In recent years, the search for economic and environmentally friendly alternatives has become a global necessity to achieve sustainability and preserve raw materials. From this concept, natural bitumen (NB) derived from sulphur springs is now one of the most promising alternative energy resources for many applications, especially in asphalt pavement construction. Its low price and abundance characterise NB since sulphur springs produce thousands of tonnes of NB annually and are used in very limited fields. Two main objectives were adopted for this work. The first objective is to examine the virgin NB properties from five sulphur springs and compare them with petroleum asphalt. The second objective is to enhance NB properties by applying heat treatment. The experimental results reveal that heat treatment is highly effective in improving the NB properties. This was confirmed by conducting many tests, such as asphalt, Marshall, SEM-EDX, and indirect tensile strength tests. Based on the experimental test outcomes, virgin NB properties do not conform to asphalt specification limits and are unsuitable for flexible roads. Also, MS-NB significantly affected the mechanical properties of the asphalt mixture, as Marshall's stability increased by 41.3% compared to the conventional mixture. In addition, SS-NB was more effective in moisture damage resistance due to increasing the tensile strength ratio by 5.72 % and provided a higher stiffness index than the conventional mixture by 40.36%. In conclusion, the treated NB can successfully be used as a binder material in hot asphalt mixtures. ABSTRAK: Beberapa tahun kebelakangan, pencarian alternatif baharu ekonomi dan mesra alam telah menjadi satu keperluan global bagi mencapai kemampanan dan memelihara bahan mentah. Melalui konsep ini, bitumen asli (NB) yang diperoleh daripada mata air sulfur kini merupakan satu sumber tenaga alternatif yang berguna bagi digunakan dalam pelbagai aplikasi, terutamanya dalam pembinaan turapan asfalt. NB dicirikan oleh harga yang rendah dan kelimpahannya kerana mata air sulfur menghasilkan beribu-ribu tan NB setiap tahun dan digunakan dalam bidang terhad. Dua objektif utama telah dipakai untuk kajian ini. Objektif pertama adalah memeriksa sifat NB dara daripada lima mata air sulfur dan membandingkannya dengan asfalt petroleum. Objektif kedua adalah meningkatkan sifat NB dengan menggunakan rawatan haba. Dapatan eksperimen mendedahkan bahawa rawatan haba sangat berkesan dalam meningkatkan sifat NB. Ini disahkan dengan menjalankan pelbagai ujian, seperti ujian asfalt, ujian Marshall, ujian SEM-EDX, dan ujian kekuatan tegangan tidak langsung. Berdasarkan dapatan eksperimen, sifat NB dara tidak mematuhi had spesifikasi asfalt dan tidak sesuai untuk jalan fleksibel. Selain itu, MS-NB mempunyai kesan ketara pada sifat mekanikal campuran asfalt kerana kestabilan Marshalls meningkat sebanyak 41.3% berbanding campuran konvensional. Tambahan, SS-NB lebih berkesan dalam rintangan kerosakan lembapan kerana meningkatkan nisbah kekuatan tegangan sebanyak 5.72 % dan memberikan indeks kekukuhan yang lebih tinggi daripada campuran konvensional sebanyak 40.36%. Kesimpulannya, NB yang dirawat boleh berjaya digunakan sebagai bahan pengikat dalam campuran asfalt panas.
Study of Direct Marketing techniques and determining the scope of the suitability of each of them in the application in the Iraqi market - An analytical and explorative study for sample of views for wholesaler in Baghdad. The essential idea of the research is to go into the most important concepts which have been mentioned in the direct marketing and determining its current and most important techniques and knowing the scope of applying these techniques in Baghdad main markets (Karrada, Jamilah, shorja, Baya area, zeyouna and new Baghdad) and which of those techniques most applicable in these markets. The research took a sample of (100) wholesalers who practice the activities of selling nutritional items, auto and outs spare part
... Show MoreIn this study, aluminum alloyAA6061-T6 was joined by a hot press process with three types of material; polyamide PA 6.6 (nylon), 1% carbon nanotube/PA6.6 and 30% carbon fiber/PA6.6 composites. Three parameters were considered in the hot pressing; temperature (180, 200 and 220°C), pressure (2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 bar) and time of pressing (1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 minutes for 200ºC, and 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1 and 1.25 minutes for220ºC). Applied pressure has great effect on shear strength of the joint, corresponding to bonding time and temperature. Maximum shear strength was 8.89MPa obtained for PA6.6 at bonding conditions of 4 bar, 220ºC and 0.75 minute. For 30% carbon fiber/PA6,6 shear recorded was
Because of the experience of the mixture problem of high correlation and the existence of linear MultiCollinearity between the explanatory variables, because of the constraint of the unit and the interactions between them in the model, which increases the existence of links between the explanatory variables and this is illustrated by the variance inflation vector (VIF), L-Pseudo component to reduce the bond between the components of the mixture.
To estimate the parameters of the mixture model, we used in our research the use of methods that increase bias and reduce variance, such as the Ridge Regression Method and the Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) method a
... Show MoreCombining ultrasonic irradiation and the Fenton process as a sono-Fenton process, the chemical oxygen demand (COD) in refinery wastewater was successfully eliminated using response surface methodology (RSM) with central composite design (CCD). The impact of two main influential operational parameters (iron dosage and reaction time) on the COD removal from wastewater generated by an Iraqi petroleum refinery facility was explored. Removal of 85.81% was attained under the optimal conditions of 21 minutes and 0.289 mM of concentration. Additionally, the results revealed that the concentration of has the highest effect on the COD elimination, followed by reaction time. The high R2 value (96.40%) validated the strong fit of the mo
... Show MoreThe spectral characteristics and the nonlinear optical properties of the mixed donor (C-480) acceptor (Rh-6G) have been determined. The spectral characteristics are studied by recording their absorption and fluorescence spectra. The nonlinear optical properties were measured by z-scan technique, using Q-switched Nd: YAG laser with 1064 nm wavelength. The results showed that the optimum concentration of acceptor is responsible for increasing the absorption and the emission bandwidth of donor to full range and to 242 nm respectively by the energy transfer process, also the efficiency of the process was increased by increasing the donor and acceptor concentration. The obtained nonlinear properties results of the mixture C-480/ Rh-6G showed
... Show MoreThis study examined the correlation between binder-level fatigue properties and mixture-level cracking resistance in asphalt binders modified with five Nanomaterials (NMs): Nano-Silica (NS), Nano-Alumina (NA), and Nano-Titanium dioxide (NT) at 2%, 4%, and 6% as well as Nano-Zinc oxide (NZ) and Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs) at 1%, 2%, and 3%. Modified binders were subjected to Rolling Thin-Film Oven Test (RTFOT) and Pressure Aging Vessel (PAV) aging and tested at 25 °C using the Linear Amplitude Sweep (LAS) test to determine fatigue life (Nf) and the fatigue parameter G*.sin δ. The corresponding asphalt mixtures were evaluated using the IDEAL-CT test. The results indicated strong correlations between binder and mixture performance for
... Show MoreThis study's objective is to assess how well UV spectrophotometry can be used in conjunction with multivariate calibration based on partial least squares (PLS) regression for concurrent quantitative analysis of antibacterial mixture (Levofloxacin (LIV), Metronidazole (MET), Rifampicin (RIF) and Sulfamethoxazole (SUL)) in their artificial mixtures and pharmaceutical formulations. The experimental calibration and validation matrixes were created using 42 and 39 samples, respectively. The concentration range taken into account was 0-17 μg/mL for all components. The calibration standards' absorbance measurements were made between 210 and 350 nm, with intervals of 0.2 nm. The associated parameters were examined in order to develop the optimal c
... Show MoreBackground: Treatment of invasive prolactinoma, which has several characteristics including invasive growth into cavernous sinuses and formation of giant adenomas compressing adjacent neural structures, resulting in neurological dysfunction, has been very challenging. There are relatively few reports available describing long-term treatment outcome.
Aims of the study: In this study we evaluate the results of cabergoline administration as initial treatment during 4 years follow up period.
Methods: We prospectively categorized 36 patients into four groups according to the results of 3 months of cabergoline treatment: group 1, tumor volume reduction (TVR) ˃25% with normaliz
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