Flexible pavements are considered an essential element of transportation infrastructure. So, evaluations of flexible pavement performance are necessary for the proper management of transportation infrastructure. Pavement condition index (PCI) and international roughness index (IRI) are common indices applied to evaluate pavement surface conditions. However, the pavement condition surveys to calculate PCI are costly and time-consuming as compared to IRI. This article focuses on developing regression models that predict PCI from IRI. Eighty-three flexible pavement sections, with section length equal to 250 m, were selected in Al-Diwaniyah, Iraq, to develop PCI-IRI relationships. In terms of the quantity and severity of each observed distress, the pavement condition surveys were conducted by actually walking through all the sections. Using these data, PCI was calculated utilizing Micro PAVER software. Dynatest Road Surface Profiler (RSP) was used to collect IRI data of all the sections. Using the SPSS software, linear and nonlinear regressions have been used for developing two models between PCI and IRI based on the collected data. These models have the coefficients of determination (R2) equal to 0.715 and 0.722 for linear and quadratic models. Finally, the results indicate the linear and quadratic models are acceptable to predict PCI from IRI directly.
Surfaces quality is one of the most specified customer requirements for machine parts. The major indication of surfaces quality on machined parts is surface roughness. The research aim is to study the cutting conditions and their effects on the surface roughness. This paper utilizes regression models to predict surface roughness over the machining time for variety of cutting conditions in turning. In the experimental part for turning, different types of materials (Aluminum alloy, Copper alloy, and Gray cast iron) were considered with different cutting speed ( ) and feed rate ( ). A mathematical Model depending on statistical-mathematical method between surface roughness (Rz ) and cutting condition ( , ) were derived, for the three materials
... Show MoreIn this study, the effects of different loading doses of cerium in the prepared NaY zeolite from Iraqi kaolin were investigated. Al-Duara refinery atmospheric residue fluid catalytic cracking was selected as palpation reaction for testing the catalytic activity of cerium loading NaY zeolite. The insertion of cerium in NaY zeolites has been synthesized by simple ion exchange methods. Three samples of modified zeolite Y have been obtained by replacing the sodium ions in the original sample with cerium and the weight percent added are 0.35, 0.64, and 1.06 respectively. The effects of cerium loading to zeolite Y in different weight percent on the cracking catalysts were studied by employing a laboratory fluidized
... Show MoreStaphylococcus haemolyticus is one of the most frequently isolated coagulase-negative staphylococci. The ability to form biofilm is considered as one of the most important virulence factors of coagulase negative staphylococci. There is only limited knowledge of the nature of S. haemolyticus biofilms. This study was aimed at evaluating the ability of S. haemolyticus strains to produce biofilm in the presence of copper oxide nanoparticles (CuONPs). The biological synthesis of nanoparticles is an environmentally friendly approach for large-scale production of nanoparticles. Copper oxide nanoparticles were produced in the current study from the S. haemolyticus viable cell filtrate. UV-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy, X-ray diffra
... Show MoreThe effects of temperature on an exotic aquatic snail Pomacea canaliculata (Lamarck, 1819) collected from the Shatt Al-Arab intertidal zone were investigated. A series of laboratory experiments were conducted during the summer period of 2017. Individuals of new born snails hatched in the laboratory from adult snails were collected from Shatt Al-Arab intertidal zone, and subjected to five fixed temperatures: 15, 25, 35, 40 and 45 Cº, after short term thermal acclimation. The heartbeats (HB) were counted at each temperature level. The results showed significant direct increase of HB from 15 Cº (19.8 HB/min) up to 25 Cº (76 HB/min) (P<0.05) as well as from 25 Cº to 35 Cº (93 HB/min). At 40 Cº the snail HB
... Show MoreTwo homopolymeric and three copolymeric additives for base oil were synthesized using octyl acrylate (OA) and tert-butyl acrylamide (TBA) monomers. The two additives named P1 and P2 are the homopolymers of TBA and OA, respectively, whereas copolymeric additives named Co1, Co2, and Co3 were synthesized by varying the ratios of TBA:OA as 1:3, 3:1 and 1:1, respectively. The prepared polymers were characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR). Based on the solubility of synthesized polymers in base oil and reactivity ratios of TBA/OA copolymer (0.222, 0.434) calculated by Fineman-Ross method, P2, Co1, Co2 and Co3 were selected to evaluate their performance as pour point depressant (PPD), viscosity improver (VII), and anticorrosion addit
... Show MoreIn this study Microwave and conventional methods have been used to extract and estimate pectin and its degree of esterification from dried grapefruit and orange peels. Acidified solution water with nitric acid in pH (1.5) was used. In conventional method, different temperature degrees for extraction pectin from grape fruit and orange(85 ,90 , 95 and 100?C) for 1 h were used The results showed grapefruit peels contained 12.82, 17.05, 18.47, 15.89% respectively, while the corresponding values were 5.96, 6.74, 7.41 and 8.00 %, respectively in orange peels. In microwave method, times were 90, 100, 110 and 120 seconds. Grapefruit peels contain 13.86, 16.57, 18.69, and 17.87%, respectively, while the corresponding values were of 6.53, 6.68, 7.2
... Show MoreBiodiesel can be prepared from various types of vegetable oils or animal fats with the aid of a catalyst.
Calcium oxide (CaO) is one of the prospective heterogeneous catalysts for biodiesel synthesis. Modification
of CaO by impregnation on silica (SiO2) can improve the performance of CaO as catalyst. Egg shells and rice
husks as biomass waste can be used as raw materials for the preparation of the silica modified CaO catalyst.
The present study was directed to synthesize and characterize CaO impregnated SiO2 catalyst from biomass
waste and apply it as catalyst in biodiesel synthesis. The catalyst was synthesized by wet impregnation
method and characterized by x-ray diffraction, x-ray fluorescence, nitr
Tungsten inert gas arc welding–based shaped metal deposition is a novel additive manufacturing technology which can be used for fabricating solid dense parts by melting a cold wire on a substrate in a layer-by-layer manner via continuous DC arc heat. The shaped metal deposition method would be an alternative way to traditional manufacturing methods, especially for complex featured and large-scale solid parts manufacturing, and it is particularly used for aerospace structural components, manufacturing, and repairing of die/molds and middle-sized dense parts. This article presents the designing, constructing, and controlling of an additive manufacturing system using tungsten inert gas plus wire–based shaped metal deposition metho
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