Calcium-Montmorillonite (bentonite) [Ca-MMT] has been prepared via cation exchange reaction using benzalkonium chloride [quaternary ammonium] as a surfactant to produce organoclay which is used to prepare polymer composites. Functionalization of this filler surface is very important factor for achieving good interaction between filler and polymer matrix. Basal spacing and functional groups identification of this organoclay were characterized using X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy respectively. The (XRD) results showed that the basal spacing of the treated clay (organoclay) with the benzalkonium chloride increased to 15.17213 0A, this represents an increment of about 77.9% in the basal spacing. FTIR spectra illustrate that benzalkonium chloride compound was successfully intercalated in to clay layers. The results confirm the effectiveness of the synthesis of organoclay with similar characteristics compared to those ones observed in the bentonite. The features were obtained by a simple process and enable interaction with organic compounds (polymers and plastic). PVC/bentonite composite and PVC/organoclay composite were prepared by the melt intercalation method .The results have been analyzed and compared for PVC samples with (3wt%, 7wt% and 12wt %) bentonite and organoclay micro filler .Mechanical properties, thermal properties, flammability and water absorption percentage of prepared samples were tested. Mechanical characteristic such as tensile strength, elongation at break, hardness and impact strength (charpy type) were measured for all samples, where the tensile strength and elongation at break of PVC composites increased with increasing organoclay loading compared with unmodified bentonite. Also, the hardness and impact strength of the composites increase with increase in filler content. Thermal properties of PVC/ (bentonite, organoclay) composites were characterized using Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC) and thermal conductivity analyzer. The results showed Tg shifted toward higher temperature for all type of filler compared to neat PVC. Also, thermal conductivity measurement values illustrated that PVC/bentonite composites have a good thermal insulation at 12wt%, thermal conductivity was decreased from 0.222 W/m.K for neat PVC to 0.11 W/m.K at 12wt% PVC/bentonite composites. Organoclay give the best possible water absorbability of the PVC, with other word making it moisture resistant .The higher the filler content the higher burning time, the lower rate of burning and the lower height of the flame which are evident at 12wt% for all fillers.
The research deals with Environmental Management and how to develop its programs with the use of Knowledge Management, the environmental programs that integrate with processes can add strategic value to business through improving rates of resource utilization , efficiencies , reduce waste, use risk management, cut costs, avoid fines and reduce insurance. All these activities and processes can improve it through knowledge management, the optimal usage for all organizations information , employ it in high value and share it among all organizations members who involves in modify its strategy . Choosing suitable environmental management information system, develop it and modify it with organization processes, can greatly serve the en
... Show MoreThis paper adapted the neural network for the estimating of the direction of arrival (DOA). It uses an unsupervised adaptive neural network with GHA algorithm to extract the principal components that in turn, are used by Capon method to estimate the DOA, where by the PCA neural network we take signal subspace only and use it in Capon (i.e. we will ignore the noise subspace, and take the signal subspace only).
Data hiding is the process of encoding extra information in an image by making small modification to its pixels. To be practical, the hidden data must be perceptually invisible yet robust to common signal processing operations. This paper introduces a scheme for hiding a signature image that could be as much as 25% of the host image data and hence could be used both in digital watermarking as well as image/data hiding. The proposed algorithm uses orthogonal discrete wavelet transforms with two zero moments and with improved time localization called discrete slantlet transform for both host and signature image. A scaling factor ? in frequency domain control the quality of the watermarked images. Experimental results of signature image
... Show MoreIn this paper we investigate the automatic recognition of emotion in text. We propose a new method for emotion recognition based on the PPM (PPM is short for Prediction by Partial Matching) character-based text compression scheme in order to recognize Ekman’s six basic emotions (Anger, Disgust, Fear, Happiness, Sadness, Surprise). Experimental results with three datasets show that the new method is very effective when compared with traditional word-based text classification methods. We have also found that our method works best if the sizes of text in all classes used for training are similar, and that performance significantly improves with increased data.
Due to the difficulties that Iraqi students face when writing in the English language, this preliminary study aimed to improve students' writing skills by using online platforms remotely. Sixty first-year students from Al-Furat Al–Awsat Technical University participated in this study. Through these platforms, the researchers relied on stimuli, such as images, icons, and short titles to allow for deeper and more accurate participations. Data were collected through corrections, observations, and feedback from the researchers and peers. In addition, two pre and post-tests were conducted. The quantitative data were analysed by SPSS statistical Editor, whereas the qualitative data were analyzed using the Piot table, an Excel sheet. The resu
... Show MoreThis paper presents a study of wavelet self-organizing maps (WSOM) for face recognition. The WSOM is a feed forward network that estimates optimized wavelet based for the discrete wavelet transform (DWT) on the basis of the distribution of the input data, where wavelet basis transforms are used as activation function.