The present work presents design and implementation of an automated two-axis solar tracking system using local materials with minimum cost, light weight and reliable structure. The tracking system consists of two parts, mechanical units (fixed and moving parts) and control units (four LDR sensors and Arduino UNO microcontroller to control two DC servomotors). The tracking system was fitted and assembled together with a parabolic trough solar concentrator (PTSC) system to move it according to information come from the sensors so as to keep the PTSC always perpendicular to sun rays. The experimental tests have been done on the PTSC system to investigate its thermal performance in two cases, with tracking system (case 1) and without tracking system (case 2). The experimental results showed that the average solar radiation falling on the PTSC prototype in the two cases during the same time was 854 and 701 watt/m2, respectively, which means an increase in the solar radiation about 21.8 % when using tracking system. It was found that the average useful heat gain output of solar collector was equal to (376.2, 252.6 watt) for the two cases, respectively, so there was an increase of about 48.9 % when using the tracking system. Also, the average thermal efficiency of the PTSC was found to be (20.7, 26.5 %) for the two cases, respectively, which means an increase in the average efficiency by 28% with use of tracking system compared to the fixed case.
The aim of this paper is to find out the effects of the strategy of productive thinking upon the student’s achievement for the subject of research methodology in the College of Islamic Sciences. Achieving this objective, the researchers set the null hypotheses: (1) No difference is noticed to be statistically significant at the level of significance (0.05) among the student’s mean scores in the experimental group who were taught by the strategy of productive thinking, and the student’s mean scores in the control group who studied by the traditional method in the achievement test. (2) At level of sig. (0.05), there is no statistically significant difference in the mean of scores of the pre-tests and post ones in the achievement test of
... Show MoreIn this work , an effective procedure of Box-Behnken based-ANN (Artificial Neural Network) and GA (Genetic Algorithm) has been utilized for finding the optimum conditions of wt.% of doping elements (Ce,Y, and Ge) doped-aluminizing-chromizing of Incoloy 800H . ANN and Box-Behnken design method have been implanted for minimizing hot corrosion rate kp (10-12g2.cm-4.s-1) in Incoloy 800H at 900oC . ANN was used for estimating the predicted values of hot corrosion rate kp (10-12g2.cm-4.s-1) . The optimal wt.% of doping elements combination to obtain minimum hot corrosion rate was calculated using genetic alg
... Show MoreLead-free 0.88(Na0.5Bi0.5)TiO3–0.084(K0.5Bi0.5)TiO3–0.036BaTiO3 (BNT–BKT–BT) piezoelectric ceramics were prepared using the conventional mixed-oxide method with a sintering temperature range of 1120–1200 °C. The effect of the sintering temperature on the crystal structure, microstructure, and densification, as well as the dielectrics, piezoelectrics, and the pyroelectric properties of BNT–BKT–BT ceramics were investigated. Scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction were used to study the microstructures of the sintered samples. The results showed that the increase in sintering temperature was very effective in improving both the density and electrical properties. However, the samples deteriorated when the sintering te
... Show MoreA reduced-order extended state observer (RESO) based a continuous sliding mode control (SMC) is proposed in this paper for the tracking problem of high order Brunovsky systems with the existence of external perturbations and system uncertainties. For this purpose, a composite control is constituted by two consecutive steps. First, the reduced-order ESO (RESO) technique is designed to estimate unknown system states and total disturbance without estimating an available state. Second, the continuous SMC law is designed based on the estimations supplied by the RESO estimator in order to govern the nominal system part. More importantly, the robustness performance is well achieved by compensating not only the lumped disturbance, but also its esti
... Show MoreWith occurrence of any financial crises, regardless at global or regional levels such as the great economic crises during 1929 – 1933 and the Asian financial crises at the end of twentieth century as well as the current global financial crises that started during second half 2008, we acknowledge that there are some critics loudly articulated accusing accountants and auditors for disparences, and they are numerical partner of financial manipulation as well as corrupted administrators with the company's administrators that they are difficulty. At this point, many suggestions and recommendation for upgrading the accounting system has been made.  
... Show MoreIntroduction. Epilepsy is a progressive, chronic neurological disorder characterized by recurrent seizures. Peppermint (Mentha piperita L.) (MP) is one of the most commonly ingested herbal teas or tisanes with a single component. Aim. We aimed to assess the potential antiepileptic and neuroprotective features of MP essential oil (MPO) in pilocarpine (P) and pentylenetetrazol (PTZ) models of epilepsy. Methods. The study used eight groups of mice to assess the anticonvulsant activity of MPO in both the P and PTZ acute models in mice. P (350 mg/kg, i.p.) was given 30 minutes after MPO (1.6, 3.2, and 6.4 ml/kg, i.p.). As a positive control group, diazepam (1 mg/kg, i.p) was used. PTZ (95 mg/kg, i.p.) was given 30 minutes after M
... Show MoreBackground: A minimally invasive antral membrane balloon elevation (MIAMBE) has been introduced to overcome the invasiveness of modified Caldwell-Luc (lateral approach) and the drawbacks of the osteotome (summers' technique) in maxillary sinus floor elevation surgery. Materials and methods: A total of 13 adult Iraqi patients aged 28-55 years, 4 males and 9 females underwent sinus floor elevation surgery via crestal approach by using sinus balloon technique. A panoramic radiograph and (Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT)/or medical CT scan) were obtained before and after surgery. Postoperative gained bone was assessed and the patient reactions including pain, nasal bleeding, and ecchymosis were recorded. The whole follow up period was 1yea
... Show MoreThe present study was performed to spotlight the potential role of soil bacteria in the Al-Rumaila oil field as a bioindicator of heavy metals pollution. For this purpose, nine soil samples were collected from different sites, with 20cm depth, to assess the pollution status depending on the total and available concentrations of heavy metals. The result indicates pollution of the studied soils with the following metals: Cd, Cu, Fe, Zn, and Pb. The mean of total concentration for all studied metals was higher than the allowed maximum limit based on the international limit:(3.394, 3.994, 39.993, 8844.979,150.372, and 103.347 µg/g), respectively. While measuring the total Metal concentration is important in determining the de
... Show MoreThe aim of this study is to develop the science textbook for the 1st intermediate grade by analyzing it according to life skills. Its core areas were mental skills, environmental skills, and health skills. The analysis tool was used after verifying its validity and stability in analyzing the science textbook for the 1st intermediate grade, and the results of the study resulted in the inclusion of mental skills on a high percentage of repetitions, while we find that this percentage is low in the inclusion of environmental and health skills. The study recommended the importance of achieving balance and justice in including skills in the science textbook for the 1st intermediate grade, by emphasizing the environmental and health skills by incr
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