The influence of supplementary materials such as slag, metakaolin and limestone in steam-cured ternary and quaternary cement blends on physical and chemical hydration mechanisms was studied by analyzing the evolution of non-evaporable water content, hydration products and compressive strength. The role of limestone in hydration reactions of cement was also investigated. These properties were studied through the use of differential thermal and thermogravimetric analyses, as well as the loss-on-ignition, X-ray diffraction and compressive strength tests at 1, 3, 7, and 28 days. Research findings revealed that it is possible to replace up to 40% cement with other materials and still achieve compressive strengths similar to mixtures with a 25% cement replacement at 0.34 w/b ratio. Additionally, ternary limestone mixtures exhibited superior mechanical properties to ternary metakaolin mixtures. Lastly, limestone powder was determined to behave as inert filler, accelerating hydration at early ages through heterogeneous nucleation.

The influence of supplementary materials such as slag, metakaolin and limestone in steam-cured ternary and quaternary cement blends on physical and chemical hydration mechanisms was studied by analyzing the evolution of non-evaporable water content, hydration products and compressive strength. The role of limestone in hydration reactions of cement was also investigated. These properties were studied through the use of differential thermal and thermogravimetric analyses, as well as the loss-on-ignition, X-ray diffraction and compressive strength tests at 1, 3, 7, and 28 days. Research findings revealed that it is possible to replace up to 40% cement with other materials and still achieve compressive strengths similar to mixtures with a 25% cement replacement at 0.34 w/b ratio. Additionally, ternary limestone mixtures exhibited superior mechanical properties to ternary metakaolin mixtures. Lastly, limestone powder was determined to behave as inert filler, accelerating hydration at early ages through heterogeneous nucleation.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:30:14Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2007-04-27Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T21:00:37Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 tofolo_vc_me_rcla.pdf: 520198 bytes, checksum: 81a305ec02da5170d24bfe930d1ea7be (MD5) / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) / O objetivo deste trabalho foi procurar conhecer os efeitos de três substâncias químicas, sulfluramida, fipronil e clorpirifós, sobre a espécie de formiga não-alvo Ectatomma brunneum (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Ectatomminae), respondendo às seguintes questões: as marcas comerciais de iscas formicidas granuladas utilizadas neste trabalho são atrativas a esta espécie de formiga não-alvo ou simplesmente repelentes? Sendo atrativas, qual o comportamento exercido pelas operárias? Elas ingerem as iscas no local ou carregam para o interior do ninho? Há devolução? Em condições de múltipla escolha alimentar, esta atratividade permanece ou ocorre somente na ausência do alimento convencional? No que acarreta o contato direto e indireto das formigas com as iscas? Ocorre mortalidade significativa? Qual dos ingredientes ativos é mais prejudicial? Os produtos são seletivos? Os resultados obtidos através dos testes em laboratório revelaram que, em condições normais de exposição, as operárias de E. brunneum não foram repelidas pelas iscas formicidas. No entanto, não houve atratividade suficiente para induzir o carregamento ou ingestão. Quando esse material foi umedecido, a atratividade aumentou significativamente, permitindo que porções das iscas fossem ingeridas na própria arena de forrageamento ou carregadas para o interior do ninho e distribuídas aos outros indivíduos, não sendo registrada, em nenhum dos tratamentos, a devolução total ou parcial das porções carregadas. Após 48 horas de exposição, os três ingredientes ativos foram tóxicos, de modo que a população foi reduzida em 35,56% no tratamento com clorpirifós, 31,11% com sulfluramida e 30% com fipronil ao final de 20 dias de observação. As iscas à base de fipronil foram mais atrativas que as de sulfluramida e clorpirifós... / This work aimed at contributing to a better knowledge on the effects of three chemical substances, sulfluramid, fipronil and chlorpyrifos, on the non-target species of ant Ectatomma brunneum (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Ectatomminae), answering the following questions: are the brands of granulated insecticide baits employed in this work attractive to this species of non-target ant or are they just repellent? If attractive, what is the behavior exhibited by the workers? Do they ingest the baits in the spot or take them into the nest? Is there any devolution? Under conditions of multiple food choice, does this attractiveness remain or does it happen only in the lack of the conventional food? What is the outcome of direct or indirect contact between the ants and the baits? Is there significant mortality? Which of the active ingredients is the most harmful? Are the products selective? The results obtained from the tests in laboratory showed that, under conditions of normal exposure, the workers of E. brunneum were not repelled by the insecticide baits. Nevertheless, there was not enough attractiveness as to lead to transporting or ingesting. When the material was moistened, the attractiveness increased significantly, allowing portions of bait to be ingested at the very foraging arena or to be taken into the nest and distributed to the other individuals. Total or partial devolution of the portions carried was not observed in any of the treatments. After a 48 hour exposure the three active ingredients proved to be toxic, for the population was reduced in 35.56% in the treatment with chlorpyrifos, 31.11% with sulfluramid and 30% with fipronil at the end of 20 days of observation. The fipronil based baits were more attractive than the ones based on sulfluramid and chlorpyrifos...(Complete abstract click electronic access below)

Com o crescimento empenho da medicina humana e veterinária na busca de biomateriais osteointegráveis, o estudo histológico se faz presente na interpretação e apresentação por resultados histomorfológicos das interações dos materiais implantados com o tecido ósseo, possibilitando o conhecimento da velocidade de neoformação óssea. A proposta deste trabalho foi avaliar por estudo histológico a bioatividade do composto ósseo de Ricinus granulado e hidroxiapatita sintética, implantados no osso ilíaco de coelhos, possibilitando uma melhor compreensão das interações das interfaces osso/implante, frente aos resultados histomorfológicos, sendo interpretados e apresentados por análise descritiva qualitativa. Foram selecionados 30 coelhos, fêmeas, Oryctolagus cuniculus, grupo geneticamente modificado - Botucatu, idade adulta de 90 dias, peso entre 2,55 e 3,1 Kg divididos em 3 grupos de 10 animais (G1, G2 e G3) sendo que o tempo de pós-operatório foi de G1 com 45 dias, G2 com 70 dias e G3 com 120 dias. Cada animal recebeu 3 defeitos ósseos no osso ilíaco, sendo que dois foram preenchidos pelos biomateriais: hidroxiapatita sintética e composto ósseo de Ricinus granulado e o terceiro para controle. Após a eutanásia, o osso ilíaco foi removido, identificado e submetido ao procedimento histológico. Concluiu-se através da avaliação histológica a crescente modificação da estrutura inicial para a deposição de nova formação óssea, sobressaindo células gigantes de corpo estranho (em alguns casos), fibroblastos e abundante presença de tecido conjuntivo sem diferenciação óssea. E os materiais foram considerados como biocompatíveis e biologicamente ativos. / With the growing commitment of human and veterinary medicine in the search for biomaterials osseointegration, the histological study is present in the interpretation and presentation of results of histomorphologic interactions of materials implanted with bone tissue, providing a speed of bone formation. The proposal was evaluated by histological study the bioactivity of the compound of granulated Ricinus and synthetic hydroxyapatite implanted in rabbit iliac bone, allowing a better understanding of the interactions of bone-implant interface, as compared with histopathologic results, and interpreted and presented by qualitative descriptive analysis. We used 30 female rabbits, Oryctolagus cuniculus, group - Botucatu, adulthood in 90 days, weighing between 2.55 and 3.1 kilograms divided into 3 groups of 10 animals (G1, G2 and G3) and that the length after surgery was 45 days with G1, G2 in 70 days and G3 with 120 days. Each animal received 3 bone defects in the pelvic bone, two of which were completed by biomaterials: synthetic hydroxyapatite and compound of granulated Ricinus and the third for control. After euthanasia, the iliac bone was removed, identified and subjected to histological procedures. It was concluded by the increasing histological modification of the initial structure for the deposition of new bone formation, towering giant cells of foreign body (in some cases), fibroblasts and abundant presence of connective tissue without bone differentiation. And the materials were considered as biocompatible and biologically active.

A disagreement has arisen between the localauthorities (Skellefteå kommun) and Boliden Mineral AB regarding the use of amaterial called

No estudo da osteointegração, os resultados adquiridos através dos softwares analisadores de imagens contribuirão para que se tenha uma melhor visualização da interface tecido biológico/material implantado. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar, por meio de estudos histológico, morfométrico e densitométrico, as interfaces tecido ósseo/materiais implantados em comparação com o grupo controle (coágulo), descrevendo qualitativa e quantitativamente os resultados dessas análises. Foram selecionados 16 coelhos, Oryctolagus cuniculus, com idade de 90 dias, sendo estes divididos em quatro grupos de quatro animais (G1, G2, G3 e G4), com períodos pós-operatórios de sete, 15, 21 e 35 dias. Em cada animal, foram feitos dois defeitos ósseos nas tíbias direitas, preenchidos com o biomaterial Composto Ósseo de Ricinus (C.O.R.) granulado e o Grupo Controle (coágulo); na tíbia esquerda, preencheu-se com o biomaterial Hidroxiapatita (HAP-91). Após a eutanásia, as peças cirúrgicas foram removidas, identificadas e submetidas às análises. A análise histológica evidenciou, para os dois biomateriais, um grande aporte de células osteoprogenitoras e, com o avanço dos períodos experimentais, a deposição de um tecido ósseo mais desenvolvido. Estes resultados qualitativos corroboraram com a análise morfométrica, evidenciando a osteointegração pela aproximação das corticais ósseas. Com o estudo densitométrico, pôde-se acompanhar, por imagens tridimensionais e coloridas, o desempenho de cada biomaterial implantado e o grupo controle com o tecido ósseo. Concluiu-se que os dois biomateriais implantados se comportam de uma maneira muito desejável para que se constituam como uma escolha de materiais substitutos da reposição óssea. / In the study of osseointegration, the results acquired through the images analysis softwares, contribute in order to have a better view of the biological tissue/ material implanted interface. The aim of this study was to evaluate through studies: histological, morphometric and densitometric, the interactions of bone tissue / implanted materials in comparison with the control group (clot), and describing qualitatively and quantitatively the results of these analyzes. Were selected 16 rabbits, Oryctolagus cuniculus, with 90 days of age and divided into four groups of four animals (G1, G2, G3 and G4), and postoperative periods of seven, 15, 21 and 35 days. In each animal, two bone defects were made on the right tibia, and were filled with the (C.O.R.) Compound Bone of granulated Ricinus biomaterial and control group (clot); and in the left tibia, filled it with (HAP-91) Hydroxyapatite biomaterial. After euthanasia, the tibial bone was removed, identified and submitted for analyzes. The histological analysis showed for both biomaterials, a large amount of osteoprogenitor cells and, with the advancement of the experimental periods, the deposition of more developed bone tissue. These qualitative results corroborated with the morphometric analysis, showing the osseointegration by approximation of the cortical bones. With the densitometric study, could be accompanied, by three-dimensional images and colorful, the performance of each implanted biomaterial and the control group with the bone tissue. It was concluded that both implanted biomaterials behave in a manner very desirable to be constituted as a choice of substitute materials for the bone replacement.

A renewable energy source, biogas, comprises of methane (80%) and carbon dioxide (15%), and is a great alternative to the conventional fossil-based fuels, such as coal, gas and oil. Biogas is created during anaerobic biological digestion of waste materials, such as landfill material, animal manure, wastewater, algal biomass, industrial organic waste etc. A biogas potential from organic waste in the United States is estimated at about 9 million tons per year and technology allows capture of greenhouse gases, such as methane and carbon dioxide, into a form of a fuel. In the light of global climate change and efforts to decrease carbon footprint of fuels in daily life, usage of biogas as an alternative fuel to fossil fuels looks especially promising. The goal of this research was to develop and test an approach for optimization of biogas production by engineering microorganisms digesting organic waste. Specifically, bacteria that can digest algal biomass, collected from the wastewater lagoons or open waterbodies. The research also expands on the previous efforts to analyze microbial interactions in wastewater treatment systems. A computational model is developed to aid with prognosis of microbial consortia ability to form complex aggregates in reactors with upflow mode of feeding substrate. Combining modeling predictions and laboratory experiments in organic matter digestion will lead to more stable engineered systems and higher yields of biogas.

yes / Test results of thirty six ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS)-based mortars and eighteen fly ash (FA)-based mortars activated by sodium silicate and/or sodium hydroxide powders are presented. The main variables investigated were the mixing ratio of sodium oxide (Na2O) of the activators to source materials, water-to-binder ratio, and fine aggregate-to-binder ratio. Test results showed that GGBS based alkali-activated (AA) mortars exhibited much higher compressive strength but slightly less flow than FA based AA mortars for the same mixing condition. Feed-forward neural networks and simplified equations developed from nonlinear multiple regression analysis were proposed to evaluate the initial flow and 28-day compressive strength of AA mortars. The training and testing of neural networks, and calibration of the simplified equations were achieved using a comprehensive database of 82 test results of mortars activated by sodium silicate and sodium hydroxide powders. Compressive strength development of GGBS-based alkali-activated mortars was also estimated using the formula specified in ACI 209 calibrated against the collected database. Predictions obtained from the trained neural network or developed simplified equations were in good agreement with test results, though early strength of GGBS-based alkali-activated mortars was slightly overestimated by the proposed simplified equations.

Expansive clays undergo a large swell when they are subjected to water. Thus, expansive clay is one of the most abundant problems faced in geotechnical engineering applications. It causes heavy damages in structures, especially in water conveyance canals, lined reservoirs, highways, airport runways etc., unless appropriate measures are taken. In this thesis, Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GBFS), GBFS - Lime combinations and GBFS Cement (GBFSC) were utilized to overcome or to limit the expansion of an artificially prepared expansive soil sample (Sample A). GBFS and GBFSC were added to Sample A in proportions of 5 to 25 percent. Different GBFS-Lime combinations were added to Sample A by keeping the total addition at 15 percent. Effect of stabilizers on grain size distribution, Atterberg limits, swelling percentage and rate of swell of soil samples were determined. Effect of curing on swelling percentage and rate of swell of soil samples were also determined. Leachate analysis of GBFS, GBFSC and samples stabilized by 25 percent GBFS and GBFSC was performed. Use of stabilizers successfully decreased the amount of swell while increasing the rate of swell. Curing samples for 7 and 28 days resulted in less swell percentages and higher rate of swell.

Fly ash and blast furnace slag are the two major industrial solid by-products generated in most countries including India. Although their utilization rate has increased in the recent years, still huge quantities of these material remain unused and are stored or disposed of consuming large land area involving huge costs apart from causing environmental problems. Environmentally safe disposal of Fly ash is much more troublesome because of its ever increasing quantity and its nature compared to blast furnace slag. Bulk utilization of these materials which is essentially possible in civil engineering in general and more particular in geotechnical engineering can provide a relief to environmental problems apart from having economic benefit. One of the important aspects of these waste materials is that they improve physical and mechanical properties with time and can be enhanced to a significant level by activating with chemical additives like lime and cement. Class-C Fly ashes which have sufficient lime are well utilized but class-F Fly ashes account for a considerable portion that is disposed of due to their low chemical reactivity. Blast furnace slag in granulated form is used as a replacement for sand to conserve the fast declining natural source. The granulated blast furnace slag (GBS) is further ground to enhance its pozzolanic nature. If GBS is activated by chemical means rather than grinding, it can provide a good economical option and enhance its utilization potential as well. GGBS is latent hydraulic cement and is mostly utilized in cement and concrete industries. Most uses of these materials are due to their pozzolanic reactivity. Though Fly ash and GGBS are pozzolanic materials, there is a considerable difference in their chemical composition. For optimal pozzolanic reactivity, sufficient lime and silica should be available in desired proportions. Generally, Fly ash has higher silica (SiO2) content whereas GGBS is rich in lime (CaO) content. Combining these two industrial wastes in the right proportion may be more beneficial compared to using them individually. The main objective of the thesis has been to evaluate the suitability of the class-F Fly ash/GGBS mixtures with as high Fly ash contents for Geotechnical and Geo-environmental applications. For this purpose, sufficient amount of class-F Fly ash and GGBS were collected and their mixtures were tested in the laboratory for analyzing their mechanical behavior. The experimental program included the evaluation of mechanical properties such as compaction, strength, compressibility of the Fly ash/GGBS mixtures at different proportions with GGBS content varying from 10 to 40 percent. An external agent such as chemical additives like lime or cement is required to accelerate the hydration and pozzolanic reactions in both these materials. Hence, addition of varying percentages of lime is also considered. However, these studies are not extended to chemically activate GBS and only GGBS is used in the present study. Unconfined compressive strength tests have been carried out on various Fly ash/ GGBS mixtures at different proportions at different curing periods. The test results demonstrated rise in strength with increase in GGBS content and with 30 and 40 percent of GGBS addition, the mixture showed higher strength than either of the components i.e. Fly ash or GGBS after sufficient curing periods. Addition of small amount of lime increased the strength tremendously which indicated the occurrence of stronger cementitious reactions in the Fly ash/GGBS mixtures than in samples containing only Fly ash. Improvement of the strength of the Fly ash/GGBS mixtures was explained through micro-structural and mineralogical studies. The microstructure and mineralogical studies of the original and the stabilized samples were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-Ray diffraction techniques respectively. These studies together showed the formation of cementitious compounds such as C-S-H, responsible for imparting strength to the pozzolanic materials, is better in the mixture containing 30 and 40 percent of GGBS content than in individual components. Resilient and permanent deformation behavior on an optimized mix sample of Fly ash and GGBS cured for 7 day curing period has been studied. The Resilient Modulus (Mr) is a measure of subgrade material stiffness and is actually an estimate of its modulus of elasticity (E). The permanent deformation behavior is also important in predicting the performance of the pavements particularly in thin pavements encountered mainly in rural and low volume roads. The higher resilient modulus values indicated its suitability for use as subgrade or sub-base materials in pavement construction. Permanent axial strain was found to increase with the number of load cycles and accumulation of plastic strain in the sample reduced with the increase in confining pressure. Consolidation tests were carried on Fly ash/GGBS mixtures using conventional oedometer to assess their volume stability. However, such materials develop increased strength with time and conventional rate of 24 hour as duration of load increment which requires considerable time to complete the test is not suitable to assess their volume change behavior in initial stages. An attempt was thus made to reduce the duration of load increment so as to reflect the true compressibility characteristics of the material as close as possible. By comparing the compressibility behavior of Fly ash and GGBS between conventional 24 hour and 30 minutes duration of load increment, it was found that 30 minutes was sufficient to assess the compressibility characteristics due to the higher rate of consolidation. The results indicated the compressibility of the Fly ash/GGBS mixtures slightly decreases initially but increase with increase in GGBS content. Addition of lime did not have any significant effect on the compressibility characteristics since the pozzolanic reaction, which is a time dependent process and as such could not influence due to very low duration of loading. Results were also represented in terms of constrained modulus which is a most commonly used parameter for the determination of settlement under one dimensional compression tests. It was found that tangent constrained modulus showed higher values only at higher amounts of GGBS. It was also concluded that settlement analysis can also be done by taking into account the constrained modulus. The low values of compression and recompression indices suggested that settlements on the embankments and fills (and the structures built upon these) will be immediate and minimal when these mixtures are used. In addition to geotechnical applications of Fly ash/GGBS mixture, their use for the removal of heavy metals for contaminated soils was also explored. Batch equilibrium tests at different pH and time intervals were conducted with Fly ash and Fly ash/GGBS mixture at a proportion of 70:30 by weight as adsorbents to adsorb lead ions. It was found that though uptake of lead by Fly ash itself was high, it increased further in the presence of GGBS. Also, the removal of lead ions increased with increase in pH of the solution but decreases at very high pH. The retention of lead ions by sorbents at higher pH was due to its precipitation as hydroxide. Results of the adsorption kinetics showed that the reaction involving removal of lead by both the adsorbents follow second-order kinetics. One of the major problems which geotechnical engineers often face is construction of foundations on expansive soils. Though stabilization of expansive soils with lime or cement is well established, the use of by-product materials such as Fly ash and blast furnace slag to achieve economy and reduce the disposal problem needs to be explored. To stabilize the soil, binder comprising of Fly ash and GGBS in the ratio of 70:30 was used. Different percentages of binder with respect to the soil were incorporated to the expansive soil and changes in the physical and engineering properties of the soil were examined. Small addition of lime was also considered to enhance the pozzolanic reactions by increasing the pH. It was found that liquid limit, plasticity index, swell potential and swell pressure of the expansive soil decreased considerably while the strength increased with the addition of binder. The effect was more pronounced with the addition of lime. Swell potential and swell pressure reduced significantly in the presence of lime. Based on the results, it can be concluded that the expansive soils can be successfully stabilized with the Fly ash-GGBS based binder with small addition of lime. This is also more advantageous in terms of lime requirement which is typically high when Fly ash, class-F in particular, is used alone to stabilize expansive soils. Based on the studies carried out in the present work, it is established that combination of Fly ash and GGBS can be advantageous as compared to using them separately for various geotechnical applications such as for construction of embankments/fills, stabilization of expansive soils etc. with very small amount of lime. Further, these mixtures have better potential for geo-environmental applications such as decontamination of soil. However, it is still a challenge to activate GBS without grinding.