Rebar corrosion due to chlorides in synergy with sodium, potassium, and magnesium

The ability of steel reinforced concrete to withstand long service life is ensured by the strong binding between the concrete and the rebar. Although rebar corrosion deterioration in the presence of chlorides is well known, it is important to note that these anions are never present in isolation, i.e., other cations are also present within the exposed environment. Consequently, a study was conducted to investigate the rebar deterioration due to chlorides in the presence of different cations. A well-controlled laboratory experiment for assessing the corrosivity of sodium chloride, potassium chloride and magnesium chloride was conducted. The galvanostatic pulse technique was used to investigate the concrete-steel interfacial structure, which was modelled after a modified Randles circuit. Analysis revealed influences of the associated cations during the rebar corrosion process. A normalisation approach was used to compare chloride attacks on the rebar due to different salt solutions. Results suggest that chloride attacks in the presence of sodium cations are relatively corrosive

TEduChain: A Platform for Crowdsourcing Tertiary Education Fund using Blockchain Technology

Blockchain is an emerging technology framework for creating and storing transaction in distributed ledgers with a high degree of security and reliability. In this paper we present a blockchain-based platform to create and store contracts in between students and their higher education sponsors. The sponsorship might be in any form, such as scholarship, donation or loan. The fund will be arranged and managed by a group of competitive agents (Fundraisers) who will hold the distributed ledgers and act as miners in the blockchain network

Rebar corrosion due to chlorides in the presence of different cations

Recent attention on effects of climate change in the Pacific island countries (PIC’s) have focused on a multitude of areas which are at risk in the Pacific region. These include food security, flora and fauna, land accessibility, groundwater contamination and so on. These aspects are essential for sustainable development of the small island states in the Pacific region. One issue, which appears synonymous with climate change in the Pacific is sea-level rise. The rising sea level can have detrimental effects on civil infrastructure since its intrusion further inland can lead to deterioration of nearby civil metallic infrastructure due to corrosion. Since metropolisation of major PIC’s are mainly near the sea or along coast line, this presents a significant problem within the overall paradigm of sustainable development. In this regards, a study was undertaken to investigate the influences of different chloride salts (i.e. NaCl, KCl, MgCl2) on the corrosion of steel re-inforcing bars (rebar’s) in concrete mortars. This study is important to understand structural health conditions, especially for foundations in ground, and to understand the corrosion intensities in the presence of different cations, which can be significantly controlled by groundwater migration. The galvanostatic pulse technique was used to evaluate the effect of varying chloride contents of different salts on rebar corrosion. Results from this study are presented in an attempt to provide a conceptual model for understanding the interaction of aforementioned salts with metallic infrastructure. A holistic discussion is presented which are important for sustainable development in the PIC’s

TEduChain: a blockchain - based platform for crowd funding tertiary education

Blockchain is an emerging technology framework for creating and storing transaction in distributed ledgers with a high degree of security and reliability. In this paper, we present a blockchain-based platform to create and store contracts in between students and their higher education sponsors facilitated by intermediary brokers denoted as fundraisers. The sponsorship might be in any form, such as scholarship, donation, or loan. The fund will be arranged and managed by a group of competitive fundraisers who will hold the distributed ledgers and act as the miners in the blockchain network