Scopus Research — Israa Mohsin Kadhim AL-Janabi

With rising global temperatures and increasing sustainability demands, the need for advanced pavement solutions has never been greater. This study breaks new ground by integrating phase change materials (PCMs), including paraffin-based wax (Rubitherm RT55), hydrated salt (Climator Salt S10), and fatty acid (lauric acid), as binder modifiers within warm mix asphalt (WMA) mixtures. Moving beyond the traditional focus on binder-only modifications, this research utilizes recycled cigarette filters (CFs) as a dual-purpose fiber additive, directly reinforcing the asphalt mixture while simultaneously transforming a major urban waste stream into valuable infrastructure. The performance of the developed WMA mixture has been evaluated in terms of stiffness behavior using an Indirect Tensile Strength Modulus (ITSM) test, permanent deformation using a static creep strain test, and rutting resistance using the Hamburg wheel-track test. Laboratory tests demonstrated that the incorporation of PCMs and recycled CFs into WMA mixtures led to remarkable improvements in stiffness, deformation resistance, and rutting performance. Modified mixes consistently outperformed the control, achieving up to 15% higher stiffness after 7 days of curing, 36% lower creep strain after 4000 s, and 64% reduction in rut depth at 20,000 passes. Cost–benefit analysis and service life prediction show that, despite costing USD 0.71 more per square meter with 5 cm thickness, the modified WMA mixture delivers much greater durability and rutting resistance, extending service life to 19–29 years compared to 10–15 years for the control. This highlights the value of these modifications for durable, sustainable pavements. © 2025 by the authors.

Careful control of the structural makeup of urban places is necessary to maintain their distinctive character while advancing sustainability. A successful approach to this problem is striking a balance between homogeneity and variability in order to provide an urban landscape that is both coherent and dynamic. In the past, homogeneity—which is defined by uniformity and is frequently connected to well-organized and visually appealing spaces—has been valued in urban planning. However, an excessive amount of homogeneity in urban areas and architectural styles could undermine a city's cohesiveness while restricting artistic freedom. Nonetheless, it has been shown that preserving a fundamental diversity of forms and functions can strengthen a city's resilience to changes. Fabric ratios of voids and volumes have been assessed using Cellular Automata investigations at different magnifications in places including Barcelona, Rome, and Hillah, revealing patterns of both independence and synchronization. These datadriven analyses make it easier to develop customized updates that target markets that lack distinctiveness. Others, meantime, flourish on fostered multiplicity, where creativity and social connections liberally support one another. Desired levels of homogeneity can be achieved through various interventions, such as zoning laws that support compact urban forms, green space efforts, and strategic development projects. By incorporating sustainability principles into urban design, these measures seek to create balanced environments that meet the needs of local residents while preserving the authentic character of urban areas. © 2025, Technical institute of Bijeljina. All rights reserved.

Benoit Mandelbrot coined the word "fractal" in the late 1970s, but an object is now defined as fractals in form known to artists and mathematicians for centuries. A fractal object is self-similar in that the subsections of the object are somewhat similar to the whole object. No matter how small the subdivision is, the subsection contains no less detail than the whole. Atypical example of a fractal body is the "snowflake curve" (invented by Helga von Koch (1870-1924) in 1904.There are as many relationships between architecture, the arts, and mathematics as symmetry. The golden ratio, the Fibonacci sequence in this paper explain the method of counting box and measuring the roughness ratio. And small scale analysis after calculating the box to understand fractal concepts, we must know two dimensions. Through analyzing the samples in the research, it has been proven that fractal geometry is present everywhere in our lives in nature, in buildings, and even in plants and its role in architecture is to find fractal systems that appeal to our inclinations for dynamic vitality. Therefore, finding such fractals enables us to create high-performance structures that achieve psychological, aesthetic and environmental aspects in an integrated design. Therefore, Self- Similarity Dimension (Ds) Box-counting Dimension (Db.) All of these dimensions are directly related to the fractional dimension of Mandelbrot (D). In all similar constructions there is a relationship between the scale factor and the number of the smaller pieces the original construction is divided into. © The Authors, published by EDP Sciences. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

This study introduces an iterative scheduling method that combines two approaches for managing repetitive construction projects: the Critical Path Method (CPM) and the Repetitive Scheduling Method (RSM). The primary objective of this study is to demonstrate how optimization techniques can be applied to minimize the cost of construction projects within a defined range, spanning from the shortest to the longest possible project durations. In the shortest project duration (as determined by CPM), all activities are allocated idle times based on precedence constraints, while in the longest duration (as determined by RSM), there is no idle time allocated. To calculate the optimal schedule, a computerized iterative method specifically designed for this purpose considers all possible combinations of activities with and without idle time. The optimum schedule is the one that minimizes the total project cost. The study reveals that by using an Excel spreadsheet, it is feasible to deterministically optimize the cost of repetitive construction projects, achieving the minimum cost. This minimization process can also be implemented as a Python application. Notably, this proposed system provides multiple optimal solutions, enabling managers to select the most suitable one. This advantage distin-guishes it from conventional methods, such as genetic algorithms and other optimization techniques. However, there are some limitations when applying this application, one of which is the maximum capacity available to run the application. © The Authors, published by EDP Sciences. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).