Hydraulic and volume change behaviors of compacted highly expansive soil under cyclic wetting and drying

The wide engineered application of compacted expansive soils necessitates understanding their behavior under field conditions.The results of this study demonstrate how seasonal climatic variation and stress and boundary conditions individually or collectively influence the hydraulic and volume change behavior of compacted highly expansive soils.The cyclic wetting and drying(CWD)process was applied for two boundary conditions,i.e.constant stress(CS)and constant volume(CV),and for a wide range of axial stress states.The adopted CWD process affected the hydraulic and volume change behaviors of expansive soils,with the first cycle of wetting and drying being the most effective.The CWD process under CS conditions resulted in shrinkage accumulation and reduction in saturated hydraulic conductivity(k sat).On the other hand,CWD under CV conditions caused a reduction of swell pressure while has almost no impact on k sat.An elastic response to CWD was achieved after the third cycle for saturated hydraulic conductivity(k sat),the third to fourth cycle for the volume change potential under the CV conditions,and the fourth to fifth cycle for the volume change potential under the CS conditions.Finally,both swell pressure(s s)and saturated hydraulic conductivity(k sat)are not fundamental parameters of the expansive soil but rather depend on stress,boundary and wetting conditions.

Volume change of macropores of titanium foams during sintering

The porosity of titanium foams obtained from the space holder technique was theoretically analyzed in the cases of volume shrinking, retaining and expanding during sintering. The relationship between porosity and spacer content was compared under different conditions. The kind of volume change of macropores during sintering was discussed. The results indicate that the relationship between porosity and spacer content depends on the decreased volume of macropores and the volume of micropores in cell-walls in the first case, while the porosity will be greater than the spacer content for the other two cases. It proves that the volume change of macropores during sintering decreases based on theory and practice.

Effect of volume changes on complete deformation behavior of rocks

For the purpose of describing the deformation characteristics of rocks,the effect of volume changes on mechanical properties of rocks should be taken into account with relation to the development of constitutive model.Firstly,rocks are divided into three parts,i.e.,voids,a damaged part and an undamaged part in the course of loading.The void ratio was applied to describing the changes of voids or pores during the deformation process.Then,using statistical damage theory,a constitutive model was developed for rocks to describe their strain softening and hardening on the basis of investigating the relationship between the net stress and apparent stress,in which the influence of volume changes on rock behavior was correctly taken into account,such as the initial phase of compaction and the latter stage of dilation.Thirdly,a method of determining model parameters was also presented.Finally,this model was used to compare the theoretical results with those observed from experiments under conventional triaxial loading conditions.

Mechanism of Calcined Phosphogypsum for the Volume Change of Blended Cement

The paper describes an investigation into the volume change of cement mortar specimen at the three kinds of different curing schedules including 20℃and 5% Na2SO4 solution curing, tap water standard curing, 50% RH curing for 90 days. The testing results of hydration heat, chemical shrinking and XRD prove that calcined phosphogypsum has evident excitation effect on the activity of high calcium ash and steel slag. Simultaneously, calcined phosphogypsum has the function of decreasing volume shrinkage to blended cement possessing steel slag and high calcium ash. In sulfate curing, calcined phosphogypsum can avoid the phenomenon of protrude apex of the blended cement.

Multi-dimensional hybrid flexible films promote uniform lithium deposition and mitigate volume change as lithium metal anodes

Lithium metal is the ultimate anode material for next-generation high-energy batteries.Yet,the practical application of lithium metal anodes is limited by the formation of Li dendrites and large volume changes.Herein,an effective multi-dimensional hybrid flexible film(MD-HFF)composed of iodine ion(0 dimension),CNTs(1 dimension)and graphene(2 dimensions)is designed for regulating Li deposition and mitigating volume changes.The multi-dimensional components serve separate roles:(1)iodine ion enhances the conductivity of the electrode and provides lithiophilic sites,(2)CNTs strengthen interlaminar conductance and mechanical strength,acting as a spring in the layered structure to alleviate volume changes during Li plating and stripping and(3)graphene provides mechanical flexibility and electrical conductivity.The resulting MD-HFF material supports stable Li plating/stripping and high Coulombic efficiency(99%)over 230 cycles at 1 mA cm^(-2) with a deposition capacity of 1 mAh cm^(-2).Theoretical calculations indicate that LiI contributes to the lateral growth of Li on the MD-HFF surface,thereby inhibiting the formation of Li dendrites.When paired with a typical NCM811 cathode,the assembled MD-HFF‖NCM811 cell exhibit improved capability and stable cycling performance.This research serves to guide material design in achieving Li anode materials that do not suffer from dendrite formation and volume changes.

Influence of Environmental Factors on the Volume Change of Blended Cement Containing Steel Slag

In the condition of 20℃, 5% sulfate liquor curing, standard tap water curing and 50% RH curing-three different curing environments, the volume change of steel slag blended cement influenced by environmental factors was studied. With steel slag addition 10%, 30%, 50%, from 90 days to 356 days, the relationship of shrinkage and three different curing environments is: dry curing environ-ment>tap water curing environment>sulfate curing environment. But, the sample shrinkage in 28 days has much difference with the curing environment, which has no obvious orderliness. The different effects on blended cement containing steel slag in different environmental factors were analyzed using SEM.

Self-assembled VS_(2) microflowers buffering volume change during charging and discharging towards high-performance zinc ion batteries

VS_(2) has attracted increasing attention as a cathode material for aqueous zinc ion batteries because of its proper large layer spacing,weak interlayer interactions,multiple valence states of V,and excellent electrical conductivity,but its large volume change during charging and discharging leads to poor cycling stability.Herein,we report a one-step hydrothermal synthesis of VS_(2) microflowers with proper lamellar spacing,which provides a stable framework for the insertion/deinsertion of zinc ions and enhances the cycling stability,delivering an initial charge capacity of 128.3 mAh g^(-1) at 3 A g^(-1) and maintains a charge capacity of 100.1 mAh g^(-1) after 900 cycles.In addition,the optimized VS_(2) cathode shows specific capacities of 215.7 and 150.5 mAh g^(-1) at the current densities of 0.1 and 2 A g^(-1),respectively,demonstrating that the microflower structure with a high specific surface area and a short diffusion distance also significantly enhances the rate performance.

Monitoring thickness and volume changes of the Dongkemadi Ice Field on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (1969-2000) using Shuttle Radar Topography Mission and map data

This paper presents the first measurement of multi-decadal thickness and volume changes(1969?2000)of the Dongkemadi Ice Field(DIF)in the Tanggula Mountains,central Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau,China,using multi-source remote sensing data.These include the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission(SRTM)Digital Elevation Model(DEM)acquired in February,2000,a DEM generated by digitising analogue topographic maps from 1969,and Landsat ETM?imagery from 2000.Digital glacier outlines and GIS-based processing were used to calculate an elevation difference map to evaluate the relative elevation error of these two DEMs over ice-free areas.This methodwas also used to identify regions of glacier elevation thinning and thickening corresponding to glacier mass loss and gain.Analysis of 67,520 points on flat grass and rock terrain surrounding the DIF,with a slope less than 258,showed a mean elevation difference of?0.90 m and a standard deviation of 5.58 m.A thickness change error within 96 m was estimated.Between 1969 and 2000,76.51%of the whole DIF area appeared to be thinning while 23.49%showed thickening.The average glacier surface thinning was?12.58 m with a standard deviation of 18.29 m and the estimated volume loss was 1.17 km 3.The standard deviation of volume change was 0.0006 km 3 over the DIF.A thinning rate up to 0.4190.194 m a?1 or 0.038 km 3 a?1 for the volume loss was observed for the whole ice field,which seems to be evidence for the ongoing retreat of glaciers on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.It was found that the spatial thickness change pattern derived from the remote sensing method was consistent with the thickness change results of the Small Dongkemadi Glacier(SDG)from field measurements.The estimated error of the annual thickness change rate was on the order of 5%.The relationship between elevation change and absolute glacier elevation over typical glaciers was also analysed,showing considerable variability.These changes have possibly resulted from increased temperature and decreased precipitation in this region.

Sulfide-Based All-Solid-State Lithium-Sulfur Batteries:Challenges and Perspectives

Lithium-sulfur batteries with liquid electrolytes have been obstructed by severe shuttle effects and intrinsic safety concerns.Introducing inorganic solid-state electrolytes into lithium-sulfur systems is believed as an effective approach to eliminate these issues without sacrificing the high-energy density,which determines sulfidebased all-solid-state lithium-sulfur batteries.However,the lack of design principles for high-performance composite sulfur cathodes limits their further application.The sulfur cathode regulation should take several factors including the intrinsic insulation of sulfur,well-designed conductive networks,integrated sulfur-electrolyte interfaces,and porous structure for volume expansion,and the correlation between these factors into account.Here,we summarize the challenges of regulating composite sulfur cathodes with respect to ionic/electronic diffusions and put forward the corresponding solutions for obtaining stable positive electrodes.In the last section,we also outlook the future research pathways of architecture sulfur cathode to guide the develop high-performance all-solid-state lithium-sulfur batteries.

Investigation on microstructure evolution of clayey soils: A review focusing on wetting/drying process

Variability in moisture content is a common condition in natural soils.It influences soil properties significantly.A comprehensive understanding of the evolution of soil microstructure in wetting/drying process is of great significance for interpretation of soil macro hydro-mechanical behavior.In this review paper,methods that are commonly used to study soil microstructure are summarized.Among them are scanning electron microscope(SEM),environmental SEM(ESEM),mercury intrusion porosimetry(MIP)and computed tomography(CT)technology.Moreover,progress in research on the soil microstructure evolution during drying,wetting and wetting/drying cycles is summarized based on reviews of a large body of research papers published in the past several decades.Soils compacted on the wet side of op-timum water content generally have a matrix-type structure with a monomodal pore size distribution(PSD),whereas soils compacted on the dry side of optimum water content display an aggregate structure that exhibits bimodal PSD.During drying,decrease in soil volume is mainly caused by the shrinkage of inter-aggregate pores.During wetting,both the intra-and inter-aggregate pores increase gradually in number and sizes.Changes in the characteristics of the soil pore structure significantly depend on stress state as the soil is subjected to wetting.During wetting/drying cycles,soil structural change is not completely reversible,and the generated cumulative swelling/shrinkage deformation mainly derives from macro-pores.Furthermore,based on this analysis and identified research needs,some important areas of research focus are proposed for future work.These areas include innovative methods of sample preparation,new observation techniques,fast quantitative analysis of soil structure,integration of microstructural parameters into macro-mechanical models,and soil microstructure evolution charac-teristics under multi-field coupled conditions.

An elevation change dataset in Greenland ice sheet from 2003 to 2020 using satellite altimetry data

ABSTRACT A decade-long pronounced increase in temperatures in the Arctic resulted in a global warming hotspot over the Greenland ice sheet(GrIS).Associated changes in the cryosphere were the consequence and led to a demand for monitoring glacier changes,which are one of the major parameters to analyze the responses of the GrIS to climate change.Long-term altimetry data(e.g.ICESat,CryoSat-2,and ICESat-2)can provide elevation changes over different periods,and many methods have been developed for altimetry alone to obtain elevation changes.In this work,we provided the long-term elevation change rate data of the GrIS in three different periods using ICESat data(from February 2003 to October 2009),Cryosat-2 data(from August 2010 to October 2018)and ICESat-2 data(from October 2018 to December 2020).Optimal methods were applied to the datasets collected by three different altimeters:crossover analysis for ICESat/ICESat-2 and the surface fit method for Cryosat-2.The data revealed that the elevation change rates of the GrIS were-12.19±3.81 cm/yr,-19.70±3.61 cm/yr and-23.39±3.06 cm/yr in the three different periods,corresponding to volume change rates of-210.20±25.34 km^(3)/yr,-339.11±24.01 km^(3)/yr and-363.33±20.37 km^(3)/yr,respectively.In general,the obtained results agree with the trends discovered by other studies that were also derived from satellite altimetry data.This dataset provides the basic data for research into the impact of climate change over the GrIS.The dataset is available at https://doi.org/10.57760/sciencedb.j00076.00121.

Thickness estimation of the Longbasaba Glacier:methods and application

A total of 71,177 glaciers exist on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau,according to the Randolph Glacier Inventory(RGI 6.0).Despite their large number,glacier ice thickness data are relatively scarce.This study utilizes digital elevation model data and ground-penetrating radar thickness measurements to estimate the distribution and variation of ice thickness of the Longbasaba Glacier using Glacier bed Topography(GlabTop),a full-width expansion model,and the Huss and Farinotti(HF)model.Results show that the average absolute deviations of GlabTop,the full-width expansion model,and the HF model are 9.8,15.5,and 10.9 m,respectively,indicating that GlabTop performs the best in simulating glacier thickness distribution.During 1980−2015,the Longbasaba Glacier thinned by an average of 7.9±1.3 m or 0.23±0.04 m/a,and its ice volume shrunk by 0.28±0.04 km3 with an average reduction rate of 0.0081±0.0001 km^3/a.In the investigation period,the area and volume of Longbasaba Lake expanded at rates of 0.12±0.01 km^2/a and 0.0132±0.0018 km3/a,respectively.This proglacial lake could potentially extend up to 5,000 m from the lake dam.

Experimental study on expansion and contraction of unsaturated porous asphalt mixture exposed to freeze-thaw cycles

The expansion and contraction of an open-graded friction course(OGFC)with a nominal maximum aggregate size of 13.2 mm(OGFC-13)with three air void contents(AVCs)and six saturation degrees(SDs)exposed to freeze-thaw(FT)cycles were measured using strain gauges.Cantabro tests were conducted on OGFC-13 specimens before and after FT cycles to evaluate the degradation of raveling resistance.The effects of SD,AVC,and the number of FT cycles on the expansion and contraction of OGFC-13 and degradation of raveling resistance were analyzed.Results show that OGFC with low water saturation will contract to stability during the freezing process,whereas fully saturated OGFC will contract first and then expand to be stable.OGFC with a medium saturation experienced three stages,namely,contraction,expansion,and contraction,during the freezing process.For the OGFC with a low SD,the decrease in the void content can effectively reduce the low temperature shrinkage.By contrast,for the OGFC with a high SD,lower void content produces more temperature shrinkage at the beginning of freezing and less expansion at the end of freezing.The decreases in SD and AVC can effectively improve the raveling resistance of OGFCs exposed to FT cycles.

A first-principle assisted framework for designing high elastocaloric Ni-Mn-based magnetic shape memory alloy

A large adiabatic temperature change(△T_(ad))is a prerequisite for the application of elastocaloric refriger-ation.Theoretically,a large volume change ratio(△V/V_(0))during martensitic transformation is favorable to enhance△T_(ad).However,the design or prediction of△V/V_(0)in experiments is a complex task because the structure of martensite changes simultaneously when the lattice parameter of austenite is tuned by mod-ifying chemical composition.So far,the solid strategy to tailor△V/V_(0)is still urgently desirable.In this work,a first-principles-based method was proposed to estimate△V/V_(0)for Ni-Mn-based alloys.With this method,the substitution of Ga for In is found to be an effective method to increase the value of△V/V_(0)for Ni-Mn-In alloys.Combined with the strategies of reducing the negative contribution of magnetic en-tropy change(via the substitution of Cu for Mn)and introducing strong crystallographic texture(through directional solidification),an outstanding elastocaloric prototype alloy of Ni_(50)(Mn_(28.5)Cu_(4.5))(In_(14)Ga_(3))was fabricated experimentally.At room temperature,a huge△T_(ad)of-19 K and a large specific adiabatic temperature change of 67.8 K/GPa are obtained.The proposed first-principle-assisted framework opens up the possibility of efficiently tailoring△V/V_(0)to promote the design of advanced elastocaloric refrigerants.

Unanswered questions in unsaturated soil mechanics

The last two to three decades have seen significant advances in the mechanics of unsaturated soils.It is now widely recognized that the fundamental principles in soil mechanics must cover both saturated and unsaturated soils.Nevertheless,there is still a great deal of uncertainties in the geotechnical community about how soil mechanics principles well-established for saturated soils can be extended to unsaturated soils.There is even wide skepticism about the necessity of such extension in engineering practice.This paper discusses some common pitfalls related to the fundamental principles that govern the volume change,shear strength and hydromechanical behaviour of unsaturated soils.It also attempts to address the issue of engineering relevance of unsaturated soil mechanics.

Complementarity of CFD,experimentation and reactor models for solving challenging fluidization problems

Experimentalists, numerical modellers and reactor modellers need to work together, not only just for validation of numerical codes, but also to shed fundamental light on each other＇s problems and underlying assumptions. Several examples are given, Experimental gas axial dispersion data provide a means of choosing the most appropriate boundary condition （no slip, partial slip or full slip） for particles at the wall of fluidized beds. CFD simulations help to identify how close ＂two-dimensional＂ experimental columns are to being truly two-dimensional and to representing three-dimensional columns. CFD also can be used to provide a more rational means of establishing assumptions needed in the modelling of two-phase fluidized bed reactors, for example how to deal with cases where there is a change in molar flow （and hence volumetric flow） as a result of chemical reactions.

Photolyses of mammalian carboxy-hemoglobin studied by photoacoustic calorimetry

The enthalpy and conformational volume changes in the photolyses of carboxy-hemoglobin (HbCO) of human, bovine, pig, horse and rabbit are investigated by photoacoustic calorimetry. Considering the time scales of the exciting laser pulse and the receiving ultrasound transducers (PVDF films and PZT ceramics), as well as the reaction lifetimes in the photolysis processes of HbCO, the measured results are related to the geminate recombination and tertiary relaxation in photolyses of HbCO. Moreover, the quantum yields of the five mammals are also measured by laser pump-probe technique. The results show that the dynamic parameters, such as enthalpy and conformational volume changes, differ between the processes of the geminate recombination and tertiary relaxation. Also, the dynamic parameters differ among the five mammals although some of them may be consistent with each other.

Micromechanical properties of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)hydrogel microspheres determined using a simple method

Temperature-responsive poly（N-isopropylacrylamide） （PNIPAM） hydrogel microspheres have attracted extensive attention because of their promising diverse biomedical applications. A quantitative understanding of the micromechanical properties of these microspheres is essential for their practical application. Here, we report a simple method for the characterization of the elastic properties of PNIPAM hydrogel microspheres. The results show that PNIPAM hydrogel microspheres exhibit elastic deformation and the obtained force-deformation experimental data fits the Hertz theory well. The moduli of elasticity of the PNIPAM hydrogel microspheres prepared under different conditions were systematically investigated in this work for the first time. The PN1PAM hydrogel microsphere composition significantly affects their micromechanical properties and their temperature sensitivity behavior. PNIPAM hydrogel microspheres with a larger equilibrium volume change have a lower modulus of elasticity. The modulus of elasticity of the PNIPAM hydrogel microspheres at body temperature （37 ℃, above the lower critical solution temperature （LCST） of PNIPAM） is much higher than that at room temperature （25 ℃, below the LCST of PNIPAM） because ofthermo-induced volume shrinkage and an increase in stiffness. These results provide valuable guidance for the design of smart materials for practical biomedical applications. Moreover, the simple microcompression method presented here also provides a versatile way to investigate the micromechanical properties of microscopic biomedical materials.