Damage Processes of Polypropylene Fiber Reinforced Mortar in Different Fiber Content Revealed by Acoustic Emission Behavior

The performances of the cement-based materials can be improved by the incorporation of polypropylene fiber, but the damage processes become more complex with different fiber contents at the same time. The acoustic emission（AE） technology can achieve the global monitoring of internal damage in materials. The evolution process of failure mode and damage degree of polypropylene fiber reinforced mortar and concrete were analyzed by measuring the AE energy, RA value, AF value and b value. It was found that the cement matrix cracked on the initial stage, the cracks further developed on the medium stage and the fibers were pulled out on the last stage. The matrix cracked with minor injury cracks, but the fiber broke with serious damage cracks. The cumulative AE energy was proportional to the polypropylene fiber reinforced concrete and mortar＇s ductility. The damage mode and damage degree can be judged by identifying the damage stage obtained by the analysis of the AF value.

BRITTLE-DAMAGE ANALYSIS OF CRACKS UNDER CONDITIONS OF PLANE-STRAIN TENSILE LOADING

An abrupt damage model, taking full account of finite geometry changes, is used to study both the shapes of damage zones and the stress strain fields for a plane-strain tensile crack under the small-scale yielding condition. Two typical crack-tip damage profiles are simulated by the element vanish technique. The fracture toughness increment due to damage dissipation is evaluated in terms of the energy release rate.

Heterogeneity induced strain localization in block-in-matrix-soils subjected to uniaxial loading using real-time CT scanning

Block-in-matrix-soils(bimsoils)are geological mixtures that have distinct structures consisting of relatively strong rock blocks and weak matrix soils.It is still a challenge to evaluate the mechanical behaviors of bimsoils because of the heterogeneity,chaotic structure,and lithological variability.As a result,only very limited laboratory studies have been reported on the evolution of their internal deformation.In this study,the deformation evolution of bimsoils under uniaxial loading is investigated using real-time X-ray computed tomography(CT)and image correlation algorithm(with a rock block percentage(RBP)of 40%).Three parameters,i.e.heterogeneity coefficient(K),correlation coefficient(CC),and standard deviation(STD)of displacement fields,are proposed to quantify the heterogeneity of the motion of the rock blocks and the progressive deformation of the bimsoils.Experimental results show that the rock blocks in bimsoils are prone to forming clusters with increasing loading,and the sliding surface goes around only one side of a cluster.Based on the movement of the rock blocks recorded by STD and CC,the progressive deformation of the bimsoils is quantitatively divided into three stages:initialization of the rotation of rock blocks,formation of rock block clusters,and formation of a shear band by rock blocks with significant rotation.Moreover,the experimental results demonstrate that the meso-motion of rock blocks controls the macroscopic mechanical properties of the samples.

Effect of Interfacial Strength on the Flexural Behavior of Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer(GFRP) Reinforced Concrete Beam

The reinforcement/matrix interfacial strength has been considered as the key factor when glass fiber reinforced polymer(GFRP) bar is mixed with concrete. In this paper, based on micromechanics, fourpoint bending numerical models with and without glass fiber of different interfacial strength have been set up to simulate the damage process of GFRP reinforced concrete beam. The results show that the higher the interfacial strength is, the higher the ultimate bearing capacity of beams, and the less the opening width and height of cracks will be reached. Furthermore, mixing of glass fibers has less influence on the damage process when the interfacial strength is weak, however, it can help to improve the ultimate bearing capacity of the beams, retard the expansion of cracks and improve the toughness when the interfacial strength is high.

Non-equilibrium and stochasticity influence the activation process of the yeast DNA damage pathway

Living cells are open systems that exist far away from a state of thermodynamical equilibrium.They utilize the high-grade chemical energy provided by food to produce ATP and release ADP and Pi together with heat dissipation.Living cells exist in a non-equilibrium steady state(NESS),they replicate themselves and respond to various environmental changes