This study investigates the characterization and mechanical performance of Stone Mastic Asphalt (SMA) mixtures modified with two types of polymers: styrene–butadiene–styrene (SBS) and high-molecular-weight polyethylene (PE). Neat asphalt cement PG 64-16 was modified using a higher content of SBS and PE at concentrations of 6%, 7%, and 8% by weight of asphalt through the dry blending method to produce Highly Modified Asphalts (HiMA). The physical and rheological properties of the modified binders were evaluated using penetration, softening point, rotational viscosity, and dynamic shear rheometer (DSR) tests. Also, their phase compatibility and morphological changes were evaluated using the storage stability testing and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis. The mechanical performance of the corresponding SMA mixtures was assessed through Marshall stability and flow, moisture susceptibility, crack tolerance index (CT-index), resilient modulus, and rutting resistance tests. Also, a mechanistic durability analysis was conducted using the KENLAYER software. Results indicated that both polymers enhanced the binder’s stiffness and high-temperature performance, with SBS exhibiting greater overall improvements. SBS-modified binders displayed a relatively low softening point difference (ΔT) of 5.1 °C to 5.8 °C, indicating good thermal stability and uniform polymer dispersion. In contrast, PE-modified binders exhibited significantly higher ΔT values, reaching 13.5 °C with 8% PE content, indicating a greater tendency toward phase separation. Moreover, Marshall stability improved substantially, increasing by 43% for 8% SBS-modified mixes and 28% for 8% PE-modified mixes compared to the neat SMA mix. Flow number (FN) results indicated enhanced rutting resistance, with FN values increasing by 2.45 times for SBS mixes and 2.1 times for PE mixes at 8% polymer content. Additionally, moisture susceptibility was significantly improved, as evidenced by the tensile strength ratio (TSR) values of 97% with 8% SBS and 92% with 8% PE, compared to 81% for the neat mix. Resilient modules increased notably, with a 38% rise for 8% SBS mixes and a 24% rise for 8% PE mixes, reflecting enhanced stiffness and load-bearing capacity. Also, the CT-index significantly improved, reaching values of 154 for the 8% SBS mix and 127 for the 8% PE-modified mix, compared to 86 for the neat mix, indicating enhanced resistance to cracking. Finally, both polymer-modified mixes demonstrated improved durability, where the 8% SBS mix exhibited the longest design life (21.66 years) and the highest number of allowable load repetitions (5.42 × 106), followed by 8% PE (13.98 years and 3.50 × 106 repetitions).
Photovoltaic (PV) devices are widely used renewable energy resources and have been increasingly manufactured by many firms and trademarks. This condition makes the selection of right product difficult and requires the development of a fast, accurate and easy setup that can be implemented to test available samples and select the cost effective, efficient, and reliable product for implementation. An automated test setup for PV panels using LabVIEW and several microcontroller-based embedded systems were designed, tested, and implemented. This PV testing system was fully automated, where the only human intervention required was the instalment of PV panel and set up of required testing conditions. The designed and implemented system was
... Show MoreThe presence and absence binary is an essential part of and a motivation for the direction vision which depends on the principle that the components of the theatre performance move in contrast with each other; one is directly informative which is the presence relations and the other is structural that is identical to the absence relations. The first is material band visual that evokes the incorporeal mental absent. Hence, the present study(Presence and Absence in the Iraqi Theatre Performance :Summer's Rain Play as an Example) aims at explaining those relations and their transformations between presence and absence in the performance
In all applications and specially in real time applications, image processing and compression plays in modern life a very important part in both storage and transmission over internet for example, but finding orthogonal matrices as a filter or transform in different sizes is very complex and importance to using in different applications like image processing and communications systems, at present, new method to find orthogonal matrices as transform filter then used for Mixed Transforms Generated by using a technique so-called Tensor Product based for Data Processing, these techniques are developed and utilized. Our aims at this paper are to evaluate and analyze this new mixed technique in Image Compression using the Discrete Wavelet Transfo
... Show MoreIn this paper a new method is proposed to perform the N-Radon orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), which are equivalent to 4-quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM), 16-QAM, 64-QAM, 256-QAM, ... etc. in spectral efficiency. This non conventional method is proposed in order to reduce the constellation energy and increase spectral efficiency. The proposed method gives a significant improvement in Bit Error Rate performance, and keeps bandwidth efficiency and spectrum shape as good as conventional Fast Fourier Transform based OFDM. The new structure was tested and compared with conventional OFDM for Additive White Gaussian Noise, flat, and multi-path selective fading channels. Simulation tests were generated for different channels
... Show MoreThe aim of this research is to examine the relationship between entrepreneurial mindset and aspiration and small business performance Baghdad, Iraq. This study proposed a quantitative analysis in which entrepreneurial mindset and aspiration is a critical success factor of small business in Iraq. The method employed in the collection of data was by the means of self-administered questionnaire which was filled and completed by small business owners randomly selected from a sampling frame of registered small businesses. The questionnaire was adapted from the study of Davis, Halls & Mayer (2015) and Abdel-Maksoud, Asada & Nakagawa (2008) which was used to measure entrepreneurial mindset and aspiration using a ten items scale and small business
... Show MoreThis work is devoted to define new generalized gamma and beta functions involving the recently suggested seven-parameter Mittag-Leffler function, followed by a review of all related special cases. In addition, necessary investigations are affirmed for the new generalized beta function, including, Mellin transform, differential formulas, integral representations, and essential summation relations. Furthermore, crucial statistical application has been realized for the new generalized beta function.
Two experiments were carried out, the first at the College of Agriculture - University of Baghdad during spring season 2017 Everest cv. class (Elite) was used to study the effect of foliar application of calcium and magnesium and addition of humic acid to the soil on potato growth and yield, The layout of the experiment was factorial within RCBD design using three replicates. Calcium and Magnesium sprayed with concentrations (0, 500, 1000 mg.L-1), while the humic acid was added to the soil with (0, 0.75 gm.m2), The second experiment included storage of tubers produced from the spring season, with to study the effect of field treatments on improving the storability of the tubers. The results showed that the treatment of calci
... Show MoreThe game of volleyball requires the formation of new motor responses, which in turn requires special physical characteristics in the performance of that skill, and the correct and accurate performance during the performance of the skills of passing from the top and smash serve in volleyball cannot be developed or improved without a good level of accuracy and what is required to perform the movements in terms of responses to the defense and attack movements. Therefore, the researchers decided to identify the type of relationship between the motor response speed with the performance accuracy of the skills of passing from the top and the smash serve in volleyball. The research aims to: 1. Identifying the motor response speed of fourth-stage s
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