Performance evaluation of basalt fiber-reinforced geopolymer composites with various contents of nano CaCO3

High carbon footprint of cement production is the major drawback of plain cement concrete resulting in environmental pollution. Geopolymer composites paste can be effectively used as an alternative to Portland cement in the construction industry for a sustainable environment. The demand for high-performance composites and sustainable construction is increasing day by day. Therefore, the present experimental program has endeavored to investigate the mechanical performance of basalt fiber-reinforced fly ash-based geopolymer pastes with various contents of nano CaCO₃. The content of basalt fibers was fixed at 2% by weight for all specimens while the studied contents of nano CaCO₃ were 0%, 1%, 2%, and 3%, respectively. The compressive strength, compressive stress-strain response, flexural strength, bending stress-strain response, elastic modulus, toughness modulus, toughness indices, fracture toughness, impact strength, hardness, and microstructural analysis of all four geopolymer composite pastes with varying contents of nano CaCO₃ using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were evaluated. The results revealed that the use of 3% nano CaCO₃ in basalt fiber-reinforced geopolymer paste presented the highest values of compressive strength and hardness while the use of 2% nano CaCO₃ showed the highest values of flexural strength, impact strength, and fracture toughness of composite paste. The SEM results indicated that the addition of nano CaCO₃ improved the microstructure and provided a denser geopolymer paste by refining the interfacial zones and accelerating the geopolymerization reaction.     

Compressive properties of pristine and SiC-Te-added MgB2 powders,green compacts and spark-plasma-sintered bulks

Pristine and (SiC+Te)-added MgB₂ powders, green and spark plasma sintered (SPS) compacts were investigated from the viewpoint of quasi-static and dynamic (Split-Hopkinson Pressure Bar, SHPB) compressive mechanical properties The amount of the additive (SiC+Te) was selected to be the optimum one for maximization of the superconducting functional parameters. Pristine and added MgB₂ show very similar compressive parameters (tan δ, fracture strength, Vickers hardness, others) and fragment size in the SHPB test. However, for the bulk SPSed samples the ratio of intergranular to transgranular fracturing changes, the first one being stronger in the added sample. This is reflected in the quasi-static K_IC that is higher for the added sample. Despite this result, sintered samples are brittle and have roughly similar fragmentation behavior as for brittle engineering ceramics. In the fragmentation process, the composite nature of our samples should be considered with a special focus on MgB₂ blocks (colonies) that show the major contribution to fracturing. The Glenn-Chudnovsky model of fracturing under dynamic load provides the closest values to our experimental fragment size data.     

吴庄铁矿盘区间柱回采优化研究

基于吴庄铁矿盘间柱宽度不确定性、两侧均为充填体且高度大的现状，为安全高效回采盘区间柱，制定了盘区间柱两侧采场充填体取芯设计方案，并对充填体进行制样，进行了实验室试块抗压强度试验。试验结果表明：一步骤采场（矿柱）充填体强度整体符合设计强度要求，二步采场充填体强度整体偏低，盘区间柱宽度较设计变化较大，宽度极其不规整，整体呈上窄下宽的规律。鉴于盘区间柱宽度不规则、二步骤采场充填体强度低于预期、采场高度大和盘区间柱回采时不能大面积暴露的特点，采用留设一定厚度间柱和采用较小采场长度的措施进行回采方案制定，制定了小采场分段空场嗣后充填法回采方案。该方案的制定和实施，对于其他类似地下矿山三步骤间柱回采工程具有借鉴意义。     

An investigation into the effect of various chemical and physical treatments of a South African phosphogypsum to render it suitable as a set retarder for cement

The work describes various physical and chemical treatments to eliminate the deleterious effects of impurities in phosphogypsum on the delayed setting time and impaired strength development behaviour of cement to which it was added as a set regulator. The physical treatments included washing, milling, and ultrasonic treatment of the material, while the chemical treatments dealt with acidic and basic additions to the phosphogypsum during the washing stage. It was found that chemical treatment with a milk of lime solution, which is often recommended in literature, was ineffective in reducing set retardation. Treatment with ammonium hydroxide or sulphuric acid was more effective in this regard. Intergrinding phosphogypsum with slaked lime improved its effectiveness in reducing set retardation, but the use of unslaked lime was less effective and also resulted in marked reductions in compressive strengths. A combined treatment of wet milling phosphogypsum with a lime slurry in a ball mall was derived from these experiments and is recommended for full-scale plant applications.     

Surface Hardening of High-Strength Low Alloy Steels (HSLA) Dual-Phase Steels by Ball Burnishing Using Factorial Design

Burnishing is used increasingly as a finishing operation which gives additional advantages such as increased hardness, fatigue strength, and wear resistance. Experimental work based on 3⁴ factorial design was carried out to establish the effects of ball burnishing parameters on the surface hardness of high-strength low alloy steels (HSLA) dual-phase (DP) steel specimens. Statistical analysis of the results shows that the speed, feed, lubricant and ball diameter have significant effect on surface hardness.     

Porosity of recycled concrete with substitution of recycled concrete aggregate: An experimental study

In this paper, we present the experimental analysis of samples of recycled concrete (RC) with replacement of natural aggregate (NA) by recycled aggregate originating from concrete (RCA). The results of the tests of mechanical properties of RC were used for comparison with tests of mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP), in which the distribution of the theoretical pore radius, critical pore ratio, the surface area of the concrete, threshold ratio and average pore radius were studied at ages of 7, 28 and 90 days. The results showed some variation in the properties of the RC with respect to ordinary concrete. Porosity increases considerably when NA is replaced by RCA. Additionally, a reduction in the mechanical properties of the RC is seen compared with ordinary concrete when porosity increases.     

动载荷下应力强度因子的边界元计算

用Ｎａｒｄｉｎｉ－Ｂｒｅｂｂｉａ边界元法计算了动载荷下的应力强度因子，与解析解及有限元解相比较，效果较好。最后对计算结果进行了分析讨论。     

Effect of temperature and age on the relationship between dynamic and static elastic modulus of concrete

This study investigates the effects of cement type, curing temperature, and age on the relationships between dynamic and static elastic moduli or compressive strength. Based on the investigation, new relationship equations are proposed. The impact-echo method is used to measure the resonant frequency of specimens from which the dynamic elastic modulus is calculated. Types I and V cement concrete specimens with water-cement ratios of 0.40 and 0.50 are cured isothermally at 10, 23, and 50 °C and tested at 1, 3, 7, and 28 days.Cement type and age do not have a significant influence on the relationship between dynamic and static elastic moduli, but the ratio of static to dynamic elastic modulus approaches 1 as temperature increases. The initial chord elastic modulus, which is measured at low strain level, is similar to the dynamic elastic modulus. The relationship between dynamic elastic modulus and compressive strength has the same tendency as the relationship between dynamic and static elastic moduli for various cement types, temperatures, and ages.     

Studies on high-performance blended/multiblended cements and their durability characteristics

Number of blends were prepared by intergrinding clinker, gypsum, fly ash, calcined clay, microsilica and limestone in laboratory ball mill in varying percentages, and their physical properties such as fineness, consistency, setting time and compressive strength have been determined. The durability tests on selected compositions were also conducted by exposing the mortar cubes separately in 5% Na₂SO₄ and 5% NaCl solutions till the age of 90 and 180 days. The performance was observed by compressive strength development criteria after various length of exposure. Results have been discussed and found that the durability of blended cement is higher than the ordinary Portland cement.