Iraqi calcium bentonite was activated via acidification to study its structural and electrical properties. The elemental analysis of treated bentonite was determined by using X-ray fluorescence while the unit crystal structure was studied through X-ray diffraction showing disappearance of some fundamental reflections due to the treatment processes. The surface morphology, on the other hand, was studied thoroughly by Scanning Electron microscopy SEM and Atomic Force Microscope AFM showing some fragments of montmorillonite sheets. Furthermore, the electrical properties of bentonite were studied including: The dielectric permittivity, conductivity, tangent loss factor, and impedance with range of frequency (0.1-1000 KHz) at different temperatu

From the sustainability point of view a combination of using water absorption polymer balls in concrete mix produce from Portland limestone cement (IL) is worth to be perceived. Compressive strength and drying shrinkage behavior for the mixes of concrete prepared by Ordinary Portland Cement (O.P.C) and Portland limestone cement (IL) were investigated in this research. Water absorbent polymer balls (WAPB) are innovative module in producing building materials due to the internal curing which eliminates autogenous shrinkage, enhances the strength at early age, improve the durability, give higher compressive strength at early age, and reduce the effect of insufficient external curing. Polymer balls (WAPB) had been used in the mixes of thi

Castellated columns are structural members that are created by breaking a rolled column along the center-line by flame after that rejoining the equivalent halves by welding such that for better structural strength against axial loading, the total column depth is increased by around 50 percent. The implementation of these institutional members will also contribute to significant economies of material value. The main objectives of this study are to study the enhancement of the load-carrying capacity of castellated columns with encasement of the columns by Reactive Powder Concrete (RPC) and lacing reinforcement, and serviceability of the confined castellated columns. The Castellated columns with RPC and Lacing Reinforcement improve com

The Asymmetrical Castellated concavely – curved soffit Steel Beams with RPC and Lacing Reinforcement improves compactness and local buckling (web and flange local buckling), vertical shear strength at gross section (web crippling and web yielding at the fillet), and net section ( net vertical shear strength proportioned between the top and bottom tees relative to their areas (Yielding)), horizontal shear strength in web post (Yielding), web post-buckling strength, overall beam flexure strength, tee Vierendeel bending moment and lateral-torsional buckling, as a result of steel section encasement. This study presents two concentrated loads test results for seven specimens Asymmetrical Castellated concavely – curved soffit Steel Be

This paper investigated the fatigue life behavior of two composite materials subjected to different times of shot peening (2, 4 and 6 min).The first material prepared from unsaturated polyester with E-glass reinforcement by 33% volume fraction. While, the second one was prepared from unsaturated polyester with aluminum powder by2.5% volume fraction. The experimental results showed that the improvement in endurance limit was obtained (for the first material) at 2, 4 and 6 min shot peening times where the percentage of maximum improvement was 25% at shot peening time of 6 min. While, the endurance limit of the second material decreased at shot peening times of 2, 4 and 6 min where the percentage of maximum reduction was 29 % at shot peenin

Several stress-strain models were used to predict the strengths of steel fiber reinforced concrete, which are distinctive of the material. However, insufficient research has been done on the influence of hybrid fiber combinations (comprising two or more distinct fibers) on the characteristics of concrete. For this reason, the researchers conducted an experimental program to determine the stress-strain relationship of 30 concrete samples reinforced with two distinct fibers (a hybrid of polyvinyl alcohol and steel fibers), with compressive strengths ranging from 40 to 120 MPa. A total of 80% of the experimental results were used to develop a new empirical stress-strain model, which was accomplished through the application of the parti

Studies on the flexural behavior of post-tensioned beams subjected to strand damage and strengthened with near-surface mounted (NSM) technique using carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) are limited and fail to examine the effect of CFRP laminates on strand strain and strengthening efficiency systematically. Furthermore, a design approach for UPC structures in existing design guidelines for FRP strengthening techniques is lacking. Hence, the behavior of post-tensioned beams strengthened with NSM-CFRP laminates after partial strand damage is investigated in this study. The testing program consists of seven post-tensioned beams strengthened by NSM-CFRP laminates with three partial strand damage ratios (14.3% symmetrical damage, 14.3%

Expanded use of antibiotics may increase the ability of pathogenic bacteria to develop antimicrobial resistance. Greater attention must be paid to applying more sustainable techniques for treating wastewater contaminated with antibiotics. Semiconductor photocatalytic processes have proven to be the most effective methods for the degradation of antibiotics. Thus, constructing durable and highly active photocatalytic hybrid materials for the photodegradation of antibiotic pollutants is challenging. Herein, FeTiO3/Fe-doped g-C3N4 (FTO/FCN) heterojunctions were designed with different FTO to FCN ratios by matching the energy level of semiconductors, thereby developing effective direct Z-type heterojunctions. The photodegradation behaviors of th

The present study aims to identifying the effect of Eurygaster integriceps infection on the quality features of the local wheat varity IBA 99. The result revealed significant decrease in the percentage of protein of infected wheat at (4, 5)% compared to sound wheat values for the sound wheat were (10.9%) whereas those for the infected wheat were(9.0, 8.4 )% also the result revealed significant increased in the percentage of ash in the infected wheat flour. The result showed significant decrease in the percentage of wet and dry gluten in the infected wheat by sun bug at the rate of (2, 3, 4, 5)% compared to sound wheat value (27, 9% and 25, 23, 22, 22, 20%) for wet gluten and (8.2, 7.8, 7, 7.2, 6%) for dry glutin . The value of sedimentati