This research is devoted to study the strengthening technique for the existing reinforced concrete beams using external post-tensioning. An analytical methodology is proposed to predict the value of the effective prestress force for the external tendons required to close cracks in existing beams. The external prestressing force required to close cracks in existing members is only a part from the total strengthening force.
A computer program created by Oukaili (1997) and developed by Alhawwassi (2008) to evaluate curvature and deflection for reinforced concrete beams or internally prestressed concrete beams is modified to evaluate the deflection and the stress of the external tendons for the externally strengthened beams using Matlab

Measuring the efficiency of postgraduate and undergraduate programs is one of the essential elements in educational process. In this study, colleges of Baghdad University and data for the academic year (2011-2012) have been chosen to measure the relative efficiencies of postgraduate and undergraduate programs in terms of their inputs and outputs. A relevant method to conduct the analysis of this data is Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). The effect of academic staff to the number of enrolled and alumni students to the postgraduate and undergraduate programs are the main focus of the study.

Several previous investigations and studies utilized silica fume (SF) or (micro silica) particles as supplementary cementitious material added as a substitute to cement-based mortars and their effect on the overall properties, especially on physical properties, strength properties, and mechanical properties. This study investigated the impact of the inclusion of silica fume (SF) particles on the residual compressive strengths and microstructure properties of cement-based mortars exposed to severe conditions of elevated temperatures. The prepared specimens were tested and subjected to 25, 250, 450, 600, and 900 °C. Their residual compressive strengths and microstructure were evaluated and compared with control samples (C

Sustainable vegetative management plays a significant role in improving soil quality in degraded agricultural landscapes by enhancing soil microbial biomass. This study investigated the effects of grass buffers (GBs), biomass crops (BCs), grass waterways (GWWs), and agroforestry buffers (ABs) on soil microbial biomass and soil organic C (SOC) compared with continuous corn (Zea mays L.)–soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] rotation (row crop [RC]) on claypan soils. The RC, AB, GB, GWW, and BC treatments were established in 1991, 1997, 1997, 1997, and 2012, respectively, and are located at Greenley Memorial Research Center in Missouri. Soil samples were collected in May 2018 from the 0‐ to

Protecting information sent through insecure internet channels is a significant challenge facing researchers. In this paper, we present a novel method for image data encryption that combines chaotic maps with linear feedback shift registers in two stages. In the first stage, the image is divided into two parts. Then, the locations of the pixels of each part are redistributed through the random numbers key, which is generated using linear feedback shift registers. The second stage includes segmenting the image into the three primary colors red, green, and blue (RGB); then, the data for each color is encrypted through one of three keys that are generated using three-dimensional chaotic maps. Many statistical tests (entropy, peak signa

Photodetector based on Rutile and Anatase TiO₂ nanostructures/n-Si Heterojunction

The Internet of Things (IoT) has significantly transformed modern systems through extensive connectivity but has also concurrently introduced considerable cybersecurity risks. Traditional rule-based methods are becoming increasingly insufficient in the face of evolving cyber threats.  This study proposes an enhanced methodology utilizing a hybrid machine-learning framework for IoT cyber-attack detection. The framework integrates a Grey Wolf Optimizer (GWO) for optimal feature selection, a customized synthetic minority oversampling technique (SMOTE) for data balancing, and a systematic approach to hyperparameter tuning of ensemble algorithms: Random Forest (RF), XGBoost, and CatBoost. Evaluations on the RT-IoT2022 dataset demonstrat

The aim of this paper to find Bayes estimator under new loss function assemble between symmetric and asymmetric loss functions, namely, proposed entropy loss function, where this function that merge between entropy loss function and the squared Log error Loss function, which is quite asymmetric in nature. then comparison a the Bayes estimators of exponential distribution under the proposed function, whoever, loss functions ingredient for the proposed function the using a standard mean square error (MSE) and Bias quantity (M_bias), where the generation of the random data using the simulation for estimate exponential distribution parameters different sample sizes (n=10,50,100) and (N=1000), taking initial

The concept of the active contour model has been extensively utilized in the segmentation and analysis of images. This technology has been effectively employed in identifying the contours in object recognition, computer graphics and vision, biomedical processing of images that is normal images or medical images such as Magnetic Resonance Images (MRI), X-rays, plus Ultrasound imaging. Three colleagues, Kass, Witkin and Terzopoulos developed this energy, lessening “Active Contour Models” (equally identified as Snake) back in 1987. Being curved in nature, snakes are characterized in an image field and are capable of being set in motion by external and internal forces within image data and the curve itself in that order. The present s