Energy efficiency is a significant aspect in designing robust routing protocols for wireless sensor networks (WSNs). A reliable routing protocol has to be energy efficient and adaptive to the network size. To achieve high energy conservation and data aggregation, there are two major techniques, clusters and chains. In clustering technique, sensor networks are often divided into non-overlapping subsets called clusters. In chain technique, sensor nodes will be connected with the closest two neighbors, starting with the farthest node from the base station till the closest node to the base station. Each technique has its own advantages and disadvantages which motivate some researchers to come up with a hybrid routing algorit

In recent years, the number of applications utilizing mobile wireless sensor networks (WSNs) has increased, with the intent of localization for the purposes of monitoring and obtaining data from hazardous areas. Location of the event is very critical in WSN, as sensing data is almost meaningless without the location information. In this paper, two Monte Carlo based localization schemes termed MCL and MSL* are studied. MCL obtains its location through anchor nodes whereas MSL* uses both anchor nodes and normal nodes. The use of normal nodes would increase accuracy and reduce dependency on anchor nodes, but increases communication costs. For this reason, we introduce a new approach called low communication cost schemes to reduce communication

A multivariate multisite hydrological data forecasting model was derived and checked using a case study. The philosophy is to use simultaneously the cross-variable correlations, cross-site correlations and the time lag correlations. The case study is of two variables, three sites, the variables are the monthly rainfall and evaporation; the sites are Sulaimania, Dokan, and Darbandikhan.. The model form is similar to the first order auto regressive model, but in matrices form. A matrix for the different relative correlations mentioned above and another for their relative residuals were derived and used as the model parameters. A mathematical filter was used for both matrices to obtain the elements. The application of this model indicates i

This paper focuses on Load distribution factors for horizontally curved composite concrete-steel girder bridges. The finite-element analysis software“SAP2000” is used to examine the key parameters that can influence the distribution factors for horizontally curved composite steel
girders. A parametric study is conducted to study the load distribution characteristics of such bridge system due to dead loading and AASHTO truck loading using finite elements method. The key parameters considered in this study are: span-to-radius of curvature ratio, span length, number of girders, girders spacing, number of lanes, and truck loading conditions. The results have shown that the curvature is the most critical factor which plays an important

Geotechnical engineering like any other engineering field has to develop and cope with new technologies. This article intends to investigate the spatial relationships between soil’s liquid limit (LL), plasticity index (PI) and Liquidity index (LI) for particular zones of Sulaymaniyah City. The main objective is to study the ability to produce digital soil maps for the study area and determine regions of high expansive soil. Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW) interpolation tool within the GIS (Geographic Information System) program was used to produce the maps. Data from 592 boreholes for LL and PI and 245 boreholes for LI were used for this study. Layers were allocated into three depth ranges (1 to 2, 2 to 4 and 4 to 6)

Self-repairing technology based on micro-capsules is an efficient solution for repairing cracked cementitious composites. Self-repairing based on microcapsules begins with the occurrence of cracks and develops by releasing self-repairing factors in the cracks located in concrete. Based on previous comprehensive studies, this paper provides an overview of various repairing factors and investigative methodologies. There has recently been a lack of consensus on the most efficient criteria for assessing self-repairing based on microcapsules and the smart solutions for improving capsule survival ratios during mixing. The most commonly utilized self-repairing efficiency assessment indicators are mechanical resistance and durab

Ziegler and Nichols proposed the well-known Ziegler-Nichols method to tune the coefficients of PID controller. This tuning method is simple and gives fixed values for the coefficients which make PID controller have weak adaptabilities for the model parameters variation and changing in operating conditions. In order to achieve adaptive controller, the Neural Network (NN) self-tuning PID control is proposed in this paper which combines conventional PID controller and Neural Network learning capabilities. The proportional, integral and derivative (K_P, K_I, K_D) gains are self tuned on-line by the NN output which is obtained due to the error value on the desired output of the system under control. The conventio