In structural construction fields, reducing the overall self-weight of the structure is considered a primary objective and substantial challenge in the civil engineering field, particularly in earthquake-affected buildings and tall buildings. Different techniques were implemented to attain this goal; one of them is setting voids in a specific position through the structure, just like a voided slab or BubbleDeck slab. The main objective of this research is to study the structural behavior of BubbleDeck reinforced concrete slabs under the effect of static uniformly distributed load. The experimental program involved testing five fixed-end supported two-way solid and BubbleDeck slabs of dimensions 2500×2500×200 mm. The considered par

Coal fines are highly prone to be generated in all stages of Coal Seam Gas (CSG) production and development. These detached fines tend to aggregate, contributing to pore throat blockage and permeability reduction. Thus, this work explores the dispersion stability of coal fines in CSG reservoirs and proposes a new additive to be used in the formulation of the hydraulic fracturing fluid to keep the fines dispersed in the fluid. In this work, bituminous coal fines were tested in various suspensions in order to study their dispersion stability. The aggregation behavior of coal fines (dispersed phase) was analyzed in different dispersion mediums, including deionized-water, low and high sodium chloride solutions. Furthermore, the effect of Sodium

The hydroconversion of Iraqi light straight run naphtha was studied on zeolite catalyst. 0.3wt.%Pt/HMOR catalyst was prepared locally and used in the present work. The hydroconversion performed on a continuous fixed-bed laboratory reaction unit. Experiments were performed in the temperature range of 200 to 350°C, pressure range of 3 to 15 bars, LHSV range of 0.5-2.5h^-1, and the hydrogen to naphtha ratio of 300.

The results show that the hydroconversion of Iraqi light straight naphtha increases with increase in reaction temperature and decreases with increase in LHSV.

High octane number isomers were formed at low temperature of 240°C. The selectivity of hydroisomerization improved by increasing reaction pressu

This paper details the process of designing, analysing, manufacturing, and testing an integrated solid-state hydrogen storage system. Analysis is performed to optimise flow distribution and pressure drop through the channels, and experimental investigations compare the effects of profile shape on the overall power output from the fuel cell. The storing of hydrogen is given much attention in the selection of a storage medium, and the effect of a cooling system to reduce the recharging time of the hydrogen storage vessel. The PTFE seal performed excellently, holding pressure over 60 bar, despite requiring changing each time the cell is opened. The assembly of the vessel was simple and straightforward, and there was no indication of pressure

With the increasing intensity of the ecological and environmental problems and the scarcity of fresh water, this paper was introduced to investigate the ability to use treated wastewater as a cooling media via studying its behavior throughout a cooling tower. The simultaneous transfer of heat and mass from the treated wastewater to air over splash-fill packing arranged in a zigzag manner was studied. The characteristic of the cooling tower, the outlet water temperature, and the rejected heat were investigated as the water-to-air ratio and inlet water temperature were varied. The core results show that the cooling tower of the tower decreases with increasing water-to-air ratio, and increases with the raise of inlet water temperature.

In many video and image processing applications, the frames are partitioned into blocks, which are extracted and processed sequentially. In this paper, we propose a fast algorithm for calculation of features of overlapping image blocks. We assume the features are projections of the block on separable 2D basis functions (usually orthogonal polynomials) where we benefit from the symmetry with respect to spatial variables. The main idea is based on a construction of auxiliary matrices that virtually extends the original image and makes it possible to avoid a time-consuming computation in loops. These matrices can be pre-calculated, stored and used repeatedly since they are independent of the image itself. We validated experimentally th

The auditory system can suffer from exposure to loud noise and human health can be affected. Traffic noise is a primary contributor to noise pollution. To measure the noise levels, 3 variables were examined at 25 locations. It was found that the main factors that determine the increase in noise level are traffic volume, vehicle speed, and road functional class. The data have been taken during three different periods per day so that they represent and cover the traffic noise of the city during heavy traffic flow conditions. Analysis of traffic noise prediction was conducted using a simple linear regression model to accurately predict the equivalent continuous sound level. The difference between the predicted and the measured noise shows that

Thermal energy storage is an important component in energy units to decrease the gap between energy supply and demand. Free convection and the locations of the tubes carrying the heat-transfer fluid (HTF) have a significant influence on both the energy discharging potential and the buoyancy effect during the solidification mode. In the present study, the impact of the tube position was examined during the discharging process. Liquid-fraction evolution and energy removal rate with thermo-fluid contour profiles were used to examine the performance of the unit. Heat exchanger tubes are proposed with different numbers and positions in the unit for various cases including uniform and non-uniform tubes distribution. The results show that

In this research, experimental and numerical studies were carried out to investigate the performance of encased glass-fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) beams under fire. The test specimens were divided into two peer groups to be tested under the effect of ambient and elevated temperatures. The first group was statically tested to investigate the monotonic behavior of the specimens. The second group was exposed to fire loading first and then statically tested to explore the residual behavior of the burned specimens. Adding shear connectors and web stiffeners to the GFRP beam was the main parameter in this investigation. Moreover, service loads were applied to the tested beams during the fire. Utilizing shear connectors, web stiffeners,

This study aims to develop a recommendation engine methodology to enhance the model’s effectiveness and efficiency. The proposed model is commonly used to assign or propose a limited number of developers with the required skills and expertise to address and resolve a bug report. Managing collections within bug repositories is the responsibility of software engineers in addressing specific defects. Identifying the optimal allocation of personnel to activities is challenging when dealing with software defects, which necessitates a substantial workforce of developers. Analyzing new scientific methodologies to enhance comprehension of the results is the purpose of this analysis. Additionally, developer priorities were discussed, especially th

Wellbore instability is one of the major issues observed throughout the drilling operation. Various wellbore instability issues may occur during drilling operations, including tight holes, borehole collapse, stuck pipe, and shale caving. Rock failure criteria are important in geomechanical analysis since they predict shear and tensile failures. A suitable failure criterion must match the rock failure, which a caliper log can detect to estimate the optimal mud weight. Lack of data makes certain wells' caliper logs unavailable. This makes it difficult to validate the performance of each failure criterion. This paper proposes an approach for predicting the breakout zones in the Nasiriyah oil field using an artificial neural network. It

Non-prismatic reinforced concrete (RC) beams are widely used for various practical purposes, including enhancing architectural aesthetics and increasing the overall thickness in the support area above the column, which gives high assurance to services that this will not result in the distortion of construction features and can reduce heights. The hollow sections (recess) can also be used for the maintenance of large structural sections and the safe passage of utility lines of water, gas, telecommunications, electricity, etc. They are generally used in large and complex civil engineering works like bridges. This study conducted a numerical study using the commercial finite element software ANSYS version 15 for analysing RC beams, hol

The response of floating stone columns of different lengths to diameter ratio (L/D = 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10) ratios exposed to earthquake excitations is well modeled in this paper. Such stone column behavior is essential in the case of lateral displacement under an earthquake through the soft clay soil. ABAQUS software was used to simulate the behavior of stone columns in soft clayey soil using an axisymmetric finite element model. The behavior of stone column material has been modeled with a Drucker-Prager model. The soft soil material was modeled by the Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion assuming an elastic-perfectly plastic behavior. The floating stone columns were subjected to the El Centro earthquake, which had a magnitude of 7.1 an

3D models delivered from digital photogrammetric techniques have massively increased and developed to meet the requirements of many applications. The reliability of these models is basically dependent on the data processing cycle and the adopted tool solution in addition to data quality. Agisoft PhotoScan is a professional image-based 3D modelling software, which seeks to create orderly, precise n 3D content from fixed images. It works with arbitrary images those qualified in both controlled and uncontrolled conditions. Following the recommendations of many users all around the globe, Agisoft PhotoScan, has become an important source to generate precise 3D data for different applications. How reliable is this data for accurate 3D mo

Undoubtedly, rutting in asphalt concrete pavement is considered a major dilemma in terms of pavement performance and safety faced by road users as well as the road authorities. Rutting is a bowl-shaped depression in the wheel paths that develop gradually with the increasing number of load applications. Heavy axle loadings besides the high pavement summer temperature enhance the problem of rutting. According to the AASHTO design equation for flexible pavements, a 1.1 in rut depth will reduce the present serviceability index of relatively new pavement, having no other distress, from 4.2 to 2.5. With this amount of drop in serviceability, the entire life of the pavement in effect has been lost. Therefore, it is crucial to look at the mechani