Tensile Strain Capacity Prediction of Engineered Cementitious Composites (ECC) Using Soft Computing Techniques

Plain concrete is strong in compression but brittle in tension,having a low tensile strain capacity that can significantly degrade the long-term performance of concrete structures,even when steel reinforcing is present.In order to address these challenges,short polymer fibers are randomly dispersed in a cement-based matrix to forma highly ductile engineered cementitious composite(ECC).Thismaterial exhibits high ductility under tensile forces,with its tensile strain being several hundred times greater than conventional concrete.Since concrete is inherently weak in tension,the tensile strain capacity(TSC)has become one of the most extensively researched properties.As a result,developing a model to predict the TSC of the ECC and to optimize the mixture proportions becomes challenging.Meanwhile,the effort required for laboratory trial batches to determine the TSC is reduced.To achieve the research objectives,five distinct models,artificial neural network(ANN),nonlinear model(NLR),linear relationship model(LR),multi-logistic model(MLR),and M5P-tree model(M5P),are investigated and employed to predict the TSCof ECCmixtures containing fly ash.Data from115 mixtures are gathered and analyzed to develop a new model.The input variables include mixture proportions,fiber length and diameter,and the time required for curing the various mixtures.The model’s effectiveness is evaluated and verified based on statistical parameters such as R2,mean absolute error(MAE),scatter index(SI),root mean squared error(RMSE),and objective function(OBJ)value.Consequently,the ANN model outperforms the others in predicting the TSC of the ECC,with RMSE,MAE,OBJ,SI,and R2 values of 0.42%,0.3%,0.33%,0.135%,and 0.98,respectively.

Effect of curing, capillary action, and groundwater level increment on geotechnical properties of lime concrete: Experimental and prediction studies

Lime concrete and lime treatment are two attractive techniques for geotechnical engineers.However,researches have rarely been carried out to study the effects of moisture and capillary action due to increasing groundwater level on geotechnical properties of lime concrete.The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of curing time and degree of saturation on some of geotechnical properties of lime concrete such as unconfined compressive strength(UCS),secant modulus(ES),failure strain,brittleness index(IB),and deformability index(ID) using unconfined compression tests.First of all,geotechnical and chemical properties of used materials were determined.After curing times of 14 d,28 d,45 d,and 60 d in laboratory condition,the specimens were exposed to saturation levels ranging from 0 to 100%.The results showed that the moisture and curing time have significant effects on the properties of lime concrete.Based on the results of scanning electron micrograph(SEM) test,it was observed that the specimen was characterized by a rather well-structured matrix since both the filling of a large proportion of the coarse-grained soil voids by clay and the pozzolanic activity of lime led to retaining less pore water in the specimen,increasing the UCS and ES,and consequently resisting against swelling and shrinkage of the clay soil.Moreover,due to the pozzolanic reactions and reduction of water,by increasing the curing time and decreasing the degrees of saturation,UCS,ES,and IBincreased,and IDdecreased.Based on the experimental results,a phenomenological model was used to develop equations for predicting the properties in relation to the ratio of degree of saturation/curing time.The results showed that there was a good correlation(almost R2> 90%) between the measured parameters and the estimated ones given by the predicted equations.

Effect of CO_(2) Curing on the Physical Properties of Recycled Coarse Aggregate with Different Attached Mortar Contents

The effects of carbon dioxide (CO_(2)) curing conditions (temperature,relative humidity and CO_(2) curing time) on the physical properties of recycled coarse aggregate (RCA) with varying attached mortar (AM) contents were studied.Before and after CO_(2) curing,the physical properties in terms of the apparent density,water absorption and crushing value of RCA were tested and the quality of RCA was determined.Besides,scanning electron microscope was used to observe the microstructure of RCA.Results show that the physical properties variation of RCA with higher AM content are more significant,and the quality of RCA with lower AM content is easier to be upgraded during CO_(2) curing.The physical properties of RCA with 40.8% AM content are earlier stable than that with no less than 44.5% AM content during CO_(2) curing.The optimal temperature and relative humidity are 50 ℃ and 55% for CO_(2) curing,respectively.CO_(2) curing is incapable of upgrading the quality of RCA with AM no less than 50.6%.The quality of RCA with 44.5% AM content can be upgraded only under the optimum CO_(2) curing conditions.Under relative humidity higher than 40% and the CO_(2) curing time more than 12 h,CO_(2) curing upgrades the quality of RCA with 40.8% AM content.

STUDY ON MICROWAVE DIELECTRIC PROPERTIES OF EPOXY RESIN MIXTURES USED FOR RAPID PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

This paper presents a preliminary study on the dielectric properties and curing of three different types of epoxy resins mixed at various stoichiometric mixture of hardener, flydust and aluminium powder under microwave energy. In this work, the curing process of thin layers of epoxy resins using microwave radiation was investigated as an alternative technique that can' be implemented to develop a new rapid product development technique. In this study it was observed that the curing time and temperature were a function of the percentage of hardener and fillers presence in the epoxy resins. Initially dielectric properties of epoxy resins with hardener were measured which was directly correlated to the curing process in order to understand the properties of cured specimen. Tensile tests were conducted on the three different types of epoxy resins with hardener and fillers. Modifying dielectric properties of the mixtures a significant decrease in curing time was observed. In order to study the microstructural changes of cured specimen the morphology of the fracture surface was carried out by using scanning electron microscopy.

The Mechanical Properties of Coastal Soil Treated with Cement

The influences of cement type, cement content, and curing time on the unconfined compression strength （UCS） of soil-cement were investigated. The influence of groundwater on UCS of soil- cement was also studied. The experimental results indicate that the soil treated with high grade cement presents a higher UCS. Additionally, the UCS of soil-cement presents linearly increased with the cement content. A logarithm correlation between UCS and curing time presents to forecast the strength development. Compared with the UCS of samples immersed in distilled water, those immersed in groundwater oresent a hizher value.

Effect of Epoxy Resin on Mechanical Properties of Metakaolin based Geopolymer and Microscopic Analysis

By using NaOH and Na2SiO3 as the activator,the mechanical properties and shrinkage of the geopolymer after incorporation of 0%,10%,20%,and 30% epoxy resin were investigated.The mechanism of epoxy resin toughening metakaolin based geopolymer was analyzed by X-ray diffraction,scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy.It was shown that with the increases of epoxy resin,the shrinkage performance was obviously improved and the flexural strength increased by 53.5%.The compressive strength of EGP10,EGP20,and EGP30 increased by 49.12%,57.04%,and 65.34% after curing for 28 days,respectively.There were five obvious vibration peaks of 811 cm^-1,1 000 cm^-1,1 050 cm^-1,1 590cm^-1,and 3 400 cm^-1 in the geopolymer and the undisturbed metakaolin.More geopolymer gels were formed in the material and the microstructure was more compact.

Effects of lime addition on geotechnical properties of sedimentary soil in Curitiba,Brazil

The soil of the Guabirotuba geological formation（Paraná Basin, Brazil） has physico-mechanical properties which are not suitable for its utilization in pavement construction, in protection of hillsides and slopes, or as shallow foundation support. Treatment of this soil by lime addition would improve its usability. The present context intends to determine the ratio between the splitting tensile strength（q;）and the unconfined compressive strength（q;） of clayey soil in the metropolitan region of Curitiba City,which has been treated with different lime contents and curing times. The control parameters evaluated include lime content（L）, curing time（t）, moisture content（w）, and ratio of porosity to volumetric lime content（η/L;）. It was observed that the q;/q;ratio is between 0.17 and 0.2 in relation to the curing time,and an exponential relation exists between them. Meanwhile, the unconfined compressive strength of lime-treated soil was found to be approximately four times the initial value.