JOURNAL OF CONCRETE RESEARCH
Year:2016 | Volume:9 | Issue:1|Papers Count:10

This paper discussed the effect of adding a pumice pozzolans and metakaolin composition on durability properties of self-compacting concrete (SCC) to present a corrosion-resistant mixed to be used for decks and piers of bridges in sea areas, and marine structures. Replacement of 10% pumice and 10% metakaolin and their 10% and 15% compositions as the replacement of some part of cement were used for making mix plans of the research. Compressive strength, water permeability, specific electrical resistivity, rapid chloride migration tests (RCMT), and accelerated corrosion tests were carried out. The tests were performed at the ages of 7, 14, 28, 56, 90, and 180 days. The results showed that a pumice and metakaolin composition maintained SCC’s mechanical properties, improved concrete durability, and increased age cracking in the accelerated tests considerably as compared with a control sample. The samples reduced RCMT up to 28.1% and increased age cracking by 26.4%.

Application of nanoparticles in cement, regarding their synthesis and utilization procedure, provides various mechanical, electrical and thermal properties to cement based composites. The superior properties of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have made them as one of the most beneficial nano-reinforcement material. On the other hand, metal particles have been known to be effective for enhancing electrical properties. Accordingly, it seems that the synergistic incorporation of CNTs and copper particles can introduce suitable piezoelectric properties to cement matrices. To this end, in the current investigation, in order to prepare the reinforcement material, copper coated CNTs were prepared using an efficient electroless deposition process. The synthesized samples were characterized using SEM, TEM, XRD, TGA, ICP and AAS. Our results revealed that the process covers most surfaces of the CNTs. Furthermore, the calculated bath efficiency showed to be more than 99%.

Utilization of pozzolanic materials is one of the strategies applied to reduce pollution emitted during cement production. In this regard, rice husk ash produced through controlled incineration shows high pozzolanic performance which causes reasonable improvement in mechanical and durability properties of concrete materials. Moreover, acid treatment before incineration process is one of the most effective methods which is attracted less attention.According to the above mentioned issues, in the current study, the influence of acid treated rice husk ash on mechanical and durability characteristics of concrete was investigated. In addition, to make an exact comparison, concrete mixtures incorporating untreated rice husk ash, zeolite, and silica fume were fabricated and tested. Testing program includes compressive strength, water penetration under pressure, electrical resistivity, half-cell potential, and rapid chloride permeability tests.Results indicated that acid treated rice husk ash performed much better than untreated one and zeolite in increasing compressive strength and durability indices. Moreover, concrete containing silica fume had higher durability compared to concrete incorporating treated rice husk ash; however, the influence of treated rice husk ash on compressive strength was very similar to silica fume.

The development of new types of high performance concrete such as self-consolidating concrete (SCC) and lightweight concrete (LWC) responds to some of the urgent needs of the construction sector. The use of lightweight aggregates in the production of SCC combines the favorable properties of LWC and SCC in self-consolidating lightweight concrete (SCLC). However, there are few studies on properties of SCLC up to now. In this study, the effects of polypropylene fibers on strength and transport properties of SCLC were investigated. Two types of polypropylene fibers, 6mm and 12mm long, were used in SCLC mixtures at different contents of 0%, 0.025%, 0.05% and 0.1% by total volume of concrete. The fresh properties of SCLCs were observed through slump flow time and diameter, V-funnel flow time and J-ring tests. Unit weight, compressive strength, flexural strength, pulse velocity, water absorption, and sorptivity were measured in all SCLC mixes and compared with that of the control mixture. It has been found that using polypropylene fibers in SCLC can lead to improvement in both strength and transport properties of concrete.

Colored self-compacting mortar (C-SCM) is a novel technology used in architectural construction, decoration and concrete rehabilitation. Obtaining an optimum mix design for C-SCM requires sufficient mechanical properties along with emergence of the desired colors. Therefore, it is important to define proper pigment content in the mixture. In addition, if pigment can act as a coloring filler, it will appropriately apply to SCM matrix. In this research, the effect of combinative (mixture of organic and inorganic) pigment on mechanical and colorimetric properties of SCM at pigment contents of 2, 5 and 10% were investigated. Furthermore, replacing pigment with siliceous filler was performed to study the filling ability of the pigment. Results indicated that the combinative pigment could efficiently function as coloring filler and contents of less than 5% led to superior colors and mechanical properties.

From the vulnerable part of reinforced concrete in bending frames resistant to earthquake, the near column area. In the beams retrofitting realm, the reinforcement of this area due to high shear forces enjoys an extreme importance. Among the main retrofitting methods, two methods are retrofitting by steel covers and CFRP Polymer coating which has their own special merits and demerits. In order to enjoy the merits and overcome the demerits, these to methods can be combined together. In this laboratory research, first 4 samples built with light reinforced concrete were destroyed under cycling loading. Then, 2 samples of concrete beams close to the joint area were made resistant by the concurrent using of steel plates and CFRP jackets and for the other two samples just CFRP was used. The steel plates were used for bending resistance and CFRP was used for making confinement and shear reinforcement. The results revealed good performance of these combined method in reinforcement of light structural concrete beams in the area close to the joint. That is, the coefficient index of reconstructed beams forming by combination compared with the use of CFRP only, was increased almost a hundred percent. Also, the sudden collapse of resistance during the loading was not registered in these samples.

Fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composites are widely used in retrofit and strengthening of reinforced concrete (RC) structures. FRP composites are applicable for strengthening various structural elements including beams, columns and plane elements such as floor slabs and shear walls. Despite their broad usage, available guidelines typically do not contain a comprehensive procedure for retrofitting design of RC elements under general loading conditions. As RC columns are essentially subjected to simultaneous axial force and bending moment in monolithic construction, their evaluation and retrofit under such combined effects are of major importance in the retrofit design process. It appears that available expressions in most design guidelines merely accounts for the possible increase in the compressive strength of concrete due to the enhanced confinement on the concrete core provided by the FRP jackets. Theoretical and experimental studies on the behavior of columns confined by FPR composites subjected to axial force and bending moment are available in the literature. Those studies have demonstrated that FRP jacketing enhances the elements behavior in term of both strength and ductility. Most of studies are primarily devoted to the strengthening of RC elements under pure axial force. In recent years, however, studies have been conducted on response of RC elements under combined effects of axial load and uniaxial bending. Rocca (2009), among others, conducted a very precise and valuable practical study on the effects of bending moments on retrofitting of RC columns using FRP composite. He introduced the interaction curves of retrofitted RC columns with FRP jackets based on the principles of equilibrium and strain compatibility. Moreover, results of various experimental tests are found in the literature emphasizing the behavior of RC elements under eccentric loading conditions. Such tests have investigated the effects of various parameters including the strength of FRP composites, number of FRP layers, orientation of FRP layers, etc. on both the strength and ductility of the retrofitted members.

Strut-and-Tie model is an analytical approach to predict the strength of reinforced concrete members with geometric or statical discontinuous regions. This method based on load paths throughout the members, provides a corresponding truss. Then the failure load is predicted by analyzing the truss model. Although the strut-and-tie model is usually applied for monotonically loaded members, we need more studying about cyclic loading. The behavior of structures under cyclic loads due to the complex nature of this type of load on the structural performance requires the use of advanced finite element method which requires expertise in this base. The estimated failure load and its corresponding deformation are the main objective of this research. Forty and four samples including short shear walls, short columns and deep beams tested by other researchers throughout the literature have been selected. Then their truss models as well as their three dimensional finite element models are analyzed using ABAQUS software. The comparison of experimental and analytical results shows fair correlation between them.

Today, one of the most important indices in the design, construction, and operation of concrete structures is paying particular attention to sustainable development and environmental issues so that the useful life of structures is increased in order for economic savings and environmental protection. Accordingly, researchers have proposed permanent concrete durability idea along with strength concrete and improved the strength and durability of concrete and also reduced cement consumption by replacing natural additives. In this regard, to assess the durability of pozzolan-containing concrete against sulfate attacks, in this paper, a variety of additives including zeolite, fly ash, metakaolin, as well as micro and nano silica was used as an alternative for a part of cement. In order to investigate the effect of different types of sulfates, concrete was placed within four saturation environments containing iron, magnesium, sodium, and calcium sulfates and the control saturation sample was made in limewater to compare all the designs. The samples were evaluated using compressive strength test and ultrasonic test at the ages of 7, 14, 28, 60, 180, and 360 days. The results showed the concrete containing micro and nano silica had maximum strength against sulfate attacks and the devastating effects of magnesium, sodium, and calcium sulfates and low effect of iron sulfate were respectively demonstrated. Investigating the velocity of ultrasonic waves also showed that wave velocity increased by increasing the age from 180 to 360 days and increasing the formation of Ettringite, a destructive substance, in concrete. The highest effect of increased velocity was observed by increasing Ettringite in the calcium sulfate samples.

This paper presents the development of an automatic wireless sensor monitoring system for civil engineering structures. The objective is to provide a solution to measure both temperature and humidity inside a concrete structure. The research has been focused in the early age and curing phase period. Four solutions have been addressed. The first one involves the use of a negative temperature coefficient (NTC) thermistor and an IRIS mote allowing for the creation of an IEEE 802.15.4 network. However, the results have shown that the sensor measurements present a 5 C standard deviation between the actual and the experimental values. The second one considers the use of the SHT15 (humidity/temperature) sensor, together with the PIC18F4680 microcontroller or the Arduino platform. The third solution involves the use of the SHT21S (humidity/temperature) sensor and the eZ430-RF2500 wireless development tool platform for the MSP430 microcontroller. In this case, the temperature readings were successfully performed for the first 16 h, while the humidity values were successfully obtained for the first 24 h of the experiment. Although the set of measured values is very promising for the SHT15 and SHT21S sensors, both sensors have stopped working after some time, showing that direct contact between the sensor and the concrete alkaline environment causes its breakdown. Finally, the fourth solution considers both the SHT15 and SHT21S sensors completely shielded allowing for the creation of a long-term solution. As, the SHT15 and SHT12S sensors have not been affected by the alkaline environment for more than two months of operation, enabling real-time and continuous monitoring with almost non-intrusive tiny devices, the potential of applying the proposed inexpensive wireless sensor network approach is verified.