| EPSRC Reference: |
GR/L55223/01 |
| Title: |
THE INFLUENCE OF AMPLITUDE AND FREQUENCY IN THE COMPACTION OF CONCRETE BY VIBRATION - PHASE 1. |
| Principal Investigator: |
Soutsos, Professor M |
| Other Investigators: |
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| Project Partners: |
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| Department: |
Civil Engineering |
| Organisation: |
University of Liverpool |
| Scheme: |
Standard Research (Pre-FEC) |
| Starts: |
01 April 1997 |
Ends: |
31 March 2000 |
Value (£): |
54,176
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| EPSRC Research Topic Classifications: |
| Civil Engineering Materials |
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Summary on Grant Application Form |
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Clean, efficient combustion in coal-fired burners requires close control of the air/fuel ratio. It is proposed to develop an acoustic mass concentration meter, suitable for monitoring Pulverised Fuel flows. A novel aspect of the proposal is its use of a wide-band of frequencies including audio-frequencies. The resulting system should be less susceptible to effects of 'roping' flow and more capable of detecting and compensating for changes in particle size distribution than single-frequency of narrow band and ultrasonic methods. The development will include investigations of non-intrusive transmission loss and orifice impedance measurements on laboratory rigs at the OU and at the University of Greenwich. Laboratory measurements will include systematic investigations of the influences of particle size and shape and comparison with predictions. The methods will be tested against controlled particulate flows in the laboratory and on known flows in an industrial setting (at International Combustion Ltd Derby). The proposal includes provision for a steering committee including representatives of relevant power industries and instrument manufacturers.Vibration has been used for practically all types of concrete construction and it is a well established fact that careful and thorough consolidation of concrete is necessary. This is especially important for large structures such as bridges, dams, power plants, harbour and offshore structures, but also for concrete of special requirements such as high strength or a particular surface appearance. Knowledge of the theory and mechanism of concrete vibration is, however, surprisingly limited. It is therefore proposed to use accelerometers to determine the transmission of sinusoidal vibratory waves in fresh concrete. This will subsequently enable us to study the effect of amplitude/frequency ratio of the vibratory equipment on the compaction effort required for complete consolidation of the concrete. The programme will examine in detail many practical factors including the influence of the 'workability' of concrete as defined by the slump test and concrete mix composition, eg paste/aggregate ratio, water-cement ration, binder type and addition of chemical admixtures. A range of relevant industrial organisations have been identified to collaborate on either a formal or informal basis.
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Key Findings |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Potential use in non-academic contexts |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Impacts |
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| Description |
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk |
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| Date Materialised |
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Sectors submitted by the Researcher |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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| Project URL: |
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| Further Information: |
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| Organisation Website: |
http://www.liv.ac.uk |