One of the most important parameters determining structural members' durability and strength is the fire flame's influence and hazard. Some engineers have advocated using advanced analytical models to predict fire spread impact within a compartment and considering finite element models of structural components to estimate the temperatures within a component using heat transfer analysis. This paper presented a numerical simulation for a reinforced concrete beam’s structural response in a case containing Water Absorbing Polymer Spheres (WAPS) subjected to fire flame effect. The commercial finite element package ABAQUS was considered. The relevant geometrical and material parameters of the reinforced concrete beam model at elevated temperature are first suggested as a numerical model. After that, the suggested numerical model was validated against the experimental tests conducted in this study. The validated numerical model was used to conduct a parametric study to investigate the effects of two important parameters on the structural behavior after being exposed to fire flame. The effect of burning temperatures (500, 600, and 700) oC, as well as the influence of fire duration (1 and 2) hours, were included. The experimental program validation requirement comprised four self-compacted reinforced concrete beams each of the same geometric layout (150x200x1500) mm, reinforcing details, and compressive strength (fc'=50 MPa). Four percentages of (WAPS) were considered (0, 1, 2, and 3)%. The specimens were exposed to a fire flame with a steady-state temperature (500°C), a rising rate compatible with ASTM-E119, a one-hour duration, and a sudden cooling procedure. A static (two-point) load was applied to the burned beams. Through the assessed numerical model, the numerical analysis offered by the WAPS ratio effect was carried out for the reinforced concrete beam under the effect of static load. The findings revealed that the WAPS ratio substantially impacted structural behavior. The numerical model's results were in reasonable agreement with the experimental results. Concerning the fire exposure duration (two hours) at 500 oC, the specimens containing a ratio (3%) of WAPS improved the ultimate load and the ultimate deflection by about (46.63 and 72.24)%, respectively. The highest percentage variation of the absorbed energy at failure load was also detected in the ratio (3%) to be (139.43) %. As for the hardening concrete properties (compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, and modulus of elasticity), the residual strength was (61.06, 48.87, and 32.00)%, respectively. Regarding the steady-state burning temperature (500, 600, and 700)oC for a one-hour duration, the specimens with a ratio of (3%) WAPS improved the ultimate load by about (40.70, 62.00, and 40.76)%, respectively, corresponding to zero percentage of WAPS. The residual compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, and modulus of elasticity were (72.40, 56.12, and 43.78)%, (74.36, 56.50, and 44.79)%, and (45.23, 36.57, and 28.94)%, respectively.
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This study aimed to investigate the incorporation of recycled waste compact discs (WCDs) powder in concrete mixes to replace the fine aggregate by 5%, 10%, 15% and 20%. Compared to the reference concrete mix, results revealed that using WCDs powder in concrete mixes improved the workability and the dry density. The results demonstrated that the compressive, flexural, and split tensile strengths values for the WCDs-modified concrete mixes showed tendency to increase above the reference mix. However, at 28 days curing age, the strengths values for WCDs-modified concrete mixes were comparable to those for the reference mix. The leaching test revealed that none of the WCDs constituents was detected in the leachant after 180 days. The
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Internal curing is a method that has been advised to decrease the primary age cracking, mainly of concrete mixes using low (water to cementitious materials - w/cm) ratios corresponding to the self-compacting concrete-(SCC). This research aims to study the effect of the internal curing using saturated lightweight aggregate- (LWA) on the steel reinforcing corrosion in SCC. In this research, crushed bricks or thermostone were partially replaced by (20%) by the weight of sand and volumetrically measured. The results showed that the steel reinforcement of internally cured concrete showed a slight increase in corrosion up to 300 days of exposure to the saline solution (containing 3.5% NaCl). The ability of using the crushed bricks or thermostone
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Fine aggregates used for concrete works in Sulaymaniyah city frequently fail to meet the standard requirements for gradation and fineness modulus in cement concrete. This paper aims to critically evaluate gradation, fineness modulus, and clay contents of various natural sands produced and used for concrete work in the region. Sixteen field sand samples were collected from various sites in Darbandikhan (5 samples), Qalat Dizah (5 samples), Koysinjaq (5 samples), and Piramagroon (1 sample) confirming to ASTM D75. The field samples were parted into test specimens based on ASTM C702. Then, sieve analysis was carried out on the oven-dry test specimens in compliance with ASTM C136. The test results of fine aggregates wer
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Internal curing is a method that has been advised to decrease the primary age cracking, mainly of concrete mixes using low (water to cementitious materials - w/cm) ratios corresponding to the self-compacting concrete-(SCC). This research aims to study the effect of the internal curing using saturated lightweight aggregate- (LWA) on the steel reinforcing corrosion in SCC. In this research, crushed bricks or thermostone were partially replaced by (20%) by the weight of sand and volumetrically measured. The results showed that the steel reinforcement of internally cured concrete showed a slight increase in corrosion up to 300 days of exposure to the saline solution (containing 3.5% NaCl). The ability of using the crushed bricks or thermostone
... Show MoreAdvancing the multi-scale performance of asphalt pavements requires innovative binder modifications that address limitations in rutting resistance, fatigue resistance, and durability across the binder, mixture, and structural levels. This study evaluates the performance of asphalt cement, mixtures, and pavement systems modified with a combination of polyethylene (PE) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The binder was modified using 4% PE and varying CNT contents (0.5%, 1%, 1.5%, and 2% by weight of the modified binder). Binder performance was assessed through conventional and rheological tests, including penetration, softening point, viscosity, performance grade (PG) evaluation, and master curve analysis. Mixture-level performance was eval
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