Gypseous soil, which covers vast area in west, middle, east and south west regions of Iraq exhibit acceptable strength properties when dry, but it is weak and collapsible when it comes in touch with moisture from rain or other sources. When such weak soil is adopted for earth reinforced embankment construction, it may exhibit hazardous situation. Gypseous soil was investigated for the optimum liquid asphalt requirements of both cutback and emulsion using the one-dimensional unconfined compression strength test. The optimum fluid content was 13% (7% of cutback with 6% water content), and 17% (9% of emulsion with 8% water content). A laboratory model box of 50x50x25 cm was used as a representative of embankment; soil or asphalt stabilized soil have been compacted in five layers at maximum dry density (modified compaction) and an aluminum reinforcement strips were introduced between layers and connected to the facing strips. The model was subjected to cyclic loading and the lateral deformation of facing strips and the vertical deformation were detected at different stages of loading cycles and different height of the facing strips using LVDT. The reference embankment model was that of reinforced pure soil under absorbed condition. For asphalt-stabilized soil, the cutback asphalt stabilized- soil model exhibit improvement in load carrying capacity by nine folds. It shows a reduction of 23% in vertical displacement under sustained load of 436 repetitions. For emulsion-stabilized soil, the reduction in vertical displacement was 38.5% under a sustained load of 950 cycles. The load carrying capacity was improved by twenty folds. The lateral displacement at the upper first and third layers were lower by 0.55% and 1.9% respectively when compared to cutback asphalt stabilized model
High tunnels, or unheated plastic greenhouses, are becoming increasingly popular among organic vegetable growers across the United States. However, the intensive production typical of these systems presents soil health challenges, including salinization due to high fertilizer or compost inputs coupled with lack of rainfall to leach salts. Legume cover crops may improve soil health in high tunnels by reducing the need for external inputs, while adding organic matter. We tested the soil health effects of a winter hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth) cover crop used to replace fertilizer N in an organic tomato cropping system in high tunnels. Studies were replicated across three sites differing in climate and soil type (Kansas, Kentucky, and Minne
... Show MoreThis research investigated the influence of water-absorbent polymer balls (WAPB) on reinforced concrete beams’ structural behavior experimentally. Four self-compacted reinforced concrete beams of identical geometric layouts 150 mm × 200 mm × 1,500 mm, reinforcement details, and compressive strength
Background: The daily cleaning routine of the silicone maxillofacial prostheses by the patient may cause some alteration in the materials properties. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of different disinfection procedures on some properties of silicon dioxide reinforced Cosmesil M511 HTV maxillofacial silicone. Materials and Methods: One hundred and sixty (160) specimens were prepared by mixing 5% SiO2 nano particles and 0.5% intrinsic cream color into the silicone polymer according to manufacturer's instructions. Specimens were divided into 4 groups according to the performed test (tear strength, surface hardness, surface roughness and color) with 40 specimens each. Each group was further subdivided according to
... Show MoreThe aim of this investigation is to determine how different weight percentages of alumina nanoparticles, including 0.02, 0.04, and 0.06 percent wt, affect the physical characteristics of Poly Acrylamide (PAAM). Using a hot plate magnetic stirrer, 10 g of poly acrylamide powder was dissolved in 90 g of di-ionized distillate water for 4 hours to produce PAAM with a concentration of 0.11 g/ml. Four sections of the resulting solution, each with a volume of 20 ml, were created. Each solution was added independently with alumina nanoparticles in different ratios 0.0, 0.02, 0.04, and 0.06 to create four nano fluid solutions with different alumina nanoparticle contents based on each weight percent. The hand casting process for n
... Show MoreThis paper studies the behavior of axially loaded RC columns which are confined with carbon fiber reinforced polymers’ sheet (CFRP) and steel jackets (SJ). The study is based on twelve axially loaded RC columns tested up to failure. It is divided into three schemes based on its strengthening type; each scheme has four columns. The main parameters in this study were the compressive strength of the concrete and steel reinforcement ratio. Furthermore, the results of the experimental test showed a substantial enhancement in the column's load-carrying capacity. When compared to the original columns, the CFRP sheet had a significant effect on improving the ductility of the column by increasing the axial deformation by about 59.2 to 95.7
... Show MoreCeramics type Yttrium oxide with Silicon carbide. were selected to investigate its sintered density, microstructure and electrical properties, after adding V2O5, of 100 nm grain size. Different weight percentages ranging from (0.01,0.02,0.03 and 0.04) were used. Dry milling applied for twelve hours. The pelletized samples were sintered at atmospheric of static air and at sintering temperature 1400 ˚C, for three hours. The crustal structure test shoes the phase which is yttrium silicon carbide Scanning electron microscopy, scan sintered microstructure. Samples after sintering were electrically investigated by measuring its capacitance, dielectric constant and their results showed increasing after added V2O5 particles at the combinat
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