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Go to Editorial ManagerVisual pollution refers to the negative impact of various environmental elements on the visual experience of individuals and the quality of the surroundings. This includes unsightly buildings and other man-made structures that disrupt natural beauty. The design of building facades plays a significant role in determining visual pollution. This study aimed to assess the impact of facade design on visual pollution by testing which facade design considerations most contribute to visual pollution in Peshawa-Qazi Street (100 m) in Erbil City. An online survey was conducted with 283 participants in six architectural departments within engineering colleges and other online engineering platforms in Erbil, Duhok, and Suleimani. Respondents included architectural students from the 3rd to 5th stage, academic staff, and professional architects. They rated the impact of individual facade elements, contextual integration, and other factors on visual pollution. A one-sample T-test was used to compare mean scores to a test value of (2.5). Results showed that all three categories of façade design considerations significantly increase visual pollution compared to the test value (p < 0.05). Considerations regarding the overall context of a facade had the most significant impact (mean of 1.93 higher than the test value), followed by other factors (mean of 1.79 higher) and individual elements (mean of 0.71 higher). To decrease visual pollution, it is recommended to the policymakers and municipalities to develop regulations, façade design guidelines and for architects to follow the principles of architectural form and composition regarding the integration of building facades with their surroundings, façade practical considerations, and refined composition of façade elements.
This paper explores the significance of energy conservation in the context of rising energy consumption and its impact on economic growth. With a focus on cooling systems, particularly evaporative condenser technology, the study aims to investigate its fundamentals, operating principles, and theoretical aspects. The paper delves into the various types of condensers used in cooling systems, emphasizing the role of evaporative condensers in enhancing heat transfer efficiency. The operating principles of evaporative condensers are detailed, considering factors such as air and water flow rates, wet bulb temperatures, and heat transfer coefficients. Theoretical models and mathematical approaches for evaluating evaporative condenser performance are also reviewed. The research includes an extensive review of existing literature on evaporative condenser technology, covering refrigeration models, HVAC systems, and various experimental studies. Theoretical models are discussed, highlighting the challenges in accurately modeling evaporative condenser behavior. The paper also presents achievements and advancements in research, including experiments that demonstrate the positive impact of evaporative cooling on air-cooled condenser systems. Various case studies and experimental validations showcase the potential energy savings and improved performance achieved through the incorporation of evaporative condensers in cooling systems. By switching from an air-cooled to an evaporatively-cooled condenser, one can reduce electricity consumption by 58%, according to research. This alternate condenser type improves performance by 113.4% at from 3 to 3000 kW of cooling power.
The study investigates the behavior of reinforced concrete cylindrical shells under monotonically increasing loads. Three-dimensional models of six small-scale experimental shells with length-to-radius ratios ranging from short (0.84) to long (5.0) are implemented within the context of the finite element method, through use of the ANSYS computer code, and the nonlinear response is traced throughout the entire load range up to failure. Cracking occurs at working load levels, with subsequent reduction in shell stiffness. Increasing loads lead to failure modes varying from a beam failure in long shells, combined longitudinal and transverse cracking in intermediate length shells, and abrupt diagonal with limited transverse cracking in short shells. Ultimate load capacities range from 5.0 kPa to 60.0 kPa increasing with decreasing length-to-radius ratios.
The study investigates the behaviour of reinforced concrete corner joints under monotonically increasing loads which tend to increase the right angle between the two joint members. The experimental results for two case studies are considered, and the ANSYS computer code is employed to create three-dimensional models for corner joints within the context of the finite element method. The effect of reinforcement details at the corner joint is studied for commonly used detailing systems, and the nonlinear response is traced throughout the entire load range up to failure. The results obtained are generally in good agreement with the experiments, and show that the detailing system has a significant effect on corner joint behaviour, with efficiencies ranging from as low as 54% up to 147%.
Gas flow measurements are pivotal in several medical applications. For instance, mechanical ventilators and respiratory monitoring applications need flowmeters with strict requirements. This study is concerned with a three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis. The CFD methodology was confirmed by analyzing the flow characteristics of flexible membrane with trapezoidal orifice plates. Variable area orifice meters (VAOMs) are increasingly being embraced in respiratory monitoring applications, employed in the context of mechanical ventilation within medical settings. Each system integrates a flexible orifice plate within the conduit. The simulations are conducted considering realistic deformations in structure through two-way fluid-structure interactions (FSI) using the Arbitrary-Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) approach. This research paper analyzes using the finite volume method (FVM). A thorough numerical simulation was performed for the turbulence models. The orifice's thickness and shape significantly influence pressure drop and deflection.
In the realm of cryptography, the Substitution-box (S-box) is a critical component for enhancing the security of encryption algorithms. The inherent characteristics of Chaos, such as sensitivity to beginning conditions and unpredictability, make it a highly suitable choice for encryption applications. In this paper, proposed a method for generating S-Boxes using 3D chaotic maps algorithms including (Cat map, Henon map, Sine map, and Cosine map). The primary focus is on enhancing the security and efficiency of cryptographic systems by leveraging the inherent complexity and unpredictability of chaotic maps. The design methodology focuses on achieving high non-linearity, optimal avalanche effect, and Strict Avalanche Criterion ( SAC ), ensuring that minor changes in plaintext result in significant alterations in the ciphertext. Our study presents a detailed analysis of the generated S-Boxes, demonstrating their robustness against common cryptographic attacks. Key findings include significant improvements in nonlinearity, differential uniformity, and bijectivity compared to traditional methods. The test findings and performance analysis indicate that our proposed S-Box exhibits much lower values of Linear Probability ( LP ) and Differential Probability ( DP ), while maintaining a suitable average value of nonlinearity. Additionally, discussed the broader implications of our findings, emphasizing how the proposed method can be employed to produce high-quality analytical results that enhance the security measures of cryptographic applications. This work adds valuable context to existing research and highlights the potential for our model to outperform conventional S-Box generation techniques.