An investigation on failure behavior of semi-flexible composite mixture at different temperatures

Semi-flexible composite mixture(SFCM)is a kind of pavement material formed by pouring cement-based grout material into a porous asphalt mixture with air voids from 20%to 30%.SFCM is widely used for its outstanding anti-rutting performance.Its mechanical performance is complicated due to its heterogeneity and interlocking structure.According to the present study,asphalt deforms at different temperatures,whereas cement-based grout has no similar characteristics.Rare research focuses on the temperature-based performance of SFCM.Therefore,the study was on the thermal performance of SFCM by seven open-graded asphalt mixture skeletons with different porosities and two types of grouts with early strength(ES)and high strength(HS).The test temperatures ranged from 10℃to 60℃.The mechanical investigation was performed using the semi-circular-bending(SCB)and beam bending tests.The strain sensor was used for analyzing the thermal performance of SFCM.The results show that the temperature significantly affected the SFCM's performance.The porosity was selected for three sections based on the trend of fracture energy(Gf)curves at 25℃.The turning points were the porosity values of 20%and 26%.The initiation slope during elastic deformation increases with the porosity increase.This trend was more evident at intermediate temperature.The shrink strain of SFCM was lower than that of the usual asphalt mixture(AC).The thermal stress of the SFCM filled with HS(HS-SFCM)was higher than that of the SFCM filled with ES(ES-SFCM)at 10℃.Moreover,the thermal failure characteristics of SFCM were influenced by porosity.

Performance Enhancement in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells with Composite Mixtures of TiO_2 Nanoparticles and TiO_2 Nanotubes

In the present investigation,a new composite nanostructured photoanodes were prepared using TiO_2 nanotubes（TNTs） with TiO_2 nanoparticles（TNPs）.TNPs were synthesized by sol-gel method,and TNTs were prepared through alkali hydrothermal method.Dye-sensitized solar cells（DSSCs） were fabricated with different photoanodes comprising of various ratios of TNTs ＋ TNPs,synthetic indigo dye as photosensitizer,PMII（l-propyl-3-methylimidazolium iodide） as ionic liquid electrolyte and cobalt sulfide as counter electrode.The structures and morphologies of TNPs and TNTs were analyzed through X-ray diffractometer,transmission electron microscope and scanning electron microscopes.The results of the investigation showed that the DSSC-4 made with composite photoanode structure（TNTs/TNPs）（90% of TNPs ＋ 10% of TNTs） had improved photocurrent efficiency（2.11%） than pure TNPs（1.00%） and TNT film（0.78%）.Electrochemical impedance spectra revealed that the composite TNTs/TNPs film-based DSSCs possessed the lowest charge-transfer resistances and longest electron lifetime.Hence,it could be concluded that the composite TNTs/TNPs photoanode facilitates the charge transport rate and enhances the efficiencies of DSSCs.

Research on the performance of steel slag and blast furnace slag composite admixture

This study investigates the properties of Baosteel steel slag and blast furnace （BF） slag in order to develop high-performance steel slag and BF slag composite admixture by optimizing the composite mixing technique. Based on the investigation of the stability of steel slag powder and the performance of cement mortar in different mixing ratios and different adding amounts of steel slag and BF slag composite admixture, rational mixing ratios and the adding amount range of steel slag and BF slag composite admixture were determined.

Analysis of Raw Materials Components of Dry Composite Mixes for Production Food Concentrates

Background:The simplest and most convenient food technology is the using of dry composite mixtures.They have a lot of advantages.Dry composite mixtures,which would completely be the basis for the production of personalized food concentrates,are not represented.The development of such dry composite mixtures is actual and of scientific and practical interest.The purpose of this research is the selection and justification of local import-substituting raw materials components for dry composite mixtures used as the basis for the production of food concentrates.As the objects of research,the raw materials components of the starch,fruit and vegetable,industry were selected.The work uses currently accepted standard research methods for organoleptic and physic-chemical parameters of raw materials components.The research was carried out within of the project“Theoretical Substantiation of Production Technology and the Development of Import-Substituting Food Products of Functional Purpose Based on Dry Composite Mixtures”,funded by the Belarusian Republican Foundation for Basic Research.Based on the researches,it was found out that in the composition of dry composite mixtures for the production of food concentrates it is expedient to use the following raw materials:potato starch,extruded corn starch,dried carrots,dried beets,dried topinambur and dried apples in chopped form.

COMPOSITION DETERMINATION OF BINARY POLYMER MIXTURES BY SIZE EXCLUSION CHROMATOGRAPHY WITH LIGHT SCATTERING DETECTION

Base on the principle of absolute quantification of size exclusion chromatography （SEC）, a light scattering （LS） detector coupled with a concentration detector （refractive index detector） is utilized to determine the compositions of complicated binary mixtures. A theoretical analysis predicts that the response factors for both LS and RI detectors are linear functions with the composition of any specified polymer mixtures in the binary polymer mixtures. Two pairs of complicated binary mixtures were used to test the theory mentioned in the present paper, and the experimental results show an excellent accordance with the theory.

Fracture Behavior of Epoxy Asphalt Pavement on Steel Bridges based on Optical Fiber Sensing Technology and Numerical Simulation

The distributed optical fiber sensing technology was used to investigate the fracture behavior of the Epoxy Asphalt Mixture. The spatial distribution and variation of the strain development with crack propagation were acquired using the brillouin optical time-domain reflectometer through the loading experiments of the composite beam structure. In addition, a finite element model of the composite beam structure was developed to analyze the mechanical responses of the epoxy asphalt mixture using the extended finite element method. The experimental results show that the development of crack propagation becomes instable with the increase of the load, and larger loads will generate deeper cracks. Moreover, the numerical results show that the mechanical response of the crack tip changes with the crack propagation, and the worst areas that subjected to crack damage are located on both sides of the composite beam structure.

Optimization of the separation of a mixture of unknown composition by reversed-phase HPLC

A method is presented for the computer-assisted optimization of mobile phase selection for the separation of a synthetic intermediate of unknown composition by reversed- phase HPLC.The method is based on recognition of the order of the peaks by comparison of peak area ratio and followed by the BSOS-L(Binary Solvent Optimization System for HPLC)method.Excellent agreement was obtained between predicted data and experimental results.

Soil micromorphological and physical properties after application of composts with polyethylene and biocomponent-derived polymers added during composting

Composts are considered to be one of the best soil amendments. However, the effects of composts with added polymeric materials on soil physical,hydraulic, and micromorphological properties have not been widely discussed. Changes in soil physical properties influence the numerous services that soils provide. We studied the impacts of composts with the addition of three different polymers(F1–F3) produced from polyethylene and thermoplastic corn starch on the physical, hydraulic, and micromorphological properties of two soils, a Cambic Phaeozem and a Luvic Phaeozem. Applying composts with polymers had limited or no significant effect on soil bulk density and porosity, but increased the field water capacity by 18%–82% and 3%–6% and the plant-available water content by 15%–23% and 4%–17% for the Cambic Phaeozem and Luvic Phaeozem, respectively. The application of composts with polymers had a greater effect on the Cambic Phaeozem than on the Luvic Phaeozem. It was suggested that the use of modified composts led to changes in soil physical properties and micromorphological features and this effect was dependent on the compost application rate. Composts made with the addition of composite synthetic and natural material-derived polymers during composting were found to be a composite mixture that can be successfully used in agriculture.