Moisture-induced damage is a serious problem that severely impairs asphaltic pavement and affects road serviceability. This study examined numerous variables in asphalt concrete mixtures to assess their impact on moisture damage resistance. Mix design parameters such as the asphalt content (AC) and aggregate passing sieve No. 4 (PNo. 4) were considered as variables during this study. Additionally, hydrated lime (HL) was utilized as a partial substitute for limestone dust (LS) filler at 1.5% by weight of the aggregate in asphalt concrete mixtures for the surface layer. This study also investigated the potential enhancement of traditional asphalt binders and mixtures by adding nano-additives, specifically nano-silica oxide (NS) and nano-titanium dioxide (NT), at rates ranging from 0% to 6% by weight of the asphalt binder. To quantify the moisture damage resistance of the asphalt concrete mixes, two types of laboratory tests were employed: the tensile strength ratio (TSR) and the index of retained strength (IRS). The former characterizes moisture damage using tensile strength, whereas the latter uses compression strength. The physical properties of the asphalt binder, such as its penetration, softening point, and ductility, were also evaluated to identify the effects of the nanomaterials. The results indicated that variations in the mix design variables significantly affected the moisture damage resistance of the asphalt concrete mixtures. The maximum improvement values were obtained at the optimum asphalt content (OAC) and PNo. 4 (mid-range + 6%) with TSR values of 80.45 and 82.46 and IRS values of 74.39 and 77.14, respectively. Modifying asphalt concrete mixtures with 1.5% HL resulted in improved moisture resistance compared with mixtures without HL (0% HL) at each PNo. 4 level, reaching superior performance at PNo. 4 (mid-range + 6%) by 4.58% and 3.96% in the TSR and IRS tests, respectively. Additionally, both NS and NT enhanced the physical properties of the asphalt binder, leading to substantial enhancements in asphalt concrete mixture performance against moisture damage. A 6% dosage of NS and NT showed the best performance, with NS performing slightly better than NT. TSR was increased by 14.72 and 11.55 and IRS by 15.60 and 12.75, respectively, with 6% NS and NT compared with mixtures without nanomaterials (0% NM).
In the present study, an attempt has been made to study the change in water quality of the river in terms of turbidity during lockdown associated with COVID-19. Iraq announced the longest-ever lockdown on 25 March 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic.
In the absence of ground observations, remote sensing data was adopted, especially during this period. The change in the visible region's spectral reflectance of water in part of the river has been analyzed using the Landsat 8 OLI multispectral remote sensing data at Tigris River, Salah al-Din province (Bayji / near the refinery), Iraq. It was found that the green and red bands are most sensitive and can be used to estimate turbidity. Furthermore, the temporal variation in turbidity was a
... Show MoreA (k,n)-arc A in a finite projective plane PG(2,q) over Galois field GF(q), q=p⿠for same prime number p and some integer n≥2, is a set of k points, no n+1 of which are collinear. A (k,n)-arc is complete if it is not contained in a(k+1,n)-arc. In this paper, the maximum complete (k,n)-arcs, n=2,3 in PG(2,4) can be constructed from the equation of the conic.
Spices are natural substances taken from special plants and have a different taste when added to food and some of them have great benefits for health and body. These plants vary from country to country depending on the type of soil and how they are grown and this affects their quality. In this study, the specific activity of 40K, 238U and 232Th series and 137Cs in some selected natural food spices commonly used in Iraq kitchen were determined using gamma spectrometry and the ingested doses via food consumption were also assessed. The average specific activity of 40K, 238<
An expression for the transition charge density is investigated where the deformation in nuclear collective modes is taken into consideration besides the shell model transition density. The inelastic longitudinal form factors C2 calculated using this transition charge density with excitation of the levels for Cr54,52,50 nuclei. In this work, the core polarization transition density is evaluated by adopting the shape of Tassie model together with the derived form of the ground state two-body charge density distributions (2BCDD's). It is noticed that the core polarization effects which represent the collective modes are essential in obtaining a remarkable agreement between the calculated inelastic longitudinal F(q)'s and those of experimen
... Show MoreThe research aimed to modeling a structural equation for tourist attraction factors in Asir Region. The research population is the people in the region, and a simple random sample of 332 individuals were selected. The factor analysis as a reliable statistical method in this phenomenon was used to modeling and testing the structural model of tourism, and analyzing the data by using SPSS and AMOS statistical computerized programs. The study reached a number of results, the most important of them are: the tourist attraction factors model consists of five factors which explain 69.3% of the total variance. These are: the provision of tourist services, social and historic factors, mountains, weather and natural parks. And the differenc
... Show MoreBackground: The demand for esthetic orthodontic appliances is increasing; so the esthetic orthodontic archwires were introduced. Among them, Teflon and Epoxy coated stainless steel archwires. The amount of force available from the archwire depends on the structural properties and susceptibility to corrosion. All metallic alloys are changed during immersion in artificial saliva, chlorhexidine mouthwash andtoothpaste, but their behaviors differ from one type to another. They corrode at different rates, which lead to decrease the amount of force applied to the teeth. This in vitro study was designed to evaluate the corrosion pits in stainless steel archwires coated with Teflon and with Epoxy in dry and after immersion in artificial saliva, chl
... Show MoreThe central nervous system is the most important system and is very sensitive to any accidental infection during ontogenesis; it includes brain and spinal cord. The cerebellum is the second largest part of the brain after cerebrum and it’s very sensitive to the abnormal changes during the embryological development. This study was designed to investigate the effect of the maternal exposure of selected concentrations of suspension of nanoparticles on the ontogenesis of the rat cerebellum after embryos implanted in uterus. A total of 60 female pregnant rats were divided in to three groups, each contains 20 females. Group1 (G1) was treated orally with 2mg/kg /body weight (b. wt) of suspension of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs). While group 2 (G
... Show MoreMelatonin is a potent scavenger of reactive oxygen species or free radicals like superoxide and hydroxyl radicals. The oxidation of hemoglobin to methemoglobin (meth-Hb) by oxidizing compounds has been widely studied. The present work was designed to evaluate the ability of different concentrations of melatonin to inhibit nitrite–induced oxidation of hemoglobin. Blood samples were obtained from apparently healthy individuals from which erythrocyte hemolysate was prepared. Different concentrations of melatonin (10-9-1.0 mg/ml) were incubated for 10 min with the hemolysate, then to the resultant mixture 1 ml of sodium nitrite (final concentration 0.6 mM) was added, and the
... Show MoreAbstract:
The hotel sector is one of the most vital sectors exposed to risks, and the authorities concerned with control must take their active and influential role in putting the hotel sector on the right track and compatible with the internationally approved approaches, and the importance of auditing the performance of the hotel sector in light of the (Covid-19) pandemic is embodied in the fact that it gives a clear and realistic picture to the management and regulatory bodies about the performance and activities of this sector and the shortcomings and deviations that must be addressed, and also helps government decision makers to ob
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