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IntroductionInterdisciplinary science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) courses are a popular trend in international education than can help inculcate creativity in students. Although STEAM courses have been widely promoted in China, they are generally unsustainable because they are merely imitations of European and American courses and lack Chinese humanistic factors; a close integration between disciplinary ideas and thinking levels is also lacking. C-STEAM, which is designed to pass down China’s culture, is a form of STEAM education with local Chinese characteristics that are focused on integrating interdisciplinary knowledge with the thought process oriented toward cultural heritage.MethodsIn this study, an innovative higher vocational college course with C-STEAM interdisciplinary principles was constructed, with art and design as the framework, and with the integration of Chinese local culture. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to sample 12 learners from a total of 90 students in the experimental class of the C-STEAM course. The study aimed to provide a deeper understanding of the effectiveness of taking a Packaging Design course combined with C-STEAM from multiple perspectives. After the interviews, based on the BAO model, coding statistics and thematic analysis were conducted to understand the learners’ beliefs, actions, and outcomes after taking the course, and their plans for acquiring C-STEAM interdisciplinary knowledge and learning Chinese local culture.ResultsThe integration of the Shangshan culture (上山文化) into the Packaging Design course proved the importance and significance of adding C-STEAM to the art design course, which helped us understand the specific feelings of students after completing the course and gain a deeper understanding of the changes in their knowledge and skills and their learning effects.DiscussionIntegrating C-STEAM education into courses related to art and design is highly warranted to encourage students to apply their interdisciplinary knowledge to artistic exploration and creation. Moreover, to effectively develop a curriculum system with local characteristics, teachers should provide more opportunities for students to explore and learn C-STEAM in the future, and integrate multiple elements into their teaching. In general, a cultural perspective-based interdisciplinary education helps facilitate the creative transformation of traditional Chinese culture.

This paper presents an experimental investigation on the effect of the replacement of natural coarse aggregate (NCA) with either recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) or recycled clay brick aggregate (RBA) on the compressive strengths of the hardened concrete. Two grades (C25 and C50) of concrete were investigated, which were achieved by using different water-to-cement ratios. In each grade concrete five different replacement rates, 0%, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% were considered. In order to improve the performance of the recycled aggregates in the concrete mixes, the RCA and RBA were carefully sieved by using the optimal degradation. In this way the largest reduction in the 28-day compressive strength was found to be only 7.2% and 9.6% for C25 and C50 recycled concrete when the NCA was replaced 100% by RCA, and 11% and 13% for C25 and C50 recycled concrete when the NCA was replaced 100% by RBA. In general, the concrete with RCA has better performance than the concrete with RBA. The comparison of the present experimental results with those reported in literature for hardened concrete with either RCA or RBA demonstrates the effectiveness in improving the compressive strength by using the optimal gradation of recycled aggregates. Keywords: Recycled aggregate concrete, Waste concrete aggregate, Clay brick aggregate, Mechanical properties, Experiments

In this work, carbon of 2% and 4% by weight were added for the first time in a fly ash cement system to produce Activated carbon–fly ash composites in the form of pastes and mortars. Compressive strengths of the composites were then investigated. It was found that the use of Activated carbon resulted in higher strength of fly ash mortars. The highest strength obtained for 20% fly ash cement mortars was found at 4% Activated carbon where the compressive strength at 28 days was 22.39 MPa. This benefit can clearly be seen in fly ash cement with fly ash of 20% where the importance of the addition of Activated carbon means that the relative strength to that of cement became almost 100% at 28 days. In addition, scanning electron micrographs also showed that good interaction between Activated carbon and the fly ash cement matrix is seen with Activated carbon acting as a filler resulting in a denser microstructure and higher strength when compared to the reference fly ash mix without Activated carbon.

The dosage of the foaming agent directly affects the technical performance of ceramsite aerated concrete (CAC). If the dosage is improper, the CAC will be difficult to prepare and unstable in technical performance. To improve the quality of the CAC blocks, this paper aims to disclose how the mix ratio of foaming agent affects the technical performance of the CAC blocks through experiments. Specifically, the CA5.0B07 CAC blocks were selected as the research object. The following indices were identified to characterize the technical performance of the CAC blocks, including workability, dry density, water absorption, compressive strength and thermal conductivity. Several CAC blocks were prepared with different mix ratios of the foaming agent: 0.05%, 0.10%, 0.15%, 0.20% and 0.25%. The mix ratios were determined empirically, and refer to the mass percentage of the foaming agent in the binding material. In addition, the linear interpolation was adopted to determine the rational interval of foaming agent dosage for the CAC blocks. The results show that the CAC blocks reached the technical levels for qualified product in current standards when the mix ratio of the foaming agent fell within 0.13%~0.23%, and those for superior product when the latter fell within 0.15%~0.20%. The research results provide a technical guide for actual production of the CAC blocks, and promotes the application of these blocks in the construction of energyefficient buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]