Materials In Construction Industry Research Articles

ВЫСОКОТЕМПЕРАТУРНОЕ ВОССТАНОВЛЕНИЕ КАК СПОСОБ УТИЛИЗАЦИИ ЦЕННЫХ КОМПОНЕНТОВ,СОДЕРЖАЩИХСЯ В ЗОЛОШЛАКОВЫХ ОТХОДАХ

In order to study directions of utilization of ash and slag waste from Omsk thermal power plants, the authors analyzed existing technologies for the use of these wastes in the construction materials industry, road construction, zeolite synthesis, agriculture. Despite a fairly wide range of possibilities for industrial use of ash and slag waste, the actual utilization rates of ash placed in the ash dumps of Omsk thermal power plants are close to zero. The dry ash taken from the electrofilters finds its application in the production of building materials in the Omsk region. The analysis of the possibility of extracting valuable components from ash and slag by hydrochemical methods using aqueous solutions of acids and alkalis indicatesthe implementation of these methods mainly in laboratory practice. Taking into account the content of silicon dioxide in the ash of Omsk thermal power plants exceeding 50 %, the possibility of silicon reduction from silicon dioxide by carbon was analyzed. At the same time, it is emphasized that the transition to high-temperature methods of reducing can be considered as a new stage in the utilization of potentially valuable components contained in ash and slag waste.

Characterization and Profiling of Industrial Wastewater Toxicity in Kuwait

Toxicity reduction is a main criterion in prioritizing industrial wastewater treatment objectives. This paper utilized a comprehensive survey of 41 industrial facilities to characterize their wastewater quality parameters and to assess their wastewater toxicity. The 41 factories were grouped under eleven industrial categories. Microtox relative toxicity test results indicated that industrial wastewater in Kuwait are mostly very toxic to toxic with the exception of farms wastewater which was found to be slightly toxic. The highest ranking toxic wastewaters where found to be metal forming, printing, dairy, slaughterhouses, petrochemical, poultry, food, paper and packaging, beverage, and construction materials industries in order. Among the contributing factors to the toxicity of industrial wastewater are temperature, pH, metals, COD, TOC, NH3, TPH, phenol, and BTEX.

Российско-швейцарские отношения: санкционный капкан

The article analyzes the state of Russian-Swiss business cooperation in the new world realities that have developed since February 2022. The author notes that a feature of Russian business in Switzerland is the trade in commodities (petroleum products, gold and platinum, rare earth metals and fertilizers). An important role is played by the placement of personal capital of super-rich Russian businessmen who use Switzerland for their safe storage. The Russian special military operation in Ukraine provoked a harsh reaction from the Swiss authorities. On February 28, 2022, the Federal Council joined the EU sanctions. The assets of persons included in the sanction’s lists are blocked, establishing new business relations with them is prohibited. Swiss airspace is closed to all flights from Russia. Thus, the Swiss authorities have sacrificed the reputation of a “safe harbor”, which they have created for themselves over the past 200 years. Businessmen working with Russia were very cautious about the outbreak of the sanctions war. Swiss business in Russia is represented by portfolio investments in the food, pharmaceutical, logistics, construction and raw materials industries. About 200 companies are associated with the Russian market, employing almost 40.000 people. Several companies, primarily construction, pharmaceutical and food companies, are still delaying their exit from the Russian market. They believe that the import substitution policy pursued by Russia may call into question the indispensability of their commercial products and a return to the Russian market will be impossible. However, violation of the sanctions leads to imprisonment for up to five years and a fine of up to CHF 1 million. According to the author, given the accession of Switzerland to the policy of sanctions in the financial sector, it will lose its credibility as a safe haven for storing Russian capital, giving way to the Arab Emirates, and as for the supply of traditional export goods to Russia – industrial and electrical equipment, pharmaceutical products, then by the time the sanctions are eased, the market will have already been redistributed, and it will be very problematic to return to it.

Assessment of the Strategic Potential of the Development of Enterprises of the Construction Materials Industry

Assessment of the Strategic Potential of the Development of Enterprises of the Construction Materials Industry

Integrate, Adapt, Collaborate: Comecon Architecture in Socialist Mongolia

This paper conceptualizes the uneven dynamics of architectural mobilities between member states of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (Comecon) and socialist Mongolia, a member of the Comecon since 1962. These long, intense, multilateral, and coordinated exchanges decisively contributed to the development of the “material-technical base” for construction in Cold War Mongolia, including planning institutions as well as construction and construction-materials industries. Based on archival research and interviews in Mongolia, Russia, Germany, and Poland, we introduce the concept of “concern” and argue that the priorities, motivations, and aspirations of the professionals involved were informed by three concerns. They included, first, the concern for integrating Mongolian design and construction industries into a comprehensive network of organizations in charge of the urbanization processes; second, the concern for adapting foreign resources to the conditions on the ground; and, third, the concern for an increasing collaboration between Mongolian, Soviet, and Eastern European actors. We study how these actors followed, exploited, and sometimes challenged the political economy of the Comecon, and how they negotiated it with feedback from specific investments. We argue that the concept of the three concerns is useful for studying architectural mobilities in global socialism and across competing 20th-century developmental regimes.

Performance Assessment on the Application of Artificial Intelligence to Sustainable Supply Chain Management in the Construction Material Industry

Along with global geopolitical complex, information network security issues and increased natural disasters, risk management should be well considered in the construction material industry to re-integrate and establish stiff and flexible supply chains in order to cope with emergencies in the future market. Taking the construction material industry in Taiwan as the research object, representative enterprises with artificial intelligence applied sustainable supply chain management are studied. With the Delphi method and data envelopment analysis, the public data of annual statistics reports of the enterprises are used for selecting the performance indicators of inputs and outputs. Empirical data analysis is also performed to provide reference for the improvement. The research results are summarized as follows. 1. Substituting various input/output index values into CCR and BCC models, the overall production efficiency and pure technical efficiency of enterprises are calculated; by dividing the two, the returns to scale of enterprises are acquired. 2. Critical factors in artificial intelligence applied sustainable supply chain management could be found out through sensitivity analysis. Using the rate of sensitivity change as the evaluation baseline, sensitive factors contain financial aspect, scale aspect, financial performance, and profit before tax. Finally, discussions are proposed according to the results, expecting to help domestic businesses in the construction material industry establish steady and flexible supply chains and present diversified procurement sources to reinforce the emergency defensive ability of the construction material industry.

Aspects regarding 3d modelling and finite element analysis of a crusher bucket

The highest consumption of solid materials, especially rocks extracted from quarries, has the construction materials industry. These materials can be used either in natural form (gravel, sand), or after a reduced processing (marble, large stone, for foundations), or after a complex processing (lime, plaster, cement, sandstone, clay). The crusher buckets are used to grind materials in order to reach optimal or convenient sizes of processed materials in order to carry out a good technological process. The study of the shredding processes and of the equipment related to these processes is done in order to reduce the energy consumption necessary to reduce the dimensions of the raw materials to dimensions necessary for further processing. This study is of particular importance due to the fact that the shredding operation is energy intensive. This paper presents aspects regarding the geometric modelling of a crusher bucket and the finite element analysis of the bucket housing. All the components of the bucket were modelled in the Inventor software and then assembled to obtain the assembly. The modelling was based on an example of a crusher bucket taken from the literature. Finite element analysis was performed to highlight the eigenmodes of the crusher bucket in order to estimate the eigenfrequencies range of this equipment.

Conceptual design and cost analysis of a large‐scale plant for converting red mud into building materials

AbstractThe high level of sodium in red mud (RM) is one of the main issues hindering its incorporation as a raw material for construction and building materials. This paper presents a few studies on building materials developed using more than 70% w/w RM content. A proposed industrial process flowchart together with capital (CAPEX) and operational expenditure (OPEX) for a large‐scale plant are presented here. It was estimated that the cost of processing 75 Mton of RM, over a period of 25 years, was US$ 17/ton, including CAPEX + OPEX. The products comprised pellets composed of RM and clay subjected to 1200°C in a straight‐grate kiln. The pellets can be used as road gravel, coarse aggregate in concrete, or converted into supplementary cement material for Portland cement. The collaboration of the construction and building material industry with the alumina industry will be beneficial to mitigate the environmental impacts of RM.

Circular economy as possible solution for asbestos burden

Asbestos has been used worldwide in a large number of products throughout the 1970 s and 1980s. After the proven influence of asbestos materials on diseases that could have a fatal outcome was confirmed, bans on the use and production of these materials began. However, there are still significant quantities of asbestos waste and materials in the environment and there is a need for safe and permanent solution. As a support to sustainable development by minimizing waste production and harmful emissions as well as by reducing the consumption of natural resources, the circular economy (CE) is recognized in the EU as a leading solution. The main meaning of CE in waste management field is to turning waste into a resource. Considering above-mentioned, this paper presents how to resolve a problem of asbestos waste that is currently and will continue to be present. Instead of occupying the space, which is also a valuable resource, with landfills that also raise cost, asbestos can be used in construction material industry. Paper presents estimated amounts of asbestos waste, proposal for appropriate waste collection, treatment and market placing of a new product in Serbia. The conclusion of the paper is that the presented model of circular economy for asbestos in Serbia is feasible, in this way it would be possible to achieve some incomes from material selling and, also, releasing some space. In addition, for the implementation of this model of asbestos management, it is necessary to have Government involvement through investment in infrastructure and improvement of legislation.

SymbioConstruction: A Bibliography-Driven Dynamic Construction Industry Symbiosis Database

The increasing depletion of nonrenewable resources has motivated society to find alternate sources and methods of industrial processes. This problem can only be solved by using the resources that are given by nature in such a way that they can be spontaneously renewed, namely through sustainability. Industrial symbiosis (IS), which is the substitution of raw materials used in an industrial process by another resource that would otherwise be discarded, is the key to sustainability in industry. IS is an alternative to a conventional linear economy (take–make–dispose) in which one keeps resources in use for as long as possible, extracts the maximum value from them during use, then reclaims and reproduces products and materials at the end of each service life. The initial step in developing a symbiotic relationship is to define possible relationships between production firms. Many studies have shown that lack of data on waste streams is one of the significant barriers to IS establishment. In this study, by screening IS case studies in the literature, a construction industry–related symbiosis database, namely SymbioConstruction, is developed as three modules in which the necessary data are provided to waste seekers to utilize/send a specific waste and to stakeholder seekers to establish symbiotic relationships by exchanging wastes. Then, the database is tested with two steps: (1) evaluation on the ecoindustrial parks, and (2) evaluation on the construction materials industry. The exploratory results of the evaluation show that the SymbioConstruction is able to identify the major amount of construction industry–related symbiotic relationships realized in ecoindustrial parks located around the world. Furthermore, it also shows that the main producers of construction materials have the opportunity of implementing symbiotic relationships in terms of sending and receiving wastes for utilization. The practical contribution of this study is in the form of a database in which the guidance is provided to practitioners for decision making in symbiotic relationship implementation with respect to the identification and selection of possible stakeholders. Two methodological contributions are also provided: (1) a generalized method for identifying sector-oriented potential IS implementations, and (2) a generalized method for storing those IS opportunities.

ASSESSMENT OF UNCERTAINTY WHILE SELECTING THE OPERATIONAL STRATEGY BY THE INDUSTRIAL ENTERPRISES IN ROMANIA

In conditions of uncertainty, an enterprise should have a rational basis for making decisions, which would enable the comparison of different alternatives and the choice of the most suitable action for achieving its objectives. Some researchers consider that uncertainty is generated either by insufficient knowledge about the nature of phenomena and processes or by the lack of information about these phenomena and processes. The author considers that these interpretations need to be completed by clarifying the motives which cause uncertainty. The following types of environment can be distinguished which could be considered as sources of uncertainty: socio-economic; scientific and technical; political and juridical; the sales partners’ environment; the environment of the seller; the competitors’ environment; the consumers’ environment; the investments environment. The aim of the present paper is to determine the degree of influence (markedness) of each type of uncertainty upon the decisions made while selecting the operational strategy by the industrial enterprise. The research has been carried out at 29 enterprises from different industrial fields from Romania: metallurgical industry, production of basic pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical preparations, construction materials industry, food-processing industry, manufacture of chemical substances and products. The management teams of those companies have taken part in the survey. The research is based on the data processing and analysis obtained from 256 questionnaires. The survey carried out within the industrial enterprises has shown that the uncertainty from the consumption environment has the biggest impact upon the operational decisions of the companies. The uncertainty from the internal, political, juridical, scientific and technical environment is being analyzed to a lesser extent. The lowest domain of uncertainty is characteristic for the chemical industry and the highest for the industry of manufacture of basic pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical preparations.

Innovation in the bioeconomy: Perspectives of entrepreneurs on relevant framework conditions

Although entrepreneurial activities are of key importance in a properly functioning innovation system, the micro level of actors is often neglected in the innovation systems' literature. The goal of this paper is to show how the configuration of innovation systems shapes entrepreneurs' perceptions and behaviors. The originality of the present article rests upon a novel framework that distinguishes between the willingness, capability, and perceived opportunities of entrepreneurs embedded in specific innovation systems. We explore the perceptions of 30 entrepreneurs from two European bioeconomy cluster regions who are engaged in R&D and collaborative experimentation in the chemical, plastics, and construction materials industries. Our findings show that with documented innovation willingness, entrepreneurs' innovation capacity is not the decisive bottleneck. Rather, bioeconomy actors perceive that innovation opportunities are blocked by institutions at the national and international levels. The configuration of relevant sectoral innovation systems and value-chains is crucial. We conclude that bioeconomy promotion should emphasis the demand side and systemic multi-level policies that address innovation barriers with due consideration for industry-specific innovation systems and value-chain configurations.

Foam glass derived from ferrochrome slag and waste container glass: Synthesis and extensive characterizations

Lately, energy-saving attempts in the construction and building materials industry have become more popular due to the diminishing natural resources. With this motivation, we investigated the first foam glass consisting of ferrochrome slag (FS) and waste soda-lime glass (SLG) for potential use as a heat insulation material. For this, FS and SLG waste materials were valorized as main constituents, whereas a mixture of water glass (WG) & glycerol (G) and a sufficient amount of water (W) was used as a foaming agent and a moisturizer in the batch mixture, respectively. The studied series was prepared with the composition of 20FS-70SLG-xG-(8-x)WG-2W where x: 2, 4, and 6 wt%. After that, three different process temperatures (800, 825, and 850 °C), two distinct heating rates (5 and 10 °C/min), and two discrete dwell times (15 and 30 min) paved the way for the synthesis of 36 different foam glass samples. Eventually, the fabricated 36 different samples were subjected to physical, thermal, mechanical, and microstructural evaluations. According to the findings, one can say that samples synthesized with a lower G-to-WG ratio, higher process temperature, lower heating rate, and higher dwell time have the best features. From the physical property determinations, we found out that bulk density (ρbulk) varied between 233 and 903 kg m−3 while the estimated porosity (P) ranged from 59.4 to 89.5%. Further, thermal conductivity (k) measurements demonstrated that the fabricated foam glass series provides lower values, namely from 0.038 to 0.130 W m−1 K−1. Besides, compressive strength (CS) values were found to be changing from 0.127 to 2.225 MPa. Microstructural evaluations via scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed the pore formations and the relevant alterations as a result of the different parameters. All in all, the authors concluded that a heat insulation material composed of nearly fully waste substances can effectively be produced.

ОЦЕНКА ЭФФЕКТИВНОСТИ МЕХАНОАКТИВАЦИИ КРЕМНЕЗЕМСОДЕРЖАЩИХ ГОРНЫХ ПОРОД

Rocks of various chemical and mineralogical composition are widely used as raw materials in the construction materials industry. At the same time, preliminary mechanical activation of mineral raw materials to a finely dispersed state contributes to a change in the energy potential of the system and affects the tendency of the surface of a finely dispersed system to transformations. Studies of the physicochemical activity of mechanically activated rocks allow to determine the rational areas of use of mineral components. The paper presents the results of evaluating the efficiency of mechanical activation of silica-containing raw materials by the values of surface activity (ks), defined as the ratio of the value of the free surface energy to the specific mass energy of atomization. Fine powders are obtained by grinding in a planetary ball mill to a different specific surface area of quartz sand (1200 – 3000 m2/kg) and polymineral sand (700 – 1335 m2/kg). The presence of a functional dependence of the surface activity on the time parameters of mechanical activation of the studied rocks is shown. The mechanical activation of the feedstock at the optimal time of its grinding makes it possible to achieve a given value of the surface activity. It is recommended to use the ks parameter as a criterion for assessing the efficiency of the process of mechanical activation of silica-containing rocks

Recent Advances in Geopolymer Technology. A Potential Eco-Friendly Solution in the Construction Materials Industry: A Review

In the last ten years, the Portland cement industry has received wide criticism due to its related high embodied energy and carbon dioxide footprint. Recently, numerous “clean” strategies and solutions were developed. Among these, geopolymer technology is gaining growing interest as a functional way to design more eco-friendly construction materials and for waste management issues suffered by various industries. Previous research has highlighted the attractive engineering properties of geopolymeric materials, especially in terms of mechanical properties and durability, resulting in even higher performance than ordinary concrete. This review provides a comprehensive analysis of current state-of-the-art and implementations on geopolymer concrete materials, investigating how the key process factors (such as raw materials, synthesis regime, alkali concentration, water dosage, and reinforcement fillers) affect the rheological, microstructural, durability, and mechanical properties. Finally, the paper elucidates some noteworthy aspects for future research development: innovative geopolymer-based formulations (including alkali-activated blends for additive manufacturing and thermo-acoustic insulating cellular compounds), concrete applications successfully scaled in the civil-architectural fields, and the perspective directions of geopolymer technology in terms of commercialization and large-scale diffusion.

Determination of Key Parameters Required to Optimize Calcination Process in Ferrous Metallurgy Heating Plants

Lime is the product of calcination. Its formation is always related to removal of carbon dioxide generated in the course of carbonate decomposition. Ferrous metallurgy, construction material, chemical and food industry companies account for about 90 % of lime produced in the country. Ferrous metallurgy is the major consumer of commercial lime using up to 40 % of all produced lime. Currently, despite occurrence of new binding and artificially produced chemical compounds, lime remains the major chemical compound produced by the industry in terms of output. Various units (shaft, rotary tubular kilns and fluidized bed kilns) are used for calcination. Shaft kilns are used the most widely. Considering continuously growing demand for lime, the need occurs for intensification of the burning process and optimization of the shaft kiln operating conditions. This requires knowledge of calcination physicochemical and heat transfer process mechanisms. Thus, the work deals with the issues related to determination of the optimal specific fuel consumption for burning of limestone from a particular deposit. It may be done only basing on thermal calculations for an operating shaft kiln, what, in its turn, causes the need for determination of the whole set of limestone and lime heat transfer properties. The obtained work results may be used to optimize the operating conditions of not only shaft but also rotary kilns intended for limestone heat treatment.

МИНЕРАЛО-ПЕТРОГРАФИЧЕСКИЙ АНАЛИЗА ГЛИНИСТОГО СЫРЬЯ ТУРКЕСТАНСКОЙ ОБЛАСТИ, ИСПОЛЬЗУЕМОГО В КАЧЕСТВЕ ДОБАВОК К ТЕПЛОИЗОЛЯЦИОННЫМ МАТЕРИАЛАМ

The article discusses the contributes to the development of a new focus on the use of various mixtures of natural raw materials and waste in the construction materials industry as a strategically important direction for solving the environmental burden and recycling industrial waste with a feasibility study that improves the state of the environment. This problem is particularly relevant in the production of building materials used in environmentally distressed areas of the republic and in conditions of intense corrosion and erosion wear. The production of efficient building materials and products that meet the modern requirements of environmental friendliness, basic physical and mechanical characteristics, availability and cost is an important and not fully solved task in the field of construction and the construction materials industry. Analysis have been conducted on the current state of the local availability of perspective materials for high-quality composite construction materials, their chemical and mineralogical and granulometric properties have been studied, the influence of the granulometric composition of the basic properties of a composite material and features of the structure formation during heat treatment were studies; physical and mechanical properties of the obtained compositions were tested. Optimal compositions and technological schemes for the production of composite materials based on the use of technogenic waste, natural raw materials and their mixtures have been developed to ensure the production of high-quality construction products with specified thermomechanical properties.The optimization of compositions and properties of compositions was carried out using mathematical planning methods, which made it possible to predict changes in the properties of composite materials depending on the number, weight of the components and the size of the filler granules. Experimental batches of at least 3 main types of construction products were obtained.

Organization of remuneration in construction industry

The article explains the need of changing the approach to the calculation of a subsistence level and its influence on remuneration in construction. In connection with the consideration of the issue of the correction of defining a subsistence level judging by the median wage in the country at the meeting of the Government of the Russian Federation, the authors analysed the indicators of costing and actual wages in the construction industry by the example of the Irkutsk region. The analysis revealed an urgent need in increasing the amount of labour remuneration the today amount of which does not correspond to the Federal industrial agreement on construction and industry of construction materials of the Russian Federation. The article shows the result of the analysis for construction wages change at the estimation using the median wages in relation to an “absolute” principle for calculating a subsistence level. The authors show that such an increase is possible only in case of preserving the rules for wage calculation in the new industrial agreement on construction and industry of construction materials in the Russian Federation in 2021.

Тенденция экономического развития производства строительных материалов в Республике Узбекистан

The article discusses the factors and trends of developing the industry of construction materials during the years of independence of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Suggestions and practical recommendations for the further development of product diversification and deepening of economic reforms in the sphere of production of construction materials are presented in the paper as well.

ANÁLISIS DEL PROYECTO PARA LA INSTALACIÓN DE UN MOLINO DE PIEDRA EN LA CANTERA DE CABEZAS, UNIÓN DE REYES

This article is carried out in the Base Business Unit (UEB) Cantera de Cabezas, belonging to the Business Group of the Construction Materials Industry, with the aim of: analyzing the start-up of an investment project in the installation of a stone mill to obtain marl powder. The methods and techniques used are to study of the demand and the feasibility of the project, direct observation, Gantt chart. With the application of the aforementioned methods it was obtained as a result that with the installation of the stone mill the production of marl powder (coco) is increased, a total management of the generated waste is guaranteed and the duration of the project is 7 months and 4 days with a total cost of $ 45817.92. For the implementation of the techniques, were used tools such as Microsoft Office, Visio 2010, Project Professional 2010 and EndNote X8.