Effect of Mixing Ingredient on Compressive Strength of ISSA Concrete Containing Eggshell Powder

Waste management is one of the alarming issues in developing country like Malaysia. It is reported that sewage sludge and eggshell waste are generated annually. The amount of waste is expected to increase from year to year. Thus it is viable to investigate the possibility to turn waste into suitable construction materials in concrete production. In this paper, sewage sludge and eggshell waste are treated and used as blended cement to reduce the use of cement consumption in concrete production. At early stage of research, mortar cubes of mm of cubes were cast to identify the optimum percentage of ISSA. At the second stage, only optimum percentage of ISSA concrete were added with difference percentages of eggshell powder and tested by slump test and compressive strength. All the specimens were subjected to water curing before undergo compressive strength test. The optimum of ISSA and eggshell powder were 10% and 15% which capable to use as partial cement replacement. The total cement replacement is 25%. The compressive strength result was 37% higher than normal plain concrete. On the right formulation, ISSA and eggshell can be used partial cement replacement that exhibit optimum strength

Properties of concrete containing microwaved sewage sludge ash

Urban population of Malaysia is stated as 72.8% of its total population, and growing every year. Due to this growing number of population, the sewage sludge waste produce every year has also gradually increased. Malaysia itself produces 3.2 million m3 of sewage sludge annually. Normally all of this waste is disposed by landfill. Furthermore, usual production of cement and sewage sludge ash consumes a lot of energy by using incineration process with a very high temperature. Thus, microwave heating method was an alternatives use in this research to reduce the consumption of energy and time used to heat the sewage sludge ash. This research was conducted to investigate the optimum performances of different percentage (0%, 5%, 10%, 15% and 20%) by weight of cement of the Microwaved Sewage Sludge Ash (MSSA) concrete with different curing regime, which was air and water curing. The characteristic of MSSA was tested by X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The mechanical properties of MSSA concrete was examined by Compressive Strength test, Flexural Strength test and Modulus of Elasticity test after 180 days of curing. The MSSA samples were also tested with water absorption test to evaluate the quality of concrete in term of porosity and permeability. Water curing sample with 5% of MSSA (W5) had the best in results compared to other specimens. The mechanical properties of W5 content in concrete shows the most optimum samples due to the densification of pozzolanic reaction and filler effect of MSSA. The curing effect with better result was water curing, as it got highest value of strength in compressive test, flexural test and modulus of elasticity test. As conclusion, based on the results, it is shown the positive impact on using the MSSA as additional material to the cement mixture to improve the quality of the concrete. Thus, this will reduce the disposal of sewage sludge waste on dumping site and improves the quality performances of the concrete

Detection and maintenance for railway track defects: A review

Steel rail has been at the heart of rail transportation systems for nearly a hundred years. With the rapid development of railway transportation, the steel rail operates in high-speed and heavy-duty operating environment. Steel rail is prone to damages; thus, frequency inspection and maintenance is required to prolong the lifespan of it. Failing to proper periodical inspection and maintenance shall result to accidents which cause injuries and fatality, high repair cost and loss of public confidence. Despite advances in inspection and maintenance technology in railway engineering, the ever-increasing demand for services has resulted in railway failures continuing to be a significant economic burden and jeopardizing the safe operation of railways. This paper reviewed the common defects of rails, the steel rail treatment methods and the application of new inspection equipment

Natural Lime Treated as Partial Cement Replacement to Produce Concrete

In this study, eggshell powder was used as partial replacement of Ordinary Portland cement replacement at 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% in concrete production. Since the chemical composition of eggshell contain mainly of calcium oxide which is mostly similar to the natural lime sources. Thus the use of waste-products in cement industries is an environmental friendly while able to increase the industrialization instead of disposal of large numbers of waste materials that would pollute the land, water and air. The specimens were casted into concrete cube (100mm x 100mm x100mm) and beam (100mm x100mm x 500mm). The investigations focused on compressive, flexural strength and water absorption at different percentages of replacement and tested at 1, 7, 28, 56 and 90 days. From the investigation, it is found that the compressive strength and flexural strength increases up to 45% as compared to the control specimens when cement replacement by 15% of air-dry eggshell powder. Moreover, the rate of water absorption greatly reduces 55% when cement replacement by 15% of air-dry eggshell powder. Scanning electron microscope showed clear picture of the eggshell concrete contain less voids than normal plain concrete

A Review of Porous Concrete Pavement: Compressive Strength and Clogging Investigation

Pervious concrete pavements (PCPs) have been widely accepted as a green infrastructure solution for urban areas. Currently, pervious concrete is commonly used in permeable pavement systems such as roadways, sidewalks, driveways, parking lots, and other light-duty flatwork applications. However, the main disadvantage of this type of pavement is that it loses permeability over time due to clogging and lower compressive strength due to the pore's structures. These critical issues are the topic of this review paper. Laboratory test results relevant to the compressive strength, clogging and maintenance are discussed in detail. This review aims to present a compilation of prominent findings of studies focused on compressive strength, clogging and maintenance of PCPs. Note that PCPs with higher compressive strength must be used on roads with high traffic volumes. Subsequently, periodic maintenance is necessary to prevent sediment clogging and maximise the life of PCPs. Based on this review paper, the area of need for future research are identified

Success factors of design-build public sector projects in Malaysia

Various procurement methods are employed in the construction industry, with each having varying success rates. The popularity of design and build (D-B) method has been increasing worldwide because its distinctive features of integrating design and construction have successfully addressed the problems inherent in the traditional design-bid-build (D-B-B) method. Previous research efforts in Malaysia have been focused on establishing a D-B strategy, including its challenges and risks and defining a broader scope for implementing D-B in public projects. However, not many empirical studies have identified the D-B success factors in Malaysia’s construction industry. This paper aims to determine the main factors attributing to the successful application of the D-B method for public projects in Malaysia’s construction industry. Specifically, this paper answers the main research question of “What are the success factors of the D-B project delivery method in Malaysian public-sector projects?”. To achieve that objective, this study involves interviewing industry practitioners that have direct hands-on experience in managing D-B public sector projects in Malaysia. The interview data are analyzed to identify the D-B success factors in construction projects. The findings suggest that the underlying factors for successful D-B public project include client capabilities, competency of the construction leader, competency of the consultant team, organizational behavior, and effective project management system. The success factors in each underlying categories are discussed in the paper. This paper contributes a better understanding of the D-B project success factors in Malaysia’s construction industry

Application of decision support tool in design-build projects: A quasi-experiment with novice decision makers

Purpose: Design-Build (DB) is known as the alternative for Design-Bid-Build in the Malaysian construction industry. For DB projects, it is critical to adopt effective decision support tool to ensure the execution of a systematic decision-making technique. This study aimed to examine the impact of a decision support tool for novice decision makers to reject or adopt DB for their construction projects. Design/methodology/approach: Literature review and qualitative input from experts identified several key-selection factors pertaining to critical success factors and design-build drivers. This resulted in the development of Decision Support Tool for Design-Build (DST-DB). A quasi-experiment, which involved 382 novice decision makers in the construction industry, was conducted to test the DST-DB quantitatively. The participants were required to compare two construction projects using DST-DB and traditional decision-making methods. Multivariate analysis was performed to analyse all collected data. Findings: The quasi-experiment data suggests that DST-DB enables significantly higher usability, likelihood, precision, confidence and satisfaction rate when compared to the traditional decision-making process. The pre- and post-surveys indicated that the DST-DB is effective in improving decision-making performance through selection factors of client-briefing, maximised resources and sharing expertise. The participants also agreed that DST-DB is easy to use and helps them to gain better understanding of the decision-making process for construction projects. Originality/value: This research contributes to the existing body of knowledge through the impact of DST on the decisions of novices. The novice decision makers found that DST-DB is practically adaptable and comparatively effective for decision-making process than traditional decision-making methods. This contributes to the practical application of construction companies to provide DST-DB training to the fresh graduate employees to enhance their competencies in the decision-making process

Effect of Dried Sewage Sludge on Compressive Strength of Concrete

Sewage sludge is a waste product generated from the wastewater treatment process at the treatment plant. The amount of sewage sludge produced is increases every year as the population increased. Poor management of sewage sludge will give negative impact to the environment. Replacing cement with sewage sludge ash is more significant to reduce the amount of waste material from sewage treatment plants. In this study, the various percentage of dried sewage sludge (DSS) has been added to replace the cement. Sewage sludge was dried in the oven with 100°C for 24 hours, then sieve through the sieve size 300 µm. Then, DSS was used in the concrete instead of cement with the replacement percentage of 0%, 5%, 10%, and 15% by weight. The compressive strength of concrete cube specimens was investigated after 7 and 28 days of curing. The results showed that the compressive strength of concrete specimens increased with the replacement of cement in concrete with 5 % to 10 % DSS, but the achieved maximum strength still lower compared to the control sample. However, the compressive strength of concrete specimens decreased when the DSS replacement of cement is more than 10 % by weight. The result of XRF test also showed that DSS has good potential to replace cement in concrete

Durability properties of mortar containing steel slag as supplementary cementitious material

The use of steel slag (SS) as supplementary cementitious material (SCM) is promising from the perspective of environmental protection and resource utilization. Previous studies have shown that using 20% SS replacement tends to decrease the strength of concrete. However, few studies have investigated the effect of SS on the durability properties of concrete, such as resistance to ammonium nitrate attack and resistance to sulfate attack. In this study, SS powder has been used as SCM with replacement ratio of 0, 10%, 20%, 30% and 40% to manufacture mortar. Compressive strength test, ammonium nitrate attack test and sulfate attack test have been conducted to investigate the properties of hardened mortar specimens. From this study, it is concluded that the increase in SS replacement ratio caused the decrease in mortar strength, the exposure to sulfate solution could increase the strength of mortar, and the exposure to ammonium nitrate solution led to the decrease in strength of mortar

Modelling failure pressure of pipeline composite repair design using finite element analysis incorporating putty’s contribution

A composite repair system which consists of Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP) and putty as infill material has been proven effective in repairing pipeline system as it can structurally reinforce the damaged steel pipes and potentially prevent external corrosion. However, previous studies including the design codes are neglecting the contribution of putty as they assume putty is only functioned to fill the corroded section. A recent study has pointed out that putty is not only limited to transfer the load, but it can serve as a load bearing component. Thus, the purpose of this research is to model the contribution of putty in terms of load bearing capacity through finite element analysis (FEA) and mathematical modelling. Two finite elements models were utilized to study the performance of two different material properties of putties used to repair externally corroded pipeline followed by regression analysis. It was found that by incorporating the strength contribution of putty, there are potential to increase the burst pressure by about 5%. The finding of this research is significant as it can serve as a stepping stone towards design optimization of pipeline rehabilitation