Eco-friendly materials are increasingly used in civil engineering to support sustainable development. Conventional concrete relies heavily on Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC), the production of which contributes significantly to the carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions. Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBFS) and fly ash can partially replace OPC, thereby reducing the environmental impact. This study investigates the effect of basalt fiber incorporation on the mechanical properties of geopolymer lightweight concrete. The concrete mixtures consisted of fly ash, slag, pumice aggregate, sand, and an alkaline activator prepared by combining sodium hydroxide and sodium silicate. The mix design included an activator-to-binder ratio of 0.45, sodium hydroxide molarity of 12 M, and a sodium hydroxide to sodium silicate ratio of 1:2.5. Basalt fiber was added at 0.5%, 0.75%, and 1% by volume. All specimens were cured at 80 ºC for 24 h. The mechanical properties evaluated included compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, and flexural strength. The results showed that basalt fiber significantly improved all measured properties. At 28 days, the compressive strength increased by 11.67%, 14.85%, and 17.5%, the splitting tensile strength by 20%, 27.5%, and 38.75%, and the flexural strength by 21.6%, 32.14%, and 42.73%, respectively.
The effect of Wood Flour addition to the gamma alumina powder used in the preparation of gamma alumina (ɤ-Al2O3) catalyst carrier extrudates on the pore volume and BET surface area physical properties was investigated. Two parameters which are size of wood flour particles and its quantity were studied. The sizes of wood flour particles used are 150 µm, 212 µm and 500 µm and the weight percentage added to the gamma alumina powder during the preparation of the extrudates are (1%, 3%, 5% and 10%). The results showed that the addition of wood flour to the gamma alumina powder in order to get gamma alumina extrudates used as catalyst carrier is one of the successful methods to improve the pore volume
... Show MoreEnvironmental stress affects the yield of sorghum. This impact can be reduced by seed stimulation technique and determining the appropriate planting date. An experiment was conducted in the spring and fall seasons of 2022. Randomized complete block design with split-plot arrangement in four replications was used. Planting dates (spring season: February 15th, March 1st, 15th, April 1st, 15th; fall season: June 15th, July 1st, 15th, August 1st, 15th) were assigned to the main plots. Seed stimulation treatments (banana peel extract 35% + citric acid 100 mg L-1 and soaking in distilled water only) were applied to the subplots. The interaction treatment of soaking with banana peel extract + citric acid and the planting date of April 15th showed
... Show MoreThis research studies the influence of water source on the compressive strength of high strength concrete. Four types of water source were adopted in both mixing and curing process these are river, tap, well and drainage water (all from Iraq-Diyala governorate). Chemical analysis was carried out for all types of the used water including (pH, total dissolved solids (TDS), Turbidity, chloride, total suspended solid (TSS), and sulfates). Depending on the chemical analysis results, it was found that for all adopted sources the chemical compositions was within the ASTM C 1602/C 1602M-04 limits and can be satisfactorily used in concrete mixtures. Mixture of high strength concrete for compressive strength of (60 MPa) was designed and checked using
... Show MorePhotonic crystal fiber interferometers are widely used for sensing applications. In this work, solid core-Photonic crystal fiber based on Mach-Zehnder modal interferometer for sensing refractive index was presented. The general structure of sensor applied by splicing short lengths of PCF in both sides with conventional single mode fiber (SMF-28). To apply modal interferometer theory; collapsing technique based on fusion splicing used to excite higher order modes (LP01 and LP11). Laser diode (1550 nm) has been used as a pump light source. Where a high sensitive optical spectrum analyzer (OSA) was used to monitor and record the transmitted. The experimental work shows that the interference spectrum of Photonic crystal fiber interferometer
... Show MoreThe existing investigation explains the consequence of irradiation of red laser on the optic properties of (CoO2) films. The film was equipped by the utilization of semi-computerized spray pyrolysis technique (SCSPT), it is the first time that this technique is used in the preparation and irradiation using a laser in this technique. From the XRD analysis, the crystalline existence with trigonal crystal system was when the received films were processed by continuous red laser (700 nm) with power (>1000mW)for different laser irradiation time using different number of times a laser scan (0, 6, 9, 12, 15 and 18 times) with total irradiation time(0,30,45,60,75,90 mi
The main factors that make it possible to get the corrosion of reinforcing steel in concrete are chloride ions and the absorption of carbon dioxide from the environment, and each of them works with a mechanism which destroys the stable immunity of rebar in the concrete. In this work the effect of carbon dioxide content in the artificial concrete solution on the corrosion behavior of carbon steel reinforcing bar (CSRB) was studied, potentiostatically using CO2 stream gas at 6 level of concentrations; 0.03 to 2.0 weight percent, and the effect of rising electrolyte temperature was also followed in the range 20 to 50ᴼ C. Tafel plots and cyclic polarization procedures were obeyed to investigate the c
... Show MoreThis study presents an investigation about the effect of fire flame on the punching shear strength of hybrid fiber reinforced concrete flat plates. The main considered parameters are the fiber type (steel or glass) and the burning steady-state temperatures (500 and 600°C). A total of 9 half-scale flat plate specimens of dimensions 1500mm×1500mm×100mm and 1.5% fiber volume fraction were cast and divided into 3 groups. Each group consisted of 3 specimens that were identical to those in the other groups. The specimens of the second and the third groups were subjected to fire flame influence for 1 hour and steady-state temperature of 500 and 600°C respectively. Regarding the cooling process, water sprinkling was applied directly aft
... Show MoreHigh-rise structures are a significant indication in contemporary urban improvement, mainly in areas characterized by accelerated urban growth and dense population. This type of building should be designed to withstand severe load conditions. Therefore, using composite structural elements in such structures is required for stronger and durable elements. This paper introduces a finite element analysis model for Concrete Filled Stainless Steel Tubular Columns (CFSST) of (100x100) mm cross-section and (1250) mm length to inspect the impact of concrete compressive strength on the response of (CFSST). The generated model was first evaluated through a comprehensive comparison with experimental research. Then, after the model was used to s
... Show MoreIn Australia, most of the existing buildings were designed before the release of the Australian standard for earthquake actions in 2007. Therefore, many existing buildings in Australia lack adequate seismic design, and their seismic performance must be assessed. The recent earthquake that struck Mansfield, Victoria near Melbourne elevated the need to produce fragility curves for existing reinforced concrete (RC) buildings in Australia. Fragility curves are frequently utilized to assess buildings’ seismic performance and it is defined as the demand probability surpassing capacity at a given intensity level. Numerous factors can influence the results of the fragility assessment of RC buildings. Among the most important factors that can affe
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