CONSOLIDATION INTEGRATED BUOYANCY EQUATION FOR SOFT GROUND IMPROVED WITH LIGHTWEIGHT POLYURETHANE FOAM

ABSTRACT: Consolidation settlement occurs when a saturated soil is subjected to an increase in overburden pressure that causes a volume change in the soil. When a lightweight material is used as a ground improvement, the stress is reduced as the soft soil is partially removed and replaced by the lightweight material. In addition, the improved ground with lightweight material has a potential to uplift due to the buoyancy of lightweight material. The uplift force reduces the stress imposed on the underlying soil as it acts in the upward direction, thus further reducing the consolidation settlement. This study is executed to produce an alternative equation for consolidation settlement incorporating the buoyancy effect for lightweight polyurethane (PU) foam as a ground improvement method. A Rowe Cell consolidation laboratory test was conducted on untreated marine clay soil as well as on improved marine clay with different thicknesses of lightweight PU foam. Validation of the laboratory test results was done by finite element analysis, PLAXIS 2D. The thickness of PU foam governs the buoyancy and the hydrostatic pressure of water displaced by PU foam, which is incorporated in the alternative equation. The alternative consolidation settlement equation is applicable for ground improved with lightweight polyurethane foam and found to be more economical and practical as the buoyancy is taken into account in the equation. ABSTRAK: Mendapan pengukuhan berlaku apabila tanah tepu mengalami peningkatan tekanan beban yang menyebabkan perubahan isipadu tanah. Apabila bahan ringan digunakan sebagai penambahbaikan tanah, tekanan akan berkurang kerana sebahagian tanah lembut dikeluarkan dan diganti dengan bahan ringan. Selain itu, tanah yang diperbaiki dengan bahan ringan berpotensi untuk terangkat ke atas keranan daya apung bahan ringan. Daya angkat bahan ringan mengurangkan tekanan yang dikenakan ke atas tanah kerana daya bertindak ke arah atas, dan seterusnya megurangkan mendapan pengukuhan. Kajian ini dijalankan untuk menghasilkan persamaan alternatif bagi mendapan pengukuhan dan digabungkan dengan kesan daya apung untuk busa poliuretena ringan (PU) sebagai kaedah penambahbaikan tanah. Ujian makmal mendapan pengukuhan menggunakan peralatan Rowe Cell dilakukan pada tanah liat marin yang asal serta yang diperbaiki dengan ketebalan busa PU ringan yang berbeza. Pengesahan hasil ujian makmal dilakukan dengan analisis elemen terhingga, PLAXIS 2D. Ketebalan busa PU mempengaruhi daya apung dan tekanan hidrostatik bagi kedalaman air yang disesarkan oleh busa PU dan digabungkan dalam persamaan alternatif. Persamaan alternatif mendapan pengukuhan tersebut boleh digunapakai untuk pembaikan tanah menggunakan bahan ringan busa poliuretena dan didapati menjimatkan kos dan praktikal kerana keapungan diambilkira didalam persamaan tersebut.

Material Selection Decision-Making Method for Multi-material Lightweight Automotive Body Driven by Performance

This work proposes a material selection decision-making method for multi-material lightweight body driven by performance to achieve that the right materials are used for the correct positions of the automotive body. The internal relationship between performance and mass, cross-sectional shape, wall thickness parameters, and material properties of a thin-walled structure is studied. The lightweight material indices driven by performance are then established. The lightweight material indices and material price are taken as the decision-making criteria for the material selection of automotive body components. A hybrid weighting method integrated with the analytic hierarchy process, fuzzy analytic hierarchy process, and quality function deployment is proposed. The difficulty of quantitatively evaluating the performance requirements of different components of the body is solved using the proposed weighting method combined with the numerical analytical results of the component performance under multiple operating conditions of the automotive body. Then, the weight of the decision-making criteria for material selection is calculated. Grey relational analysis is used to make multicriteria decision-making on a variety of candidate materials to select the best material for body components. After the lightweight material selection of the front longitudinal beam of the automotive body, the frontal collision safety performance of the body is effectively improved, and the mass of the front longitudinal beam is reduced by 45%. Material selection result of the front longitudinal beam indicates that the proposed material selection decision-making method can effectively achieve the fast material selection of components in different positions of the body.

A Review on Lightweight Metal Component Forming and its Application

The present research focused on reviewing forming technology and inspired various method forming processes for different lightweight materials. Nowadays, to improve modern automobiles’ fuel economy while preserving safety and efficiency, advanced materials are essential. Since accelerating a lighter object requires less energy than a heavier one, lightweight materials offer great potential to improve vehicle performance. Innovative forming technologies are discussed concerning each approach and their contribution to lightweight material application. New metal forming methods are implemented to fulfill lightweight material applications in various fields.

Use fly ash for the production of lightweight building materials

Fly ash is a waste byproduct of thermal power plants or steel plants with a low density. Study on using fly ash to produce lightweight construction materials will is a new application of this material resource. Pha Lai fly ash is a byproduct from Pha Lai Thermal Power Joint Stock Company, in which the main mineral component was mullite (15-20%), quartz (14-16%), carbon (5-7%). The content of the amorphous component was about 67-73%. The chemical composition of Pha Lai mainly was SiO2 (51.73%), Al2O3 (23.22%), Fe2O3 (4.23%). To fabricate the lightweight material from Pha Lai fly ash, the fly ash was mixed with additive materials to create binders following two ways: (1) lime + fly ash and (2) geopolymer technology. For the way of lime + fly ash, with the optimal mixture ratio was fly ash:lime: water = 10:2:1, the lightweight material samples had the bulk density of 1.32g/cm3, the compressive strength of 3.91 MPa, satisfied the Vietnamese standard TCVN 6477-2011 for concrete bricks. Applying the geopolymer technology, with the optimal mixture ratio was fly ash: NaOH/Na2SiO3: Al powder = 100:45:0.15, NaOH/Na2SiO3 ratio = 1:2, the lightweight materials obtained the bulk density of 0,62g/cm3, the compressive strength of 1,54 MPa, satisfied the Vietnamese standard TCVN:9029-2017 for Lightweight concrete - Foam concrete and non-autoclaved concrete products-specification.