Hard-grade asphalt binders, such as AC 20–30, offer excellent resistance to permanent deformation but are inherently brittle, making them highly susceptible to fatigue and low-temperature cracking. While polymer modification addresses these issues, virgin polymers remain expensive. Despite the growing interest in recycled plastics, the rheological impact of complex waste streams, specifically polyvinyl chloride (PVC) derived from flex banners containing plasticizers, on excessively stiff binders within the complete Superpave Performance Grading (PG) framework remains critically underexplored. This study introduces a novel valorization approach by utilizing solvent-extracted flex banner waste (WPVC) as a dual-action modifier. It leverages

In this work, pure and Ag-doped nickel oxide (NiO) thin films were deposited on glass substrates with different dopant concentrations (0.1, 0.2, 0.3 and 0.4 wt.%) by pulsed-laser deposition (PLD) technique at room temperature. These films were annealed at temperature of 450 °C. The structural and optical properties of the prepared thin films were studied. It was found that annealing process has lead to increase the transmittance of the deposited films. Also, the transmittance was found to increase with doping concentration of silver in the deposited NiO films. The optical energy gap was decreased from 3.5 to 3.2 eV as the doping concentration was increased to 0.4 %.

Background: Lateral sinus augmentation and simultaneous insertion of dental implants is a highlypredictable procedure and associated with high rate of implants success.Aims: To evaluate implant stability changes following maxillary sinus augmentation utilizing deproteinizedbovine bone alone or mixed with platelet-rich fibrin.Materials and Methods: A total of 34 lateral sinus augmentation procedures were performed and 50 dentalimplants simultaneously installed. The lateral sinus augmentation cases were allocated randomly into 3groups: Group A comprised 13 procedures and 21 dental implants utilizing solely deproteinized bovine bone.Group B involved 10 cases and 16 dental implants using deproteinized bovine bone mixed with leukocyteand

In this work, silicon nitride (Si₃N₄) thin films were deposited on metallic substrates (aluminium and titanium sheets) by the DC reactive sputtering technique using two different silicon targets (n-type and p-type Si wafers) as well as two Ar:N₂ gas mixing ratios (50:50 and 70:30). The electrical conductivity of the metallic (aluminium and titanium) substrates was measured before and after the deposition of silicon nitride thin films on both surfaces of the substrates. The results obtained from this work showed that the deposited films, in general, reduced the electrical conductivity of the substrates, and the thin films prepared from n-type silicon targets using a 50:50 mixing ratio and deposited on both

This 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

Modern automation robotics have replaced many human workers in industrial factories around the globe. The robotic arms are used for several manufacturing applications, and their responses required optimal control. In this paper, a robust approach of optimal position control for a DC motor in the robotic arm system is proposed. The general component of the automation system is first introduced. The mathematical model and the corresponding transfer functions of a DC motor in the robotic arm system are presented.  The investigations of using DC motor in the robotic arm system without controller lead to poor system performance. Therefore, the analysis and design of a Proportional plus Integration plus Divertive (PID) controller is illustrated.

A low-cost, effective green porous composite was prepared and used for the sorption of Zn+2 ions from aqueous solutions. The effect of contact time, sorbent dosage, initial ion concentration, solution pH, and temperature on the sorption of Zn+2 ions was investigated. The results showed higher removal efficiency of Zn+2 ions (83%), which was achieved at a contact time of 120 minutes, a normal pH of 6.4, and a temperature of 313 K. The Langmuir isotherm model successfully described the experimental results of the sorption process with a theoretical maximum sorption capacity of 4.819 mg/g. The kinetics of sorption showed that the pseudo-second-order model fitted the experimental results better than the pseudo-first-order model. The int

Many problems were encountered during the drilling operations in Zubair oilfield. Stuckpipe, wellbore instability, breakouts and washouts, which increased the critical limits problems, were observed in many wells in this field, therefore an extra non-productive time added to the total drilling time, which will lead to an extra cost spent. A 1D Mechanical Earth Model (1D MEM) was built to suggest many solutions to such types of problems. An overpressured zone is noticed and an alternative mud weigh window is predicted depending on the results of the 1D MEM. Results of this study are diagnosed and wellbore instability problems are predicted in an efficient way using the 1D MEM. Suitable alternative solutions are presented

This study was design to investigate the dimensional stability of heat-activated acrylic resin with different methods of flask cooling (15 minutes rapid cooling, one hour bench cooling, four hours delayed deflasking, and 24 hours delayed deflasking) at different time intervals (immediately, two days, seven days, 30 days) after deflasking. Heat-activated acrylic resin was used to prepare acrylic samples. Then, measurement of the distances where achieved between the centers of selected marks in the acrylic samples. They were measured at different time intervals for different methods of flask cooling. The results showed that the group samples of the four hours and 24 hours of delayed deflasking was insignificantly different from the control an