt materials can be recycled using cold, warm, or hot output methods, and the addition of emulsion ingredients, water, and new aggregates to the old asphalt pavement can be completed either in plant or on site. Cold recycling is desirable, but there is little equipment available to processes in-place recycling of this type to enable structural and material problems to be corrected quickly without much disruption to trafficV8For the purposes of assessing the performance of asphalt emulsion recycling mixtures, a cold recycling mix was designed with steps including original material selection, gradation design, adding cement as a filler material, and performance evaluation. Few investigations have been done to assess the tensile and compressive strengths, moisture sensitivity, and rutting of recycled cold mixtures with local materials containing a high percentage of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) of up to 90%. There is thus a need to assess the performance of recycled cold mixtures, especially where they contain high proportions of reclaimed pavement materials that will already have been exposed to local conditions. Recycled cold mixture behaviour has been characterised by its compressive strength, indirect tensile strength, moisture sensitivity, and rut depth. Testing program results showed that cold mixtures containing high percentages of RAP at the end of the various curing periods (1, 7, 14, and 28 days) provided better resistance to permanent deformation, moisture damage, and tensile stresses than a control cold mix with no reclaimed pavement materials. This improved behaviour may be explained by the increase in recycled cold mix stiffness, which offers high RAP and cement bonding with appropriate curing times.

The collapse of the structures may be initiated by fire, which is considered one of the most severe risks. However, there are several conditions in which structures may be exposed to elevated temperatures such as nuclear applications; factory procedures; and fires in tunnels or buildings due to accidents or terrorist attacks. Recently, Self-Consolidating Concrete (SCC) has become more broadly used, and there is thus a need to recognise its behaviours when subjected to elevated temperatures, particularly in terms of sustainable SCC. Seven sustainable SCC mixes were thus investigated in this study, each incorporating certain green materials (Portland limestone cement, high volume Class F fly ash, and locally available cement kiln dust (CKD)). All mixes were subjected to temperature levels of 200 °C, 400 °C, 600 °C, and 800 °C for two hours and cooled to room temperature either slowly (air cooling) or rapidly (water cooling). The residual (compressive, splitting, and flexural) strengths and modulus of elasticity were calculated. The results indicated that SCCs with high volumes of Class F fly ash showed the best performance when subjected to elevated temperature.

The rectangular weir (notch) is a common device used to regulate and measure discharge in irrigation projects. The current research was based mainly on laboratory experiments studying the hydraulic characteristics of rectangular notches. Four rectangular notches were used in this research in different models. Notches for all models were designed with the same shape, arrangement, and width (4 cm), but differed in height, with examples at 6, 8, 10, and 12 cm. The main objective of this research was to study the influence of rectangular notch dimensions and upstream water depth on discharge coefficients.

The results obtained from this research indicate that the relationship between the discharge coefficient and the upstream water depth is a power function. The values of the discharge coefficient increase with increases in the values of the upstream water depth. The relationship between the discharge coefficient and the Reynolds number is also a power function, and an increase in the Reynolds number leads to a decreased discharge coefficient. In addition, when the value of the Reynolds number is high (turbulent flow), the values of the discharge coefficient converge to an approximately constant value. The flow in all runs was subcritical and the relationship between discharge coefficient and Froude number was also found to be a power function. An increase in Froude number thus leads to a decrease in discharge coefficient. The slope of the discharge coefficient-Froude number curve values gradually decreases until the value the discharge coefficient reaches an approximately constant value. A dimensional analysis technique was used to estimate the values of the discharge coefficient for various rectangular notch dimensions, and an empirical equation for discharge coefficient estimating was derived using regression procedure. This equation has a coefficient of determination R² of 0.955.

Adobes are a widely used masonry material for many traditional constructions, and thus many are still in use. This study examines the shear strength of three different design mixes of clay adobe with constant soil type, water content, fibre volume fraction, and compacting type. The adobe specimens were tested as beam type elements under certain loading types in order to produce internal pure shear at the central region of the adobe beam. Two different reinforcing short fibres, straw wheat fibres and nylon fibres, were added randomly to the regular clay adobes separately as the adobes were made by cutting the adobe ingots produced using a spiral compacting machine. For every type of reinforcement, the shear properties were examined in a set of innovative indirect shear tests, which included the estimation of shear modules, ultimate strength testing, and a nominal shear stress-strain diagram. The effectiveness of the fibre types on the mechanical behaviours of the reinforced adobe were thus compared with the control specimen (plain adobe). The experimental observations were recorded by means of a Digital Image Correlation (DIC) technique from an acquired 2-D DIC system in order to sketch the shear strain changes in the affected zone while applying monotonic transverse loading.

Soft clay may experience uncontrollable settlement and loss of critical bearing capacity due to the fact that clayey soils possess remarkable plasticity which increases moisture retention and causes decreases in strength, volume changes, and loss of compressive strength. Thus, these types of soils need to be improved before use in construction. A huge volume of waste results from daily human life, which leads to disposal problems and causes environmental contamination and health risks; thus, the usage of such industrial wastes as supporting construction materials could effectively contribute to environmental preservation and minimisation of these harmful effects. In this work, plastic fibre was used as the additive for the soft clayey soils of Baghdad, using different percentage concentrations of 1, 2 and 4% (the proportion of stabilising matter to soil net weight) of the dried soil. This work studied the properties of clayey soil with and without the additives. The studied soil properties were grain size distribution, Atterberg limits, unconfined compressive strength, compressibility, and California bearing ratio. From the laboratory tests results, the effect of plastic fibre content had a remarkable effect on the liquid content, plastic behaviours, and plasticity index. The liquid limits decrease as the percentage of plastic fibre increases while the plastic limit increases, this causes a great reduction in plasticity index. This decrement approached 50% with the addition of 4% plastic fibre to the clayey soil. Inclusion of different percentages of plastic fibre led to noticeable reductions in maximum dry unit weight up to approximately 11% by adding 4% plastic fibre, while the optimum moisture content reduction approached 7.5%. The effect of plastic fibre was also clearly shown on the unconfined compressive strength of soils; the increase in the unconfined compressive strength approached 180% with the addition of 4% plastic fibre. The ratio of compression index (cc) to recompression index (cr) reduced as the percentage of plastic fibre increased up to 2%, although it increased after this point. Finally, the California Bearing Ratio (CBR) increased as the plastic fibre content increased, with this increment approaching 210 % when adding 4% plastic fibre.

The Kut Barrage is one of the most important hydraulic structures in Iraq, which is in place to regulate the flow from the Tigris River and distribute it between Graf River, Dujelah Channel, Dalmch Channels, and other irrigation projects. The barrage includes 56 sluice gates, each 6 m wide, which control the discharge of the Tigris River at the individual locations. According to observations and measurements, about 90% of the flow at the downstream has been modular (free flow) within the last five years. In the present study, a trial was attempted to calibrate some universal formulas that would offer a reliable means of determining the discharge under gates such as those presented by Rajaratnam and Subramanya, Swamme, and Ferro, which would make them suitable for Kut Barrage discharge calculation over a wide range of scenarios in terms of gate openings. A recent formula presented by Maatooq for canal operation was also adopted in order to test whether it was appropriate for application under the flow and geometric boundary conditions of the Kut Barrage. The available data was also used to extract an empirical equation for the coefficient of discharge used for calibration. A total of 221 measurements taken at the head at upstream, nine different gate openings, and at the discharges were employed for calibration, and 28 data points taken at six different gate openings were adopted for verification. The determined discharges using the calibrated formulas show good agreement with the measurements with the coefficient, R² ranging between 0.874 using Rajaratnam and Subramanya and 0.880 using Maatooq.

Plugging is essential not only due to its direct contribution to pile end load carrying capacity but also due to its indirect contribution to mobilised shaft capacity. A pile with a plug displaces more soil than a pile that penetrates in boring mode, which enlarges the effective stresses around the pile. Numerical modelling of plugged pipe piles was carried out using PLAXIS-2015 software, with the Hardening Soil Model (HS small) used for soil modelling. The parametric study presented in this research was carried out with this computer program based on the finite element method. The case of a pipe pile group (2 × 2) with full plug was chosen as the basic problem, with spacing between piles of 3.0 m. It was concluded that there is slight increase in pile group capacity when increasing the spacing between piles by about 2.8%. It was found that the change of the angle of friction was the most important parameter; its increase from 31o to 40o caused an increase in the shear stress of about 150%.

Increases in traffic volumes along urban roads leads to congestion. This study aims to evaluate the level of service (LOS) along Al-Masafi Street in Al-Dora. The study is comprised of two stages. First, data was collected by means of a field survey, with the data collection procedure including a count of the hourly traffic volume from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. for workdays, Sunday to Thursday, during the spring break at six checkpoints. The data collected by calculating the volume of traffic, travel time, and queue length of vehicles at each checkpoint allowed calculation of the travel time index (TTI), vehicle/capacity ratio, and the speed in each direction. The travel time and queue length were calculated for passing vehicles for a 100 meter scale before each checkpoint, and the volume represents the number of vehicles passing through each checkpoint in a 15-minute time interval. The second stage of this research included the analysis and evaluation of Al-Masafi Street by computing its LOS based on the TTI, V/C Ratio, and Queue measurements. The conclusion is that the average TTI for all checkpoints in this study was 9.331, and the LOS for all studied roads was F, suggesting that checkpoints have a considerable negative effect on LOS.

Cold mix asphalt is an alternative to hot mix asphalt that consists of aggregate and filler with asphalt emulsion as a binder material rather than asphalt cement.It has many benefits such as save energy and less emissions.

The major objective of this paper is determining the effects of adding silica fume on some properties of cold bitumen emulsion mixtures (CBEMs). This was done by adding three proportions of silica fume (1, 2, and 3%) as a replacement for limestone dust and then conducting tests including indirect tensile strength, compressive strength, Marshall stability, flow test, bulk specific gravity (G_mb), and air voids, The mixtures were also evaluated for moisture sensitivity by means of their tensile strength ratios, retained Marshall stability, and a double punch shear test.

The results showed that the addition of silica fume increased the indirect tensile strength, compressive strength, Marshall stability, and bulk specific gravity (G_mb) by (18.5, 68, 78.4, and 0. 4) %, respectively, and decreased the flow values and air voids to about 13.5 and 6.6) %, respectively for 3% of replacement. Moreover, the addition of silica fume gave different behaviours in terms of moisture resistance; in general, there was an improvement in moisture resistance compared to that seen in the control mix.

This study aims to investigate the behaviours of machine foundations resting on sand granular tire rubber mixtures after saturation. Kerbala sand with two relative densities, 35% and 60%, and granular rubber of sizes 0.07 to 3 mm, resulting from hashing scrap tires into small pieces, were used. A harmonic vertical mode of vibration was applied using a mechanical oscillator fixed on a square steel footing (200 × 200 × 20 mm). The footing was rested on sand inside a steel box of size 1200 × 1200 × 900 mm. Nine model tests were carried out on saturated sand to study the effects of 0, 8, and 12% mix ratios and 0.5 B and 1 B mixing depth for the two relative densities and two frequencies (69 Hz and 80 Hz) in terms of displacement amplitude, settlement, and excess pore water pressure generation in soil. The same number of models were tested for a comparison of dry sand under the effects of the same parameters. The results showed that, in general, the displacement amplitude decreased and the settlement increased for saturated sand compared to dry sand under the same conditions. Mixing granulated tire rubber with saturated sand decreased the displacement amplitude, settlement, and excess pore water pressure; the range of percentages of reduction were from 19% to 73%, 40% to 70%, and 24% to 60% respectively.

This paper presents the results of an experimental investigation of spliced and non-spliced reinforced concrete girders strengthened with near surface mounted (NSM) CFRP bars. Six reinforced concrete girder specimens were tested, divided into two groups according to their support condition: simply supported and continuous. Each group thus contained three girders; one girder of each group was single segment without splicing, as a control for comparison purposes. The second girder was spliced in three precast segments without strengthening, and the third girder of each group was spliced in three precast segments strengthened with NSM CFRP bars at the bottom surfaces of the two splice regions. The main variables studied were support conditions, presence of the splicing technique, and strengthening with NSM CFRP bars. The strengthening of spliced girders was achieved by using two bars of 6 mm diameter CFRP in the longitudinal direction. The results for the simply supported group showed that this strengthening resulted to an increase in ultimate load of 11. 25%, as compared with that seen in the spliced girder without strengthening, and of 5.4 % when compared with the control girder. This strengthening method also reduced the maximum deflection by about 23%. The results also showed that strengthening the continuous girder resulted in an increase in ultimate load by 3.76% compared to the spliced girder without strengthening, and the maximum mid-span deflection was reduced by 8.7%. It was also found that the ultimate load of the control girder was greater than that of the strengthened girder by 2.54%. These results indicate that strengthening with NSM CFRP was more effective within the simply supported group than in the continuous group.

Reactive Powder Concrete (RPC) is one the latest developments in concrete technology, also known as ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC). It is characterised by the use of high cement content, with very high mechanical strength, high durability, in most cases, a quantity of steel fibres. A hollow core slab, also known as a void slab, hollow core plank, or simply a concrete slab is a precast concrete slab frequently used in the construction of floors in multi-story apartment buildings. The presence of holes in the reinforced concrete is necessary to act as ducts for services as well as having the structural purpose of reducing the weight of the slabs. This study examines previous experimental research results for 26 slabs in terms of examining the behaviours of reactive powder concrete slabs with longitudinal hollow cores of various sizes under various loading situations by changing the a/d ratio. The ANSYS computer program was used to investigate the behaviours of some of these slabs, and parametric studies were used to study the effects of the compressive strength of the concrete, types of support, and different steel reinforcement diameters. The results obtained using finite element solutions showed good agreement with experimental results.

Ferrocement is a type of thin reinforced concrete made of a cement-sand matrix with closely spaced relatively small diameter wire meshes, with or without steel bars of small diameter which are known as skeletal steel. This work concerns the behaviours of square ferrocement slabs with dimensions of 500 × 500 × 30 mm when subjected to flexural load. This study included testing thirteen ferrocement slabs, and the main variables considered in the experimental work were the number of wire mesh layers, percentage of silica fume and presence of steel fibre. The effects of these variables on the behaviours and load carrying capacities of tested slabs under central loads were investigated. From the experimental results, increasing the percentage of silica fume from 0% to 6% caused ultimate flexural loads to increase up to 4.5% replacement. The load carrying capacity also increases with presence of steel fibre reinforcement, and the ductility is high where steel fibres are included. The results also suggest that an increase in wire mesh layers from six to ten layers leads to an increase in load capacity by 76%. Finally, the results show that the addition of steel fibres can reduce the crack width and increase the number of cracks compared to samples without fibres.

Shatt Al-Kufa (Kufa River) is the major supply of surface waters in Najaf; the length and width of the river are 73 km and about 100 m respectively. In the various seasons of the year, the water level at the river is unstable, and population increases and higher living standards are likely to cause increased demand for the river water; thus, river water quality is a key concern, especially for drinking purposes.

Water Quality Index (WQI) is defined as a rating reflecting the compound effects of various water quality determinants on the total quality of water. WQI is a mathematical tool used to convert large amounts of water quality data into a single number, providing a simple and explicable tool for managers and decision-makers to use to examine the quality and potential uses of a given body of water.

This study is concerned with assessing an appropriate WQI for drinking use at several locations on Shatt Al-Kufa. The twelve water quality parameters of pH, Turbidity (Turb.), Electrical Conductivity (EC), Alkalinity (Alk.), Total Dissolved Solid (TDS), Total Hardness (T.H), Calcium (Ca⁺²), Magnesium (Mg⁺²), Sodium (Na⁺), Potassium (K⁺), Chlorides (Cl^-1) and Sulphate (SO₄) were studied over a period of ten months (January to October 2014) for nine selected locations, including Zerkh, Kufa, Manathira, Hira, Mashkhab and Qadisiya on Shatt Al-Kufa. Two methods (Weighted Arithmetic and Canadian) were applied to classify the WQI of the treated river water for drinking use, and then a comparison of the two methods was made to ascertain the difference between them.

The Results of the overall and seasonal WQI according to both the Weighted Arithmetic Method and the Canadian method were classified as good (50.1 to 100 and 80 to 94, respectively) in all selected locations with the exception of certain locations in the winter season that applied to both methods.

The results indicate that the difference between the two methods is very small; the high values of EC and high concentrations of SO₄ were the main reasons lowering the water quality index in all locations according to both methods.

This paper investigates the shear strength characteristics of reinforced concrete continuous deep beams (RCCDB) consisting of homogenous versus hybrid concrete, and further looks at the effect of Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) on the shear strength of hybrid RCCDBs. The experimental work included testing ten specimens of RCCDB under two-point loads. The effects of high strength concrete (HSC) layer thickness and CFRP on the strength of RCCDB were thus studied. The experimental results showed that the strengthening of RCCDB by an HSC layer at the top is better than that from one at the bottom, as the increments in ultimate load strength were 17 and 34% for top strengthening and 8 and 26% for bottom strengthening for 25 and 50% thickness of total depth of beam, respectively. The optimal strengthening of RCCDB using an HSC layer at the top was at 50%. Shear strengthening using 5 cm width CFRP strips for hybrid RCCDBs increased the ultimate shear strength by 69% and 49% for strengthening with inclined and straight shapes, respectively, where such strengthening was applied near to the centre of the specimens.

Numerous steel structures that were built following the industrial revolution, including bridges, off-shore platforms, and many buildings, are carrying excess loads of varying types over those they were originally designed for. Furthermore, the magnitude, pattern, and type of loadings have changed over the years. As a result, these structures need to be strengthened to sustain and convey the increased applied loads and remain in service. Carbon fibre reinforced polymers are a promising material that is gaining popularity in the field of strengthening deteriorated infrastructure as a replacement for conventional strengthening methods such as bolting, riveting, or welding due to its cost effectiveness, good strength-to-weight ratio, and ease of application. This paper proposes a new model to predict the strength of CFRP-steel joints using genetic programming. A number of studies have been carried out to evaluate the bond strength of newly formed composite material, but a lack of calculations for the bond strength with assurance still exists. A prediction model derived using genetic programming to calculate bond strength for both static and dynamic loading scenarios using various bond length, cross-sectional area, and CFRP moduli is thus proposed. The database used in the genetic program software was collated from the existing literature, and both derived models have a high value of R² which demonstrates an acceptable level of accuracy compared to the experimented results.

Seepage under hydraulic structures is considered to be a dangerous phenomenon which may cause the collapse of the structure over time if neglected. In this research, a SEEP/W model was developed to find the seepage rate and exit gradient under a concrete dam provided with two sheet piles. The independent variables were head difference; coefficient of soil permeability; and the spacing, lengths, and inclined angles of the sheet piles. The model was run for three different values of each independent variable. The results obtained from SEEP/W model were then used to create two neural artificial network (ANN) models (A and B) in which the output variables were the seepage rate (model A) and exit gradient (model B). The most appropriate structure, which gave minimum relative errors, was (7 3 1) nodes for both models. The results of the ANN models indicated that the variable with the most effect on seepage rate was the coefficient of soil permeability, with an importance ratio of about 76%, followed by the difference in the head (8%), the distance between piles (5.5%), length of downstream pile (5%), length of upstream pile (4%), and downstream and upstream inclined angles of the sheet piles, with ratios of about 1% and 0.5%. In terms of exit gradient, the most influential factor was the distance between piles at 35%, followed by the downstream inclination angle, length of downstream pile, head difference, length of upstream pile, inclined angle of upstream pile, and soil permeability with importance of about 23%, 19%, 14%, 7.5%, 1% and 0.5%, respectively. These results are in agreement with an analysis of the SEEP/W model.

The determination of Atterberg limits has large benefits in term of the classification of soil. Thus, it is necessary to obtain high accuracy in determination of these Atterberg limits, and the Atterberg limits test is considered an essential soil test. This study is focused on evaluation of results from four local laboratories, here labelled A, B, C and D based on sending two different type of soil to each laboratory. It was concluded from this study there may be large differences in determining Atterberg limits of as much as 17% for the same sample in the same laboratory. The accuracy of different laboratories in terms of measuring Atterberg limits differed widely. In general, laboratory B was the best followed by C, D then A. The percent of relative error in plasticity index value depend on the relative error product when determining Atterberg limits.

Rheology is the science that deals with the deformation of materials relation with load and time rate of load application. The goal of this study is finding effects of two modifier nanosilica (nSIO₂) and Styrene Butadiene Styrene (SBS) on the chemical bonding and rheological properties of local asphalt binder. In this study, 3% and 5% of nanosilica (nSIO₂) and Styrene Butadiene Styrene (SBS) were added to the asphalt binder. It was found that with the addition of nanosilica to the control asphalt binder lead to slightly increased the viscosity of the control binder, as SBS polymer add the viscosity increased three times than reference viscosity of control asphalt binder. It was noticed the performance grade (PG) of binder not changed with addition of 3% nSIO₂, but PG increased one degree when 5% of SIO₂ is added. PG of control binder increased two and three degrees with additional 3% and 5% SBS respectively. The results show that nSIO₂, and SBS slightly effect on the low temperature performance, therefore, low temperature grade not changed. Through FTIR results, it was found that the modified asphalt binder had a positive effect on anti-oxidation as compared with control binder, so, rutting and fatigue cracking performance of modified asphalt binders will be enhanced.

This paper presents an experimental study that included casting and testing six reinforced concrete simply supported deep beams under two-point loads. Two of these, with homogenous cross-sections, were made using normal strength concrete (NSC) only. The other four deep beams of hybrid cross-sections were cast using reactive powder concrete (RPC) in the tension layer and normal strength concrete (NSC) in the compression layer. Experimental results showed that the partial use of RPC noticeably increased both the first cracking load and ultimate load. The ultimate load was found to be increased further as the thickness of the RPC layer increased. The behaviours in terms of load-deflection also became stiffer as the shear span to overall depth ratio (a/h) decreased.

Aggregate is one of the essential ingredients for creating concrete, as it generally comprises 75% of the total for any concrete mixture. The strength of the concrete product is thus generally determined by the characteristics of aggregates used, which explains the need for a choice of alternative coarse aggregates. The goal for this study is to determine the strength properties of recycled aggregates for use in high strength concrete, to better understand the properties of concrete with recycled aggregates used as a substitution material for normal aggregates in concrete. The study thus compared the properties of high strength concrete with several percentage (22,40, 60,80, and 100%) of recycled aggregates. The investigation was done utilising a workability test that examined compressive, splitting tensile, and flexural strength. There is a possibility of utilising low cost recycled aggregates as an alternative material to normal aggregates in high strength concrete, as for these strength properties, the outcomes appear to suggest only a gradual reduction in compressive and splitting tensile strength as the level of recycled aggregates utilised in the specimens approaches the 100%replacement level.

In the well point construction process, it is necessary to control underground water effectively. The expected damage pattern scope within the influence radius of the depression cone of the well point can be determined according to noticeable ground and building settlement, as well as reference to the soil property changes due to the dewatering process with the aid of the formation mechanisms of underground water, based on underground water flow theory. This paper examines the Damage Pattern Scope expectation (DPS) and discusses some underground water conditions and practical key points by means of examining a laboratory pilot-scale model with light well point water lowering of different soil strata thickness, thus analysing the impact on the surrounding environment due to water lowering. The results showed that the water content and the void ratio of soil subjected to dewatering were reduced and that soil density and cohesion thus increases.

The deformation of two bodies touching at one or more points due to collision is based on dynamic loading, and as such, these impacts are very important in dynamic analysis to find the force time history as developed during tests. The deformation constants for the contact surface between a freely dropped steel mass and concrete containing additives used to increase the compressive strength and enhance other mechanical properties such as tensile strength and to produce new concretes such as reactive powder concrete with and without steel plate covers of different thicknesses on the top face of the specimens are investigated. The mechanical properties of reactive powder concrete, including compressive strength, tensile strength, and modulus of rupture, are also explored and compared with those of normal weight concrete with different percentages (12, 15, 20 and 25% by weight) of silica fume. The characteristics of the micro steel fibre mixed with concrete in this investigation are 15 mm length, 0.2 mm diameter, with aspect ratios of 75, added as 1, 1.5 and 2% by volume, while the water cement ratios used are 20 and 22%. All specimens were tested at 7 and 28 days, and results for the deformation constant and mechanical properties at those ages are discussed. A mathematical model is suggested to express compressive strength as a function of percentages of steel fibre, and further mathematical models are suggested for splitting tensile strength and flexural strength as functions of compressive strength based on these experimental tests. The suggested mathematical models were compared with results from other researchers; close agreement of the test results of the present study and other researchers' work were found.

Karbala city suffers from a range of traffic congestion problems due to increased travel demand, population growth, and limited transportation infrastructure. A metro system has been proposed as a solution for this problem, and this paper thus aims to determine the best locations for stations based on multiple criteria, to serve largest volume of passengers and to connect vital places, and highly populated areas. This analysis is done using geographic information systems (GIS) as a powerful tool for spatial analysis. The Analytic Hierarchal Process (AHP) was used in weighting the criteria and a degree of importance selected for each one. The results showed that 31 station sites could be selected as the best sites for metro stations.

The experimental programme that is the focus of this report dealt with twelve beams cast in three groups: Normal Concrete (NC), High Strength Concrete (HSC), and Self Compacting Concrete (SCC). The applied loads, resulting torsional moments, angles of twist and longitudinal strains are listed in Tables and presented in graphs, to aid discussion. The results of the practical work revealed that increasing the compressive strength of a section increases the stiffness of a beam, thus decreasing the angle of twist markedly. Increasing the steel fibre content in a section similarly decreases the value of the angle of twist of the beam, as well as resulting in an increase in stiffness. Increasing the compressive strength of a section also increases the stiffness of a beam, thus decreasing the longitudinal strain. While increasing the steel fibre content in a section decreases the value of longitudinal strain on all beams, resulting in an increase in stiffness, the highest improvement (100%) was seen in the HSC group.

Recently, due to environmental restrictions and economics, cold emulsified asphalt mixtures have become the dominant binder material used in cold mix applications. Cold emulsified asphalt mixtures are generally mixtures made using different types of emulsified asphalt with a range of aggregate materials. This research aims to test the physical properties of two types of emulsified asphalt binder (cationic and anionic) used as binders for paving mixtures to evaluate the properties of the resulting cold emulsified asphalt mixtures, using one type of quartz aggregate with different variables such as mixing procedures and compaction effort (75 or 150 blows). The evaluation includes the volumetric and mechanical properties of emulsified asphalt mixture such as bulk density, air voids, and Marshall properties, and compares these with the common local specifications. The results show that the quartz aggregate is more suitable for the cationic emulsified asphalt mixture, due to its negative charge and chemical composition which produce a good bond with a positive charge for cationic emulsified asphalt. However, the results obtained from a test of Marshall stability suggest maximum Marshall stability ratings for mixtures of cationic emulsified asphalt were greater than those for mixes with anionic emulsified asphalt mixtures. The stability values were 16.8 and 10.87, kN respectively, and the optimum emulsified content was 6.36%.

This study investigated the treatment of water contaminated with textile dye (Cibacron Red FN-R, reactive red 238) using a UV/H2O2 process. The reaction was influenced by the input concentration of hydrogen peroxide H2O2, pH, temperature, and the concentration of textile dye in the wastewater. Analysis of the experimental results displayed both first order and the second order reactions. The reaction type was found to be of a first order throughout the systems. The removal efficiency of the UV/H2O2 process at optimal conditions and dosage (H2O2 = 25 mg/L, pH = 3, temperature = 20 °C for 50 mg/L dye concentration) were found to be 80.633%, 97.07%, and 99.43% at 60 min, 120 min, and 180 min, respectively with K1 = 0.0293 min-1 and R2=0.9992%. COD removal was also studied for the UV/H2O2 process and found to be 62.5%.

Scientists and engineers are constantly trying to improve the performance of asphalt mixtures, and a wide range of modifiers are utilised to enhance HMA characteristics against damage such as rutting, aggregate stripping, and cracking.

The major objective of this research is to evaluate the performance of flexible pavement using asphalt from the Al-Daurah refinery with two locally additive, hydrated lime and polypropylene. Hot mix asphalt specimens were prepared with aggregate, of nominal maximum size 25 mm (base course) and 19 mm (binder course).

Cement is usually utilised as an HMA filler, and a percentage of Portland cement was used in this work, at 5% for the base course and 6% for the binder course. Polypropylene was used as additive with percentages of 1, 2, and 3% by weight of asphalt, and hydrated lime was used in a dry state at a percentage of 1% by weight of aggregate as a part replacer of filler.

The main mechanical characteristics of asphalt mixtures were evaluated using the Marshall index of retained strength and indirect tensile strength tests. Using hydrated lime and polypropylene caused the results of Marshall tests and indirect tensile tests to increase by 1.3 and 1.5 times, respectively, compared with the control mixture, while the index of retained strength test increased by 1.3 times compared with the control mixture. In particular, the addition of a combination of 1% hydrated lime by weight of aggregate and 2% polypropylene by weight of asphalt-to-asphalt mixtures satisfied the requirements for stability, moisture sensitivity, and indirect tensile strength.

The performance of open web expanded steel-concrete composite beams under combined bending and torsion was investigated up to failure. Two strengthening techniques were proposed: the first, by adding steel stiffeners only to web sections, and the second by exposing composite beams to external prestressing after supporting the web sections with steel stiffeners. Six specimens were tested divided across the two main groups. Each group included three specimens, which were designated according to the type of strengthening technique used. Load capacity, load-deformation responses, and strain across section depth were monitored. The results showed that the first strengthening technique reduced the deflection under service loads by 14.13% and 11.55% for castellated and cellular specimens, respectively, while the second technique decreased the comparative values by 147.82% and 30.11%, respectively. In terms of the angle of twist, torsional stiffness increased by 27.58% due to the application of steel stiffeners for castellated specimen, while, in the cellular specimens, there was no apparent contribution from adding these stiffeners in terms of improving torsional performance at the early stages of loading. The second technique did show a greater reduction in the angle of twist, by 93.10% and 39.53% for castellated and cellular specimens, respectively.

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) on the stress responses of ferrocement slabs. For this purpose, a total of eight ferrocement slabs of size 500 × 500 × 18 mm were cast and tested. The major variables studied in this investigation included the number of CFRP strips and their configurations. Structural performance parameters used for comparisons included load–deflection curves, ultimate load and corresponding deflection at failure, failure modes, and crack patterns. That the inclusion of CFRP strips for strengthening ferrocement slabs can significantly improve their resistance may be concluded from these experiments. The increases ranged between 26 and 74% compared with the control specimen. Furthermore, an increase in the stiffness of the ferrocement slabs at all stages of loading, and a consequent reduction in the deflection at corresponding loads, was observed in specimens with CFRP compared to the control specimen. This decrease in maximum deflection was about 23.5 to 53.6% compared with the unstrengthened slab.

Cascaded Thermal Energy Storage (CTES), a term that refers to a thermal energy storage system with multiple phase chance materials (PCMs), has been suggested as a solution for heat transfer reduction through the process of heat exchange by reducing temperature differences. The PCMs used are thus paraffin waxes with different melting temperatures. A numerical simulation was made to determine the optimum length of a CTES system compared with use of a single PCM. The enthalpy-porosity theory was utilised to simulate the phase transition of the PCM, and the simulations then used to mimic the charging and discharging of thermal energy storage of optimum length at different heat transfer fluid flow rates. The results indicated that heat transfer can be greatly enhanced, and melting and solidification time significantly reduced, by using multiple PCMs as compared with using a single PCM.

The accurate calculation of the frictional heat generated between the contacting surfaces of friction clutch elements during the slipping period due to the relative motion between the driving and driven parts is considered to be an essential factor for automotive designers. A numerical model of a single-disc clutch was built using the finite element method to investigate the effect of frictional facing thickness on the heat generation and distribution between the contacting surfaces of the flywheel, friction clutch disc and pressure plate. A sequentially coupled thermal-mechanical approach was used to simulate the thermal-elastic coupling that occurs in dry friction clutches during the slipping period. An axisymmetric finite element model was used to represent the single-disc clutch system at the start of the engagement. The results approved that frictional facing thickness has a significant effect on the distribution of the frictional heat generated and the actual contact area of friction clutches.

This work involved an experimental study into the tensile and fatigue properties of selected below-knee prosthetic socket materials fabricated using a vacuum moulding technique. The composite materials were composed of number of carbon-fibre layers (8 layers) and carbon fibre with perlon layers (11 layers).The Ground Reaction Force (GRF), Center of Pressure (COP) and pressure distribution) for a patient of around 27years old of height 170cm and weight75kg were measured, and the results showed that the ultimate stress (Ϭ_utt)for carbon fibrewas135 MPa, while for carbon fibre with perlon in an 80:20 matrix, it was 98 MPa.The fatigue limit for carbon fibre was 30 MPa and for carbon fibre with perlon it was 45 MPa. The data on gait cycle GRF was gained by using a force plate to measure pressure distribution using an F-socket, and these were collected using a patient with a below-knee amputation wearing a prosthetic of type BK. The internal pressure between the patient's stump and the prosthetic socket was measured by using the F-socket Mat scan sensor; this reached its maximum value (52KPa) at both heel strike and toe off.

This study presents the use of the transfer matrix method to calculate the natural frequencies for bovine bone. The bovine bone was considered as continues system. This continues system was transferred to discrete system by discretizing it using the Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) images obtained from CT-Scan test. Those images were used to evaluate the geometrical properties of the bone segments. Geometrical properties variation along the bone length were evaluated by using image-processing technique (Binary Image). Each slice was considered as beam and the total number of beam segments is equal to the number of DICOM images. The bone was divided into 226 segments (1.25 mm slice thickness). Euler Bernoulli equation of motion was used to formulate the transfer matrix. Finite elements method based on ANSYS mechanical APDL version 14.5 was used to calculate the natural frequency. This method was used to check the discrepancy of the results obtained from the transfer matrix method. This method was done by building the three dimensional modal based upon the DICOME images and solving the modal analysis by using ANSYS software. The deviation in the results obtained from the two methods was less than 15%. The simplicity and efficiency of transfer matrix method recommends further improvement by using the gray images instead of binary images to evaluate bone geometrical, physical, and mechanical properties based upon the grayscale value of each pixel for both cortical and compact bone.

The empirical position control of an underactuated robotic finger is presented in this study. A proportional integral derivative (PID) control system for a robotic finger was introduced to control grasping of cylindrical objects with sizes in the range 30 to 60 mm, as well to control pinching for a range of objects. The robotic finger was made of two four-bar linkages connected in series. The second finger phalanx was modified by adding a DC motor at the coupler link of the second four-bar linkage so that the length could be varied to achieve a similar configuration to human fingers throughout the grasping and pinching operations. The maximum length was used for the grasping configuration, while the minimum length was used for the pinching configuration. The main objective of the proposed control process was to control grasping and pinching for different objects precisely enough to avoid both slipping and damage. An Arduino Mega 2560 was used to control the position of the DC motor movement to reach a predefined position for each specified object. The PID parameters were chosen empirically based on past experience and on repeated experiments, refined through trial and error. The proposed PID controller gave appropriate responses for the control system because of the proper choice of controller parameters

Stress relaxation is defined as the decay resulting from stress placed upon a material exposed to constant strain. Stress relaxation equipment designed and manufactured according to ASTM E328-86 was thus created to test this type of decay. Samples were extracted from animal femurs, in particular cortical bones from bovine around 24 months in age. The effect of various temperature on the stress relaxation behaviours of bovine femur samples was thus studied. The samples were examined for 1,800 seconds under the influence of three degrees of stress (25, 50, and 65 MPa respectively), with different temperatures of 29, 35, 40, and 50 °C used for each stress level; the stress results and diagrams for the effects of each stress were recorded and drawn separately.

The improvement of heat transfer by using multiphase flow is a key focus in the energy industry and related applications such as steam turbines (power plants), steam generators and condensers, refrigeration, food manufacturing, and heating and cooling systems. Dispersed bubble two–phase flow (water-air) with heat transfer in a rectangular turbulated vertical canal with dimension 5 × 3 × 70 cm was thus studied in the current work and experimental and numerical studies were performed to test the influence of the superficial inlet velocity of air and water and the position of grooves at constant heat on the heat transfer coefficient and the temperature distribution along the test section. Water superficial inlet velocities were (0.0987, 0.1974, 0.296, and 0.395 m/s), while air superficial inlet velocities were (1.4609, 2.923, and 4.384 m/s), and the heat power was a constant (109.65 W). The results indicated that the local coefficients of the heat transfer for the experimental and numerical study were raised as the superficial inlet velocity rose. The opposite effect was indicated in terms of the temperature distribution along the test section which dropped as superficial inlet velocities rose. The presence of compound turbulation led to an enhancement of the experimental and numerical heat transfer coefficients over those seen in the smooth channel by (56.5% and 54.7%), respectively, for g/p = 0.55 and water and air superficial velocities of (0.395 m/s and 4.384 m/s). Good agreement was found between the experimental and numerical data, with the percentage deviation between the experimental and numerical results being only (5.77%).

This study investigated the mechanical properties of a hybrid polymer matrix composite material (PMCs) prepared from 98 wt% epoxy resin and 2 wt% polysulfide rubber reinforced with two types of fibres, glass fibres and carbon fibres, which were used in the form of a plain woven material with a volumetric fracture of 20%. Mechanical tests were conducted for the composite materials before and after reinforcement with these fibres to ascertain the effect of adding fibres on the mechanical properties of the composite material. The fibre effect was evident in improving all studied properties, especially tensile strength and impact strength.

In this study, several models of the rocket fins were made of hyper composite materials (with two or more reinforced materials) with different volume fractions of components used to produce isotropic composite plate structures. The reinforcement of polyester resin material was done in two ways, with fibre reinforcement and powder reinforcement. The types of fibresthat used were chopped glass fibre and chopped carbon fibre, and the type of powder used was carbon powder. A concentrated load was applied to the models in the form of a cantilever plate. The effect of adding carbon powder on the stiffness to weight ratio and the effect of temperature on this stiffness to weight ratio were studied and discussed. It was observed that hybridization improves the properties of composite materials at certainspecific volume fractions of carbon powder. The best percentage of improvement of the value of stiffness was69.87% in a specimenmade of 50% polyester, 30% glass fibres, and 20% carbon powderin terms of models reinforced with glass fibres, while for models reinforced with carbon fibres, it was 79.94% in the model made of 60% polyester, 30% carbon fibre, and 10% carbon powder. In addition, the results showed that an increase in temperature leads to a decrease in the stiffness to weight ratio for all models. The smallest effect of temperature on the stiffness to weight ratio was shown in the sample composed of 50% polyester, 30% glass fibres, and 20% carbon powder, at 45.83% for the models reinforced with chopped glass fibres, and in the model made of 60% polyester, 20% carbon fibres, and 20% carbon powder at 57.54% for models reinforced with carbon fibres.

An experimental apparatus was built to investigate the performance of a refrigeration system based on the coefficient of performance (COP) and energy consumption of an air conditioning device. Enhancement of performance of a window unit air conditioning device was sought by mixing nanoparticles with mineral oil (MO 4E) to act as a lubricant, using R22 refrigerant as a working fluid. Different concentrations of Al2O3/Mineral Oil (MO 4E) were mixed by using ultrasonic and other mixing devices. The results showed that the COP was increased and energy consumption decreased when nano lubricant was used, and that the optimum concentration was 0.05% Al2O3 by mass, where the enhancement in COP was 25% compared to plain MO 4E; the energy consumption in the compressor was also lower. Thus, enhancing the coefficient of performance (COP) of the system by adding a small percentage of nanoparticles to the lubricant oil appears to be feasible.

The sources of fossil fuels in the world are limited, driving many researchers to seek alternative solutions for fuel. In particular, there is great interest in using unconventional fuel sources for vehicles. One of the main important sources of renewable fuel is bio-fuel, and alcohol is the most appropriate type of this resource. Both ethanol and methanol are good additives to gasoline in vehicles because of the improvements they offer to combustion characteristics and engine performance. In this paper, the influence of Ethanol (ranging from E10 to E30) and Methanol (ranging from M10 to M30) as additives to gasoline are investigated in terms of improvements to the combustion characteristics and performance of the engine, in this instance, a one-cylinder, four stroke, 11kW output power IC engine. In this experiment, performance tests were carried out for brake torque, power, thermal efficiency, and consumption of specific fuels. The flue gases, including CO, HC, and CO₂ were measured and analysed under different operating conditions with various engine speeds, ranging from 1,500 to 3,000 RPM. The results demonstrated that the thermal performance of the IC engine was improved in the E10 combustion case (10% ethanol and 90% gasoline). It was also revealed that HC and CO concentrations were significantly reduced with increases in the concentration of ethanol in the fuel mixture. The combustion characteristics of methanol-gasoline fuels were not as good as those for ethanol-gasoline fuels.

The heat transfer enhancement and accompanied pressure drop penalty caused by using nanofluids as the heat transfer fluids in corrugated tubes was investigated numerically. The study involved the dispersion of SO₂ nanoparticles at different concentrations and sizes in the base fluid at various Reynolds numbers from 5,000 to 60,000. The simulation adopted a k-e model and FLUENT-based control volume to solve the turbulent flow field and associated thermal behaviours of the nanofluids. The volume fraction of nanoparticles varied from 1% to 4%, while the size of the nanoparticles ranged from 30 nm to 80 nm in diameter. The thermal and hydrodynamic performance of nanofluids were compared with those of the base fluid, and the calculated results were validated by, and agree well with, the findings of previous work. The simulated results reveal that the heat exchange rate is greatly influenced by the use of different nanofluids parameters. Enhancements in the rate of heat transfer and expanse of pressure drop and resultant pumping energy are associated with the dispersion of more nanoparticles and/or a decrease in the nanoparticle size. Moreover, it was found that the effect of nanoparticle loading is more significant than the effect of nanoparticle size. Further, the techniques of heat transfer (corrugation and nanoparticles) were found to be ineffective for Reynolds numbers greater than 40,000.

Aluminium-lead alloys are considered to be vital materials for the 21^st century, and applications of these alloys are used in a great many heavy-duty roles such as boring mills, presses, lathes, milling machines, and hydraulic pump bushings. In this work, an equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) process was used to enhance the mechanical properties of Al-Pb bearing alloy prepared using a mechanical alloying method. This work is divided into two main parts: Part I deals with the production of rectangular billets of 15 × 15 × 45 mm³ in size constructed by mixing powders of Al-10%Pb-4.5%Cu by weight for two hours using a ball milling process. The mechanical properties obtained for these alloys were 191 MPa compressive strength and 50 HV micro hardness. Part II is concerned with the design and manufacture of an ECAP die for a channel angle of 135° with multi passes using rout B^C radius of curvature with inner radius R equal to 15 mm and outer radius r equal to 5 mm suitable for the chosen alloy. The billet produced in part I was then preheated and pressed through the ECAP die. The results obtained from the experimental work showed an increase in mechanical properties: the enhancement of compression strength reached 38%, and that of micro hardness 28% in the first pass; further enhancements of compression strength and micro hardness were 44% and 36% respectively in second pass, without any reduction of ductility in the alloy.

Recently, researchers worldwide have made considerable efforts to enhance amputees' quality of life by designing improved prosthetic feet. The ideal prosthetic for this job is that one which seamlessly mimics the functions of the human foot. To achieve this objective, accurate design is thus required. In this paper, a novel design for a carbon-fibre ankle-foot prosthetic is considered. The geometry of the designed ankle-foot prosthetic was created to satisfy a wide range of anthropometric parameters, taking into consideration the available previous designs in the published literature. AutoCAD version 15 was used in this work for modeling and creating the geometry, and ANSYS Workbench software version 16.1 was used for the finite element modelling based on geometry retrieved from the AutoCAD software. The complexity of the suggested design was simplified by partitioning the design into parts according to function. The roll-over shape concept was considered in the current design, which acts as an important tool in the design, evaluation, and alignment of lower limb prostheses and orthoses. Carbon fibre-epoxy composite material was utilised to manufacture a light and high strength prosthetic foot. The current study revealed that the proposed design offered a smooth roll-over shape and good response to energy return requirements in ankle-foot prosthetics, with the keel and heel design behaving as a non-prismatic cantilever beam. The keel and heel thickness require optimisation based on the specific materials used. FE analysis showed successful heel and keel deflections, although inadequate deflection was demonstrated in the vertical loading test. The heel deflected by 29.18 mm under a load of 300 N, while the keel deflected more than 25 mm under 1,230 N, and the deflection under a vertical load of 1,230 N was about 8.1 mm. The strain and stress seen in the three tests were within safe limits, while most of the energy was absorbed in the ankle component of the prosthesis.

In this study, heat transfer and fluid flow features were numerically and experimentally studied in a circular steel passage of length 50 cm with an outer diameter of 40 mm and inner diameter of 37 mm under a constant surrounding temperature of 673 K for Reynolds numbers Re=10,800, 12,900, and 15,700, in order to simulate a gas turbine blade cooling passage. Turbulence was simulated using ANSYS - FLUENT (version 16.1), and the (k-ε) turbulence model was utilised. The rib constructions (of 5 × 10 mm equilateral triangular cross-section) were fixed inside the circular passage and diverged by 5 cm. The results of temperature and velocity distribution along the circular passage's centreline for the smooth passage were compared with those of a circular passage fitted with these enclosed ribs. An improvement in the rate of heat transfer, especially at Re=12,900, was observed in the tube with ribs, with a rate of heat transfer increase of 84.3% compared to the smooth case; the ribbed tube was also observed to have a greater performance factor for turbulent flow.

In this study, two laminated composite materials were used to manufacture residual-limb prosthetic sockets using the vacuum moulding method. Acrylic was used as a matrix material and reinforced with two types of fibres, perlon and carbon. The mechanical properties were calculated using tensile and bending tests, and socket failure characteristics at room temperature were determined by using a fatigue test. F-socket apparatus was used to measure the interface pressure between the residual limb and socket in two subjects with unilateral trans-tibial amputations using patellar tendon bearing prosthetics (PTB). The ANSYS program was used to calculate the deformation, maximum principle stress, and safety factors. The results showed that laminations laid-up from eight layers of perlon plus four layers of carbon gave optimum mechanical properties. Comparing this lamination with other laminations of six layers of perlon plus two layers of carbon, in spite the minimal increase in perlon and carbon layers (from eight layers to twelve layers), the ultimate stress increased by 12.46%. The Young's modulus of a lamination with six layers of perlon and four layers of carbon was 3.66 GPa, higher than other laminations investigated. A high Young's Modulus will result in a total contact socket that produces the best comfort level for patients. The maximum principle stress and total deformation increased with an increase in the length of stump: The maximum principle stress of a long socket increased by 0.3% of medium stress, while the total deformation of the medium socket was lower than that of the long socket.

This paper presents the development of an image processing methodology as a scanning technique with the ability to detect static and dynamic objects in the environment of a mobile robot. The aim of the proposed methodology was to achieve free-navigation of the mobile robot. Digital cameras were thus used to explore the area around the robots as part of robot control system. A Kinect device using the proposed algorithm was thus used gain information about adjacent objects, such as their size, location, and colour. The percentage error in objects location and dimensions was less than 1.65% based on the experimental results.

This work presents the importance of a combination of three approaches: the Lean idea of waste to be eliminated, the Six Sigma concept of variance to be reduced, and Ergonomics approaches that play an important role in maintaining workers' productivity. Improper workstation layout conditions lead to excessive stress, reduced performance, and physical burdens. This leads to increases in waste indicators such as loss of time, poor space, and low quality levels. A single-minded focus on productivity may neglect health and safety issues and, worse, changes introduced by Lean may lead to additional risks. Muda is a term in Lean referring to any action or process that doesn't add value within processes, such as physical waste of time or safety violations. Job Rotation as a problem-solving tool refers to the structured interchange of workers between different jobs that are recognised as problem or high-risk jobs. The methodology of this research work proposes an integrated model combining Lean as represented by reducing Muda or waste that does not add value to both process and workers, previewed by means of the DMAIC Six Sigma stages, with job rotation used as an efficient measurement tool to observe jobs that may be identified as overly stressful. A computerised worksheet tool was used to perform a semi-quantitative assessment process for rating a job's Exertion Index (IE), which can be used to determine the best arrangement of Job Rotation schedules. The work aims were: I) Rearrangement of jobs according to risk level of producing non-well-being to reduce additional psychological stress on workers and to II) reflect this by achieving continuous improvement by eliminating waste, decreasing activities that are Non-Values Add, and thereby creating good quality levels. The findings showed enhancement of current safety and productivity levels from evaluating the Exertion Index and swapping some workstations with unacceptable indices. This offered a reduction in physiological strain, stress, and fatigue on various muscle sets. The case study for this research work was implemented in the General Company for Hydraulic Industries/Damper factory.

Lean Six Sigma and Ergonomics have great importance in the implementation of continuous improvement. By combining Lean with Six Sigma, waste is eliminated and errors reduced by limiting activities that do not add value to processes, thus enhancing productivity levels. Increased productivity can also increase psychological and psychological stress on workers, however. Continuous improvement with the integration of Ergonomics principles in Lean Six Sigma enables productivity increases without compromising worker safety, generating healthy and comfortable work conditions within proper workstation layouts. Mura translates as unevenness or irregularity, and it occurs when there is an uneven process leading to inconsistencies. Mura can be applied to mechanical and human situations with regard to postural and biomechanical for desired tasks. Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) was used to assess postural movement associated with upper extremity Musculoskeletal Disorder tasks where the workers were standing or seated without moving about. The methodology of this research proposed a model based on the integration of Lean Six Sigma and Ergonomics by designing a diagnostic expert system combining tools focused on Mura time waste and a Rapid Upper Limb Assessment to identify the risk levels inherent in the postural movements of workers as part of the lean practice undertaken within the workstations in the assembly line.

In this paper, a cable-stayed bridge is modelled and analysed using the finite element method on Ansys. The damping effect is studied in the vertical and inclined directions as an earthquake effect is applied on the cable-stayed bridge in the longitudinal and lateral directions with changes to the number, direction, and value of the damping coefficient (c) of the dampers. The results show that increments in the number of dampers and damping coefficient in inclined dampers were more effective than changes to vertical dampers in longitudinal and lateral earthquakes.

This research aims to study for the first time the thermal behavior of counter flow cooling tower using low temperature groundwater source for air cooling in domestic and agriculture fields under Kerbala climate. The thermal behavior of both water and air was analyzed experimentally in term of their temperatures for different mass flow rates with one type of packing. The experiments were conducted between 27 April and 12 June 2017. During these five weeks, the outdoor temperature and the average borehole water temperature at depth of 9 m ranges were 28 °C to 42°C and 22 °C to 26°C respectively. The analyses have shown that the evaporative cooling tower used in the present study provides conditioned air in or very close to the comfortable levels. Also, the study has shown that the effectiveness of the evaporative cooling tower is basically affected by airstream velocity.

This paper presents a new design for a non-articulated prosthetic foot made from high density polyethylene. The mechanical and physical properties of the proposed design are then compared with a Solid Ankle Cushioned Heel (SACH) foot based in a numerical and experimental investigation. The prosthetic foot failure characteristics at room temperature and at a relatively high temperature (60 °C) were determined using a fatigue foot tester and the dorsiflexion angle was measured using inclined compression. The numerical solution can be used to find the safety factor for the new design using SolidWorks software and ANSYS. From the results in this case, the maximum dorsiflexion angle at toe off for the SACH and new prosthetic foot are 4.7° and 6.3°, respectively. Fracture of the new prosthetic foot occurs at 1,1047,321 and 1,089,463 cycles for tests performed at room temperature (23 °C) and at (60 °C) respectively.

An experimental study was conducted to generate electrical power from the waste heat of a four-stroke single-cylinder, air cooled SI engine. This study was accomplished by installing a single module thermoelectric generator (TEG) between the hot surface of the engine muffler and a heat sink.

The experimental results showed that the maximum voltage generated was 5 volts at an engine speed of 2,500 rpm with a 121 °C difference in temperature between the two sides (hot and cold) of the TEG. The engine fuel consumption was 0.7 L/hr, with a maximum temperature on the hot side of 195 °C.

The effect of some important parameters on the pyrolysis process in biomass solid fuel material was investigated experimentally using a batch furnace reactor in this study. Four significant parameters were selected, and their effects on process efficiency investigated; these were process temperature, feedstock type, biomass fuel particle size, and catalyst material. The experiments were implemented using three ranges of particle size: less than 0.25 mm, 0.3 to 0.5 mm, and 0.5 to 1.18 mm; and two temperature levels: 450 °C and 550 °C. Three concentrations of catalyst material (Ceria, CeO2) by weight were investigated: 16.7%, 25%, and 35%. The composition of the produced biogases, which consisted mainly of CO and CO₂, were measured using gas analyser apparatus. Each experiment was performed for a different period of time based on the produced gases; thus, the experiments each lasted between 550 and 1,000 sec. For sawdust biomass fuel, the results revealed that the composition of produced gases decreased as the range of particle size increased. Moreover, there was a considerable positive effect of the catalyst on gas composition compared to the reference case (< 0.25 mm sawdust without catalyst). An increase in catalyst percentage was also seen to affect the residence time of the biomass pyrolysis process positively. However, for wastepaper biomass, the temperature had the most considerable effect on the composition of produced gases.

The pressure distribution of a short journal bearing in dynamic loading conditions under the effect of forced harmonic excitation was investigated. The conventional form of the Reynolds equation was analysed numerically using the central finite difference technique with appropriate initial and boundary conditions. These numerical equations were written in FORTRAN-95 to obtain relevant results. According to the results, maximum oil pressure is obtained when external forced harmonic vibration is increased, giving a 51.92 percent increase over that obtained under self-excitation only.

Statistical control charts generally study only one property. The purpose of this research was thus to generate a control chart for a full set of properties for the product of the multiprocessors executing the operation of a lathe machine. In short-term production, there is often insufficient data in each product run to achieve an ideal estimate of operation parameters, which can result in reduced performance and inefficient control charts. A case study research methodology was applied in the Al-Noaman factory. Minitab-17 Software was used to calculate and plot control charts and to analyse the process capability index. The results of process capability (Cp) for three processes (drilling, face, and external length) were equal to 0.828, with the third process giving an external diameter equal to 0.248. Another index (Cpk) for shifting indicators, gave results for the lower specification limits for drilling and external diameter processes, while the other processes, face and external length, shifted towards the upper specification limit. The Cpm indicators showed the same behavior for Cp, and the Cpkm indicator gave results that suggested the same behavior as the Cpk.

Heavy metals such as Pb(II) are harmful to both the environment and human health as they are both toxic and stable. Bentonite clays contain Montmorillonite, which is a nano-porous and nano-structured mineral that can act to remove metals. In these experiments, natural bentonite S1 was activated using sulfuric acid solutions under various conditions with a range of Liquid to Solid ratios (L/S), Temperatures (T), Times (t) and Concentrations (C). The activated samples S2 (L/S = 16 mL/g, T = 95 °C, t = 4 h, C = 5 M) and S3 (L/S = 16 mL/g, T = 95 °C, t = 6 h, C = 0.5 M) showed the highest and the lowest amounts of Pb(II) removal, respectively. The characterisation of natural and acid-activated bentonites in terms of Pb(II) separation applications were examined using Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), X-Ray fluorescence (XRF), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area measurements, and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). Metal removal experiments were conducted using a suspension of 0.3 g suspended in 25 mL Pb(NO₃)₂ solution under fixed solution concentrations of 2,000 mg/L. The suspensions were thoroughly mixed for 24 hours at 250 rpm. The results showed the removal capacities of samples followed the order of S2 > S3 > S1, and suggested that the prevailing Pb(II) removal processes were adsorption and ion exchange.

The Light Naphtha Isomerization (LNI) process increases the quality of gasoline, and the Pinch Design Method (PDM) is a novel method in the field of heat transfer that implements the design of Heat Exchanger Network (HEN) to improve energy efficiency. In this research, the HEN of an LNI unit was retrofitted using PDM to determine the best design to decrease hot and cold utility consumption. Stream selection and data extraction were necessary for PDM, and graphical tools in the form of Composite Curves (CC) and a Grand Composite Curve (GCC) were presented to calculate the minimum and actual hot and cold targets. The base-case results showed minimum hot and cold targets of 37 and 42 MW for ΔT_min = 10 °C, respectively and an energy pocket above the pinch in the interval of between 120 and 180 °C. The pocket enhanced heat recovery because of the large driving forces, decreasing MP steam consumption. Scenarios were suggested for the retrofitting of the LNI unit to enhance heat transfer to decrease energy consumption. In particular, the heat pump intensified heat transfer from the Cooling Water cold utility at 29.5 °C to the MP Steam hot utility at 150 °C.

One of the problems associated with polymeric blend composites is how to make the components adhere. In this work, the effect of introducing polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) to binary polymeric blends was studied. Two sets of ternary polymeric composites were prepared using twin-extruders: the chemical composition of the first set consisted of Polypropylene (PP) with 15%; linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE), x% Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), and 1% basalt particle (B.P.), where × values were 0, 4, 8, 12, and 16; whereas the samples of the second set were prepared by substituting the LLDPE material with HDPE material at the same weight ratios, giving a chemical composition of PP with 15% HDPE, x% PVP and 1% B.P. The mechanical characteristics and morphology results were studied, and the results showed general mechanical property enhancement with increased PVP content in the two groups of prepared samples, with the exception of elongation which decreased with the addition of PVP to the blends. The highest values of the tensile strength, modulus of elasticity, impact strength, and fracture toughness were recorded at an 8% ratio of PVP content in the first group samples, while the highest values for the same properties for the second group samples was at a 4% ratio of PVP content in the blend. Moreover, the samples of the first group had the highest values of impact strength and fracture toughness (0.45 kJ/m²) and (4.58 Pa√m) respectively, whereas the samples in the second group gained the highest values of fracture strength and Young's modulus. SEM images indicated that the addition of PVP gave better interfacial adhesion between the constituents of the polymeric blends.

A study of the effects of added Yttrium and Tantalum on the wear behaviours of NiTi shape memory alloys was completed to examine the effects of compacting pressure levels between 400 and 650 MPa and to investigate wear parameters such as load, sliding distance, and time to determine the wear rate for the prepared alloys. Several alloys were prepared using a powder metallurgical technique; the powder mixture had a basic chemical composition of 55% Nickel and 45% Titanium, and alloying elements of Yttrium and Tantalum were then added at weight percentages 1, 2, and 3 wt% of each element (at the expense of nickel) before the powders were mixed then compacted under a range of compacting pressures (400, 500, 600, and 650 MPa) to form cylindrical samples, Sintering was completed in two steps. The first step was done at a temperature of 500 °C for two hours, while the second step was done at 850 °C for six hours, both under vacuum conditions (6.7 E −02 Pa). The generated specimens were then left to cool. The wear behavior was then studied using pin-on-disk tests at variable loads and times (2, 5, 10, and 15 N and 5, 10, 15, and 20 min, respectively). XRD testing, apparent density and porosity, hardness, and surface roughness tests were also completed in this study. From the results, it is clear that the wear volume loss decreases with the addition of Tantalum by 0.52% with 3% Tantalum addition at 650 MPa compacting stress for a 15 N load; it also decreases by 0.48% with 2% Yttrium addition at 650 MPa for a 10 N load. The wear volume loss further decreases as the compacting stresses increase. In addition, the wear rate increased as the load and time increased for all tested specimens.

In this study, two types of nanofibers, blended nanofibers of Polyamide 6/Chitosan and blended nanofibers of Polyamide 6/Chitosan/Nano-silver particles, were prepared in order to develop air filters suitable for use in medical applications such as hospital care, smoke lounges, and general surgery applications. UV-absorption spectrophotometer, Atomic Force Microscopy, Porosity SEM, and Wettability tests were used to characterise the material properties, solutions, and membranes. The results showed that the porosity ranged from 39.263% to 49.33%, with most membranes showing hydrophobic behaviours. The average pore size ranged from 112.36 nm to 92.36 nm, allowing the air filters in this research to remove all bacteria, most tobacco smoke, droplet nuclei and most general smoke.

Mixing two types of polymers usually results in an immiscible blend, especially when using polymers with different polarities; therefore, a compatibilization process using suitable compatibilizers to improve miscibility is required. In this work, a low-density polyethylene (LDPE)/poly vinyl alcohol (PVA) blend was improved by adding maleic acid as compatibilizer. A twin-screw extruder was used to prepare blend samples, and the LDPE and PVA were mixed with different weight proportions. To identify the compatibility and miscibility of these blends, several tests were conducted, including Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), mechanical property observation, density testing, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), morphology examination, and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The results showed that mechanical properties and density were enhanced by the addition of maleic acid to the blends. SEM and Digital microscope results also showed good interaction between blend components when maleic acid was added to the blends.

In welding processes, the quality of weldment usually refers to the desired weld bead geometry and its microstructural characteristics, which affect the mechanical properties of the welded components. The present paper aims to investigate the influences of the main process input factors on weld geometry, metallurgical characteristics, and mechanical properties of weldments of 3.8-mm-thick plates of austenitic stainless steel type 304L using tungsten inert gas welding with pulsed/non-pulsed current processes. This research paper investigates the effects on the arc pressure of pulse frequencies at levels of 6 and 1,000 Hz, and thereby their effects on the aspect ratio and morphology of the weld metal. The key outcomes of this work are that the frequency of arc pulsation has a strong effect on the breaking of the dendritic arms during the welding process. The obtained microstructure results reveal that the structure of the high pulse frequency current welded specimens are thus generally finer grained, with higher levels of residual ferrite and an absence of columnar grains; such pulse frequencies thus strongly influence the tensile strength and microhardness of affected weldments as compared to those seen in continuous current welded specimens. Additionally, the most important factor affecting the bead geometry and aspect ratio is identified as the pulse frequency, with a contribution of 64%.

The PVT properties of crude oil are important to calculations of production and reservoir performance. These properties can be determined in the laboratory at specified conditions of pressure and temperature. To estimate PVT fluid properties at a wider range of conditions of pressure and temperature, an empirical correlation should be used where there are no laboratory measurements. These empirical correlations can, however, only be used after making the appropriate adjustments to the specified crude oil samples. In this study, the data from laboratory measurements of the PVT properties for five oil samples were used. These five samples were collected from different wells within the Luhais oil field. The measurements were taken at reservoir conditions with slight differences from one sample to another. The five samples were then adjusted to the empirical correlations and the saturation pressure determined. The resulting models of the samples after adjustment were combined to estimate a generalised model of the fluid properties that represented the properties of the studied crude oil. The properties of formation volume factor, gas oil-ratio, and viscosity with respect to pressure at reservoir temperature, assumed to be 185 °F, are thus presented in this paper.

Continuous development in transportation sector makes the development of tires a necessity as manufacturers strive to meet increasingly high requirements. This work aims to study the effect of using a pre-tensioning technique to improve the tensile properties of bead ply in rubber tire to enhance performance and increase working life. Pre-tension levels ranging between 0 and 1,250 MPa were applied on single reinforcing wires at room temperature prior to the vulcanization process. The results show that the tensile strength and maximum tensile strain of bead specimens were increased by 86.66% and 14.7%, respectively, as the pre-tension level increased from 0 to 1,250 MPa. The stress strain curves for the specimens showed a large increase in strength with little increase in strain. The modulus of elasticity (Young's modulus) of bead specimens increased by 85.92 % as the pre-tension level increased from 0 to 1,250 MPa.

The selective laser melting (SLM) process is a metal-based 3D printing technology which is capable of fabricating cellular structures for various engineering applications. This study aims to investigate the compressive mechanical performance and energy absorption capability of uniform and functionally graded lattice structures fabricated using this process. A solution heat treatment was carried out to explore its effect on the mechanical properties of the printed Al-Si12 lattice structures. The as-built condition of SLM lattice structures underwent brittle failure and demonstrated non-ideal energy absorption behaviours, while heat treatment was found to significantly improve deformation and energy absorption performance. The deformation behaviour of the heat-treated lattice structure exhibited distinct responses with typical stress strain curves, providing ideal compressive regions. Calculation of energy absorption showed that the gradually denser lattice structure absorbed higher levels of energy than the uniform lattice structure.

This paper describes a novel application of the Adapted Neural Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) to function approximation. Several functions in one dimension are realised in this work, including a Gaussian function and a combination of sine waves with exponential functions, in order to confirm the efficiency of the ANFIS method; these results are then compared with those from a Radial Basis Function Neural Network (RBFNN) and Fuzzy Inference System (FIS), which have previously been successfully applied to function approximation problems. This paper introduces the ANFIS as a robust method that mitigates, or is insensitive to, outliers. The results show that the ANFIS method can solve the outlier samples problem, and that the performance of ANFIS proposed in this work is thus better than that of the NN and FIS methods; the function approximated outputs of the presented ANFIS are more faithful to the original test functions and RMSEs of the ANFIS are also lower, especially during the checking process.

Based on the radar field environment, the detection process is generally based on the adaptive threshold required to detect the received radar cell signal. Many algorithms are used to design this adaptive threshold to satisfy a Constant False Alarm Rate (CFAR) in line with detection criteria in non-homogenous environments. Although CFAR algorithms have increasingly become a vital factor in the detection process, the performance of these algorithms differs according to their treatment of the received radar bins. In cases of targets in a clutter edge and multi-targets, the performance of the GO-, VI-, OSSO- and OSGO-CFAR algorithms are better than the performance of the CA-CFAR algorithm, while the CA-CFAR and OS-CFAR algorithms lose such targets. In this context, the SO-CFAR has a higher P_fa than the above algorithms for small targets in a clutter edge. OSSO-, OSGO, VI, and CMLD also have higher P_DS based on their outcomes than the other algorithms in the same P_fa in non-homogenous environments. However, CA-CFAR is simpler and has less complexity than the other algorithms. MATLAB 2015b was used to evaluate the performance of these different types of CFAR algorithm.

With the ongoing extension of electricity networks, traditional power systems have become increasingly incapable of meeting increased power demands. As a source that is available all year round, solar energy offers to be a promising renewable energy resource for power generation in Iraq. In this paper, a hybrid synchronization controller (HSC) based on the orthogonal method for the generation of reference control signals with PI controllers is used. The proposed HSC is designed for a single-phase photovoltaic (PV) inverter with LC filters for the supply of high-inductive load; it aims to provide (i) stable active power under variations of solar irradiance levels and (ii) low reactive power under the variation of inductive loads. The purpose of the former is to avoid overloading of the PV panels whilst the latter aims to correct the power factor at the PV inverter. A simulation was implemented in a MATLAB-Simulink-environment for the HSC, and the results demonstrated that HSC showed improved performance in terms of maximum active power transfer and power factor correction on the PV-inverter side.

In this paper a suggested control system for a solenoid coil is proposed. This control model is based on the employment of the electrical part of the solenoid with a conventional proportional, integral, and derivative (PID) controller unit to investigate the performance of the control system. A mathematical model of the system has been derived, and the entire control system simulated via the MATLAB software package. The simulation process included tuning the gain parameters of the controller unit to achieve best behaviour of the system. In the computer simulation, two mathematical models of the electrical part of the solenoid coil were implemented; the first one involved the typical transfer functions of the coil, while the second dealt with an approximate model. The obtained results showed that the control system using the approximate model of the electrical part of the solenoid coil provides a more stable system and can thus be applied with acceptable response.

In this paper, a new bandpass filter is designed using two open-loop resonators with polygonal forms. The use of polygonal forms leads to compact size and broad bandwidth behavior. The overall filter dimensions are 8×16 mm2, which correspond to 0.4λg × 0.2λg using a substrate with Rogers Ro 3010 with a relative permittivity of 10.2 and a thickness of 1.5 mm. The resulting filter exhibits enhanced passband behavior with two transmission zeros. The resulting passband has a centre frequency of 2.40 GHz, and a bandwidth of 230 MHz and fractional bandwidth (FBW) of 10%, with return loss of about −26 dB and insertion loss equal to −0.8 dB. The locations of the two transmission zeros are at 2.176 GHz and 2.638 GHz, which means that there is a sharp cut before and beyond the passband. The simulation and performance evaluation of the proposed filter were carried out using Microwave Studio Suite (MWS) Computer Simulation Technology (CST). The resulting performance of the proposed filter makes it very desirable for Bluetooth and WLAN applications (IEEE 802.11n).

Recently, several sensorless control technologies have been employed in industrial systems due to the ability of these technologies to estimate uncertain parameters and inaccessible measurements. Furthermore, sensorless technology reduces complexity and thus reduces costs, as well as providing higher reliability than traditional sensors in markets. This study proposes an efficient controller that controls a variable speed of permanent magnet generator based on an adaptive estimator scheme under uncertain armature resistance and unknown generator torque. The proposed scheme estimates the uncertain parameters and state variables of the system, which provides accurate assessment for feedback control. This research paper takes into consideration the combination of inter sampled concept, time delay due to electrical time constant and high gain approach, although these are not specifically discussed, yet according to our knowledge. The proposed estimator is robust against sampling interval, time delay and it can instantaneously access the output state variable to solve the problem of estimation processes under some persistent excitation conditions. The proposed estimator has been tested with a sensorless controller applied to a 5.5 kW variable speed permanent magnet generator. The proposed controller plays an active role in creating a compromise solution between the sampling time of 1.5 ms and the time delay of 10 ms with appropriate design parameters. Simulink model and the corresponding practical connection of sensorless control technology based on an adaptive estimator scheme have been done, successfully.

Detecting network topology is essential to cope with any existing or future network changes such as the loss of network devices (routers, switches, or hubs), interfaces going down, or cable issues, any if which might change packets' paths, interfere with the network structure, interface status, or neighbour status, or disconnect and reconnect devices. This paper develops a low-cost network detection system that is responsible for discovering network topology by identifying each network device's neighbours to allowed the network administrators to know where each device and its neighbours are located, maintaining these devices' information in a local database to be used for visualisation purposes to demonstrate relevant changes inside the devices such as IP address, interfaces, and neighbours by using a configured hardware device. This system can be implemented in any large to medium size of network, measured depending on the number of users that join such a network. In addition, it can be used to remotely fix any minor issues that are detected which may later affect the entire network. The experimental results substantiate the fact that the system resolves the high cost of hardware experienced by previous work in this field.

Signal detection is imperative in underwater signal processing and digital communication, and based on a knowledge of noise statistics, optimum signal detection in underwater acoustic noise (UWAN) can be more effectively realised. The hypothesis of normal (Gaussian) noise allows the use of matched filter (MF) detectors; accordingly, a locally optimal detector (LO) is designed in this study to improve detection probability (P_D) based on the knowledge of noise probability density function. The underwater noise used for validation is real data collected from the sea using broadband hydrophones at the beach of Desaru on the eastern seashore of Johor, Malaysia. The performance of the LO detector is then compared with a conventional MF detector and these are evaluated according to their P_D values. For a time-varying signal, a false alarm probability specified as 0.01, and a P_D value of 90%, the energy-to-noise ratios (ENR) of the LO are better than those of the MF by 4.2 dB and for fixed frequency signals, the LO is better than the MF by 5.2 dB.

Generally, electrical power distribution networks are considered to be a significant part of the energy supply chain. The main concept behind distributed generation (DG) units is based on the use of small electrical power plants that are directly connected to the electric system near to customers. The reduction of power losses this engenders can decrease the electric power that flows into distribution system feeders, leading to positive impacts on voltage stability, voltage profile, and the capacity of the electrical network. Additionally, from the perspective of utility, DG units allocated near to loads can dramatically decrease power losses in electrical distribution networks. However, DG units must be allocated optimally and correctly to avoid adverse results on electric networks in terms of voltage profiles and power losses throughout the whole network. Thus, this paper presents a simple way to determine optimal location for DG units in both mesh and radial systems by using conventional iterative methods, with the aim of reducing the overall electrical power losses and enhancing the voltage of the network. Both the Newton-Raphson method and a backward and forward method were implemented in a MATLAB environment to solve the optimization problem in an IEEE 14 bus meshed system and an IEEE 33 bus radial system.

Security has become an important issue that needs to be addressed in all cities of the world. Simultaneously, information technology is undergoing a period of great development, and it is important to exploit this development in the service of society, particularly in terms of urban security. An Anonymous Vehicle Identification (AVI) system design is thus presented in this research. Much previous research has dealt with the development and implementation of systems to identify anonymous vehicles, and all previously proposed systems appear to work efficiently; however, some are very expensive and others require the installation of many devices within a city. Further, some of them do not transfer information to a control centre in the city using the internet.

The proposed AVI system presented in this paper is thus based on Internet of Things (IoT) and consists of two main parts: a handheld device used by officers, and a web application. The handheld device is used to send car licence plate number to a website which is controlled by an authorised person. The authorised person receives the data and requests information relating to the car (car number, owner's name and mobile number, registered address, etc.) from the Central Traffic Police Directorate, before sending these to the officer's handheld device to allow the officer to take action based on the information and instructions from the central office. The design of web application is based on several techniques and multiple programming languages including HTML, PHP, and Java Script. These languages are compatible with each other and have thus been combined to form the desired application.

The proposed system was implemented practically and tested for about 50 cases; the results obtained during testing were very satisfactory and reflect good reliability within the system.

Information and communication technologies (ICT) have contributed greatly to society by solving many emergent problems to allow people to lead easier lives. One such problem is vehicle monitoring during parking or driving to ensure that the vehicle and the persons inside are in safe conditions. This research proposes a vehicle monitoring system using wireless technology and employing mobile phones and Arduino microcontrollers. The functions of the proposed system include sending alarm messages to the vehicle driver in case the vehicle is broken into or stolen. Further, in case of accident or exposure to the crime of theft or abduction during driving, the driver can send appeal messages, including the vehicle position, to family, friends, police, and ambulance services using only a single click. The system achieves these functions automatically in cases where the vehicle is erratic or in significant collisions. The communication distance between the vehicle and the receivers of the messages allows coverage in all regions served by mobile networks, thus covering a wide range. The system has been tested for several different cases and has succeeded in tests.

A well-known Operating System (OS) in the field of robotics is the Robot Operating System (ROS), which provides a set of tools and software libraries that are used to build many modern robotics systems. A planning system is concerned with generating a sequence of actions (plan) that can then be used by the robotic system to achieve its tasks. However, autonomous systems cannot depend only on planning systems to accomplish such tasks. In order to support such systems, it is necessary to develop an acting system, whose role is to complement the planning system by endowing the robotic system with additional flexibility to accomplish its tasks. In this paper, a state-of-the-art framework, RosPlanAct, is described. This architecture is used for embedding task planning and acting systems into the ROS. The planning section uses the environment model (planning domain) and the task specifications (planning problem) to generate an appropriate sequence of actions (plan) for any robot tasks. Then, the acting part of the system receives this plan and acts upon its schedule to achieve the specified task. Throughout this paper, there are three main issues that the actor must cope with to avoid failure. These issues are plan refinement, re-planning, and reacting to exogenous events. The specification of the RosPlanAct architecture and a case study in autonomous mobile robot are explained. The case study involves an autonomous vehicle in scenarios that clearly demonstrate the flexibility, stability, and robustness of the presented approach.

Where the pressure in oil or gas reservoir is not sufficient, in order to increase the production rate, an artificial lift method is required. There are several methods for obtaining artificial lift, including gas injection and electrical submersible pumps. Electrical submersible pumps are more controllable, offer faster installation, and are more economic than other methods, especially for vertical and deviated wells. Electrical submersible pumps systems consist of several parts, including the pump, an electric motor, cables, and a control board. The electric motor plays an important role in an electrical submersible pumps system, and it must produce high torque under high temperature and high-pressure conditions. For small diameter wells, there is also a constraint on the motor diameter. These harsh conditions and constraints require special motors. In this article, the desired criteria for such a motor for this application are represented; then, a comparison is made among several types of motors, including induction motors and various permanent magnet motors, and the resulting best choices are proposed.

In recent years flux-switching permanent magnet machines have become popular for industrial applications and research, due to advantages such as robustness, high torque, and power density. However, as permanent magnet motors, their performance is affected by demagnetization. It is known, for example, that armature reactions and temperature increases cause permanent magnet demagnetization that leads to power and torque density reduction in motors. In this paper, partially irreversible demagnetization in an flux-switching permanent magnet motor will be investigated using the time stepping finite element method. In addition, the effects of the d and q - axis currents on this type of demagnetization are evaluated by considering several points on the magnets and comparing the flux density of these points with the flux density of the knee point. It is shown that an increase of the q-axis current component increases the machine's demagnetization tolerance.