Journal of Engineering

The review discusses the stabilization of expansive soils, which cause significant damage to structures due to their poor engineering properties, such as low shear strength and high volume changes. Various pozzolanic materials, including lime, cement, blast furnace slag, fly ash, silica fume, rice husk ash, sugarcane straw ash, egg ash, coconut husk ash, and metakaolin, are evaluated for their effectiveness in improving soil properties. The optimal percentage of stabilizers used is between 15% and 20%, beyond which undesirable effects are observed. The stabilization positively impacts swelling, Atterberg limits, compaction, and strength parameters.

This study investigates the serviceability of reinforced concrete rafters with openings of different shapes and sizes after exposure to fire. Twelve post-fire non-prismatic reinforced concrete beams (solid and perforated) were tested under static loading. The rafters were divided into three groups based on heating temperature (room temperature, 400°C, and 700°C), with each group consisting of four rafters (solid, rafters with 6 and 8 trapezoidal openings, and rafters with eight circular openings). A unified calculation technique was developed to determine deflection and crack widths under static loading at the service stage. The analytical and experimental results showed good agreement.

This study investigates the serviceability of reinforced concrete rafters with openings of different shapes and sizes after exposure to fire. Twelve post-fire non-prismatic reinforced concrete beams (solid and perforated) were tested under static loading. The rafters were divided into three groups based on heating temperature (room temperature, 400°C, and 700°C), with each group consisting of four rafters (solid, rafters with 6 and 8 trapezoidal openings, and rafters with eight circular openings). A unified calculation technique was developed to determine deflection and crack widths under static loading at the service stage. The analytical and experimental results showed good agreement.

The paper addresses the complexity of construction projects and the impact of unforeseen crises, such as the 2014 financial crisis, on project development in Iraq. It highlights the lack of local studies on crisis management and proposes a system consisting of 20 critical success factors with 59 actions for each stage of a crisis (before, during, and after). The system aims to mitigate financial losses and ensure project continuity despite crises.

The paper investigates the enhancement of voltage profiles in the Kurdistan power system using High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) links. The study utilized the Electrical Transient Analyzer Program (ETAP.16) to simulate load flow using the Newton-Raphson method. The results showed a significant improvement in bus voltages after the application of HVDC links, leading to enhanced power system performance

The study investigates the gas adsorption properties of MOF-199, a metal-organic framework, using dry gases such as methane, ethane, and propane. The MOF-199 was synthesized using the solvothermal method and characterized for its adsorption capabilities under various conditions (adsorbent dosage, contact time, temperature, and pressure). The isothermal adsorption was studied using Freundlich and Langmuir models, with the results favoring the Freundlich model. The adsorption kinetics followed a second-order reaction rate. The study highlights the potential of MOF-199 for efficient gas storage applications.

This study aims to numerically simulate the flow of the salt wedge using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The accuracy of the numerical simulation model was assessed against published laboratory data. Twelve CFD model runs were conducted under the same laboratory conditions. The results showed that the propagation of the salt wedge is inversely proportional to the applied freshwater discharge and the bed slope of the flume. The maximum propagation is obtained at the lowest discharge value and the minimum slope of the flume. The comparison between the published laboratory results and numerical simulation shows a good agreement, with a relative error ranging between 0 and 16%, an average of 2%, and a root mean square error of 0.18

This research investigates the thermal buckling behavior of laminated composite plates subjected to uniform and non-uniform temperature fields using an analytical model based on a refined plate theory (RPT) with five unknown independent variables. The theory accounts for the parabolic distribution of transverse shear strains through the plate thickness and satisfies the zero-traction boundary condition on the surface without using shear correction factors. The governing differential equations and associated boundary conditions are derived using the virtual work principle and solved via Navier-type analytical procedure to obtain critical buckling temperature. Results are presented for uniform and linear cross-ply lamination with symmetry and antisymmetric stacking, simply supported boundary condition, different aspect ratio (a/b), various orthogonality ratio (E1/E2), varying ratios of coefficient of uniform and linear thermal expansion (α2/α1), uniform and linearly varying temperature thickness ratio (a/h), and numbers of layers on thermal buckling of the laminated plate.

This paper proposes an efficient energy management (EEM) approach that integrates IoT technology with electric smart meters (ESM) to enhance electricity consumption monitoring. The proposed system, called 2IOT-ESM, includes equipping ESM with additional storage capacity to ensure data is not lost during WiFi outages1. Measurements are sent to Google Firebase cloud for storage and analysis, detecting energy penetration and theft. An ESM-app is designed to read data from the cloud, generate electric bills, and send alert messages to consumers and potential energy thieves