Foamed concrete incorporating processed spent bleaching earth (PSBE) produces environmentally friendly foamed concrete. Compressive strength, porosity, and rapid chloride penetration tests were performed to investigate the potential application for building material due to its low density and porous concrete. Laboratory results show that 30% PSBE as cement replacement in foamed concrete produced higher compressive strength. Meanwhile, the porosity of the specimen produced by 30% PSBE was 45% lower than control foamed concrete. The porosity of foamed concrete incorporating PSBE decreases due to the fineness of PSBE that reduces the volume of void space between cement and fine aggregate. It was effectively blocking the pore and enhances the durability. Consistently, the positive effect of incorporating of PSBE has decreased the rapid chloride ion permeability compared to that control foamed concrete. According to ASTM C1202-19 the foamed concrete containing 30% PSBE was considered low moderate permeability based on its charge coulombs value of less than 4000. Besides, the high chloride ion permeability in foamed concrete is because the current quickly passes through the specimen due to its larger air volume. In conclusion, incorporating PSBE in foamed concrete generates an excellent pozzolanic effect, producing more calcium silicate hydrate and denser foamed concrete, making it greater, fewer voids, and higher resistance to chloride penetration.

Low calcium fly ash is used as the main material in the mixture and the crumb rubber was used in replacing fine aggregates in geopolymer mortar. Sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and sodium silicate (Na2SiO3) which were high alkaline solution were incorporated as the alkaline solution. The fly ash reacted with the alkaline solution forming alumino-silicate gel that binds the aggregate to produce a geopolymer mortar. The loading of crumb rubber in the fly ash based geopolymer mortar was set at 0% (CRGM-0), 5% (CRGM-5), 10% (CRGM-10), 15% (CRGM-15), and 20% (CRGM-20), respectively. NaOH solution (12M) and Na2SiO3 solution ratio is set constant at 2.5 for all geopolymer mixture and the fly ash to alkali activator ratio was kept at 2.0. The CRGM at 28 days of curing time was exposed to elevated temperature at 200°C, 400°C, 600°C and 800°C. The weight loss of the CRGM increases with increasing temperature at all elevated temperatures. However, the density and compressive strength of CRGM decrease with an increase of crumb rubber loading for all elevated temperature exposure. The compressive strength of CRGM reduced due to the fact that rubber decomposes between 200°C and 600°C thereby creating voids. CRGM-15 and CRGM-20 showed cracks developed with rough surface at 800°C. Image obtained from scanning electron microscope (SEM) showed that, the CRGM changed significantly due to the decomposition of crumb rubber and evaporation of the free water at 400°C, 600°C and 800°C.

In Eurocode 5, the stiffness equation for bolted steel-wood-steel is stated as a function ofwood density and fastener diameter only. In this research, an experimental study on various configurations of tested bolted steel-wood-steel (SWS) connections has been undertaken to predict the initial stiffness of each connection. In order to validate the Eurocode 5 stiffness equation, tests on 50 timber specimens (40 glued laminated timbers and 10 laminated veneer lumbers (LVL)) with steel plates were undertaken. The number of bolts was kept similar and the connector diameter, timber thickness, and wood density were varied. The results obtained in the experimental tests are compared with those obtained from the Eurocode 5 stiffness equation. From the analysis, it is signified that the stiffness equation specified in Eurocode 5 for bolted SWS connections does not adequately predict the initial stiffness. The results from Eurocode 5 stiffness equation are very far from the experimental values. The ratio of stiffness equation to experimental results ranges from 3.48 to 4.20, with the average at 3.77, where the equation overpredicted the experimental stiffness value for the connection. There is a need to consider or incorporated other parameters such as geometric configurations in Eurocode 5 stiffness equation to improve the ratio with the experimental data.

Malaysia’s construction industry is experiencing rapid growth, translating into increased demand for cement. However, cement production pollutes the air to the detriment of the climate via CO2 emission, making research into a cementitious replacement in concrete a necessity. This paper details an experimental study of self-compacting concrete (SCC) with partial replacement of cement by rice straw ash (RSA), which is expected to result in environmental preservation due to the green materials being used in cement production. The physicomechanical properties of the SCC with RSA replacement were determined via its compressive strength, water absorption, self-workability, and fire resistance (residual strength after exposure to high temperatures). The proportion of RSA replacement used were 0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, and 25%, and all passed the slump flow test, except the 20% and 25% samples. The SCC samples with 15% of RSA replacement reported the highest compressive strength at 7 and 28 curing days and the highest residual strength post-exposure to high temperatures. The lowest percentage of water absorption was reported by the 15% of RSA replacement, with a density of 2370 kg/m3.