In this study, composite materials were prepared using unsaturated polyester resin as binder with two types of fillers (sawdust and chopped reeds). The molding method is used to prepare sheets of UPE / sawdust composite and UPE / chopped reeds composite. The mechanical properties were studied including flexural strength and Young's modulus for the samples at normal conditions (N.C). The Commercial wood, UPE and its composite samples were immersed in water for about 30 days to find the weight gain (Mt%) of water for the samples, also to find the effect of water on their flexural strength and Young's modulus. The results showed that the samples of UPE / chopped reeds composite gained highest values of flexural strength (24.5 MPa) and Young's modulus (5.1 GPa) as compared with other composites at (N.C). The results showed that the wet samples of sawdust composite have lowest values of weight gain (Mt %) of water (0.043%) as compared with other composites after immersion. Also it’s showed a slight decrease in values of Young's modulus for all the samples after immersion as compared with the samples at (N.C). Finally it’s showed a slight decrease in values of flexural strength for all the samples except for the composite material formed from UPE / chopped reeds which showed an increase in the value of flexural strength after immersion, where the wet samples of UPE / chopped reeds composite gained (29 MPa) as compared with the samples at (N.C).
The structural, optical properties of copper oxide thin films ( CuO) thin films which have been prepared by thermal oxidation with exist air once and oxygen another have been studied. Structural analysis results of Cu thin films demonstrate that the single phase of Cu with high a crystalline structure with a preferred orientation (111). X-ray diffraction results confirm the formation of pure (CuO) phase in both methods of preparation. The optical constant are investigated and calculated such as absorption coefficient, refractive index, extinction coefficient and the dielectric constants for the wavelengths in the range (300-1100) nm.
Heavy metals especially lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr) and copper (Cu) are noxious pollutants with immense health hazards on living organisms, these pollutants enter aquatic environment in Iraq mainly Tigris and Euphrates rivers via waste water came from different anthropological activities, This study investigated capacity of dried and ground root of water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) in removing the heavy metals from their aqueous solutions. Effects of initial concentrations of the heavy metals and pH of their aqueous solutions were studied. Results of this study revealed excellent biosorption capacity of water hyacinth root in general, removal of Pb was the highest and Cr was lowest. The results showed that the Pb, Cu and C
... Show MoreIncorporating waste byproducts into concrete is an innovative and promising way to minimize the environmental impact of waste material while maintaining and/or improving concrete’s mechanical characteristics and strength. The proper application of sawdust as a pozzolan in the building industry remains a significant challenge. Consequently, this study conducted an experimental evaluation of sawdust as a fill material. In particular, sawdust as a fine aggregate in concrete offers a realistic structural and economical possibility for the construction of lightweight structural systems. Failure under four-point loads was investigated for six concrete-filled steel tube (CFST) specimens. The results indicated that recycled lightweight co
... Show MoreIn this study, sawdust as a cheap method and abundant raw material was utilized to produce active carbon (SDAC). Physiochemical activation was utilized where potassium hydroxide used as a chemical activating agent and carbon dioxide was used as a physical activating agent. Taguchi method of experimental design was used to find the optimum conditions of SDAC production. The produced SDAC was characterized using SEM to investigate surface morphology and BET to estimate the specific surface area. SDAC was used in aqueous lead ions adsorption. Adsorption process was modeled statistically and represented by an empirical model. The highest specific surface area of SDAC was 688.3 m2/gm. Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms were used to
... Show MoreIn this work, two groups of nanocomposite material, was prepared from unsaturated polyester resin (UPE), they were prepared by hand lay-up method. The first group was consisting of (UPE) reinforced with individually (ZrO2) nanoparticles with particle size (47.23nm). The second group consists of (UPE) reinforced with hybrid nanoparticles consisting of zirconium oxide and yttrium oxide (70% ZrO2 + 30% Y2O3) with particles size (83.98nm). This study includes the effect of selected volume fraction (0.5%, 1%, 1.5%, 2%, 2.5%, 3%) for both reinforcement nano materials. Experimental investigation was carried out by analyzing the thermo-physical properties like thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity and specific heat for the polymeric composit
... Show MoreFlexible pavements are subjected to three main distress types: fatigue crack, thermal crack, and permanent deformation. Under severe climate conditions, thermal cracking particularly contributes largely to a considerable scale of premature deterioration of pavement infrastructure worldwide. This challenge is especially relevant for Europe, as weather conditions vary significantly throughout the year. Hydrated lime (HL) has been recognized as an effective additive to improve the mechanical properties of asphalt concrete for pavement applications. Previous research has found that a replacement of conventional limestone dust filler using hydrated lime at 2.5% of the total weight of aggregates generated an optimum improvement in the mec
... Show MoreThe Central Marshes are one of southern Iraq's most important wetlands and ecosystems. A study on evaluating soil quality and water quality in terms of chemical properties at certain sites in the southern Iraqi Central Marshes has been conducted to investigate their types and suitability for enhancing the agricultural reality of most field crops. Soil and water samples were collected from 15 sites and transferred to the laboratory. In the lab, the following parameters were determined: electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved salts (TDS), organic materials (OM), pH, gypsum, and total sulfate content (SO3). The tests conducted on the samples indicated that it could be said that the soil of the Central Marshes
... Show MoreCdSe alloy has been prepared successfully from its high purity elements. Thin films of this alloy with different thicknesses (300,700)nm have been grown on glass substrates at room temperature under very low pressure (10-5)Torr with rate of deposition (1.7)nm/sec by thermal evaporation technique, after that these thin films have been heat treated under low pressure (10-2)Torr at (473,673)K for one hour. X-ray patterns showed that both CdSe alloy and thin films are polycrystalline and have the hexagonal structure with preferential orientation in the [100] and [002] direction respectively. The optical measurements indicated that CdSe thin films have allowed direct optical energy band gap, and it increases from (1.77- 1.84) eV and from
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