Mechanical Behavior Based on Aggregates Microstructure of Ultra-high Performance Concrete

We developed ultra-high performance concrete(UHPC)incorporating mullite sand and brown corundum sand(BCS),and the quartz sand UHPC was utilized to prepare for comparison.The properties of compressive strength,elastic modulus,ultrasonic pulse velocity,flexural strength,and toughness were investigated.Scanning electron microscopy and nanoindentation were also conducted to reveal the underlying mechanisms affecting macroscopic performance.Due to the superior interface bonding properties between mullite sand and matrix,the compressive strength and flexural toughness of UHPC have been significantly improved.Mullite sand and BCS aggregates have higher stiffness than quartz sand,contributing to the excellent elastic modulus exhibited by UHPC.The stiffness and volume of aggregates have a more significant impact on the elastic modulus of UHPC than interface performance,and the latter contributes more to the strength of UHPC.This study will provide a reference for developing UHPC with superior elastic modulus for structural engineering.

Explosion resistance performance of reinforced concrete box girder coated with polyurea:Model test and numerical simulation

To study the anti-explosion protection effect of polyurea coating on reinforced concrete box girder,two segmental girder specimens were made at a scale of 1:3,numbered as G(without polyurea coating)and PCG(with polyurea coating).The failure characteristics and dynamic responses of the specimens were compared through conducting explosion tests.The reliability of the numerical simulation using LS-DYNA software was verified by the test results.The effects of different scaled distances,reinforcement ratios,concrete strengths,coating thicknesses and ranges of polyurea were studied.The results show that the polyurea coating can effectively enhance the anti-explosion performance of the girder.The top plate of middle chamber in specimen G forms an elliptical penetrating hole,while that in specimen PCG only shows a very slight local dent.The peak vertical displacement and residual displacement of PCG decrease by 74.8% and 73.7%,respectively,compared with those of specimen G.For the TNT explosion with small equivalent,the polyurea coating has a more significant protective effect on reducing the size of fracture.With the increase of TNT equivalent,the protective effect of polyurea on reducing girder displacement becomes more significant.The optimal reinforcement ratio,concrete strength,thickness and range of polyurea coating were also drawn.

Influence Mechanism of Curing Regimes on Interfacial Transition Zone of Lightweight Ultra-High Performance Concrete

This study aims to clarify the effects of curing regimes and lightweight aggregate(LWA)on the morphology, width and mechanical properties of the interfacial transition zone(ITZ) of ultra-high performance concrete(UHPC), and provide reference for the selection of lightweight ultra-high performance concrete(L-UHPC) curing regimes and the pre-wetting degree LWA. The results show that, under the three curing regimes(standard curing, steam curing and autoclaved curing), LWA is tightly bound to the matrix without obvious boundaries. ITZ width increases with the water absorption of LWA and decreases with increasing curing temperature. The ITZ microhardness is the highest when water absorption is 3%, and the microhardness value is more stable with the distance from LWA. Steam and autoclaved curing increase ITZ microhardness compared to standard curing. As LWA pre-wetting and curing temperatures increase, the degree of hydration at the ITZ increases, generating high-density CSH(HD CSH) and ultra-high-density CSH(UHD CSH), and reducing unhydrated particles in ITZ. ITZ micro-mechanical properties are optimized due to hydration products being denser.

Precursor engineering enables high-performance all-inorganic CsPbIBr_(2) perovskite solar cells with a record efficiency approaching 13%

All-inorganic CsPbIBr_(2) perovskite has attracted widespread attention in photovoltaic and other optoelectronic devices because of its superior thermal stability.However,the deposition of high-quality solutionprocessed CsPbIBr_(2) perovskite films with large thicknesses remains challenging.Here,we develop a triple-component precursor(TCP) by employing lead bromide,lead iodide,and cesium bromide,to replace the most commonly used double-component precursor(DCP) consisting of lead bromide and cesium iodide.Remarkably,the TCP system significantly increases the solution concentration to 1.3 M,leading to a larger film thickness(~390 nm) and enhanced light absorption.The resultant CsPbIBr_(2) films were evaluated in planar n-i-p structured solar cells,which exhibit a considerably higher optimal photocurrent density of 11.50 mA cm^(-2) in comparison to that of DCP-based devices(10.69 mA cm^(-2)).By adopting an organic surface passivator,the maximum device efficiency using TCP is further boosted to a record efficiency of 12.8% for CsPbIBr_(2) perovskite solar cells.

Research on Preparation and Electrochemical Performance of the High Compacted Density Ni-Co-Mn Ternary Cathode Materials

The high compacted density LiNi0.5-xCo0.2Mn0.3MgxO2 cathode material for lithium-ion batteries was synthesized by high temperature solid-state method, taking the Mg element as a doping element and the spherical Ni0.5Co0.2Mn0.3 (OH)2, Li2CO3 as raw materials. The effects of calcination temperature on the structure and properties of the products were investigated. The structure and morphology of cathode materials powder were analyzed by X-ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD) and scanning electronmicroscopy (SEM). The electrochemical properties of the cathode materials were studied by charge-discharge test and cyclic properties test. The results show that LiNi0.4985Co0.2Mn0.3 Mg0.0015O2 cathode material prepared at calcination temperature 930°C has a good layered structure, and the compacted density of the electrode sheet is above 3.68 g/cm3. The discharge capacity retention rate is more than 97.5% after 100 cycles at a charge-discharge rate of 1C, displaying a good cyclic performance.

Compressive Performance of Fiber Reinforced Recycled Aggregate Concrete by Basalt Fiber Reinforced Polymer-Polyvinyl Chloride Composite Jackets

The development of recycled aggregate concrete(RAC)provides a new approach to limiting the waste of natural resources.In the present study,the mechanical properties and deformability of RACs were improved by adding basalt fibers(BFs)and using external restraints,such as a fiber-reinforced polymer(FRP)jacket or a PVC pipe.Samples were tested under axial compression.The results showed that RAC(50%replacement of aggregate)containing 0.2%BFs had the best mechanical properties.Using either BFs or PVC reinforcement had a slight effect on the loadbearing capacity and mode of failure.With different levels of BFs,the compressive strengths of the specimens reinforced with 1-layer and 3-layer basalt fiber reinforced polymer(BFRP)increased by 6.7%–10.5%and 16.5%–23.7%,respectively,and the ultimate strains increased by 48.5%–80.7%and 97.1%–141.1%,respectively.The peak stress of the 3-layer BFRP-PVC increased by 42.2%,and the ultimate strain improved by 131.3%,relative to the control.This reinforcement combined the high tensile strength of BFRP,which improved the post-peak behavior,and PVC,which enhanced the structural durability.In addition,to investigate the influence of the various constraints on compressive behavior,the stress-strain response was analyzed.Based on the analysis of experimental results,a peak stress-strain model and an amended ultimate stress-strain model were proposed.The models were verified as well;the result showed that the predictions from calculations are generally consistent with the experimental data(error within 10%).The results of this study provide a theoretical basis and reference for future applications of fiber-reinforced recycled concrete.

Effect of SAP on Properties of High Performance Concrete under Marine Wetting and Drying Cycles

The internal curing effect of superabsorbent polymer(SAP) on the properties of high performance concrete(HPC) under marine wetting and drying cycles(WD cycles) was investigated. Compressive strength, hydration and chloride migration were experimentally investigated and the results were evaluated by compasison with those under fresh water curing(FW). Water absorption and porosity were also evaluated only under WD cycles. The results showed the important influence of wetting and drying cycles on the properties of SAP modified HPC properties. Carefully designed, SAP minimized the long-term compressive strength of HPC under marine WD cycles. The hydration rate was faster in the initial curing, but became lower as compared with that cured in FW. In addition, SAP improved the long-term water absorption resistance and chloride migration resistance of HPC under marine WD cycles. The examination of the porosity showed a lower increase of the volume of capillary pores in SAP modified HPC under long term WD cycles compared with that without SAP. Therefore, internal curing by SAP could improve the durability properties of HPC under marine WD cycles.

Pore Size Distribution of High Performance Metakaolin Concrete

The Compressive strength, porosity and pore size distribution of high performance metakaolin (MK) concrete were investigated. Concretes containing 0,5% , 10% and 20% metakaolin were prepared at a water / cementitious material ratio ( W/C) of 0. 30. In parallel, concrete mixtures with the replacement of cement by 20% fly ash or 5 and 10% silica fume were prepared for comparison. The specimens were cured in water at 27℃ for 3 to 90 days. The results show that at the early age of curing (3 days and 7 days), metakaolin replacements increase the compressive strength, but silica fume replacement slightly reduces the compressive strength. At the age of and after 28 days , the compressive strength of the concrete with metakaolin and silica fume replacement increases. A strong reduction in the total porosity and average pore diameter were observed in the concrete with MK 20% and 10% in the first 7 days.

High Performance Concrete and Its Typical Mixes

With the modern development of chemical and mineral admixtures, it is now possible to produce much higher performance concrete than before. Higher performance does not only mean higher strength, but also better durability, lower risk of thermal cracking and higher dimensional stability etc. The three most effective admixtures for producing high performance concrete are superplastieizer, pulverized fuel ash and condensed silica fume. This paper outlines the properties of these materials and presents some practical guidelines for their usage.

Characterization of Surface Hardness and Microstructure of High Performance Concrete

The relationship between compressive strength obtained by universal testing machine and rebound value obtained by the hammer of high performance concrete was systematically investigated at the macro level. And a model of high performance concrete strength curve was established from them. At the micro level, the microstructure, hydration products and pore structure of concrete surface were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy（SEM）, comprehensive thermal analysis（TG-DSC） and mercury intrusion porosimetry（MIP）, respectively. The effect of carbonation on surface strength was also investigated. The results showed that the concrete surface hardness layer grew rapidly at early stage and then stabilized at last with ongoing curing age; the rebound value and compressive strength of concrete with slag were higher than those of concrete with the same content of fly ash. In addition, the strength curve obtained by the least square method can satisfy the local standard requirements with an average relative error of 8.9% and a relative standard deviation of 11.3%. When the carbonation depth was 6 mm, the compressive strength calculated by national uniform strength curve was 25 PMa higher than that by high performance concrete.

Design of Eco-friendly Ultra-high Performance Concrete with Supplementary Cementitious Materials and Coarse Aggregate

Aiming to investigate the mix design of eco-friendly UHPC with supplementary cementitious materials and coarser aggregates, we comprehensively studied the workability, microstructure, porosity, compressive strength, flexural strength, and Young’s modulus of UHPC. Relationship between compressive strength and Young’s modulus was obtained eventually. It is found that the compressive strength, flexural strength, and Young’s modulus of UHPC increase by 19.01%, 10.81%, and 5.99%, respectively, when 40 wt% cement is replaced with supplementary cementitious materials. The relationship between compressive strength and Young’s modulus of UHPC is an exponential form.

Carbonation Resistance of Sulphoaluminate Cement-based High Performance Concrete

The influences of water/cement ratio and admixtures on carbonation resistance of sulphoaluminate cement-based high performance concrete （HPC） were investigated. The experimental results show that with the decreasing water/cement ratio, the carbonation depth of sulphoaluminate cement-based HPC is decreased remarkably, and the carbonation resistance capability is also improved with the adding admixtures. The morphologies and structure characteristics of sulphoaluminate cement hydration products before and after carbonation were analyzed using SEM and XRD. The analysis results reveal that the main hydration product of sulphoaluminate cement, that is ettringite （AFt）, decomposes after carbonation.

Shrinkage Behavior of High Performance Concrete at Different Elevated Temperatures under Different Sealing Conditions

The shrinkage behavior of high performance cement concrete made from Portland cement, ultra fine granulated blast furnace slag and pulverized fly ash with addition of superplasticizer at different temperatures from ambient temperature to 120 ℃ under different seuliug conditions was investigated by means of length change measurement on cylindrical concrete specimens along with curing age. Results show that drying shrinkage deformations of titled concrete specimens increased rapidly as the curing temperature rose. The development of dryiing shrinkage deformatian can be efficiently controlled with the aid of aluminum tape sealing as compared with the unsealed specimens, especially when the curing temperature is below 60℃ , although it will increase dramatically when the curing temperature is elevated to above 90%＂ . Polymer coating on concrete specimens showed a similar effect on the control of drying shrinkage as the sealing operation with aluminum tape.

Seismic performance of steel reinforced ultra high-strength concrete composite frame joints

To investigate the seismic performance of a composite frame comprised of steel reinforced ultra high-strength concrete （SRUHSC） columns and steel reinforced concrete （SRC） beams, six interior frame joint specimens were designed and tested under low cyclically lateral load. The effects of the axial load ratio and volumetric stirrup ratio were studied on the characteristics of the frame joint performance including crack pattern, failure mode, ductility, energy dissipation capacity, strength degradation and rigidity degradation. It was found that all joint specimens behaved in a ductile manner with flexural-shear failure in the joint core region while plastic hinges appeared at the beam ends. The ductility and energy absorption capacity of joints increased as the axial load ratio decreased and the volumetric stirIup ratio increased. The displacement ductility coefficient and equivalent damping coefficient of the joints fell between the corresponding coefficients of the steel reinforced concrete （SRC） frame joint and RC frame joint. The axial load ratio and volumetric stirrup ratio have less influence on the strength degradation and more influence on the stiffness degradation. The stiffness of the joint degrades more significantly for a low volumetric stirrup ratio and high axial load ratio. The characteristics obtained from the SRUHSC composite frame joint specimens with better seismic performance may be a useful reference in future engineering applications.

Dynamic Mechanical Behaviour of Ultra-high Performance Fiber Reinforced Concretes

Ultra-high performance fiber reinforced concretes （UHPFRC） were prepared by replacing 60% of cement with ultra-fine industrial waste powder. The dynamic mechanical behaviour of UHPFRC with different fiber volume fraction was researched on repeated compressive impact in four kinds of impact modes through split Hopkinson pressure bar （SHPB）. The experimental results show that the peak stress and elastic modulus decrease and the strain rate and peak strain increase gradually with the increasing of impact times. The initial material damage increases and the peak stress of the specimen decreases from the second impact with the increasing of the initial incident wave. Standard strength on repeated impact is defined to compare the ability of resistance against repeated impact among different materials. The rate of reduction of standard strength is decreased by fiber reinforcement under repeated impact. The material damage is reduced and the ability of repeated impact resistance of UHPFRC is improved with the increasing of fiber volume fraction.

FAILURE MODE AND CONSTITUTIVE MODEL OF PLAIN HIGH-STRENGTH HIGH-PERFORMANCE CONCRETE UNDER BIAXIAL COMPRESSION AFTER EXPOSURE TO HIGH TEMPERATURES

An orthotropic constitutive relationship with temperature parameters for plain highstrength high-performance concrete （HSHPC） under biaxial compression is developed. It is based on the experiments performed for characterizing the strength and deformation behavior at two strength levels of HSHPC at 7 different stress ratios including a=σs ： σ3=0.00：-1,-0.20：-1,-0.30 ： -1,-0.40：-1,-0.50：-1,-0.75：-1,-1.00：-1, after the exposure to normal and high temperatures of 20, 200, 300, 400, 500 and 600℃, and using a large static-dynamic true triaxial machine. The biaxial tests were performed on 100 mm×100 mm×100 mm cubic specimens, and friction-reducing pads were used consisting of three layers of plastic membrane with glycerine in-between for the compressive loading plane. Based on the experimental results, failure modes of HSHPC specimens were described. The principal static compressive strengths, strains at the peak stress and stress-strain curves were measured; and the influence of the temperature and stress ratios on them was also analyzed. The experimental results showed that the uniaxial compressive strength of plain HSHPC after exposure to high temperatures does not decrease dramatically with the increase of temperature. The ratio of the biaxial to its uniaxial compressive strength depends on the stress ratios and brittleness-stiffness of HSHPC after exposure to different temperature levels. Comparison of the stress-strain results obtained from the theoretical model and the experimental data indicates good agreement.

Evaluation of the Shear Strength of Perfobond Rib Connectors in Ultra High Performance Concrete

Since the previous strength prediction models for the perfobond rib connector were proposed based upon the results of push-out tests conducted on concretes with compressive strength below 50 MPa, push-out test is performed on perfobond shear connectors applying ultra high performance concretes with compressive strength higher than 80 MPa to evaluate their shear resistance. The test variables are chosen to be the diameter and number of dowel holes and, the change in the shear strength of the perfobond rib connector is examined with respect to the strength of two types of UHPC: steel fiber-reinforced concrete with compressive strength of 180 MPa and concrete without steel fiber with compressive strength of 80 MPa. The test results reveal that higher concrete strength and larger number of holes increased the shear strength, and that higher increase rate in the shear strength was achieved by the dowel action. The comparison with the predictions obtained by the previous models shows that the experimental results are close to the values given by the model proposed by Oguejiofor and Hosain [1].

The Corrosion Fatigue Properties of High Performance Concrete

With the loading test equipment of corrosion fatigue specially designed, the corrosion fatigue characteristics of high performance concrete (HPC) withstanding the interaction of third point fatigue loading and Na_2SO_4 solution were investigated and analyzed. The experimental results indicate that water-binder ratio evidently influences the corrosion fatigue characteristics of HPC, and a moderate quantitative fine mineral admixture enhances the corrosion fatigue resistance of HPC. The effect is more significant when fly ash and silica fume are added.

Preparation and Application of C60 High Performance Concrete

C60 High Performance Concrete (HPC) was prepared by limiting cement content and adopting compositesuperplasticizer, low-alkalinity expansive agent and high-quality line mixture. The results showed that the performance of the prepared C60 HPC was excellent. By adopting some advanced construction techniques such as usingsecondary vibration and secondary face compaction, controlling temperature difference and paying special attentionto early curing in the construction process, the prepared C60 HPC had been successfully applied in the monolithicstructure of huge building.

Preparation of High Performance Non-dispersible Concrete

A new-type underwater non-dispersible concrete admixture NDA was prepared,its function mechanism was analyzed,and C40 high performance non-dispersible underwater concrete was manufactured by applying NDA.The results indicate that NDA has a suitable workability,low strength loss,and excellent anti-dispersion;the fresh non-dispersible underwater concrete with NDA has high anti-dispersion,excellent workability such as self-compacting and not bleeding;hardened non-dispersible underwater concrete with NDA has a high strength,high durability such as high anti-abrasion,impermeability and anticorrosion.