Journal of Engineering

In engineering, the ground in seismically active places may be subjected to static and seismic
stresses. To avoid bearing capacity collapse, increasing the system\'s dynamic rigidity,
and/or reducing dynamic fluctuations, it may be required to employ deep foundations
instead of shallow ones. The axial aptitude and pipe pile distribution of load under static
conditions have been well reported, but more study is needed to understand the dynamic
axial response. Therefore, this research discusses the outputs of the 3D finite element
models on the soil-pile behavior under different acceleration intensities and soil states by
using MIDAS GTS NX. The pipe pile was represented as a simple elastic, and a modified Mohr-
Coulomb model was used to describe the surrounding soil layers. When low acceleration
was introduced in the early stages, positive frictional resistance (i.e., in dry soil, the FR was
about 1.61, 1.98, and 0.9 Mpa under Kobe, Halabja, and Ali Algharbi earthquakes,
respectively) was recorded. However, as the acceleration increased (from PGA of 0.1 g and
0.102 g to 0.82 g), the resistance reduced and eventually turned negative. In this study, both
internal and exterior frictional resistance were measured. It was found that the soil state and
acceleration intensity both have a noticeable effect on the failure process, i.e., the maximum
plug soil resistance decreased by about 55% by changing the soil condition from a dry to a
saturated state under the recorded data of the Kobe earthquake. A rough estimation of the
long-term settlements at the shaken soil surface is meant to be included in the results of this
research.

This paper presents a hybrid energy resources (HER) system consisting of solar PV, storage, and utility grid. It is a challenge in real time to extract maximum power point (MPP) from the PV solar under variations of the irradiance strength. This work addresses challenges in identifying global MPP, dynamic algorithm behavior, tracking speed, adaptability to changing conditions, and accuracy. Shallow Neural Networks using the deep learning NARMA-L2 controller have been proposed. It is modeled to predict the reference voltage under different irradiance. The dynamic PV solar and nonlinearity have been trained to track the maximum power drawn from the PV solar systems in real time.
Moreover, the proposed controller is tested under static and dynamic load conditions. The simulation and models are done by using MATLAB/Simulink. The simulation results from the proposed NARMA-L2 controller have been compared with existing Perturb and observe PO-MPPT and Incremental Conductance INC -MPPT methods.

To decrease the impact on the environment of building waste, the recycled aggregate may be used in various sustainable engineering applications, such as roller compacted concrete pavement (RCCP). This research examined how using recycled aggregate as a partial replacement for natural aggregate as coarse or fine affected the mechanical properties of roller-compacted concrete pavement. The recycled aggregate was crushed and sieved to coarse and fine aggregate before being used in the roller-compacted concrete pavement. Compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, and flexural strength were all evaluated after the samples were prepared at 28 and 90 days of curing. According to the study's findings, the partial replacement of coarse or fine aggregate with recycled aggregate by (10, 15 and 20%) by volume resulted in decreasing the mechanical properties and increasing the absorption and porosity of RCCP due to the contaminated cement paste on the surface of RCA when compared to the reference mix made with natural aggregate. Because the recycled aggregate contains un-hydrated cement particles, the results have improved after 90 days.

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 generates theoretically (120 kg steam /h at 8 bars) with dry wood as fuel and preheating for the air of combustion and feed water and a diesel engine of (8 hp) four-stroke with single piston converted to steam engine coupled with the electrical generator of (3 kVA). The results are compared with practical values valid in the literature about small power plants of steam capacity (0.1-1) ton/h and operating pressure up to 10 bars. Experimentally, the generated electrical power is little and sufficient to operate a small fan and lump. The current converted steam engine is better than a conventional steam engine in auto lubrication with some operational problems. The boiler efficiency is 63.28%.

Skull image separation is one of the initial procedures used to detect brain abnormalities. In
an MRI image of the brain, this process involves distinguishing the tissue that makes up the
brain from the tissue that does not make up the brain. Even for experienced radiologists,
separating the brain from the skull is a difficult task, and the accuracy of the results can vary
quite a little from one individual to the next. Therefore, skull stripping in brain magnetic
resonance volume has become increasingly popular due to the requirement for a
dependable, accurate, and thorough method for processing brain datasets. Furthermore,
skull stripping must be performed accurately for neuroimaging diagnostic systems since
neither non-brain tissues nor the removal of brain sections can be addressed in the
subsequent steps, resulting in an unfixed mistake during further analysis. Therefore,
accurate skull stripping is necessary for neuroimaging diagnostic systems. This paper
proposes a system based on deep learning and Image processing, an innovative method for
converting a pre-trained model into another type of pre-trainer using pre-processing
operations and the CLAHE filter as a critical phase. The global IBSR data set was used as a
test and training set. For the system's efficacy, work was performed based on the principle
of three dimensions and three sections of MR images and two-dimensional images, and the
results were 99.9% accurate.

Drought is a natural phenomenon in many arid, semi-arid, or wet regions. This showed that
no region worldwide is excluded from the occurrence of drought. Extreme droughts were
caused by global weather warming and climate change. Therefore, it is essential to review
the studies conducted on drought to use the recommendations made by the researchers on
drought. The drought was classified into meteorological, agricultural, hydrological, and
economic-social. In addition, researchers described the severity of the drought by using
various indices which required different input data. The indices used by various researchers
were the Joint Deficit Index (JDI), Effective Drought Index (EDI), Streamflow Drought Index
(SDI), Standard Precipitation Index (SPI), Standard Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI), and
Palmer Index (PI). According to the researchers in hydrology and for the most accurate
description of the drought, more than one indicator for drought should be used. Most
reviewed studies recommended using the Standard Precipitation Index (SPI) as the best
indicator to describe the drought.

Priority of road maintenance can be viewed as a process influenced by decision-makers
with varying decision-making power. Each decision-maker may have their view and
judgment depending on their function and responsibilities. Therefore, determining the
priority of road maintenance can be thought of as a process of MCDM. Regarding the priority
of road maintenance, this is a difficult MCDM problem involving uncertainty, qualitative
criteria, and possible causal relationships between choice criteria. This paper aims to
examine the applicability of multiple MCDM techniques, which are used for assessing the
priority of road maintenance, by adapting them to this sector. Priority of road maintenance
problems subject to internal uncertainty caused by imprecise human judgments will be
reviewed and investigated, as well as the most popular theories and methods in group
MCDM for presenting uncertain information, creating weights for decision criteria,
examining causal relationships, and ranking alternatives. The study concluded that through
the strengths and weaknesses reached, fuzzy set theory is the most appropriate and best
used in modeling uncertain information. In addition, the methods that are employed the
most common in the literature that has been done to explore the correlations between
decision criteria have been examined, and it is concluded that the fuzzy best-worst method
may be utilized in this research. The Fuzzy VIKOR approach is most likely the best method
for ranking the decision alternatives.

This research was designed to investigate the factors affecting the frequency of use of ridehailing
in a fast-growing metropolitan region in Southeast Asia, Kuala Lumpur. An intercept
survey was used to conduct this study in three potential locations that were acknowledged
by one of the most famous ride-hailing companies in Kuala Lumpur. This study used nonparametric
and machine learning techniques to analyze the data, including the Pearson chisquare
test and Bayesian Network. From 38 statements (input variables), the Pearson chisquare
test identified 14 variables as the most important. These variables were used as
predictors in developing a BN model that predicts the probability of weekly usage frequency
of ride-hailing. According to the final model, the attitude of the commuters towards the
speed of ride-hailing over hailing regular taxis was the most important and presented in all
probability conditions. Several related studies also identified ride-hailing speed as one of the
top reasons for using this travel option. The findings of this study imply that commuters still
compare the ride-hailing services with the traditional taxis in Kuala Lumpur, especially in
terms of complementarity to other modes, ease of payment, ease of access, and speed. It is
critical to have a sustainable strategy for keeping commuters’ satisfaction at the highest level
because if the ride-hailing services cannot meet the commuters’ expectations, they may
switch back to conventional transport options.

This study was chosen because of the entry of our regions into the seismic zone recently,
where Diyala governorate was hit by the Halabja earthquake in 2017 by 7.3Mw. Therefore,
the impact of earthquakes will be studied on the AL-Mafraq bridge foundations piles located
in Iraq- east of Baghdad in Diyala Governorate and the extent of its resistance to the Halabjah,
EL-Centro, and Kobe earthquakes with acceleration 0.1g, 0.34 g, and 0.58 g, respectively.
After modeling and performing the analysis by using Midas Gts-Nx software, the settlement
(mm) results at nine nodes (four nodes for the pile cap and five nodes for the piles) were
obtained for each of Halabjah, EL-Centro, and Kobe earthquakes to know the resistance of
the bridge foundation and which intensity leads to the failure happen. After conducting the
analysis, I found the maximum settlement is equal to 11.95 mm with a time of 443 sec at
node 3 resulting from the Halabjah seismic, and 49.47 mm from the EL-Centro seismic with
a time of 254 sec at node 3. They are within the allowable limits of settlements, but the
maximum settlement resulting from the Kobe earthquake equals 359.9 mm with a time of
565 sec at node 3. So, the Kobe earthquake led to failure in the pile's foundation Halabjah
earthquake and Centro did not affect the stability of the pile's foundation, Based on Terzaki's
theory 1943.

Lead-acid batteries have been used increasingly in recent years in solar power systems,
especially in homes and small businesses, due to their cheapness and advanced development
in manufacturing them. However, these batteries have low voltages and low capacities, to
increase voltage and capacities, they need to be connected in series and parallel. Whether
they are connected in series or parallel, their voltages and capacities must be equal
otherwise the quality of service will be degraded. The fact that these different voltages are
inherent in their manufacturing, but these unbalanced voltages can be controlled. Using a
switched capacitor is a method that was used in many methods for balancing voltages, but
their responses are slow. To increase the response and control of the balancing process, this
research proposes a novel technique that consists of a dynamic capacitor for controlling the
unbalanced voltages of series-connected lead-acid batteries. The proposed technique uses a
main capacitor and an inductor with two switches their on/off states are controlled through
a pulse width modulation. The technique is designed and validated using MATLAB/Simulink
and the results for different cases are compared with other techniques such as switched
capacitor technique. Results show that the proposed method promised the balancing control
in a shorter time and better performance than other techniques which are crucial in the
battery’s voltage balancing.

The hydraulic conditions of a flow previously proved to be changed when placing largescale
geometric roughness elements on the bed of an open channel. These elements impose
more resistance to the flow. The geometry of the roughness elements, the numbers used,
and the configuration are parameters that can affect the hydraulic flow characteristics. The
target is to use inclined block elements to control the salt wedge propagation pointed in most
estuaries to prevent its negative effects. The Computational Fluid Dynamics CFD Software
was used to simulate the two-phase flow in an estuary model. In this model, the used block
elements are 2 cm by 3 cm cross-sections with an inclined face in the flow direction, with a
length of their sides 2 and 3 cm. These elements were placed with a constant spacing in two
rows at a distance from two sides of the bed of the channel model. Six simulation runs were
conducted with two different discharges and three different inclinations of the centerline of
the element concerning the flow direction. The applied discharges are 30 and 45.3 l/min,
and the inclination of roughness elements are 15o, 30o, and 45o. The spacing between
elements in each row is kept at 3cm. The results showed that when no roughness elements
were used, the propagation of the salt wedge extended to 3.9m and 3.1m at a discharge of 30
l/min and 45.31/min, respectively. The propagation of the salt wedge was reduced when
using the inclined blocks roughness element. This reduction depends on the applied
discharge and the angle of inclination. At the minimum applied discharge of 30 l/min, the
propagation of the salt wedge was reduced by 74% at 45o inclination. In contrast, it was 69%
at 30o and 64% at 15o inclination at the same discharge. When the discharge is 45.3 l/min,
the propagation of the salt wedge was reduced by 85% at 45o inclinations of roughness, 84%
at 30o. It was 70% at 15o inclinations. The roughness elements improve the flow turbulence
that disperses and slows the salt wedge propagation beneath the fresh water.

This essay aims to highlight the most important issues and difficulties facing implementing
large projects that follow the turn-key method, considered one of the types of contractual
methods in Iraq, especially for large and complex projects requiring speedy completion. The
projects implemented in this way face delays and delays in completion, which led to the lack
of benefit from the projects for which they were implemented, especially those affecting the
lives of citizens within the health sector. The case study dealt with the construction of
hospitals with multi-bed capacities within multiple governorates in Iraq, With large
financial allocations within the federal budget of the Government of Iraq over several years.
After conducting a descriptive statistical analysis of the data obtained through a field survey
and interviews with individuals working in the construction sector with experience in their
field. The most important 10 factors were identified from a list of 51 delay factors
(distributed according to the questionnaire forms) with a high RII. These factors were
related to the delay in the payment of the contractor's dues, the delay in processing
materials, the issuance of new instructions and regulations, the delay in obtaining official
approvals from the relevant authorities, Errors in designs or contracting documents, lack of
cooperation between the contracting parties, and multiple spare orders for reasons
belonging to the employer. The article also included the most important suggestions that
contribute to reducing the delay in completing projects.