Effective decision-making process is the basis for successfully solving any engineering problem. Many decisions taken in the construction projects differ in their nature due to the complex nature of the construction projects. One of the most crucial decisions that might result in numerous issues over the course of a construction project is the selection of the contractor. This study aims to use the ordinal priority approach (OPA) for the contractor selection process in the construction industry. The proposed model involves two computer programs; the first of these will be used to evaluate the decision-makers/experts in the construction projects, while the second will be used to formulate the OPA mathematical model. The experts’ interview was used to identify the criteria of evaluation process of the decision-makers/experts, while Delphi survey with principal component analysis (PCA) was conducted to identify the required selection criteria of the construction projects contractors. The results illustrate that there are 20 criteria for selecting the construction contractor, and 7 criteria for evaluating the decision-makers/experts in the construction projects. Finally, the proposed model has been applied in a real construction project, and showed good results.
This paper is dealing with non-polynomial spline functions "generalized spline" to find the approximate solution of linear Volterra integro-differential equations of the second kind and extension of this work to solve system of linear Volterra integro-differential equations. The performance of generalized spline functions are illustrated in test examples
In Computer-based applications, there is a need for simple, low-cost devices for user authentication. Biometric authentication methods namely keystroke dynamics are being increasingly used to strengthen the commonly knowledge based method (example a password) effectively and cheaply for many types of applications. Due to the semi-independent nature of the typing behavior it is difficult to masquerade, making it useful as a biometric. In this paper, C4.5 approach is used to classify user as authenticated user or impostor by combining unigraph features (namely Dwell time (DT) and flight time (FT)) and digraph features (namely Up-Up Time (UUT) and Down-Down Time (DDT)). The results show that DT enhances the performance of digraph features by i
... Show MoreThe aim of this research is to design and construct a semiconductor laser range finder
operating in the near infrared range for ranging and designation. The main part of the range finder is the
transmitter which is a semiconductor laser type GaAs of 0.904 mm wavelength with a beam expander,
and the receiver with its collecting optics. The characteristics of transmitter pulse width were 200ns and
threshold current 10 Amp. and maximum operating current 38 Amp. The repetition rate was set at 660 Hz
and maximum output power about 1 watt. The divergence of the beam was 0.268o. A special computer
code was used for optimum optical design and laser spot size analysis and for calculation of atmosphere
attenuation.
The aim of this research work is to study the effect of stabilizing gypseous soil, which covers vast areas in the middle, west and south parts of Iraq, using liquid asphalt on its strength properties to be used as a base course layer replacing the traditional materials of coarse aggregate and broken stones which are scarce at economical prices and hauling distances. Gypseous soil brought from Al-Ramadi City, west of Iraq, with gypsum content of 66.65%, medium curing cutback asphalt (MC-30), and hydrated lime are used in this study. The conducted tests on untreated and treated gypseous soil with different percentages of medium curing cutback asphalt (MC-30), water, and lime were: unconfined compression strength, and one dimensional confine
... Show MoreThe aim of this research work is to study the effect of stabilizing gypseous soil, which covers
vast areas in the middle, west and south parts of Iraq, using liquid asphalt on its strength properties
to be used as a base course layer replacing the traditional materials of coarse aggregate and broken
stones which are scarce at economical prices and hauling distances.
Gypseous soil brought from Al-Ramadi City, west of Iraq, with gypsum content of 66.65%,
medium curing cutback asphalt (MC-30), and hydrated lime are used in this study.
The conducted tests on untreated and treated gypseous soil with different percentages of medium
curing cutback asphalt (MC-30), water, and lime were: unconfined compression strength, and o
This paper aimed to investigate the effect of the height-to-length ratio of unreinforced masonry (URM) walls when loaded by a vertical load. The finite element (FE) method was implemented for modeling and analysis of URM wall. In this paper, ABAQUS, FE software with implicit solver was used to model and analysis URM walls subjected to a vertical load. In order to ensure the validity of Detailed Micro Model (DMM) in predicting the behavior of URM walls under vertical load, the results of the proposed model are compared with experimental results. Load-displacement relationship of the proposed numerical model is found of a good agreement with that of the published experimental results. Evidence shows that load-displacement curve obtained fro
... Show MoreThe aim of the research is to determine the impact of evaluation of investment projects after the preparation of investment budgets taking into consideration within the investment budgets the concept of competitive strategy, as the harmony between the preparation of investment budgets and competitive strategy will contribute to the success of economic unity and achieve profits well and achieve a competitive advantage. Strategies for economic units because the most important factor to them is the costs produced and the progress of the research problem is focused on "Is it possible to include a strategy of competition, especially within the investment budget when prepared The study concluded that the investment plan prepared by the
... Show MoreThe sustainability of the individual and society get great interest in contemporary studies,
Considering the rebuilding of the society cultural values as the most important goals, which
prompted many researchers to explore ways and social elements of sustainability and the most
important urban and architectural vocabulary achieving it, thus, the search will be directed
towards the human being within the social dimensions of sustainability, his belonging and
awareness of identity through the employment of local heritage in the contemporary product.
The literatures confirmed the continuity of heritage vocabulary in the contemporary product, accordingly the research problem was defined as: "The visual continuity of the her
Praise be to Allah and peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad and on his family and companions
Yet,
The prophets (peace be upon them) urged all thevalues and one of these is the value of work which is of a great importance, that all nations have gathered against us as the eaters gather at a bowl. One of the reasons of our weakness and the strength of our enemy is that we have neglected the value of work. And rather a large number of ignorant and uneducatedpeople started to believe that the means of living, triumph, gaining power, and establishing a civilization are given by Allah with neithergainingnoreffort from us. While we find in the past that Allah the Almighty narrated to us the story of Mary (Peace be upon her) and