The present work deals with an experimental investigation of charging and discharging processes in thermal storage system using a phase change material PCM. Paraffin wax was used as the PCM which is formed in spherical capsules and packed in a cylindrical packed column which acted as an energy storage system. Air was used as the heat transfer fluid HTF in thermal storage unit. The effect of flow rate and inlet temperature of HTF on the time of charging and discharging process were studied. The results showed that the faster storage of thermal energy can be made by high flow rate of heat transfer fluid HTF and high inlet temperature of heat transfer fluid. It was found that at 65°C HTF inlet temperature, the melting and solidification pr

Nanomaterials have an excellent potential for improving the rheological and tribological properties of lubricating oil. In this study, oleic acid was used to surface-modify nanoparticles to enhance the dispersion and stability of Nanofluid. The surface modification was conducted for inorganic nanoparticles (NPs) TiO₂ and CuO with oleic acid (OA) surfactant, where oleic acid could render the surface of TiO₂-CuO hydrophobic. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to characterize the surface modification of NPs. The main objective of this study was to investigate the influence of adding modified TiO₂-CuO NPs with weight ratio 1:1 on thermal-physical propertie

Glass Ionomer Cement (GIC) is one of the important dental temporary filing materials. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of adding 3, 5 and 7 wt. % of TiO₂ microparticles to conventional GIC powder (Riva Self Cure) on mechanical properties and its effect on absorption and solubility processes. TiO₂ particles additives improved compressive strength and biaxial flexural strength, where the compressive strength increased with increasing in the added ratio, while the highest value of the biaxial flexural strength was at 3 wt.%. The addition of TiO₂ particles improved the surface Vickers microhardness values, with highest value at 5 wt. %. On other hand TiO₂ addition im

Background: Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) is a promising implant material due to its superior biomechanical strength. However, due to its hydrophobic nature and lack of cellular adhesion properties, it has poor integration with bone tissue. Methods: A fractional CO2 laser was used with various parameters for surface texturing of PEEK substrate to enhance its surface properties. An optical microscope and field-emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) were used to examine the surface morphology of untextured and laser-textured samples. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) was performed to determine the effect of the laser on the microstructure of PEEK. Surface microroughness, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and wettability were invest

The main objectives of this study were investigating the effects of the maximum size of coarse Attapulgite aggregate and micro steel fiber content on fresh and some mechanical properties of steel fibers reinforced lightweight self-compacting concrete (SFLWSCC). Two series of mixes were used depending on maximum aggregate size (12.5 and 19) mm, for each series three different steel fibers content were used (0.5 %, 1%, and 1.5%). To evaluate the fresh properties, tests of slump flow, T500 mm, V funnel time, and J ring were carried out. Tests of compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, flexural tensile strength, and calculated equilibrium density were done to evaluate mechanical properties. For reference mixes, the

Background: Studying and investigating the transverse strength(Ts), impact strength(Is), hardness (Hr) and surface roughness(Ra) of conventional and modified autopolymerizing acrylic resin with different weight percentages of biopolymer kraftlignin, after curing in different water temperatures; 40°C and 80°C. Material and Methods: Standard acrylic specimens were fabricated according to ADA specification No.12 for transverse strength, ISO 179 was used for impact testing, Shore D for hardness and profilometerfor surface roughness. The material lignin first dispersed in the monomer, then the powder PMMA is immediately added. Ligninadded in different weight percentages. Then cured using pressure pot (Ivomet) in two temperatures;40°C a

Samarium ions (Sm +3), a rare-earth element, have a significant optical emission within the visible spectrum. PMMA samples, mixed with different ratios of SmCl3.6H2O, were prepared via the casting method. The composite was tested using UV-visible, photoluminescence and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The FTIR spectrometry of PMMA samples showed some changes, including variation in band intensity, location, and width. Mixed with samarium decreases the intensity of the CO and CH2 stretching bands and band position. A new band appeared corresponding to ionic bonds between samarium cations with negative branches in the polymer. These variations indicate complex links between the Sm +3 ion and oxygen in the ether group. The optical absorption

Density Functional Theory (DFT) with B3LYP hybrid exchange-correlation functional and 3-21G basis set and semi-empirical methods (PM3) were used to calculate the energies (total energy, binding energy (Eb), molecular orbital energy (EHOMO-ELUMO), heat of formation (?Hf)) and vibrational spectra for some Tellurium (IV) compounds containing cycloctadienyl group which can use as ligands with some transition metals or essential metals of periodic table at optimized geometrical structures.

The aim of this work is to produce samples from Iraqi raw materials like Husyniat Bauxite (raw and burnt) and to study the effect of some additives like white Doekhla kaolin clays and alumina on that material properties were using sodium silica as a binding material. Five mixtures were prepared from Bauxite (raw and burnt) and kaolin clays, with an additive of (40) ml from sodium silica and alumina of (2.5, 5, 7.5,10 wt %) percentage as a binding material. the size grading was through sieving. The formation of all specimens was conducted by a measured gradually semi-dry pressing method under a compression force of (10) Tons and humidity ratio ranging from (5-10) % from mixture weight. Drying all specimens was done and then they were burn

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