Optimization of Fly Ash-Slag One-Part Geopolymers with Improved Properties.

One-part geopolymer concrete/mortar is a pre-mixed material made from industrial by-products and solid alkaline activators that only requires the addition of water for activation. Apart from being environmentally friendly, it also reduces complexity and improves consistency in the mixing process, leading to more efficient production and consistent material properties. However, developing one-part geopolymer concrete with desirable compressive strength is challenging because of the complexity of the chemical reaction involved, the variability of the raw materials used, and the need for precise control of curing conditions. Therefore, 80 different one-part geopolymer mixtures were compiled from the open literature in this study, and the effects of the constituent materials, the dosage of alkaline activators, curing condition, and water/binder ratio on the 28-day compressive strength of one-part geopolymer paste were examined in detail. An ANN model with the Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm was developed to estimate one-part geopolymer's compressive strength and its sensitivity to binder constituents and alkaline dosage. The ANN model's weights and biases were also used to develop a CPLEX-based optimization method for achieving maximum compressive strength. The results confirm that the compressive strength of one-part geopolymer pastes increased by increasing the Na2O content of the alkaline source and the slag dosage; however, increasing the Na2O content in alkaline sources beyond 6% by fly ash weight led to decreasing the compressive strength; therefore, the optimum alkaline activator dosage by weight of fly ash was to be 12% (i.e., 6% Na2O). The proposed ANN model developed in this study can aid in the production and performance tuning of sustainable one-part geopolymer concrete and mortar for broader full-scale applications.

Systematic Experimental Assessment of POFA Concrete Incorporating Waste Tire Rubber Aggregate.

Several researchers devoted considerable efforts to partially replace natural aggregates in concrete with recycled materials such as recycled tire rubber. However, this often led to a significant reduction in the compressive strength of rubberized concrete due to the weaker interfacial transition zone between the cementitious matrix and rubber particles and the softness of rubber granules. Thereafter, significant research has explored the effects of supplementary cementitious materials such as zeolite, fly ash, silica fume, and slag used as partial replacement for cement on rubberized concrete properties. In this study, systematic experimental work was carried out to assess the mechanical properties of palm oil fuel ash (POFA)-based concrete incorporating tire rubber aggregates (TRAs) using the response surface methodology (RSM). Based on the findings, reasonable compressive, flexure, and tensile strengths were recorded or up to 10% replacement of sand with recycled tire fibre and fine TRAs. In particular, the reduction in compressive, tensile, and flexural strengths of POFA concrete incorporating fibre rubber decreased by 16.3%, 9.8%, and 10.1% at 365 days compared to normal concrete without POFA and rubber. It can be concluded that utilization of a combination of POFA and fine or fibre rubber could act as a beneficial strategy to solve the weakness of current rubberized concrete's strength as well as to tackle the environmental issues of the enormous stockpiles of waste tires worldwide.

Gum Arabic Nanoparticles as Green Corrosion Inhibitor for Reinforced Concrete Exposed to Carbon Dioxide Environment.

The inhibiting effect of Gum Arabic-nanoparticles (GA-NPs) to control the corrosion of reinforced concrete that exposed to carbon dioxide environment for 180 days has been investigated. The steel reinforcement of concrete in presence and absence of GA-NPs were examined using various standard techniques. The physical/surface changes of steel reinforcement was screened using weight loss measurement, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). In addition, the carbonation resistance of concrete as well screened using visual inspection (carbonation depth), concrete alkalinity (pH), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), SEM, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The GA-NPs inhibitor size was also confirmed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results obtained revealed that incorporation of 3% GA-NPs inhibitor into concrete inhibited the corrosion process via adsorption of inhibitor molecules over the steel reinforcement surface resulting of a protective layer formation. Thus, the inhibition efficiency was found to increase up-to 94.5% with decreasing corrosion rate up-to 0.57 × 10-3 mm/year. Besides, the results also make evident the presence of GA-NPs inhibitor, ascribed to the consumption of calcium hydroxide, and reduced the Ca/Si to 3.72% and 0.69% respectively. Hence, C-S-H gel was developed and pH was increased by 9.27% and 12.5, respectively. It can be concluded that green GA-NPs have significant corrosion inhibition potential and improve the carbonation resistance of the concrete matrix to acquire durable reinforced concrete structures.

Metaheuristic Prediction of the Compressive Strength of Environmentally Friendly Concrete Modified with Eggshell Powder Using the Hybrid ANN-SFL Optimization Algorithm.

The aim of this article is to predict the compressive strength of environmentally friendly concrete modified with eggshell powder. For this purpose, an optimized artificial neural network, combined with a novel metaheuristic shuffled frog leaping optimization algorithm, was employed and compared with a well-known genetic algorithm and multiple linear regression. The presented results confirm that the highest compressive strength (46 MPa on average) can be achieved for mix designs containing 7 to 9% of eggshell powder. This means that the strength increased by 55% when compared to conventional Portland cement-based concrete. The comparative results also show that the proposed artificial neural network, combined with the novel metaheuristic shuffled frog leaping optimization algorithm, offers satisfactory results of compressive strength predictions for concrete modified using eggshell powder concrete. Moreover, it has a higher accuracy than the genetic algorithm and the multiple linear regression. This finding makes the present method useful for construction practice because it enables a concrete mix with a specific compressive strength to be developed based on industrial waste that is locally available.

Life-Cycle Assessment of Alkali-Activated Materials Incorporating Industrial Byproducts.

Eco-friendly and sustainable materials that are cost-effective, while having a reduced carbon footprint and energy consumption, are in great demand by the construction industry worldwide. Accordingly, alkali-activated materials (AAM) composed primarily of industrial byproducts have emerged as more desirable alternatives to ordinary Portland cement (OPC)-based concrete. Hence, this study investigates the cradle-to-gate life-cycle assessment (LCA) of ternary blended alkali-activated mortars made with industrial byproducts. Moreover, the embodied energy (EE), which represents an important parameter in cradle-to-gate life-cycle analysis, was investigated for 42 AAM mixtures. The boundary of the cradle-to-gate system was extended to include the mechanical and durability properties of AAMs on the basis of performance criteria. Using the experimental test database thus developed, an optimized artificial neural network (ANN) combined with the cuckoo optimization algorithm (COA) was developed to estimate the CO2 emissions and EE of AAMs. Considering the lack of systematic research on the cradle-to-gate LCA of AAMs in the literature, the results of this research provide new insights into the assessment of the environmental impact of AAM made with industrial byproducts. The final weight and bias values of the AAN model can be used to design AAM mixtures with targeted mechanical properties and CO2 emission considering desired amounts of industrial byproduct utilization in the mixture.

Performance of Epoxy Resin Polymer as Self-Healing Cementitious Materials Agent in Mortar.

This research investigated the application of epoxy resin polymer as a self-healing strategy for improving the mechanical and durability properties of cement-based mortar. The epoxy resin was added to the concrete mix at various levels (5, 10, 15, and 20% of cement weight), and the effectiveness of healing was evaluated by microstructural analysis, compressive strength, and non-destructive (ultrasonic pulse velocity) tests. Dry and wet-dry conditions were considered for curing, and for generating artificial cracks, specimens at different curing ages (1 and 6 months) were subjected to compressive testing (50 and 80% of specimen's ultimate compressive strength). The results indicated that the mechanical properties in the specimen prepared by 10% epoxy resin and cured under wet-dry conditions was higher compared to other specimens. The degree of damage and healing efficiency index of this particular mix design were significantly affected by the healing duration and cracking age. An optimized artificial neural network (ANN) combined with a firefly algorithm was developed to estimate these indexes over the self-healing process. Overall, it was concluded that the epoxy resin polymer has high potential as a mechanical properties self-healing agent in cement-based mortar.

Performance Evaluation of Modified Rubberized Concrete Exposed to Aggressive Environments.

Recycling of the waste rubber tire crumbs (WRTCs) for the concretes production generated renewed interest worldwide. The insertion of such waste as a substitute for the natural aggregates in the concretes is an emergent trend for sustainable development towards building materials. Meanwhile, the enhanced resistance of the concrete structures against aggressive environments is important for durability, cost-saving, and sustainability. In this view, this research evaluated the performance of several modified rubberized concretes by exposing them to aggressive environments i.e., acid, and sulphate attacks, elevated temperatures. These concrete (12 batches) were made by replacing the cement and natural aggregate with an appropriate amount of the granulated blast furnace slag (GBFS) and WRTCs, respectively. The proposed mix designs' performance was evaluated by several measures, including the residual compressive strength (CS), weight loss, ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV), microstructures, etc. Besides, by using the available experimental test database, an optimized artificial neural network (ANN) combined with the particle swarm optimization (PSO) was developed to estimate the residual CS of modified rubberized concrete after immersion one year in MgSO4 and H2SO4 solutions. The results indicated that modified rubberized concrete prepared by 5 to 20% WRTCs as a substitute to natural aggregate, provided lower CS and weight lose expose to sulphate and acid attacks compared to control specimen prepared by ordinary Portland cement (OPC). Although the CS were slightly declined at the elevated temperature, these proposed mix designs have a high potential for a wide variety of concrete industrial applications, especially in acid and sulphate risk.

Evaluation of Mechanical and Environmental Properties of Engineered Alkali-Activated Green Mortar.

Currently, alkali-activated binders using industrial wastes are considered an environmentally friendly alternative to ordinary Portland cement (OPC), which contributes to addressing the high levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and enlarging embodied energy (EE). Concretes produced from industrial wastes have shown promising environmentally-friendly features with appropriate strength and durability. From this perspective, the compressive strength (CS), CO2 emissions, and EE of four industrial powder waste materials, including fly ash (FA), palm oil fly ash (POFA), waste ceramic powder (WCP), and granulated blast-furnace slag (GBFS), were investigated as replacements for OPC. Forty-two engineered alkali-activated mix (AAM) designs with different percentages of the above-mentioned waste materials were experimentally investigated to evaluate the effect of each binder mass percentage on 28-day CS. Additionally, the effects of each industrial powder waste material on SiO2, CaO, and Al2O3 contents were investigated. The results confirm that adding FA to the samples caused a reduction of less than 26% in CS, whereas the replacement of GBFS by different levels of POFA significantly affected the compressive strength of specimens. The results also show that the AAM designs with a high volume FA provided the lowest EE and CO2 emission levels compared to other mix designs. Empirical equations were also proposed to estimate the CS, CO2 emissions, and EE of AAM designs according to their binder mass compositions.

Seismic performance of RC beam-column connections with continuous rectangular spiral transverse reinforcements for low ductility classes.

The seismic performance of RC columns could be significantly improved by continuous spiral reinforcement as a result of its adequate ductility and energy dissipation capacity. Due to post-earthquake brittle failure observations in beam-column connections, the seismic behaviour of such connections could greatly be improved by simultaneous application of this method in both beams and columns. In this study, a new proposed detail for beam to column connection introduced as "twisted opposing rectangular spiral" was experimentally and numerically investigated and its seismic performance was compared against normal rectangular spiral and conventional shear reinforcement systems. In this study, three full scale beam to column connections were first designed in conformance with Eurocode (EC2-04) for low ductility class connections and then tested by quasistatic cyclic loading recommended by ACI Building Code (ACI 318-02). Next, the experimental results were validated by numerical methods. Finally, the results revealed that the new proposed connection could improve the ultimate lateral resistance, ductility, and energy dissipation capacity.