Sandstone-concrete interface transition zone (ITZ) damage and debonding micromechanisms under freeze-thaw

The sufficient bond between concrete and rock is an important prerequisite to ensure the effect of shotcrete support. However, in cold regions engineering protection system, the bond condition of rock and concrete surface is easily affected by freeze-thaw cycles, resulting in interface damage, debonding and even supporting failure. Understanding the micromechanisms of the damage and debonding of the rock-concrete interface is essential for improving the interface protection.Therefore, the micromorphology, micromechanical properties, and microdebonding evolution of the sandstone-concrete interface transition zone(ITZ) under varying freeze-thaw cycles(0, 5, 10, 15, 20) were studied using scanning electron microscope, stereoscopic microscope, and nano-indentation. Furthermore, the distribution range and evolution process of ITZ affected by freeze-thaw cycles were defined. Major findings of this study are as follows:(1) The microdamage evolution law of the ITZ under increasing freeze-thaw cycles is clarified, and the relationship between the number of cracks in the ITZ and freeze-thaw cycles is established;(2) As the number of freeze-thaw cycles increases, the ITZ's micromechanical strength decreases, and its development width tends to increase;(3) The damage and debonding evolution mechanisms of sandstone-concrete ITZ under freeze-thaw cycles is revealed, and its micromechanical evolution model induced by freeze-thaw cycles is proposed.

Mechanical properties and friction-wear characteristics of VN/Ag multilayer coatings with heterogeneous and transition interfaces

The heterogeneous multilayer interface of VN/Ag coatings and transition multilayer interface of VN/Ag coatings were prepared on Inconel 781 and Si(100),and the microstructures,mechanical and tribological properties were investigated from 25 to 700℃.The results showed that the surface roughness and average grain size of VN/Ag coatings with transition multilayer interface are obviously larger than those of VN/Ag coatings with heterogeneous multilayer interface.The coatings with transition multilayer interface have higher adhesion force and hardness than the coatings with heterogeneous multilayer interface,and both coatings can effectively restrict the initiation and propagation of microcracks.Both coatings have excellent self-adaptive lubricating properties with a decrease of friction coefficient as the temperature increases,but their wear rates reveal a drastic increase.The phase composition of the worn area of both coatings was investigated,which indicates that a smooth Ag,Magnéli phase(V2O5)and bimetallic oxides(Ag3VO4 and AgVO3)can be responsible to the excellent lubricity of both coatings.To sum up,the coatings with transition multilayer interface have excellent adaptive lubricating properties and can properly control the diffusion rate and release rate of the lubricating phase,indicating that they have great potential in solving the problem of friction and wear of mechanical parts.

Micro-structure and Macro-performance:Surface Layer Evolution of Concrete under Long-term Exposure in Harsh Plateau Climate

We conducted a series tests on surface layers of plateau concrete at the ages of 180 and 540 days,including the most superficial cement paste,the 5 mm thick surface mortar,and the 50 mm thick surface concrete.Thermogravimetry and nitrogen absorption porosimetry on cement past,mercury intrusion porosimetry on mortar,and microhardness test on interface transition zone between mortar and coarse aggregate were conducted to evaluate the hydration degree and characterize the micro-structure.Whilst,tests for the rebound strength,abrasion resistance,and chloride ion impenetrability of concrete were conducted to assess the macro-performance.The experimental results show that,affected by the harsh plateau climate,outward surfaces have lower hydration degrees and worse pore structure than inward surfaces.As the hydration of concrete surface is ongoing after the age of 180 days,both the micro-structure and the macro-performance are continuously improved.In the long-term,either the orientation or the depth towards surface does not significantly affect concrete performance.Surface carbonation brings positive effects on mechanical properties but negative effects on the durability.Additionally,standard test result of chloride ion impenetrability is found significantly affected by the atmospheric pressure.For a same batch of concrete,charge passed in plateau regions is obviously lower than that in common regions.

AR-Glass Fibre-Cement Interfacial Transition Zone

The microstructure of ITZ (Interfacial Transition Zone) in single glass fibre-cement was investigated by SEM ( Scanning Electron Microscope), EPXM ( Electron Probe X-ray Microanalyzer) and ESEM (Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope) . The surface morphology of glass fibres and the hydration products in the vicinity of the interfaces were observed. Chemical element (Zr, Ca and Si) distributions over the ITZ thickness were determined by line-scanning with EPXM. The results show that a low-density transition zone existed in the vicinity of glass fibres . The shape of the fibre-cement ITZ was non-symmetrical and its thickness was variable . In the present study, the width of the zone ranged from 1 - 5 μm. Locally, it came to 10μm. Occasionally , some hydration products with high alkalinity were embedded inside the ITZ, and attached on the glass surface , making the ITZ denser and causing local glass to corrode. The test results are helpful for the further understanding of the GRC degradation .

Modeling porous structure of oil-pressboard interface and its effect on electric field distribution

The oil-pressboard insulation is a typical composite insulation system widely used in the design and manufactory of large power apparatus. The implement of oil-pressboard insulation may lead to surface electrification and discharge at the interface under certain condition. It is of significant importance to take an insight into the phenomenon occurring at the interface. Through experiment, the pressboard is found as a porous material. The interface changes abruptly from bulk pressboard to the bulk oil as a result of the porous structure. A new model is proposed which divides the interface into bulk oil region, transition region, and bulk pressboard region. The width of the transition region is decided according to the microtome figure. The effective permittivity of the transition region is calculated using a new model based on fractal theory. The model is validated and compared with previous calculation model. The effect of the existence of transition region on the electric field distribution is discussed.

Constructing the coherent transition interface structure for enhancing strength and ductility of hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets/Al composites

The deformation incompatibility of components is a bottleneck restricting the exaltation of the strength and ductility of composites.Herein,the coherent transition interface was designed and produced in hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets(BNNSs)/Al composites by reaction sintering route,expecting to re-lieve the deformation incompatibility between BNNSs and Al.It is demonstrated that with the sintering temperature for composites raising from 600℃ to 650℃,700℃ and 750℃,different interface bonding characteristics,which involve nucleation and growth of AlN continuous nanolayer,were confirmed.Fur-thermore,first-principles calculations show that the generation of the coherent transition interface im-proved the interfacial bonding strength of BNNSs/Al composites through covalent bonds.The composites with coherent transition interface exhibit excellent strength-toughness combination in tensile and impact tests.The finite element simulation and in-situ approach under tensile tests were applied to investigate the influence of transition interface structure on deformation behavior of BNNSs/Al composite.It is found that the generation of the transition interface can not only weaken the stress partitioning behavior in the elastic stage,but also constrain the crack initiation and propagation behavior in the elastic-plastic stage and plastic stage,thereby improving the deformation compatibility between BNNSs and Al.The present work provides a novel view into the breakthrough for the trade-offrelationship of strength and ductility by coherent transition interface design in nanocomposites.

Effects of wet-ROA on shallow interface traps of n-type 4H-SiC MOS capacitors

The effects of wet re-oxidation annealing （wet-ROA） on the shallow interface traps of n-type 4H-SiC metal oxide-semiconductor （MOS） capacitors were investigated by Gray-Brown method and angle-dependent X- ray photoelectron spectroscopy technique. The results present the energy distribution of the density of interface traps （Dit） from 0 to 0.2 eV below SiC conduction band edge （Ec） of the sample with wet-ROA for the first time, and indicate that wet-ROA could reduce the Dit in this energy range by more than 60%. The reduction in Dit is attributed to the reaction between the introduced oxygen and the SiOxCy species, which results in C release and SiOxCy transformation into higher oxidation states, thus reducing the SiOxCy content and the SiOxCy interface transition region thickness.

Meso-scale corrosion expansion cracking of ribbed reinforced concrete based on a 3D random aggregate model

In reinforced concrete structures,corrosion of the rebar produces 2–6 times more corrosion product than the original material,creating pressure on the surrounding concrete,leading to cracking.The study of corrosion and cracking in reinforced concrete structures is therefore of great importance for enhancing the durability of concrete.Unlike many previous studies,we used ribbed rebar similar to that used commercially and considered the mechanical behavior of the interface transition zone(ITZ)between the aggregate and mortar to simulate the processes of corrosion and cracking of reinforced concrete structures.We explored the failure mode of the interface layer under uniform corrosion and the influence of different factors on the corrosion expansion cracking and the shedding mode of a concrete cover.This was achieved by establishing a three-phase meso-scale model of concrete based on secondary development of ABAQUS,simulating the mechanical behavior of the ITZ using a cohesive element,and establishing a rust expansion cracking model for single and multiple rebars.The results showed that:(1)Under uniform rust expansion,concrete cracks are distributed in a cross pattern with a slightly shorter lower limb.(2)When the corrosion rate is low,the ITZ is not damaged.With an increase in the corrosion rate,the proportion of elements with tensile damage in the ITZ first increases and then decreases.(3)In the case of a single rebar,the larger the cover thickness,the higher the corrosion rate corresponding to ITZ failure,and the arrangement of the rebar has little influence on the ITZ failure mode.(4)In the case of multiple rebars,the concrete cover cracks when the rebar spacing is small,and wedge-shaped spalling occurs when the spacing is large.

Effect of Randomness of Interfacial Properties on Fracture Behavior of Concrete Under Uniaxial Tension

Interfacial transition zones （ITZs） between aggregates and mortar are the weakest parts in concrete. The random aggregate generation and packing algorithm was utilized to create a two-phase concrete model, and the zero-thickness cohesive elements with different normal distribution parameters were used to model the ITZs with random mechanical properties. A number of uniaxial tension-induced fracture simulations were carried out, and the effects of the random parameters on the fracture behavior of concrete were statistically analyzed. The results show that, different from the dissipated fracture energy, the peak load of concrete does not always obey a normal distribution, when the elastic stiffness, tensile strength, or fracture energy of ITZs is normally distributed. The tensile strength of the ITZs has a significant effect on the fracture behavior of concrete, and its large standard deviation leads to obvious diversity of the fracture path in both location and shape.