• Ocean Systems Engineering
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.73-93
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• 2011

Large deck openings of ultra large container ships reduce their torsional stiffness considerably and hydroelastic analysis for reliable structural design becomes an imperative. In the early design stage the beam model coupled with 3D hydrodynamic model is a rational choice. The modal superposition method is ordinary used for solving this complex problem. The advanced thin-walled girder theory, with shear influence on both bending and torsion, is applied for calculation of dry natural modes. It is shown that relatively short engine room structure of large container ships behaves as the open hold structure with increased torsional stiffness due to deck effect. Warping discontinuity at the joint of the closed and open segments is compensated by induced distortion. The effective torsional stiffness parameters based on an energy balance approach are determined. Estimation of distortion of transverse bulkheads, as a result of torsion and warping, is given. The procedure is illustrated in the case of a ship-like pontoon and checked by 3D FEM analysis. The obtained results encourage incorporation of the modified beam model of the short engine room structure in general beam model of ship hull for the need of hydroelastic analysis, where only the first few natural modes are of interest.

• Fibers and Polymers
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.116-121
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• 2000

It has been considered that malic acid, $\alpha$-hydroky succinic acid, could not form crosslinks in the cellulosic materials unless activated by other polycarboxylic acids such as butanetetracarboxylic acid or citric acid because there are only two carboxylic acids per molecule available fur the formation of one anhydride intermediate. However we found that the dicarboxylic malic acid with sodium hypophosphite catalyst without the addition of other crosslinkers was able to improve wrinkle resistance of cotton up to $294^{\circ}$(dry WRA) and $285^{\circ}$ (wet WRA), which is a measure of crosslinking level in cotton. $^1$H FT-NMR, FT-IR and GPC analysis indicated the in-situ formation of an trimeric $\alpha$, $\beta$-rnalic acid with a composition of 1:3 through the esterification between hydroxyl group and one of carboxylic groups in malic acid during curing. The crosslinking of cotton was attributed to the trimeric $\alpha$, $\beta$-malic acid, a tetracarboxylic acid, which can form two anhydride rings during curing. The influence of crosslinking conditions such as concentrations of malic acid and catalyst, pH of the formulation bath, and curing temperature were investigated in terms of imparted wrinkle resistance and whiteness. The addition of reactive polyurethane resin in the formulation slightly increased the mechanical strength retention of crosslinked fabric coupled with additional increase in wrinkle resistance.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.10 no.5
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• pp.689-707
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• 2016

Soil stabilization is one of the useful method of ground improvement for soil with low bearing capacity and high settlement and unrequired swelling potential. Generally, the stabilization is carried out by adding some solid materials. The main objective of this research was to investigate the feasibility of stabilization of organic soils and sewage sludge to obtain low cost alternative embankment material by the addition of two different slags. Slags were used as a replacement for weak soil at ratios of 0%, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100%, where sewage sludge and organic soil were blended with slags separately. The maximum dry unit weights and the optimum water contents for all soil mixtures were determined. In order to investigate the influence of the slags on the strength of sewage sludge and organic soil, and to obtain the optimal mix design; compaction tests, the California bearing ratio (CBR) test, unconfined compressive strength (UCS) test, hydraulic conductivity test (HCT) and pH tests were carried out on slag-soil specimens. Unconfined compressive tests were performed on non-cured samples and those cured at 7 days. The test results obtained from untreated specimens were compared to tests results obtained from soil samples treated with slag. Laboratory tests results indicated that blending slags with organic soil or sewage sludge improved the engineering properties of organic or sewage sludge. Therefore, it is concluded that slag can be potentially used as a stabilizer to improve the properties of organic soils and sewage sludge.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.173-186
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• 2015

The rapid urbanization in Pakistan is creating a shortage of sustainable construction sites with good soil conditions. Attempts have been made to use rice husk ash (RHA) in concrete industry of Pakistan, however, limited literature is available on its potential to improve local soils. This paper presents an experimental study on engineering properties of low and high plastic cohesive soils blended with 0-20% RHA by dry weight of soil. The decrease in plasticity index and shrinkage ratio indicates a reduction in swell potential of RHA treated cohesive soils which is beneficial for problems related to placing pavements and footings on such soils. It is also observed that the increased formation of pozzolanic products within the pore spaces of soil from physicochemical changes transforms RHA treated soils to a compact mass which decreases both total settlement and rate of settlement. A notable increase in friction angle with increase in RHA up to 16% was also observed in direct shear tests. It is concluded that RHA treatment is a cost-effective and sustainable alternate to deal with problematic local cohesive soils in agro-based developing countries like Pakistan.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.365-382
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• 2007

A pilot study has been conducted to guide the development of a finite element modeling formulation for the analysis of architectural glass curtain walls under in-plane lateral load simulating earthquake effects. This pilot study is one aspect of ongoing efforts to develop a general prediction model for glass cracking and glass fallout for architectural glass storefront and curtain wall systems during seismic loading. For this study, the ANSYS finite element analysis program was used to develop a model and obtain the stress distribution within an architectural glass panel after presumed seismic movements cause glass-to-frame contact. The analysis was limited to static loading of a dry-glazed glass curtain wall panel. A mock-up of the glass curtain wall considered in the analysis with strain gages mounted at select locations on the glass and the aluminum framing was subjected to static loading. A comparison is made between the finite element analysis predicted strain and the experimentally measured strain at each strain gage location.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.555-560
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• 2019

During the application of shotcrete, a part of the concrete bounces back after hitting to the surface, the reinforcement or previously sprayed concrete. This rebound material is definitely not added to the mixture and considered as waste. In this study, a deep neural network model was developed to predict the rebound material during shotcrete application. The factors affecting rebound and the datasets of these parameters were obtained from previous experiments. The Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) architecture of the proposed deep neural network model was used in accordance with this data set. In the development of the proposed four-tier prediction model, the dataset was divided into 90% training and 10% test. The deep neural network was modeled with 11 dependents 1 independent data by determining the most appropriate hyper parameter values for prediction. Accuracy and error performance in success performance of LSTM model were evaluated over MSE and RMSE. A success of 93.2% was achieved at the end of training of the model and a success of 85.6% in the test. There was a difference of 7.6% between training and test. In the following stage, it is aimed to increase the success rate of the model by increasing the number of data in the data set with synthetic and experimental data. In addition, it is thought that prediction of the amount of rebound during dry-mix shotcrete application will provide economic gain as well as contributing to environmental protection.

• Textile Coloration and Finishing
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• v.9 no.6
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• pp.58-67
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• 1997

PTCA(1,2,3-propanetricarboxylic acid) and BTCA(1,2,3-butanetetracarboxylic acid) are selected as new nonformaldehyde agents for ester crosslinking of cotton cellulose to replace the traditional DMDHEU reagent. A goal of this research is to propose unknown ester mechanism of cotton cellulose by PTCA or BTCA using crystal structure model suggested by Meyer and Takahashi. In pursuit of these goals, we have treated 100% cotton broad cloth with PTCA or BTCA and different catalysts. They were used with $NaH_2PO_2,\;NaH_2PO_4,\;Na_2HPO_4,\;NaH_2PO_2,\;Na_3PO_4,$ catalysts to produce nonformaldehyde fabric finishes. Treatments were applied to all cotton fabrics using a pad-dry -cure process. The esterfication of cotton treated with BTCA or PTCA was investigated using Fourier transform infrared(FT-IR) spectra and the breaking strength, abrasion retention and discoloration properties were determined to prove the durable finished fabrics. Patterns with respect to abrasion resistance were more complex. Because PTCA and BTCA add-ons were comparable, the data suggest that the more effective catalysts, $NaH_2PO_2$ and mixed phosphate $NaH_2PO_2/NaH_2PO_4$) are effecting either a great number of crosslinks in the cotton or producing crosslinks that differ in actual structure.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.327-336
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• 2020

Conventional researches on the behavior of fiber-reinforced and unreinforced soils often investigated the failure point. In this study, a concept is proposed in the comparison of the fiber-reinforced with unreinforced sand, by estimating the strength and strength ratio at different levels of strain. A comprehensive program of laboratory drained triaxial compression test was performed on compacted sand specimens, with and without date palm fiber. The fiber inclusion used in triaxial test specimens was form 0.25%-1.0% of the sand dry weight. The effect of the fiber inclusion and confining pressure at 0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5%, 3.0%, 6.0%, 9.0%, 12%, and 15% of the imposed strain levels on the specimen were considered and described. The results showed that, the trend and magnitude of the strength ratio is different for various strain levels. It also implies that, using failure strength from peak point or the strength corresponding to the axial strain of approximately 15% for evaluating the enhancement of strength or strength ratio, due to the reinforcement, may cause hazard and uncertainty in practical design. Therefore, it is necessary to consider the strength of fiber-reinforced specimen at the imposed strain level, compared to the unreinforced specimen.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.221-236
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• 2020

To reduce the CO₂ emissions associated with the manufacture of portland cement (PC), an efficient alternative like an alkali-activated binder (AAB) is the requirement of the industry. To promote the use of AAB in construction activities, a practically implementable mix proportion is required. Owing to the several raw ingredients of AAB concrete and their associated uncertainties, partial replacement of PC by AAB may be adopted instead of complete replacement as per industrial requirements. Hence, the present study aims to determine an optimal proportion for partial replacement of PC with AAB and recommend a technique for it based on site conditions. Three modes of partial replacement are followed: combining all the dry ingredients for AAB and PC followed by the addition of the requisite liquids (PAM); combining the PC and the AAB concrete in two horizontal layers (PAH); and two vertical layers (PAV). 28-day old specimens are exposed to 10% v/v solutions of HCl, H₂SO₄, and HNO₃ to evaluate changes in mechanical, physical, and microstructural characteristics through compressive strength, corrosion depth, and microscopy. Based on deterioration in strength and integrity, PAH or PAV can be adopted in absence of acid attack, whereas PAM is recommended in presence of acid attack.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.441-448
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• 2020

This paper presents a study on the undrained shear strength (s_u) of various sands treated with a biopolymer by employing an extensive series of laboratory fall-cone penetration values covered a range of about 15 mm to 25 mm. In the tests, two sizes (0.15 mm-0.30 mm, and 1.0 mm-2.0 mm) and shapes (rounded, angular) of sand grains, Xanthan gum (XG), and distilled water were used. The XG biopolymer in 0.0%, 1.0%, 2.0%, and 3.0% by dry weight were mixed separately with four different sands, and water. The tests results obtained at the same water content revealed an increase in the su values at different levels with an increase in the XG content. Treating the sands with the XG biopolymer addition was concluded to have a greater efficacy on finer and more angular grains than coarser and more rounded grains in the samples. Overall, the present study indicates that different amount of the XG biopolymer has an important potential to be utilized for increasing the s_u values of samples with various size/shape of sand grains and water content.