Wissem Gallala

University of Sousse | ISTLS · Higher Institute of Fine Arts of Sousse

The Upper Neogene period is considered one of the most significant episodes of environmental shift in Mediterranean history, which has been recorded and documented in every region bordering this basin. In southeastern Tunisia, the Gulf of Gabes witnessed a wide span of climate change during this period. The main objective of the present study is to...

1 Architecture is at the crossroads of multidisciplinary fields; it is obvious for it to integrate new concepts and encourage new interpretations in all architectural projects in order to create a synergy that must exist in projects which combine other disciplines, e.g., the historical context, the surrounding environment, urbanism, design, occupat...

This study aims to produce an eco-friendly white cement clinker by incorporation of celesto-barite mine waste. Samples of synthesized pure Monoclinic-C 3 S, Cubic-C 3 A and raw-mix were dried, ground to a Blaine of 3200cm 2 .g À1 , doped separately with crescent amounts of mine waste and pure BaO (5 and 3% respectively), then burned at increasing t...

This study emphasizes using barite mine wastes as aggregate material in blended mortar as an improved gamma-ray shielding structure in nuclear applications. Mortar mixtures made of white cement were prepared with various percentages of waste ranging from 0-30% as partial replacement of sand. Evaluation of density, flexural and compressive strength,...

The use of mine waste and tailing in concrete and mortar has widely expanded in the past years. Several studies aim to contribute to the recovery of these rejects and preserve natural raw materials, on the other hand, to improve the physio-mechanical performance of concrete. In the present investigation, the impacts of Pb-Zn and F-Ba as fine aggreg...

The present work focuses on the effects of the blending of mining wastes from the Hammam Zriba mine (Northeast Tunisia) with the primary ingredients of Portland clinker properties. The raw mix was composed of limestone, sand, and clay sampled from the Sidi Bouzid area in Central Tunisia. The used mining wastes are composed essentially of barium, su...

In recent years, natural fibers have been increasingly employed in building materials, due to their proprieties for manufacturing low-cost, renewable, and eco-friendly composites. This study aimed to develop a biocomposite based on local materials: natural fibers and plaster. The natural fibers used are date palm fibers waste from Gabes oasis, Tuni...

The Tunisian Northwestern region, especially Tabarka and Ain-Drahim villages, presents many landslides every year. Therefore, the landslide susceptibility mapping is essential to frame zones with high landslide susceptibility, to avoid loss of lives and properties. In this study, two bivariate statistical models: the evidential belief functions (EB...

Heavy rainfall in Aïn Draham province in the North-Western of Tunisia lead to the formation of some landslides which could poses danger to lives and properties. The geological outcrops of the region mainly consist of Numidian flysch rocks. In this study, field based 15 undisturbed samples were taken, from 11 boreholes drilled in 4 landslide points,...

Green schist marble stone was used in Antiquity both as a building stone for private and public constructions, and as an ornamental stone for sculpting funeral monuments and for engraving epigraphic texts. Three quarries that once provided green schist blocks have been located to the Eastern part of Jebel el Hairech situated in the governorate of J...

The main objective of this study is to evaluate the feasibility of the use of celesto-barite mine wastes of Hammam Djedidi's abandoned mine as �ne aggregate and protective material against gamma radiations. Di�erent mortar mixtures made of white cement were prepared with various percentages of waste ranging from 0 to 30% as partial replacement of s...

The NW of Tunisia, especially Tabarka and Ain-Drahim villages, is known of the occurrence of landslides every year. Therefore, landslide susceptibility mapping is necessary to predict zones with high landslide susceptibility to avoid loss of lives and properties. In this study, two bivariate statistical models such as evidential belief function (EB...

A great number of Roman millstones have been discovered in the archaeological site of Byrsa at Carthage since the nineteenth century by different international archaeological teams which have excavated the site. Most of these millstones (catilli/metae) are hourglass-shaped, and all are made of igneous rocks whose source was identified through petro...

The Gafsa Mining Basin is located in south-western Tunisia is characterised by an arid climate and water resources scarcity as well as variable and irregular precipitation. However the region knew an increase in water demand for the different economic sectors (industrial, agricultural, mining…) during the last decades. Phosphate mining is the main...

Although most of the ancient monuments found in Ruspina Roman town situated near the town of Monastir in the Sahil region of Tunisia were built with local materials, the Roman baths in this site were mainly decorated with imported marbles from Greece, Asia, Numidia, Italy and Algeria, indicating the important trade relationships between Ruspina and...

The north western region of Tunisia is characterised by a morphological high and intensive precipitation. This results on slope failure and landslide triggering, which can cause damage in infrastructures and human lives. The main aim of this study is to produce landslide susceptibility maps using the logistic regression model. The data were collect...

Sedimentary phosphate occurs largely at Gafsa mining basin. Among these occurrences Jebel Alima (Redeyf region) is an open pit quarry. After extraction, raw phosphate requires several stages of treatments to become concentrated: crushing, grinding, scrubbing, sizing, attrition, de-sliming and flotation. The coarse reject, generated from the first s...

The Tozeur-Nafta phosphate deposit is located, in the southwest of Gafsa mining basin, about 12 kilometers west of Tozeur town. Geologically, this deposit is represented by an anticline with large radius of curvature and characterized by the absence of visible outcrops.

Quartz sand of Fortuna formation was assigned to the Oligo-Miocene. This formation outcrops in Central Tunisia, particularly in the Ain Bou Morra area. The grain particle size ranges from fine to medium. The morphoscopic analysis shows that the useful fraction (100-630μm) consists essentially of transparent quartz grains. The mineralogical study of...

Interdisciplinary Studies on Ancient Stone ASMOSIA X Proceedings of the Tenth International Conference of ASMOSIA Association for the Study of Marble & Other Stones in Antiquity Rome, 21-26 May 2012

The green schist is a metamorphic rock formed under the transformation of Permo-Triassic clays from Jebel el Hairech. The Chemtou green schist marble stone was not only used for building and decorating ancient monuments, but also for graving inscriptions and carving statues in the towns of Simitthus (Chemtou) and Thunusuda(?) (Borj Hellal). From th...

Les phosphates exploités au niveau Jebel Alima (région de Redayef) font partie des gisements du bassin minier de Gafsa. Le traitement de ce minerai passe par plusieurs étapes pour devenir un concentré : fragmentation, débourbage, classification, attrition, déschlammage, flottation. Le rejet grossier qui découle de la première étape de traitement du...

Les gisements des phosphates occupent une place importante dans l’économie tunisienne. Le gisement de Sra Ouertane situé dans l’Atlas tunisien central à 45 km au Sud du Kef n’est pas exploité jusqu’à nos jours, malgré les nombreuses études faites sur ce gisement, étant donné que sa teneur en P2O5 ne dépasse pas les 15% en moyenne d’après les travau...

Le gisement Tozeur-Nefta est situé au sud-ouest du bassin phosphaté de Gafsa à environ 12 Km à l’Ouest de la ville de Tozeur. Ce gisement est représenté par un anticlinal à grand rayon de courbure, caractérisé par l’absence d’affleurements apparents. La série phosphatée du gisement présente une analogie très nette avec celle des autres gisements du...

Green schist marble stone was used in Antiquity both as a building stone for private and public constructions, and as an ornamental stone for sculpting funeral monuments and for engraving epigraphic texts. Three quarries that once provided green schist blocks have been located to the Eastern part of Jebel el Hairech situated in the governorate of J...

We intend to study the influence of addition of quartzo-feldspathic sand on the mechanical properties and the microstructure of Tunisian illite-kaolinite clay ceramics. The fired characteristics of the clay and quartzo-feldspathic sand mixtures have been studied separately at soaking temperatures reaching respectively 850o, 950o and 1050oC during a...

We intend to study the influence of addition of quartzo-feldspathic sand on the mechanical properties and the microstructure of Tunisian illite-kaolinite clay ceramics. The fired characteristics of the clay and quartzo-feldspathic sand mixtures have been studied separately at soaking temperatures reaching respectively 850o, 950o and 1050oC during a...

This paper is meant to study the stratigraphy, the mineralogy, the microstructure and the geochemistry of Pleistocene calcretes from eastern Tunisia in order to infer the environmental factors intervening in their formation. Samples of eight profiles of Pleistocene calcretes from eastern Tunisia were examined on the basis of a variety of techniques...

Alunite mineral was recently identified at the upper Eocene clay deposits associated with laminated primary gypsum and iron oxide in Central Tunisia, particularly at El Gnater site. The alunite characterization has been performed by several analytical techniques [atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS), X- ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron micr...

The underground quarries at Ksour Essaf hills (Tunisia) contribute to our knowledge of extraction techniques that have been in use since antiquity. The extracted stone consists of oolitic sandy limestone, dated as Lower Messinian (Ksour Essaf Formation). Geotechnical analyses have revealed that the quality of the Messinian stone is better than that...

Since antiquity, stones have always played an important role in Mediterranean civilizations. Thanks to the surveys and the studies of both geologists and archaeologists, the extraction quarries are partly identified. Tunisian quarries are numerous, and since the Punic period they have provided several types of sandstone and limestone of good qualit...

The El Ghine-Oum El Khialate sebkha extends in southeast Tunisia on over than 75 km(2). This depression is filled by recent Quaternary deposits containing a brines aquifer situated at a depth varying from 1 to 10 m. This aquifer is highly rich in sodium sulphate. At the surface, noticeable is the deposition of mirabilite and thenardite encrusting....

We intend to study the influence of addition of quartzo-feldspathic sand on the mechanical properties and the microstructure of Tunisian illite-kaolinite clay ceramics. The fired characteristics of the clay and quartzo-feldspathic sand mixtures have been studied separately at soaking temperatures reaching respectively 850°, 950° and 1050°C during a...

In Tunisia, the largest amphitheatre (known as the Coliseum) at Thysdrus (El Djem), with some parts of the second amphitheatre, and the Thapsus amphitheatre have been built with squared stone blocks (opus quadratum). The petrographic and geotechnical analyses of the samples taken from the amphitheatre blocks show that these blocks belong to the Tyr...

The characterization of feldspar for electric porcelain and the behaviour of these materials after heating at 1230°C were studied. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) were used to identify the present phases and the densification level. Feldspar sand was treated by flotation. The floated feldspar is constituted by micro...

In this study, physical and physicochemical experiments were carried out to improve the quality of feldspar ore in Sidi Aïch massive, located in the Gafsa region of south-western Tunisia. After determination of the mineralogical and the chemical composition, flotation methods were applied. In this study, non-hydrofluoric acid flotation methods used...

The characterization of feldspar for electric porcelain and the behaviour of these materials after heating at 1230°C were studied. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) were used to identify the present phases and the densification level. Feldspar sand was treated by flotation. The floated feldspar is constituted by micro...

The present work deals with the study of the microstructural evolution of firing feldspar ceramic and dielectric behaviour. Feldspar ceramic are those sintered at low temperatures (below 1230 °C), and the thermal treatment used was with 24 h of sintering time. Because feldspar mixture is important for the durability of ceramic structures, the firin...

que sur les feldspaths flottés. De point de vue géologique, la formation Sidi Aïch, est formée par de niveaux sableux azoïques avec quelques passées argileuses et dolomitiques. La granulométrie fine ainsi que les figures sédimentaires suggèrent un milieu de formation marin peu profond de type estran. Les résultats de l’examen par microscopie photon...

Amongst a large number of ancient quarries scattered along the North African coast, those at Sidi Ghedamsy (Monastir, Tunisia) have supplied building stones of Pliocene age. Two lithofacies have been distinguished in the quarry faces: (i) fine sandy limestone, which has been used in the construction of Roman and Arabic monuments; and (ii) porous an...

The chemical and mineralogical composition of the Sidi Aïch Formation sandstones in central and southwestern Tunisia has been investigated in order to infer the provenance and tectonic setting, as well as to appraise the influence of weathering. The sixteen studied samples are mainly composed of quartz, feldspar, kaolinite and/or illite. Sidi Aïch...

In this study, physical, chemical and mineralogical experiments were carried out to improve the quality of feldspathic sand in Sidi Aïch massive, the region Southwestern Tunisia. This paper presents the results of the work carried out on scrubbing and water washing to remove clay and iron coating impurities from the quartz and feldspar grains. The...

This paper describes the factors influencing the reactivity of quicklime; namely the chemical composition of the raw material, the calcination and decrepitation processes to manufacture calcium oxide (CaO) and the slaking rate of lime in water. The water composition was also investigated. It was found that the presence of impurities, the tendency t...