Al-Mukhtar Journal of Engineering Research
Al-Mukhtar Journal of Engineering Research is a free, open-access, peer-reviewed journal published by Omar Al-Mukhtar University. The journal is published annually in English only. It covers the research Engineering fields.
Copyright of the articles Published by Al-Mukhtar Journal of Engineering Research (Mjer) is retained by the author(s), who grant Mjer a license to publish the article. Authors also grant any third party the right to use the article freely as long as its integrity is maintained and its original authors and cite Mjer as the original publisher. Also, they accept the article remains published by the Mjer website (except in the occasion of a retraction of the article).
Microgrid for Residential and Office Building with Battery Storage and Central Hot-Water Tank
–Renewable Energy Resources(RER)are becoming a greater fraction of the energy supply, and efficiently delivering this energy to variable loads presents a variety of problems. This paper models a small-scale microgrid consisting of residential and office building with energy supplied from solar panels, battery and hot water tank, and grid as a backup. The load profiles representing one year of building electrical and hotwater energy demand are developed from historical meter data. Electrical demand is supported by battery storage, and hotwater demand is supplied from a central storage tank. A dispatching control algorithm is designed to transfer available renewable power directly to the loads or storage systems, while confirming constraints on power flows and stored energy. For a fixed annual load profile, the proposal goal is to size system elements to minimize cost while maintaining high renewable energy penetration and low renewable curtailment. Renewable energy from a PV array is dispatched to the load or is stored for later use, and the microgrid performance is measured by the renewable energy penetration, renewable curtailment, and system cost over time. Modeling results indicate that replacing some electrical storage capacity with thermal storage for demand hotwater has the potential to decrease cost and increasing renewable. penetration and decrease renewable curtailment.
renewable energy penetration, curtailment
Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
Comparison of Performance Analysis of PD-FLC in Controlling and Monitoring Water Level in the Tank with SISO-FLC and MISO-FLC
In this study, three different techniques for controlling water levels in a tank are compared: the single-input single-output (SISO) fuzzy logic controller (FLC), the multiple- input single-output (MISO) FLC, and the proportional-derivative (PD)-FLC. By conducting simulations using MATLAB/Simulink, it was discovered that the PD-FLC approach outperformed the other two techniques in various aspects. Specifically, the PD-FLC method demonstrated a superior response time, enabling it to quickly adapt to changes in water levels and maintain the desired level effectively. Moreover, the execution speed of the PD-FLC technique was excellent, as it efficiently processed input variables and provided precise control signals to ensure smooth water level control. One notable advantage of the PD-FLC approach was its ability to prevent overshooting, which can cause instability and inefficiency in control systems. By effectively maintaining stable water level control without overshooting the desired setpoint, the PD-FLC technique proved to be highly efficient in this study.
Improvement of Corrosion Resistance in EZ33 Magnesium Alloy via Yttrium Addition
In recent years, researchers have been investigating different alloying elements to improve the corrosion resistance of magnesium alloys. One such element is Yttrium (Y), which has shown promising results in enhancing the corrosion resistance of magnesium alloys, such as EZ33. The susceptibility of magnesium alloys to corrosion is a major challenge, as corrosion can lead to structural degradation and compromise the integrity of the material, especially in harsh environments. The influence of a single yttrium (Y) addition on the corrosion resistance of the EZ33 Mg alloy was examined in this work. The corrosion resistance was measured using the loss weight method, and the specimens' surfaces were examined using an optical microscope and a scanning electron microscope. The results showed that the corrosion rate decreased with the addition of Y, and microstructure examination illustrated that the corrosion product film formed at the alloy treated with Y was more stable than those formed at the microstructure of the base alloy. Moreover, the corrosion attacked the area where the intermetallic phases formed, which was shown via optical microscope images. Y can be an effective alloying element to enhance the durability of Mg alloys in structural or biomedical applications.
Copyright (c) 2024 Zayad M. Sheggaf, Mansour A. Alghdhban2, Fatma A. Elbhilil, Ashraf M. Elaswad (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
The effect of Curing time and temperature on Cathodic Disbondment Behavior of Epoxy-Coated Steel in Marine Environments
Protecting steel structures from corrosion in various environments typically involves coating and cathodic protection. Multiple factors affect the rate at which a coating disbonds, including curing time, temperature, surface preparation, and coating thickness. Numerous research studies have investigated the mechanisms behind blister formation and growth. This study focuses on how the curing temperature affects the number of blisters, blister diameters, and disbanded steel coated with a 100µm epoxy resin. The results show that as the curing time increases for cathodically protected and unprotected samples, the time taken for initial disbonding is prolonged. It is worth noting that the blistering time is longer in polarized samples than in non-polarized ones, regardless of the curing temperature. In addition, blister formation is less frequent in polarized samples than non-polarised ones. As the curing temperature increases, the disbonding area decreases in protected and cathodically unprotected conditions. It has been observed that the size of blisters decreases with higher curing temperatures in protected samples. At the same time, it increases with rising cure temperatures when the system is in protection mode. Notably, the disbonding rates in unprotected samples exceed those in protected samples at all curing temperatures.
Copyright (c) 2025 Rafaa M. R. Esmaael, Dawod H. Elabar, Mohamed A. Gebril, Farag Haidar (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
Modeling and Experimentation of Monocrystalline Photovoltaic Module Performance with Flat Mirror Reflectors in Elbida Climate Conditions
The purpose of this paper is to give an outline of a method for optimizing solar panel performance in the presence of solar tracking mirrors in order to maximize energy output. Under the climate circumstances of Elbieda, as well as to examine the primary influence of cell temperature on the performance of mono-crystalline modules with a mirror reflector. For the photovoltaic system with flat mirror reflectors, a mathematical model has been developed to predict solar radiation. The components of solar radiation [global, direct, and diffuse], geometric factors, and geographical features of a PV installation are included in the model. In addition, to calculate the temperature of the cells. Where meteorological parameters such as ambient temperature, slope radiation, and wind speed are used to apply the energy balancing technique. On a specific day in July, the tests were carried out. The findings of the modeling simulation were compared to measurements taken during two periods, with and without the use of a reflector. For a traditional PV system and a PV reflector system, the coefficient of determination (R2) was 98.7% and 97% , respectively. In both situations, the mean bias error (MBE) values were less than 1%. The root means square error (RMSE) was 26.774% , 36.914% respectively in both cases. The estimated results were validated by comparing the results obtained for the measured slope surface irradiance and the measured unit cell temperature. The addition of flat mirror reflectors to successfully listed PV panels was extremely effective in detecting solar irradiance, resulting in positive findings of fitted parameters.
Photovoltaic, Mirror, Cell temperature, Elbida, Performance, Modeling
Copyright (c) 2024 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
Improving the Amount of Biogas Production from Cow Manure by Adding Chicken Manure Via Anaerobic Digestion
This research studies the possibility of producing biogas from a mixture of cow and Chicken manure with different solid materials concentration ratios with the constant temperature at (35oC), a constant ratio of water (1:1.5) and the constant pH 7 with a retention time of 10 days. In addition, the solid materials concentration ratio is (100% Cow manure, 90% Cow with 10% Chicken manure, 80% Cow with 20% Chicken manure, and 70% Cow with 30% Chicken manure). The results of the accumulated biogas yield at the end of the digestion for CM70%, CM80%, CM90%, and CM100%. was 460 ml, 385 ml, 315 ml, and 205 ml respectively.
Biogas; Chicken manure; Cow manure; Anaerobic digestion
Transfer Learning in Convolution Neural Network for Brain Tumor Detection Using a Small Training Dataset
Tumors are a significant risk in today's medical field, requiring fast and reliable automated techniques for detection, particularly for brain tumors. Accurate detection is crucial for effective treatment and saving lives. Various image processing techniques aid doctors in providing appropriate treatment. Manual or human-based identification of brain tumors using MRI images is time-consuming and prone to inaccuracies, especially for an experienced person. Deep learning algorithms have introduced effective solutions for brain tumor detection. The one constraint is that the algorithms need to train on a huge amount of data for reliable performance. This research aims to investigate the effectiveness of transfer learning for brain tumor detection using a small training dataset regardless of the tumor type. Therefore, we have used three models of Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN): traditional model, enhanced model, and transfer learning-based model. The average results have shown that the transfer learning-based model has better performance on the small training dataset than traditional and enhanced models, with a classification accuracy reached 92%.
Copyright (c) 2024 khamis Faraj Aljribi, Mohammed Elhadi Faraj (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
Optimized Renewable Energy Control for Multi-Function Buildings with Shiftable Loads
The increasing integration of distributed and intermittent renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind, is transforming the energy landscape, posing significant challenges for reliably delivering power to loads that fluctuate throughout the day and year. This research focuses on the development of a detailed model for a small-scale microgrid that powers a multi-functional building, incorporating a combination of renewable energy systems like wind turbines and photovoltaic panels, supplemented by battery and thermal storage, with grid power serving as a backup. The inclusion of both residential and commercial spaces within the building is intended to create a more balanced and predictable energy demand profile. Using a blend of historical meter readings and simulation-based modeling, two annual load profiles are developed to represent the building’s electricity and hot-water consumption patterns. To meet these demands, battery storage is employed for electricity, while hot-water needs are managed through a central thermal storage system. A carefully designed energy dispatch algorithm is implemented to prioritize the distribution of available renewable power either directly to the load or to storage systems while respecting operational constraints related to power flow and storage capacity. The system design aims to optimize the sizing of the microgrid components to minimize total costs while achieving high renewable energy penetration and minimizing curtailment. Simulation results reveal that a multi-functional building, due to its more consistent load throughout the day and across seasons, achieves a lower energy cost per unit delivered compared to a purely residential building, making it a more cost-effective solution for integrating renewable energy. The study uses typical domestic and commercial load patterns based on historical data to simulate realistic energy demand. Residential loads peak in the mornings and evenings, while commercial loads peak during daytime hours. Seasonal changes are also considered to reflect annual load variation.
Copyright (c) 2024 Ibrahim Aldaouab, Ahmad B.G. Abdalla, Anis Issa (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
Robust Detection Technique in Cooperative Radio Networks
Traditional spectrum management reserves most of the spectrum for licensed users with exclusive access. To address spectrum scarcity, it is crucial to explore unlicensed operations in licensed bands so the interference between the Primary Users (PU) and Secondary Users (SU) is prevented. The success of Cognitive Radio (CR) networks depends on robust security measures to avoid misuse and to ensure trust among nodes, requiring mechanisms to distinguish primary from secondary user signals. While secondary users enhance spectrum utilization by sensing and accessing available frequencies, this capability introduces security risks. Malicious users can exploit the system to disrupt operations and degrade frequency determination performance. To mitigate these issues, the proposed scheme integrates advanced security measures based on trust and weight values to ensure secure spectrum access. It evaluated the trustworthiness of each SU using location coordinates and received signal strength. SUs performs independent frequency determination and submit data to a Fusion Center (FC) The FC combines local sensing results with trust weights and applies some rules to detect primary user presence reliably. A Limited Threshold Range (LTR) mechanism is proposed to minimize the impact of low-trust users by reducing their influence on decision-making. The LTR ensures that users from the threshold value contribute less to the decision and the visa-versa. This approach leads to enhancing decision accuracy.
Copyright (c) 2024 Mahmoud Ali Ammar, Abderazag Masoud, Ali Farig Kaeib (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
Robust Solar Energy Tracking System Using Data Logger
Recent advancements in solar energy technology have gained mo-mentum globally, with commercial solar power platforms becom-ing increasingly accessible in various regions. Over the past few decades, renewable energy sources have garnered significant inter-est, with solar energy standing out as one of the most vital. This energy source is environmentally friendly, producing no pollution, and remains naturally abundant without human control, making solar systems indispensable in modern power generation. Solar tracking technologies are designed to ensure that the solar panel surface aligns perpendicularly with incoming sunlight to optimize solar energy harnessing. This alignment maximizes light absorp-tion, enabling the highest electrical energy output. Specifically, when sunlight strikes the panel at a perpendicular angle, it gener-ates peak efficiency in energy conversion. This work focuses on developing a two-axis solar tracking system equipped with a data logger to record voltage and current readings from the solar panel. Sensors connected to an Arduino board are the system's primary controller, sending signals to motors that adjust the panel's position based on input from light-dependent resistors (LDRs). A Pyra-nometer, aligned with the solar panel, was used to provide accurate solar radiation and weather data. The system was validated to en-sure reliable performance, with collected data aiding in power anal-ysis and statistics.
Copyright (c) 2024 Mahmoud Ali Ammar, Ali Farig kaeib, Mohammed Alshreef (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
Symbolic Regression for the Wall Effect on a Settling Sphere in a Circular Cylinder
The main contribution of the current paper is to provide symbolic regression-based correlations for the wall correction factor of a sphere settling in a static fluid confined in an infinitely long circular cylinder. The first correlation will be valid for the entire spectrum of the flow regimes that range from the creeping flow regime up to the turbulent flow regime. While the second correlation is compact and only valid in the creeping flow regime, it accurately reassembles Haberman and Sayre's complicated analytical formula (David Taylor Model Basin Report No. 1143, Washington, D. C, US Navy Dept, 1958). A review of the available data and correlations is made to justify the selection of the data used in generating the correlation. This is followed by feeding a representative data to a symbolic regression software, selecting a dependency of the parameter of interest, running the software and selecting a correlation that has a relatively small length with good accuracy among the resulting suggested formulas. We used a small volume of training data from experiments to feed the symbolic regression machine-learning algorithm. The developed formula compared reasonably well with the available data and can extrapolate beyond its training data range. For the correlation limited for the creeping flow regime, the training data was obtained by solving a set of equations that constitute the Haberman and Sayre analytical formula. The obtained expression compared well when compared to the exact solution.
Copyright (c) 2024 Husam A. Elghannay, Yousef M. F. El Hasadi (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
Simulation Of Dehydration Process By Using Ethylene Glycol Butyl Ether (Egbe)
The raw natural gas extracted from production wells contains many impurities such as oil, sulphur, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and other impurities. Among these impurities that must be removed in order to achieve the specifications of the liquid natural gas (LNG) is a water vapor. Because free water causes hydrate formation in transport pipelines and in addition to corrosion when combine with acid gases, resulting in heavy losses in maintenance costs of transport pipelines. For these reasons, natural gas must be dehydrated. The most common methods is Glycol dehydration process, and this process has a good results. In this paper, we have suggested a solvent and simulated it and proof its effectiveness in dissolving the water and dehydration the gas instead of using Tri-ethylene Glycol (TEG). This solvent is Ethylene Glycol Butyl Ether (EGBE), It is used widely as a solvent in surface coatings, and used in metal and household cleaners. It isn’t use in previously natural gas processing. The comparison between glycol types done by Aspen Hysys (glycol package model approach) and according to the dry gas specifications, the simulation results show that: the appropriate flow rate for EG, DEG, TEG, TREG and EGBE are 500 Kgmol/h, 429.5 Kgmol/h, 337.1 Kgmol/h, 80 Kgmol/h and 25.3 Kgmol/h, respectively. Ethylene Glycol Butyl Ether prove a high the efficiency it in dissolving the water with a little flow rate, as well as decrease the energy required for the operation. This paper looks to the use of EGBE as an alternative to TEG for its high efficacy in dissolving water, also significant decrease in the cost of dehydration gas about 98.7 x 109 $/Year].
Copyright (c) 2024 Abdualfatah S. Mahmod, Abdrabba I. Hassan, Rasha A. Alabd (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
Design and comparison of symmetric compensation method for DWDM system and WDM by using optisystem
Optical fibers are used in Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) networks for transmitting data in the form of light pulses between the transmitter and the receiver. Multiple signals could potentially be transmitted at once using WDM systems. The light signals, however, lose strength as they move through the fiber over a significant distance. Therefore, to restore the original signal after a specific amount of time has passed since light propagation, all light signals must be amplified simultaneously. With increasing distance, the signal is exposed to less dispersion because of the employment of two different types of optical fibers, referred to as Dispersion fibers. The SMF type was enhanced with compensation fiber (DCF), and the outcomes of the two designs were contrasted to decide which is the greatest and most dependable. Using the Optisystem program, this study simulates a four-channel optical communication system and tests it at various distances to determine the ideal distance at which the most data may be communicated. Analysis of the data led to the calculation of crucial parameters such as the Q-factor, BER, and eye diagram, The results varied depending on the length of the cable and the rate of transmitted data.
Copyright (c) 2024 Ali F. Kaeib, Lamia K. Amhimmed, Sajeda J. Aldridi (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
Top Glass Cover Effect on the Performance of a Parabolic Trough Solar Receiver
Solar energy is a promising solution to the rapidly increasing energy consumption. The parabolic trough collector (PTC) can be a practical solution, particularly in providing domestic water heating in developing countries. The impact of the glass envelope on PTC performance has been investigated extensively. However, only a few studies have investigated the effects of a flat-top glass cover. This study examines the impact of a top glass cover on the PTC performance by manufacturing two identical PTCs, one with a top glass cover and the other without a top cover. The top-covered collector showed a higher maximum absorber surface temperature (11%) and higher maximum water temperature (4%) than the temperatures of uncovered PTC. The results also showed that the theoretical efficiency was %56.9 and the experimental efficiency was %50.4. Installing the glass cover has led to a gain in theoretical thermal efficiency by 5% and in experimental thermal efficiency by 4%. The study recommends that future studies improve the reflecting mirrors and increase the size of the prototype.
Copyright (c) 2024 Mohamed Eltarkawe, Ali A.A. Adam, Hasan A. H. Husayn (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
Modelling and simulation of flexural behavior for reinforced concrete beams using ANSYS
Over the last twenty years, many investigators are used finite element software, to validate and compare the FE results with their experimental research. This work focused on the development of a numerical model implemented by the ANSYS 2022R2 software, to simulate the flexural behavior of the RC beam. Numerical models are tested under four-point bending. To investigate the influence of reinforcement steel ratio and compressive strength of concrete on the flexural capacity of the model. The results indicated that the Finite Element model was able to predict the flexural behavior of the experimental test beam. Furthermore, the influence of different tensile reinforcement ratios has the most effect on the flexural behaviour of the FE models at maximum loads. While the change in concrete compressive strength has affected the flexural performance of the models. This influence shows slight increases in the first crack load and maximum loads of the models. Furthermore, cracking pattern behaviour at the final stage for numerical models showed a good agreement with experimental cracks behaviour.
Copyright (c) 2023 Al-Mukhtar Journal of Engineering Research https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
Vibration damping using granular materials
The aim of this paper is to study experimentally and numerically the effects of vibration amplitude and frequency on the performance of granular systems, with a view to optimizing their use in reducing vibrations typically experienced in machinery. Granular material systems are highly nonlinear systems and, as such, have multiple factors that will affect any experiment. This nature of granular material systems caused some discrepancies between experiment results and the simulations of mathematical models. However, the nonlinear aspect of particle damping restricted researching its theory, but the experiment research has largely surmounted that limitation. Experimental results suggested several damping theories. Accordingly, the ability to reduce vibrations of particle dampers depends on several external and internal factors. The two external factors are excitation amplitude and its frequency, whereas the internal factors are related to the properties of the particles and the size of the container. Other internal factors relate to the mass ratio of total particles to the primary structure and particle placement. The experimental work included developing a computational single degree of freedom (SDOF) model to provide better understanding of the effect of shock vibration and work with the future experimental work.
DEVELOPMENT OF DRAG COEFFICIENT CORRELATIONS FOR CIRCULAR CYLINDER USING SYMBOLIC REGRESSION
The current paper provides a symbolic regression-based correlation for the drag coefficient for circular cylinder. The correlation is intended to be applicable over a wide range of flow regimes namely that range from the creeping flow regime up to the turbulent flow regime. Demo version of TuringBot symbolic regression software was used to develop different correlations using different sets of data. Experimental set of data was used in one run whereas steady numerical results for Reynolds number up to ~ 25 were used in generating a second set of formulas. In a different run data generated using Sucker and Brauwer (Wärme-und Stoffübertragung, 1975. 8: p. 149-158) correlation with uniform distribution in each order of magnitude was used to obtain a different set of correlations. The data was generated across five orders of magnitude of change of Re. Among all suggested formulas in the three cases, four correlations are considered for their simplicity and accuracy. The predictions of the correlations ranged from reasonably good to very good as compared to existing data and correlations. The relative error of the four developed correlations ranged between 9% and 16% when compared to experimental data for Reynolds numbers ranging from 1-105. In particular, one correlations was able to capture all the qualitative and quantitative changes in the drag coefficient over the different flow regimes for 0.15 < Re < 105. The relative error of this correlation was comparable to Sucker and Brauwer correlation.
A survivable Point-to-Point (PTP) Wireless Transmission Based On Adaptive Coding and Modulation (ACM) Technique
Wireless transmission can be affected by severe weather conditions such as heavy rain. Such a temporary weather condition leads to decrease the received power and thus reduce the signal-to-noise ratio, which degrades the overall performance. In some cases, in which a high bit rate is being transmitted where a specific amount of signal-to-noise ratio is required, the wireless transmission drops down completely. Adaptive Coding and Modulation technique could provide the feature of adaptation during transmission. In Adaptive Coding and Modulation, transmission parameters such as modulation scheme and/ or code rate can be altered based on signal-to-noise ratio measurements. In this paper, a survivable point-to-point wireless transmission was established using Adaptive Coding and Modulation technology. A concentration on the Adaptive Modulation was made in this work by using the AF-11FX equipment which is capable of modulate carriers using different modulation schemes (QPSK, 16QAM, 64QAM, 256QAM, and 1024QAM). In this context, the wireless point-to-point link was examined with and without the use of Adaptive Modulation. A survivable transmission was achieved in which an automatic switching mechanism is performed among the aforementioned modulation schemes based on signal-to-noise ratio measurements, which led to increase the average transmission rate.
High-Density Polyethylene/Kaolin Clay Composites: Optimization of The In-jection Moulding Process Parameters Towards Minimum Shrinkage and Warpage
Optimization of the injection moulding process parameters of thermoplastic composites made of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and kaolin clay (KC) was carried out using the Taguchi method. The parameters that were taken into consideration were melting temperature, packing pressure and packing time. Composites containing 98 wt% of HDPE and 2wt% of KC with various particle sizes of <75, 75-106 and 106-150 µm were used. Two defects that are usually associated with the injection moulding process of polymers were selected, namely shrinkage and warpage. Results showed that the optimal parameters needed to obtain a minimum shrinkage value for composites containing clay (regardless of its particle size) are very similar to those for the pure HDPE. Contrary, the optimal parameters needed to obtain a minimum warpage value depends on the size of clay particles added, which were also different from those of the pure HDPE. Results also revealed that the most effective parameter (both shrinkage and warpage) for pure HDPE and its composites with clay was the melting temperature.