Double pull specimen more suitable for measuring bond-slip relationship of FRP-to-concrete interface

A new "conceptual" design named "double pull" specimen was proposed in order to measure the bond-slip(δ-τ) relationship of fiber reinforced polymer(FRP)-to-concrete interface more accurately.A finite element analysis(FEA) was performed for preliminarily evaluating the suitability of the proposed conceptual double pull specimen.Through the FEA,it was indicated that the FRP-to-concrete interface of the proposed conceptual specimen might subject to a much higher load level than that of the most commonly used simple shear specimen,showing a great potential for measuring δ-τ relationship more accurately.In the light of the conceptual specimen,a kind of "practical" double pull specimen was developed and proved to be more suitable for measuring δ-τ relationship through an exploratory experimental study with 20 specimens.Consequently,an experimental program with 10 double pull specimens was performed for measuring the ultimate slip δu which was difficult to capture by using the existing specimens.It is shown that the range of δu is 0.31-0.52 mm based on the test results.The suggestion for improving the measure method is also put forward.

Verification of Seismic Performance of Pile Foundation in Composite Ground through Experimental and Numerical Methods

A new construction method of pile foundation in composite ground, in which, prior to installing piles, the ground is improved around the heads of the piles in soft ground or ground subject to liquefaction, which is introduced in this paper. This construction method uses a combination of pile foundation construction together with common ground improvement methods, including deep mixing, preloading and sand compaction piling, and it is referred to as the composite ground pile method. Since an artificial ground with relatively high rigidity comparing with that of the original ground was formed around the pile in this method, and the seismic performance has not been made clear, thus the seismic performance of piles in composite ground was systematically analyzed through a series of centrifuge model tests and numerical analyses by using dynamic nonlinear finite element method, and a verification method for the seismic performance of piles in composite ground was proposed on the basis of the experimental and numerical results.

On the material dependence of experimental shear fracture orientation

It is not uncommon to observe shear fractures in ductile rocks oriented at more than 45° with respect to the maximum compression direction. Since these orientations cannot be explained with the classic Mohr-Coulumb or Tresca yield criteria, Zheng et al.(Journal of Structural Geology, 35: 1394–1405, 2011) proposed the maximum effective moment(MEM) failure criterion. This rule suggests that shear fractures in ductile rocks form at ?55° with the maximum compression axis and that this orientation is material-independent and, therefore, universal. Zheng et al.(Science China: Earth Sciences, 57(11): 2819–2824, 2014) used data from our own experiments as supporting evidence of their failure criterion. In this contribution we discuss why shear fracture formation in ductile rocks indeed strongly depends on the mechanical properties of the deforming medium, and why experimental data should not be taken to prove the validity of the MEM criterion. The formation mechanisms and orientations of shear fractures in our experiments significantly vary depending on the material strength and degree and type of anisotropy(composite and intrinsic). We therefore demonstrate using experimental data that a universal failure angle in ductile and anisotropic rocks does not apply. Additionally, we highlight some inconsistencies of the MEM criterion.