A titanium-based composite coating reinforced by in situ synthesized TiB and TiC particles was fabricated on Ti6Al4V by laser cladding. The microstructure and mechanical properties were investigated. The coating was mainly composed of α-Ti cellular dendrites and an eutectic in which a large number of rod/needle-shaped TiB and a few equiaxial TiC particles were homogeneously embedded. The microstructural evolution could be divided into four stages: precipitation and growth of primary β-Ti phase, formation of the binary eutectic β-Ti+TiB, formation of the ternary eutectic β-Ti+TiB+TiC, and solid transformation from β-Ti to α-Ti. Microhardness of the coating showed a gradient variation from the surface (about HV0.2 876) to the bottom (about HV0.2 660) and was prominently improved in comparison with that of the substrate. Fracture toughness of the coating also exhibited a gradient variation from the surface (6.3 MPa·m1/2) to the interface (11.9 MPa·m1/2). Wear resistance of the coating was significantly superior to that of Ti6Al4V.
For austenitic octahedral segregation structure units, their pure mathematics statistic distributive probability is calculated by the empirical electron theory (EET) of solids and molecules and K-B formula. The practical distributive probability can be obtained only if the statistic distribution of austenitic octahedral segregation structure units and the interaction of the alloying elements in steel are considered. Based on 8 groups of experimental data of original steels, three empirical formulas revealing relationships between material macromechanics factor (S m) and tensile strength (σ b), or impact energy (A K), or hardness (HRC) of multi-component medium-low-alloy steels were established, respectively. Through the three empirical formulas, new supersaturated carburizing steel has been successfully designed and developed. The other 2 groups of the original experimental steels are used as the standard steel for testing the percentage error of the new steel. The results show that the calculated values are well consistent with those of measured ones and the new supersaturated carburized steel can meet the requirements of the die assembly of cold-drawn seamless stainless steel tube of Taiyuan Iron & Steel (Group) Company LTD.
Cathode erosion of graphite and Cu/C was studied in direct current arcs, which were ignited between two electrodes comprised of two kinds of carbon materials and a tungsten anode in air. The arced zones on the cathode surface were investigated by a scanning electron microscope. Also, the cathode erosion rates of the investigated materials were measured. The results show that two distinct zone can be seen on both cathodes. The eroded area was located at the zone just opposite to the anode and surrounded by a white zone. The arced surface on the Cu/C containing 9.3 % Cu is rougher than that of the pure graphite. Many particles with various sizes distributed on the Cu/C. The vaporization of Cu can lower the surface temperature and reduce the cathode erosion. Therefore, the cathode erosion rate of the Cu/C is lower than that of the pure graphite.
The effect of quenching-partitioning (Q-P) process on martensite-austenite (MA) constituent is investigated by the thermo-analysis simulator for a niobium-bearing HSLA steel. The process includes quenching from 950 °C to the intermediate temperature of 350–550 °C at the rate of 30 °C/s and subsequent reheating at the rate of 20–50 °C/s and partitioning at 660–800 °C. The microstructure is characterized by nano probe, EBSD, colored metallograph, optical microscope and graphic analytic method. The results show that the improvement of distribution homogeneity of MA in microstructure, the diminishment of the MA average grain size and increment of the MA volume fraction is caused by the intermediate temperature decrease, the reheating rate increase and a proper partitioning temperature. The volume fraction of MA is up to 7.9% while the sample is quenched to 450 °C, reheated at 50 °C/s and partitioned at 750 °C. The grain is granular or equiaxed in shape and the average grain size of MA is about 0.77–1.48 μm after treated by Q&P process. The grains tend to be coarse and with sharpy-angle as the intermediate temperature is up and the reheating rate and the partitioning temperature rises. The MA volume fraction depends on the untransformed austenite volume fraction after quenching and carbon diffusion time and temperature during partitioning process.
The corrosion behaviors of Fe-Cr alloy under three different pH values solutions with Cl− and SO4 2− were investigated by localized electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (LEIS) measurements and the corrosion products were analyzed by laser Raman spectrometry. The results show that the high corrosion resistance of Fe-Cr Alloy is attributed to a passive film which is formed more easily when the alloy contains a large quantity of Cr element. However, its corrosion resistance varies in the solutions with different pH values, especially in the initial corrosion. The average impedance values in neutral and alkaline solution are much higher than that in acidic solution because the passive film is more likely to dissolve in the acidic condition. Moreover, the destructive effect of Cl− and SO4 2+ ions on the passive film is also demonstrated in corrosion process through the change of the impedance value with the steeping time.
Ni-Cr alloyed layer was formed on surface of Q235 steel by double glow plasma surface metallurgy to improve the corrosion resistance of substrate. The composition and microstructure of alloyed layer was analyzed by SEM and XRD. Potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy was applied to evaluate the corrosion resistance of the alloyed layer. The results showed working pressure had a great effect on structure of Ni-Cr alloyed layer, and the dense and smooth alloyed layer was prepared at 50 Pa working pressure. Compared with substrate, Ni-Cr alloyed layer exhibited higher corrosion potential, lower corrosion current density and larger charge transfer resistance, which indicated that Ni-Cr alloyed layer significantly modified the corrosion resistance of Q235 steel.
The effects of microwave sintering on the properties, phases and microstructure of W-20Cu alloy, using composite powder fabricated by spray pyrolysis-continuous reduction technology, were investigated. Compared with the conventional hot-press sintering, microwave sintering to W-20Cu composites could be achieved with lower sintering temperature and shorter sintering time. Furthermore, microwave sintered W-Cu composites with high densification, homogenous microstructure and excellent properties were obtained. Microwave sintering could also result in finer microstructures.
Electrolytic manganese residue (EMR) is a waste from electrolytic manganese industry that contains high concentration of toxic substances. Since the EMR disposal in landfill sites has a serious environmental impact, new ways of EMR utilization are being sought. Considering the melting of EMR to a glass at high temperature was a relatively less energy-intensive process, EMR was first made into a base glass and then the ground base glass was heat-treated in a certain procedure to make a glass-ceramic and the crystallization process was studied. It was determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) that the primary crystalline phases of the EMR glass-ceramic were diopside and anorthite, which formed the surface crystallization mechanism with a crystallization activation energy of 429 kJ/mol. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observation showed that a layer of small spherical particles with an average size of about 0.5 μm were covered on the glass matrix surface, and among them there were some big particles. The low melting temperature and crystallization activation energy make it promising to reuse EMR for glass-ceramic production.
The influences of doping of MnNb2O6 on the structure and dielectric properties of Ag(Nb0.8Ta0.2)O3 were illustrated. Ag(Nb0.8Ta0.2)O3 samples doped with different amount of preformed MnNb2O6 (1 mol%, 2 mol%, 3 mol%, 4 mol%, 6 mol%, 8 mol%) were prepared by traditional solid-state reaction method and characterized by XRD, SEM and EDS, and the dielectric properties of samples were compared. The experiment results indicated that when the doping amount of MnNb2O6 was greater than 3 mol%, second phase appeared because of the solid solution limit. The permittivity of the Ag(Nb0.8Ta0.2)O3 samples doped with MnNb2O6 firstly increased and then decreased with the sintering temperature, while the dielectric loss decreased first, and then increased slightly. 1 100 °C seems to be the most proper sintering temperature for most of the samples. When the amount of MnNb2O6 is about 3 mol%, the samples have the best dielectric properties, larger permittivity and smaller dielectric loss.
The preparation and characteristics of a new transparent glass ceramic were described. Crystal phase particles with nanometer size were successfully precipitated in glass matrix, which was confirmed to be one of indium aluminum zinc oxide compounds (In xAl yZn zO). The presence of aluminum (Al) and indium (In) impurities in the zinc oxides (ZnO) crystal lattice leads to some changes of the carrier concentration in the material and then promote the sharply changes of transmission spectra in IR range wavelength. And subsequently, the IR cut-off edge blue shifted from 5.5 μm in base glass to 3 μm in transparent glass ceramic sample. Furthermore, passive Q switched 1.54 μm Er glass laser pulses with pulse energy of 10 mJ and pulse width of 800 ns were successfully obtained by using the cobalt doped transparent glass ceramic as a saturable absorber.
Structure, crystallization and dissolution properties of CaO-MgO-SiO2 inorganic glass fiber in the presence of additives (Al2O3, Y2O3) were investigated by DTA, XRD, FTIR and ICP-AES techniques. The results show that with the addition of Al2O3 and Y2O3, the glass network structure is strengthened and the precipitation of crystals is inhibited for heat-treated fibers. Compared with Y2O3 doped fibers, Al2O3 presents more significant effects on the enhancement of silica network and the inhibition of crystallization in fibers. As for dissolution properties in physiological fluids, though the weight losses, changes of pH values and leached ions concentration lower slightly with the addition of Al2O3 and Y2O3 for the intensified network structure, and fibers still present high dissolution rates.
The crystallization kinetics of Li2O-Al2O3-GeO2-P2O5 (LAGP) glass fabricated via the conventional melt-quenching method was studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) under nonisothermal condition at different heating rates. The activation energy of glass transition Eg is 634.4 kJ/mol, indicating that LAGP glass is easy to crystallize at an elevated temperature. The activation energy of crystallization E c and Avrami index n obtained from Matusita’s model are 442.01 kJ/mol and 1.7, respectively. The value of n reveals that bulk crystallization predominates slightly over surface crystallization during crystallization process. LAGP glass-ceramics after different heat treatments have the same crystalline phases determined as major phase LiGe2(PO4)3, with AlPO4 and GeO2 as their impurity phases.
A lithium ion conductive solid electrolyte, L2O-Al2O3-TiO2-SiO2-P2O5 glass with NASICONtype structure have been synthesized and transformed into glass-ceramic through thermal-treatment at various temperatures from 700 to 1 000 °C for 12 h. The differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and complex impedance techniques were employed to characterize the samples. The experimental results indicated that the capability of glass forming in this system is superior to that of L2O-Al2O3-TiO2-P2O5. The glass has an amorphous structure and resultant glass-ceramic mainly consisting of LiTi2(PO4)3 phases. Impurity phases AlPO4, TiO2, TiP2O7 and unidentified phase were observed. With the enhanced heat-treatment temperature, grain grew gradually and lithium ion conductivity of glass-ceramics increased accordingly, the related impedance semicircles were depressed gradually and even disappeared, which could be analytically explained by the coordinate action of the ‘Constant phase element’ (CPE) model and the ‘Concept of Mismatch and Relaxation’ model (CMR). When the sample is devitrified at 1 000 °C, the maximum room temperature lithium ion conductivity comes up to 4.1×10−4 S/cm, which is suitable for the application as an electrolyte of all-solid-state lithium batteries.
The Ni/ZrO2 was used as raw materials to fabricate the surface infiltrated composite layer with 1–4 mm thickness on cast steel substrate through vacuum infiltrated casting technology. The microstructure indicated that the infiltrated composite layer included surface composite layer and transition layer. Wear property was investigated under room temperature and 450°C. The results indicated that the abrasion volume of substrate was 8 times that of the infiltrated composite layer at room temperature. The friction coefficient of infiltrated composite layer decreased with the increasing load. The wear resistance of infiltrated composite layer with different ZrO2 contents had been improved obviously under high temperature. The friction coefficient of infiltrated composite layer was decreased comparing with that at room temperature. The oxidation, abrasive and fatigue abrasion was the main wear mechanism at room temperature. Oxidation abrasion, fatigue wear and adhesive wear dominated the wearing process under elevated temperature.
The micro-single crystal material spinel LiMn2−xAl xO4 was prepared by a sol-gel procedure and modified by alumina; the electrochemical measurements show that the performances and characteristics of modified LiMn2−xAl xO4 electrode material are better than those of LiMn2O4. Hence, the modified LiMn2−xAl xO4 is a good cathode material for lithium batteries. This can be explained that the size of the modified particle is larger than that of unmodified material, so electrons can be easily transported between the particles.
Surface composite layer was fabricated on the AZ91D substrate using the lost foam casting (LFC) process. The pre-coating layer reacted with melt substrate and formed the composite layer, and the coating was mainly consist of alloying aluminum powder and low-temperature glass powder (PbO-ZnO-Na2O). The vacuum degree, pouring temperature, mold filling process of melt, and pre-coating thickness played an important role during the formation process of composite layer. The results show that surface morphology of composite layer can be divided into three categories: alloying effect of bad and good ceramic layer, alloying effect of good and bad ceramic layer, composite layer of good quality. The main reason for bad alloying layer is that alloying pre-coating thickness is so thin that it is scoured easily and involved in the melt, in addition, it is difficult for melt to infiltrate into the alloying coating owing to the surface tension of coating when the vacuum degree is excessively low. Bad ceramic layer is because of somewhat lower pouring temperature and the thicker alloying coating, due to the absorption of heat from the melt, making low temperature glass powder pre-coating layer fuse inadequate. Thus, to get good quality composite layer, the process conditions must be appropriate, the result shows that the optimum process parameters are as follows: at a pouring temperature of 800 °C, vacuum degree of −0.06 MPa, alloying pre-coating thickness of 0.4 mm, and low glass powder pre-coating layer thickness of 1 mm.
The PZT thin films were prepared on (111)- Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si substrates by sol-gel method, and lead acetate [Pb(CH3COO)2], zirconium nitrate [Zr(NO3)4] were used as raw materials. The X-ray diffractometer (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to characterize the phase structure and surface morphology of the films annealed at 650 °C but with different holding time. Ferroelectric and dielectric properties of the films were measured by the ferroelectric tester and the precision impedance analyzer, respectively. The PZT thin films were constructed with epoxy resin as a composite structure, and the damping properties of the composite were tested by dynamic mechanical analyzer (DMA). The results show that the films annealed for 90 minutes present a dense and compact crystal arrangement on the surface; moreover, the films also achieve their best electric quality. At the same time, the largest damping loss factor of the composite constructed with the 90 mins-annealed film shows peak value of 0.9, higher than the pure epoxy resin.
The macroporous calcium phosphate(CPC) cement with oriented pore structure was prepared by freeze casting. SEM observation showed that the macropores in the porous calcium phosphate cement were interconnected aligned along the ice growth direction. The porosity of the as-prepared porous CPC was measured to be 87.6% by Archimede’s principle. XRD patterns of specimens showed that poorly crystallized hydroxyapatite was the main phase present in the hydrated porous calcium phosphate cement. To improve the mechanical properties of the CPC scaffold, the 15% gelatine solution was infiltrated into the pores under vacuum and then the samples were freeze dried to form the CPC/gelatine composite scaffolds. After reinforced with gelatine, the compressive strength of CPC/gelatine composite increased to 5.12 MPa, around fifty times greater than that of the unreinforced macroporous CPC scaffold, which was only 0.1 MPa. And the toughness of the scaffold has been greatly improved via the gelatine reinforcement with a much greater fracture strain. SEM examination of the specimens indicated good bonding between the cement and gelatine. Participating the external load by the deformable gelatine, patching the defects of the CPC pores wall, and crack deflection were supposed to be the reinforcement mechanisms. In conclusion, the calcium phosphate cement/gelatine composite with oriented pore structure prepared in this work might be a potential scaffold for bone tissue engineering.
In order to investigate the influence of abutment material on the stress of implant-supported all-ceramic single crown, a 3D finite element model of implant-supported mandibular first premolar was computed by COSMOS/M 2.85 software. Alumina, zirconia, and titanium were used as abutment materials respectively. Vertical 600 N and horizontal 225 N load was applied on the occlusal surface. The results show that the stress distribution of implant-supported single crown was similar for different abutment materials. Maximum stresses within the crown were higher when titanium abutment was used. Maximum stress of titanium abutment was lower than that of ceramic abutment. Within the screw and fixture, maximum stresses had no difference under vertical loading but higher as titanium abutment was used under horizontal loading. There was no difference of maximum stress within the bone when different abutment materials were used. The present findings indicate that the abutment material had no influence on the stress distribution of implant-supported allceramic single crown but maximum stress when the titanium abutment was lower than that of ceramic abutment.
With a homogeneous distribution of hydroxyapatite (HAP) crystals in polymer matrix, composite scaffolds chitosan/HAP and chitosan/collagen/HAP were fabricated in the study. XRD, SEM and EDX were used to characterize their components and structure, in vitro cell culture and in vivo animal tests were used to evaluate their biocompatibility. HAP crystals with rod-like shape embeded in chitosan scaffold, while HAP fine-granules bond with collagen/chitosan scaffold compactly. A homogenous distribution of Ca and P elements both in chitosan/HAP scaffold and chitosan/collagen/HAP scaffold was defined by EDX pattern. The presence of collagen brought a more homogenous distribution of HAP due to its higher ability to induce HAP precipitation. The results of in vitro cell culture showed that the composite’s biocompatibility was enhanced by the homogenous distribution of HAP. In vivo animal studies showed that the in vivo biodegradation was effectively improved by the addition of HAP and collagen, and was less influenced by the homogeneous distribution of HAP when compared with a concentrated distribution one. The composite scaffolds with a homogeneous HAP distribution would be excellent alternative scaffolds for bone tissue engineering.
After co-cultrured osteoblast with β-TCP ceramics, the cellular proliferating, mineralization and osteocalcin expression were studied. MTT assay showed that β-TCP ceramics had no affect on cellular proliferating. Laser scanning confocal detection showed that β-TCP ceramics could increase the mineralization level of osteoblast. Furthermore, RT-PCR showed that β-TCP could increase the expression level of osteocalcin. Those results indicate β-TCP ceramics had perfect biocompatibility and increased the mineralization of osteoblast to accelerate osteogenesis by means of affecting the expression of genes involving in osteogeneticprocess.
As one of the seaweed polysaccharide, agarose has received much attention because of its biocompatibility. However, its application in biomedical field was limited with its biological inertia. Modification with some functional groups is needed to obtain agarose derivatives with biological activity and expand its applications. Consequently, agarose was sulfated with chlorosulfonic acid-pyridine with formamide as dispersing agent. The orthogonal test result showed that the optimal reaction condition was the reaction time being 4 h, the reaction temperature 65 °C, and the ratio of chlorosulfonic acid to agarose 1–4(mL/g). Two kinds of the insoluble agarose sulfate (below 37 °C) were synthesized with degree of substitution (DS) being 0.17 and 0.43 respectively. Infrared spectroscopy (IR) and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (13C-NMR) spectroscopy results proved that C3–6 in agarose was sulfated. Their hydrophobic property and BSA adsorption capacity rose with increasing DS, while the adsorption of Hb was reduced. The anti-clotting properties of agarose sulfate were significantly improved, and agarose sulfate could protect red blood cells from deformation after adsorption of BSA. These findings demonstrate that the cold-water insoluble agarose sulfate has a promise for applications as heparin-like material in anticoagulation or endothelial regeneration scaffold.
A novel thermo-responsive hydrogel column, featured with both ends of linear poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) chains being grafted onto cross-linked PNIPAM chains, was reported. The laterally sandwich-typed hydrogel columns were fabricated by radical polymerization in a three-step process using a method of ice-melting synthesis. The initiating path, morphology and thermoresponsive characteristics of the prepared hydrogel columns were experimentally studied. The results show that the hydrogel column obtained by the initiator inside part has more quick swelling and deswelling rates responsing to temperature cycling than other hydrogels owing to linear PNIPAM chains to form supermacroporous structure. The proposed hydrogel structure provide a new mode of the phase transition behavior for thermo-sensitive “smart” or “intelligent” monodisperse micro-actuators, which is highly attractive for targeting drug delivery systems, chemical separations, and sensors and so on.
An optimal test method for paint is proposed; additionally, the Field and Laboratory Emission Cell (FLEC) method used in Europe is applied as a substitute for the 20 L small chamber method. The emission factors of total volatile organic compounds (TVOC) and formaldehyde from oil-based paint, emulsion paint, and water-dispersion paint with a coating weight of 300 g/m2, cured for 24/48 hours, were measured using the 20 L small chamber method. The emission rate of TVOC and formaldehyde from all paints began to stabilize after approximately 7 days after 24/48 hours of curing even though Korean standards stipulate that paint should be measured and analyzed after the third day of application. The emission factor of TVOC and formaldehyde from oil-based, emulsion, and water-dispersion paints were also measured using the FLEC method. There was good correlation between the 20 L small chamber method and the FLEC method for oil-based, emulsion, and water-dispersion paint emissions. With the FLEC method, using paints prepared under identical conditions, the emission rate was stable 24 hours after installation of samples because the air flow rate of FLEC is much higher than that of a 20 L small chamber, and the relative cell volume of FLEC is much smaller than that of a 20 L small chamber.
Polyurethane coated urea slow/controlled release fertilizer was prepared based on urea granules, isocyanate, polyols and paraffin. Isocyanate reacted with polyols to synthesize the polyurethane skin layer on urea granules surface. Paraffin serves as a lubricant during syntheses of polyurethane skin layers. The structure and nutrient release characteristics of the polyurethane skin layers were investigated by FTIR, SEM and TG. Urea nitrogen slow-release behavior of the polyurethane coated urea was tested. The experimental results indicated that compact and dense polyurethane skin layers with a thickness of 10–15 μm were formed on urea surface, the urea nitrogen slow-release time can reach 40–50 days. Paraffin proves to play a key role in inhibiting water to penetrate into urea, but excessive addition would decrease the polyurethane crosslinking density.
The dynamic stiffness and the specific damping energy, as well as the vibration response characteristics of a silicone rubber isolator were researched. The results of the vibration test showed that the silicone rubber isolator was excellent in the performance of vibration control. The dynamic stiffness and the damping characteristics were non-linear. From the comparison between experimental results and simulation analysis, the displacement transmissibility characteristics of the isolator were obtained. As a result, the dynamic characteristics of the isolator could be accurately described by the quadratic type non-linear terms at small amplitude.
The polyacrylate latexes were synthesized via pre-emulsified and semi-continuous seeded emulsion polymerization technology when conventional surfactant or polymerizable surfactant was used as emulsifiers. The resultant latexes and their films were characterized with the contact angle determinator and rheometer. Effect of the polymerizable surfactant on water resistance, stability and rheology of the latex was studied. Results show that the water resistance of film is increased first then decreased with the increase of the amount of the polymerizable surfactant. There exists the optimum value of the amount of the polymerizable surfactant for the water resistance of the film. In comparison with the latex prepared with the conventional surfactant, both the mechanical stability and the freezing-thaw stability of the latex are improved when the polymerizable surfactant is used during the course of the emulsion polymerization. The resultant latex has rheological properties of pseudo-plastic fluid and belongs to non-Newtonian fluid.
The natural hydrophobicity of surfaces can be enhanced if they are microtextured due to air trapped in the structure, which provides the deposited drop with a composite surface made of solid and air on which it is rest. Here, a series of grating microstructure surfaces with different parameters have been designed and fabricated by a novel soft lithography. The water contact angles (WCA) on these rough surfaces are measured through optical contact angle meter. The results indicate that all the WCA on the surfaces with grating microstructures are up to 150°; WCA increases and the hydrophobic performance also enhances with the decrease of the ridge width under the other fixed parameter condition; Experimental data obtained basically consists with the Cassie’s theoretical prediction. The effects of geometric parameters of the microstructures on wettability of the grating sufaces are investigated.
External bonding of fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composites on the concrete structures has been proved to be an effective and efficient way to strengthen concrete structures. For a FRP strengthened concrete beam, it is usually observed that the failure occurs in the concrete and a thin layer of concrete is attached on the surface of the debonded FRP plate. To study the debond behavior between concrete and FRP composites, an analytical model based on the three-parameter model is developed to study the debonding behavior for the FRP-to-concrete joint under pure shearing. Then, nonlinear FEM analysis is conducted to verify the proposed analytical model. The FEM results shows good agreement with the results from the model. Finally, with the analytical model, sensitivity analyses are performed to study the effect of the interfacial parameters or the geometric parameters on the debonding behavior.
A pilot study was conducted to produce high performance green ceramsite by using sewage sludge, fly ash and silt. According to the theory of Riley, the proportions of raw materials were chosen to perform the sintering experiments. Thereby, the optimum proportion of sludge, fly ash and silt and sintering parameters were determined. The microstructure of the optimized mixture and the leaching of heavy metal elements were also analyzed. The lab testing results show that sintering parameters have significant impact on the performance of ceramsite. For solid waste ceramsite with high loss of ignition, inadequate pre-burning process lowers the strength and increases the water absorption. Low water absorption can be achieved by the enameled surface and closed pore structure. The high performance green ceramsite has the density grade of 700, water absorption of 6% and compressive strength of 6.6 MPa. The ceramsite is mainly composed of cristobalite and mullite. The leaching of heavy metal elements from the solid waste ceramsite are lower than the limits required by the national standard. This study shows that the utilization of solid waste ceramsite as the light weight aggregate is feasible and safe.
In order to utilize solid wastes, ceramic facing brick was made form East-lake sediment and some additives. The strength and freeze-thaw resistance of the samples were tested, and the crystal phases and microstructures were studied by XRD and SEM. The results indicate that the samples have a wide firing temperature range. The main crystal phases are CaAl2Si2O8, α-Al2O3, Fe2O3, which distribute uniformly in the samples. The sample have the best properties in the series ‘Ca-Al-Si’, and water absorption (Wa), porosity (Pa), bulk density (D), bending strength and compressive strength are 7.24%, 15.82%, 2.19 g·cm−3, 45.57 MPa and 56.81 MPa respectively, when the addition amount of East-lake sediment is 80% and the firing temperature is 1 100 °C. In the series ‘K-Al-Si’, the sample with the best properties was obtained when addition amount of East-lake sediment was 70% and firing temperature was 1 060 °C. The water absorption, porosity, bulk density, bending strength and compressive strength are 7.62%, 16.37%, 2.15 g·cm−3, 39.26 MPa, and 50.81 MPa respectively. They all come up to the national standardization, and meet the needs of manufacturing production.
In order to accurately simulate the diffusion of chloride ion in the existing concrete bridge and acquire the precise chloride ion concentration at given time, a cellular automata (CA)-based model is proposed. The process of chloride ion diffusion is analyzed by the CA-based method and a nonlinear solution of the Fick’s second law is obtained. Considering the impact of various factors such as stress states, temporal and spatial variability of diffusion parameters and water-cement ratio on the process of chloride ion diffusion, the model of chloride ion diffusion under multi-factor coupling actions is presented. A chloride ion penetrating experiment reported in the literature is used to prove the effectiveness and reasonability of the present method, and a T-type beam is taken as an illustrative example to analyze the process of chloride ion diffusion in practical application. The results indicate that CA-based method can simulate the diffusion of chloride ion in the concrete structures with acceptable precision.
A new test method was introduced to measure fiber distribution in steel fiber reinforced mortar by using image analysis technique. Through specimen preparation, image acquisition, fiber extraction, and measurement of related fiber parameters, quantitative analysis of fiber distribution could be obtained by two parameters, namely dispersion coefficient and orientation factor. Effect of boundaries, size and steel fiber content on fiber distribution was discussed. Results showed that, steel fiber distribution was affected by boundary effect, which would be weakened with the increase of specimen size. If the length and width remained constant, the specimen height had a significant effect on orientation factor of fiber, while its influence on dispersion coefficient was not so obvious. With the increase of steel fiber content, dispersion coefficient decreased slightly, and orientation factor deviated from 0.5.
In order to investigate the electromagnetic shielding effectiveness (SE) and absorbing properties of fiber reinforced concrete, steel fiber, carbon fiber and synthetic polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fiber reinforced concrete were researched. The results show that with the increase of fiber volume fraction, the SE and trend of frequency change of corresponding fiber reinforced concrete are enhanced. When the volume content of steel fiber is 3%, the SE of concrete is above 50 dB and its frequency is above 1.8 GHz. Moreover, in the range of 8–18 GHz, steel fiber, carbon fiber and PVA fiber all can improve the microwave absorption properties of concrete. The concrete with 0.5% carbon fiber can achieve the best absorbing property, the minimum reflectivity is about −7 dB; while steel fiber optimal volume fraction is 2%. The reflectivity curve of PVA fiber reinforced concrete fluctuates with the frequency, and the minimum value of the reflectivity is below −10 dB. The results show that fiber reinforced concrete could be used as EMI(electromagnetic interference) prevention buildings by attenuating and reflecting electromagnetic wave energy.
The reference test methods are carried out parallelly, by means of chemical analysis, X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry-thermogravimetry, scanning electron microscopy and polarized optical microscope to study the formation of C4A3S in the presence and absence of nucleating agent. The results show that nucleating agent with high calcium and low heat consumption as tricalcium silicate (C3S) promotes the formation of C4A3S and increases desulfurization degree obviously. During calcining raw meals doped with C3S, the grain sizes of C4A3S are larger compared with that without C3S. And at the same calcining level, the mass loss and the heat consumption belonged to CaCO3 decomposition is reduced.
A set of coupling experimental instrument was designed to study the transport properties of chloride ion in concrete under simultaneous coupling action of fatigue load and environmental factors. Firstly the water-saturated performance of modern concrete was investigated, then diffusion performance of chloride ion under different stress levels and different temperature were studied respectively; meanwhile, the time-dependent behavior of the chloride ion diffusion in concrete was also researched. The results showed that the saturation degree of concrete can reach as high as 99%. Besides, diffusion coefficient of chloride ion increased with increasing of the stress level and temperature, and when the stress level and temperature are at 0.6 and 60 ° respectively, the diffusion coefficient is 6.3×10−14 m2/s, moreover the diffusion coefficient of chloride ion in concrete decreased with time under the simultaneous coupling action of fatigue load and environment factors.
Considering the fact that free calcium oxide content is an important parameter to evaluate the quality of cement clinker, it is very significant to predict the change of free calcium oxide content through adjusting the parameters of processing technique. In fact, the making process of cement clinker is very complex. Therefore, it is very difficult to describe this relationship using the conventional mathematical methods. Using several models, i e, linear regression model, nonlinear regression model, Back Propagation neural network model, and Radial Basis Function (RBF) neural network model, we investigated the possibility to predict the free calcium oxide content according to selected parameters of the production process. The results indicate that RBF neural network model can predict the free lime content with the highest precision (1.3%) among all the models.