Thesis (M. S.)--Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009. / Committee Chair: Jacobs, Laurence; Committee Co-Chair: Kurtis, Kimberly; Committee Member: DesRoches, Reginald.

Thesis (MEngSc)--University of Melbourne, Dept. of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, 2010. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (p. 105-110)

Implants such as intramedullary nails or cancellous screws are used to mechanically stabilize fractures in bone. They provide reinforcement to the bone if they find good purchase in cancellous bone. Not all implants hold enough loads for mechanical stability and pull-out or cut-out may happen in some cases. This is linked to the interface between the bone and the implant. Computer modelling techniques are used to investigate both the effects of cut-out in a femur model, and the pull-out forces of cancellous bone screws. The bone geometry was based on CT scanned cancellous bone and converted using Mimics® software. The finite element models were produced in ANSYS®. Simple bone models were used to examine a fractured femur under standard gait loading. These models were continuum models and idealised the screw to bone interface in order to ease computational demand. The models were used to investigate the ideal positions of intramedullary devices lag screws on an anterior-posterior view of the implant location. In accordance with literature, an inferior-central or central-central position was the best position of the lag screw, while a superior-anterior or inferior-anterior position was adverse. The introduction of multi-scale modelling in order to investigate cut-out with a discrete bone model was not achieved. Discrete cancellous bone models were used to examine some of the cancellous screw characteristics, including pitch, inner diameter and proximal half angle, while a cancellous screw was also studied using a model of cancellous bone with a range of bone densities. The calculated reaction force for a pull-out of 0.2mm shows the influence of some parameters. Change in the proximal half angle increased the stiffness and strength by about 15% in line with the experimental findings of others, while apparent density changes of 2.5% increased the forces threefold. A significant reduction in reaction force was observed when a particular screw geometry in lower apparent density bone was modelled and rotated through 180° on a plane. Examination of the geometry of the bone/screw interface shows that in certain positions there is very little cancellous bone to support the implant. This will lead to low strength and is very difficult to predict. The same models were used to examine the effect of increasing bone stiffness adjacent to the implant and the use of a cement layer to augment the screw model. The increasing stiffness concluded that an increase in pull-out stiffness can be achieved, even in low quality bone, while the cement augmentation showed a significant increase in pull-out strength, though it was idealised as bonded to the bone and screw.

No description available.

Warm mix asphalt (WMA) represents a group of technologies that allows production of asphalt mixtures at lower temperatures compared to traditional hot mix asphalt (HMA). This results in less fuel consumption and reduction in CO2 ¬and fumes emission. This research was conducted in order to provide North Dakota department of transportation (NDDOT) with a thorough study on state of the practice of WMA in USA and compare WMA performance with HMA. Extensive literature study was conducted, collecting reports and field experiment data from DOTs of states with climate similar to ND. Viewpoints of experts in the field were collected and analyzed using a comprehensive survey. These were added to analysis of collected data on WMA performance. The research results suggest using foaming processes (Double Barrel Green in particular) and chemical additives (Evotherm in particular) at this early stage with guidelines for modifications in WMA specification and testing compared to HMA. / North Dakota Department of Transportation

This research investigated the chemistries and mechanisms involved in lead-cement systems through the study of a larger number of lead compounds.

Cementitiously stabilized soils or soil-cement is a commonly used solution for highway subbase and base course construction, particularly in regions where higher quality soils and aggregates are limited. Even though the utilization of soil-cement as an engineered material has been around for over 70 years, there is still room for advancement with respect to characterizing the performance of these mixtures both in the laboratory and in the field. The first objective of this thesis was to examine the Mississippi Department of Transportation soil-cement database to determine current soil-cement practices in Mississippi. The second objective of this thesis was to develop thermal measurement techniques to characterize compacted cementitiously stabilized soils. Over 800 compacted specimens were prepared and tested to investigate the feasibility and usefulness of performing thermal measurements on soil-cement mixtures.

The objectives of this research were to evaluate the sensitivity of indirect tensile strength (ITS) test results to stabilizer type, stabilizer concentration, and curing time for multiple clayey soils with varying plasticity indices (PIs), identify cases in which an ITS of 30 psi can be obtained, and create a general linear model that predicts ITS. The scope of work included laboratory testing of three clayey soils sampled from Monticello, Utah; Bloomington, Indiana; and San Antonio, Texas. Each soil was tested using two stabilizers, cement or lime, at three concentrations, and two replicate samples were prepared for each combination. ITS testing was performed on two specimens of each combination at curing times of both 7 days and 28 days, for a total of 72 tests. The procedures outlined in this study include soil characterization, determination of moisture-density relationships, Eades and Grim testing, soil preparation, soil compaction, ITS testing, and statistical analysis. Regarding stabilizer type, treatment with cement consistently yielded higher ITS values than treatment with lime. Regarding stabilization concentration, ITS consistently increased with increasing concentrations of cement for all three soils; however, the effect of lime concentration depended on the PI of the soil, where increasing ITS values were only apparent with higher PI values. Regarding curing time, the ITS values corresponding to 28 days were generally higher than those corresponding to 7 days. Differences in ITS among the soils were largely attributable to differences in PI, which can influence pozzolanic reactivity. A cement or lime concentration that was equal to or 2% above the lime concentration indicated by the Eades and Grim test was typically required for a minimum 28-day ITS value of 30 psi to be attained. For the model developed to predict ITS, the significant predictor variables included PI, stabilizer type, actual stabilizer concentration, and curing time, as well as the two-way interactions between PI and stabilizer type, PI and actual stabilizer concentration, PI and curing time, and stabilizer type and actual stabilizer concentration. Overall, the model has an R2 value of 0.943 and an adjusted R2 value of 0.936. The model is best suited for soils having a fines content greater than 50%, a PI greater than 20, and a soluble sulfate concentration less than 3000 ppm.

yes / Simulation is undoubtedly a very useful tool for modelling a system specifically in the presence of stochastic elements and complex interactions between the system entities. In this paper, a simulation model to support decision making in ship scheduling for Maritime Inventory Routing Problem (MIRP) with particular application to cement distribution is presented. The system under study is a combined discrete and continuous system, where a heterogeneous fleet of ships with various sizes and types of contracts transport bulk cement products from production facility (Central Supply, CS) of a cement company to its packing plants (Distribution Centres, DCs). The simulation model in this study has been designed and developed thoroughly to emulate the complexity of the real system of the MIRP. The simulation model has demonstrated the capability to provide support for decision making in ship scheduling of the heterogeneous shipping fleet in the following forms: (a) real time states of inventory levels at CS and DCs and (b) ships’ routing. In addition, one of the main strength of this simulation model is its flexibility. It can be easily expanded or adjusted to different size of system entities for example number of CSs, DCs, berths, vessels, and products. / Support for this research is provided by the Directorate of Higher Education, Ministry of National Education, Republic of Indonesia

The results of this investigation may serve as the basis for some conclusions with regard to the curing of Portland cement concrete. Some of the more important conclusions are as follows l. A concrete, if it may be classed as such, consisting of fine aggregate, cement, and water, is not subject to the extreme effects of freezing as is a true concrete containing a coarse aggregate. 2. Maximum loss of strength, which is evidently long-enduring is suffered by concrete frozen in an extremely green stage when frost enters mortar paste. 3. Freezing may be harmful at any time within the first week. However, in most cases a recovery is indicated. 4. Steam curing, if not carefully controlled at optimum conditions, will result in loss of strength in a concrete. 5. The expansion and drying which occur at the temperatures in the steam chamber apparently are the cause of harmful results in steam.curing. It must be borne in mind that the limitations of data gathered make these conclusions more indicative than conclusive. There is still much room.for further research at this institution along the line of both problems presented herein. / Master of Science