Critical Analysis of Fibre‐Reinforced Polymer Near‐Surface Mounted Double‐shear Pull‐out Tests

The study of the bond behaviour between fibre‐reinforced polymer (FRP) systems and concrete is an issue that nowadays attracts many researchers. The scientific community dedicated to the research of FRP reinforcement has been conducting numerous experimental programmes aiming to assess the local bond–slip law of the FRP–adhesive–concrete connection. This paper reports the relevant results obtained by the Structural Composite Research Group of Minho University in the scope of an international Round Robin Test. The suitability of the recommended test setup to derive a local bond constitutive law for modelling the bond behaviour of near‐surface mounted reinforcement systems is discussed based on a deep interpretation of the results.     

Investigation of the diffusion of dyes in agar gels

An experimental set-up and a measurement technique were developed so that diffusion in model foods (gels of agar) could be visualised and quantified. The diffusion of aqueous solutions of varying concentrations of two dyes (rhodamine 6G and methylene blue) in gels of agar was followed in situ at three temperatures (30, 50, 70 °C) until equilibrium was reached. The nature of the diffusion process (in terms of the amount of dye diffused into the gel) was studied using image analysis techniques. The diffusion coefficient, D, was estimated using Fick’s second law of diffusion and found to be ∼10⁻¹⁰ m² s⁻¹. The effect of the size of the diffusing molecule, as well as that of the processing temperature on diffusion was investigated and found to be significant.     

Effects of water and temperature variations on deformation of limestone aggregates,cement paste,mortar and High Performance Concrete (HPC)

The present paper deals with the dimensional variations of limestone aggregates, cement paste, mortar, and High Performance Concrete (HPC) made with these constituents, when subjected to temperature changes in drying and sealed conditions. Variable water contents are studied for each material. The overall experimental results were obtained using strain gauges and Digital Image Correlation technique (DIC) is also applied for one configuration test. A significant difference between coefficients of Thermal Expansion (CTE) of cement paste and aggregate is observed, which leads to a large differential thermal deformation, able to explain thermal damage for temperatures between 50 °C and 100 °C. Water content has a great influence on material thermal dilation, causing delayed deformations especially for temperatures above 60 °C and for initially saturated samples. These experimental data may allow Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical models to be improved so that the in-situ long term behaviour of concrete can finally be predicted. The results confirm the dilation coefficient contrast between paste and aggregate, and also show that this contrast is markedly affected by the drying conditions and the initial state of saturation.     

浇筑式钢桥面铺装层推挤变形病害机理分析

以贵州省北盘江大桥钢桥面铺装层推挤变形病害为研究背景,采用凝胶渗透色谱法(GPC)和傅里叶变换红外光谱法(FTIR),从沥青分子尺度分析钢桥面铺装产生推挤变形的原因。分析结果表明:沥青老化并不是造成钢桥面铺装层推挤变形的主要原因;从现场调查可知,第2层粘层粘结能力的降低是造成钢桥面铺装层推挤变形病害的次要原因;通过级配分析发现,造成钢桥面铺装层推挤变形的主要原因是浇筑式沥青混合料(GA)级配偏细以及GA中集料颗粒的棱角性较差所致。     

In situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction study of stress-induced martensitic transformation in a metastable β-type Ti-33Nb-4Sn alloy

In this study, the stress-induced martensitic (SIM) transformation of a recently developed metastable β-type Ti-33Nb-4Sn alloy consisting of a mixture of β and α″ phases are investigated by in situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction (SXRD). It is shown that though the SIM transformation covers a wide strain range, some remaining β phase is still observed after loading, indicating that the SIM transformation is incomplete. During SIM, the parameter of b_α″ increases with macroscopic strain within the strain range of 1.5–4.7%, while the parameters of a_α″ ([100]_α″) and c_α″ ([002]_α″) remain constant or decrease with increasing strain, respectively. This provides a plausible explanation for why the (020)_α″ peak intensifies, but the (002)_α″ peak decreases and even eliminates in the loading direction during loading. Additionally, the activation sequence of different deformation mechanisms is clarified unambiguously.     

Modeling of a DC glow discharge in a neon–xenon gas mixture at low pressure and with metastable atom densities

The physical properties of Ne–Xe DC glow discharges at low pressure are reported for a gap length of 1 cm for the first time in the literature. The model deals specifically with the first three moments of Boltzmann's equation and includes the radiation processes and metastable atom densities. The spatio-temporal distributions of the electron and neon and xenon ion densities, the neon and xenon metastable atom densities, the electric potential and the electric field as well as the mean electron energy are presented at 1.5 Torr and 250 V. The current–voltage characteristic is shown at 3 Torr, and it is compared with previous work for pure neon gas. The model is validated theoretically and experimentally in the case of pure gas.     

异形内套一次冲压成形模具结构的改进

异形内套加工时,原使用的工艺是车削加工或冷镦加工或一般冲压加工3种。这几种工艺加工成本过高,从而影响市场竞争。对一般的冲压加工增加制件塑性变形保护机构后,解决了脱模难这一大难题。该模具结构设计方法,旨在使设计人员理清模具设计思路与步骤,提高模具设计的水平和工作效率。希望对模具设计人员有一定的帮助和指导作用。     

Nonlinear formulation based on FEM,Mazars damage criterion and Fick’s law applied to failure assessment of reinforced concrete structures subjected to chloride ingress and reinforcements corrosion

Structural durability is an important design criterion, which must be assessed for every type of structure. In this regard, especial attention must be addressed to the durability of reinforced concrete (RC) structures. When RC structures are located in aggressive environments, its durability is strongly reduced by physical/chemical/mechanical processes that trigger the corrosion of reinforcements. Among these processes, the diffusion of chlorides is recognized as one of major responsible of corrosion phenomenon start. To accurate modelling the corrosion of reinforcements and to assess the durability of RC structures, a mechanical model that accounts realistically for both concrete and steel mechanical behaviour must be considered. In this context, this study presents a numerical nonlinear formulation based on the finite element method applied to structural analysis of RC structures subjected to chloride penetration and reinforcements corrosion. The physical nonlinearity of concrete is described by Mazars damage model whereas for reinforcements elastoplastic criteria are adopted. The steel loss along time due to corrosion is modelled using an empirical approach presented in literature and the chloride concentration growth along structural cover is represented by Fick’s law. The proposed model is applied to analysis of bended structures. The results obtained by the proposed numerical approach are compared to responses available in literature in order to illustrate the evolution of structural resistant load after corrosion start.     

Oxygen influenced intergranular crack propagation: analysing microstructure and chemistry in the crack tip region

Abstract

Ni-base superalloys have for decades been studied with regard to environmentally influenced intergranular crack propagation. For high temperature fatigue frequencies <0.1 Hz, it has been shown that an oxygen-rich environment promotes time-dependent crack growth while at >0.1 Hz and/or in inert environments (e.g. vacuum) crack growth is cycle dependent. Oxygen interaction at, or ahead of, the crack tip has been pointed out as the reason for the degraded mechanical properties. While many aspects of this type of crack growth have been previously investigated there is still no consensus about the detailed mechanisms, mainly due to the lack of in-detail investigations of the crack-tip region.

Here, crack tip regions in the Ni-base superalloy Alloy 718 were studied. Specimens were subjected to 90 s hold-times at 550°C and 650°C. Crack growth was arrested before final fracture, allowing cross-sectional analyses of the crack-tip region using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Detailed studies of the crack-tip region were performed using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and atom probe tomography (APT). For both APT and TEM samples, site-specific focussed ion beam (FIB) sample preparation was performed in a combined FIB-SEM system. The methodology of accessing and analysing the crack tip region is shown. Initial results on oxidation, oxygen penetration and plastic deformation are shown and discussed.