Three-Dimensional Mesoscopic Investigation on the Impact of Specimen Geometry and Bearing Strip Size on the Splitting-Tensile Properties of Coral Aggregate Concrete

The use of coral aggregate concrete(CAC)as a novel construction material has attracted significant attention for the construction of reef engineering structures.To investigate the static splitting-tensile behaviors of CAC under the influence of two factors,namely specimen geometry and bearing strip size,a three-dimensional(3D)mesoscale modeling approach with consideration for aggregate randomness in shape and distribution was adopted in this study.We established 12 different specimen models with two specimen shapes(i.e.,a cube with an edge length of 150 mm and a cylinder with dimensions ofφ150 mm×300 mm)and six strip widths(i.e.,6,9,12,15,18,and 20 mm)for calculation.The effects of specimen geometry and strip width on the splitting-tensile properties of CAC,such as failure processes,final failure patterns,and splitting-tensile strength(fst),are analyzed and discussed systematically.The results indicate the high reliability of the developed mesoscale modeling approach and reveal the optimal computational parameters for simulating and predicting the splitting-tensile properties of CAC.The fstvalues of CAC are associated with both the specimen geometry and width of the bearing strip.The fstvalues of the cube model are slightly higher than those of the cylinder model for the same bearing strip size,representing geometry effects that can be explained by differences in fracture area.Additionally,the fstvalue of CAC gradually increases with the relative width of the bearing strip ranging from 0.04 to 0.13.Based on the elastic solution theory,the variation area of CAC fstvalues with the relative width of the bearing strip was determined preliminarily,which has great significance for studying the tensile performance of CAC.

Effects of Mineral Admixtures on Chloride Diffusion in Environment-Friendly Coral Aggregate Concrete

Coral materials can replace concrete aggregates and achieve material self sufficiency for reducing the construction costs of island projects.This paper studies the effects of different mineral admixtures on the properties of coral aggregate concrete(CAC).The chloride concentration of CAC after different erosion times is measured using the potentiometric method,and the porosity of the CAC is ca lculated using thermogravimetric and drying methods.The chloride concentration of the CAC presents a two-phases dis tribution.The peak chloride concentration fol-lowed a power function,increasing with the erosion time.The chloride diffusion coefficient of CAC is 7.9%-37.5%larger than that of ordinary aggregate concrete,and the addition of 15% fly ash and 5%silica fume can significantly reduce the chloride diffusion coefficient,with a maximum reduction of 45.0%.The porosity obtained via the thermogravimetric and drying methods is well correlated.The porosity has a strong negative correlation with the compressive strength and a strong positive correlation with the chloride diffusion coefficient.

Mix design optimization of seawater sea sand coral aggregate concrete

With the resource shortage in coastal areas,the construction of concrete structures using freshwater and river sand has brought great economic and environmental costs.The use of seawater,sea sand,and coral aggregates in concrete mixes has become an alternative solution for coastal and marine structures,especially for offshore structures and artificial islands.In this study,378 seawater,sea sand,and coral aggregate concrete(Coral-SWSSC)specimens were prepared,and their mechanical properties were investigated comprehensively through compressive tests to explore the optimized mix design at different grades.Results showed that the mechanical properties of Coral-SWSSC were strongly correlated with the water-to-binder ratios,coastal particle gradings,and pretreatment method of coastal particles.Based on the experimental results,mix proportion designs of CoralSWSSC were proposed for concrete from C20 to C50 grades,and the failure mechanism of Coral-SWSSC at different grades was discussed according to their respective failure modes.The findings of the current study provide knowledge on the optimized design of Coral-SWSSC,which can be used to promote the application of Coral-SWSSC in offshore,marine,and ocean engineering.

Experimental and mesoscopic investigation on the dynamic properties of coral aggregate concrete in compression

To investigate the dynamic responses and comprehending the damage mechanism of coral aggregate concrete(CAC) in compression, both the experimental and numerical investigations were implemented in the present work. Firstly, the dynamic mechanical properties of CAC at different strain rates were tested through the Split-Hopkinson pressure bar(SHPB) tests.Moreover, the effects of concrete strength grade and strain rate on CAC were discussed and analyzed. Subsequently, we developed the three-dimensional(3D) random mesoscale model considering the randomness of aggregate shape, size and distribution at meso-level, which was validated and employed in the numerical simulation of CAC in compression. The results indicate that the splitting failure passing through the coral aggregate is CAC’S primary failure mode. It has been found that the failure pattern, deformation process, and dynamic increasing factor of CAC are associated with both the strain rate and concrete strength grade. Furthermore, by comparing the experimental and mesoscopic results, it has been proven to be reliable to employ the developed 3D mesoscale modelling method to simulate CAC’s dynamic performances, which has enormous potential in future research of CAC under intense dynamic loadings.

Dynamic Impact Compressive Behavior Investigation of Sisal Fiber-reinforced Coral Seawater Concrete

Split Hopkinson pressure bar(SHPB)was used to investigate the dynamic compressive properties of sisal fiber reinforced coral aggregate concrete(SFCAC).The results showed that,with the increase of strain rate,the dynamic compressive strength,peak strain and toughness index of SFCAC are all greater than its static properties,indicating that SFCAC is a kind of rate-sensitive material.When the sisal fiber was blended,the failure mode showed obvious ductility.At high strain rates,the SFCAC without sisal fiber specimen was comminuted,and the SFCAC showed a"cracked without breaking"state.The results indicated that the sisal fiber played a significant role in reinforcing and strengthening the properties of concrete.The finite element software LS-DYNA was used to simulate two working conditions with strain rates of 78 and 101 s-1.The stressstrain curves and failure patterns obtained were in good agreement with the experimental results.

Influence of steel corrosion on axial and eccentric compression behavior of coral aggregate concrete column

To study the behavior of coral aggregate concrete(CAC)column under axial and eccentric compression,the compression behavior of CAC column with different types of steel and initial eccentricity(ei)were tested,and the deformation behavior and ultimate bearing capacity(Nu)were studied.The results showed that as the ei increases,the Nu of CAC column decreases nonlinearly.Besides,the steel corrosion in CAC column is severe,which reduces the steel section and steel strength,and decreases the Nu of CAC column.The durability of CAC structures can be improved by using new organic coated steel.Considering the influence of steel corrosion and interfacial bond deterioration,the calculation models of Nu under axial and eccentric compression were presented.

Prevention and Control of Chlorella for C30 Concrete Surface with Coral Aggregate

C30 coral aggregate concrete with chlorella control effect was prepared by adding nano-TiO_(2) and hydrophobic material,and the effects of nano-TiO_(2) and hydrophobic material on the basic properties of C30 coral aggregate concrete and chlorella control effect under different experimental conditions were compared.The experimental results show that nano-TiO_(2) and hydrophobic materials have a certain degree of influence on the basic properties of concrete,but the influence is not significant.Under long-term immersion,nano-TiO_(2) and hydrophobic materials can inhibit the growth of Chlorella vulgaris.The maximum fluorescence value of concrete is decreased by 53.6% after adding TiO_(2),and the maximum fluorescence value of concrete is prolonged by 20%(1 day).The maximum fluorescence value of concrete is decreased by 67.7% after adding hydrophobic materials,and the maximum fluorescence value of concrete is also prolonged by 20%(1 day);Under the condition of simulated tidal water,the inhibition effect of Nano-TiO_(2) on the growth degree and growth rate of Chlorella vulgaris is weakened,at this time the maximum fluorescence value of concrete mixed with nano-TiO_(2) is decreased by 50.5%,and the maximum fluorescence value is only prolonged by 14.3%;while the inhibition of hydrophobic materials on the growth degree and growth rate of Chlorella vulgaris is enhanced significantly,and the maximum fluorescence value of concrete with hydrophobic materials is decreased by 80.3%;the maximum fluorescence time is prolonged by 114.3%.

Research on Flexural Behavior of Coral Aggregate Reinforced Concrete Beams

Through the flexural behavior test of coral aggregate reinforced concrete beams(CARCB) and ordinary Portland reinforced concrete beams(OPRCB), and based on the parameters of concrete types, concrete strength grades and reinforcement ratios, the crack development, failure mode, midspan deflection and flexural capacity were studied, the relationships of bending moment-midspan deflection, load-longitudinal tensile reinforcement strain, load-maximum crack width were established, and a calculation model for the flexural capacity of CARCB was suggested. The results showed that with the increase in the reinforcement ratio and concrete strength grade, the crack bending moment(Mcr)and ultimate bending moment(Mu) of CARCB gradually increased. The characteristics of CARCB and OPRCB are basically the same. Furthermore, through increasing the concrete strength grade and reinforcement ratio, Mcr/Mu could be increased to delay the cracking of CARCB. As the load increased, crack width(w) would also increase. At the beginning of the loading, w increased slowly. And then it increased rapidly when the load reached to the ultimate load, which then led to beam failure. Meanwhile, with a comprehensive consideration of the effects of steel corrosion on the loss of steel section and the decrease of steel yield strength, a more reasonable calculation model for the flexural capacity of CARCB was proposed.

Effect of Carbonation and Drying-Wetting Cycles on Chloride Diffusion Behavior of Coral Aggregate Seawater Concrete

Based on seawater immersion,drying-wetting cycles,carbonation and drying-wetting cycles for coral aggregate sea-water concrete(CASC)with different strength grades,the effect of carbonation and drying-wetting cycles on chloride diffusion be-havior of CASC is studied.The results show that the free surface chloride concentration(Cs),free chloride diffusion coefficient(Df)and time-dependent index(m)of CASC in the drying-wetting cycles is obviously higher than that in seawater immersion.The Df and m of CASC of carbonation and drying-wetting cycles is higher than that in the drying-wetting cycles.Carbonation increases the Df and m of CASC,which is against CASC to resist chloride corrosion.The corrosion possibility of CASC structures in different ex-posed areas is as follows:splash zone(carbonation and drying-wetting cycles)>tidal zone(drying-wetting cycles)>underwater zone(seawater immersion).Besides,the chloride diffusion rate of C65-CASC is 17.8%-63.4%higher than that of C65-ordinary aggre-gate concrete(OAC)in seawater immersion(underwater zone).Therefore,anti-corrosion measures should be adopted to improve the service life of CASC structure in the oceanic environment.

Damage-constitutive model for seawater coral concrete using different stirrup confinements subjected to axial loading

Recently,the application of detrital coral as an alternative to natural aggregates in marine structures has attracted increased attention.In this study,research on the compressive performance of coral aggregate concrete(CAC)confined using steel stirrups with anti-rust treatment was experimentally conducted.A total of 45 specimens were cast,including 9 specimens without stirrups and under different strength grades(C20,C30,and C40)and 36 specimens under different strength grades(C20,C30,and C40).Moreover,three stirrup levels(rectangular,diamond-shaped compound,and spiral stirrups)and different stirrup spacings(40,50,60,and 70 mm)were used.Subsequently,the stress−strain curves of specimens subjected to axial loading were measured.The effects of the stirrup spacing and stirrup configurations on the stress and strain were investigated,respectively,and the lateral effective stress of the different stirrups was calculated based on the cohesive-elastic ring model and modified elastic beam theory.Moreover,a damageconstitutive model of CAC considering the lateral stress was set up based on damage mechanics theory.The results indicated an increase in the stress and strain with a decrease in the stirrup spacing,and the adopted stirrup ratio had a better strengthening effect than the different concrete grades,and the variation in the deformation was restricted by the performance of coral coarse aggregate(CA).However,an increment in the lateral strain was observed with an increase in the axial strain.The lateral stress model showed a good agreement with the experimental data,and the proposed damageconstitutive model had a good correlation with the measured stress−strain curves.

Effects of carbon-sequestering coral aggregate on pore structures and compressive strength of concrete

CO_(2)sequestration/storage shows considerable impacts on the pore structures and compressive strength of concrete.This paper presents a study in which coral aggregates were presoaked in Ca(OH)_(2) slurries with different solid-to-liquid ratios(i.e.0.2,0.4,and 0.6 g/mL)followed by accelerated carbonation.The effects of CO_(2)sequestration on the particle size distribution,cylinder compressive strength,water absorption,and apparent density of coral aggregate were investigated.The evolution of pore structures in coral aggregate concrete after CO_(2)sequestration was also studied.Additionally,the effect of CO_(2)sequestration on the development of compressive strength of coral aggregate concrete was explored.The results showed that CO_(2)sequestration affected the properties of coral aggregate.Moreover,the porosity of CaCO_(3) formed by CO_(2)sequestration was the highest in the concrete.With the increase of solidto-liquid ratio,the porosity of cement pastes and the CaCO_(3) increased,and more big pores existed in the cement pastes and CaCO_(3).Furthermore,the compressive strength of coral aggregate concrete when the solid-to-liquid ratio was 0.2 g/mL increased compared with that before CO_(2)sequestration,but the compressive strength reduced when the ratio increased to 0.6 g/mL.