Thesis(M.S.)--Auburn University, 2007. / Abstract. Vita. Includes bibliographic references (p.116-119).

Thesis(M.S.)--Auburn University, 2007. / Abstract. Vita. Includes bibliographic references (p.116-119).

Thesis(M.S.)--Auburn University, 2007. / Abstract. Vita. Includes bibliographic references (p.116-119).

ABSTRACT Recent years the reducing number of public works projects has been a very serious situation. We had 380 billion and 360 billion projects in 2009 and 2010, in 2011 we only got 180 billion by the big amount of shrinkage of up to as much as 200 billion. In addition, more un-sold houses has been gradually increasing, which makes the relative reduction of the use in concrete can be expected, not even mention the follow-up addition works will be inevitably shrinking. The reduced Shipments plus the up-price of gravel, cement, oil, tires, etc, our industry is forced to raise a lot of the cost. The current situation is extremely unfavorable to the business. The requirements of concrete is being able to reach required strength after 28 days of compressive strength in order to satisfy suppliers and construction companies, in any case the price of course is the first consideration, so the ready-mix concrete companies have price competition in order to get orders, which will cause the poor quality and the shortage of quantity. And this is temporary means of the operation, eventually we will be out of the market by running the business in this way. In the future, I hope to seek the best business strategy through competitive analysis, but also reduce operating costs. As long as we streamline the organization and transformation of the management model, we should be able to get through the crisis, and enhance the industrial competitiveness. Eventually the undesirable industry will be naturally eliminated and the market will back on track.

by Chan Man Cheong Andrew. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1987. / Bibliography: leaf 78.

Assessing the sustainability of construction products can help to identify particular characteristics and benefits which can then assist decision makers by allowing comparisons between products. Existing mechanisms and tools to make such assessments are associated to project-level assessments or have a bias towards environmental issues, rather than incorporating social, environmental and economic aspects of sustainability. The growing popularity of sustainability rating schemes and standards has created an imbalance for product manufacturers that are increasingly seeking ways to gain competitive advantage on the basis of producing more sustainable products. Aggregate Industries, a construction products manufacturer and the Building Research Establishment (BRE) therefore instigated this Engineering Doctorate (EngD) to address this lack of a holistic sustainability assessment methodology for construction products for manufacturers. The EngD research developed a sustainability assessment framework for ready-mixed concrete. The development of the framework was influenced by existing assessment schemes such as the BRE Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) and Ceequal (The Sustainability Assessment Scheme for Civil Engineering projects). The BRE BES 6001 Framework Standard for the Responsible Sourcing of Construction Products was also a factor in this research complimented by primary research. The assessment framework addresses a range of sustainability issues such as community engagement (social), waste (environmental) and whole life cost (economic) amongst others tailored to ready-mixed concrete. These issues are assessed against three product life cycle stages; raw materials; manufacture and use. The outputs of the framework will then inform the manufacturer about areas for improvement and present a profile of each product for a given manufacturing site in a more holistic way than current methods allow. The trialling of the assessment framework both in the UK and Canada has shown that the output of the EngD is a viable mechanism to assess the sustainability of concrete from a manufacturer s perspective. This research has given Aggregate Industries an opportunity to evaluate current objectives and targets within the business and helped to shape the future sustainability strategy. Aspects of the framework are also being considered for inclusion in the future development of the BRE s BES 6001 Framework Standard for the Responsible Sourcing of Construction Products. This EngD has also identified an emergent need for a shift in future focus from individual products to a systems level assessment approach. Product sustainability tends to focus on the embodied impacts whereas the sustainability of construction systems has a much broader focus over the entire life cycle of the system. This area of work will require further research.

A crescente utilização do concreto, que é o produto mais fabricado no mundo em termos de volume, somada à pressão do mercado por redução de custos com manutenção das exigências mínimas para segurança do projeto, tem impacto direto na importância e necessidade do controle de qualidade do material. Para concretos usinados, predominantes em grandes centros urbanos, as normas do país preconizam a não utilização dos 15% iniciais e finais do volume total de concreto do caminhão betoneira para fins de ensaio. No entanto, devido a maior facilidade e agilidade, é constatada como prática comum nos canteiros de obra da região a coleta de amostras logo da primeira porção de concreto descarregado. Considerando tal procedimento, fora do padrão preconizado por norma, somado à ausência de normatização para aferição da qualidade do misturador e uniformidade da mistura do concreto e a importância dos ensaios de controle de qualidade dos concretos perante a segurança das estruturas, a presente pesquisa tem como objetivo analisar as variações de resistência à compressão e de propriedades físicas do concreto ao longo da descarga da mistura em caminhão betoneira. A fim de atingir a meta proposta, realizaram-se coletas de amostras em cinco pontos distintos, ao longo da descarga do concreto do caminhão betoneira, para cada um dos 65 lotes (amassadas) avaliados, considerando três diferentes traços de concreto. Para cada ponto de coleta foram avaliados a resistência à compressão, o abatimento de tronco de cone e o teor de agregado graúdo. Estatisticamente, foi constatado que há amassadas em que a variação do ponto de coleta influencia na resistência à compressão, no entanto não se pode afirmar o mesmo considerando critérios da ABECE, adotados como parâmetro de análise na falta de normatização específica para o tema. Não houve a formação de um perfil representativo das variações de resistência conforme o ponto de coleta, diferentemente do teor de agregado graúdo, em que se pode visualizar claramente um perfil em que há concentração de brita nos pontos extremos, início e final da coleta. Em relação à consistência, de modo geral, houve uma redução do ponto inicial ao final, dentro dos limites de indicados por norma. / The crescent utilization of concrete which in terms of volume, is the most produced product in the world, added to the pressure of the market to reduce the costs and maintenance of the safety minimum requirements of a project, make a direct impact on the material quality control’s importance and necessity. For ready-mixed concrete, mostly seen in large urban centers, the initial and final 15% usage of its total volume is not recommended by the country standards for test purposes. However, due to the ease, it is a common practice in construction sites of the region to collect samples once the first portion of the concrete is unloaded. Taking into account such procedure, which does not meet the standards recommended, added to the lack of standardization to assess the quality of the concrete mixer, the uniformity of the concrete mixture and the importance of the quality control tests of concrete under the safety of structures, the purpose of this research is to analyze the variations of the concrete strength when compressed and its physical properties along the discharge of the mixture made in a mixer truck. In order to achieve the proposed goal, there were sampling carried out at five different points along the discharge from the concrete mixer truck, for each of the 65 lots (batches) analyzed, considering three different types of concrete. Each sampling collected was analyzed by going through a slump test, compression strength and granulometry analysis. Statistically, it was proven that the sample point collection variation of some of the batches influences the compression strength, on the other hand the same cannot be found considering the ABECE criteria, used as analysis parameter in the absence of specific regulations for the subject. No representative profile of resistance variations based on the sample collection point was formed, in contrast to the coarse aggregate content, in which profile can be clearly seen a concentration of gravels at the extreme points, at the commencement and the end of the sample collection. Regarding its consistency, on the whole, there was a reduction from the initial and to the end point, respecting the regulations standards.

A crescente utilização do concreto, que é o produto mais fabricado no mundo em termos de volume, somada à pressão do mercado por redução de custos com manutenção das exigências mínimas para segurança do projeto, tem impacto direto na importância e necessidade do controle de qualidade do material. Para concretos usinados, predominantes em grandes centros urbanos, as normas do país preconizam a não utilização dos 15% iniciais e finais do volume total de concreto do caminhão betoneira para fins de ensaio. No entanto, devido a maior facilidade e agilidade, é constatada como prática comum nos canteiros de obra da região a coleta de amostras logo da primeira porção de concreto descarregado. Considerando tal procedimento, fora do padrão preconizado por norma, somado à ausência de normatização para aferição da qualidade do misturador e uniformidade da mistura do concreto e a importância dos ensaios de controle de qualidade dos concretos perante a segurança das estruturas, a presente pesquisa tem como objetivo analisar as variações de resistência à compressão e de propriedades físicas do concreto ao longo da descarga da mistura em caminhão betoneira. A fim de atingir a meta proposta, realizaram-se coletas de amostras em cinco pontos distintos, ao longo da descarga do concreto do caminhão betoneira, para cada um dos 65 lotes (amassadas) avaliados, considerando três diferentes traços de concreto. Para cada ponto de coleta foram avaliados a resistência à compressão, o abatimento de tronco de cone e o teor de agregado graúdo. Estatisticamente, foi constatado que há amassadas em que a variação do ponto de coleta influencia na resistência à compressão, no entanto não se pode afirmar o mesmo considerando critérios da ABECE, adotados como parâmetro de análise na falta de normatização específica para o tema. Não houve a formação de um perfil representativo das variações de resistência conforme o ponto de coleta, diferentemente do teor de agregado graúdo, em que se pode visualizar claramente um perfil em que há concentração de brita nos pontos extremos, início e final da coleta. Em relação à consistência, de modo geral, houve uma redução do ponto inicial ao final, dentro dos limites de indicados por norma. / The crescent utilization of concrete which in terms of volume, is the most produced product in the world, added to the pressure of the market to reduce the costs and maintenance of the safety minimum requirements of a project, make a direct impact on the material quality control’s importance and necessity. For ready-mixed concrete, mostly seen in large urban centers, the initial and final 15% usage of its total volume is not recommended by the country standards for test purposes. However, due to the ease, it is a common practice in construction sites of the region to collect samples once the first portion of the concrete is unloaded. Taking into account such procedure, which does not meet the standards recommended, added to the lack of standardization to assess the quality of the concrete mixer, the uniformity of the concrete mixture and the importance of the quality control tests of concrete under the safety of structures, the purpose of this research is to analyze the variations of the concrete strength when compressed and its physical properties along the discharge of the mixture made in a mixer truck. In order to achieve the proposed goal, there were sampling carried out at five different points along the discharge from the concrete mixer truck, for each of the 65 lots (batches) analyzed, considering three different types of concrete. Each sampling collected was analyzed by going through a slump test, compression strength and granulometry analysis. Statistically, it was proven that the sample point collection variation of some of the batches influences the compression strength, on the other hand the same cannot be found considering the ABECE criteria, used as analysis parameter in the absence of specific regulations for the subject. No representative profile of resistance variations based on the sample collection point was formed, in contrast to the coarse aggregate content, in which profile can be clearly seen a concentration of gravels at the extreme points, at the commencement and the end of the sample collection. Regarding its consistency, on the whole, there was a reduction from the initial and to the end point, respecting the regulations standards.

A crescente utilização do concreto, que é o produto mais fabricado no mundo em termos de volume, somada à pressão do mercado por redução de custos com manutenção das exigências mínimas para segurança do projeto, tem impacto direto na importância e necessidade do controle de qualidade do material. Para concretos usinados, predominantes em grandes centros urbanos, as normas do país preconizam a não utilização dos 15% iniciais e finais do volume total de concreto do caminhão betoneira para fins de ensaio. No entanto, devido a maior facilidade e agilidade, é constatada como prática comum nos canteiros de obra da região a coleta de amostras logo da primeira porção de concreto descarregado. Considerando tal procedimento, fora do padrão preconizado por norma, somado à ausência de normatização para aferição da qualidade do misturador e uniformidade da mistura do concreto e a importância dos ensaios de controle de qualidade dos concretos perante a segurança das estruturas, a presente pesquisa tem como objetivo analisar as variações de resistência à compressão e de propriedades físicas do concreto ao longo da descarga da mistura em caminhão betoneira. A fim de atingir a meta proposta, realizaram-se coletas de amostras em cinco pontos distintos, ao longo da descarga do concreto do caminhão betoneira, para cada um dos 65 lotes (amassadas) avaliados, considerando três diferentes traços de concreto. Para cada ponto de coleta foram avaliados a resistência à compressão, o abatimento de tronco de cone e o teor de agregado graúdo. Estatisticamente, foi constatado que há amassadas em que a variação do ponto de coleta influencia na resistência à compressão, no entanto não se pode afirmar o mesmo considerando critérios da ABECE, adotados como parâmetro de análise na falta de normatização específica para o tema. Não houve a formação de um perfil representativo das variações de resistência conforme o ponto de coleta, diferentemente do teor de agregado graúdo, em que se pode visualizar claramente um perfil em que há concentração de brita nos pontos extremos, início e final da coleta. Em relação à consistência, de modo geral, houve uma redução do ponto inicial ao final, dentro dos limites de indicados por norma. / The crescent utilization of concrete which in terms of volume, is the most produced product in the world, added to the pressure of the market to reduce the costs and maintenance of the safety minimum requirements of a project, make a direct impact on the material quality control’s importance and necessity. For ready-mixed concrete, mostly seen in large urban centers, the initial and final 15% usage of its total volume is not recommended by the country standards for test purposes. However, due to the ease, it is a common practice in construction sites of the region to collect samples once the first portion of the concrete is unloaded. Taking into account such procedure, which does not meet the standards recommended, added to the lack of standardization to assess the quality of the concrete mixer, the uniformity of the concrete mixture and the importance of the quality control tests of concrete under the safety of structures, the purpose of this research is to analyze the variations of the concrete strength when compressed and its physical properties along the discharge of the mixture made in a mixer truck. In order to achieve the proposed goal, there were sampling carried out at five different points along the discharge from the concrete mixer truck, for each of the 65 lots (batches) analyzed, considering three different types of concrete. Each sampling collected was analyzed by going through a slump test, compression strength and granulometry analysis. Statistically, it was proven that the sample point collection variation of some of the batches influences the compression strength, on the other hand the same cannot be found considering the ABECE criteria, used as analysis parameter in the absence of specific regulations for the subject. No representative profile of resistance variations based on the sample collection point was formed, in contrast to the coarse aggregate content, in which profile can be clearly seen a concentration of gravels at the extreme points, at the commencement and the end of the sample collection. Regarding its consistency, on the whole, there was a reduction from the initial and to the end point, respecting the regulations standards.

M. Phil. / The purpose of this research is to see if on-site portable pull-out tests in South Africa on post-installed chemical and mechanical fixings can produce similar results to internationally laboratory tested fixings. The method used in the field study was to use typical South African 25 MPa, 75 mm slump ready mix concrete as supplied by a reputable supplier and to test several types of fixings in common situations, some covered in the European Technical Approval Guidelines (ETAG) and some not. The results were analyzed against published international values and theoretical calculations for the fixings. The findings showed that the results produced using the portable equipment can show values similar to the published and theoretical values. It was also shown that this methodology can be used as a diagnostic tool to reveal installation errors. The pull-out test operator needs to be skilled to ensure a satisfactory outcome of the tests. The implications of the findings have direct bearing on: The on-site pullout testing of post installed anchors in South Africa; The diagnosing of bad anchor installation. And secondarily bearing on: The education of post-installed fixing installers and designers; The lack of standards for post-installed anchors in South Africa; The transportability of data from international research to South African conditions.