The content of fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) is a crucial property of biodiesel and serves as an indicator of the transesterification reaction that converts vegetable oil into biodiesel. To facilitate the rapid estimation of FAME quickly in the biodiesel industries, simple methods such as measuring refractive index, density, and dynamic viscosity measurements were employed to monitor the progress of transesterification of castor oil to biodiesel. Blends of castor oil and biodiesel were mixed at different weights to find correlations between FAME content and refractive index, density, and dynamic viscosity measurements. The transesterification of castor oil with methanol was carried out to examine how the refractive index, density,

Software-Defined Networking (SDN) has evolved network management by detaching the control plane from the data forwarding plane, resulting in unparalleled flexibility and efficiency in network administration. However, the heterogeneity of traffic in SDN presents issues in achieving Quality of Service (QoS) demands and efficiently managing network resources. SDN traffic flows are often divided into elephant flows (EFs) and mice flows (MFs). EFs, which are distinguished by their huge packet sizes and long durations, account for a small amount of total traffic but require disproportionate network resources, thus causing congestion and delays for smaller MFs. MFs, on the other hand, have a short lifetime and are latency-sensitive, but they accou

Melanoma, a highly malignant form of skin cancer, affects individuals of all genders and is associated with high mortality rates, especially in advanced stages. The use of tele-dermatology has emerged as a proficient diagnostic approach for skin lesions and is particularly beneficial in rural areas with limited access to dermatologists. However, accurately, and efficiently segmenting melanoma remains a challenging task due to the significant diversity observed in the morphology, pigmentation, and dimensions of cutaneous nevi. To address this challenge, we propose a novel approach called DenseUNet-169 with a dilated convolution encoder-decoder for automatic segmentation of RGB dermascopic images. By incorporating dilated convolution,

This paper studies the effects of stiffeners on shear lag in steel box girders with stiffened flanges. A three-dimensional linear finite element analysis using STAAD.Pro V8i program has been employed to evaluate and determine the actual top flange stress distribution and effective width in steel box girders. The steel plates of the flanges and webs have been modeled by four-node isoparametric shell elements, while the stiffeners have been modeled as beam elements. Different numbers (4, 8, and 15) for the steel stiffeners have been used in this study to establish their effects on the shear lag and longitudinal stresses in the flange. Using stiffeners reduced the magnitude of the top flange longitudinal stresses about 40%, but did

This paper reports a study of the effects of steel plate diaphragms on shear lag in steel box girders within the elastic range of material property and without including the effect of plate buckling. STAAD.Pro program had been utilized to evaluate and determine top flange stress distribution and the actual effective flanges width in steel box girders with or without diaphragms. Shell elements had been used to model the flanges, webs, and diaphragms. Different numbers, thickness and types for the plate diaphragms have been used to determine their effects on the shear lag in the flange. Using diaphragms had affected slightly shear lag. The diaphragms number affected obviously the shear lag in the top flange, especially the magnitude of maximu

Test results of six half-scale reinforced concrete flat plates connections with an opening in the vicinity of the column are reported. The test specimens represent a portion of a slab bounded by the lines of contraflexure around the column. The tests were designed to study the effect of openings on the punching shear behavior of the slab-column connections. The test parameters were the location and the size of the openings. One specimen had no opening and the remaining five had various arrangements of openings around the column. All specimens were cast with normal density concrete of approximately 30 MPa compressive strength. The openings in the specimens were square, with the sides parallel to the sides of the column. Three sizes of ope

The geophysical testing is increasingly being employed in many geotechnical applications. It is preferred in monitoring the mechanical characteristics of the ground because of its economy, not time consuming and non-destructive nature. Seismic wave test is one of the geophysical methods which showed a potential in observing the general behaviour of the reinforced soil with stone columns. Findings in most cases showed that the seismic wave measurements was integrated with or compared to the conventional tests such as standard penetration test or cone penetration test. There was a noticeable success in identifying the enhancement achieved to the ground upon the strengthening with the column, specifically when the associated surveys can produc