Fine aggregates used for concrete works in Sulaymaniyah city frequently fail to meet the standard requirements for gradation and fineness modulus in cement concrete. This paper aims to critically evaluate gradation, fineness modulus, and clay contents of various natural sands produced and used for concrete work in the region. Sixteen field sand samples were collected from various sites in Darbandikhan (5 samples), Qalat Dizah (5 samples), Koysinjaq (5 samples), and Piramagroon (1 sample) confirming to ASTM D75. The field samples were parted into test specimens based on ASTM C702. Then, sieve analysis was carried out on the oven-dry test specimens in compliance with ASTM C136. The test results of fine aggregates were compared with American, British, and Iraqi specification standards using ASTM C33, BS 882, and IQS No. 45. It was revealed that only three sands satisfy the ASTM gradation limits while others do not comply and are on the coarser side. Also, eight samples meet the requirements recommended by BS 882, whereas five samples meet limits by IQS No. 45. It was found that only three sands have the fineness modulus within the ranges recommended by ACI 211.1 and ACI 211.4, while the others have high values. Furthermore, it was found that all sands include an allowable amount of finer particles passing sieve size 0.075 mm. In order to improve particle size distributions, it is recommended to use the blending method to obtain a suitable fine aggregate from two or more failed sands.
The main objective of this work was to adopt an environmentally friendly technology with enhanced results. The technology of magnetic water (MW) treatment system can be used in concrete mixture production instead of potable water (PW) to improve both workability and strength. Two types of concrete were adopted: normal concreter production with two grades 25 and 35 MPa and the self-compacted concrete (SCC) with 35 MPa grade. The concrete mixes containing MW instead of PW results showed that, for 25 MPa grade, an improvement in a compressive strength of 15.1, 14.8, and 10.2% was achieved for 7, 28, and 90 days, respectively. For 35 MPa grade, an improvement of 13.6, 11.5, and
Fatigue failure is almost considered as the predominant problem affecting automotive parts under dynamic loading condition. Thus, more understanding of crack behavior during fatigue can strongly help in finding the proper mechanism to avoid the final fracture and extent the service life of components. The main goal of this paper is to study the fracture behavior of low carbon steel which is used mostly in automotive industry. For this purpose, the fractography of samples subjected to high and low stress levels in fatigue test then was evaluated and analyzed. Hardness and tensile tests were carried out to determine the properties of used steel. Also, the samples were characterized by microstructure test and XRD analysis to examine the con
... Show MoreIn this paper, a mathematical model for the oxidative desulfurization of kerosene had been developed. The mathematical model and simulation process is a very important process due to it provides a better understanding of a real process. The mathematical model in this study was based on experimental results which were taken from literature to calculate the optimal kinetic parameters where simulation and optimization were conducted using gPROMS software. The optimal kinetic parameters were Activation energy 18.63958 kJ/mol, Pre-exponential factor 2201.34 (wt)-0.76636. min-1 and the reaction order 1.76636. These optimal kinetic parameters were used to find the optimal reaction conditions which
... Show MoreThe main problem of the current study concentrates on applying critical discourse analysis to examine textual, discoursal and social features of reduplication in some selected English newspaper headlines. The main aim of the current study is to analyze the linguistic features of reduplication by adopting Fairclough's three-dimensional model (2001). This study sets forth the following hypotheses: (1) English headline – newspapers comprise various textual, discoursal and social features ;(2)the model of analysis is best suited for the current study.To achieve the aims and verify the hypotheses, a critical discourse analysis approach is used represented by Fairclough's socio-cultural approach (2001).The present study has examined the use of
... Show MoreOnline communication on social networks has become a never-given-up way of expressing and sharing views and opinions within the realm of all topics on earth, and that is that! A basis essential in this is the limits at which "freedom of expression" should not be trespassed so as not to fall into the expression of "hate speech". These two ends make a base in the UN regulations pertaining to human rights: One is free to express, but not to hate by expression. Hereunder, a Critical Discourse Analysis in terms of Fairclough's dialectical-relational approach (2001) is made of Facebook posts (being made by common people, and not of official nature) targeting Islam and Muslims. This is made so as to recognize these instances of "speech" a
... Show MoreIn this paper, we consider the problem of stochastic project network when some or all activities are interrupted. An approach has been built to schedule the critical activities, by constructing some expressions based on the project lateness costs due to the interruption activities. Two simple example are presented to validate our approach.
Key words: Project Management, Project scheduling, Stochastic activity duration, Stochastic PERT.
Introduction
Recently, Projects planning and optimal timing, under uncertainty are extremely critical for many organizations, see [19]. Having an effective mathematical model wi
... Show MoreWith the spread of the use of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in developing countries for use in domestic cooking with the increase in the expansion and distribution of gas pipelines for residential buildings, the 2002 World Summit focused on sustainable development in clean energy for natural gas (NG) and LPG. The research aims to focus on the important aspects of design sustainability from an environmental point of view to reduce gas leakage, accidents, and explosions that occur socially to expand the distribution of LPG and motivate the consumers to use it instead of natural gas and other fuels, and from an economic point of view to take into account the annual cost and aesthetic imp