• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.9 no.5
• /
• pp.519-524
• /
• 1996

An investigation was carried out to study the microbial colonization and degradation of five crop residues, viz., sago waste, rice straw, oil palm trunk shavings, untreated palm press fibre and palm press fibre teated with 3% ammonium hydroxide in the rumen of goats. Colonisation by rumen bacteria and fungi was already established on all the five crop residues 8 h after incubation. However, the extent of colonization varied among the crop residues. Microbial colonization was poor on palm press fibre (treated and untreated) but more extensive on sago waste, oil palm trunk shavings and rice straw. By 24 h, most of the soft-walled tissues in sago waste, rice straw and oil palm trunk shavings were degraded leaving the thick-walled tissues extensively colonized by bacteria and fungi. Degradation on palm press fibre was still limited. At 48 h, the thick-walled tissues of sago waste, oil palm trunk shavings and rice straw showed various degrees of degradation - from small erosion zones to large digested areas. Bacterial growth was similar to that at 24 h but fungal growth was less. On palm press fibre, microbial colonization was more extensive than at 24 h but degradation of the fibres was still limited. Degradation of all the five crop residues at 72 h was somewhat similar to that at 48 h. Overall, microbial colonization and degradation were the most extensive on sago waste, followed by rice straw and oil palm trunk shavings, and the least on palm press fibre (treated and untreated). Dry matter loss of the five crop residues at the various incubation periods also showed the same order of degradation.

• Advances in nano research
• /
• v.1 no.2
• /
• pp.105-109
• /
• 2013

We report dry thermal development of negative resist polystyrene with low molecular weight. When developed on a hotplate at $350^{\circ}C$ for 30 min, polystyrene showed reasonable high contrast and resolution (30 nm half-pitch), but low sensitivity. Resist sensitivity was greatly improved at lower development temperatures, though at the cost of reduced contrast. In addition, we observed the thickness reduction due to thermal development was higher for larger remaining film thickness, implying the thermal development process is not just a surface process and the more volatile chains below the top surface may diffuse to the surface and get evaporated.

• Journal of Korea Technical Association of The Pulp and Paper Industry
• /
• v.38 no.4 s.117
• /
• pp.61-67
• /
• 2006

The effect of several inorganic flame-retardants such as ammonium phosphate, ammonium sulfate, aluminum hydroxide and antimony trioxide on the flame-retardant property and tensile strength of paper has been investigated. Flame-retardants were used preferably as a dry powdered mixture and added to the furnish. Both dipping and coating treatments were employed to apply flame-retardants to paper Flame-retardant paper was manufactured by treatment of $5{\sim}30%$ flame-retardants by weight of the paper on a dry weight. Paper's flame-retardant property and tensile strength were examined by comparison of char length and tensile index. As dosages of flame-retardant chemicals increased, flame-retardant property was improved but tensile index was decreased.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• v.8 no.1
• /
• pp.17-31
• /
• 2015

An experimental program was performed to study the effects of cement stabilization on the geotechnical characteristics of sandy soils. Stabilizing agent included lime Portland cement, and was added in percentages of 2.5, 5 and 7.5% by dry weight of the soils. An analysis of the mechanical behavior of the soil is performed from the interpretation of results from unconfined compression tests and direct shear tests. Cylindrical and cube samples were prepared at optimum moisture content and maximum dry unit weight for unconfined compression and direct shear tests, respectively. Samples were cured for 7, 14 and 28 days after which they were tested. Based on the experimental investigations, the utilization of cemented specimens increased strength parameters, reduced displacement at failure, and changed soil behavior to a noticeable brittle behavior.

• Wind and Structures
• /
• v.8 no.2
• /
• pp.135-146
• /
• 2005

Divergent galloping-like motion of a dry inclined cable has been observed in a limited number of experimental studies, which, due to the uncertainties in its onset conditions, has induced serious concerns in the bridge stay cable design. A series of dynamic and static model wind tunnel tests have been carried out to confirm the existence of the phenomenon and clarify its excitation mechanism. The present paper focuses on exploring the spatial flow structure around an inclined cable. The pattern of resultant aerodynamic forces acting at different longitudinal locations of the model and the spatial correlation of the forces are examined. The results lead one step closer in revealing the physical nature of the phenomenon.

• Wind and Structures
• /
• v.6 no.3
• /
• pp.197-208
• /
• 2003

Galloping instability of dry inclined cables of cable-stayed bridges has been reported by Japanese researchers. A suggested stability criterion based on some experimental studies in Japan implies that many of stay cables would be expected to suffer galloping instability, which, if valid, would cause serious difficulty in the design of cable-stayed bridges. However, this is not the case in reality. Thus, it is practically urgent and necessary to confirm the validity of this criterion and possible restriction of it. In the present study, a 2D sectional cable model was tested in the wind tunnel, and effects of various physical parameters were investigated. It is found that the stability criterion suggested by Japanese researchers is more conservative than the results obtained from the current study.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.4 no.3
• /
• pp.313-329
• /
• 1996

A mathematical model of a cable as a system of interacting wires with interwire friction taken into account is presented in this paper. The effect of friction forces and the interwire slip on the mechanical properties of tension cables is investigated. It is shown that the slip occurs due to the twisting and bending deformations of wires, and it occurs in the form of micro-slips at the contact patches and macro-slips along the cable. The latter slipping starts near the terminals and propagates towards the middle of the cable with the increase of tension, and its propagation is proportional to the load. As the result of dry friction, the load-elongation characteristics of the cable become quadratic. The energy losses during the extension are shown to be proportional to the cube of the load and in inverse proportion to the friction force, a result qualitatively similar to that for lap joints. Presented examples show that the model is in qualitative agreement with the known experimental data.

• Computers and Concrete
• /
• v.3 no.2_3
• /
• pp.145-161
• /
• 2006

This article involves architecting prototype-fuzzy expert system for designing the nominal cover thickness by means of fuzzy inference for quantitatively representing the environment affecting factor to reinforced concrete in chloride-induced corrosion environment. In this work, nominal cover thickness to reinforcement in concrete was determined by the sum of minimum cover thickness and tolerance to that defined from skill level, constructability and the significance of member. Several variables defining the quality of concrete and environment affecting factor (EAF) including relative humidity, temperature, cyclic wet and dry, and the distance from coast were treated as fuzzy variables. To qualify EAF the environment conditions of cycle degree of wet-dry, relative humidity, distance from coast and temperature were used as input variables. To determine the nominal cover thickness a qualified EAF, concrete grade, and watercement ratio were used. The membership functions of each fuzzy variable were generated from the engineering knowledge and intuition based on some references as well as some international codes of practice.

• Computers and Concrete
• /
• v.26 no.6
• /
• pp.505-513
• /
• 2020

Grading of aggregate influences significantly almost all of the concrete performances. The purpose of this paper is to propose practicable equations that express the optimized total aggregate gradation, by weight or by number of particles in a concrete mix. The principle is based on the fractal feature of the grading of combined aggregate in a solid skeleton of concrete. Therefore, equations are derived based on the so-called fractal dimension of the grain size distribution of aggregates. Obtained model was then applied in such a way a correlation between some properties of the dry concrete mix and the fractal dimension of the aggregate gradation has been built. This demonstrates that the parameter fractal dimension is an efficacious tool to establish a unified model to study the solid phase of concrete in order to design aggregate gradation to meet certain requirements or even to predict some characteristics of the dry concrete mixture.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.89 no.4
• /
• pp.335-347
• /
• 2024

This study pioneers the exploration of creep and shrinkage behavior in ambient-cured geopolymer concrete (GPC), a vital yet under-researched area in concrete technology. Focusing on the influence of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solution concentration, the research utilizes low calcium fly ash (Class-F) and alkaline solutions to prepare two sets of GPC. The results show distinct patterns in compressive strength development and dry shrinkage reduction, with a 14 M NaOH solution demonstrating a 26.5% lower dry shrinkage than the 16 M solution. The creep behavior indicated a high initial strain within the first 7 days, significantly influenced by curing conditions and NaOH concentration. This study contributes to the existing knowledge by providing a deeper understanding of the time-dependent properties of GPC, which is crucial for optimizing its performance in structural applications.