Water absorbent polymers (WAP) are new component in producing building materials. They provide internal curing which reduces autogenous cracking, eliminates autogenous shrinkage, mortar strength increased, enhance early age strength to withstand strain, improve the durability, introduce higher early age compressive strength, have higher performance and reduce the effect of insufficient external curing. This research used different percent of polymer balls to choose the percent that provides good development in compressive strength with time for both water and air curing. The water absorption polymer balls in this research have the ability to absorb water and after usage in concrete they spill out the water (internal curing) and shrink leaving voids of their own diameter before shrinking, thus leads to have internal curing with air voids to reduce the samples weight .The required quantity of water for the mixes reduced due to the addition of water from the absorption polymers.
This work was conducted to study the extraction of eucalyptus oil from natural plants (Eucalyptus camaldulensis leaves) using water distillation method by Clevenger apparatus. The effects of main operating parameters were studied: time to reach equilibrium, temperature (70 to100°C), solvent to solid ratio (4:1 to 8:1 (v/w)), agitation speed (0 to 900 rpm), and particle size (0.5 to 2.5 cm) of the fresh leaves, to find the best processing conditions for achieving maximum oil yield. The results showed that the agitation speed of 900 rpm, temperature 100° C, with solvent to solid ratio 5:1 (v/w) of particle size 0.5 cm for 160 minute give the highest percentage of oil (46.25 wt.%). The extracted oil was examined by HPLC.
Two field experiments were conducted at two different texture sites. The first site of the fields of AlMed-hateya Agriculture Division / Babil Governorate. The second site of the fields of Al-Nouriah Research Station / Ministry of Agriculture, the factors of the study in the two sites included several factors. The first factor includes two irrigation systems: sprinkler irrigation and surface irrigation. The second factor is the method of cultivation which includes the method of cultivation with basin and furrowing. The third factor is the type of the cultivated crop which includes a local variety (Fajr 3) and a hybrid variety (Drakma). The actual water consumption for the sprinkler irrigation system reached (587.13 and 637.62) mm season-1 f
... Show MoreA field experiment was carried out during the 2020 season at the College of Agricultural Engineering/ University of Baghdad, Al-Jadriya to evaluate the effect of dry farming when applying water stress under the subsurface drip irrigation system on water productivity and rice yield. The experiment was conducted with three levels of irrigation water stress when 10, 20 and 40% of the available water was depleted and in three dimensions between drip lines 10, 15 and 20 cm. The experiment was designed according to a randomized complete block design, according to the split plot design, with three replications. Determine the depth of irrigation water depending on the moisture depletion of th
This study investigates the results of electrocoagulation (EC) using aluminum (Al) electrodes as anode and stainless steel (grade 316) as a cathode for removing silica, calcium, and magnesium ions from simulated cooling tower blowdown waters. The simulated water contains (50 mg/l silica, 508 mg/l calcium, and 292 mg/l magnesium). The influence of different experimental parameters, such as current density (0.5, 1, and 2 mA/cm2), initial pH(5,7, and 10), the temperature of the simulated solution(250C and 35 0C), and electrolysis time was studied. The highest removal efficiency of 80.183%, 99.21%, and 98.06% for calcium, silica, and magnesium ions, respectively, were obtained at a current de
... Show MoreThe incorporation of recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) into asphalt concrete supports circular economy goals by reducing reliance on virgin materials and minimizing construction waste. However, RCA’s inherent limitations, such as high porosity, microcracking, and poor interfacial bonding, compromise the structural integrity and durability of asphalt mixtures. This study introduces sugarcane molasses (SCM), a naturally derived, carbohydrate-rich byproduct of sugarcane refining, as a novel and eco-friendly surface treatment for RCA aimed at enhancing its compatibility with asphalt binders. SCM was applied at 5-6% by weight of RCA replacing coarse aggregate at varying levels (0-100%) to assess its effect on asphalt mixture performance. A com
... Show MoreConcrete is widely used in construction materials since early 1800's. It has been known that concrete is weak in tension, so it requires some addition materials to have ductile behavior and enhance its tensile strength and strain capacity to improve their uses. In this study reactive powder concrete (RPC) was used with steel fiber by using different types of cement; (Ordinary Portland cement (OPC) and/or Portland- Limestone cement (PLC)) with three types of mixtures (OPC at the first mix, 50 % OPC and 50 % PLC at the second mix and PLC at the third mix). The behavior of RPC with steel fibers on compressive strength and tensile strength of concrete with different ages of curing (7, 14, 28 and 60) days and shrinkage have been studied. The clo
... Show MoreThe aims of this study are to measure the defect rate and analyze the problems of production of ready concrete mixture plant by using Six Sigma methodology which is a business strategy for operations improvement depending basically on the application of its sub-methodology DMAIC improvement cycle and the basic statistical tools where the process sigma level of concrete production in the case study was 2.41 σ.
As asphalt concrete wearing course (ACWC) is the top layer in the pavement structure, the material should be able to sustain stresses caused by direct traffic loading. The objective of this study is to evaluate the influence of aggregate gradation and mineral filler type on Marshall Properties. A detailed laboratory study is carried out by preparing asphalt mixtures specimens using locally available materials including asphalt binder (40-50) penetration grade, two types of aggregate gradation representing SCRB and ROAD NOTE 31 specifications and two types of mineral filler including limestone dust and coal fly ash. Four types of mixtures were prepared and tested. The first type included SCRB specification and
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