The department of Materials Engineering in University of Technology  awarded master degree to graduate student Alaa Zamel Dahesh under thesis title “ Fabrication of Ceramic Materials for Building Application for Cracks Treatment”. The defend occurred in Materials Engineering Department-Building C on Wednesday 11/25/2020. The defend committee members consist from:-  

•  Dr. Ahmed Mohamed Hassan Al Gabban- chair
• Assist Prof. Dr. Besma Mohamed Fahed- member          
• Assist Prof. Dr. Mayyadah Mohamed Shnan Abed- member
• Assist Prof. Dr. Farhad Mohammed Othman- supervisor
• Assist Prof. Dr. Alaa Aladdin Abdul Hamead- supervisor

The thesis scientific reviewer assist prof. Dr. Ali Fadel Nasser/ Al-Furat Al-Awsat Technical University/ Al-Mussaib. The thesis linguistic reviewer assist Dr. Zaynab Naif Rasheed/ University of Technology- Applied Science Department. Sir Talib Abdullah Baish/ Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Transport and Sir Hussein Adbdulameer Baga/ Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Water Resources attended the defend and number of attendees.   

    The study aimed to address one of the most important problems of the Ministry of Water Resources, which is the problem of mass concrete cracking by using the self-healing technique based on microcapsules, which is the first study of its kind in Iraq, using zinc oxide based microcapsules, which are the first of its kind in the world of self-healing capsules.

    In this study, the manufacture of microcapsules consisting of zinc oxide prepared by precipitation method as a healing agent and encapsulated with PMMA by the method of interfacial polymerization. Secondly, to study the effect of adding zinc oxide microcapsules and PP microfibers at a ratio of (0.5, 1, 1.5) % as replacement percentages of cement weight on the microstructure through SEM examination, on mechanical properties (represented by testing the compressive strength and flexural strength) and on durability through permeability testing by rapid chloride penetration test (RCPT) and on physical properties by examining density, porosity and absorbance. Third, to evaluate the effect of these additives on the self-healing ability of mass concrete by making microcracks for the selected samples containing (microcapsules and microfibers individually and in mixed proportions) and assessing the efficiency of the self-healing mechanism by studying the healing products formed at the crack area by examining XRD, SEM, and EDS. Also evaluating the efficiency of the self-healing technique depending on: Crack width healing ratio and the recovery ratio of both flexural strength and rapid chloride ions penetration resistance.

   From the results obtained during the study, the effective crack healing and the high recovery of early concrete performance using microcapsules and microfibers indicate that this material mixture will reduce environmental damage and the need for high-cost and low-quality repairs during the service life without the need for suspension the work of structure, as occurs in The state of the traditional methods currently used locally and internationally, and this is an important step in building practices, which will be an economically and environmentally sustainable approach.

The Department of Materials Engineering in University of Technology (UOT) meet virtually (google meet) with Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP) on Wednesday 11/25/2020.

The Department chair of Materials Engineering Assist Prof. Dr. Hussein Alaa Jaber and all the council members attended the meeting. Also, the Director of the Department of Scientific Affairs and Cultural Relation in UOT Assist prof. Dr.  Alaa Abdul Hadi Jaber joined the online discussion.

The target of the meeting to exchange the academic information between these two universities and recognize the originated of the department and scientific disciplines.

The meeting included discussion about the ability of corporation include participation the professor for doing the scientific research, advanced laboratory testing, supervising the graduate students, and instituting conferences.

In the end of the meeting, UOT and UMP signed a contract according to international protocol of a academic corporation.  

Assistant prof. dr. Ahmad Ameed Zainalabidin at University of Technology/ Materials Engineering Department participated in a master defense of the student Noor Dawood Salman on Thursday, November 5^th, at the conference room / Materials Engineering Department/Almustansiriyah University, the dissertation entitled “Study the mechanical properties of heat-treated Aluminum alloys”. The Committee included:

1. Assistant Professor Ahmad Ameed Zainalabidin as a chair.
2. Assistant Professor Raad Mzahim Fnjan as a committee member.
3. Assistant Professor Sahib Muhammad Mahdi as a committee member.
4. Assistant Professor Ziyad Doshan Kadhim as an advisor.

Congratulations to the student on her graduation.

Assistant Professor. Malik Jasim Farhan, the chancellor of Engineering College/ Almustansiriyah University appreciated the special efforts with thanks letter awarded to Assistant Professor Ahmad Ameed Zainalabidin.

A committee from Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research has visited Materials Engineering Department/ University of Technology on Monday, October, 26^th 2020 to establish biomaterilas brach in the department in the precense of department chairman assistant prof. dr. Husayn Alaa, deputy chairman of Materials Engineering Department for postgraduate affairs dr. Muhanned Najah, deputy chairman of Materials Engineering Department for departmental affairs and some other faculty members. The committee admired the efforts the stuff put to develop the department.