
Soil water use and water storage vary by vegetative management practices, and these practices affect land productivity and hydrologic processes. This study investigated the effects of agroforestry buffers (AB), grass buffers (GB), and biofuel crops (BC), relative to row crops (RC) on soil water use for a claypan soil in northern Missouri, USA. The experiment located at the Greenley Memorial Research Center included RC, AB, GB, and BC established in 1991, 1997, 1997, and 2012, respectively. Soil water reflectometer sensors installed at 5‐, 10‐, 20‐, and 40‐cm depths monitored soil water from April to November in 2017 and 2018. Results showed significant differences in weekly volumetric water content (VWC) among treatments for all fou
... Show MoreThe importance of specifying proper aggregate grading for achieving satisfactory performance in pavement applications has long been recognized. To improve the specifications for superior performance, there is a need to understand how differences in aggregate gradations within the acceptable limits may affect unbound aggregate base behavior. The effects of gradation on strength, modulus, and deformation characteristics of high-quality crushed rock base materials are described here. Two crushed rock types commonly used in constructing heavy-duty granular base layers in the State of Victoria, Australia, with three different gradations each were used in this study. The gradations used represent the lower, medium, and upper gradation li
... Show MoreThe present experimental work is conducted to examine the influence of adding Alumina (Al2O3) nanoparticles and Titanium oxide (TiO2) nanoparticles each alone to diesel fuel on the characteristic of the emissions. The size of both Alumina and Titanium oxide nanoparticles which have been added to diesel fuel to obtain nano-fuel is about 20 nm and 25 nm respectively. Three doses of (Al2O3) and (TiO2) were prepared (25, 50, and 100) ppm. The nanoparticles mixed with gas oil fuel by mechanical homogenous (manual electrical mixer) and ultrasonic processor. The study reveals that the adding of Aluminum oxide (Al2O3) and Titanium oxide (TiO2) to g
... Show MoreExploring the antibacterial potential of neem oil (Azadirachta indica) in combination with gentamicin (GEN) against pathogenic molds, especially Pseudomonas aeruginosa, has drawn concern due to the quest for natural treatment options against incurable diseases. Prospective research directions include looking for natural cures for many of the currently incurable diseases available now. microbial identification system, were used to identify the isolates. The research utilized a range of methods, such as the diffusion agar well (AWD) assays, TEM (transmission electron microscopy) analysis, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) assays, and real-time PCR (RT-qPCR) to analyze bacterial expression and the antibacterial action of neem oil (Azadira
... Show MoreHigh smoke emissions, nitrogen oxide and particulate matter typically produced by diesel engines. Diminishing the exhausted emissions without doing any significant changes in their mechanical configuration is a challenging subject. Thus, adding hydrogen to the traditional fuel would be the best practical choice to ameliorate diesel engines performance and reduce emissions. The air hydrogen mixer is an essential part of converting the diesel engine to work under dual fuel mode (hydrogen-diesel) without any engine modification. In this study, the Air-hydrogen mixer is developed to get a homogenous mixture for hydrogen with air and a stoichiometric air-fuel ratio according to the speed of the engine. The mixer depends on the balance between th
... Show MoreGypseous soils are spread in several regions in the world including Iraq, where it covers more than 28.6% [1] of the surface region of the country. This soil, with high gypsum content causes different problems in construction and strategic projects. As a result of water flow through the soil mass, permeability and chemical arrangement of these soils vary over time due to the solubility and leaching of gypsum. In this study the soil of 36% gypsum content, is taken from one location about 100 km (62 mi) southwest of Baghdad, where the sample is taken from depth (0.5 - 1) m below the natural ground surface and mixed with (3%, 6%, 9%) of Copolymer and Styrene-butadiene Rubber to improve t
The study of surface hardness, wear resistance, adhesion strength, electrochemical corrosion resistance and thermal conductivity of coatings composed from sodium silicate was prepared using graphite micro-size particles and carbon nano particles as fillers respectively of concentration of (1-5%), for the purpose of covering and protecting the oil distillation towers. The results showed that the sodium silicate coating reinforced with carbon nano-powder has higher resistance to stitches, mechanical wear, adhesive and thermal conductivity than graphite/sodium silicate composite especially when the ratio 5% and 1%, the electrochemical corrosion test confirmed that the coating process of stainless steel 304 lead to increasin
... Show MorePerennial biofuel and cover crops systems are important for enhancing soil health and can provide numerous soil, agricultural, and environmental benefits. The study objective was to investigate the effects of cover crops and biofuel crops on soil hydraulic properties relative to traditional management for claypan soils. The study site included selected management practices: cover crop (CC) and no cover crop (NC) with corn/soybean rotation, switchgrass (SW), and miscanthus (MI). The CC mixture consisted of cereal rye, hairy vetch, and Austrian winter pea. The research site was located at Bradford Research Center in Missouri, USA, and was implemented on a Mexico silt loam. Intact soil cores (76‐mm diam. by 76‐mm long) were taken from the
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