Moisture damage is described as a reduction in stiffness and strength durability in asphalt mixtures due to moisture. This study investigated the influence of adding nano silica (NS) to the Asphalt on the moisture susceptibility of hot-mix-asphalt (HMA) mixtures under different aging conditions. NS was mixed with asphalt binder at concentrations of 2%, 4%, and 6% by weight of the binder. To detect the microstructure changes of modified Asphalt and estimate the dispersion of NS within the Asphalt, the field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) was used. To examine the performance of Asphalt mixed with NS at different aging stages (short-term and long-term aging), asphalt mixture tests such as Marshall stability, flow, and Tensile Strength Ratio Test (TSR) were performed. According to the FESEM images, the NS particles in the mixture were sufficiently dispersed. The findings demonstrate that the NS enhances pavement performance by enhancing stability and volumetric characteristics and reducing susceptibility to moisture damage. Furthermore, TSR values of aged specimens show that increasing the NS content significantly reduces susceptibility to moisture and oxidative aging.
Gas hydrate formation is considered one of the major problems facing the oil and gas industry as it poses a significant threat to the production, transportation and processing of natural gas. These solid structures can nucleate and agglomerate gradually so that a large cluster of hydrate is formed, which can clog flow lines, chokes, valves, and other production facilities. Thus, an accurate predictive model is necessary for designing natural gas production systems at safe operating conditions and mitigating the issues induced by the formation of hydrates. In this context, a thermodynamic model for gas hydrate equilibrium conditions and cage occupancies of N2 + CH4 and N2 + CO4 gas mix
This work investigates generating of pure phase Faujasite-type zeolite Y at the ranges chosen for this study via a static aging step in the absence of seeds synthesis. Nano-sized crystals may result when LUDOX AS-40 is used as a silica source for gel composition of range 6 and the crystallization step may be conducted for a period of 4 to 19 hr at 100 ⁰C. Moreover, large-crystals with high crystallinity pure phase Y zeolite can be obtained at hereinabove conditions but when hydrous sodium metasilicate is used as a silica source. The other selected ranges also offer pure phase Y zeolite at the same controlled conditions.
Three mesoporous silica with different functional group were prepared by one-step synthesis based on the simultaneous hydrolysis and condensation of sodium silicate with organo - silane in the presence of template surfactant polydimethylsiloxane - polyethyleneoxide (PDMS - PEO). The prepared materials were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and nitrogen adsorption/desorption experiments. The results indicate that the preparation of methyl and phenyl functionalized silica were successful and the mass of methyl and phenyl groups bonded to the silica structure are 15, 38 mmol per gram silica. The average diameter of the silica particles are 103.51,
... Show MoreOne of the most recent research areas in subsurface applications, including well drilling, is the use of eco-friendly and sustainably synthesized nanoparticles to improve drilling fluid efficiency. Typically, Shale formations present significant challenges to traditional drilling fluids, including fluid infiltration and shale swelling, which jeopardize wellbore stability. Although water-based drilling fluids (WBM) are environmentally preferred, their performance often requires enhancement through advanced additives. This study thus examines the synthesis of silica (SiO₂) and alumina (Al₂O₃) nanoparticles (NPs) using sustainable methods, employing Iraqi bentonite for silica and recycled aluminum scrap for alumina, to improve WBM effici
... Show MoreThe goal of this investigation is to prepare zinc oxide (ZnO) nano-thin films by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique through Q-switching double frequency Nd:YAG laser (532 nm) wavelength, pulse frequency 6 Hz, and 300 mJ energy under vacuum conditions (10-3 torr) at room temperature. (ZnO) nano-thin films were deposited on glass substrates with different thickness of 300, 600 and 900 nm. ZnO films, were then annealed in air at a temperature of 500 °C for one hour. The results were compared with the researchers' previous theoretical study. The XRD analysis of ZnO nano-thin films indicated a hexagonal multi-crystalline wurtzite structure with preferential growth lines (100), (002), (101) for ZnO nano-thin films with different thi
... Show MoreThe pervaporation using a commercial hydrophilic ceramic membrane supplied from PERVATECH was conducted. The dehydration of ethanol/ water system was used as a model for the pervaporation study. Pervaporation experiments of ethanol/water system were carried out in the temperature range of 303-343K, ethanol concentration in the feed 10-90 vol. % and the feed flow rate in the range of 0.5-10 L/min. In this work, the effect of operation parameters on permeates fluxes as well as permeates separation factors have been studied. The Water flux is strongly dependent on the temperature; it increased with increasing in temperature, which in turn decreased the selectivity of membrane to water molecules.
In addition water flux was decr
... Show MoreThe modified Hummers method was applied to prepare graphene oxide (GO) from the graphite powder. Tin oxide nanoparticles with different loading (10-20 wt.%) supported on reduced graphene oxide were synthesized to evaluate the oxidative desulfurization efficiency. The catalyst was synthesized by the incipient wetness impregnation (IWI) technique. Different analysis methods like FT-IR, XRD, FESEM, AFM, and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) were utilized to characterize graphene oxide and catalysts. The XRD analysis showed that the average crystal size of graphene oxide was 6.05 nm. In addition, the FESEM results showed high metal oxide dispersions on the rGO. The EDX analysis shows the weight ratio of Sn is close to its theoretical weight.
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