Effect of Bonding Area on Bond Stress Behavior of GFRP Bars in Concrete

The application of Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) bars is suitable for concrete structures that are susceptible to corrosion, owing to their corrosion-resistant characteristics. Therefore, it is feasible to reduce the concrete cover on reinforced concrete beams by utilizing GFRP bars. However, this can reduce the bonding strength between GFRP bars and concrete. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the bonding behavior between GFRP bars and concrete as a preliminary test for structural applications. The bond stress behavior between GFRP bars and concrete was analyzed by 18 pull-out tests. The test specimens comprised GFRP bars with three different variations, namely GFRP bars with concrete cover (GFRP-C), GFRP bars without concrete cover (GFRP-E), and GFRP bars with a complete wrapping of GFRP sheet (GFRP-C-Sheet). The bond stress-slip curve, bond strength, and failure pattern were utilized to analyze the effect of each variation. The research results indicate that the bonding stress between GFRP bars and concrete was strongly influenced by the concrete cover, where the bonding strength decreased by 65%. Nevertheless, the utilization of a complete wrapping GFR) sheet resulted in a 26.4% increase in bonding stress. The present study has identified three distinct modes of failure, including pull-out (GFRP-C), concrete crushing (GFRP-E), and GFRP sheet debonding (GFRP-C-Sheet). Doi: 10.28991/CEJ-SP2023-09-010 Full Text: PD

Statistical Analysis Approaches in Scour Depth of Bridge Piers

A local scour is the removal of bed material from around the pier of the bridge. This bed removal is considered a big problem and is of great concern for hydraulic engineers. They should find economic solutions for this problem. The exaggerated local scour around bridge piers leads to many problems for the whole bridge structure, such as stability problems that may lead to the bridge's destruction. This paper aims to verify the scour depth around different shapes of uniform bridge piers for different flow conditions than those done by previous researchers using different prediction models. Where the consistency of previous experimental investigations is verified by multiple nonlinear regression analysis (MNLR), Gene Expression Programming (GEP) and Artificial Neural Network (ANN) models. In the comparison of values that were measured and predicted by the four models (CFD, MNLR, ANN, and Gene), it is seen that the ANN model has the ability to predict the Ys/b values higher than other models used in relation to the measured values. This makes the ANN model superior in predicting the Ys/b value over the other used models, followed by the Gene model. In comparison, the values of the R2and RMSE for the four models that were used in this study, for the Ys/b model using the ANN had a value of 0.9978 and 0.0147, respectively, while those for the Ys/b model using the Gene model were 0.9800 and 0.0375, respectively. Doi: 10.28991/CEJ-2023-09-01-011 Full Text: PD

Effect of Eco-Processed Pozzolan (EPP) Mixed with Calcium Oxide to Dry Density and Physicochemical of Peat Soil

Peat is a problematic soil, and it is a common problem faced by engineers in construction. The characteristics that have been noted before are high moisture content, poor shear strength, great compressibility, and long-term settlement. For this research study, it focuses on stabilizing peat soil using EPP and CaO. There are three main tests that were conducted in this research study: index properties testing, compaction testing, and For Index Properties testing, five (5) experiments were conducted to study the index properties of disturbed peat soil, which are moisture content, fiber content, liquid limit, organic content, pH, and specific gravity. Next, for the Compaction Test, using a 4.5 kg rammer, define the optimum mixture of stabilizer that is mixed with different volumes of 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20% of stabilizer. In this study, the expected result is to inspire an in-depth study of the use of EPP material and chemical CaO as peat soil stabilizers for better utilization of problematic soil. The main finding was that the mixture with the exact amount of moisture, EPP, and CaO helped stabilize the soil and cure peat soil. Thus, this study confirms the idea of treating peat with EPP and CaO, enhancing the properties of peat soil, and sustaining the settlement over loading for a period of time accordingly. 20% mix of EPP and CaO produces the highest dry density, showing that dry density increases linearly with the amount of mixture to stabilize peat. The crystallization process between peat and EPP was pronouncedly observed where smaller particles identified as EPP filled the gaps in between the pores identified from SEM. The silicon (Si content developed from each spectrum ranged from 14.4% to 17.7%. The EDX results show significant results where mineral crystallization occurred in the coagulation process. Doi: 10.28991/CEJ-2023-09-07-011 Full Text: PD

Inclusion of Waste Paper on Concrete Properties: A Review

The environmental degradation in the vicinity of landfills or mills is caused by waste paper disposable. Each year, the industry's paper waste is increasing gradually. As a result, additional places are required for landfills, which consume energy, deplete natural resources, and increase expenditure and environmental pollution. Pollution can be reduced by adding WP to a concrete mixture in concrete production. This review paper investigates the physical and chemical properties of waste paper. Besides that, the mechanical properties of concrete containing waste paper, such as compressive, flexural, and splitting tensile strengths, are also studied in this review paper. All reviews of the intended studies include experimental tests. From the reviews, all strengths were increased with the inclusion of waste paper, either by addition, substitution, or replacement with fine aggregate, coarse aggregate, or cement. By using waste paper, not only would concrete have advantages and benefits, but also environmentally friendly construction materials could be produced from time to time. It has been noted in most studies that the inclusion of waste paper brings significant benefits. It can be concluded that waste paper potentially has favorable properties for concrete production. The concrete performance will improve in terms of compressive, flexural, and splitting tensile strengths with waste paper inclusion at certain percentages compared to ordinary concrete with no waste paper content. Doi: 10.28991/CEJ-SP2021-07-07 Full Text: PD

Characteristics of Combined Rice and Wheat Husk Ashes as a Partial Replacement for Cement in Mortar

The potential to recycle and utilize agricultural waste as a building material has been demonstrated in a variety of applications. The goal of this study was to assess the feasibility of partially substituting combined rice and wheat husk ashes (CORWHA) for cement in mortar. The two agricultural waste ashes, rice husk and wheat husk, were evaluated separately before being combined. Both husks were burned separately in an open room to reduce volume before being cremated for 2 hours at a regulated temperature of 600 °C to eliminate carbon and generate reactivity. The chemical and physical properties of the ashes were evaluated after grinding and sieving to determine their cementitious qualities before developing and testing 12 mix proportions of CORWHA and cement for mortar production. The mixing was done at three different percentages of cement replacement: 20, 30, and 40%. According to the findings, the maximum cement replacement yielding 5.98 MPa mortar strength is 30%, with a mixed proportion of 11% wheat husk ash (WHA) and 19% rice husk ash (RHA). It was also found that 95% of RHA is silica and 1.67% is alkaline, while 63% of WHA is silica and 12.16% is alkaline, which is good for preventing porosity and corrosion of reinforcement bars. Doi: 10.28991/CEJ-2022-08-04-04 Full Text: PD

Assessment and Evaluation of IWRM Implementation in Palawan, Philippines

According to the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 6), the world needs to sustainably manage water resources through integrated water resource management (IWRM). The Philippines is committed to this goal by ensuring the implementation of IWRM at all levels. Concurrently, there is growing evidence that there is presently no consolidated data on the status of implementation at the sub-national level. With water shortages on the increase, it's more important than ever to find solutions to settle disputes and trade-offs so that water can be distributed effectively, sustainably, and equally. This paper aims to investigate the degree of implementation of IWRM that presents the actual state of affairs in terms of water management at the sub-national level. This study is focused on Palawan Province, with the following sites: Puerto Princesa City, El Nido, Roxas, and Taytay. A structured survey questionnaire was drawn up in accordance with the existing questionnaire developed for this purpose. The obtained data were computed using the steps developed for calculating the indicators of IWRM implementation degree. Puerto Princesa City, El Nido, Roxas, and Taytay have the following IWRM ratings: 39.93, 32.03, 37.99, and 36.32%, respectively, which means "medium-low" in which the IWRM components have largely been institutionalized, and deployment is well underway. In these regions, a subnational water management scheme exists, but its maximum capacity is mostly unrealized due to numerous constraints. The findings show that the numerous water laws are confusing and that water data for planning purposes is lacking. Even though there are many water agencies, they are not interconnected. This study is useful for successful IWRM implementation, which should encourage sustainable water resource management for environmental sustainability. Integrated methods for water resource management help to organize sustainable growth by assessing how water is handled in agriculture, urban applications, and the surrounding ecosystems. Doi: 10.28991/CEJ-2022-08-02-08 Full Text: PD

Construction Labour Measurement in Reinforced Concrete Floating Caissons in Maritime Ports

This research work attempts to approach the measuring of the working equipment necessary to make floating caissons for maritime work and their performances. With this objective, an empirical study has been carried out based on the construction of five floating caissons with a rectangular layout of 34.00 meters in length, 17.00 meters in width, and 19.00 meters in depth, lightened with 32 vertical cells. This work was carried out in the port of Granadilla, Tenerife (Spain). The updated scientific literature related to the execution of this type of floating structure refers to the importance of the calculation hypotheses, the actions to be taken into account, the service states or the importance of the choice of materials (concrete and steel). However, scientific research does not seem to face the problem of how to size the working team necessary to execute this type of structure. The work force is approached from the point of view of the adequate sizing of working groups. The important contribution of the article to the project and construction management literature is the development and capability of an easy-to-use optimization model for planning the labour and labour days required in floating caisson construction. The optimization model proposed in this research allows the project managers of a construction company to estimate the labour costs and teams necessary in the execution of the construction. This gives it a competitive advantage both in the construction phase and in the bidding phase for the award of the work. Doi: 10.28991/CEJ-2022-08-02-01 Full Text: PD

The Effect of Short-Term Aging on Warm Mix Asphalt Moisture Performance

Warm Mix Asphalt (WMA) is a good pavement option due to its environmental benefits. Short-term aging is one of the critical factors that the WMA should carefully study. This research aims to study the effect of short-term aging on the warm mix asphalt that has different percentages of rubber. In this study, three percentages of rubber (1, 1.5, and 2%) by weight of aggregate are considered to be added to the WMA. By use of the Indirect Tensile Strength test for HMA, WMA unmodified and modified with CR that is exposed to an aging protocol to assess the sensitivity of asphalt mixture to moisture damage. The results show that HMA is less sensitive to moisture than WMA, and the addition of crumb rubber to WMA generally improves the resistance to moisture compared with WMA with 0% of rubber. However, as the rubber content increases to 2%, the resistance starts to decrease. Finally, SEM images were taken of rubber particles, WMA with and without rubber to investigate the changes occurring to the mixtures. Doi: 10.28991/CEJ-2022-08-12-09 Full Text: PD

Mechanical Properties of Compressed Earth Block Stabilized with Sugarcane Molasses and Metakaolin-Based Geopolymer

This research aims to investigate the mechanical performance of compressed earth blocks (CEBs) stabilized by a combination of metakaolin-based geopolymer (MKG) and sugarcane molasses (SM), to remedy the limitations present in CEBs stabilized with MKG alone. Two schemes of stabilization were used. In the first, the optimum MKG content for stabilizing CEB was partially substituted with various percentages of SM (10% MKG + 0% SM, 8% MKG + 2% SM, 6% MKG + 4% SM, 4% MKG + 6% SM, 2% MKG + 8% SM). The second stabilization scheme consisted of fixing 5% MKG and varying SM from 2% to 8% (5% MKG + 0% SM, 5% MKG + 2% SM, 5% MKG + 4% SM, 5% MKG + 6% SM, 5% MKG + 8% SM). The mechanical properties of the CEBs stabilized with SM and MKG were analyzed in terms of compressive strength, dry density, and water absorption. The test results showed that the combination of MKG and SM for stabilizing CEBs was not as effective as MKG alone in increasing the compressive strength of CEBs. However, this combination solved the high porosity of CEBs stabilized with just MKG by increasing their dry density and decreasing their water absorption capacity. In terms of compressive strength and water absorption, the optimum values were obtained respectively with 5% MKG + 4% SM (4.163 MPa at 28 days) and 6% MKG + 4% SM (8.73% at 28 days). Therefore, the suggested innovative stabilization approach is suitable for improving the overall mechanical properties of CEBs and addressing the shortcomings of CEBs stabilized only with MKG. Doi: 10.28991/CEJ-2022-08-04-012 Full Text: PD

An Optimal Cost Estimation Practices of Fuzzy AHP for Building Construction Projects in Libya

This paper analysis and reviews the construction projects in Libya. In Libya, construction projects often face challenges due to the lack of proper information and data in cost-estimation methods. The primary goal of this paper is to demonstrate the estimation of construction costs using various methods. An optimization strategy based on a well-known robust algorithm The Fuzzy AHP technique is used to estimate the best roof structure choice based on cost rank among one or two-way flat slab, post-tension slab, pre-tension slab, waffle slab, and hollow core slab. The roofs were created employing five main factors that were implemented in a real-world situation in the Libyan building industry. The cost of materials, labor, machinery, transportation, and trash on site were all considered. Research findings show that the models can assist decision-makers in determining the cost rank of roof selection. When a range of methods are applied and compared to guarantee that this is the best option. This research study must be taken seriously when estimating and managing the contract and length of highway construction projects in the early stages of project development so that the time difference at the end of the project can be kept to a minimum by decision-makers when choosing the roof with the lowest cost. Doi: 10.28991/CEJ-2022-08-06-08 Full Text: PD