Research on Water Absorption and Frost Resistance of Concrete Coated with Different Impregnating Agents for Ballastless Track Structure

In consideration of performance requirement of ballastless track concrete in cold regions of China, 3 types of commercially available impregnating agents were employed to research their effect on water absorption and frozen resistance of concrete, containing silanes, potassium silicate and osmotic curing agent. The results presented that coating silanes was the most effective on the reduction of water absorption among all employed impregnating agents, because of the most significant character change of concrete surface from hydrophilicity to hydrophobicity which could be proved by the contact angle test of concrete. The promotion on frozen resistance of concrete was not as significant as that for water absorption by coating 3 commercially available types of impregnant agents, because of the spalling damage on concrete surface during the freezing-thawing cycles

Phillipsite and Al-tobermorite mineral cements produced through low-temperature water-rock reactions in Roman marine concrete

Pozzolanic reaction of volcanic ash with hydrated lime is thought to dominate the cementing fabric and durability of 2000-year-old Roman harbor concrete. Pliny the Elder, however, in first century CE emphasized rock-like cementitious processes involving volcanic ash (pulvis) “that as soon as it comes into contact with the waves of the sea and is submerged becomes a single stone mass (fierem unum lapidem), impregnable to the waves and every day stronger” (Naturalis Historia 35.166). Pozzolanic crystallization of Al-tobermorite, a rare, hydrothermal, calcium-silicate-hydrate mineral with cation exchange capabilities, has been previously recognized in relict lime clasts of the concrete. Synchrotron-based X-ray microdiffraction maps of cementitious microstructures in Baianus Sinus and Portus Neronis submarine breakwaters and a Portus Cosanus subaerial pier now reveal that Al-tobermorite also occurs in the leached perimeters of feldspar fragments, zeolitized pumice vesicles, and in situ phillipsite fabrics in relict pores. Production of alkaline pore fluids through dissolution-precipitation, cation-exchange and/or carbonation reactions with Campi Flegrei ash components, similar to processes in altered trachytic and basaltic tuffs, created multiple pathways to post-pozzolanic phillipsite and Al-tobermorite crystallization at ambient seawater and surface temperatures. Long-term chemical resilience of the concrete evidently relied on water-rock interactions, as Pliny the Elder inferred. Raman spectroscopic analyses of Baianus Sinus Al-tobermorite in diverse microstructural environments indicate a cross-linked structure with Al3+ substitution for Si4+ in Q3 tetrahedral sites, and suggest coupled [Al3++Na+ ] substitution and potential for cation exchange. The mineral fabrics provide a geoarchaeological prototype for developing cementitious processes through low-temperature rock-fluid interactions, subsequent to an initial phase of reaction with lime that defines the activity of natural pozzolans. These processes have relevance to carbonation reactions in storage reservoirs for CO2 in pyroclastic rocks, production of alkali-activated mineral cements in maritime concretes, and regenerative cementitious resilience in waste encapsulations using natural volcanic pozzolans

Phillipsite and Al-tobermorite mineral cements produced through low-temperature water-rock reactions in Roman marine concrete

Pozzolanic reaction of volcanic ash with hydrated lime is thought to dominate the cementing fabric and durability of 2000-year-old Roman harbor concrete. Pliny the Elder, however, in first century CE emphasized rock-like cementitious processes involving volcanic ash (pulvis) “that as soon as it comes into contact with the waves of the sea and is submerged becomes a single stone mass (fierem unum lapidem), impregnable to the waves and every day stronger” (Naturalis Historia 35.166). Pozzolanic crystallization of Al-tobermorite, a rare, hydrothermal, calcium-silicate-hydrate mineral with cation exchange capabilities, has been previously recognized in relict lime clasts of the concrete. Synchrotron-based X-ray microdiffraction maps of cementitious microstructures in Baianus Sinus and Portus Neronis submarine breakwaters and a Portus Cosanus subaerial pier now reveal that Al-tobermorite also occurs in the leached perimeters of feldspar fragments, zeolitized pumice vesicles, and in situ phillipsite fabrics in relict pores. Production of alkaline pore fluids through dissolution-precipitation, cation-exchange and/or carbonation reactions with Campi Flegrei ash components, similar to processes in altered trachytic and basaltic tuffs, created multiple pathways to post-pozzolanic phillipsite and Al-tobermorite crystallization at ambient seawater and surface temperatures. Long-term chemical resilience of the concrete evidently relied on water-rock interactions, as Pliny the Elder inferred. Raman spectroscopic analyses of Baianus Sinus Al-tobermorite in diverse microstructural environments indicate a cross-linked structure with Al3+ substitution for Si4+ in Q3 tetrahedral sites, and suggest coupled [Al3++Na+ ] substitution and potential for cation exchange. The mineral fabrics provide a geoarchaeological prototype for developing cementitious processes through low-temperature rock-fluid interactions, subsequent to an initial phase of reaction with lime that defines the activity of natural pozzolans. These processes have relevance to carbonation reactions in storage reservoirs for CO2 in pyroclastic rocks, production of alkali-activated mineral cements in maritime concretes, and regenerative cementitious resilience in waste encapsulations using natural volcanic pozzolans

The Flexural Strength and Frost Resistance of Air Entrained Concrete

Abstract. The flexural strength and frost resistance properties of air entrained concrete were tested in this study. Although the flexural strength of concrete does not change largely with increasing of air content, it still has a maximum value with air content of 4%. The test results show that the frost resistance increases with increasing of air content which makes the space parameter decreasing in the harden concrete. In air entrained concrete, the total air content is not the only factor that affect the final properties of the concrete, the air void structure parameters, including void size, shape, and distribution, are key factors as well. It was found that the air void structure and the frost resistance properties were influenced by the vibration time largely. The optimized vibration time is 30s

The Flexural Strength and Frost Resistance of Air Entrained Concrete

Abstract. The flexural strength and frost resistance properties of air entrained concrete were tested in this study. Although the flexural strength of concrete does not change largely with increasing of air content, it still has a maximum value with air content of 4%. The test results show that the frost resistance increases with increasing of air content which makes the space parameter decreasing in the harden concrete. In air entrained concrete, the total air content is not the only factor that affect the final properties of the concrete, the air void structure parameters, including void size, shape, and distribution, are key factors as well. It was found that the air void structure and the frost resistance properties were influenced by the vibration time largely. The optimized vibration time is 30s

A New Probabilistic Ellipse Imaging Method Based on Adaptive Signal Truncation for Ultrasonic Guided Wave Defect Localization on Pressure Vessels

Pressure vessels are prone to defects due to environmental conditions, which may cause serious safety hazards to industrial production. The probabilistic ellipse imaging method, based on ultrasonic guided wave, is a common method for locating defects on plate-like structures. In this paper, the research showed that the accuracy of the traditional probabilistic ellipse imaging method was severely affected by the truncation length of the signal. In order to improve the defect location accuracy of the probabilistic elliptic imaging algorithm, an adaptive signal truncation method based on signal difference analysis was proposed, and a novel probabilistic elliptic imaging method was developed. Firstly, the relationship model between the signal difference coefficient (SDC) and the distance coefficient was constructed. Through this model, the distance coefficient of each group signal can be calculated, so that the adaptive truncation length for each group of signals can be determined and the truncated signals used for defect imaging. Secondly, in order to improve the robustness of the new imaging method, the relationship between the defect location accuracy and SDC thresholds were investigated and the optimal threshold was determined. The experimental results showed that the probabilistic ellipse imaging algorithm, based on the new adaptive signal truncation method, can effectively locate a single defect on a pressure vessel

A New Probabilistic Ellipse Imaging Method Based on Adaptive Signal Truncation for Ultrasonic Guided Wave Defect Localization on Pressure Vessels

Pressure vessels are prone to defects due to environmental conditions, which may cause serious safety hazards to industrial production. The probabilistic ellipse imaging method, based on ultrasonic guided wave, is a common method for locating defects on plate-like structures. In this paper, the research showed that the accuracy of the traditional probabilistic ellipse imaging method was severely affected by the truncation length of the signal. In order to improve the defect location accuracy of the probabilistic elliptic imaging algorithm, an adaptive signal truncation method based on signal difference analysis was proposed, and a novel probabilistic elliptic imaging method was developed. Firstly, the relationship model between the signal difference coefficient (SDC) and the distance coefficient was constructed. Through this model, the distance coefficient of each group signal can be calculated, so that the adaptive truncation length for each group of signals can be determined and the truncated signals used for defect imaging. Secondly, in order to improve the robustness of the new imaging method, the relationship between the defect location accuracy and SDC thresholds were investigated and the optimal threshold was determined. The experimental results showed that the probabilistic ellipse imaging algorithm, based on the new adaptive signal truncation method, can effectively locate a single defect on a pressure vessel

A Novel M2M Backbone Network Architecture

Network architecture analysis is a curial issue for a large scale Machine-To-Machine (M2M) network. Considering an M2M backbone network which consists of distributed satellite clusters in geosynchronous orbit (GEO), a new distributed satellite cluster network (DSCN) hybrid topology architecture is proposed in this paper. To the best of the authors' knowledge, the conceptions of domains, strong/weak link, hubs, small world, and degree realizability are proposed for the first time in the DSCN based M2M backbone networks. How these features affect the network is given through analysis and simulation. By employing Network Science Theory, a strong constraint DSCN topology is presented. In addition, we compare the DSCN with several typical network topologies. Results show that the proposed hybrid architecture realizes a stunning trade-off between the efficiency and robustness