Flexible job-shop scheduling problem (FJSP) is one of the instances in flexible manufacturing systems. It is considered as a very complex to control. Hence generating a control system for this problem domain is difficult. FJSP inherits the job-shop scheduling problem characteristics. It has an additional decision level to the sequencing one which allows the operations to be processed on any machine among a set of available machines at a facility. In this article, we present Artificial Fish Swarm Algorithm with Harmony Search for solving the flexible job shop scheduling problem. It is based on the new harmony improvised from results obtained by artificial fish swarm algorithm. This improvised solution is sent to comparison to an overall best

Mixed convection heat transfer in a vertical concentric annulus packed with a metallic porous media and heated at a constant heat flux is experimentally investigated with water as the working fluid. A series of experiments have been carried out with a Rayleigh number range from Ra=122418.92 to 372579.31 and Reynolds number that based on the particles diameter of Re_d=14.62, 19.48 and 24.36. Under steady state condition, the measured data were collected and analyzed. Results show that the wall surface temperatures are affected by the imposed heat flux variation and Reynolds number variation. The variation of the local heat transfer coefficient and the mean Nusselt number are presented and analyzed. An empirical

This study investigates the performance of granular dead anaerobic sludge (GDAS) bio-sorbent as permeable reactive barrier in removing phenol from a simulated contaminated shallow groundwater. Batch tests have been performed to characterize the equilibrium sorption properties of the GDAS and sandy soil in phenol-containing aqueous solutions. The results of GDAS tests proved that the best values of operating parameters, which achieve the maximum removal efficiency of phenol (=85%), at equilibrium contact time (=3 hr), initial pH of the solution (=5), initial phenol concentration (=50 mg/l), GDAS dosage (=0.5 g/100 ml), and agitation speed (=250 rpm). Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis proved that the carboxylic acid, aromatic, alk

This paper reports a numerical study of flow behaviors and natural convection heat transfer characteristics in an inclined open-ended square cavity filled with air. The cavity is formed by adiabatic top and bottom walls and partially heated vertical wall facing the opening. Governing equations in vorticity-stream function form are discretized via finite-difference method and are solved numerically by iterative successive under relaxation (SUR) technique. A computer program to solve mathematical model has been developed and written as a code for MATLAB software. Results in the form of streamlines, isotherms, and average Nusselt number, are obtained for a wide range of Rayleigh numbers 10³-10⁶ with Prandtl number 0.71

Reservoir fluids properties are very important in reservoir engineering computations such as material balance calculations, well testing analyses, reserve estimates, and numerical reservoir simulations. Isothermal oil compressibility is required in fluid flow problems, extension of fluid properties from values at the bubble point pressure to higher pressures of interest and in material balance calculations (Ramey, Spivey, and McCain). Isothermal oil compressibility is a measure of the fractional change in volume as pressure is changed at constant temperature (McCain). The most accurate method for determining the Isothermal oil compressibility is a laboratory PVT analysis; however, the evaluation of exploratory wells often require an esti

This paper presents a study of the application of gas lift (GL) to improve oil production in a Middle East field. The field has been experiencing a rapid decline in production due to a drop in reservoir pressure. GL is a widely used artificial lift technique that can be used to increase oil production by reducing the hydrostatic pressure in the wellbore. The study used a full field model to simulate the effects of GL on production. The model was run under different production scenarios, including different water cut and reservoir pressure values. The results showed that GL can significantly increase oil production under all scenarios. The study also found that most wells in the field will soon be closed due to high water cuts. Howev

Background: Obesity is considered an important risk factor for periodontal disease. It has been reported that reactive oxygen species linking both diseases, systemic melatonin supplementation as antioxidant therapy, was addressed as an adjuvant to scaling and root surface debridement (SRP) to enhance the treatment of periodontitis. Objective: To investigate the efficacy of systemic melatonin administration in periodontitis-obese patients as an adjuvant to scaling and root surface debridement (SRP). Methods: A randomized clinical trial was conducted at a dental-specialized center. Eighty subjects were included and allocated into group-I: twenty periodontium-healthy, normal-weight people; group-II: 30 obese patients with stage-III tre

Shapes have differed in terms of their temporality, tools, technical variations, aesthetic functions and dimensions. The beginnings started with manual primitive techniques that have played an a significant artistic role in the ancient civilizations, then developed with the technological development and the digital technologies that encompassed various programs and specialist means in the graphic design, so that its visual outputs in the textbook that is considered a communication means that has an effect and attracts the recipient. That is what made the researcher search and investigate this topic describing the research problem as follows: What are the shapes as alternatives to the words in the design of the textbook? The research obje

In this study water-soluble N-Acetyl Cysteine Capped-Cadmium Telluride QDs (NAC/CdTe nanocrystals) using N-acetyl cysteine as a stabilizer were prepared to investigate the utility of quantum dots (QDs) in distinguishing damaged DNA, (extracted from blood samples of leukaemia patients), from intact DNA (extracted from blood samples of healthy individuals) to be used for biosensing application. Based on the optical characterization of the prepared QDs, the XRD results revealed the formation of the NAC-CdTe-QDs with a grain size of 7.1nm. Whereas, the SEM test showed that the spherical size of the NAC-CdTe-QDs lies within 11~33nm. NAC-CdTe-QDs have superior PL emission properties at of 550nm and UV-Vis absorption peak at 300nm. The energy gap