scholarly journals Enhancement of Straw Bale Performance Using Gum Arabic

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 189-195
Author(s):  
Manette Njike ◽  
Walter O. Oyawa ◽  
Silvester O. Abuodha

Background: The negative impacts of the construction industry are compelling arguments for embracing technology that contributes to carbon footprint reduction and resources conservation. Toward the achievement of objective 9 of the Sustainable Development Goals, the development of new building’s materials like straw bale has advanced in the construction industry. As demonstrated in the literature, straw bale is an eco-friendly material that presents many advantages, like its contribution towards a circular economy. However, it has low compressive strength and displays high displacement under compression load. So far, no attempt has been made in order to enhance the strength of straw bales. Objective: This study aimed to develop alternative material to straw bale using chopped straw stems mixed with a binder (gum Arabic) and determine its stress-strain characteristic. Methods: The manufacturing process of the new material involved the use of chopped straw and gum Arabic to form straw blocks. Results: Results obtained show that the compressive strength of straw block (1.25MPa) is greater than the strength of straw bale (0.02MPa). Also, the average displacement recorded during compression load on straw blocks (29mm) was 2.8 times smaller than the displacement in straw bale (80mm). In terms of shape and size, straw blocks match with conventional materials like cement or compressed block. This will facilitate their use in construction compared to straw bales that require skilled laborers for pre-compression and plastering. Conclusion: The use of gum arabic helps in holding straw stems together and forms a compact material with improved strength compared to straw bale. Performance improvement of the characteristics of load-bearing straw bale walls can be addressed by using straw blocks.

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (22) ◽  
pp. 12865
Author(s):  
Erika Futami ◽  
Payam Shafigh ◽  
Herda Yati Binti Katman ◽  
Zainah Ibrahim

Cementitious materials are widely used in the construction industry. These materials have high compressive strength and huge environmental effects but low tensile and flexural strength. Thus, researching these materials to make them environmentally friendly is very important in terms of the sustainable development of the construction industry. In recent years, the amount of research about cementitious composites reinforced with natural fibre has increased annually. This review paper was presented to understand the latest research progress on these fibres and the needs of future research to encourage the construction industry to apply these materials. The optimum dosage of natural fibre depending on the purposes can improve the physical, mechanical and thermal properties of cementitious composites, and natural fibre is highly expected to become an alternative material of synthetic fibres, such as steel, plastic and carbon fibre.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lee Felix Anzagira ◽  
E. Badu ◽  
D. Duah

The Green Building Concept (GBC), has become a topical issue and is receiving global attention as a potential solution to numerous adverse effects of construction activity both climatically and environmentally. Globally, the construction industry alone consumes 50% of all resources, 45% of all Energy and adds to 35% of CO2 emissions. Several developed countries has embraced the GBC as the most formidable solution to the preservation of their natural resources and cutting down on the negative impacts of construction on the climate and environment. However, uptake of the concept in the Ghana Construction industry is very minimal and not at the desired rate with only four (4) certified green buildings. This creates a fragile environment which undermines Ghana’s efforts at realizing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).A critical review of literature is conducted exploring the implementation of the GBC in Ghana. Through discussions, the research established the present status of the practice in Ghana as well as the drivers responsible for this current state. The implications of these drivers in the Ghana construction industry are discussed as well. For an increased uptake of the concept in Ghana and Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), key measures to ensure rapid uptake are recommended to include; a national education, awareness and publicity campaign, the imposition of mandatory government regulations and policies and the provision of financial and market-based incentives amongst others.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 926 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gui Ye ◽  
Yuhe Wang ◽  
Yuxin Zhang ◽  
Liming Wang ◽  
Houli Xie ◽  
...  

Total factor productivity (TFP) is of critical importance to the sustainable development of construction industry. This paper presents an analysis on the impact of migrant workers on TFP in Chinese construction sector. Interestingly, Solow Residual Approach is applied to conduct the analysis through comparing two scenarios, namely the scenario without considering migrant workers (Scenario A) and the scenario with including migrant workers (Scenario B). The data are collected from the China Statistical Yearbook on Construction and Chinese Annual Report on Migrant Workers for the period of 2008–2015. The results indicate that migrant workers have a significant impact on TFP, during the surveyed period they improved TFP by 10.42% in total and promoted the annual average TFP growth by 0.96%. Hence, it can be seen that the impact of migrant workers on TFP is very significant, whilst the main reason for such impact is believed to be the improvement of migrant workers’ quality obtained mainly throughout learning by doing.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 1037
Author(s):  
Se-Jin Choi ◽  
Ji-Hwan Kim ◽  
Sung-Ho Bae ◽  
Tae-Gue Oh

In recent years, efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions have continued worldwide. In the construction industry, a large amount of CO2 is generated during the production of Portland cement, and various studies are being conducted to reduce the amount of cement and enable the use of cement substitutes. Ferronickel slag is a by-product generated by melting materials such as nickel ore and bituminous coal, which are used as raw materials to produce ferronickel at high temperatures. In this study, we investigated the fluidity, microhydration heat, compressive strength, drying shrinkage, and carbonation characteristics of a ternary cement mortar including ferronickel-slag powder and fly ash. According to the test results, the microhydration heat of the FA20FN00 sample was slightly higher than that of the FA00FN20 sample. The 28-day compressive strength of the FA20FN00 mix was approximately 39.6 MPa, which was higher than that of the other samples, whereas the compressive strength of the FA05FN15 mix including 15% of ferronickel-slag powder was approximately 11.6% lower than that of the FA20FN00 mix. The drying shrinkage of the FA20FN00 sample without ferronickel-slag powder was the highest after 56 days, whereas the FA00FN20 sample without fly ash showed the lowest shrinkage compared to the other mixes.


2012 ◽  
Vol 253-255 ◽  
pp. 546-549 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoon Seok Shin ◽  
Gwang Hee Kim

Today, efforts are underway in a number of areas to conserve the environment and protect natural resource. In the construction industry, many researchers have studied the development of new concrete using recycled aggregate (RA). This research proposes a multiple regression model (MRM) for predicting the compressive strength of recycled aggregate concrete (RAC). The compressive strength data of 85 specimens of RAC strengths were used for constructing and evaluating the prediction model. The average error rate of the constructed MRM evaluation is 7.18 percent. This result will be useful for predicting the compressive strength of RAC using multiple regression analysis.


Cerâmica ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 63 (368) ◽  
pp. 530-535
Author(s):  
Z. L. M. Sampaio ◽  
A. E. Martinelli ◽  
T. S. Gomes

Abstract The recent increase in the construction industry has transformed concrete into an ideal choice to recycle a number of residues formerly discarded into the environment. Among various products, porcelain tile polishing, limestone and tire rubber residues are potential candidates to replace the fine aggregate of conventional mixtures. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of the addition of varying contents of these residues in lightweight concrete where expanded clay replaced gravel. To that end, slump, compressive strength, density, void ratio, porosity and absorption tests were carried out. The densities of all concrete formulations studied were 10% lower to that of lightweight concrete (<1.850 kg/m³). Nevertheless, mixes containing 10 to 15% of combined residues reduced absorption, void ratio and porosity, at least 17% lower compared to conventional concrete. The strength of such formulations reached 27 MPa at 28 days with consistency of 9 to 12 cm, indicating adequate consistency and increased strength. In addition, the combination of low porosity, absorption and voids suggested improved durability.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 3740 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvia Bonilla ◽  
Helton Silva ◽  
Marcia Terra da Silva ◽  
Rodrigo Franco Gonçalves ◽  
José Sacomano

The new evolution of the production and industrial process called Industry 4.0, and its related technologies such as the Internet of Things, big data analytics, and cyber–physical systems, among others, still have an unknown potential impact on sustainability and the environment. In this paper, we conduct a literature-based analysis to discuss the sustainability impact and challenges of Industry 4.0 from four different scenarios: deployment, operation and technologies, integration and compliance with the sustainable development goals, and long-run scenarios. From these scenarios, our analysis resulted in positive or negative impacts related to the basic production inputs and outputs flows: raw material, energy and information consumption and product and waste disposal. As the main results, we identified both positive and negative expected impacts, with some predominance of positives that can be considered positive secondary effects derived from Industry 4.0 activities. However, only through integrating Industry 4.0 with the sustainable development goals in an eco-innovation platform, can it really ensure environmental performance. It is expected that this work can contribute to helping stakeholders, practitioners and governments to advance solutions to deal with the outcomes emerging through the massive adoption of those technologies, as well as supporting the expected positive impacts through policies and financial initiatives.


2013 ◽  
Vol 687 ◽  
pp. 185-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masoud Jamshidi ◽  
Mohammad Javad Ghasemi ◽  
Abdolreza Hashemi

Polymer concretes (PC) were introduced to building and construction industry more than 50 years ago. Gradually, they became a suitable substitute for concrete structures. Their superior properties againt aggresives introduced them as a good overlay for concrete structures; however, their application was shortly diminished due to the higher costs. In this research a homemade cost-quality effective resin (unsaturated polyester) is used as binder in the polymer concrete production. Polymer concrete specimens were evaluated for compressive strength and its fluctuation due to cyclic exposure to different aggresive solutions (sulfuric acid, nitric acid, citric acid, chloridric acid, sodum sulfate, water, demineralized water, sodium hydroxid, potasium hydroxid and gas oil). It was found that PC specimens degraded more in alkali conditioned in comparison to acid solutions.


2013 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amin Nazer ◽  
Osvaldo Pavez ◽  
Ithamar Toledo

Copper slag is a massive metallurgist waste. Annual production rises up to 24.6 million tons, approximately, and the main environmental impact derived from slag disposal is the usage of great soil extensions and the resulting visual contamination of the landscape. Along time, copper slag has been used in the manufacture of concrete and cement mortars. Thus, with the aim of verifying binder-type influence in the final hardness of mortars, two types of cement were used: regular cement and high initial resistance cement. Copper slag was characterized from the chemical, mineralogical and grading viewpoints. Official Chilean regulations were used in the applied methodology for the determination of some important slag parameters. Compression and flexural strength trials were carried out on cement mortars in specialized laboratories. The obtained results showed that mortars manufactured with copper slag presented a better resistance to compression and flexural strength than mortars manufactured with normal sand, and those made with high initial resistance cement were even better. It can be concluded from this work that copper slag offers optimal mechanical characteristics to be used in the manufacturing of cement mortars, becoming a sustainable and adequate alternative material for usage in the construction industry.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document