High performance self-consolidating concrete HP-SCC is one of the most complex types of concrete which have the capacity to consolidated under its own weight, have excellent homogeneity and high durability. This study aims to focus on the possibility of using industrial by-products like Silica fumes SF in the preparation of HP-SCC enhanced with discrete steel fibers (DSF) and monofilament polypropylene fibers (PPF). From experimental results, it was found that using DSF with volume fraction of 0.50 %; a highly improvements were gained in the mechanical properties of HP-SCC. The compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, flexural strength and elastic modulus improved about 65.7 %, 70.5 %, 41.7 % and 80.3 % at 28 days age, respectively with retaining the main properties of HP-SCC. Furthermore, using PPF with volume fraction up to 0.10 %; an enhancement in the compressive and elastic modulus of HP-SCC about 47.4 % and 31 % was obtained at age of 28 days, respectively. Moreover, using PPF with volume fraction of 0.15 %, the splitting tensile strength and flexural strength of HP-SCC improved about 44.5 % and 20.3 %, respectively.
Poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA)/poly(caprolactone) (PCL) and two types of organoclay (OMMT) including a fatty amide and ocatdecylamine montmorillonite (FA-MMT and ODA-MMT) were employed to produce polymer nanocomposites by melt blending. Materials were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), elemental analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Mechanical properties were also investigated for these nanocomposites. The nanocomposites showed increasing mechanical properties and thermal stability. XRD results indicated that the materials formed nanocomposites. SEM morphology showed that increasing content of OMMT reduc
... Show MoreIn this paper, ceramic water filters were produced by using ten mixtures of different ratios of red clay and sawdust under different production conditions. The physical properties of these filters were tested. The production conditions include five press pressures ranged from 10 to 50MPa and a firing schedule having three different final temperatures of 1000, 1070, and 1100˚C. The tests results of the physical properties were used to obtain best compatibility between the hydraulic and the mechanical properties of these filters. Results showed that as the press pressure and the firing temperature are increased, the bulk density and the compressive and bending strengths of the produced filters are increased, while, the porosity and absorp
... Show MoreFiber reinforced polymer composite is an important material for structural application. The diversified application of FRP composite has taken center of attraction for interdisciplinary research. However, improvements on mechanical properties of this class of materials are still under research for different applications. In this paper we have modified the epoxy matrix by Al2O3, SiO2 and TiO2 nano particles in glass fiber/epoxy composite to improve the mechanical and physical properties. The composites are fabricated by hand lay-up method. It is observed that mechanical properties like flexural strength, hardness are more in case of SiO2 modified epoxy composite compare to other nano
... Show MoreIn this work, functionally graded materials were synthesized by centrifugal technique at different
volume fractions 0.5, 1, 1.5, and 2% Vf with a rotation speed of 1200 rpm and a constant rotation time, T
= 6 min . The mechanical properties were characterized to study the graded and non-graded nanocomposites
and the pure epoxy material. The mechanical tests showed that graded and non-graded added alumina
(Al2O3) nanoparticles enhanced the effect more than pure epoxy. The maximum difference in impact strength
occurred at (FGM), which was loaded from the rich side of the nano-alumina where the maximum value was
at 1% Vf by 133.33% of the sample epoxy side. The flexural strength and Young modulus of the fu
An experimental investigation based on thirty three simple pullout cylinder specimens was conducted to study the bond-slip trend between concrete and steel reinforcement. Plain and deformed steel reinforcement bars were used in this investigation. The effect of bar diameter, concrete compressive strength and development length on bond-slip relation was detected. The results showed that the bond strength increases with increasing of compressive strength and with decreasing of bar diameter and development length. A nonlinear regression analysis for the experimental results yields in a mathematical correlation to predict the bond strength as a function of concrete compressive strength, reinforcing bar diameter and its yield stress. The minimum
... Show MoreThis study aimed to investigate the influence of longitudinal steel embedded tubes located at the center of the column cross-section on the behavior of reinforced concrete (RC) columns. The experimental program consisted of 8 testing pin-ended square sectional columns of 150×150 mm, having a total height of 1400 mm, subjected to eccentric load. The considered variables were the steel square tube sizes of 25, 51 and 68 mm side dimensions and the load eccentricity (50 and 150) mm. RC columns were concealed steel tubes with hollow ratios of 3%, 12% and 20% depending on tube sizes used. The experimental results indicated an improvement in the overall behavior of eccentric columns when steel embedded tubes are used. The maximum gain in
... Show MoreIn this research the effect of cooling rate and mold type on mechanical properties of the eutectic
and hypoeutectic (Al-Si) alloys has been studied. The alloys used in this research work were (Al- 12.6%Si
alloy) and (Al- 7%Si alloy).The two alloys have been melted and poured in two types of molds with
different cooling rates. One of them was a sand mold and the other was metal mold. Mechanical tests
(hardness, tensile test and impact test) were carried out on the specimens. Also the metallographic
examination was performed.
It has been found that the values of hardness for the alloys(Al-12.6%Si and Al-7%Si) which poured in
metal mold is greater than the values of hardness for the same alloy when it poured in a heated