In this note, we propose a modification as an alternative to remove the assumption of uniformly monotone as assumed in Aliyu et al. (2019). Numerical experiment shows that the modification improves the numerical performance of the method.

Nowadays, real-time multimedia applications mandate high video quality while maintaining reasonable bitrates. The H.264 coding delivered inexpensive bitrate costs compared to other coding schemes while maintaining high-grade video quality, yet bounded to deliver higher qualities. Later, High-Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) improved on H.264 by providing higher video qualities with an efficient bitrate

Alkali-activated concrete (AAC) has attracted considerable attention since its first use as an alternative material to the well-known traditional Portland cement concrete (PCC) due to their superior properties and environmental impact. In this paper, a comprehensive review on the present knowledge about the AAC in terms of historical background, environmental impact, constituent materials and characteristics

Labours in construction are one of the main pillars in the construction industry of Malaysia for projects execution. Construction labours not only contributes to the development of the construction industry but also impacts the Malaysian economy. Consideration of labour wages is made in the initial phase of the project budget, however, wages are getting changed over time. The inflation rate is one

The current work pertains to the peristaltic motion of a Casson fluid through a non-uniform channel with exposure to a radial magnetic field. The wall properties of the channel are taken into consideration. Moreover, the fluid is considered to possess variable viscosity which shows exponential variation across the width of the channel. The investigations also consider the mass and heat transfer properties

Construction on swelling soil represents a challenge to geotechnical engineers. Sodium silicate is usually offered to improve soil quality but with other chemicals; however, its sole effect on soil characteristics is still questionable. Thus, the main objective of this paper is to test the feasibility of depending on only sodium silicate in stabilizing swelling soil. To reach results, an expansive

Groundwater levels have been declining recently in Malaysia. This is why, the current study was aimed to propose an accurate groundwater levels prediction model using machine learning algorithms in highly populated towns in Selangor, Malaysia. The models developed used 11 months of previously recorded data of rainfall, temperature and evaporation to predict groundwater levels. Three machine learning

Based on the transfer matrix method valley-spin caloritronic transport properties of ferromagnetic silicene superlattice are investigated theoretically under ac-field effect of various frequencies. The purpose of this work is to describe resolved thermoelectric parameters such as (charge, spin and valley) Seebeck and Peltier coefficients and electronic thermal conductance, by photon-assisted tunneling

The flow and heat transfer fields of a nanofluid within V-shaped cavity are analyzed using the incompressible smoothed particle hydrodynamic (ISPH) scheme. Novel studies on a nanofluid-occupied V-shaped cavity with a partial layer heterogeneous porous medium were conducted. The bottom and top corners of the V-shaped enclosure have isothermal conditions while the remaining boundaries are considered

In this paper, the cascaded control scheme is introduced for the first time to the rotor stability problem. Cascaded excitation and governing control schemes are introduced to damp rotor oscillations. PID cascaded control is used for its popularity and effectiveness. These controllers will be fine-tuned using a novel metaheuristic optimization technique, namely the Marine Predator Algorithm; which

Current interest in reusing waste polymer shows substantial benefits of using it as a sustainable polymer in improving asphalt properties, attaining environmental stability and promoting industrial-economic benefits. Waste plastics have a vital role in the current asphalt applications. Trial sections of roads made with waste plastic modified asphalt, during 2019 in Australia, highlighted the significant

The deployment of the use of inshore wind farms is an important for the preservation of the environmental aspects of the Mediterranean Sea zone, and seeks to achieve this goal all major industrialized countries bordering it. To assess the wind profile and its economic feasibility for the coastal area in Sidi Barrani province, a meteorological station with mast of 10 m was constructed near the Mediterranean

Turning movements are one of the key inputs required for several traffic studies. Several methods have been developed to measure them. However, present techniques have high operational or capital costs, which motivate researchers to develop new techniques to estimate turning movements. However, there is neither a flexible technique available to make best use of different available information types

Nowadays, the subject of delays is considered one of the most challenging problems for construction projects, particularly in Egypt. Delays occurrence normally leads to an increase in the project’s time and so its cost. Analyzing the factors of construction project delays in Egypt is a matter of crucial importance; thus, the reason why a systematic processing framework is developed. Considered as one

Recent research has been focusing on using various media in glazing cavities to minimize heat transfer through translucent elements of buildings. During this study, the thermal efficiency of a Phase change material (RT28HC) glazed unit was experimentally investigated compared with that filled with air in dry arid region. Then, the effect of PCM thicknesses on the thermal efficiency of double-glazing

Mini hydropower plants can be considered as good instruments for power generation at a low cost with high efficiency. This study is undertaken to help address the electricity shortage that Iraq has faced for many decades. This study covers the design and analysis of two alternatives, which are hydropower and thermal power plants, through a mathematical financial feasibility approach. The study area

The main aim of this paper is to evaluate the effects of installing speed-humps on the safety and mobility of the unconventional median U-turn, three-leg intersections, using the VISSIM microscopic traffic simulation model. The average delay was used as the measure of mobility, while the simulated conflict ratio based on the time-to-collision (TTC) surrogate safety measure, was used as an indicator

This research aims at the electric and magnetic characterization of specific organometallic complexes for the purpose of using them as molecular wires confined in specific channels that can find applications in electronic systems. The hybrid inorganic–organic materials are organometallic complexes from different ligands (2-amino-6- (tert-butyl)-4-(4-methoxyphenyl)-5,6,7,8-tetrahydroquinoline-3-carbonitrile

Emergency management is a fundamental issue in building management. Therefore, this study was established to simulate the required times and movement conditions for user evacuation from Campus Infrastructure Building in a 3D environment. Eight simulations are carried out by a multi-agent evacuation simulator, Pathfinder, considering 100% and 70% users capacity with a combination of random, divide,

A novel self write-terminated driver is proposed for the hybrid spin transfer torque-magnetic tunnel junction (STT-MTJ)/CMOS circuits based on logic-in-memory (LIM) structure. Using continuous write monitoring mechanism, the novel circuitry completely eliminates the unnecessary flow of write current which abolishes the wastage of write energy in the proposed write driver. Hence, the total energy required

The transport of pollutants in the large rivers especially in the lowest downstream reach of a river, in which the velocity and the intensity of flow turbulent become very low, is performed to a great extent by dispersion. Any measure to enhance the level of turbulence in the flow field will increase the mixing of pollutants. The main goal of the present study is to investigate how the transverse mixing

This paper discusses a new algorithm for generating the Pareto frontier for bi-level multi-objective rough nonlinear programming problem (BL-MRNPP). In this algorithm, the uncertainty exists in constraints which are modeled as a rough set. Initially, BL-MRNPP is transformed into four deterministic models. The weighted method and the Karush-Kuhn-Tucker optimality condition are combined to obtain the

This study is conducted based on the pressing environmental issue in Malaysia of heavy metals concentrations in wastewater systems. The wastewater system includes the Klang River and its tributaries; the Gombak River and Penchala river; ex-mining areas, and wastewater treatment plants. One of the major causes of heavy metal pollution in rivers is the illegal dumping of industrial waste directly into

Due to COVID-19, universities in Jordan put all classes on-hold and switched to online learning. This study evaluates the online teaching of architecture design at the Department of Architecture- Jordan University of Science and Technology, second semester 2019/2020. The study started with organizing a focus group meeting of ten expert participants. Based on the focus group results, a questionnaire

Self-healing mechanism (SHM) application has attracted interest due to ability to self-heal as response to damage situations in various conditions, and is being actively explored. However, the application of SHM that can be autonomously triggered for temporarily keeping structural integrity of underwater robotic vehicle (URV) under flooding condition is still scarce publicly. This paper describes an

This paper presents a new parametric fault detection (PFD) approach for testing of linear analog circuits. It combines classified frequency-bands with amplitude weighting for fault controllability and test-points selection for fault observability. The test waveform sweeps on an applicable frequency-band instead of the whole band to stimulate parametric faults. The number of required samples is reduced

Small to medium-sized enterprises take advantage of the strengths and opportunities of cloud computing. These enterprises require a well-defined software process model to produce reliable and quality cloud software, given their limited resources. Existing related work is surveyed, and the needed missing features are determined. A cloud software life cycle process model is proposed, validated, and verified

In recent decades, climate change has caused an increase in anomalies in climatic variables and endangered critical infrastructures such as water resources. This change is of paramount importance for southern Iran, especially in the low-precipitation Sistan Plain. Therefore, it is crucial to consider variations in evaporation in the past and the trends of its future changes for water resources planning

Groundwater seepage forces probably act on lining when a deep tunnel in unfavorable geology is excavated under a high groundwater table. Serious water inrush consequently flows into tunnel and threaten the construction and operation safety of tunnel. To obtain analytical solution for deep pressure tunnels using composite stratum under a high groundwater table, the mathematical model is established

Our world is facing continued challenges of environmental and ecological pollutions due to human and industrial activities. One of the major threats is oily wastewater mainly discharged from oil fields, refineries, automobile, palm oil industries, and many others. Membrane-based technology offers an almost complete separation of oil from water. However, the technology is facing the challenge of maintaining

The present work investigates the interplay between building stiffness and replacement soil thickness and permeability, when an underlying swelling clay layer is subjected to continuous moisture using 3D numerical analysis. Simulations are done using the commercial finite element software ABAQUS, and data of a reference clay (Regina Clay). The swelling of the clay is simulated as a result of water

In this paper, we present a Crank-Nicolson collocation method based on modified Quintic B-splines for parabolic PDEs. The time-dependent convection–diffusion equation (CDE) and Burgers’ equation are considered. The integration of the problem is handled by using a modified quintic B-spline, over Crank-Nicolson (C-N) scheme, in space. The time-dependent terms are discretized using FDM. The efficiency

This work aims to analysis and detects the reasons of the collapse of a road in northern Morocco using simulation based on the Finite-Difference Time-Domain method (FDTD) and a real survey by ground-penetrating radar (GPR) method. In the simulation, we test several targets buried in dry soil at the same depth. Depending on the simulation results GPR survey is done in two zones. The first zone shows

The selection of the most suitable instrument for measuring the flow of sewage is especially important due to the urgent work of sewage treatment and complex measurement environment of sewage systems. To this end, the current work reviews a number of sewage flow measuring instruments divided into four categories of differential pressure flowmeters, open channel flowmeters, electromagnetic flowmeters

To reveal the effects of rainfall and runoff-yield conditions on runoff, the abrupt change of the correlation between rainfall and runoff is discussed. Then, according to the correlation between rainfall and runoff with the different rainfall states, the multivariate dynamic regression models of rainfall and runoff are constructed, and the effects of rainfall and runoff-yield conditions on runoff are

Nowadays, design, development, and motion planning of a mobile robot explore research areas in the field of robotics. Mobile robots have an extensive area of applications in various fields like space exploration, military application, industrial use, and many more. Hence, the design and development of a mobile robot is a crucial part of the above application. Among all the mobile robot, the quadrupedal

Many of the several authors have reported that reinforced concrete (RC) beams strengthened with externally bonded fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) laminates/sheets considerably reduced its ductility due to increase in stiffness that leads to debonding type of failure without adequate prior notice. This study aims to investigate the strength and ductility of glass fibre reinforced polymer (GFRP) laminated

Combined convection nanoliquid flow involving three diffusive components is investigated along with a moving plate and magnetic field effects. A wall heating/cooling analysis is carried out, given its engineering and industrial applications. The conservation equations governing the flow are solved by utilising a Quasilinearization technique and finite difference method. Heat, Sucrose and Sodium Chloride

Magnetic field plays an important role in numerous fields such as biological, chemical, mechanical and medical research. In clinical and medical research the magnets are extremely important to create three dimensional images of anatomical and diagnostic importance from nuclear magnetic resonance signals. In view of these applications, the purpose of present research is to the effects of thermal radiation

This paper proposes an analytical approach for reconfiguration simultaneously with DG hosting (RSDG) to reduce losses in the radial distribution networks (RDNs). Previous researches have mainly utilized Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques that need dramatic computational efforts and may lead to local-optima. Through an extensive circuit analysis new terms called “Diff and Pivot” are proposed based

The demand to reduce the greenhouse gases (GHGs) is a must to address the problem of climate change. This paper aims to help the decision makers locally and internationally to reduce the building's CO2 emissions in the project design phase. The paper studies the indoor CO2 emissions of green and conventional building. The assessment of embodied carbon of a green building material has been studied.

This paper proposes a newly chaotic maps integrated stochastic fractal search (CMSFS) for solving the optimal distributed generation placement (ODGP) problem in radial distribution networks. The objective of the problem is to minimize the network real power loss satisfying the operational constraints of distributed generations (DGs) and the network. The proposed CMSFS approach is an improvement of

This paper presents an adaptive load frequency control technique in both of isolated microgrid power system and two interconnected microgrids (MGs). A modified Jaya optimization method is used to make online tuning of the area controller. The Balloon Effect (BE) modification is designed to increase the sensitivity of the Jaya algorithm to both of the system load disturbance and parameters variations

Doubly fed induction generator (DFIG) control process is more complex in the calculations under voltage unbalance condition because of the power oscillations, and the conventional controllers cannot maintain the system in a stable and smooth condition. In this paper, a flexible method is presented to control the DFIG based on an improved extended power theory on the direct power control platform. The

This study attempts to reduce scour depth due to localised scour around a bridge pier by introducing Epoxidised Natural Rubber Alumina Nanoparticles (ENRAN) sheet acting as bridge pier sheathing. The performance of the ENRAN sheet was assessed based on the configuration of slots and by roughening with 1 cm diameter spheres. Experiments were conducted with pier shapes of cylindrical, square, and rectangular

A new flexible extension of the Inverse Weibull distribution is proposed and studied. The new density can be “right skewed”, “left skewed” and “unimodal” with various shapes, the new failure rate function can be a “decreasing” or “upside down” or “increasing” shaped. Some of its statistical properties are derived. The importance of the new distribution is shown via three applications to real data sets

Matrices have important applications of statistical analysis, circuits, mechanics, optics, and quantum physics. In this article, matrix explicit formulas of the exponentials for computing exp(αA), where A is a special n × n matrix and α is the order of fractional derivative, were obtained. The definitions of the fractional derivative respectively are the Caputo fractional derivative and Riemann-Liouville

Electro-chemical Chloride Extraction (ECE) is considered one of the most effective techniques used to extract chloride ions from reinforced concrete structures. The effectiveness of using ECE depends on some important factors such as anode type, current intensity, extraction duration, type of rebar, and chemical properties of concrete. On the other hand, ECE may cause some detrimental effects on some

Bridges are among the oldest, most important and basic communication structures mainly built on the rivers. Many of them are annually destroyed due to the local scouring phenomenon. The current study used convergent and divergent slot tools on abutments, and performed 45 tests to reduce the detrimental effects of this phenomenon around the rectangular bridge abutment. Experiments were performed in

Nowadays, carbon–based materials like graphene and its derivatives consume great nano-technological applications worldwide. Graphene, due to its attractive properties such as its unusual charge transport, mechanical and thermal capabilities, is in the nano-scaling research spotlight. Additionally, to overcome the scaling limitations of large-scale charge-storage-based memories, the Memristor is focused

Sustainable Development Goals have become a key factor in the design in the twenty-first century. The relationship between the architectural and structural systems is becoming a matter of relevance for sustainable design. The search for minimum material consumption can be seen by drawing inspiration from the solutions found in Nature. The high efficiency of natural forms, has become a contribution

Wind farm is the cheapest renewable energy resource (RER) in the world, however, the reliability improvement is a key for the future of this power plant. A specially issue is the overhead line interconnection, a weak point, even, a double circuit, the last projects have included modern equipment to mitigate the failure impact in the system as phasor measurement unit (PMU) and Intelligent Electronics

In using the assemblage theory, this article focuses on the concepts of “city singularity” and “urban atmospheres” in designing better places for children. A literature review revealed a theoretical framework aiming at a possible relationship between singularity, urban atmospheres, and assemblage thinking. A retrospective survey launched among practitioners provided insights for developing the formwork

This research has investigated the simulation of sustainable water resources management to assess the impact of socio-economic development on water, food and energy resources security in Khuzestan Province in Iran. To achieve this goal, after simulation of the water-food-energy system dynamics model, taking into account results of the sensitivity analysis, development of water resources sustainability

Management of construction projects requires effective and well-organized communication and coordination between all stakeholders as a vital aspect of the successful project. The objective of the study is to analyses the main factors of information and communication technologies incorporation and adoption into the Indian built environment sector. The methodology adopted is to use the primary data collection

The development and use of cloud based tools in virtual learning has been increasing in recent years. Electronic Design Automation (EDA) or Electronic Computer-Aided Design (ECAD) is one of the most important tools that are used for electronic circuit design and simulation. There is a number of available cloud based EDA tools that are used in industry and educational institutions. This paper introduces

The purpose of this study is to improve the electrical performance of the photovoltaic (PV) module by using the sunlight concentration and cooling technique. Three identical polycrystalline PV modules were used in the experiments; ordinary PV module, concentrated PV module (CPV) and CPV system with cooling technique. The experiments were performed in a clear day on September 24th in Duhok, Iraq. The

This study is concerned with solving the optimal reactive power dispatch (ORPD) problem considering the existence of renewable energy resources (RERs). The sensitivity analysis aims at studying the impact of incorporating reactive power resources and wind units for solving the ORPD problem. An enhanced coyote optimization algorithm (ECOA) is developed for solving ORPD problem. The ECOA combines the

Earlier research efforts related to concrete-to-steel rebar bond behavior predominantly focused on common parameters such as concrete strength, rebar diameter, bonded length and concrete cover, disregarding the actual/real state of concrete that comprises tension cracked regions. This investigation aims to study the concrete-steel rebar bond behavior through bending stressed specimens, in order to

One of the most important industries and building operations that cause carbon dioxide emissions is the cement and concrete-related industries that consume about 6 million Btus per metric ton and release about 1 metric ton CO2. Reducing cement consumption while using nanomaterials as cement replacement is favored for environmental protection reasons. In this study, the effect of nanoclay (NC) as an