Browsing by Author "Khalid Saqer Alotaibi"

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Development and Evaluation of Engineered Nanocellulose-Based Mortar Synthesized Using Hydrolysis of Strong and Weak Acids
(2023) Tag Nasreldin Hussein; Zubair, Mukarram; Mukarram Zubair; Mohammad Saood Manzarr; Khalid Saqer Alotaibi; Hussein, Tag Nasreldin; Alharthi, Yasir M.
Engineers constantly seek innovative techniques to incorporate existing materials to perform better and attain sustainability. Owing to the high aspect ratio and mechanical strength, nanostructured cellulose may help the development of a value-added construction product. In this study, two kinds of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs), synthesized using strong hydrochloric acid (HCl) (CNC-H) and weak formic acid (CH2O2) (CNC-F) having crystallinities of 89.89% and 92.61%, diameters of 1 μm and 15–17 μm, lengths 10–40 μm and 87 μm, and solid to acid ratios of 1 g:10 ml and 1 g:25 ml, respectively, were incorporated as a green additive (0–1% by wt. of cement) in the production of mortar. The performance of the fabricated mortar samples was determined by flow, compressive strength, and volume of permeable pore space tests. The outcomes were endorsed by analytical tests. The overall performance of CNC-H outperformed CNC-F. A linear drop was noticed in the flow of fresh mortar with the increase in the content of CNCs because of agglomeration governed by their particle proportions. The highest compressive strengths and least volume of voids were recorded in CNC-H samples (41.1 MPa and 13.6%), respectively. These values were 19.5% greater and 18.6% lesser than that of CNC-free control samples, respectively. The factors contributing to the improved performance of CNC-H specimens included lower crystallinity of material and the enhanced interlocking effect among ingredients in cementitious composites, as evident from the X-ray and SEM analysis. On contrary, the poor performance of CNC-F specimens was attributed to the incomplete degradation of cellulose domain due to weak hydrolysis. It is suggested that CNC-H mortar has an enormous possibility as an additive in the construction industry in technical, environmental, commercial, and industrial ways.
Mechanical, non-destructive, and thermal characterization of biochar-based mortar composite
(2023) Aziz, Muhammad Arif; Zubair, Mukarram; Saleem, Muhammad; Noman Ashraf; Ashraf, Noman; Khalid Saqer Alotaibi; Aga, Omer; Al Eid, Ammar Ali A.
Sustainable materials present a significant revolution in the construction industry and exhibit tremendous potential to develop a green building material that can be adopted to lower the construction sector’s carbon footprint. This study details the development, mechanical and thermal properties of mortar produced using biochar derived from date palm leaves (BioCl) and date palm seeds (BioCs) as a cement additive. A detailed experimental protocol including flowability, compressive strength, the volume of permeable voids test, ultrasonic pulse velocity test, nondestructive crack identification, and thermal was conducted to understand the effect of adding biochar on the performance characteristics of mortar. The durability and mechanical test indicated that BioCl performed better than BioCs while both additive materials performed better than the control samples. Adding BioCl and BioCs to 0.75% and 1.00% improved the compressive strength to 7 and 5%, respectively, compared to the control samples. The ultrasonic pulse velocity direct and indirect method results were significantly reduced to a maximum of 22.54% and 20.46 with the addition of BioCl and BioCs in mortar. This further confirms the dense packing of biochar particles into the interfacial transition zone of the matrix. Biochar-masonry concrete blocks showed almost 41% lower thermal conductivity than control concrete, indicating biochar-based blocks’ high thermal performance.
Towards attaining efficient management of berth maintenance in Saudi Arabian Industrial Ports
Abdullah Mohammed Binomar; Mohammed Essam Ali Shaawat; Abdulaziz Saud Abdulaziz Almohassen; Khalid Saqer Alotaibi
Despite the significance of ports as critical economic infrastructure, the berth facilities usually deteriorate due to heavy loading, unloading, aging, environmental weather conditions, marine growths, and lack of efficient maintenance management. Marine berths require proactive maintenance management to limit deterioration and defects as no berth facility is maintenance-free. Thus, delay in carrying out maintenance work for the marine berths can be devastating to the operational process involving ship entry, loading, and unloading operations. The aim of this research is to coordinate both operations work, and maintenance works that take place inside the berth of a local industrial port in Saudi Arabia, by developing a novel framework that integrates both works without affecting the efficiency and functionality of the berth. The study focused on defining the operational process of the port and identifying the elements with direct and indirect effects. In addition to determining the priority for the entry of ships inside the berth, it also identified the factors involved in designing a framework that included maintenance work as a component of the monthly berth occupancy schedule. By applying a mathematical model, a framework was established, which includes all the important elements of the process. As a result of the mathematical method formulation process, a database was designed that organizes and coordinates the operations of all berths within the port. This creates time to carry out the required maintenance work monthly as well as ease of coordination with the contractors responsible for the implementation of those works.