Unit Weight Values Research Articles

Experimental Investigations of Bituminous Concrete Using Dissimilar Trash Which Improve the Results

Abstract: Bituminous mixture is an admixture of coarse aggregate, fine aggregate and fill. CRMB is based on a unique technology that permits homogeneity. CRMB is suited for use in heavy load traffic lanes, air fields. In this study, Crumb Rubber Modified Bitumen (CRMB-60) blended with normal asphalt binder VG-30 with various different percentages of crumb rubber in different proportions with constant optimum binder content i.e. 5% which shows improved characteristics when compared with regular bitumen. The cost for Bituminous course for CRMB-60 came out to be Rs 68.23 Lacs per Km which was 20.81% economical than the bituminous work done by normal VG- 30 bitumen. The Marshall Mix design using CRMB 55 with 0.04 % Zycosoil chemical, reflects the significant rise in stability, unit weight and flow values for better compaction and enhancing the workability conditions.

Utilization of alkali-treated areca fibers for stabilizing silty sand soil for use in pavement subgrades: Analysis using IITPAVE software

The increasing growth of urban areas and the rise in infrastructure development activities have put a strain on the availability of land with desirable soil conditions. This has led to the development of several stabilization techniques that can be used to improve the properties of weaker soils for construction. The research presented here explores the impact of inducing randomly oriented alkali-treated areca fibers for stabilization of silty sand soil. A sequence of experiments was carried out on the soil-fiber mixtures to investigate the strength of the soil after stabilization. At increments of 0.2%, the fiber dose varied between 0 – 0.8% of the dry weight of the soil. The tests conducted includes compaction tests, California bearing ratio (CBR), unconfined compression strength (UCS) tests, and unconsolidated undrained (UU) triaxial tests. The results obtained showed a notable increase in the strength of the soil-fiber mixtures. An increase in fiber content was found to increase the OMC (optimum moisture content) values and decrease the MDD (maximum dry unit weight) values. The maximum strength of the soil-fiber mixture was obtained at 0.6% fiber content. This makes it possible to use silty sand soil subgrades for low-volume roads with a traffic of less than 2 million standard axles based on the IITPAVE analysis. In essence, the test findings indicated that the ideal fiber content to be 0.6%. Stabilization of local on-site soils is one of the sustainable practices that can help extend the life of a pavement and lessen the need for more frequent repairs/maintenance.

Investigation of the Mechanical and Physical Properties of Structural Lightweight Concrete Produced with Expanded Clay Aggregate from Söğüt Region

The use of mild materials shows an increasing tendency in industrial areas. These materials are also preferred to reduce the unit weight of the building elements in the construction sector. Various light aggregates are used to produce light concrete with a lower density than normal concrete, and the properties of these light aggregates significantly affect the properties of the concrete. In this study, the use of expanded clay aggregate (ECA) produced in the Söğüt region in structural lightweight concrete was examined. Expanded clay, sand, and crushed stone aggregate were used as aggregates in concrete mixtures. The mixture granulometry was kept the same for each group. For this purpose, 60 samples were prepared for a total of 4 mixtures with different contents. Slump and unit volume weight tests were carried out on fresh concrete samples, and compressive, flexural, and splitting tensile strength tests were carried out on 7- and 28-day-hardened concrete samples. Some of the concrete mixture samples were subjected to tests after being kept in the curing pool for 7 days, and some for 28 days. As a result of the experiments, the unit weight and compressive strength values obtained from the samples produced with ECA as coarse and fine aggregate in order to achieve the highest strength target are 1413 kg/m³ and 30 MPa, respectively. The same values were found to be 1652 kg/m³ and 39 MPa in the samples produced with river sand as fine aggregate and ECA as coarse aggregate. In the samples produced using ECA as fine aggregate and crushed stone aggregate as coarse aggregate, these values were also found to be 1689 kg/m³ and 50 MPa.

Triaxial testing response of compacted iron ore tailings considering a broad spectrum of confining pressures

The filtered tailings disposal (dry stacking) up to 300 m high is an alternative to overcome the drawbacks related to the slurry tailings storage in large impoundments as it is safer and demands smaller portions of the existing landform. Even so, the understanding of the denser and dewatered material response over a broad range of confining pressures is essential to safely design tall dry stacking tailings facilities. Accordingly, the present research assesses the mechanical behavior of compacted iron ore tailings through triaxial tests. A series of compression and extension drained and undrained triaxial tests were conducted over a wide spectrum of confinements (σ́3 ranging from 75 to 8,000 kPa) to check possible particle breakage occurrence and effects. The influence of the initial density due to compaction was, as well, evaluated since the tests were performed using specimens molded at distinct dry unit weight values. The results were analyzed in the light of the critical state soil mechanics and have indicated the existence of a curvilinear critical state line in the ν: log ṕ plane. Small particle breakage has occurred and can be associated with reduction in surface roughness, breakage of asperities, and reduction in particle angularity. Moreover, a tendency for static liquefaction was observed amongst the loosest specimens sheared under the lowest confining levels.

Study Komparasi Penambahan Palm Oil Ash Dengan Bantuan Semen Berdasarkan Nilai California Bearing Ratio

High water content, water saturation, and low carrying capacity are characteristics of clay soils. The road body may have an uneven surface. On the other hand, in the dry season it will harden and have a high carrying capacity so that a lot of dust is scattered on the road and blocks the driver's view. As a result, the neighborhood can experience traffic jams and accidents. Check the CBR and PI values to see if there is an increase in clay after stabilization using a mixture of Palm Oil Fuel Ash and cement with variations (0% POFA + 2% Cement), (3% POFA + 2% Cement), (5% POFA + 2% Cement), and (7% POFA + 2% Cement). Test method Sieve Analysis, Atterberg Limit, Specific Gravity, Moisture Content, Compaction and CBR. Cement and palm oil bunch ash produced a CBR value of 7.4% compared to a natural soil CBR value of 1.59%. The CBR value of the soil will increase, the dry unit weight value will decrease, and the plasticity value will decrease with the higher proportion of Oil Palm Bunch Ash and cement

Mechanical Properties of Expansive Soil Stabilized by Sand

Expansive clay soils have swelling and shrinkage properties and somehow reduce the mechanical properties required for soils to be used in civil engineering works. One method to improve the soil is by mechanical stabilization, namely mixing expansive clay soil with sand material. The sand material used in this research varied by 7.5%, 15%, and 22.5% of the total dry weight of expansive clay. The results shows that changes in mechanical properties were observed from the compaction test and California Bearing Ratio (CBR) both for soaked or unsoaked test. Based on these variations, in the compaction test, the addition of sand variations increases the maximum dry unit weight value and generally reduces the optimum water content value. The same results were also seen in the soaked and unsoaked CBR tests. In the swelling potential test, the addition of sand material succeeded in reducing the swelling value in expansive clay soils.

Potential improvement of clinker sand in the mechanical high temperature and transport properties with GGBS-based prepacked geopolymer composite

In this study, a new generation prepacked geopolymer composite (PGC) material that can meet different needs was obtained by combining geopolymer concrete (GPC) and prepacked aggregate concrete (PAC) technology. In the production of PGC, 5-8 mm quartz aggregates were placed in molds and, geopolymer mortar was injected between these aggregates. Aluminosilicate based blast furnace slag (GBFS) was used as binding in geopolymer mortars; sodium silicate (Na2SiO3) and sodium hydroxide (NaOH) was used as alkali activator. In addition, clinker aggregate in different proportions was used as fine aggregate (0–4 mm) in the production of mortar. Within the scope of the study, the physical, mechanical, permeability and high temperature resistance properties of PGC were investigated. The produced samples were cured at 30 and 60 °C for 6 and 8 hours. Hardened unit weights of PGC vary between 2342 and 2539 kg/m3, and sorptivity values vary between 0 and 0.04 kg/m2.min0.5. While the increase in curing temperature and curing time increases the hardened unit weight values, it decreased permeability values. While the increase of clinker aggregate in the mortar phase does not change the hardened unit weight, it significantly reduced permeability. When the PGC samples are cured at 30 °C, the compressive strengths are 20.38–39.03 MPa; when curing at 60 °C, the compressive strengths are 35.21–57.04 MPa. Flexural strengths, 2.35–6.96 MPa with 30 °C cure, achieved 4.27–9.93 MPa results with 60 °C curing. Increasing the curing time and curing temperature significantly increased the compressive and flexural strengths. The increase in the amount of clinker aggregate added to the mortar phase decreased the strength values. While the compressive strength values of PGC mixtures do not fall below 15 MPa after being exposed to 300 °C high temperature; after the application of 600 °C high temperature, it lost up to 70% of its strength. Increasing the curing time and curing temperature, increased the high temperature resistance. The increase in the amount of clinker aggregate in the mixtures, decreased the strength loss rate.

Converting optimum compaction properties of fine-grained soils between rational energy levels

This study introduces a practical energy conversion (EC)-type modeling framework capable of converting the optimum compaction properties of fine-grained soils between any two rational compaction energy levels (CELs). Model development/calibration was carried out using a database of 242 compaction test results — the largest and most diverse database of its kind, to date, entailing 76 fine-grained soils (covering liquid limits of 16–256%), with each soil tested for at least three different CELs. On establishing the framework, an independent database of 91 compaction test results (consisting of 34 fine-grained soils tested for varying CELs) was employed for its validation. The proposed EC-based models employ measured optimum water content (OWC) and maximum dry unit weight (MDUW) values obtained for a rational CEL (preferably standard Proctor) to predict the same for higher and/or lower compactive efforts (covering 214–5416 kJ/m3). The 95% lower and upper statistical agreement limits between the predicted/converted and measured OWCs were obtained as −2.16 wc % and +2.25 wc %, both of which are on par (in terms of magnitude) with the ASTM D1557 allowable limit of 2.1 wc %. For the MDUW predictions, these limits were calculated as −0.71 and +0.66 kN/m3, which can also be deemed acceptable when compared against ASTM’s allowable limit of ±0.7 kN/m3 (= ±4.4 lb/ft3). The proposed framework offers a reasonably practical procedure to accurately convert the optimum compaction parameters across different CELs (without the need for any soil index properties), and thus can be used with confidence for preliminary project design assessments.

The Effects of Water/Cement Ratio and Cement Dosage Variables on the Performance of Shotcrete: Compressive Strength and Drying Shrinkage Perspective

Shotcrete is a construction material that is applied by spraying under high pressure, and there are many factors that affect its properties. In this study, the effect of cement dosage and water-to-cement ratio on the compressive strength and drying shrinkage performance of shotcrete was investigated. For this purpose, shotcrete specimens were produced using three different water-to-cement ratios (0.40, 0.45, 0.50) and three different cement dosages (400, 450, 500). The unit weight, ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV), compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, and drying shrinkage performance of the produced specimens were examined. As a result of the experimental studies, an increase in cement dosage resulted in an increase in unit weight values, with the amount of increase ranging from approximately 1% to 3%. When the UPV value was examined, an increase in cement dosage resulted in an increase in UPV values, with an increase of approximately 1% to 5%. An increase in cement dosage also resulted in an increase in compressive strength and splitting tensile strength values, with the increase ranging from approximately 12%-16%, 5%-9%, and 10%-12% for the 500, 450, and 400 dosage groups, respectively. The drying shrinkage values increased with increasing cement dosage, the highest shrinkage values occurred in the groups with 0.50 water/cement ratio and 500 dosage, and it was observed that 85-95% of the total shrinkage of the shotcrete specimens was completed within the first 1 hour. Furthermore, the data obtained can be used to determine the optimum water/cement ratio and cement dosage for the construction of shotcrete.

Characterization study of geopolymer concretes fabricated with clinker aggregates

Geopolymers are a new generation of building material that has recently been popular in reducing carbon emissions. As a result of its amorphous alumina-silicate-based reaction product, it has many superior properties. This study investigated the mechanical and physical properties and high-temperature resistance of ground-granulated blast furnace slag and metakaolin-based geopolymer concrete fabricated with clinker aggregates produced in a short curing time (8 h). In alkali activators, the sodium silicate to sodium hydroxide (SS/SH) mass ratios were 2, 2.25, 2.5 and 2.75. Two curing methods were used, namely ambient (25 °C) and oven curing (80 °C). The observed unit weights vary between 2275–2392 kg/m3 for the samples of the geopolymeric composites. Porosity and water absorption vary between 4.92 and 8.84% and 3.58–7.26%, respectively. The heat curing application decreased the mixtures' water absorption, unit weight, and porosity values. The compressive strength of the samples subject to ambient curing varied between 39.2 and 59.8 MPa. Withal, the samples cured at 80 °C for 8 h were between 66.9 and 112.4 MPa. The increased SS/SH ratio also increased the observed strength values. Capillary water absorption of all samples is below 0.6 kg/m2. Heat-cured geopolymers decreased capillary water absorption to 0.1 kg/m2. The weight loss after high temperature decreased as the SS/SH ratio increased. The N-A-S-H gel in the zeolitic structure was observed in SEM analysis. The FT-IR analysis visualized the carbonation in the heat-cured mixtures. As a result, over 100 MPa compressive strength values were observed with the clinker aggregates at 80 °C after 8 h of curing time. Withal, a high-temperature refractory composite was developed with the clinker aggregates. Moreover, the nuclear radiation shielding abilities of geopolymer concretes were investigated experimentally. The gamma shielding parameters of the samples were evaluated by transmission measurements in the range of 0.081–0.661 keV. Also, neutron dose measurements were performed, and the samples produced as neutron attenuator capacity was evaluated. The radiation shielding capabilities were improved slightly with increasing sodium silicate solution content.

Effect of Emulsified Asphalt on Expansive Soil Strength and Swelling

Some clay soils classified as extended soils threaten the structures resting on them. Many additives are available to improve the properties of expanded soils. This study tries to investigate the consequences of wetting-drying cycles on the swelling behavior of modified expansive clayey soils under laboratory conditions by modifying expansive clayey soil samples using emulsified asphalt. Five different percentages of emulsified asphalt were used: (2, 4, 6, 8, and 10) %. The natural and treatment soils were tested for classification, specific gravity, compaction characteristics, free swell and swell pressure, consolidation, and compressive strength. The liquid limit and plasticity index have been lowered by adding Emulsified Asphalt. After that, the effects of Emulsified Asphalt on undrained shear strength characteristics (cohesion and friction angle) have been studied. The results revealed that when the emulsified asphalt content was increased to 10%, the swelling pressure and swelling potential decreased by 58 and 78 %, respectively. The swell and shrink improvement factor for the 10% emulsified asphalt addition is always larger than 75%. As the duration of wetting-drying cycles increased, the swelling pressure and swelling potential values were also reduced. The plastic limit, on the other hand, increased as the Emulsified Asphalt content increased. Increasing the amount of Emulsified Asphalt increased the maximum dry unit weight values, whereas the optimum water contents increased. It was concluded that emulsified asphalt stabilization may be useful for expansive clay as it improves compressive shear strength.

ASSESSMENT OF SUSTAINABLE GREEN CONCRETE PROPERTIES USING RECYCLED PLASTIC WASTE AS REPLACEMENT FOR FINE AGGREGATE USING MACHINE LEARNING TECHNIQUE

The use of waste plastic as a replacement for natural aggregates in cement composites can solve the problem of the disposal of waste plastics sustainably. This study aims to investigate and compare the impact of replacing fine natural aggregate with recycled aggregates made up of polyethylene (PE) in M30 grade of concrete by analyzing the physical and mechanical properties of both fresh and hardened concrete in terms of workability, dry and fresh unit weight, 28-day compressive strength, flexural strength, split tensile strength, and ultrasonic pulse velocity. Nine concrete mixtures containing PE was prepared as a partial volumetric replacement for fine aggregate with substitution levels of 0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, 30%, 35% and 40%. Due to the application of superplasticizers, the workability of concrete containing recycled plastic has improved. The fresh and dry unit weight values of the PE-based concrete decreased by 8.16% and 8.6%, respectively, with the increase in PE aggregate and can therefore be considered lightweight concrete. The compressive strength of concrete at various ages is reduced as the quantity of plastic in concrete increases. As the PE replacement ratio in concrete increased, the flexural strength and split tensile strength also declined. Up to 10% replacement gives acceptable physical and mechanical properties of concrete for structural purposes. In this study, artificial neural network (ANN) was used to predict the fresh and hardened properties of waste plastic aggregate-based concrete, and it was discovered that it can predict concrete qualities with good accuracy (R<sup>2</sup> = 0.99).

Stabilization of Dredged Materials Using Cement and a Pozzolanic Binder Mineral Additive

In this study, it was aimed to stabilize the dredged materials with low bearing capacity, brought from Edirne, by using cement and pozzolanic binder mineral additives. In the first stage of the study, the geotechnical properties of the dredging materials were determined. Then, the optimum water contents and maximum dry unit weight values of the soil samples without additives and with different additive ratios were found by compaction tests. Pure and additive unconfined compressive samples were prepared with the optimum water contents obtained in the compaction tests. Samples were prepared by adding 8%, 10% and 12% cement and 2% pozzolanic binder additive by weight to the dredged materials. Unconfined compressive tests were performed on the samples at the end of instant, 1-day, 7-day and 28-day curing periods. In addition, soaked CBR, permeability and flexural tests were performed on 12% cement+pozzolanic added samples. As a result of the experiments, with the addition of cement and pozzolanic binder additives in different ratio to the dredged materials, permeability decreased, unconfined compressive strength, soaked CBR values and flexural strength increased significantly.

Study of the geotechnical behavior of soil-cement reinforced with plastic bottle fibers

This study aimed to evaluate the influence of adding plastic bottle fibers to soil-cement mixtures and the possible improvements generated by the addition of a blend of two types of additives, namely, additive 1 (waterproofing improver) and additive 2 (adhesion enhancer), in the compactability and shear strength parameters of soil-cement-plastic fiber mixtures, considering a tropical residual soil. The fibers used in this study are made of Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET), produced from soft drink bottles, and added to the soil with 2 mm width and 1 cm length, in the content of 1% in relation to soil dry mass. Also, contents of 3% and 5% Portland cement, in relation to soil dry mass and two additives, additive 1 at a ratio of 0.25 kg m-³ dry soil and additive 2 at a ratio of 0.60 kg m-³ dry soil, were used to evaluate the possible effect of these variables on the investigated engineering behavior parameters. The compaction results indicated that the inclusion of PET fibers in soil-cement mixtures tends to decrease the maximum dry unit weight compared to fiber-free mixtures. Also, if compared to soil-cement-fiber mixtures, the incorporation of additives to soil-cement-fiber composites resulted in higher values of maximum dry unit weight and lower values of optimum moisture content, but still maintaining values lower than obtained for compacted soil. Results of the direct shear test showed enhanced shear strength with the addition of fibers to soil-cement, for both the parameter of cohesion and the internal friction angle of the material in comparison to fiber-free composites, which demonstrates the potential application of these composites in geotechnical works.

COMPARISON OF THE MECHANICAL PROPERTIES, HEAT PERMEABİLİTY CHARACTERISTICS AND RESISTANCE AGAINST HIGH TEMPERATURE OF LIGHT MORTARS MADE WITH EPS AND WASTE POLYURETHANE

Bu çalışmada endüstriyel işlem sonrası açığa çıkan atık poliüretanın hafif harç imalatında kullanımı araştırılmıştır. Hali hazırda hafif harç üretiminde kullanılan EPS (Expanded polystyren foam) ve atık poliüretan kullanılarak hafif harç numuneler üretilmiştir. Üretilen numuneler eşdeğer birim ağırlıklarına göre karşılaştırılarak, atık poliüretanın hafif harç imalatında kullanımı araştırılmıştır. Çalışma kapsamında EPS ve atık poliüretan agrega ile hacimce %20, %40, %60, %80, %100 oranlarında yer değiştirilerek kullanılmış ve 40x40x160 mm’lik prizmatik harç numuneler üretilmiştir. Üretilen harç numunelerin birim ağırlık değerleri, ultrasonik atımlı dalga hızları, ısı iletkenlik katsayıları ile eğilme ve basınç dayanımları ölçülmüştür. Ayrıca hem EPS hem de atık poliüretan ile üretilmiş harç numuneler 300⁰C, 600⁰C, 900⁰C’de yüksek sıcaklığa tabi tutulmuş ve sonrasında numunelerin mekanik dayanımları ile içyapıları incelenmiştir. İçyapı incelemeleri hamur numuneler üzerinde FESEM görüntüleri ile gerçekleştirilmiştir. Elde edilen verilere göre hem orta mukavemetli hafif beton sınıfına giren harçlarda, hem de taşıyıcı hafif beton sınıfına giren harçlarda atık poliüretan ile imal edilen harçların EPS’li harçlara göre daha iyi performans gösterdiği sonucuna varılmıştır. Özellikle yüksek sıcaklık sonrası mekanik dayanımlar incelendiğinde atık poliüretanlı harç numunelerin, EPS’li numunelere oranla daha yüksek eğilme ve basınç dayanımları verdiği tespit edilmiştir.

Performance of different binders doped Portland Cement-based mortars using volcanic slag, petroleum coke and EPS foam aggregates

In this study, besides the control mixture in which only Portland Cement was used, metakaolin (MK) and silica fume (SF) were replaced with Portland Cement by a total of 20% (%10 metakolin + %10 silica fume by weight). In addition to this, different lightweight aggregates were also evaluated instead of natural aggregates. In the specimen where metakaolin and silica fume were used by a total of 20%, volcanic slag (VS), petroleum coke (PC), and expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam were replaced with standard sand by 12.5%, 25%, 37.5%, and 50% (by weight). The 7 and 28 days compressive and flexural strengths of a total of 14 series were examined and voids ratio, unit weight, and water absorption values were found. Also, the freeze-thaw and high-temperature tests were applied to see the behavior of lightweight aggregates and different binders against durability conditions. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) analyzes were applied for the durability tests. The results demonstrated that the compressive and flexural strengths increased by using metakaolin and silica fume together. In addition, strength increases were observed when 12.5% petroleum coke was used and volcanic slag was used up to 25%. 25% volcanic slag improved the mechanical properties, especially by improving the interfacial transition zone (ITZ). In the case of using EPS foam, a continuous decrease was observed. With the results found in this research, it was tried to gain a new perspective in design by using lightweight aggregates in cementitious materials with different binders.

The Properties of Glass Fiber Reinforced Lightweight Concrete under the Effect of High Temperature

This study aimed to produce lightweight concrete by using 50% pumice as coarse aggregate and 0.1% and 0.3% glass fiber. It is aimed to investigate the changes that will occur in the compressive strength and splitting tensile strength properties of the samples when this lightweight concrete produced is exposed to temperatures of 150 °C, 300 °C, 450 °C and 600 °C. The study was carried out in six stages. In the first stage, reference samples were produced. In the second stage, 0.1% and 0.3% glass fiber reinforced lightweight concrete samples were produced. In the third stage, unit weight, porosity, compressive strength and splitting tensile strength tests were applied to the produced samples. In the fourth step, the samples were gradually exposed to different temperatures (150 °C, 300 °C, 450 °C and 600 °C). In the fifth stage, compressive strength and splitting tensile strength tests were applied to the samples exposed to high temperature. In the sixth and final stage, SEM images of 0.1% glass fiber reinforced lightweight concrete samples were analysed. As a result, it was observed that the unit weight value decreased and the porosity values increased with glass fiber reinforcement. There was also an increase in compressive and splitting tensile strengths. In addition, it was observed that the samples exposed to 150 oC temperature had the highest compressive strength and splitting tensile strength. In the analysis of SEM images, with the increase in temperature, it was determined that the samples in microstructure changed into macrostructure as well as the cracks occurred in the sample structure. The importance of this study stem from increasing tensile strength of lightweight concrete with glass fiber reinforcement so as to prevent loss of life and property in an earthquake.This study is important because it increases the tensile strength of lightweight concrete with low tensile strength with glass fiber reinforcement. This will result in less loss of life and property in an earthquake. Keywords: Glass fiber, pumice, lightweight concrete, high temperature DOI: 10.7176/CER/14-4-07 Publication date: June 30 th 2022

Modelling and estimation of Wide Wheel abrasion values of building stones by multivariate regression and artificial neural network analyses

The Wide Wheel is a recent abrasion test method (WA) proposed for building stones. The WA test is carried out by special equipment using abrasive dust on prismatic building stone samples. The purpose of this study is providing a methodology for practical estimation of the WA values from dry unit weight (γ), open porosity (PO), P-wave velocity (VP) and uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) values. In the study, test data from previous studies were compiled. Multivariate regression analyses (MLR), Feed Forward Back Propagated (FFBP) and Generalized Regression Neural Networks (GRNN) algorithms of Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) were employed in the analyses. Equations by MLR analyses to estimate the WA values for 5 models were proposed. Then, FFBP and GRNN analyses were performed, and their prediction performance results were assessed. All five models were determined to be strong enough to be used in practice, although FFBP and GRNN are found to be stronger in prediction capability than the MLR method.

Slope Stability Analysis of Highway Embankment with Different Height and Slope by Varying the Properties of Soil

The analysis of slope stability has received wide attention nowdays because of its practical importance. To provide steepest slopes which are stable and safe, various investigation are ongoing. The main objective of the project is to analyze slope of embankment by calculating factor of safety. So that an appropriate side slope can be chosen and use for the construction of highway. For this, limit equilibrium analysis has been done using GEO5 software. Swedish circle method (Graphically) has been used to performed manually analysis. In the present study, data collected from the site which is located near Shivni Village, Ner-Yavatmal road. “The construction of Samruddhi Mahamarg” is being constructed at that site. It is having high embankment heights upto 9meter. The values of unit weight of soil(γ), angle of internal friction(ϕ), cross sectional details of embankment and side slope of embankment were taken from that site. In this study, embankment of different heights (3 to 9m) under different 8 slopes (i.e. 1:2, 1:1.75, 1:1.5, 1:1.25, 1:1, 1:0.83, 1:0.7, 1:0.58), different values of cohesion and friction angle were considered. The analysis has been performed on two different cases: Case I stands for single layer of soil and Case II stands for double layer of soil by varying the value of cohesion and angle of internal friction the changes occur in the value of factor of safety were checked by comparing both results obtained by manual method and by GEO5 software. From this investigation it is found that increasing the value of cohesion and angle of internal friction, the factor of safety against slope stability increases. And for a particular height of embankment factor of safety increases with increase in the flatness of slope. From these results, it is better to use C-ϕ soil rather than ϕ soil as it gives maximum FOS as compared to sandy soil. From the analysis of doubled layered soil, it has been concluded that condition 2(with both soil cohesive) found satisfactory better with respect to condition 1(when one soil cohesive and one soil sandy). By considering condition 2 (both soil cohesive), it has been found that the increment of 25 to 30% in the FOS of condition 1 takes place.

Manufacturing of Ecofriendly Bricks Using Microdust Cotton Waste

Large amounts of cotton microwastes are accumulated in textile industries. The cotton microdust is less to ignite and causes serious environmental problems and health hazards. This paper presents an experimental study, which investigates the potential use of cotton microdust to produce new and lightweight brick for construction industries. The physical and mechanical properties of brick mixes having different levels of cotton microdust ratio were investigated. The test results recorded for compressive strength, unit weight, and water absorption values satisfy the relevant required standards for normal construction bricks. The results show that the replacement of clay soil and cement by cotton microdust does not exhibit a sudden brittle fracture even beyond the failure loads, indicates high energy absorption capacity, reduces the unit weight dramatically, and introduces smother surface compared to the current concrete bricks in the market. The results also show that usage of cotton microdust with different mixing ratios for bricks will give light-weight composite, and brick could be an economical alternative to be used for partition of board concrete blocks and sound barrier panels.