Highly Modified Asphalt (HiMA) binders have garnered significant attention due to their superior resistance to rutting, fatigue cracking, and thermal distress under heavy traffic loads and extreme environmental conditions. While elastomeric polymers such as Styrene- Butadiene-Styrene (SBS) have been extensively used in HiMA applications, the potential of plastomeric polymers, including Polyethylene (PE) and Ethylene Vinyl Acetate (EVA), remains largely unexplored. This study aims to evaluate the performance of reference binder (RB) modified with plastomeric HiMA asphalt in comparison to SBS-modified binders and determine the optimal polymer dosage for achieving an optimal balance between rutting resistance and fatigue durability. The experimental program involved modifying a base asphalt binder with SBS, PE, and EVA at dosages of 6%, 7%, and 8% by weight of binder. A comprehensive evaluation was conducted, including conventional tests (penetration, softening point, viscosity, mass loss, storage stability, and specific gravity) and rheological characterization using the Dynamic Shear Rheometer (DSR). The Multiple Stress Creep Recovery (MSCR) test was employed to assess high-temperature performance, while the Linear Amplitude Sweep (LAS) test evaluated fatigue behavior. Additionally, an Overall Desirability (OD) analysis was performed to integrate multiple performance criteria and establish a ranking for each modification. The results demonstrated that SBS-modified binders exhibited the most balanced performance, with SBS8 achieving the highest elastic recovery (52.87%) and superior fatigue life, exceeding 1,017,904 cycles at 2.5% strain. PE8 exhibited exceptional rutting resistance, reaching the lowest Jnr 3.2 value (0.0078 kPa−1); however, its limited elasticity (15.7% recovery) indicated reduced flexibility. EVA modifications demonstrated marginal improvements in fatigue resistance but failed to meet the AASHTO M332 criteria for high-traffic applications. The OD analysis ranked SBS8 as the most effective HiMA binder (OD score = 0.715), followed by SBS7 (0.588) and SBS6 (0.509). PE7 (0.354) and PE6 (0.337) demonstrated moderate performance, whereas EVA had the lowest desirability score (0.000). Based on these findings, SBS-modified binders are recommended for applications requiring a balance between fatigue and rutting resistance, whereas PE-based HiMA is more suitable for high-temperature regions where rutting is the primary concern. Further field studies are necessary to validate the long-term durability of plastomeric HiMA binders and optimize their use for specific pavement conditions.
In 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 MoreGraphene oxide GO was functionalized with 4-amino, 3-substituted 1H, 1, 2, 4 Triazole 5(4H) thion (ASTT) to obtain GOT. GOT characterized by FT-IR, XRD.via modification of the working electrode of the SPCE with the prepared nanomaterial (GOT) the effect of scan rate and pH on the determination of Amoxilline (AMOX) was studied using cyclic voltammetry. AMOX show various responses at pH ranging from 2 to 7 and also was observed sharp increase in the oxidation peaks in the pH 3. The formal potential (midpoint) for AMOX was highly pH-dependent. From the effect of scan rate, surface coverage concentration Γ of electroactive species the values of the electron transfer coefficient and the electron transfer constant rate ket was obtained as 5.39×
... Show MoreHigh performance self-consolidating concrete HP-SCC is one of the most complex types of concrete which have the capacity to consolidated under its own weight, have excellent homogeneity and high durability. This study aims to focus on the possibility of using industrial by-products like Silica fumes SF in the preparation of HP-SCC enhanced with discrete steel fibers (DSF) and monofilament polypropylene fibers (PPF). From experimental results, it was found that using DSF with volume fraction of 0.50 %; a highly improvements were gained in the mechanical properties of HP-SCC. The compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, flexural strength and elastic modulus improved about 65.7 %, 70.5 %, 41.7 % and 80.3 % at 28 days age, respectively
... Show MoreAn attempt was made to evaluate the PV performance of one-axis daily tracking and fixed system for Baghdad, Iraq. Two experimental simulations were conducted on a PV module for that purpose. Measurements included incident solar radiation, load voltage and load current. The first experiment was carried out for six months of winter half of year to simulate the one-axis daily tracking. The azimuth angle was due south while the tilt angle was being set to optimum according to each day of simulation. The second experiment was done at one day to simulate the PV module of fixed angles. It is found that there is a significant power gain of 29.6% for the tracking system in respect to the fixed one. The one-axis daily tracking was much more effect
... Show MoreThis paper presents studying the performance of three types of polyethersulfone (PES) membrane for the simultaneous removal of Co2+ ions, Cd2+ ions, and Pb2+ ions from binary and ternary aqueous solutions. Co2+ ions, Cd2+ ions, and Pb2+ ions with two different initial concentrations (e.g., 10 and 50 ppm) were selected as examples of heavy metals that contaminate the groundwater as a result of geological and human activities. This study investigated the effect of types of PES membrane and metal ions concentration on the separation process. For the binary aqueous solutions, the permeation flux of the PES2 membranes was higher for the separation process of solutions containing 50 ppm of Cd2+ ions and 10 ppm of Co2+ ions (24.7 L
... Show MoreThermal conductivity measurement was done for specimens of Polystyrene/ titanium dioxide, Polycarbonate/ titanium dioxide and Polymethylmetha acrylate/ titanium dioxide composites for weight ratio of 1.9/ 0.1 and 1.8/ 0.2 wt% for different thickness of the samples. The experimental results show that the thermal conductivity is increased with the increasing of thickness of layers and with the weight ratio of TiO2
Fast-dissolving films are one of the interested delivery systems for oral solid dosage forms to overcome swallowing difficulty for geriatric and pediatric patients. Zafirlukast (ZLK) is one of the most commonly used oral medication for treatment of asthmatic patients particularly mild to moderate cases. Oral fast dissolving films of ZLK were prepared using two different filming forming polymers, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) and sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (SCMC). Different concentrations of the 2 polymers were used to prepare 10 formulas. Other excipients were also added at various ratios to produce 10 different formulations. These were maltodextrin, crosspivodone, polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), and banana powder. In vitro c
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Performance evaluation is of great importance in all countries of the world, because it has a prominent and effective role in determining the efficiency and effectiveness of the optimal use of available resources, which are rare and important in achieving the desired objectives. With the continued growth of public spending and the limited resources, the State seeks to achieve its objectives through its units with minimal expenditure or deficit, rationality and wastefulness in the spending. In many countries, particularly developing countries, reforms are made in the public sector to achieve that goal through the adoption of IPSAS, which is reflected in the developmen
... Show MoreWith the continuous downscaling of semiconductor processes, the growing power density and thermal issues in multicore processors become more and more challenging, thus reliable dynamic thermal management (DTM) is required to prevent severe challenges in system performance. The accuracy of the thermal profile, delivered to the DTM manager, plays a critical role in the efficiency and reliability of DTM, different sources of noise and variations in deep submicron (DSM) technologies severely affecting the thermal data that can lead to significant degradation of DTM performance. In this article, we propose a novel fault-tolerance scheme exploiting approximate computing to mitigate the DSM effects on DTM efficiency. Approximate computing in hardw
... Show MoreFor design purposes, it`s necessary to know the compression rate of soil layers which might be happened when it`s subjected to effective stresses. Also, it`s essential to know the rate of flow through soil mass specially for the design of marine structures or earth embankment. These two important behavior could be predicted from the coefficient of consolidation (Cv) and the coefficient of permeability (k). This study shows the effect of cutback asphalt stabilization on Cv and k and other compressibility factors, the investigation was done for silty clay samples, specimens were prepared by mixing the soil with different percentage of asphalt from (0-10)% and subjected to one-dimensional consolidation test of 50mm diameter and 20mm height wer
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