Compressive and Flexural Strengths of Cement Stabilized Earth Bricks Reinforced with Treated and Untreated Pineapple Leaves Fibres

This study compares the effect of treated pineapple leaves fibres (T-PALF) with sodium hydroxide solution and untreated fibres (N-PALF) on the compressive and flexural strength of earth bricks stabilized with 3% and 5% cement. The fibre content ranged from 0% to 5% in steps of 1% by weight. The compressive strength tests were made at 7, 14, 21 and 28 days of curing;the flexural strength test were conducted at 28th day only. The results show that the T-PALF had a higher compressive strength when comparing to the N-PALF. The highest compressive strength of the bricks was obtained at 28 days of curing. The compressive strength at 28 days of stabilized brick at 3% and 5% of cement reinforced with T-PALF were 4.01 and 4.81 MPa, respectively, while the one reinforced with N-PALF was 3.19 and 4.63 MPa, respectively. The results further show that the highest flexural strength of both stabilized bricks at 3% and 5% of cement reinforced with T-PALF and N-PALF was obtained with the bricks stabilized with 5% of cement reinforced with T-PALF. This results show that bricks stabilized with 5% cement and reinforced with 3% of treated fibres content are good for construction of load bearing walls. It was observed;a significant improvement of the reinforced blocks under flexure than under compression.

Compressive and Flexural Strength of Recycled Reactive Powder Concrete Containing Finely Dispersed Local Wastes

The main objective of this experimental study is to investigate the behavior of Recycled Reactive Powder Concrete (RRPC) developed from finely dispersed local waste raw materials. In this study, RRPC was developed by utilizing local wastes (finely dispersed waste glass powder, waste fly ash and waste ceramic powder) together with Portland cement, fine sand, admixture, steel fibers and water through full replacement of silica fume as well as quartz powder for sustainable construction practice. In this study, all raw materials for making RRPC were analyzed for X-Ray Fluorescence analysis. For sustainability of local construction works, this study employed standard curing method at ambient temperatures instead of steam curing at higher temperatures. Moreover, hand mixing was used throughout the study. To evaluate the structural performances of the developed RRPC mixes, compressive and flexural strengths of RRPC were investigated experimentally and compared with the control mix. The experimental results indicated that replacing the silica fume fully by finely dispersed local waste glass powder (GP) and fly ash (FA) is a promising approach for local structural construction applications. Accordingly, a mean compressive strength of 62.9 MPa and flexural strength of 8.8 MPa were developed using 50% GP-50% FA at 28thdays standard curing. In this study, 17.56% larger compressive strength and 30.6% flexural strength improvements were observed as compared to the control mix.

Effects of binder strength and aggregate size on the compressive strength and void ratio of porous concrete

To test the influence of binder strength, porous concretes with 4 binder strengths between 30.0-135.0 MPa and 5 void ratios between 15%-35% were tested. The results indicated that for the same aggregate, the rates of strength reduction due to the increases in void ratio were the same for binders with different strengths. To study the influence of aggregate size, 3 single size aggregates with nominal sizes of 5.0, 13.0 and 20.0 mm （Nos. 7, 6 and 5 according to JIS A 5001） were used to make porous concrete. The strengths of porous concrete are found to be dependent on aggregate size. The rate of strength reduction of porous concrete with small aggregate size is found to be higher than that with larger aggregate size. At the same void ratio, the strength of porous concrete with large aggregate is larger than that with small aggregate. The general equations for porous concrete are related to compressive strength and void ratio for different binder strengths and aggregate sizes.

Influence of the column-to-beam flexural strength ratio on the failure mode of beam-column connections in RC frames

The column-to-beam flexural strength ratio(CBFSR)has been used in many seismic codes to achieve the strong column-weak beam(SCWB)failure mode in reinforced concrete(RC)frames,in which plastic hinges appear earlier in beams than in columns.However,seismic investigations show that the required limit of CBFSR in seismic codes usually cannot achieve the SCWB failure mode under strong earthquakes.This study investigates the failure modes of RC frames with different CBFSRs.Nine typical three-story RC frame models with different CBFSRs are designed in accordance with Chinese seismic codes.The seismic responses and failure modes of the frames are investigated through time-history analyses using 100 ground motion records.The results show that the required limit of the CBFSR that guarantees the SCWB failure mode depends on the beam-column connection type and the seismic intensity,and different types of beam-column connections exhibit different failure modes even though they are designed with the same CBFSR.Recommended CBFSRs are proposed for achieving the designed SCWB failure mode for different types of connections in RC frames under different seismic intensities.These results may provide some reference for further revisions of the SCWB design criterion in Chinese seismic codes.

Effects of Loading Rate on Flexural-tension Properties and Uniaxial Compressive Strength of Micro-surfacing Mixture

The major objective of this research was to discuss the effects of loading rate on the flexural-tension properties and uniaxial compressive strength of micro-surfacing mixture using three-point bending test and uniaxial compressive test respectively. As a preventive maintenance surface treatment on asphalt pavement, micro-surfacing was formed on the basis of the ISSA recommendation of an optimum micro-surfacing design. Tests were conducted over a wide range of temperature to investigate the difference of properties from low loading rate to a relatively high loading rate. Three-point bending test was used to study the flexural strength, strain and modulus of micro-surfacing mixture, and uniaxial compressive test was carried out to obtain the relationship between strength and the loading rate as well as temperature. The experimental results showed that flexural strength at high loading rate was larger than that at low loading rate. The flexural strength difference between low and high loading rate enlarged when the temperature rose. The flexural strain at high loading rate increased compared with results of the low loading rate. Results of the flexural modulus revealed that micro-surfacing mixture exhibited better anti-cracking characteristic at low temperature when given a relatively low loading rate. Results of uniaxial compressive test revealed that the strength difference of micro-surfacing among different loading rates increased with the increase of temperature. The logarithm relationship between the strength and loading rate over a wide range of temperature was obtained to compare the experimental and predicted values, which resulting in a reasonable consistency.

Equal Volumes of Sand and Gravel Concrete Mix Ratios in Cameroon and Its Effect on Concrete Compressive Strength

In recent years, the rationalization of concrete mix ratios which batches equal volumes of sand and gravel in building projects has been gaining grounds in the Cameroon construction industry. The main objective of this study is therefore to investigate if the concrete produced with rationalized mix ratio can be adopted as conventional mix ratio in terms of minimum required compression strength of concrete for buildings. Specifically this work compared the conventional mix ratio of 350 kg of cement: 400 liters of sand: 800 liters of gravel for a cubic meter and the rationalized batch of 350 kg of cement: 600 liters of sand: 600 liters of 5/15 gravel, 15/25 gravel and a combination of 5/15 + 15/25 gravel. Average compressive tests’results for both the conventional and the rationalized mix ratios were found to meet the minimum compressive strength of 65% at 7 days, 90% at 14 days and 99% at 28 days for gravel size combination 5/15 + 15/25. Single size gravel of 5/15 and 15/25 did not meet the minimum required compressive strength of 20 N/mm2 for the rationalized mix ratio at 28 days curing based on the minimum compressive strength required, this study arrives at the conclusion that the equal volumes of sand and gravel mix ratio of 350 kg/m3 of cement: 600 liters of sand: 600 liters of gravel mix ratio can be adopted as a conventional concrete mix ratio for gravel size 5/15 + 15/25.

Effect of waste concrete with different strength on mechanical properties of recycled fine aggregate mortar

The influence of source concrete (SC) with different compression strengths on the workability and mechanical properties of recycled mortar made with river sand substituted by 100% fine recycled concrete aggregates (FRCA) is experimentally investigated. The basic physical performance test shows that with the increase in SC strength, FRCA exhibit lower water absorption and crushing index, meanwhile keeping higher densities. Mechanical property tests, including compressive strength, flexural strength and uniaxial compressive stress-strain tests, show that compressive strength,flexural strength and elasticity modulus of recycled sand mortars increase roughly with the increase in SC strength. The proposed mixture design method demonstrates that all of the components can be kept as the same as those in natural mortar mixture design and FRCA must be pre-wetted before making mortar mixture. Meanwhile, the reuse of higher strength SC can ensure that recycled mortar mixtures are able to achieve similar mechanical performance when compared to natural mortar designs.

Size effect on cubic and prismatic compressive strength of cement paste

A series of compression tests were conducted on 150 groups of cement paste specimens with side lengths ranging from 40 mm to 200 mm. The specimens include cube specimens and prism specimens with height to width ratio of 2. The experiment results show that size effect exists in the cubic compressive strength and prismatic compressive strength of the cement paste, and larger specimens resist less in terms of strength than smaller ones. The cubic compressive strength and the prismatic compressive strength of the specimens with side length of 200 mm are respectively about 91% and 89% of the compressive strength of the specimens with the side length of 40 mm. Water to binder ratio has a significant influence on the size effect of the compressive strengths of the cement paste. With a decrease in the water to binder ratio, the size effect is significantly enhanced. When the water to binder ratio is 0.2, the size effects of the cubic compressive strength and the prismatic compressive strength of the cement paste are 1.6 and 1.4 times stronger than those of a water to binder ratio of 0.6. Furthermore, a series of formulas are proposed to calculate the size effect of the cubic compressive strength and the prismatic compressive strength of cement paste, and the results of the size effect predicted by the formulas are in good agreement with the experiment results.

Flexural fatigue strength of steel fibrous concrete containing mixed steel fibres

This paper reports investigation conducted to study the fatigue performance of steel fibre reinforced concrete (SFRC) containing fibres of mixed aspect ratio. An extensive experimental program was conducted in which 90 flexural fatigue tests were carried out at different stress levels on size 500 mm×100 mm×100 mm SFRC specimens respectively containing 1.0%, 1.5% and 2.0% volume fraction of fibres. About 36 static flexural tests were also conducted to determine the static flexural strength prior to fatigue testing. Each volume fraction of fibres incorporated corrugated mixed steel fibres of size 0.6 mm×2.0 mm×25 mm and 0.6 mm×2.0 mm×50 mm in ratio 50:50 by weight. The results are presented both as S-N relationships, with the maximum fatigue stress expressed as a percentage of the strength under static loading, and as relationships between actually applied fatigue stress and number of loading cycles to failure. Two-million-cycle fatigue strengths of SFRC containing different volume fractions of mixed fibres were obtained and compared with plain concrete.

Assessment of strength development in cement-admixed artificial organic soil with GX07

To explore the stabilization effect of stabilizing agent GX07 on treating organic soil and the influence of organic matter on the strength development of stabilized soil,artificial organic soil with various organic matter content was obtained by adding different amounts of fulvic acid into non-organic clay,and then liquid-plastic limit tests were carried out on the artificial organic soil.Meanwhile,unconfined compressive strength(UCS) tests were performed on cement-only soil and composite stabilized soil,respectively.The test results indicate that the plastic limit of soil samples increases linearly,and the liquid limit increases exponentially as the organic matter content increases.The strength of stabilized soil is well correlated with the organic matter content,cement content,stabilizing agent content and curing time.When the organic matter content is 6%,as the cement content varies in the range of 10%-20%,the strength of cement-only soil increases from 88.5 to 280.8 kPa.Once 12.6% GX07 is added into the mix,the strength of stabilized soil is 4.93 times compared with that of cement-only soil.GX07 can obviously improve the strength of cemented-soil and has a good economic applicability.A strength model is proposed to predict strength development.

Effect of Fly Ash and Silica Fume on Hydration Rate of Cement Pastes and Strength of Mortars

The effect of fly ash and silica fume on hydration rate and strength of cement in the early stage was studied. Contrast test was applied to the complex cementitious system to investigate the hydration rate. Combined with mechanical strength, the influence of fly ash and silica fume during the hydration process of complex binder was researched. The peak of the rate of hydration heat evolution and the mechanical strength decreased as the ratio of fly ash increased, however, as the ratio of silica fume increased, the peak of the rate of hydration heat evolution and the mechanical strength increased obviously. When the ratios of fly ash and silica fume are 10% and 5%, the peak of the rate of hydration heat evolution is the highest. At the same time 7 days of flexural and compressive strength are the highest as 8.89 MPa and 46.52 MPa, respectively. Fly ash and silica fume are the main factors affecting the hydration rate and the mechanical property.

Influence of Waste Tire Chips on Strength Characteristics of Soils

An experimental study was conducted to investigate the effect of waste tire chips on the strength characteristics of two soils. A cohesive clayey silt soil and a cohesionless free sand soil were used. A program of standard Proctor tests, unconfined compression tests and California bearing ratio tests was carried out on specimens of the cohesive soft-tire mixtures, by varying tire chips content from 5% to 20% by weight of the soil. Vibratory compaction tests and direct shear tests were conducted on the cohesioliless soft-tire mixtures by adding tire chips varying from 10% to 50% by weight. The results showed that 13% and 30% chip contents, respectively by weight, were optimum for composite strength of the two reinforced soil mixtttres.

A Parametric Approach to the Evaluation of Flexural Strength of Advanced Ceramic or Glass Like Cylindrical Rods at Ambient Temperature

This critical review presents a parametric approach to the evaluation of flexural strength of advanced ceramic or glass like cylindrical rods at ambient temperature.The parameters governing the measurement and evaluation of flexure strengths of glasses and ceramics are detailed with references.The scope for improvement in the existing ASTM STM C-1684 standard is described with a logical rationale and the parameters that need to be addressed are listed and explained.

The Effect of Cold Working on Creep Rupture Strength and Microstructure of Ni-23Cr-7W Alloy

In order to clarify the reason why the creep rupture time of pre-strained Ni-23Cr-7W Alloy (HR6W) is longer than that of the non-pre-strained HR6W, microstructures of HR6W after a series of creep tests were investigated. The creep tests were conducted at 750°C, 90 and 100 MPa. In the pre-strained samples, the grain boundary shielding ratio by precipitates was larger than that of the non-pre-strained sample. In addition, in the pre-strained samples the size of the M23C6 carbide in the grains was finer than in the non-pre-strained sample. The W content in the M23C6 carbide in the pre-strained samples tended to be larger than in the non-pre-strained sample. Therefore, the Ostwald ripening of the carbide was delayed and the size of M23C6 carbide was thought to be fine for a long time. These observations show that creep strength in the pre-strained samples is higher than that of the non-pre-strained sample because of both precipitation strengthening inside of the grains and grain boundaries.

Effect of Fiber Weight Ratio and Fiber Modification on Flexural Properties of Posidonia-Polyester Composites

The main objective of this research is to study the effect of fiber weight ratio and chemical fiber modification on flexural properties of composites reinforced with Posidonia fiber. An unsaturated polyester matrix reinforced with untreated and treated Posidonia fibers was fabricated under various fiber weight ratios. Results showed that the combined chemical treatment provided better mechanical properties of composites in comparison with untreated fiber. The fiber weight ratio influenced the flexural properties of composites. Indeed, a maximum value of flexural modulus was observed for 10% fiber weight ratio for composites reinforced with treated fibers. SEM photographs revealed a different fracture surface between Posidonia fibers reinforced polyester composites.

Comprehensive Analysis of the Effects of Superplasticizer Variation on the Workability and Strength of Ready-Mix Concrete

This experimental study aims to examine the influence of many crucial parameters on the workability and compressive strength of Ready-Mix Concrete (RMC). The study utilized two distinct varieties of superplasticizers obtained from the local market. The fine aggregates utilized in this study were sourced from Sylhet sand, whereas the coarse aggregates were comprised of boulder crushed stone chips. The experimental procedures adhered to the requirements outlined by ASTM. A comprehensive investigation was conducted on a range of concrete compositions that used diverse chemical admixtures. The slump test was performed at regular intervals of 15 minutes until the slump value reached or fell below 3 cm after the mixing of the concrete. In the scenario involving two-stage admixture dosage, the second stage of admixture was introduced once the slump reached or dropped below 3 cm, following which the casting process was initiated. The process of curing concrete specimens consists of two distinct stages: the main stage and the final stage. Cylindrical specimens, with a diameter of 4 inches and a height of 8 inches, were manufactured for the purpose of evaluating their compressive strength at both 7 and 28 days. During the experimental trials, the water-cement (w/c) ratio was kept consistent, while different dosages of admixture were applied. The findings of the study indicate that the utilization of a two-stage dose of admixture resulted in enhanced and extended workability, along with higher strength of the concrete in comparison to specimens that did not incorporate any admixture. This research study enhances the comprehension of optimizing qualities of ready-mix concrete (RMC) by varying the superplasticizer, providing useful insights for the building sector.

Strength regularity and failure criterion of plain HSHPC under biaxial compression after exposure to high temperatures

Biaxial compression tests are performed on 100 mm × 100 mm × 100 mm cubic specimens of plain high-strength highperformance concrete （HSHPC） at seven kinds of stress ratios, σ2：σ3 =0 ： - 1, -0.20 ： - 1, -0.30 ： - 1, -0.40 ： - 1, -0.50 ： -1, -0. 75 ： - 1, and - 1.00 ： - 1 after exposure to normal and high temperatures of 20, 200, 300, 400, 500 and 600 ℃, using a large static-dynamic true triaxial machine. Frictionreducing pads are three layers of plastic membranes with glycerine in-between for the compressive loading plane. Failure modes of the specimens are described. The two principally static compressive strengths are measured. The influences of the temperatures and stress ratios on the biaxial strengths of HSHPC after exposure to high temperatures are also analyzed. The experimental results show that the uniaxial compressive strength of plain HSHPC after exposure to high temperatures does not decrease completely with the increase in temperature; the ratios of the biaxial to its uniaxial compressive strengths depend on the stress ratios and brittleness-stiffness of HSHPC after exposure to different high temperatures. The formula of the Kupfer-Gerstle failure criterion modified with the temperature and stress ratio parameters for plain HSHPC is proposed.

Mechanical Properties of Mo Fiber-reinforced Resin Mineral Composites with Different Mass Ratio of Resin and Hardener

Mo fibers were added to RMC with different mass ratios of resin and hardener to improve its mechanical properties. The influences of fiber surface state and hardener content on interface bonding strength and mechanical properties of RMC were studied, respectively. Furthermore, strain values of typical measuring points on samples of Mo fiber reinforced RMC(MFRRMC) under different loads were obtained by experiments and finite element analysis. The experimental results prove that scrap Mo fibers can improve interface bonding strength and mechanical properties of RMC better than new smooth Mo fibers because of the discharge pits randomly distributed on the surface of scrap fibers. With the decrease of hardener content, not only interface bonding strength between fiber and matrix, but also compression and flexural strength of MFRRMC increase firstly and then decrease. The properties are best while the mass ratio of resin and hardener reaches 4:1. It is indicated that finite element calculation data basically agree with experimental data by comparison of strain values on typical measuring points, which can provide an important intuitive reference for successive study on other mechanical properties of MFRRMC, validating the correctness of simulation method as well.

Detection of Thermophysical Properties for High Strength Concrete after Exposure to High Temperature

Using the detection principle of infrared thermal imaging technique and the detection principle of DRH thermal conductivity tester laboratory,we investigated the infrared thermal image inspection,coefficient of thermal conductivity,apparent density,and compressive strength test on C80 high-strength concrete（HSC） in the presence and absence of polypropylene fibers under completely heated conditions.Only slight damages were detected below 400 ℃,whereas more and more severe deterioration events were expected when the temperature was above 500 ℃.The results show that the elevated temperature through infrared images generally exhibits an upward trend with increasing temperature,while the coefficient of thermal conductivity and apparent density decrease gradually.Additionally,the addition of polypropylene fibers with appropriate length,diameter,and quantity contributes to the improvement of the high-temperature resistance of HSC.

Effects of Water/Binder Ratio on the Properties of Engineered Cementitious Composites

The effects of water/binder ratio （w/b） on the toughness behavior, compressive strength and flexural strength of engineered cementitious composites （ECC） were investigated. The w/b ratios of 0.25, 0.31, 0.33 and 0.37 were selected and the specimens were tested at the ages of 7 d and 28 d. The experimental results showed that there was a corresponding increase in first cracking strength, modulus of rupture, compressive strength and flexural strength with the decrease of w/b. Within the w/b range of 0.25-0.37, higher w/b was found to have improved effects on deflection, strain hardening index and toughness index of ECC. In the permission of meeting the requirement of compressive strength grade, selecting higher w/b in mix design will help to obtain robust ECC.