In this research, several estimators concerning the estimation are introduced. These estimators are closely related to the hazard function by using one of the nonparametric methods namely the kernel function for censored data type with varying bandwidth and kernel boundary. Two types of bandwidth are used: local bandwidth and global bandwidth. Moreover, four types of boundary kernel are used namely: Rectangle, Epanechnikov, Biquadratic and Triquadratic and the proposed function was employed with all kernel functions. Two different simulation techniques are also used for two experiments to compare these estimators. In most of the cases, the results have proved that the local bandwidth is the best for all the types of the kernel boundary functions and suggested that the 2xRectangle and 2xEpanechnikov methods reflect the best results if compared to the other estimators.
Construction contractors usually undertake multiple construction projects simultaneously. Such a situation involves sharing different types of resources, including monetary, equipment, and manpower, which may become a major challenge in many cases. In this study, the financial aspects of working on multiple projects at a time are addressed and investigated. The study considers dealing with financial shortages by proposing a multi-project scheduling optimization model for profit maximization, while minimizing the total project duration. Optimization genetic algorithm and finance-based scheduling are used to produce feasible schedules that balance the finance of activities at any time w
The finishing operation of the electrochemical finishing technology (ECF) for tube of steel was investigated In this study. Experimental procedures included qualitative
and quantitative analyses for surface roughness and material removal. Qualitative analyses utilized finishing optimization of a specific specimen in various design and operating conditions; value of gap from 0.2 to 10mm, flow rate of electrolytes from 5 to 15liter/min, finishing time from 1 to 4min and the applied voltage from 6 to 12v, to find out the value of surface roughness and material removal at each electrochemical state. From the measured material removal for each process state was used to verify the relationship with finishing time of work piece. Electrochemi
Spraying pesticides is one of the most common procedures that is conducted to control pests. However, excessive use of these chemicals inversely affects the surrounding environments including the soil, plants, animals, and the operator itself. Therefore, researchers have been encouraged to...
Background. “Polyetheretherketone (PEEK)” is a biocompatible, high-strength polymer that is well-suited for use in dental applications due to its unique properties. However, achieving good adhesion between PEEK and hydrophilic materials such as dental adhesives or cement can be challenging. Also, this hydrophobicity may affect the use of PEEK as an implant material. Surface treatment or conditioning is often necessary to improve surface properties. The piranha solution is the treatment of choice to be explored for this purpose. Methods. PEEK disks of 10 mm diameter and 2 mm thickness were used in this study. Those samples were divided into five groups (each group has five samples). The first is the control group, in which no
... Show MoreThe permeability determination in the reservoirs that are anisotropic and heterogeneous is a complicated problem due to the limited number of wells that contain core samples and well test data. This paper presents hydraulic flow units and flow zone indicator for predicting permeability of rock mass from core for Nahr-Umr reservoir/ Subba field. The Permeability measurement is better found in the laboratory work on the cored rock that taken from the formation. Nahr-Umr Formation is the main lower cretaceous sandstone reservoir in southern of Iraq. This formation is made up mainly of sandstone. Nahr-Umr formation was deposited on a gradually rising basin floor. The digenesis of Nahr-Umr sediments is very important du
... Show MoreNowadays power systems are huge networks that consist of electrical energy sources, static and lumped load components, connected over long distances by A.C. transmission lines. Voltage improvement is an important aspect of the power system. If the issue is not dealt with properly, may lead to voltage collapse. In this paper, HVDC links/bipolar connections were inserted in a power system in order to improve the voltage profile. The load flow was simulated by Electrical Transient Analyzer Program (ETAP.16) program in which Newton- Raphson method is used. The load flow simulation studies show a significant enhancement of the power system performance after applying HVDC links on Kurdistan power systems. Th
... Show MoreClinical keratoconus (KCN) detection is a challenging and time-consuming task. In the diagnosis process, ophthalmologists must revise demographic and clinical ophthalmic examinations. The latter include slit-lamb, corneal topographic maps, and Pentacam indices (PI). We propose an Ensemble of Deep Transfer Learning (EDTL) based on corneal topographic maps. We consider four pretrained networks, SqueezeNet (SqN), AlexNet (AN), ShuffleNet (SfN), and MobileNet-v2 (MN), and fine-tune them on a dataset of KCN and normal cases, each including four topographic maps. We also consider a PI classifier. Then, our EDTL method combines the output probabilities of each of the five classifiers to obtain a decision b
Effective decision-making process is the basis for successfully solving any engineering problem. Many decisions taken in the construction projects differ in their nature due to the complex nature of the construction projects. One of the most crucial decisions that might result in numerous issues over the course of a construction project is the selection of the contractor. This study aims to use the ordinal priority approach (OPA) for the contractor selection process in the construction industry. The proposed model involves two computer programs; the first of these will be used to evaluate the decision-makers/experts in the construction projects, while the second will be used to formul
This study suggests using the recycled plastic waste to prepare the polymer matrix composite (PMCs) to use in different applications. Composite materials were prepared by mixing the polyester resin (UP) with plastic waste, two types of plastic waste were used in this work included polyethylene-terephthalate (PET) and Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) with varies weight fractions (0, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 %) added as a filler in flakes form. Charpy impact test was performed on the prepared samples to calculate the values of impact strength (I.S). Flexural and hardness tests were carried out to calculate the values of flexural strength and hardness. Acoustic insulation and optical microscope tests were carried out. In general, it is found that UP/PV
... Show MoreOily wastewater is one of the most challenging streams to deal with especially if the oil exists in emulsified form. In this study, electrospinning method was used to prepare nanofiberous polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membranes and study their performance in oil removal. Graphene particles were embedded in the electrospun PVDF membrane to enhance the efficiency of the membranes. The prepared membranes were characterized using a scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to verify the graphene stabilization on the surface of the membrane homogeneously; while FTIR was used to detect the functional groups on the membrane surface. The membrane wettability was assessed by measuring the contact angle. The PVDF and PVDF / Graphene membranes efficiency
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