بحوث سكوبس — عبد الله موسى كاظم

Designing armor units that can withstand harsh marine environments while remaining cost-effective is a central challenge in modern breakwater engineering. This study introduces a newly designed artificial armor unit and evaluates its performance in comparison with established alternatives such as the accropode, core-loc, and conventional rock armor. The findings reveal that the new unit achieves a lower packing density, reducing the number of units required and thereby improving overall cost-effectiveness. Armor layers formed from the newly designed unit exhibited higher porosity than accropode but lower than core-loc, effectively avoiding the slender geometries that compromise durability. Structural analysis using STAAD.Pro confirmed that the new unit developed lower tensile stresses, with reductions of 15% compared to accropode and 35% compared to core-loc under flexure, torsion, and combined loading, demonstrating superior integrity. Hydraulic stability tests showed that the randomly placed newly designed units resisted failure at a stability number (Ns) of 1.4, lowering run-up by 50% and overtopping by 59%, while the uniformly placed newly designed units reached 1.5 without failure, with run-up and overtopping reductions of 30% and 37%, respectively. Collectively, these outcomes highlight the clear hydraulic and structural advantages of the new design over conventional systems, establishing it as a stronger and more resilient solution for breakwater protection. © 2026 by the authors.

Introduction: The accelerating growth of urban and industrial activities has led to mounting volumes of nonbiodegradable waste, posing urgent environmental challenges for modern societies. Recycling these wastes in stone matrix asphalt (SMA) mixtures helps reduce environmental impact while improving pavement performance. This study investigates the use of shredded cigarette filters (SCF) as fiber stabilizers and recycled medicine blister packs (RMBP) as aggregate replacement in SMA mixtures to enhance performance and support waste management. Methods: Laboratory testing included Superpave volumetric analysis, assessment of moisture susceptibility in terms of tensile strength ratio test (TSR), fatigue life evaluation, determination of rutting behavior in terms of Hamburg wheel-tracking test (HWTT), and service life modeling, to assess the effect of SCF and RMBP. Results: The recycled SMA mixture showed improvements compared to the control mix, including lower air voids, higher binder retention, enhanced moisture resistance (TSR of 86.7%), and improvements in stiffness and fatigue life (up to 20%). HWTT results revealed rut depth reductions of 19-31%, and service life modeling predicted an extension from 18.0 years for the control to 24.3 years for the recycled mixture under heavy traffic. Discussion: Incorporating SCF and RMBP into SMA mixtures demonstrated strong potential for enhancing pavement sustainability and aligned with ongoing advancements in waste-based asphalt technologies. The findings highlighted the broader value of recycled materials in improving mixture performance, although the work remains limited by the absence of certain durability tests and the reliance on controlled laboratory conditions. Conclusion: The findings suggested that incorporating SCF and RMBP into SMA mixtures can improve durability, moisture resistance, and service life, while supporting environmental sustainability through the recycling of postconsumer waste. © 2026 The Author(s). Published by Bentham Open., 2026. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0), a copy of which is available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

This study involved the preparation of magnetized activated carbon (Fe3O4–HSAC) by first activating hazelnut shell waste, followed by coating it by Fe3O4 nanoparticles. The Fe3O4–HSAC thus prepared was evaluated as an adsorbent possessing the potential for fluoride to elimination, under a variety of conditions. From the findings, it is evident that by using the Fe3O4–HSAC as an adsorbent 100% fluoride removal could be accomplished under the optimum conditions cited (adsorbent dose = 0.75 g/L; pH = 3–5; and temperature = 323 K). The Halsey and Freundlich isotherm models both concurred strongly with the equilibrium adsorption data, and from the results of the Langmuir model, the maximum adsorption capacity was achieved at 146.2 mg/g when the temperature was 298 K and pH was 5. The pseudo-second-order kinetic model offered the best explanation for the adsorption process. Besides, both the intra-particle diffusion and liquid film diffusion models were found to control the kinetic mechanism of the fluoride adsorption onto the Fe3O4–HSAC. The quantity of adsorption energy provided using the Dubinin–Radushkevich model was 4.59 kJ/mol, indicating that the physical adsorption was predominant. Further, the negative values of Gibbs free energy change (ΔG° = -2.73 to -8.11 kJ/mol at temperature = 288 to 318 K, respectively) and the positive values of enthalpy change (ΔH° = 56.01 kJ/mol) and entropy change (ΔS° = 0.198 kJ/mol. K) suggest that the nature of the adsorption thermodynamics is endothermic, spontaneous, and physical. From this study, the observation of the outstanding performance of the Fe3O4–HSAC helped to conclude that this is a material of promise as a treatment agent in the fluoride elimination from contaminated water and wastewater. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.

Composite steel–concrete members are adopted in structural applications as a cost-effective and high-speed construction practice. Exploiting the superior corrosion and strength-to-weight properties of structural aluminium, research on composite aluminium-concrete members has been reported. Aiming for an even more sustainable and durable structural member, this paper proposes combining structural aluminium alloys with low carbon geopolymer concrete (GC) to form a structural member with lower environmental footprint. To this end, an experimental programme on geopolymer concrete-filled aluminium alloy tubular (GCFAT) cross-sections is performed. A total of 24 tests on stub columns and 12 tests on beams were carried out. In particular, 4 square hollow sections infilled with one-part geopolymer concrete were tested under uniform compression and under uniaxial bending. The hollow sections were fabricated from 6082-T6 heat-treated aluminium alloy. The same cross-sections were also tested as bare and infilled with ordinary Portland cement (OPC) concrete for comparison purposes. It is shown that the strength of the composite sections is significantly increased compared to the bare ones. In particular, the average strength increase was in the range of 16.5%–93.3% and of 23%–93.1% for GC and OPC-aluminium stub columns, respectively. In beams, the strength increase was in the range of 14.1%–53.6% for GC-aluminium and of 10.2%–48.9% for OPC-aluminium specimens. In absence of codified design rules for geopolymer concrete-aluminium structures, design formulae based on the European standards for composite steel–concrete members, with the material properties of steel and concrete replaced by those of aluminium alloy and GC, respectively, are adopted. The obtained results demonstrated that the proposed design methodology is suitable for the design of GCFAT cross-sections and beams, providing reasonably accurate and consistent strength predictions. Overall, the potential of geopolymer concrete-filled aluminium tubular cross-sections as a novel cement-free, sustainable, and structurally efficient composite cross-section is demonstrated. © 2023 The Author(s)

Pavement deterioration is mainly caused by high traffic loading and by increased levels of runoff water resulting from storms, floods, or other reasons. Consequently, this issue can be efficiently solved by employing permeable pavement, such as permeable interlocking concrete pavement (PICP) to control water runoff and endure increased traffic loads. This study investigates the performance of PICP, in both 45° and 90° herringboned surface patterns, in terms of the infiltration of volumes of water, runoff water volumes, and the ability of pavement to withstand static loading. All the related tests in this study were implemented using a lab apparatus that was fabricated as a simulator for rainfall. Various conditions were adopted during the performance tests, including the application of longitudinal slopes (0, 2.5, 5, and 7.5%), side slopes (0, 2.5, and 5%), and different rainfall intensities (25, 50, 75, and 100 L/min). The results indicated that at high rainfall intensities (75 and 100 L/min), PICP with the 45° herringboned surface pattern had the highest volume of infiltrated water and the lowest runoff water at all the adopted longitudinal and side slopes. In addition, PICP with the 45° herringboned surface pattern showed higher resistance to deflection under a static loading test than the 90° herringboned pattern under the same conditions. Therefore, PICP with a 45° herringboned surface pattern showed supremacy in terms of runoff reduction and load resistance in comparison to PICP with a 90° herringboned pattern. Even though there are differences between the two types of PICP, they are both strongly recommended as alternatives to regular pavement. © 2023 by the authors.

Growing environmental pollution worldwide is mostly caused by the accumulation of different types of liquid and solid wastes. Therefore, policies in developed countries seek to support the concept of waste recycling due to its significant impact on the environmental footprint. Hot-mix asphalt mixtures (HMA) with reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) have shown great performance under rutting. However, incorporating a high percentage of RAP (>25%) is a challenging issue due to the increased stiffness of the resulting mixture. The stiffness problem is resolved by employing different types of commercial and noncommercial rejuvenators. In this study, three types of noncommercial rejuvenators (waste cooking oil (WCO), waste engine oil (WEO), and date seed oil (DSO)) were used, in addition to one type of commercial rejuvenator. Three percentages of RAP (20%, 40%, and 60%) were utilized. Mixing proportions for the noncommercial additives were set as 0–10% for mixtures with 20% RAP, 12.5–17.5% for mixtures with 40% RAP, and 17.5–20% for mixtures with 60% RAP. In addition, mixing proportions for the commercial additive were set as 0.5–1.0% for mixtures with 20% RAP, 1.0–1.5% for mixtures with 40% RAP, and 1.5–2.0% for mixtures with 60% RAP. The rutting performance of the generated mixtures was indicated first by using the rutting index (G*/sin δ) for the combined binders and then evaluated using the Hamburg wheel-track test. The results showed that the rejuvenated mixtures with the commercial additive at 20 and 60% RAP performed well compared to the control mixture, whereas the rejuvenated ones at 40% RAP performed well with noncommercial additives in comparison to the control mixture. Furthermore, the optimum percentages for each type of the used additives were obtained, depending on their respective performance, as 10%, 12.5%, and 17.5% of WCO, 10%, 12.5–17.5%, and 17.5% of WEO, <10%, 12.5%, and 17.5% of DSO, and 0.5–1.0%, 1.0%, and 1.5–2.0% of the commercial rejuvenator, corresponding to the three adopted percentages of RAP. © 2022 by the authors.

The Rapid reduction of energy resources and the escalated effects of global warming have created a strong motivation to find some new techniques in the field of paving construction. Adopting new technologies, such as warm-mix asphalt (WMA) or the recycling process of asphalt can be very helpful for the economy and have a significant impact on the environmental footprint. Thus, this research aimed to study the mechanical and durable characteristics of modified WMA mixtures using (1.0%, 1.5%, and 2.0%) Sasobit REDUX®, (0.3%, 0.4%, and 0.5%) Aspha-Min®, and (0.07%, 0.1%, and 0.125) ZycoTherm® additives corresponding to three percentages of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) (20%, 40%, and 60%). Three mixing temperatures have been conducted in this study to generate WMA mixtures at (135 °C, 125 °C, and 115 °C) corresponding to three compacting temperatures (125 °C, 115 °C, and 105 °C). The mechanical properties of the developed WMA mixtures have been evaluated using the Superpave volumetric properties (air voids, voids filled with asphalt, and voids in mineral aggregate), while the durable properties have been investigated using the resilient modulus test (MR) at 25 °C, resilient modulus ratio (RMR), and Hamburg wheel-track test in terms of permanent deformation, moisture susceptibility, and rutting resistance. To make the WMA mixtures accept high quantities of RAP (>25%), an insignificant increase in the amounts of WMA additives was needed to produce mixtures carrying sustainability labels. Results indicated that all the used additives had pushed the WMA mixtures to achieve considerable mechanical properties, whereas the best properties for the WMA mixtures containing 0%, 20%, 40%, and 60% of RAP have been achieved by mixing with (1.0% Sasobit REDUX® @ 125 °C), (1.0% Sasobit REDUX® or 0.3% Aspha-Min® @ 135 °C), (1.5% Sasobit REDUX® @ 125 °C), and (2.0% Sasobit REDUX® or 0.5% Aspha-Min® @ 135 °C), respectively. On another hand, the best durable properties have been achieved by mixing the mentioned WMA mixtures containing 0%, 20%, 40%, and 60% of RAP with 0.07%, 0.07%, 0.1%, and 0.125% of ZycoTherm® at 153 °C, respectively. Using such additives in the recycled WMA mixtures made it possible to activate waste recycling in the paving industry. © 2022 by the authors.