University of Kufa

Industrial wastes cause damage to the environment and pose a threat to public health.The utilization of industrial wastes is inevitable if a circular economy needs to be achieved.Cement kiln dust (CKD) is a potential engineering material that can be used in many civil engineering works.The volume change behavior of a CKD is reported here.One-dimensional swelling and compression tests were carried out on CKD specimens to derive the compressibility parameters and coefficient of permeability.A cyclic wet-freeze-thaw-dry test was carried out to study the volume change of the material upon exposure to various seasonal climatic processes under a low surcharge pressure.The exptl. results show that CKD can exhibit swelling under light loads.The correlations between plasticity properties and compressibility parameters that are applicable to fine-grained soils were found to overestimate the parameters of the CKD.The magnitudes of frost heave and thaw settlement were found to be significant, with an uprising type of movement accompanied by strain accumulation when the material was taken through several wet-freeze-thaw-dry cycles.

Intradural extramedullary spinal cord tumors are rare but can cause significant neurological symptoms. We present a case of a 23-year-old male who developed progressive bilateral leg pain and lower limb weakness 2 years after undergoing posterior spinal fixation for a T12 burst fracture. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed an intradural extramedullary tumor at the site of the previous surgery. The patient underwent surgical excision of the tumor, which was confirmed to be a Schwannoma. Postoperatively, the patient experienced significant improvement in both motor function and pain. This case underscores the importance of thorough follow-up care in patients with spinal trauma and fixation, as delayed secondary pathologies, such as spinal tumors, can occur.

Chopped fiber reinforced epoxy composites are considered advanced solutions in many industrial applications, including ship building industry, due to their excellent mech., chem., and weight properties.With the development of technol., it has become possible to enhance these materials with nanoparticles such as tungsten carbide (WC) and titanium dioxide (TiO₂) to improve their mech. performance especially impact strength.The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of two types of additives nanoparticles, WC and TiO₂, with chopped glass and carbon fiber reinforced epoxy composites on the impact strength and their potential use in journal bearings in ships as an alternative to metallic composites.Many samples were prepared utilizing different percentages of chopped glass and carbon fibers in addition of different ratios of tungsten carbide and titanium dioxide nanoparticles.Impact test was performed and the results showed that the addition of 1.5 % tungsten carbide with 4 % glass and 4 % carbon fibers achieved the highest improvement in impact resistance; about 446.6 % compared to pure epoxy sample.Also, the highest improvement in impact resistance by the addition of 1.5 % titanium dioxide is found to be about 420 % compared to pure epoxy.