The durability of asphalt pavement is associated with the properties and performance of the binder. This work-study intended to understand the impact of blending Styrene-Butadiene-Styrene (SBS) to conventional asphalt concrete mixtures and calculating the Optimum Asphalt Content (OAC) for conventional mixture also; compare the performance between SBS modified with the conventional mixture. Two different kinds of asphalt penetration grades, A.C. (40-50) and A.C. (60-70), were improved with 2.5 and 3.5% SBS polymer, respectively. Marshall properties were determined in this work. Optimum Asphalt Content (OAC) was 4.93 and 5.1% by weight of mixture for A.C. (40-50) and (60-70), respectively. Marshall properties results show an increasement in the stability value by 8.65 and 20.19% for A.C. (40-50) with 2.5 and 3.5% of SBS, respectively. And an increasement by 9.32 and 20.61% for AC (60-70) with 2.5 and 3.5% of SBS respectively. Furthermore, the results indicate a decrease in Marshall flow by 14.7 and 26.47% for A.C. (40-50) with 2.5 and 3.5% SBS respectively and a decrease by 10.46 and 21.21% for A.C. (60-70) with 2.5 and 3.5% SBS respectively. Other Marshall properties were also calculated. Moreover, Blending SBS polymers to conventional asphalt mixtures produces a better performance to asphalt binder and better Marshall properties, which provides a great solution to Iraqi road problems affected by temperature and high traffic load, including less maintenance. Doi: 10.28991/cej-2021-03091709 Full Text: PDF
This study was carried out at the Dept. Hortic. and Land.Gard., Coll. Agric. Eng.Sci., University of Baghdad during fall season of 2019-2020, in order to evaluate the effect of nutrient solution type under hydroponic system (NFT) on growth, yield and quality of broccoli Brassica oleracea var.italica. Two experiments were carried out which were the standard solution experiment (Cooper) and the alternative solution experiment (ABEER) prepared from fertilizers. Results revealed that the type of solution used in the hydroponics system had non significant effect on the leaves content of N,K, Mg, Fe, Cu, B, Chlorophyll, leaves number, root length, weight of the main heads, number of side heads were not significantly affected. 13nt, refl
... Show MoreNatural Bauxite (BXT) mineral clay was modified with a cationic surfactant (hexadecy ltrimethy lammonium bromide (BXT-HDTMA)) and characterized with different techniques: FTIR spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The modified and natural bauxite (BXT) were used as adsorbents for the adsorption of 4- Chlorophenol (4-CP) from aqueous solutions. The adsorption study was carried out at different conditions and parameters: contact time, pH value, adsorbent dosage and ionic strength. The adsorption kinetic (described by a pseudo-first order and a pseudo-second order), equilibrium experimental data (analyzed by Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin isotherm models) and thermodynamic parameters (change in s
... Show MoreTo evaluate the shear bond strength and interfacial morphology of sound and caries-affected dentin (CAD) bonded to two resin-modified glass ionomer cements (RMGICs) after 24 hours and two months of storage in simulated body fluid at 37°C.
Sixty-four permanent human mandibular first molars (32 sound and 32 with occlusal caries, following the International Caries Detection and Assessment System) were selected. Each prepared substrate (sound and CAD) was co
We aimed to examine the effect of amoxicillin and azithromycin suspensions on the microhardness of sliver-reinforced glass ionomer and nano-resin modified glass ionomer (GI). Method: Thirty discs (2mm height x 4mm diameter) of each type of GI were prepared, which were randomly assigned to amoxicillin, azithromycin, and artificial saliva groups. Microhardness was evaluated by Vickers hardness test before and after three immersion cycles. Results: The overall model (P < 0.001), before/after intervention (P < 0.001), intervention group (type of antibiotic) (P=0.013), and type of glass ionomer (P < 0.001) showed significant differences among study groups (P < 0.001). Post hoc test showed only non-significant before/after difference for Azithrom
... Show MoreThere is currently a pressing need to create an electro-analytical approach capable of detecting and monitoring genosensors in a highly sensitive, specific, and selective way. In this work, Functionalized Multiwall Carbon Nanotubes, Graphene, Polypyrrole, and gold nanoparticles nanocomposite (f-MWCNTs-GR-PPy-AuNP) were effectively deposited on the surface of the ITO electrode using a drop-casting process to modify it. The structural, morphological, and optical analysis of the modified ITO electrodes was carried out at room temperature using X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) images, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemi
... Show MoreGlobal warming has a serious impact on the survival of organisms. Very few studies have considered the effect of global warming as a mathematical model. The effect of global warming on the carrying capacity of prey and predators has not been studied before. In this article, an ecological model describing the relationship between prey and predator and the effect of global warming on the carrying capacity of prey was studied. Moreover, the wind speed was considered an influencing factor in the predation process after developing the function that describes it. From a biological perspective, the nonnegativity and uniform bounded of all solutions for the model are proven. The existence of equilibria for the model and its local stability is inves
... Show MoreUnderstanding the effects of fear, quadratic fixed effort harvesting, and predator-dependent refuge are essential topics in ecology. Accordingly, a modified Leslie–Gower prey–predator model incorporating these biological factors is mathematically modeled using the Beddington–DeAngelis type of functional response to describe the predation processes. The model’s qualitative features are investigated, including local equilibria stability, permanence, and global stability. Bifurcation analysis is carried out on the temporal model to identify local bifurcations such as transcritical, saddle-node, and Hopf bifurcation. A comprehensive numerical inquiry is carried out using MATLAB to verify the obtained theoretical findings and und
... Show MoreIn this research the results of applying Artificial Neural Networks with modified activation function to
perform the online and offline identification of four Degrees of Freedom (4-DOF) Selective Compliance
Assembly Robot Arm (SCARA) manipulator robot will be described. The proposed model of
identification strategy consists of a feed-forward neural network with a modified activation function that
operates in parallel with the SCARA robot model. Feed-Forward Neural Networks (FFNN) which have
been trained online and offline have been used, without requiring any previous knowledge about the
system to be identified. The activation function that is used in the hidden layer in FFNN is a modified
version of the wavelet func