Muhammad Burhan Sharif

Bio: Muhammad Burhan Sharif is an academic researcher from University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore. The author has contributed to research in topics: Compressive strength & Cement. The author has an hindex of 4, co-authored 6 publications receiving 20 citations.

Efficiency of Supplementary Cementitious Materials and Natural Fiber on Mechanical Performance of Concrete

Abstract: In this research study, mechanical properties of silica fume bagasse ash plain concrete (SFBA-PC) and silica fume bagasse ash basalt fiber-reinforced concrete (SFBA-BFRC) are studied. A total of fifteen concrete mixes are prepared for three separate concrete groups (five for each concrete group). The first group of SFBA-PC contains fixed optimum content of silica fume, i.e., 8%, by cement mass, and variable contents of bagasse ash, i.e., 0%, 5%, 10% and 15%, by cement mass. In the second and third groups of SFBA-BFRC, mixes are prepared like the first group of concrete, but only basalt fibers are added with two different percentages of 0.5% and 1.0%, by concrete volume, respectively. For the evaluation of each concrete mix, different mechanical tests are conducted to determine the stress–strain and load–deflection behavior. In addition to this, split-tensile strength and water absorption tests are also performed for each type of concrete mix. The scanning electron microscopy (SCM) analysis is performed, which has confirmed the pozzolanic activity and filler effect caused by SCMs, which has also improved the bridging effects of basalt fiber that results in concrete strength improvement. The results indicated that the mechanical properties of SFBA-BFRC are generally improved in comparison with those of SFBA-PC. In all three groups of concrete, 10% BA is found to be the optimum content, and SFBA-BFRC containing 8% silica fume, 10% bagasse ash and 1.0% basalt fiber content showed overall better performance under multiple testing scenarios.

Anthelmintic effects and toxicity analysis of herbal dewormer against the infection of Haemonchus contortus and Fasciola hepatica in goat.

Abstract: Helminths have been a serious trouble for the farmers due to their adverse effects on small ruminant production. Hemonchus contortus (H. contortus) and Fasciola hepatica (F. hepatica) are highly pathogenic and pose serious threat in co-existence. Because of increasing threat of anthelmintic resistance, alternative methods are being investigated and the herbal remedies stand the most prominent due to their efficacy and availability. Anthelmintic activity of the herbal mixture was evaluated in goats. Adult goats were selected at Livestock Production and Research Centre (LPRI) Bahadarnagar, Okara and were examined for helminth eggs in their feces. Twenty-four goats having almost similar egg per gram (EPG) of feces values of H. contortus and F. hepatica were selected and allocated to four groups of equal size. Herbal mixture was administered at dose rate of 1400, 1200 and 1000 mg/kg to each member of groups G1, G2 and G3, respectively on day 0, 7, 14 and 21 of the trials, while group G4 served as negative control receiving no medicine/herbal mixture. Trials continued for 30 days and data about EPG, fecal egg count reduction, complete blood count and serum biochemistry were collected before administration of herbal mixture at day 15 and day 30 of trial while animals were weighed before initiation of trial (day 0) and at the end of trial (day 30). All treatments showed a significant reduction in fecal egg count as compared to control group. Maximum fecal egg count reduction was observed in animals of group G1, which is 91.35% for H. contortus and 82.35% for F. hepatica. There was a slight increase in weight gain ratio of the treated animals in respective decreasing order with G1 having highest weight gain. An increase in erythrocyte count, pack cell volume and hemoglobin concentration was recorded while non-significant effect was observed on serum parameters. The results of this trial suggested that herbal dewormer is effective and can be an option for integrated management strategies for nematodes and trematodes control in the goats

Performance of Pozzolanic Concrete Using Different Mineral Admixtures

Abstract: Concrete is probably the most extensively used construction material in the world. However, environmental concerns regarding rapid consumption of natural resources and CO2 emission during cement manufacturing process have brought pressure to reduce cement consumption by the use of cement replacement materials (CRMs). The utilization of calcined clay (metakaolin) and silica fume in concrete has received considerable attention in recent years. Brick powder has not got much popularity with respect to strength enhancement but it is effective to reduce drying shrinkage. The following study has been focused to determine the performance of locally available metakaolin, silica fume and brick powder as CRMs in concrete. This study focuses on compressive strength, drying shrinkage and sulfate attack properties of the concrete. Concrete cubes were used for compressive strength determination and mortar prisms for determination of drying-shrinkage and sulfate attack. 5%, 10% and 15% replacement of cement was used for all these three CRMs. Three mixtures with water-binder ratios of 0.63, 0.54 and 0.47 were prepared with a slump of 75-100mm. The sulfate attack was determined by immersing mortar prisms in 2, 5 and 10% solution of magnesium sulfate. The results revealed that silica fume concrete at optimum replacement level of 15% gave highest compressive strength. The lowest drying shrinkage was experienced in case of mortar prisms constituting brick powder. However, very low expansion was observed in SF and MK pastes and also found mutually comparable to each other.

Experimental investigation of pozzolanic concrete containing wheat straw ash

Abstract: This study investigated the detailed optimization of wheat straw ash (WSA) as a pozzolanic material. Characterization of WSA as pozzolanic materials was carried out according to ASTM C618 and resul...

Concrete Containing Waste Glass as an Environmentally Friendly Aggregate: A Review on Fresh and Mechanical Characteristics

Abstract: The safe disposal of an enormous amount of waste glass (WG) in several countries has become a severe environmental issue. In contrast, concrete production consumes a large amount of natural resources and contributes to environmental greenhouse gas emissions. It is widely known that many kinds of waste may be utilized rather than raw materials in the field of construction materials. However, for the wide use of waste in building construction, it is necessary to ensure that the characteristics of the resulting building materials are appropriate. Recycled glass waste is one of the most attractive waste materials that can be used to create sustainable concrete compounds. Therefore, researchers focus on the production of concrete and cement mortar by utilizing waste glass as an aggregate or as a pozzolanic material. In this article, the literature discussing the use of recycled glass waste in concrete as a partial or complete replacement for aggregates has been reviewed by focusing on the effect of recycled glass waste on the fresh and mechanical properties of concrete.

Compressive Strength Prediction via Gene Expression Programming (GEP) and Artificial Neural Network (ANN) for Concrete Containing RCA

Abstract: To minimize the environmental risks and for sustainable development, the utilization of recycled aggregate (RA) is gaining popularity all over the world. The use of recycled coarse aggregate (RCA) in concrete is an effective way to minimize environmental pollution. RCA does not gain more attraction because of the availability of adhered mortar on its surface, which poses a harmful effect on the properties of concrete. However, a suitable mix design for RCA enables it to reach the targeted strength and be applicable for a wide range of construction projects. The targeted strength achievement from the proposed mix design at a laboratory is also a time-consuming task, which may cause a delay in the construction work. To overcome this flaw, the application of supervised machine learning (ML) algorithms, gene expression programming (GEP), and artificial neural network (ANN) was employed in this study to predict the compressive strength of RCA-based concrete. The linear coefficient correlation (R2), mean absolute error (MAE), mean square error (MSE), and root mean square error (RMSE) were evaluated to investigate the performance of the models. The k-fold cross-validation method was also adopted for the confirmation of the model’s performance. In comparison, the GEP model was more effective in terms of prediction by giving a higher correlation (R2) value of 0.95 as compared to ANN, which gave a value of R2 equal to 0.92. In addition, a sensitivity analysis was conducted to know about the contribution level of each parameter used to run the models. Moreover, the increment in data points and the use of other supervised ML approaches like boosting, gradient boosting, and bagging to forecast the compressive strength, would give a better response.

Studies on the Effect of Rice Husk Ash as Cement Admixture | Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University Open Education Resources (OER)

Abstract: Compressive strength tests were carried out on six mortar cubes with cement replaced by rice husk ash (RHA) at five levels (0, 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50%). After the curing age of 3, 7, 14 and 28 days. The compressive strengths of the cubes at 10% replacement were 12.60, 14.20, 22.10, 28.50 and 36.30 N/mm2 respectively and increased with age of curing but decreased with increase in RHA content for all mixes. The chemical analysis of the rice husk ash revealed high amount of silica (68.12%), alumina (1.01%) and oxides such as calcium oxide (1.01%) and iron oxide (0.78%) responsible for strength, soundness and setting of the concrete. It also contained high amount of magnesia (1.31%) which is responsible for the unsoundness. This result, therefore, indicated that RHA can be used as cement substitute at 10% and 20% replacement and 14 and 28 day curing age.