This research utilized natural asphalt (NA) deposits from sulfur springs in western Iraq. Laboratory tests were conducted to evaluate the performance of an asphalt mixture incorporating NA and verify its suitability for local pavement applications. To achieve this, a combination of two types of NA, namely soft SNA and hard HNA, was blended to create a binder known as Type HSNA. The resulting HSNA exhibited a penetration grade that adhered to Iraqi specifications. Various percentages of NA (20%, 40%, 60%, and 80%) were added to petroleum asphalt. The findings revealed enhanced physical properties of HSNA, which also satisfied the requirements outlined in the Iraqi specifications for asphalt cement.

Consequently, HS

This paper is devoted to investigate the effect of internal curing technique on the properties of self-compacting concrete (SCC). In this study, SCC is produced by using silica fume (SF) as partial replacement by weight of cement with percentage of (5%), sand is partially replaced by volume with saturated fine lightweight aggregate (LWA) which is thermostone chips as internal curing material in three percentages of (5%, 10% and 15%) for SCC, two external curing conditions water and air. The experimental work was divided into three parts: in the first part, the workability tests of fresh SCC were conducted. The second part included conducting compressive strength test and modulus of rupture test at ages of (7, 28 and 90). The third part i

There have been many advances in the solar chimney power plant  since 1930 and the first pilot work was built in Spain (Manzanares) that produced 50 KW. The solar chimney power plant is considered of a clean power generation that needs to be investigated  to enhance the performance by studying the effect of changing the area of passage of air to enhance the velocity towards the chimney to maximize design velocity. In this experimental and numerical study, the reduction area of solar collector was investigated. The reduction area that mean changing the height of glass cover from the absorbing plate (h1=3.8cm, h2=2.6cm and h3=1.28cm). The numerical study was performed using ANSYS Fluent software package (version 14.0) to solve go

Two samples of (Ag NPs-zeolite) nanocomposite thin films have been prepared by easy hydrothermal method for 4 hours and 8 hours inside the hydrothermal autoclave at temperatures of 100°C. The two samples were used in a photoelectrochemical cell as a photocatalyst inside a cell consisting of three electrodes: the working electrode photoanode (AgNPs-zeolite), platinum as a cathode electrode, and Ag/AgCl as a reference electrode, to study the performance of AgNPs-zeolite under dark current and 473 nm laser light for water splitting. The results show the high performance of an eight-hour sample with high crystallinity compared with a four-hour sample as a reliable photocatalyst to generate hydrogen for renewable energies.

     In the present study, pure Poly(viny1 alcohol) (PVA) and  pyromellitic dianhydride (PMDA) cross linked PVA with (0,5,10,15 and 20)wt.% and doped with different molarity (5,9)M of sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄) were prepared by the solution casting method and were characterized as a function of  frequency in the range (1-100) KHz.

     The FT-IR results showed that the strong broad band observed at 3738.05 and 3857.63 cm^-1 may be assigned to O-H stretching due to the strong hydrogen bond of intramolecular and intermolecular type in PVA film.  When PVA is doped with 5M and 9M H₂SO₄,  a new peak was noticed at 813 cm^-1, this peak may be due to the fo

The effect of three high temperatures for five exposure periods on the developments of larvae, pupae and adults of Trogoderma granarium (Everts) and their biological performance were investigated. The results revealed that the percent of mortality was increased as the temperature and the exposure period increased, e. g. exposing last instar larvae to 45°C for 6 hrs caused 100% death of this stage, while exposing adults (1-3) days old to the same temperature and exposure time resulted in that these adults did not able to survive more than 24 hrs.; in addition, the results showed that the ability of reproduction of adults was depended on the temperature, duration of exposure and the sex.

Sensitive information of any multimedia must be encrypted before transmission. The dual chaotic algorithm is a good option to encrypt sensitive information by using different parameters and different initial conditions for two chaotic maps. A dual chaotic framework creates a complex chaotic trajectory to prevent the illegal use of information from eavesdroppers. Limited precisions of a single chaotic map cause a degradation in the dynamical behavior of the communication system. To overcome this degradation issue in, a novel form of dual chaos map algorithm is analyzed. To maintain the stability of the dynamical system, the Lyapunov Exponent (LE) is determined for the single and dual maps. In this paper, the LE of the single and dual maps

Mn2+ and Ce3+ Doped ZnS nanocrystals were prepared by a simple microwave irradiation method under mild condition. The starting materials for the synthesis of Mn2+ and Ce3+ Doped ZnS P nanocrystals were zinc acetate as zinc source, thioacetamide as a sulfur source, manganese chloride and Cerium chloride as manganese and cerium sources respectively (R & M Chemical) and ethylene glycol as a solvent. All chemicals were analytical grade products and used without further purification. The nanocrystals of Mn2+ and Ce3+ Doped ZnS P with cubic structure were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), the morphology of the film is seen by field effect scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The composition of the samples is analyzed by EDS. The s

In this work, the photodetection performance of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) nanofibers and its composite with yttrium oxide (Y2O3) at different concentrations (2.5, 5, 10) wt% are examined deposited on p-type Si with (111) orientation. Electrospinning technique was used to create nanofiber composites. Adding Y2O3 significantly impacts the PVA nanofibers where ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy optical absorption energy gap decreases with increased concentration (2.8, 2.6, and 2.3) eV. X-ray diffraction was used to investigate crystal structure, which is cubic structure. The chemical composition study was conducted using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) spectra, which revealed the stretching vibrations related to the Y-O bon