Special issue of the “International Conference on Computational and Experimental Science and Engineering (ICCESEN)”

Correction to: Determination of genetic diversity of natural sage populations in Muğla region of Turkey The article “Determination of genetic diversity of natural sage populations in Muğla region of Turkey”, written by D. Altindal, was originally published electronically on the publisher’s internet portal (currently SpringerLink) on 05 January 2019 with open access.

Flow field analysis of grooved surfaces Abstract In the present study, two-dimensional turbulent flow over rectangular and octagonal grooves in a channel is analyzed numerically. Investigations are performed for two different Reynolds numbers, Re = 615 and 1230 in terms of velocity and temperature field. It is found that heat transfer increases with increasing Re number and using rectangular groove provides higher heat transfer than using the octagonal one. In comparison with rectangular groove, the octagonal one decreases the velocity of the incoming fluid and causes forming only one recirculation bubble in large size, while a secondary bubble occurs inside the rectangular one in addition to the primary bubble.

Natural radioactivity analysis of soil samples from Ganos fault (GF) Abstract Natural radioactivity is widespread in the earth and is present in different environment geological formations in the soil and rocks. Natural radionuclides in soil originate from the members of 238U and 232Th series, and 40K radionuclide is the main external source of radiation to the human body. In this study, concentrations of the natural radioactivity 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K are measured in soil samples collected along the Ganos fault. The radioactivity levels of the soil samples for the study are determined by scintillation gamma spectroscopy. Concentrations of 226Ra in the soil samples ranged from ND to 24.1 Bq kg−1, 232Th concentrations from ND to 40.2 Bq kg−1, and 40K concentrations from 315.9 to 748.9 Bq kg−1. Obtained results were compared with the literature data.

Investigation of thermal comfort conditions in a travertine processing plant by using thermal comfort indices Abstract Through the total export figures, natural stone mining has an essential place in the mining sector in Turkey. The value of the sector is not only in terms of production mass but also in terms of its impact on employment, as the natural stone industry needs more workforce each year to meet the rapidly growing demand. Health security problems are also increasing with the increase in demand and the aggravation of business conditions. Thermal comfort conditions, which are one of the physical risk factors, constitute health-threatening situations in the natural stone sector. In this study, thermal comfort measurements were carried out in seven different sections of a travertine processing plant. As a result of thermal comfort measurements, predictive mean vote values ranged from − 0.50 to − 1.12, and the predicted percentage of dissatisfied values ranged from 11.24 to 32.47. Thermal sensation perceived by employees is not as neutral (0) as it should be in any working environment. According to these results, suggestions have been made to prevent employees from encountering health problems.

An experimental study on the soil-based natural cooling Abstract The increase in energy costs has made it necessary to use more efficient devices and systems. Environmental pollution as the result of using fossil fuels and global warming are further factors leading to this necessity. Today, there is an increasing awareness that the continuous growth in energy consumption and depletion of energy resources lead to a serious energy shortage and pollution. In this study, cooling of an indoor area by an ecological, low-cost system via soil-based natural cooling is presented. Although there are similar systems in the literature, they are based on dry soil applications. The present system differs from those in so far that it is based on a wet soil application. For the installation and experiments, 80 m2 area was used in Sakarya, Turkey. An artificial pond has been set up for the installation of a horizontal ground heat exchanger (GHE). The submerged GHE has been examined experimentally. It has been observed that the proposed cooling system reduces the energy costs required for cooling in the summer months.

Gamma-ray-shielding properties of composite materials made of recycled sport footwear Abstract Radiation has been one of the realities in our life. Even though it exists naturally in the universe, there are additional forms, which we use in our daily life. As it is used in many different fields, radiation shielding becomes vital nowadays, and thus the main purpose of this study is to evaluate the characteristics and performance of composite materials obtained by recycled sport footwear. Jute fibre was used to obtain composite material in different compositions. The prepared materials exposed by gamma sources 60Co and 137Cs in order to test their shielding capabilities. It can be concluded that recycled rubber is suitable to use as radiation protection material with appropriate additives.

Determination of potentially irrigable agricultural lands using remote sensing and geographic information system: case study of Yamula Basin Abstract Yamula Dam that has been constructed in Kayseri is one of the most important projects regarding the irrigation of agricultural lands. The total area of the collected water body was reached in 2005 as planned before, and electricity production started. Together with the realization of the project, it is planned to use agricultural lands in basin more efficiently and productively. In this study, it was aimed to determine the hydrological structure of Yamula Basin and potentially irrigable lands by using geographic information systems and remote sensing technologies. The hydrological structure was determined using digital elevation model. The land use map was prepared by using Landsat satellite image for the year 2016. The analysis and queries were carried out by overlapping the land use, land use capacity, topographic maps and sub-basin layers. The potential agricultural lands were determined in accordance with the results obtained from the spatial analysis.

Determination of indoor radon levels at campuses of Üsküdar and Okan Universities Abstract Radon is the largest source of natural radiation all people exposed to. It can form in houses due to building materials or enters through cracks in walls, basement floors and with water used in bathroom showers and faucets. The buildings keep radon inside, where it accumulates and may become a health hazard if the building is not properly ventilated. Radon can be inhaled into the lung, and especially short-lived products of its disintegration can cause long-term internal exposure. In this study, indoor radon survey was carried out at several campuses of Üsküdar and Okan Universities by using AlphaGUARD active radon detector.

The effect of interference on the leakage performance of rotary lip seals Abstract In this study, a test system is developed in order to determine the effect of interference on the lifetime of the sealing element. A set of experiments are carried out with thermoplastic polyurethane radial lip seals with three different inner diameters varied by lip surface tolerance (40, 39.80 and 39.60 mm), and EP gear oil is used as lubricant. In order to determine the lifecycle of the sealing element, mass of the leaking oil is measured. Meanwhile, in order to determine the frictional performance of the sealing element, four load cells are mounted on the cylindrical housing of the system and frictional force values are monitored by a data acquisition terminal and frictional torque values are calculated. As a result, the frictional moment values of the seals increased with the increase in interference. Moreover, the increase in interference leads to a longer service life.