Effects of binder strength and aggregate size on the compressive strength and void ratio of porous concrete

To test the influence of binder strength, porous concretes with 4 binder strengths between 30.0-135.0 MPa and 5 void ratios between 15%-35% were tested. The results indicated that for the same aggregate, the rates of strength reduction due to the increases in void ratio were the same for binders with different strengths. To study the influence of aggregate size, 3 single size aggregates with nominal sizes of 5.0, 13.0 and 20.0 mm （Nos. 7, 6 and 5 according to JIS A 5001） were used to make porous concrete. The strengths of porous concrete are found to be dependent on aggregate size. The rate of strength reduction of porous concrete with small aggregate size is found to be higher than that with larger aggregate size. At the same void ratio, the strength of porous concrete with large aggregate is larger than that with small aggregate. The general equations for porous concrete are related to compressive strength and void ratio for different binder strengths and aggregate sizes.

Compressive and tensile strength of polymer-based fiber composite sand

Traditional soil additives like Portland cement and lime are prone to cause the brittle fracture behavior of soil,and possibly,environmental impacts.This study explores the potential use of polyurethane organic polymer and sisal fiber in improving the mechanical performance of sand.The effects of polymer content,fiber content,and dry density on the unconfined compressive strength(UCS)and direct tensile strength(DTS)of the polymer-fiber-sand composite were evaluated.The results showed significant increase in UCS and DTS of the reinforced sand with the increase of polymer content,fiber content,and dry density.At high dry density condition,a single peaked stress−strain curve is often observed.Higher polymer content is beneficial to increasing the peak stress,while higher fiber content contributes more to the post-peak stress.The combined use of polymers and fibers in soil reinforcement effectively prevents the propagation and development of cracks under the stress.Scanning electron microscopy(SEM)test was also performed to investigate the micro-structural changes and inter-particle relations.It was found through SEM images that the surface coating,bonding,and filling effects conferred by polymer matrix greatly enhance the interfacial interactions,and hence provide a cohesive environment where the strength of fibers could be readily mobilized.

Effect of natural and synthetic fibers reinforcement on California bearing ratio and tensile strength of clay

Use of environmentally friendly approaches with the purpose of strengthening soil layers along with finding correlations between the mechanical characteristics of fiber-reinforced soils such as indirect tensile strength(ITS)and California bearing ratio(CBR)and as well as the evaluation of shear strength parameters obtained from the triaxial test would be very effective at geotechnical construction sites.This research was aimed at investigating the influence of natural fibers as sustainable ones including basalt(BS)and bagasse(BG)as well as synthetic polyester(PET)fibers on the strength behavior of clayey soil.To this end,the effects of various fiber contents(0.5%,1%and 2%)and lengths(2.5 mm,5 mm and 7.5 mm)were experimentally evaluated.By conducting ITS and CBR tests,it was found that increasing fiber content and length had a significant influence on CBR and ITS values.Moreover,2%of 7.5 mm-long fibers led to the largest values of CBR and ITS.The CBR values of soil reinforced with PET,BS,and BG fibers were determined as 19.17%,15.43%and 13.16%,respectively.The ITS values of specimens reinforced with PET,BS,and BG fibers were reported as 48.57 kPa,60.7 kPa and 47.48 kPa,respectively.The results of the triaxial compression test revealed that with the addition of BS fibers,the internal friction angle increased by about 100%,and with the addition of PET fibers,the cohesion increased by about 70%.Moreover,scanning electron microscope(SEM)analysis was employed to confirm the findings.The relationship between CBR and ITS values,obtained via statistical analysis and used for the optimum design of road pavement layers,demonstrated that these parameters had high correlation coefficients.The outcomes of multiple linear regression and sensitivity analysis also confirmed that the fiber content had a greater effect on CBR and ITS values than fiber length.

Influence of yield-to-tensile strength ratio(Y/T) on failure assessment of defect-free and corroded X70 steel pipeline

The effect of yield-to-tensile strength ratio(Y/T) on failure pressure of X70 pipeline without and with corrosion defects was investigated.The stress-strain response of materials was characterized by a power-law hardening curve.Two formulas to estimate the strain hardening exponent n for a special Y/T were obtained by least squared regression method and the influence of Y/T on n was analyzed.As an application of n-Y/T expression,the analytical solutions of burst pressure for X70 pipeline without and with corrosion defects were also obtained.The results indicate that the burst pressure of defect-free X70 pipe without corrosion defects is a function of the Y/T,pipe geometry t0/D0 and engineering tensile strength,and increases as Y/T or t0/D0 increases; whilst the burst pressure of corroded X70 pipe decreases with the increase of defect depths,d/t.Comparisons indicate that the present analytical solutions closely match available experimental and numerical data.

Equal Volumes of Sand and Gravel Concrete Mix Ratios in Cameroon and Its Effect on Concrete Compressive Strength

In recent years, the rationalization of concrete mix ratios which batches equal volumes of sand and gravel in building projects has been gaining grounds in the Cameroon construction industry. The main objective of this study is therefore to investigate if the concrete produced with rationalized mix ratio can be adopted as conventional mix ratio in terms of minimum required compression strength of concrete for buildings. Specifically this work compared the conventional mix ratio of 350 kg of cement: 400 liters of sand: 800 liters of gravel for a cubic meter and the rationalized batch of 350 kg of cement: 600 liters of sand: 600 liters of 5/15 gravel, 15/25 gravel and a combination of 5/15 + 15/25 gravel. Average compressive tests’results for both the conventional and the rationalized mix ratios were found to meet the minimum compressive strength of 65% at 7 days, 90% at 14 days and 99% at 28 days for gravel size combination 5/15 + 15/25. Single size gravel of 5/15 and 15/25 did not meet the minimum required compressive strength of 20 N/mm2 for the rationalized mix ratio at 28 days curing based on the minimum compressive strength required, this study arrives at the conclusion that the equal volumes of sand and gravel mix ratio of 350 kg/m3 of cement: 600 liters of sand: 600 liters of gravel mix ratio can be adopted as a conventional concrete mix ratio for gravel size 5/15 + 15/25.

Comparison of Compressive and Tensile Strength of Baked Clay with Those of Normal Concrete

Due to high cost of aggregates, cement and steel in plain regions of Pakistan, low income people are unable to get their houses constructed using Reinforced Cement Concrete (RCC). In this study, potential of baked clay as an economical material of building construction is investigated in order to replace normal concrete. For this purpose, compressive strength and tensile strength of baked clay fired at 1000℃ were determined. The results show that the compressive strength and tensile strength of baked clay are about 65%, and 80% more than those of corresponding values of normal concrete, respectively. This implies that by utilizing reinforced baked clay instead of RCC, saving of cement aggregates and reinforcing steel could be achieved.

Dynamic rock tensile strengths of Laurentian granite: Experimental observation and micromechanical model

Tensile strength is an important material property for rocks. In applications where rocks are subjected to dynamic loads, the dynamic tensile strength is the controlling parameter. Similar to the study of static tensile strength, there are various methods proposed to measure the dynamic tensile strength of rocks.Here we examine dynamic tensile strength values of Laurentian granite(LG) measured from three methods: dynamic direct tension, dynamic Brazilian disc(BD) test, and dynamic semi-circular bending(SCB). We found that the dynamic tensile strength from direct tension has the lowest value, and the dynamic SCB gives the highest strength at a given loading rate. Because the dynamic direct tension measures the intrinsic rock tensile strength, it is thus necessary to reconcile the differences in strength values between the direct tension and the other two methods. We attribute the difference between the dynamic BD results and the direct tension results to the overload and internal friction in BD tests. The difference between the dynamic SCB results and the direct tension results can be understood by invoking the non-local failure theory. It is shown that, after appropriate corrections, the dynamic tensile strengths from the two other tests can be reduced to those from direct tension.

Distribution and tensile strength of Hornbeam （Carpinus betulus） roots growing on slopes of Caspian Forests, Iran

Biomechanical characteristics of the root system of hornbeam （Carpinus betulus） were assessed by measuring Root Area Ratio （RAR） values and tensile strength of root specimens of eight hornbeam trees growing on hilly terrain of Northern Iran. RAR values of the roots were obtained using profile trenching method at soil depth of the top 0.1 m. In total 123 root specimens were analyzed for tensile strength. Results indicate that in general, RAR decreases with depth, following a power function. The RAR values in up and down slopes have no significant statistical differences. In most cases, the maximum RAR values were located in soil depth of the top 0.1 m, with maximum rooting depth at about 0.75 m. The minimum and maximum RAR values along the profiles were 0.004% and 6.431% for down slope and 0.004% and 3.995% for up slope, respectively. The number of roots in the up and down slope trenches was not significantly different. In the same manner as for RAR, number of roots distributing with depth was satisfactorily approximated a power function. The penetration depths of above 90 percent of the roots were at soil depths of 50 cm and 60 cm for up and down slopes, respectively. Results of Spearman＇s bivariate correlation showed no significant correlation between the RAR value with tree diameter and gradient of slope and number of roots. The mean value of root tensile strength was 31.51 ± 1.05 MPa and root tensile strength decreased with the increase in root diameter, following a power law equation. Using ANCOVA, we found intraspecies variation of tensile strength.

Distribution and tensile strength of Hornbeam(Carpinus betulus) roots growing on slopes of Caspian Forests,Iran

Biomechanical characteristics of the root system of hornbeam(Carpinus betulus) were assessed by measuring Root Area Ratio(RAR) values and tensile strength of root specimens of eight hornbeam trees growing on hilly terrain of Northern Iran.RAR values of the roots were obtained using profile trenching method at soil depth of the top 0.1 m.In total 123 root specimens were analyzed for tensile strength.Results indicate that in general, RAR decreases with depth, following a power function.The RAR values in up and down slopes have no significant statistical differences.In most cases, the maximum RAR values were located in soil depth of the top 0.1 m, with maximum rooting depth at about 0.75 m.The minimum and maximum RAR values along the profiles were 0.004% and 6.431% for down slope and 0.004% and 3.995% for up slope, respectively.The number of roots in the up and down slope trenches was not significantly different.In the same manner as for RAR, number of roots distributing with depth was satisfactorily approximated a power function.The penetration depths of above 90 percent of the roots were at soil depths of 50 cm and 60 cm for up and down slopes, respectively.Results of Spearman's bivariate correlation showed no significant correlation between the RAR value with tree diameter and gradient of slope and number of roots.The mean value of root tensile strength was 31.51 ± 1.05 MPa and root tensile strength decreased with the increase in root diameter, follow-ing a power law equation.Using ANCOVA, we found intraspecies variation of tensile strength.

Dynamic compressive strength and failure mechanisms of microwave damaged sandstone subjected to intermediate loading rate

To investigate the influence of microwave heating on the dynamic behavior and failure mechanisms of rock,dynamic compression tests were conducted on microwave-irradiated sandstone specimens using a modified split Hopkinson pressure bar(SHPB)system.Experimental results show that microwave radiation can effectively weaken the compressive strength of sandstone.Rock specimens show three different failure modes under impact load:tensile failure,tensile−shear composite failure and compressive−shear failure.The dynamic Poisson’s ratio,calculated using the measured P-and S-wave velocities,is introduced to describe the deformation characteristics of sandstone.With the increase in microwave power and heating time,the Poisson’s ratio declines first and then increases slightly,and the turning point occurs at 244.6℃.Moreover,the microstructural characteristics reveal that microwave radiation produces dehydration,pore expansion,and cracking of the rock.The damage mechanisms caused by microwave radiation are discussed based on thermal stress and steam pressure inside the rock,which provides a reasonable explanation for the experimental results.

Size effect on cubic and prismatic compressive strength of cement paste

A series of compression tests were conducted on 150 groups of cement paste specimens with side lengths ranging from 40 mm to 200 mm. The specimens include cube specimens and prism specimens with height to width ratio of 2. The experiment results show that size effect exists in the cubic compressive strength and prismatic compressive strength of the cement paste, and larger specimens resist less in terms of strength than smaller ones. The cubic compressive strength and the prismatic compressive strength of the specimens with side length of 200 mm are respectively about 91% and 89% of the compressive strength of the specimens with the side length of 40 mm. Water to binder ratio has a significant influence on the size effect of the compressive strengths of the cement paste. With a decrease in the water to binder ratio, the size effect is significantly enhanced. When the water to binder ratio is 0.2, the size effects of the cubic compressive strength and the prismatic compressive strength of the cement paste are 1.6 and 1.4 times stronger than those of a water to binder ratio of 0.6. Furthermore, a series of formulas are proposed to calculate the size effect of the cubic compressive strength and the prismatic compressive strength of cement paste, and the results of the size effect predicted by the formulas are in good agreement with the experiment results.

Tensile strength of sea ice using splitting tests based on the digital image correlation method

The splitting test is a competitive alternative method to study the tensile strength of sea ice owing to its suitability for sampling.However,the approach was questioned to the neglect of local plastic deformation during the tests.In this study,splitting tests were performed on sea ice,with 32 samples subjected to the regular procedure and 8 samples subjected to the digital image correlation method.The salinity,density,and temperature were measured to determine the total porosity.With the advantage of the digital image correlation method,the full-field deformation of the ice samples could be determined.In the loading direction,the samples mainly deformed at the ice-platen contact area.In the direction vertical to the loading,deformation appears along the central line where the splitting crack occurs.Based on the distribution of the sample deformation,a modified solution was derived to calculate the tensile strength with the maximum load.Based on the modified solution,the tensile strength was further calculated together with the splitting test results.The results show that the tensile strength has a negative correlation with the total porosity,which agrees with previous studies based on uniaxial tension tests.

Static and dynamic tensile failure characteristics of rock based on splitting test of circular ring

Static and dynamic splitting tests were conducted on ring marble specimens with different internal diameters to study the tensile strength and failure modes with the change of the ratio of internal radius to external radius （ρ） under different loading rates. The results show that the dynamic tensile strength of disc rock specimen is approximately five times its static tensile strength. The failure modes of ring specimens are related to the dimension of the internal hole and loading rate. Under static loading tests, when the ratio of internal radius to external radius of the rock ring is small enough （ρ〈0.3）, specimens mostly split along the diametral loading line. With the increase of the ratio, the secondary cracks are formed in the direction perpendicular to the loading line. Under dynamic loading tests, specimens usually break up into four pieces. When the ratio ρreaches 0.5, the secondary cracks are formed near the input bar. The tensile strength calculated by Hobbs’ formula is greater than the Brazilian splitting strength. The peak load and the radius ratio show a negative exponential relationship under static test. Using ring specimen to determine tensile strength of rock material is more like a test indicator rather than the material properties.

Strength regularity and failure criterion of plain HSHPC under biaxial compression after exposure to high temperatures

Biaxial compression tests are performed on 100 mm × 100 mm × 100 mm cubic specimens of plain high-strength highperformance concrete （HSHPC） at seven kinds of stress ratios, σ2：σ3 =0 ： - 1, -0.20 ： - 1, -0.30 ： - 1, -0.40 ： - 1, -0.50 ： -1, -0. 75 ： - 1, and - 1.00 ： - 1 after exposure to normal and high temperatures of 20, 200, 300, 400, 500 and 600 ℃, using a large static-dynamic true triaxial machine. Frictionreducing pads are three layers of plastic membranes with glycerine in-between for the compressive loading plane. Failure modes of the specimens are described. The two principally static compressive strengths are measured. The influences of the temperatures and stress ratios on the biaxial strengths of HSHPC after exposure to high temperatures are also analyzed. The experimental results show that the uniaxial compressive strength of plain HSHPC after exposure to high temperatures does not decrease completely with the increase in temperature; the ratios of the biaxial to its uniaxial compressive strengths depend on the stress ratios and brittleness-stiffness of HSHPC after exposure to different high temperatures. The formula of the Kupfer-Gerstle failure criterion modified with the temperature and stress ratio parameters for plain HSHPC is proposed.

High strain rate compressive strength behavior of cemented paste backfill using split Hopkinson pressure bar

The stability of cemented paste backfill(CPB)is threatened by dynamic disturbance,but the conventional low strain rate laboratory pressure test has difficulty achieving this research purpose.Therefore,a split Hopkinson pressure bar(SHPB)was utilized to investigate the high strain rate compressive behavior of CPB with dynamic loads of 0.4,0.8,and 1.2 MPa.And the failure modes were determined by macro and micro analysis.CPB with different cement-to-tailings ratios,solid mass concentrations,and curing ages was prepared to conduct the SHPB test.The results showed that increasing the cement content,tailings content,and curing age can improve the dynamic compressive strength and elastic modulus.Under an impact load,a higher strain rate can lead to larger increasing times of the dynamic compressive strength when compared with static loading.And the dynamic compressive strength of CPB has an exponential correlation with the strain rate.The macroscopic failure modes indicated that CPB is more seriously damaged under dynamic loading.The local damage was enhanced,and fine cracks were formed in the interior of the CPB.This is because the CPB cannot dissipate the energy of the high strain rate stress wave in a short loading period.

Additional water use influencing strength and fluidity of recycled concrete

Through adding different additional water use,the compressive strength,splitting tensile strength and fluidity of recycled concrete of three aggregate combination forms were studied by experiment respectively.The experimental results show that with the increase of adding additional water use,the compressive strength and splitting tensile strength of recycled coarse aggregate concrete decrease,but that of recycled fine aggregate concrete and recycled all aggregate concrete increase firstly then decrease.When additional water use is added more 15% or 20% than that of basic ordinary concrete,the recycled coarse aggregate concrete and fine one can get pretty good fluidity.When it is added more 30%,the recycled all aggregate concrete has fluidity that is just satisfied.

Experimental Study on Deterioration of Concrete Strength under Different Sub-high Temperature Cycles

Tests were carried out to study the strength deterioration of concrete cooled in air or by water after sub-high temperature at different level and varying with cycles. It is proved that the cross-shaped cracks turned up and extended little by little on the surface of specimen subjected to repeat sub-high temperature, the splitting failure is characterized by cross-shaped cracks after 30 cycles, the concrete strengths decrease rapidly at early stage and to be steady subsequently with the increase of the temperature cycles, the splitting-tensile strength is more sensitive to temperature cycles than the compressive strength, the decline of concrete strength is mainly controlled by the maximum temperature having reached, the ultrasonic velocity in concrete is also declined. On the basis of test results, the mechanisms of sub-high temperature to the strength deterioration of concrete are analyzed.The formulas for calculating the compressive and splitting-tensile strength of concrete relating to the variation of temperature are proposed.

Rock strength interval analysis using theory of testing blind data and interval estimation

The concepts of rock strength intervals are presented in this work, furthermore, central values of intervals and their corresponding credibility are provided using two-case study based on blind data theory and fuzzy interval estimation. 60 granite specimens are first tested, the compressive strength interval and tensile strength interval are [ 103.68, 219.6 l ] and [7.53, 11,86] MPa, while the tested mean values of compressive strength and tensile strength are 152.86 and 10.14 MPa, the credibilities are less than 58.4% and around 70.4%, respectively, the credibility of shear strength is between 40% and 60%. Then 70 other rock specimens are designed and tested, the similar conclusions can be reached. The results show that the conventional definite values are the particular values within the intervals, and the credibility of them often fails to reach the high-precision engineering requirement. The results demonstrate the feasibility and application potential of this proposed algorithm for the engineering practice. The references for engineering value selection of rock strength under different credibility or according to frequency distribution of central values are provided to increase the reliability and precision of calculation.

Effect of Surface Texture on Tensile Shear Strength of 1060Al-PET Welding Joints

Joining metal to plastic can lighten weight of products to reduce energy consumption.However,it is difficult to achieve high-strength welding between metal and plastic.To address this problem,the methods of surface texture pretreatment and laser irradiation welding was proposed to achieve the high-strength connection of metal and plastic.In this study,with different parameters of laser power and texture morphology,1060 Al with surface texture treatment was joined to polyethylene terephthalate(PET)by laser irradiation welding from metal side.Study showed that as the laser power increased,the tensile shear strength of joints increased first,and decreased thereafter.Tensile shear tests demonstrated that the mechanical force of joint was strengthened contributed to mechanical anchorage formed by surface texture.The depth-width ratio of the texture grooves affected the tensile shear process of the joint.According to the result of temperature simulation,the existence of texture grooves reduced the heat transfer efficiency,and the heat dissipation at interface was also impeded in course of laser welding.Finally,the maximum tensile strength of 1060Al-PET joint reached 48.4 MPa,which was close to the strength of PET matrix.The bonding mechanism of the 1060Al-PET joints was composed of mechanical bonding and chemical bonding.This study proposes an effective method to join metal to plastic which achieved high-strength connection between metal and plastic.

Effect of Iron Powder (Fe₂O₃) on Strength, Workability, and Porosity of the Binary Blended Concrete

In this study, the effect of iron powder (Fe2O3) on the compressive strength, tensile strength, workability, and porosity of the binary blended concrete were experimentally investigated. For this purpose, Portland cement was partially replaced by 1.5%, 2.5%, 3.5%, and 5% by weighing of iron powder. The amount of water-binder-ratio was considered constant. The workability of the fresh composite concrete was determined using cone Abrams method;mechanical properties were determined included compressive and tensile strengths at 7, 14, and 28 days and durability evaluated by water absorption and permeable porosity. It was observed that the compressive and tensile strengths change with the replacement of iron powder by up to 5%. However, the maximum improvement was gained at 2.5 wt% for compressive strength and 1.5 wt% for tensile strength. The workability of the fresh mixtures decreased when iron powder amount increased. It was observed that the porosity decreased respectively by 21.88% and 26.77% at 1.5 wt% and 2.5 wt% replacement. Moreover, this present study shows the importance and benefits to improve concrete properties by using micro-particles materials.