The tunnel’s stability during construction is a very important matter. Some methods have been proposed for stability evaluation, but the hazard warning levels (HWLs) are more applicable among these methods. Despite monitoring and applying HWLs, several collapses in Shibli twin tunnels in Iran have cast doubts on the accuracy of this criterion in the presence of water. In this study, the critical strains under different water contents were measured through uniaxial compressive strength tests on 11 different shale and marl samples. A comparison of laboratory tests and numerical results shows that the influence of the moisture content on the critical strain is negligible. In addition, the results show that there is no direct relationship between the critical strain and uniaxial compression strength.
Bringing about urban, economic, and social changes in rural areas similar to those occurring in urban areas aims to reduce urban-rural disparities by providing services in those areas, decentralizing the management of these services, expanding citizen participation in local governance (decentralized administration), and achieving comprehensive development, developing and empowering localities, and keeping pace with new transformations and their impacts on the functions of the center and localities. In fact, the lack of clarity of the role of local government in planning and managing services has hindered development plans, and declined the level of services in rural areas, and has negative
... Show MoreThe primary goal of in-situ load testing is to evaluate the safety and performance of a structural system under particular loading conditions. Advancements in building techniques, analytical tools, and monitoring instruments are prompting the evaluation of the appropriate loading value, loading process, and examination criteria. The procedure for testing reinforced concrete (RC) structures on-site, as outlined in the ACI Building Code, involves conducting a 24-h load test and applying specific evaluation criteria. This article detailed a retrofitting project for an RC slab-beams system by utilizing carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) sheets to strengthen the structure following a fire incident. The RC structure showed indicators of deter
... Show MoreTo date, comprehensive reviews and discussions of the strengths and limitations of Remote Sensing (RS) standalone and combination approaches, and Deep Learning (DL)-based RS datasets in archaeology have been limited. The objective of this paper is, therefore, to review and critically discuss existing studies that have applied these advanced approaches in archaeology, with a specific focus on digital preservation and object detection. RS standalone approaches including range-based and image-based modelling (e.g., laser scanning and SfM photogrammetry) have several disadvantages in terms of spatial resolution, penetrations, textures, colours, and accuracy. These limitations have led some archaeological studies to fuse/integrate multip
... Show MorePrediction of the structural response of reinforced concrete to the time-dependent, creep and shrinkage, volume changes is complex. Creep is usually determined by measuring the change, with time, in the strain of specimens subjected to a constant stress and stored under appropriate conditions. This paper brings into view the development of creep strain for four self-compacting concrete mixes: A40, AL40, B60 and BL60 (where 40 and 60 represent the compressive strength level at 28 days and L indicates to Portlandlimestone cement). Specimens were put under sustained load and exposed to controlled conditions in a creep chamber (ASTM C512). The test results showed that normal strength Portland-limestone mixes have yielded lower ultimate c
... Show MoreThis research mainly aims to analyze local development strategy in Baghdad Governance, build the Strategic Model based on the study area's spatial interaction, and achieve the Trinity of Excellence based on the global model of excellence.
This research applied SWOT strategic analysis for the strengths and weaknesses of the internal environment and opportunities and threats of the external environment for the provincial council. In conclusion, the research specifies appropriate alternatives and choosing the best in line with the reality of the Baghdad Provincial Council. Also, the strategic goals in the national plan and the spatial interaction of the development goals,
... Show MoreThis study was conducted in the Department of Employment and Loans at the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs to indicate the importance and impact of both the empowerment and the functional flexibility in evaluating the performance of the employees. To achieve the objectives of the study, the data was collected through a questionnaire form designed for this purpose based on previous studies. Data obtained for a significant evaluation of the relationship between the components of both the empowerment and the functional flexibility with the components of the evaluation and determining the degree of importance of each component of both the empowerment and functional flexibility for the components of the evaluation by the extractio
... Show MoreToday, there are large amounts of geospatial data available on the web such as Google Map (GM), OpenStreetMap (OSM), Flickr service, Wikimapia and others. All of these services called open source geospatial data. Geospatial data from different sources often has variable accuracy due to different data collection methods; therefore data accuracy may not meet the user requirement in varying organization. This paper aims to develop a tool to assess the quality of GM data by comparing it with formal data such as spatial data from Mayoralty of Baghdad (MB). This tool developed by Visual Basic language, and validated on two different study areas in Baghdad / Iraq (Al-Karada and Al- Kadhumiyah). The positional accuracy was asses
... Show MoreCoronary artery disease (CAD) is the leading cause of death worldwide. Certain genetic polymorphisms play an important role in this multifactorial disease, being linked with increased risk of early onset CAD.
To assess six genetic polymorphisms and clinical risk factors in relation to early onset nondiabetic Iraqi Arab CAD patients compared to controls.
This case–contro
Correct grading of apple slices can help ensure quality and improve the marketability of the final product, which can impact the overall development of the apple slice industry post-harvest. The study intends to employ the convolutional neural network (CNN) architectures of ResNet-18 and DenseNet-201 and classical machine learning (ML) classifiers such as Wide Neural Networks (WNN), Naïve Bayes (NB), and two kernels of support vector machines (SVM) to classify apple slices into different hardness classes based on their RGB values. Our research data showed that the DenseNet-201 features classified by the SVM-Cubic kernel had the highest accuracy and lowest standard deviation (SD) among all the methods we tested, at 89.51 % 1.66 %. This
... Show MoreMagnetic Abrasive Finishing (MAF) is an advanced finishing method, which improves the quality of surfaces and performance of the products. The finishing technology for flat surfaces by MAF method is very economical in manufacturing fields an electromagnetic inductor was designed and manufactured for flat surface finishing formed in vertical milling machine. Magnetic abrasive powder was also produced under controlled condition. There are various parameters, such as the coil current, working gap, the volume of powder portion and feed rate, that are known to have a large impact on surface quality. This paper describes how Taguchi design of experiments is applied to find out important parameters influencing the surface quality generated during
... Show More