• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.296-302
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• 2006

The kinetics of the thermal-oxidative decomposition of waste polyurethane (PU) according to oxygen concentration has been studied using a non-isothermal thermogravimetric technique at several heating rates from 10 to $50^{\circ}C/min$. A kinetic model accounting for the effects of the oxygen concentration by the differential and integral method based on Arrhenius equation was proposed to describe the thermal-oxidative decomposition of waste PU. To obtain the information on the kinetic parameters such as activation energy, reaction order, and pre-exponential factor, the thermogravimetric analysis curves and its derivatives have been analyzed using the kinetic analysis method proposed in this work. From this work, it was found that reaction orders for oxygen concentration had a negative sign, and activation energy decreased as the oxygen concentration increased. It was also found that the kinetic parameters obtained from the integral method using the single heating rate experiments varied with heating rates. Therefore, it is thought that the differential method using the multiple heating rate experiments more effectively represents the thermal-oxidative decomposition of waste polyurethane.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.71-88
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• 2016

Metakaolin, a dehydroxylated product of the mineral kaolinite, is one of the most valuable admixtures for high-performance concrete applications, including constructing reinforced concrete bridges and impact- and fire-resistant structures. Concretes produced using metakaolin become more homogeneous and denser compared to normal-strength concrete. Yet, these changes cause a change of volume throughout hardening, and increase the brittleness of hardened concrete significantly. In order to examine how the use of metakaolin affects the fracture and mechanical behavior of high-performance concrete we produced concretes using a range of water to binder ratio (0.42, 0.35 and 0.28) at three different weight fractions of metakaolin replacement (8%, 16% and 24%). The results showed that the rigidity of concretes increased with using 8% and 16% metakaolin, while it decreased in all series with 24% of metakaolin replacement. Similar effect has also been observed for other mechanical properties. While the peak loads in load-displacement curves of concretes decreased significantly with increasing water to binder ratio, this effect have been found to be diminished by using metakaolin. Pore structure analysis through mercury intrusion porosimetry test showed that the addition of metakaolin decreased the critical pore size of paste phases of concrete, and increasing the amount of metakaolin reduced the total porosity for the specimens with low water to binder ratios in particular. To determine the optimal values of water to binder ratio and metakaolin content in producing high-strength and high-performance concrete we applied a multi-objective optimization, where several responses were simultaneously assessed to find the best solution for each parameter.

• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.269-282
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• 2015

Civil structures should be designed with the lowest cost and longest lifetime possible and without service failure. The efficient and sustainable use of materials in building design and construction has always been at the forefront for civil engineers and environmentalists. Timber is one of the best contenders for these purposes particularly in terms of aesthetics; fire protection; strength-to-weight ratio; acoustic properties and seismic resistance. In recent years, timber has been used in commercial and taller buildings due to these significant advantages. It should be noted that, since the launch of the modern building standards and codes, a number of different structural systems have been developed to stabilise steel or concrete multistorey buildings, however, structural analysis of high-rise and multi-storey timber frame buildings subjected to lateral loads has not yet been fully understood. Additionally, timber degradation can occur as a result of biological decay of the elements and overloading that can result in structural damage. In such structures, the deficient members and joints require strengthening in order to satisfy new code requirements; determine acceptable level of safety; and avoid brittle failure following earthquake actions. This paper investigates performance assessment and damage assessment of older multi-storey timber buildings. One approach is to retrofit the beams in order to increase the ductility of the frame. Experimental studies indicate that Sprayed Fibre Reinforced Polymer (SFRP) repairing/retrofitting not only updates the integrity of the joint, but also increases its strength; stiffness; and ductility in such a way that the joint remains elastic. Non-linear finite element analysis ('pushover') is carried out to study the behaviour of the structure subjected to simulated gravity and lateral loads. A new global index is re-assessed for damage assessment of the plain and SFRP-retrofitted frames using capacity curves obtained from pushover analysis. This study shows that the proposed method is suitable for structural damage assessment of aged timber buildings. Also SFRP retrofitting can potentially improve the performance and load carrying capacity of the structure.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.48 no.5
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• pp.603-608
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• 2010

A study has been conducted experimentally to investigate behavior of ignition and flame spread over metal dust deposits with particle size using by a developed apparatus and thermogravimetric analysis(TGA). Zr, Ta and Mg-Al(90:10 wt%) alloy metal powders including Mg and Ti with different particle size were used. Also we used PMMA(Polymethylmethacrylate) powder to compare the combustion properties to those of metal powders. When dust layers were more than 5 mm in thickness, the dependency of deposit depth on flame spread rate over dust layer was not shown. With decreasing mean particle diameter, flame spread rate over Ti dust layer decreased, while the spread rate over Mg dust layer increased. For mean diameter of $51{\mu}m$, fire spread rate over pure Mg dust layer decreased to about 50 percent in Mg-Al(90:10 wt%) dust layer. The oxide thickness of metal dust used in this study tended to be inversely proportional with the spread rate, and it was quite small for influence with particle size. From the results of TGA for Ti and Mg, weight increasing curves(550 for Mg, 578 for Ta) were observed in the oxidation process, and they seems to be caused by ignition of upper dust layer.