Characteristics of gravity signal and loading effect in China

The complex geographical environment in China makes its gravity signals miscellaneous.This work gives a comprehensive representation and explanation in secular trend of gravity change in different regions,the key features of which include positive trend in inner Tibet Plateau and South China and negative trend in North China plain and high mountain Asia（HMA）.We also present the patterns of amplitudes and phases of annual and semiannual change.The mechanism underlying the semiannual period is explicitly discussed.The displacement in three directions expressed in terms of geo-potential spherical coefficients and load Love numbers are given.A case study applied with these equations is presented.The results show that Global Positioning System（GPS） observations can be used to compare with Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment（GRACE） derived displacement and the vertical direction has a signal-noise-ratio of about one order of magnitude larger than the horizontal directions.

Reinforcement by polyurethane to stiffness of air-supported fabric formwork for concrete shell construction

By spraying concrete on inner surface,air-supported fabric structures can be used as formwork to construct reinforced concrete shell structures.The fabric formwork has the finished form of concrete structure.Large deviation from the desired shape of concrete shells still remains as central problem due to dead weight of concrete and less stiffness of fabric formwork.Polyurethane can be used not only as a bonding layer between fabrics and concrete but also as an additional stiffening layer.However,there is little research on mechanical behaviors of the polyurethane shell structure.This paper presents experimental studies on an inflated fabric model with and without polyurethane,including relief pressure tests,vertical loading tests and horizontal loading tests.Experimental results show that the additional polyurethane layer can significantly enhance the stiffness of the fabric formwork.Compared with the experiment,a numerical model using shell layered finite elements has a good prediction.The reinforcement by polyurethane to improve stiffness of air-supported fabric formwork is expected to be considered in the design and construction of the concrete shell,especially dealing with the advance of shape-control.

Flexural failure experiment on cracked PC simply supported box girders

Long-term load and flexural failure experiments are carried out on two prestressed concrete(PC) simply supported box girders. In the long-term load experiment, girder-1(G1) is in an elastic state, while girder-2(G2) is in a cracking state. To investigate the influence of cracking on the flexural behaviors of PC simply supported box beams, the experiment results are analyzed from many aspects, such as load–deflection, load–strain, and failure mode. Experiment results show the following: 1) the shrinkage and creep of concrete have considerable influences on the long-term deflection and strain of the two girders; 2) in the flexural failure experiment, the cracks and ultimate loads of the two girders are close. The rigidity degeneration of G2 is significantly faster than that of G1, and thus G2 shows nonlinear characteristics earlier; 3) to prove the validity and rationality of the current code, the cracking load and ultimate load of the two girders are calculated according to the current code.

Statistical analysis of mechanical properties of biological soft tissue under quasi-static mechanical loading

The mechanical properties of biological soft tissues are inextricably linked to the field of health care,and their mechanical properties can be important indicators for diagnosing and detecting diseases;they can also be used to analyze the causes of organ diseases from a pathological point of view and thus guide the deployment of medical solutions.As an effective method to characterize the mechanical properties of materials,mechanical loading experiments have been successfully applied to the mechanical properties of materials,including tension,compression,pure shear,and so on.Under quasi-static loading,when the material is a biological soft tissue material between a solid and an ideal fluid,its viscoelastic properties strongly respond to the force stimulus,and the stress-strain-time in the elastic phase will have obvious disturbance characteristics.Therefore,the existing statistical methods are often difficult to quantitatively describe the mechanical properties of materials.Therefore,this study proposes an Interval Capture Point based on the principle of integration.The experimental data based on this method can characterize its nonlinear mechanical properties well,especially when the loading speed is extremely low and the soft materials show strong disturbance characteristics.The proposed method can still accurately characterize the hyperelastic and viscoelastic properties of the mechanical properties of biological soft tissues under quasi-static loading.

Bearing capacity and failure behavior of disconnectable coupling joint with double row wedges(DCJD)used in the prestressed internal bracing

A disconnectable coupling joint with double row wedges(DCJD)is a crucial component of the prestressed internal bracing in subway foundation pits.However,only a few studies have been conducted on the bearing capacity of the joints;moreover,the yield load and compression stiffness of DCJDs are typically determined from experience.The aim of this study was to quantitatively determine the bearing capacity and propose accurate formulas for calculating the yield load and compression stiffness of DCJDs.Hence,a DCJD was selected from a foundation pit in Beijing,China,and loading experiments were conducted under axial force.Load–displacement and load–strain curves were obtained,and the failure modes of the joint were analyzed.The experimental results were verified through several finite element models.Subsequently,parametric analyses were performed to investigate the effects of the dimensions of the key position on the DCJD’s bearing capacities.Moreover,regression analysis was used to obtain the formulae for estimating the initial compression stiffness and yield load of the DCJD.Finally,the fitting formulae results were compared with the numerical and experimental results.The comparisons showed that the fitting formulae were highly accurate in estimating the bearing capacity of the DCJD.