THERMO-PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF LIGHT WEIGHT EPOXY FOAMED BY SILOXANE BLOWING AGENT

The purpose of this study is to investigate the direct effect of using a blowing agent of siloxane (1, 1, 3, 3-tetramethydisiloxane) on the thermo-physical properties of the foamed epoxy. These properties are: density, glass-transition temperature, thermal conductivity and thermal expansion. The work has been conducted experimentally by manufacturing several specimens with different siloxane contents as: 0, 5, 10, 15 and 20 wt%. The properties of the specimens have tested under suitable conditions using different reliable instruments: differential scanning calorimetry, Lee-discs apparatus, and push rod dilatometer. Scanning electron microscope was used as well to analysis the morphological characteristics of the epoxy with respect to the pores generated by the blowing agent. In general, the foamed epoxy has shown different sizes of pores and extra crosslinking which leads to increase the glass-transition temperature of the material. Results show that the addition of 20% siloxane to the neat epoxy (as maximum) leads to: decreasing by 50% in bulk density, increasing by 20% in glass-transition temperature, decreasing by 30% in thermal conductivity, and decreasing by 75% in thermal expansion.                                             

The Effect of Chain Tacticity on the Thermal Energy Parameters of Isotactic and Syndiotactic Polypropylene

The thermal energy properties in any material affect the substance’s capacity to store or transfer heat. This study investigated the effect of the polymeric chains’ tacticity on the thermal properties of polypropylene related directly to the thermal power, i.e., the heat capacity and thermal conductivity. The study selected different commercial polypropylene groups with two steric modes: isotactic and syndiotactic. The aim is to determine the parameters: isotacticity index, degree of crystallinity, glass-transition temperature, melting point, heat capacity, and thermal conductivity. The data were collected using gel permeation chromatography (GPC), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The results showed that methyl groups randomly distributed within the homo-polypropylene changed the overall content of meso diads, i.e., less isotacticity index. The differences between isotactic and syndiotactic polypropylene groups were 20-40% the degree of the crystallinity, 5-10°C the glass-transition temperature, and 10-20°C the melting point. Using suitable mathematical models, these parameters can be related directly to specific heat capacity and thermal conductivity.

FLEXURAL BEHAVIOR OF TWO-LAYER BEAM MADE WITH LIGHT WEIGHT STEEL FIBRE CONCRETE AND RECYCLED AGGREGATE CONCRETE

<h2>Abstract</h2><p>In structural design, it is extremely desirable to use as low-material as possible while keeping integrity and usefulness. Reducing the structure's weight is one strategy for achieving this objective. Steel fibres have recently been added to reinforced concrete beams to increase flexural and shear strength. Fibre reinforcement in structural elements has drawn considerable interest from the building sector. Steel fibre has received the greatest attention and utilization among all fibre types. When compared to plain concrete, incorporating fibres into concrete may result in better crack management and greater strength. This study examines how two-layer beams made of lightweight steel fibre concrete and recycled aggregate concrete flex under bending loads. Twelve distinct beams with cross sections measuring 100 mm, 150 mm, and 1500 mm (width, depth, and length) are prepared and tested as part of the study. These beams are evaluated under four-point bending. In the tension zone of the lightweight concrete layer, different percentages of steel fibre ranging from 0% to 1.5% by volume were introduced. In the concrete compression layer, recycled block aggregate was substituted for natural coarse aggregate in varying percentages (0%, 25%, and 50%). According to the findings, the flexural strength of beams with a higher steel fibre percentage is higher than that of beams with a higher recycled aggregate component. The study also shows that two-layer beams with higher steel fibre content have superior crack management and deflection behavior than those with lower steel content. The results of the flexural reinforced concrete beam test were contrasted with the calculated design strength determined using British Standards.</p&gt

Flexural Strength of Internally Stiffened Tubular Steel Beam Filled with Recycled Concrete Materials

The flexural strength of Slender steel tube sections is known to achieve significant improvements upon being filled with concrete material; however, this section is more likely to fail due to buckling under compression stresses. This study investigates the flexural behavior of a Slender steel tube beam that was produced by connecting two pieces of C-sections and was filled with recycled-aggregate concrete materials (CFST beam). The C-section’s lips behaved as internal stiffeners for the CFST beam’s cross-section. A static flexural test was conducted on five large scale specimens, including one specimen that was tested without concrete material (hollow specimen). The ABAQUS software was also employed for the simulation and non-linear analysis of an additional 20 CFST models in order to further investigate the effects of varied parameters that were not tested experimentally. The numerical model was able to adequately verify the flexural behavior and failure mode of the corresponding tested specimen, with an overestimation of the flexural strength capacity of about 3.1%. Generally, the study confirmed the validity of using the tubular C-sections in the CFST beam concept, and their lips (internal stiffeners) led to significant improvements in the flexural strength, stiffness, and energy absorption index. Moreover, a new analytical method was developed to specifically predict the bending (flexural) strength capacity of the internally stiffened CFST beams with steel stiffeners, which was well-aligned with the results derived from the current investigation and with those obtained by others

Strengthening Behavior of Rectangular Stainless Steel Tube Beams Filled with Recycled Concrete Using Flat CFRP Sheets

Recently, the adoption of recycled concrete instead of normal concrete as infill material in tubular stainless steel members has received great attention from researchers regarding environmental improvement. However, the flexural behavior of recycled concrete-filled stainless steel tube (RCFSST) beams that have been repaired/strengthened using carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) sheets via a partial-wrapping scheme has not yet been investigated, and is required for a variety of reasons, as with any conventional structural member. Therefore, this study experimentally tested six specimens for investigating the effects of using varied recycled aggregate content (0%, 50%, and 100%) in infill concrete material of stainless steel tube beams strengthened with CFRP sheets. Additionally, several finite element RCFSST models were built and analyzed to numerically investigate the effects of further parameters, such as the varied width-to-thickness ratios and yield strengths. Generally, the results showed that using 100% recycled aggregates in infill concrete material reduced the RCFSST beam’s bending capacity by about 15% when compared to the corresponding control specimen (0% recycled aggregate), with little difference in the failure mode behavior. Pre-damaged RCFSST beam capacity showed significant improvement (43.6%) when strengthened with three CFRP layers. The RCFST model with a lower w/t ratio showed better-strengthening performance than those with a higher ratio, where, the models with w/t ratios equal to 15 and 48 achieved a bending capacity improvement equal to about 18% and 35%, respectively, as an example. Furthermore, the results obtained from the current study are well compared by those predicted using the existing analytical methods

Prediction of the Bending Strength of a Composite Steel Beam–Slab Member Filled with Recycled Concrete

This study investigated the structural behavior of a beam–slab member fabricated using a steel C-Purlins beam carrying a profile steel sheet slab covered by a dry board sheet filled with recycled aggregate concrete, called a CBPDS member. This concept was developed to reduce the cost and self-weight of the composite beam–slab system; it replaces the hot-rolled steel I-beam with a steel C-Purlins section, which is easier to fabricate and weighs less. For this purpose, six full-scale CBPDS specimens were tested under four-point static bending. This study investigated the effect of using double C-Purlins beams face-to-face as connected or separated sections and the effect of using concrete material that contains different recycled aggregates to replace raw aggregates. Test results confirmed that using double C-Purlins beams with a face-to-face configuration achieved better concrete confinement behavior than a separate configuration did; specifically, a higher bending capacity and ductility index by about +10.7% and +15.7%, respectively. Generally, the overall bending behavior of the tested specimens was not significantly affected when the infill concrete’s raw aggregates were replaced with 50% and 100% recycled aggregates; however, their bending capacities were reduced, at −8.0% and −11.6%, respectively, compared to the control specimen (0% recycled aggregates). Furthermore, a new theoretical model developed during this study to predict the nominal bending strength of the suggested CBPDS member showed acceptable mean value (0.970) and standard deviation (3.6%) compared with the corresponding test results