This study investigated the feasibility of anaerobic co-digestion of giant reed (GR) inoculated with waste manure as a co-substrate for biogas production. The performance of co-digestion was evaluated in 4 anaerobic digesters operated in batch mode at different conditions. The effects of alkali pretreatment with NaOH (4% w/v) solution, inoculum type, and thermal condition were studied. The results demonstrated that the alkali-pretreatment of GR enhanced the biogas generation by about 15% at mesophilic conditions. Thermophilic conditions enhanced the biogas recovery from both alkali-free and alkali pretreated GR by 15% and 127%, respectively. The kinetic study of the co-digestion process of GR for biogas recovery suggeste

Abstract

Friction stir welding is a relatively new joining process, which involves the joining of metals without fusion or filler materials. In this study, the effect of welding parameters on the mechanical properties of aluminum alloys AA2024-T351 joints produced by FSW was investigated.

Different ranges of welding parameters, as input factors, such as welding speed (6 - 34 mm/min) and rotational speed (725 - 1235 rpm) were used to obtain their influences on the main responses, in terms of elongation, tensile strength, and maximum bending force. Experimental measurements of main responses were taken and analyzed using DESIGN EXPERT 8 experimental design software which was used to develop t

David Hare (b.1947) is one of the most critically acclaimed, contemporary British dramatists. A playwright, director and filmmaker, he has written more than thirty plays for the stage and seven original screen plays for cinema and TV (Susan Emerling, p.1). He began his dramatic career in the late sixties. Along with such dramatists as Howard Brenton and Trevor Griffiths, he writes in the aftermath of the "Angry Young Men" tradition of John Osborne. It is a well-known fact that the element of anger continued in the drama of the 1960s and became even more radicalized after the social, cultural and political unrests of 1968 by the dramatists of the "second wave" to whom Hare belongs (John Russell Taylor, p.14). Setting his plays in a variet

Fractional Er: YAG laser resurfacing is increasingly used for treating rhytides and photo aged skin because of its favorable benefit‐risk ratio. The multi-stacking and variable pulse width technology opened a wide horizon of rejuvenation treatments using this type of laser. To evaluate the efficacy and safety of the use of fractional 2940 nm Er: YAG laser in facial skin rejuvenation. Twelve female patients with mean age 48.3 years and multiple degrees of aging signs and solar skin damages, were treated with 2 sessions, one month apart by fractional Er: YAG laser. Each session consisted of 2 steps, the first step employed the use of the multi stack ablative fractional mode and the fractional long pulsed non-ablative mode settings were u

This investigation presents an experimental and analytical study on the behavior of reinforced concrete deep beams before and after repair. The original beams were first loaded under two points load up to failure, then, repaired by epoxy resin and tested again. Three of the test beams contains shear reinforcement and the other two beams have no shear reinforcement. The main variable in these beams was the percentage of longitudinal steel reinforcement (0, 0.707, 1.061, and 1.414%). The main objective of this research is to investigate the possibility of restoring the full load carrying capacity of the reinforced concrete deep beam with and without shear reinforcement by using epoxy resin as the material of repair. All be

Industrial buildings usually are designed to sustain several types of load systems, such as dead, live, and dynamic loads (especially the harmonic load produced by rotary motors). In general, these buildings require high-strength structural elements to carry the applied loads. Moreover, Reactive Powder Concrete (RPC) has been used for this purpose because of its excellent mechanical strength and endurance. Therefore, this study provides an experimental analysis of the structural behaviors of reinforced RPC beams under harmonic loads. The experimental program consisted of testing six simply supported RPC beams with lengths of 1500 mm, widths of 150 mm, and thicknesses of 200 mm under harmonic loading with varied frequencies between 1

The study is devoted to both static and earthquake response analysis of retaining structures acted upon by lateral earth pressure. Two main approaches were implemented in the analysis, namely, the Mononobe-Okabe analytical method and the numerical Finite element procedure as provided in the ready software ABAQUS with explicit dynamic method. A basic case study considered in the present work is the bridge approach retaining walls as a part of AL-Jadiriya bridge intersection to obtain the effects of the backfill and the ground water on the retaining wall response including displacement of the retaining structure in addition to the behavior of the fill material. Parametric studies were carried out to evaluate the effects of several factors

Rutting is one of the most complex and widespread types of distress. The rutting is frequently observed on Iraqi roads, especially at the checkpoints, forming a significant hazard on the asphalt layers. Factors such as heavy loads and high temperatures contribute to this distress. Adding fibers to a hot mix asphalt (HMA) effectively improves performance and extends the lifespan of the flexible pavement. This article used glass, steel, and basalt fibers. The wheel tracking test assessed the fibre-asphalt mixture for rutting resistance and compared it with the mix without adding fibers (control HMA). Meanwhile, the microscopic structure of fibres and asphalt mixture modified with fibers was examined using the Field Emission Scanning E

The world is confronted with the twin crisis of fossil fuel depletion and environmental degradation caused by fossil fuel usage. Biodiesel produced from renewable feedstocks such as Jatropha seed oil or animal fats by transesterification offers a solution. Although biodiesel has been produced from various vegetable oils such as Jatropha seed oil, the reaction kinetics studies are very few in literature, hence the need for this study. Jatropha curcas seed oil was extracted and analyzed to determine its free fatty acid and fatty acid composition. The oil was transesterified with methanol at a molar ratio of methanol to oil 8:1, using 1% sodium hydroxide catalyst, at different temperature