The main objective of this work was to adopt an environmentally friendly technology with enhanced results. The technology of magnetic water (MW) treatment system can be used in concrete mixture production instead of potable water (PW) to improve both workability and strength. Two types of concrete were adopted: normal concreter production with two grades 25 and 35 MPa and the self-compacted concrete (SCC) with 35 MPa grade. The concrete mixes containing MW instead of PW results showed that, for 25 MPa grade, an improvement in a compressive strength of 15.1, 14.8, and 10.2% was achieved for 7, 28, and 90 days, respectively. For 35 MPa grade, an improvement of 13.6, 11.5, and 9.1% was achieved for 7, 28, and 90 days, respectively. The mixture of SCC showed the highest improvement up to 16.2, 15.8, and 12.4% for 7, 28, and 90 days, respectively. The effect of MW is significant for 7 days compared to 28 and 90 days. An increase in the water content to cementitious material presents the more efficiency of MW, while the combined effect of MW and superplasticizer in SCC showed the best improvement with less water content for 35 MPa grade.
Permanent deformation in asphalt concrete pavements is pervasive distress [1], influenced by various factors such as environmental conditions, traffic loading, and mixture properties. A meticulous investigation into these factors has been conducted, yielding a robust dataset from uniaxial repeated load tests on 108 asphalt concrete samples. Each sample underwent systematic evaluation under varied test temperatures, loading conditions, and mixture properties, ensuring the data’s comprehensiveness and reliability. The materials used, sourced locally, were selected to enhance the study ʼs relevance to pavement constructions in hot climate areas, considering different asphalt cement grades and con- tents to understand material variability ef
... Show MoreThe effect of considering the third dimension in mass concrete members on its cracking behavior is investigated in this study. The investigation includes thermal and structural analyses of mass concrete structures. From thermal analysis, the actual temperature distribution throughout the mass concrete body was obtained due to the generation of heat as a result of cement hydration in addition to the ambient circumstances. This was performed via solving the differential equations of heat conduction and convection using the finite element method. The finite element method was also implemented in the structural analysis adopting the concept of initial strain problem. Drying shrinkage volume changes were calculated using the procedure suggested
... Show MoreFrequently, load associated mode of failure, rutting and fatigue, are the main failure types found in some newly constructed roads within Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, and some suburban areas. The use of excessive amount of natural sand in asphalt concrete mixes which is attractive to local contractors could be one of the possible causes to the lack of strength properties of the mixes resulting in frustration in the pavement performance. In this study, the performance properties of asphalt concrete mixes with two natural sand types, desert and river sands, were evaluated. Moreover, five replacement rates of 0, 25, 50, 75, and 100% by weight of the fine aggregate finer than 4.75 were used. The performance properties including moisture susc
... Show MoreNon-prismatic reinforced concrete (RC) beams are widely used for various practical purposes, including enhancing architectural aesthetics and increasing the overall thickness in the support area above the column, which gives high assurance to services that this will not result in the distortion of construction features and can reduce heights. The hollow sections (recess) can also be used for the maintenance of large structural sections and the safe passage of utility lines of water, gas, telecommunications, electricity, etc. They are generally used in large and complex civil engineering works like bridges. This study conducted a numerical study using the commercial finite element software ANSYS version 15 for analysing RC beams, hol
... Show MoreThis work presents experimental research using draped prestressed steel strands to improve the load-carrying capacity of prestressed concrete non-prismatic beams with multiple openings of various designs. The short-term deflection of non-prismatic prestressed concrete beams (NPCBs) flexural members under static loading were used to evaluate this improvement. Six simply supported (NPCBs) beams, five beams with openings, and one solid specimen used as a reference beam were all tested as part of the experiment. All of the beams were subjected to a monotonic midpoint load test. The configuration of the opening (quadrilateral or circular), as well as the depth of the chords, were the varia
Rutting is a crucial concern impacting asphalt concrete pavements’ stability and long-term performance, negatively affecting vehicle drivers’ comfort and safety. This research aims to evaluate the permanent deformation of pavement under different traffic and environmental conditions using an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) prediction model. The model was built based on the outcomes of an experimental uniaxial repeated loading test of 306 cylindrical specimens. Twelve independent variables representing the materials’ properties, mix design parameters, loading settings, and environmental conditions were implemented in the model, resulting in a total of 3214 data points. The network accomplished high prediction accuracy with an R
... Show MoreIn the recent years, some of the newly constructed asphalt concrete pavements in Baghdad as well as other cities across Iraq showed premature failures with consequential negative impact on both roadway safety and economy. Frequently, load associated mode of failure (rutting and fatigue) as well as, occasionally, moisture damage in some poorly drained sections are the main failure types found in those newly constructed road.
In this research, hydrated lime was introduced into asphalt concrete mixtures of wearing course in two methods. The first one was the addition of dry lime on dry aggregate and the second one was the addition of dry lime on saturated surface dry aggregate moisturized by 2.0 to 3.0 percent of wa
... Show MoreThis paper introduces an experimental study on the behavior of confined concrete filled aluminum tubular (CFT) column to improve strength design, ductility and durability of concrete composite structures under concentrically loaded in compression to failure. To achieve this: seven column specimens with same concrete diameter 100mm and without steel reinforcement have been examined through experimental testing, which are used to study the effects of the thickness of the aluminum tube encased concrete ( thickness : 0mm, 2mm, 3mm, 4mm and 5mm with same length of column 450mm), length of column (thickness 5mm and length of column 700mm) and durability (thickness 5mm and length of column 450mm) on the structural behavior of &
... Show MoreThe introduction of concrete damage plasticity material models has significantly improved the accuracy with which the concrete structural elements can be predicted in terms of their structural response. Research into this method's accuracy in analyzing complex concrete forms has been limited. A damage model combined with a plasticity model, based on continuum damage mechanics, is recommended for effectively predicting and simulating concrete behaviour. The damage parameters, such as compressive and tensile damages, can be defined to simulate concrete behavior in a damaged-plasticity model accurately. This research aims to propose an analytical model for assessing concrete compressive damage based on stiffness deterioration. The prop
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