The global rise in temperature and the desert climatic conditions prevalent in Middle Eastern countries have exacerbated rutting distress in heavily trafficked highways. Conventional asphalt binders with a high-temperature performance grade (PG 70) have proven inadequate under such extreme conditions, necessitating the development of modified binders with enhanced high-temperature performance. While polymer modification using styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS), an elastomeric polymer, and ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA), a plastomeric polymer, has been widely studied, limited research provides a direct comparison of their effectiveness at both the binder and mixture levels under extremely high-temperature conditions. This study addresses this gap by evaluating SBS and EVA at 2%, 4%, and 6% by weight of asphalt cement, with a focus on their rheological, chemical, and mechanical properties. At the binder level, properties examined included the physical properties: penetration, softening point, viscosity, mass loss due to aging, storage stability, and specific gravity. The Dynamic Shear Rheometer (DSR) was used to assess the high-temperature performance grade (PG) and conduct Multiple Stress Creep Recovery (MSCR) tests. The results revealed that SBS significantly enhanced high-temperature performance, with 4% SBS and 6% SBS achieving PG 100, compared to PG 70 for both the unmodified and EVA-modified binders. At the most critical testing temperature of 76 °C and the highest stress level of 3.2 kPa, SBS-modified binders exhibited the lowest non-recoverable creep compliance (Jnr) and the highest elastic recovery (R), significantly outperforming EVA-modified binders and the reference binder (RB). At the mixture level, dynamic creep testing confirmed the ranking of asphalt mixes in terms of resistance to permanent deformation, with the following order: 4% SBS > 6% SBS > 6% EVA > 4% EVA > 2% SBS > 2% EVA > unmodified mix. These results, further supported by ANOVA analysis, indicate that SBS-modified mixtures exhibited superior rutting resistance compared to EVA-modified and unmodified mixes. This study provides quantitative insights into the comparative performance of SBS and EVA in extreme hot climatic tempertures, reinforcing the superior effectiveness of SBS in enhancing high-temperature properties. Consequently, SBS emerges as the more suitable modifier for regions experiencing extreme hot climatic conditions. Field validation is recommended to confirm these laboratory findings in real-world applications.
Abstract
This study aims at identifying the impact of the application of IFRS 15 "Revenue from contracts with customers on the quality of financial reporting, through application to faculty members in the accounting departments of Iraqi universities and auditors. The problem of the study was the multiplicity of accounting rules and standards Which deals with the issues of revenue recognition , as well as the lack of consistency of most of them with the common framework of financial accounting, which results in low quality of financial reporting in the current financial statements, where the formulation of one hypothesis was the lack of relationship of significant significance The application of IFRS 15 "Recognition of rev
... Show MoreThe objective was to study the effect of prepared ginkgo biloba extracts against Candida albicans isolated from healthy persons. Conducting susceptibility test, biofilm formation test, phytochemical screening test, and antioxidant activity test. One hundred oral swabs sample were obtained from healthy persons with oral lesion attending dentistry teaching hospital in dentistry college, their age ranged from 1-30 years of both sexex. The studied samples collected through 8 months (April - December / 2018). This study included two different types of ginkgo bilola extracts were prepared as aqueous and ethanolic extracts. Many tests were used, which included isolation and identification of C.albicans, conduct susceptibility test, biofilm form
... Show MoreThe impact of undergraduate research experiences on students' academic development and retention in STEM fields is significant. Students' success in STEM fields is based on developing strong research and critical thinking skills that make it essential for students to engage in research activities throughout their academic programs. This work evaluates the effectiveness of undergraduate research experiences with respect to its influence on student retention and academic development. The cases presented are based on years of experience implementing undergraduate research programs in various STEM fields at Colorado State University Pueblo (CSU Pueblo) funded by HSI STEM Grants. The study seeks to establish a correlation between students' reten
... Show MoreIn this research, a study is introduced on the effect of several environmental factors on the performance of an already constructed quality inspection system, which was designed using a transfer learning approach based on convolutional neural networks. The system comprised two sets of layers, transferred layers set from an already trained model (DenseNet121) and a custom classification layers set. It was designed to discriminate between damaged and undamaged helical gears according to the configuration of the gear regardless to its dimensions, and the model showed good performance discriminating between the two products at ideal conditions of high-resolution images. So, this study aimed at testing the system performance at poo
... Show MoreIn this research, a study is introduced on the effect of several environmental factors on the performance of an already constructed quality inspection system, which was designed using a transfer learning approach based on convolutional neural networks. The system comprised two sets of layers, transferred layers set from an already trained model (DenseNet121) and a custom classification layers set. It was designed to discriminate between damaged and undamaged helical gears according to the configuration of the gear regardless to its dimensions, and the model showed good performance discriminating between the two products at ideal conditions of high-resolution images.
So, this study aimed at testing the system performance at poor s
... Show MoreThe consumption of fresh fruits has increased nowadays due to the lifestyle of the consumers. Maintaining the quality and nutritional value of cut fruits during storage is difficult compared to whole fruits. Deterioration of internal and external quality usually occurs in freshly harvested fruits. It is necessary to use different techniques to maintain the quality and increase the shelf life of the freshly cut product. This research studied the effect of treating apple slices with cold plasma once and with filtered water again on quality characteristics (hardness, moisture content, sugar content, carbohydrate content, and color) after being stored for five days. The best treatment was determined using two different pressures of the plasma j
... Show MoreUniversity Campuses, as any lively physical entity, is subject to continuous variation due to . growth, development and change. This reality covers the existing or futuristic additives or additions, consecutively these changes may have a strong sensation of disorientation as a result of formatic changes in buildings, or in movement paths. And it epitomized the research problem to "the need for knowledge to clarify the impact of intellectual and executive policy in achieving coherence, functional and space organization of the elements of the university urban environment and in the stages of future growth and change," the search targeted "to highlight the study of constraction politics on campus Bmqomad
... Show MoreJet grouting is one of the most widely applied soil improvement techniques. It is suitable for most geotechnical problems, including improving bearing capacity, decreasing settlement, forming seals, and stabilizing slopes. One of the difficulties faced by designers is determining the strength and geometry of elements created using this method. Jet grouted soil-cement columns in soil are a complicated issue because they are dependent on a number of parameters such as soil type, grout and water flow rate, rotation and lifting speed of monitor, nozzle jetting force, and water to cement ratio of slurry. This paper discusses the effect of the water-cement ratio on the physical and mechanical characteristics of soilcrete. In t
... Show MoreThe philosopher and social psychologist Erich Fromm (1900-1980), in his book "Escape from Freedom" highlighted the distinction between the "I" of the authoritarian personality and the "I" of the destructive personality based on their stance towards "the other." The former (the authoritarian self) relies on a submissive, enslaving formula, where the "I" is the master/dominator/controller/strong, while "the other" is the servant/submissive/controlled/weak, essential for perpetuating this formula. In contrast, the latter (the destructive self) relies on an annihilating, negating formula, where the "I" is existence/killer/destroyer/pe
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