On the Damping Properties of Modified Ground Rubber Tires

Large amounts of used rubber tires are discarded annually. A long time is needed for them to degrade naturally. This poses two major problems: environmental pollution and wastage of valuable rubber. On the other hand, with the harm of vibration and noise widely recognized, desires to control them intensify. As an important means of vibration control, viscoelastic damping technology has advanced greatly. The need for cheap and high quality viscoelastic damping materials increases rapidly. This paper made a trial to use ground rubber tire (GRT) recovered from old tires to make damping materials. The GRT is treated specially first. Then it was pressed into slabs and vulcanized. Finally, the product was cut into test samples. An Oberst beam was used to determine the loss factor βand storage modulus E. Results show that the damping materials exhibit good damping α-bility.

Mode-based equivalent multi-degree-of-freedom system for one-dimensional viscoelastic response analysis of layered soil deposit

Discrete models such as the lumped parameter model and the finite element model are widely used in the solution of soil amplification of earthquakes. However, neither of the models will accurately estimate the natural frequencies of soil deposit, nor simulate a damping of frequency independence. This research develops a new discrete model for onedimensional viscoelastic response analysis of layered soil deposit based on the mode equivalence method. The new discrete model is a one-dimensional equivalent multi-degree-of-freedom（MDOF） system characterized by a series of concentrated masses, springs and dashpots with a special configuration. The dynamic response of the equivalent MDOF system is analytically derived and the physical parameters are formulated in terms of modal properties. The equivalent MDOF system is verified through a comparison of amplification functions with the available theoretical solutions. The appropriate number of degrees of freedom（DOFs） in the equivalent MDOF system is estimated. A comparative study of the equivalent MDOF system with the existing discrete models is performed. It is shown that the proposed equivalent MDOF system can exactly present the natural frequencies and the hysteretic damping of soil deposits and provide more accurate results with fewer DOFs.

Properties and Mechanism on Flexural Fatigue of Polypropylene Fiber Reinforced Concrete Containing Slag

Properties and mechanism were investigated on flexural fatigue of concrete containing polypropylene fibers and ground granulated blast furnace slag（GGBFS）.Four polypropylene fibers’volume fractions and five slag proportions were considered.An experiment was conducted to obtain the fatigue lives at three stress levels in 20 Hz frequency and at a constant stress level of 0.59 in four frequency respectively.Mechanism and evaluation were investigated based on the experimental data.Fatigue life span models were established.The results show that the addition of polypropylene fibers improves the flexural fatigue cumulative strength and fatigue life span.It is proposed that the slag particles and hydrated products improve Interfacial Transition Zone（ITZ）structure and benefit flexural fatigue performance.A composite reinforce effect is found with the incorporation of slag and polypropylene fibers.The optimum mixture contents 55%slag with 0.6%polypropylene fiber for the cumulative fatigue stress.Fatigue properties are decreased as the stress level increasing,the higher frequency reduces the fatigue strength more than lower frequency at a constant stress level.

An investigation of the influence of ground surface properties and shading on outdoor thermal comfort in a high-altitude residential area

Landscape elements in residential areas can effectively improve the outdoor thermal environment,with different outcomes depending on the climate conditions.This study explores how the ground surface and shading properties affect the outdoor thermal environment in a high-altitude plateau climate where few studies have been conducted.The measurements were conducted during summer and winter in a residential area in Lhasa,Tibet.Without natural shading such as trees,there is a positive correlation between Sky-view factor(SVF)and Physiological equivalent temperature(PET)during winter and a negative correlation during summer.When SVF exceeds 0.65 in summer,it may cause human discomfort.Compared to artificial shading such as a tensioned membrane,deciduous trees are superior at improving human comfort,as they can increase PET by 10.56℃ in winter and decrease it by 9.73℃ in summer.During summer,high-reflection water-permeable bricks can reduce the PET by 1.08℃,and lawns can reduce the mean rachation temperature(Tmrt)by 1.650C;however,the lawns may produce a microclimate with a high air temperature.The results from this paper can be used as a reference for landscape planning and design in residential areas in high-altitude cold-climate regions.

Exploring the halo phenomena of medium-mass nuclei having approximately Z=40 with point-coupled parameters in complex momentum representations

To explore the properties of neutron-rich nuclei with approximately 40 protons,the density-dependent point coupling(DD-PC1)effective interaction parameter is adopted in the relativistic mean-field theory with the complex momentum representation(RMF-CMR).The calculated two-neutron separation energy(S_(2n))and root-mean-square(rms)radii support the halo structure that appear in Mo and Ru isotopic chains.Besides,the neutron skin structures appear in Kr and Sr isotopes.The conclusions drawn are also supported by the single-particle energy levels and their occupancy probability and density distribution.Particularly,the energy levels,which reduce to bound states or are approximately 0 MeV with a small orbital angular momentum,are suggested to provide the primary contribution to increasing the neutron radius.Moreover,the single-particle energy levels significantly reflect the shell structure.In addition,the neutron drip line nuclei for Kr,Sr,Mo,and Ru elements are proposed via the changes in S_(2n).