This work focuses on the use of biologically produced activated carbon for improving the physi-co-chemical properties of water samples obtained from the Tigris River. An eco-friendly and low-cost activated carbon was prepared from the Alhagi plant using potassium hydroxide (KOH) as an impregnation agent. The prepared activated carbon was characterised using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy to determine the functional groups that exist on the raw material (Alhagi plant) and Alhagi activated carbon (AAC). Scanning electron microscope–energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscope was also used to investigate the surface shape and the elements that compose the powder. Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area analysis was used to evaluate the specific surface area and pore size of the prepared AAC. This study investigated three influential variables: activation temperature, activation time and impregnation ratio (IR) (KOH: dried solid wt./wt.). Central composite design was used to determine the interactions between the influential vari-ables. Results show that an activation temperature of 650°C, activation time of 2.5 h and IR of 1:2.6 are optimal for activated carbon preparation. © 2023 Desalination Publications. All rights reserved.
The present study focused mainly on the buckling behavior of composite laminated plates subjected to mechanical loads. Mechanical loads are analyzed by experimental analysis, analytical analysis (for laminates without cutouts) and numerical analysis by finite element method (for laminates with and without cutouts) for different type of loads which could be uniform or non-uniform, uniaxial or biaxial. In addition to many design parameters of the laminates such as aspect ratio, thickness ratio, and lamination angle or the parameters of the cutout such as shape, size, position, direction, and radii rounding) which are changed to studytheir effects on the buckling characteristics with various boundary conditions. Levy method of classical lam
... Show MoreBuckling analysis of composite laminates for critical thermal (uniform and linear) and mechanical loads is reported here. The objective of this work is to carry out theoretical investigation of buckling analysis of composite plates under thermomechanical loads, and experimental investigation under mechanical loads. The analytical investigation involved certain mathematical preliminaries, a study of equations of orthotropic elasticity for classical laminated plate theory (CLPT), higher order shear deformation plate theory (HSDT) , and numerical analysis (Finite element method), then the equation of motion are derived and solved using Navier method and Levy method for symmetric and anti-symmetric cross-ply and angle-ply laminated plates t
... Show MoreThe present study experimentally and numerically investigated the impact behavior of composite reinforced concrete (RC) beams with the pultruded I-GFRP and I-steel beams. Eight specimens of two groups were cast in different configurations. The first group consisted of four specimens and was tested under static load to provide reference results for the second group. The four specimens in the second group were tested first under impact loading and then static loading to determine the residual static strengths of the impacted specimens. The test variables considered the type of encased I-section (steel and GFRP), presence of shear connectors, and drop height during impact tests. A mass of 42.5 kg was dropped on the top surface at the m
... Show MoreDenture bases are fabricated routinely using Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) acrylic resin. Yet, it is commonly known for its major drawbacks such as insufficient strength and ductility. The purpose of this study was to improve the performance of PMMA acrylic resin as a denture base material by reinforcement with surface treated lithium disilicate glass ceramic powder. The ceramic powder was prepared by grinding and sieving IPS e.max CAD MT blocks. Then, the powder was surface treated with an organosilane coupling agent (TMSPM) and added to PMMA in amount of 1%, 3%, 5% and 7% by weight. Characterizations of the powder was done by particle size analysis, XRD and FTIR. Transverse strength, Impact strength, Shore D hardness and surface roughn
... Show MoreCritical buckling and natural frequencies behavior of laminated composite thin plates subjected to in-plane uniform load is obtained using classical laminated plate theory (CLPT). Analytical investigation is presented using Ritz- method for eigenvalue problems of buckling load solutions for laminated symmetric and anti-symmetric, angle and cross ply composite plate with different elastic supports along its edges. Equation of motion of the plate was derived using principle of virtual work and solved using modified Fourier displacement function that satisfies general edge conditions. Various numerical investigation were studied to exhibit a convergence and accuracy of the present solution for considering some design parameters such as edge
... Show MoreA bolted–welded hybrid demountable shear connector for use in deconstructable steel–concrete composite buildings and bridges was proposed. The hybrid connector consisted of a partially threaded stud, which was welded on the flange of a steel section, and a machined steel tube with compatible geometry, which was bolted on the stud. Four standard pushout tests according to Eurocode 4 were carried out to assess the shear performance of the hybrid connector. The experimental results show that the initial stiffness, shear resistance, and slip capacity of the proposed connector were higher than those of traditional welded studs. The hybrid connector was a ductile connector, according to Eurocode 4, with slip capacity higher than 6 mm. A nonli
... Show MoreThis study objective is to identify the visual pollution in Karrada district main streets as an example of main streets in Baghdad, the public opinion about each pollutants, solutions to reduce and eliminate the pollution were suggested as well. In order to accomplish this objective different methods were used, 16 pollutants were selected, pictures of each pollutants were taken and a questioner were distributed randomly for 270 people to evaluate the public opinion with statistical methods. Garbage, their disposal and storage areas took the first two places as the highest offensive pollutants. The people showed that they find long lines of vehicles, debris and generators appearance ranked third, fourth and fifth respectively .This resear
... Show MoreIn this study, a 3 mm thickness 7075-T6 aluminium alloy sheet was used in the friction stir welding process. Using the design of experiment to reduce the number of experiments and to obtain the optimum friction stir welding parameters by utilizing Taguchi technique based on the ultimate tensile test results. Orthogonal array of L9 (33) was used based on three numbers of the parameters and three levels for each parameter, where shoulder-workpiece interference depth (0.20, 0.25, and 0.3) mm, pin geometry (cylindrical thread flat end, cylindrical thread with 3 flat round end, cylindrical thread round end), and thread pitch (0.8, 1, and 1.2) mm) this technique executed by Minitab 17 software. The results showed th
... Show MorePushover analysis is an efficient method for the seismic evaluation of buildings under severe earthquakes. This paper aims to develop and verify the pushover analysis methodology for reinforced concrete frames. This technique depends on a nonlinear representation of the structure by using SAP2000 software. The properties of plastic hinges will be defined by generating the moment-curvature analysis for all the frame sections (beams and columns). The verification of the technique above was compared with the previous study for two-dimensional frames (4-and 7-story frames). The former study leaned on automatic identification of positive and negative moments, where the concrete sections and steel reinforcement quantities the
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