• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.239-246
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• 2019

Substitution of natural fine aggregates with industrial by-products like precious slag balls (PS Balls) offers various advantages like technical, economic and environmental which are very important in the present era of sustainability in construction industry. PS balls are manufactured by subjecting steel slag to slag atomizing Technology (SAT) which imparts them the desirable characteristics of fine aggregates. The main objective of this research paper is to assess the feasibility of producing good quality concrete by using PS balls, to identify the potential benefits by their incorporation and to provide solution for increasing their utilization in concrete applications. The study investigates the effect of PS balls as partial replacement of fine aggregates in various percentages (20%, 40%, 60%, 80% and 100%) on mechanical properties of concrete such as compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, and flexural strength. The optimum mix was found to be at 40% replacement of PS balls with maximum strength of 62.89 MPa at 28 days curing. Permeability of concrete was performed and it resulted in a more durable concrete with replacement of PS balls at 40% and 100% as fine aggregates. These two specific values were considered as optimum replacement is 40% and also the maximum possible replacement is 100%. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis was done and it was found that the PS balls in concrete were unaffected and with optimum percentage of PS balls as fine aggregates in concrete resulted in good strength and less cracks. Hence, it is possible to produce good workable concrete with low water to cement ratio and higher strength concrete by incorporating PS balls.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.801-814
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• 2016

An alternative type of building system with masonry units is extensively used nowadays to reduce the emission of CO2 and embodied energy. Long-term performance of such structures has become essential for sustaining the building technology. This study aims to assess the strength and durability properties of concrete prepared with unprocessed bagasse ash (BA) and silica fume (SF). A mix proportion of 1:3:3 was used to cast concrete cubes of size $100mm{\times}100mm{\times}100mm$ with various replacement levels of cement and tested. The cubes were cast with zero slump normally adopted in the manufacturing of hollow blocks. The cubes were exposed to acid attack, alkaline attack and sulphate attack to evaluate their durability. The mass loss and damages to concrete for all cases of exposures were determined at 30, 60, and 90 days, respectively. Then, the residual compressive strength for all cases was determined at the end of 90 days of durability test. The results showed that there was slight difference in mass loss before and after exposure to chemical attack in all the cases. Though the appearance was slightly different than the normal concrete the residual weight was not affected. The compressive strength of 10% bagasse ash (BA) as a replacement for cement, with 10% SF as admixture resulted in better strength than the normal concrete. Hence concrete with 10% replacement with BA along with 10% SF as admixture was considered to be durable. Besides solid concrete cubes, hollow blocks using the same concrete were casted and tested simultaneously to explore the possibility of production of masonry units.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.393-403
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• 2019

Cold-formed steel (CFS) has a great potential to meet the global challenge of fast-track and durable construction. CFS members undergo large buckling instabilities due to their small wall thickness. CFS beams with corrugated webs have shown great resistance towards web buckling under flexure, when compared to the conventional I-sections. However, the magnitude of global imperfections significantly affects the performance of CFS members. This paper presents the first attempt made to experimentally study the effect of global imperfections on the structural efficiency of various strengthening schemes implemented in CFS beams with corrugated webs. Different strengthening schemes were adopted for two types of beams, one with large global imperfections and the other with small imperfections. Strength and stiffness characteristics of the beams were used to evaluate the structural efficiency of the various strengthening schemes adopted. Six tests were performed with simply supported end conditions, under four-point loading conditions. The load vs. mid-span displacement response, failure loads and modes of failure of the test specimens were investigated. The test results would compensate the lack of experimental data in this area of research and would help in developing numerical models for extensive studies for the development of necessary guidelines on the same. Strengthening schemes assisted in enhancing the member performance significantly, both in terms of strength and stiffness. Hence, providing an economic and time saving solution to such practical structural engineering problems.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.95-107
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• 2021

In this work, the dynamic response of functionally graded beams on variable elastic foundations is studied using a novel higher-order shear deformation theory (HSDT). Unlike the conventional HSDT, the present one has a new displacement field which introduces undetermined integral variables. The FG beams were assumed to be supported on Winkler-Pasternak type foundations in which the Winkler modulus is supposed to be variable in the length of the beam. The variable rigidity of the elastic foundation is assumed to be linear, parabolic and sinusoidal along the length of the beam. The material properties of the FG porous beam vary according to a power law distribution in terms of the volume fraction of the constituents. The equations of motion are determined using the virtual working principle. For the analytical solution, Navier method is used to solve the governing equations for simply supported porous FG beams. Numerical results of the present theory for the free vibration of FG beams resting on elastic foundations are presented and compared to existing solutions in the literature. A parametric study will be detailed to investigate the effects of several parameters such as gradient index, thickness ratio, porosity factor and foundation parameters on the frequency response of porous FG beams.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.85 no.2
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• pp.275-287
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• 2023

The use of environmental-friendly building materials is becoming increasingly popular worldwide. Compared to the normal concrete, rubber-based concrete is considered more durable, environmentally friendly, socially and economically viable. In this investigation, M20 grade concrete was designed and the fine aggregates were replaced with crumb rubber of two different micron sizes (0.221 mm and 0.350 mm). Fly ash (FA) and silica fume (SF) replaces the binder as supplementary cementitious materials at a rate of 0, 5, 10, 15, and 20% by weight. The mechanical properties of concrete including compressive strength, tensile, and flexural strength were determined. The polynomial work expectation validates the response surface approach (RSM) concept for optimizing SF and FA substitution. The maximum compressive strength (22.53 MPa) can be observed for the concrete containing 10% crumb rubber, 15% fly ash and 15% silica fume. The reduced unit weight of the rubberized concrete may be attributed to the lower specific gravity of the rubber particles. Two-way ANOVA with a significance criterion of less than 0.001 has been utilized with modest residual error from the lack of fit and the pure error. The predictive model accurately forecasts the variable-response relationship. Since, the crumb rubber is obtained from wasted tires incorporating FA and SF as a cementitious ingredient, it helps to significantly improve mechanical properties of concrete and reduce environmental degradation.

• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.29-42
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• 2022

In mountainous areas of China, concrete poles with connectors are widely employed in power transmission due to its convenience of manufacture and transportation. The bearing capacity of the poles must have degenerated over time, and most of the steel connectors have been corroded. Carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) offers a durable, light-weight alternative in strengthening those poles that have served for many years. In this paper, the bearing capacity and failure mechanism of CFRP sheet strengthened existing reinforced concrete poles with corrosion steel connectors were investigated. Four poles were selected to conduct flexural capacity test. Two poles were strengthened by single-layer longitudinal CFRP sheet, one pole was strengthened by double-layer longitudinal CFRP sheets and the last specimen was not strengthened. Results indicate that the failure is mainly bond failure between concrete and the external CFRP sheet, and the specimens fail in a brittle pattern. The cross-sectional strains of specimens approximately follow the plane section assumption in the early stage of loading, but the strain in the tensile zone no longer conforms to this assumption when the load approaches the failure load. Also, bearing capacity and stiffness of the strengthened specimens are much larger than those without CFRP sheet. The bearing capacity, initial stiffness and elastic-plastic stiffness of specimen strengthened by double-layer CFRP are larger than those strengthened by single-layer CFRP. Weighting the cost-effective effect, it is more economical and reasonable to strengthen with single-layer CFRP sheet. The results can provide a reference to the same type of poles for strengthening design.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.85-95
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• 2023

Natural pozzolans are used as additives in cement to develop more durable and high-performance concrete. Pozzolanic activity index (PAI) is important for assessing the performance of a pozzolan as a binding material and has an important effect on the compressive strength, permeability, and chemical durability of concrete mixtures. However, the determining of the 28 days (short term) and 90 days (long term) PAI of concrete mixtures is a time-consuming process. In this study, to reduce extensive experimental work, it is aimed to predict the short term and long term PAIs as a function of the chemical compositions of various natural pozzolans. For this purpose, the chemical compositions of various natural pozzolans from Central Anatolia were determined with X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. The mortar samples were prepared with the natural pozzolans and then, the short term and the long term PAIs were calculated based on compressive strength method. The effect of the natural pozzolans' chemical compositions on the short term and the long term PAIs were evaluated and the PAIs were predicted by using multiple linear regression (MLR) and adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) model. The prediction model results show that both reactive SiO₂ and SiO₂+Al₂O₃+Fe₂O₃ contents are the most effective parameters on PAI. According to the performance of prediction models determined with metrics such as root mean squared error (RMSE) and coefficient of correlation (R²), ANFIS models are more feasible than the multiple regression model in predicting the 28 days and 90 days pozzolanic activity. Estimation of PAIs based on the chemical component of natural pozzolana with high-performance prediction models is going to make an important contribution to material engineering applications in terms of selection of favorable natural pozzolana and saving time from tedious test processes.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.164-176
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• 2012

In the present study, rapeseed flour (RSF), which is a by-product from the production of edible oil and biodiesel extracted from rapeseed, was used to develop alternative adhesives for the production of plywood panels. To examine the effects of the enzyme on the adhesive properties and formaldehyde emission of the RSF-based adhesive resins, three enzymes, such as cellulase (CEL), pectinase (PEC) and protease (ALC), were used either separately or together. As a crosslinking agent, PF prepolymers, which were prepared with 1.5, 1.8 and 2.1 mole formaldehyde and 1 mol phenol (1.8-, 2.1- and 2.4-PF), were added into the RSF hydrolyzates. The adhesive resins formulated with CEL- or CEL-PEC-RSF hydrolyzates and 1.8-F/P PF prepolymers exhibited excellent adhesive strengths and formaldehyde emission. The tensile shear strength and formaldehyde emission of the plywood panels bonded with the formulate resins were satisfied with the minimum requirement of the KS standard for ordinary plywood panels (0.6 N/$mm^2$). In addition, formaldehyde emissions of the plywood panels approached to that of E0 specified in the KS standard (0.5 mg/${\ell}$), and even had much better than those of commercial UF glue mixes. Overall, the use of RSF-based adhesive resins for the production of plywood panels might provide durable adhesive properties and an environmentally friendly substitute for petroleum-based adhesive resins. However, further researches - the increase of solid content of RSF-based adhesives for reducing press time and the microscopic observation of plywood specimen for identifying the relationship between tensile shear strength and the penetration of adhesives into wood structure - are required to commercialize the RSF-based adhesives.