Engineering Commons^™

A Novel Concrete-Based Sensor For Detection Of Ice And Water On Roads And Bridges, Habib Tabatabai, Mohammed Aljuboori

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Articles

Hundreds of people are killed or injured annually in the United States in accidents related to ice formation on roadways and bridge decks. In this paper, a novel embedded sensor system is proposed for the detection of black ice as well as wet, dry and frozen pavement conditions on roads, runways, and bridges. The proposed sensor works by detecting changes in electrical resistance between two sets of stainless steel poles embedded in the concrete sensor to assess surface and near-surface conditions. A preliminary decision algorithm is developed that utilizes sensor outputs indicating resistance changes and surface temperature. The sensor consists …

Evaluation Of The Environmental Benefits Of Biochar Addition Into Concrete-Based Composites, Isabella Bianco, Mauro Giorcelli, Massimo Rovere, Alberto Tagliaferro, Gian Andrea Blengini, Silvia Bobba

Biochar: Production, Characterization and Applications

Biochar is a carbon by-product obtained from a termochemical conversion of biomass. Currently, biochar is generally treated in biomass landfill, representing an economic and environmental cost.

Recent works focus their attention to the use of biochar as an alternative filler to produce more economic and environmental friendly composites. Some studies proved that the introduction of biochar as carbon filler can also increase mechanical [1] or electrical [2] properties. As a consequence, large scale production of composites containing biochar could have important effects both on the economic and environmental point of view.

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Proposed Testing Of Concrete Sealers, Danny Wells, Sudhir Palle, Theodore Hopwood Ii

Kentucky Transportation Center Technical Assistance Report

Chlorides, in sufficient concentrations, will cause corrosion of steel reinforcement in bridge decks. Previous studies have shown that de-icing chemicals and practices used by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) can result in problematic levels of chloride at steel reinforcing depths in a relatively short amount of time. With the advent of liquid applied pre-treatment deicing chemicals, testing performed in Kentucky indicate chloride levels in bridge decks at a depth of two inches have increased significantly.

Chlorides, in sufficient concentrations, will cause corrosion of steel reinforcement in bridge decks. Previous studies have shown that de-icing chemicals and practices used by the …

Proposal For Monitoring Concrete Painting As A Preventive Maintenance Tool (Abutments And Pier Caps), Danny Wells, Sudhir Palle, Theodore Hopwood Ii

Kentucky Transportation Center Technical Assistance Report

One of the growing number of preventive bridge maintenance activities conducted by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) is washing and applying thin film protective coatings to bridge abutments and piers. Previous work conducted by Kentucky Transportation Center (KTC) under KYSPR 10-406 documented increased chloride contamination of these bridge components and the need for protective coatings. KYTC Contract ID 162952 includes, among other tasks, cleaning and coating specific concrete elements of eighteen bridges in Anderson and Woodford counties (District 7). These elements are interior faces of the barrier walls, pier caps, and abutment seats. The contract was let on July 29, …

Fluid Isolator, Purdue Ect Team

ECT Fact Sheets

The reliability of concrete infrastructure is vital to ensuring daily life, as well as commerce, can progress without interruption. From the pavement of interstate highways to the driveways and sidewalks in a local neighborhood, concrete is expensive to install and often even more expensive, and intrusive, when it needs to be replaced. Unfortunately, to maintain functionality in winter climates concrete is heavily exposed to deicing salts. This not only affects the roads, driveways, and sidewalks where salt is applied directly, but many other areas such as parking and residential garages where vehicles (and people) will track salt along with water …

Testing And Evaluation Of Mash Tl-3 Transition Between Guardrail And Portable Concrete Barriers, Robert W. Bielenberg, Jessica L. Lingenfelter, Justine E. Kohtz, Ronald K. Faller, John D. Reid

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

Three full-scale vehicle crash tests were conducted according to the Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH) Test Level 3 (TL-3) safety performance criteria on a transition between the Midwest Guardrail System (MGS) and a portable concrete barrier (PCB) system. The transition system utilized for test nos. MGSPCB-1 through MGSPCB-3 consisted of a standard MGS that overlapped a series of F- shape PCB segments that approached the MGS at a 15H:1V flare. In the overlapped portion of the barrier systems, uniquely-designed blockout holders and a specialized W-beam end shoe mounting bracket were used to connect the systems.

In test no. MGSPCB-1, …

The Confinement Effects On The Fiber Pullout Response Of Ultra-High Performance Concrete (Uhpc, Arden Mcswain

Honors College

Fiber pullout tests were conducted on more than ninety 10 mm by 10 mm cylindrical concrete specimens with a single, straight steel fiber embedded 10 mm in the center of the concrete specimen. Each specimen was subjected to one of three levels (90 N, 2000 N, 4000 N) of confining force applied by a steel fixture and a servo-hydraulic Instron test frame was used to conduct fiber pullout tests. A previously published fiber pullout model was used to determine the approximate bond strength and frictional stress experienced by the fiber-concrete matrix for each of the three confinement levels. Results show …

Development Of A Lightweight Hurricane-Resistant Roof System, Ehssan Amir Sayyafi

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Roofs are the most vulnerable part of the building envelope that often get damaged when subjected to hurricane winds. Damage to the roofs has a devastating impact on the entire structure, including interior losses and service interruptions. This study aimed at the development of a novel light-weight composite flat roof system for industrial, commercial and multi-story residential buildings to withstand Category 5 hurricane wind effects based on the Florida Building Code requirements for hurricane-prone regions, the strictest wind design code in the United States.

The proposed roof system is designed as a combination of two advanced materials: ultra-high performance concrete …

Load And Moment Interaction Diagram For Circular Concrete Columns Reinforced With Gfrp Bars And Gfrp Helices, Hogr Karim, M Neaz Sheikh, Muhammad N. S Hadi

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part B

This paper presents analytical and experimental studies on the axial load-bending moment behavior of glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) bars and helices RC columns. The nominal axial load and bending moment of the columns were analyzed based on the stress-strain behavior of the cross-sectional components. A numerical integration method was used to determine the compressive force of concrete in the compression region. The analytical results were verified with experimental results of 12 circular specimens reinforced with GFRP bars and GFRP helices. Out of these 12 specimens, eight specimens were taken from available literature and four specimens were tested in this study. …

Nonlinear Analysis Of Circular High Strength Concrete-Filled Stainless Steel Tubular Slender Beam-Columns, Vipulkumar I. Patel, Qing Quan Liang, Muhammad N. S Hadi

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Concrete-filled stainless steel tubular (CFSST) slender columns are increasingly used in composite structures owing to their distinguished features, such as aesthetic appearance, high corrosion resistance, high durability and ease of maintenance. Currently, however, there is a lack of an accurate and efficient numerical model that can be utilized to determine the performance of circular CFSST slender columns. This paper describes a nonlinear fiber-based model proposed for computing the deflection and axial load-moment strength interaction responses of eccentrically loaded circular high-strength CFSST slender columns. The fiber-based model incorporates the accurate three-stage stress-strain relations of stainless steels, accounting for different strain hardening …

Design Of Geopolymer Concrete With Ggbfs At Ambient Curing Condition Using Taguchi Method, Muhammad N. S Hadi, Nabeel Farhan, M Neaz Sheikh

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

In this paper, the Taguchi method has been used to design optimum mix proportions for geopolymer concrete with ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) as aluminosilicate source at ambient curing condition. The influences of binder content, alkaline activator to binder content (Al/Bi) ratio, sodium silicate to sodium hydroxide (SS/SH) ratio, and sodium hydroxide (SH) concentration on the geopolymer concrete were investigated. A total of nine mix designs were evaluated. It was found that specimens with a binder content of 450 kg/m³, Al/Bi ratio of 0.35, SS/SH ratio of 2.5, and SH concentration of 14 M produced the highest …

Behavior Of Self-Compacting Concrete Columns Reinforced Longitudinally With Steel Tubes, Muhammad N. S Hadi, Faez Alhussainy, M Neaz Sheikh

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part B

This study investigates the behavior of self-compacting concrete (SCC) specimens reinforced with small-diameter steel tubes in lieu of reinforcing bars. Twenty specimens were cast and tested. Four specimens were reinforced with normal steel bars (reference specimens) and the remaining 16 with steel tubes. All specimens contained steel helices with a pitch of either 50 mm or 75 mm. Deformed steel bars of 16-mm diameter were used in the four reference specimens as longitudinal reinforcement. Steel tubes of 33.7-mm outside diameter with 2-mm wall thickness (ST33.7) and steel tubes of 26.9-mm outside diameter with 2.6-mm wall thickness (ST26.9) were used as …

Influence Of Geogrid On The Drying Shrinkage Performance Of Concrete Pavements, Abbas Sahib Abd-Ali Al-Hedad, Ebony Bambridge, Muhammad N. S Hadi

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part B

The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of geogrid on the drying shrinkage behaviour of concrete pavements. For this purpose, two categories of concrete specimens were prepared and tested by drying them within the controlled environmental conditions, for 56 days. The first category of specimens included casting and testing nine concrete prism specimens having dimensions of 75 x 75 x 280 mm. These specimens were divided into three groups. The first group included three unreinforced concrete prism specimens and taken as references. The second group consisted of three concrete prism specimens reinforced with a single biaxial geogrid …

Ductile Corrosion-Free Gfrp-Stainless Steel Reinforced Concrete Elements, Maged A. Youssef, Mohamed E. Meshaly, Ahmed Elansary

Civil and Environmental Engineering Publications

Corrosion of steel rebars is known to cause deterioration of concrete structures that can lead to catastrophic failures. To mitigate this problem, steel rebars can be replaced with Glass Fiber-Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) rebars. However, the lack of ductility of GFRP-reinforced elements has prevented their use in many structural applications, especially in seismic areas. Stainless Steel (SS) rebars are corrosion resistant and have adequate energy absorption and ductility. However, they are much more expensive than steel rebars. This paper proposes the combined use of SS and GFRP rebars to achieve ductile and corrosion-free elements. The first challenge for such a proposal …