In this study, the modified Rayleigh-Ritz method and Fourier series are used to determine the thermal buckling behavior of laminated composite thin plates with a general elastic boundary condition applied to in-plane uniform temperature distribution depending upon classical laminated plate theory(CLPT). A generalized procedure solution is developed for the Rayleigh-Ritz method combined with the synthetic spring technique. The transverse displacement of the orthotropic rectangular plates is not a different term as a new shape expansion of trigonometric series. In this solution approach, the plate transverse deflection and rotation due to bending are developed into principle Fourier series with a sufficient smoothness auxi

In this investigation, Rayleigh–Ritz method is used to calculate the natural frequencies of rectangular isotropic and laminated symmetric and anti-symmetric cross and angle ply composite plate with general elastic supports along its edges. Each of the admissible functions here is composed of a trigonometric function and an arbitrary continuous function that is introduced to ensure the sufficient smoothness of the so-called residual displacement function at the edges. Perhaps more importantly, this study has developed a general approach for deriving a complete set of admissible functions that can be applied to various boundary conditions. Several numerical examples are studied to demonstrate the accuracy and convergence of the current s

The growing emphasis on sustainable construction has prompted interest in repurposing agricultural by-products as alternatives to conventional aggregates in asphalt mixtures. While natural sand is widely available, its use can lead to less stable, more tender mixes, which can limit various specifications. This study explores the potential of palm date seed (PDS) powder as a partial and full replacement for natural sand in asphalt concrete. A series of laboratory tests was conducted to evaluate the effect of PDS incorporation on the mechanical and durability performance of asphalt mixtures, including Marshall properties, resilient modulus, fatigue resistance, moisture susceptibility, and permanent deformation. Additionally, microstructural a

Several attempts have been made to modify the quasi-Newton condition in order to obtain rapid convergence with complete properties (symmetric and positive definite) of the inverse of  Hessian matrix (second derivative of the objective function). There are many unconstrained optimization methods that do not generate positive definiteness of the inverse of Hessian matrix. One of those methods is the symmetric rank 1( H-version) update (SR1 update), where this update satisfies the quasi-Newton condition and the symmetric property of inverse of Hessian matrix, but does not preserve the positive definite property of the inverse of Hessian matrix where the initial inverse of Hessian matrix is positive definiteness. The positive definite prope

A large amount of thermal energy is generated from burning hazardous chemical wastes, and the temperature of the flue gases in hazardous waste incinerators reaches up to (1200 °C). The flue gases are cooled to (40°C) and are treated before emission. This thermal energy can be utilized to produce electrical power by designing a system suitable for dangerous flue gases in the future depending on the results of much research about using a proto-type small steam power plant that uses safe fuel to study and develop the electricity generation process with water tube boiler which is manufactured experimentally with theoretical development for some of its parts which are inefficient in experimental work. The studied system gen

Recently, Social Sustainability has gained significant value as it was considered by the late studies as a principal dimension along with the environmental and economic sustainability. And because of, on the other hand, the significant social role of the school for forming the student’s personality, this research is an appeal for rehabilitating and promoting Iraqi Schools according the issue of social sustainability.As there is no evaluation for the Iraqi Schools, the research is dedicated to this problem, aiming to carry out the stated evaluation and define the design treatments needed for the rehabilitation process. To achieve this goal, a theoretical background for the concept of social sustainability, its criteria, the school and i

Sewer systems are used to convey sewage and/or storm water to sewage treatment plants for disposal by a network of buried sewer pipes, gutters, manholes and pits. Unfortunately, the sewer pipe deteriorates with time leading to the collapsing of the pipe with traffic disruption or clogging of the pipe causing flooding and environmental pollution. Thus, the management and maintenance of the buried pipes are important tasks that require information about the changes of the current and future sewer pipes conditions. In this research, the study was carried on in Baghdad, Iraq and two deteriorations model's multinomial logistic regression and neural network deterioration model NNDM are used to predict sewers future conditions. The results of the

Cultural awareness is becoming increasingly important in an effort to reinvigorate local urban heritage into modern production. Considering that, one of the most significant aspects of sustainability is preserving socio-cultural and environmental specificities and restoring local heritage. The aim is influencing the local identity by promoting sustainability through the revival of Islamic geometric patterns (IGP) and their performance as effective components in local urban facades. A set of indicators related to the purposes for reusing IGP in facades within three main performances (decorative, structural, and functional). Their sustainability was studied and extrapolated, and a checklist has developed and tested by Likert scale on

Owing to the energy crisis and pollution problems of today, investigations have concentrated on
decreasing fuel consumption and on lowering the concentration of toxic components in combustion
products by using non-petroleum, renewable, sustainable and non-polluting fuels. While conventional energy sources such as natural gas, oil and coal are non-renewable, alcohol can be coupled to renewable and sustainable energy sources.
In this study, the combustion characteristics of diesel fuel and methanol blends were compared.
The tests were performed at steady state conditions in a four-cylinder DI diesel engine at full load at
1500-rpm engine speed. The experimental results showed that diesel methanol blends provided
12.7% inc