Moisture-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 mixtures, with particular emphasis on moisture damage resistance. The nanomaterials were incorporated at dosages of 1.5%, 3.0%, 4.5%, and 6.0% by binder weight. Binder performance was evaluated using conventional and performance grading (PG) tests, while mixture performance was assessed through Marshall properties and moisture susceptibility indicators, including the tensile strength ratio (TSR) and the index of retained strength (IRS). Fluorescence microscopy (FM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were employed to investigate nanomaterial dispersion characteristics, microstructural morphology, and physicochemical interactions within the asphalt composite system. The results indicate that nanomaterial modification reduced penetration and increased softening point and Marshall stability, reflecting enhanced stiffness and thermal resistance, although ductility decreased at higher dosages. Significant improvements in moisture resistance were observed, particularly under conditioned states. The TSR increased from 81.2% for the control mixture to 92.4% for NS and 91.7% for NA, while the IRS improved from 72.7% to 88.5% for NS. Statistical analysis indicated that both nanomaterial type and dosage significantly affected TSR and IRS performance, with dosage exhibiting comparatively greater influence on moisture resistance improvement. FM and SEM analyses revealed comparatively better dispersion and lower agglomeration tendency for NS and NA, which corresponded to their superior moisture resistance performance. FTIR analysis indicated that the modification process was predominantly physical, with no major formation of new chemical functional groups. Among the investigated nano materials, NS at 6% dosage exhibited the most pronounced improvement, followed by NA at similar dosage levels. Overall, the findings suggest that nanomaterial modification can considerably improve the moisture resistance and mechanical performance of asphalt mixtures under laboratory conditions. However, higher nanomaterial dosages may adversely affect binder workability due to increased viscosity, particularly in CNT-modified binders.
The research aims to identify the role of community participation in achieving organizational distinction in the Dhulia's municipality, which is one of the formations of the Ministry of Construction, Housing, Municipalities and Public Works in Salah al-Din Governorate, which is one of the service organizations that have a fundamental role in providing service to the community, which has faced many administrative challenges and many problems caused by the rapid and continuous changes in the environment, therefore modern management concepts must be adopted, such as community participation and the knowledge of its role To achieve its goals, which helps it in facing changes as well as achieving organizational excelle
... Show MoreHot mix recycling of asphalt pavements is increasingly being used as one of the major rehabilitation methods by various highway agencies. Besides general savings in costs and energy expended, it also saves our natural resources and environment. Recycling process presents a sustainable pavement by using the old materials that could be reclaimed from the pavement; these materials could be mixed with recycling agents to produce recycled mixtures. The important expected benefits of recycling process are the conservation of natural resources and reduction of environmental impact. The primary objectives of this work are evaluating the Tensile and Shear Properties of recycled asphalt concrete mixtures, In addition to the
... Show MoreThere is an interesting potential for the use of GFRP-pultruded profiles in hybrid GFRP-concrete structural elements, either for new constructions or for the rehabilitation of existing structures. This paper provides experimental and numerical investigations on the flexural performance of reinforced concrete (RC) specimens composite with encased pultruded GFRP I-sections. Five simply supported composite beams were tested in this experimental program to investigate the static flexural behavior of encased GFRP beams with high-strength concrete. Besides, the effect of using shear studs to improve the composite interaction between the GFRP beam and concrete as well as the effect of web stiffeners of GFRP were explored. Encasing the GFRP
... Show MoreIncorporating waste byproducts into concrete is an innovative and promising way to minimize the environmental impact of waste material while maintaining and/or improving concrete’s mechanical characteristics and strength. The proper application of sawdust as a pozzolan in the building industry remains a significant challenge. Consequently, this study conducted an experimental evaluation of sawdust as a fill material. In particular, sawdust as a fine aggregate in concrete offers a realistic structural and economical possibility for the construction of lightweight structural systems. Failure under four-point loads was investigated for six concrete-filled steel tube (CFST) specimens. The results indicated that recycled lightweight co
... Show MorePolycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the main cause of female infertility. The role of insulin resistance in the development of polycystic ovary is actively discussed here. The study included patients with PCOS without insulin resistance (n = 48) and with insulin resistance (n = 39). The comparison groups were patients with no history of PCOS: a control group without insulin resistance (n = 46) and a group of patients with insulin resistance (n = 45). The following parameters were determined in patients: FSH, LH, TSH, T3f, T4f, PRL, E2, 17-OHd, Pr, AMH, Test total, Testf, DHEAS, DHEASs, SHBG, ACTH, cortisol, IRI, IGF-1, C-peptide, and glucose level. The HOMA-IR index and the LH / FSH ratio and t
... Show MoreBackground: Insulin resistance (IR) is the primary metabolic disorder associated with obesity. Obesity is a growing worldwide health problem affecting both adults and children. Objectives: To determine the association between leptin and IR, and to identify the ratio of fasting glucose/leptin (G/L) and insulin/leptin (I/L) as a new simple method for the detection of IR in obese children.Methods: This study was done in the National DiabeticCenter/ AL-Mustansiriya University during the period fromMay 2013 until the end of October 2013. Fasting bloodglucose (FBG), serum insulin, leptin, and lipid profile weremeasured in 52 obese children (24 children with IR and 28without IR); their age range was (5-15) years, they werecompared with 38 healt
... Show MorePermanent deformation (rutting) of asphalt mixtures is one of the major forms of distress. Aggregate gradation is one of the most important factors affecting the permanent deformation of asphalt mixtures. Other variables are also important to understand their effects on the mixture such as temperature, binder content and compaction level. For this purpose 6 different aggregate gradations have been chosen and each one of them has been manufactured / tested with different variables. The results showed that at relatively low temperature there is little effect of aggregate packing on the permanent deformation. However, as the temperature increases the effect of gradation becomes apparent, in that the better the packing the better the resistance
... Show MoreA new concrete rheometer is introduced including its innovation, actual design, working rules,
calibration, and reliability. A modified design of Tattersall two-point device is created. Some of
components are purchased from local and foreign markets, while other components and the
manufacturing process are locally fabricated. The matching viscosity method of determining the mixer
viscometer constants is demonstrated and followed to relate torque and rotational speed to yield stress
and viscosity (Bingham parameters). The calibration procedures and its calculation are explained.
Water is used as a Newtonian fluid, while; cement paste (cement + water) with w/c ratio equal to
(0.442) is used as a non-Newtonian fluid. Th
This work is concerned with designing two types of controllers, a PID and a Fuzzy PID, to be used
for flying and stabilizing a quadcopter. The designed controllers have been tuned, tested, and
compared using two performance indices which are the Integral Square Error (ISE) and the Integral
Absolute Error (IAE), and also some response characteristics like the rise time, overshoot, settling
time, and the steady state error. To try and test the controllers, a quadcopter mathematical model has
been developed. The model concentrated on the rotational dynamics of the quadcopter, i.e. the roll,
pitch, and yaw variables. The work has been simulated with “MATLAB”. To make testing the
simulated model and the controllers m
The research Aim is to provide support to small enterprises by providing tools that enable measurement and test their performance and identifying weaknesses and work on them is determined by the problem of searching using traditional assessment methods for small projects with only financial performance measurement standards that do not provide a complete picture of the performance of these projects so use the balanced scorecard the four pillars (financial, customer, learning and growth, and internal processes) and identify deviations and work on them through the use of the outputs of the programme (probe), PROmoting Business Excellence-PROBE), which It is a model of performance evaluation, with which you can deve
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