Concrete is the main construction material of many structures. Exposing to loads creates cracks in concrete, which reduce the performance and durability. The decrease of concrete cracks becomes a necessity demand to ensure more durability and structural integrity of the concrete structure. Autogenous healing concrete is a kind of new smart concretes, which has the ability to reclose its cracks by means of itself. Concrete self-healing is a type of free repairs processes, which is reduce direct and indirect cost of maintenance and repairing. This work targets to inspect the mechanical properties of concrete after using two combinations of two materials (20 kg/m3 calcium hydroxide Ca(OH)2 and 2 kg/m3 sodium carbonate Na2CO3 and 30 kg/m3 calcium hydroxide and 3 kg/m3 sodium carbonate) as a partial replacement of cement to work as self-healing agents. The paper reports and study the compressive, flexural and splitting tensile strengths and ultrasonic pulse velocity tests’ results at 7, 28 and 90 days of concrete age. Use of two combinations of calcium hydroxide and sodium carbonate, as healing agents, enhanced the mechanical properties of concrete and reduced the width of concrete cracks with time. The concrete compressive strength was increased after curing for 90 days by 9.3 and 11.1 %, respectively. The flexural strength was improved by 14.3 and 15.9 %, respectively. Also, the splitting tensile strength was enhanced by 6.9 and 9.3 %, respectively.
The semiempirical (PM3) and DFT quantum mechanical methods were used to investigate the theoretical degradation of Indigo dye. The chemical reactivity of the Indigo dye was evaluated by comparing the potential energy stability of the mean bonds. Seven transition states were suggested and studied to estimate the actually starting step of the degradation reaction. The bond length and bond angle calculations indicate that the best active site in the Indigo dye molecule is at C10=C11. The most possible transition states are examined for all suggested paths of Indigo dye degradation predicated on zero-point energy and imaginary frequency. The first starting step of the reaction mechanism is proposed. The change in enthalpy, Gibbs free energ
... Show MoreThis paper proposes feedback linearization control (FBLC) based on function approximation technique (FAT) to regulate the vibrational motion of a smart thin plate considering the effect of axial stretching. The FBLC includes designing a nonlinear control law for the stabilization of the target dynamic system while the closed-loop dynamics are linear with ensured stability. The objective of the FAT is to estimate the cubic nonlinear restoring force vector using the linear parameterization of weighting and orthogonal basis function matrices. Orthogonal Chebyshev polynomials are used as strong approximators for adaptive schemes. The proposed control architecture is applied to a thin plate with a large deflection that stimulates the axial loadi
... Show MoreThe performance of composite prestressed concrete beam topped with reinforced concrete flange structures in fire depends upon several factors, including the change in properties of the two different materials due to fire exposure and temperature distribution within the composition of the composite members of the structure. The present experimental work included casting of 12 identical simply supported prestressed concrete beams grouped into 3 categories, depending on the strength of the top reinforced concrete deck slab (20, 30, and 40 MPa). They were connected together by using shear connector reinforcements. To simulate the real practical fire disasters, 3 composite prestressed concrete beams from each group were exposed to high t
... Show MoreThe current Iraqi standard specifications for roads and bridges allowed the prepared Job-Mix Formula for asphalt mixtures to witness some tolerances with regard to the following: coarse aggregate gradation by ± 6.0 %, fine aggregate gradation by ± 4.0 %, filler gradation by ± 2.0 %, asphalt cement content by ± 0.3 % and mixing temperature by ± 15 oC. The objective of this work is to evaluate the behavior of asphalt mixtures prepared by different aggregates gradations (12.5 mm nominal maximum size) that fabricated by several asphalt contents (40-50 grade) and various mixing temperature. All the tolerances specified in the specifications are taken into account, furthermore, the zones beyond these tolerances
... Show MoreThis paper reports an evaluation of the properties of medium-quality concrete incorporating recycled coarse aggregate (RCA). Concrete specimens were prepared with various percentages of the RCA (25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%). The workability, mechanical properties, and durability in terms of abrasion of cured concrete were examined at different ages. The results reveal insignificant differences between the recycled concrete (RC) and reference concrete in terms of the mechanical and durability-related measurements. Meanwhile, the workability of the RC reduced vastly since the replacement of the RCA reached 75% and 100%. The ultrasound pulse velocity (UPV) results greatly depend on the porosity of concrete and the RC exhibited higher poros
... Show MoreIn this work, silver (Ag) self-metallization on a polyimide (PI) film was prepared through autocatalytic plating. PI films were prepared through the solution casting method, followed by etching with potassium hydroxide (KOH) solution, sensitization with tin chloride (SnCl2), and the use of palladium chloride (PdCl2) to activate the surface of PI. Energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) showed the highest peak in the (Ag) region and confirmed the presence of AgNPs. The diffraction peaks at 2θ = 38.2°, 44.5°, 64.6°, and 78.2° represented the 111, 200, 220, and 311 planes of Ag, respectively. The FT–IR an
... Show MoreThis study aims to investigate the adequacy of composite cellular beams with lightweight reinforced concrete deck slab as a structural unit for harmonic loaded buildings. The experimental program involved three fixed-ends supported beams throughout 2140 mm. Three concrete types were included: Normal Weight Concrete (NWC), Lightweight Aggregate Concrete (LWAC), and Lightweight Fiber Reinforced Aggregate Concrete (LWACF). The considered frequencies were (5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30) Hz. It was indicated that the harmonic load caused a significant influence on LWAC response (64% greater than NWC) and lattice cracks were observed, especially at 30 Hz. As for LWACF slab, no cracks appeared,
There has been a growing interest in the use of chaotic techniques for enabling secure communication in recent years. This need has been motivated by the emergence of a number of wireless services which require the channel to provide low bit error rates (BER) along with information security. The aim of such activity is to steal or distort the information being conveyed. Optical Wireless Systems (basically Free Space Optic Systems, FSO) are no exception to this trend. Thus, there is an urgent necessity to design techniques that can secure privileged information against unauthorized eavesdroppers while simultaneously protecting information against channel-induced perturbations and errors. Conventional cryptographic techniques are not designed
... Show MoreSince its invention by the Ancient Romans and later developed during the mid-18th century, the concrete structure and finish, has been considered as the most powerful, practical, economic and constructional material that meets the building’s architectural and aesthetical requirements. By creating unique architectural forms, the pioneer architects used concrete widely to shape up their innovative designs and buildings.
The pre-mixed ultra-high performance concrete which manufactured by Lafarge.
The transparent concrete and cement that allow the light beams to pass through them, introduces remarkable well-lit architectural spaces within the same structural criteria. This product is a recyclable, sustainab
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