PenPubJournal of Civil Engineering and Materials Application2676-332X4320200901Iranian Eocene Green Tuffs as Natural Pozzolan for Use in Cement Industries13314010997210.22034/jcema.2020.233594.1028ENJafar SobhaniDepartment of Concrete Technology, Road, Housing & Urban Development Research Center (BHRC), 13145-1696, Iran.Ali Reza PourkhorshidiRoad, Housing and Urban Development Research CenterFariborz MasoudiShahid Beheshti university, Tehran, Iran.Journal Article20200423Eocene Green Tuffs are widespread in Central Alborz in the north of Iran. In parts, they are used as natural Pozzolan. In this study, the Pozzolanic activities of tuff samples from Qazvin to Semnan in Alborz Mountain were examined. The Pozzolanic activity patterns vary in different beds and even change laterally. Chemical examination of the samples indicated that they all belong to acidic rock group and were consistent with related standards. Pozolanic activity calculated for samples using hydraulic factor, thermal analysis and ion concentrations. Data obtained based on thermal analysis, presented a range of Pozzolanic activities for tuffs with similar chemistry and appearance. It was found in this research that mineralogy and texture controlled Pozzolan activity. Tuffs with high activity had glass in their matrix, but weathering and recrystallization reduced the activity. Petrographical examinations play an essential role in evaluating the availability of tuffs as natural Pozzolan in Central Alborz.PenPubJournal of Civil Engineering and Materials Application2676-332X4320200901Effect of Fluid Viscous Damper parameters on the seismic performance14115311371810.22034/jcema.2020.232288.1025ENSoheila KookalaniDepartment of Civil Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.Dejian ShenCollege of Civil and Transportation Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing, China.Journal Article20200423Energy dissipation devices are widely used to enhance the response of structures subjected to dynamic loads caused by wind and earthquake. Especially, viscous dampers are hydraulic devices widely used in structural engineering that dissipate mechanical energy by producing a damping force against the motion. The dampers can mitigate transversal and longitudinal or vertical displacement. It can be set up in different kinds of structures. This study is aimed at comparing the impact of various Fluid viscous damper parameters on the structures under the earthquake. To this aim, a seven-story steel frame structure retrofitted with fluid viscous dampers was considered for analyzing with a variety of parameters. The results showed that installing longitudinal nonlinear Fluid viscous damper can reduce the seismic response significantly, by selecting affordable damping parameters including stiffness, damping coefficient, and velocity exponent. The optimum damping parameters can be calculated accurately by analyzing structure with different damping parameters of nonlinear Fluid viscous damper.PenPubJournal of Civil Engineering and Materials Application2676-332X4320200901Fourier Transform Infrared Characterization of Construction Joint Sealants15516011371910.22034/jcema.2020.237399.1029ENAschalew KassuDepartment of Mechanical, Civil Engineering and Construction Management; Alabama A&M University0000-0001-5940-2045Kwaneitra PowersDepartment of Mechanical, Civil Engineering and Construction Management; Alabama A&M UniversityWilliam PetwayDepartment of Mechanical, Civil Engineering and Construction Management; Alabama A&M UniversityAnup SharmaDepartment of Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics; Alabama A&M UniversityJournal Article20200616This paper presents the results of the FTIR (Fourier-Transform Infrared) spectroscopy study of commercially available silicone-based sealant materials commonly used for sealing voids, cracks, and joints in non-structural building components of commercial and residential buildings. The sealants prevent moisture leakage through the parts, making the building envelope air and water-tight, sustainable, and energy-efficient. FTIR spectroscopy is a widely used technique in characterizing pharmaceutical products, mineralogical compositions, forensic analysis, food, chemical, semiconductor, petroleum, and agro-industries. This work demonstrates the application of FTIR analysis in the study of construction materials. It reports the IR (Infrared) spectral signatures of the selected building joint sealants used in the construction industry. It is found that several IR bands are common to most of the samples, suggesting that there is a reasonable similarity in the molecular composition of the three different manufacturer brands, including DAP (Dicks-Armstrong-Pontius), GE (General Electric), and HDX (Home Depot Product). Despite the multiple similarities in the IR bands of the samples studied, the FTIR techniques provided enough evidence to distinguish the samples and suggest that the composition and molecular structures of most of the silicone brands possess unique IR signatures.PenPubJournal of Civil Engineering and Materials Application2676-332X4320200901Comfort Level Investigation of Chromite Composite Floor System under Human Walking Load16117711372010.22034/jcema.2020.241135.1033ENFarhad Abbas GandomkarDepartment of Structure, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Jundi-Shapur University of Technology, Dezful, IranMona DaneshDepartment of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, ACECR Institute of Higher Education, Khuzestan, IranJournal Article20200403This paper's main objective is to determine the comfortableness of a composite structural floor system known as Chromite. For this purpose, twenty-eight Chromite panels were developed via the Finite Element Method (FEM) to find their Fundamental Natural Frequency (FNF). Then, the studied panels are categorized as Low-Frequency Floor (LFF) or High-Frequency Floor (HFF) regarding to their FNFs. Peak accelerations of low and high-frequency panels and also static stiffness of high-frequency panels were determined and compared with the limit value affirmed by the American Institute of Steel and Construction (AISC). Effects of various parameters were determined on changing FNF and also peak acceleration and static stiffness of the studied panels, depend to kind of panel as LFF or HFF. The results demonstrated that although some factors decreased and increased peak acceleration and static stiffness of the Chromite system, respectively, the panels could reach high vibration levels resulting in lack of comfortableness for users. In addition, the results show that the Chromite floor system needs to improve to be comfortable for users.PenPubJournal of Civil Engineering and Materials Application2676-332X4320200901Evaluation of Liquefaction Hazards in Soil Layers along Tabriz Metro Line 1 based on Practical Methods17919311372110.22034/jcema.2020.232424.1027ENRouzbeh DabiriDepartment of Civil Engineering, Tabriz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tabriz, Iran.0000-0003-0146-1450Sadaf Mahmoudi AzarDepartment of Civil Engineering, Tabriz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tabriz, Iran.Journal Article20200511Settlements in the ground and deep soil layers can occur after the liquefaction phenomenon—these deformations damage structures, buildings, and lifelines. Several practical methods have recently been proposed based on fields and laboratory data for evaluating volumetric strain (settlement) and maximum shear strain due to liquefaction. The present study mainly aimed to compare liquefaction potential assessment findings in terms of risk intensity and settlement values of soil layers after liquefaction using Standard Penetration Test (SPT) and Energy Methods along Tabriz Metro Line 1. Thus, 31 boreholes along the path were selected in this regard. Then, the liquefaction potential of soil layers was assessed based on the above-mentioned methods, and the liquefaction potential risk index was determined as well. Finally, the settlement value of soil layers was evaluated according to the two proposed methods' findings. The findings showed that both processes were relatively correlated, and the energy method proposed higher liquefaction potential risk compared to the SPT procedure.