The ability to produce load-bearing masonry units adopting ACI 211.1 mix design using (1:3.2:2.5) as (cement: fine aggregate: coarse aggregate) with slump range (25-50mm) which can conform (dimension, absorption, and compressive strength) within IQS 1077/1987 requirements type A was our main goal of the study. The ability to use low cement content (300 kg/m3) to handle our market price products since the most consumption in wall construction for low-cost buildings was encouraging. The use of (10 and 20%) of LECA as partial volume replacement of coarse aggregate to reduce the huge weight of masonry blocks can also be recommended. The types of production of the load-bearing masonry units were A and B for (

Gamma - irradiation effect on polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) samples has been studied using Positron Annihilation Lifetime (PAL) method. The orthopositronium (o-Ps) lifetime τ₃, hence the o-ps parameters, the volume hole size (V_h) and the free volume fraction (Ꞙ_h) in the irradiated samples were measured as a function of gamma-irradiation dose up to 28.05 kGy. It has been shown that τ ₃, V_h, and Ꞙ_h, are increasing in general with increasing gamma-dose, to reach a maximum percentage increment of 22.42% in τ₃, 60% in V_h and 29.5% in Ꞙ_h, at. 2.55 kGy, whereas τ₂ reaches maximum increment of 119. 7% at 7.65 kGy. The results s

The aim of this research is controlling the amount of the robotic hand catching force using the artificial muscle wire as an actuator to achieve the desired response of the robotic hand in order to catch different things without destroying or dropping them; where the process is to be similar to that of human hand catching way. The proper selection of the amount of the catching force is achieved through out simulation using the fuzzy control technique. The mechanism of the arrangement of the muscle wires is proposed to achieve good force selections. The results indicate the feasibility of using this proposed technique which mimics human reasoning where as the weight of the caught peace increases, the force increases also with approximatel

In the present study, the removal of zinc from synthetic waste water using emulsion liquid membrane extraction technique was investigated. Synthetic surfactant solution is used as the emulsifying agent. Diphenylthiocarbazon (ditizone) was used as the extracting agent dissolved in carbon tetrachloride as the organic solvent and sulfuric acid is used as the stripping agent. The parameters that influence the extraction percentage of Zn+2 were studied. These are the ratio of volume of organic solvent to volume of aqueous feed (0.5-4), ratio of volume of surfactant solution to volume of aqueous feed (0.2-1.6), pH of the aqueous feed solution (5-10), mixing intensity (100-1000) rpm, concentration of extracting agent (20-400) ppm, surfactant co

The main aim of this paper is studied the punching shear and behavior of reinforced concrete slabs exposed to fires, the possibility of punching shear failure occurred as a result of the fires and their inability to withstand the loads. Simulation by finite element analysis is made to predict the type of failure, distribution temperature through the thickness of the slabs, deformation and punching strength. Nonlinear finite element transient thermal-structural analysis at fire conditions are analyzed by ANSYS package. The validity of the modeling is performed for the mechanical and thermal properties of materials from earlier works from literature to decrea

Untreated municipal solid waste (MSW) release onto land is prevalent in developing countries. To reduce the high levels of harmful components in polluted soils, a proper evaluation of heavy metal concentrations in Erbil's Kani Qrzhala dump between August 2021 and February 2022 is required. The purpose of this research was to examine the impact of improper solid waste disposal on soil properties within a landfill by assessing the risks of contamination for eight heavy elements in two separate layers of the soil by using geoaccumulation index (I-geo) and pollution load index (PLI) supported. The ArcGIS software was employed to map the spatial distribution of heavy element pollution and potential ecological risks. The I-geo values in summe

Phase change materials (PCMs) such as paraffin wax can be used to store or release large amount of energy at certain temperature at which their solid-liquid phase changes occurs. Paraffin wax that used in latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) has low thermal conductivity. In this study, the thermal conductivity of paraffin wax has been enhanced by adding different mass concentration (1wt.%, 3wt.%, 5wt.%) of (TiO₂) nano-particles with about (10nm) diameter. It is found that the phase change temperature varies with adding (TiO₂) nanoparticles in to the paraffin wax. The thermal conductivity of the composites is found to decrease with increasing temperature. The increase in thermal conductivity ha

This study suggests using the recycled plastic waste to prepare the polymer matrix composite (PMCs) to use in different applications. Composite materials were prepared by mixing the polyester resin (UP) with plastic waste, two types of plastic waste were used in this work included polyethylene-terephthalate (PET) and Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) with varies weight fractions (0, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 %) added as a filler in flakes form. Charpy impact test was performed on the prepared samples to calculate the values of impact strength (I.S). Flexural and hardness tests were carried out to calculate the values of flexural strength and hardness. Acoustic insulation and optical microscope tests were carried out. In general, it is found that UP/PV

This research utilized natural asphalt (NA) deposits from sulfur springs in western Iraq. Laboratory tests were conducted to evaluate the performance of an asphalt mixture incorporating NA and verify its suitability for local pavement applications. To achieve this, a combination of two types of NA, namely soft SNA and hard HNA, was blended to create a binder known as Type HSNA. The resulting HSNA exhibited a penetration grade that adhered to Iraqi specifications. Various percentages of NA (20%, 40%, 60%, and 80%) were added to petroleum asphalt. The findings revealed enhanced physical properties of HSNA, which also satisfied the requirements outlined in the Iraqi specifications for asphalt cement. Consequently, HSNA can serve as an