Effect of strain rate and water-to-cement ratio on compressive mechanical behavior of cement mortar

Effects of strain rate and water-to-cement ratio on the dynamic compressive mechanical behavior of cement mortar are investigated by split Hopkinson pressure bar(SHPB) tests. 124 specimens are subjected to dynamic uniaxial compressive loadings.Strain rate sensitivity of the materials is measured in terms of failure modes, stress-strain curves, compressive strength, dynamic increase factor(DIF) and critical strain at peak stress. A significant change in the stress-strain response of the materials with each order of magnitude increase in strain rate is clearly seen from test results. The slope of the stress-strain curve after peak value for low water-to-cement ratio is steeper than that of high water-to-cement ratio mortar. The compressive strength increases with increasing strain rate. With increase in strain rate, the dynamic increase factor(DIF) increases. However, this increase in DIF with increase in strain rate does not appear to be a function of the water-to-cement ratio. The critical compressive strain increases with the strain rate.

Axial compressive behavior and design method of tubed circular steel reinforced concrete short columns

To study the behavior and design of tubed circular steel reinforced concrete (TCSRC) short column under axial compressive loads, a nonlinear finite element model (FEM) has been developed to simulate this kind of structure. Depending on the FEM results, an elastic-plastic analysis was carried out to clarify the status of steel tube, then a simplified procedure was proposed to predict the compressive axial load strength. The results obtained from this procedure were compared with the test results. It is found that they agree well each other.

The use of point load test for Dubai weak calcareous sandstones

Intact rock is typically described according to its uniaxial compressive strength （UCS）. The UCS is needed in the design of geotechnical engineering problems including stability of rock slopes and design of shallow and deep foundations resting on and/or in rocks. Accordingly, a correct measure-ment/evaluation of the UCS is essential to a safe and economic design. Typically, the UCS is measured using the unconfined compression tests performed on cylindrical intact specimens with a minimum length to width ratio of 2. In several cases, especially for weak and very weak rocks, it is not possible to extract intact specimens with the needed minimum dimensions. Thus, alternative tests （e.g. point load test, Schmidt hammer） are used to measure rock strength. The UCS is computed based on the results of these tests through empirical correlations. The literature includes a plethora of these correlations that vary widely in estimating rock strength. Thus, it is paramount to validate these correlations to check their suitability for estimating rock strength for a specific location and geology. A review of the available correlations used to estimate the UCS from the point load test results is performed and summarized herein. Results of UCS, point load strength index and Young＇s modulus are gathered for calcareous sandstone specimens extracted from the Dubai area. A correlation for estimating the UCS from the point load strength index is proposed. Furthermore, the Young＇s modulus is correlated to the UCS.