Using of Lightweight concrete (LWC) amounts to a lower cost and a better thermal performance due to its unique properties and light density. The main disadvantage in using lightweight concrete is that its mechanical properties are relatively poor. An effective method to improve the mechanical properties of lightweight concrete is using a dosage of nano-silica in the concrete mix. The gained enhancement of mechanical properties promotes a more serious discussion of structural applications of lightweight concrete. There exists an optimum dosage of nano-silica by which the mechanical properties enhancement is maximized. Increasing the nano-silica content beyond the optimum dosage degrades the mechanical properties. However, a fixed optimum dosage is not agreed upon in literature. This paper investigates the optimum dosage of NS to enhance the mechanical properties and microstructure of a lightweight concrete made with lightweight expanded clay aggregates (LECA). The results concluded that a dosage of 0.75% of nano-silica is optimum for the studied lightweight concrete mixes.
The potential of computing in education can be easily visualized by comparing manual calculations to using spreadsheets. The various benefits range from easing repetitive tasks to visualizing data. It also grants the ability to explore without being hindered by heavy computational burdens. Programming is one computing tool that is mostly neglected in civil engineering education, where to the modern civil engineer computing may be viewed as only using commercially available software. But how can programming be used in a civil engineering class? This paper aims to answer this question by illustrating three different examples of programs written using python programming language to create impactful visualizations and engaging projects. Programming can be used in-class by educators to create visualizations and interactive sessions, or by students to train their algorithmic-thinking problem-solving skills. Though there are many barriers that obstruct implementing computing into civil engineering classes, they can be mitigated by using python.
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