Research aims to develop a novel technique for segmental beam fabrication using plain concrete blocks and externally bonded Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymers Laminates (CFRP) as a main flexural reinforcement. Six beams designed an experimentally tested under two-point loadings. Several parameters included in the fabrication of segmental beam studied such as; bonding length of carbon fiber reinforced polymers, the surface-to-surface condition of concrete segments, interface condition of the bonding surface, and thickness of epoxy resin layers. Test results of the segmental beams specimens compared with that gained from testing reinforced concrete beam have similar dimensions for validations. The results show the effectiveness of the developed fabrication method of segmental beams. The modified design procedure for externally bonded carbon fiber reinforced polymers ACI 440.2R-17 developed for designing segmental beams. The experimental test values also compared with design values and it was 93.3% and 105.8% of the design values which indicates the effectiveness of the developed procedure.
The convolutional neural networks (CNN) are among the most utilized neural networks in various applications, including deep learning. In recent years, the continuing extension of CNN into increasingly complicated domains has made its training process more difficult. Thus, researchers adopted optimized hybrid algorithms to address this problem. In this work, a novel chaotic black hole algorithm-based approach was created for the training of CNN to optimize its performance via avoidance of entrapment in the local minima. The logistic chaotic map was used to initialize the population instead of using the uniform distribution. The proposed training algorithm was developed based on a specific benchmark problem for optical character recog
... Show MoreScheduling Timetables for courses in the big departments in the universities is a very hard problem and is often be solved by many previous works although results are partially optimal. This work implements the principle of an evolutionary algorithm by using genetic theories to solve the timetabling problem to get a random and full optimal timetable with the ability to generate a multi-solution timetable for each stage in the collage. The major idea is to generate course timetables automatically while discovering the area of constraints to get an optimal and flexible schedule with no redundancy through the change of a viable course timetable. The main contribution in this work is indicated by increasing the flexibility of generating opti
... Show MoreThis study shows impoliteness as a form of face-threatening that can be intentionally caused by verbal threats in a particular setting. It investigates: what strategies and mitigators do Iraqi-Kurdish English as a foreign language (EFL) learners use in situations of threat responses? The present investigation paper aims to examine impoliteness strategies and mitigators by these learners when they respond to threatening situations in their context. Thus, it fills a gap in pragmatics literature by investigating the reactions to threats in an Iraqi-Kurdish EFL context. To this end, 50 participants have participated in this study. An open-ended questionnaire in the form of a Discourse Completion Task (DCT) is used to elicit responses fr
... Show MoreThe study scrutinises intermingled relations between children literature and some ecological issues. Such interwoven relationships would be highly recommended to encourage children to explore and identify themselves with nature from early ages to avoid facing an extreme experience later on. The research limits its scope to two novels Suzanne Collins’ (1962) The Hunger Games trilogy (2003-2007) and William Golding’s (1911-1993) Lord of the Flies (1954), and both novels have no direct connections with Ecology and the Eco-consciousness, yet it offers an insightful description about Man’s experience with Nature. Moreover, it raises serious moral questions, raises awareness, heals wounds and suggests solutions for the problems th
... Show MoreAny software application can be divided into four distinct interconnected domains namely, problem domain, usage domain, development domain and system domain. A methodology for assistive technology software development is presented here that seeks to provide a framework for requirements elicitation studies together with their subsequent mapping implementing use-case driven object-oriented analysis for component based software architectures. Early feedback on user interface components effectiveness is adopted through process usability evaluation. A model is suggested that consists of the three environments; problem, conceptual, and representational environments or worlds. This model aims to emphasize on the relationship between the objects
... Show MoreA solar cell was manufactured from local materials and was dyed using dyes extracted from different organic plants. The solar cell glass slides were coated with a nano-porous layer of Titanium Oxide and infused with two types of acids, Nitric acid and Acetic acid. The organic dyes were extracted from Pomegranate, Hibiscus, Blackberry and Blue Flowers. They were then tested and a comparison was made for the amount of voltage they generate when exposed to sunlight. Hibiscus sabdariffa extract had the best performance parameters; also Different plants give different levels of voltage.
The COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated new methods for controlling the spread of the virus, and machine learning (ML) holds promise in this regard. Our study aims to explore the latest ML algorithms utilized for COVID-19 prediction, with a focus on their potential to optimize decision-making and resource allocation during peak periods of the pandemic. Our review stands out from others as it concentrates primarily on ML methods for disease prediction.To conduct this scoping review, we performed a Google Scholar literature search using "COVID-19," "prediction," and "machine learning" as keywords, with a custom range from 2020 to 2022. Of the 99 articles that were screened for eligibility, we selected 20 for the final review.Our system
... Show MoreMost intrusion detection systems are signature based that work similar to anti-virus but they are unable to detect the zero-day attacks. The importance of the anomaly based IDS has raised because of its ability to deal with the unknown attacks. However smart attacks are appeared to compromise the detection ability of the anomaly based IDS. By considering these weak points the proposed
system is developed to overcome them. The proposed system is a development to the well-known payload anomaly detector (PAYL). By
combining two stages with the PAYL detector, it gives good detection ability and acceptable ratio of false positive. The proposed system improve the models recognition ability in the PAYL detector, for a filtered unencrypt