In this paper, we consider a wireless cooperative communication network that consists of single source, single relay, and single destination and derive a general upper bound (UB) on the end-to-end bit error rate (BER). The relay node uses the decode and forward (DF) cooperation protocol in order to increase the reliability of the source data at the destination. The derivation takes into account the distances between the system nodes in addition to the channel noise and fading effects. The destination uses the maximum a posterior (MAP) decoder to estimate the data sent from the source. The derived UB is very tight and it almost coincides with the exact BER results obtained from simulations. Therefore, the closed form expression of the UB can be used for further studies. In this paper, we use the UB closed form expression to study the effects of the relay position on the BER performance. The genetic algorithm is used to find the optimal location of the relay node.

In this paper, we consider a wireless cooperative communication network that consists of single source, single relay, and single destination and derive a general upper bound (UB) on the end-to-end bit error rate (BER). The relay node uses the decode and forward (DF) cooperation protocol in order to increase the reliability of the source data at the destination. The derivation takes into account the distances between the system nodes in addition to the channel noise and fading effects. The destination uses the maximum a posterior (MAP) decoder to estimate the data sent from the source. The derived UB is very tight and it almost coincides with the exact BER results obtained from simulations. Therefore, the closed form expression of the UB can be used for further studies. In this paper, we use the UB closed form expression to study the effects of the relay position on the BER performance. The genetic algorithm is used to find the optimal location of the relay node.

Schools are the most suitable type of building for the application of indoor thermal comfort quality as they represent the main sector of the community. Thermal comfort plays a major factor in the educational building sector, especially in hot-arid climate. It has a big impact on building interior temperature as well as on energy consumption. The present study is an attempt to primarily introduce the existent indoor thermal comfort status as well as energy consumption in Egyptian public primary school building. To meet this objective, a methodological procedure has been followed. A field study is conducted in a school building that are designed based on natural ventilation and air movement through ceiling fans to assess the indoor thermal conditions based on adaptive standard comfort (ASC) model during the students’ lesson hours during a three-day. In addition, electrical utility bills have been collected. Then, a dynamic building energy simulation model carried out by using, DesignBuilder/EnergyPlus software for examining indoor comfort conditions as well as energy consumption of a typical school building in Egypt. Findings revealed that lighting sources represent the largest proportion of energy consumption. In terms of indoor thermal comfort, results indicate that a higher level of thermal discomfort within the primary public school classrooms and the pupils stay more than 36.5% of their time daily in classrooms with thermal stress conditions.