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 as irregular and spherical particles consisting of carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, and sulfur. Experimental evaluations involved three SLP dosages (2%, 4%, and 6% by weight of asphalt binder), with tests for penetration, softening point, ductility and rotational viscosity. Additionally, the asphalt mixtures were tested for their performance in terms of moisture susceptibility, resilient modulus, permanent deformation, and fatigue resistance. Results indicated that SLP effectively reduces the temperature susceptibility of asphalt by increasing its stiffness and rotational viscosity. Furthermore, mixtures with 6% SLP showed enhanced moisture resistance, with a Tensile Strength Ratio (TSR) of 86.98%, a 74.1% reduction in accumulated permanent deformation at 10,000 cycles, and a 38.1% increase in the Cracking Tolerance Index (CT index) compared to the control mix (0% SLP content). These findings confirm that SLP has the potential to be an effective additive in the design of asphalt mixture. Moreover, it allows producing endurable mixtures with higher resistance to distress.
The use of external posttensioning technique for strengthening reinforced concrete girders has been considerably studied by many researchers worldwide. However, no available data are seen regarding strengthening full-scale composite prestressed concrete girders with external posttensioned technique under static and repeated loading. In this research, four full-scale composite prestressed I-shape girders of 16 m span were fabricated and tested under static and repeated loading up to failure. Accordingly, two girders were externally strengthened with posttensioned strands, while the other two girders were left without strengthening. The experimental tests include deflection, cracking load, ultimate strength and strains at midspan, a
... Show MoreAs an alternative to Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC), the alkali-activated binders have been developed with better technical characteristics and more extended durability. The Alkali-Activated Iraqi Natural Pozzolans (AANP) could produce geopolymer cementation building materials and make them ecologically acceptable. The primary advantage of geopolymer cement is that it has a lower environmental effect that contributes to it. The engineering characteristics of geopolymer concrete produced using activated Iraqi natural Pozzolan are summarized in this research. The mechanical properties, modulus of elasticity, and ultrasonic pulse velocity of various concrete mixes were determined via exp
Concrete filled steel tube (CFST) columns are being popular in civil engineering due to their superior structural characteristics. This paper investigates enhancement in axial behavior of CFST columns by adding steel fibers to plain concrete that infill steel tubes. Four specimens were prepared: two square columns (100*100 mm) and two circular columns (100 mm in diameter). All columns were 60 cm in length. Plain concrete mix and concrete reinforced with steel fibers were used to infill steel tube columns. Ultimate axial load capacity, ductility and failure mode are discussed in this study. The results showed that the ultimate axial load capacity of CFST columns reinforced with steel fibers increased by 28% and 20 % for circular and square c
... Show MoreThe aim of the research is to diagnose the methods of enhancing the value of citizenship in children through the interactive life process in educational institutions; the descriptive approach was used to achieve the objective by identifying social theories that corresponded to the national value or the theoretical principles of citizenship education. The study focused on educational activities and their role in establishing values, national educational philosophy in interactive activities, as well as the presentation of previous studies on the subject of citizenship, and maps of each of the strategies of active learning, skills in the process of interactive life in the field of education, Institutions that have the responsibility to prom
... Show MoreBackground: Pit and fissure sealant have been considered an outstanding adjunct to oral health care in the decrease of occlusal caries onset and low progression. The aims of this in vitro study were to evaluate the marginal microleakage of three different types of fissure sealants (SDI, Tg and tetric N-flow) by time interval, one day and 45 days, in the presence or absence of bonding agent among maxillary and mandibular teeth. Materials and methods: Seventy two sound human maxillary and mandibular first premolar teeth were collected which were free from obvious carious lesions. The teeth were randomly divided into two main equal groups, group (1) and group (2), each group consists of (36) teeth involving equal numbers of maxillary and mandi
... Show MoreThe most significant water supply, which is the basis of agriculture, industry and human and wildlife needs, is the river. In order to determine its suitability for drinking purposes, this study aims to measure the Water Quality Index (WQI) of the Tigris River in the Salah Al-Din Province (center of Tikrit), north of Baghdad. For ten (9) physio-chemical parameters, namely turbidity, total suspended sediments, PH, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, alkalinity, chloride, nitrogen as nitrate, sulphate, and then transported for examination to the laboratory, water samples were collected from 13 locations along the Tigris river. Using the weighted arithmetic index method, the WQI was measured and found to be 105,87 in up-stream, wh
... Show MoreIn this research, the Williamson-Hall method and of size-strain plot method was employed to analyze X- ray lines for evaluating the crystallite size and lattice strain and of cadmium oxide nanoparticles. the crystallite size value is (15.2 nm) and (93.1 nm) and lattice strain (4.2 x10−4 ) and (21x10−4) respectively. Also, other methods have been employed to evaluate the crystallite size. The current methods are (Sherrer and modified Sherrer methods ) and their results are (14.8 nm) and (13.9nm) respectively. Each method of analysis has a different result because the alteration in the crystallite size and lattice strain calculated according to the Williamson-Hall and size-strain plot methods shows that the non-uniform strain in nan
... Show MoreBackground: Medication reconciliation can include medication reviewing and providing counseling and a list of all the medications during every transition of care. Objectives: to explore in-depth the perspectives of Iraqi physicians and pharmacists regarding the necessity of medication reconciliation at hospital discharge and identify the possible benefits and challenges that could face its implementation. Subjects and Methods: A qualitative study included semi-structured interviews with pharmacists and physicians working at a public teaching hospital in Iraq. The interviews were conducted face-to-face from February to March 2023. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the qualitative data generated from the interviews. Results: In th
... Show MoreWriting in English is one of the essential factors for successful EFL learning .Iraqi students at the preparatory schools encounter problems when using their background knowledge in handling subskills of writing(Burhan,2013:164).Therefore, this study aims to investigate the 4thyear preparatory school students’ problems in English composition writing, and find solutions to these pro
... Show MoreAsthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of airways mediated by T-helper 2 (Th2) cells involving complex signaling pathways. Although resveratrol has previously been shown to attenuate allergic asthma, the role of miRNA in this process has not been studied. We investigated the effect of resveratrol on ovalbumin-induced experimental allergic asthma in mice. To that end, BALB/c mice were immunized with ovalbumin (OVA) intraperitoneally followed by oral gavage of vehicle (OVA-veh) or resveratrol (100 mg/kg body) (OVA-res). On day 7, the experimental groups received intranasal challenge of OVA followed by 7 days of additional oral gavage of vehicle or resveratrol. At day 15, all mice were euthanized and bronchioalveolar fluid (BALF), se
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