Microdynamic mechanical properties and fracture evolution mechanism of monzogabbro with a true triaxial multilevel disturbance method

The far-field microdynamic disturbance caused by the excavation of deep mineral resources and underground engineering can induce surrounding rock damage in high-stress conditions and even lead to disasters.However,the mechanical properties and damage/fracture evolution mechanisms of deep rock induced by microdynamic disturbance under three-dimensional stress states are unclear.Therefore,a true triaxial multilevel disturbance test method is proposed,which can completely simulate natural geostress,excavation stress redistribution(such as stress unloading,concentration and rotation),and subsequently the microdynamic disturbance triggering damaged rock failure.Based on a dynamic true triaxial test platform,true triaxial microdynamic disturbance tests under different frequency and amplitudes were carried out on monzogabbro.The results show that increasing amplitude or decreasing frequency diminishes the failure strength of monzogabbro.Deformation modulus gradually decreases during disturbance failure.As frequency and amplitude increase,the degradation rate of deformation modulus decreases slightly,disturbance dissipated energy increases significantly,and disturbance deformation anisotropy strengthens obviously.A damage model has been proposed to quantitatively characterize the disturbance-induced damage evolution at different frequency and amplitude under true triaxial stress.Before disturbance failure,the micro-tensile crack mechanism is dominant,and the micro-shear crack mechanism increases significantly at failure.With the increase of amplitude and frequency,the micro-shear crack mechanism increases.When approaching disturbance failure,the acoustic emission fractal dimension changes from a stable value to local large oscillation,and finally increases sharply to a high value at failure.Finally,the disturbance-induced failure mechanism of surrounding rock in deep engineering is clearly elucidated.

Application of transparent soil model tests to study the soil-rock interfacial sliding mechanism

When transparent soil technology is used to study the displacement of a slope, the internal deformation of the slope can be visualized. We studied the sliding mechanism of the soil-rock slope by using transparent soil technology and considering the influence of the rock mass Barton joint roughness coefficient, angle of the soil mass, angle of the rock mass and soil thickness factors on slope stability. We obtained the deformation characteristics of the soil and rock slope with particle image velocimetry and the laser speckle technique. The test analysis shows that the slope sliding can be divided into three parts: displacements at the top, the middle, and the bottom of the slope; the decrease in the rock mass Barton joint roughness coefficient, and the increase in soil thickness, angles of the rock mass and soil mass lead to larger sliding displacements. Furthermore, we analyzed the different angles between the rock mass and soil thickness. The test result shows that the displacement of slope increases with larger angle of the rock mass. Conclusively, all these results can help to explain the soil-rock interfacial sliding mechanism.

Liquefaction proneness of stratified sand-silt layers based on cyclic triaxial tests

Most studies on liquefaction have addressed homogeneous soil strata using sand or sand with fine content without considering soil stratification.In this study,cyclic triaxial tests were conducted on the stratified sand specimens embedded with the silt layers to investigate the liquefaction failures and void-redistribution at confining stress of 100 kPa under stress-controlled mode.The loosening of underlying sand mass and hindrance to pore-water flow caused localized bulging at the sand-silt interface.It is observed that at a silt thickness of 0.2H(H is the height of the specimen),nearly 187 load cycles were required to attain liquefaction,which was the highest among all the silt thicknesses with a single silt layer.Therefore,0.2H is assumed as the optimum silt thickness(t_(opt)).The silt was placed at the top,middle and bottom of the specimen to understand the effect of silt layer location.Due to the increase in depth of the silt layer from the top position(capped soil state)to the bottom,the cycles to reach liquefaction(N_(cyc,L))increased 2.18 times.Also,when the number of silt layers increased from single to triple,there was an increase of about 880%in N_(cyc,L).The micro-characterization analysis of the soil specimens indicated silty materials transported in upper sections of the specimen due to the dissipated pore pressure.The main parameters,including thickness(t),location(z),cyclic stress ratio(CSR),number of silt layers(n)and modified relative density(D_(r,m)),performed significantly in governing the lique-faction resistance.For this,a multilinear regression model is developed based on critical parameters for prediction of N_(cyc,L).Furthermore,the developed constitutive model has been validated using the data from the present study and earlier findings.

Trigger mechanism of loess-mudstone landslides inferred from ring shear tests and numerical simulation

Whereas loess-mudstone landslides are widely distributed and frequently occurred at the loess Plateau,this type of landslides is hard to detect due to its particularity,and easily generates serious losses.To clarify the shear characteristics and formation mechanism of loess-mudstone landslides,field investigations,ring shear tests and numerical simulation analyses were performed on the loess specimens collected from the Dingjiagou landslide in Yan’an city,China.The test results showed that both the peak strength and residual strength of slip zone soils have a decreasing tendency with moisture content,while the increasing of normal stress caused an increase in the shear strength.These phenomena indicate that the rise in the moisture content induced by precipitation or the decreasing of normal stress due to excavation activities would result in the weakening of slip zone soils.Numerical simulations of the evolution process of slope failure using the finite element method were conducted based on the Mohr–Coulomb criterion.It was found that the heavy precipitation played a more important role in the slope instability compared with the excavation.In addition,the field investigation showed that loess soils with well-developed cracks and underlying mudstone soils provide material base for the formation of loess-mudstone landslides.Finally,the formation mechanism of this type of landslides was divided into three stages,namely,the local deformation stage,the penetration stage,the creeping-sliding stage.This study may provide a basis for understanding the sliding process of loess-mudstone landslides,as well as guidelines for the prevention and mitigation of loess-mudstone landslides.

Centrifuge model tests of the formation mechanism of coarse sand debris flow

Using the self-developed visualization test apparatus, centrifuge model tests at 20 g were carried out to research the macro and microscopic formation mechanism of coarse sand debris flows. The formation mode and soil-water interaction mechanism of the debris flows were analyzed from both macroscopic and microscopic points of view respectively using high digital imaging equipment and micro-structure analysis software Geodip. The test results indicate that the forming process of debris flow mainly consists of three stages, namely the infiltration and softening stage, the overall slide stage, and debris flow stage. The essence of simulated coarse sand slope forming debris flow is that local fluidization cause slope to wholly slide. The movement of small particles forms a transient stagnant layer with increasing saturation, causing soil shear strength lost and local fluidization. When the driving force of the saturated soil exceeds the resisting force, debris flow happens on the coarse sand slope immediately.

Mechanism underlying the uprooting of taproot-type shrub species in the loess area of northeastern Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, China

Characteristics of root pullout resistance determine the capacity to withstand uprooting and the slope protection ability of plants.However,mechanism underlying the uprooting of taproot-type shrub species in the loess area of northeastern Qinghai-Xizang Plateau,China remains unclear.In this study,a common taproot-type shrub,Caragana korshinskii Kom.,in northeastern Qinghai-Xizang Plateau was selected as the research material.Mechanism of root-soil interaction of vertical root of C.korshinskii was investigated via a combination of a single-root pullout test and numerical simulation analysis.The results indicated that,when pulling vertically,axial force of the roots decreased with an increase in buried depth,whereas shear stress at root-soil interface initially increased and then decreased as burial depths increased.At the same buried depth,both axial force and shear stress of the roots increased with the increase in pullout force.Shear stress and plastic zone of the soil surrounding the root were symmetrically distributed along the root system.Plastic zone was located close to the surface and was caused primarily by tensile failure.In nonvertical pulling,symmetry of shear stress and plastic zone of the soil surrounding the root was disrupted.We observed larger shear stress and plastic zones on the side facing the direction of root deflection.Plastic zone included both shear and tensile failure.Axial force of the root system near the surface decreased as deflection angle of the pullout force increased.When different rainfall infiltration depths had the same vertical pulling force,root axial force decreased with the increase of rainfall infiltration depth and total root displacement increased.During rainfall infiltration,shear stress and plastic zone of the soil surrounding the root were prone to propagating deeper into the soil.These findings provide a foundation for further investigation of soil reinforcement and slope protection mechanisms of taproot-type shrub species in the loess area of northeastern Qinghai-Xizang Plateau and similar areas.

Damage degradation mechanism and macro-meso structural response of mudstone after water wetting

The predominant presence of weak interlayers primarily composed of mudstone renders them highly susceptible to a reduction in bearing capacity due to the water-rock weakening effect,significantly impacting the safety of open-pit mining operations.This study focuses on the weak mudstone layers within open-pit mine slopes.The mineral composition of mudstone and the microstructure evolution characteristics before and after water wetting were analyzed by X-ray diffraction(XRD)and scanning electron microscope(SEM).The meso-structure and parameter variation characteristics of mudstone interior space after water-rock interaction were quantified by computed tomography scanning test,and the damage variable characterization method was proposed.Additionally,according to the uniaxial compression test,the degradation characteristics of the macroscopic mechanical behavior of mudstone under different water wetting time were explored,and the elastic modulus and strength attenuation model of mudstone based on mesoscopic damage were established.Finally,building upon the macro-meso structural response characteristics of mudstone,an exploration of the failure characteristics and deterioration mechanism under the influence of water-rock interactions was undertaken.The results show that the water-rock interaction makes the internal defects of mudstone gradually develop and form a fracture network structure,which eventually leads to the deterioration of its macroscopic mechanical properties.The porosity,fractal dimension and damage characteristics of mudstone show an exponential trend with the increase of water wetting time.Moreover,the deterioration mechanism of mudstone after water wetting are postulated to encompass factors such as the hydrophilicity of mineral molecular structures,hydration stress and expansion effects on clay particles,as well as the spatial distribution of microcracks and the phenomenon of fracture adsorption.The outcomes of this research endeavor aim to provide certain reference value for further understanding the water-rock interaction and stability control of mudstone slope.

Strength and deformation behaviour of coarse-grained soil by true triaxial tests

In order to investigate the influence of intermediate principal stress on the stress-strain and strength behaviour of a coarse-grained soil, a series of true triaxial tests were performed. The tests were conducted in a recently developed true triaxial apparatus with constant minor principal stress σ3 and constant value of intermediate principal stress ratio b=（σ2-σ3）/（σ1-σ3） （al is the vertical stress, and % is the horizontal stress）. It is found that the intermediate principal strain, ε2, increases from negative to positive value with the increase of parameter b from zero to unity under a constant minor principal stress. The minor principal strain, ε3, is always negative. This implies that the specimen exhibits an evident anisotropy. The relationship between b and friction angle obtained from the tests is different from that predicted by LADE-DUNCAN and MATSUOKA-NAKAI criteria. Based on the test results, an empirical equation of g（b） that is the shape function of the failure surface on re-plane was presented. The proposed equation is verified to be reasonable by comparing the predicted results using the equation with true triaxial test results of soils, such as coarse-grained soils in this study, sands and gravels in other studies.

Soil-water characteristics and shear strength in constant water content triaxial tests on Yunnan red clay

The shear strength parameters for geotechnical designs are obtained mainly from consolidated drained （CD） or consolidated undrained （CU） triaxial tests. However, during construction, the excess pore-air pressure generally dissipates instantaneously while the excess pore-water pressure dissipates with time. This condition needs to be simulated in a constant water content （CW） triaxial test. The study on Yunnan red clay is carried out to investigate the soil-water characteristics and the shear strength characteristics under the constant water content condition. Osmotic technique is used to obtain the soil-water characteristic curve. A series of CW triaxial tests are conducted on statically compacted specimens. The experimental results show that the soil-water characteristic curve has a low air entry value of 7 kPa due to large pores in non-uniform pore size distribution, and a high residual value exceeding 10 MPa. In addition, the initial degree of saturation and net confining stress play an important role in affecting the shear characteristics under the constant water content condition. Finally, a new semi-empirical shear strength model in terms of degree of saturation is proposed and then applied to Yuunan red clay. Simulation result shows that the model is capable of capturing some key features of soils. The model can be used in whole engineering practice range, covering both unsaturmed and saturated soils.

Study on Triaxial Mechanical Properties and Micro Mechanism of Fly Ash Reinforced Cement Calcareous Sand

In order to study the mechanical properties and micro-mechanism of industrial waste fly ash-reinforced cement calcareous sand(FCS),the triaxial unconsolidated undrained(UU)test and scanning electron microscope tests(SEM)were carried out on it.The results of UU test show that the peak stress and energy dissipation of the FCS sample first increase and then decrease with the increase in fly ash content.Fly ash enhances the cement calcareous sand by increasing both the cohesion and internal friction angle,and adding 10%content of fly ash gives the largest values.The SEM test results shows that the hydration products of cement and fly ash filled the pores and cracks on the surface of the calcareous sand,which increased the compactness and structure of the FCS samples.The porosity of cement calcareous sand can be reduced from 27.6%to 12.8%by adding 10%fly ash.A brittleness evaluation index based on energy dissipation is proposed to quantitatively characterize the brittleness of FCS samples.The results show that when the content of fly ash is 5%,the brittleness of FCS samples is the lowest.This study shows that the mechanical properties of cement calcareous sand can be effectively enhanced by adding the appropriate amount of fly ash.

Validity of continuous-failure-state unloading triaxial tests as a means to estimate the residual strength of rocks

The residual strength of rocks and rock masses is an important parameter to be constrained for analysis and design purposes in many rock engineering applications.A residual strength envelope in principal stress space is typically developed using residual strength data obtained from compression tests on many different specimens of the same rock type.In this study,we examined the potential for use of the continuous-failure-state testing concept as a means to constrain the residual strength envelope using a limited number of specimens.Specifically,cylindrical specimens of three rock types(granodiorite,diabase,and Stanstead granite)were unloaded at the residual state such that a full residual strength envelope for each individual specimen was obtained.Using a residual strength model that introduces a single new strength parameter(the residual strength index,or RSI),the results of the continuous-failurestate unloading tests were compared to conventionally obtained residual strength envelopes.Overall,the continuous-failure-state residual strength data were found to be consistent with the conventional residual strength data.However,it was identified that the primary factor limiting an accurate characterization of the residual strength for a given rock type is not the amount of data for a given specimen,but the variety of specimens available to characterize the inherent variability of the rock unit of interest.Accordingly,the use of continuous-failure-state testing for estimation of the residual strength of a rock unit is only recommended when the number of specimens available for testing is very limited(i.e.<5).

Influence of grain segregation on the behavior of sand in triaxial tests

As a common phenomenon in granular flow, grain segregation plays a great role in affecting the behavior of granular soil by causing a great change of grain-void distribution in granular soil. This paper presents an experimental study on the influence of grain segregation on the behavior of sand, by a number of triaxial tests to interpret the characteristic behavior, friction and dilatancy behavior, excess pore water pressure behavior and critical state behavior of sand incorporating grain segregation. An index-grain segregation index was proposed to quantify grain segregation. Grain segregation affected greatly the characteristic behavior of sand, causing the movement of void ratio-dilatancy relation of sand towards the increase of void ratio and dilatancy of sand. In the drained tests, the mobilized friction angle of sand showed a decrease followed by an increase but the mobilized dilatancy angle of sand increased, with increasing grain segregation index. An increase in grain segregation index impaired the basic friction of sand. In the undrained tests, the mobilized friction angle of sand showed an increase followed by a decrease with increasing grain segregation index. However, grain segregation caused an increase of the mobilized dilatancy of sand followed by a different development. An increase in grain segregation resulted in a higher summit of the dilatancy of sand but with a faster decrease along axial strain. In the q-p′ plane, grain segregation caused a reciprocating rotation of the dilatancy line and failure line of sand. Grain segregation resulted in enhancement of the peak-state dilatancy of sand, affecting greatly peakstate friction angle and peak-state basic friction angle of sand as well as the normalized excess pore water pressure. The excess friction angle of sand showed an increase followed by a decrease in the drained tests but increased linearly in the undrained tests, with increasing grain segregation index. The excess friction angle-over-maximum dilatancy angle of sand decreased in up convexity while increasing grain segregation index. Grain segregation resulted in rotation and translation of the critical state line of sand in the e-p′α=0.7 plane. However, in the q-p′ plane, the critical state line of sand showed an anticlockwise rotation followed by a clockwise rotation with increasing grain segregation index.

Evaluation of Babolsar Sand Behaviour by Using Static Triaxial Tests and Comparison with Case History

An experimental study is carried out to investigate the static liquefaction of sand. For this purpose, Babolsar sand with its liquefiable parameters such as soil properties and high seismic level of underground water are investigated using static compression drained and un-drained tri-axial tests under isotropically and anisotropically conditions. Also, the data results of this sand are compared with those of the previous studies on soil case history. The study results indicate that Babolsar sand can experience the whole possible states of liquefaction soil, i.e. flow failure, limited and dilation behavior.

Bearing behavior and failure mechanism of squeezed branch piles

The current practice for the design of squeezed branch piles is mainly based on the calculated bearing capacity of circular piles. Insufficient considerations of the load-transfer mechanism, branch effect and failure mechanism, as well as overreliance on pile load tests, have led to conservative designs and limited application. This study performs full-scale field load tests on instrumented squeezed branch piles and shows that the shaft force curves have obvious drop steps at the branch position, indicating that the branches can effectively share the pile top load. The effects of branch position, spacing, number and diameter on the pile bearing capacity are analyzed numerically. The numerical results indicate that the squeezed branch piles have two types of failure mechanisms, i.e. individual branch failure mechanism and cylindrical failure mechanism. Further research should focus on the development of the calculation method to determine the bearing capacities of squeezed branch piles considering these two failure mechanisms.

Physical model test and numerical simulation on the failure mechanism of the roadway in layered soft rocks

To explore the failure mechanism of roadway in layered soft rocks,a physical model with the physically finite elemental slab assemblage(PFESA)method was established.Infrared thermography and a video camera were employed to capture thermal responses and deformation.The model results showed that layered soft roadway suffered from large deformation.A three-dimensional distinct element code(3 DEC)model with tetrahedral blocks was built to capture the characteristics of roadway deformation,stress,and cracks.The results showed two failure patterns,layer bending fracture and layer slipping after excavation.The layer bending fracture occurred at positions where the normal direction of layers pointed to the inside of the roadway and the layer slipping occurred in the ribs.Six schemes were proposed to investigate the effects of layered soft rocks.The results showed that the deformation of ribs was obviously larger than that of the roof and floor when the roadway passed through three types of strata.When the roadway was completely in a coal seam,the change of deformation in ribs was not obvious,while the deformation in the roof and floor increased obviously.These results can provide guidance for excavation and support design of roadways in layered soft rocks.

Model test to investigate failure mechanism and loading characteristics of shallow-bias tunnels with small clear distance

Based on the similarity theory,a tunnel excavation simulation testing system under typical unsymmetrical loading conditions was established.Using this system,the failure mechanism of surrounding rock of shallow-bias tunnels with small clear distance was analyzed along with the load characteristics.The results show that:1) The failure process of surrounding rock of shallow-bias tunnels with small clear distance consists of structural and stratum deformation induced by tunnel excavation; Microfracture surfaces are formed in the tunnel surrounding rock and extend deep into the rock mass in a larger density; Tensile cracking occurs in shallow position on the deep-buried side,with shear slip in deep rock mass.In the meantime,rapid deformation and slip take place on the shallow-buried side until the surrounding rocks totally collapse.The production and development of micro-fracture surfaces in the tunnel surrounding rock and tensile cracking in the shallow position on the deep-buried side represent the key stages of failure.2) The final failure mode is featured by an inverted conical fracture with tunnel arch as its top and the slope at tunnel entrance slope as its bottom.The range of failure on the deep-buried side is significantly larger than that on the shallow-buried side.Such difference becomes more prominent with the increasing bias angle.What distinguishes it from the "linear fracture surface" model is that the model proposed has a larger fracture angle on the two sides.Moreover,the bottom of the fracture is located at the springing line of tunnel arch.3) The total vertical load increases with bias angle.Compared with the existing methods,the unsymmetrical loading effect in measurement is more prominent.At last,countermeasures are proposed according to the analysis results: during engineering process,1) The surrounding rock mass on the deep-buried side should be reinforced apart from the tunnel surrounding rock for shallow-buried tunnels with small clear distance; moreover,the scope of consolidation should go beyond the midline of tunnel(along the direction of the top of slope) by 4 excavation spans of single tunnel.2) It is necessary to modify the load value of shallow-bias tunnels with small clear distance.

Anchoring effect and energy-absorbing support mechanism of large deformation bolt

To research the anchoring effect of large deformation bolt,tensile and drawing models are established.Then,the evolution laws of drawing force,bolt axial force and interfacial shear stress are analyzed.Additionally,the influence of structure element position on the anchoring effect of large deformation bolt is discussed.At last,the energy-absorbing support mechanism is discussed.Results show that during the drawing process of normal bolt,drawing force,bolt axial force and interfacial shear stress all gradually increase as increasing the drawing displacement,but when the large deformation bolt enters the structural deformation stage,these three values will keep stable;when the structure element of large deformation bolt approaches the drawing end,the fluctuation range of drawing force decreases,the distributions of bolt axial force and interfacial shear stress of anchorage section are steady and the increasing rate of interfacial shear stress decreases,which are advantageous for keeping the stress stability of the anchorage body.During the working process of large deformation bolt,the strain of bolt body is small,the working resistance is stable and the distributions of bolt axial force and interfacial shear stress are steady.When a rock burst event occurs,the bolt and bonding interface cannot easily break,which weakens the dynamic disaster degree.

Numerical investigations on mechanical characteristics and failure mechanism of outwash deposits based on random meso-structures using discrete element method

Outwash deposit is a unique type of geological materials, and its features such as heterogeneity, discontinuity and nonlinearity determine the complexity of mechanical characteristics and failure mechanism. In this work, random meso-structure of outwash deposits was constructed by the technique of computer random simulation based on characteristics of its meso-structure in the statistical sense and some simplifications, and a series of large direct shear tests on numerical samples of outwash deposits with stone contents of 15%, 30%, 45% and 60% were conducted using the discrete element method to further investigate its mechanical characteristics and failure mechanism under external load. The results show that the deformation characteristics and shear strength of outwash deposits are to some extent improved with the increase of stone content, and the shear stress–shear displacement curves of outwash deposits show great differences at the post-peak stage due to the random spatial distribution and content of stones. From the mesoscopic view, normal directions of contacts between "soil" and "stone" particles undergo apparent deflection as the shear displacement continues during the shearing process, accompanying redistribution of the magnitude of contact forces during the shearing process. For outwash deposits, the shear zone formed after shear failure is an irregular stripe due to the movements of stones near the shear zone, and it expands gradually with the increase of stone content. In addition, there is an approximately linear relation between the mean increment of internal friction angle and the stone content lying between 30% and 60%, and a concave nonlinear relation between the mean increment of cohesion and stone content, which are in good agreement with the existing research results.

Test selection and optimization for PHM based on failure evolution mechanism model

The test selection and optimization （TSO） can improve the abilities of fault diagnosis, prognosis and health-state evalua- tion for prognostics and health management （PHM） systems. Traditionally, TSO mainly focuses on fault detection and isolation, but they cannot provide an effective guide for the design for testability （DFT） to improve the PHM performance level. To solve the problem, a model of TSO for PHM systems is proposed. Firstly, through integrating the characteristics of fault severity and propa- gation time, and analyzing the test timing and sensitivity, a testability model based on failure evolution mechanism model （FEMM） for PHM systems is built up. This model describes the fault evolution- test dependency using the fault-symptom parameter matrix and symptom parameter-test matrix. Secondly, a novel method of in- herent testability analysis for PHM systems is developed based on the above information. Having completed the analysis, a TSO model, whose objective is to maximize fault trackability and mini- mize the test cost, is proposed through inherent testability analysis results, and an adaptive simulated annealing genetic algorithm （ASAGA） is introduced to solve the TSO problem. Finally, a case of a centrifugal pump system is used to verify the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed models and methods. The results show that the proposed technology is important for PHM systems to select and optimize the test set in order to improve their performance level.

Priori information analysis of optocoupler accelerated degradation experiment based on failure mechanism verification test

The optocoupler is a weak link in the inertial navigation platform of a kind of guided munitions.It is necessary to use accelerated storage test to verify the storage life of long storage products.Especially for small sample products,it is very important to obtain prior information for the design and implementation of accelerated degradation test.In this paper,the optocoupler failure mechanism verification test is designed and the experimental results are analyzed and the prior information is obtained.The results show that optocouplers have two failure modes,one is sudden failure and the other is degradation failure;the maximum temperature stress of optocoupler can’t exceed 140℃;the increase of leakage current of optocoupler is caused by movable ions contaminating the LED chip.The surface leakage current is proportional to the adsorption amount.The increase of leakage current makes p-n junction tunneling effect occur which LEDs the failure of the optocoupler.The lifetime distribution model of the optocoupler is determined by the failure physics.The lifetime of the optocoupler is subject to the lognormal distribution.The degeneracy orbit of the optocoupler leakage current is described by a power law model.The estimated values of the orbital parameters are initially calculated and the parameters of its life distribution function are deduced.The above information lays a good foundation for the optimization design and data processing of the accelerated degradation experiment.