Damage evolution of rock-encased-backfill structure under stepwise cyclic triaxial loading

Rock-encased-backfill(RB)structures are common in underground mining,for example in the cut-andfill and stoping methods.To understand the effects of cyclic excavation and blasting activities on the damage of these RB structures,a series of triaxial stepwise-increasing-amplitude cyclic loading experiments was conducted with cylindrical RB specimens(rock on outside,backfill on inside)with different volume fractions of rock(VF=0.48,0.61,0.73,and 0.84),confining pressures(0,6,9,and 12 MPa),and cyclic loading rates(200,300,400,and 500 N/s).The damage evolution and meso-crack formation during the cyclic tests were analyzed with results from stress-strain hysteresis loops,acoustic emission events,and post-failure X-ray 3D fracture morphology.The results showed significant differences between cyclic and monotonic loadings of RB specimens,particularly with regard to the generation of shear microcracks,the development of stress memory and strain hardening,and the contact forces and associated friction that develops along the rock-backfill interface.One important finding is that as a function of the number of cycles,the elastic strain increases linearly and the dissipated energy increases exponentially.Also,compared with monotonic loading,the cyclic strain hardening characteristics are more sensitive to rising confining pressures during the initial compaction stage.Another finding is that compared with monotonic loading,more shear microcracks are generated during every reloading stage,but these microcracks tend to be dispersed and lessen the likelihood of large shear fracture formation.The transition from elastic to plastic behavior varies depending on the parameters of each test(confinement,volume fraction,and cyclic rate),and an interesting finding was that the transformation to plastic behavior is significantly lower under the conditions of 0.73 rock volume fraction,400 N/s cyclic loading rate,and 9 MPa confinement.All the findings have important practical implications on the ability of backfill to support underground excavations.

Investigating the Efficiency Coefficient of Pile Group in Clay Under Two-Way Lateral Load

This research investigates the behavior of a 2×2 pile group under two-directional lateral loads in addition to the vertical load.Through three-dimensional numerical modeling based on Flac 3D software,the study examines the total bearing capacity and efficiency coefficient of the pile group,considering factors such as the angle of lateral load,relative pile spacing,and relative stiffness of the pile-soil system.The findings highlight the significance of these factors in understanding and predicting the response of pile groups to changing lateral load directions.The results reveal that increasing the angle of the lateral load from 0°to 45°enhances both the maximum total lateral load and the efficiency coefficient of the pile group.When the relative stiffness of the pile-soil system significantly increases,soil stiffening occurs and reducing the relative spacing of the piles from 7 to 3 times the diameter of the piles diminishes the influence of the pile group.Consequently,the response of the pile group to lateral loads becomes more linear,with only a slight alteration in the maximum total lateral load and the efficiency coefficient when the lateral load is angled from 0°to 45°.Conversely,increasing the relative distance between the piles,specifically from 3 to 7 times the diameter of the piles,amplifies the influence of the pile group.Both the maximum total lateral load and the efficiency coefficient of the pile group exhibit an observed increase.These provide insights for designing pile groups and optimizing their performance under lateral loading conditions.

Stereo particle image velocimetry measurement of 3D soil deformation around laterally loaded pile in sand

A developed stereo particle image velocimetry(stereo-PIV) system was proposed to measure three-dimensional(3D) soil deformation around a laterally loaded pile in sand.The stereo-PIV technique extended 2D measurement to 3D based on a binocular vision model,where two cameras with a well geometrical setting were utilized to image the same object simultaneously.This system utilized two open software packages and some simple programs in MATLAB,which can easily be adjusted to meet user needs at a low cost.The failure planes form an angle with the horizontal line,which are measured at 27°-29°,approximately three-fourths of the frictional angle of soil.The edge of the strain wedge formed in front of the pile is an arc,which is slightly different from the straight line reported in the literature.The active and passive influence zones are about twice and six times of the diameter of the pile,respectively.The test demonstrates the good performance and feasibility of this stereo-PIV system for more advanced geotechnical testing.

Effect of heterogeneity on mechanical and micro-seismic behaviors of sandstone subjected to multi-level cyclic loading: A discrete element method investigation

In numerical simulation of the mechanical responses and acoustic emission(AE)characteristics of rocks under cyclic loading,the impacts of compositional heterogeneities of mineral grains have barely been considered.This will lead to a poor reproduction of rock’s behaviors in terms of stress-strain relationship and micro-seismic characteristics in numerical simulation.This work aims to analyze and reveal the impact of parameter heterogeneity on the rock’s fatigue and micro-seismic properties based on PFC3D.Two distribution patterns(uniform and Weibull distributions),are implemented to assign four critical parameters(i.e.tensile strength,cohesion,parallel bond stiffness and linear stiffness)for 32 sets of numerical schemes.The results show that the models with high heterogeneity of tensile strength and cohesion can better reproduce the stress-strain relationship as well as the patterns of cumulative AE counts and energy magnitude.The evolution of the proportion of three-level AE events in the laboratory test is consistent with the numerical results when the highly heterogeneous tensile strength and cohesion are distributed.The numerical results can provide practical guidance to the PFC-based modeling of rock heterogeneity when exposed to multi-level cyclic loading and AE monitoring.

Topology optimization of 3D structures with design-dependent loads

Topology optimization of continuum structures with design-dependent loads has long been a challenge. In this paper, the topology optimization of 3D structures subjected to design-dependent loads is investigated. A boundary search scheme is proposed for 3D problems, by means of which the load surface can be identified effectively and efficiently, and the difficulties arising in other approaches can be overcome. The load surfaces are made up of the boundaries of finite elements and the loads can be directly applied to corresponding element nodes, which leads to great convenience in the application of this method. Finally, the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed method is validated by several numerical examples.

A multiscale 3D finite element analysis of fluid/solute transport in mechanically loaded bone

The transport of fluid, nutrients, and signaling molecules in the bone lacunar-canalicular system （LCS） is critical for osteocyte survival and function. We have applied the fluorescence recovery after photobleaching （FRAP） approach to quantify load-induced fluid and solute transport in the LCS in situ, but the measurements were limited to cortical regions 30-50 μm underneath the periosteum due to the constrains of laser penetration. With this work, we aimed to expand our understanding of load-induced fluid and solute transport in both trabecular and cortical bone using a multiscaled image-based finite element analysis （FEA） approach. An intact murine tibia was first re-constructed from microCT images into a three-dimensional （3D） linear elastic FEA model, and the matrix deformations at various locations were calculated under axial loading. A segment of the above 3D model was then imported to the biphasic poroelasticity analysis platform （FEBio） to predict load-induced fluid pressure fields, and interstitial solute/fluid flows through LCS in both cortical and trabecular regions. Further, secondary flow effects such as the shear stress and/or drag force acting on osteocytes, the presumed mechano-sensors in bone, were derived using the previously developed ultrastructural model of Brinkman flow in the canaliculi. The material properties assumed in the FEA models were validated against previously obtained strain and FRAP transport data measured on the cortical cortex. Our results demonstrated the feasibility of this computational approach in estimating the fluid flux in the LCS and the cellular stimulation forces （shear and drag forces） for osteocytes in any cortical and trabecular bone locations, allowing further studies of how the activation of osteocytes correlates with in vivo functional bone formation. The study provides a promising platform to reveal potential cellular mechanisms underlying the anabolic power of exercises and physical activities in treating patients with skeletal deficiencies.

Investigation on automated loading of dynamic 3D heat source model for welding simulation

Since programing complex and dynamic heat source model for welding simulation is a complex job,the parametric methods are studied in this paper.Firstly,an overall flow to achieve automatically modeling welding was introduced.Secondly,an expert module rule for selecting welding heat source model was founded,which is based on simulation knowledge and experiences.Thirdly,a modularity routine method was investigated using writing with C++programing,which automatically creates subroutines of 3D dynamic heat source model for user.To realize the dynamic weld path,the local weld path coordinate system was moved in the global coordinate system and it is used to model the direction of weld gun,welding path and welding pose.The weld path data file was prepared by the automatic tool for the welding heat source subroutines.All above functions were integrated in the user interface and the connection with architecture was introduced.At last,a laser beam welding heat source modeling was automatically modeled and the weld pool geometry was compared with the reported literature.It demonstrated that the automated tool is valid for welding simulation.Since modeling became convenient for welding simulation using the tool proposed,it could be easy and useful for welding engineers to acquire the needed information.

Effects of Microstructure on Quasi⁃Static Transverse Loading Behavior of 3D Circular Braided Composite Tubes

The effects of microstructure on quasi-static transverse loading behavior of 3D circular braided composite tubes were studied. Transverse loading tests were conducted. Transverse load-deflection curves were obtained to analyze the effects of braiding parameters including the braiding angle, the wall thickness, and the diameter on the transverse loading of 3D circular braided composite tubes. Breaking loads, moduli and strengths had also been used to describe the transverse loading behaviors. The failure morphologies were shown to reveal damage mechanisms. From the results, the increase in braiding angle, wall thickness and diameter increases the ability of anti-deformation and breaking load of braided tubes. The breaking load of specimen with a braiding angle of 45° is about 1.68 times that of specimen with a braiding angle of 15°. The breaking load of specimen with 4 layers of yarns is about 2.15 times that of specimen with 2 layers of yarns. The breaking load of the tube with a diameter of 25.5 mm is about 2.39 times that of the tube with a diameter of 20.5 mm.

High Strain-Rate and Shock Response of Carbon SupercompositeTM

This study focuses on assessing the dynamic behaviors of carbon SupercompositeTM laminates when subjected to high strain-rates and air blast loads, using a shock tube for testing. The investigation aims to understand the response of these advanced materials under extreme conditions, which is crucial for applications in aerospace, military, and other high-performance industries. SupercompositeTM (CZE) prepreg, made up of a 3K plain weave carbon fabric with milled carbon fibers as interlaminar reinforcements impregnated with epoxy, is used to create SupercompositeTM (CZE) laminates. A woven carbon composite (CBE) laminate was also created using 3K plain weave Carbon/Epoxy (CBE) prepreg. Both types of laminates were designed and fabricated using the autoclave process. The dynamic behaviors of CZE and CBE laminate under transverse compression loads were evaluated using a modified Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar (SHPB). The study found that the 3D reinforcement with milled carbon fibers significantly affected the dynamic behavior of the CZE laminate. Stereo imaging videos, captured using two SHIMADZU high-speed video cameras in shock tube experiments, recorded the time history of back surface deflection. The plate specimens exhibited low deflections without any visible damage. The experimentally observed center point deflections of the CZE plates decayed sooner than those of the CBE laminates, indicating an improvement in damping due to the presence of 3D reinforced milled carbon fibers. This research shows that optimized utilization of milled carbon fibers as 3D reinforcement can withstand high stress in the thickness direction and higher energy absorption when subjected to impact and high strain-rate loading.

3D Finite Element Analysis of a Man Hip Joint Femur under Impact Loads

Objective： The biomechanical characters of the bone fracture of the man femoral hip joint under impact loads are explored. Methods ：A biosystem model of the man femoral hip joint by using the GE （ General Electric） lightspeed multi-lay spiral CT is conducted. A 3D finite element model is established by employing the finite element software ANSYS. The FE analysis mainly concentrates on the effects of the impact directions arising from intense movements and the parenchyma on the femoral hip joint on the stress distributions of the proximal femur. Results：The parenchyma on the hip joint has relatively large relaxation effect on the impact loads. Conclusion：Effects of the angle δ of the impact load to the anterior direction and the angle γ of the impact load to the femur shaft on the bone fracture are given;δ has larger effect on the stress and strain distributions than the angle γ,which mainly represents the fracture of the upper femur including the femoral neck fracture when the posterolateral femur is impacted, consistent with the clinical resuits.

Crack initiation stress and strain of jointed rock containing multi-cracks under uniaxial compressive loading: A particle flow code approach

The ratio of crack initiation stress to the uniaxial compressive strength(SCI,B/SUC,B) and the ratio of axial strain at the crack initiation stress to the axial strain at the uniaxial compressive strength(B,UCB,CI,A,A/SSSS) were studied by performing numerical stress analysis on blocks having multi flaws at close spacing's under uniaxial loading using PFC3 D. The following findings are obtained: SCI,B/SUC,B has an average value of about 0.5 with a variability of ± 0.1. This range agrees quite well with the values obtained by former research. For joint inclination angle, β=90°,B,UCB,CI,A,A/SSSS is found to be around 0.48 irrespective of the value of joint continuity factor, k. No particular relation is found betweenB,UCB,CI,A,A/SSSS and β; however, the average B,UCB,CI,A,A/SSSS seems to slightly decrease with increasing k. The variability ofB,UCB,CI,A,A/SSSS is found to increase with k.Based on the cases studied in this work,B,UCB,CI,A,A/SSSS ranges between 0.3 and 0.5. This range is quite close to the range of 0.4to 0.6 obtained for SCI,B/SUC,B. The highest variability of ± 0.12 forB,UCB,CI,A,A/SSSS is obtained for k=0.8. For the remaining k values the variability ofB,UCB,CI,A,A/SSSS can be expressed within ± 0.05. This finding is very similar to the finding obtained for the variability of SCI,B/SUC,B.

3D Printing of NiCoP/Ti3C2 MXene Architectures for Energy Storage Devices with High Areal and Volumetric Energy Density

Designing high-performance electrodes via 3D printing for advanced energy storage is appealing but remains challenging.In normal cases,light-weight carbonaceous materials harnessing excellent electrical conductivity have served as electrode candidates.However,they struggle with undermined areal and volumetric energy density of supercapacitor devices,thereby greatly impeding the practical applications.Herein,we demonstrate the in situ coupling of NiCoP bimetallic phosphide and Ti3C2 MXene to build up heavy NCPM electrodes affording tunable mass loading throughout 3D printing technology.The resolution of prints reaches 50μm and the thickness of device electrodes is ca.4 mm.Thus-printed electrode possessing robust open framework synergizes favorable capacitance of NiCoP and excellent conductivity of MXene,readily achieving a high areal and volumetric capacitance of 20 F cm^-2 and 137 F cm^-3 even at a high mass loading of^46.3 mg cm^-2.Accordingly,an asymmetric supercapacitor full cell assembled with 3D-printed NCPM as a positive electrode and 3D-printed activated carbon as a negative electrode harvests remarkable areal and volumetric energy density of 0.89 mWh cm^-2 and 2.2 mWh cm^-3,outperforming the most of state-of-the-art carbon-based supercapacitors.The present work is anticipated to offer a viable solution toward the customized construction of multifunctional architectures via 3D printing for high-energy-density energy storage systems.

Investigating different methods used for approximating pillar loads in longwall coal mines

Accurately estimating load distributions and ground responses around underground openings play a significant role in the safety of the operations in underground mines.Adequately designing pillars and other support measures relies highly on the accurate assessment of the loads that will be carried by them,as well as the load-bearing capacities of the supports.There are various methods that can be used to approximate mining-induced loads in stratified rock masses to be used in pillar design.The empirical methods are based on equations derived from large databases of various case studies.They are implemented in government approved design tools and are widely used.There are also analytical and numerical techniques used for more detailed analysis of the induced loads.In this study,two different longwall mines with different panel width-to-depth ratios are analyzed using different methods.The empirical method used in the analysis is the square-decay stress function that uses the abutment angle concept,implemented in pillar design software developed by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health(NIOSH).The first numerical method used in the analysis is a displacement-discontinuity(DD)variation of the boundary element method,LaModel,which utilizes the laminated overburden model.The second numerical method used in the analysis is Fast Lagrangian Analysis of Continua(FLAC)with the numerical modeling approach recently developed at West Virginia University which is based on the approach developed by NIOSH.The model includes the 2D slice of a cross-section along the width of the panel with the chain pillar system that also includes the different stratigraphic layers of the overburden.All three methods gave similar results for the shallow mine,both in terms of load percentages and distribution where the variation was more obvious for the deep cover mine.The FLAC3D model was observed to better capture the stress changes observed during the field measurements for both the shallow and deep cover cases.This study allowed us to see the shortcomings of each of these different methods.It was concluded that a numerical model which incorporates the site-specific geology would provide the most precise estimate for complex loading conditions.

A strategy to achieve high loading and high energy density Li-S batteries

Lithium-sulfur(Li-S) batteries are one of the most promising rechargeable storage devices due to the high theoretical energy density.However,the low areal sulfur loading impedes their commercial development.Herein,a 3 D free-standing sulfur cathode scaffold is rationally designed and fabricated by coaxially coating polar Ti_3 C_2 T_x flakes on sulfur-impregnated carbon cloth(Ti_3 C_2 T_x@S/CC) to achieve high loading and high energy density Li-S batteries,in which,the flexible CC substrate with highly porous structure can accommodate large amounts of sulfur and ensure fast electron transfer,while the outer-coated Ti_3 C_2 T_x can serve as a polar and conductive protective layer to further promote the conductivity of the whole electrode,achieve physical blocking and chemical anchoring of lithium-polysulfides as well as catalyze their conversion.Due to these advantages,at a sulfur loading of 4 mg cm^(-2),Li-S cells with Ti_3 C_2 T_x@S/CC cathodes can deliver outstanding cycling stability(746.1 mAh g^(-1) after 200 cycles at1 C),superb rate performance(866.8 mAh g^(-1) up to 2 C) and a high specific energy density(564.2 Wh kg^(-1) after 100 cycles at 0.5 C).More significantly,they also show the commercial potential that can compete with current lithium-ion batteries due to the high areal capacity of 6.7 mAh cm^(-2) at the increased loading of 8 mg cm^(-2).

Bi-level hybrid local search approach for three-dimensional loading problem with balancing constraints

This paper presents a bi-level hybrid local search(BHLS)algorithm for the three-dimensional loading problem with balancing constraints(3DLP-B),where several rectangular boxes with even densities but different sizes are loaded into a single cubic bin to meet the requirements of the space or capacity utilization and the balance of the center of gravity.The proposed algorithm hybridizes a novel framed-layout procedure in which the concept of the core block and its generation strategy are introduced.Once the block-loading sequence has been determined,we can load one block at a time by the designed construction heuristic.Then,the double-search is introduced;its external search procedure generates a list of compact packing patterns while its internal search procedure is used to search the core-block frames and their best distribution locations.The approach is extensively tested on weakly to strongly heterogeneous benchmark data.The results show that it has better performance in improving space utilization rate and balanced condition of the placement than existed techniques:the overall averages from 79.85%to 86.45%were obtained for the balanced cases and relatively high space-usage rate of 89.44%was achieved for the unbalanced ones.

Review on Applications of 3D Inverse Design Method for Pump

The 3D inverse design method, which methodology is far superior to the conventional design method that based on geometrical description, is gradually applied in pump blade design. However, no complete description about the method is outlined. Also, there are no general rules available to set the two important input parameters, blade loading distribution and stacking condition. In this sense, the basic theory and the mechanism why the design method can suppress the formation of secondary flow are summarized. And also, several typical pump design cases with different specific speeds ranging from centrifugal pump to axial pump are surveyed. The results indicates that, for centrifugal pump and mixed pump or turbine, the ratio of blade loading on the hub to that on the shroud is more than unit in the fore part of the blade, whereas in the aft part, the ratio is decreased to satisfy the same wrap angle for hub and shroud. And the choice of blade loading type depends on the balancing of efficiency and cavitation. If the cavitation is more weighted, the better choice is aft-loaded, otherwise, the fore-loaded or mid-loaded is preferable to improve the efficiency. The stacking condition, which is an auxiliary to suppress the secondary flow, can have great effect on the jet-wake outflow and the operation range for pump. Ultimately, how to link the design method to modem optimization techniques is illustrated. With the know-how design methodology and the know-how systematic optimization approach, the application of optimization design is promising for engineering. This paper summarizes the 3D inverse design method systematically.

Numerical Calculation of Concrete Slab Response to Blast Loading

In the present paper, a dynamic plastic damage model for concrete has been employed to estimate responses of a reinforced concrete slab subjected to blast loading. The interaction between the blast wave and the concrete slab is considered in 3D simulation. In the first stage, the initial detonation and blast wave propagation is modelled in 2D simulation before the blast wave reaches the concrete slab, then the results obtained from 2D calculation are remapped to a 3D model. The calculated blast load is compared with that obtained from TM5-1300. Numerical results of the concrete slab response are compared with the explosive test carried out- in the Weapons System Division, Defence Science and Technology Organisation, Department of Defence, Australia.

A Strategy for Loading Oblique Photogrammetry Models and Multilayer Basemap Data

With the development of drone technology and oblique photogrammetry technology, the acquisition of oblique photogrammetry models and basemap becomes more and more convenient and quickly. The increase in the number of basemap leads to excessively redundant basemap tiles requests in 3D GIS when loading oblique photogrammetry models, which slows down the system. Aiming at improving the speed of running system, this paper proposes a dynamic strategy for loading basemap tiles. Different from existing 3D GIS which loading oblique photogrammetry models and basemap tiles inde-pendently, this strategy dynamically loads basemap tiles depending on different height of view and the range of loaded oblique photogrammetry models. We achieve dynamic loading of basemap tiles by predetermining whether the basemap tiles will be covered by the oblique photogrammetry models. The experimental results show that this strategy can greatly reduce the num-ber of redundant requests from the client to the server while ensuring the user’s visual requirements for the oblique photogrammetric model.

Numerical Investigation of Green Water Loading on Flexible Structures Using Three-Step CFD-BEM-FEM Approach

In this paper, the effect of green water impact on a flexible structure is studied based on three-step computational fluid dynamics(CFD)–boundary element method(BEM)–finite element method(FEM) approach. The impact due to shipping of water on the deck of the vessel is computed using commercial CFD software and used as an external force in coupled BEM-FEM solver. Other hydrodynamic forces such as radiation, diffraction, and Froude-Krylov forces acting on the structure are evaluated using 3 D time domain panel method. To capture the structural responses such as bending moment and shear force, 1 D finite element method is developed. Moreover, a direct integration scheme based on the Newmark–Beta method is employed to get the structural velocity,displacement, etc., at each time step. To check the effect of the green water impact on the structure, a rectangular barge without forward speed is taken for the analysis. The influence is studied in terms of bending moment, shear force, etc. Results show that the effect of green water impact on the bow region can be severe in extreme seas and lead to various structural damages. Similarly,it is also verified that vessel motion affects green water loading significantly and therefore one must consider its effect while designing a vessel.

Hierarchical closed form solutions for plates bent by localized transverse loadings

3D and 2D closed form plate models are here applied to static analysis of simply supported square isotropic plates. 2D theories are hierarchically classified on the basis of the accuracy of the displacements and stresses obtained by comparison to the 3D exact results that could be assumed by the reader as benchmark for further analyses. Attention is mainly paid on localized loading conditions, that is, piecewise constant load. Also bi-sinusoidal and uniformly distributed loadings are taken into account. All of those configurations are considered in order to investigate the behavior of the 2D models in the case of continu- ous/uncontinuous, centric or off-centric loading conditions. The ratio between the side length a and the plate thickness h has been assumed as analysis parameter. Higher order 2D models yield accurate results for any considered load condition in the case of moderately thick plates, a/h=10. In the case of thick plates, a/h=5, and continuous/uncontinuous centric loading conditions high accuracy is also obtained. For the considered off-centric load condition and thick plates good results are provided for some output quantities. A better solution could be achieved by simply increasing the polynomial approximation order of the axiomatic 2D displacement field.