The dual nature of asphalt binder necessitates improvements to mitigate rutting and fatigue since it performs as an elastic material under the regime of rapid loading or cold temperatures and as a viscous fluid at elevated temperatures. The present investigation assesses the effectiveness of Nano Alumina (NA), Nano Silica (NS), and Nano Titanium Dioxide (NT) at weight percentages of 0, 2, 4, 6, and 8% in asphalt cement to enhance both asphalt binder and mixture performance. Binder evaluations include tests for consistency, thermal susceptibility, aging, and workability, while mixture assessments focus on Marshall properties, moisture susceptibility, resilient modulus, permanent deformation, and fatigue characteristics. NS notably improves binder viscosity by about 138% and reduces penetration by approximately 40.8% at 8% nanomaterial (NM) content, significantly boosting hardness and consistency. NS also enhances Marshall stability and decreases air voids, increasing the mix’s durability. For moisture resistance, NS at 8% NM content elevates the Tensile Strength Ratio (TSR) to 91.0%, substantially surpassing the 80% standard. Similarly, NA and NT also show improved TSR values at 8% NM content, with 88.0% and 84.1%, respectively. Additionally, NS, NA, and NT reduce permanent deformation by 82%, 69%, and 64% at 10,000 cycles at 8% NM content, illustrating their effectiveness in mitigating pavement distress. Notably, while higher NM content generally results in better performance across most tests, the optimal NM content for fatigue resistance is 4% for NS and 6% for both NA and NT, reflecting their peak performance against various types of pavement distresses. These results highlight the significant advantages of nanoparticles in improving asphalt’s mechanical properties, workability, stability, and durability. The study recommends further field validation to confirm these laboratory findings and ensure that enhancements translate into tangible improvements in real-world pavement performance and longevity.
A variety of oxides were examined as additives to a V2O5/Al2O3 catalyst in order to enhance the catalytic performance for the vapor phase oxidation of toluene to benzoic acid. It was found that the modification with MoO3 greatly promoted the little reaction leading to improve catalyst performance in terms of toluene conversion and benzoic acid selectivity. The effect of catalyst surface area, catalyst promoters, reaction temperature, O2/toluene, steam/toluene, space velocity, and catalyst composition to catalyst performance were examined in order to increase the benzoic acid selectivity and yield.
The skirt foundation is one of the powerful types of foundations to resist the lateral loads produced from natural forces, such as earthquakes and wind action, or from the type of structures, such as oil platforms and offshore wind turbines.
This research experimentally investigated the response of skirted footing resting on sandy soil of different states to lateral applications of loads on a small-scale physical model manufactured for this purpose. The parameters studied are the dista
In this work semi–empirical method (PM3) calculations are carried out by (MOPAC) computational packages have been employed to calculate the molecular orbital's energies for some organic pollutants. The long– chain quaternary ammonium cations called Iraqi Clays (Bentonite – modified) are used to remove these organic pollutants from water, by adding a small cationic surfactant so as to result in floes which are agglomerates of organobentonite to remove organic pollutants. This calculation which suggests the best surface active material, can be used to modify the adsorption efficiency of aniline , phenol, phenol deriviatives, Tri methyl glycine, ester and pecticides , on Iraqi Clay (bentonite) by comparing the theoretical results w
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A new type of solar air heater was designed, fabricated, and tested in Baghdad, Iraq winter conditions. The heater consists of two main parts. The horizontal section was filled with the black colored iron chip while the vertical part has five pipes filled with Iraqi paraffin wax. A fan was fixed at the exit of the air. Two cases were studied: when the air moved by natural convection and when forced convection moved it. The studied air heater has proven its effectiveness as it heated the air passing through it to high temperatures. The results manifest that using little air movement makes the temperatures, stored energies, and efficiencies of the two studied cases converge
... Show MoreThis article includes the preparation of luminescence materials from rare earth (Eu ) ion doping Yttrium Oxide (Y2O3) 70% and SiO2 25% and study the characteristics of phosphors for ultraviolet to visible conversion. The phosphor materials have been synthesized by two steps: Preparing the powder by solid state method using Y2O3, SiO2 and Eu2O3 with doping materials concentration (70%, 25% and 5%) respectively and different calcination temperature (1000, 1200 and 1400 oC).
The second step is to prepare the colloid solution by dispersing the produced powder in a polyvinyl alcohol solution (4%) .
Powde
... Show MoreThis paper presents the results of experimental investigation carried out on concrete model piles to study the behaviour of defective piles. This was achieved by employing non-destructive tests using ultrasonic waves. It was found that the reduction in pile stiffness factor is found to be about (26%) when the defect ratio increased from (5%) to (15%). The modulus of elasticity reduction factor as well as the dynamic modulus of elasticity reduction factor increase with the defect ratio
This paper demonstrates an experimental and numerical study on the behavior of reinforced concrete (RC) columns with longitudinal steel embedded tubes positioned at the center of the column cross-section. A total of 12 pin-ended square sectional columns of 150 × 150 mm having a total height of 1400 mm were investigated. The considered variables were the steel tube diameters of 29, 58, and 76 mm and the load eccentricity (0, 50, and 150) mm. Accordingly, these columns were divided into three groups (four columns in each group) depending on the load eccentricity (e) to column depth (h) ratio (e/h = 0, 1/3, and 1). For each group, one column was solid (reference), and the other three columns contained steel tubes with hollow rat
... Show MoreOne of the most important problems that faces the concrete industry in Iraq is the deterioration due to internal sulfate attack , since it reduces the compressive strength and increases the expansion of concrete. Consequently, the concrete structure may be damage .The effects of total and total effective sulfate contents on high strength concrete (HSC) have been studied in the present study. The research studied the effect of sulfate content in cement , sand and gravel , as well as comparing the total sulfate content with the total effective SO3 content. Materials used were divided into two groups of SO3 in cement ,three groups of SO3 in sand ,and two groups of SO3 in gravel. The results show that considering the total effective sulfate con
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