• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제39권6호
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• pp.833-847
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• 2011

We have developed a lightweight aggregate (LWA) concrete made by expanding fine sediments dredged from the Shihmen Reservoir (Taiwan) with high heat. In this study, the performance of the concrete and of prestressed concrete beams made of the sedimentary LWA were tested and compared with those made of normal-weight concrete (NC). The test results show that the lightweight concrete (LWAC) exhibited comparable time-dependent properties (i.e., compressive strength, elastic modulus, drying shrinkage, and creep) as compared with the NC samples. In addition, the LWAC beams exhibited a smaller percentage of prestress loss compared with the NC beams. Moreover, on average, the LWAC beams could resist loading up to 96% of that of the NC beams, and the experimental strengths were greater than the nominal strengths calculated by the ACI Code method. This investigation thus established that sedimentary LWA can be recommended for structural concrete applications.

• Computers and Concrete
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• 제17권3호
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• pp.323-336
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• 2016

Although the self-compacting concrete (SCC) offers several practical and economic benefits and quality improvement in concrete constructions, in comparison with conventionally vibrated concretes confronts with autogenously chemical and drying shrinkage which causes the formation of different cracks and creates different problems in concrete structures. Using different fibers in the mix design and implementation of fibrous concrete, the problem can be solved by connecting cracks and micro cracks together and postponing the propagation of them. In this study an experimental investigation using response surface methodology (RSM) based on full factorial design has been undertaken in order to model and evaluate the polypropylene fiber effect on the fibrous self-compacting concrete and curing time, fiber percentage and fiber amount have been considered as input variables. Compressive strength has been measured and calculated as the output response to achieve a mathematical relationship between input variables. To evaluate the proposed model analysis of variance at a confidence level of 95% has been applied and finally optimum compressive strength predicted. After analyzing the data, it was found that the presented mathematical model is in very good agreement with experimental results. The overall results of the experiments confirm the validity of the proposed model and this model can be used to predict the compressive strength of fibrous self-compacting concrete.

• Computers and Concrete
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• 제12권5호
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• pp.669-680
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• 2013

This paper unveils a new computer based stabilization methodology for automated modeling analysis and its experimental verification for corrosion in reinforced concrete structures under the effect of varying oxygen concentration. Various corrosion cells with different concrete compositions under four different environmental conditions (air dry, submerged, 95% R.H and alternate wetting-drying) have been investigated under controlled laboratory conditions. The results of these laboratory tests were utilized with an automated computer-aided simulation model. This model based on mass and energy stabilization through the porous media for the corrosion process was coupled with modified stabilization methodology. By this coupling, it was possible to predict, maintain and transfer the influence of oxygen concentration on the corrosion rate of the reinforcement in concrete under various defined conditions satisfactorily. The variation in oxygen concentration available for corrosion reaction has been taken into account simulating the actual field conditions such as by varying concrete cover depth, relative humidity, water-cement ratio etc. The modeling task has been incorporated by the use of a computer based durability model as a finite element computational approach for stabilizing the effect of oxygen on corrosion of reinforced concrete structures.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• 제12권5호
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• pp.785-801
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• 2017

Biopolymer treatment of geomaterials to develop sustainable geotechnical systems is an important step towards the reduction of global warming. The cutting edge technology of biopolymer treatment is not only environment friendly but also has widespread application. This paper presents the strength and slake durability characteristics of biopolymer-treated sand sampled from Al-Sharqia Desert in Oman. The specimens were prepared by mixing sand at various proportions by weight of xanthan gum biopolymer. To make a comparison with conventional methods of ground improvement, cement treated sand specimens were also prepared. To demonstrate the effects of wetting and drying, standard slake durability tests were also conducted on the specimens. According to the results of strength tests, xanthan gum treatment increased the unconfined strength of sand, similar to the strengthening effect of mixing cement in sand. The slake durability test results indicated that the resistance of biopolymer-treated sand to disintegration upon interaction with water is stronger than that of cement treated sand. The percentage of xanthan gum to treat sand is proposed as 2-3% for optimal performance in terms of strength and durability. SEM analysis of biopolymer-treated sand specimens also confirms that the sand particles are linked through the biopolymer, which has increased shear resistance and durability. Results of this study imply xanthan gum biopolymer treatment as an eco-friendly technique to improve the mechanical properties of desert sand. However, the strengthening effect due to the biopolymer treatment of sand can be weakened upon interaction with water.

• Computers and Concrete
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• 제12권6호
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• pp.739-754
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• 2013

Creep and shrinkage have pronounced effects on the long-term deflection of prestressed concrete members. Under repeated loading, the rate of creep in prestressed concrete members is often accelerated. In this paper, an iterative computational procedure based on the well known Model B3 for creep and shrinkage was developed to predict the time-dependent deflection of partially prestressed concrete members. The developed model was validated using the experimental observed deflection behavior of a simply supported partially prestressed concrete beam under repeated loading. The validated model was then employed to make predictions of the long-term deflection of the prestressed beams under a variety of conditions (e.g., water cement ratio, relatively humidity and time at drying). The simulation results demonstrate that ignoring creep and shrinkage could lead to significant underestimation of the long-term deflection of a prestressed concrete member. The model will prove useful in reducing the long-term deflection of the prestressed concrete members via the optimal selection of a concrete mix and prestressing forces.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• 제22권1호
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• pp.54-65
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• 1994

This research carried out to investigate the effects of inorganic materials in paper sludge on the thermal degradation and of paper sludge addition on physical and mechanical properties of paper sludge-wood particle mixed boards in comparison with unmodified particleboards. Also these unmodified particleboards and paper sludge-wood particle mixed boards were soaked in aqueous solutions of fire-retardant chemicals(diammonium phosphate and zinc chloride), and their fire retardancy were tested by oxygen index method and ISO ignition test to determine the feasibility of paper sludge, industrial waste, as a recyclable resource in fabrication of fire-resisting panels for building material. Since the redrying of fire-retardant treated particleboards and paper sludge-wood particle mixed boards were made by press drying method, this process was a simple and effective method. On the other hand, flexural bending strength and internal bonding strength were also analysed to evaluate mechanical properties through standard method.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• 제20권5호
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• pp.411-420
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• 2020

Numbers fitting-curve equations have been proposed to predict soil-water retention curve (SWRC) whose parameters have no definitude physical meaning. And these methods with precondition of measuring SWRC data is time-consuming. A simplified directly method to estimate SWRC without parameters obtained by fitting-curve is proposed. Firstly, the total SWRC can be discretized into linear segments respectively. Every segment can be represented by linear formulation and every turning point can be determined by the pore-size distribution (PSD) of Mercury Intrusion Porosimetry (MIP) tests. The pore diameters governing the air-entry condition (AEC) and residual condition (RC) can be determined by the PSDs of MIP test. The PSD changes significantly during drying in SWR test, so the determination of AEC and RC should use the PSD under corresponding suction conditions. Every parameter in proposed equations can be determined directly by PSD without curve-fitting procedure and has definitude physical meaning. The proposed equations give a good estimation of both unimodal and bimodal SWRCs.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• 제26권3호
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• pp.48-52
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• 1998

Residues such as walnut, pinenut and peanut shells were used as a filler in adhesive for bonding radiata pine plywood. The nutshell residues were prepared by simply drying to 8% moisture content and grinding the dry material using a laboratory Wiley mill with a $75{\mu}m$ (200 mesh) screen. The nutshells residues were compared to a commercial filler commonly used in adhesives by the structural plywood and laminated veneer lumber industry in the United States. The adhesive mixes were made by following the recommended procedure of Georgia-Pacific Resins, Inc., using phenol-formaldehyde resin. For each filler type, three-ply plywoods, 6 mm nominal thickness and 30 by 30 cm in size, were fabricated at two press times (4 and 5 min) and around 30 minute assembly time. Evaluations of the nutshell residues were carried out by tension shear tests after cyclic boil tests on plywood. The results of the performance test included tension shear strength and wood failure. All plywoods made with the nutshell fillers were comparable to those made with the control filler. These results indicate that nutshell residues would be suitable as filler for plywood adhesives.

• 한국분말재료학회지
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• 제24권2호
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• pp.147-152
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• 2017

Spherical-type zirconia granules are successfully fabricated by a spray-drying process using a water solvent slurry, and the change in the green density of the granule powder compacts is examined according to the organic polymers used. Two organic binders, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA), which are dissolved in a water solvent and have different degrees of polymerization, are applied to the slurry with a plasticizer (polyethylene glycol). The granules employing a binder with a higher degree of polymerization (PVA) are not broken under a uniaxial press; consequently, they exhibit a poor green density of $2.4g/cm^3$. In contrast, the granule powder compacts employing a binder with a lower degree of polymerization (HEMA) show a higher density of $2.6g/cm^3$ with an increase in plasticizer content. The packing behavior of the granule powders for each organic polymer system is studied by examining the microstructure of the fracture surface at different applied pressures.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제5권1호
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• pp.105-113
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• 1997

This paper proposes a model for simulating concrete shrinkage taking into account aggregate restraint. In the model, concrete is regarded as a two-phase material based on shrinkage property. One is paste phase which undergoes shrinkage. Another is aggregate phase which is much more volumetrically stable. In the concrete, the aggregate phase is considered to restrain the paste shrinkage by particle interaction. Strain compatibility was derived under the assumption that there is no relative macroscopic displacement between both phases. Stresses on both phases were derived based on the shrinking stress of the paste phase and the resisting stress of the aggregate phase. Constitutive relation of paste phase was adopted from the study of Yomeyama, K. et al., and that of the aggregate phase was adopted from the author's particle contact density model. The equation for calculating concrete shrinkage considering aggregate restraint was derived from the equilibrium of the two phases. The concrete shrinkage was found to be affected by the free shrinkage of the paste phase, aggregate content and the stiffness of both phases. The model was then verified to be effective for simulating concrete shrinkage by comparing the predicted results with the autogeneous and drying shrinkage test results on mortar and concrete specimens.