Applied Mechanics and Materials Vols. 773-774

Abstract: In the last years, there is an increasing acknowledgment of our impact on the environment due to our lifestyle, while the need to adopt a more sustainable approach as to our consumption habits emerges as of particular significance. This trend regards industrial sectors affecting the consumption habits and, especially, electronic industry where the short life cycles and the rapidly developing technology have led to increased e-waste volumes, such as discarded electronic equipment. Waste Electric and Electronic Product or E-waste is referred to all kind of electric and electronic equipments and appliances that is thrown by users. The majority of such elements result in landfills because it is inexpensive disposal option. The E-waste has become a matter of concern because of toxic and hazardous present in electronic goods and if not properly managed. This equipments are a complicated assembly of thousand material, many of which one highly toxic such as brominates substances, toxic gases, toxic metals, biologically active material, acids, plastics and plastics additives. However, their partial recyclability, due to their material composition along with the unavoidable restrictions in landfills, has led to the development of retrieval techniques for their recycling and re-use, highlighting the significance of e-waste recycling, not only from a waste management aspect but also from a valuable materials' retrieval aspect. This paper provides an overview of E-waste generation and management in Malaysia, which, with rapid economic growth and urbanization, is becoming a major social and environmental issue. Thus, major concern for E-waste management in Malaysia has addressed to environmental protection, compared to quantity control. The challenge now is to make the practice effectively in the many different contexts in Malaysia.

Abstract: This paper reports the results on cracking propagation and pattern of reinforced concrete (RC) beam conducted using irregular-shaped Polyethylene Terephthalate (IPET) as a fibre. Three volume fraction of IPET fibre is used namely, 0.5%, 1% and 1.5%. All RC beam specimens are tested under four point loading under flexural capacity behaviour. Prior to structural test, the materials properties which include the compressive and tensile strength test and modulus of elasticity test were determined. The results than are compared with control RC beam. It is found that the RC beam with IPET fibre does not significantly change the behaviour of failure mode, cracking propagation and pattern compared to control RC beam.

Abstract: Self-compacting concrete which commonly abbrevited as SCC is a special concrete that have the ability to consilodate fully under its own self-weight without any internal or external vibration. This paper presents the experimental investigation carried out to study the strength of self-compacting concrete incorporating bottom ash at different replacement level of natural sand. The composite cement was used and the replacement level of bottom ash to natural sand is set up to 30% by volume. The strength properties such as compressive strength, split tensile strength and flexural strength of the concrete at the age of 7 and 28 days of curing day were conducted. Results shows that the strength of the concrete with bottom ash increased up to replacement level 15% higher than control specimens. This show that bottom ash can be used as supplimentary cementitious materials, having the pozzolanic reactivty.

Abstract: Nowadays, vehicle-induced vibration is a subject matter interest in the bridge monitoring field. As compared to other types of excitation such as earthquake and accidental impact, the vehicle-induced vibration is often being less considered during the design process of the bridge. The newly implemented code also does not emphasize on the vibration check for vehicular bridge and requires the engineers to refer to other “unnamed literature” if they would want to consider vibration check during the design process. However, in recent years there were few reported cases of road users experiencing the excessive vibration when they travelled on certain bridges, therefore raising concern among the bridge designer community the need for vibration check. This paper reviews several conducted researches on vehicle-induced vibration on the real bridge, the methodologies adopted and the outcome from each research. While there are extensive research been conducted on the real bridge, this review is limited to the conducted research into the different categories of bridges. Vehicle- induced vibration usually used for modal testing of the vehicular bridges and is chosen due to the flexibility offered by this method as type of excitation. Most of the researchers focused on the vibration by the vehicle of common bridge while less researches for the integral type. In the context of the integral bridge construction in Malaysia, bored pile is widely being used rather than H-type piles for integral bridges. Hence, there is a need for further exploration on the combination of integral type bridges with the bored pile foundation to assess their dynamic characteristics.

Abstract: The influence of using rubber tyre granules (RTG) as aggregates on the strength of concrete and microstructure characteristics of rubberized concrete was investigated in this study. Mix proportion of cement: sand: aggregate: superplasticizer; 1:1.5:1.7:0.003 and 0.47 water cement ratio (w/c) was used. The RTG of size 1-4 mm and 5-8 mm were used throughout this study. Progressive reduction of strength was observed with the increased of RTG percentage and size. Thermogravimetry and differential thermogravimetric (TGA-DTA) analyses were performed to evaluate the decomposition process of materials heated up to 1000 oC. Less reactions the structure bonds are less at the range of 2000-3000 cm^-1 wavelength were detected in Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FTIR) analysis due to the stability of the structures developed in concrete samples. In general, the main elements were calcium, carbon, silica and aluminum. The existence of SBR and carbon black of RTG in the sample can be observed by the presents of a carbon peak in EDX.

Abstract: Level of Development (LOD) is a protocol exhibit to address the basic guidelines of Building Information Modeling (BIM). The basic guidelines were created to identify specific content requirements, authorize use and purpose. LOD identifies how much information is known about a model at a given time. The use of LOD is to reduce the problems due to inadequate information needed in projects. Therefore, this paper aims to explore the implementation of LOD in projects using BIM in the Malaysian construction industry. In order to do so, a literature review was carried out to identify basic guidelines of the LOD specification. In addition to this, semi-structured interviews were conducted with BIM consultants from the public and private sector. The findings revealed that the implementation of LOD in Malaysia is varied with its own purpose. From the use of LOD, it helps construction players to get the information that they can be used.

Abstract: This paper presents the result of an experimental investigation of axial behavior of concrete-filled double skin steel tubular (CFDST) columns exposed to high temperature under the action of monotonically applied concentric axial loads. The columns were exposed to ASTM E-119 standard fire curve until 600°C and kept constant for two different exposure time (i.e., 60 and 90 minutes). Failure patterns and reduction in strength, ductility and stiffness of CFDST columns are reported. Factors influencing the strength, ductility and stiffness of CFDST columns during fire exposure, i.e., exposure time, temperature of concrete core and temperature of inner steel tube, are also discussed.

Abstract: Building Information Modeling (BIM) is currently being used by the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry in Malaysia. It has been introduced by the Director of Public Works Department (PWD) in 2007 to reduce construction costs and avoid design problems. BIM utilization in construction can detect any clash analysis during the design stage, improves efficiency of project scheduling, reduce costs and ensure high quality of the project as well as facilitate communication among construction players. Since it has been introduced by the PWD, several projects have been constructed and being constructed using BIM and one of the project is The National Cancer Institute (NCI). The project is owned by the Malaysian government. This paper discusses the application of BIM in the project, the first project launched by the Malaysian government. A literature review was conducted to explore previous BIM studies on the history of BIM, benefits and importance, barriers and challenges as well as existing BIM projects in the Malaysian construction industry. Furthermore, semi-structured interviews were carried out with the client, consultant and contractor involved in the project. The interviews results reveal necessities and benefits of implementing BIM in completing the project. BIM is necessary for construction because its implementation can increase project quality. It is useful in assisting construction players to complete projects successfully. The results provide clear evidence of the effectiveness of implementing BIM in government projects. This paper can serve as a reference for critical studies of developing a strategy approach model for BIM implementation in the Malaysian construction industry.

Abstract: This paper discusses the experimental results on the mechanical properties of hybrid fibre reinforced composite concrete (HyFRCC) containing different proportions of steel fibre (SF) and polypropylene fibre (PPF). The mechanical properties include compressive strength, tensile strength, and flexural strength. SF is known to enhance the flexural and tensile strengths, and at the same time is able to resist the formation of macro cracking. Meanwhile, PPF contributes to the tensile strain capacity and compressive strength, and also delay the formation of micro cracks. Hooked-end deformed type SF fibre with 60 mm length and fibrillated virgin type PPF fibre with 19 mm length are used in this study. Meanwhile, the concrete strength is maintained for grade C30. The percentage proportion of SF-PPF fibres are varied in the range of 100-0%, 75-25%, 50-50%, 25-75% and 0-100% of which the total fibre volume fraction (V_f) is fixed at 0.5%. The experimental results reveal that the percentage proportion of SF-PPF fibres with 75-25% produced the maximum performance of flexural strength, tensile strength and flexural toughness. Meanwhile, the percentage proportion of SF-PPF fibres with 100-0% contributes to the improvement of the compressive strength compared to that of plain concrete.

Abstract: The LVL-concrete composite (LCC) structure is a hybrid in system which the LVL member is well connected to the concrete slab by a connector to produce composite action. Various types of connector with different stiffness and shear capacity are available in the market currently. The stiffness of the connector is identified through the push-out experiment. The notch connections for LVL concrete composite beams have higher stiffness and strength compared to mechanical fasteners. This paper discusses the experimental results of symmetrical push-out tests on 3 different types of connector, 150mm rectangular notch with 10mm diameter screw, 100mm rectangular notch with 8mm diameter screw and 100mm triangular notch with 8mm diameter screw. The experimental test was shear push out to failure and the type of failure was discussed. The 150mm rectangular notch was found to be strongest among all and low cost. The 100mm rectangular notch was found to be slightly stiffer than 100mm triangular notch but 100mm triangular notch is easier to construct with only 2 cut. The maximum strength and stiffness at ultimate limit states and serviceability limit states of each type of connection were discussed in this paper.