Most of the recent works related to the construction industry in Iraq are focused on investigating the validity of local raw materials as alternatives to the imported materials necessary for some practical applications, especially in thermal and sound insulation. This investigation includes the use of limestone dust as partial substitution of cement in combination with foam agent and silica fume to produce sustainable Lightweight Foam Concrete (LWFC). This study consists of two stages. In the first stage, trial mixes were performed to find the optimum dosage of foam agent. Limestone dust was used as a partial replacement for cement. Chemical analysis and fineness showed great similarity with cement. Many concrete mixes were prepared with the content of lime dust powder being 10%, 14%, and 18% as partial replacement of cement by weight. The results indicate that the compressive strength at 7, 28, and 90 days of age was increased for specimens with 14% limestone dust. The best results in compressive strength show an increase at 7 days and a decrease at 28 and 90 days for concrete specimens with 14% limestone dust. In addition, the results show a decrease in dry density for concrete containing 14% lime dust. In the second stage, different percentages of Polypropylene Fibers were added to the concrete, all mixes, containing a constant content of limestone dust of 14% by weight of cement, were modified using different percentages of Polypropylene Fibers (1%, 1.5 %, and 2% by volume) and the best percentage was found to be 1%. The addition of Polypropylene Fibers enhances splitting tensile and flexural strength at 28 days by 14.55% and 55% respectively.
In this study, plain concrete simply supported beams subjected to two points loading were analyzed for the flexure. The numerical model of the beam was constructed in the meso-scale representation of concrete as a two phasic material (aggregate, and mortar). The fracture process of the concrete beams under loading was investigated in the laboratory as well as by the numerical models. The Extended Finite Element Method (XFEM) was employed for the treatment of the discontinuities that appeared during the fracture process in concrete. Finite element method with the feature standard/explicitlywas utilized for the numerical analysis. Aggregate particles were assumedof elliptic shape. Other properties such as grading and sizes of the aggr
... Show MoreLaboratory experience in Iraq with cold asphalt concrete mixtures is very limited. The design and use of cold mixed asphalt concrete had no technical requirements. In this study, two asphalt concrete mixtures used for the base course were prepared in the laboratory using conventional cold-mixing techniques to test cold asphalt mixture (CAM) against aging and moisture susceptibility. Cold asphalt mixtures specimens have been prepared in the lab with cutback and emulsion binders, different fillers, and curing times. Based on the Marshal test result, the cutback proportion was selected with the filler, also based on the Marshal test emulsion. The first mixture was medium setting cationic emulsion (MSCE) as a binder, hydrate
... Show MoreReflective cracking is one of the primary forms of deterioration in pavements. It is widespread when Asphalt concrete (AC) overlays are built over a rigid pavement with discontinuities on its surface. Thus, this research work aims to reduce reflection cracks in asphalt concrete overlay on the rigid pavement. Asphalt Concrete (AC) slab specimens were prepared in three thicknesses (4, 5, and 6 cm). All these specimens were by testing machine designed and manufactured at the Engineering Consulting Office of the University of Baghdad to examine for the number of cycles and loads needed to propagate the reflection cracking in the asphalt concert mixture at three temperatures (20, 30, and 30°C). It was noticed that the higher thickness A
... Show MoreIn this paper, a methodology is presented for determining the stress and strain in structural concrete sections, also, for estimating the ultimate combination of axial forces and bending moments that produce failure. The structural concrete member may have a cross-section with an arbitrary configuration, the concrete region may consist of a set of subregions having different characteristics (i.e., different grades of concretes, or initially identical, but working with different stress-strain diagrams due to the effect of indirect reinforcement or the effect of confinement, etc.). This methodology is considering the tensile strain softening and tension stiffening of concrete in additio
In this research work, a new type of concrete based on sulfur-melamine modification was introduced, and its various properties were studied. This new type of concrete was prepared based on the sulfur-melamine modification and various ingredients. The new sulfur-melamine modifier was fabricated, and its fabrication was confirmed by IR spectroscopy and TG analysis. The surface morphology resulted from this modifier was studied by SEM and EDS analysis. The components ratios in concrete, chemical and physical characteristics resulted from sulfur-melamine modifier, chemical and corrosion resistance of concrete, stability of concrete against water adsorption, stability of concrete against freezing, physical and mechanical properties and durabi
... Show MoreThe presence of construction wastes such as clay bricks, glass, wood, plastic, and others in large quantities causes serious environmental problems in the world. Where these wastes can be used to preserve the natural resources used in construction and reduce the impact of this problem on the environment, it also works to reduce the problem of high loads of concrete blocks. Clay bricks aggregate (AB) can be recycled as coarse aggregate and replaced with volumetric proportions of coarse aggregate by ( 5% and 10%), as well as the use of clay brick powder (PB) by replacing its weight of cement (5% and 10%) and reduced in the manufacture of concrete blocks (blocks). Four mixtures will be prepared and tested to learn how to re
... Show MoreThis paper demonstrates an experimental and numerical study on the behavior of reinforced concrete (RC) columns with longitudinal steel embedded tubes positioned at the center of the column cross-section. A total of 12 pin-ended square sectional columns of 150 × 150 mm having a total height of 1400 mm were investigated. The considered variables were the steel tube diameters of 29, 58, and 76 mm and the load eccentricity (0, 50, and 150) mm. Accordingly, these columns were divided into three groups (four columns in each group) depending on the load eccentricity (e) to column depth (h) ratio (e/h = 0, 1/3, and 1). For each group, one column was solid (reference), and the other three columns contained steel tubes with hollow rat
... Show MoreRoller compacted concrete (RCC) is a form of plain concrete pavement (JPCP). RCC is a zero-slump concrete consisting of well-graded aggregate, cement and water. RCC has many advantages over other pavement types, particularly cost and speed of construction. Recently, RCC has undergone many developments mostly directed towards improving quality, including smoothness and durability. RCC now has the potential to combine the performance of concrete with the low cost of asphalt installation. A two-layer system of RCC with different aggregate types and sizes was utilized in this study. This paper presents the determination of load transfer stiffness across induced joints in a two-layer RCC system based on a cyclic shear test. The test was
... Show MoreThis experimental study demonstrates the gable-reinforced concrete beams’ behavior with several number of openings (six and eight) and posts’ inclination, aimed to find the strength reduction in this type of beam. The major results found are: for the openings extending over similar beam length it is better to increase the number of posts (openings),