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An Experimental Investigation Of The Dynamic Effects In Upper Drum Boiler Under Steam Mass Flow Rate Variation, Russul Mohammed, Hashim Hussein, Ali Numan

Engineering and Technology Journal

The dynamic effects in the “upper“ drum of the boiler (mechanical’s effects) are very complex problems and critical due to the pressure disturbance in the upper drum of the boiler. This work deals with an experimental investigation of the dynamic behavior of the boiler drum level system is reported from plant data (Al-Quds power plant) in Baghdad / Iraq under a particular condition of operating, and the mathematical equations of the boiler model variables explained and defined. The dynamic effects are investigated with increasing steam mass flow rate (10% and 20%) at the outlet of the boiler. The results showed …

Effect Of Growth Time On The Structural, Optical And Electrical Properties Of The 1%Fe Doped Tio2 P-Type Synthesized By Hydrothermal Technique, Sattar Hashim, Odai Salman, Khaleel Hassoon

Engineering and Technology Journal

In this work, a hydrothermal technique is employed to prepare titanium dioxide films on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) substrates. A low-cost homemade autoclave was used to fabricate iron-doped -TiO2 films (1at. %Fe) at different reaction times from 1 to 4 hours.  X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns showed that the predominant phase is rutile (R-TiO2) with peaks at (101), (002), and (112). The XRD results showed that with increasing reaction time the peaks become sharper and narrowed. The images of the field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) showed that with increasing reaction time the films appeared to have vertically aligned TiO2 nanorods. …

Investigating The Effect Of Magnetite (Fe3o4) Nanoparticles On Mechanical Properties Of Epoxy Resin, Ehab Kaadhm, Khansaa Salman, Ahameed Raja

Engineering and Technology Journal

In this paper, study the effects of magnetite nanomaterial Fe3O4 on the mechanical properties of epoxy. Dispersion of Fe3O4 nanoparticles in the epoxy resin was performed by ultrasonication. The samples of the nanocomposites were prepared using the casting method. The nanocomposites contain epoxy resins as a matrix material incorporated by different weight percentages of magnetite Fe3O4 that varies from 0wt.% to 15wt.% as a reinforcing material. The epoxy with the additive reinforcement materials Fe3O4 was slowly mixed in a sonication bath for 15 minutes, then the mixture poured into silicon molds. Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy FESEM and X-ray diffraction …

An Experimental Study Of Porous Hydroxyapatite Scaffold Bioactivity In Biomedical Applications, Auday Mehatlaf, Alaa Atiyah, Saad Farid

Engineering and Technology Journal

Hydroxyapatite is one of the most bioactive materials used in tissue engineering due to its excellent biocompatibility and chemical composition which is equivalent to the mineral element of bone. In this study, polymer sponge replication method was used to fabricate porous hydroxyapatite scaffolds. Pure phase of hydroxyapatite scaffolds and the chemical bonding were verified via Fourier Transform Infrared and X-ray diffraction. Emission scanning electron microscopy (F E S E M) examination showed that the proposed scaffold has high interconnected pores that were achieved just after sintering at temperatures 1350 ºC for 2 hours. The percentage porosity values were estimated to …

The Effect Of The Waste Of Materials And Carbon Nanotube On The Concrete Incorporated With Steel Fibers, Mayada Saleem, Farhad. Othman, Alla Abdul-Hameed

Engineering and Technology Journal

The addition of agricultural and industrial solid wastes and nanomaterials to concrete combined with steel fibers to improve the mechanical and electrical properties of concrete was investigated. This approach could be used in advanced applications in electromagnetic shielding and conductive concrete. Steel fibers were used at 2%wt. of sand and (induction furnace slag (EIF), carbon nanotube (CNT), steel wool fibers, prepared corn husks) at 0.5 and 1 wt.%. of cement. Obtained results of using 1% for both carbon nanotube and steel wool with steel fibers in the mixture 4 and 6, respectively, showed the highest rates of compressive strength. A …

Nonlinear Finite Element Analysis Of The Seismic Retrofitting Of Existing Buildings, Shirin Abdulla, Mohammed Hamood, Mohammed Al Hamdani

Engineering and Technology Journal

Finite Element Analysis (FEA) is a helpful tool for finding solutions to civil engineering problems. In this paper, the numerical analysis was performed by simulating an experimental test by using FEA tools, Abaqus /CAE2019 was used to develop and retrofit solutions to sustain existing structures for seismic hazard. The 3D building was modeled, and nonlinear analysis was adopted. This experimental building was tested at the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the ELSA facility that is in Ispra-Italy. This model was a building of a full-scale four-story tested using the pseudo-dynamic (PsD) techniques.The retrofitting model was done by adding new RC …

Indices-Based Evaluation Of Spatiotemporal Distribution Of Drought Within Derbendkhan Dam Watershed, Mahmoud Saleh Al-Khafaji, Rusul Al-Ameri

Engineering and Technology Journal

Drought is one of the most significant natural disasters in Iraq. It has a strong impact on the water resources in Iraq. Consequently, it causes massive environmental damage, economic deficiency, and social problems to the country. Therefore, more considerations towards the study and management of drought has become of vital importance in recent decades.In this paper, three drought indices (DIs) were computed for evaluation of the spatiotemporal of drought within Derbendikhan Dam Watershed (DDW) in the Diyala River Basin, Iraq. Based on the monthly weather data for the period (1984 – 2013) downloaded from the Climate Forecast System Reanalysis (CFSR) …

Slope Stability Analysis Of Haditha Dam After Earthquake Using Geo-Studio Software, Mohammed K. Malik, Ibtisam R. Karim

Engineering and Technology Journal

The current study is designed to analyze theslope stability of Haditha damwhich is an earth-fill dam constructed on the Euphrates River in the middle-west of Iraq. Finite element modeling was used in the present study to analyze the combined seepage and post-earthquake slope stability of Haditha earth dam. The maximum water level of a steady seepage case was considered to evaluate seepage. - Three different water levels (maximum, normal, and minimum) were applied, and nine different equilibrium slope stability limits were used to analyze the upstream and downstream slopes of the dam with three horizontal maximum accelerations.The input data given …

Nonlinear Finite Element Analysis Of Fiber Reinforced Concrete Slabs, Saad A. Al-Taan, Ayad A. Abdul-Razzak

Engineering and Technology Journal

This paper presents a study on the behavior of fiber reinforced concrete slabs using finite element analysis. A previously published finite element program is used for the nonlinear analysis by including the steel fiber concrete properties. Concrete is represented by degenerated quadratic thick shell element, which is the general shear deformable eight node serendipity element, and the thickness is divided into layers. An elastic perfectly plastic and strain hardening plasticity approach are used to model the compression behavior of concrete. The reinforcing bars were smeared within the concrete layers and assumed as either an elastic perfectly plastic material or as …

Determination Efficient Classification Algorithm For Credit Card Owners: Comparative Study, Raghad A. Azeez

Engineering and Technology Journal

Today in the business world, significant loss can happen when the borrowers ignore paying their loans. Convenient credit-risk management represents a necessity for lending institutions. In most times, some persons prefer to late their monthly payments, otherwise, they may face difficulties in the loan payment process to the financial institution. Mainly, most fiscal organizations are considered managed and refined client classification systems, scanning a valid client from invalid ones. This paper produces the data mining idea, specifically the classification technique of data mining and builds a system of data mining process structure. The credit scoring problem will be applied using …

Performance Evaluation Of Photovoltaic Panels By A Proposed Automated System Based On Microcontrollers, Mustafa Q. Ali, Monaf S. Tapoub, Hayder A. Dhahadc

Engineering and Technology Journal

In this paper, an automated test setup for PV panels using LabVIEW and several microcontrollers (μCs) based embedded systems has been designed, tested, and implemented. This PV testing system has been characterized as fully automated and the only human intervention required is to install the PV panel and to set the required testing conditions. Several PV panels were evaluated and tested, the obtained results showed a high degree of accuracy and conformity with several testing schemes that have been carried out numerically, manually and manufacturer specifications. The designed system is characterized by a high-performance standard with accuracy, precision, and resolution …

Eyolov8-Msaff: An Enhanced Object Detection Algorithm With Multi-Scale Attention And Feature Fusion For Small And Dense Object Detection In Uav Applications, Mohammed Hasan Mutar, Morteza Valizadeh, Alaa Hussein Abdulaal, Mehdi Chehel Amirani

Iraqi Journal for Computer Science and Mathematics

The proliferation of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has necessitated the development of sophisticated object detection algorithms capable of handling the unique challenges posed by aerial imagery. Traditional detection methods often struggle with small object sizes, dense distributions, and complex backgrounds characteristic of UAV-captured scenes. This research presents EYOLOv8-MSAFF (Enhanced YOLOv8 with Multi-Scale Attention and Feature Fusion), a novel deep learning architecture specifically engineered for superior performance in UAV-based object detection tasks. The proposed methodology integrates four innovative components: a Hybrid Spatial-Channel Attention Mechanism (HSCAM) that processes attention information in parallel rather than sequentially, an Adaptive Multi-Scale Feature Fusion Module (AMSFFM) …

Assessment Of Anaerobic Co-Digestion Of High Strength Organic Feedstocks Diverted From Landfills, Sumaiya Sharmin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2020 - Present

The increasing generation of high-strength organic wastes such as food waste and fats, oils, and grease (FOG) presents challenges for landfill capacity and waste management. Anaerobic co-digestion offers a sustainable alternative by converting these wastes into renewable energy and nutrient-rich digestate. This study evaluated the co-digestion performance of single fruit waste residuals and mixed food waste with wastewater sludge to identify substrate combinations that maximize methane production while maintaining process stability. Laboratory-scale batch experiments were conducted under mesophilic conditions using thickened waste activated sludge (TWAS) with varying proportions of food waste and co-substrates, including seaweed, aquatic weed, grease trap waste, …

Integrated Construction Uncertainty Quantification Framework Icuqf, Felix Delmonte

Mechanical and Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

This study develops ICUQF, an integrated uncertainty framework for digitally instrumented construction megaprojects that unite probabilistic simulation, fuzzy reasoning, Bayesian networks, AI-driven anomaly detection, BIM-linked digital twins, and organizational learning into a single operational architecture. The framework classifies uncertainty into aleatory variability, epistemic gaps, data-centric and model-centric risks, and cognitive or cultural sources, mapping each class to computational treatments such as Monte Carlo engines for stochastic variability, fuzzy intervals and p-boxes for imprecise expert judgments, and hierarchical Bayesian models for coherent evidence aggregation and online updating. ICUQF specifies data pipelines that connect IoT sensing, edge processing, cloud storage, and Common …

Mechanisms Of Advanced And Energy Efficient Wastewater Treatment Technologies, Derek Belka

Civil Engineering ETDs

This dissertation combines meta-omics, microbial ecology, and hydrodynamic analysis to explore mechanisms of enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) and aerobic granular sludge (AGS) in municipal wastewater treatment. Metagenomic and functional gene profiling of a laboratory sequencing batch reactor fed with amino acids and proteins, and with a low abundance of known polyphosphate-accumulating organisms (PAOs), revealed abundant Herpetosiphonaceae and Dermatophilaceae families possessed key PAO metabolic traits, including phosphate scavenging, anaerobic carbon pathways, and ppk2 gene variants aligned with established PAOs. These findings suggest amino acid-driven EBPR can occur via previously unrecognized taxa, challenging current engineering assumptions and highlighting the need for …

Mapping And Modeling Threat-Evoked Brain States After Early Life Adversity, Taylor W. Uselman

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

Early life adversity (ELA) increases lifelong neuropsychiatric vulnerability. Yet how ELA reorganizes brain-wide activity and circuit coordination across later experience remains unclear. This dissertation tests the hypothesis that ELA alters adult brain-wide activity and responses to threat through disrupted coordination among neural systems that regulate emotional experience, including prefrontal-limbic and monoaminergic systems. Longitudinal manganese-enhanced MRI of adult mice exposed to standard or fragmented early care, combined with computational processing and statistical modeling, quantified brain states before, during, and long after innate predator threat. These studies established that acute threat evokes large-scale, distributed brain activity that evolves over time. ELA potentiates …

Algorithmic Sculpting Of Complex Fused Silica Surfaces For Nondestructive, Mode-Matched Cavity Quantum Electrodynamics: Adaptive Co2 Milling And Simulation-Guided Ultrafast Inscription, From Fiber Fabry-Perot Cavities To Monolithic Architectures, Meagan E. Parker

Optical Science and Engineering ETDs

Quantum sensors achieve exceptional measurement sensitivity through coherent, well-isolated quantum systems, but practical deployment is hindered by destructive readouts that require repeated state preparation and create long system dead times. Optical cavities enable continuous, nondestructive measurements with minimal back-action, yet integrating high-finesse cavities into scalable quantum devices remains limited by existing fabrication methods. To overcome these constraints, an adaptive CO₂ laser-milling platform was developed. Guided by glass thermodynamics and melt dynamics, this closed-loop system uses in-situ phase-shifting interferometry to sculpt complex fused-silica surfaces with sub-nanometer root-mean-square roughness. The platform was validated by fabricating extended-length fiber Fabry–Pérot cavities and monolithic micro-cavity …

Multi-Robot Cooperative System For Complex Aerospace Manipulation Tasks: Theory And Application, Longsen Gao

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

Multi-robot systems can extend manipulation capabilities beyond the limits of a single robot, particularly for tasks involving large, flexible, delicate, or free-floating payloads. Reliable cooperative manipulation, however, remains difficult when payload dynamics, contact geometry, compliance properties, deformation-induced forces, and external disturbances are only partially known, and when safety constraints must be enforced during physical interaction. This dissertation develops a two-layer control framework for resilient multi-robot manipulation under uncertainty, with emphasis on space servicing, satellite stabilization, aerial transportation, and cooperative manipulation of free-floating structures.

Enhanced Computational Modeling Of Photoionization And Streamer Formation, Anahita Alibalazadeh

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

Photoionization is a key mechanism governing the formation and propagation of streamer discharges in air by generating electron-ion pairs ahead of the streamer front. Accurate and computationally efficient modeling of this non-local process is essential for reliable plasma simulations. However, the widely used Zheleznyak photoionization model relies on empirical assumptions and requires computationally expensive domain-wide integration.

This dissertation advances photoionization modeling in three ways. First, the classical integral model is enhanced by incorporating experimentally measured vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) emission spectra together with photoabsorption and photoionization cross-section data, enabling direct calculation of the photoionization source term as a function of pressure …

Simulations Of Atmospheric Pressure Streamer Discharges: Mechanisms Of Streamer Propagation And Related Physics, Dejan Nikic

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

Gas discharge simulations are performed with particular focus on photoionization process in a positive streamer discharge. The effects of this process are investigated by isolating the change in photoionization mean free path (MFP) and keeping the additional processes constant. Furthermore, comparison are made between various effects of simulation parameters, such as initial conditions, geometry extent, simula- tion particle count etc. All of these simulations are performed using a modern Direct Simulation Monte Carlo Particle-in-Cell (DSMC-PIC) code developed by Sandia Na- tional Laboratories. Large scale simulations including 1 cm and 5 cm electrode gaps are performed under standard atmospheric condition air. …

A Multidimensional Conceptual Framework For Supportive Outdoor Environments In Healthcare Settings, Mona Ali, Dalia A. Beheiry, Rowaida Kamel, Hammam Serageldin

HBRC Journal

The integration of supportive outdoor environments (SOEs) in healthcare settings has gained increasing attention for their potential to enhance patient recovery, support staff well-being, and contribute to holistic therapeutic outcomes. This scoping review examines design recommendations for inclusive outdoor environments in healthcare settings that impact user health and experience. Guided by the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) framework for scoping reviews, a comprehensive search was conducted across five databases (Google Scholar, PubMed, ScienceDirect, JSTOR, Sage), yielding 697 records. Following screening and applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 18 articles were selected for analysis. This scoping review identified consistent evidence linking outdoor …

Integrated Construction Risk Assessment Framework, Felix Delmonte

Mechanical and Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

An integrated risk assessment architecture for construction projects synthesizes data governance, BIM, Digital Twins, and hybrid analytics into a continuous feedback loop that links sensing, semantic modelling, probabilistic simulation, and organizational learning. The framework distinguishes aleatory from cognitive uncertainty and prescribes layered methods: Monte Carlo and Bayesian updating for measurable variability; fuzzy inference and consensus aggregation for linguistic and expert judgements; and graph-based discovery for dynamic cyber-physical topologies represented as time-varying graphs 𝐺𝑡. Governance primitives, aligned with ISO 19650, enforce provenance, interoperability, and staged readiness thresholds that prevent premature prescriptive outputs until model convergence criteria are met. BIM and GIS …

Data Augmentation For Vision-Language-Action Models: Bridging Vision And Language, Miaosen Zhou

Master's Theses

This thesis focuses on real-time task execution and object detection for autonomous robots through dataset augmentation. We propose a data augmentation approach to address dataset imbalance in Vision-Language-Action (VLA) models across both image and text modalities during the fine-tuning process. The proposed method takes an image as input and generates a structured textual description using a prompt engineering strategy to augment the textual input. The generated augmented text includes key elements such as the task goal, scene description, reasoning, and execution plan, along with other relevant contextual information. This enriched representation improves the quality of the training data and supports …

Early Failure Detection In Web Navigation Agents Via Closed Sequential Pattern Mining, Sergio Talavera

Master's Theses

LLM-based web navigation agents fail on the majority of tasks while consuming substantial computational resources before failure becomes apparent. This thesis investigates whether closed sequential pattern mining on the first K steps of agent execution traces can predict task failure early enough to enable meaningful computational savings with interpretable justification. We develop a two-phase system: an offline pipeline that symbolizes agent traces, extracts K-step prefixes, mines closed patterns via BIDE+, and ranks them by failure precision; and an online detector that matches live executions against the resulting pattern library. We evaluate on 1,544 MiniWoB++ traces across three open-weight language models …

Development Of Proposed Airworthiness Certification Criteria For Interference-Tolerant Radio Altimeter Systems, Matheus B. Furstenberger

Student Works

Radio altimeters provide height-above-ground information to flight deck displays and multiple safety-critical aircraft systems, however legacy certification standards were not developed for high-power terrestrial wireless services operating in adjacent C-Band spectrum. This study addressed the absence of a consolidated airworthiness certification framework for interference-tolerant radio altimeter systems installed on Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 25 transport category airplanes. An archival research synthesis was conducted using publicly available regulations, proposed and final rules, technical standard orders, advisory circulars, airworthiness directives, industry standards, spectrum-management documents, technical studies, and stakeholder comments. Qualitative content analysis and source triangulation were used to identify …

Co2 Fracturing Stimulation Technology For Low-Yield Directional Coalbed Methane Wells And Its Applications, Zhang Junsheng, Cao Yunxing, Wang Li, Wang Zhongbin, Yang Baige, Shi Bin, Cao Yongsen, Xu Fengyi

Coal Geology & Exploration

Background In China, low-yield coalbed methane (CBM) wells represent a high proportion of approximately 57% (over 12400 wells), generally encountering challenges such as low pressure, dry reservoirs, and near-wellbore formation damage and blockage. Conventional hydraulic fracturing is prone to induce water blocking damage, while treatments such as acidification offer only limited blockage-removing radii. Therefore, existing techniques are insufficient to achieve blockage removal and permeability enhancement while avoiding reservoir damage. Exploring efficient waterless stimulation technologies suitable for these low-yield wells is of great significance for increasing CBM production and advancing the CBM industry. Methods This study investigated directional wells PXC-03 and …

Triaxial Shear Test-Derived Strength Model Of Deeply Buried Frozen Calcareous Clay Incorporating The Effect Of Unfrozen Water Content, Xing Lezhang, Rong Chuanxin, Chang Lei, Wang Bin, Deng Jiyuan

Coal Geology & Exploration

Background The Huanghuai mining area represents an important coal base in eastern China. However, the Cenozoic calcareous clay in the area exhibits high plasticity, low permeability, and potential expansion and deformation during freezing, leading to unstable freezing performance. Consequently, artificial ground freezing (AGF) in the area generally faces a risk of cost surge or out of control due to the excessive thickness or limited strength of frozen walls.Methods This study investigated calcareous clay remolded based on soil samples from the Huanghuai mining area. Using a low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR) spectrometer and a high-pressure triaxial system, this study systematically …

Whole-Life Carbon–Cost–Circularity Optimization For Ai-Era Data Centers: A Robust Multi-Objective Framework Under Carbon Pricing Uncertainty, Arezou Shafaghat, Da Hu, Ali Keyvanfar

Faculty Articles

The explosive growth of artificial intelligence workloads has triggered unprecedented data center construction, yet environmental assessment remains focused on operational energy efficiency. This paper introduces DC-WLC3O, a framework that simultaneously optimizes three objectives across the full data center lifecycle: whole-life cost, whole-life carbon, and material circularity index. The framework integrates cradle-to-cradle lifecycle assessment with dynamic material flow analysis, employing a four-layer analytical stack: Monte Carlo simulation with Latin Hypercube Sampling and Iman–Conover rank correlation; NSGA-III tri-objective Pareto optimization; Sobol’ variance-based global sensitivity analysis; and Many-Objective Robust Decision Making (MORDM). The framework evaluates 192 design configurations for a 30 MW hyperscale …

Straw As A Potential Vegetable Fibre Insulative Infill In Framed Constructions - Material Testing\Tnotereftnote1, Patrick Daly

Journal of Sustainable Construction Materials and Technologies

The construction sector faces increasing pressure to reduce embodied carbon and adopt circular material strategies, with bio-based materials offering a promising pathway. Straw-based insulation, particularly in loose-fill form, has gained traction in Europe, where several products have achieved certification under EAD 040138-01-1201. This study investigates the potential of Irish-processed straw chip as a bio-based insulative infill for framed construction by evaluating its material properties and thermal conductivity–density performance relative to European ETA-certified reference products. A programme of laboratory testing was undertaken on commercially available Irish straw samples, including material characterisation (moisture content, particle morphology, and dust content) and thermal conductivity …

Development And Characterization Of Mycelium-Based Biocomposites From Ganoderma Lucidum Using Spent Yerba Mate And Residual Sunflower Oil For Sustainable Insulation In Construction, Paula V. Alfieri, Guadalupe Canosa

Journal of Sustainable Construction Materials and Technologies

The construction industry urgently requires sustainable alternatives to petroleum-based insulation materials such as expanded polystyrene (EPS) and mineral wool. Mycelium-based biocomposites offer a promising solution by valorizing agricultural waste while delivering competitive thermal and acoustic performance. In this study, developed and characterized biocomposites using Ganoderma lucidum mycelium combined with spent yerba mate and residual sunflower oil (70 g/30 mL), both commonly generated as waste in Argentine institutions. Two formulations were evaluated: high density (HD: 280 ± 5 kg/m³) and low density (LD: 185 ± 5 kg/m³). Samples were cultivated for 90 days at 28 °C and 65% relative humidity and …