Highly Modified Asphalt (HiMA) binders have garnered significant attention due to their superior resistance to rutting, fatigue cracking, and thermal distress under heavy traffic loads and extreme environmental conditions. While elastomeric polymers such as Styrene- Butadiene-Styrene (SBS) have been extensively used in HiMA applications, the potential of plastomeric polymers, including Polyethylene (PE) and Ethylene Vinyl Acetate (EVA), remains largely unexplored. This study aims to evaluate the performance of reference binder (RB) modified with plastomeric HiMA asphalt in comparison to SBS-modified binders and determine the optimal polymer dosage for achieving an optimal balance between rutting resistance and fatigue durability. The experimental program involved modifying a base asphalt binder with SBS, PE, and EVA at dosages of 6%, 7%, and 8% by weight of binder. A comprehensive evaluation was conducted, including conventional tests (penetration, softening point, viscosity, mass loss, storage stability, and specific gravity) and rheological characterization using the Dynamic Shear Rheometer (DSR). The Multiple Stress Creep Recovery (MSCR) test was employed to assess high-temperature performance, while the Linear Amplitude Sweep (LAS) test evaluated fatigue behavior. Additionally, an Overall Desirability (OD) analysis was performed to integrate multiple performance criteria and establish a ranking for each modification. The results demonstrated that SBS-modified binders exhibited the most balanced performance, with SBS8 achieving the highest elastic recovery (52.87%) and superior fatigue life, exceeding 1,017,904 cycles at 2.5% strain. PE8 exhibited exceptional rutting resistance, reaching the lowest Jnr 3.2 value (0.0078 kPa−1); however, its limited elasticity (15.7% recovery) indicated reduced flexibility. EVA modifications demonstrated marginal improvements in fatigue resistance but failed to meet the AASHTO M332 criteria for high-traffic applications. The OD analysis ranked SBS8 as the most effective HiMA binder (OD score = 0.715), followed by SBS7 (0.588) and SBS6 (0.509). PE7 (0.354) and PE6 (0.337) demonstrated moderate performance, whereas EVA had the lowest desirability score (0.000). Based on these findings, SBS-modified binders are recommended for applications requiring a balance between fatigue and rutting resistance, whereas PE-based HiMA is more suitable for high-temperature regions where rutting is the primary concern. Further field studies are necessary to validate the long-term durability of plastomeric HiMA binders and optimize their use for specific pavement conditions.
In 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
In 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 function. This approach ha
... Show MoreTelevision is one of the best means of transmitting news, as it presents to us the events and facts in our homes in an integrated manner that depends in their formation on the two elements of sound and image, as they relate to the different emotions of each individual as long as he enjoys the blessings of hearing and sight, in addition to that the image is of great importance and is the basis of persuasion for the recipient, which is stronger An influence from the audio or readable word, at a time when the reader of the newsletter (the broadcaster) should have high performance and preventive skills and a distinguished profession in his work, and the only authority that has the right to judge this is the viewer himself. The performance an
... Show MoreThe experiment was conducted in field of the University of Baghdad, Jadryia region, Baghdad to measure vibration and performance efficiency of grass mower (machine cutting grass). Vibration in three axes are longitudinal X , lateral Y and vertical Z in four places of mower machine during cutting grass and Practical Productivity, Efficiency and Fuel Consumption measured in this experiment . Factorial design (3 x 2) used, mower speeds included 1.9 3.6 and 6.4 km/hr and engine load included idling and full load according to randomized complete design were used in this experiment. Least Significant Design (LSD) 0.05 was used to compare the mean of treatment. Result were showed that the mower speed 6.4 km/hr recorded high productivity (0.6557 ha
... Show MoreMobile ad-hoc networks (MANETs) are composed of mobile nodes communicating through wireless medium, without any fixed centralized infrastructure. Providing quality of service (QoS) support to multimedia streaming applications over MANETs is vital. This paper focuses on QoS support, provided by the stream control transmission protocol (SCTP) and the TCP-friendly rate control (TFRC) protocol to multimedia streaming applications over MANETs. In this study, three QoS parameters were considered jointly: (1) packet delivery ratio (PDR), (2) end-to-end delay, (3) and throughput. Specifically, the authors analyzed and compared the simulated performance of the SCTP and TFRC transport protocols for delivering multimedia streaming over MANETs.
... Show MoreIn the present work the performance of semifluidized bed adsorber was evaluated for removal of phenolic compound from wastewater using commercial activated carbon as adsorbent. P-chlorophenol (4-Chlorophenol) and o-cresol (2-methylphenol) was selected as a phenolic compound for that purpose. The phenols percent removal, in term of breakthrough curves were studied as affected by hydrodynamics limitations which include minimum and maximum semifluidization velocities and packed bed formation in the column by varying various parameters such as inlet liquid superficial velocity (from Uminsf to 8Uminsf m/s), and retaining grid (sometimes referred to as adsorbent loading) to initial static bed height ratio (from 3-4.5). In
... Show MoreIn this golden age of rapid development surgeons realized that AI could contribute to healthcare in all aspects, especially in surgery. The aim of the study will incorporate the use of Convolutional Neural Network and Constrained Local Models (CNN-CLM) which can make improvement for the assessment of Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy (LC) surgery not only bring opportunities for surgery but also bring challenges on the way forward by using the edge cutting technology. The problem with the current method of surgery is the lack of safety and specific complications and problems associated with safety in each laparoscopic cholecystectomy procedure. When CLM is utilize into CNN models, it is effective at predicting time series tasks like iden
... Show MoreA new modified differential evolution algorithm DE-BEA, is proposed to improve the reliability of the standard DE/current-to-rand/1/bin by implementing a new mutation scheme inspired by the bacterial evolutionary algorithm (BEA). The crossover and the selection schemes of the DE method are also modified to fit the new DE-BEA mechanism. The new scheme diversifies the population by applying to all the individuals a segment based scheme that generates multiple copies (clones) from each individual one-by-one and applies the BEA segment-wise mechanism. These new steps are embedded in the DE/current-to-rand/bin scheme. The performance of the new algorithm has been compared with several DE variants over eighteen benchmark functions including sever
... Show MoreBackground: The mechanical and physical properties of Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) don’tfulfill the entire ideal requirements of denture base materials. The purpose of this study was to produce new modified polymer nanocomposite (PMMA /ZrO2-TiO2) andassess itsimpact strength, transverse strength and thermal conductivity in comparison to the conventionalheat polymerized acrylic resin. Materials and Methods: Both ZrO2 and TiO2nano fillers were silanized with TMSPM (trimethoxysilyl propyl methacrylate) silane coupling agent before beingdispersed by ultrasonication with the methylmethacrylate (monomer) and mixed with the polymer by means of 2% by weight in (1:1) ratio, 60 specimens were constructed by conventional water bath processing
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