Journal of Engineering

This paper presents an enhancement technique for tracking and regulating the blood glucose level for diabetic patients using an intelligent auto-tuning Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) controller. The proposed controller aims to generate the best insulin control action responsible for regulating the blood glucose level precisely, accurately, and quickly. The tuning control algorithm used the Dolphin Echolocation Optimization (DEO) algorithm for obtaining the near-optimal PID controller parameters with a proposed time domain specification performance index. The MATLAB simulation results for three different patients showed that the effectiveness and the robustness of the proposed control algorithm in terms of fast generating insulin control action and tracking the dynamics behavior of the blood glucose level of the diabetic patients through minimizing overshoot, rise time, and settling time in the transient state as well as the steady-state blood glucose level error is reduced approximately to zero and keep it in the desired glucose level, especially when we added a meal as disturbance effect.

This paper compares the speed and accuracy of Faster RCNN, YOLO, and SSD for effective drone detection in various environments. Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) have high performance in object recognition and classification due to their ability to extract information from raw-pixel content and learn features automatically. Feature extraction and classification algorithms can be either hand-crafted or Deep Learning (DL) based. DL detection approaches can be either two stages (region proposal approaches) detector or a single stage (non-region proposal approach) detector. Region proposal-based techniques include R-CNN, Fast RCNN, and Faster RCNN. Non-region proposal-based techniques include Single Shot Detector (SSD) and You Only Look Once (YOLO). The study found that both Faster RCNN and YOLO have high recognition ability compared to SSD; however, SSD has good detection ability.

Diyala Governorate was recently exposed to high flood waves discharged from Hemrin Dam when the dam reached its full capacity. Due to the reduction in Diyala River's capacity to 750 m³/s, cities and villages along the river banks were inundated. The study aims to design a flood escape from the Diyala River to discharge the flood waves through it. The flood escape simulation was conducted using HEC-RAS software, utilizing 223 cross sections for the escape and 30 cross-sections of the Diyala River as geometric data. Depending on the geological formation, two roughness coefficients of 0.035 and 0.028 were applied. The results showed that an aside weir could be constructed at the escape entrance with a crest level of 67 m.a.m.s.l. and 800 m width, followed by a drop structure with four rectangular steps. This setup provides a safe discharge to Diyala River if a flood wave of 1500 m³/s is released from Hemrin Dam.

This study explores the feasibility of using crushed glass waste as a partial replacement for fine aggregates in concrete. Various replacement ratios (10%, 20%, 30%, and 40%) were tested by forming concrete test models (15 cm x 15 cm cubes and 15 cm x 30 cm cylinders). These models were matured and tested for compressive and tensile strength at 7 and 28 days. The results indicated that using crushed glass waste up to 30% by weight is a viable alternative to fine aggregates, with compressive strength at 92.6% and tensile strength at 80.86% of conventional concrete at 28 days. The study also assessed the workability of fresh concrete with glass waste.

This research aims to assess the seismic vulnerability of the Rizgary public hospital building in Erbil city, which was constructed before the release of seismic provisions in the region. The study employs ETABS software to conduct Eigenvalue analyses, nonlinear static analyses, and about 120 incremental dynamic analyses. The actual response of the hospital building is evaluated by considering possible irregularities in both directions and the effect of seismic pounding. The outcomes indicate that the hospital building is in poor performance under anticipated earthquakes. The existing combination of irregularities and seismic pounding increases the vulnerability under seismic load. A suitable strengthening strategy is also recommended.

This paper reviews the utilization of Iraqi metakaolin (MK) as a supplementary cementitious material (SCM) in various types of concrete. The use of SCMs, including MK, aims to enhance concrete performance, minimize environmental pollution, and mitigate the drawbacks of cement production, such as high CO2 emissions. MK's ultra-fineness and high pozzolanic activity contribute significantly to the strength and durability of concrete. The review highlights the importance of using local MK and identifies gaps in current research to provide a comprehensive understanding of incorporating Iraqi metakaolin in concrete technology.