Pumpkin waste powder was used as a coloring and strengthening filler in epoxy to prepare a natural gelcoat . The Pumpkin powder was mixed with different weight ratios (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8%) to the epoxy matrix to select the best value of powder addition. The effect of the pumpkin particle size on the mechanical properties (impact, flexural, hardness, and wear loss) using two different sizes (2.5 and 1.25 microns) was studied. The impact strength increased from (10.09 KJ/ m2) for neat epoxy to (14.79 KJ/ m2) for epoxy with 1% of micron pumpkin fibers ( MPF) with particle size 2.5 micrometer and (14.21 KJ/ m2) for epoxy with 4% (1.25 MPF), flexural strength increased from (41.94 MPa) for neat epoxy to (~ 46 MPa) for epoxy with 1% of 2.5 MPF and to (50.17 MPa) for epoxy with 4% of 1.25 MPF, hardness of neat epoxy was (~ 77) and almost maintained its value for epoxy with 1% of 2.5 MPF and for epoxy with 4% of 1.25 MPF. At almost the weight fractions addition of pumpkin fibers to epoxy, the (EP/1.25MPF) composite shows a higher wear resistance than the (EP/2.5MPF) composite. The density, thermal conductivity, and water diffusion (for 1-4 weeks' immersion) of (EP/2.5MPF) and (EP/1.25MPF) composites were carried out at different weight percentages of pumpkin fibers. SEM and EDS techniques were employed to fix the microstructure and the elemental composition of (EP/2.5MPF) and (EP/1.25MPF) composites, respectively. The internal structure of the composites has been linked with their macroscopic characteristics, such as the color degree of natural gelcoats and their mechanical and thermal properties.
To fabricate an inexpensive surface coating with excellent mechanical properties with good water resistance and thermal diffusion, white eggshell fibers with particle size (~1micrometer) has been added by different weight percentages (1,2,3,4,5,6,7 and 8 %) to Unsaturated Polyester.
The weight ratio (4%) of eggshell powder is a good ratio to be added to polyester to improve its mechanical properties, such as hardness, impact strength, and wear resistance. The hardness was improved by (3.75%); impact strength has the same value as polyester, flexural strength by (8.43%) and high improvement in wear resistance (74.4%), as well as to get further improvements in mechanical properties of polyester, the eggshell powder was added
... Show MoreIn this article, the casting method was used to prepare poly(methyl methacrylate)/hydroxyapatite (PMMA/HA) nanocomposite films incorporated with different contents (0.5, 1, and 1.5 wt%) of graphene nanoplatelets (Gnp). The chemical properties and surface morphology of the PMMA/HA blend and PMMA/HA/Gnp nanocomposite were characterized using FTIR, and SEM analysis. Besides, the thermal conductivity, dielectric and electrical properties at (1–107 Hz) of the PMMA/HA blend and PMMA/HA/Gnp composites were investigated. The structural analysis showed that the synthesized composites had a low agglomerated state, with multiple wrinkles of graphene flakes in the PMMA/HA blend. The thermal conductivity was improved by more than 35-fold its value for
... Show MoreBackground: The polymethyl methacrylate is the most reliable material for the construction of complete and partial dentures, despite satisfying esthetic demand itsuffered from having unsatisfactory properties like impact strength and transverse strength. This study was designed to improve the impact strength and transverse strength of heat cure acrylic resin by adding untreated and oxygen plasma treated polypropylene fibers and investigate the effect of this additive on some properties of acrylic resin materials. Materials and methods: Untreated and oxygen plasma treated polypropylene fibers was added to PMMA powder by weight 2.5 %. Specimens were constructed and divided into 5 groups according to the using tests; each group was subdivided
... Show MoreConcrete filled steel tube (CFST) columns are being popular in civil engineering due to their superior structural characteristics. This paper investigates enhancement in axial behavior of CFST columns by adding steel fibers to plain concrete that infill steel tubes. Four specimens were prepared: two square columns (100*100 mm) and two circular columns (100 mm in diameter). All columns were 60 cm in length. Plain concrete mix and concrete reinforced with steel fibers were used to infill steel tube columns. Ultimate axial load capacity, ductility and failure mode are discussed in this study. The results showed that the ultimate axial load capacity of CFST columns reinforced with steel fibers increased by 28% and 20 % for circular and square c
... Show MoreOptical fiber technology is without a doubt one of the most significant phases of the communications revolution and is crucial to our daily lives. Using the free version (2022) of RP Fiber Calculator, the modal properties for optical fibers with core radii (1.5−7.5) μm, core index (1.44−1.48) and cladding index (1.43−1.47) have been determined at a wavelength of 1000 nm. When the fiber core’s radius is larger than its operating wavelength, multimode fibers can be created. The result is a single-mode fiber in all other cases. All of the calculated properties, it has been shown, increase with increasing core radius. The modes’ intensity profiles were displayed.
A tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding is one of the most popular kinds of welding used to join metals mainly for aluminum alloys. However, many challenges may be met with this kind of joining process; these challenges arise from decay of mechanical properties of welded materials. In the present study, an attempt was made to enhancing the mechanical properties of TIG weld joint of 6061-T6 aluminum alloy by hardening the surfaces using shoot peening technique. To optimize the shoot peening process three times of exposure (5, 10, and 15) min. was used. All peened and unpeened, and welded and unwelded samples were characterized by metallographic test to indicate the phase transformation and modification in microstructure occurring d
... Show MoreThe creation and characterisation of biodegradable blend films based on chitosan and polyvinyl alcohol for application in a range of packaging is described. The compatibility between the chitosan and PVA polymers was good. Composite films had a compact and homogeneous structure, according to the morphology analysis. The mechanical test result of PVA/CH at concentrations 5% showed, that The higher values of TS recorded in sample (p1, with 40 MPa) while the lower values appeared in sample (p9, with 22.09 MPa), the TS decreased gradually as the amount of PVA increased in blend film. While the blend film of pure Chitosan exhibits a poor mechanical strength which makes it a poor candidate for packaging but Blending CH with PVA together improved
... Show MoreBlastocystis is a ubiquitous human and animal protozoa that inhabit the gastrointestinal tract. Metronidazole is considered the standard drug for the treatment of Blastocystis infection; however, there is growing evidence of treatment failure, hazardous side effects, and appearance of strains resistant to metronidazole. In the last era, many studies have been implicated in the quest for new treatments for Blastocystis infection, especially natural products. Attention has been focused on the effect of Amygdalin (B17) and pumpkin seed on eradicating parasitic infections. The current work was built up to explore the in vitro efficacy of two natural compounds, Amygdalin (B17) and pumpkin seeds against
... Show MoreInvestigating the thermal and electrical gains and efficiencies influence the designed photovoltaic thermal hybrid collector (PVT) under different weather conditions. The designed system was manufactured by attaching a fabricated cooling system made of serpentine tubes to a single PV panel and connecting it to an automatic controlling system for measuring, monitoring, and simultaneously collecting the required data. A removable glass cover had been used to study the effects of glazed and unglazed PVT panel situations. The research was conducted in February (winter) and July (summer), and March for daily solar radiation effects on efficiencies. The results indicated that electrical and thermal gains increased by the incre
... Show More