Journal of Brilliant Engineering (BEN)

Amirhossein Dashtian Abdulmannan Rouhani Arash Dashtian

The design and implementation of the municipal waste management system aim to solve the urban issues and ultimately contribute to the citizens' health and welfare. The first step in this system is to select a site for the safe disposal of wastes. The aim of this survey was to select the most suitable landfill site for municipal solid waste using the geographic information system (GIS) and the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) model following the environmental, economic, and engineering criteria. Therefore, by reviewing the literature and backgrounds, the parameters required for locating the landfill site were extracted, and the most important ones (15 sub-criteria) were selected and divided into four groups. The results showed that the sub-criterion of distance to the river with the weight of 0.218 was identified as the most critical parameter, followed by groundwater depth. In this way, the flooding parameter with the weight of 0.010 was considered the least important variable. In addition, it was found that the moderate suitability class with 50% of the area had the highest area, and the very high suitability with 0.8% had the lowest area. The inconsistency rate was equal to 0.04, which illustrates the high consistency of matrices. Then, the overlaying was carried out, and three sites were determined as the best place for a landfill in Khesht county.

https://doi.org/10.36937/ben.2022. 4535

Nsikak Edet Ekpenyong Grace Peter Umoren Okwet Joseph Yawo Itoro Esiet Udo Okechukwu Agbasi

Large quantities of coconut husks generated are under-utilized. In developing countries, this situation warrants their disposal by open burning or indiscriminate dumping. Either practice adversely affects the environment and public health. In this study, test samples were fabricated from untreated coconut husk particles (UCP) at 0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% weight proportions with treated coconut husk particles (TCP) using epoxy resin as binder. Five representative samples were prepared per formulation and then subjected to various intended tests. The test results revealed water absorption, bulk density, thermal conductivity, specific heat capacity, thermal diffusivity, nailability, flexural strength, and compressive strength to be (24.88 ± 0.04) %, (459.78 ± 0.05) kgm-3, (0.0867 ± 0.0001) Wm-1K-1, (1573.76 ± 1.14) Jkg-1K-1, (1.198 ± 0.002) x 10-7 m2s-1, (100.0 ± 0.0) %, (11.94 ± 0.03) N/mm2, and (22.86 ± 0.04) N/mm2 respectively for the control sample with UCP content. Also, the respective values of the properties were (29.05 ± 0.06) %, (583.87 ± 0.05) kgm-3, (0.1009 ± 0.0002) Wm-1K-1, (1402.66 ± 1.45) Jkg-1K-1, (1.232 ± 0.004) x 10-7 m2s-1, (100.0 ± 0.0) %, (14.58 ± 0.03) N/mm2, and (33.27 ± 0.02) N/mm2 for the counterpart sample containing the TCP. All the samples showed better tendencies for thermal insulation performance compared to conventional ceilings like plywood, PVC, and asbestos. Thus, utilization of coconut husks as described in this study could alternatively help to solve the disposal problems of such wastes while availing building industries with suitable raw materials to manufacture cost-effective heat-insulating ceilings.

https://doi.org/10.36937/ben.2022.4547

Akaolisa CCZ Opara JC Okechukwu Agbasi

A good road network consists of a constant stretch of asphalt laid down for a smooth ride. The spot in the smooth ride on the pavement is commonly referred to as "pavement failure." Soil type, load bearing capacity of materials, zone of vulnerability, resistance to permeation, compressibility, shrinkage limit, and other details are frequently required in order to construct a very good and solid foundation for the planned bridge site. In Nigeria, numerous factors contribute to the failure of road construction projects. They are primarily insufficient research on subgrade and other pavement materials (sub-base and base courses) prior to the start of road projects; flawed engineering, including a poor drainage system and supervision throughout road construction; and shoddy workmanship that was superimposed with asphaltic concrete to improve strength. Within the Niger Delta basin, the study area is located between latitude 5.485°N and longitude 7.035°E. The Benin Formation underpins the study area. It is composed primarily of friable sands, conglomerates, very coarse sandstone, and isolated gravel units, as well as intercalation of Pliocene to Miocene shale/clay lenses. Natural Moisture Content (NMC), Linear Shrinkage (LS), Particle Size Distribution, and California Bearing Ratio were among the laboratory tests performed on samples collected at failed and stable sections of some selected road segments (CBR). When compared to the stable sections, the NMC along the failed sections was on the high side (ranging from 13.11 percent to 26.89 percent) (ranging from 11.11 percent to 16.40 percent). The majority of the tested soils passed the 0.075mm sieve with a percentage greater than the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing's maximum of 35% for subgrade materials. The maximum dry density (MDD) for the samples at failed and stable sections was 1550 kg/m3 to 1860 kg/m3; 1650 kg/m3 to 1980 kg/m3; and the Optimum Moisture Content (OMC) was 8.30% to 20.30%. The soaked CBR values ranged from 2 to 17 percent, while the unsoaked values ranged from 4 to 25 percent.

https://doi.org/10.36937/ben.2022.4569

Hakan Kızıltaş

Energy and exergy analysis of systems are of great importance to enhance the energy and exergy efficiency of industrial production facilities. With the energy and exergy analyses performed, the energy dependency of the production facilities and their energy consumption can be reduced, the price of the product can decrease, and the profit margin can increase. Additionally, it is ensured that the energy produced based on fossil fuels is used in a controlled way. In the present study, the analysis of energy and exergy has been performed for the production reactor unit of the Boric Acid from Colemanite. The first law of thermodynamics and ChemCAD simulation program was used for energy analysis calculations, and the calculations of exergy analysis were carried out by using the second law of thermodynamics. The total energy loss of the reactor unit and the calculated energy loss per 100 kcal input steam were calculated as 110880 kcal/h and 3.724%, and the losses of total exergy in the reactor units and the losses of exergy calculated per 100 kcal input steam were calculated as 225058.86 kcal/h and 30.095%, respectively. Exergy efficiency for the reactor unit has been determined as 3.3 %. Some suggestions were given for the reactor units of boric acid production plants to minimize system losses.

https://doi.org/10.36937/ben.2022.4617

Çağlar Özer Mehmet Hamit Özyazıcıoğlu Şukran Perk

Eastern Anatolia is a tectonically active area, where continent-to-continent collision and accretion processes are shaping the crust and leading to high seismic characteristics. The main motivation of this research is to calculate the Coda Wave Spatial Variation in the depth and horizontal plane using 3438 events recorded by 26 seismic stations. The Coda Q features from 1 to 16 Hz are computed for various lapse times, which determine the coda waves depth distribution. The contours of Q-variation in the regional crust at different depths are obtained. The Coda-Q values range from ~180±120 at 1 Hz to ~800±500 at 16 Hz in the study area. The Q characteristics are interpreted concerning tectonics, crustal anomalies, and possible geothermal regime variations. Low Q values are observed in and around major fault lines, zones of high tectonic activity, and geothermal spots. The results suggest that 8 Hz coda-Q distribution may be associated with the Curie point depth distribution. Low Coda-Q values specify high attenuation features, while low-frequency exponent can define clear principal attenuation according to molten lower crust along Arabian-Anatolian plate collision zone and presence old volcanic units, such as Tendürek, Agri, Süphan, and Nemrut Mountains scattered all around the study area, as well as geothermal reservoirs.

https://doi.org/10.36937/ben.2022.4639