G. Murali

• PhD
• Postdoctoral researcher at Universiti Tenaga Nasional

This study investigates the impact response of Functionally-graded Preplaced Aggregate Fibrous Concrete (FPAFC) made with steel and polypropylene fibres against falling mass impact. FPAFC is a new type of concrete containing coarse aggregates and fibres pre-mixed and uniquely packed into an empty mold to develop a skeletal system. Subsequently, voi...

Ultra-High-Performance Concrete (UHPC) is distinguished by its exceptional mechanical strength and durability, making it a preferred material for high-performance structural applications. However, the high cement content required for achieving these properties significantly contributes to carbon emissions, posing environmental concerns. To enhance...

The construction industry is confronted with substantial challenges due to the ecological consequences of traditional concrete production, a substantial role player in carbon emissions. In light of these issues, there is increasing interest in sustainable alternatives, such as geopolymer concrete, which can be enhanced with steel fibres to improve...

Foam glass (FG) is characterized by its lightweight structure and exceptional insulating properties, making it a highly suitable material for a wide range of applications. It is produced by foaming molten glass, resulting in a cellular structure that enhances its insulation and impact-resistant properties. Due to its sustainability and durability,...

This study explores the utilization potential of Lantana camara (LC), a woody shurb eradicated from the forest and non-forest areas, for developing particleboards and briquettes. Research was conducted in four stages, the initial stage examined the anatomical characteristics of LC wood to assess its industrial suitability. The second stage focused...

The research necessity stems from the need to understand and evaluate the performance of Two-Stage Concrete (TSC) under triaxial compression conditions, as prior studies have predominantly focused on uniaxial and biaxial testing of conventional concrete (CC). This study represents the first comprehensive investigation into the triaxial compressive...

This study aims to investigate the effect of fibers on the impact strength of fibrous one-part geopolymer concrete (OPGC) to mitigate its brittleness. This research examines the impact strength of OPGC activated with sodium metasilicate pentahydrate, utilizing fly ash as a precursor material. The study uniquely explores the effects of bottom ash, s...

As the predominant and cost-effective material in the construction industry, concrete is susceptible to tension weaknesses, leading to significant flaws such as cracking and brittle fracturing. Recent advancements in fibrous concrete have emerged as a solution to mitigate these issues. Incorporating steel fibers in concrete has emerged as a promisi...

Due to their excellent mechanical features, concrete-filled steel tube (CFST) columns are usually employed in high-rise constructions; it is also significant to consider fire safety while designing buildings. The fire-resistance performance of fibre-reinforced CFST columns is superior to that of unreinforced CFST columns under identical conditions....

This study conducts a comprehensive comparative analysis of the triaxial compressive strength and associated mechanical properties between Two-Stage Concrete (TSC) and Conventional Concrete (CC). Through rigorous using triaxial test methodologies, our research quantitatively delineates TSC's mechanical superiority, promoting its broader application...

This research focuses on recycling lime sludge as a calcium carbonate (CaCO 3) source in producing a low-clinker cementitious binder and other supplementary cementitious materials. The study comprises three main phases. In the first phase, raw lime sludge collected from the textile industry was analyzed for pH, metal content, anions, and microstruc...

Nowadays, cement manufacturing stands as the third most significant contributor to anthropo-genic CO 2 emissions. Alkali-activated techniques are emerging as a potentially more environmentally friendly alternate binder to mitigate the risks related to climate change. The current investigation utilizes the notion of preplaced aggregate concrete (PAC...

Melia dubia is a rapidly expanding tree species in southern India, but it has only seen limited use in wood-based panel products until recently is a main drawback. To fulfill this research gap, this study aimed to develop three reinforcement materials to create Reinforced Laminated Veneer Lumber (RLVL) from Melia dubia. Three types of reinforcement...

The development of ternary blended geopolymers is one of the recent advancements in geopolymer concrete technology, which utilizes different source materials in various proportions. The researches based on the behavior of ternary blended geopolymers are very limited. A new attempt has been made in this paper to anticipate the behavior of ternary bl...

This study investigated the impact strength of fibrous concrete and its mode I, mode III, and mixed-mode I/III fracture toughness. Three binders were produced with varying compositions. The first binder was created by combining 95% clinker and 5% gypsum. The second binder consisted of 50% clinker, 30% calcined clay, 15% recycled lime sludge (RLS),...

Sustainable and ecologically friendly building practices require increased conservation and recycling of renewable resources. Because of the rise in development and demolition worldwide, using recycled construction materials as aggregate in new concrete can be an essential step towards making the material more environmentally friendly. Removing or...

Ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) is a cutting-edge pozzolan composite material composed of a high proportion of discontinuous internal reinforcing fibers, a water-to-binder material ratio of no more than 0.25, and an optimal gradient of granular particles. Despite various potential concrete applications, UHPC is only utilized on occasion beca...

The phosphate industry produces a hazardous byproduct called phosphogypsum (PG). A rising global stockpiling of PG poses severe threats to public health and the environment. Fortunately, recycling this material may be a risk-free and environmentally beneficial answer to this problem. It is necessary to examine its current application and future gro...

Te unsustainable use of resources and the rising demand for traditional concrete have disrupted ecological equilibrium, necessitating the adoption of a more appropriate and long-lasting alternative. One such substitute for cement in concrete production is geopolymer concrete, although this material is prone to cracking and fracturing due to its low...

Reactive Powder Concrete (RPC) is a relatively new composite concrete material type. The development of RPC aims to achieve a microstructural improvement primarily through incorporating fine aggregates rather than coarse aggregates, more tightly packed particles, increased toughness, and supplementary cementing materials. Although the RPC has excel...

Ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) is a novel concrete class characterized by a compressive strength of more than 150 MPa. One of the most significant drawbacks of employing UHPC is that is very low permeability owing to its great compactness of dense structure increases the risk of fire-induced spalling. It is challenging for fire safety and s...

Recently, several scientists have paid special attention to how high temperatures alter the chemical and physical features of reinforced concrete structural members such as slabs. Cantilever concrete slabs, the impact of cooling regimes, the influence of the crack created during heating, and the residual strength of concrete slabs subjected to extr...

Recently, several scientists have paid special attention to how high temperatures alter the chemical and physical features of reinforced concrete structural members such as slabs. Cantilever concrete slabs, the impact of cooling regimes, the influence of the crack created during heating, and the residual strength of concrete slabs subjected to extr...

Concrete is the most widely used and inexpensive material in the construction sector. However, due to its weakness in tension, the cracking and brittle fracturing of concrete is considered a major deficiency. Advancements in fibrous concretes have recently been emerged to mitigate this issue. Preplaced Aggregate Fibrous Concrete (PAFC) and Slurry I...

As the global population and industrial and commercial activities continue to expand, the accompanying amount of industrial and solid waste increases constantly. The subject of utilizing and recycling solid wastes as building materials has recently drawn considerable interest from researchers from all over the world. The amount of waste glass produ...

Lightweight clay aggregate (LECA) is manufactured by heating clay with no lime content in the kiln; as a result, the water evaporates and angular clay balls with pore structures are obtained. LECA possess internal curing properties as any other lightweight aggregate due to their pore structure and higher water absorption capacity. In this work, exp...

The response of plain and fibrous concrete to the scenario of fired structures exposed to repeated impacts from falling fragmented building elements and other objects is experimentally investigated in this study. The experimental program included the casting and testing of specimens with 0%, 0.5%, and 1.0% hooked-end steel fibers (SFs) under the AC...

In today’s scenario, composite materials play a vital role in automobile, aerospace, and defence sectors because of their higher strength, light weight and other mechanical properties. Aluminium alloy Al6082 is a medium strength alloy with good corrosion resistance properties; hence, it is used for high-stress applications, bridges, cranes, etc. Th...

Growing agricultural, industrial, and residential needs have increased the demand for groundwater resources. Targeting groundwater has become a challenging endeavour because of the complex interplay between varying climatic, geological, hydrological, and physiographic elements. This study proposes a hybrid RS, GIS, and ANP method to delineate groun...

Concrete is the most extensively utilized and cheapest building material. The cracking and fracturing of concrete may cause catastrophic harm to the structures. Advancements in fibrous concretes have recently been emerged to mitigate these issues. Two-Stage Fibrous Concrete (TSFC) is a new cement composite made of fibres with surpassing mechanical...

The accumulated waste generated from industries severely affects environmental conditions. Using waste as a construction material or soil stabilization is an emerging area in the construction industry. Introducing new additive materials to strengthen local soils using industrial waste is an inexpensive and more effective method to improve the soil....

Buildings and other infrastructure should be designed to withstand impact loads in terrorist attacks or industrial catastrophes. Fibrous concrete is utilized in a variety of ways in the construction of structures to resist impact loads. Preplaced aggregate fibrous concrete (PAFC) has a different production method than traditional fibrous concrete....

Geopolymer mortar is the best solution as an alternative to cement mortar in civil engineering. This paper deals with the effect of geopolymer mortar on the strength and microstructural properties under ambient curing conditions. In this research, geopolymer mortars were prepared with fly ash and steel slag (in the ratio 1:2.0, 1:2.5 and 1:3.0) as...

With the aim of investigating the response of concrete to the dual effect of accidental fire high temperatures and possible induced impacts due to falling fragmented or burst parts or objects, an experimental work is conducted in this study to explore the influence of exposure to temperatures of 200, 400 and 600 °C on the responses of concrete spec...

Concrete is the most widely used and most affordable construction material. The structural damage that concrete cracks and fractures may cause can be severe. These concerns have lately been alleviated by new developments in fibre concretes. Recent advancements in fibrous concrete and its evolution have been rapidly drawing researchers’ attentions w...

High-strength concrete is designed for a self-weight reduction structure and exhibits higher resistance to compressive loads. This paper proposes a novel technique to enhance concrete’s properties using Magnetic Field Treated Water (MFTW), describing the results of experimental studies to apprehend the fresh, hardened and microstructural behavior o...

The proper disposal of used rubber tires has emerged as a primary concern for the environment all over the globe. Millions of tires are thrown away, buried and discarded every year, posing a major environmental concern owing to their slow decomposition. As a result, it is advantageous to use recycled waste rubber aggregates as an additional buildin...

The shear behavior of innovative engineered cementitious composites (ECC) members with a hybrid mix of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and polypropylene (PP) fibers is examined. The overall objective of the investigation is to understand the shear behavior of ECC beams with different mono and hybrid fiber combinations without compromising the strength and...

Recycling trash and protecting natural resources are two of the many benefits of using copper slag as a fine aggregate in a concrete building. However, stakeholders need proven research output to build trust and initiate or enhance the use of such industrial waste in buildings. This study evaluated self-compacting concrete’s fresh and hardened char...

This research discusses the performance of engineered cementitious composite (ECC) beams with and without transverse reinforcements using thorough analytical and finite element (FE) approaches under shear. The overall goal of this investigation was to assess the impact of various design characteristics, such as (i) shear span-to-effective depth rat...

Sustainable development is a major issue confronting society today. Cement, a major constituent of concrete, is a key component of any infrastructure development. The major drawback of cement production is that it involves the emission of CO2, the predominant greenhouse gas causing global warming. The development of geopolymers has resulted in a de...

The present work investigates the mechanical and chemical characteristics and durability of high-strength geopolymer concrete (HSGPC) developed using high-volume copper slag and micro silica. The objective of the study was to explore the feasibility of deploying high-volume copper slag as a replacement for river sand in the fabrication of high-stre...

The characteristics of a concrete mix are purely dependent on the hydration of cement that is carried forward by using the water quality used in the mix. Several researchers have focused on incorporating pozzolanic or nanomaterials to improve the hydration mechanisms and impart high strength to concrete. A new technology has been introduced to impr...

Cracking is one of the main problems in concrete structures and is affected by various parameters. The step-by-step laboratory method, which includes casting specimens, curing for a certain period, and testing, remains a source of worry in terms of cost and time. Novel machine learning methods for anticipating the behavior of raw materials on the u...

The ACI 544-2R introduced a qualitative test to compare the impact resistance of fibrous concretes under repeated falling-mass impact loads, which is considered to be a low-cost, quick solution for material-scale impact tests owing to the simplified apparatus, test setup and procedure, where none of the usual sophisticated sensors and data acquisit...

Beam–column joints are extremely vulnerable to lateral and vertical loads in reinforced concrete (RC) structures. This insufficiency in joint performance can lead to the failure of the whole structure in the event of unforeseen seismic and wind loads. This experimental work was conducted to study the behaviour of ternary blend geopolymer concrete (...

Preplaced aggregate fibrous concrete (PAFC) is a revolutionary kind of concrete composite that is gaining popularity and attracting the interest of academics from across the world. PAFC is a uniquely designed concrete prepared by stacking and packing premixed fibers and coarse aggregate in a steel mold. The gaps between the fibers and aggregates ar...

Self-sensing concrete is a smart material known for its cost-effectiveness in structural health-monitoring areas, which converts the external stimuli into a stress/strain sensing parameter. Self-sensing material has excellent mechanical and electrical properties that allow it to act as a multifunctional agent satisfying both the strength and struct...

Building and infrastructure damages, such as tunnels, have become a more important issue because of the continuous expansion of rural and urban constructions. It is well-known that when high-strength concretes (HSCs) are exposed to high temperatures; it is more likely to experience explosive fire-induced spalling than conventional strength concrete...

Ultraviolet radiation, oxidation, temperature, moisture, and traffic loads produce degradation and brittleness in the asphalt pavement. Microcracks develop into macrocracks, which eventually lead to pavement failure. Although asphalt has an inherent capacity for self-healing, it is constricted. As a result, damages build beyond the ability of aspha...

This research focuses on estimating the ACC (axial compression capacity) of concrete-filled double-skin tubular (CFDST) columns. The study utilised algorithms and ‘six’ evaluation methods (XGBoost, AdaBoost, Lasso, Ridge, Random Forest Regressor and artificial neural network (ANN) architecture-based regression) to study the empirical formulae and u...

Geopolymer concrete is one of the innovative eco-friendly materials that has gained the attention of many researchers in the sustainable development of the construction industry. The primary objective of this experimental investigation is to study the flexural behaviour of the ternary blend geopolymer concrete (TGPC) with various proportions of hyb...

Self-Compacting Concrete (SCC), a high-performance concrete with exceptional fluidity and cohesiveness, has gained popularity recently. The consolidation qualities and durability demands of this material require the application of Supplemental Cementitious Materials (SCMs). Alccofine is a type of additive material that has the potential to increase...

For the first time, a comprehensive review of the literature data on the use of apricot (Prunus armeniaca) biomass components as a sorption material for the treatment of wastewater and environmental water from various pollutants is carried out in the present study. In addition to a comprehensive analysis of contemporary studies, the current work ca...

A material-tailored special concrete composite that uses a synthetic fiber to make the concrete ductile and imposes strain-hardening characteristics with eco-friendly ingredients is known as an “engineered geopolymer composite (EGC)”. Mix design of special concrete is always tedious, particularly without standards. Researchers used several artifici...

In this research study, the performance of geopolymer concrete (GPC) in-filled fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) composite (GPC-FRP) columns exposed to compressive loading is examined using the finite element (FE) analysis. The load–deflection behaviour is investigated by considering the impact of the strength of concrete, different fibre orientations...

Reactive Powder Concretes (RPC) are well known for their exceptional strength properties and durability properties. The use of Supplementary Cementitious Materials (SCM) is the best way to enhance the strength and durability characteristics of RPCs further. Among various SCMs, the potential of Ground Granulated Blast-furnace Slag (GGBS) is proven b...

A R T I C L E I N F O Keywords: 3D printing Calcium silicate hydrates Modification Mortar A B S T R A C T The trend of concrete science is aimed at reducing the consumption of cement and the use of 3D printing technologies. Based on non-traditional technical silica, 3D printed mortars were designed with a saving of 70% of cement. The binder compone...

This paper details the selection of machine learning models for predicting the effectiveness of a heat pipe system in a concentric tube exchanger. Heat exchanger experiments with methanol as the working fluid were conducted. The value of the angle varied from 0° to 90°, values of temperature varied from 50 °C to 70 °C, and the flow rate varied from...

This research examines the modified drop-mass impact performance on functionally graded preplaced aggregate fibrous concrete (FPAFC) against repeated low-velocity impacts. Three-layered FPAFCs were prepared with the outer layers reinforced with steel and polypropylene fibers to evaluate the impact resistance. For comparison, both one- and two-layer...

In recent years, prepacked aggregate fibrous concrete (PAFC) is a new composite that has earned immense popularity and attracted researchers globally. The preparation procedure consists of two steps: the coarse aggregate is initially piled into a mold to create a natural skeleton and then filled with flowable grout. In this instance, the skeleton w...

This research tests energy optimised furnace (EOF) steel slag as substitution for natural coarse aggregate in concrete. Steel slag’s usefulness as a substitute for natural coarse aggregate in concrete is the primary goal of this research. According to IS:2386-1963, the characterization of EOF steel slag, as coarse, is done by examining the shape an...

In the present study, Erosion wear of stainless steel 420 was predicted using an artificial neural network (ANN). Stainless steel 420 is used for making slurry transportation components, such as pump impellers and casings. The erosion wear performance was analyzed by using a slurry pot tester at the rotational speed of 600–1500 rpm with a time dura...

The article presents the mixed finite element formulation for examining the biomagnetic fluid dynamics as governed by the Navier–Stokes equation, coupled with energy and magnetic expressions. Both ferrohydrodynamics and magnetohydrodynamics describe the additional magnetic effects. For model discretization, the Galerkin weighted residual method was...

The brittleness of plain concrete represents a significant issue to the integrity of concrete structures when subjected to impact loading. Recent rapid industrialization has attracted researchers to find a solution for concrete brittleness and enhance its ductility. In light of this, the prepacked aggregate fibrous concrete (PAFC) with single and d...

For decades, lightweight concrete has been used in various civil engineering applications. Cellular concrete is a type of lighweight concrete that is an emerging composite in materials engineering still. However, due to its low weight, it can be integrated with industrial by-products to develop more advanced composites such as ultra-lightweight cel...

The construction sector has embraced digitalization and industrialization to boost production, reduce material consumption, and improve workmanship. The 3D-printed concrete technology (3DPCT), more broadly recognized as the design of a 3D object via a computer-aided design (CAD) model or a digital 3D model, has accelerated considerable progress in...

Due to man-made and natural anomalies occurring on planet Earth, there are a lot of destroyed cities, settlements and houses. The issue is how to rebuild these cities and how to use parts of the destroyed buildings and structures in making greener concrete. This paper aims to study the efficiency and effect of using concrete demolition wastes on th...

In recent years, geopolymer concrete (GC) has become more popular in construction because of its multiple benefits, such as eco-friendliness, high temperature resistance and resistance to chemical attack in harsh environments. However, GC has limited deformation capability and tensile strength compared to ordinary concrete. Geopolymer fibrous concr...