This study investigates the characterization and mechanical performance of Stone Mastic Asphalt (SMA) mixtures modified with two types of polymers: styrene–butadiene–styrene (SBS) and high-molecular-weight polyethylene (PE). Neat asphalt cement PG 64-16 was modified using a higher content of SBS and PE at concentrations of 6%, 7%, and 8% by weight of asphalt through the dry blending method to produce Highly Modified Asphalts (HiMA). The physical and rheological properties of the modified binders were evaluated using penetration, softening point, rotational viscosity, and dynamic shear rheometer (DSR) tests. Also, their phase compatibility and morphological changes were evaluated using the storage stability testing and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis. The mechanical performance of the corresponding SMA mixtures was assessed through Marshall stability and flow, moisture susceptibility, crack tolerance index (CT-index), resilient modulus, and rutting resistance tests. Also, a mechanistic durability analysis was conducted using the KENLAYER software. Results indicated that both polymers enhanced the binder’s stiffness and high-temperature performance, with SBS exhibiting greater overall improvements. SBS-modified binders displayed a relatively low softening point difference (ΔT) of 5.1 °C to 5.8 °C, indicating good thermal stability and uniform polymer dispersion. In contrast, PE-modified binders exhibited significantly higher ΔT values, reaching 13.5 °C with 8% PE content, indicating a greater tendency toward phase separation. Moreover, Marshall stability improved substantially, increasing by 43% for 8% SBS-modified mixes and 28% for 8% PE-modified mixes compared to the neat SMA mix. Flow number (FN) results indicated enhanced rutting resistance, with FN values increasing by 2.45 times for SBS mixes and 2.1 times for PE mixes at 8% polymer content. Additionally, moisture susceptibility was significantly improved, as evidenced by the tensile strength ratio (TSR) values of 97% with 8% SBS and 92% with 8% PE, compared to 81% for the neat mix. Resilient modules increased notably, with a 38% rise for 8% SBS mixes and a 24% rise for 8% PE mixes, reflecting enhanced stiffness and load-bearing capacity. Also, the CT-index significantly improved, reaching values of 154 for the 8% SBS mix and 127 for the 8% PE-modified mix, compared to 86 for the neat mix, indicating enhanced resistance to cracking. Finally, both polymer-modified mixes demonstrated improved durability, where the 8% SBS mix exhibited the longest design life (21.66 years) and the highest number of allowable load repetitions (5.42 × 106), followed by 8% PE (13.98 years and 3.50 × 106 repetitions).
The problem of the study was to identify the possibility of benefiting from the application of the target cost system as a modern cost system to activate the environmental cost management instead of the traditional systems used in the company due to the great transformations witnessed by the business environment in all fields, which have resulted in the search for modern systems to provide more accurate and more appropriate information to reduce Costs, because accurate information makes the company have a complete vision to achieve the company’s goals. To solve this problem, the research was based on the following hypothesis (that the role of the target cost system leads to the activation of environmental cost management). Target c
... Show MoreThe research deals with the collection of Allamah Ali al-Nuri’s guidance on readings, which he included in his book (Ghaith al-Naf’ fi al-Qira’at al-Sabe) and singled out it in a separate study, commenting on what needs to be commented and a statement of his guidance, and it consists of an introduction, and three chapters, the first: for the translation of Allamah Sfaxi, and the second: To define the science of guidance, its origins and authorship, and the third: to mention the readings that Al-Safaqi drew from Surat Al-An’am to the end of Surat Hud, followed by the conclusion of the research, then the index of sources and references, and I followed the inductive-analytical method in the research.
Among his most important
... Show MoreBackground: Chronic cigarette smoking is one of the major risk factors for coronary artery disease. However, it has additional cardiac adverse effects independent of coronary atherosclerosis. Patient and Methods: After informed consent and perm- ission from the review board of the hospital, 80 healthy subjects who were classified as smokers or non-smokers were included in the study. They were examined by standard echocardiography protocol which was followed by two-dimensional speckle tracking to assess the functions of the right ventricle. Results: The tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE) was significantly reduced in smokers as compared to non-smokers (P < 0.05). The tricuspid flow peak late diastolic velocity (A wave) was sig
... Show MoreThe negotiation phase is gaining great importance in investment loans due to the magnitude of the amounts awarded and the need to obtain adequate lending guarantees and the development of better conditions, and this requires that negotiating policy with fixed principles that balance between meeting the demands of customers and maintain market share and achieve profits and avoid defaults and losses the bank, and so I have touched Find the concept of investment loans and procedures for granting and the concept of the negotiation process for the granting of loans. The practical side to ensure the preparation of examination form consists of questions commensurate with the methodology developed by the researchers, were directed to the officia
... Show MoreThe aim of this research is to apply the concept of total value management to improve the process design of producing the toothpaste in Al Mammon factory one of the in the general company of food industry. The concept of total value management is concerning with achieve more than one values which are important for the customers as these values are related to the customers satisfaction. The research problem is that the factory did not measure the effectiveness of process design as this company has weakness in analyzing this effectiveness in synchronies with total value management. On the other side, the company did not give more attention to the cost of products and selling prices within the value cost/ profit which is one of the
... Show MoreThe study aimed to know the degree to which Islamic education teachers employ the strategy of directed discovery in teaching to develop higher thinking skills (analysis, synthesis, and evaluation) among sixth-grade students at the basic stage in East Nile Province, Khartoum State - Sudan. The researcher used the descriptive-analytical method, and adopted a questionnaire that consisted of (15) indicators representing the skills of analysis, synthesis, and evaluation as a tool of the study. A random sample of (175) Islamic education teachers was selected, from the Department of Basic Education. The data were analyzed according to the Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) program, and the results of the study have shown that the u
... Show MoreThis study investigates the phonotactics of English obstruent clusters in the word-final position from a markedness theory perspective among Iraqi EFL College Students whose native language, Arabic, prefers only two-member word-final obstruent cluster as a maximum. The markedness of clusters is measured depending on Iraqi EFL College Students’ utilization of the simplification strategies. This study tries to answer whether or not word-final obstruent clusters are marked or unmarked for Iraqi EFL College Students, and whether or not the markedness of the obstruent cluster increases as to its length. In order to answer these questions, a test has been distributed among 60 Iraqi EFL Fourth-Year College students, Department of English, Colleg
... Show MoreThe Khabour reservoir, Ordovician, Lower Paleozoic, Akkas gas field which is considered one of the main sandstone reservoirs in the west of Iraq. Researchers face difficulties in recognizing sandstone reservoirs since they are virtually always tight and heterogeneous. This paper is associated with the geological modeling of a gas-bearing reservoir that containing condensate appears while production when bottom hole pressure declines below the dew point. By defining the lithology and evaluating the petrophysical parameters of this complicated reservoir, a geological model for the reservoir is being built by using CMG BUILDER software (GEM tool) to create a static model. The petrophysical properties of a reservoir were computed using
... Show More