Ballistic behavior of plain and reinforced concrete slabs under high velocity impact

This work presents a numerical simulation of ballistic penetration and high velocity impact behavior of plain and reinforced concrete slabs. In this paper, we focus on the comparison of the performance of the plain and reinforced concrete slabs of unconfined compressive strength 41 MPa under ballistic impact. The concrete slab has dimensions of 675 mm × 675 mm × 200 mm, and is meshed with 8-node hexahedron solid elements in the impact and outer zones. The ogive-nosed projectile is considered as rigid element that has a mass of 0.386 kg and a length of 152 mm. The applied velocities vary between 540 and 731 m/s. 6 mm of steel reinforcement bars were used in the reinforced concrete slabs. The constitutive material modeling of the concrete and steel reinforcement bars was performed using the Johnson-Holmquist-2 damage and the Johnson-Cook plasticity material models, respectively. The analysis was conducted using the commercial finite element package Abaqus/Explicit. Damage diameters and residual velocities obtained by the numerical model were compared with the experimental results and effect of steel reinforcement and projectile diameter were studies. The validation showed good agreement between the numerical and experimental results. The added steel reinforcements to the concrete samples were found efficient in terms of ballistic resistance comparing to the plain concrete sample.     

The effects of mismatch fracture properties in encapsulation-based self-healing concrete using cohesive-zone model

Finite element analysis is developed to simulate the breakage of capsule in capsule-based self-healing concrete. A 2D circular capsule with different core-shell thickness ratios embedded in the mortar matrix is analyzed numerically along with their interfacial transition zone. Zero-thickness cohesive elements are pre-inserted into solid elements to represent potential cracks. This study focuses on the effects of mismatch fracture properties, namely fracture strength and energy, between capsule and mortar matrix into the breakage likelihood of the capsule. The extensive simulations of 2D specimens under uniaxial tension were carried out to investigate the key features on the fracture patterns of the capsule and produce the fracture maps as the results. The developed fracture maps of capsules present a simple but valuable tool to assist the experimentalists in designing appropriate capsule materials for self-healing concrete.     

The effects of interfacial strength on fractured microcapsule

The effects of interfacial strength on fractured microcapsule are investigated numerically. The interaction between crack and microcapsule embedded in mortar matrix is modeled based on cohesive approach. The microcapsules are modelled with variation of core-shell thickness ratio and potential cracks are represented by pre-inserted cohesive elements along the element boundaries of the mortar matrix, microcapsules core, microcapsule shell, and at the interfaces between these phases. Special attention is given to the effects of cohesive fracture on the microcapsule interface, namely fracture strength, on the load carrying capacity and fracture probability of the microcapsule. The effect of fracture properties on microcapsule is found to be significant factor on the load carrying capacity and crack propagation characteristics. Regardless of core-shell thickness ratio of microcapsule, the load carrying capacity of self-healing material under tension increases as interfacial strength of microcapsule shell increases. In addition, given the fixed fracture strength of the interface of microcapsule shell, the higher the ratio core-shell thickness, the higher the probability of microcapsules being fractured.     

Microbiological study of effects of solid organic waste (chicken droppings and sheep manure) decomposed in the soil used for Pisum sativum cultivation

ABSTRACT

Organic agriculture uses biofertilisers which can increase yields and enhance qualities of foodstuffs. This present work examines the composting of chicken droppings and sheep manure and their effects on Pisum sativum cultivation. The biodiversity of chicken droppings’ filamentous fungi is different from that of sheep manure. In addition, filamentous fungi associated with the decomposition of chicken droppings in the soil were mainly pathogenic and phytopathogenic fungal species. The study has shown that sheep manure is a good biofertiliser to improve crop yield and quality. The use of chicken droppings as biofertilisers without maturation may cause risks to the environment and public health.     

Computational modeling of fracture in concrete: A review

This paper presents a review of fracture modeling of concrete. The complex material, such as concrete, has been widely used in construction industries and become trending issue in the last decades. Based on comprehensive literature review, there are two main approaches considered to-date of concrete fracture modeling, such as macroscopic and micromechanical models. The purpose of this review is to provide insight comparison from different techniques in modeling of fracture in concrete which are available. In the first section, an overview of fracture modeling in general is highlighted. Two different approaches both of macroscopic and micromechanical models will be reviewed. As heterogeneity of concrete material is major concern in micromechanical-based concrete modeling, one section will discuss this approach. Finally, the summary from all of reviewed techniques will be pointed out before the future perspective is given.