• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.119-128
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• 2004

Environmental impact of waste tires as gound-reinforcing material is studied. Analysis for chemical compounds and toxic effect were performed on effluents from twelve lysimeters in which waste tires were mixed with sand and three initially different environmental solutions of acidic, neutral, and basic circulated through the mixture. The test results of effluents collected from the lysimeters provided that the contaminant concentrations were lower than those of Korean drinking water standards for all the selected and tested metal elements. While iron concentration increased slightly with the exposure period, other metal concentrations decreased with the number of circulation times. From the comparison with previous investigations, the contaminant concentration decreased with the increase of tire size, i.e. increases with the increase of the exposed surface of tire metals. From the toxicity tests, no deteriorative effect was observed and it could be concluded that waste tires are not biologically hostile materials.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.47 no.5
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• pp.617-623
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• 2015

$ZrO_2$-based composites reinforced with 6.5 vol.% of carbon foam, carbon fiber, and graphite were fabricated using spark plasma sintering, and characterized using scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffractometry. Their thermal properties were also investigated. The microstructures of the reinforced composites showed that carbon fiber fully reacted with $ZrO_2$, whereas carbon foam and graphite did not. The carbothermal reaction of carbon fiber had a negative effect on the thermal properties of the reinforced $ZrO_2$ composites because of the formation of zirconium oxycarbide. Meanwhile, the addition of carbon foam had a positive effect, increasing the thermal conductivity from 2.86 to $3.38Wm^{-1}K^{-1}$ at $1,100^{\circ}C$. These findings suggest that the homogenous distribution and chemical stability of reinforcement material affect the thermal properties of $ZrO_2$-based composites.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.221-229
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• 2002

PET nanocomposites filled with fumed silicas were prepared via direct melt compounding method at various mixing conditions such as filler type and filler content. Some fumed silicas were pre-treated to improve the wettability and dispersibility, and principal characterizations were performed to investigate the effects of nano fumed silicas on polymer matrix. Hydrophobic fumed silica (M-FS), which has the similar contact angles of water with neat PET, acted as the best reinforcement for the thermal stability and mechanical properties of PET nanocomposite, and FE-SEM images also showed that M-FS was uniformly dispersed into matrix and had good wettability. But, some filler (O-FS) had low dispersibility and caused the deterioration of mechanical properties. Besides, the results of DSC revealed the nucleation effect of all fillers in polymer matrix, and PET nanocomposite filled with hydroptilic fumed silica (FS) showed markedly the characteristic dynamic rheological properties such as shear thinning behavior at very low frequencies and the decrease of viscosity.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.133-142
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• 2017

Two-stage concrete (TSC), also known as pre-placed aggregate concrete, is characterized by its unique placement technique, whereby the coarse aggregate is first placed in the formwork, then injected with a special grout. Despite its superior sustainability and technical features, TSC has remained a basic concrete technology without much use of modern chemical admixtures, new binders, fiber reinforcement or other emerging additions. In the present study, an experimental database for TSC was built. Different types of cementitious binders (single, binary, and ternary) comprising ordinary portland cement, fly ash, silica fume, and metakaolin were used to produce the various TSC mixtures. Different dosages of steel fibres having different lengths were also incorporated to enhance the mechanical properties of TSC. The database thus created was used to develop fuzzy logic models as predictive tools for the grout flowability and mechanical properties of TSC mixtures. The performance of the developed models was evaluated using statistical parameters and error analyses. The results indicate that the fuzzy logic models thus developed can be powerful tools for predicting the TSC grout flowability and mechanical properties and a useful aid for the design of TSC mixtures.

• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.196-204
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• 2015

Crosslink density of a rubber vulcanizate determines the chemical and physical properties, while bound rubber is an important factor to estimate reinforcement of a filled rubber compound. Extender oil is added to a raw rubber with very high molecular weight for improving processability of a rubber composite. Influence of extender oil on crosslink density, bound rubber formation, and physical properties of solution styrene-butadiene rubber (SSBR) composites with differing microstructures was investigated. Crosslink densities of non-oil-extended SSBR (NO-SSBR) vulcanizates were higher than those of oil-extended SSBR (OE-SSBR) ones. Bound rubber contents of NO-SSBR compounds were also greater than those of OE-SSBR ones. The experimental results could be explained by interfering of extender oil. The OE-SSBR vulcanizates had low modulus but long elongation at break, whereas the NO-SSBR ones had high modulus but short elongation at break. It was found that the crosslink densities affected the physical properties more than the bound rubber contents. The moduli increased with increase in the crosslink density irrespective of extender oil, while the elongation at break decreased. Each variation of the tensile strengths of NO-SSBR and OE-SSBR vulcanizates with the crosslink density showed a decreasing trend. Tear strength of the OE-SSBR vulcanizate increased with increase in the crosslink density, whereas variation of the tear strength of NO-SSBR vulcanizate with the crosslink density showed a weak decreasing trend.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.643-671
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• 2015

Chloride induced reinforcement corrosion is widely accepted to be the most frequent mechanism causing premature degradation of reinforced concrete members, whose economic and social consequences are growing up continuously. Prevention of these phenomena has a great importance in structural design, and modern Codes and Standards impose prescriptions concerning design details and concrete mix proportion for structures exposed to different external aggressive conditions, grouped in environmental classes. This paper focuses on reinforced concrete column section load carrying capacity degradation over time due to chloride induced steel pitting corrosion. The structural element is considered to be exposed to marine environment and the effects of corrosion are described by the time degradation of the axial-bending interaction diagram. Because chlorides ingress and consequent pitting corrosion propagation are both time-dependent mechanisms, the study adopts a time-variant predictive approach to evaluate residual strength of corroded reinforced concrete columns at different lifetimes. Corrosion initiation and propagation process is modelled by taking into account all the parameters, such as external environmental conditions, concrete mix proportion, concrete cover and so on, which influence the time evolution of the corrosion phenomenon and its effects on the residual strength of reinforced concrete columns sections.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.403-426
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• 2008

Externally bonding fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) sheets with an epoxy resin is an effective technique for strengthening and repairing reinforced concrete (RC) beams under flexural loads. Their resistance to electro-chemical corrosion, high strength-to-weight ratio, larger creep strain, fatigue resistance, and nonmagnetic and nonmetallic properties make carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites a viable alternative to bonding of steel plates in repair and rehabilitation of RC structures. The objective of this investigation is to study the effectiveness of CFRP sheets on ductility and flexural strength of reinforced high strength concrete (HSC) beams. This objective is achieved by conducting the following tasks: (1) flexural four-point testing of reinforced HSC beams strengthened with different amounts of cross-ply of CFRP sheets with different amount of tensile reinforcement up to failure; (2) calculating the effect of different layouts of CFRP sheets on the flexural strength; (3) Evaluating the failure modes; (4) developing an analytical procedure based on compatibility of deformations and equilibrium of forces to calculate the flexural strength of reinforced HSC beams strengthened with CFRP composites; and (5) comparing the analytical calculations with experimental results.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.68-74
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• 2016

This paper presents a new strengthening method of underground box structures against seismic loads for anti-seismic capacity improvement. A threaded steel member with pressure devices(so called 'Pre-flexed member system') is used to improve seismic capacity of the RC box structure. The pre-flexed member system is fixed the corner of opening after chemical anchor was installed by drilling hole on the box structure. The structural performance was evaluated analytically. Two bracing types of strengthening methods were used; conventional bracing method and I-bracing pressure system. For the performance evaluation, seismic analyses were performed on moment and shear resisting structures with and without strength member system. Numerical results confirmed that the proposed pre-flexed member system can enhance the seismic capacity of the underground RC box structures.

• Journal of Radiation Industry
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.259-263
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• 2010

Carbon fibers are used as a reinforcement material in an epoxy matrix in advanced composites due to their high mechanical strength, rigidity and low specific density. An important aspect of the mechanical properties of composites is associated to the adhesion between the surface of the carbon fiber and the epoxy matrix. This paper aimed to evaluate the effects of electron beam irradiation on the physicochemical properties of carbon fibers to obtain better adhesion properties in resultant composite. Chemical structure and surface elements of carbon fiber were determined by FT-IR, elemental analysis and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, which indicated that the oxygen content increased significantly with increasing the radiation dose. Thermal stability of the carbon fibers was studied via the thermalgravimetric analysis. Surface morphology of carbon fiber was analyzed by scanning electron microscope. It was found that the degree of surface roughness was increased by electron beam irradiation.

• Advances in nano research
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.81-90
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• 2024

In the oil and gas industry, composite materials should exhibit high flexibility and strength for offshore structures. Therefore, weak points in the composites should be improved, such as brittleness, moisture penetration, and diffusion of detrimental ions into nanometric pores. This study aimed to increase the strength, flexibility, and plugging of nanopores using single-layer graphene oxide (SGO) nanosheets. Therefore, SGO is added to unsaturated polyester resin at concentrations of 0.015 and 0.15 % with Normal Methyl Pyrrolidone (NMP) as a solvent for the formation of Nanographene Oxide Reinforced Polymer (NGORP). The mechanical properties of the prepared samples were tested using tensile testing (ASTM-D 638). It has been shown that incorporating SGO, approximately 0.015%, into the base resin resulted in enhanced properties such as rupture resistance forces increased by 745.61 N, applied stress tolerances increased by 4.1 MPa, longitude increased to 1.58 mm, elongation increased by about 2.38%, and rupture energy increased by about 204.51 J. Despite the decrease in tensile force strength properties in the manufactured nanocomposite with 0.15% SGO, it has exclusive flexibility properties such as a high required energy level for rupture of 5,576 times and a formability of 40% more than the base sample. It would be best to use NGORP manufactured from 0.015% nanosheets with exclusive properties rather than base samples for constructing parts and equipment, such as rebars, composite sheets, and transmission pipes, on offshore platforms.