Sound absorption of lightweight brick containing expanded polystyrene beads and palm oil fuel ash

Bricks are considered as important and strongest materials being used over the years. Commonly, bricks are made of clay mineral and usually used in construction of building wall. The purpose of this study is to assess the effectiveness of palm oil fuel ash (POFA) and expanded polystyrene beads (EPS) as a brick and its suitability as sound absorption material. POFA is used as partial replacement of cement while EPS as partial replacement of sand in the mortar mixture. Various percentages of EPS and POFA have been used which include 0%, 20%, 30%, 40% and 50% as sand replacement and from 0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20% and 25% as cement replacement respectively. Sound absorption tests were conducted using impedance tube. From this study, it has been identified that for sound absorption test, lowest result recorded is at maximum 25% POFA replacement with 50% EPS replacement with 0.011 sound absorption coefficient at frequency of 3500 Hz. The best sound absorption coefficient recorded is 0.998 at frequency of 250 Hz for sample with 0% EPS and 20% POFA replacement. It can be recognized that the brick produced have the excellent sound absorption

Moisture Susceptibility Of Superpave Asphalt Mixture With Rubber Polymer Modified Asphalt Binder

Moisture susceptibility or known as stripping are very common road distress in tropical country and it is a safety treat to road users. Polymer modified asphalt binder has been conducted previously to find an alternative material in pavement construction that can be used as new improvement for asphalt mix design. This research was carried out to determine the potential benefits of rubber polymer as modifier to enhance the properties and strength of the bituminous road. In this study, three different types of dense graded Superpave HMA mix were developed consists of unmodified asphalt binder (Control) mix, Rubber Polymer Modified Asphalt binder (RMB) mix and Rubber Polymer Modified Asphalt binder with Hydrated Lime (RMBL) mix. This research evaluates the physical properties and moisture susceptibility performance of dense graded Superpave-designed HMA mix. Laboratory tests, i.e. aggregate testing and Superpave volumetric properties were performed to evaluate the physical properties of these mixtures. The Moisture Susceptibility Test (AASHTO T283) was used to characterize stripping performance of dense graded Superpave HMA mixes. The addition of 4 percent 40-mesh tyre crumbs by weight of asphalt binder into asphalt binder were used to prepare rubber polymer modified asphalt binder. 1 percent Hydrated lime by total weight of aggregate was added into the aggregate to improve the bond between aggregate particles and, thereby mitigating moisture damage. Results from the study revealed that, all the mixes passed the Superpave volumetric properties criteria which indicate that these mixtures were good with respect to durability and flexibility. The addition of rubber polymer significantly enhances the properties of asphalt mixtures. The moisture susceptibility result showed that RMB mix demonstrates better resistance to stripping than those prepared using Control mix. While the addition of hydrated lime as antistripping additive with rubber polymer into bituminous asphalt binder would improve the stripping performance of HMA mixes which indicated that RMBL has the most potential to improve stripping resistance eventually increasing the life span of the pavement and reduce premature pavement failure. Therefore, rubber polymer has high potential recycling market value which can be used as additive to, reduce temperature susceptibility, improve adhesion and cohesion properties and further enhance performance of Superpave designed pavement in tropical climate

Performance in thermal conductivity of bricks containing palm oil fuel ash and expanded polystyrene beads

Sustainable development has encouraged us to sustain the balance between the development of the country and the biodiversity conservation. Productions of lightweight bricks with thermal conductivity and density that have acceptable compressive strength are accomplished. Palm oil fuel ash (POFA) was used as partial cement replacement and an expanded polystyrene (EPS) beads was used as sand replacement to manufacture of bricks. In this study, the control sample with a Cement: POFA: Sand: EPS ratio of 1.0: 0: 3.0: 0 were produce. The cement in the sample is replace by 25% of POFA and 0%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50% of EPS. In this study, the test conducted was a thermal conductivity test and density test of the POFA, EPS beads and brick raw material. This sample was cured under full air-dry curing conditions were applied in this experiment. The density of bricks containing 0% of EPS Beads with 25% of POFA are higher than that of brick containing 50% of EPS Beads with 25% of POFA which are 1850 kg/m³ and 1357.14 kg/m³, respectively. The higher the percentage of EPS beads, the lower the brick’s density. The thermal conductivity of bricks containing 0%, 20%, 30%, 40% and 50% EPS with 25% POFA show that brick containing 50% EPS with 25% POFA have a lower thermal conductivity with 0.09 W/m°C due to the density of the sampl