Development of a new type of foam concrete and its application on stability analysis of large-span soft rock tunnel

The long-term stability of large-span soft rock tunnel is influenced greatly by the creep effect of surrounding rock.The development of a new type of foam concrete which has the property of high compressibility and low ductility was introduced.And it was made as filling material of reserved deformation layer between the first lining and the second lining used in large-span soft rock tunnel.The effect of the new type of foam concrete was simulated as filling material of reserved deformation layer using numerical simulation.Through the comparison with the common large-span soft rock tunnel,the vault settlement and surrounding convergence are reduced by about 61% and 45%,respectively,after creep of 100 a.And in the second lining,the plastic zone reduces apparently and the maximum equivalent plastic strain decreases relatively.So,it can be found that the application of the new type of foam concrete as the filling material of reserved deformation layer can relieve the excessive force in second lining induced by rock creep,reduce its deformation and improve the stability of tunnel.

Experimental investigation of the effects of oil asphaltene content on CO_(2) foam stability in the presence of nanoparticles and sodium dodecyl sulfate

Foam stability tests were performed using sodium dodecyl sulfate(SDS)surfactant and SiO2 nanoparticles as foaming system at different asphaltene concentrations,and the half-life of CO_(2) foam was measured.The mechanism of foam stability reduction in the presence of asphaltene was analyzed by scanning electron microscope(SEM),UV adsorption spectrophotometric concentration measurement and Zeta potential measurement.When the mass ratio of synthetic oil to foam-formation suspension was 1:9 and the asphaltene mass fraction increased from 0 to 15%,the half-life of SDS-stabilized foams decreased from 751 s to 239 s,and the half-life of SDS/silica-stabilized foams decreased from 912 s to 298 s.When the mass ratio of synthetic oil to foam-formation suspension was 2:8 and the asphaltene mass fraction increased from 0 to 15%,the half-life of SDS-stabilized foams decreased from 526 s to 171 s,and the half-life of SDS/silica-stabilized foams decreased from 660 s to 205 s.In addition,due to asphaltene-SDS/silica interaction in the aqueous phase,the absolute value of Zeta potential decreases,and the surface charges of particles reduce,leading to the reduction of repulsive forces between two interfaces of thin liquid film,which in turn,damages the foam stability.

Non-dimensional analysis on blast wave propagation in foam concrete:Minimum thickness to avoid stress enhancement

Foam concrete is a prospective material in defense engineering to protect structures due to its high energy absorption capability resulted from the long plateau stage.However,stress enhancement rather than stress mitigation may happen when foam concrete is used as sacrificial claddings placed in the path of an incoming blast load.To investigate this interesting phenomenon,a one-dimensional difference model for blast wave propagation in foam concrete is firstly proposed and numerically solved by improving the second-order Godunov method.The difference model and numerical algorithm are validated against experimental results including both the stress mitigation and the stress enhancement.The difference model is then used to numerically analyze the blast wave propagation and deformation of material in which the effects of blast loads,stress-strain relation and length of foam concrete are considered.In particular,the concept of minimum thickness of foam concrete to avoid stress enhancement is proposed.Finally,non-dimensional analysis on the minimum thickness is conducted and an empirical formula is proposed by curve-fitting the numerical data,which can provide a reference for the application of foam concrete in defense engineering.

Parameters affect foaming and foam stability during foam drilling

The authors presented indoor practice experiments of parameters affect on foaming and foam stability. Experiments were carried out and special equipments were used to determine foaming and foam stability; tests were tabulated and charted. The effects of chemical and physical parameters on foaming and foam stability have been conducted.

Mechanical properties and associated seismic isolation effects of foamed concrete layer in rock tunnel

Foamed concrete has a good energy absorption capability and can be used as seismic isolation material for tunnels. This study aims to investigate the mechanical properties and associated seismic isolation effects of foamed concrete layer in rock tunnel. For this, a series of uniaxial/triaxial compression tests was conducted to understand the effects of concrete density, confining stress and strain rate on the mechanical properties of foamed concrete. The direct shear tests were also performed to investigate the effects of concrete density and normal stress on the nonlinear behaviors of foamed concrete layer-lining interface. The test results showed that the mechanical properties of foamed concrete are significantly influenced by the concrete density. The foamed concrete also has high volumetric compressibility and strain-rate dependence. The peak stress. residual stress. shear stiffness and residual friction coefficient of the foamed concrete layer-lining interface are influenced by the foamed concrete density and normal stress applied. Then, a crushable foam constitutive model was constructed using ABAQUS software and a composite exponential model was also established to study the relationship between shear stress and shear displacement of the interface, in which their parameters were fitted based on the experimental results. Finally, a parametric analysis using the finite element method(FEM) was conducted to understand the influence of foamed concrete layer properties on the seismic isolation effect, including the density and thickness of the layer as well as the shear stiffness and residual friction coefficient of the interface. It was revealed that lower density and greater thickness in addition to smaller shear stiffness or residual friction coefficient of the foamed concrete layer could yield better seismic isolation effect, and the influences of the first two tend to be more significant.

Bulk and bubble-scale experimental studies of influence of nanoparticles on foam stability

Influence of silicon oxide(SiO_2) and aluminum oxide(Al_2O_3) nanoparticles on the stability of nanoparticles and sodium dodecyl sulfate(SDS) mixed solution foams was studied at bulk and bubble-scale. Foam apparent viscosity was also determined in Hele-Shaw cell In order to investigate the foam performance at static and dynamic conditions. Results show that the maximum adsorption of surfactant on the nanoparticles occurs at 3 wt% surfactant concentration. Foam stability increases while the foamability decreases with the increasing nanoparticle concentration. However, optimum nanoparticle concentration corresponding to maximum foam stability was obtained at 1.0 wt% nanoparticle concentration for the hydrophilic SiO_2/SDS and Al_2O_3/SDS foams. Foam performance was enhanced with increasing nanoparticles hydrophobicity. Air-foams were generally more stable than CO_2 foams.Foam apparent viscosity increased in the presence of nanoparticles from 20.34 mPa·s to 84.84 mPa·s while the film thickness increased from 27.5 μm to 136 μm. This study suggests that the static and dynamic stability of conventional foams could be improved with addition of appropriate concentration of nanoparticles into the surfactant solution. The nanoparticles improve foam stability by their adsorption and aggregation at the foam lamellae to increase film thickness and dilational viscoelasticity. This prevents liquid drainage and film thinning and improves foam stability both at the bulk and bubble scale.

Preparation of High Performance Foamed Concrete from Cement,Sand and Mineral Admixtures

The titled high performance foamed concrete was developed from Portland cement, ultra fine granulated blast-furnace slag, pulverized fly ash and condensed silica fume by means of pre-foaming process. The resultant foamed concrete presents its thermal conductivity of about 0.16-0.75 W/（m·℃） and 28 d compressive strength of about 1.1-23.7 MPa when its mix proportion varies in the range of cement content 280 kg-650 kg/m^3, fly ash 42-97 kg/m^3, slag 64-146 kg/m^3, silica fume 34-78 kg/m^3, and sand 0-920 kg/m^3. The compressive strength of the foamed concrete with oven dried bulk density of 1500 kg/m^3 in appropriate mix proportion and with small amount of superplasticizer reached as high as 44.1 MPa. Meanwhile, the flesh foamed concrete behaves like an excellent flow-ability, therefore, is especially suitable for the application in case of massive foamed concrete casting in situ and in the case of filling casting into large volume underground irregular voids, except for pre-casting of building components like blocks, bricks, and wall panels.

Effect of starch particles on foam stability and dilational viscoelasticity of aqueous-foam

Surface dilational rheological behavior and foam stability of starch/surfactant mixed solutions were studied at different starch concentrations and constant surfactant concentration. The results show that dilational viscoelasticity modulus, dilational elasticity modulus and dilational viscosity modulus increase with the concentration of starch particles. Foam stability increases with dilational viscoelasticity. Foam strength also increases with starch concentration. Starch particles play a positive effect on foam stability and dilational viscoelasticity and the effect becomes more significant as drainage proceeds. Film pictures indicate that the film with 20%(by mass) starch particles is thicker than that without starch. Starch particles gather in Plateau border and resist drainage, making the foam more stable.

Novel foaming agent used in preparation process of aluminum foams

The performances of a novel foaming agent used in the preparation process of aluminum foams were investigated, and the effects of some factors, such as addition of the foaming agent, foaming temperature on the porosity, and appearance of aluminum foams were also discussed. Experimental results show that the novel foaming agent has a wide decomposition temperature range and a mild decomposed rate; the foaming agent has the ability to enhance the viscosity of aluminum melt, as a result, an extra viscosifier such as Ca or SiCp is unnecessary while using this foaming agent; the bubble-free zone in material decreases and the foaming effi- ciency increases with the increase of foaming agent; the bubble-free zone disappears and the foaming efficiency is near 100% when the addition of foaming agent is more than 1.4wt%; the porosity of the aluminum foam increases with the increase of foaming agent when the addition of foaming agent is less than 2.2wt%.

Experimental Investigation on Transmission of Stress Waves in Sandwich Samples Made of Foam Concrete

A series of impact tests of sandwich samples were completed using a large-diameter split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB)device at different velocities. The interlayer is made of foam concrete, loess or sand. The stress peak value decay, energy decay and waveform dispersion characters are studied by comparing the incident waves with the transmission waves. The tests indicate that the foam concrete has the best capabilities of shock resistance and energy absorption, the loess comes second, and the sand takes third place.

Lateral compression and energy absorption of foamed concrete-filled polyethylene circular pipe as yielding layer for high geo-stress soft rock tunnels

Foamed concrete as energy absorption material for high geo-stress soft rock tunnels has been proven to be feasible due to its high compressibility and lightweight.However,the lengthy curing and defoaming problems caused by the cast-in-place method of large-volume foamed concrete remain unsolved.In this study,we propose a novel energy absorber composed of foamed concrete-filled polyethylene(FC-PE)pipe and analyze its deformation and energy absorption capacity via quasi-static lateral compression experiments.Results show that FC-PE pipes exhibit typical three-stage deformation characteristics,comprising the elastic stage,the plastic plateau,and the densification stage.Furthermore,the plateau stress,energy absorption,and specific energy absorption of the specimens are 0.81–1.91 MPa,164–533 J,and 1.4–3.6 J/g,respectively.As the density of the foamed concrete increases,the plateau stress and energy absorption increase significantly.Conversely,the length of the plastic plateau and energy absorption efficiency decrease.Moreover,based on the vertical slice method,progressive compression of core material,and the 6 plastic hinges deformation mechanism of the pipe wall,a theoretical calculation method for effective energy absorption is established and achieves good agreement with experimental results,which is beneficial to the optimization of the composite structure.

Tests on Alkali-Activated Slag Foamed Concrete with Various Water-Binder Ratios and Substitution Levels of Fly Ash

To provide basic data for the reasonable mixing design of the alkali-activated (AA) foamed concrete as a thermal insulation material for a floor heating system, 9 concrete mixes with a targeted dry density less than 400 kg/m3 were tested. Ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS) as a source material was activated by the following two types of alkali activators: 10% Ca(OH)2 and 4% Mg(NO3)2, and 2.5% Ca(OH)2 and 6.5% Na2SiO3. The main test parameters were water-to-binder (W/B) ratio and the substitution level (RFA) of fly ash (FA) for GGBS. Test results revealed that the dry density of AA GGBS foamed concrete was independent of the W/B ratio an RFA, whereas the compressive strength increased with the decrease in W/B ratio and with the increase in RFA up to 15%, beyond which it decreased. With the increase in the W/B ratio, the amount of macro capillaries and artificial air pores increased, which resulted in the decrease of compressive strength. The magnitude of the environmental loads of the AA GGBS foamed concrete is independent of the W/B ratio and RFA. The largest reduction percentage was found in the photochemical oxidation potential, being more than 99%. The reduction percentage was 87% - 93% for the global warming potential, 81% - 84% for abiotic depletion, 79% - 84% for acidification potential, 77% - 85% for eutrophication potential, and 73% - 83% for human toxicity potential. Ultimately, this study proved that the developed AA GGBS foamed concrete has a considerable promise as a sustainable construction material for nonstructural element.

Synthesis and Application of Novel Triazine-Based Charring-Foaming Agents in Intumescent Flame Retardant Polypropylene

Three novel triazine-based charring-foaming agents (M2-CFA, M4-CFA, and M6-CFA) were synthesized successfully with only water as the solvent and were characterized by FT-IR and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). These three charring-foaming agents and the byproduct 944-by were employed to study the effectiveness of the novel intumescent flame retardant dopant on the fire retardancy of polypropylene(PP) investigated through UL-94 and limiting oxygen index (LOI) tests. TGA results showed that the M4-CFA presented good char formation ability (char residue: 26.8% at 700 °C). It was found that the sample with a 2/1 mass ratio of APP to M4-CFA exhibited the best flame retardancy among all the PP composites: 35.5% LOI and a V-0 rating of UL-94. Additionally, the microstructure and morphology of char residues were further studied by XRD, Raman spectroscopy and SEM. © 2017, Tianjin University and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

Quantitative Analysis of Relationship Between Pore Structure and Compressive Strength of Foamed Concrete

The effect of dry density,water-cement ratio,the addition of fly ash,and sand content on the porosity and pore distribution of foamed concrete is investigated.Digital microscopy and Image J software are employed to examine the landscape of pores with different sizes.Based on the Balshin empirical formula,a mathematical model is established to quantitatively predict the relationship between the pore structures and the compressive strength of foamed concrete.The results well demonstrate that there is a significant correlation between the modified formula and empirical parameters.

Study and application of a new type of foamed concrete wall in coal mines

A new type of airtight wall with the combination of foamed concrete and pier support was designed in this study. Based on the theories and models related to the foamed concrete and blasting shock load, using the numerical analysis method, this study obtains the new material＇s mechanical and destruction laws through analyzing its reaction to different conditions of load （mining and shock waves）, airtight wall thickness （1.2, 1.5, 1.8, 2.1 m） and steel pipe diameters （400, 450, 500 and 600 mm）. The results show that： ①foamed concrete can have very good suspension, and the pier column support is the main carrier of roof pressure; ② the damaged area of foamed concrete decreases as the foamed concrete thickness increases. Under impact loading, the thickness of the foamed concrete wall plays a more obvious role in retaining its integrity; ③under the same mining pressure, the damage area increases as the steel pipe diameter increases; ④ with additional mining stress increase, under whether static load or impact load, the stress on the foamed concrete and steel pipe will also increase gradually, therefore the actual airtight wall design will need to be based on specific circumstances in steel stress.

Synergistic effects of expandable graphite and dimethyl methyl phosphonate on the mechanical properties, fire behavior, and thermal stability of a polyisocyanurate-polyurethane foam

In this study, a series of flame-retardant polyisocyanurate-polyurethane (PIR-PUR) foams were prepared using various concentrations (0-25% by weight) of expandable graphite (EG) and dimethyl methyl phosphonate (DMMP) (0-7% by weight). The effect of these additives on the properties of the PIR-PUR foams, including physico-mechanical, morphological, flame retardancy, and thermal stability, was studied. Increasing amounts of EG in the PIR-PUR foam caused a significant drop in the compression strength. However, DMMP caused the mechanical properties of PIR-PUR foam to improve compared to foam filled with EG alone. The flame retardancy of PIR-PUR foams containing both EG and DMMP was enhanced significantly compared to EG filled foams. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) indicated that EG enhances the thermal stability of PIR-PUR foams but that DMMP decreased it. The morphology of the residual char provided conclusive evidence for the weak thermal stability of foams filled with DMMP.

Stability of high-salinity-enhanced foam:Surface behavior and thin-film drainage

Cocamidopropyl hydroxyl sulfobetaine(CHSB)is one of the most promising foaming agents for high-salinity reservoirs because the salt in place facilitates its foam stability,even with salinity as high as 2×10^(5)mg/L.However,the synergistic effects between CHSB and salt have not been fully understood.This study utilized bulk foam tests and thin-film interferometry to comprehensively investigate the macroscopic and microscopic decay processes of CHSB foams with NaCl concentrations ranging from 2.3×10^(4)to 2.1×10^(5)mg/L.We focused on the dilatational viscoelasticity and dynamic thin-film thickness to elucidate the high-salinity-enhanced foam stability.The increase in dilatational viscoelasticity and supramolecular oscillating structural force(Π_(OS))with salinity dominated the superior stability of CHSB foam.With increasing salinity,more CHSB molecules accumulated on the surface with a lower diffusion rate,leading to high dilatational moduli and surface elasticity,thus decelerating coarsening and coalescence.Meanwhile,the number density of micelles in the thin film increased with salinity,resulting in increasedΠOS.Consequently,the energy barrier for stepwise thinning intensified,and the thin-film drainage slowed.This work conduces to understand the mechanisms behind the pronounced stability of betaine foam and can promote the widespread application of foam in harsh reservoirs.

Nanoparticle foaming agents for major gas fields in China

The conventional foaming agents have the problems of poor adaptability and high cost during the application in different types of gas fields,especially in high temperature,high salinity,high acidic gas and high condensate oil and gas fields.In this study,the Gemini foaming agent was used as the main agent to enhance foaming and foam stability of the foaming agent,the grafted nanoparticles were used as foam stabilizer to further improve the foam stability,and the characteristic auxiliaries were added to make the foaming agent suitable for different types of gas reservoirs.Two types and six subtypes of nanoparticle foaming agents have been prepared for the main gas fields of China.The experimental evaluation results show that the overall temperature resistance,salinity resistance,H2S resistance,CO2 resistance and condensate resistance of the nanoparticle foaming agents can reach 160℃,250000 mg/L,100 mg/L,100%and 40%,respectively.The new foaming agents have been used in 8685 wells in China.Compared with conventional foaming agent,the average gas flow rate per well increased by 62.48%,the pressure difference(casing-tubing)decreased by 18.9%,and the cost dropped by 45%.The effect of reducing cost and increasing efficiency is obvious.

BIM-based construction technologies for precast foamed lightweight concrete wallboards

To promote the visualisation and informatisation of the construction process of precast foamed lightweight concrete wallboards(PFLCWs),from the analysis of the construction requirements of PFLCWs,three key construction technologies based on building information modelling(BIM),namely,parameterised modelling for the PFLCW layout design,drawing generation to draw the PFLCW layout and quantity statistics for extracting PFLCW quantities,are proposed.Then,a reinforced concrete(RC)frame infilled with PFLCW is considered the test model to verify the feasibility of the aforementioned technologies.The results show that PFLCW layout design can be accomplished rapidly and visually using parameterised modelling technology.The PFLCW layout diagram can be generated directly using drawing generation technology.The proposed quantity statistics technology enables the automatic export of PFLCW bills of quantities.The built parameterised model helps construction workers rapidly and intuitively understand the specific layout details of PFLCWs.Moreover,the generated layout drawing and the bills of quantities based on the parameterised model can guide the production and on-site installation of PFLCWs.The research conclusions can serve as a practical guide and technical support for PFLCW engineering applications.

Experimental assessments of methanol-based foaming agent in latex modified foamed binders and warm asphalt mixtures

Latex is one of the natural rubbers that is used to enhance the performance of asphalt pavement for the last few decades.The presence of latex,which is categorized as an elastomer,helps to improve pavement performance and durability.Conversely,higher viscosity of latex modified asphalt binder increases the production-temperatures of asphalt mixture,thus consuming higher energy during asphalt mixture’s production stage.In this study,the effectiveness of methanol as an energy-efficient foaming agent was assessed to reduce the viscosity and enhance the workability of the modified asphalt binder.The basic and rheological properties of the asphalt binders were determined through multiple laboratory tests including expansion ratio and half-life,rotational viscosity,softening point,torsional recovery,and dynamic shear rheometer.The properties of asphalt mixtures were assessed through the service characteristics,mechanical performance,and moisture resistance criteria.It was found that the presence of latex results in an approximately twofold higher expansion ratio and a lower half-life of the asphalt binder at about the same ratio.Through the rotational viscosity test,the application of methanol into asphalt binder decreased the viscosity and led to better workability,despite the addition of latex as an asphalt modifier.The application of methanol into asphalt binder improved the workability of mixture samples and lowered the compaction energy of the compaction process,which are the crucial criteria for a better mixing and compaction process.Methanol foamed asphalt mixtures with latex show much higher resistance to moisture damage and stiffness than control sample even though they were prepared at a lower temperature.