Engineering Commons^™

Evaluating The Permeability Of Porous Aggregate Concrete Using Electrical Resistivity-Based Measurements, Ariel Miguel Mendez Aragoncillo

Theses and Dissertations

Recycled concrete aggregates (RCA) and lightweight aggregates (LWA) are popular alternative aggregates for concrete. However, due to their highly porous structure, concrete with RCA and LWA shows a different microstructure and higher permeability than conventional concrete. Thus, the existing relationships used to evaluate the permeability and, consequently, the durability of concrete are not applicable in concretes with RCA and LWA. This research examined the permeation properties of recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) and lightweight aggregate concrete (LWAC). The relationships between electrical resistivity-based measurements in RAC and LWAC and their permeation properties were determined and compared to that of normal weight aggregate …

Evaluating The Stabilization Of Gypseous And Gypsiferous Sands Using Different Chemical Additives To Mitigate Gypsum Dissolution, Mohammed Kamil Faris

Theses and Dissertations

Gypsum, which is dihydrate calcium sulfate, (CaSO4.2H2O), is widely available in different sizes, from the size of a rock to the size of a few micrometers as a mineral, in different types of soils. It is primarily found mainly in arid and semi-arid areas around the world at different depths. Soils with gypsum and even gypsum rocks are very hard in their dry state. However, these soils and rock will experience remarkable dissolution upon wetting.

The dissolution phenomenon, which takes place in soils that contain gypsum, creates different geotechnical problems within the soil’s profile, along with foundation issues for structures …

Durability Of Mechanically Loaded, Freeze Thawed Concrete Determined By Water Absorption, Brian Daniel Mitchell

Theses and Dissertations

The design of concrete bridges is primarily focused on strength characteristics. However, it is often the case that durability characteristics, specifically early deterioration of the bridge deck, requires expensive repairs before the designed service life of the bridge can come to term. Lin et al. (2012) identified the development of microcracks as a possible source of this early deterioration. He proposed that these microcracks propagated due to high local compressive stress induced by overweight trucks. The resulting permeability increase caused by the propagation of these microcracks is not significant enough to cause the kind of early deterioration of bridge deck …