A novel robust finite time disturbance observer (RFTDO) based on an independent output-finite time composite control (FTCC) scheme is proposed for an air conditioning-system temperature and humidity regulation. The variable air volume (VAV) of the system is represented by two first-order mathematical models for the temperature and humidity dynamics. In the temperature loop dynamics, a RFTDO temperature (RFTDO-T) and an FTCC temperature (FTCC-T) are designed to estimate and reject the lumped disturbances of the temperature subsystem. In the humidity loop, a robust output of the FTCC humidity (FTCC-H) and RFTDO humidity (RFTDO-H) are also designed to estimate and reject the lumped disturbances of the humidity subsystem. Based on Lyapunov theory, the stability proof of the two closed-loop controllers and observers is presented. Comparative simulations are carried out to confirm that the proposed controller outperforms conventional methods and offers greater accuracy of temperature, humidity, and carbon dioxide concentration, having superior regulation performance in terms of a rapid finite time convergence, an outstanding disturbance rejection property, and better energy consumption. In addition to presenting the comparative simulation results from the control applications on the VAV system, the quantitative values are provided to further confirm the superiority of the proposed controller. In particular, the proposed method exhibits the shortest settling time of, respectively, 15 and 40 min to reach the expected temperature and humidity, whereas other comparative controllers require a longer time to settle down.
Sliding Mode Controller (SMC) is a simple method and powerful technique to design a robust controller for nonlinear systems. It is an effective tool with acceptable performance. The major drawback is a classical Sliding Mode controller suffers from the chattering phenomenon which causes undesirable zigzag motion along the sliding surface. To overcome the snag of this classical approach, many methods were proposed and implemented. In this work, a Fuzzy controller was added to classical Sliding Mode controller in order to reduce the impact chattering problem. The new structure is called Sliding Mode Fuzzy controller (SMFC) which will also improve the properties and performance of the classical Sliding Mode control
... Show MoreRefrigerant R134a has been widely utilized in automotive air conditioning systems (AACSs); R134a has a high global warming potential (GWP) of 1430 despite having zero ozone depletion potential (ODP). Coming refrigeration systems must include refrigerants with low GWP and zero ODP. The aim of this experimental study is to evaluate the thermal performance of an (AAC) with different values of compressor speeds, i.e., (1000, 1700, and 2400 rpm) and two thermal loads, i.e., (500 and 1000 Watt) with the absence and presence of liquid suction heat exchanger (LSHX) using R134a. The results showed that adding LSHX enhanced the COP cycle by 7.18%, 10.7%, and 3.09% for the first, second, and third speed, respectively, at 500 Watt, while the en
... Show MoreAmong several separation processes, the air flotation distinguish as remarkably high potential separation process related to its high separation efficiency and throughput, energy-efficient, simple process, cost-effective, applicable to a wide range of oily wastewater and no by-products. The current study aimed to investigate the effect of the type and concentration of surfactant on the stability of oil-water emulsion and efficiency of the separation process. For this purpose, three types of surfactant where used (anionic SDS, mixed nonionic Span 85/Tween 80, and cationic CTAB). The results demonstrated that the Span 85/Tween 80 surfactant has the best stability, and it increases with the surfactant concentration augmentation. The removal ef
... Show MoreThe impact of undergraduate research experiences on students' academic development and retention in STEM fields is significant. Students' success in STEM fields is based on developing strong research and critical thinking skills that make it essential for students to engage in research activities throughout their academic programs. This work evaluates the effectiveness of undergraduate research experiences with respect to its influence on student retention and academic development. The cases presented are based on years of experience implementing undergraduate research programs in various STEM fields at Colorado State University Pueblo (CSU Pueblo) funded by HSI STEM Grants. The study seeks to establish a correlation between students' reten
... Show MoreIncremental Sheet Metal Forming (ISMF) is a modern sheet metal forming technology which offers the possibility of manufacturing 3D complex parts of thin sheet metals using the CNC milling machine. The surface quality is a very important aspect in any manufacturing process. Therefore, this study focuses on the resultant residual stresses by forming parameters, namely; (tool shape, step over, feed rate, and slope angle) using Taguchi method for the products formed by single point incremental forming process (SPIF). For evaluating the surface quality, practical experiments to produce pyramid like shape have been implemented on aluminum sheets (AA1050) for thickness (0.9) mm. Three types of tool shape used in this work, the spherical tool ga
... Show More: The Aluminium (Al) material emerged as a plasmonic material in the wavelength ranges from the ultraviolet to the visible bands in different on-chip plasmonic applications. In this paper, we demonstrate the effect of using Al on the electromagnetic (EM) field distribution of a compact hybrid plasmonic waveguide (HPW) acting as a polarization rotator. We compare the performance of Al with other familiar metals that are widely used as plasmonic materials, which are Silver (Ag) and Gold (Au). Furthermore, we study the effect of reducing the geometrical dimensions of the used materials on the EM field distributions inside the HPW and, consequently, on the efficiency of the polarization rotation. We perform the study based o
... Show MoreThe improvement of the mechanical soil characteristics of jet grouting technique is very attractive. The jet grouted soil cement columns in soft is a complicated issue because it depends on a number of factors such as, soil nature, mixture, influence among soil and grouting materials, jetting force of nozzle, jet grouting and water flow rate, rotation and lifting speed. This paper discusses the estimation of shear strength parameters of soil-cement column (soilcrete) in soft clayey soil based on the relationships between the unconfined compressive and split tensile strength for the soilcrete and the effect of the jet grouting and water pressure in the values of cohesion and internal f
This paper describes the first occurrence of the monogenetic trematode Silurodiscoides
mediacanthus (Achmerow, 1952) in Iraq from gills of the cyprinid fish Barbus luteus from
Diyala river, Diyala province, Iraq. The description and measurements of this parasite were
given. In addition, key for the identification of the three species of Silurodiscoides, so far
recorded from freshwater fishes of Iraq, is included.
The presented study investigated the scheduling regarding jobs on a single machine. Each job will be processed with no interruptions and becomes available for the processing at time 0. The aim is finding a processing order with regard to jobs, minimizing total completion time , total late work , and maximal tardiness which is an NP-hard problem. In the theoretical part of the present work, the mathematical formula for the examined problem will be presented, and a sub-problem of the original problem of minimizing the multi-objective functions is introduced. Also, then the importance regarding the dominance rule (DR) that could be applied to the problem to improve good solutions will be shown. While in the practical part, two
... Show MoreObjectives: To assess the level of dependence severity, locus of control, and readiness to change in male alcohol clients and measure the correlation between dependence with a locus of control and readiness to change.
Methodology: A descriptive correlational design was conducted in the substance use rehabilitation centers at psychiatric teaching hospitals in Baghdad city from November /2021 to May 2022. The instrument of the study was designed by using sociodemographic, the clinical characteristics of the client, the Short-form Alcohol Dependence Data Questionnaire (SADD), Drinking Related Internal-External Locus of Control Scale: (DRIE), and the Stages of Change Readiness and Treatment Eagerness Scale (SOCRATES). The data was co
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