Studetns Research

The following students completed their master's degrees under the following titles:

1- Fatima Abbadi completed her M.Sc. thesis in 2008 under a title "Effect of Iron Oxide Nanoparticles on the Morphological and Mechanical Properties of Isotactic Polypropylene":

Isotactic polypropylene (iPP) and iron oxide (Fe₃O₄) nanocomposites were mixed by masterbatch blending technique in a single screw extruder machine. The concentrations of Fe₃O₄ in the iPP/Fe₃O₄ nanocomposites were 0.5, 1, 2, and 5% by weight. The influence of Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles on the effectiveness of nucleation, morphology, mode of crystallization, and crystallinity of iPP was studied by Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and Polarized Light Microscopy (PLM). The introduction of Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles in the iPP matrix inhibited the formation of β crystals and caused a shift in the melting point to higher values. The magnitude of the shift was up to 20-21 ºC which indicates that using the masterbatch technique leads to an enhancement of the dispersion process of the Fe₃O₄ nanoparticle and the formation of fewer agglomerates in the iPP/Fe₃O₄ nanocomposites. The percentage crystallinity, Xc, increased at the low cooling rates of 1 and 2 ºC/min. At higher cooling rates of 5, 10, and 20 ºC/min, the masterbatch technique produced nanocomposites of Xc with non-uniform trends. The overall crystallization rate enhancement for the iPP/Fe₃O₄ nanocomposites is attributed to the presence of Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles as a nucleating agent which has no significant effect on the growth rate of iPP crystals.

2. Asma Al-Sawalkah completed her M.Sc. in 2010 under the title "The Effect of Additives on the Operating Conditions of Kaolinitic Polymerization":

Jordanian kaolinite polymerization has been studied to determine the effect of using different alkaline materials such as NaOH, KOH, and Ca(OH)₂, and sand as a filler on the compressive strength, durability under wet and dry conditions, and water absorption of the produced specimens. The studied parameters were mixing proportions such as; alkaline materials to kaolinite ratios, filler to kaolinite ratios, water to kaolinite ratios, and filler particle size. The polymerization step was carried out by mixing the kaolinite and the filler with the alkaline solution in the case of NaOH and KOH before molding the specimens. In the case of Ca(OH)₂, the kaolinite, fillers, and powder of Ca(OH)₂ were dry mixed together before water was added. The molding step was carried out using a stainless steel mold at a pressure of about 15 MPa, and the curing temperature was 80°C. Twenty-four hours was the curing time for specimens containing NaOH or KOH, while 7 days was the curing time for Ca(OH)₂ specimens. The obtained results indicate that using NaOH as an alkaline material has the best compressive strength of 45.45 MPa under dry conditions, 20.38 MPa under wet conditions, and the lowest water absorption of 9.41 %. The composition of the specimens with optimum values consists of 42.37 % kaolinite, 5.93 % NaOH, 42.37 % sand, and 9.32 % water, with sand particles size of (180-355) μm. The specimens of NaOH and sand as a filler showed the highest durability under dry cycling conditions compared with KOH specimens. While the specimens of KOH and sand as a filler showed the highest durability under immersion and wet cycling conditions.

3. Rachael AbuHalimeh completed her M.Sc. in 2013 under the title "Thermal and Mechanical Properties of Polypropylene/Styrene-Butadiene-Styrene Nanocomposites":

Polypropylene/styrene-butadiene-styrene fumed silica nanocomposites were mixed in a twin screw Brabender Plasticorder, the weight percent of the SBS was varied at (0, 5, 10, 20, and 40), and the fumed silica content was varied at (0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.5, 1, and 2) wt%. The thermal and morphological properties of these nanocomposites were studied using a differential scanning calorimetry and a polarized light microscopy. It has been found that the addition of styrene-butadiene-styrene or fumed silica nanoparticles alone to polypropylene did not change the melting temperature while the existence of both elements changed the melting temperature of polypropylene slightly. Also, increasing the percentage of fumed silica nanoparticles leads to an increase in the crystallization temperature while styrene-butadiene-styrene increment has no effect. The melting peaks obtained by the differential scanning calorimetry revealed that increasing the styrene-butadiene-styrene content reduces the percentage crystallinity as a result of increasing the amorphous portion. The addition of styrene-butadiene-styrene to polypropylene has a very slight effect on the relative percentage crystallinity when calculations are performed based on the quantity of polypropylene within the composite. Although fumed silica nanoparticles aided and accelerating the nucleation step but it could not increase the percentage crystallinity of polypropylene beyond the percentage crystallinity of neat polypropylene.

4. Raghda Talal Abdulsamad completed her M.Sc. in 2017 under the title "Degradability, thermal and mechanical properties of Polyethylene /cellulose composites":

This work was intended to provide an understanding of the effect of microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) on the mechanical properties of low-density polyethylene (LDPE). The impact resistance and the tensile properties of low-density LDPE/MCC composites were investigated. The weight fraction of MCC was varied at (0, 0.5, 1, 2.5, 5, 10, 20, and 30 wt%). The obtained blends were then used to prepare the required tensile and impact testing samples by hot compression molding technique. It has been found that MCC has a strong influence on the mechanical properties of LDPE. At a low MCC weight fraction, there was a little improvement in the ultimate strength, fracture stress, and elongation at break, but at a high MCC weight fraction, the tensile properties were deteriorated and reduced significantly. The addition of 1 wt% MCC to LDPE enhanced the mentioned properties by 10, 25, and 6%, respectively. While at 30 wt% MCC, these properties were lowered by 36, 25, and 96%. The elastic modulus of LDPE composites was improved on all MCC weight fractions used in the study, at 20 wt% MCC, an increase in the elastic modulus by 12 folds was achieved. On the other hand and compared with the impact strength of pure LDPE, the addition of MCC particles enhanced the impact strength, the highest value obtained was for LDPE composites filled with 10 wt% MCC where the impact strength enhanced by two folds.

5. Shaden Al-Btoosh completed her M.Sc. in 2017 under the title "Effect of Fire and Fire Extinguishing Agents on the Jordanian Building and Materials of Construction":

This study investigates the effect of elevated temperatures on concrete mixes used in Jordan for building purposes; for its mechanical properties; where compression, tensile, and impact tests were conducted for the mentioned materials. Additionally, a thermal conductivity test was carried out for thermal properties at ambient temperatures. Standard methods for the examination of concrete were adopted for all conducted measurements. Moreover, a comparison has been drawn between the behavior of normal-strength concrete and

the behavior of high-strength concrete. This research study also examines the effect of the use of water and dry chemical powder extinguishers on the mechanical properties of concrete at elevated temperatures. Results have shown that a loss of concrete compressive, tensile, and impact strength is noticed with increasing temperatures and heating duration. The presence of additives in concrete mixtures increases the strength of both high-strength concrete and normal-strength concrete. Furthermore, the results have shown that the use of water and dry chemical powder as extinguishing agents did not deteriorate further the compressive strength of the high-strength concrete and normal-strength concrete.

6. Samah Hababeh completed her M.Sc. in 2024 under the title "Thermal and Mechanical Characterization of Biodegradable Polystyrene Composites":

In order to investigate the impact of two distinct biodegradable plastic additives (BPA) on the mechanical and thermal properties of polystyrene (PS) , Biosphere (BSP) and oxidative D₂W biodegradable plastic additives were mixed with PS at varying ratios (0, 0.25, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, and 4 weight percent) using a single screw extruder. Impact and tensile tests were used to mechanically analyze the resulting composites, while differential scanning calorimetry was used for thermal analysis. According to the study, biodegradable composites exhibit increased rigidity while sacrificing toughness and ductility, which is especially noticeable at lower BPA concentrations. Comparing the tensile strength to pure polystyrene, it increased significantly by 42% at 0.5 weight percent BSP and by 52.3% at 0.25 weight percent D₂W. Young's modulus in the polystyrene matrix has also significantly increased. In particular, Young's modulus rose up by 12.2% at 0.25 weight percent BSP and by 24.6% at 1 weight percent D₂W in comparison to pure PS. However, the material's impact strength and elongation at break were decreased as a result of this improvement. For both BSP and D₂W, elongation decreased until it reached a minimum at 1.5 weight percent; the reductions were 41.1% and 30.4%, respectively, as compared to pure PS. In a similar vein, the materials' impact strength was consistently reduced when these biodegradable additives were added, eventually dropping by 30% when compared to pure PS. The biodegradable additives BSP and D₂W began to agglomerate through the polystyrene matrix at high concentrations (≥ 1 weight percent), which led to a reduction in mechanical characteristics like Young's modulus and tensile strength. Tests using a Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC) revealed that neither BPA had a discernible thermal impact on the polystyrene softening temperature.

7. Maram Hajaj is expected to complete her M.Sc. in 2025 under the title "Characterization of Compression Moulding and 3-D Printing Polypropylene Objects".

In addition to the postgraduate students, there are many research activities to train bachelor students in the field of the work and to complete certain tasks:

1) Characterization of Compression Moulding and 3-D Printing Polypropylene Objects

2) Recycling of waste rubber and spent fly ash through geopolymers.

3) Enhancement of the mechanical properties of biodegradable polymers using nanofillers.

4) Phase change materials for thermal storage energy.

5) Isothermal and Non-isothermal Crystallization of semicrystalline polypropylene filled with metal powder.

6) Thermal and Mechanical Properties of PE/CaCO₃/Chitin composites.

7) Thermal and Mechanical Properties of PS/CaCO₃/Chitin composites.

Trending

Test trending

Studetns Research