KUFA JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING

The conversion of saltwater and brackish water into fresh water through desalination has gained significant importance as a solution to the worldwide scarcity of fresh water resources. The Reverse Osmosis (RO) method has been effectively utilized to generate fresh water from sources of brackish water. This research aims to examine the variables that affect the performance of the reverse osmosis process. The effectiveness of the membrane was assessed through experiments that explored the impact of varying operating conditions, such as feed pressure, temperature, and concentration, on the reverse osmosis pilot plant and salt solution system (consisting of NaCl and MgCl2). The selected membrane used a polymeric membrane constructed as FilmTec TW30-1812-50 spiral-wound module. The results showed that as the feed temperature and salt concentration increased, the salt rejection decreased. On the other hand, as the transmembrane pressure was raised, the membrane's salt rejection improved. The experiments revealed that the feed temperature and salt concentration have a significant impact on the membrane's performance. Among the various variables studied, operating pressure had the largest effect on the product rate. As operating pressure increased, the permeation flux and salt rejection also increased, with a salt rejection rate of 96% achieved at 5 bars. In addition to other factors, the concentration of the feed greatly influences the solute content in the final product.

The nano fluid consist of Al2O3 nanoparticles was dissolved by double distilled water (DDW) in three concentrations, 0.5% wt, 1%wt, and 1.5%wt of nanomaterials. The effect of adding nano materials on the viscosity and thermal conductivity was calculated experimentally at room temperature. Some mathematical models were used to calculate the viscosity and the thermal conductivity and compare it with the experimental work. The results showed that viscosity and thermal conductivity increased with increasing concentration of Al2O3 nanoparticles, and there is a great convergence between the theoretical and measured viscosity and thermal conductivity. The SEM images showed that there is homogeneity in the distribution of the nano fluid at 1%wt., and some agglomerations were detected at a concentration 1.5%. The EDS spectrum showed that the percentage of aluminum increased gradually with increasing the Al2O3 concentration. The X-Ray diffraction indicated slight increase in the intensity of diffraction with increasing the Al2O3 concentration.

Shape memory alloys have two unique properties of shape memory effect (SME) and superelasticity (SE) that are the ability for large inelastic deformations recovery after heating (SME) and stress removal (SE). In recent years, structural engineers used these materials in the field of civil engineering’s, such as the applications of SMAs in the repair, retrofitting, and rehabilitation of concrete structures, dampers, vibration isolation systems, vibration control, and prestressing members, etc. To overcome and reduce the potential seismic risk of structures, understanding the characteristics of SMAs materials under different loading conditions is one of the critical steps. Despite the various types of researches carried out on the SMAs' structural applications, there was a need for a review of the progress of the current method in structures. To address it, a brief review of the applications of SMAs in Reinforced Concrete (RC) beam-column joints was conducted.

The events leave a lot of repercussions on city's architecture as a representation of the stations of ideological change reflected in what is happening to society in economic, political, scientific and social changes. After 2003 events in An-Najaf Al-Ashraf city had a great impact on its architecture resulted by the effect of continuous transformations during the past period in all the levels, as well as the progress, technological development and sudden openness to the west world. Therefore, the lack of contemporary knowledge of the strategies role that used for reconstruction in the emergence of architectural production during the past two decades in its current form, the research problem came as follows (the lack of knowledge of the strategy of disorder within the entrances to new democracy and the loss of local capabilities to observe its impact on architecture in the city of Najaf after 2003). The purpose of this study (investigating the effect of the strategy of chaos associated with the events following 2003 on architectural output in An Najaf city, and proposing a method of achieving local identity continuity in the city and its communication with residents). The conclusions of the study were appropriate for proposing a strategy for the reconstruction of the city and the continuation of its construction through the use of the field survey method. This was accomplished by distributing a questionnaire to a sample of architects in the city of Najaf, as they are familiar with the movement of architecture in the city. The concept of the study of disorganization strategy had a definitive conceptualization of its impact on the architecture of the holy city of Najaf, along with a proposal of the blue-green infrastructure strategy as a suitable strategy for the reconstruction of the city.

Surface finishing operation is a very vital aspect of the manufacturing process and would not fully be achieved without abrasives such as emery paper. Some materials used in the production of abrasives like alumina (Al2O3), and Boron Carbide (B4C) are expensive thereby limiting their usage. This work is aimed at producing abrasive materials from snail shells, silica (SiO2), and epoxy resin while melamine formaldehyde acts as a hardener. The raw materials used were sieved according to ASTM E11-20 standard to obtain an average particle size of 400 µm. The composites were produced by varying different amounts of the epoxy resin as well as the other materials. The samples were analysed using physical, mechanical, and microstructural characterization techniques. An analysis of the results showed that as the content of the epoxy resin in the composite increased, the hardness values increased. The wear rate of the samples containing snail shell powders are higher than those containing only silica. The morphology of the samples obtained through microstructural tests revealed that the silica-based abrasive has better interfacial bonding which helped to confer strength. Therefore, silica can be used to produce abrasives with the required mechanical properties comparable to those of conventional abrasives.

A previous study has shown the successful application of the Taguchi method in both the direct and indirect perspectives to compute the optimal parameters during the turning of Inconel x-750 alloy. The study deployed signal-to-noise ratios to minimize the output of surface roughness, tool wear and cutting force but the machining economic parameters were not mentioned. Yet, the techno-economic dimension of machining aids profitable adjustments of the turning operations. To correct this deficiency, the present article introduces a techno-economic dimension to the turning process using literature data. This paper is about combining three variants of the Taguchi methods in five distinct formulations. The Taguchi, Taguchi-Pareto and Taguchi-ABC methods are combined with the present worth method by introducing the interest rate and inflationary rate at different points in the S/N ratio (SNR) calculations. Aspect ratios and direct parameter combinations replace the traditional direct parameter analysis in the factor-level framework. The present worth, optimal parametric setting and performance flow analysis are needed for all five formulations to ascertain the direction of performance analysis for the turning process. Concerning the direct and aspect ratios, the cutting velocity (PWV, 949.1444) and the feed rate-cutting velocity ratio (PWF/V, 0.026) are the first and last positions, respectively. Regarding the Taguchi experimental run, the present worth of the feed rate-cutting velocity ratio (PWF/V, -155.403) was the first position while the present worth of the cutting velocity (PWV, -185.009) is the last position. Results for other formulations show promising attributes for the methods. The work could be useful for planning purposes in turning operations.

This study conducted an experimental and numerical investigation to examine the pullout behavior of a single pile in sand soil with a specific density. The soil testing model was constructed to simulate real-world geotechnical applications where the soil is subjected to varying pullout forces. The experimental setup involved measuring vertical displacement corresponding to different values of pullout forces. The results were then compared to numerical results obtained from a PLAXIS 3D model with HS-small. The experimental and numerical results showed good agreement, demonstrating the effectiveness of the numerical model in simulating real-world geotechnical applications. The study provides valuable insights into the pullout behavior of a pile in soil with specific density and can be used to improve the design and construction of geotechnical structures. The difference between experimental results and numerical predictions was in acceptable values.