Swelling pressure evolution characterization of strong expansive soil considering the influence of reserved expansion deformation

Numerous engineering cases have demonstrated that the expansive soil channel slope remains susceptible to damage with the implementation of a rigid or closed protective structure. It is common for the protective structure to experience bulging failure due to excessive swelling pressure. To investigate the swelling pressure properties of expansive soil, the constant volume test was employed to study the influence of water content and reserved expansion deformation on the characteristics of swelling pressure in strong expansive soils, and also to explore the evolution mechanism of the swelling pressure. The findings demonstrate that the swelling pressure-time curve can be classified into swelling pressure-time softening and swelling pressure-time stability type. The swelling pressuretime curve of the specimen with low water content is the swelling pressure-time softening type, and the softening level will be weakened with increasing reserved expansion deformation. Besides, the maximum swelling pressure Psmax decreases with increasing water content and reserved expansion deformation, especially for expansion ratio η from 24% to 37%. The reserved deformation has little effect on reducing Psmax when it is beyond 7% of the expansion rate. The specimen with low water content has a more homogeneous structure due to the significant expansion-filling effect, and the fracture and reorganization of the aggregates in the specimens with low water content cause the swelling pressure-time softening behavior. In addition, the proposed swelling pressure-time curve prediction model has a good prediction on the test results. If necessary, a deformation space of about 7% expansion rate is recommended to be reserved in the engineering to reduce the swelling pressure except for keeping a stable water content.

Thermal Expansion and Deformation of Graphene

Taking into consideration short-atomic-range interactions and anharmonic effects, we calculate the thermal ex- pansion coefficients, Gruneisen parameters, the elastic modulus of graphene varying with temperature and the phonon frequency. The anharmonic effects associated with the graphene deformation are also discussed. The results show that the value of thermal expansion coefficient is negative in the moderate temperature range, and it becomes positive when the temperature grows to be higher than a certain value. The change rate of elastic modulus with respect to temperature and pressure are calculated, and phonon frequencies are estimated. In the process of graphene thermal expansion, it is accompanied with the change of bond length and the rotation around the axis normal to the plane. Our results indicate that the effects due to the bond change are more significant than that of the rotation. We also show that if anharmonic effects are ignored, the thermal expansion coefficient and the Gruneisen parameters are zero, and the elastic modulus and the phonon frequency are constant. If anharmonic effects are considered up to the second term, these values will vary with temperature, and become closer to the experimental value. The higher the temperature is, the more significant the anharmonic effects become.

A time−space porosity computational model for concrete under sulfate attack

The deterioration of the microscopic pore structure of concrete under external sulfate attack(ESA)is a primary cause of degradation.Nevertheless,little effort has been invested in exploring the temporal and spatial development of the porosity of concrete under ESA.This study proposes a mechanical–chemical model to simulate the spatiotemporal distribution of the porosity.A relationship between the corrosion damage and amount of ettringite is proposed based on the theory of volume expansion.In addition,the expansion strain at the macro-scale is obtained using a stress analysis model of composite concentric sphere elements and the micromechanical mean-field approach.Finally,considering the influence of corrosion damage and cement hydration on the diffusion of sulfate ions,the expansion deformation and porosity space−time distribution are obtained using the finite difference method.The results demonstrate that the expansion strains calculated using the suggested model agree well with previously reported experimental results.Moreover,the tricalcium aluminate concentration,initial elastic modulus of cement paste,corrosion damage,and continuous hydration of cement significantly affect concrete under ESA.The proposed model can forecast and assess the porosity of concrete covers and provide a credible approach for determining the residual life of concrete structures under ESA.