Rutting is one of the most complex and widespread types of distress. The rutting is frequently observed on Iraqi roads, especially at the checkpoints, forming a significant hazard on the asphalt layers. Factors such as heavy loads and high temperatures contribute to this distress. Adding fibers to a hot mix asphalt (HMA) effectively improves performance and extends the lifespan of the flexible pavement. This article used glass, steel, and basalt fibers. The wheel tracking test assessed the fibre-asphalt mixture for rutting resistance and compared it with the mix without adding fibers (control HMA). Meanwhile, the microscopic structure of fibres and asphalt mixture modified with fibers was examined using the Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) technique. Steel, glass, and basalt fibers were incorporated into HMA in proportions of 0.25%, 0.10%, and 0.15%, respectively. The incorporation of fibers in asphalt mixtures implies lower rut depths after 5000 cycles. In comparison to the control HMA, a decrease in the rut depth is observed in fiber-asphalt mixtures, about 22.14%, 15.36%, and 9.64% for basalt, glass, and steel fiber, respectively, which consequently enhances flexible pavement resistance against rutting. The microstructure analysis showed the difference in the mixture's diameters, surface properties, and random fiber dispersion. Therefore, this dispersion contributed to creating a three-dimensional network, which improved the behaviour of HMA.
A new modified differential evolution algorithm DE-BEA, is proposed to improve the reliability of the standard DE/current-to-rand/1/bin by implementing a new mutation scheme inspired by the bacterial evolutionary algorithm (BEA). The crossover and the selection schemes of the DE method are also modified to fit the new DE-BEA mechanism. The new scheme diversifies the population by applying to all the individuals a segment based scheme that generates multiple copies (clones) from each individual one-by-one and applies the BEA segment-wise mechanism. These new steps are embedded in the DE/current-to-rand/bin scheme. The performance of the new algorithm has been compared with several DE variants over eighteen benchmark functions including sever
... Show MoreThis study concerns the removal of a trihydrate antibiotic (Amoxicillin) from synthetically contaminated water by adsorption on modified bentonite. The bentonite was modified using hexadecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (HTAB), which turned it from a hydrophilic to a hydrophobic material. The effects of different parameters were studied in batch experiments. These parameters were contact time, solution pH, agitation speed, initial concentration (C0) of the contaminant, and adsorbent dosage. Maximum removal of amoxicillin (93 %) was achieved at contact time = 240 min, pH = 10, agitation speed = 200 rpm, initial concentration = 30 ppm, and adsorbent dosage = 3 g bentonite per 1L of pollutant solution. The characterization of the adsorbent, modi
... Show MorePurpose:To evaluate knowledge, practice and attitude of community pharmacists in Basra regarding modified release dosage forms which are widely used for many therapeutic purposes in pharmacy practice.
Methods:The current study was conducted among certified pharmacists in Basra governorate- south of Iraq. Data collection was carried out by a questionnaire.
Results:A total number of 175 community pharmacists responded to the questionnaire. The majority worked in OTC based dispensing pharmacies located in the center of the city. Most respondents missed K1 and were unable to state the difference between different types of modified products. There was a major positive agreemen
... Show MoreAbstract A descriptive study to assess of factors that contributes of lung cancer. The study was carried out in Specialized Surgery teaching hospital, Ibin Al- Beetar hospital and Ibin Al- Nafees hospital for the period From January 2004 to October 2004 .The study aimed to assess the factors that contribute to lung cancer and to identify the relationship between the variables of the study with lung cancer. A purposive (non-probability) sample of (70) patients with lung cancer was selected for the study. An assessment form was employed for the purpose of the study. Test- retest reliability was employed through
Background: The microorganisms can impend the life of health care professional and particularly the dental practitioners. They can be transmitted by different ways like airborne and droplet transmission. The current study was carried out to identify whether the arch wires that received from the manufactures are free from microbial contamination and to determine the bacterial species attached to the arch wires. Materials and Methods: This study involved eighty samples, consisted of two types of arch wires (nitinol and stainless-steel) from four companies (3M, G&H, Jiscop, OrthoTechnology). These wires inserted in a plane tube that contains 10 -ml of (Tris [tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane] and EDTA (ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid) tri
... Show MoreThis paper presents a nonlinear finite element modeling and analysis of steel fiber reinforced concrete (SFRC) deep beams with and without openings in web subjected to two- point loading. In this study, the beams were modeled using ANSYS nonlinear finite element
software. The percentage of steel fiber was varied from 0 to 1.0%.The influence of fiber content in the concrete deep beams has been studied by measuring the deflection of the deep beams at mid- span and marking the cracking patterns, compute the failure loads for each deep beam, and also study the shearing and first principal stresses for the deep beams with and without openings and with different steel fiber ratios. The above study indicates that the location of openings an
Eco-friendly concrete is produced using the waste of many industries. It reduces the fears concerning energy utilization, raw materials, and mass-produced cost of common concrete. Several stress-strain models documented in the literature can be utilized to estimate the ultimate strength of concrete components reinforced with fibers. Unfortunately, there is a lack of data on how non-metallic fibers, such as polypropylene (PP), affect the properties of concrete, especially eco-friendly concrete. This study presents a novel approach to modeling the stress-strain behavior of eco-friendly polypropylene fiber-reinforced concrete (PFRC) using meta-heuristic particle swarm optimization (PSO) employing 26 PFRC various mixtures. The cement was partia
... Show MoreThis article presents the results of an experimental investigation of using carbon fiber–reinforced polymer sheets to enhance the behavior of reinforced concrete deep beams with large web openings in shear spans. A set of 18 specimens were fabricated and tested up to a failure to evaluate the structural performance in terms of cracking, deformation, and load-carrying capacity. All tested specimens were with 1500-mm length, 500-mm cross-sectional deep, and 150-mm wide. Parameters that studied were opening size, opening location, and the strengthening factor. Two deep beams were implemented as control specimens without opening and without strengthening. Eight deep beams were fabricated with openings but without strengthening, while
... Show MoreFiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) bars are anisotropic in nature and have high tensile strength in the fiber direction. The use of High-Strength Concrete (HSC) allows for better use of the high-strength properties of FRP bars. The mechanical properties of FRP bars can yield to large crack widths and deflections. As a result, the design of concrete elements reinforced with FRP materials is often governed by the Serviceability Limit States (SLS). This study investigates the short-term serviceability behavior of FRP RC I-beams. Eight RC I-beams reinforced with carbon-FRP (CFRP) and four steel RC I-beams, for comparison purposes, were tested under two-point loading.
Deformations on the concrete and crack widths and spacing are measured and