This paper focuses on Load distribution factors for horizontally curved composite concrete-steel girder bridges. The finite-element analysis software“SAP2000” is used to examine the key parameters that can influence the distribution factors for horizontally curved composite steel
girders. A parametric study is conducted to study the load distribution characteristics of such bridge system due to dead loading and AASHTO truck loading using finite elements method. The key parameters considered in this study are: span-to-radius of curvature ratio, span length, number of girders, girders spacing, number of lanes, and truck loading conditions. The results have shown that the curvature is the most critical factor which plays an important

Geotechnical engineering like any other engineering field has to develop and cope with new technologies. This article intends to investigate the spatial relationships between soil’s liquid limit (LL), plasticity index (PI) and Liquidity index (LI) for particular zones of Sulaymaniyah City. The main objective is to study the ability to produce digital soil maps for the study area and determine regions of high expansive soil. Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW) interpolation tool within the GIS (Geographic Information System) program was used to produce the maps. Data from 592 boreholes for LL and PI and 245 boreholes for LI were used for this study. Layers were allocated into three depth ranges (1 to 2, 2 to 4 and 4 to 6)

Institutions and companies are looking to reduce spending on buildings and services according to scientific methods, provided they reach the same purpose but at a lower cost. On this basis, this paper proposes a model to measure and reduce maintenance costs in one of the public sector institutions in Iraq by using performance indicators that fit the nature of the work of this institution and the available data. The paper relied on studying the nature of the institution’s work in the maintenance field and looking at the type of data available to know the type and number of appropriate indicators to create the model. Maintenance data were collected for the previous six years by reviewing the maintenance and financial dep

Self-repairing technology based on micro-capsules is an efficient solution for repairing cracked cementitious composites. Self-repairing based on microcapsules begins with the occurrence of cracks and develops by releasing self-repairing factors in the cracks located in concrete. Based on previous comprehensive studies, this paper provides an overview of various repairing factors and investigative methodologies. There has recently been a lack of consensus on the most efficient criteria for assessing self-repairing based on microcapsules and the smart solutions for improving capsule survival ratios during mixing. The most commonly utilized self-repairing efficiency assessment indicators are mechanical resistance and durab

Ziegler and Nichols proposed the well-known Ziegler-Nichols method to tune the coefficients of PID controller. This tuning method is simple and gives fixed values for the coefficients which make PID controller have weak adaptabilities for the model parameters variation and changing in operating conditions. In order to achieve adaptive controller, the Neural Network (NN) self-tuning PID control is proposed in this paper which combines conventional PID controller and Neural Network learning capabilities. The proportional, integral and derivative (K_P, K_I, K_D) gains are self tuned on-line by the NN output which is obtained due to the error value on the desired output of the system under control. The conventio

The aim of the present study was to distinguish between healthy children and those with epilepsy by electroencephalography (EEG). Two biomarkers including Hurst exponents (H) and Tsallis entropy (TE) were used to investigate the background activity of EEG of 10 healthy children and 10 with epilepsy. EEG artifacts were removed using Savitzky-Golay (SG) filter. As it hypothesize, there was a significant changes in irregularity and complexity in epileptic EEG in comparison with healthy control subjects using t-test (p< 0.05). The increasing in complexity changes were observed in H and TE results of epileptic subjects make them suggested EEG biomarker associated with epilepsy and a reliable tool for detection and identification of this di

Because of cost-effective production and abundant resources of calcium, Ca-ion batteries (CIBs) are an appropriate option to alternate Li-ion batteries (LIBs). A new category of anode materials for CIBs has emerged since the successful synthesis of carbon nanotubes, which are B and N doped derivatives of it. For high-performance CIBs, BC2N nanotube (BC2NNT) has been studied as promising anode materials. In order to comprehend electrochemical attributes, cycling stability, and adsorption behavior of BC2NNT, first-principles computations have been executed. Based on nuclear magnetic resonance computations, two types of hexagonal rings (B2C2N2 (I) and BC4N (II)) were specified that are non-aromatic. Ca has adsorption on B2C2N2 and BC4N with ad

Abstract In this study, an investigation is conducted to realise the possibility of organic materials use in radio frequency (RF) electronics for RF-energy harvesting. Iraqi palm tree remnants mixed with nickel oxide nanoparticles hosted in polyethylene, INP substrates, is proposed for this study. Moreover, a metamaterial (MTM) antenna is printed on the created INP substrate of 0.8 mm thickness using silver nanoparticles conductive ink. The fabricated antenna performances are instigated numerically than validated experimentally in terms of S11 spectra and radiation patterns. It is found that the proposed antenna shows an ultra-wide band matching bandwidth to cover the frequencies from 2.4 to 10 GHz with bore-sight gain variation from 2.2 to

This paper proposes a collaborative system called Recycle Rewarding System (RRS), and focuses on the aspect of using information communication technology (ICT) as a tool to promote greening. The idea behind RRS is to encourage recycling collectors by paying them for earning points. In doing so, both the industries and individuals reap the economical benefits of such system. Finally, and more importantly, the system intends to achieve a green environment for the Earth. This paper discusses the design and implementation of the RRS, involves: the architectural design, selection of components, and implementation issues. Five modules are used to construct the system, namely: database, data entry, points collecting and recording, points reward