Groundwater Utilization and Management in the State of Kuwait

Abstract

The main brackish groundwater resources in the State of Kuwait are the groundwater located in the Kuwait Group and the Dammam limestone aquifers. Most of the groundwater used in the State of Kuwait is for irrigation, some part of it is used for domestic purposes and for small scale industries. Since rainfall is seasonal and is less than the annual evaporation, the recharge from rainfall is negligible. Water levels in both the aquifers are highly affected by the pumping rate from each well. The groundwater is extracted heavily resulting in decline of water levels and the deterioration of groundwater quality though there is underflow from Saudi Arabia. Improvement of the groundwater management is essential for maintaining long-term productivity of the aquifers in the State of Kuwait.     

Fabrication and characterization of nano-particles-enhanced epoxy

Epoxy has been widely used as adhesives in retrofitting structures with carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP). In this study, different weight fractions of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and Silicon Carbide nanopowder (SiC) will be dispersed into epoxy to produce toughened adhesives that can effectively improve the CFRP/structure bonding performance. The preliminary experimental results indicate that adding 2 wt.% MWCNTs into Araldite-420 will increase its ultimate strength by 17% and its elastic modulus by 14%. On the other hand, Araldite-420’s elastic modulus will increase by nearly 50% when 1.0 wt.% of SiC powder is added. Ultrasonic mixing may increase the elastic modulus of Sikadur-30 but reduce its strength and ductility regardless of the amount of nanoparticles dispersed. No significant effect of nano-particle infusion on the glass transition temperature of the epoxies was found. The mechanism of nanoparticles infusion effects on the mechanical properties of the epoxies is also examined using SEM.     

Microstructure and phase composition of cordierite-based co-clinker

The aim of this work is to study the effect of phase composition and microstructure of cordierite-based co-clinkers on the electrical properties and coefficient of thermal expansion of cordierite briquettes. To achieve this aim talc and kaolinite samples were collected from quarries in the Egyptian desert. The samples are characterized using XRD, XRF, polarized light, cathodoluminescence and SEM microscopy attached with EDAX, in addition to X-ray micro-computed tomography (3D- µXCT). The electrical properties and coefficient of thermal expansion of the cordierite briquettes are determined using HiTESTER instrument and automatic Netzsch DIL402 PC dilatometer, respectively.Five talc-based batches were shaped and fired in the temperature range 1000–1350 °C for 2 h. The microstructural and physical characteristics of the resulted cordierite-based co-clinkers depend mainly on the viscosity of the liquid phase developed during firing. The microchemistry of the cordierite briquettes confirms their enrichment of both cordierite and ferroan-cordierite crystallized directly from locally developed melts. The dielectric constant and loss factor values for cordierite briquettes allow their possible use as insulator components in electronic applications.     

Novel Dipyridinium Lipophile-Based Ionic Liquids Tethering Hydrazone Linkage: Design,Synthesis and Antitumorigenic Study

Novel dicationic pyridinium ionic liquids tethering amphiphilic long alkyl side chains and fluorinated counter anions have been successfully synthesized by means of the quaternization of the dipyridinium hydrazone through its alkylation with different alkyl halides. The resulting halogenated di-ionic liquids underwent a metathesis reaction in order to incorporate some fluorinated counter anions in their structures. The structures of all the resulting di-ionic liquids were characterized by several spectroscopic experiments. The antitumorigenic activities of the investigated compounds were further studied against three different human lung cancer cell lines. Compared to the standard chemotherapeutic agent, cisplatin, the synthesized di-ionic liquids exerted equal, even more active, moderate, or weak anticancer activities against the various lung cancer cell lines under investigation. The observed anticancer activity appears to be enhanced by increasing the length of the aliphatic side chains. Moreover, dicationic pyridinium bearing a nine carbon chain as counter cation and hexafluoro phosphate and/or tetrafluoro bororate as counter anion were selected for further evaluation and demonstrated effective and significant antimetastatic effects and suppressed the colonization ability of the lung cancer cells, suggesting a therapeutic potential for the synthesized compounds in lung cancer treatment.     

A research case study: Difficulties and recommendations when using a textual data mining tool

Although many interesting results have been reported by researchers using numeric data mining methods, there are still questions that need answering before textual data mining tools will be considered generally useful due to the effort needed to learn and use them.     

Natural Weathering and Sea Water Effects on the Durability of Glass Fiber Reinforced Vinylester: Fractographic Analysis

This paper presents a study of the effects of harsh outdoor weather and warm sea water on the tensile behavior of Glass-Fiber Reinforced Vinylester (GFRV) pipe materials destined for sea water handling and transportation. The effect of Dhahran’s outdoor weather for exposure periods ranging from 3 to 36 months revealed an improvement in tensile strength when compared with the as received GFRV sample. A significant increasing trend of tensile strength from 3 to 12 months was noted. This is attributed mainly to the post curing effects resulting in higher cross linking density. After 12 months of exposure the tensile strength showed a decreasing trend, but remaining still higher than the average tensile strength of as received (baseline) GFRV sample. Similar results of enhanced tensile strength were noted after immersion of GFRV pipes in warm Gulf sea water for 12 months. Fractographic analysis was performed on the tensile tested GFRV samples using optical microscope followed by scanning electron microscope (SEM). The characterization of the controlling failure mechanisms involved from fracture initiation to fracture propagation through the gage section of the specimen were predicted and were justified by correlating the optical and SEM pictures.     

Natural radioactivity contents in tobacco and radiation dose induced from smoking

One of the causative factors for cancer-inducing mechanisms in humans is radioactive elements present in tobacco leaves used in the manufacture of cigarettes. Smoking of tobacco and its products increases the internal intake and radiation dose due to naturally occurring radionuclides that are considered to be one of the most significant causes of lung cancer. In this work, different commercial types of cigarettes, cigar and moassel were collected from market. Naturally occurring radionuclides (226)Ra and (214)Bi ((238)U series), (228)Ac and (228)Ra ((232)Th series), (40)K and man-made (137)Cs were measured in tobacco using gamma-ray spectrometer. Results show that the average concentrations of (238)U, (232)Th and (40)K were 4.564, 3.940 and 1289.53 Bq kg(-1), respectively. This reflects their origin from the soil by root uptake and fertilisers used in the cultivation of tobacco plants. Concentration of (137)Cs was 0.348 Bq kg(-1) due to root uptake or deposition onto the leaf foliage. For smokers, the annual effective dose due to inhalation of (238)U varied from 49.35 to 139.40 μSv(-1) (average 104.27 μSv y(-1)), while of (232)Th from 23.86 to 111.06 μSv y(-1) (average 65.52 μSv y(-1)). The annual effective dose resulting from (137)Cs was varied from 10.96 to 24.01 nSv y(-1) (average 19.41 nSv y(-1)).     

Experimental and finite element analysis of a double strap joint between steel plates and normal modulus CFRP

Strengthening of steel structures using externally-bonded carbon fibre reinforced polymers ‘CFRP’ is a rapidly developing technique. This paper describes the behaviour of axially loaded flat steel plates strengthened using carbon fibre reinforced polymer sheets. Two steel plates were joined together with adhesive and followed by the application of carbon fibre sheet double strap joint with different bond lengths. The behaviour of the specimens was further investigated by using nonlinear finite element analysis to predict the failure modes and load capacity. In this study, bond failure is the dominant failure mode for normal modulus (240 GPa) CFRP bonding which closely matched the results of finite elements. The predicted ultimate loads from the FE analysis are found to be in good agreement with experimental values.