Moisture damage is one of the most significant troubles that destroy asphaltic pavement and reduces road serviceability. Recently, academics have noticed a trend to utilize fibers to enhance the efficiency of asphalt pavement. This research explores the effect of low-cost ceramic fiber, which has high tensile strength and a very high thermal insulation coefficient, on the asphalt mixture's characteristics by adding three different proportions (0.75%, 1.5%, and 2.25%). The Marshall test and the Tensile Strength Ratio Test (TSR) were utilized to describe the impact of ceramic fiber on the characteristics of Marshall and the moisture susceptibility of the hot mix asphalt mixture. The Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM) analysis was used to investigate ceramic fibers' microscopic structure and clarify the mechanics of their improved behavior and their distribution within the asphalt concrete mixture. The results showed that the incorporation of ceramic fibers improved the Marshall properties and the asphalt mixture's susceptibility to moisture damage with an optimum fiber content equal to 1.5%, where Marshall stability increased by 39.04%, and the TSR increased by 11.06% at this content compared with the control asphalt mixture.
Introduction: Candida spp. has become increasingly resistant to antifungal drugs, with elevated MIC levels causing a negative medical impact and increasing the number of patients at risk of candidiasis. According to the CDC, about 7% of Candida blood samples show reduced susceptibility to fluconazole. Monitoring the antifungal resistance profile of Candida spp. is vital, as non-Albicans species may limit treatment options. Objective: Evaluate the antifungal effectiveness against clinical Candida spp. isolates of six antifungals: amphotericin B, fluconazole, voriconazole, itraconazole, caspofungin, and 5-fluorocytosine. Methods: 100 samples were collected from various clinical samples at the National Centre of Teaching Laboratories
... Show MoreThis work aims to enhance acoustic and thermal insulation properties for polymeric composite by adding nanoclay and rock wool as reinforcement materials with different rations. A polymer blend of (epoxy+ polyester) as matrix materials was used. The Hand lay-up technique was used to manufacture the castings. Epoxy and polyester were mixed at different weight ratios involving (50:50, 60:40, 70:30, 80:20, and 90:10) wt. % of (epoxy: polyester) wt. % respectively. Impact tests for optimum sample (OMR), caustic and thermal insulation tests were performed. Nano clay (Kaolinite) with ratios ( 5 and 7.5% ) wt.% , also hybrid reinforcement materials involving (Kaolite 5 & 7.5 % wt.% + 10% volume fraction of rockwool ) were added as reinforcem
... Show MorePermanent deformation (Rutting) of asphalt pavements which appears in many roads in Iraq, have caused a major impact on pavement performance by reducing the useful service life of pavement and creating services hazards for highway users. The main objective of this research is investigating the effect of some contributory factors related to permanent deformation of asphalt concrete mixture. To meet the objectives of this research, available local materials are used including asphalt binder, aggregates, mineral filler and modified asphalt binder. The Superpave mix design system was adopted with varying volumetric compositions. The Superpave Gyratory Compactor was used to compact 24 asphalt concrete cylindrical specimens. To collect t
... Show MoreThe objective of the present paper is to examine the effect of Recycled Asphalt Pavement (RAP) on marshall properties and indirect tensile strength of HMA through experimental investigation. A mixture with 0% RAP was used as a control mix to evaluate the properties of mixes with 5%, 10%, and 15% RAP. One type of RAP was brought from Bab Al-moadam’s road in Baghdad for this purpose. The experimental testing program included Marshall and Indirect Tensile Strength tests. The results indicated that the bulk density, flow and VFA increase with the increasing of the percentage of RAP, while increasing in RAP results decreases in VTM and VMA values. Furthermore, the stability is changed from 10.1 kN for the control mix to12, 13.6 and 11.7 kN
... Show MoreIn this paper, a step-index fiber with core index 1.445 5 1 7 and cladding index 1.443 1 5 7 has been designed and studied. Multimode operation is achieved by using a fiber with core radius 25 μm operating at a wavelength of 1.3 μm. The mode parameters (effective refractive index, phase constant, fractional modal power in the core and cutoff wavelength) were calculated using RP fiber calculator (PRO version 2020). The shapes of the intensity and amplitude distribution of linearly polarized guided modes were shown.