Hydrated lime has been recognized as an effective additive used to improve asphalt concrete properties in pavement applications. However, further work is still needed to quantify the effect of hydrated lime on asphaltic concrete performance under varied weather, temperature, and environmental conditions and in the application of different pavement courses. A research project was conducted using hydrated lime to modify the asphalt concretes used for the applications of wearing (surface), leveling (binder), and base courses. A previous publication reported the experimental study on the resistance to Marshall stability and the volumetric properties, the resilient modulus, and permanent deformation at three different weather temperatures. This paper reports the second phase of the experimental study for material durability, which investigated the effect of hydrated lime content on moisture susceptibility when exposed to a freeze-thaw cycle, and fatigue life. The experimental results showed an improvement in the durability of the modified asphalt concrete mixtures. Optimum hydrated lime contents for different course applications are suggested based on the series experimental studies. Finally, the advantage of using the optimum mixtures for a pavement application is demonstrated.
This paper describes a new proposed structure of the Proportional Integral Derivative (PID) controller based on modified Elman neural network for the DC-DC buck converter system which is used in battery operation of the portable devices. The Dolphin Echolocation Optimization (DEO) algorithm is considered as a perfect on-line tuning technique therefore, it was used for tuning and obtaining the parameters of the modified Elman neural-PID controller to avoid the local minimum problem during learning the proposed controller. Simulation results show that the best weight parameters of the proposed controller, which are taken from the DEO, lead to find the best action and unsaturated state that will stabilize the Buck converter system performan
... Show MoreThe aim of present work is to improve mechanical and fatigue properties for Aluminum alloy7049 by using Nano composites technique. The ZrO2 with an average grain diameter of 30-40 nm, was selected as Nano particles, to reinforce Aluminum alloy7049 with different percentage as, 2, 4, 6 and 7 %. The Stir casting method was used to fabricate the Nano composites materials due to economical route for improvement and processing of metal matrix composites. The experimental results were shown that the adding of zirconium oxide (ZrO2) as reinforced material leads to improve mechanical properties. The best percentage of improvement of mechanical properties of 7049 AA was with 4% wt. of ZrO2 about (7.76% ) for ultim
... Show MoreThe sustainable development according to the United Nation, listed firms throughout globally now routinely provide sustainability data. However, there is not enough information on Sustainability Performance Quality (SPQ) in the majority of emerging economies, including Malaysia. This study looks at how the SPQ of the top 100 Malaysian-listed businesses is affected by factors as connected with corporate governance (e.g., board meeting, board size, and board ethnic diversity). Utilizing 500 firm-year data, a longitudinal sample of 500 nonfinancial firms on the Bursa Malaysia for 2015-2019 is employed in this study. The findings from the analysis using the panel regression demonstrated that: ethnic diversity and board siz
... Show MoreThis study is a complementary one to an extended series of research work that aims to produce a thermodynamiclly stable asphalt –sulfur blend. Asphalt was physically modified wiht different percentages of asphaltenes , oxidized asphaltenes and then mixed with sulfur as an attempt to obtaine a stable compatible asphalt-sulfur blend. The homogeneneity of asphalt-asphaltenes[oxidized asphaltenes]-sulfur blends were studied microscopically and the results are prsented as photomicrographs. Generally more stable and compatible asphalt-sulfur blends were obtained by this treatment.
Rutting is mainly referring to pavement permanent deformation, it is a major problem for flexible pavement and it is a complicated process and highly observed along with many segments of asphalt pavement in Iraq. The occurrence of this defect is related to several variables such as elevated temperatures and high wheel loads. Studying effective methods to reduce rutting distress is of great significance for providing a safe and along-life road. The asphalt mixture used to be modified by adding different types of additives. The addition of additives typically excesses stiffness, improves temperature susceptibility, and reduces moisture sensitivity. For this work, steel fibres have been used for modifying asphalt mixture as they incorp
... Show MoreBackground: Ear infections can manifest in many forms depending on site of infection whether external, middle or internal ear and the culprit pathogen whether viral, bacterial or fungal. Acute middle ear infections are usually accompanied by aural discharge. Objective: 1. To get an overview on the bacterial pathogens involved in ear infections. 2. To assess the antibiotic resistance of bacterial pathogens. Methods: A cross sectional study conducted in Al-Kindy Teaching Hospital / Baghdad /Iraq. Swabs taken from 225 patients suffering from aural discharge were tested for culture and sensitivity for the duration of two years 2018-2019. Aural discharge is cultured by inoculating it into blood, MacConkey agar, chocolate agars and Sabou
... Show MoreThis study aims to isolate the pathogenic yeasts from genital tract and investigate their relationship with the age .The results clarified that the most pathogenic yeast isolated from genital tract was Candida albicans , also the results of C.albicanas isolates susceptibility test, to different antifungal revealed that they were sensitive to Miconazole, Ketoconazole and Clotrimazol and were resistant to Nystatin and Grisofulvin. The study of relationship of vaginal infection with the age showed that the incidence of infection with Candida was high among females age group (19-39 years).