Steel Mesh-Reinforced Cementitious Composites (SMRCC) (traditionally known as ferrocement) have been in existence for few decades, but have some limitations set on element thickness and number of reinforcing mesh layers and the resulting deflection ductility. Therefore, the author has made an attempt to explore whether deflection ductility will improve in mesh-reinforced cementitious composites (25 mm thick) if discontinuous fibres are added to slab elements. For this purpose, thin slab elements of dimensions 700 mm (length) × 200 mm (width) × 25 mm (thickness) were cast and subjected to four point bending tests. Based on the flexural tests conducted on SMRCC (Control Slab Elements, cast with Steel Mesh Volume of reinforcement, MVr = 0.78, 0.94, and 1.23%) and Hybrid Mesh-and-Fibre-Reinforced Cement Based Composite (HMFRCBC) (Test Slab Elements, combining MVr = 0.78, 0.94 and 1.23% and Polyolefin Fibre Volume fraction, PO-FVf = 0.5‒2.5% of volume of specimens, with 0.5% interval), load-deflection and the deflection ductility index were analyzed. From the flexural load-deflection curves it has been observed that HMFRCBC slabs demonstrate higher flexural load-carrying capacity and deflection ductility when compared to SMRCC slabs. This study shows that higher the polyolefin fibre volume fraction (PO-FVf) from 0.5 to 2.5% (with a 0.5% interval) in HMFRCBC slabs, the higher the flexural deflection ductility. The Deflection Ductility Index (DDI) of HMFRCBC (with 5 layers of mesh and PO-FVf = 2.5%) is 4.5 times that of SMRCC. This study recommends that HMFRCBC can be used as an innovative construction material due to its higher flexural ductility characteristics.

Nil strength temperature of 1062°C and nil ductility temperature of 1040°C were experimentally set for CuFe2 alloy. The highest formability at approx. 1020°C is unusable due to massive grain coarsening. The local minimum of ductility around the temperature 910°C is probably due to minor formation of γ-iron. In the forming temperatures interval 650-950°C and strain rate 0.1-10 s–1 the flow stress curves were obtained and after their analysis hot deformation activation energy of 380 kJ·mol–1 was achieved. Peak stress and corresponding peak strain values were mathematically described with good accuracy by equations depending on Zener-Hollomon parameter.

The influence of the hold time of the austempering heat treatment at 280°C on the microstructure and corrosion resistance in NaCl-based media of austempered ductile iron was investigated using X-ray diffraction, micro-hardness measurements, corrosion tests and surface observations. Martensite was only found in the sample which was heat treated for a short period (10 minutes). Corrosion tests revealed that this phase does not play any role in the anodic processes. Numerous small pits were observed in the α-phase which is the precursor sites in all samples (whatever the value of the hold time of the austempering heat treatment).

In the present work, different Cu-alloyed model ductile irons with ferritic (0%Cu-0.09%Mn), mixed ferritic-pearlitic (0.38%Cu-0.40%Mn) and pearlitic (0.69%Cu-0.63%Mn) microstructure were produced and analyzed in terms of their electrochemical corrosion behavior in a 3.5wt.%NaCl aqueous solution containing naturally dissolved oxygen at room temperature (25°C). The remaining elements such as Si and Mg were kept at balanced levels in an attempt to minimize variations in graphite size and distribution among different samples. The corrosion resistance was evaluated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and potentiodynamic polarization. Microstructure analysis of the cast alloys confirmed similarity in the graphite morphology among the different cast samples and the expected variations in the metallic matrix. In the absence of passivation, it was found that the addition of copper led to an increase in corrosion resistance, which could be attested by higher values polarization resistance and corrosion potential.

The study presented in this paper concerned the possibility to apply a heat treatment process to ductile cast-iron thin-walled castings in order to remove excessive quantities of pearlite and eutectic cementite precipitates and thus meet the customer’s requirements. After determining the rates of heating a casting up to and cooling down from 900°C feasible in the used production heat treatment furnace (vh = 300°C/h and vc = 200°C/h, respectively), dilatometric tests were carried out to evaluate temperatures Tgr, TAc1start, TAc1end, TAr1start, and TAr1end. The newly acquired knowledge was the base on which conditions for a single-step ferritizing heat treatment securing disintegration of pearlite were developed as well as those of a two-step ferritization process guaranteeing complete disintegration of cementite and arriving at the required ferrite and pearlite content. A purely ferritic matrix and hardness of 119 HB was secured by the treatment scheme: 920°C for 2 hours / vc = 60°C/h / 720°C for 4 hours. A matrix containing 20–45% of pearlite and hardness of 180–182 HB was obtained by applying: 920°C for 2 hours or 4 hours / vc = 200°C/h to 650°C / ambient air.

The article presents research on solid particle erosive wear resistance of ductile cast iron after laser surface melting. This surface treatment technology enables improvement of wear resistance of ductile cast iron surface. For the test ductile cast iron EN GJS-350-22 surface was processed by high power diode laser HPDL Rofin Sinar DL020. For the research single pass and multi pass laser melted surface layers were made. The macrostructure and microstructure of multi pass surface layers were analysed. The Vickers microhardness tests were proceeded for single pass and multi pass surface layers. The solid particle erosive test according to standard ASTM G76 – 04 with 30°, 60° and 90° impact angle was made for each multi pass surface layer. As a reference material in erosive test, base material EN GJS-350-22 was used. After the erosive test, worn surfaces observations were carried out on the Scanning Electron Microscope. Laser surface melting process of tested ductile cast iron resulted in maximum 3.7 times hardness increase caused by microstructure change. This caused the increase of erosive resistance in comparison to the base material.

The research article address, the mechanical properties such as fatigue, impact strength and tribological properties of Austempered ductile iron (ADI) has been investigated. The samples of ADI iron were austenitized at 927°C for 2 hrs and later it was under austempering process for 2 hrs at a temperature range of 240°C to 400°C. Experiments under axial loading has been carried out on three different compositions (without Ni(X), 0.22 wt % Ni (X1), 0.34 wt. % Ni (X2). Fabricated test bars were converted in to as per ASTM standard samples for different tests. In order to study the influence of chunky nickel morphology studies on fatigue life and impact strength were carried out on a second set of specimens without any microstructural defect. Metallurgical analyses were performed on all the samples of heat treated samples (AF – Ausferrite, MB – Mixed bainite, M – Martensite, RA – Retained Austenite and N-Nodule) were found and compared. It was found that a mean content of 22% of chunky nickel in the microstructure (with respect to total Ni content) influence considerably the fatigue and impact strength properties of the cast iron. Moreover tribological properties of the specimens were also studied under dry sliding conditions at various sliding speed and load. The wear resistance and coefficient of friction were found to increase with increase in load and sliding speed.

Several recent earthquakes have indicated that the design and construction of bridges based on former seismic design provisions are susceptible to fatal collapse triggered by the failure of reinforced concrete columns. This paper incorporates an experimental investigation into the seismic response of nonductile bridge piers strengthened with low-cost glass fiber reinforced polymers (LC-GFRP). Three full-scale bridge piers were tested under lateral cyclic loading. A control bridge pier was tested in the as-built condition and the other two bridge piers were experimentally tested after strengthening them with LC-GFRP jacketing. The LC-GFRP strengthening was performed using two different configurations. The control bridge pier showed poor seismic response with the progress of significant cracks at very low drift levels. Test results indicated the efficiency of the tested strengthening configurations to improve the performance of the strengthened bridge piers including crack pattern, yield, and ultimate cyclic load capacities, ductility ratio, dissipated energy capacity, initial stiffness degradation, and fracture mode.

This article is a description of the progress of research and development in the area of massive large-scale castings - slag ladles implemented in cooperation with the Faculty of Foundry Engineering of UST in Krakow. Slag ladles are the one of the major castings that has been developed by the Krakodlew (massive castings foundry) for many years. Quality requirements are constantly increasing in relation to the slag ladles. Slag ladles are an integral tool in the logistics of enterprises in the metallurgical industry in the process of well-organized slag management and other by-products and input materials. The need to increase the volume of slag ladles is still growing. Metallurgical production is expected to be achieved in Poland by 2022 at the level of 9.4 million Mg/year for the baseline scenario - 2016 - 9 million Mg/year. This article describes the research work carried out to date in the field of technology for the production of massive slag ladles of ductile cast iron and cast steel.

This paper presents the problems related to smelting gray and ductile cast iron. Special attention is paid to the metallurgical quality of cast iron. It depends on the type of furnace, charge materials and the special combination of charge, overheating and holding temperature, melting time, modification and spheroidization method. The evaluation of metallurgical quality has been performed by using derivativethermal analysis (DTA). During the smelting process and secondary metallurgy, the ITACA system was used allowing to obtain information on alloy characteristic temperatures (Tliquidus, TeMin, TeMax, Tsolidus), VPS value, recalescence value, IGQ coefficient, nucleation gauge, porosity etc. The results of investigations and calculations are displayed in the form of graphs and dependencies. It has been shown that the derivative-thermal analysis (DTA) is an effective complement of chemical analysis and it has been found that both the increase in temperature and metal holding time have a negative impact on the metallurgical quality of liquid metal. The metallurgical quality can be improved by using proper composition of charge materials and modifiers.

High-temperature plastic properties of heat-resistant stainless steel X15CrNiSi 20-12 were assessed on the basis of hot tensile tests and nil strength tests. The results were supported by metallographic analyses using SEM and EDX analysis. The formability of the investigated steel can be divided into roughly three temperature areas. In the temperature range of 900°C to about 1050°C, formability was negatively affected by precipitation of carbide particles at grain boundaries. As the temperature rose to 1200°C, these particles dissolved, resulting in an increase in formability. Further temperature increases resulted in a relatively steep drop in formability caused by overheating of the material. The nil ductility temperature of 1280°C and the nil-strength temperature of 1362°C were determined. The Plastic and strength properties of the investigated material were compared with the deformation behavior of the reference steel X5CrNi 18-10, which shows a significantly wider range of suitable forming temperatures.

In this research, nonlinear analysis of composite shear walls (CSWs) with a gap between reinforced concrete wall and steel frame is investigated under cyclic loading by the use of the finite element method (FEM) software ABAQUS. For the purpose of the verification, an experimental test is modelled and comparison of its obtained result with that of the experimental test demonstrates an inconsiderable difference between them; therefore, the reasonable accuracy of the modelling is revealed. Then, effects of different parameters on the behaviour of the CSWs are examined. Gap size between reinforced concrete wall and steel frame, reinforcement percentage, steel sections of beams and columns, and existence of reinforced concrete wall are considered as parameters. It is concluded that change of the parameters affects the ultimate strength, ductility, and energy dissipation of the system. A steel shear wall (SSW) is also modelled and compared with the CSWs. Buckling of the walls is presented as well.

This paper describes a fiber-based model proposed for computing the nonlinear longitudinal shear distribution in composite steel-concrete beams. The presented method incorporates the accurate stress-strain relationship with strain softening for concrete and bi-linear constitutive relation for structural steel, both in agreement with Eurocodes, however any one-dimensional constitutive relation can be used. The numerical solution for a simply supported beams loaded with the uniform load, concentrated force and both was presented. The results indicate that the highest value of the shear flow for a beam under an uniform load is at the ends and in the one third of the span length and for the point load, the maximum shear is in the proximity of the concentrated force.

Rubberized concrete is made up of scrap tyre rubbers where the fine aggregate is partially replaced by it, as the waste rubber is being a threat to the environment. It is estimated that only 4% of the waste tyre is used in the application of civil engineering and also there is shortage of fine aggregates. The primary objective of this study is to investigate the preliminary concrete properties of M25 and M30 concretes. The fine aggregate is replaced by pre-treated crumb rubber with 10, 15 and 20 % of total weight. Various tests are conducted on the rubberized concrete specimens such as compressive strength, split tensile strength, flexural strength and slump test. The investigation is carried out to determine the impact load behavior of hybrid rubberized composite slabs. In addition 0%, 1%, 1.5%, and 2% of replacement of rubber fibers for total weight of coarse aggregate is also made. The specimen of size 300 mm x 300 mm x 50 mm thickness is subjected to drop hammer test to find its performance against the impact loads. The number of blows for the first crack and complete failure of slab was found and the characteristics were studied.