Influence of Palm Oil Fibers Length Variation on Mechanical Properties of Reinforced Crude Bricks

Crude bricks are composite materials manufactured with sediments and natural fibers. Natural fibers are waste materials and used in construction materials for reinforcement. Their reuse in manufacturing reinforced crude bricks is eco-friendly and improves mechanical and thermal characteristics of crude bricks. Factors such as type of fibers, percentage of fibers, length of fibers and distribution of fibers inside the bricks have significant effect on mechanical, physical and thermal properties of biobased composite materials. It can be observed by tests such as indirect tensile strength, compressive strength for mechanical characteristics, density, shrinkage, color for physical properties, thermal conductivity and resistivity for thermal properties, and inundation test for durability of crude bricks. In this study, mechanical and physical characteristics of crude bricks reinforced with palm oil fibers are investigated and effect of change in percentage and length of fibers is observed. Crude bricks of size 4*4*16 cm3 are manufactured with dredged sediments from Usumacinta River, Mexico and reinforced with palm oil fibers at laboratory scale. For this purpose, sediments and palm oil fibers characteristics were studied. Length of fibers used is 2cm and 3cm. Bricks manufacturing steps such as sediments fibers mixing, moulding, compaction and drying are elaborated. Dynamic compaction is opted for compaction of crude bricks due to energy control. Indirect tensile strength and compressive strength tests are conducted to identify the mechanical characteristics of crude bricks. Physical properties of bricks are studied through density and shrinkage. Durability of crude bricks is observed with inundation test. Thermal properties are studied with thermal conductivity and resistivity test. Distribution and orientation of fibers and fibers counting are done to observe the homogeneity of fibers inside the crude bricks. Finally, comparison between the mechanical characteristics of crude bricks manufactured with 2cm and 3cm length with control specimen was made.

Investigating Alternates to Flexural Beams for Airport Concrete Strength Compliance

Concrete for airport rigid pavement construction is generally specified to achieve a minimum characteristic flexural strength of 4.5 MPa and acceptance testing during construction aims to verify this key design assumption. The large flexural beam specimens are cumbersome and the testing is expensive. Consequently, industry desires a more convenient test and a laboratory-based conversion to an estimated flexural strength for acceptance testing during production. This research developed and trialed a protocol for the conversion of indirect tensile strength and compressive strength to estimate the flexural strength. The laboratory correlation was encouraging. However, when trialed on a real construction project, the conversions significantly underestimated the measured flexural strength and the risk of rejecting compliant batches of concrete was significantly higher. Further research is required to understand why the reliable conversions developed in the laboratory failed in the field. This may be related to the effect of ambient temperature on 28 day flexural strength, despite the constant curing condition.

Precision Estimates and Statements for Performance Indices from the Indirect Tensile Cracking Test at Intermediate Temperature

The Virginia Department of Transportation (DOT) has taken initiatives to implement the Balanced Mix Design (BMD) method to assure the long-term service life of its pavement network from a mixture quality standpoint. As part of this initiative, the cracking tolerance (CT) index obtained from the indirect tensile (IDT) test at intermediate temperature in accordance with ASTM D8225-19 was selected for evaluating the cracking potential of dense-graded surface asphalt mixtures. This prompted the need to generate the precision estimates (repeatability and reproducibility) for the test method for proper implementation during quality measurement practices. Thus, this interlaboratory study was undertaken to determine the precision estimates of the CT index calculated from the IDT test and to develop the associated precision statements. In addition, fracture strain tolerance (FST) and indirect tensile strength were included. Two asphalt mixes with significantly different CT index values were designed for the evaluation. Forty-six pairs of five replicate sets of compacted specimens (one set for each mix) were sent to 41 participating laboratories to be tested at 25°C. The test results were checked for data quality. The effects of loading rate and manufacturers on the indices were also evaluated. The test results indicated that one third of the sets were not tested in full accordance with the ASTM standard, indicating a need for training. The results also indicated that the specified loading rate of 50 ± 2 mm/min in ASTM D8225-19 for the IDT test may need revision. Finally, the precision estimates and associated statements for the three indices were presented.

Correlation between Rheological Fatigue Tests on Bitumen and Various Cracking Tests on Asphalt Mixtures

Accurate characterisation and appropriate binder selection are essential to increase the load-induced cracking resistance of asphalt mixtures at an intermediate temperature. Hence, the primary goal of this study was to correlate the cracking resistance exerted by the binder with the cracking performance of asphalt mixtures. The laboratory-based experimental plan covered various types of laboratory tests specified by various agencies and road authorities to study the correlation of a neat bitumen and five polymer-modified binders with their corresponding asphalt mixtures. The fatigue life of the binders was assessed through a Linear Amplitude Sweep (LAS) test and statistically correlated with various load-induced cracking parameters from the indirect tensile test, semi-circular bending (SCB) test, and four points bending beam test (FPBB) of asphalt mixtures at 25 °C. Binders and mixes were further grouped depending on their polymeric family (i.e., modified with a particular type of polymer) to validate their statistical correlation. The indicator that mostly correlated the binder properties with the asphalt mixture properties is the secant modulus from the SCB test. Fatigue parameters obtained through LAS better explain the asphalt fatigue performance obtained through FPBB; specifically, asphalt tests at high strain levels (e.g., 400 micro strain) better correlate to the LAS fatigue parameter (Nf).

The Effectiveness of Liquid PUD-TiO2 Photocatalyst on Asphalt Pavement

Harmful nitrogen oxides (NOX) are produced by vehicles, factories, mines, and power plants. In fact, over one million tons of NOX are emitted into the atmosphere every year, making it the most prevalent air pollutant. Approximately 45% of the emitted NOX in Korea is associated with the transportation sector. In this paper, the application of a new TiO2 photocatalyst on the asphalt roads to remove combustion-produced NOX was studied. In an effort to overcome the known constructability, adhesion, cost, and dispersion problems associated with TiO2 photocatalysts, the liquid polyurethane (PUD) was added with TiO2 to form a mixture later known as liquid PUD-TiO2. Laboratory and field tests were conducted to determine the optimum amount of photocatalyst to be used and the performance of asphalt pavement coated with PUD-TiO2 in terms of indirect tensile strength, water susceptibility, and rutting resistance. Additionally, the performance of PUD-TiO2 under different humidity, wind speed, and temperature conditions was also evaluated. The results showed that the application of PUD-TiO2 photocatalyst on the asphalt pavements road reduces the NOX available on the surface of the road. The PUD-TiO2 also was found to have no effects on the performance of asphalt pavement. Meanwhile, under different weather conditions, the reaction between the photocatalyst and NOX is mainly affected by the humidity.

Influence of Gradation on the Mechanical Properties of Aged Hot-Mix Asphalts

When a hot-mix asphalt (HMA) ages, its mechanical properties, resistance, and durability change. Several studies have been conducted throughout the world to evaluate the effects of aging in HMAs. However, few studies have analyzed the influence of gradation. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of gradation on the mechanical properties of aged HMA mixes. For such purposes, three HMA mixes with different gradations were manufactured (named HMA-10, HMA-19, and HMA-25), which were conditioned in STOA (short-term oven aging) and LTOA (long-term oven aging) by following the guidelines established by the AASHTO R30 specification. Marshall, Indirect Tensile Strength (ITS), resilient modulus, permanent deformation, fatigue (under controlled-stress condition), and Cantabro tests were performed. These tests were carried out to evaluate resistance under monotonic and cyclic load as well as the resistance to moisture damage and abrasion. The best performing mix in the test was HMA-19. There is no clear trend about the influence of gradation over the susceptibility of mixes for aging. This susceptibility changes depending on the test performed and the property measured. Furthermore, in resilient modulus tests, it is observed that the influence of gradation on aging susceptibility changes depending on the test temperature.

Correlating the Strength Properties of Roller Compacted Concrete

Prediction of the strength properties of roller compacted concrete from mathematical models is significant for rapid decision of the quality of the pavement. In the present assessment, roller compacted concrete slab samples have been prepared in the laboratory using 12 percentage of Portland cement by weight of aggregates. Cube, core, and beam specimens were extracted from the slab samples and tested for compressive, indirect tensile, and flexural strength at the age of 28 days. Strength test results were corelated among each other and mathematical models were obtained. It was observed that low significance of aggregates gradation type on the compressive and tensile strength exists. However, high influence of dense gradation on flexural strength could be detected. The flexural strength of dense graded mixture is higher than that of gap graded mixtures. The compressive strength of gap graded mixture is higher than that of dense graded mixture. It can be concluded that the flexural strength is higher than the tensile strength by (2.17 and 1.24) folds for dense and gap graded mixtures respectively. The compressive strength is higher than tensile strength by (5.72 and 4.87) folds for dense and gap graded mixtures respectively. The compressive strength is higher than the flexural strength by (3.4 and 2.49) folds for dense and gap graded roller compacted concrete respectively. The obtained mathematical models exhibit high coefficient of determination and may be implemented in verification of the specific strength property based on other measured strength properties of roller compacted concrete.

New Regression Models For Evaluating The Tensile Strength of Some Natural Building Stones Using The Indirect Tensile Tests and P-Wave Velocity

The full text of this preprint has been withdrawn by the authors while they make corrections to the work. Therefore, the authors do not wish this work to be cited as a reference. Questions should be directed to the corresponding author.

SUPERPAVE design mixture performance evaluation using Epolene modifier for cold semi-arid climatic region of Saudi Arabia

Purpose: To evaluate the superpave design performance using Epolene (EE-2) as modifier, since SUPERPAVE design is a modified and sophisticated aspect as compared to previous mix design for asphalt mixtures. This is primarily due to the fact that superpave design mix also takes into consideration properties of materials beside asphalt. Design/methodology/approach: This study was conducted using Epolene (EE-2) as modifier in order to evaluate the performance of SUPERPAVE suitability for construction of roads in Alfaraa campus (King Khalid University) Abha, in Asir Province of Saudi Arabia. Glow number test, dynamic modulus test and indirect tensile strength test were conducted to evaluate the performance of EE-2 modifier against the control mixture. Findings: The mixture modified with EE-2 gave better performance in terms of temperature-based performance and resistance to moisture damage. Also, larger values of E*/sinφ were obtained for EE-2 modified mixture at various loading frequencies and temperature in comparison to control mixture. Research limitations/implications: The Epolene modifier successfully enhances and improves the SUPERPAVE mixture performance. Further studies are required to evaluate the performance of EE-2 modifier at much lower temperature ranges. Practical implications: The results of the study allow us to recommend the investigated asphalt mixture for applied for the construction of roads in the Alfaraa (new campus of King Khalid University), Abha, Asir province, Saudi Arabia. Originality/value: A modified asphalt mixture has been proposed that has better performance at higher and lower temperatures. The developed asphalt mixture is more resistant to moisture damage than the compared to control mixture.