Development of self-compacting lightweight concrete made of palm oil clinker

This report presents the findings on development of self-compacting lightweight concrete using lightweight aggregate. In this study, palm oil clinker (POC) is used to replace normal gravel as course aggregate in concrete. There are two types of mix design in this project which are the normal self – compacting concrete as the control mix and the POC mix with 100% POC replacement for course aggregate. Slump flow test is carried out at fresh state to measure the self – compactability of the concrete. At hardened state, compressive strength test is conducted using cubes for these two types of concrete mix at the age of 7 and 28 days. Splitting tensile and flexural strength test were also conducted using cylinders and prisms, on the age of 28 days, respectively and were also wet – cured. The result shows that by using POC as lightweight aggregate and superplasticizer as the admixture, lightweight self – compacting concrete with high workability and strength almost similar to normal self – compacting concrete can be produced. This study also includes a vertical load test on a 500 mm x 500 mm wall with thickness 125 mm for both types of mix design. Throughout the test, data such as load capacity, behavior of cracks and failure mode were observed. The test results showed that specimens with POC achieved almost similar performance in terms of ultimate load capacity with only 14.3% difference

Geometry Strength of Honeycomb Sandwich Panel

The geometry strength of honeycomb sandwich panel with several types of core were investigated.   There are four types of sandwich panels; Rectangular Core Sandwich Panel (RCSP), Horizontal Core Sandwich Panel (HCSP), Triangular Core Sandwich Panel (TCSP) and Symmetrical Core Sandwich Panel (SCSP). For all types of panel, the upper and bottom layers and the inner core made from the plywood with different thickness. The performance of the honeycomb sandwich panel subjected to four-point bending test and punching shear test were investigated. The results of flexural test showed that RCSP that having the rectangular core has the highest maximum load of 9.79 kN compared to HCSP and TCSP. The maximum load of RCSP in the punching shear test achieved 34.35 kN which was higher than SCSP.  All the specimens having the core shear failure

Hybrid Polymerisation: An Exploratory Study of the Chemo-Mechanical and Rheological Properties of Hybrid-Modified Bitumen

In this study, the mechanical and rheological properties of hybrid polymer-modified bitumen (PMB) have been investigated. For this purpose, nine different polymers—including crumb rubber, elastomers and plastomers at varying content—were studied to evaluate their mechanical performance as single polymers, first, and as a combination of two or more polymers as a hybrid polymer blend. Subsequently, the hybrid polymer blends were added in a relatively small percentage into the base bitumen to study its influence on the rheological performance of hybrid PMB. The mechanical properties identified from the analysis of the stress-strain curve of the single polymers were the Young’s Modulus, tensile stress, and elongation at break. The chemical structure of the polymer hybrid blends was analysed using FTIR, followed by frequency sweep tests conducted using the dynamic shear rheometer (DSR) to determine the bitumen rheological properties. Results showed that hybrid PMB enhances the viscoelastic behaviour of bitumen at both low and high temperature compared to other PMBs only including single polymers

Development of Flat Slab – Column Interaction with Different Thickness

Flat slab – column connection has received much attention in recent years due to its simplicity of construction where beam is not required to support the slab. Flat slab has many usages in the construction field and has been investigated as a potential building material. Despite its many benefits, flat slab is easily subjected to punching shear failure. A simple approach to minimize punching shear failure is by increasing the slab thickness. It is generally accepted that the performance of flat slab is improved by using shear reinforcement; however, little attention has been paid to the selection of thickness. This research focuses on the crack behaviour of flat slab due to different slab thickness. Two specimens with different slab thickness have been constructed and tested to obtain the flat slab strength and crack pattern behaviour. Increasing the slab thickness was found to improve the strength of the flat slab and minimize the deflection and crack appearance on the slab

Mechanical Properties of Lightweight Concrete Using Recycled Cement-Sand Brick as Coarse Aggregates Replacement

This paper presents the result of replacing natural course aggregate with recycled cement-sand brick (CSB) towards the mechanical properties of concrete. Natural aggregates were used in this study as a control sample to compare with recycled coarse aggregates. This study was also carried to determine the optimum proportion of coarse aggregates replacement to produce lightweight concrete. Besides, this study was conducted to observe the crack and its behaviour development during the mechanical testing. Through this study, four types of concrete mixed were prepared, which were the control sample, 25%, 50% and 75% replacement of CSB. The test conducted to determine the effectiveness of recycled CSB as coarse aggregates replacement in this study were slump test, density measurement, compression test, and flexural test and. The strength of concrete was tested at 7 days and 28 days of curing. From the results obtained, the optimum proportion which produced the highest strength is 25% replacement of recycled CSB. The compressive and flexural strength has decreased by 10%-12% and 4%-34% respectively compared to the control sample. The presence of recycled coarse aggregates in sample has decreased the density of concrete by 0.8%-3% compared to the control sample

Mechanical Properties of Lightweight Concrete Using Recycled Cement-Sand Brick as Coarse Aggregates Replacement

This paper presents the result of replacing natural course aggregate with recycled cement-sand brick (CSB) towards the mechanical properties of concrete. Natural aggregates were used in this study as a control sample to compare with recycled coarse aggregates. This study was also carried to determine the optimum proportion of coarse aggregates replacement to produce lightweight concrete. Besides, this study was conducted to observe the crack and its behaviour development during the mechanical testing. Through this study, four types of concrete mixed were prepared, which were the control sample, 25%, 50% and 75% replacement of CSB. The test conducted to determine the effectiveness of recycled CSB as coarse aggregates replacement in this study were slump test, density measurement, compression test, and flexural test and. The strength of concrete was tested at 7 days and 28 days of curing. From the results obtained, the optimum proportion which produced the highest strength is 25% replacement of recycled CSB. The compressive and flexural strength has decreased by 10%-12% and 4%-34% respectively compared to the control sample. The presence of recycled coarse aggregates in sample has decreased the density of concrete by 0.8%-3% compared to the control sample