In this paper, a shallow foundation (strip footing), 1 m in width is assumed to be constructed on fully saturated and partially saturated Iraqi soils, and analyzed by finite element method. A procedure is proposed to define the H – modulus function from the soil water characteristic curve which is measured by the filter paper method. Fitting methods are applied through the program (SoilVision). Then, the soil water characteristic curve is converted to relation correlating the void ratio and matric suction. The slope of the latter relation can be used to define the H – modulus function. The finite element programs SIGMA/W and SEEP/W are then used in the analysis. Eight nodded isoparametric quadrilateral elements are used for modeling

Drip irrigation is one of the conservative irrigation techniques since it implies supplying water directly on the soil through the emitter; it can supply water and fertilizer directly into the root zone. An equation to estimate the wetted area in unsaturated soil is taking into calculating the water absorption by roots is simulated numerically using HYDRUS (2D/3D) software. In this paper, HYDRUS comprises analytical types of the estimate of different soil hydraulic properties. Used one soil type, sandy loam, with three types of crops; (corn, tomato, and sweet sorghum), different drip discharge, different initial soil moisture content was assumed, and different time durations. The relative error for the different hydrauli

Esterification reaction is most important reaction in biodiesel production. In this study, oleic acid was used as a suggested feedstock to study and simulate production of biodiesel. Batch esterification of oleic acid was carried out at operating conditions; temperature from 40 to 70 °C, ethanol to oleic acid molar ratio from 1/1 to 6/1, H2SO4 as the catalyst 1 and 5% wt of oleic acid, reaction time up to 180 min. The optimum conditions for the esterification reaction were molar ratio of ethanol/oleic acid 6/1, 5%wt H2SO4 relative to oleic acid, 70 °C, 90 min and conversion of oleic 0.92. The activation energy for the suggested model was 26625 J/mole for forward reaction and 42189 J/mole for equilibrium constant. The obtained results s

This study concerns the removal of a trihydrate antibiotic (Amoxicillin) from synthetically contaminated water by adsorption on modified bentonite. The bentonite was modified using hexadecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (HTAB), which turned it from a hydrophilic to a hydrophobic material. The effects of different parameters were studied in batch experiments. These parameters were contact time, solution pH, agitation speed, initial concentration (C0) of the contaminant, and adsorbent dosage. Maximum removal of amoxicillin (93 %) was achieved at contact time = 240 min, pH = 10, agitation speed = 200 rpm, initial concentration = 30 ppm, and adsorbent dosage = 3 g bentonite per 1L of pollutant solution. The characterization of the adsorbent, modi

Bearing capacity of soil is an important factor in designing shallow foundations. It is directly related to foundation dimensions and consequently its performance. The calculations for obtaining the bearing capacity of a soil needs many varying parameters, for example soil type, depth of foundation, unit weight of soil, etc. which makes these calculation very variable–parameter dependent. This paper presents the results of comparison between the theoretical equation stated by Terzaghi and the Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) technique to estimate the ultimate bearing capacity of the strip shallow footing on sandy soils. The results show a very good agreement between the theoretical solution and the ANN technique. Results revealed that us

During the last decade, there has been a concern about the relation between aluminum residuals in treated water and Alzheimer disease, and more interest has been considered on the development of natural coagulants. The present study aimed to investigate the efficiency of alum as a primary coagulant in conjunction with mallow, Arabic gum and okra as coagulant aids for the treatment of water samples containing synthetic turbidity of kaolin. Jar test experiments were carried out for initial raw water turbidities 100, 200 and 500 (NTU). The optimum doses of alum, mallow, Arabic gum and okra were 20, 2, 1 and 1 mg/L for100 NTU turbidity level, 35, 4, 2 and 3 mg/L , for 200NTU turbidity level and 50, 8, 10 and 8 mg/L for 500 NTU turbidity leve

An inert matrix  that is used to control the release of  (PTX) was prepared using Eudragit RL100 and RSPM types as matrix forming agent . The matrices were prepared by either dry granulation(slugging) , or wet granulation method using chloroform as a solvent evaporation vehichle. The cumulative release was adjusted by using polyvinylpyrollidone (PVP) or ethylcellulose (EC) polymers .The results indicated that   both methods of preparation were valid for incorporation PTX as a sustained release granules .Moreover ,the results revealed that best polymer used  was Eudragit RSPM in 3:20 polymer drug ratio .Besides to that ,   the results indicated that the release profiles were affected by  pH- medium&

The main objective of this study is to experimentally investigate the effect of the CMC polymeric drag reducer on the pressure drop occurred along the annulus of the wellbore in drilling operation and investigate the optimum polymer concentration that give the minimum pressure drop. A flow loop was designed for this purpose consist from 14 m long with transparent test section and differential pressure transmitter that allows to sense and measure the pressure losses along the test section. The results from the experimental work show that increasing in polymer concentration help to reduce the pressure drop in annulus and the optimum polymer concentration with the maximum drag reducing is 0.8 kg/m³. Also increasing in flow rate a