The dual nature of asphalt binder necessitates improvements to mitigate rutting and fatigue since it performs as an elastic material under the regime of rapid loading or cold temperatures and as a viscous fluid at elevated temperatures. The present investigation assesses the effectiveness of Nano Alumina (NA), Nano Silica (NS), and Nano Titanium Dioxide (NT) at weight percentages of 0, 2, 4, 6, and 8% in asphalt cement to enhance both asphalt binder and mixture performance. Binder evaluations include tests for consistency, thermal susceptibility, aging, and workability, while mixture assessments focus on Marshall properties, moisture susceptibility, resilient modulus, permanent deformation, and fatigue characteristics. NS notably improves binder viscosity by about 138% and reduces penetration by approximately 40.8% at 8% nanomaterial (NM) content, significantly boosting hardness and consistency. NS also enhances Marshall stability and decreases air voids, increasing the mix’s durability. For moisture resistance, NS at 8% NM content elevates the Tensile Strength Ratio (TSR) to 91.0%, substantially surpassing the 80% standard. Similarly, NA and NT also show improved TSR values at 8% NM content, with 88.0% and 84.1%, respectively. Additionally, NS, NA, and NT reduce permanent deformation by 82%, 69%, and 64% at 10,000 cycles at 8% NM content, illustrating their effectiveness in mitigating pavement distress. Notably, while higher NM content generally results in better performance across most tests, the optimal NM content for fatigue resistance is 4% for NS and 6% for both NA and NT, reflecting their peak performance against various types of pavement distresses. These results highlight the significant advantages of nanoparticles in improving asphalt’s mechanical properties, workability, stability, and durability. The study recommends further field validation to confirm these laboratory findings and ensure that enhancements translate into tangible improvements in real-world pavement performance and longevity.
This paper presents experimental investigations on buried Glass Reinforced Plastic (GRP) pipes with a diameter of 1400 mm. The tested pipes were buried in dense, gravelly sand and subjected to traffic loads to study the effects of backfill cover on pipe deflection. The experimental program included tests on three GRP pipes with backfill covers of 100 cm, 75 cm, and 50 cm. The maximum traffic loads applied to the pipe–soil system corresponded to Iraqi Truck Type 3 (AASHTO H type). Vertical deflections of the pipes were monitored during the application of these loads. The experimental results showed that, as the backfill cover increased, the maximum vertical deflection of the pipe decreased. Deflection reductions were 38.0% and 33.3
... Show MoreWater is the basis of the existence of all kinds of life, so obtaining it with good quality represents a challenge to human existence and development especially in the desert and remote cities because these areas contain small populations and water purification requires great materials and huge amounts of fossil fuels resulting pollution of the environment. Cheap and environmentally friendly desalination methods have been done by using solar distillations. Passive solar stills have low yields, so in this research, the problem is overcome by connecting four heat pipes which are installed on the parabolic concentrator reflector with passive solar still to increase the temperature of hot water to more than 90°C, as a resul
... Show MoreHeat transfer process and fluid flow in a solar chimney used for natural ventilation are investigated numerically and experimentally her in. Solar chimney was designed, manufactured and tested by selecting different positions of air entrance namely: bottom entrance, side entrance, and both side and bottom entrances. The effect of integrating the chimney with paraffin (phase change material) on its thermal behavior has been also investigated. CFD analysis based on finite volume method is used to predict the thermal performance, and fluid flow in two-dimensional solar chimney under unsteady state condition, to identify the effect of different parameters such as solar radiation, and inclination angle. Experimental results show that a solar chi
... Show MoreThis paper reports experimental and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling studies to investigate the effect of the swirl intensity on the heat transfer characteristics of conventional and swirl impingement air jets at a constant nozzle-to-plate distance ( L = 2 D). The experiments were performed using classical twisted tape inserts in a nozzle jet with three twist ratios ( y = 2.93, 3.91, and 4.89) and Reynolds numbers that varied from 4000 to 16000. The results indicate that the radial uniformity of Nusselt number (Nu) of swirl impingement air jets (SIJ) depended on the values of the swirl intensity and the air Reynolds number. The results also revealed that the SIJ that was fitted with an insert of y = 4.89, which correspo
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All central air conditioning systems contain piping system with various components, sizes, material, and layouts. If such systems in operating mode, the flow in piping system and its component such as valves can produce severe vibration due to some flow phenomenon’s. In this research, experimental measurements and numerical simulation are used to study the flow-induced vibration in valves. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) concepts are included with one-way and two-way fluid-structure interaction concepts by using finite element software Package (ANSYS 14.57). Detection analysis is performed on flow characteristics under operation conditions and relations with structural vibration. Most of
... Show MoreThe main objectives of this study are to study the enhancement of the load-carrying capacity of Asymmetrical castellated beams with encasement the beams by Reactive Powder Concrete (RPC) and lacing reinforcement, the effect of the gap between top and bottom parts of Asymmetrical castellated steel beam at web post, and serviceability of the confined Asymmetrical castellated steel. This study presents two concentrated loads test results for four specimens Asymmetrical castellated beams section encasement by Reactive powder concrete (RPC) with laced reinforcement. The encasement of the Asymmetrical castellated steel beam consists of, flanges unstiffened element height was filled with RPC for each side and laced reinforced which are use
... Show MoreThis study aims to assess the removal efficiency andestablish the BOD5 and COD statisticalcorrelation of the sewage flowing in Al-Diwaniyah wastewater treatment plant in Iraq during the study period (2005-2016). The strength of the influent wastewater entering the plant varied from medium to high in strength. High concentrations of BOD5 and COD in the effluent were obtained due to the poor performance of the plant. This was observed from the BOD5 /COD ratios that did not confirm with the typical ratios for the treated sewage. To improve the performance of this plant, regression equations for BOD5 and COD removal percentages were suggested which can be used to facilitate evaluation of liquid waste and optimal control process. The equations
... Show MoreOne of the key challenges is reliable communication for Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUVs) since underwater environments are dynamic and challenging for signal transmission. The traditional acoustic communication systems allow long-distance communication but are limited by the low bandwidth, high latency, and doppler effect. Optical wireless, on the other hand, provides high data rates with water absorption and scattering occurring within the transmission distance, but has a short range of communication. To overcome these drawbacks, a smart hybrid optical-acoustic communication system is proposed that is a combination of Wavelength Division Multiplexing and On-Off Keying (WDM-OOK) to transmit a high-speed signal over optical and ac
... Show MoreThis study offers numerical simulation results using the ABAQUS/CAE version 2019 finite element computer application to examine the performance, and residual strength of eight recycle aggregate RC one-way slabs. Six strengthened by NSM CFRP plates were presented to study the impact of several parameters on their structural behavior. The experimental results of four selected slabs under monotonic load, plus one slab under repeated load, were validated numerically. Then the numerical analysis was extended to different parameters investigation, such as the impact of added CFRP length on ultimate load capacity and load-deflection response and the impact of concrete compressive strength value on the structural performance of
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