Experimental Study on Mechanical Properties of Basalt Fibre Reinforced Concrete
Concrete is very strong in compression but very weak in tension. However it is reported that tensile and bending strength of concrete is 10 to 15% of the compressive strength respectively. The addition of different types of fibres in concrete have significantly improves its compressive as well as tensile strength. Among the new advancement in field of FRC is the basalt fibre reinforced concrete. In the present study basalt chopped fibres were used in the concrete mixes and compressive and flexural strength of the specimens were tested. A total of 5 mixes were prepared by varying the percentages of basalt fibres on M 25 grade of concrete mix. Based on the laboratory results the compressive and flexural strength was reported to increase up to 46% and 74%. However the workability of fresh concrete mixes is not much affected by the addition of fibre content. The flexural strength of concrete is improved which shows the wide application of basalt fibres in concrete mixes for construction in various fields i.erailway, bridges, runway and tunnels.
EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON BASALT FIBRE REINFORCED CONCRETE WITH PARTIAL REPLACEMENT OF CEMENT WITH QUARRY DUST AND METAKAOLIN
Concrete being the mostly used building material in the world out of its inherent strength and durability properties, yet it leads to the depletion of many natural resources like raw materials of cement limestone and other constituents like aggregates. Apart from this, it is very weak in tension because of its brittle nature. To enable the concrete with tensile nature the concept of fibre reinforced concrete has been develop my adding a variety of natural or synthetic fibers to the concrete. Also the production of lot by-products from the industries like quarry dust, metakaolin, fly ash putting a lot of thrust on environment as the quarry dust is directly released into the environment and there were no proper disposal methods. Metakaolin a mineral admixture used in the concrete to get a highly compacted concrete. In the present study the mechanical properties of M25 grade of concrete with partial replacement of cement with quarry dust at 10%, 15%, 20%,25%, 30% and metakaolin at 2.5%, 5%, 7.5%,10% and 12.5%. After getting the optimum, basalt fibres added to the concrete at 0.5%, 1%, 1.5%, 2%, 2.5% and 3%. From the experimental results it is found that the replacement of quarry dust and the metakaolin improved the strength properties of concrete with an optimum of 25% and 10% respectively. Addition of basalt fibers has increased the split tensile and flexural strength considerably at 2% optimum. Durability studies using 5% HCl has also resulted in better performance compared with conventional concrete. Index Terms Fiber reinforced concrete, quarry dust, metakaolin, basalt fibers, durability.
Rational Design, Synthesis and Evaluation of γ-CD-Containing Cross-Linked Polyvinyl Alcohol Hydrogel as a Prednisone Delivery Platform
This study describes the in-silico rational design, synthesis and evaluation of cross-linked polyvinyl alcohol hydrogels containing γ-cyclodextrin (γ-CDHSAs) as platforms for the sustained release of prednisone (PDN). Through in-silico studies using semi-empirical quantum mechanical calculations, the effectiveness of 20 dicarboxylic acids to generate a specific cross-linked hydrogel capable of supporting different amounts of γ-cyclodextrin (γ-CD) was evaluated. According to the interaction energies calculated with the in-silico studies, the hydrogel made from PVA cross-linked with succinic acids (SA) was shown to be the best candidate for containing γ-CD. Later, molecular dynamics simulation studies were performed in order to evaluate the intermolecular interactions between PDN and three cross-linked hydrogel formulations with different proportions of γ-CD (2.44%, 4.76% and 9.1%). These three cross-linked hydrogels were synthesized and characterized. The loading and the subsequent release of PDN from the hydrogels were investigated. The in-silico and experimental results showed that the interaction between PDN and γ-CDHSA was mainly produced with the γ-CDs linked to the hydrogels. Thus, the unique structures and properties of γ-CDHSA demonstrated an interesting multiphasic profile that could be utilized as a promising drug carrier for controlled, sustained and localized release of PDN.