Civil Engineering

In many seismically active regions of the world there are large numbers of masonry buildings. Most of these buildings have not been designed for seismic loads. Recent earthquakes have shown that many such buildings are seismically vulnerable and should be considered for retrofitting. Different conventional retrofitting techniques are available to increase the strength and/or ductility of unreinforced masonry walls. This paper reviews and discuses the state-of-the-art on seismic retrofitting of masonry walls with emphasis on the conventional techniques. The paper reviews retrofitting procedures, advantages, disadvantages, limitations, effect of each retrofitting technique.

Both, the normal strength concretes (NSC) and high strength concretes (HSC) have been used in structures which may be exposed to elevated temperatures. Concretes have also been used in the construction of radiation shielding structures. Data on the behaviour of concrete at high temperature is of prime concern in predicting the constructions and safety of buildings in response to certain accidents or particular service conditions. Prediction of mechanical behaviour, thermo-mechanical deformations and moisture migration in non-uniformly heated concrete is important for safe operation of concrete containment.

This paper deals with the effect of foundry sand (FS) and metakaolin (MK) on the near surface characteristics of concrete. A control concrete having cement content 450 kg/m 3 and w/c of 0.45 was designed. Cement was replaced with three percentages (5%, 10%, and 15%) of metakaolin weight, and fine aggregates were replaced with 20% foundry sand. Tests were conducted for initial surface absorption, sorptivity, water absorption and compressive strength at the ages of 35, 56, and 84 days.

Results on an investigation dealing with the effect of metakaolin (MK) on the near surface characteristics of concrete are presented in this paper. A control concrete having cement content 450 kg/m3 and w/c of 0.45 was designed. Cement was replaced with three percentages (5, 10, and 15%) of metakaolin weight. Tests were conducted for initial surface absorption, sorptivity, water absorption and compressive strength at the ages of 35, 56, and 84 days. Test results indicated that with the increase in MK content from 5 to 15%, there was a decrease in the initial surface absorption, decrease in the sorptivity till 10% metakaolin replacement. But at 15% MK replacement an increase in sorptivity was observed. All mixtures showed low water absorption characteristic i.e. less than 10%. Compressive strength shared an inverse relation with sorptivity. Higher MK replacements of 15% are not helpful in improving inner core durability, even though it helps in improving surface durability characteristics.

This paper presents the results of an experimental investigation carried out to evaluate the mechanical properties of concrete mixtures in which fine aggregate (sand) was partially replaced with Class F fly ash. Fine aggregate (sand) was replaced with five percentages (10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, and 50%) of Class F fly ash by weight. Tests were performed for properties of fresh concrete. Compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, flexural strength, and modulus of elasticity were determined at 7, 14, 28, 56, 91, and 365 days. Test results indicate significant improvement in the strength properties of plain concrete by the inclusion of fly ash as partial replacement of fine aggregate (sand), and can be effectively used in structural concrete. D

The paper presents a comparative performance of the models developed to predict 28 days compressive strengths using neural network techniques for data taken from literature (ANN-I) and data developed experimentally for SCC containing bottom ash as partial replacement of fine aggregates (ANN-II). The data used in the models are arranged in the format of six and eight input parameters that cover the contents of cement, sand, coarse aggregate, fly ash as partial replacement of cement, bottom ash as partial replacement of sand, water and water/powder ratio, superplasticizer dosage and an output parameter that is 28-days compressive strength and compressive strengths at 7 days, 28 days, 90 days and 365 days, respectively for ANN-I and ANN-II. The importance of different input parameters is also given for predicting the strengths at various ages using neural network. The model developed from literature data could be easily extended to the experimental data, with bottom ash as partial replacement of sand with some modifications.

This paper presents the abrasion resistance of concrete proportioned to have four levels of fine aggregate replacement (10%, 20%, 30%, and 40%) with Class F fly ash. A control mixture with ordinary Portland cement was designed to have 28 days compressive strength of 26 MPa. Specimens were subjected to abrasion testing in accordance with Indian Standard Specifications (IS: 1237). Tests were also performed for fresh concrete properties and compressive strength. Tests on compressive strength and abrasion were performed up to 365 days.

Influence of high temperature on the properties of concrete containing non-ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GBFS) and coal bottom ash (BA) as fine aggregate was presented. Six series of concrete mixtures were prepared by partially replacing fine aggregate separately with GBFS and BA. Replacement percentages were between 10 and 50% with an increment of 10% by dry weight of fine aggregate. Then 0.2% polypropylene fibres (PP) were added to last three mixtures that has the same mixture with the first three series. The first series is control concrete, the second series contained GBFS and the third series contained BA. All the concrete specimens were exposed to 800°C temperature at the age of 90 days. Tests were conducted to determine loss in weight, compressive strength, and dynamic modulus of elasticity. Also surface crack observations were conducted with microscope. Test results showed that it is possible to partially replace fine aggregate with GBFS or BA even if such concretes were to be subjected to high temperature response. Performance of BA concrete was found to be better than GBFS as replacement material.

Used-foundry sand is a by-product of ferrous and nonferrous metal casting industries. Foundries successfully recycle and reuse the sand many times in a foundry. When the sand can no longer be reused in the foundry, it is removed from the foundry and is termed used/spent foundry sand. In an effort to utilize used-foundry sand in large volumes, research is being carried out for its possible large-scale utilization in making concrete as partial replacement of fine aggregate. This paper presents the results of an experimental investigation carried out to evaluate the mechanical properties of concrete mixtures in which fine aggregate (regular sand) was partially replaced with used-foundry sand (UFS). Fine aggregate was replaced with three percentages (10%, 20%, and 30%) of UFS by weight. Tests were performed for the properties of fresh concrete. Compressive strength, splitting-tensile strength, flexural strength, and modulus of elasticity were determined at 28, 56, 91, and 365 days. Test results indicated a marginal increase in the strength properties of plain concrete by the inclusion of UFS as partial replacement of fine aggregate (sand) and that can be effectively used in making good quality concrete and construction materials.

Approximately 95 million tones of fly is generated in India yearly, and most of the fly ash is of Class F type. Out of which only around 15-20% is utilized in cement production and cement/concrete related activities. Since large scale utilization of large volumes of fly ash in various concrete applications is a becoming a more general practice, an investigation was carried out to investigate the compressive strength and abrasion resistance of high volume fly ash concrete (HVFA) concrete with polyester fibres.

With ever increasing quantities of industrial by-products and waste materials, solid waste management has become the principal environmental concerns in the world. Scarcity of land-filling space and due to its ever increasing cost, utilization/recycling of by-products/waste has become an attractive alternative to disposal. Several types of by-products and waste materials are generated. Each of these waste products has specific effects on the properties of cement-based materials (CLSM and Concrete). The utilization of such materials in concrete/CLSM not only makes it economical, but also do help in reducing disposal problems. Reuse of bulk wastes is considered the best environmental alternative for solving the problem of disposal. One of such industrial by-products is Spent Foundry Sand (SFS). Spent foundry sand is a by-product of ferrous and non-ferrous metal casting industries. Foundries successfully recycle and reuse the sand many times in a foundry. When the sand can no longer be reused in the foundry, it is removed from the foundry and is termed as spent foundry sand.

The results of an experimental investigation to study the effects of replacement of cement (by mass) with three percentages of fly ash and the effects of addition of natural san fibers on the slump, Vebe time, compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, flexural strength and impact strength of fly ash concrete are presented. San fibers belong to the category of ''natural bast fibers.'' It is also known as ''sunn hemp.'' Its scientific (botanical) name is Crotalaria juncea. It is mostly grown in the Indian subcontinent, Brazil, eastern and southern Africa and some parts of the United States (Hawaii and Florida). A control mixture of proportions 1:1.4:2.19 with W/Cm of 0.47 and superplasticizer/ cementitious ratio of 0.015 was designed. Cement was replaced with three percentages (35%, 45% and 55%) of class F fly ash. Three percentages of san fibers (0.25%, 0.50% and 0.75%) having 25-mm length were used.

Solid waste management is gaining significant importance with the ever-increasing quantities of industrial by-products and wastes. With the environmental awareness and scarcity of space for landfilling, wastes/by-product utilization has become an attractive alternative to disposal. Several industrial by-products are produced from manufacturing processes, service industries and municipal solid wastes. Some of these industrial by-products/waste materials could possibility be used in cement-based materials.