Shazim Ali Memon

• PhD
• Professor (Assistant) at Nazarbayev University

Using sustainable cement-based alternatives, such as secondary cementitious raw materials (SCMs), could be a viable option to decrease CO2 emissions resulting from cement production. Previously conducted studies to determine the optimal mix designs of concrete primarily focused on either experimental approaches or empirical modeling techniques. How...

Existing buildings' climate zoning approaches often overlook the incorporation of building energy usage data, leading to discrepancies between climate zoning classifications and the ever-increasing demands for energy efficiency in modern construction practices. This research proposes a novel spatially constrained approach that incorporates multivar...

Novel indicators (HS and HR) for PCM performance evaluation in buildings. • Impact of ventilation strategies on energy consumption of PCM-integrated buildings. • PCM combined with controlled ventilation yields the best energy savings. • A minimum payback period of 5 years is achieved in economic analysis. • PCM with natural ventilation saves a maxi...

This research investigated the thermal and energy performance of a PCM-integrated Mid-rise Apartment building in 15 climatic zones and 60 cities using EnergyPlus software. A novel qualitative and quantitative concept was introduced to establish the performance of optimum PCM compared to no PCM case. Moreover, economic and environmental assessments...

Understanding the link between the energy-efficiency of buildings and climatic conditions can improve the design of energy-efficient housing. Due to global climate change and growing requirements for building energy-efficiency, the number of publications on climate zoning for buildings has grown over the last 20 years. This review attempted to give...

Bio-healing is now believed as a promising technique for the repair of concrete cracks. However, the healing capability of bacterial mixes against repeated damage cycles is still questionable. This study aims to investigate the robustness of bio-healable concrete against two successive damage cycles using Bacillus Subtilis immobilized via sisal fib...

Forecasting energy demand has become an essential element for energy stakeholders in planning and reducing the energy consumption of buildings. Machine learning techniques have become popular for forecasting building energy demand owing to their reliability and cost efficiency. This research aims to propose a model for predicting the energy consump...

In the present study, rarely explored spore former (Bacillus safensis & Bacillus pumilus) and non-spore former (Arthrobacter luteolus, Chryseomicrobium imtechense & Corynebacterium efficiens) alkaliphilic calcifying microbes were evaluated for their prolonged survival in cementitious environment. Extensive experimental program was designed to exami...

The degree days (DD) approach is one of the most extensively used methods for building-oriented climate zoning. However, DD only provides a limited view of the influence of climatic conditions in buildings, and when combined with building energy simulation, this limitation is minimized. In this study, a novel approach for the establishment of clima...

In the present study, optimization of PCM layer thickness and melting temperature to increase the energy-saving potential of the office building located in eight cities in the Cfb climate zone was conducted using the Fanger model. The sensitivity of the energy savings to the selection of PCM melting temperature was quantitatively analyzed using a n...

Using biomass waste as supplementary cementing material (SCM) in concrete has attracted researchers’ attention for efficient waste utilization and reducing cement demand. Sugarcane bagasse ash (SCBA) is one such example of biomass waste. It is an agricultural waste obtained when sugarcane bagasse from the sugar industry is used for power generation...

In this paper, an electrochemical method was proposed to recycle nanoarchitectonics of graphene oxide (GO) from carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP). In the recycling process, NaCl solution with varied concentrations (3% and 10%) and tap water were used as electrolyte, while the impressed current density varied from 2.67 A/m2 to 20.63 A/m2. The r...

In this study, X-ray microcomputed tomography (XCT) and nanoindentation techniques were used to evaluate the synergistic action between sulfate and chloride ingress under cyclic drying–immersion conditions on steel-reinforced mortars. Three salt solutions, namely 3% NaCl (Sc), 5% Na2SO4 (Ss), and 5% Na2SO4 + 3% NaCl (Scs), were used and 24 drying–i...

In this study, waste from agriculture and industrial sources was transformed into valuable biochar to reduce the environmental threats associated with the open burning of this waste and used as an additive in concrete for the first time to impart superior mechanical characteristics to conventional concrete. Carbonaceous inert particles were derived...

The influence of initial defect on the degradation of both steel and mortar cover exposed to cyclic wetting and drying environment was studied based on a 3D scanning technique. For this purpose, three locations of initial defects (interface, middle, and surface defect) were studied and compared with the case without initial defect. The results show...

Nowadays, the residential sector of Kazakhstan accounts for about 30% of the total energy consumption. Therefore, it is essential to analyze the energy estimation model for residential buildings in Kazakhstan so as to reduce energy consumption. This research is aimed to develop the Overall Thermal Transfer Value (OTTV) based Building Energy Simulat...

Various researchers have investigated the performance of PCM in buildings. However, the following issues still need more elaboration: a) How the climate related factors influence the performance of PCM integrated building in subtropical climate region? b) Can generalized equations be proposed for estimation of energy demand based on annual and seas...

Expansive/swell-shrink soils exhibit high plasticity and low strength, which lead to settlement and instability of lightly loaded structures. These problematic soils contain various swelling clay minerals that are unsuitable for engineering requirements. In an attempt to counter the treacherous damage of such soils in modern geotechnical engineerin...

The degradation of cement mortar subject to combined chloride ingress and sulfate attack under cyclic wetting–drying condition was studied through microstructural analysis. The specimens were exposed alternatively to a designated salt solution (NaCl, Na2SO4, or a mixture of NaCl and Na2SO4 solution) and air drying to simulate the natural conditions...

Rebar corrosion has been recognized as a major durability issue of the reinforced concrete (RC) structures over recent decades, prompting the necessity to study the corrosion behavior of steel in concrete during the service life. To estimate service life of RC structure, the corrosion of reinforcing steel is generally accelerated by means of the im...

This study aims to investigate the thermal performance of PCM and PCM combined with nighttime natural (NV) and mechanical ventilation (MV) applied to a residential building located in eight cities of tropical rainforest climate zone (Af). The analysis was accomplished using numerical simulations and developing a unique methodology for selecting the...

The depletion of natural sand resources occurs due to excessive consumption of aggregate for concrete production. Continuous extraction of sand from riverbeds permanently depletes fine aggregate resources. At the same time, a major ecological challenge is the disposal of agricultural waste ash from biomass burning. In this study, an environmental f...

In this research, multiexpression programming (MEP) has been employed to model the compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, and flexural strength of waste sugarcane bagasse ash (SCBA) concrete. Particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm was used to fine-tune the hyperparameter of the proposed MEP. The formulation of SCBA concrete was corr...

Many existing studies on punching shear in a RC flat plate slab without shear reinforcement consider uncracked concrete in the compression zone or the aggregate interlock mechanism in the cracked tension zone as shear resistance to external shear forces. However, recent studies have provided clear experimental evidence indicating interdependency be...

This study investigates the potential of PCM and natural ventilation to strengthen the thermal comfort inside the lightweight relocatable building located in Kazakhstan during the summer period. The quantification of the impact of the PCM on the thermal comfort was accomplished using the concepts of maximum operative temperature reduction and disco...

Fly ash (FA) is a residual from thermal industries that has been effectively utilized in the production of FA-based geopolymer concrete (FGPC). To avoid time-consuming and costly experimental procedures, soft computing techniques, namely, random forest regression (RFR) and gene expression programming (GEP), are used in this study to develop an empi...

The emission of CO2 and energy requirement in the production of Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) causes the continuous depletion of ozone layer and global warming. The introduction of geopolymer concrete (GPC) technology in the construction industry leads to sustainable development and cleaner environment by reducing environmental pollution. In this...

Extensive research on functionalized graphene, graphene oxide, and carbon nanotube based cement composites has been carried out to strengthen and overcome the shortcomings of construction materials. However, less literature is available on the pure graphene based cement composite. In this review paper, an in-depth study on a graphene-based cement c...

Use of phase change materials (PCMs) in building envelopes has potential to improve the energy performance of buildings. Even though Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) tools have been widely applied to rank PCMs for various applications, the following issues still need more elaboration: a) How to account for the climate-related factors in the ra...

The complication linked with the prediction of the ultimate capacity of concrete-filled steel tubes (CFST) short circular columns reveals a need for conducting an in-depth structural behavioral analyses of this member subjected to axial-load only. The distinguishing feature of gene expression programming (GEP) has been utilized for establishing a p...

Tall buildings are being built for more than a century now, but there has been an exponential growth in the development of convoluted tall buildings with distinctive architecture. A tall building with a unique structural form, brings forth admonishing challenges for the structural designers to deal with. Such a contemporary inclination towards the...

In developing countries, one of the usual practices is the uncontrolled, open burning of corn stalk (CS) or its utilization as a fuel. It is known that the ash obtained under uncontrolled burning conditions constitutes blackish and unburnt carbon particles as well as whitish and grayish particles (representing crystallization of silica) due to over...

The global earth atmosphere is degrading due to the abundant use of fossil fuel for fulfilling the energy demands of rapidly growing economies. The conventional brick manufacturing process contributes its part by consuming energy in its firing process, which causes global warming and cardio-respiratory diseases attributed to increasing concentratio...

Phase change materials have been applied to a building framework to decrease energy and fossil fuel consumption as well as make the building sector more sustainable. Lightweight structures are attractive and increasingly being used in residential buildings. Hence, in this research, the energy efficiency and thermal performance of buildings located...

In this paper, the influence of graphene oxide (GO) on the microstructure of interfacial transition zone (ITZ) in cement mortar was investigated through image analysis (IA) of backscattered electron (BSE) micrographs. The results showed that the incorporation of GO significantly reduced the thickness of ITZ. The porosity in ITZ and bulk paste decre...

This paper evaluated the effect of graphene oxide/graphene (GO/GR) hybrid on mechanical properties of cement mortar. The underlying mechanism was also investigated. In the GO/GR hybrid, GO was expected to act as a dispersant for GR while GR was used as reinforcement in mortar due to its excellent mechanical properties. For the mortar specimen, flex...

Nano-refined epoxy paste is formulated using the optimum fractions of nano-silica fume and graphite powder to effectively encapsulate the aggregate storing phase change materials. The refined recipe offered delays in setting by 3–3.5 hrs accompanied with 15 times reduction in the thickness of coated layer, contributing in added workability, reduced...

In actual reinforced concrete structures, plenty of initial defects exist, which may greatly influence the behavior of steel corrosion and cracking within concrete cover. Thus, this paper presents an experimental investigation into the effects of initial defects within mortar cover on the corrosion of a steel bar in mortar and on the cracking of mo...

Phase change materials can be applied into building framework to reduce energy and fossil fuel consumption as well as to make the building sector more sustainable. In this research, it is hypothesized that a group of PCMs in the narrow range can be used for the whole tropical savanna climate according to Koppen-Geiger climate classification. Eight...

Phase change materials is one of the innovative technologies to reduce the heating and cooling demand of buildings. In this research, the thermal performance and energy efficiency of PCM-incorporated residential house located in Sharjah and Al-Ain cities using DesignBuilder software have been evaluated. According to the simulation results, for both...

Researchers have used phase change materials to reduce energy cost, dependency on fossil fuels and make the buildings energy efficient. However, the following issues have not been addressed yet. (a) How PCM influence the thermal performance and energy efficiency of PCM integrated buildings with local construction details in hot desert climate? (b)...

Red mud, an industrial waste obtained from alumina plants, is usually discharged into marine or disposed into a landfill polluting the surrounding water, atmosphere, and soil. Thus, disposal of red mud is an environmental concern and it should be recycled in an effective way. Since red mud consists of iron- and aluminum-rich phases, it can potentia...

The damages done by earthquakes in the human history can’t be denied in any sense as the phenomenon is responsible for bringing catastrophes both socially and economically. It is known that Pakistan is located in one of the seismically active regions of the world. The Quetta earthquake which occurred in 1935, the Ziarat earthquake of 2008, the Kash...

In this article, the influence of three acceleration approaches (electrochemical corrosion method, alternate wetting and drying method, and salt spray method) on the corrosion behavior of a steel bar embedded in mortar cover was investigated. The steel corrosion and the mortar cracking were characterized by using an X-ray microcomputed tomography (...

Fire poses serious threat to the life of structure and occupants, as it induces detrimental effects at structural level both short term and long term. Keeping in view the importance of fire performance of concrete , various researchers have evaluated the behavioral characteristics of concrete under such conditions. The safety and serviceable life o...

The natural sand reservoirs are depleting globally due to nonstop consumption of aggregate in concrete. The detrimental effect of uncontrolled fine aggregate extraction from riverbeds is also a major concern. Moreover, the proper disposal of agricultural waste resulting from biomass burning is a major environmental challenge. Hence, in this researc...

The concrete production processes including materials mixing, pumping, transportation, injection, pouring, moulding and compaction, are dependent on the rheological properties. Hence, in this research, the rheological properties of fresh cement paste with different content of graphene (0.03, 0.05 and 0.10% by weight of cement) were investigated. Th...

Oil palm boiler clinker (OPB) is a waste byproduct obtained at elevated temperature in an oil palm processing mill. Moreover, in recent years, Concrete filled steel tube (CFST) has been used widely in structures throughout the world. This paper presents an experimental and numerical study on novel sustainable composite beam by using OPB as replacem...

Oil-palm-boiler clinker (OPBC) is an agricultural waste from the palm oil industry and is considered a serious threat to the environment. Moreover, the high consumption of concrete as a construction material results in a continuous demand for natural aggregates, thereby negatively affecting the environment. Thus, channeling OPBC waste materials int...

An experimental program was developed to evaluate the effect of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) inclusion on elevated temperature properties of normal weight concrete (NWC) and lightweight concrete (LWC). The mechanical performance was assessed by conducting material property tests namely compressive strength (f’c ,T ), tensile strength (f’t...

The open burning of biomass residue constitutes a major portion of biomass burning and leads to air pollution, smog, and health hazards. Various alternatives have been suggested for open burning of crop residue; however, each of them has few inherent drawbacks. This research suggests an alternative method to dispose wheat straw, i.e., to calcine it...

In actual building structure, it usually takes tens of years for the degradation to be significantly observed during impressed current cathodic protection (ICCP) process. Thus, simulated ICCP with aqueous electrolyte (instead of concrete) was used as an accelerated method to study degradation mechanism and make service life prediction. In this work...

Carbonation is one of the key factors that affect the durability of reinforced concrete structures. This research investigated the carbonation of existing concrete building structures located in a coastal city (Shenzhen, China) under subtropical maritime monsoon climate. The relationship between carbonation depth and external influencing factors (e...

In this research, Graphene oxide (GO), prepared by modified hammer method, is characterized using X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) Spectrometry and Raman spectra. The dispersion efficiency of GO in aqueous solution is examined by Ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy and it is found that GO sheets are well dispersed. Thereafte...

In this research, we produced eco-friendly and thermal efficient normal and lightweight concretes with different dosages of sawdust as replacement of sand. Conventional NWC containing 0, 5, 10, and 15% sawdust and LWC containing 0 and 10% sawdust of total dry volume of sand were evaluated in terms of volumetric shrinkage, compressive strength, flex...

Corncob, byproduct of maize crop, is one of the biomass from agricultural waste that is being used as energy source since it has significant energy content. After being burnt, the ash is disposed to landfill sites or ash ponds, locking the useful land. Moreover, corncob ash (CCA) is rich in silica and can be used as pozzolan but this characteristic...

In this research, numerical investigations were carried out to study the behaviour of concrete filled steel tubes having square or rectangular cross-sections. Separate models were used for both normal strength concrete and high strength concrete. More than 50 experimental results were used to verify the FE model and it was found that the FE model a...

The inorganic salt hydrate PCM, CaCl2·6H2O, has a promising potential for thermal energy storage. However, this salt hydrate has tremendous issues of supercooling (the supercooling degree was 25.5 °C as found in this research) which restricts its utilization in practical applications. The present study aimed to reduce the supercooling degree of CaC...

In this research, the particle size distribution (PSD) of different components in inter-ground Portland limestone cement (PLC) and limestone-slag cement (PLC-S) was characterization by using an electron microscopy approach. Firstly, the 2D PSD of limestone, slag, and Portland cement (OPC) was determined by means of image analysis. Based on the 2D d...

CFS members are more vulnerable to fire due to high section factor (fire-exposed area to the heated volume). Hence, an extensive review of experimental and numerical studies performed on CFS beams and columns at elevated temperatures is presented. Various types of buckling under different loading conditions and influence of different factors affect...

The rheological properties of fresh cement paste with different content of graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs), different shear rate cycles and resting time was investigated. The rheological data were fitted by the Bingham model, Modified Bingham model, Herschel–Bulkley model and Casson model to estimate the yield stress and plastic viscosity, and to see...

In this research, a micro X-ray computed tomography (μCT) technique was used to investigate the distribution of steel corrosion embedded in cement paste non-destructively. An electrochemical method was used to accelerate the corrosion of steels for two designed levels of corrosion (2% and 18%). For μCT observations, two camera lenses (0.4× and 4× c...

Salt hydrates have issues of supercooling when they are utilized as phase change materials (PCMs). In this research, a new method was adopted to prepare a salt hydrate PCM (based on a mixture of calcium chloride dihydrate and calcium chloride anhydrous) as a novel PCM system to reduce the supercooling phenomenon existing in CaCl2·6H2O. Six samples...

In this paper, the performance of a full-scale single-story confined masonry building was investigated by subjecting it to quasi-static cyclic loading. The configuration and materials used for the test specimen were typical of those found in the northern areas of Pakistan as well as in the surrounding regions. The retrofitting of the building was d...

Geothermal energy piles are a quite recent renewable energy technique where geothermal energy in the foundation of a building is used to transport and store geothermal energy. In this paper, a structural–functional integrated cement-based composite, which can be used for energy piles, was developed using expanded graphite and graphite nanoplatelet-...

Energy piles—A fairly new renewable energy concept—Use a ground heat exchanger (GHE) in the foundation piles to supply heating and cooling loads to the supported building. Applying phase change materials (PCMs) to piles can help in maintaining a stable temperature within the piles and can then influence the axial load acting on the piles. In this s...

In this research, electrochemical impedance measurements were taken on cement mortar with different levels of drying. The impedance spectrum was analyzed with equivalent circuit model, through which the drying behavior was investigated. A model considering resistivity distribution along the drying direction was proposed. For drying of mortar, two d...

This paper presents an analytical model for calculation of corrosion induced stress field and cracking time of concrete cover with initial defects in a reinforced concrete. In the proposed model, two types of initial defects in concrete cover (surface and middle defect) were considered. Experiments were also performed to validate the effectiveness...

In this research, the effect of phase change material (PCM) on energy consumption of a typical multistory office building located in five different cities (Shenyang, Zhengzhou, Changsha, Kunming and Hong Kong) representing different climate regions of China, was simulated for a whole year using EnergyPlus. Based on the simulation results, the energ...

In this research, the degradation behavior of laminated carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) strip anode in an electrochemical process was evaluated in an alkali electrolyte (NaOH solution) and simulated pore water solution (containing both alkalis and chloride components) so as to simulate CFRP performance in cathodic protection of atmospherical...

NDT methods applicable to concrete bridges are reviewed. The methodology, advantages and disadvantages along with up to date research on NDT methods are presented. Different damage levels, having less dependence on inspector judgment, are suggested. Moreover, a flow chart based on damage level along with NDT methods and potential remedial measures...

In this research, we assessed the influence of an ultrafine 2CaO·SiO2 powder on the hydration properties of a reactive powder concrete system. The ultrafine powder was manufactured through chemical combustion method. The morphology of ultrafine powder and the development of hydration products in the cement paste prepared with ultrafine powder were...

We investigate the grinding effect on the pozzolanic reactivity of RHA. We study the mechanical, hydration and porosity properties of RHA paste. The strength, hydration reaction and porosity of RHA paste were studied. Paste with 30-min grinding RHA performs best in strength, hydration and porosity. a b s t r a c t An experimental investigation on t...

In this research, we prepared macro-encapsulated paraffin-lightweight aggregate (LWA) for the development of structural–functional integrated normal weight aggregate concrete (NWAC). The macro-encapsulated paraffin–LWA was prepared by incorporation of paraffin into porous LWAs through vacuum impregnation. The sealing performance of the epoxy was ev...

Microencapsulated phase-change materials (MPCM) can be used to develop a structural–functional integrated cement paste having high heat storage efficiency and suitable mechanical strength. However, the incorporation of MPCM has been found to degrade the mechanical properties of cement based composites. Therefore, in this research, the effect of car...