The Effect of Coconut Powder on Asphalt Binder Performance under Laboratory Conditions

Bituminous concrete mixture is the most widely used structural layer in flexible pavements. The surface layer of the paving is exposed to repeated loads in addition to changes in temperature, especially during the summer, when the temperature approaches the softness point of the asphalt binder, and therefore, it is subject to multiple types of failure, especially rutting. The properties of asphalt binder and asphalt mixtures can be improved by using various additives. Coconut shell powder, made from the dried husk of coconut fruit, is a popular addition in many industries. As a result of its high strength and stability, this waste material can be recycled into functional structural components such as composite material reinforcement. This study was conducted to evaluate the performance of coconut husk as very fine particles passing through sieve number 200 (0.075 mm) to modify the asphalt binder. The modifier was added at rates of (0, 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10) by the weight of asphalt binder. Two asphalt binder types, 80/100 and 40/50 penetration grade, were used in this study. All asphalt samples were tested for penetration, softening point, rotational viscosity, and dynamic shear rheology. The results showed that the modified samples had better physical and rheological properties compared to the base asphalt binders. However, (7-8%) replacement of coconut husk powder, regardless of the base asphalt binder, yielded the best performance among the modified binders. In conclusion, coconut powder has significant potential as a road-building material due to its impact on the viability of the road construction secto

Hydrodynamics and Kinetics of Phenols Removal from Industrial Wastewater in a Trickle Bed Reactor (Part I: Hydrodynamic Study)

An experimental investigation of the hydrodynamic parameters in a trickle bed reactor is presented. The operating conditions are selected for the operating system to be at trickle flow regime. The effects of the two-phase flow rates, reactor pressure and temperature on the pressure drop, external liquid holdup and liquid axial dispersion are discussed. Pressure drop was measured using differential pressure transducer, while liquid holdup and axial dispersion were estimated using RTD technique with a reactive dye as a tracer. The results confirmed that pressure drop is proportional to flow rate of fluids and operating pressure while it is inversely proportional to temperature. Liquid flow rate has a proportional effect on liquid holdup and axial dispersion while gas flow rate and temperature presented a different image. A comparison between the results of present work and that of literature is presented and discussed. Empirical correlations for pressure drop, liquid holdup and axial dispersion with operating conditions are developed with correlation coefficient of 98.4 to 99.7 %

Impact of channelized flow on temperature distribution and fluid flow in restless calderas:Insight from Campi Flegrei caldera, Italy

Magmatic hydrothermal systems develop by the imposition of a magmatically derived heat flux upon a shallow groundwater system. As such their dynamics can be intermittently perturbed by changing conditions within the associated magmatic system. Understanding the nature of the coupling between the magmatic and groundwater systems is thus key to discriminating geophysical signals of magmatic unrest from purely hydrothermal ones.Using a series of numerical groundwater models run with TOUGH2, we simulate the coupled groundwater–magmatic system at Campi Flegrei caldera, with particular emphasis on the impact of permeability developed within local fault systems and the dynamics of the system during magmatic unrest. Simulation results suggest that faults can play an important role in controlling the dynamics of recharge and heat transport within the shallow hydrothermal reservoir. Results specifically highlight that contrasts in permeability between faults and surrounding rock impact local temperature gradients, with faults either acting as preferential routes for recharge or discharge of groundwater, depending on fault/caldera fill permeability contrast and the vertical extent of the fault. Simulations of magmatic unrest with a step-wise increase in basal heat flux suggest that periodic geophysical and chemical signals may stem from the interaction between the development of gas at depth and the recharge–discharge dynamics of the reservoir. These results highlight the potential for the dynamics of magmatic–hydrothermal systems to be significantly impacted by the presence and nature of local fault systems. Where dynamic groundwater systems are involved, it is thus important to understand the impact of such geological elements when interpreting monitoring data such as ground deformation, seismicity and gas emissions

Numerical Analysis of Torsional Reinforcement of Concrete Beams in Unconventional by ANSYS Software

In this study, a finite element analysis is conducted to study the behaviour of RC beams with different configurations of transverse reinforcement under torsion. These configurations of stirrups are traditional closed stirrups, circular spiral stirrups, and inclined rectangular spiral stirrups. The numerical torsional load values are compared with the experimental torsional load values from previous research. The numerical analysis determined by the ANSYS software shows a reasonable agreement with the experimental torsional load values. The numerical results demonstrate that the use of continuous rectangular spiral stirrups improved the torsional response compared to using another type of beam stirrup. Thus, numerical results show that continuous spiral stirrups are effective at increasing torsional capacity. It is also noted that the behaviour of these beams with continuous spiral stirrups is better than the behaviour of the beams with traditional stirrups. The beams with helical reinforcement, which are TB2, TB3, and TB4 spiral reinforcements, greatly enhanced the toughness. The equivalent stresses are 13.709, 13.728, 14.72, and 15.894 MPa, while the equivalent elastic strains are 0.00421, 0.00377, 0.00347, and 0.00539 mm/mm for the beams TB2, TB3, and TB4, respectively. The beam TB4 had the highest stress and strain value, so its strength improved its ductility properties. As a result, the stirrups' configurations enabled the detection of beam failure mechanisms by improving torsional behaviour when compared to the beam's traditional stirrups. As a result, this research adds more knowledge to the literature on the most effective spiral stirrups for transverse reinforcement to improve the torsional behaviour of beams. Doi: 10.28991/CEJ-2023-09-01-04 Full Text: PD

Some Immunologic Evaluations of Toxoplasmosis in Iraqi Aborted Females

Forty-eight aborted women (Iraqi Arab Muslims) at the first trimester with a serological evidence of toxoplasmosis were investigated. Two age- and ethnic-matched control groups were included: 40 aborted women due to accidental events (Control I), and 40 unmarried (virgin) women (Control II). The subjects were evaluated for the following parameters: HLA-class I antigens (A, B and Cw), blood groups, total and differential counts of leukocytes, lymphocyte subpopulations (CD3+, CD4+ and CD20+ cells), phagocytosis of heat-killed yeast (phagocytic index and NBT index), and total serum levels of immunoglobulins (IgA, IgG and IgM) and complement components (C3 and C4). The HLA-A2 and -Cw8 antigens were significantly increased in the patients, while A3 antigen was significantly decreased. Blood group phenotypes in patients and controls also showed significant variations. The total and differential counts of leukocytes showed no significant differences between patients and controls, with the exception of lymphocytes, which showed a significant decreased count in the patients compared to control II. However, the lymphocyte subpopulations showed a significant increased percentage in patients. The phagocytic index was approximated in patients and controls, while NBT index was significantly decreased. Total serum level of IgG was significantly increased in the patients, while IgA, IgM, C3 and C4 levels did not maintain such variation

Enhancing Wireless Sensor Networks Routing Protocols based on Cross Layer Interaction

Wireless sensor networks aim to develop a smart city based on sensing environment. The routing protocols of wireless sensor networks is important to transfer the data in smart cities since sensor nodes have limited power and transmission range. The aim of this research is to enhance wireless sensor networks routing protocols based on proposed cross-layer interaction between physical layer and network layer also a proposed routing table information of wireless sensor nodes is developed to consider the transmission power of neighbor’s nodes to determine the next hop. Cross-layer interaction provides a useful information and effective adaptation for WSN routing protocols. As a result, the proposed routing protocol shows an improvement in network performance when number of intermediate nodes are minimized

Molecular Modeling, Synthesis, and preliminary pharmacological evaluation of New Sulfonamide Derivatives as Selective Carbonic Anhydrase XII and IX inhibitors (Research)

New benzene sulfonamide compounds 4–10 was modeled at the molecular level to reveal binding opportunities, bond length, angle, and energy scores in the CA II, CAXII, and CAIX active sites. To test their cytotoxic effect against the AMJ-13 Iraqi breast cancer cell line, researchers synthesized the promising compounds from 4-(2-mercapto-4-oxoquinazolin-3(4H)-yl) benzene sulfonamide 3. Derivatives 4–10 have IC50 values between 0.10 and 6.47 M, indicating potent action against the AMJ-13 cell line. The most effective of these compounds were numbers 4, 7, and 10. The highest binding scores in the active site of CAXII and CAIX were seen for the most active drugs, which may explain their inhibitory profile

The Effect Of Constraint Length And Interleaver On The Performance Of Turbo Code

This paper presents a class derived from convolutional code called turbo code. Theperformance of turbo code is investigated through examining the effect of different constraintlength, the effect of changing rate, and the effect of interleaver on the performance of turbocode with presence burst errors.The performance of turbo code is investigates through computer simulation, by usingMATLAB program.The simulation encoder is composed of two identical RSC component encoder with parallelconcatenated, separated by interleaver.The turbo code simulation results are showngraphically for different constraint length, in hard and soft decision. Also the simulationresults are shown for case with interleaver and without interleaver

The Impact of Crumb-Rubber on the Mechanical Characteristics of Modified Asphalt Mixture

By following up on the effect of rubber, which has recently been widely used as a direct additive to the asphalt binder or to the concrete mix as a percentage of the weight of the aggregate. The success of the effect of this type of admixture on improving the modified asphalt binder in addition to the modified concrete mix has been investigated. As it was noted the importance of following the asphalt properties due to the increasing use of crumb rubber modifiers in asphalt mixtures, there is a more position to check their rheological and physical properties comprehensively. In general, the performance of the asphalt rubber binder is affected by the rubber crumb content and mixing conditions. This research used 40/50 asphalt grade and Crumb Rubber additives with contents (5, 10, 15, and 20%). The main objectives of this study were to investigate the physical and rheological properties of rubber-modified asphalt binder and mixture. These purposes were achieved by testing HMA samples using the Marshall test approach to determine (Marshall stability and flow and void properties) and measuring the retained Marshall stability and DSR and Viscosity test. Sample testing showed that when recycled rubber was used as modifiers for asphalt mixes, the mixture became more stable, had a higher bulk specific gravity, and had less flow value and air voids. This infers that using recycled rubber can enhance the rutting resistance of bituminous mix

The effect of Chaetomium globosum and organic fertilizer on the sweet pepper varieties growth and yield under the greenhouse conditions

This experiment was conducted at horticulture college (USAMV Bucharest) during the summer season of the year 2017 to investigate the growth and yield of sweet pepper varieties (Dinamica f1, Abadia f1 and Abadia f1-grafted on emperador) planted under the greenhouse as influenced by Dix 10 n (organic fertilizer) with dose (300 g/m2 dix 10n) and soil contaminated with Chaetomium globosum fungus. The results of the experiment demonstrated that the highest plant height between the varieties were represented by Dinamica recorded 69.66cm while the maximum plant height between the interaction treatments recorded with (Dinamica + (D+CG), Dinamica + CG and Abadia G+ CG evaluated (89.66, 87.66, 84.00 cm) respectively. While the highest percentage of aerial plant dry matter represented by the interaction treatments of Dinamica + (D + CG) and Abadia G + (D + CG) which reached to (18.56 and 18.53 %) respectively. While the minimum effect for percentage of root dry matter obtained (15.20 and 16.20 %) for control treatment of (Abadia and Abadia G) respectively. The highest yield of plant (Dinamica + (D + CG), Abadia G (D + CG) and Abadia (D + CG)) were recorded lowest yield per plant were (1367.66, 1363.00 and 1325.66 g) respectively. The highest chlorophyll content in leaves were (135.30 and 117.53 µmol m-2) in Abadia G (D + CG) and Abadia G + CG respectively. The minimum photosynthesis value was 7.36 µmol m-2 s-1 in Abadia G (D + CG). The maximum of highest N-NO3 was in Dinamica + (D+CG) treatment which reached to 90.13 ppm, while the highest PO4 level was observed in Abadia + D treatment which recorded 198.87 ppm and the highest level of K was in Abadia G + CG which reached to 4066.66 ppm