Comparative Analysis of Statistical Thickness Models for the Determination of the External Specific Surface and the Surface of the Micropores of Materials: The Case of a Clay Concrete Stabilized Using Sugar Cane Molasses

In this work, four empirical models of statistical thickness, namely the models of Harkins and Jura, Hasley, Carbon Black and Jaroniec, were compared in order to determine the textural properties (external surface and surface of micropores) of a clay concrete without molasses and clay concretes stabilized with 8%, 12% and 16% molasses. The results obtained show that Hasley’s model can be used to obtain the external surfaces. However, it does not allow the surface of the micropores to be obtained, and is not suitable for the case of simple clay concrete (without molasses) and for clay concretes stabilized with molasses. The Carbon Black, Jaroniec and Harkins and Jura models can be used for clay concrete and stabilized clay concrete. However, the Carbon Black model is the most relevant for clay concrete and the Harkins and Jura model is for molasses-stabilized clay concrete. These last two models augur well for future research.

Evaluation of surface textures and skid resistance of pervious concrete pavement

Surface textures had long been recognized as primary factors to provide the skid resistance on pavements; however, no measurement of skid resistance on pervious concrete pavement with various surface texture parameters had been made. Fractal geometry was introduced in the present work to accurately simulate transect contour curves of pervious concrete specimens through fractal interpolation. It is proved that its fractal dimension (D) can be adopted to measure the skid resistance on pervious concrete pavement, overcoming the shortcomings of both macrotexture depth (DT ) and British portable pendulum number (NBP). Combined with Fujikawa-Koike tire/road contact model, the optimization method of all surface textures was recommended for designing and constructing excellently skid-resistant and noise-absorptive pervious concrete pavement. In addition, evaluating of the abrasion process and attenuation of the surface textures on concrete pavement slabs was also the focus of this work based on accelerated abrasion test. Results show that the surface textures on pervious concrete pavement slabs is extremely durable, compared to those on conventional grooved or exposed aggregate concrete pavement slabs.

Peeling behavior and spalling resistance of CFRP sheets bonded to bent concrete surfaces

In this paper, the peeling behavior and the spalling resistance effect of carbon fiber reinforced polymer （CFRP） sheets externally bonded to bent concrete surfaces are firstly investigated experimentally. Twenty one curved specimens and seven plane specimens are studied in the paper, in which curved specimens with bonded CFRP sheets can simulate the concrete spalling in tunnel, culvert, arch bridge etc., whereas plane specimens with bonded CFRP sheets can simulate the concrete spalling in beam bridge, slab bridge and pedestrian bridge. Three kinds of curved specimens with different radii of curvature are chosen by referring to practical tunnel structures, and plane specimens are used for comparison with curved ones. A peeling load is applied on the FRP sheet by loading a circular steel tube placed into the central notch of beam to debond CFRP sheets from the bent concrete surface, meanwhile full-range load-deflection curves are recorded by a MTS 831.10 Elastomer Test System. Based on the experimental results, a theoretical analysis is also conducted for the specimens. Both theoretical and experimental results show that only two material parameters, the interfacial fracture energy of CFRP-concrete interface and the tensile stiffness of CFRP sheets, are needed for describing the interfacial spalling behavior. It is found that the radius of curvature has remarkable influence on peeling load-deflection curves. The test methods and test results given in the paper are helpful and available for reference to the designer of tunnel strengthening.

Texturing and evaluation of concrete pavement surface:A state-of-the-art review

Concrete pavement is accompanied by two major functional properties,namely noise emission and friction,which are closely related to pavement surface texture.While several technologies have been developed to mitigate tirepavement noise and improve driving friction by surface texturization,limited information is available to compare the advantages and disadvantages of different surface textures.In this study,a state-of-the-art and state-of-thepractice review is conducted to investigate the noise reduction and friction improvement technologies for concrete pavement surfaces.The commonly used tests for characterizing the surface texture,skid resistance,and noise emission of concrete pavement were first summarized.Then,the texturing methods for both fresh and hardened concrete pavement surfaces were discussed,and the friction,noise emission and durability performances of various surface textures were compared.It is found that the next generation concrete surface(NGCS)texture generally provides the best noise emission performance and excellent friction properties.The exposed aggregate concrete(EAC)and optimized diamond grinding textures are also promising alternatives.Lastly,the technical parameters for the application of both diamond grinding and diamond grinding&grooving textures were recommended based on the authors'research and practical experience in Germany and the US.This study offers a convenient reference to the pavement researchers and engineers who seek to quickly understand relevant knowledge and choose the most appropriate surface textures for concrete pavements.

Effectiveness of Surface Coatings Against Intensified Sewage Corrosion of Concrete

Three different kinds of coatings were coated on the concrete surface, and the changes in appearance, surface roughness, microstructure and components of coatings in artificial sewage were investigated. In addition, the strength, micrograph, mineral compositions and pore structure of concrete specimens after removing coatings were also studied. The results show that epoxy coal tar pitch coating(ECTPC) has the best effect of protecting concrete from the sewage corrosion. After being immersed in sewage for 90 days, the compressive strength of concrete coated with ECTPC is still as high as that of specimen immersed in water, and the cement paste has a high CH content and dense structure with low porosity, which mainly accounts for its excellent barrier property and certain antibacterial function. Cement-based bactericidal coating(CBC) also has good effectiveness to sewage corrosion of concrete. The strength and microstructure of concrete coated with CBC in sewage are still significantly superior to those of uncoated concrete. Although cement-based capillary crystalline waterproofing coating(CCCWC) is a good waterproof material, it is not suitable for the corrosion resistance of concrete in sewage. After 2 months corrosion, almost all of the CH crystals in coating reacted with the metabolic acid substance by microbes. Therefore, the strength and pore structure of concrete coated with CCCWC are only slightly superior to those of uncoated concrete. Overall, the protective effect of cement-based inorganic coatings is relatively poor.

Mechanical and Permeability Analysis and Optimization of Recycled Aggregate Pervious Concrete Based on Response Surface Method

In this paper,the effects of different influencing factors and factor interaction on the compressive strength and permeability of recycled aggregate pervious concrete(RAPC)were studied based on the response surface method(RSM).By selecting the maximum aggregate size,water cement ratio and target porosity as design variables,combined with laboratory tests and numerical analysis,the influences of three factors on the compressive strength and permeability coefficient of RAPC were revealed.The regression equation of compressive strength and permeability coefficient of recycled aggregate pervious concrete were established based on RSM,and the response surface model was optimized to determine the optimal ratio of RAPC under the conditions of meeting the mechanical and permeability properties.The results show that the mismatch item of the model is not significant,the model is credible,and the accuracy and reliability of the test are high,but the degree of uncorrelation between the test data and the model is not obvious.The sensitivity of the three factors to the compressive strength is water cement ratio>maximum coarse aggregate particle size>target porosity,and the sensitivity to the permeability coefficient is target porosity>maximum coarse aggregate particle size>water cement ratio.The absolute errors of the model prediction results and the model optimization results are 1.28 MPa and 0.19 mm/s,and the relative errors are 5.06%and 4.19%,respectively.With high accuracy,RSM can match the measured results of compressive strength and permeability coefficient of RAPC.

A COMPACT AND HANDHELD SURFACE PENETRATING RADAR FOR THE DETECTION OF REINFORCED CONCRETE STRUCTURES

Surface Penetrating Radar (SPR) is a recently developed technology for non-destructive testing. It can be used to image and interpret the inner structure of the reinforced concrete. This paper gives the details about a compact and handheld SPR developed recently for reinforced concrete structure detection. The center operation frequency of the radar is 1.6 GHz. Not only it has fast acquisition ability, but also it can display the testing result on the LCD screen in real-time. The testing results show that the radar has a penetrating range of more than 30 cm, and a lateral resolution better than 5 cm. The performance validates that the radar can meet the application requirements for reinforced concrete structure detection.

Study on calculation method of surface subsidence about the dewatering concretion of clay influenced by mining

Under the condition of thick alluvia, there is biggish declination in predicting the coal mining subsidence by commonly strip design method compared with the practical observation, the sinkage is much smaller. Based on the method of the probability integral about coal mining subsidence calculation, discussed the surface subsidence calculation and deduced the formulas caused by the clay with dewatering. The results show that the clay dewatering has great impact on surface subsidence. Therefore, the clay dewatering on surface subsidence should not be overlooked.

The Influence of Atmospheric Pressure on Air Content and Pore Structure of Air-entrained Concrete

To study the effect of atmospheric pressure on the properties of fresh and hardened airentrained concrete, three kinds of air entraining agents were used for preparing air-entrained concrete in the plateaus(Lhasa, 61 kPa) and the plains(Beijing, 101 kPa). Air content, slump, compressive strength and pore structure of the three air-entrained concretes were tested in these two places. It is found that the air content of concrete under low atmospheric pressure(LAP) is 4%-36% lower than that of concrete under normal atmospheric pressure(NAP), which explaines the decrease of slump for air-entrained concrete under LAP. Pore number of hardened concrete under LAP is reduced by 48%-69%. While, the proportion of big pores(pore diameter >1 200 μm) and air void spacing factor are increased by 1.5%-7.3% and 51%-92%, respectively. The deterioration of pore structure results in a 3%-9% reduction in the compressive strength of concrete. From the results we have obtained, it can be concluded that the increase of critical nucleation energy of air bubbles and the decrease of volumetric compressibility coefficient of air in the concrete are responsible for the variation of air content and pore structure of concrete under LAP.

Effect of Aluminum Tri-polyphosphate on Corrosion Behavior of Reinforcing Steel in Seawater Prepared Coral Concrete

Atri-polyphosphate was used as a corrosion inhibitor in the seawater prepared coral concrete, and its influence on the corrosion behavior of carbon steel, 304 austenitic stainless steel, and 2205 duplex stainless steel was studied by the open-circuit potential, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and potentiodynamic polarization, respectively. The results reveal that the corrosion potential and impedance of the reinforcing steel increase, while the corrosion current density decreases with the content of aluminum tripolyphosphate in the coral concrete. A low content of the corrosion inhibitor significantly retards the corrosion of the two stainless steels, but it cannot effectively inhibit the corrosion of the carbon steel in the coral concrete.In general, the carbon steel is unsuitable for the coral concrete for its poor corrosion resistance. In contrast,the stainless steels, especially the 2205 duplex stainless steel, shows an excellent anti-corrosion property in the seawater prepared coral concrete containing a certain amount of inhibitor, which is one of the satisfactory candidate methods to build the long-life coral concrete constructions.

Air-void parameters measurement of fresh concrete and hardened concrete

Air content, spacing factor and specific surface of fresh concrete and hardened concrete with different air contents, slumps and mineral admixtures (fly ash, slag, fly ash + slag, fly ash + slag + silica fume composite) were studied by the air-void analyzer (AVA) method and the microscopical method. The correlations between the test results obtained from different methods were analyzed. The results show that, there is a close correlation of air content and spacing factor between the fresh concrete and the hardened concrete, but the specific surface correlation is weak. The air content of concrete measured by the AVA method is smaller than that of the pressure method and the microscopical method, because AVA device captures only the air voids with the size smaller than 3 mm. Spacing factor of the fresh concrete measured by the AVA method is greater than that of the hardened concrete measured by the microscopical method, while the specific surface is smaller. When the criterion of 4%-7% air content measured by the pressure method and microscopical method is acceptable for concrete freezing-thawing (F-T) durability in cold weather, the air content measured by the AVA method should be 2.4%-4.6%. For the concrete F-T durability, when the criterion of the spacing factor measured by the microscopical method is 300 μm, the spacing factor measured by the AVA method should be 360 μm.

Dynamic and Seismic Property Experiments of High Damping Concrete and Its Frame Models

The loss tangent and storage modulus of cement mortar containing treated silica fume and styrene-acrylic are measured. Shaking table tests on three groups of 1/4 models of high damping concrete frames are conducted to compare the effects of reducing vibration. A relationship between the viscosity coefficient of high damping concrete and the damping coefficient of structure is established by analyzing dynamic parameters like damping ratio and frequency, and comparing responses of relative displacement and absolute acceleration. Surface treatment of silica fume and styrene-acrylic emulsion prior to incorporation in a cement mortar increases the loss tangent of the resulting composite by 40-400% as compared to the cement mortar without any admixtures, and the damping ratio of the reinforced concrete is raised by 7%-9%. In addition, a theoretical method of determining the viscosity coefficient of the material on the basis of shaking table test results is put forward.

Air-void Parameters Measurement of Fresh Concrete

To explore the method to evaluate air-void parameters of fresh concrete rapidly, the spacing factor and specific surface of freshly mixed concrete of different air contents, different slumps and different mineral admixtures （fly ash, fly ash-slag, fly ash-slag-silica fume composite） are studied by air-void analyzer （AVA）, and the correlation between the air content measured by AVA and air content determinator is compared. The results show that the spacing factor of the fresh concrete decreases firstly and then increases with the increase of air content, however the specific surface has the opposite rule. When the air content is more than 8%, the spacing factor of fresh concrete increases and the specific surface decreases. For the fresh concrete samples with similar air content, the specific surface increases firstly and then decreases with the increase of slump, but the spacing factor decreases firstly and then increases. Mineral admixalre can reduce the spacing factor of fresh concrete and increase the specific surface to some degree. There is a good correlation between the air content measured by two methods, and the air content measured by AVA is about 70% of the air content measured by the air content determinator.

Connection between Concrete Layers with Different Strengths

As part of a research intending to develop steel-concrete hybrid girder using ultra high performance concrete with compressive strength of 80 MPa, this study conducts loading test on this girder to investigate the methods for its composition with a slab using 30 MPa-concrete and the corresponding interfacial behavior. Prior to the loading test, the design formula of the Eurocode for the shear resistance developed in concrete-to-concrete interface is examined for the interface between concrete layers of different strengths. The effect of the surface roughness on the shear resistance is examined using this formula and finite element analysis to verify the applicability of the formula. Based upon the results, loading test is conducted on girder specimens to evaluate the actual behavior with respect to the interfacial surface condition. The test results reveal that the specimen with rough interface could not develop perfectly composite behavior and experienced adhesive failure. In case of simultaneous action of flexure and shear, it appears that conservative design should be applied without consideration of the interfacial condition when determining the arrangement of shear reinforcement.

Quasi-plane-hypothesis of strain coordination for RC beams seismically strengthened with externally-bonded or near-surface mounted fiber reinforced plastic

The application of fiber reinforced plastic（FRP）,including carbon FRP and glass FRP,for structural repair and strengthening has grown due to their numerous advantages over conventional materials such as externally bonded reinforcement（EBR） and near-surface mounted（NSM） strengthening techniques.This paper summarizes the results from 21 reinforced concrete beams strengthened with different methods,including externally-bonded and near-surface mounted FRP,to study the strain coordination of the FRP and steel rebar of the RC beam.Since there is relative slipping between the RC beam and the FRP,the strain of the FRP and steel rebar of the RC beam satisfy the quasi-plane-hypothesis;that is,the strain of the longitudinal fiber that parallels the neutral axis of the plated beam within the scope of the effective height（h 0） of the cross section is in direct proportion to the distance from the fiber to the neutral axis.The strain of the FRP and steel rebar satisfies the equation：ε FRP =βε steel,and the value of β is equal to 1.1-1.3 according to the test results.

Anisotropic Damage Mechanics Modeling of Concrete under Biaxial Fatigue Loading

An anisotropic damage mechanics model is presented to describe the behavior and failure of concrete under biaxial fatigue loading. Utilizing the approach of bounding surfaces, the limit surface becomes a special case when the number of loading cycles is set to one. By increasing the number of loading cycles, the strength of concrete gradually decreases and the limit surface is allowed to contract and form new curves representing residual strengths. The magnitude of loading, load range, and the load path are known to influence the fatigue life and hence are addressed in this formulation. In this paper, a strength softening function is proposed in order to address the reduction in the strength of concrete due to fatigue. Separate softening functions are also proposed to account for the deformation characteristics in concrete under cyclic loading. Numerical simulations predicted by the model in both uniaxial and biaxial stress paths show a good correlation with the experimental data available in the literature.

Enhancing Concrete Properties Using Silica Fume:Optimized Mix Design

In the current work concrete mixes containing(7.0-33.11)weight%silica fume as fractional substitution of cement with water/cement ratio(0.42-0.48)were formulated conferring to an implemented two factorial central composite design.The samples were water cured for 7,28,56,and 90 days.The samples were tested for compressive strength and density.The experimental results approved that compressive strength and density increase with age and with rising silica fume content up to 11.9 wt.%.Response surface analysis results for samples cured for 28 days confirmed that silica fume concrete with developed compressive strength(53.42 MPa)could be prepared by incorporation of 11.9 wt.%silica fume as a substituent for cement using a 0.42 water/cement ratio.An intensification in compressive strength and density(up to 39.3%and 2.6%)respectively was recorded for silica fume concrete mixes in contrast to Portland cement concrete.Overall,the research findings revealed that silica fume concretes prepared with appropriate silica fume content and water/cement ratio exhibited superior strength and density features candidate them to be used effectively in civil engineering structural applications.

Concrete Compressive Strength Estimation by Means of Nondestructive Testing: A Case Study

Estimation of the mechanical properties of concrete in an existing structure is possible with the results of surface hardness and ultrasound tests (nondestructive tests (NDTs)). For both the use of correlation curves is necessary, it is established between NDT and the results of the compressive strength of test specimens or extracted from structure. The objective of this study is to produce correlations between the results of surface hardness and ultrasound NDTs and the compressive strength of the structural concrete in the bleachers of a soccer stadium in the city of Cianorte, which is located in the northwest part of the state of Paraná, Brazil. This concrete structure, which is approximately 26 years old, has some defects, such as corrosion, concrete segregation and cracks. Concrete spalling in one of the slabs has recently raised some concern. Another significant issue is the absence of records regarding concreting of the bleachers’ structure. Therefore, mapping the reinforcement was initially performed according to the results of a surface hardness test, as recommended by standard [1]. An ultrasound test was simultaneously performed according to standard [2] for the same points employed in the surface hardness test. The concrete specimens were extracted according to the recommendations of standard [1] to determine compressive strength, perform the NDT and construct the correlation curves for the results. A total of 26 concrete specimens were obtained from all structures of the bleachers. From the methodology and the results of the study, highly reliable equations were obtained from the correlation curves among the compressive strength of the concrete specimens and the values of the surface hardness index and the ultrasound wave propagation velocity.

Shear Behavior in Indented Concrete Layers with Different Strengths

This paper investigates the design formula for the shear strength at the concrete-to-concrete interface proposed in Eurocode with regard to concrete layers with different strengths. Based upon the results of the study on the applicability of the design formula, push-off test is conducted on specimens with various indented interfaces to evaluate the actual behavior with respect to the surface roughness. The experimental results reveal that the interfacial shear strength increases with higher compressive strength of the concrete layers presenting different strengths and that the shear strength at the indented interface differs by 20% to 50% compared to the value predicted by the design formula. Especially, the shear strength developed between the concrete layers with different strengths appears to be different from the prediction of the design formula as much as the layers present larger difference in their compressive strengths.

Evaluation of the performance of surface treatments on concrete durability

This paper reports on a laboratory-based study carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of surface treatments on the durability of concrete and suggests a number of different evaluation methodologies for assessing the performance of various surface treatments. Durability of untreated and treated concrete specimens was evaluated by measuring chloride diffusion,charge passing capacity,air permeability and water absorption. A total of six concrete surface treatments were selected to represent different generic types,including coating,penetrant and mixed-use treatments. Results show that the concrete specimens with a coating procedure have a better long-term performance and effectiveness than the specimens with the penetrant treatments. This work also indicates that the wetting and drying cycles test can be used to assess the weatherability of the surface treatments. The ASTM C 1202 and the Autoclam air permeability test can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of surface treatments quantitatively. Further work is needed,however,to assess the longevity of the various surface treatments.