This study was set out to investigate factors affecting labor productivity on construction in the north of Iraq (Kurdistan) and to rank all the factors based on engineers, contractors, and designer’s opinions. 76 factors were analyzed based on previous literature and a pilot study. Next, by using online Google Form, a questionnaire form was created and sent to people who have experience in the construction industry. Afterward, the questionnaire form was sent to targeted people by email and social media apps. Factors were divided into nine groups “Management, Technical and Technology, Human and Workforce, Leadership, Motivation, Safety, Time, Material and Equipment, and External”. However, 202 respondents participated in this study,

Various speech enhancement Algorithms (SEA) have been developed in the last few decades. Each algorithm has its advantages and disadvantages because the speech signal is affected by environmental situations. Distortion of speech results in the loss of important features that make this signal challenging to understand. SEA aims to improve the intelligibility and quality of speech that different types of noise have degraded. In most applications, quality improvement is highly desirable as it can reduce listener fatigue, especially when the listener is exposed to high noise levels for extended periods (e.g., manufacturing). SEA reduces or suppresses the background noise to some degree, sometimes called noise suppression alg

In this paper, a dynamic investigation is done for strip, rectangular and square machine foundation at the top surface of two-layer dry sand with various states (i.e., loose on medium sand and dense on medium sand). The dynamic investigation is performed numerically using finite element programming, PLAXIS 3D. The soil is expected as a versatile totally plastic material that complies with the Mohr-Coulomb yield criterion. A harmonic load is applied at the base with an amplitude of 6 kPa at a frequency of (2 and 6) Hz, and seismic is applied with acceleration – time input of earthquake hit Halabjah city north of Iraq. A parametric study is done to evaluate the influence of changing L/B ratio (Length=12,6,3 m and width=3 m), type of sand

The utilization and incorporation of glass fiber-reinforced plastics (GFRP) in structural applications and architectural constructions are progressively gaining prominence. Therefore, this paper experimentally and numerically investigates the use of GFRP I-beams in conjunction with concrete slabs to form composite beams. The experimental design incorporated 2600 mm long GFRP I-beams which were connected compositely to concrete slabs with a 500 mm width and 80 mm thickness. The concrete slabs are categorized into two groups: concrete slabs cast using normal-strength concrete (NSC), and concrete slabs prepared using high-strength concrete (HSC). Various parameters like the type of concrete (normal and high-strength concrete), type of

In this study, a new technique is considered for solving linear fractional Volterra-Fredholm integro-differential equations (LFVFIDE's) with fractional derivative qualified in the Caputo sense. The method is established in three types of Lagrange polynomials (LP’s), Original Lagrange polynomial (OLP), Barycentric Lagrange polynomial (BLP), and Modified Lagrange polynomial (MLP). General Algorithm is suggested and examples are included to get the best effectiveness, and implementation of these types. Also, as special case fractional differential equation is taken to evaluate the validity of the proposed method. Finally, a comparison between the proposed method and other methods are taken to present the effectiveness of the proposal meth

In this study, the hydromorphodynamic simulation of a stretch of the Euphrates River was conducted. The stretch of the Euphrates River extended from Haditha dam to the city of Heet in Al-Anbar Governorate and it is estimated to be 124.4 km. Samples were taken from 3 sites along the banks of the river stretch using sampling equipment. The samples were taken to the laboratory for grain size analysis where the median size (D₅₀) and sediment load were determined. The hydromorphodynamic simulation was conducted using the NACY 2DH solver of the iRIC model.  The model was calibration using the Manning roughness,    sediment load, and median particle size and the validation process showed that the error between th

An experimental study is conducted to investigate the effect of heat flux distribution on the boiling safety factor of its cooling channel. The water is allowed to flow in a horizontal circular pipe whose outlet surface is subjected to different heat flux profiles. Four types of heat flux distribution profiles are used during experiments: (constant distribution profile, type a, triangle distribution profile with its maximum in channel center, type b, triangle distribution profile with its maximum in the channel inlet, type c, and triangle distribution profile with its maximum in the channel outlet, type d). The study is conducted using heat sources of (1000 and 2665W), water flow rates of (5, 7 and 9 lit/min). The water