Abstract:
A composite pallet is made of concrete. The concrete material can include various concrete mixtures, such as Fiber Reinforced Concrete (FRC) or an Engineered Cementitious Composite (ECC). It also can include microspheres. The concrete material can be cast in a mold or formed via an extrusion process and then cured. The pallet components can include a core material that can form various voids or cavities. The core material can include polystyrene foam, and the foam forms a honeycomb, which is then filled with the concrete material. The concrete material can also be dyed to create different colors to identify the pallets. The pallets can further include plastic and/or rubber bumpers on the corners and/or edges to prevent or minimize chipping. The resulting pallet can be cured using carbon dioxide (CO2) curing which reduces the cure time to about an hour or less.
Abstract:
Simulated log siding is formed of an engineered cementitious composite. Single or dual flanges on each log piece is used to apply siding units to a surface. Some siding members are molded into a three dimensional configuration to appear as a structural wood log. Individual end pieces and molded tail clusters when used with the siding provide the appearance of the characteristic stacked or staggered corners of a log structure.
Abstract:
A formulation of a spray applied fire-resistive engineered cementitious composite (SFR-ECC) which is made by addition of polymeric fibers, vermiculite, bonding agent and lightweight aggregates to cement and water. The SFR-ECC formulation is made in wet cement and can be spray-applied. The durable SFR-ECC exhibits thermal conductivities sufficient for fire resistance with increased tensile ductility and impact resistance.
Abstract:
Rapid repair and retrofit of existing infrastructures demand durable high early strength materials that not only deliver sufficient strength within a few hours of placement but also significantly prolong the maintenance interval. The invention comprises a class of newly developed polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fiber-reinforced high early strength engineered cementitious composites (ECC) materials featuring extraordinary ductility. The tailoring of preexisting flaw size distribution through non-matrix interactive crack initiators in the composite matrix results in high tensile ductility. The resulting high early strength ECC materials are capable of delivering a compressive strength of 21 MPa (3.0 ksi) within 4 hours after placement and retaining long-term tensile strain capacity above 2%.
Abstract:
A method of disassembling a support column structure can include de-coupling a plurality of first reinforcing bars from a removable portion, lifting the column portion off the removable portion, and de-coupling a plurality of second reinforcing bars from the removable portion. The first reinforcing bars can coupled to and extend from a column portion and can be spaced from a base portion. The second reinforcing bars can be coupled to and extend from the base portion and can be spaced from the first reinforcing bars and the column portion.
Abstract:
Disclosed herein are fiber reinforced cement composite materials incorporating a 3-mode fiber blend that includes cellulose pulp and synthetic fibers in a ratio selected to provide the composite material with improved water absorption characteristics and the same or improved mechanical properties as compared to equivalent composite materials reinforced with predominantly or all cellulose fibers. Also disclosed herein are fiber blends comprised of a combination of cellulose fibers and polypropylene fibers adapted to reinforce cementitious composite articles manufactured by the Hatschek process and autoclave cured.
Abstract:
Rapid repair and retrofit of existing infrastructures demand durable high early strength materials that not only deliver sufficient strength within a few hours of placement but also significantly prolong the maintenance interval. The invention comprises a class of newly developed polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fiber-reinforced high early strength engineered cementitious composites (ECC) materials featuring extraordinary ductility. The tailoring of preexisting flaw size distribution through non-matrix interactive crack initiators in the composite matrix results in high tensile ductility. The resulting high early strength ECC materials are capable of delivering a compressive strength of 21 MPa (3.0 ksi) within 4 hours after placement and retaining long-term tensile strain capacity above 2%.
Abstract:
A collapse-resistant frame system (10) for a bridge or building structure includes a plurality of mechanically-interconnected columns (12) and beams (14). At least the lowermost columns are formed of a material (28) that exhibits quasi-elastic behavior in response to seismic excitation, while the beams of the frame system are formed of a material (22) that exhibits elastic/plastic behavior, such that quasi-elastic flexure of the columns under seismic loading will cause plastic hinge formation in the beam ends (26) to thereby dissipate the rotational energy without significant plastic hinge formation in the column bases. In a disclosed embodiment, the column material is an engineered cementitious composite (ECC) matrix (30) reinforced with fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP) (32) to thereby provide a relatively-high flexural strength member having a relatively-lower flexural stiffness and higher elastic deformation limit, while the beam material is an ECC matrix reinforced with mild steel rebar (34) to thereby provide a relatively-lower flexural strength member featuring high energy-absorbing capacity.
Abstract:
Simulated log siding is formed of an engineered cementitious composite. Single or dual flanges on each log piece is used to apply siding units to a surface. Some siding members are molded into a three dimensional configuration to appear as a structural wood log. Individual end pieces and molded tail clusters when used with the siding provide the appearance of the characteristic stacked or staggered corners of a log structure.
Abstract:
A Thermally Adaptive Ductile Concrete (PCM-ECC) having a tensile ductility ceramic with 5 times the thermal resistance, 2 times the specific heat capacity, and 400 times the tensile strain capacity of regular concrete.