Waste Tire Rubberized Concrete Plates for Airport Pavements: Stress and Strain Profiles in Time and Space Domains

The present study follows a previous study on the stress and strain profiles along the cross-section of waste tire rubberized concrete plates for airport pavements, subjected to quasi-static loads [Ferretti and Bignozzi (2012)]. Further results on the in-situ performance of concrete plain and rubberized taxiways have been collected and presented here. The experimental program has been undertaken at the Guglielmo Marconi airport of Bologna (Italy). It concerns two portions of the taxiway, one built with plain concrete and one with rubberized concrete. Each portion has been fitted with strain gauges embedded in concrete for the acquisition of vertical strains.     

On Strain-softening in Dynamics

On the basis of a discussion on the existence of strain-softening in concrete, a monotonic constitutive law, the effective law, has been proposed by the present author. The identification of the effective parameters has been performed for quasistatic load processes. Here, we address applications of the effective law to modeling the response of structures to dynamic loadings.     

FRP tube encased rubberized concrete cylinders

In this study, FRP tube encased waste tire rubber modified concrete cylinders were investigated. Four batches of confined and unconfined concrete cylinders with a diameter of 101.6 mm and a height of 304.8 mm were prepared. Each batch contained three confined cylinders and three unconfined cylinders. The total number of effective cylinders prepared was 24. Batches 1–3 were made of rubberized concrete. In Batch 1, 15% by volume of coarse aggregate was replaced by waste tire fibers or stripes; in Batches 2 and 3, 15% by volume of sand and 30% by volume of sand were replaced by crumb rubbers, respectively. Batch 4 was a control batch with conventional plain concrete. Uniaxial compression tests were conducted on all the cylinders per ASTM C39. Strain gages were installed on the encased rubberized concrete cylinders to obtain local strain distributions. The compressive strength and strain at the peak load were compared with the predictions by available design-oriented confinement models. It is found that the FRP tube encased rubberized concrete cylinders have higher confinement effectiveness, ductility, and elastic regions than FRP tube encased conventional concrete cylinders. Waste tire fiber modified concrete performs better than crumb rubber modified concrete with a lower cost. Instead of volume contraction, FRP encased rubberized concrete cylinders experience volumetric expansion. The current design-oriented confinement models cannot consistently predict the compressive strength and strain of the encased cylinders. An 1-D coupon test cannot uniquely determine the hoop tensile strength of the FRP tubes which are subjected to a 2-D stress condition.     

Dynamic compressive and splitting tensile properties of concrete containing recycled tyre rubber under high strain rates

In order to raise the efficiency of resource utilization, recycling waste rubber particles into concrete as aggregate has been widely accepted. When the size and content of the rubber particles are appropriate, rubberized concrete can achieve many excellent properties. This study investigated the impact of rubber replacement on dynamic compressive and splitting tensile properties of concrete. The split Hopkinson pressure bar tests of rubberized concrete containing 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% volume replacement for sand were completed. The failure modes, stress curves and dynamic strength values of rubberized concrete under high strain rates were recorded. The results reveal that the dynamic compressive and splitting tensile strength of rubberized concrete decrease with increasing rubber content. Meanwhile, peak strain increases with increasing rubber content. Dynamic increase factors (DIFs) of compressive and splitting tensile strength also were calculated, where rubberized concrete shows a stronger strain rate sensitivity. The analysis of specific energy absorption illustrates that rubberized concrete with 15% rubber replacement has the best impact toughness. In addition, ratios of dynamic compressive–tensile strength of rubberized concrete were calculated, which are between 3.82 and 5.39.     

Laboratory investigation on strength and deformation characteristics of ice-saturated frozen sandy soil

To investigate the properties of ice-saturated frozen sandy soil, a series of triaxial compression tests on frozen sandy soil with a volumetric ice content of about 50% were carried out at a temperature of − 2.0 °C. The effect of confining pressure on strength and deformation features is analyzed according to the experimental results. The results show that the strength changes with increasing confining pressure in three distinct phases. According to the effective stress principle, the mechanism of strength is explained. A strength criterion is proposed to describe the strength characteristic. The equivalent stress versus axial strain curve shows strain-softening under each confining pressure, and the extent of strain-softening decreases with the increase in confining pressure, until it behaves the so-called perfect elasto-plastic feature when the confining pressure is large enough. The improved Duncan–Chang hyperbolic model is taken to simulate the stress–strain behaviors. The simulation shows that the model can well describe the strain-softening. The dependency of the volumetric deformation on the confining pressure is also discussed.     

Fracture energy and strain softening of concrete as determined by means of compact tension specimens

Fracture mechanics parameters of concrete are determined by means of the compact tension (CT) test. The effects of ligament length, rate of loading and concrete composition on the specific fracture energy G_F and the strain-softening diagram are investigated. As a first approximation of the real softening behaviour of concrete, a bilinear strain softening diagram is used in a finite-element analysis. A parameter study shows that several bilinear diagrams can represent the real behaviour equally well. With the bilinear softening diagram, a good agreement between both calculated and measured load-displacement curves and G_F-values is obtained. The determined strain-softening diagrams are transformed into a normalized presentation. For each investigated testing condition, characteristics shapes of this normalized strain-softening diagram are obtained.     

基于统一强度理论考虑拉压模量不同散体材料桩承载力计算

考虑岩土类材料拉压模量不同和应变软化特性,运用空间轴对称的统一强度理论分析了柱形孔扩张问题,推导出了圆孔扩张问题的应力场、位移场及最终扩张压力的统一解表达式,并在此基础上推导出了散体材料桩极限承载力计算公式。将该公式应用于某高速公路碎石桩复合地基中碎石桩极限承载力的计算,计算值与试验值吻合良好。最后,分析了不同拉压模量比、软化特性参数及其他计算参数对计算结果的影响。分析结果表明:采用传统弹性理论,不考虑拉压模量不同及应变软化的计算方法,会带来较大的误差。     

混凝土材料的粘塑性损伤统一本构模型

发展了只适用于金属类材料的粘塑性统一本构理论,借助经典塑性理论的基本法则,建立了无屈服面和无破坏面的混凝土材料的粘塑性损伤统一本构模型。放弃了传统统一本构模型的静水压不影响非弹性变形和无非弹性体积膨胀的基本假设;发展了间断的经典塑性乘子,使其为连续函数,并提出了相应的构造方法,拓展定义了其物理意义。数值模拟显示,此本构模型能够模拟混凝土材料的率相关性质、在压缩载荷作用下的体积膨胀现象和由损伤引起的应力软化和刚度退化现象。     

Stress and Strain Profiles along the Cross-Section of Waste Tire Rubberized Concrete Plates for Airport Pavements

In this study, the results of an in-situ experimental program on the performance of concrete taxiways are presented. The experimental program has been undertaken at the Guglielmo Marconi airport of Bologna (Italy). It concerns two portions of the taxiway, one built with plain concrete and one with rubberized concrete. Each portion has been instrumented with strain gauges embedded in concrete for the acquisition of vertical strains. The results of the experimentation are discussed in view of possible applications to the computational analysis of the stress field induced into pavements by aircrafts.     

Continuum damage mechanics for softening of brittle materials

Summary Continuum damage theory is used to model the failure behaviour of brittle materials. In the constitutive equations a damage parameter is incorporated. A damage criterion is postulated such that large differences between tension and compression strength can be described. A damage growth law is quantified based on experimental data for concrete. For the elaboration of the mathematical formulation the finite element method is applied. Numerical results obtained for a plane strain example show the merits of the procedure.     

Characterization of strain-softening behavior and failure mechanisms of composites under tension and compression

A methodology is presented to directly measure the damage properties and strain softening response of laminated composites by conducting over-height compact tension (OCT) and compact compression (CC) tests. Through the use of digital image correlation (DIC) technique, and analysis of the measured surface displacement/strain data, the strain-softening response of composites is constructed. This method leads to a direct determination of the Mode I translaminar fracture properties with the assumption that the shear stress is negligible around the damage zone and the crack growth occurs in the symmetric opening mode. Using this methodology, and by correlating the observed failure mechanisms with the strain-softening curves, the interaction of failure mechanisms leading to the final failure and also the distinction between the tensile and compressive failure mechanisms can be studied. The effectiveness of the method in accurate identification of the damage parameters is demonstrated through sectioning and deplying techniques. As a consistency check and further verification of the method, the obtained strain-softening curves are fed into a numerical damage mechanics model and successfully used to simulate the detailed response of the very same OCT and CC specimens from which the strain-softening curves were extracted.     

FRP-confined concrete under axial cyclic compression

One important application of fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composites in construction is as FRP jackets to confine concrete in the seismic retrofit of reinforced concrete (RC) structures, as FRP confinement can enhance both the compressive strength and ultimate strain of concrete. For the safe and economic design of FRP jackets, the stress–strain behavior of FRP-confined concrete under cyclic compression needs to be properly understood and modeled. This paper presents the results of an experimental study on the behavior of FRP-confined concrete under cyclic compression. Test results obtained from CFRP-wrapped concrete cylinders are presented and examined, which allows a number of significant conclusions to be drawn, including the existence of an envelope curve and the cumulative effect of loading cycles. The results are also compared with two existing stress–strain models for FRP-confined concrete, one for monotonic loading and another one for cyclic loading. The monotonic stress–strain model of Lam and Teng is shown to be able to provide accurate predictions of the envelope curve, but the only existing cyclic stress–strain model is shown to require improvement.     

Measurement and prediction of the strength of rubberized concrete

Illegally discarded piles of automobile tires are sources of potential hazards. Current disposal methods are wasteful and costly as they require either consumption of landfill space or continuous costly maintenance. A solution to the problem of scrap-tire disposal is the potential use of tire chips and crumb rubber as mineral aggregate substitutes in Portland cement concrete mixes. In this study, some of the engineering properties of rubberized concrete were examined and a neural network was developed to predict its compressive and tensile strengths. Rubberized concrete was found to possess good esthetics, acceptable workability, and a smaller unit weight than normal concrete. However, rubberized concrete did not perform as well as normal concrete under repeated freeze-thaw cycles. It exhibited lower compressive and tensile strength than that of normal concrete. Unlike normal concrete, rubberized concrete had the ability to absorb a large amount of plastic energy under compressive and tensile loads. It did not demonstrate the typical brittle failure, but rather a ductile, plastic failure mode. Test results were analyzed so that a model can be developed to predict the strength of rubberized concrete. Two neural network models were developed to predict the reduction in the compressive and tensile strength as a result of replacing mineral aggregate with rubber aggregate. A maximum difference of 9·2% between test results and model prediction was detected during the testing of the neural networks.     

Study on Dynamic Behavior and Tensile Strength of Concrete Using 1D Wave Propagation Characteristics

Concrete structures are usually fractured under dynamic loadings, so it is important to have a clear knowledge of their dynamic behavior and tensile strength. First, the principle of one-dimensional (1D) stress wave reflection and superposition at free surface is briefed, and the spalling test method based on the Hopkinson bar is presented. Then, the attenuation law of stress wave is explored and the dynamic tensile/compressive moduli of concrete are evaluated according to the wave propagation experiment. Lastly, the influences of strain rate on the spalling tensile strength and failure patterns of concrete are further analyzed. The testing results demonstrate that the attenuation of stress wave accords with an exponential law when propagating in the concrete bar. The difference between the dynamic elastic moduli of concrete in tension and in compression is minor. Spalling tensile strength is sensitive to strain rate, and there is an obvious linear correlation between dynamic increase factor (DIF) and strain rate in a log-log plot for strain rate above 1.0/s; a single fracture occurs at low strain rate, while multiple fractures are detected with increasing strain rate.     

A discrete element model of concrete under high triaxial loading

A numerical model based on a three dimensional Discrete Element Method (DEM) has been used to study the behavior of concrete under high-confining pressures (up to 650 MPa). At this range of pressures, irreversible compaction of the material occurs and needs to be considered. Within the discontinuous nature of the model, a local constitutive law has been developed to reproduce this phenomenon quantitatively. Local parameters to be used in this constitutive law are identified by simulating reference uniaxial and triaxial experimental tests in compression. Once these parameters have been obtained, the model is used to predict the response of concrete sample for triaxial compressive tests at different levels of confinement. Beyond the macroscopic volumetric and stress–strain response, the model gives interesting insights on the local evolution of the nature of the interaction forces between the discrete elements. The computational implementation has been carried out in the discrete element and open source code YADE (http://yade-dem.org[20]).     

Ductility of 3D printed concrete reinforced with short straight steel fibers

ABSTRACT

With the number of 3D printed concrete structures rapidly increasing, the demand for concepts that allow for robust and ductile printed objects becomes increasingly pressing. An obvious solution strategy is the inclusion of fibers in the printed material. In this study, the effect of adding short straight steel fibers on the failure behaviour of Weber 3D 115-1 print mortar has been studied through several CMOD tests on cast and printed concrete, on different scales. The experiments have also been simulated numerically. The research has shown that the fibers cause an important increase in flexural strength, and eliminate the strength difference between cast and printed concrete that exists without fibers. The post-peak behaviour, nevertheless, has to be characterised as strongly strain-softening. In the printed specimens, a strong fiber orientation in the direction of the filament occurs. However, this has no notable effect on the performance in the tested direction: cast and printed concrete with fibers behave similarly in the CMOD test. For the key parameters, no scale effect was found for the specimens with fibers, contrary to the ones without. Numerical modelling of the test by using the Concrete Damage Plasticity material model of Abaqus, with a Thorenfeldt-based constitutive law in compression and a customised constitutive law in tension, results in a reasonable fit with the experimental results.     

Light scattering by polydispersions of randomly oriented spheroids with sizes comparable to wavelengths of observation

We report the results of an extensive study of the scattering of light by size and size-shape distributions of randomly oriented prolate and oblate spheroids with the index of refraction 1.5 + 0.02i typical of some mineral terrestrial aerosols. The scattering calculations have been carried out with Waterman's T-matrix approach, as developed recently by Mishchenko [J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 8, 871 (1991); Appl. Opt. 32, 4562 (1993)]. Our main interest is in light scattering by polydisperse models of nonspherical particles because averaging over sizes provides more realistic modeling of natural ensembles of scattering particles and washes out the interference structure and ripple typical of monodisperse scattering patterns, thus enabling us to derive meaningful conclusions about the effects of particle nonsphericity on light scattering. Following Hansen and Travis [Space Sci. Rev. 16, 527 (1974)], we show that scattering properties of most physically plausible size distributions of randomly orientednonspherical part cles depend primarily on the effective equivalent-sphere radius and effective variance of the distribution, the actual shape of the distribution having a minor influence. To minimize the computational burden, we have adopted a computationally convenient power law distribution of particle equivalent-sphere radii n(r) α r(-3),r(1) ≤ r≤r(2). The effective variance of the size distribution is fixed at 0.1, and the effective size parameter continuously varies from 0 to 15. We present results of computer calculations for 24 prolate and oblate spheroidal shapes with aspect ratios from 1.1 to 2.2. The elements of the scattering matrix for the whole range of size parameters and scattering angles are displayed in the form of contour plots. Computational results are compared with analogous calculations for surface-equivalent spheres, and the effects of particle shape on light scattering are discussed in detail.     

Masking effects of low-frequency sinusoidal gratings on the detection of contrast modulation in high-frequency carriers

A modification and extension of Kortum and Geisler's model [Vision Res. 35, 1595 (1995)] of early visual non-linearities that incorporates an expansive nonlinearity (consistent with neurophysiological findings [Vision Res. 35, 2725 (1995)], a normalization based on a local average retinal illumination, similar to Mach's proposal [F. Ratliff, Mach Bands: Quantitative Studies on Neural Networks in the Retina (Holden-Day, San Francisco, Calif, 1965)], and a subsequent compression suggested by Henning et al. [J. Opt. Soc. Am A 17, 1147 (2000)] captures a range of hitherto unexplained interactions between a sinusoidal grating of low spatial frequency and a contrast-modulated grating 2 octaves higher in spatial frequency.     

Damage investigation of ultra high performance concrete under direct tensile test using acoustic emission techniques

In this study, acoustic emission (AE) analysis method was applied to monitor the damage evolution process of ultra high performance concrete (UHPC) under direct tensile test. Three types of UHPCs, including high strain-hardening UHPC, low strain-hardening UHPC and strain-softening UHPC were investigated. Meanwhile, the crack width developments of UHPCs during the tensile test were measured. Test results show that high strain-hardening UHPC exhibited high ductility by forming multiple microcracks invisible to naked eyes (typically below 0.05 mm) in the strain-hardening stage. The crack width-strain curves indicate that increasing the ultimate tensile strain of UHPC can improve its crack width control ability effectively. The AE analysis method could effectively detect the internal damages of the high strain-hardening UHPC at a strain of 600με. At that time, the crack width was smaller than 0.01 mm that could not be detected by crack width measuring instrument in this study. For three types of UHPCs, damages were generated around the localized crack during the strain-softening stage. In a word, the AE analysis method provides strong evidence to the multiple cracking behavior of UHPC during the strain-hardening stage, and provides a clear explanation to the identical damage evolution mechanism for three types of UHPCs during the strain-softening stage.     

混凝土单轴动力压缩CT试验过程定量化分区研究

为了能定量地研究混凝土动力压缩CT试验过程,将基于模糊集合论的破损演化理论引入到混凝土动力CT试验研究中,基于λ1-λ2截集将混凝土CT扫描图分为孔洞裂纹（P0-λ1）、硬化水泥石(Pλ1-λ2)及骨料(Pλ2-1),并定义了混凝土的孔隙率、硬化水泥石率和骨料率。研究了动力单轴压缩CT试验过程中混凝土试样各扫描断面P0-λ1、Pλ1-λ2及Pλ2-1随加载的变化规律。研究结果表明：利用本方法实现了对混凝土各组分的定量化分区;可以定量地研究混凝土中P0-λ1、Pλ1-λ2及Pλ2-1随动力加载的具体变化规律;能较好地描述混凝土的受力破坏过程;并能定量地体现出试样破坏过程中应变的局部化。