Journal of Engineering

The study focuses on the causes of minaret tilting as well as possible solutions. The major aims of this study are to improve knowledge of historical tall structure stability and rehabilitation operations using the finite element approach to model the soil and minaret (PLAXIS 3D 2020), a platform for computational soil investigation and modeling. The numerical analysis aims to identify stresses, settlement, and deformation of the soil and minaret in various scenarios like Earthquakes, explosions, and winds. The simulation of the problem by the PLAXIS 3D revealed that the greatest lateral displacement computed at the Top Minaret is 5.5 cm, and the greatest vertical movement is calculated to be 3 cm. Seismic settlement is the effect of earthquake shaking, causing densification of soil with lower relative density.

This study was set out to investigate factors affecting labor productivity on construction in the north of Iraq (Kurdistan) and to rank all the factors based on engineers, contractors, and designer’s opinions. 76 factors were analyzed based on previous literature and a pilot study. Next, by using online Google Form, a questionnaire form was created and sent to people who have experience in the construction industry. Afterward, the questionnaire form was sent to targeted people by email and social media apps. Factors were divided into nine groups “Management, Technical and Technology, Human and Workforce, Leadership, Motivation, Safety, Time, Material and Equipment, and External”. However, 202 respondents participated in this study, and they were asked to give weight to the factors using the Likert scale from 1 to 5. Finally, the Relative Importance Index RII was used to determine the factors statically with MS Excel 2015. In brief, all the respondents agreed upon “Economic condition in the country” is the first ranking factor. While “Site complication” was the last factor that affect labor productivity in construction. Last but not least, the “Motivation” group was the first ranked group. Apart from the factors, respondents agreed that Site Engineers have more effect on construction projects than Contractors and Designers.

Cloud computing (CC) is a fast-growing technology that offers computers, networking, and storage services that can be accessed and used over the internet. Cloud services save users money because they are pay-per-use, and they save time because they are on-demand and elastic, a unique aspect of cloud computing. However, several security issues must be addressed before users store data in the cloud. Because the user will have no direct control over the data that has been outsourced to the cloud, particularly personal and sensitive data (health, finance, military, etc.), and will not know where the data is stored, the user must ensure that the cloud stores and maintains the outsourced data appropriately. The study's primary goals are to make the cloud and data security challenges more understandable, to briefly explain the techniques used to achieve privacy and data integrity, to compare various recent studies in both pre-quantum and post-quantum, and to focus on current gaps in solving privacy and data integrity issues.

The process of risk assessment in the build-operate transfer (BOT) project is very important to identify and analyze the risks in order to make the appropriate decision to respond to them. In this paper, AHP Technique was used to make the appropriate decision regarding response to the most prominent risks that were generated in BOT projects, which includes a comparison between the criteria for each risk as well as the available alternatives and by mathematical methods using matrices to reach an appropriate decision to respond to each risk. Ten common risks in BOT contracts are adopted for analysis in this paper, which is grouped into six main risk headings. The procedures followed in this paper are the questionnaire method to assign the weights of each criterion and each alternative based on the evaluations of 10 experts in BOT contracts after building the questionnaire model. The appropriate decision was reached to respond to each risk, and then the best measures taken were made based on literature reviews of previous research regarding the procedures for risk response plans.

Today, urban Stormwater management is one of the main concerns of municipalities and stakeholders. Drought and water scarcity made rainwater harvesting one of the main steps toward climate change adaptation. Due to the deterioration of the quality of urban runoff and the increase of impermeable urban land use, the treatment of urban runoff is essential. Best Management Practice (BMP) and Low Impact Development (LID) approaches are necessary to combat climate change consequences by improving the quantity and quality of water resources. The application of Bioswales along urban streets and roadways can reduce the stress on water resources, recharge groundwater and prevent groundwater pollution. While Sulaymaniyah City has a combined sewer network, the application of Bioswales makes wastewater treatment possible in all seasons. This study aimed to determine suitable locations for LID as one of the methods of urban runoff management in Sulaymaniyah City, KRG Iraq. The research modeled and optimized the placement of Bioswales using the BMP Sitting Tool (BST) in the ArcGIS program. Results of the study suggested a total area of 104329 m2 in 530 locations for the installation of the Bioswale system. Also, results showed that land use parameters and soil hydrological groups could be considered important factors in selecting a suitable location for Bioswale system establishment.

Infrastructure, especially wastewater projects, plays an important role in the life of residential communities. Due to the increasing population growth, there is also a significant increase in residential and commercial facilities. This research aims to develop two models for predicting the cost and time of wastewater projects according to independent variables affecting them. These variables have been determined through a questionnaire distributed to 20 projects under construction in Al-Kut City/ Wasit Governorate/Iraq. The researcher used artificial neural network technology to develop the models. The results showed that the coefficient of correlation R between actual and predicted values were 99.4% and 99 %, MAPE was (26.24%), and (5.5%), and AA was (74%), and (94.5%), for cost and time model, respectively. The researcher concluded that the ANN model has a strong correlation and high accuracy, indicating that these models are characterized by high efficiency and good performance in predicting cost and time.

Today, urban Stormwater management is one of the main concerns of municipalities and stakeholders. Drought and water scarcity made rainwater harvesting one of the main steps toward climate change adaptation. Due to the deterioration of the quality of urban runoff and the increase of impermeable urban land use, the treatment of urban runoff is essential. Best Management Practice (BMP) and Low Impact Development (LID) approaches are necessary to combat climate change consequences by improving the quantity and quality of water resources. The application of Bioswales along urban streets and roadways can reduce the stress on water resources, recharge groundwater and prevent groundwater pollution. While Sulaymaniyah City has a combined sewer network, the application of Bioswales makes wastewater treatment possible in all seasons. This study aimed to determine suitable locations for LID as one of the methods of urban runoff management in Sulaymaniyah City, KRG Iraq. The research modeled and optimized the placement of Bioswales using the BMP Sitting Tool (BST) in the ArcGIS program. Results of the study suggested a total area of 104329 m2 in 530 locations for the installation of the Bioswale system. Also, results showed that land use parameters and soil hydrological groups could be considered important factors in selecting a suitable location for Bioswale system establishment.

One of the most important problems of Iraqi construction projects is the cost variances, so it is important to identify the problems and shortcomings that cause poor cost control. Through the utilization of questionnaires, the study evaluated how project costs were managed and reported. The questionnaire was distributed to 180 professionals working in the Iraqi construction sector, with a response rate of 91%. The results showed that a high percentage of projects are implemented with a difference between real and estimated costs, and the process of documenting cost data needs to be more secure. On the other hand, there is a weakness in providing the necessary work structure information to monitor costs and a lack of processing of the required data regarding mechanisms and equipment and problems. It is related to the accuracy of the estimation and the management and documentation of labor wages. Most of the problems are the lack of appropriate systems to implement cost control appropriately.

The dissolution of gypsum rock in water is significant, which may result in hydrocarbon reservoir formation and evaporate deposits. However, the complexity of the gypsum dissolution process is still of interest because of its uncleanness that requires more critical analysis. The objectives of this experimental study are emphasis on the dissolution characteristics of gypsum rock under room temperature and by various types of water; namely: deionized, tap, fresh, acidic, well, and normal rainwater. In addition, the influences of dissolution on gypsum rock's mechanical and physical characteristics. Gypsum rock was obtained from Agjalar area, in the southwest of Sulaymaniyah city, Northern Iraq. Experimental results show that well water is the most effective type to dissolve gypsum and cause significant reductions in the mechanical characteristics of gypsum rock.

This paper investigates the experimental response of composite reinforced concrete with GFRP and steel I-sections under limited cycles of repeated load. The practical work included testing four beams. A reference beam, two composite beams with pultruded GFRP I-sections, and a composite beam with a steel I-beam were subjected to repeated loading. The repeated loading test started by loading gradually up to a maximum of 75% of the ultimate static failure load for five loading and unloading cycles. After that, the specimens were reloaded gradually until failure. All test specimens were tested under a three-point load. Experimental results showed that the ductility index increased for the composite beams relative to the reference specimen by 156.2% for a composite beam with GFRP with shear connectors, 148.6% for composite beams with GFRP without connectors, and 96% for the composite beam with a steel I-section.