Construction projects are complicated in nature and require many considerations in contractor selection. One of the complicated interactions is that between performance with the project size, and contractor financial status, and size of projects contracted. At the prequalification stage, the financial requirements restrict the contractors to meet minimum limits in financial criteria such as net worth, working capital and annual turnover, etc. In construction projects, however, there are cases when contractors meet these requirements but show low performance in practice. The model used in the study predicts the performance by training of a neural network. The data used in the study are 72 of the most recent roadwork projects in Bahrain. The results are shown in terms of the sensitivity of changing one variable on the performance of all the 72 projects. These results can reflect on the methods currently used on contractors’ assessments in the tendering stage and support decision-makers in assessing contractors and selecting the best bidders.
A microbial desalination cell (MDC) is a new approach to bioelectrochemical systems. It provides a more sustainable way to electrical power production, saltwater desalination, and wastewater treatment at the same time. This study examined three operation modes of the MDC: chemical cathode, air cathode, and biocathode MDC, to give clear sight of this system's performance. The experimental work results for these three modes were recorded as power densities generation, saltwater desalination rates, and COD removal percentages. For the chemical cathode MDC, the power density was 96.8 mW/m2, the desalination rate was 84.08 ppm/hr, and the COD removal percentage was 95.94%. The air cathode MDC results were different
... Show MoreA characteristic study of a passively Q-switched diode pumped solid state laser system is presented in this work. For laser a comparison study for the theoretically calculated results with a simulation results using a software which calculates the Q-switched solid state laser parameters was such as energy, peak power and pulse width were performed. There was a good agreement between our theoretical calculations and the simulation values.
Toxic substances have been released into water supplies in recent decades because of fast industrialization and population growth. Fenton electrochemical process has been addressed to treat wastewater which is very popular because of its high efficiency and straightforward design. One of the advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) is electro-Fenton (EF) process, and electrode material significantly affects its performance. Nickel foam was chosen as the source of electro-generated hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) due to its good characteristics. In the present study, the main goals were to explore the effects of operation parameters (FeSO4 concentration, current density, and electrolysis time) on the catalytic perform
... Show MoreThis study introduces a series of single and pile group model tests subjected to lateral loads in . multilayered sand from Karbala, Iraq. The aim of this study is to investigate: the performance of the pile groups subjected to lateral loads; in which the pile batter inclination angle is changed; the effect of pile spacing (s/d) ratio, the influence of using different number of piles and pile group configuration. Results revealed that the performance of single negative (Reverse) Battered piles with inclination of 10° and 20° show a gain of 32% and 76 % in the ultimate lateral capacity over the regular ones. For pile groups, the use of a combination of regular, negative and positive battered piles in
... Show MoreAbstract: Despite the distinct features of the continuous wave (CW) Terahertz (THz) emitter using photomixing technique, it suffers from the relatively low radiation output power. Therefore, one of effective ways to improve the photomixer emitter performance was using nanodimensions electrodes inside the optical active region of the device. Due to the nanodimension sizes and good electrical conductivity of silver nanowires (Ag-NWs), they have been exploited as THz emitter electrodes. The excited surface plasmon polariton waves (SPPs) on the surface of nanowire enhances the incident excitation signal. Therefore, the photomixer based Ag-NW compared to conventional one significantly exhibits higher THz output signal. In thi
... Show MoreElectrical Discharge Machining (EDM) is a widespread Nontraditional Machining (NTM) processes for manufacturing of a complicated geometry or very hard metals parts that are difficult to machine by traditional machining operations. Electrical discharge machining is a material removal (MR) process characterized by using electrical discharge erosion. This paper discusses the optimal parameters of EDM on high-speed steel (HSS) AISI M2 as a workpiece using copper and brass as an electrode. The input parameters used for experimental work are current (10, 24 and 42 A), pulse on time (100, 150 and 200 µs), and pulse off time (4, 12 and 25 µs) that have effect on the material removal rate (MRR), electrode wear rate (EWR) and wear ratio (WR). A
... Show MoreAn experiment was conducted in a greenhouse - research station B - College of Agricultural Engineering Sciences, University of Baghdad, during the fall season of 2018 with the aim of propagating and initially studying the field performance of 18 and 20 potential potato lines derived from Rivera and Arizona cv. after in vitro exposure of nodal segments to different dosages of gamma rays (0, 10, 20, and 30 Gray) and EMS (0, 10, 20, and 30 mM). Each control cultivar and their derived lines were independently cultured in plastic bags according to the RCBD, with three replications. The results showed that the highest plant height and number of leaves were obtained from Arizona derived lines which gave 60.11 cm and 25.30 leaves.plant-1 in
... Show MoreAn experimental program was conducted to determine the residual of composite Steel Beams-Reinforced Concrete (SB-RC) deck floors fabricated from a rolled steel beam topped with a reinforced concrete slab, exposed to high temperatures (fire flame) of 300, 500, and 700ºC for 1 hour, and then allowed to cool down by leaving them in the lab condition to return to the ambient temperature. The burning results showed that, by exposing them to a fire flame of up to 300ºC, no serious permanent deflection occurred. It was also noticed that the specimen recovered 93% of 19.2 mm of the deflection caused by burning. The recovered deflection of burned composite SB-RC deck floor at 500ºC was 40% of 77.9 mm of the deflection caused by burning with a res
... Show MoreThe research started from the basic objective of tracking the reality of organizational excellence in educational organizations on the basis of practical application. The research in its methodology was based on the examination of organizational excellence in the way of evaluating institutional performance. Tikrit University was selected as a case study to study the reality of application to the dimensions of organizational excellence in it, The results of the analysis for ten periods during the year and month. For the accuracy of the test and its averages, it was preferable to use the T test to determine the significance of the results compared to the basic criteria.
The research found that there is an o
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