In recent years, the search for economic and environmentally friendly alternatives has become a global necessity to achieve sustainability and preserve raw materials. From this concept, natural bitumen (NB) derived from sulphur springs is now one of the most promising alternative energy resources for many applications, especially in asphalt pavement construction. Its low price and abundance characterise NB since sulphur springs produce thousands of tonnes of NB annually and are used in very limited fields. Two main objectives were adopted for this work. The first objective is to examine the virgin NB properties from five sulphur springs and compare them with petroleum asphalt. The second objective is to enhance NB properties by applying heat treatment. The experimental results reveal that heat treatment is highly effective in improving the NB properties. This was confirmed by conducting many tests, such as asphalt, Marshall, SEM-EDX, and indirect tensile strength tests. Based on the experimental test outcomes, virgin NB properties do not conform to asphalt specification limits and are unsuitable for flexible roads. Also, MS-NB significantly affected the mechanical properties of the asphalt mixture, as Marshall's stability increased by 41.3% compared to the conventional mixture. In addition, SS-NB was more effective in moisture damage resistance due to increasing the tensile strength ratio by 5.72 % and provided a higher stiffness index than the conventional mixture by 40.36%. In conclusion, the treated NB can successfully be used as a binder material in hot asphalt mixtures. ABSTRAK: Beberapa tahun kebelakangan, pencarian alternatif baharu ekonomi dan mesra alam telah menjadi satu keperluan global bagi mencapai kemampanan dan memelihara bahan mentah. Melalui konsep ini, bitumen asli (NB) yang diperoleh daripada mata air sulfur kini merupakan satu sumber tenaga alternatif yang berguna bagi digunakan dalam pelbagai aplikasi, terutamanya dalam pembinaan turapan asfalt. NB dicirikan oleh harga yang rendah dan kelimpahannya kerana mata air sulfur menghasilkan beribu-ribu tan NB setiap tahun dan digunakan dalam bidang terhad. Dua objektif utama telah dipakai untuk kajian ini. Objektif pertama adalah memeriksa sifat NB dara daripada lima mata air sulfur dan membandingkannya dengan asfalt petroleum. Objektif kedua adalah meningkatkan sifat NB dengan menggunakan rawatan haba. Dapatan eksperimen mendedahkan bahawa rawatan haba sangat berkesan dalam meningkatkan sifat NB. Ini disahkan dengan menjalankan pelbagai ujian, seperti ujian asfalt, ujian Marshall, ujian SEM-EDX, dan ujian kekuatan tegangan tidak langsung. Berdasarkan dapatan eksperimen, sifat NB dara tidak mematuhi had spesifikasi asfalt dan tidak sesuai untuk jalan fleksibel. Selain itu, MS-NB mempunyai kesan ketara pada sifat mekanikal campuran asfalt kerana kestabilan Marshalls meningkat sebanyak 41.3% berbanding campuran konvensional. Tambahan, SS-NB lebih berkesan dalam rintangan kerosakan lembapan kerana meningkatkan nisbah kekuatan tegangan sebanyak 5.72 % dan memberikan indeks kekukuhan yang lebih tinggi daripada campuran konvensional sebanyak 40.36%. Kesimpulannya, NB yang dirawat boleh berjaya digunakan sebagai bahan pengikat dalam campuran asfalt panas.
Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM) is a non-traditional cutting technique for metals removing which is relied upon the basic fact that negligible tool force is produced during the machining process. Also, electrical discharge machining is used in manufacturing very hard materials that are electrically conductive. Regarding the electrical discharge machining procedure, the most significant factor of the cutting parameter is the surface roughness (Ra). Conventional try and error method is time consuming as well as high cost. The purpose of the present research is to develop a mathematical model using response graph modeling (RGM). The impact of various parameters such as (current, pulsation on time and pulsation off time) are studied on
... Show MoreFurfural is one of the one of pollutants in refinery industrial wastewaters. In this study advanced oxidation process using UV/H2O2 was investigated for furfural degradation in synthetic wastewater. The results from the experimental work showed that the degradation of furfural decreases as its concentration increases, reaching 100% at 50mg/l furfural concentration and increasing the concentration of H2O2 from 250 to 500 mg/l increased furfural removal from 40 to 60%.The degradation of furfural reached 100% after 90 min exposure time using two UV lamps, where it reached 60% using one lamp after 240 min exposure time. The rate of furfural degradation k increased at the pH and initial concentratio
... Show MoreThe research aims to evaluate the suppliers at Diyala general electric industries company conducted in an environment of uncertainty and fuzzy where there is no particular system followed by the company, and also aims to use the problem of traveling salesman problem in the process of transporting raw materials from suppliers to the company in a fuzzy environment. Therefore, a system based on mathematical methods and quantity was developed to evaluate the suppliers. Fuzzy inference system (FIS) and fuzzy set theory were used to solve this problem through (Matlab) and the problem of the traveling salesman in two stages was also solved by the first stage of eliminating the fuzzing of the environment using the rank function method, w
... Show MoreOptimizing system performance in dynamic and heterogeneous environments and the efficient management of computational tasks are crucial. This paper therefore looks at task scheduling and resource allocation algorithms in some depth. The work evaluates five algorithms: Genetic Algorithms (GA), Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), Ant Colony Optimization (ACO), Firefly Algorithm (FA) and Simulated Annealing (SA) across various workloads achieved by varying the task-to-node ratio. The paper identifies Finish Time and Deadline as two key performance metrics for gauging the efficacy of an algorithm, and a comprehensive investigation of the behaviors of these algorithms across different workloads was carried out. Results from the experiment
... Show MoreAll-optical canonical logic units at 40 Gb/s using bidirectional four-wave mixing (FWM) in highly nonlinear fiber are proposed and experimentally demonstrated. Clear temporal waveforms and correct pattern streams are successfully observed in the experiment. This scheme can reduce the amount of nonlinear devices and enlarge the computing capacity compared with general ones. The numerical simulations are made to analyze the relationship between the FWM efficiency and the position of two interactional signals. © 2015 Chinese Laser Press
The present work aims to study the efficiency of using aluminum refuse, which is available locally (after dissolving it in sodium hydroxide), with different coagulants like alum [Al2 (SO4)3.18H2O], Ferric chloride FeCl3 and polyaluminum chloride (PACl) to improve the quality of water. The results showed that using this coagulant in the flocculation process gave high results in the removal of turbidity as well as improving the quality of water by precipitating a great deal of ions causing hardness. From the experimental results of the Jar test, the optimum alum dosages are (25, 50 and 70 ppm), ferric chloride dosages are (15, 40 and 60 ppm) and polyaluminum chloride dosages were (10, 35 and 55 ppm) for initial water turbidity (100, 500 an
... Show More“Smart city” projects have become fully developed and are actively using video analytics. Our study looks at how video analytics from surveillance cameras can help manage urban areas, making the environment safer and residents happier. Every year hundreds of people fall on subway and railway lines. The causes of these accidents include crowding, fights, sudden health problems such as dizziness or heart attacks, as well as those who intentionally jump in front of trains. These accidents may not cause deaths, but they cause delays for tens of thousands of passengers. Sometimes passers-by have time to react to the event and try to prevent it, or contact station personnel, but computers can react faster in such situations by using ethical
... Show MoreAlthough the number of stomach tumor patients reduced obviously during last decades in western countries, but this illness is still one of the main causes of death in developing countries. The aim of this research is to detect the area of a tumor in a stomach images based on fuzzy clustering. The proposed methodology consists of three stages. The stomach images are divided into four quarters and then features elicited from each quarter in the first stage by utilizing seven moments invariant. Fuzzy C-Mean clustering (FCM) was employed in the second stage for each quarter to collect the features of each quarter into clusters. Manhattan distance was calculated in the third stage among all clusters' centers in all quarters to disclosure of t
... Show MoreMetal oxide nanoparticles, including iron oxide, are highly considered as one of the most important species of nanomaterials in a varied range of applications due to their optical, magnetic, and electrical properties. Iron oxides are common compounds, extensive in nature, and easily synthesized in the laboratory. In this paper, iron oxide nanoparticles were prepared by co-precipitation of (Fe+2) and (Fe+3) ions, using iron (II and III) sulfate as precursor material and NH4OH solution as solvent at 90°C. After the synthesis of iron oxide particles, it was characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). These tests confirmed the obtaining o
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