Two dimensional meso-scale concrete modeling was used in finite element analysis of plain concrete beam subjected to bending. The plane stress 4-noded quadrilateral elements were utilized to model coarse aggregate, cement mortar. The effect of aggregate fraction distribution, and pores percent of the total area – resulting from air voids entrapped in concrete during placement on the behavior of plain concrete beam in flexural was detected. Aggregate size fractions were randomly distributed across the profile area of the beam. Extended Finite Element Method (XFEM) was employed to treat the discontinuities problems result from double phases of concrete and cracking that faced during the finite element analysis of concrete beam. Crac

One hundred forty three of Klebsiellapneumoniae isolates had been collected from some hospitals in Baghdad city. The isolates were taken from different clinical specimens.Antimicrobial susceptibility test was carried out towards fifteen antimicrobial agents by using Vitek2 system with Antimicrobial susceptibility test cards. The results of antibiogram showed that the local isolates were possess highly resistance towards most antimicrobial agents under study. The high resistance wastoAmpicillin while the low resistance was to Imipenem.Two methods were used for detection of Extended Spectrum Beta Lactamases (ESBLs) production; first methods by using of Vitek2 system,thesecondmethods by using of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique to dis

The main objective of this paper is to study the behavior of Non-Prismatic Reinforced Concrete (NPRC) beams with and without rectangular openings either when exposed to fire or not. The experimental program involves casting and testing 9 NPRC beams divided into 3 main groups. These groups were categorized according to heating temperature (ambient temperature, 400°C, and 700°C), with each group containing 3 NPRC beams (solid beams and beams with 6 and 8 trapezoidal openings). For beams with similar geometry, increasing the burning temperature results in their deterioration as reflected in their increasing mid-span deflection throughout the fire exposure period and their residual deflection after cooling. Meanwhile, the existing ope

This paper describes the problem of online autonomous mobile robot path planning, which is consisted of finding optimal paths or trajectories for an autonomous mobile robot from a starting point to a destination across a flat map of a terrain, represented by a 2-D workspace. An enhanced algorithm for solving the problem of path planning using Bacterial Foraging Optimization algorithm is presented. This nature-inspired metaheuristic algorithm, which imitates the foraging behavior of E-coli bacteria, was used to find the optimal path from a starting point to a target point. The proposed algorithm was demonstrated by simulations in both static and dynamic different environments. A comparative study was evaluated between the developed algori

The use of biopolymer material Chitosan impregnated granular activated carbon CHGAC as adsorbent in the removal of lead ions  pb.2+   from aqueous solution was studied using batch adsorption mode. The prepared CHGAC was characterized by Scanning Electronic Microscopy (SEM) and atomic-absorption  pectrophotometer. The adsorption of lead ions onto Chitosan-impregnated granular activated carbon was examined as a function of adsorbent weight, pH and
contact time in Batch system. Langmuir and Freundlich models were employed to analyze the resulting experimental data demonstrated that better fitted by Langmuir isotherm model than Freundlich model, with good correlation coefficient. The maximum adsorption capacity calculated f

     This paper describes the application of consensus optimization for Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) system. Consensus algorithm is usually conducted within a certain number of iterations for a given graph topology. Nevertheless, the best Number of Iterations (NOI) to reach consensus is varied in accordance with any change in number of nodes or other parameters of . graph topology. As a result, a time consuming trial and error procedure will necessary be applied
to obtain best NOI. The implementation of an intellig ent optimization can effectively help to get the optimal NOI. The performance of the consensus algorithm has considerably been improved by the inclusion of Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO). As a case s

We present a reliable algorithm for solving, homogeneous or inhomogeneous, nonlinear ordinary delay differential equations with initial conditions. The form of the solution is calculated as a series with easily computable components. Four examples are considered for the numerical illustrations of this method. The results reveal that the semi analytic iterative method (SAIM) is very effective, simple and very close to the exact solution demonstrate reliability and efficiency of this method for such problems.

Abstract Additive manufacturing has been recently emerged as an adaptable production process that can fundamentally affect traditional manufacturing in the future. Due to its manufacturing strategy, selective laser melting (SLM) is suitable for complicated configurations. Investigating the potential effects of scanning speed and laser power on the porosity, corrosion resistance and hardness of AISI 316L stainless steel produced by SLM is the goal of this work. When compared to rolled stainless steel, the improvement is noticeable. To examine the microstructure of the samples, the optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and EDX have been utilized. Hardness and tensile strength were us

The catalytic activity of faujasite type NaY catalysts prepared from local clay (kaolin) with different Si/Al ratio was studied using cumene cracking as a model for catalytic cracking process in the temperature range of 450-525° C, weight hourly space velocity (WHSV) of 5-20 h1, particle size ≤75μm and atmospheric pressure. The catalytic activity was investigated using experimental laboratory plant scale of fluidized bed reactor.
It was found that the cumene conversion increases with increasing temperature and decreasing WHSV. At 525° C and WHSV 5 h-1, the conversion was 42.36 and 35.43 mol% for catalyst with 3.54 Si/Al ratio and Catalyst with 5.75 Si/Al ratio, respectively, while at 450° C and at the same WHSV, the conversion w