Flexural behaviour of RC one-way slabs reinforced using PAN based carbon textile grid

Textile reinforced mortar (TRM) is mainly used for strengthening of existing structural members whereas, on the other hand Textile reinforced concrete (TRC) is a technology implied in construction of new members for enhancing the structural behaviour. Application of TRM on the tension zone of the reinforced concrete (RC) slabs to improve the flexural capacity has been investigated by many researchers in the past. However, the effectiveness of textile fabrics, used as internal reinforcement in the RC slab (TRC technology) needs to be studied. The paper, therefore, presents the experimental research conducted on three one-way RC slabs specimens reinforced using textile grid. An innovative Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) based carbon textile grid was used as internal reinforcement in combination with the steel bars. Two textile-reinforced RC slabs having one and two layers of textile grid (SRC + 1T and SRC + 2T respectively) and one reference slab (SRC) was fabricated to investigate the flexural behaviour under a four-point loading system. The internal textile reinforcement layer(s) was confirmed to be effective, particularly in terms of improving the cracking load, ductility, deformability and toughness. The material ductility of SRC + 1T and SRC + 2T slabs were increased by 41% and 44% compared to SRC slab. Also, the deformability ratio was found to be greater than 4, indicating a ductile failure of textile-reinforced slabs. Further, based on the load-deflection relation, moment-curvature curves were derived. Moreover, these curves were also developed using Eurocode two prediction model. The experimental and the predicted moment-curvature curves showed good agreement

Investigating the Potential of High-Density Polyethylene and Nano Clay Asphalt-Modified Binders to Enhance the Rutting Resistance of Asphalt Mixture

This study investigates the potential of two bitumen modifiers, high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and nano clay (NC), to enhance the rutting resistance of asphalt mixture. Four HDPE asphalt binders were prepared by mixing the HDPE at percentages of 2%, 4%, 6%, and 8% with the virgin binder, while four NC asphalt binders were produced by mixing the NC at percentages of 1%, 2%, 3%, and 4%. The consistency and flow of virgin binder, HDPE binders, and NC binders were evaluated by penetration, softening point, and viscosity tests. The results show a gradual increment in the binder stiffness by increasing the percentage of both modifiers. The static creep test was conducted at a temperature of 40 °C to evaluate the rutting resistance. The results confirm that both modifiers can greatly improve the rutting resistance of the asphalt mixture, where 8% HDPE and 3% NC modifications reduce the strains provoked in the asphalt mixture under loading by about 50%. According to the correlation analysis, the mixture rutting performance is highly attributed to the binder stiffness, where the lower the penetration value of the asphalt binder, the lower the strains in the asphalt mixture and the higher the stiffness modulus of the asphalt mixture