AN ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION OF RAJNISH PURI, for the Doctorate of Philosophy Degree in ENGINEERING SCIENCE WITH CONCENTRATION IN CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING, presented on APRIL 15, 2015 at Southern Illinois University Carbondale TITLE: DEVELOPMENT OF HIGH PERFORMANCE CONCRETE COMPOSITES USING CLASS F FLY ASH AND PCC BOTTOM ASH, AND A STATISTICAL MODEL TO PREDICT COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH OF SIMILAR CONCRETE COMPOSITES ADVISOR: Dr. Sanjeev Kumar It is a common knowledge that the use of concrete is as old as the evolution of human civilization. People have always dreamed beyond the dotted lines and so does the usage of concrete. With the rapid industrialization and globalization, the journey from ordinary concrete to high performance concrete (HPC) has been swift and remarkable. The diversification and utilization of high performance concrete has given the tool in the hands of engineers and architects who can now design and execute buildings of any shape and size deemed impractical a few decades ago. The aim of this research was to develop high performance concrete composites having different percentages of Illinois Class “F” fly ash and bottom ash by replacing the appropriate proportions of Type 1 portland cement and fine aggregate, respectively. The target was to develop high performance concrete composites that have compressive strength of 8,000 psi (55 Mpa) after 28 days of curing in water with a slump of 4±½” (102mm ± 13mm) and air content between 4 and 6 percent. In order to achieve the targeted air content, an air entraining agent DARAVAIR 1400 was used. The water-cement ratio of 0.3 was maintained throughout the research and to achieve the targeted slump, high-range water reducer ADVA 140M was used. The engineering parameters of the high performance concrete composites and an equivalent control mix were evaluated by conducting a detailed laboratory study which included several tests, e.g., slump, fresh air content, compressive strength, splitting-tensile strength, flexural strength, resistance to rapid freezing and thawing, sealed shrinkage and free swelling, and rapid chloride permeability. The results presented show that all high performance concrete composites developed in this study achieved the targeted compressive strength of 8,000 psi (55 MPa) after 28 days of curing in water. The results of the durability tests show that the concrete composites developed in this study have trends similar to that of an equivalent conventional concrete. Based, on the results of this study, it was concluded that the concrete composites have potential to be used on real world projects and thus help the environment by substantially reducing the amount of fly ash and bottom ash going to ash ponds or landfills. Based on the experimental test result data, a detailed statistical analysis was conducted to develop an empirical model to predict compressive strength of similar concrete composites for a given amount of fly ash, bottom ash, and curing period. Additional laboratory tests were performed to validate the mathematical model.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T13:53:17Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 NailaKNL.pdf: 378925 bytes, checksum: 0aca3c2de73695a3ad77834f7705211f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-08-24 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior / This paper aims to verify the Burnout?s possibilities of incidence, finding the creating dimensions and comparing with the socio-demographics characteristics of the researched professionals. This quantitative-descriptive search has a population of 197 workers of 23 nourishing companies in Rio Grande do Norte. This population is predominantly male, younger than 28 years old, single, relatively instructed (57,07% with complete high school) and having just started their current job since 79% of the interviewees are in the company less than six years. The AUDITORIA DO SISTEMA HUMANO (ASH) model, utilized for investigation and developed for the Spaniards Quijano and Navarro in 1999, has several dimensions about human resources management and the organizational effectiveness, but only makes part of the research in 19 questions Burnout referring. It was used factorial analyses with extraction method, varimax rotation and Kaiser normalization with the intuition to define the creating dimensions of the syndrome, they were evaluated with Cronbach Alpha coefficient after extraction. The dimensions found through the factorial analyses were: emotional exhaustion, physical exhaustion and vitality. The accumulated explanation value reached 65,30% of total variation. The data socio-demographics don t justify the syndrome appearance, because the T test and ANOVA showed irrelevant values. It has been also observed that the founded dimensions were different of the Maslach sociopsychological perspective (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and low professional realization) allowing comparison with others researches and the possibility to develop new ones with workers from different assistance areas. These new researches are important, since the syndrome refers to chronic labor stress consequences and any professional is favorable to Burnout, harmful to the company as to the collaborators / Este estudo objetiva verificar a possibilidade de incid?ncia da s?ndrome de burnout, encontrando as dimens?es formadoras e comparando com as caracter?sticas s?ciodemogr?ficas dos profissionais pesquisados. A pesquisa de cunho quantitativodescritiva tem como popula??o 197 funcion?rios de 23 empresas do setor aliment?cio do Estado do Rio Grande do Norte e ? predominantemente masculina, com idade inferior a 28 anos, solteira, relativamente culta (57,07% possuem ensino m?dio completo) e com pouco tempo no emprego, j? que 79% dos entrevistados est?o na empresa a menos de seis anos. O modelo da Auditoria do Sistema Humano (ASH), instrumento de investiga??o utilizado que foi desenvolvido pelos espanh?is Quijano e Navarro em 1999, possui v?rias dimens?es sobre a gest?o da qualidade dos Recursos Humanos e a efetividade organizacional, mas s? fizeram parte da pesquisa as 19 quest?es referentes ao burnout. Com intuito de definir as dimens?es formadoras da s?ndrome, foi utilizada a an?lise fatorial com m?todo de extra??o, rota??o varimax e normaliza??o Kaiser, sendo avaliadas, ap?s a extra??o, com o coeficiente Alpha de Cronbach. As dimens?es encontradas atrav?s da an?lise fatorial foram: exaust?o emocional, esgotamento e vitalidade, tendo o valor da explica??o acumulada atingido 65,30% da varia??o total. Os dados s?ciodemogr?ficos n?o justificaram o aparecimento da s?ndrome, pois o Teste T e a ANOVA apresentaram valores irrelevantes. Observou-se tamb?m que as dimens?es encontradas no trabalho foram diferentes da perspectiva social-psicol?gica de Maslach (exaust?o emocional, despersonaliza??o e baixa realiza??o profissional) permitindo assim a compara??o com outros estudos e a possibilidade de desenvolvimento de novas pesquisas com funcion?rios de ?reas diferentes da assistencial. Essas novas pesquisas s?o importantes, uma vez que a s?ndrome refere-se ? conseq??ncia do estresse laboral cr?nico e qualquer profissional est? prop?cio ao burnout, prejudicial tanto para empresa quanto para os colaboradores

Giardia duodenalis é um protozoário de distribuição mundial responsável por causar infecções entéricas em uma grande variedade de mamíferos, incluindo os humanos. Mesmo apresentando pouca variação em sua morfologia, os isolados podem ser diferenciados, de acordo com análises de proteína e polimorfismo de DNA, em pelo menos oito agrupamentos genéticos distintos, denominados assemblages (A-H). Apenas os assemblages A e B têm sido reportados em humanos e outros mamíferos. Isolados de assemblage A podem, ainda, ser divididos em quatro sub-assemblages (AI, AII, AIII e AIV). Sequencias heterogêneas têm sido frequentemente identificadas em estudos de caracterização molecular envolvendo amostras contendo múltiplos cistos do parasita. Buscando estudar a ocorrência dos eventos de heterozigose de sequencia alélica (ASH) e recombinação gênica, o presente trabalho teve como objetivo isolar cistos de G. duodenalis empregando-se a técnica de micromanipulação e caracterizá-los molecularmente através da análise multilócus envolvendo os genes gdh, tpi, orfC4 e bg. Dez cistos foram individualizados e utilizados na pesquisa. Todos foram igualmente identificados por todos os genes, nove cistos caracterizados como assemblage AII e um cisto caracterizado como assemblage B. Os cromatogramas oriundos do cisto identificado como assemblages B apresentaram diversos sítios heterogêneos nos genes gdh, bg e orfC4, sendo que, nesses dois últimos, observaram-se sobreposições dos alelos AII e B no produto sequenciado (heterozigose inter assemblage). Os produtos de PCR foram clonados e as sequencias obtidas revelaram a ocorrência dos dois alelos neste único cisto. Os sítios polimórficos encontrados nas sequencias do gene gdh indicaram heterozigose intra assemblage B. Embora ASH já tenha sido relatada em cistos individualizados de G. duodenalis, estes são os primeiros resultados indicando a presença dos dois alelos, simultaneamente, em um único indivíduo. Esses resultados demonstram fortes evidências que ocorre troca genética entre indivíduos geneticamente distintos de G. duodenalis / Giardia duodenalis is a worldwide distribution enteric protozoan responsible for causing infections in a wide variety of mammals, including humans. Even showing little change in their morphology, isolates can be distinguished, according to the analysis of proteins and DNA polymorphisms in at least eight distinct genetic groups, known assemblages (A - H). Only assemblages A and B have been reported in humans and other mammals. Isolates of assemblage A also can be divided into four sub-assemblages (AI, AII, AIII and AIV). Heterogeneous sequences have been frequently identified in studies involving molecular characterization of samples containing multiple cysts of the parasite. Seeking to study the occurrence of allelic sequence heterozygosity (ASH) and genetic recombination events, the present study aimed to isolate G. duodenalis cysts employing the micromanipulation technique and characterize them molecularly through multilocus analysis involving gdh, tpi, orfC4 and bg genes. Ten cysts were individualized and used in the research. All cysts were equally identified for all genes; nine cysts were characterized as assemblage AII and one characterized as assemblage B. The chromatograms derived from the cyst identified as assemblage B presented many heterogeneous sites in gdh, bg and orfC4 genes, and in these last two, there were overlaps of alleles AII and B in the sequenced product (heterozygous inter assemblage). PCR products were cloned and the sequences obtained revealed the occurrence of two alleles at this single cyst. The polymorphic sites found in the sequences of the gdh gene indicated intra heterozygosity assemblage B. Although ASH has already been reported in G. duodenalis individualized cysts, these are the first results indicating the presence of two alleles simultaneously in a single individual. These results demonstrate strong evidence that genetic exchange occurs between individuals genetically distinct of G. duodenalis

The present study was aimed at developing a new inexpensive and accurate analytical method for determining the glass content of slag and fly ash. Infrared absorption spectroscopy using an internal standard proved to be the method of choice. Both synthetic and commercial slags and fly ashes were investigated.

>Magister Scientiae - MSc / Coal is the main source of electricity in South Africa, the combustion of which produces a large amount of waste (coal fly ash) annually. The large-scale generation of coal fly ash places major strain on landfills and the material is toxic in nature. The high silicon and aluminium content in fly ash makes it a suitable starting material for zeolite synthesis. Utilisation of fly ash as a starting material for zeolite synthesis alleviates an environmental burden by converting a waste product to an industrially applicable material. In this study, hierarchical zeolite X was synthesised from coal fly ash via the fusion method. The clear fused fly ash (FFA) extract (with molar composition 0.12 Al·14.6 Na·1.00 Si·163 H₂O) served as the synthesis solution for hydrothermal treatment. The influence of synthesis parameters (such as Si/Al ratio, aluminium source, hydrothermal temperature and stirring) on hierarchical zeolite X formation was studied to determine the cause behind the formation of this material. Synthesised zeolites and starting materials (Arnot coal fly ash and fused fly ash) were characterised by various analytical techniques such as XRD and SEM-EDS to determine the phase purity, morphology and elemental composition (framework Si/Al ratio) of these materials. The synthesis of hierarchical zeolite X under hydrothermal conditions was found to be highly sensitive to the aluminium content of the synthesis solution. The hierarchical morphology of zeolite X was formed preferentially in relatively aluminium-deficient (i.e. high Si/Al ratio) synthesis environments under stirred hydrothermal conditions of 90 °C for 16 hours. In the case of sodium aluminate addition, octahedral shaped zeolite X crystals were formed in relatively low Si/Al ratio synthesis environments, which was attributed to the presence of excess sodium cation content in the synthesis solution. Selected hierarchical zeolites (D2 and E2) were characterised further to gain more insight into the properties of this material. HR-TEM and FTIR revealed that hierarchical zeolite D2 and E2 exhibited the typical structural features of zeolite X. Zeolite D2 and E2 contained both micropores and mesopores and had a high BET surface area of 338-362 m²/g. These zeolites also exhibited appreciable solid acidity (0.81-1.12 mmol H/g zeolite). These properties make hierarchical zeolite X a favourable material for application in catalysis or adsorption. Overall, the formation of zeolite X with hierarchical morphology was proposed to be linked to the presence of zeolite P1 structural units in the framework of the zeolite. / National Research Foundation

Pozzolanic reactions play a key role in improving the compressive strengths of compacted fly ash-lime specimens. Based on studies performed with cement amended fly ash (FA), activation of fly ash-lime pozzolanic reactions should accelerate the rate of strength development and mobilize larger compressive strengths facilitating improved engineering performance of fly ash amended materials. Further, use of phosphogypsum (PG) is a cause of environmental concern as the material is acidic (pH < 3.0) and contains considerable amounts of fluoride (0.86%). The main research objectives of the thesis are to activate lime-fly ash reactions by thermal and chemical activation process and examine the efficacy of fly ash pozzolanic reactions in controlling fluoride release by phosphogypsum. A comprehensive laboratory experimental program was performed to examine the influence of curing temperature (thermal activation) and calcined PG addition (chemical activation) on lime-fly ash reactions. The kinetics of fly ash-lime reactions are examined by monitoring the reacted lime content as function of curing period and temperature. The influence of variations in fly ash/lime content and dry density on the compressive strength developed by specimens is evaluated. The thermodynamic parameters for the fly ash-lime (FA-L) reactions have been delineated. Fly ash-lime-phosphogypsum (FA-L-G) mixes in slurry and compacted states were monitored for fluoride released as function of curing period The influence of curing temperature in activating fly ash-lime reactions is first examined. Specimens were cured at 25°C (termed RTC or room temperature cured) and at 80° (termed SC or steam cured) to understand thermal activation of fly ash-lime reactions. The rate of lime consumption by SC specimens classified as 2 stage process. The robust increase during stage 2 of steam curing suggested that the lime-solidification reactions did not reach equilibrium even after 4 days of curing at the elevated temperature. While only 3.1 to 3.3 % of added lime was consumed after 28 days of curing at room temperature, much larger amounts of lime ( 8.6-9.3%) were consumed after 4 days of steam-curing. Further, the lime-fly ash reactions were accelerated by 6 to 7 folds on curing the specimens at elevated temperature. The results indicated that activation of lime-fly ash reactions by curing at elevated temperature besides accelerating the rate of strength development also facilitated development of larger strength. Analysis of the free energy change values (ΔG°) indicated that the lime solidification reaction alters from dis-favored (less spontaneous) to favoured (spontaneous) state on curing at 80oC. The positive ΔH° (enthalpy change) values for the fly ash-lime reactions indicated that the reactions are endothermic in nature and are facilitated by increase in curing temperature. Gypsum activation was achieved by addition of 2.5 to 5% calcined phosphogypsum to fly ash lime mixes and curing the compacted specimens at room temperature (FA-L-G specimens). The rate of lime consumption by FA-L-G specimens appeared to be three stage process. The mass of lime consumed by FA-L-G specimens was about 1.5 to 3 folds higher than values of the RTC and SC specimens. Additional lime is consumed by FA-L-G specimens in ettringite formation. A similarity existed between rate of lime consumed and rate of strength developed by the FA-L-G specimens. It is proposed that besides lime solidification reactions, densification of the matrix by filling up of voids by fine gypsum particles and compaction of matrix by the growth of ettringite crystals also contribute to compressive strength of FA-L-G specimens; this additional mechanism of strength development accounts for their higher compressive strength in comparison to the SC and RTC specimens despite similar initial lime addition values. The trend of results suggests that activation of FA-L reactions by calcined PG addition is more effective than steam curing. Comparison of ΔG° values of RTC, SC and FA-L-G specimens revealed that the spontaneity of the lime solidification reactions is least for RTC specimens and improves with addition of phosphogypsum and further improves on curing at elevated temperature. Fly ash-lime pozzolanic reactions substantially reduced the fluoride released from the FA-L-G specimens. The marked reduction in fluoride released by PG amended with fly ash and lime is ascribed to entrapment of PG particles in the cemented matrix formed by fly ash-lime pozzolanic reactions together with consumption of fluoride in formation of insoluble fluoride bearing compounds. The thesis brings out that activation of fly ash-lime reactions leading to quicker and larger compressive strength development is achieved by curing the compacted fly ash-lime specimens at 80°C for 24 hr or by addition of 2.5 to 5% of calcined PG to fly ash-lime mix and curing the compacted specimens at room-temperature. As larger strengths are developed by PG addition than by curing at 80oC, it is recommended that FA-L-G technique be adopted for manufacture of building materials in the civil engineering industry. This technique is also sustainable as it does not require energy for heating which is needed in the steam-curing technique.

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The global demand for food is increasing. Different nutrients are used to increase growth in agriculture and are thus essential for the world ́s food supply. An important and common nutrient is phosphorus. It can be mined, in the form of phosphate, from phosphate rock. The problem is that mining causes environmental problems and phosphate rock is a non-renewable resource. A risk is that phosphorus will become a scarce commodity in about 100 years.  Sewage sludge from wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) is rich in phosphorus. In Sweden and other European countries, a stricter legislation is expected with consideration of an increased recovery of phosphorus from sewage sludge. A ban on the spread of hazardous substances like drug residues and heavy metals from the sludge is also expected. Incineration of the sludge can be done to eliminate hazardous substances and at the same time recover phosphorus and metals. Development of technologies to recover phosphorus from incinerated sewage sludge is therefore topical.  EasyMining is a company that invents new technologies to close nutrient cycles. One of their present projects is about recycling phosphorus, iron, and aluminium from incinerated sewage sludge. Hydrochloric acid (HCl) is used to leach the ash and in the following steps metals and phosphorus are recovered, and heavy metals are removed. Batch experiments have been performed and EasyMining examines the process in a continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR).  The aim with this project is to compare the batch and continuous process for the ash leaching step. The study was limited to investigate different residence times and liquid to solid ratios (L/S ratios) for the ash leaching step in the CSTR. To accomplish the aim, mainly experimental studies have been performed. A total of 14 runs have been conducted to investigate the continuous process. The residence times 10, 30 and 60 min and the L/S ratios 2.5, 3 and 3.5 ml/g were evaluated. The lab-set up consisted of a peristaltic pump to pump diluted HCl solution, a conveyor belt to dose the ash and a CSTR. The filtrate was analysed for phosphorus, iron, and aluminium with a spectrophotometer. Interpretation of the result was conducted after each run and the data was then compared to previous batch data from within the company. A paired t-test was used to evaluate if there was a significant difference in the mean values between different residence times and L/S ratios.  The result shows that the leching is very fast and longer residence times or higher L/S ratios do not result in higher yields for phosphorus, iron, or aluminium. There is no significant difference between the examined residence times or L/S ratios in the paired t-test. Data from the batch process shows that the investigated residence times and L/S ratios do not affect the yield. A more even distribution of the yields is obtained in the batch process compared to the continuous process. The less even distribution in the continuous process, probably depends on errors in the method and the equipment used in the process. For example, there were some problems with the ash dosing, which led to an inconstant L/S ratio in the runs. This affected the calculated yields significantly. Overall, the batch process results in slightly higher yields. This is especially the case when excluding high calculated yields in the continuous process, probably obtained because of an overdosing of the ash. / Den globala efterfrågan på mat ökar. Olika näringsämnen används för att få en högre tillväxt i jordbruket och dessa är essentiella för världens livsmedelsproduktion. Ett viktigt och vanligt näringsämne är fosfor och det bryts i form av fosfat från fosfatmineral. Problemet är att brytningen förorenar miljön och dessutom är fosfat-sten en icke förnyelsebar resurs. Det finns en risk att fosfor blir en bristvara om cirka 100 år.  Avloppsslam från vattenreningsverk innehåller höga fosfatkoncentrationer. I Sverige samt i andra europeiska länder förväntas en striktare lagstiftning, som kräver en ökad återvinningsgrad av fosfor från avloppsslam. Även ett förbud mot spridningen av giftiga substanser som läkemedelsrester och tungmetaller förväntas införas. Slammet kan förbrännas för att eliminera farliga substanser samtidigt som fosfor och olika metaller kan återvinnas. Utvecklingen av nya tekniker för återvinning av fosfor från bränt avloppsslam är därför väldigt aktuell.  EasyMining är ett innovationsföretag som utvecklar nya tekniker för att erhålla slutna näringskretslopp. Ett av deras pågående projekt handlar om att återvinna fosfor, aluminium och järn från förbränt avloppsslam. Saltsyra används för att laka askan och i nästkommande steg återvinns fosfor och metaller, samtidigt som tungmetaller separeras. Satsvisa försök har genomförts och EasyMining vill nu undersöka processen i en tankreaktor.  Syftet med projektet är att jämföra resultat från den satsvisa driften med resultat från en kontinuerlig process för ask-lakningssteget. Studien begränsades till att endast undersöka olika uppehållstider och förhållandet mellan vätskan och askan (L/S-förhållande) i lakningssteget. För att uppnå syftet genomfördes huvudsakligen experimentella studier. 14 körningar genomfördes totalt för undersökning av den kontinuerliga processen. Undersökta uppehållstider var 10, 30 och 60 min och undersökta L/S-förhållandena var 2,5, 3 och 3,5 ml/g. Laborationsuppställningen bestod av en peristaltisk pump för tillförsel av utspädd saltsyralösning, ett rullband för dosering av askan samt en tankreaktor. Filtratet analyserades för fosfor, järn och aluminium i en spektrofotometer. Efter varje körning tolkades resultatet och jämfördes därefter med data från de av företaget tidigare utförda satsvisa försöken. Ett parat t-test användes för att utvärdera om det fanns någon signifikant skillnad i medelvärden mellan olika uppehållstider och L/S-förhållanden.  Resultatet visar att lakningen är väldigt snabb och längre uppehållstider eller högre L/S-förhållanden ger inte högre utbyten för fosfor, järn eller aluminium. Ingen signifikant skillnad erhålls mellan undersökta uppehållstider eller L/S-förhållanden i de parade t-testen. Data från de satsvisa försöken visar att de undersökta uppehållstiderna och L/S-förhållandena inte påverkar utbytet. En mindre spridning av utbyten erhålls i den satsvisa driften jämfört med den kontinuerliga. Den större spridningen i den kontinuerliga processen beror förmodligen på felkällor i processens metod/utrustning. Exempelvis var det en del problem med askdoseringen, vilket medförde icke konstanta L/S-förhållanden. Detta påverkade det beräknade utbytet signifikant. Generellt erhålls något högre utbyten i den satsvisa processen. Framförallt då höga beräknade utbyten exkluderas i den kontinuerliga processen på grund av en överdosering av askan.

This thesis studies a new more affordable way to build sidewalks in the U.S. Typical sidewalks are often impractical on many roads because of a steep runoff slope and/or close proximity to the drainage ditch. Also, if future road widening is required, the sidewalk must be removed. This thesis proposes a structure called a Lanwalk which is an elevated sidewalk made of precast units. A Lanwalk could simultaneously serve as a sidewalk and potentially as a guardrail. It can be placed over drainage areas if necessary without obstructing the flow of water. Lanwalks can be easily installed and relocated if necessary. This thesis examines the possibility of using high amounts of waste ash as an admixture during the construction of Lanwalks or sidewalks to lower cost and save landfill space. The two waste products examined are municipal solid waste incinerator bottom ash (IBA) and coal fly ash (CFA).