Evaluation of UHPFRC activation energy using empirical models

The influence of thermal curing on the evolution of the material properties and the UHPFRC behaviour was investigated. Tests results showed a beneficial effect of a high temperature curing on the early age material properties due to the thermo-activation effect on the hydration process. However, an inverse effect was observed at long-term. In our study, activation energy of UHPFRC was evaluated from experimental data by means of empirical models. The traditional maturity-function based on Arrhenius law, generally used to describe thermally activated physical or chemical processes, was used to predict the evolution of the UHPFRC autogenous shrinkage and to validate the applicability of this concept for such cement-based materials. Results showed that the concept based on Arrhenius law could describe correctly temperature effects on UHPFRC for temperature lower than 30°

UHPFRC tensile creep at early age

Ultra high performance fibre reinforced concrete (UHPFRC) early age viscoelastic behaviour under tension was investigated. The tests results showed a high creep potential due to the high volume paste (88%). This result is of major importance because the viscoelastic properties contribute to mitigating the high early age stresses generated under restrained shrinkage. This beneficial effect was reflected by the increased linear-relationship between tensile creep and shrinkage. As expected, UHPFRC tensile creep behaviour was also sensitive to the loading level. Above 35% of the tensile strength at the loading age, the material exhibited viscoplastic behaviour. A Maxwell chain model was applied to predict the early age UHPFRC tensile creep and confirms the induced non-linear respons

Observation of a discontinous nonmetal-to-metal disorder-to-order transition in an alkali overlayer

We report measurements of the coverage-dependent electronic and structural properties of submonolayer Li films, grown on Be(0001). We observe a structural phase transition from a disordered state at low coverages to an ordered hexagonally close-packed structure at high coverages. This structural transition is accompanied by a nonmetal-to-metal transition in the overlayer. The Li overlayer structure was determined using low-energy electron diffraction, while angle-resolved photoemission, inverse photoemission, and core-level spectroscopy were employed to characterize the electronic transformation. For the disordered, low-coverage phase the spectroscopies show only one Li-induced electronic state. This level is centered 3.1 eV above EF and is completely unoccupied at the lowest coverages studied. At the completion of the first Li adlayer, the overlayer band is metallic

Superconductivity and Rattling under High Pressure in the beta-Pyrochlore Oxide RbOs2O6

Rattling-induced superconductivity in the beta-pyrochlore oxide RbOs2O6 is investigated under high pressures up to 6 GPa. Resistivity measurements in a high-quality single crystal show that the superconducting transition temperature Tc increases gradually from 6.3 K at ambient pressure to 8.8 K at 3.5 GPa, surprisingly remains almost constant at 8.8 \pm 0.1 K in a wide pressure range between 3.5 (Po) and 4.8 GPa, and suddenly drops to 6.3 K at Ps = 4.9 GPa, followed by a gradual decrease with further pressure increase. Two anomalies in the temperature dependence of the normal-state resistivity are observed at Po Ps, revealing the presence of two high-pressure phases corresponding to the changes in Tc. The rattling of the Rb ion inside a cage made of Os and O atoms may be slightly and seriously modified in these high-pressure phases that probably have cages of reduced symmetry, respectively, so that electron-rattler interactions that govern the superconducting and transport properties of beta-RbOs2O6 are significantly affected.Comment: arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1009.035

Synthesis of superconducting pyrochlore RbOs2O6

RbOs2O6, the third superconducting pyrochlore oxide (known so far), has been synthesized by encapsulation and by high pressure techniques. Suitable post chemical treatment of the as-prepared sample allowed us to eliminate the impurity phases. Bulk superconductivity with Tc=6.4 K was observed in magnetisation and specific heat measurements. The transition temperature of RbOs2O6 was found to be the same for both preparation methods. Structural investigations showed that Rb atoms occupy the 8b site in the pyrochlore lattice with a lattice parameter of 10.1137(1) A.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures, correction to one author name and Figure

Failure of Dam concrete subjected to seismic Loading Conditions

e numerical simulation of concrete dams subjected to earthquake loading requires realistic material laws which take into account seismic loading conditions. Dynamic tests were performed in order to examine the effect of initially applied compressive loading on material properties of a dam concrete at high tensile deformation rates. The test results show that no important fracture property is reduced at high deformation rates; the tensile strength and the specific fracture energy GF show a high rate sensitivity. However, dynamic compressive pre-loading leads to a reduction of the fracture properties at both quasi-static and high deformation rates

Analyse structurale d’un pont composé de BFUP et de béton armé

Aujourd’hui, le béton armé est le matériau de construction le plus utilisé. Il possède une performance satisfaisante dans la plupart des applications, cependant il présente un manque de durabilité sous des conditions sévères, en particulier dans le cas des structures existantes construites il a y plusieurs décades qui peuvent présenter des dégâts importants. L’utilisation des bétons fibrés ultra-performants (BFUP) dans des éléments composés pour augmenter la durabilité est une option prometteuse, vu le potentiel extraordinaire de ces matériaux. Dans ce type d’applications le retrait des couches protectrices en BFUP entravé par le béton existant joue un rôle important. Une section transversale d’un pont conceptuel, composé de béton armé et de BFUP, a été analysée numériquement. Deux paramètres principaux, la résistance en traction ainsi que la capacité d’écrouissage ont été variés. L’analyse montre l’importance de l’écrouissage du BFUP, l’influence de sa résistance en traction sur la réponse structurale dans des conditions de retrait entravé (déformation imposée), ainsi que sous l’effet des charges de trafic (force imposée). Les résultats obtenus valident l’utilisation de couches minces en BFUP pour l’augmentation de la durabilité des ouvrages en béton

Structural analysis of a composite bridge structure combining UHPFRC and prestressed concrete

Reinforced concrete being the most applied construction material today performs very well in most applications but still lacks durability under severe environmental conditions. Especially existing structures built decades ago show degradation. Using Ultra-High Performance Fiber Reinforced Concrete (UHPFRC) to improve durability is a promising option seen the extraordinary performance of this material when applied in a composite section. Restrained shrinkage of the overlay plays an important role in this type of application. A conceptual bridge cross section combining UHPFRC and reinforced concrete has been numerically analysed. Two main parameters, tensile strength and strain hardening capacity, were varied. The analysis indicates the importance of strain hardening of UHPFRC and the influence of its tensile strength on the structural response under restrained shrinkage (deformation controlled loading) and traffic loads (force controlled loading). The results validate the concept of using a UHPFRC layer to improve the structural durability of concrete constructions

Multiple equilibria describe the complete adsorption isotherms of nonporous, microporous, and mesoporous adsorbents

The adsorption of simple gases begins with the formation of a monolayer on the pristine surface, not always followed by the formation of a second or more monolayers. Subsequently, cluster formation or cavity filling occurs, depending on the properties of the surface. The characteristically different shape of the isotherms related to these processes allows to clearly differentiate them. We analyzed argon and N2 adsorption isotherms quantitatively over the entire relative pressure range for adsorbents bearing different properties: the nonporous Stöber-type particles, the microporous zeolite L (ZL) and zeolite L filled with indigo (Indigo-ZL), and three mesoporous silica adsorbents of different pore size. The formal equilibria involved in cluster formation and in cavity filling have been derived and successfully applied to quantitatively describe the isotherms of the adsorbents. No indication regarding formation of a second monolayer on top of the first one was observed for the Stöber-type particles. Instead, cluster generation, which minimizes surface tension, starts early. The behavior of microporous ZL and of Indigo-ZL is different. A second monolayer sets up and cluster formation starts with some delay. The enthalpy of cluster formation is, however, practically identical with that seen for the Stöber-type particles. The difference between the experimental and the calculated inflection points is very small. The shapes of the isotherms seen for the mesoporous adsorbents differ significantly from those seen for the nonporous and for the microporous adsorbents. The quantitative analysis of the data proves that formation of a second monolayer is followed by filling of cavities which ends as soon as all cavity sites are filled. The sum of the individual fractional contributions, namely the monolayer formation ΘmL, the appearance of a second monolayer Θ2L on top of the first one, and the cavity filling, yields a calculated adsorption isotherm Θcalc which describes the experimental data Θexp well. The experimental and the calculated first inflection points are in excellent agreement, which is also the case for the second inflection points. The value of the cavity filling enthalpy is roughly 10% larger than that for the cluster formation seen in the nonporous and the microporous adsorbents. The volume for cavity filling is significantly smaller than the monolayer volume for the mesoporous adsorbent with a pore diameter of 2.7 nm, while it is the same or larger for pore diameters of 4.1 nm and 4.4 nm, respectively. We conclude that understanding the adsorption isotherms as signature of several sequential chemical equilibrium steps provides additional information data for clusters, cavities, and position of the inflection points, not accessible by means of the conventional models. The theory reported herein covers type I, II, IV and to some extent also type VI isotherms

Transition from a molecular to a metallic adsorbate system: Core-hole creation and decay dynamics for CO coordinated to Pd

Two alternative methods to experimentally monitor the development of a CO-adsorption system that gradually changes from molecular to metallic are presented: firstly by adsorption of CO on Pd islands of increasing size deposited under UHV conditions, and secondly by growth of a Pd carbonyl-like species, formed by Pd deposition in CO atmosphere. The change in screening dynamics as a function of the number of metal atoms was investigated, using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, x-ray absorption spectroscopy, and core-hole-decay techniques. For CO adsorbed on UHV-deposited islands, the electronic properties of the whole CO-Pd complex is strongly dependent on island size and CO coverage: large amounts of CO result in a reduced screening ability, and small effects characteristic of molecular systems can be detected even for islands containing about 100 Pd atoms. If about half of the CO overlayer is desorbed, the CO-Pd complex exhibits a relaxation upon core ionization that is nearly as efficient as for metallic systems, even for the smallest islands (of the order of 10 Pd atoms). The growth of the carbonyl-like compound proceeds via formation of Pd-Pd bonds and has a relatively well-defined local structure. It is demonstrated that the properties of this compound approach those of an extended system for increasing coverages, and it may therefore also serve as an important link between a carbonyl and CO adsorbed on a metallic surface. A brief discussion is also given in which the results are discussed in terms of electronic properties of the thin alumina film versus bulk alumina and the applicability of the former to the construction of model catalysts