Gypseous soil, which covers vast area in west, middle, east and south west regions of Iraq exhibit acceptable strength properties when dry, but it is weak and collapsible when it comes in touch with moisture from rain or other sources. When such weak soil is adopted for earth reinforced embankment construction, it may exhibit hazardous situation. Gypseous soil was investigated for the optimum liquid asphalt requirements of both cutback and emulsion using the one-dimensional unconfined compression strength test. The optimum fluid content was 13% (7% of cutback with 6% water content), and 17% (9% of emulsion with 8% water content). A laboratory model box of 50x50x25 cm was used as a representative of embankment; soil or asphalt stabilized soil have been compacted in five layers at maximum dry density (modified compaction) and an aluminum reinforcement strips were introduced between layers and connected to the facing strips. The model was subjected to cyclic loading and the lateral deformation of facing strips and the vertical deformation were detected at different stages of loading cycles and different height of the facing strips using LVDT. The reference embankment model was that of reinforced pure soil under absorbed condition. For asphalt-stabilized soil, the cutback asphalt stabilized- soil model exhibit improvement in load carrying capacity by nine folds. It shows a reduction of 23% in vertical displacement under sustained load of 436 repetitions. For emulsion-stabilized soil, the reduction in vertical displacement was 38.5% under a sustained load of 950 cycles. The load carrying capacity was improved by twenty folds. The lateral displacement at the upper first and third layers were lower by 0.55% and 1.9% respectively when compared to cutback asphalt stabilized model
Random laser gain media is synthesized with different types of dye at the same concentration (1×10-3 M) as an active material and silicon dioxide NPs (silica SiO2) as scatter centers through the Sol-Gel technique. The prepared samples are tested with UV–Vis spectroscopy, Fluorescence Spectroscopy, Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM), and Energy Dispersive X-ray Diffraction (EDX). The end result demonstrates that doped dyes with silica nanoparticles at a concentration of 0.0016 mol/ml have lower absorbance and higher fluorescence spectra than pure dyes. FESEM scans revealed that the morphology of nanocrystalline silica is clusters of nano-sized spherical particles in the range (25-67) nm. It is con
... Show MoreSolid waste generation and composition in Baghdad is typically affected by population growth, urbanization, improved economic conditions, changes in lifestyles and social and cultural habits.
A burning chamber was installed to burn cellulosic waste only. It was found that combustion reduced the original volume and weight of cellulosic waste by 97.4% and 85% respectively.
A batch composting study was performed to evaluate the feasibility of co-composting organic food waste with the cellulosic bottom ash in three different weight ratios (w/w) [95/5, 75/25, 50/50].
The composters were kept in controlled aerobic conditions for 7 days. Temperature, moisture, and pH were measured hourly as process succe
... Show MoreCollapsible soil has a metastable structure that experiences a large reduction in volume or collapse when wetting. The characteristics of collapsible soil contribute to different problems for infrastructures constructed on its such as cracks and excessive settlement found in buildings, railways channels, bridges, and roads. This paper aims to provide an art review on collapse soil behavior all over the world, type of collapse soil, identification of collapse potential, and factors that affect collapsibility soil. As urban grow in several parts of the world, the collapsible soil will have more get to the water. As a result, there will be an increase in the number of wetting collapse problems, so it's very important to com
... Show MoreSoil is a crucial component of environment. Total soil analysis may give information about possible enrichment of the soil with heavy metals. Heavy metals, potentially contaminate soils, may have been dumped on the ground. chromium, nickel and cadmium,
Soil compaction is one of the most harmful elements affecting soil structure, limiting plant growth and agricultural productivity. It is crucial to assess the degree of soil penetration resistance to discover solutions to the harmful consequences of compaction. In order to obtain the appropriate value, using soil cone penetration requires time and labor-intensive measurements. Currently, satellite technologies, electronic measurement control systems, and computer software help to measure soil penetration resistance quickly and easily within the precision agriculture applications approach. The quantitative relationships between soil properties and the factors affecting their diversity contribute to digital soil mapping. Digital soil maps use
... Show MoreThe impact of undergraduate research experiences on students' academic development and retention in STEM fields is significant. Students' success in STEM fields is based on developing strong research and critical thinking skills that make it essential for students to engage in research activities throughout their academic programs. This work evaluates the effectiveness of undergraduate research experiences with respect to its influence on student retention and academic development. The cases presented are based on years of experience implementing undergraduate research programs in various STEM fields at Colorado State University Pueblo (CSU Pueblo) funded by HSI STEM Grants. The study seeks to establish a correlation between students' reten
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Purpose: Providing practical knowledge of the requirements of a detailed feasibility study for selecting the investment project.
Findings: Directing the private sector towards investing in productive projects - the pre-cast reinforced concrete project - as it achieves a financial return as well as providing Providing foreign currencies by reducing imports and exploiting available natural resources
Practical implications: The importance of a detailed feasibility study to determining whether the project can be implemented or not.
The precast concrete method is one of the best modern c
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Reinforced concrete slabs are one of the most important and complicated elements of a building. For supported edges slabs, if the ratio of long span to short span is equal or less than two then the slab is considered as two-way slab otherwise is consider as one-way slab. Two-way reinforced concrete slabs are common in use in reinforced concrete buildings due to geometrically arrangement of columns suggested by architects who prefer a symmetric distribution of columns in their plans. Elastic theory is usually used for analysis of concrete slabs. However, for several reasons design methods based on elastic principles are limited in their function. Correspondingly, limit state analysis o