Stone Matrix Asphalt (SMA) is a gap-graded asphalt concrete hot blend combining high-quality coarse aggregate with a rich asphalt cement content. This blend generates a stable paving combination with a powerful stone-on-stone skeleton that offers excellent durability and routing strength. The objectives of this work are: Studying the durability performance of stone matrix asphalt (SMA) mixture in terms of moisture damage and temperature susceptibility and Discovering the effect of stabilized additive (Fly Ash ) on the performance of stone matrix asphalt (SMA) mixture. In this investigation, the durability of stone matrix asphalt concrete was assessed in terms of temperature susceptibility, resistance to moisture damage, and sensitivity to the variation in asphalt content. Specimens of 63.5 mm height and 102 mm diameter were compacted using the Marshall method at 150 °C. The optimum asphalt content was determined. Additional specimens were prepared with (0.5) percent below and above the OAC requirement. Specimens were subjected to indirect tensile strength (ITS) determination at (25 and 40) °C, and double punch shear strength determination. Another group of specimens was subjected to Marshall properties determination and to moisture damage. It was observed that stone matrix asphalt exhibit lower sensitivity to the change in asphalt content from the resistance to moisture damage and temperature susceptibility points of view. However, the tensile and shear properties exhibit significant sensitivity to the variation in asphalt content.
Acid treatment is a widely used stimulation technique in the petroleum industry. Matrix acidizing is regarded as an effective and efficient acidizing technique for carbonate formations that leads to increase the fracture propagation, repair formation damage, and increase the permeability of carbonate rocks. Generally, the injected acid dissolves into the rock minerals and generates wormholes that modify the rock structure and enhance hydrocarbon production. However, one of the key issues is the associated degradation in the mechanical properties of carbonate rocks caused by the generated wormholes, which may significantly reduce the elastic properties and hardness of rocks. There have been several experimental and simulation studies regardi
... Show MoreReflective cracking is one of the primary forms of deterioration in pavements. It is widespread when Asphalt concrete (AC) overlays are built over a rigid pavement with discontinuities on its surface. Thus, this research work aims to reduce reflection cracks in asphalt concrete overlay on the rigid pavement. Asphalt Concrete (AC) slab specimens were prepared in three thicknesses (4, 5, and 6 cm). All these specimens were by testing machine designed and manufactured at the Engineering Consulting Office of the University of Baghdad to examine for the number of cycles and loads needed to propagate the reflection cracking in the asphalt concert mixture at three temperatures (20, 30, and 30°C). It was noticed that the higher thickness A
... Show MoreIn this research, damping properties for composite materials were evaluated using logarithmic decrement method to study the effect of reinforcements on the damping ratio of the epoxy matrix. Three stages of composites were prepared in this research. The first stage included preparing binary blends of epoxy (EP) and different weight percentages of polysulfide rubber (PSR) (0%, 2.5%, 5%, 7.5% and 10%). It was found that the weight percentage 5% of polysulfide was the best percentage, which gives the best mechanical properties for the blend matrix. The advantage of this blend matrix is that; it mediates between the brittle properties of epoxy and the flexible properties of a blend matrix with the highest percentage of PSR. The second stage
... Show MoreMatrix acidizing is a good stimulation process in which acid is introduced into the reservoir near the wellbore area via the wellbore or coil tubing. In the oil industry, formation damage is a prevalent problem. Bypassing wellbore damage by producing wormholes in carbonate reservoirs is the main purpose of acidizing the matrix of the formation. When doing lab tests, scientists are looking for a wormhole-inducing injection rate that can be used in the field. Meantime the ongoing works on the Ahdeb oil field's Mishrif reservoir, several reports have documented the difficulties encountered during stimulation operations, including high injection pressures that make it difficult to inject acid into the reservoir formation; and only a few
... Show MoreIn this paper, mesoscale modeling is performed to simulate and understand fracture behavior of two concrete composites: cement and asphalt concrete using disk-shaped compact tension (DCT) tests. Mesoscale models are used as alternative to macroscale models to obtain better realistic behavior of composite and heterogeneous materials such as cement and asphalt concrete. In mesoscale models, aggregate and matrix are represented as distinct materials and each material has its characteristic properties. Disk-shaped compact tension test is used to obtain tensile strength and fracture energy of materials. This test can be used as a better alternative to other tests such as three points bending tests because it is more convenient for both field and
... Show MoreThe biological effects of pulsed N2-laser on the old world screw-worm fly, Chrysomya bezziana Villeneuve in the pupal stage were investigated. Different laser parameters were involved in this work. The old pupae of 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 days were exposed to laser radiation during 10, 30 and 60 second with repetition rate 10, 20 and 30 pulse/second. The percent of normal adults emergence (female and male) was investigated. The results showed that the adults emergence was highly decreased as the repetition rate and exposure time increased when the pupae irradiated for 1, 2 and 3 days old as compared with 4 and 5 days. The results also indicated that the pupal period was significantly increased of irradiated pupae for 1, 2, 3 and 4 days old, whi
... Show MoreThe Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) is frequently used in pavement engineering
for road pavement inspection. The main objective of this work is to validate
nondestructive, quick and powerful measurements using GPR for assessment of subgrade
and asphalt /concrete conditions. In the present study, two different antennas
(250, 500 MHz) were used. The case studies are presented was carried in University
of Baghdad over about 100m of paved road. After data acquisition and radar grams
collection, they have been processed using RadExplorer V1.4 software
implementing different filters with the most effective ones (time zero adjustment and
DC removal) in addition to other interpretation tool parameters.
The interpretatio
Lignin has emerged as a promising asphalt binder modifier due to its sustainable and renewable nature, with the potential to improve flexible pavement performance. This study investigates the use of Soda Lignin Powder (SLP), derived from Pinus wood sawdust via alkaline treatment, as an asphalt modifier to enhance mixture durability. SLP was characterized using Fourier Transformation Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), and Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive X-ray Analysis (SEM/EDX), revealing significant changes in its chemical structure post-extraction. These analyses showed the presence of phenolic units, including hydroxyphenyl propane, syringyl, and guaiacyl units. The morphology of SLP was identified
... Show MoreUndoubtedly, rutting in asphalt concrete pavement is considered a major dilemma in terms of pavement performance and safety faced by road users as well as the road authorities. Rutting is a bowl-shaped depression in the wheel paths that develop gradually with the increasing number of load applications. Heavy axle loadings besides the high pavement summer temperature enhance the problem of rutting. According to the AASHTO design equation for flexible pavements, a 1.1 in rut depth will reduce the present serviceability index of relatively new pavement, having no other distress, from 4.2 to 2.5. With this amount of drop in serviceability, the entire life of the pavement in effect has been lost. Therefore, it is crucial to look at the mechani
... Show MoreThe incorporation of safety characteristics into the traditional pavement structural design or in the functional evaluation of pavement condition has not been established yet. The design has focused on the structural capacity of the roadway so that the pavement can withstand specific level of repetitive loading over the design life. On the other hand, the surface texture condition was neither included in the AASHTO design procedure nor in the present serviceability index measurements.
The pavement surface course should provide adequate levels of friction and ride quality and maintain low levels of noise and roughness. Many transportation departments perform routine skid resistant testing, the type of equipment us
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