Evaluation of axial load-bearing capacity of concrete columns strengthened by a new section enlargement method

The objective of this study is to evaluate the axial load-bearing capacity of section-enlargement concrete columns. To reach the objection, a new strengthened method in which columns are jacketed with a large welded octagonal stirrup at the center and four spiral stirrups at the corners of column is developed. The new section-enlargement method avoids interrupting existing columns and improves the reliability of strengthened part, besides, the confining stress generated by octagonal stirrup and spiral stirrups enhances the compressive strength and deformability of strengthened columns. In addition, sixteen large-scale concrete columns strengthened by the new strengthened method were tested under axial compressive loads. The experimental results show that the axial compression ratio of existing column generates stressstrain lag in strengthened part and decreases the load-bearing capacity of specimens; the stirrups in strengthened part significantly enhance the axial load-bearing capacity of specimens. According to confinement conditions, the cross-section of specimens is divided into five parts and the confinement factor for each part is calculated to establish the prediction models for the load-bearing capacity of specimens. Furthermore, by comparing the results between the developed model and existing models, the developed model has high accuracy in evaluating the load-bearing capacity of strengthened columns. First published online 20 December 202

A High-Temperature-Resistant Inorganic Matrix for Concrete Structures Enhanced by Fiber-Reinforced Polymer

This paper probed deep into a high-temperature resistant inorganic matrix: alkali-activated slag cement (AASC), which is a kind of cementitious material prepared by alkali-activator and pozzolanic or latent hydraulic material. Firstly, the mix ratio of the AASC was optimized to improve the wettability and mechanical properties. Then, the effects of the adhesive matrix and the type of fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) were observed through FRP-to-concrete bond tests on 93 specimens. The test results, coupled with anchorage analysis, indicate that the AASC has comparable reinforcing effects as those of organic epoxy matrix; the anchorage length of FRP sheets has a significant influence on the failure behavior and failure mode of FRP-enhanced concrete structures. In addition, our tests prove that the AASC has favorable high-temperature resistance and bonding effects. The research results provide a good reference for the design and application of inorganic matrix for FRP-enhancement of concrete structures

Fabrication and magnetic properties of granular Co/porous InP nanocomposite materials

A novel Co/InP magnetic semiconductor nanocomposite was fabricated by electrodeposition magnetic Co nanoparticles into n-type porous InP templates in ethanol solution of cobalt chloride. The content or particle size of Co particles embedded in porous InP increased with increasing deposition time. Co particles had uniform distribution over pore sidewall surface of InP template, which was different from that of ceramic template and may open up new branch of fabrication of nanocomposites. The magnetism of such Co/InP nanocomposites can be gradually tuned from diamagnetism to ferromagnetism by increasing the deposition time of Co. Magnetic anisotropy of this Co/InP nanocomposite with magnetization easy axis along the axis of InP square channel was well realized by the competition between shape anisotropy and magnetocrystalline anisotropy. Such Co/InP nanocomposites with adjustable magnetism may have potential applications in future in the field of spin electronics

Facile synthesis of superhydrophobic surface of ZnO nanoflakes: chemical coating and UV-induced wettability conversion

This work reports an oriented growth process of two-dimensional (2D) ZnO nanoflakes on aluminum substrate through a low temperature hydrothermal technique and proposes the preliminary growth mechanism. A bionic superhydrophobic surface with excellent corrosion protection over a wide pH range in both acidic and alkaline solutions was constructed by a chemical coating treatment with stearic acid (SA) molecules on ZnO nanoflakes. It is found that the superhydrophobic surface of ZnO nanoflake arrays shows a maximum water contact angle (CA) of 157° and a low sliding angle of 8°, and it can be reversibly switched to its initial superhydrophilic state under ultraviolet (UV) irradiation, which is due to the UV-induced decomposition of the coated SA molecules. This study is significant for simple and inexpensive building of large-scale 2D ZnO nanoflake arrays with special wettability which can extend the applications of ZnO films to many other important fields

Behaviour of high-strength concrete circular columns confined by high-strength spirals under concentric compression

This paper tested the behaviour of 32 high-strength concrete columns confined by high-strength spirals under concentric compression. The test parameters included unconfined concrete compressive strength, spiral yield strength, volumetric ratio, and spiral spacing. The results showed that bulging and shear sliding were the two characteristic types of failure patterns of the thirty-two confined columns, depending on spiral spacing and concrete strength. Moreover, the spiral in most specimens did not yield at the confined concrete compressive strength. An analytical confinement model for high-strength concrete columns confined by high-strength spirals was proposed. In this proposed model, the calculated value of the spiral stress at the confined concrete compressive strength was used to calculate the feature points of the stressstrain curve. The proposed model showed good correlations with available experimental results of 64 columns

Fabrication and ultraviolet photoresponse characteristics of ordered SnOx (x ≈ 0.87, 1.45, 2) nanopore films

Based on the porous anodic aluminum oxide templates, ordered SnOx nanopore films (approximately 150 nm thickness) with different x (x ≈ 0.87, 1.45, 2) have been successfully fabricated by direct current magnetron sputtering and oxidizing annealing. Due to the high specific surface area, this ordered nanopore films exhibit a great improvement in recovery time compared to thin films for ultraviolet (UV) detection. Especially, the ordered SnOx nanopore films with lower x reveal higher UV light sensitivity and shorter current recovery time, which was explained by the higher concentration of the oxygen vacancies in this SnOx films. This work presents a potential candidate material for UV light detector

Morphology-dependent field emission properties and wetting behavior of ZnO nanowire arrays

The fabrication of three kinds of ZnO nanowire arrays with different structural parameters over Au-coated silicon (100) by facile thermal evaporation of ZnS precursor is reported, and the growth mechanism are proposed based on structural analysis. Field emission (FE) properties and wetting behavior were revealed to be strongly morphology dependent. The nanowire arrays in small diameter and high aspect ratio exhibited the best FE performance showing a low turn-on field (4.1 V/μm) and a high field-enhancement factor (1745.8). The result also confirmed that keeping large air within the films was an effective way to obtain super water-repellent properties. This study indicates that the preparation of ZnO nanowire arrays in an optimum structural model is crucial to FE efficiency and wetting behavior