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Railway’s concrete sleepers demand high consumption of cement which generates higher energy assumption and carbon emission. Meanwhile, in Malaysia, around 100 tonnes of palm oil fuel ash (POFA) were disposed of in the landfill, which endangering environmental health. However, this POFA have pozzolanic properties that can be employed as cementitious material. Therefore, this study aimed to produce a sustainable concrete sleeper by using POFA as a cement replacement material focusing on the compressive strength and water absorption performance. Concrete samples with a strength grade of 55MPa and w/c of 0.35 were prepared with three design mixes containing 0% (control), 20%(POFA20), and 40%(POFA40) of POFA. For the compressive strength test, a compression machine was used. Meanwhile, the water absorption was measured at atmospheric pressure. Both tests were conducted at 7 and 28 days of curing age. The results show that as the curing age increases, their water absorption and compressive strength improves, indicating a pozzolanic reaction. In terms of POFA content, the water absorption increases by 14% and 54% for POFA20 and POFA40, respectively. Meanwhile, the compressive strength reduced by 39% for POFA20 and 67% for POFA40. Since POFA20 meets the standards, it is however applicable in slab tracks.

This article reports on the oil and water absorption behavior of Biduri (Calotropis gigantea) fibres at room temperature. The material measured is a 100% raw material for Biduri (Calotropis gigantea) fibre, from 0.3 g to 1.5 g, and nonwoven structures made from 50/50, 60/40, 70/30, 80/20, and 90/10 mixture of Biduri and polyester. FTIR characterized the Biduri fibre, and the viscosity of used oil measured using Brookfield viscometer. The higher oils absorption at weight 0.3 g, 45.53 g/g, and water absorption at weight 0.3 g, 1.47 (g/g). The higher oil absorption at nonwoven structure showed at 90/10 composition, 42,86 g/g. It showed Biduri fibre is a natural absorbent that exhibits excellent hydrophobic and oleophilic properties.

The analysis of the process of thermal modification of wood, which was obtained by a controlled process of pyrolysis of wood heating (> 180 °C), which causes some chemical changes in the structures of cell wall components (lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose), to increase its durability. It is proved that in the process of thermal modification there is a decomposition of hemicelluloses and amorphous part of cellulose, reduction of water absorption, and also the quantity of substances which are the environment for development of fungi decreases. In addition lignin and psevdolihnin formed by the process of polymerization and redistribution in cell volume and cell walls provide higher density, hardness, increase the hydrophobicity (water repelling), thereby reducing their ability to absorb moisture and swell. Polymerised lignin fills the inside of the cell – formed closed porous structure with low ability to bind water. It was established that the most effective option to reduce such substances are temperature and exposure time. The results of water absorption, dependence on which the calculated diffusion coefficient in the water absorption. Thermal modification of wood reduces water absorption by more than 10 times within 6 hours, which allows it to be used on objects with high humidity.

Kenaf fibres have gained substantial attracted considerable attention due to their economic feasibility and environmental acceptability. Natural fibre (kenaf) has started in mechanical and electrical applications by hybridising synthetic (glass) fibres. In recent years, the hybrid composite has been employed in various functions in industrial engineering. The present study deals with water absorption of glass/kenaf/epoxy hybrid composite materials used in high voltage polymeric insulator rods. Kenaf fibres have substituted two proportions of glass fibres (20 vol% IR20EP and 30 vol% IR30EP) with modified 60% of epoxy resins to fabricate the kenaf/glass/epoxy hybrid composites. The water absorption test was carried out at room temperature, and the water absorption resistance for composites was calculated regarding the rate of water absorption. Remarkable variations in the characteristics of water soaking up of the hybrid composite were obtained demonstrating that the water absorption influence on the insulator rod properties relies on the arrangement profiles and volume fraction of kenaf fibre of composite used. Based on the finding, a minor impact of water absorption on the glass fibre (non-hybrid) composite was noticed. Adding kenaf fibres to the composite fibreglass rod increases the composite’s water absorption. Glass fibres around kenaf fibres have been shown to minimise water absorption. After 330 hours, all the composite specimens attained stability and ceased to soak up water.

This research involves the production of particle boards made from coconut shell, palm kernel shell and coconut husk in different ratios varying from 25%, 30%, 35%, 40% and 50%. These materials were homogeneously mixed with Urea Formaldehyde resin which was the adhesive used commonly known as Top Bond. The physical and mechanical characteristics of produced particle boards which were density, water absorption, thickness swelling, modulus of rupture and modulus of elasticity were analysed. The densities ranged between 995kg/m3 and 600kg/m3. The particle board which had 50% coconut shell, 25% palm kernel shell and 25% coconut husk (E1) had the least value for water absorption after 2hours and 24 hours which was 17.26 and 26.19 respectively. The mean values for Modulus of Rupture and Modulus of Elasticity varied from 0.650N/mm2 to 3.149N/mm2 and 11.659N/mm2 to 146.850N/mm2. It was observed that the particle board which had the most preferable properties both physical and mechanical properties was E1 which was composed of 50% coconut shell, 25% palm kernel shell and 25% coconut husk.

Plastic waste is identified as non-biodegradable material that is harmful to the environment. PET is one of the most well-known types of plastic used for food packaging that usually plastic waste be found in huge amounts. This paper takes advantage of PET plastic waste from the water drinking cup to be blended with fly ash to produce a lightweight aggregate called FAPET. All the properties of FAPET were significantly better than pumice as the control sample during the experiment such as water absorption, compressive strength and abrasion value of 0.5%, 17.4 MPa and 28.55% respectively. FAPET was derived from the double blending process of PET with fly ash with the composition of PET and fly ash was 1:3. The experiment conducted was partial until the full replacement of pumice as a lightweight aggregate with FAPET to establish waste-based lightweight concrete. Modulus of elasticity and compressive strength resulted from 100% replacement using FAPET were 31,706 MPa and 23,64 MPa that equalled to normal concrete strength. The utilization of FAPET is concluded to be successful as an alternative lightweight aggregate for structural use of lightweight concrete.

This paper This paper investigated the effects of binder-aggregates proportion on the performance of one-part geopolymer mortars. High calcium fly ash together with sodium metasilicate have been utilized as the binder, the powdered sodium metasilicate activator was kept at 12% by weight of the fly ash. Three types of mortars were produced with a different binder to fine aggregates proportions (B: A) of 1: 0.5, 1:1, 1:2. The strength properties of the one-part geopolymer mortars (OPGM) which comprises compressive, flexural, splitting tensile strength and water absorption have been investigated. At 28 days of outdoor curing, the OPGM exhibited compressive strength of 50 MPa and 43 MPa at ambient curing. The flexural strength of the OPGM represents 16 – 17 % of its compressive strength. Regardless of the curing techniques, the strength properties of the OPGM is almost the same. The optimum OPGM was found to be at 1: 0.5 binder-aggregates proportions at outdoor curing.

The conversion of plastic waste into economically valuable materials is an innovative way to reduce plastic waste in the environment. At the present study aimed to assess the compressive strength and water absorption capacity of paving blocks from plastic waste combined with rice hausk ash as sand partial replacement and red stone powder as its natural colorant. The speciment were casted in a 6 x 6 x 6 cm mold and pressed with a load of 6 tons using a mechanical pressing machine. The compressive strength and water absorption of paving block at different content of plastic powder and rice husk ash were investigated. The study revealed that paving blocks made by replacing sand with 40% of plastic powder and 5% of rice husk ash pigmented with red stone at the ages of 28 days have compressive strengths of 12.7 MPa with water absorption value of 3.75%. We recommend this paving block was suitable for non-traffic areas such as pedestrians, landscapes, and public walkways.

Various experimental works were successfully accomplished over the past years on the natural resources reinforced composites. This research work is focused on the water absorption behaviour of the treated and untreated banana fiber reinforced, used camellia sinensis particles filled along with the epoxy resin matrix bio-composites. Different weight percentages of reinforcement and filler materials were taken to prepare the hybrid composite specimens, whereas the epoxy resin matrix were keeping constant. Traditional hand layup technique was adopted and the boards of the hybrid composites were effectively fabricated by using the same technique. Hybrid bio-composite specimens for water absorption tests were prepared by using the portable wood cutting machine as per the ASTM standards for the efficient justification on experimental results. Water absorption tests on the hybrid bio-composite specimens were carried out as per the ASTM standards. Water absorption behaviour of the treated and untreated banana fiber reinforced, used camellia sinensis particles filled, epoxy resin matrix hybrid composite specimens were absorbed and compared with each other. Experimental results shows that the chemically treated banana fiber reinforced with narrow amount of used camellia sinensis particle filled hybrid composite specimens exhibits the better water absorption behaviour than that of untreated banana fiber reinforced with elevated amount of used camellia sinensis particle filled hybrid composite specimens.

This research investigated the biodegradation of cellulose based PLA with oil palm composites on two sizes of fibre (0.25mm and 1.0mm). Poly (lactic acid) (PLA) was blended with oil palm fibre using twin screw extrusion technique.The use of oil palm can enhance the biodegradability of PLA since it is compostable under soil burial and easier absorb by water before disintegration for a few weeks. PLA was found to be biodegradable but rather slow in compostability unless at high temperature and humidity. In this study,the biodegradation rate was tested using soil burial and water absorption test. The samples were buried in soil and tested in aqueous water for specific duration at different pH. The higher the fibre content of 25%, the higher the weight loss and water absorption through soil burial and water absorption testing respectively . For soil burial testing, tsample PLA OPF 25% higher weight loss of 3.7% were found for sample fiber size 1.0mm as compared to 1.6% (0.25mm). While for water absorption testing, sample has different behaviour at pH 5.5, 7 and 8. The higher the fibre content, the higher water and soil burial weight loss. For bigger fibre sizes of1.0 mm, higher water absorption and mass loss reading were observed.

The partial replacement of natural coarse (gravel) aggregate by waste plastic aggregate to produce lightweight concrete has become one of the major challenges in recent years and stresses on the need for a constant and authoritative development for the betterment of the environment. This work was carried out to investigation the possibilities of using waste polypropylene yogurt containers as polymer aggregate in concrete application. The concrete samples with 0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20% and 25% recycled waste plastic aggregate as partial replacement by mass of natural coarse aggregate are prepared after a curing period of 28 days. The effect of recycled plastic aggregate on compressive strength, density and water absorption of natural concrete are studied and compared with the results of specimen without plastic aggregate. Both compressive strength and density decreased with increasing the amount of plastic aggregate. The highest reduction in compressive strength and density were 50% and 19% respectively of concrete cubes containing 25% wt polypropylene waste aggregate in comparison of traditional concrete. It was found that water absorption increased as the plastic aggregate content increased up to 15% wt and then decreased when replaced coarse aggregate by 20% wt and 25% wt by recycled polypropylene aggregate. This study is recommended to use recycled polypropylene yogurt containers as a partial substance of traditional coarse (gravel) concrete mix up to 15% wt for applications include those where low compressive strengths and low cost production are desirable.

The extensive use of non-biodegradable plastics has been causing serious environmental pollutions because of the degradability issue from especially consumable food packaging. In this research, biodegradable materials i.e., Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and Polybutylene succinate (PBS) are chosen for the study. PLA/PBS foam was prepared using Azodicarbonamide (ADC) and Poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) 20 wt% as a blowing agent and plasticizer, respectively. Foamability of different content PLA/PBS blend were investigated. PLA/PBS foam were characterized by Water absorption, Flexural testing, Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). Flexural properties of PLA/PBS foam (70/30) showed the highest flexural modulus of 384 MPa due to the smallest cell size while PLA/PBS foam (20:80) showed the highest flexural stress of 11 MPa. PLA/PBS foam showed uniform cell size distribution. PLA/PBS foam had water absorption ability due to its porous structure.

Reed is able to absorb water, a quality that enables using it as a cartridge filler in eco-friendly filters to address the contamination of waterbodies. Aside from capturing harmful substances and pathogens, such filters actively absorb water. As the filtering medium becomes saturated with a fluid, its absorption capacity degrades, which is why one needs to know the saturation rates if the water purification process is to be effective. This knowledge helps find out how frequently the cartridge filler must be replaced. Absorption rates were sufficient for purification for three hours as shown by experimental laboratory tests using reeds ground to a variety of specific particle sizes without additional processing that would modify its structure physically and chemically. This indicates that cartridges have to be refilled with a new biosorbent at least twice over the daily period of bacterial activity observable from 10 am to 4 pm during daylight hours.

In this work fibers of dry reed was used a reinforcing material to produce cement boards after being chemically treated in order to enhance the bonding between mortar and fiber and prevent the dissociation of the composite material with time. (2%,4%,6%,8%) percentages of reed fiber was mixed for every Reed fiber size (300μ,150μ,75μ) The curing period was 14 days, physical and mechanical tests were performed according to ASTM standard c-1185. Different variation in results observed by changing fiber content and fiber size. The results showed an enhancement in density, thermal insulation, by increasing reed fiber content and decreasing in size, while its shows an increasing in moisture content and water absorption by increasing reed content because reed is one type of soft wood, the wood property is absorbing and keeping moisture. The best dry and wet flexural strength is in 8 wt% of 150μ reed fiber.

The paper presents studies on the production of a high-alumina aggregate with an Al2O3 content of 75% based on fine-grained corundum dust generated by grinding fused corundum. Finely dispersed corundum powder is a by-product and due to the low Al2O3 content (93 – 95%) is not used in further production. It is proposed to obtain high-alumina aggregate without joint grinding of the components. Aggregate was obtained by pressing through a “false grain” from a mixture of kaolin and corundum dust in a certain ratio. The samples firing was carried out at a temperature of 1700°C. The phase composition of the obtained aggregate is represented by 46 – 51% corundum, 45 – 49% mullite. The water absorption of such chamotte is 14 – 16%, open porosity is 33 – 35%, apparent density is 2230 – 2290 kg·m−3. Now, it was not possible to obtain a high-density filler grade ZML and ZMK that meets the requirements of GOST 23037 – 78. The production flow chart of high-alumina chamotte based on kaolin and corundum dust should include a joint fine grinding of the components, or a separate grinding of corundum dust until it passes completely through the 0.063 mm mesh.

In this study, a systematic comparison is presented between ammonium phosphate and commercial nanolimes for the conservation of lime-based renders. Such comparison is very significant, considering that nanolimes are the most widely used inorganic consolidant commonly applied onto plasters, renders and frescoes. Specimens made of slaked lime and siliceous sand were prepared, by applying the fresh mortar onto a solid brick substrate. After curing for 4 months, samples were consolidated by (i) an aqueous solution of diammonium hydrogen phosphate and (ii) commercial nanolimes. The effects of the treatments were evaluated in terms of composition and morphology of the new phases, effectiveness (ultrasounds and scotch tape test) and compatibility (color change and water absorption). The results of the study confirm the high potential of the phosphate treatment, able to provide higher mechanical consolidation in a shorter time (24 hours, instead of at least 4 weeks for nanolimes), while being equally compatible from the aesthetical and physical point of view.

Preventive and temporal planning of conservation is rather difficult to perform, especially concerning monumental stone buildings; the choices are often made after the degradation phenomena have already started. Many studies are looking for the reasons for this ‘resistance’. In particular the present study, the result of a doctorate research, is focused on the most operational aspects: • quantifying the residual effectiveness of water-repellent protective agents used in past restorations; • providing elements in the drafting of maintenance plans for monumental heritage; • verifying where critical conservation elements reside. The test site has been the monumental complex formed by the Cathedral of San Zeno and the Baptistery of San Giovanni in Corte in Pistoia, where the Contact Sponge Water Absorption Test (UNI 11432:2011), typically used as treated/untreated test was employed on three lithological types (white marble, serpentine and Tuscan grey sandstone) as comparison test between treatments carried out at different knows times. The test campaign was conducted by Mila Martelli with the involvement of Superintendency of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape; University of Florence DiDA, DST-LAM, Department of Chemistry and, in the phase of organization of the monitoring, with the involvement of Dr. Maria Jose’ Ybañez Worboys, art restorer. The results of this research must be read in consideration of the fact that it is an ex-post survey, for which not all factors have been kept under control from the beginning, but for which it was possible to make assumptions. This study illustrates the methods and the first test results obtained which show a rather rapid decline in the effectiveness of water-repellent treatments, already a few years after their application.

The plastic industry is the important sector in India which is more valuable and playing vital role in economy of our country. Even though it is an important industry, it produces few environmental brunt causing land and water impairment with some ill effects. The methods following for dumping, leads to ground water contamination and thereby cause other adverse effects. Many investigations have been organized in this area and found that the contamination level is greater in ground water and having problem mainly in dumping area premises. In the current study, an experiment had been made to reuse the plastic waste chips in manufacturing of building materials. The objective of this project is to identify the possibilities of using the waste plastic obtained from plastic product manufacturing industry as a brick material. The various test had been carried out such as compressive strength test, crushing strength test, water absorption test, efflorescence test, hardness test, soundness test and fire test for proving the modified bricks with conventional brick. The final outcome the test results shows that the lightest brick samples among the all tested four various samples produced the strength of 68.8% greater than the third class brick and its weight is around 33% of the conventional bricks. Light weight bricks are making by using lime, fly ash, red soil, polystyrene layer, decreased the self weight of the building which improved stability in earthquake situations.

Increasing durability threats on existing structures made with cementitious composites has prompted a need to find ways to improve the durability of new structures. One of the effective ways to improve the durability properties of cementitious composites is by the incorporation of fibres. A type of modified Kraft pulp fibres was employed in this study to improve the durability properties of cementitious composites. A microstructural investigation was also conducted to study the fibre morphology and its effect on the performance of the cementitious composites. Moreover, the durability tests in terms of water absorption and rapid chloride penetration were carried out. Overall results showed higher improvement of the durability of the cementitious composites with composites incorporated metakaolin, silica fume, and slag. This was further confirmed by microstructural analysis showing that these supplementary cementitious materials densified the cementitious matrix.

The fly ash based geopolymer is a promising binder by activation of fly ash with an alkaline activating solution. The fly ash based geopolymer prepared was characterized by several methods. The experimental result, studies effect of the porosity and water absorption on compressive strength of fly ash based geopolymer and Ordinary Portland Cement paste for comparison. The porosity studies were determined using the Brunauer, Emmett and Teller method included nitrogen adsorption / desorption plots. Then followed by water absorption and compressive strength tested at 7 and 28 days curing time. The result shows that the porosity of fly ash based geopolymer paste was in the lower surface area, pore volume and pore size compared to Ordinary Portland Cement paste. The small pore size of the fly ash based geopolymer had a significant proportion of a micropores whilst Ordinary Portland Cement paste pores were mostly mesopores. The highest compressive strength of fly ash-based geopolymer can be achieved up to 76.723 MPa at 28 days when less of pore size and water absorption. Therefore, the paste based on geopolymeric materials is a better durability and high resistance to aggressive environment compared Ordinary Portland Cement paste.

In this investigation, kenaf core fiber (KCF) reinforced polypropylene (PP) composite was prepared via extrusion and compression moulding. The effect of different ratio of KCF filler with PP on flexural properties of composite had been investigated. PP and KCF filler were prepared with different filler loading of 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 wt% using twin-screw extruder at temperature 180 ºC and rotor speed of 70 rpm, followed by compression moulding at the same temperature. The flexural tests were conducted to evaluate the flexural properties of the composite. The results obtained showed that the incorporation of KCF in PP increased the flexural strength and flexural modulus of the composite. The water absorption behaviour of the composite was also investigated. It was found that water absorption of composites increased with increasing of fiber content.

The objective of this work is to analyze the mechanical strengths and water absorption characteristics of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) treated hemp natural fibre (HNF) and eggshell particles (ESP) reinforced polymer composites. The composites were fabricated with and without ESP (0%, 7%, 14% and 21%) by hand-lay process and the tensile, shear, flexural and impact strengths and water absorption characteristics of samples were analyzed. The HNF with 0% ESP composites exhibits the superior tensile strength of 80.46 MPa and holds the maximum shear strength of 1.48 KN, followed by 14% of ESP composites withstands the bending load of 0.19 KN. The samples contains 21% of ESP absorb the high impact energy of 10 joules. The morphological characteristics were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis.

This study synthesized carbonized sugarcane bagasse (CSB) filled high density polyethylene (HDPE) composites. The effect of pre-treatment reagent of SB with different concentration of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) was examined. The untreated, treated and carbonized SB were characterized by proximate analysis and functional group analysis. By considering all the characteristics, 7 wt% is the optimum concentration which gave lowest moisture content and highest fixed carbon (FC) content. It was chosen to undergo carbonization process at temperature of 600 °C to produce CSB and used as filler in composites. The filler with different loading was mixed with HDPE via extrusion process. The tensile properties, surface morphology and water absorption behaviour of the bio-composites were evaluated. As filler loading increased, the Young’s modulus was increasing gradually. Meanwhile, the tensile strength and elongation at break were increasing up to 5 wt% but then decreasing as filler content increased due to the formation of filler agglomeration in HDPE matrix. The deterioration of the interfacial adhesion of these composites was confirmed by the SEM observations. The percentage of water absorption is gradually increased with increasing the filler loading. In short, the optimum filler loading at 5 wt% imparts good tensile and water absorption properties of composites.

The article presents the results of a study of water absorption of non-autoclaved foam concrete based on microsilica. The dependence of water absorption by mass and by volume on the average density of foam concrete in the range of 500÷700 kg/m3 is derived. It is experimentally established that the water absorption of foam concrete based on microsilica the grade D500 by mass is 100, 9 %, by volume – 53.6 %, for the grade D700 – 64.3 % and 42.4 %, respectively. At the same time, a day after immersion in water, foam concrete the grade D500 gains an average of 69.7% from full water absorption both by mass and by volume, foam concrete the grade D700 – 66.1 %. Full of water absorption of non-autoclaved foam concrete based on microsilica reaches in seven weeks later. The difference in water absorption between the grades D500 and D700 by mass is 56.9 %, by volume – 26.4 %. The closed porosity of foam concrete based on microsilica the grade D500 is 26 %, and for the grade D700 – 32.2 %.

The enormous development on production of vehicles resulted in growing amount of waste tires rubber. Consequently, waste rubber is considered as one of the most waste materials that might cause environmental problems. Incorporating tires rubbers in concrete pavement has been widely studied as one of the promising and sustainable solutions to these current environmental problems. This paper explored the effect of replacing coarse aggregate with waste tires rubber according to their sieve sizes. Three replacement ratios were suggested to substitute the coarse aggregate in concrete of 5 wt. %, 10% and 15%. Two replacement techniques were chosen in order to investigate the rubber particle size. The results illustrated that the compressive strength reduced by 8.5, 51% for 5 to 15 % replacing from all particle sizes. While it shows lower percentage of 0.3 to 11%, 12 to 19% and 7 to 17% for replacing 5 to 15% from sieve #20 to #4.75, respectively. The dry density for all samples decreased slightly with increasing rubber percentage. Furthermore, water absorption ratios of the tested samples were comparable with the reference sample by replacing from each sieve separately. In contrast, it shows higher increase by replacing from all sieves.

Expanded Polystyrene based Lightweight concrete (EPS-C) is a lightweight material with low compressive strength and high energy absorption capacity. This type of concrete is mainly applied for heat and sound insulation, towards energy saving and sustainable development. In terms of composition, EPS-C is made from a mixture of cement, mineral additives, water, chemical additives, and Expanded Polystyrene Beads (EPS) which are small hollow spherical, impermeable, and non-toxic balls. In this paper, the EPS particles were replaced with recycled polystyrene particles as aggregates for lightweight concrete. Besides, carbon nanotube (nCNT) was added to improve the properties of the concrete. The experimental results show that (i) it is possible to use recycled EPS aggregate in making lightweight concrete with a density of less than 1200 kg/m3; (ii) the combination of nCNT improved significantly the properties of lightweight concrete, i.e. reducing the water absorption, increasing compressive strength; (iii) lightweight concrete with a very low thermal conductivity, corresponding to 0.152 W/m.°C for a sample with a density of 600 kg/m3.

In article obtained in laboratory experiments, water absorption characteristics and evaporation of water from the insulation materials to determine their weight change in tropical climates with the following characteristics: high temperature and humidity, a large number of medium and monthly rainfall seasonal rains lasting 6 months. Thus, the obtained results may be used to repair wall enclosing parts in the Vietnam construction industry. The characteristics of waterproof, moisture resistance, water evaporation, biological stability in insulation materials, which are used in the thermal protection of buildings in Russia and in the world. Evaluation experiments were performed on the characteristics of water absorption and water evaporation of heat-insulating materials (mineral wool, polyfoam, extruded polystyrene) in the laboratory in three situations: the location of samples on the surface of the water, drowning of samples in water and evaporation water from water-saturated samples. These tests simulate the impact of rainfall on the insulation material and evaporation of water from the insulation material during a certain time period (e.g., during assembly or during operation, when the protective layer is damaged). The experimental results show the dependence of saturation insulation from direct contact with water in his drowning conditions and arrangement of heat-insulating materials on the water surface. In addition, the rate of evaporation of water in the water depends on the amount of thermal insulation material and its characteristics. Based on the results of such experiments, it is possible to make a choice of types of insulating materials suitable for Vietnamese climatic conditions.

Recent researches in literature have established that the overall life of mortar used in plastering works can be improved by the self-healing processes. Cracking of mortar plasters is a common hurdle due to the intrinsic brittleness of the material. This will result in severe loss of durability and water tightness. There are various methods to prevent this problem, such as adding glass fibers to the mortar mix which prevents shrinkage cracks is one among them and another way to do it is with the help of microorganisms that precipitates calcium carbonate which fills the cracks. But not all kinds of bacteria will precipitate calcium carbonate. Even if it does it should survive under extreme conditions present in mortar. The species called bacillus is a kind which fulfills those conditions is used in this project. The two bacteria namely “Bacillus Subtilis” and “Bacillus Megaterium” were isolated by taking 10g rhizosphere soil and they are cultured. The objective of this project is to compare the productivity of two bacteria. Along with this, a material called metakaolin is also used in combination with bacteria and its efficiency is also checked. The use of metakaolin (kaolinite) in this project increases compressive strength, decreases the heat of hydration which in turn increases the efficiency of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) precipitation along with bacteria. Mortar cubes are cast in different combinations to observe the compressive strength by Compression Test, healing capacity of mortar through Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity (UPV) Test and the precipitated amount of calcium carbonate via X-ray Diffraction Test. Also, the durability of mortar cubes has been identified using Water Absorption Test and Sorptivity Test.

Unsaturated polyester (UPR) composite containing the powder of peanut shell fiber filler is a panel product made by compacting the particles of peanut shell powder and binding them with UPR. The purpose of this research is to investigate the effect of peanut shell fiber powder cellulose filler composition and addition of compatibilizer on the tensile properties, energy impact and water absorption of UPR composites. The composites were made of UPR as matrix and mixed with peanut shell powder as filler, with methyl ethyl ketone peroxide catalyst, and molded by using compression molding method. The result of the physical properties test supported by FTIR characterization of the composite showed that the filler was dispersed into the matrix with the formation of a new wave from 3463 to 3495 cm-1. The best of tensile and impact properties were found on 5% filler and 4% of compatibilizer composition with the tensile strength of 26.04 MPa and an energy impact of 99.82 MPa. The results obtained have been supported by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) analysis that there was resistance from the composite when the impact was applied. The water absorption of composite tended to rise with the increasing amount of filler.

Eucheuma Cottonii is a sea plant that commonly known as seaweed grows abundantly and part of the products in agricultural industries. The effects of alginate from seaweed benefited the properties of composites due to its advantage as a hydrophilic gelling material. This paper investigates the effects of Eucheuma Cottonii in polymer modified concrete. The investigations covers on the physical properties and mechanical properties of the polymer modified concrete based on different percentages of seaweed powder. The percentages chosen are 10%, 20%, 30%, 40% and 50% cement replacement inside polymer modified concrete. The effects on the seaweed powder percentage to the properties of polymer modified concrete are determined through microstructural, water absorption, pulse velocity, compressive strength and indirect tensile strength. Findings from the experimental works show that an optimum seaweed powder percentage into polymer modified concrete is 20% with improvement shows from the mechanical properties. It can be concluded that, seaweed powder potentially acted as a binder in polymer modified concrete and suitably chosen as a sustainable material inside polymer modified concrete.

Concrete in seawater is subjected to various aggressive constituents in seawater commonly sulphate, chloride and carbonate. This paper investigates the potential effects towards mechanical and physical properties of geopolymer when used as underwater concreting material. Besides identifying the microstructure using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), the sample is also characterized using Synchrotron based micro X-Ray Fluorescence (µ-XRF) to identify the elemental distribution that had occurred in the underwater geopolymer. Other essential properties for concrete such as compressive strength, water absorption and density were also determined. The compressive strength result indicates a slightly lower strength for underwater geopolymer (31.40 MPa) compared to normal geopolymer (35.91 MPa). Relevant to the strength, the water absorption and density also shows a slight difference between the geopolymer samples. The µ-XRF analysis shows the presence of chlorine (Cl) element only for underwater geopolymer which indicates that the are chloride penetration for underwater geopolymer. Additionally, other element distribution such as Silica (Si), Aluminum (Al) and Calcium (Ca) shows a different value when comparing normal geopolymer and underwater geopolymer. Despite the difference in elemental distribution between sample, geopolymer is proven to have the potential to be used as underwater material since it is able to retain at least 70% strength of the control sample.

This research was conducted to improve the characteristics of PLA-Chitosan-ZnO composites. Composites are synthesized from the matrix of Poly lactic acid by modifying Chitosan and Zinc oxide (ZnO) fillers. The purpose of this study was to look at the mechanical, thermal and morphological characteristics seen from the composite. Basically, the bond between PLA and CS is very weak, so to increase the strength of the bond by entering ZnO; thus advancing overall quality (mechanical, thermal and water absorption) of composites (PLA / CS / ZnO). The mechanical properties of composites are enhanced by the addition of ZnO NP into the PLA / CS matrix. However, the tensile strength, modulus, and breakout extension increased to 2wt% of ZnO NP loading but decreased when ZnO NP content increased by 3wt%. This is consistent with the dispersion of homogeneous ZnO particles in the PLA matrix. Combining ZnO particles increases PLA thermal stability. Thus, ZnO has been shown to have potential as an amplifier in biocomposite synthesis with better integrity, although other approaches, such as the use of compatibilizers in ZnO surface modification, will be needed to improve PLA properties simultaneously. The results obtained in this work can be used on environmentally friendly films.

The performance characteristics of glued materials based on thermo-modified veneer depend on the heat treatment mode. The choice of a mode that does not lead to a decrease in the strength of plywood allows reducing water absorption and swelling by a value from 20,4 to 33,5 %. Plywood based on thermo-modified veneer acquires higher strength and water resistance, which significantly expands the range of application of laminated wood based on urea-formaldehyde resins.

Self-compacting concrete (SCC) is beneficial in concrete casting process as it does not need any tools for consolidation process. In addition, the utilization of High content fly ash in has proven in improving mechanical properties of concrete although the slow strength development is an issue to coop with. This paper presented an experimental program on the mechanical properties test of high strength self-compacting concrete incorporated with high content fly ash. The mix proportion for the concrete was prepared based on ACI high strength concrete with the design strength of 45 MPa. The mechanical properties test consists of slump flow test, compressive strength test development, flexural strength test and water absorption test of concrete. The slump flow test was tested for fresh concrete and the strength development test was tested at the age of 14, 28 and 56 days. In addition, test for flexural strength specimen and absorption specimens were tested at the curing age of 56 days. Moreover, the high strength normal concrete specimen was prepared as control mix design. The result shows, less water was need to reach design flowability for Self-Compacting Concrete High content fly ash concrete and it gives impact to lower water absorption for the type of concrete. In addition, at the curing age of 56 days the compressive strength of high strength high content fly ash-self compacting concrete was comparable to the normal concrete.

SIFCON is featured construction material has a high strength in addition to large ductility making it convenient for special structural applications. However, the SIFCON unit weight is higher than fibre reinforced concrete due to the heavy weight of the high steel fibre content. This paper aims to investigate the flexural behaviour of Modified Weight Slurry Infiltrated Fibre Concrete (MWSIFCON) by using combination of different types of fibres which are micro steel fibres, macro hooked end steel fibres and polypropylene fibres. For this purpose, 21 prisms and 84 cubes are casted. The volumetric ratios (7%, 4% and 3%) for micro steel fibres, macro hooked end steel fibres and polypropylene fibres respectively are used of each type alone for the purpose of comparison. Moreover, hybrid fibres from combination of two types of these fibres using 50% from ratios above of each type are used to investigate the flexure behaviour of prisms. The other related properties for resulted SIFCON are studied from cube tests. The results indicate that SIFCON of combination macro hook end steel fibres with polypropylene fibres gives a good density for SIFCON with 18.66 KN/m3 and performed adequate flexure strength with 8.09 MPa. Also, it has kindly reduced in the water absorption of SIFCON.

The rapid growth of population has led to increased demand for fast, affordable and quality housing development. Today, the construction industry in Malaysia has shifted from conventional methods to Industrial Building Systems (IBS). The most commonly used IBS component is precasat concrete with lightweight foam concrete. This study focuses on the main component of foam lighweight concrete, which is a partially replacement of cement by sawdust and fly ash. Among the features of lightweight concrete is density below 1800 kg/m3. Therefore, the objectives of this study is to determine the effects of sawdust and fly ash as part of cement replacement in terms of mechanical properties (compressive strenght) and physical properties (water absorption). In addition, this study also determine the optimum percentage of cement replacement by sawdust and fly ash in building material. The percentage of saw dust and fly ash used in this study as a partial replacement cement are 5%, 10%, 15% and 20%. The results show that increasing the percentage of mix propotion will increase the water absorption rate as well as decrease the compressive strenght of strength. Also, the density and compressive strength of lightweight foam concrete will decrease as the percentage of partial replacement cement increases. According to JKR Standard Specification for Building Works that referred in Malaysia, the minimum compression strength of lightweight foam concrete allowed for hollow blocks is 2.8 N / mm2. The results obtained from this study show lightweight concrete blocks using saw dust and fly ash as part of the cement replacement meet the standards and can be commercialized in the industrial building system development.

Phase change material (PCM) for thermal energy storage (TES) is the material that can absorb energy during heating process as phase change takes place and release energy to environment during cooling process. Nowadays, energy consumption trends in construction building show a significant increase. It is important for reducing energy consumption in building by decreasing the energy demand and providing thermal human comfort inside the building. The objectives of this research are to determine the optimum percentage of PCM in concrete affected by time to achieve high thermal storage performance and evaluate the mechanical properties in different percentage of PCM concrete. Various percentage of 0%, 5%, 10% 15% and 20% of PCM concrete added with Ground Granular Blast Slag (GGBS) as filler were prepared and tested after 7 and 28 days of curing process. The result shows the thermal storage energy effective when integration with PCM in concrete. Besides, the compressive strength, water absorption and density measurement decrease with increasing amount of PCM. In conclusion, 5% of PCM with 30% GGBS added in concrete resulted in better thermal energy storage and compressive strength compared to other percentages of PCM concrete samples.

The main objective of this work is to characterize and investigate the effect of mineral dolomite and granite waste content on the physical and mechanical properties of artificial marble. Five different samples of artificial marble were prepared with different proportions of fillers. In this study, granite waste is used a filler by substitute the dolomite content from 10 wt% to 40 wt%. Test specimens were evaluated for water absorption analysis, flexural, compression and Barcol hardness properties. It is found that the optimum 10 wt% of granite waste in the composition has increase the flexural and compression strength and reduces the water absorption rate, while the substitution of granite waste does not change significantly the Barcol hardness properties.

The effects of fiber content and immersion time in the water on the tensile, morphology and water absorption properties of composites made from corn husk fiber/polyester have been studied. Composite made with a variety of different fiber contents namely: 20%, 25%, 30%, 40%, 50% and 60% respectively. All composite specimens were immersed in water for 24 h and 72 h. The effects of fiber content and time of immersion of composites in water have been determined by examining the nature of tensile strength, water absorption behavior, morphology. The results demonstrated that after soaked in water for 24 h and 72 h, the water absorption properties of the composites increased with increasing fiber content. The tensile strength and modulus of elasticity of composites tend to increase from 20% to 30% fiber content after immersed for 24 h, and then decrease with increasing fiber and soaking time because the interface between fiber and polyester becomes weak. These results suggest that corn husk fiber composites could have the potential to use as decking, siding, and exterior windows.

Polyethylene (PE) is the most commonly used polymer. Most of the polymers are processed by the packaging sector. PE products are the most recycled plastic due to the short life of packaging materials. The experiment is based on real issues in the recycling of plastic waste in a world that is increasingly up to date. One way of recycling it is to produce returnable plastic bottles that can be used up to 50 times. The low-density polyethylene (LDPE) film is applied to the plastic bottles before filling with a specific medium. After the contents of the bottle have been consumed, the LDPE film is stripped. Subsequently, a new recyclable film is applied to the bottles used and the process is repeated. Changes in the properties of LDPE films applied to these returnable bottles have been evaluated by several tests (tensile test and water absorption test). The tests were performed on unused LDPE films and on used LDPE films, which were filled with the medium for 3 months. The fill media was chosen from commonly available goods.

Cement-sand bricks is one of the building materials that being used as alternative for a low-cost house in Malaysia. Nowadays, many researchers have been researching for green and sustainable materials to replace conventional building materials. In this paper, plastic bottle has been studied as a new alternative admixture in cement-sand brick production. The objective of this research is to determine the effect of plastic size on mechanical properties of cement-sand bricks. The lab testing used for this research are compressive strength and water absorption tests. Based on the findings, the bigger size of plastic added into the brick mixture, the higher compressive strength can be achieved. This is due to the plastic can increase the structural integrity of the cement-sand brick. Also, the bigger size of plastic added into the mixture, lower rate of water absorption was obtained. This may be due to plastic help in reducing the volume of void of the cement-sand brick. Further studies are needed to improve the cement-sand brick production with plastic as admixture material.

Aerated concrete (AC) is lightweight concrete in which air voids are captured in the mortar by means of the addition of an aerating agent to meet specific requirements of density and strength. Aerated concrete displays brittle failure in tension, however, and thus an alternative solution to make the concrete more ductile and reduce the problem of cracking is to add steel bars or steel fibre. The aim of this study is thus to investigate the effect of steel fibres on the compressive strength, flexural strength, stress-strain relationship, modulus of elasticity, density, sorptivity, and water absorption of aerated concrete with such fibres as compared to plain aerated concrete. End-hooked steel fibres with lengths of 35 mm and 60 mm with aspect ratios of 64 and 67 respectively were used in this study, with a volume friction (Vf) of 1.5%. The results showed that the effect of the aspect ratio (Lf/df) on flexural strength was most prominent, and that the compressive strength of the fibre reinforced aerated concrete (SFRAC) increased significantly and the density increased slightly, while the water absorption was decreased. The sorptivity of the SFRAC with short fibres was similar to that of standard AC, with this being increased slightly with the longer fibres. However, the stress-strain relationship in tension increased most significantly. Overall, 1.5% of steel fibre of 60 mm length provided the highest flexural strength at 28 days.

This study presents the effect of curing conditions towards properties of lightweight concrete brick made up of cement, sand and some replacement materials. The replacement materials used in this study is Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) as sand replacement and Palm Oil Fuel Ash (POFA) as cement replacement. The percentage of replacement for POFA is 0%, 10% and 20% whilst 0%, 30% and 50% for EPS. The brick samples have been exposed to different types of curing conditions that is air curing and water curing until the day of test. Among the tests that have been conducted are hardened brick density, compressive strength and water absorption. Based on the findings, it has been proved that the replacement percentage of EPS and POFA has significant impacts towards the brick properties. In addition, it is found that hardened brick density and compressive strength of air curing samples are lower as compared to water curing samples meanwhile the water absorption for air curing samples are higher that water curing samples.

The objective of this work was to reinforce mortar with low-cost fibres. Two groups of mortars were prepared, with and without Styrene-butadiene rubbers(SBR), then each group was reinforced with short fibres of iron waste of approximately 1 to 1.5cm in length and 1mm in thickness (aspect ratios of 10 to 15). These fibres were added at different percentages (10, 20, and 30%) by weight of sand. All groups were allowed to cure for 28 days. The results then showed an enhancement in strength for each group based on measurements of compressive and flexural strength. Moreover, several other properties (dry density, porosity, water absorption) were also improved. The lowest dry density, porosity and water absorption results were 2104.4 Kg/m3, 21.25%, and 10.09%, respectively at 10% iron waste fibres with SBR, while the best results for compressive strength and flexural strength were 33.75 MPa and 7.6969 MPa at 20% and 30% iron waste fibres with SBR, respectively. It can thus be concluded that short fibres of iron waste can partially replace fine aggregate in terms of reinforcing and improving the properties of mortar.

This paper presents the effect of different solid to solid (S/S) ratio by mixing the fly ash and metakaolin as geopolymer paste on the compressive strength and water absorption. Fly ash is a waste materials produced by combustion of coal at power plant while metakaolin was obtained by calcining the kaolin at 750 °C for 4 hours. Different weight percentage of S/S ratio of fly ash/metakaolin used were 50%:50% (Mix 1), 70%:30% (Mix 2) and 90%:10% (Mix 3). Alkaline activators that act as binder were sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and sodium silicate (Na2SiO3) solutions. The ratio of Na2SiO3/NaOH is 2.5 to 1. The mixture then placed into cylinder mould and left for 7, 14 and 28 days before it be tested. The product obtained were observed and it shows that Mix 2 has highest compressive strength for 28 days that was 41.22 MPa and has lower water absorption. The pore size decreases and permeability also decreases hence the strength potentially improve.

The technology of production of ceramic roof tiles on the basis of low-melting red-burning clay, namely on the basis of clay from the Sadovoye deposit of the Sverdlovsk region, is proposed. The samples of ceramic roof tiles, molded by plastic and semi-dry way, were obtained with the properties that meet the requirements of Russian standards and correspond to the quality of the Röben ceramic roof tiles. The water absorption of such products is 6.2–6.9%, the apparent density is 2.19–2.31 g/cm3, the products are waterproof for more than 4 hours, and withstand frost resistance for more than 150 cycles. The production technology involves the use of high-speed firing way in the temperature range of 1150–1200°C. The production technology provides for grinding the clay to a grain size of less than 0.3 mm. Molding of products can be done both in a plastic or semi-dry way. The use of high-speed firing is allowed. There is no destruction of products made on the basis of Sadovoye deposit clay.

This work aims at comparing the mechanical properties of composite laminate fabricated by three different fabrication processes. Kenaf fiber polyester composite laminates were fabricated by compression moulding technique, Vacuum assisted resin infusion process (VARI) and Resin transfer moulding process (RTM). Vacuum assisted resin infusion (VARI) process bridges the gap between labour intensive compression moulding process and capital intensive Resin transfer moulding (RTM) process. The mechanical properties such as tensile, flexural and impact behaviour were studied. Vacuum assisted resin infusion process showed improved tensile and flexural strength as compared to resin transfer moulding process and compression moulding (CM) process. On the other hand, impact strength of VARI composites is slightly lower than that of RTM and CM composites. From the study, it was found that mechanical properties increase with increase in fiber content and uniform distribution of resin in the matrix. The void content and water absorption properties were evaluated and found to be maximum for the compression moulded composites.

With high thermal insulating property and low density, foam concrete has high potential in 3D-printing applications such as residential buildings. The synergy of the foam concrete and 3D-printing process pre-requisites research and optimization of foam concrete production. This paper presents investigations on the appropriateness of two different methods for production of foam concrete: 1) mixed foaming method in turbulence (colloidal) mixer and 2) mixed foaming method in cavitation disintegrator. Performance of synthetic and protein based foaming agents were examined. The dosage of the foaming agent was varied from 0.7% to 1.2% by weight of cement to produce foam concretes with densities ranging between 800 kg/m3 and 1500 kg/m3. The study shows that foaming ability of the designed concrete compositions depends primarily on their w-b ratio. Moreover, foaming with lesser dosage of foaming agent is possible when turbulence mixer is used. Furthermore, mechanical and physical properties of foam concrete, including compressive strength, bending strength, and water absorption were reported.

Scarce and expensive housing and consumer waste disposal are global challenges in today’s world. This study investigated the engineering properties of a clay stabilized with three waste glass sizes (less than 75 μm, greater than 150 μm but less than 75 μm, and less than 300 μm but greater than 150 μm) for the production of burnt clay bricks for earth building construction. Laboratory tests (sieve analysis, Atterberg limits, specific gravity, and compaction tests) were conducted on the clay soil sample, while firing shrinkage, water absorption, unit weight and compressive strength tests were conducted on the fired clay bricks. The unit weight, firing shrinkage and compressive strength decreased with an increasing particle size of the waste glass in the fired clay bricks, while the fired clay bricks absorbed more water as the particle size of its waste glass content decreased. The use of waste glass with particle sizes less than 75 μm for stabilizing the clay was found to produce fired clay bricks with the highest compressive strength. The compressive strength of the fired clay bricks containing less than 75 μm particle sizes of waste glass was increased by 43.9% when compared with the compressive strength of the fired clay bricks having no waste glass. Consequently, waste glass with particle sizes of less than 75 μm is recommended for use in the production of fired clay bricks. The use of waste glass, which could have been a nuisance to the environment, is a potential way of improving the strength of bricks and making them more affordable bricks and consequently, making housing more affordable.