Experimental Study on the Aging of Sands

Aging effects in sand, such as increases in cone penetration resistance with time after deposition and/or densification, are known to occur in the field, but the causes of these effects are not fully understood. A laboratory testing program was designed to study mechanisms responsible for aging effects under controlled conditions. The testing program included measurements of the small strain shear modulus, electrical conductivity, pore fluid chemistry, and minicone penetration resistance after different periods of aging. Two different sands were tested, and aging effects were evaluated for different combinations of relative density, temperature, and pore fluid composition. Increases in the small strain shear modulus were observed throughout most of the tests, and chemical analyses suggest that precipitation of carbonate and silica occurred in two tests. Despite these changes, there was no corresponding increase in the minicone penetration resistance with time in any of the tests. It is unlikely that precipitation of carbonate or silica is responsible for aging effects in sands; other possible mechanisms include arching due to dissipation of blast gases and redistribution of stresses through the soil skeleton. An additional possibility is that the boundary conditions imposed by the laboratory tests obscure changes in penetration resistance that would be measured had the volume of sand tested been much larger. The implications of these findings in terms of other published field and laboratory studies are discussed.     

Experimental and Numerical Analysis of Soil–Pipe Interaction

Cases of pipeline damage caused by landslides are common in coastal or mountainous regions, where a continuous monitoring/repair activity is planned in order to maintain their serviceability. The analysis of the soil–structure interaction phenomenon can be invoked to improve the planning and design of buried pipelines, to guide monitoring, and to reduce the risk of damage or failure. Two different approaches are considered in this paper: small scale laboratory tests and numerical simulations using the distinct element method (DEM). The experimental setup consists of a box filled with sand and water. Several experiments were performed, in which the diameter and the depth of the tube varied. The numerical simulations are divided in two separate series: in the first, the numerical model is calibrated and its reliability in reproducing the experimental tests is checked; in the second series, the direction of the relative displacement between the tube and the surrounding “numerical soil” varies over the range ±90° with respect to the horizontal. In the latter, both vertical and horizontal components of the drag force are measured and the corresponding interaction diagrams are constructed. The DEM simulations provide useful information about the shape of the failure mechanisms and the force transfer within the soil.     

Analysis of Test Specimens for Cohesive Near-Bond Failure of Fiber-Reinforced Polymer-Plated Concrete

The failure mechanisms of reinforced concrete (RC) members change due to the application of externally bonded fiber-reinforced polymer reinforcement. Although an extensive literature is available describing the failure mechanisms of poststrengthened flexural systems, brittle failure modes caused by bond failure, such as midspan debonding and end peeling, need to be further investigated in order to identify and quantify the fracture processes that result in bond failure. Simplified experimental tests have been designed to idealize the bond between the laminate and the RC member. However, it is unclear how the simplified test results can be related to the actual flexural debonding failures. This paper investigates and compares two bond failure tests: a simplified test (or simple shear test) and a recently proposed shear/normal test. After discussing the characteristics of both tests and how they relate to the midspan debonding and end peeling failures, the shear/normal test is studied in more detail using a nonlinear finite-element fracture mechanics program. The program accounts for cohesive localized and distributed concrete crack damage and is capable of describing the geometrical discontinuities that induce different brittle failure mechanisms. The numerical results compare well with available experimental data and help explain the crack formation and propagation pattern up to specimen failure. Parametric studies are presented to elucidate the influence of different material parameters on the failure mechanisms.     

Feedback passivity of nonlinear discrete-time systems with direct input-output link

This paper is devoted to the study of the feedback passivity property in nonlinear discrete-time systems. The relative degree and zero dynamics of the non-passive system are related to the feedback passivity of the system. Two main results are presented. First, some relative degree-related properties of passive systems in general form are stated. Second, sufficient conditions in order to render a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system passive by means of a static state feedback control law are obtained.     

氯化稀土与丙氨酸固体配合物的研究

LnCl_3·nH_2O和丙氨酸在水相介质中按物质的量比为1∶1和1∶3混合,制得6个新的氯化稀土与丙氨酸的配合物,通式为LnCl_3·L·6H_2O和LnCl_3·3L·nH_2O(Ln为Nd,Dy,Yb;L为丙氨酸)。通过化学分析、元素分析、红外光谱、热重分析及X光粉末衍射等方法对这些配合物进行了物理化学性质及结构表征。     

《本草纲目》养生思想探微

《本草纲目》是我国中医药发展史上重要的里程碑,书中记载了大量养生方面的内容。笔者在通读整部著作的基础上,联系中医发展情况,从五行生克、道家服食、五味宜忌三个方面对其养生思想进行了探索性研究。     

浅谈英语口语教学的影响因素

针对当前大学英语口语教学效果不够理想的现状,探讨了影响英语口语教学的几个主要因素,并指出合理地利用这些因素可以有效促进英语口语的课堂教学效果.     

离子液体浮选分离模拟乏燃料中的稀土元素

从乏燃料中高效分离稀土元素（中子毒物）是实现乏燃料再生循环利用的关键步骤。利用双有机相离子液体选择性浮选分离乏燃料中的稀土元素,使氧化铀和稀土氧化物几乎不被溶解,实现两者固相之间的分离,避免了二次废液的产生,具有节能和环保的双重意义。以2-乙基己基膦酸单-2-乙基己基酯（P507）为稀土元素的捕收剂、煤油或油酸为稀释剂,以1-丁基-3-甲基咪唑六氟磷酸盐（［C₄mim］［PF₆］）和1-丁基-3-甲基咪唑双三氟甲烷磺酰亚胺盐（［C₄mim］［Tf₂N］）两种离子液体作为浮选体系的另一相,优化得到了浮选分离稀土氧化物的最佳条件。结果发现：浮选分离去除率随着混合物中初始Nd含量以及浮选次数的增加而增加。另外,对所有稀土元素与U₃O₈分别组成的二元体系混合物进行了浮选分离研究,发现在相同条件下,该体系对不同稀土元素的分离也不同,浮选分离的去除率与稀土氧化物的密度有一定的相关性。在此基础上,利用浮选机开展了工艺化的初步探索,发现该浮选体系对Nd的去除率可达80%以上。     

工程创新的“壁垒-陷阱”分析

工程创新是指那些发生在工程活动中的创新。在提出“壁垒－陷阱”创新模型的基础上,从“要素－集成”视角,剖析了工程创新的壁垒和陷阱。要素壁垒和陷阱主要来自于信息、技术、资本和市场,集成壁垒和陷阱主要来自于沟通、耦合、制度和文化。本文对这些形形色色的壁垒和陷阱进行分析,尝试描绘出工程创新的“壁垒－陷阱”图景。