Rutting is a crucial concern impacting asphalt concrete pavements’ stability and long-term performance, negatively affecting vehicle drivers’ comfort and safety. This research aims to evaluate the permanent deformation of pavement under different traffic and environmental conditions using an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) prediction model. The model was built based on the outcomes of an experimental uniaxial repeated loading test of 306 cylindrical specimens. Twelve independent variables representing the materials’ properties, mix design parameters, loading settings, and environmental conditions were implemented in the model, resulting in a total of 3214 data points. The network accomplished high prediction accuracy with an R

For over a century, the global consumption of asphalt binder in asphalt mixture production has been substantial. In the Heet region (west of Iraq), two distinct forms of natural asphalt (NA) deposits exist: rock asphalt and sulfur spring asphalt. This study focused on using NA sourced from sulfur springs. The aim was to investigate the potential of incorporating NA into local asphalt mixtures. To achieve this, NA was heated to 163°C for varying durations. After heat treatment, laboratory tests were conducted on NA. The findings suggest that by heating NA for 20 hours, it conforms to Iraqi specifications in terms of physical properties. Furthermore, compared to conventional petroleum asphalt, treated NA showed greater

Durability of hot mix asphalt (HMA) against moisture damage is mostly related to asphalt-aggregate adhesion. The objective of this work is to find the effect of nanoclay with montmorillonite (MMT) on Marshall properties and moisture susceptibility of asphalt mixture. Two types of asphalt cement, AC(40-50) and AC(60-70) were modified with 2%, 4% and 6% of Iraqi nanoclay with montmorillonite. The Marshall properties, Tensile strength ratio(TSR) and Index of retained strength(ISR) were determined in this work. The total number of specimens was 216 and the optimum asphalt content was 4.91% and 5% for asphalt cement (40-50) and (60-70) respectively. The results showed that the modification of asphalt cement with MMT led to increase Marsh

Moisture-induced damage is a serious problem that severely impairs asphaltic pavement and affects road serviceability. This study examined numerous variables in asphalt concrete mixtures to assess their impact on moisture damage resistance. Mix design parameters such as the asphalt content (AC) and aggregate passing sieve No. 4 (PNo. 4) were considered as variables during this study. Additionally, hydrated lime (HL) was utilized as a partial substitute for limestone dust (LS) filler at 1.5% by weight of the aggregate in asphalt concrete mixtures for the surface layer. This study also investigated the potential enhancement of traditional asphalt binders and mixtures by adding nano-additives, specifically nano-silica oxide (NS) and na

The aims of this study are to measure the defect rate and analyze the problems of production of ready concrete mixture plant by using Six Sigma methodology which is a business strategy for operations improvement depending basically on the application of its sub-methodology DMAIC improvement cycle and the basic statistical tools where the process sigma level of concrete production in the case study was 2.41 σ.

The depletion of petroleum reserves and increasing environmental concerns have driven the development of eco-friendly asphalt binders. This research investigates the performance of natural asphalt (NA) modified with waste engine oil (WEO) as a sustainable alternative to conventional petroleum asphalt (PA). The study examines NA modified with 10%, 20%, and 30% WEO by the weight of asphalt to identify an optimal blend ratio that enhances the binder’s flexibility and workability while maintaining high-temperature stability. Comprehensive testing was conducted, including penetration, softening point, viscosity, ductility, multiple stress creep recovery (MSCR), linear amplitude sweep (LAS), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), F

        In this work, an anti-reflection coating was prepared in the region (400-1000) nm of wavelength, with a double layer of silicon dioxide (SiO₂) as an inner layer and the second layer of the mixture (SiO₂) and titanium dioxide (TiO₂) with certain ratios, as an outer layer using the chemical spraying method with a number of 6 sprays of layer SiO₂ and 12 sprays of layer SiO₂ - TiO₂. Using the method of chemical spraying deposited on the glass as a substrate with a different number of sprays of SiO₂, and a fixed number of TiO₂-SiO₂. The optical and structural properties were determined using UV-Vis spectroscopy and atomic force mi

Aging of asphalt pavements typically occurs through oxidation of the asphalt and evaporation of the lighter maltenes from the binder. The main objective of this study is to evaluate influence of aging on performance of asphalt paving materials.nAsphalt concrete mixtures, were prepared, and subjected to short term aging (STA) procedure which involved heating the loose mixtures in an oven for two aging period of (4 and 8) hours at a temperature of 135 o C. Then it was subject to Long term aging (LTA) procedure using (2 and 5) days aging periods at 85 o C for Marshall compacted specimens. The effect of aging periods on properties of asphalt concrete at optimum asphalt content such as Marshall Properties, indirect tensile strength at 25 o C,

Warm mix asphalt (WMA) is relatively a new technology which enables the production and compaction of asphalt concrete mixtures at temperatures 15-40 °C lower than that of traditional hot mix asphalt HMA. In the present work, six asphalt concrete mixtures were produced in the mix plant (1 ton each) in six different batches. Half of these mixes were WMA and the other half were HMA.  Three types of fillers (limestone dust, Portland cement and hydrated lime) were used for each type of mix. Samples were then taken from these patches and transferred to lab for performance testing which includes: Marshall characteristics, moisture susceptibility (indirect tension test), resilient modulus, permanent deformation (axial repe

Warm mix asphalt (WMA) is relatively a new technology which enables the production and compaction of asphalt concrete mixtures at temperatures 15-40 °C lower than that of traditional hot mix asphalt HMA. In the present work, six asphalt concrete mixtures were produced in the mix plant (1 ton each) in six different batches. Half of these mixes were WMA and the other half were HMA.  Three types of fillers (limestone dust, Portland cement and hydrated lime) were used for each type of mix. Samples were then taken from these patches and transferred to lab for performance testing which includes: Marshall characteristics, moisture susceptibility (indirect tension test), resilient modulus, permanent deformation (axial repeated load test)