Microstructures and electrochemical behaviors of casting magnesium alloys with enhanced compression strengths and decomposition rates

New-type magnesium alloy with prominent solubility and mechanical property lays foundation for preparing fracturing part in petroleum extraction.Herein,Mg-xZn-Zr-SiC alloy is prepared with casting strategy.Electrochemical and compression tests are conducted to assess the feasibility as decomposable material.Morphology,composition,phase and distribution are characterized to investigate decomposition mechanism.Results indicate that floccule,substrate component and reticulate secondary phase are formed on as-prepared surface.Sample also acts out enhanced compression strength to maintain pressure and guarantee stability in dissolution process.Furthermore,as decomposition time and zinc content increase,couple corrosion intensifies,resulting in gradually enhanced decomposition rate.Rapid sample decomposition is mainly due to basal anode dissolution,micro particle exfoliation and poor decomposition resistance of corroding product.Such work shows profound significance in preparing new-type accessible alloy to ensure rapid dissolution of fracturing part and guarantee stable compression strength in oil-gas reservoir exploitation.

Effect of chloride salt concentration on unconfined compression strength of cement-treated Lianyungang soft marine clay

This study aims to quantify the influence of the amount of cement and chloride salt on the unconfined compression strength （UCS） of Lianyungang marine clay. The clays with various sodium chloride salt concentrations were prepared artificially and stabilized by ordinary Portland cement with various contents. A series of UCS tests of cement stabilized clay specimen after 28 d curing were carried out. The results indicate that the increase of salt concentration results in the decrease in the UCS of cement-treated soil. The negative effect of salt concentration on the strength of cement stabilized clay directly relates to the cement content and salt concentration. The porosity-salt concentration/cement content ratio is a fundamental parameter for assessing the UCS of cement-treated salt-rich clay. An empirical prediction model of UCS is also proposed to take into account the effect of salt concentration. The findings of this study can be referenced for the stabilization improvement of chloride slat- rich soft clay.

Strength regularity and failure criterion of plain HSHPC under biaxial compression after exposure to high temperatures

Biaxial compression tests are performed on 100 mm × 100 mm × 100 mm cubic specimens of plain high-strength highperformance concrete （HSHPC） at seven kinds of stress ratios, σ2：σ3 =0 ： - 1, -0.20 ： - 1, -0.30 ： - 1, -0.40 ： - 1, -0.50 ： -1, -0. 75 ： - 1, and - 1.00 ： - 1 after exposure to normal and high temperatures of 20, 200, 300, 400, 500 and 600 ℃, using a large static-dynamic true triaxial machine. Frictionreducing pads are three layers of plastic membranes with glycerine in-between for the compressive loading plane. Failure modes of the specimens are described. The two principally static compressive strengths are measured. The influences of the temperatures and stress ratios on the biaxial strengths of HSHPC after exposure to high temperatures are also analyzed. The experimental results show that the uniaxial compressive strength of plain HSHPC after exposure to high temperatures does not decrease completely with the increase in temperature; the ratios of the biaxial to its uniaxial compressive strengths depend on the stress ratios and brittleness-stiffness of HSHPC after exposure to different high temperatures. The formula of the Kupfer-Gerstle failure criterion modified with the temperature and stress ratio parameters for plain HSHPC is proposed.

Effect of Sample Disturbance on Unconfined Compression Strength of Natural Marine Clays

Quantitatively correcting the unconfined compressive strength for sample disturbance is an important research project in the practice of ocean engineering and geotechnical engineering. In this study, the specimens of undisturbed natural marine clay obtained from the same depth at the same site were deliberately disturbed to different levels. Then, the specimens with different extents of sample disturbance were trimmed for both oedometer tests and unconfined compression tests. The degree of sample disturbance SD is obtained from the oedometer test data. The relationship between the unconfined compressive strength q u and SD is studied for investigating the effect of sample disturbance on q u. It is found that the value of q u decreases linearly with the increase in SD. Then, a simple method of correcting q u for sample disturbance is proposed. Its validity is also verified through analysis of the existing published data.

Strength and deformation behaviors of cemented tailings backfill under triaxial compression

It is of great significance for safety reason to obtain the triaxial compressive properties of cemented tailings backfill(CTB).The influence of cement content,curing age and confining pressure on strength and deformation properties of CTB was examined and discussed.Results indicate that the triaxial compressive and deformation behavior of CTB is strongly affected by the cement content,curing age and confining pressure.The increase in cement content,curing age and confining pressure leads to a change in stress−strain behavior and an increase in the axial strain at failure and post-peak strength loss.The cohesion of CTB rises as the curing age and cement content increase.However,the enhancement in internal friction angle is trivial and negligible.It should be noted that the failure pattern of CTB samples in triaxial compression is mainly along a shear plane,the confining pressure restrains the lateral expansion and the bulging failure pattern is dominantly detected in CTB samples as curing age length and cement content increase.The results will help to better understand the triaxial mechanical and deformation behavior of CTB.

A new nonlinear empirical strength criterion for rocks under conventional triaxial compression

The failure criterion of rocks is a critical factor involved in reliability design and stability analysis of geotechnical engineering.In order to accurately evaluate the triaxial compressive strength of rocks under different confining pressures,a nonlinear empirical strength criterion based on Mohr-Coulomb criterion was proposed in this paper.Through the analysis of triaxial test strength of 11 types of rock materials,the feasibility and validity of proposed criterion was discussed.For a further verification,six typical strength criteria were selected,and the prediction results of each criterion and test results were statistically analyzed.The comparative comparison results show that the prediction results obtained by applying this new criterion to 97 conventional triaxial compression tests of 11 different rock materials are highly consistent with the experimental data.Statistical analysis was executed to assess the application of the new criterion and other classical criteria in predicting the failure behavior of rock.This proposed empirical criterion provides a new reference and method for the determination of triaxial compressive strength of rock materials.

Meso-damage evolution and mechanical characteristics of low-porosity sedimentary rocks under uniaxial compression

Low pore sedimentary rocks(from Guangxi, China) were subjected to uniaxial compression loading experiment under different initial stresses. The rock samples were investigated by nuclear magnetic resonance before and after the loading. The relationships between the mesoscopic rock damage and macroscopic mechanical parameters were established, and the initial damage stress of the low-porosity sedimentary rock was determined. The results showed that this type of rock has the initial stress of damage. When the initial loading stress is lower than the initial stress of damage, the T2 spectrum area of the rock sample gradually decreases, and the primary pores of the rock are further closed under the stress. The range of the initial stress of damage for this type of rock is 8-16 MPa. When the loading stress exceeds the initial stress of damage, the T2 spectrum area gradually increases, indicating that the porosity of the rock increases and microscopic damage of the rock appears. The rock damage degree is defined, and the nonlinear function between the rock damage degree and the initial loading stress is established.

A crystal plasticity based approach to establish role of grain size and crystallographic texture in the Tension–Compression yield asymmetry and strain hardening behavior of a Magnesium–Silver–Rare Earth alloy

Existence of tension–compression yield asymmetry is a serious limitation to the load bearing capablities of Magnesium alloys in a number of light weight structural applications.The present work is aimed at nullifying the tension to compression asymmetry problem and strain hardening anomalies in a Magnesium–Silver–Rare Earth alloy by engineering different levels of microstructural conditions via friction stir processing and post process annealing.The existence and extent of yield asymmetry ratio in the range of microstructural conditions was experimentally obtained through quasistatic tensile and compression tests.The yield asymmetry problem was profoundly present in specimens of coarse grained microstructures when compared to their fine grained and ultra fine grained counterparts.The impact of the microstructure and associated mechanisms of plasticity on the macroscopic strain hardening behavior was established by Kock–Mecking’s analysis.Crystal plasticity simulations using Viscoplastic Self Consistency approach revealed the consequential role of extension twinning mechanism for the existence of yield asymmetry and anomalies in strain hardening behavior.This was especially dominant with coarsening of grain size.Electron Microscopy and characterization were conducted thoroughly in partially deformed specimens to confirm the predictions of the above simulations.The role of crystallographic texture for inducing the polarity to Tension–Compression yield asymmetry was corroborated.A critical grain size in Magnesium–Silver–Rare earth alloy was hereby established which could nullify influences of extension twinning in yield asymmetry ratio.

FAILURE MODE AND CONSTITUTIVE MODEL OF PLAIN HIGH-STRENGTH HIGH-PERFORMANCE CONCRETE UNDER BIAXIAL COMPRESSION AFTER EXPOSURE TO HIGH TEMPERATURES

An orthotropic constitutive relationship with temperature parameters for plain highstrength high-performance concrete （HSHPC） under biaxial compression is developed. It is based on the experiments performed for characterizing the strength and deformation behavior at two strength levels of HSHPC at 7 different stress ratios including a=σs ： σ3=0.00：-1,-0.20：-1,-0.30 ： -1,-0.40：-1,-0.50：-1,-0.75：-1,-1.00：-1, after the exposure to normal and high temperatures of 20, 200, 300, 400, 500 and 600℃, and using a large static-dynamic true triaxial machine. The biaxial tests were performed on 100 mm×100 mm×100 mm cubic specimens, and friction-reducing pads were used consisting of three layers of plastic membrane with glycerine in-between for the compressive loading plane. Based on the experimental results, failure modes of HSHPC specimens were described. The principal static compressive strengths, strains at the peak stress and stress-strain curves were measured; and the influence of the temperature and stress ratios on them was also analyzed. The experimental results showed that the uniaxial compressive strength of plain HSHPC after exposure to high temperatures does not decrease dramatically with the increase of temperature. The ratio of the biaxial to its uniaxial compressive strength depends on the stress ratios and brittleness-stiffness of HSHPC after exposure to different temperature levels. Comparison of the stress-strain results obtained from the theoretical model and the experimental data indicates good agreement.

Effects of mineralogical composition on uniaxial compressive strengths of sedimentary rocks

Figuring out rock strength plays essential roles in the sub ground mining activities,such as oil and gas well drilling and hydraulic fracturing,coal mining,tunneling,and other civil engineering scenarios.To help understand the effects of the mineralogical composition on evaluating the rock strength,this research tries to establish indirect prediction models of rock strength by specific input mineral contents for common sedimentary rocks.Using rock samples collected from the outcrops in the Sichuan Basin,uniaxial compression tests have been conducted to sandstone,carbonate,and shale cores.Combining with statistical analysis,the experimental data prove it true that the mineralogical composition can be utilized to predict the rock strength under specific conditions but the effects of mineralogical composition on the rock strength highly depend on the rock lithologies.According to the statistical analysis results,the predicted values of rock strengths by the mineral contents can get high accuracies in sandstone and carbonate rocks while no evidences can be found in shale rocks.The best indicator for predicting rock strength should be the quartz content for the sandstone rocks and the dolomite content for the carbonate rocks.Especially,to improve the evaluation accuracy,the rock strengths of sandstones can be obtained by substituting the mineral contents of quartz and clays,and those of carbonates can be calculated by the mineral contents of dolomite and calcite.Noticeably,the research data point out a significant contrast of quartz content in evaluating the rock strength of the sandstone rocks and the carbonate rocks.Increasing quartz content helps increase the sandstone strength but decrease the carbonate strength.As for shale rocks,no relationship exists between the rock strength and the mineralogical composition(e.g.,the clay fractions).To provide more evidences,detailed discussion also provides the readers more glances into the framework of the rock matrix,which can be further studied in the future.These findings can help understand the effects of mineralogical composition on the rock strengths,explain the contrasts in the rock strength of the responses to the same mineral content(e.g.,the quartz content),and provide another indirect method for evaluating the rock strength of common sedimentary rocks.

STATIC AND FATIGUE BEHAVIOR OF IMPACTED AS4/PEEK THERMOPLASTIC COMPOSITES UNDER COMPRESSION LOAD

Static and fatigue tests under compression load were made on impacted AS4/PEEK and T300/913C graphite/epoxy with [45/90/-45/0]5S stacking sequence. The comparison of the damage tolerance assessment for thermosetting and thermoplastic composites shows that thermoplastics are more damage tolerant under compression. Impacted thermoplastic composites have excellent compression-compression fatigue behavior. The damage growth life is only a few percent of their total fatigue life and no regular damage growth can be found. Some design principles for thermosetting composite structures may still be used.

Effects of Adding Boron Compounds to Glycol Based Grinding Aids on Cement Compressive Strengths Performance

In this study, the effect of substituting boron compounds with glycol-based grinding aids to the compressive strength performances of cement was investigated. Monoethylene glycol (MEG) and diethylene glycol (DEG) were used as glycol-based grinding aids, and anhydrous borax and boric acid were used as boron compounds in the tests. CEM I type cement production was carried out with the addition of grinding aid mixtures to Portland clinker and some gypsum in the experiments. All produced cement samples were tested for Blaine fineness, xrf elemental analysis and 2, 7 and 28 days compressive strength tests. Test results of grinding aids of MEG and boron compounds mixture showed no increase in any age of compressive strengths performances related to MEG used itself. However, with the addition of boron compounds to DEG increased grinding aid performance at all ages (2, 7 and 28 days). Possible reasons for this increase could be borate esters formed with DEG and boric acid in a basic medium.

Assessment of compressive strength of jet grouting by machine learning

Jet grouting is one of the most popular soil improvement techniques,but its design usually involves great uncertainties that can lead to economic cost overruns in construction projects.The high dispersion in the properties of the improved material leads to designers assuming a conservative,arbitrary and unjustified strength,which is even sometimes subjected to the results of the test fields.The present paper presents an approach for prediction of the uniaxial compressive strength(UCS)of jet grouting columns based on the analysis of several machine learning algorithms on a database of 854 results mainly collected from different research papers.The selected machine learning model(extremely randomized trees)relates the soil type and various parameters of the technique to the value of the compressive strength.Despite the complex mechanism that surrounds the jet grouting process,evidenced by the high dispersion and low correlation of the variables studied,the trained model allows to optimally predict the values of compressive strength with a significant improvement with respect to the existing works.Consequently,this work proposes for the first time a reliable and easily applicable approach for estimation of the compressive strength of jet grouting columns.

Predicting uniaxial compressive strength of tuff after accelerated freeze-thaw testing: Comparative analysis of regression models and artificial neural networks

Ignimbrites have been widely used as building materials in many historical and touristic structures in the Kayseri region of Türkiye. Their diverse colours and textures make them a popular choice for modern construction as well. However, ignimbrites are particularly vulnerable to atmospheric conditions, such as freeze-thaw cycles, due to their high porosity, which is a result of their formation process. When water enters the pores of the ignimbrites, it can freeze during cold weather. As the water freezes and expands, it generates internal stress within the stone, causing micro-cracks to develop. Over time, repeated freeze-thaw (F-T) cycles lead to the growth of these micro-cracks into larger cracks, compromising the structural integrity of the ignimbrites and eventually making them unsuitable for use as building materials. The determination of the long-term F-T performance of ignimbrites can be established after long F-T experimental processes. Determining the long-term F-T performance of ignimbrites typically requires extensive experimental testing over prolonged freeze-thaw cycles. To streamline this process, developing accurate predictive equations becomes crucial. In this study, such equations were formulated using classical regression analyses and artificial neural networks (ANN) based on data obtained from these experiments, allowing for the prediction of the F-T performance of ignimbrites and other similar building stones without the need for lengthy testing. In this study, uniaxial compressive strength, ultrasonic propagation velocity, apparent porosity and mass loss of ignimbrites after long-term F-T were determined. Following the F-T cycles, the disintegration rate was evaluated using decay function approaches, while uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) values were predicted with minimal input parameters through both regression and ANN analyses. The ANN and regression models created for this purpose were first started with a single input value and then developed with two and three combinations. The predictive performance of the models was assessed by comparing them to regression models using the coefficient of determination (R2) as the evaluation criterion. As a result of the study, higher R2 values (0.87) were obtained in models built with artificial neural network. The results of the study indicate that ANN usage can produce results close to experimental outcomes in predicting the long-term F-T performance of ignimbrite samples.

The Influence of Limestone Powder and Metakaolin Co-Blending on the Hydration Process and Mechanical Properties of Q-Phase Cement

A ternary system comprising Ca_(20)Al_(26)Mg_(3)Si_(3)O_(68)(Q-phase),limestone,and metakaolin is proposed,and its hydration behavior,hydration product phases,microstructure,and mechanical properties are investigated and compared with pure Q-phase cement.The results indicate that the ternary system exhibits exceptional and sustained compressive strength even under a 40℃environment,significantly outperforming pure Q-phase.The mechanism lies in that metakaolin effectively inhibits the transformation of metastable phase.Meanwhile,the interactions among Q-phase,limestone,and metakaolin further enhance the cementitious performance.The ternary system effectively addresses potential issues of strength loss in Q-phase cement application,and as a low-carbon cementitious material system,it holds promising potential applications.

Effect of Partial Replacement of Fly Ash by Decoration Waste Powder on the Fresh and Mechanical Properties of Geopolymer Masonry Mortar

This study aims to investigate the feasibility of using decoration waste powder(DWP)as a partial replacement for fly ash(FA)in the preparation of geopolymer masonry mortar,and to examine the effect of different DWP replacement rates(0%-40%)on the fresh and mechanical properties of the mortar.The results showed that each group of geopolymer masonry mortar exhibited excellent water retention performance,with a water retention rate of 100%,which was due to the unique geopolymer mortar system and high viscosity of the alkaline activator solution.Compared to the control group,the flowability of the mortar containing lower contents of DWP(10%and 20%)was higher.However,as the DWP replacement rate further increased,the flowability gradually decreased.The DWP could absorb the free water in the reaction system of geopolymer mortar,thereby limiting the occurrence of geopolymerization reaction.The incorporation of DWP in the mortar resulted in a decrease in compressive strength compared to the mortar without DWP.However,even at a replacement rate of 40%,the compressive strength of the mortar still exceeded 15 MPa,which met the requirements of the masonry mortar.It was feasible to use DWP in the geopolymer masonry mortar.Although the addition of DWP caused some performance loss,it did not affect its usability.

Effect of Modification Treatment on Chloride Ions Permeability and Microstructure of Recycled Brick-mixed Aggregate Concrete

The modification methods of pozzolan slurry combined with sodium silicate and silicon-based additive were respectively adopted to treat recycled coarse brick-mixed aggregate(RCBA)in this study.The compressive strength and chloride permeability resistance of recycled aggregate concrete(RAC)before and after modification treatment were tested,and the microstructure of RAC was analyzed by mercury intrusion porosimetry(MIP)and scanning electron microscopy(SEM).The results show that the physical properties of RCBA strengthened by modification treatment are improved,and the compressive strength and chloride permeability resistance of treated RAC are also significantly improved.The modification treatment optimizes the pore size distribution of RAC,which increases the number of gel pores and transition pores,and decreases the number of capillary pores and macro pores.The surface fractal dimension shows a significant correlation with chloride diffusion coefficient,indicating that the variation of chloride permeability of treated RAC is consistent with the microstructure evolution.

Biopolymer stabilization of clayey soil

This study investigates the efficacy of sodium alginate(SA),xanthan gum(XG),guar gum(GG)and chitosan(CS)d each applied at five different solid biopolymer-to-water mass ratios(or dosages)and cured for 7 d and 28 d d on the unconfined compressive strength(UCS)performance of a high plasticity clayey soil.Moreover,on identifying the optimum biopolymer-treatment scenarios,their performance was compared against conventional stabilization using hydrated lime.For a given curing time,the UCS for all biopolymers followed a riseefall trend with increasing biopolymer dosage,peaking at an optimum dosage and then subsequently decreasing,such that all biopolymer-stabilized samples mobilized higher UCS values compared to the unamended soil.The optimum dosage was found to be 1.5%for SA,XG and CS,while a notably lower dosage of 0.5%was deemed optimum for GG.Similarly,for a given biopolymer type and dosage,increasing the curing time from 7 d to 28 d further enhanced the UCS,with the achieved improvements being generally more pronounced for XG-and CS-treated cases.None of the investigated biopolymers was able to produce UCS improvements equivalent to those obtained by the 28-d soilelime samples;however,the optimum XG,GG and CS dosages,particularly after 28 d of curing,were easily able to replicate 7-d lime stabilization outcomes achieved with as high as twice the soil’s lime demand.Finally,the fundamental principles of clay chemistry,in conjunction with the soil mechanics framework,were employed to identify and discuss the clayebiopolymer stabilization mechanisms.

Failure behavior and strength model of blocky rock mass with and without rockbolts

To better understand the failure behaviours and strength of bolt-reinforced blocky rocks,large scale extensive laboratory experiments are carried out on blocky rock-like specimens with and without rockbolt reinforcement.The results show that both shear failure and tensile failure along joint surfaces are observed but the shear failure is a main controlling factor for the peak strength of the rock mass with and without rockbolts.The rockbolts are necked and shear deformation simultaneously happens in bolt reinforced rock specimens.As the joint dip angle increases,the joint shear failure becomes more dominant.The number of rockbolts has a significant impact on the peak strain and uniaxial compressive strength(UCS),but little influence on the deformation modulus of the rock mass.Using the Winkler beam model to represent the rockbolt behaviours,an analytical model for the prediction of the strength of boltreinforced blocky rocks is proposed.Good agreement between the UCS values predicted by proposed model and obtained from experiments suggest an encouraging performance of the proposed model.In addition,the performance of the proposed model is further assessed using published results in the literature,indicating the proposed model can be used effectively in the prediction of UCS of bolt-reinforced blocky rocks.

Effects of reservoir fluids on sand packs consolidated by furan and epoxy resins:Static and dynamic states

One of the most effective methods for sand control is the chemical consolidation of sandstone structures.In this paper,the impacts of crude oil and brine in the static state and the impact of the flow rates of the fluids in the dynamic state have been assessed at the reservoir conditions.The analyses in this research were Young’s modulus,compressive strength,porosity,and permeability which were done on core samples after and before fluid contact.Samples made with two different resins showed good resistance to crude oil in both states.No considerable change was seen in the analyses even at high crude oil injection rates in the dynamic state.Conversely,brine caused a noticeable change in the analyses in both states.In the presence of brine at the static state,Young’s modulus and compressive strength respectively decreased by 37.5%and 34.5%for epoxy cores,whereas these parameters respectively reduced by 30%and 41%for furan cores.In brine presence at the dynamic state,compressive strength reduction was 10.28 MPa for furan and 6.28 MPa for epoxy samples and their compressive strength reached 16.75 MPa and 26.54 MPa respectively which are higher than the critical point to be known as weak sandstone core.Moreover,Young’s modulus decrease values for furan and epoxy samples were respectively 0.37 GPa and 0.44 GPa.Therefore,brine had a more destructive effect on the mechanical characteristics of samples in the static state than the dynamic one for two resins.In addition,brine injection increased permeability by about 13.6%for furan and 34.8%for epoxy.Also,porosity raised by about 21.8%for furan,and 19%for epoxy by brine injection.The results showed that the chemical sand consolidation weakens in the face of brine production along with crude oil which can lead to increasing cost of oil production and treating wellbore again.