New criterion for rock joints based on three-dimensional roughness parameters

The shear behavior of rock joints is important in solving practical problems of rock mechanics. Three group rock joints with different morphologies are made by cement mortar material and a series of CNL（constant normal loading） shear tests are performed. The influences of the applied normal stress and joint morphology to its shear strength are analyzed. According to the experimental results, the peak dilatancy angle of rock joint decreases with increasing normal stress, but increases with increasing roughness. The shear strength increases with the increasing normal stress and the roughness of rock joint. It is observed that the modes of failure of asperities are tensile, pure shear, or a combination of both. It is suggested that the three-dimensional roughness parameters and the tensile strength are the appropriate parameter for describing the shear strength criterion. A new peak shear criterion is proposed which can be used to predict peak shear strength of rock joints. All the used parameters can be easily obtained by performing tests.     

Rock fracture under anti-plane shear (Mode Ⅲ) loading

Anti-plane punch-through shear test and anti-planefour-point bending test are used to study the crack initiation and propagation under anti-plane shear (Mode Ⅲ) loading. The tensile and shear stresses at the crack tip are calculated by finite element method. The results show that under Mode Ⅲ loading the maximum principal stress σ1 at crack tip is smaller or a little larger than the maximum shear stress τmax. Since the tensile strength of brittle rock is much lower than its shear strength, σ1 is easy to reach its critical value before τmax reaches its critical value and thus results in Mode I fracture. The fracture trajectory is helicoid and the normal direction of tangential plane with the fractured helicoid is along the predicted direction of the maximum principal stress at the notch tip. It is further proved that Mode Ⅰ instead of Mode Ⅲ fracture occurs in brittle rock under Mode Ⅲ loading. The fracture mode depending on the fracture mechanism must be distinguished from the loading form.     

Transmission ratio （Tn） in the radian direction normal to joints in 2-D compressional wave propagation in rock masses

The transmission ratio along the radian direction normal to the joints was studied in the Universal Distinct Element Code （UDEC）. The variation of the transmission ratio with the ratio of joint spacing to wavelength was generalized into a general curve, which was determined by two critical points. The relationship between the two critical points and the affecting factors, quantity of joints and the normalized normal stiffness of joints, were obtained. A prediction model of the transmission ratio in the radian direction normal to the joints was proposed. The proposed model was applied to a field explosion test. The estimated values of the peak particle velocity from the prediction model were compared with the field records. The comparisons showed that the prediction model of the transmission ratio in the direction normal to the joints in the process of 2-D compressional wave propagation through multiple parallel joints is reliable.     

Numerical modeling of permeability evolution based on degradation approach during progressive failure of brittle rocks

The permeability evolution of rock during the progressive failure process is described.In combination with the strength degradation index,the degradation formulas of s and a,which are dependent on the plastic confining strain component,the material constants of Hoek–Brown failure criterion are presented,and a modified elemental scale elastic–brittle–plastic constitutive model of rock is established.The relationship between volumetric strain and permeability through tri-axial compression is investigated.Based on the above,a permeability evolution model is established.The model incorporates confining pressuredependent degradation of strength,dilatancy and corresponding permeability evolution.The model is implemented in FLAC by the FISH function method.The permeability evolution behavior of rock is investigated during the progressive failure process in a numerical case.The results show that the model is capable of reproducing,and allowing visualization of a range of hydro-mechanical responses of rock.The effects of confining pressure on degradation of strength,dilatancy and permeability evolution are also reflected.     

Macro and meso analysis of jointed rock mass triaxial compression test by using equivalent rock mass (ERM) technique简

Methods that can efficiently model the effects of rock joints on rock mass behavior can be beneficial in rock engineering. The suitability of equivalent rock mass （ERM） technique based upon particle methods is investigated. The ERM methodology is first validated by comparing calculated and experimental data of lab triaxial compression test on a set of cylindrical rock mass samples, each containing a single joint oriented in various dip angles. The simulated results are then used to study the stress-strain nonlinearity and failure mechanism as a function of the joint dip angle and confining stress. The anisotropy and size effects are also investigated by using multi-scale cubic ERM models subjected to triaxial compression test. The deformation and failure behavior are found to be influenced by joint degradation, the micro-crack formation in the intact rock, the interaction between two joints, and the interactions of micro-cracks and joints.     

Mechanism on simulation and experiment of pre-crack seam formation in stope roof

The pre-crack blast technology has been used to control the induction caving area in the roof. The key is to form the pre-crack seam and predict the effect of the seam. The H-J-C blast model was built in the roof. Based on the theories of dynamic strength and failure criterion of dynamic rock, the rock dynamic damage and the evolution of pre-crack seam were simulated by the tensile damage and shear failure of the model. According to the actual situation of No. 92 ore body test stope at Tongkeng Mine, the formation process of the pre-crack blast seam was simulated by Ansys/Ls-dyna software, the pre-crack seam was inspected by a system of digital panoramic borehole camera. The pre-crack seam was inspected by the system of digital panoramic borehole in the roof. The results of the numerical simulation and inspection show that in the line of centers of pre-hole, the minimum of the tensile stress reaches 20 MPa, which is much larger than 13.7 MPa of the dynamic tensile strength of rock. The minimum particle vibration velocity reaches 50 cm/s, which is greater than 30-40 cm/s of the allowable vibration velocity. It is demonstrated that the rock is destroyed near the center line and the pre-crack is successfully formed by the large diameters and large distances pre-crack holes in the roof.     

Quantitative calculation for the dissipated energy of fault rock burst based on gradient-dependent plasticity

The capacity of energy absorption by fault bands after rock burst was calculated quantitatively according to shear stressshear deformation curves considering the interactions and interplaying among microstructures due to the heterogeneity of strain softening rock materials. The post~peak stiffness of rock specimens subjected to direct shear was derived strictly based on gradientdependent plasticity, which can not be obtained from the classical elastoplastic theory. Analytical solutions for the dissipated energy of rock burst were proposed whether the slope of the post-peak shear stress-shear deformation curve is positive or not. The analytical solutions show that shear stress level, confining pressure, shear strength, brittleness, strain rate and heterogeneity of rock materials have important influence on the dissipated energy. The larger value of the dissipated energy means that the capacity of energy dissipation in the form of shear bands is superior and a lower magnitude of rock burst is expected under the condition of the same work done by external shear force. The possibility of rock burst is reduced for a lower softening modulus or a larger thickness of shear bands.     

Effects of liquefaction-induced large lateral ground deformation on pile foundations

The pile-soil system interaction computational model in liquefaction-induced lateral spreading ground was established by the finite difference numerical method.Considering an elastic-plastic subgrade reaction method,numerical methods involving finite difference approach of pile in liquefaction-induced lateral spreading ground were derived and implemented into a finite difference program.Based on the monotonic loading tests on saturated sand after liquefaction,the liquefaction lateral deformation of the site where group piles are located was predicted.The effects of lateral ground deformation after liquefaction on a group of pile foundations were studied using the fmite difference program mentioned above,and the failure mechanism of group piles in liquefaction-induced lateral spreading ground was obtained.The applicability of the program was preliminarily verified.The results show that the bending moments at the interfaces between liquefied and non-liquefied soil layers are larger than those at the pile＇s top when the pile＇s top is embedded.The value of the additional static bending moment is larger than the peak dynamic bending moment during the earthquake,so in the pile foundation design,more than the superstructure＇s dynamics should be considered and the effect of lateral ground deformation on pile foundations cannot be neglected.     

Rheological behavior of continuous roll casting process of aluminum alloy

The rheological behavior of aluminum alloy and its influencing factors in physical simulation of continuous roll casting process were studied by using a Gleeble-1500 thermal-mechanical simulation tester with a set of special clamp system. The relationships between the flow stress and the strain rate in the deformation process of simulating roll casting experiment were obtained. The results show that four different characteristic stages exist in the temperature range of the whole rheological process. The first occurs when the temperature is higher than 600℃, which belongs to the creep deformation stage; the second occurs when the temperature lies in the range of 500 - 600℃, and it can be regarded as the high temperature and low stress level deformation stage; the third occurs when the temperature decreases to the range of 300 - 500℃, it is considered to be the middle stress level deformation stage; the last occurs when the temperature is less than 300℃ and the strain rate is less than 1.00 s^-1 , it belongs to middle stress level deformation stage. But when the strain rate is larger than 1.00 s^-1, it belongs to the high stress level deformation stage. And the relative constitutive models suitable for the four different stages of continuous roll casting process were established through multivariate linear regression analysis of the experimental data.     

A combined continuous-discontinuous approach for failure process of quasi-brittle materials

Rock,concrete and other geo-materials,due to the presence of microstructural inhomogeneity,their fracture processes and damage characteristics are associated with the distribution of micro-cracks contained in the materials.In this study,by introducing a cohesive zone model based on fracture mechanics into the framework of deformable discrete element method,a continuous-discontinuous coupling analysis approach for simulating the fracture of quasi-brittle materials is proposed.The cohesive interface elements are inserted into certain engineering or research region.It is assumed that damage and fracture occur only in the interface elements,while bulk material is modeled to be elastic.The Mohr-Coulomb criterion with tension cut-off is adopted as the damage initiation criterion,and a scalar damage variable representing damage in the material is used to describe the rate at which the material stiffness is degraded.Cracks are simulated explicitly by the failure of the interface elements.Numerical simulations are performed in order to validate the suggested method.Partial applications are also listed.The results show that this method provides a simple but effective tool for the simulation of crack initiation and propagation,and it can reflect the whole process of quasi-brittle materials from small deformation to large deformation and failure.     

Numerical evaluation of buckling behavior in space structure considering geometrical parameters with joint rigidity简

The buckling behavior of single layer space structure is very sensitive. The joint rigidity, moreover, is one of the main factors of stability which may determine the entire failure behavior. Thus, the reasonable stiffness of joint system, which is neither total pin assumption nor perfect fix condition, is very important to apply to the real single layer space one. Therefore, the purpose of this work was to investigate the buckling behavior of single layer space structure, using the development of the upgraded stiffness matrix for the joint rigidity. To derive tangential stiffness matrix, a displacement function was assumed using translational and rotational displacement at the node. The geometrical nonlinear analysis was simulated not only with perfect model but also with imperfect one. As a result, the one and two free nodal numerical models were investigated using derived stiffness matrix. It was figured out that the buckling load increases in proportion to joint rigidity with rise-span ratio. The stability of numerical model is very sensitive with the initial imperfection, responding of bifurcation in the structure.     

An adaptive waveform-detection threshold joint optimization method for target tracking

The joint optimization of detection threshold and waveform parameters for target tracking which comes from the idea of cognitive radar is investigated for the modified probabilistic data association （MPDA） filter. The transmitted waveforms and detection threshold are adaptively selected to enhance the tracking performance. The modified Riccati equation is adopted to predict the error covariance which is used as the criterion function, while the optimization problem is solved through the genetic algorithm （GA）. The detection probability, false alarm probability and measurement noise covariance are all considered together, which significantly improves the tracking performance of the joint detection and tracking system. Simulation results show that the proposed adaptive waveform-detection threshold joint optimization method outperforms the adaptive threshold method and the fixed parameters method, which will reduce the tracking error. The average reduction of range error between the adaptive joint method and the fixed parameters method is about 0.6 m, while that between the adaptive joint method and the adaptive threshold only method is about 0.3 m. Similar error reduction occurs for the velocity error and acceleration error.     

Preparation and visible-light photocatalytic property of nanostructu- red Fe-doped TiO2 from titanium containing electric furnace molten slag

Nanostructured Fe-doped titanium dioxide was synthesized from titanium containing electric furnace molten slag （TCEFMS） by using an alkali fusion, followed by a hydrolyzation-acidolysis-cMcination route. The effects of Mkali/slag mass ratio, calcinating temperature, calcinating time, and water/slag mass ratio on the extraction efficiency and purity of products were systematically studied in this paper. It is indicated that the best extraction efficiency of nanostructured Fe- doped titanium dioxide is 99.35%, when the molten slag is calcinated at 700℃ for 1 h with the mass ratio of alkali/molten slag of 1.5：1. The influence of alkali/slag mass ratio on the photocatalytic activity of final products was evaluated by the photodegradation of methyl blue under visible light irradiation. A maximum photodegradation efficiency of 88.12% over 30 min was achieved under the optimum conditions.     

Martensitic transformation and magnetic properties of aged Ni-Fe-Ga-Ti shape memory alloy

This article reports the effect of ageing on the microstructure, martensitic transformation, magnetic properties, and mechanical properties of Ni51FelsGa27Ti4 shape memory alloy. There are five specimens of this alloy aged at 573 up to 973 K for 3 h per each. This range of ageing temperature greatly affects the microstructure of the alloy. As the ageing temperature increased from 573 up to 973 K, the microstructure of Ni51FelsGa27Ti4 alloy gradually changed from the entirely martensitic matrix at 573 K to the fully austenitic microstructure at 973 K. The volume fraction of precipi- tated Ni3Ti particles increased with the ageing temperature increasing from 573 to 773 K. Further increasing the ageing temperature to 973 K decreased the content of Ni3Ti in the microstructure. The martensitic transformation tempera- ture was decreased steadily by increasing the ageing temperature. The magnetization saturation, remnant magnetization, and coercivity increased with the ageing temperature increasing up to 773 K. A further increase in ageing temperature decreased these raagnetic properties. Moreover, the hardness values were gradually increased at first by increasing the ageing temperature to 773 K, and then dramatically decreased to the lowest value at 973 K.     

Microstructural and mechanical properties of A1-4.5wt% Cu rein- forced with alumina nanoparticles by stir casting method

The microstructure and mechanical properties of A1-4.5wt% Cu Mloy reinforced with different volume fractions （1.5vo1%, 3vo1%, and 5vo1%） of alumina nanoparticles, fabricated using stir casting method, were investigated. CMculated amounts of alumina nanoparticles （about ~50 nm in size） were ball-milled with aluminum powders in a planetary ball mill for 5 h, and then the packets of milled powders were incorporated into molten Al-4.5wt% Cu alloy. Microstructural studies of the nanocomposites reveal a uniform distribution of alumina nanoparticles in the A1-4.5wt% Cu matrix. The results indicate an outstanding improvement in compression strength and hardness due to the effect of nanoparticle addition. The aging behavior of the composite is also evaluated, indicating that the addition of alumina nanoparticles can accelerate the aging process of the Mloy, resulting in higher peak hardness values.     

Preparation of CaO-Al2O3-SiO2 system glass from molten blast furnace slag

To use the potential heat of molten blast furnace slag completely, a CaO-Al2O3-SiO2 system glass （MSG） was prepared from the molten industrial slag. The corresponding method proposed in this study utilized both slag and its potential heat, improving the production rate and avoiding the environmental pollution. Using appropriate techniques, an MSG with uniform color and superior performances was produced. Based on the experimental results and phase diagram, the chemical composition of MSG by mass is obtained as follows：CaO 27%-33%, SiO2 42%-51%, Al2O3 11%-14%, MgO 6%-8%, and Na2O＋K2O 1%-4%. Thermodynamic processes of MSG preparation were analyzed, and the phases and microstructures of MSG were investigated by X-ray diffraction （XRD） and scanning electron microscopy （SEM）. The results show that alkali metal oxides serve as the fluxes, calcium oxide serves as the stabilizer, and alumina reinforces the Si-O network. XRD and SEM analyses show that, the prepared MSG displays the glass-feature patterns, the melting process is more complete, and the melt viscosity is lowered with an increase in calcium oxide content;however, a continuous increase in slag content induces the crystalli-zation of glass, leading to the formation of glass subphase. The optimum content of molten slag in MSG is 67.37wt%. With respect to bend-ing strength and acid/alkali resistance, the performance of MSG is better than that of ordinary marble.     

Effect of some operational variables on bubble size in a pilot-scale mechanical flotation machine简

This work aims to provide a relationship of how the key operational variables of frother type and impeller speed affect the size of bubble （D32）. The study was performed using pilot-scale equipment （0.8 m^3） that is up to two orders of magnitude larger than equipment used for studies performed to date by others, and incorporated the key process variables of frother type and impeller speed. The results show that each frother family exhibits a unique CCC95-HLB relationship dependent on n （number of C-atoms in alkyl group） and m （number of propylene oxide group）. Empirical models were developed to predict CCC95 from HLB associated with other two parameters a and ft. The impeller speed-bubble size tests show that D32 is unaffected by increased impeller tip speed across the range of 4.6 to 9.2 m/s （representing the industrial operating range）, although D32 starts to increase below 4.6 m/s. The finding is valid for both coalescing and non-coalescing conditions. The results suggest that the bubble size and bubble size distribution （BSD） being created do not change with increasing impeller speed in the quiescent zone of the flotation.     

Feasibility of developing composite action between concrete and cold-formed steel beam

Cold-formed steel structures are steel structure products constructed from sheets or coils using cold rolling, press brake or bending brake method. These structures are extensively employed in building construction industry due to their light mass, ductility by economic cold forming operations, favorable strength-to-mass ratio and other factors. The utilization of cold formed steel sections with concrete as composite can hugely reduce the construction cost. However, the use of cold formed steel members in composite concrete beams has been very limited. A comprehensive review of developments in composite beam with cold formed steel sections was introduced. It was revealed that employing cold-formed steel channel section to replace reinforcement bars in conventional reinforced concrete beam results in a significant cost reduction without reducing strength capacity. The use of composite beam consisting of cold-formed steel open or close box and filled concrete could also reduce construction cost. Lighter composite girder for bridges with cold-formed steel of U section was introduced. Moreover, types of shear connectors to provide composite action between cold-formed steel beam and concrete slab were presented. However, further studies to investigate the effects of metal decking on the behavior of composite beam with cold-formed steel section and introduction of ductile shear connectors were recommended.     

Effects of Sr2＋ substitution on the structural,dielectric, and piezoelectric properties of PZT-PMN ceramics

This study described the structural, dielectric, and piezoelectric behavior of Pb1-xSrx[（Zr0.52Ti0.48）0.95（Mn1/3Nb2/3）0.05]O3 ceramics （PSZT-PMN, x=0, 0.025, 0.050, and 0.075）, prepared by a semi-wet route. X-ray diffraction, dielectric, and piezoelectric investigations were carried out to analyze the crystal structure. The relative dielectric constant and dielectric loss were both calculated as the functions of temperature. The room-temperature dielectric constant reaches a maximum for a Sr2＋-modified PZT-PMN ceramic with an x value of 0.050, which corresponds to the morphotropic phase boundary （MPB）. Raman spectroscopy studies also confirm the existence of this MPB for x=0.050. The piezoelectric strain coefficients （d33） value shows a maximum response for this composition. In addition, the phase transition temperature decreases significantly when the Sr2＋concentration increases in the PZT-PMN ceramics.     

Interfacial intermetallic compound growth and shear strength of low-silver SnAgCuBiNi//Cu lead-free solder joints

The growth rule of the interfacial intermetallic compound （IMC） and the degradation of shear strength of Sn-0.SAg-0.5Cu-2.0Bi-0.05Ni （SACBN）/Cu solder joints were investigated in comparison with Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu （SAC305）/ Cu solder joints aging at 373, 403, and 438 K. The results show that （Cul-x,Nix）6Sn5 phase forms between the SACBN solder and Cu substrate during soldering. The interracial IMC thickens constantly with the aging time increasing, and the higher the aging temperature, the faster the IMC layer grows. Compared with the SAC305/Cu couple, the SACBN/Cu couple exhibits a lower layer growth coefficient. The activation energies of IMC growth for SACBN/Cu and SAC305/Cu couples are 111.70 and 82.35 kJ/mol, respectively. In general, the shear strength of aged solder joints declines continuously. However, SACBN/Cu solder joints exhibit a better shear strength than SAC305/Cu solder joints.