Ras Al Khaimah, UAE is well known in the region for its industrial sectors. As a result, its road network is enduring heavy traffic loads. When accompanied by hot temperatures during the summer these roads fail prematurely due to permanent deformation (rutting). To avoid this problem, asphalt binder with high stiffness should be used, which is expensive and not eco-friendly. The objective of this study was to evaluate the addition of different percentages of plastic waste powder obtained by grinding waste bottle plastics on different asphalt binders’ properties. Test results showed that adding plastic waste to asphalt binder increased its viscosity and G*/sin δ values. Furthermore, it was observed that when adding waste plastic, the tested binder grades would meet Superpave Asphalt Binder Specifications for higher binder grades. Thus, adding plastic waste to asphalt binder could be considered as a cheaper and environmental friendly solution, when compared to the use of higher binder grades to reduce rutting in asphalt pavements in Ras Al Khaimah roads.

The aridity, population growth, agriculture and industrial activities threaten the water resources in the UAE. In UAE, groundwater quantity is reduced and its quality is also deteriorated due to the scanty of rainfall and over pumping for different uses. The deficit of groundwater is met by desalinated water and reused of treated wastewater. To improve the current water situation, a national water resources strategy has been prepared and implemented to assist in achieve this target and maintain the country's water security. This paper intends to give an overview of non-conventional energy technologies for water desalination. These include solar, fossil fuel, and nuclear technologies. Using simplified score model analysis, options were evaluated for best water uses considering water productivity and environmental sustainability criteria. It was concluded that solar technologies are most effective for water desalination in UAE. However, oil, natural gas and nuclear technologies have low likelihood to be viable in the short term

With the increase of solid wastes, officials in Ras Al Khaimah (RAK), United Arab Emirates (UAE) are evaluating reuses of these materials rather than being dumped in landfills. Furthermore, asphalt pavements in RAK are failing prematurely due to heavy and slow traffic accompanied with high temperatures during the summer. To assist in the efforts of solving these problems, this study was conducted to investigate the effects of adding waste plastic fibers to Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA). Tests were conducted on a standard HMA with two asphalt binder grades and two waste plastic fiber contents (0.5 and 1% by weight of mix). Results showed that HMA fracture resistance at −10 and 21.1°C temperatures and rutting resistance at a 54.4°C temperature increased by the addition of waste plastic fibers. For an overall improvement in performance of asphalt pavement, the optimum waste plastic fiber content was found to be 0.5% by weight of mix. Thus, by adding waste plastic fibers to HMA, an improvement of performance (rutting and cracking resistances) of asphalt pavements and a positive effect on the environment could be achieved by the reuse of discarded plastic waste.

This paper addresses the development and evaluation of a mix stability index referred to as the gyratory stability (GS). GS is calculated from the compaction data by summing the cumulative energies dissipated in the compaction of a gyratory sample. A wide range of commonly used mixes in the State of Idaho were selected for evaluation. Mixes were tested for dynamic modulus (E*) and flow number (F _N); rutting was measured with the asphalt pavement analyser (APA). Furthermore, E* test results were used in the AASHTO Mechanistic–Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG) as level 1 inputs, to predict rutting for these mixes; GS ranked mixes similarly to the APA and F _N tests and MEPDG results. Furthermore, results indicated that the GS has the potential to be used as a screening tool for asphalt mix design, especially to decide upon the acceptance of the mix aggregate structure, and as a quality control tool.

Bearing Capacity of Roads, Railways and Airfields focuses on issues pertaining to the bearing capacity of highway and airfield pavements and railroad track structures and provided a forum to promote efficient design, construction and maintenance of the transportation infrastructure. The collection of papers from the Eighth International Conference on the Bearing Capacity of Roads, Railways and Airfields (BCR2A09) includes contributions on a variety of topics and will be of particular interest to academics, researchers, and practitioners involved in geotechnical, pavement, and railroad engineering disciplines. It is primarily concerned with the many issues pertaining to the bearing capacity and mechanistic based design of highway and airfield pavements and railroad track structures. Bearing Capacity of Roads, Railways and Airfields focuses on issues pertaining to the bearing capacity of highway and airfield pavements and railroad track structures and provided a forum to promote efficient design, construction and maintenance of the transportation infrastructure. The collection of papers from the Eighth International Conference on the Bearing Capacity of Roads, Railways and Airfields (BCR2A09) includes contributions on a variety of topics and will be of particular interest to academics, researchers, and practitioners involved in geotechnical, pavement, and railroad engineering disciplines. It is primarily concerned with the many issues pertaining to the bearing capacity and mechanistic based design of highway and airfield pavements and railroad track structures. Bearing Capacity of Roads, Railways and Airfields focuses on issues pertaining to the bearing capacity of highway and airfield pavements and railroad track structures and provided a forum to promote efficient design, construction and maintenance of the transportation infrastructure. The collection of papers from the Eighth International Conference on the Bearing Capacity of Roads, Railways and Airfields (BCR2A09) includes contributions on a variety of topics and will be of particular interest to academics, researchers, and practitioners involved in geotechnical, pavement, and railroad engineering disciplines. It is primarily concerned with the many issues pertaining to the bearing capacity and mechanistic based design of highway and airfield pavements and railroad track structures. Bearing Capacity of Roads, Railways and Airfields focuses on issues pertaining to the bearing capacity of highway and airfield pavements and railroad track structures and provided a forum to promote efficient design, construction and maintenance of the transportation infrastructure. The collection of papers from the Eighth International Conference on the Bearing Capacity of Roads, Railways and Airfields (BCR2A09) includes contributions on a variety of topics and will be of particular interest to academics, researchers, and practitioners involved in geotechnical, pavement, and railroad engineering disciplines. It is primarily concerned with the many issues pertaining to the bearing capacity and mechanistic based design of highway and airfield pavements and railroad track structures. Bearing Capacity of Roads, Railways and Airfields focuses on issues pertaining to the bearing capacity of highway and airfield pavements and railroad track structures and provided a forum to promote efficient design, construction and maintenance of the transportation infrastructure. The collection of papers from the Eighth International Conference on the Bearing Capacity of Roads, Railways and Airfields (BCR2A09) includes contributions on a variety of topics and will be of particular interest to academics, researchers, and practitioners involved in geotechnical, pavement, and railroad engineering disciplines. It is primarily concerned with the many issues pertaining to the bearing capacity and mechanistic based design of highway and airfield pavements and railroad track structures. Bearing Capacity of Roads, Railways and Airfields focuses on issues pertaining to the bearing capacity of highway and airfield pavements and railroad track structures and provided a forum to promote efficient design, construction and maintenance of the transportation infrastructure. The collection of papers from the Eighth International Conference on the Bearing Capacity of Roads, Railways and Airfields (BCR2A09) includes contributions on a variety of topics and will be of particular interest to academics, researchers, and practitioners involved in geotechnical, pavement, and railroad engineering disciplines. It is primarily concerned with the many issues pertaining to the bearing capacity and mechanistic based design of highway and airfield pavements and railroad track structures.