Gypseous soil, which covers vast area in west, middle, east and south west regions of Iraq exhibit acceptable strength properties when dry, but it is weak and collapsible when it comes in touch with moisture from rain or other sources. When such weak soil is adopted for earth reinforced embankment construction, it may exhibit hazardous situation. Gypseous soil was investigated for the optimum liquid asphalt requirements of both cutback and emulsion using the one-dimensional unconfined compression strength test. The optimum fluid content was 13% (7% of cutback with 6% water content), and 17% (9% of emulsion with 8% water content). A laboratory model box of 50x50x25 cm was used as a representative of embankment; soil or asphalt stabilized soil have been compacted in five layers at maximum dry density (modified compaction) and an aluminum reinforcement strips were introduced between layers and connected to the facing strips. The model was subjected to cyclic loading and the lateral deformation of facing strips and the vertical deformation were detected at different stages of loading cycles and different height of the facing strips using LVDT. The reference embankment model was that of reinforced pure soil under absorbed condition. For asphalt-stabilized soil, the cutback asphalt stabilized- soil model exhibit improvement in load carrying capacity by nine folds. It shows a reduction of 23% in vertical displacement under sustained load of 436 repetitions. For emulsion-stabilized soil, the reduction in vertical displacement was 38.5% under a sustained load of 950 cycles. The load carrying capacity was improved by twenty folds. The lateral displacement at the upper first and third layers were lower by 0.55% and 1.9% respectively when compared to cutback asphalt stabilized model
The structural behavior of Segmental Precast Post-tensioned Reinforced Concrete (SPPRC) beams largely depends on the behavior of the joints that connect between the segments. In this research, series of static tests were carried out to investigate the behavior of full-scale SPPRC beams with different types of epoxy-glued joint configurations; multi-key joint, single key, and plain key joint. The reference specimen was monolithically casted beam and the other specimens were segmental beams with five segments for each one. The general theme from the experimental results reflects an approximate similarity in the behavior of the four beams with slight differences. Due to the high tensile strength of the used epoxy in comparison to concr
... Show MoreThis paper deals with testing defected model piles in the soil in order to study their behavior. In this respect, the results of model pile tests are discussed either geotechnically or structurally according to the type of failure.
Two parameters were studied in order to evaluate the general behavior of defective piles. These parameters include the defect location and the defect type for floating and end bearing pile. The results of the experimental work indicated that the critical case for floating pile is seen to be when the defect of (5%) at the first third of the pile length at which the decrease in the bearing capacity is about (21%), while the decrease in the bearing capacity is found to be (
... Show MoreIn the oil industry, the processing of vacuum residue has an important economic and environmental benefit. This work aims to produce industrial petroleum coke with light fuel fractions (gasoline, kerosene , gas oil) as the main product and de asphalted oil (DAO) as a side production from treatment secondary product matter of vacuum residue. Vacuum residue was produced from the bottom of vacuum distillation unit of the crude oil. Experimentally, the study investigated the effect of the thermal conversion process on (vacuum residue) as a raw material at temperature reaches to 500 °C, pressure 20 atm. and residence time for about 3 hours. The first step of this treatment is constructing a carbon steel batch re
... Show MoreLaboratory experience in Iraq with cold asphalt concrete mixtures is very limited. The design and use of cold mixed asphalt concrete had no technical requirements. In this study, two asphalt concrete mixtures used for the base course were prepared in the laboratory using conventional cold-mixing techniques to test cold asphalt mixture (CAM) against aging and moisture susceptibility. Cold asphalt mixtures specimens have been prepared in the lab with cutback and emulsion binders, different fillers, and curing times. Based on the Marshal test result, the cutback proportion was selected with the filler, also based on the Marshal test emulsion. The first mixture was medium setting cationic emulsion (MSCE) as a binder, hydrate
... Show MoreModified asphalt is considered one of the alternatives to address the problems of deficiencies in traditional asphalt concrete, as modified asphalt addresses many of the issues that appear on the pavement layers in asphalt concrete, resulting from heavy traffic and vehicles loaded with loads that exceed the design loads and the large fluctuations in the daily and seasonal temperatures of asphalt concrete. The current study examined the role of polyphosphoric acid (PPA) as a modified material for virgin asphalt when it was added in different proportions (1%, 2%, 3%, 4%) of the asphalt weight. The experimental program includes the volumetric characteristics associated with the Marshall test, the physical properties, and th
... Show MoreThe excessive permanent deformation (rutting) in asphalt-concrete pavements resulting from frequent repetitions of heavy axle loads is studied in this paper. Rutting gradually develops with additional load applications and appears as longitudinal depressions in the wheel path. There are many causes of the rutting of asphalt roads, such as poor asphalt mixing and poor continuous aggregate gradation. All factors affecting the mixture resistance to permanent deformation must be discussed, and all must be properly considered to reduce the rutting propensity of asphalt-aggregate mixtures. In this study, several mixtures were produced with the most common techniques in rutting resistance (using the most effective additives for each mixture), and
... Show MoreLandfill and incineration are the most common and widely used methods to dispose of solid wastes; both of these techniques are considered the main sources of pollution in the world due to the harmful toxic emissions that are considered an environmental problem. Because of the large areas used by landfills, they are not always considered an economical method. With the increase in the production of solid materials, solid wastes increase the pressure on incinerators and landfills, making the environmental pollution hazard more serious. Instead, these waste materials can be used in some other applications. One of the most important of these applications is asphalt pavements, which are the most used types of pavements in the
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In past years, structural pavement solution has been combined with destructive testing; these destructive methods are being replaced by non-destructive testing methods (NDT). Because the destructive test causes damage due to coring conducted for testing and also the difficulty of adequately repairing the core position in the field. Ultrasonic pulse velocity was used to evaluate the strength and volumetric properties of asphalt concrete, of binder course. The impact of moisture damage and testing temperature on pulse velocity has also been studied. Data were analyzed and modeled. It was found that using non-destructive testing represented by pulse velocity could be useful to predict the quality of asphalt c
... Show MoreMoisture induced damage in asphaltic pavement might be considered as a serious defect that contributed to growth other distresses such as permanent deformation and fatigue cracking. This paper work aimed through an experimental effort to assess the behaviour of asphaltic mixtures that fabricated by incorporating several dosages of carbon fiber in regard to the resistance potential of harmful effect of moisture in pavement. Laboratory tests were performed on specimens containing fiber with different lengths and contents. These tests are: Marshall Test, the indirect tensile test and the index of retained strength. The optimum asphalt contents were determined based on the Marshall method. The preparation of asphaltic mixtures involved
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