One of the major problems facing the road construction engineer is the collapsible granular soil which may be used for embankment construction. Problems appears when such compacted soil come in touch with water, it exhibits cracking and uncontrolled settlement. Collapsible soils are defined as any unsaturated soil that goes through a radical rearrangement of practice and great loss of volume upon wetting, with or without additional loading. An attempt has been made in this investigation to stabilize the collapsible soil of Nasiriya with asphalt emulsion. Specimens of pure and asphalt emulsion stabilized soil have been prepared using optimum fluid content and tested. The first group of specimens of (60x60x20) cm have been tested for direct shear under various normal stresses of (27.5, 55, 83, 110, and 220) kPa. Under dry and soaked conditions. The second group of specimens of (75) mm diameter and (19) mm height have been tested for compressibility characteristics at dry and soaked test conditions. It was concluded that the cohesion has increased (30 and 9) folds and the angle of internal friction exhibits (3.7 and 8.3) folds increment for dry and soaked for asphalt stabilized soil as compared to untreated soil. The compression index (Cc) decreases by (78 and 15) % after stabilization for dry and soaked test conditions respectively, while the void ratio exhibits an increments of (21.4 and 70.5) % for dry and soaked test as compared to untreated soil.
Screw piles are widely used in supporting structures subjected to pullout forces, such as power towers and offshore structures, and this research investigates their performance in gypseous soil of medium relative density. The bearing capacity and displacement of a single screw pile model inserted in gypseous soil with various diameters (D = 20, 30, and 40) mm are examined in this study. The soil used in the testing had a gypsum content of 40% and the bedding soil had a relative density of 40%. To simulate the pullout testing in the lab, a physical model was manufactured with specific dimensions. Three steel screw piles with helix diameters of 20, 30, and 40 mm are used, with a total length of 500 mm. The helix is continuous over the
... Show MoreRutting is a crucial concern impacting asphalt concrete pavements’ stability and long-term performance, negatively affecting vehicle drivers’ comfort and safety. This research aims to evaluate the permanent deformation of pavement under different traffic and environmental conditions using an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) prediction model. The model was built based on the outcomes of an experimental uniaxial repeated loading test of 306 cylindrical specimens. Twelve independent variables representing the materials’ properties, mix design parameters, loading settings, and environmental conditions were implemented in the model, resulting in a total of 3214 data points. The network accomplished high prediction accuracy with an R
... Show MoreThe incorporation of recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) into asphalt concrete supports circular economy goals by reducing reliance on virgin materials and minimizing construction waste. However, RCA’s inherent limitations, such as high porosity, microcracking, and poor interfacial bonding, compromise the structural integrity and durability of asphalt mixtures. This study introduces sugarcane molasses (SCM), a naturally derived, carbohydrate-rich byproduct of sugarcane refining, as a novel and eco-friendly surface treatment for RCA aimed at enhancing its compatibility with asphalt binders. SCM was applied at 5-6% by weight of RCA replacing coarse aggregate at varying levels (0-100%) to assess its effect on asphalt mixture performance. A com
... Show MoreThe main objective of this research is to find out the effect of deviation in the aggregate gradients of asphalt mixtures from the Job Mix Formula (JMF) on the general mixture performance. Three road layers were worked on (wearing layer, binder layer, and base layer) and statistical analysis was performed for the data of completed projects in Baghdad city, and the sieve that carried the largest number of deviations for each layer was identified. No.8 sieve (2.36mm), No.50 sieve (0.3mm), and 3/8'' sieve (9.5mm) had the largest number of deviations in the wearing layer, the binder layer, and the base layer respectively. After that, a mixture called Mix 1, was made. This mixture was selected from a number of completed mixtures, and it
... Show MoreReinforcing asphalt concrete with polyester fibers considered as an active remedy to alleviate the harmful impact of fatigue deterioration. This study covers the investigation of utilizing two shapes of fibers size, 6.35 mm by 3.00 mm and 12.70 mm by 3.00 mm with mutual concentrations equal to 0.25 %, 0.50 % and 0.75 % by weight of mixture. Composition of asphalt mixture consists of different optimum (40-50) asphalt cement content, 12.50 mm nominal aggregate maximum size with limestone dust as a filler. Following the traditional asphalt cement and aggregate tests, three essential test were carried out on mixtures, namely: Marshall test (105 cylindrical specimens), indirect tensile strength test (21 cylindrical specimens)
... Show MoreOne of the most essential components of asphalt pavements is the filler. It serves two purposes. First, this fine-grained material (diameter less than 0.075 mm) improves the cohesiveness of aggregate with bitumen. Second, produce a dense mixture by filling the voids between the particles. Aluminum dross (AD), which is a by-product of aluminum re-melting, is formed all over the world. This material causes damage to humans and the environment; stockpiling AD in landfills is not the best solution. This research studies the possibility of replacing part of the conventional filler with aluminum dross. Three percent of dross was used, 10, 20, and 30% by filler weight. The MarshallMix design method was adopted to obtain the op
... Show MoreMoisture-induced damage is one of the primary causes of premature distress in asphalt pavements, leading to reduced service life and increased maintenance costs. Although nanomaterials have shown potential in enhancing asphalt performance, the underlying composite interaction mechanisms among nanomaterials, asphalt binder, and aggregate phases under moisture exposure are still not fully understood. In addition, comparative evaluations under consistent experimental conditions remain limited. This study investigates the influence of five nanomaterials: nano-silica (NS), nano-alumina (NA), nano-titanium dioxide (NT), nano-zinc oxide (NZ), and carbon nanotubes (CNT) on the physical and mechanical properties of asphalt binders and mixtur
... Show MoreThe main objective of this study is to examine the impact of moisture concrete of clayey soil on the concrete slabs placed directly over it. This experimental study presents the mechanical properties of the concrete slab when placed on different clayey soil moisture content ranging from 0% to the optimum moisture content of 35%. The tests were performed on soil concrete specimens of 25*30*50 mm exposed to sprayed water curing conditions for 28 days. Tests of compressive strength, ultrasonic pulse velocity, crack depth and crack width were investigated through this paper. An ejection relationship between compressive strength of concrete and water content in the soil was observed, with a 26% increase with water increasing from 0% to 35%. T
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