Damage characteristics and new constitutive model of sandstone under wet–dry cycles

The mechanical properties of rock deteriorate under repeated wet-dry(WD)cycles,causing the deformation and failure of the rock mass.A reasonable damage constitutive model can truly reflect the whole process of rock deformation and failure.Therefore,it is of great significance to study the damage characteristics and constitutive behaviour of rock subjected to numerous WD cycles.First,sandstone from Tingliang tunnel was sampled for the WD cycle experiment,and uniaxial and triaxial tests were carried out on the rock samples after various numbers of WD cycles to analyze their macroscale damage characteristics.Then,the damage mechanisms of the rock samples under the action of WD cycling were identified by X-ray diffraction(XRD)and scanning electron microscopy(SEM).Finally,based on the test data,the WD cycle-induced damage variable,Weibull distribution function,damage threshold,Drucker-Prager(D-P)yield criterion and residual strength correction coefficient were introduced,a wet-dry loading(WDL)constitutive damage model that considers the cracking stress of rock masses was established,and the expressions of the corresponding parameters were given.The results show that an increasing number of WD cycles induces considerable variations in the macroscopic physical and mechanical parameters(such as the rock sample mass,saturated water content,longitudinal-wave velocity,compressive strength and elastic modulus),and the rate of change presents two stages,the inflection point of their rate of change is the 15th WD cycle.Microscopically,the rock sample structure changes from intact and dense to fragmented and unconsolidated;additionally,the surface roughness increases,and the mineral composition changes.The established constitutive damage model exhibited good agreement with the experimental data;thus,this model can reflect the deformation and failure of rocks under WDL conditions,and the physical meaning of each parameter is clear.

Long term performance of recycled concrete beams with different water-cement ratio and recycled aggregate replacement rate

The purpose of this study is to reveal the service performance of recycled aggregate concrete(RAC)components for different values of water-cement ratio and replacement rate of recycled coarse aggregate(RCA).Generally,the concrete strength decreases with the increase of the replacement rate of RCA,in order to meet the strength requirements when changing the replacement rate of RCA,it is necessary to change the water-cement ratio at the same time.Therefore,the axial compressive strengths of prism with 25 mix proportions,the short-term mechanical properties and long-term deformation properties of reinforced concrete beams were tested respectively by changing water-cement ratio and RCA replacement rate.The bearing capacity and the strain nephogram of samples under different loads were obtained using the Digital Image Correlation(DIC)method,and a self-made gravity loading experimental device was used for long-term deformation investigation.Results showed that the damage pattern of RAC was the same as that of natural aggregate concrete(NAC),but the brittleness was more pronounced.The brittleness of concrete before failure can be reduced more effectively by adjusting the replacement rate of RCA than by adjusting the water-cement ratio.The water-cement ratio has an evident influence on the axial compressive strength and early creep of concrete,while the replacement rate of RCA has a remarkable effect on the long-term deformation of the concrete beams.

Fracture Analysis of Cast Iron Materials with Cracks Based on Elastoplastic Extended Finite Element Method

Based on the ABAQUS platform for finite element analysis, the extended finite element method (XFEM) considering elastoplastic constitutive relationship is developed, by which the displacement discontinuity across the crack surface and the strong nonlinearity near the crack tip can be described more accurately. The strip specimens with unilateral cracks and central cracks under uniaxial tension are simulated using the XFEM and the FEM, respectively. The J-integral across the crack on each incremen t is calcula ted using the equivale nt domain integral met hod (EDIM), the interaction integral met hod and the FEM, respectively. The effec ts of mesh size and mesh shape near the crack tip, element type and different calculation methods on the accuracy of J-integral are analyzed. The simulation results show that the XFEM is more accurate than the FEM with the same element size and type. The fracture tests of cast iron specimens with unilateral cracks under uniaxial tension are performed, and the J-integral criterion is valid to predict the fracture initiation in numerical simulation. The critical value of J-integral is calculated using the EDIM of the XFEM. The comparisons demonstrate that the simulated elastoplastic load-displacement curves with the XFEM are in good agreement with the experimental results.