Stress–strain behaviour of fire exposed self‐compacting glass concrete

Concrete normally suffers from low stiffness and poor strain capacity after exposure to high temperatures. This study focused on evaluating the effect of recycled glass (RG) on the residual mechanical properties of self‐compacting glass concrete (SCGC) after exposure to elevated temperatures. RG was used to replace fine aggregate at ratios of 0%, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% by weight. The residual properties were evaluated according to compressive strength, elastic modulus, stress–strain behaviour and strain at pre‐load and peak stress. A comparative assessment of different curing conditions on the SCGC was also conducted. The results showed that there were significant decreases in compressive strength, elastic modulus and concrete stiffness of the concrete with increasing temperature. The use of RG had little influence on the elastic modulus at ambient temperature; however, after exposure to 800°C, the mechanical properties of the concrete were greatly enhanced by incorporating RG. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Postfire full stress–strain response of fire‐damaged concrete

This paper reports experimental data establishing the postfire full stress–strain response of fire‐affected concrete. Such data are useful in situations when redesign of fire‐damaged concrete elements is considered. Heating was carried out to various temperatures in the range 217–470°C. Cooling was carried out either by quenching or in air. The postfire strain at ultimate stress significantly increased after heating to temperatures higher than 320°C. Quenching seems to aggravate the loss in compressive strength and further increase the strain at ultimate stress. Quenching involved spraying the heated concrete with tap water for 5 min. It is evident that knowledge of maximum temperature of exposure alone is not sufficient for estimation of the postfire stress–strain relationship. Other characteristics of exposure such as method of cooling are also important in evaluating the modification in the structural behaviour of fire‐affected concrete. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An empirical model for confined concrete after exposure to high temperature

In this study, constitutive relationships have been developed for confined concrete subjected to elevated temperature to specify the fire‐performance criteria for concrete structures after exposé to fire. This study extends over a total of 63 circular hoop confined concrete specimens that were casted and tested under concentric compression loading after exposure to high temperature. The test variables studied are the yield strength of transverse reinforcement, spacing of the hoop, and exposure to temperatures from ambient to 800°C. It is shown that all of these variables have significant influence on concrete behavior at different temperatures and further an improvement in the thermal resistance of concrete when confined using transverse steel reinforcement. On the basis of experimental results, a model for confined concrete after exposed to high temperature is proposed to predict the results of residual behavior after thermal cycles. The proposed empirical stress‐strain equations are suitable to predict the postfire behavior of confined normal strength concrete in compression. The predictions were found to be in good agreement and well fit with experimental results.     

Strain model for traditional and self‐compacting concrete during fire

In this paper, a complete strain model is derived that describes the strains developed during fire (up to 400 °C) and is based on the model of Anderberg et al., published in 1976. This model describes the total measured deformation as a superposition of four strain types: free thermal strain, instantaneous stress‐related strain, creep strain and transient strain. The strains are derived from loading tests on cylinders with dimensions Ø106 × 320 mm, submitted to load ratios of 0%, 20% and 30% of the initial strength before heating. For damage to the oven to be avoided, the instantaneous stress‐related strain is found from Young's modulus tests immediately after cooling. All tests occurred at a heating rate of 5 °C/min, and the specimens were pre‐dried to avoid explosive spalling. The investigated concretes are a traditional and a self‐compacting concrete with a testing age of about 30 months. Only small differences between both concrete types are found for the transient strain despite the different fracture of cement matrix. For the studied test conditions, the modern siliceous concretes such as self‐compacting concrete yielded similar results as the traditional siliceous concretes tested in the 1970s. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Strain‐rate and temperature effects on the deformation of polypropylene and its simulation under monotonic compression and bending

Monotonic compressive loading and bending tests are conducted for solid polypropylene (PP) under constant or time‐varying strain‐rates and temperatures of 10, 25, 40°C. The observed compressive stress‐strain responses under constant conditions have revealed that the inelastic deformation behavior is remarkably dependent on loading rates and temperatures of normal use. The examination of such inelastic behavior has indicated that the strain‐rate effects correspond with the temperature effects based on the concept of time‐temperature equivalence. The viscoplastic constitutive theory based on overstress (VBO) has successfully reproduced the experimental responses with stress‐jumping phenomena using the equivalent time. Four‐point bending tests are performed under monotonic loading and holding for PP beams at three different temperatures. The observed deformation behavior has shown that the Bernoulli‐Euler hypothesis is valid. The VBO model and beam bending theory has generated the basic equations for PP beams, showing an analogy with the uniaxial one. In the numerical analysis, the equations are transformed into nonlinear ordinary differential equations with use of Gaussian quadrature for the spatial integrals. The comparison of numerical and experimental results has suggested some modifications for actually loaded moment taking the effect of deflection and friction into consideration. Finally, the numerical calculation has simulated the experimental time‐histories of curvatures fairly well.     

The tensile properties of strain‐crystallising vulcanisates. I. A new theory to explain strengthening

The tensile properties of conventional and peroxide vulcanisates were studied over a range of crosslink densities at room temperature and at 90°C. At 90°C the tensile strength and elongation at break of vulcanisates of lower crosslink density are superior to those at room temperature, while for vulcanisates of higher crosslink density the reverse applies. When strain‐induced crystallites form, they act as crosslinks shortening chains within the network. Shortened chains have lower entropies and a larger force is required for their continued extension, i.e., for a further reduction in their entropy. It is proposed that because these stiffer chains resist deformation, other less stiff chains are preferentially extended. This alters the network deformation pattern, forcing more chains to become load bearing and delaying the development of taut chains or chain sequences. Thus the formation of strain‐induced crystals leads to the slope of the stress–strain curve rising rapidly. At elevated temperatures the rate of nucleation of strain‐induced crystallites is slower but data on stress–strain curves obtained with different temperature programs show that, while strain‐induced crystallization is essential for the development of high tensile strength, delaying their formation to higher elongations is advantageous for high tensile properties. In vulcanisates of higher crosslink density the rate of crystallization at high temperatures becomes too slow. Rupture occurs before strain‐induced crystallites can form and protect the network by altering the network deformation pattern. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 101: 1562–1569, 2006     

Influence of mineral admixtures on mechanical properties of self‐compacting concrete under elevated temperature

Self‐compacting concrete (SCC) is a form of concrete that is capable of flowing into the congested interior of formwork and consolidating under the action of its own weight without segregation and bleeding. In the present investigation, an attempt has been made to study the effect of elevated temperature on mechanical properties of SCC specimens made with different mineral admixtures that were heated from 27 to 900 °C and cooled by air or water. Silica fume, flyash, metakaolin were used as mineral admixtures. Master Glenium was used as superplasticizer, and Glenium Stream 2 was used as viscosity modifying agent. Mechanical properties of the cooled specimens such as compressive strength, tensile strength, flexural strength, and modulus of elasticity were found. Compressive, tensile, and flexural strengths of specimens were found to decrease by 73.18%, 65.05%, and 63.2%, and 85.2%, 83.52%, and 83.56% for the specimens with metakaolin that were heated and cooled by air and water, respectively. Similar reductions were found for the SCC specimens made with silica fume and flyash. Microstructure investigation has been carried out on SCC samples using scanning electron microscope and X‐ray diffraction analytical techniques to understand the effect of temperature on decrease in strength. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Interfacial properties of highly oriented coextruded polypropylene tapes for the creation of recyclable all‐polypropylene composites

The creation of highly oriented, coextruded polypropylene (PP) tapes allows the production of novel, wholly thermoplastic, recyclable “all‐polypropylene” (all‐PP) composites, which possess both a large temperature processing window (>30°C) and a high volume fraction of reinforcement phase (highly oriented PP tapes: >90%). This large processing window is achieved by using coextruded, highly drawn PP tapes. To achieve coherent all‐PP composites the interfacial characteristics following consolidation must be understood. This article investigates the interfacial characteristics of these coextruded tapes by using microcomposite models to create interfaces between tapes of varying draw ratios, drawing temperatures, skin/core ratios, and skin layer thicknesses. The tape drawing parameters are seen to control the interfacial properties in subsequent microcomposite models. The failure mode of these specimens, and hence bond strength, varies with consolidation temperature, and a model is proposed describing and explaining this behavior. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 104: 118–129, 2007     

Effect of polypropylene fibers on thermogravimetric properties of self‐compacting concrete at elevated temperatures

In this study, the effect of polypropylene (PP) fibers on thermogravimetric parameters of self‐compacting concrete (SCC) containing indigenous materials was investigated experimentally and statistically. The mixes containing cement, water, fly ash, fine aggregate, coarse aggregate, and super plasticizer, with the addition of PP fibers (0%, 0.05%, 0.1%, and 0.15%) by volume of the mixtures, were prepared. The physical properties of SCC were determined at elevated temperatures (200, 400, and 600 °C) after cooling in the laboratory. Regression models were developed to determine the responses, and the optimum amount of 0.05% PP fibers by volume was measured. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Rate‐dependent self‐healing behavior of an ethylene‐co‐methacrylic acid ionomer under high‐energy impact conditions

In this work, the mechanical and the self‐healing behaviors of an ethylene‐co‐methacrylic acid ionomer were investigated in different testing conditions. The self‐healing capability was explored by ballistic impact tests at low‐velocity, midvelocity, and hypervelocity bullet speed; different experimental conditions such as sample thickness and bullet diameter were examined; in all impact tests, spherical projectiles were used. These experiments, in particular those at low and midspeed, allowed to define a critical ratio between sample thickness and bullet diameter below which full repair was not observed. After ballistic damage, the healing efficiency was evaluated by applying a pressure gradient through tested samples. Subsequently, morphology analysis of the affected areas was made observing all tested samples by scanning electron microscope. This analysis revealed different characteristic features of the damaged zones affected at different projectile speed. Stress–strain curves in uniaxial tension performed at different temperatures and strain rates revealed yield strength and postyield behavior significantly affected by these two parameters. A rise of temperature during high strain rate tests in the viscoplastic deformation region was also detected. This behavior has a strong influence on the self‐repairing mechanism exhibited by the studied material during high‐energy impact tests. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 130: 1949–1958, 2013     

Some aspects of the mechanical response of BMI 5250‐4 neat resin at 191°C: Experiment and modeling

The inelastic deformation behavior of BMI‐5250‐4 neat resin, a high‐temperature polymer, was investigated at 191°C. The effects of loading rate on monotonic stress–strain behavior as well as the effect of prior stress rate on creep behavior were explored. Positive nonlinear rate sensitivity was observed in monotonic loading. Creep response was found to be significantly influenced by prior stress rate. Effect of loading history on creep was studied in stepwise creep tests, where specimens were subjected to a constant stress rate loading followed by unloading to zero stress with intermittent creep periods during both loading and unloading. The strain‐time behavior was strongly influenced by prior deformation history. Negative creep was observed on the unloading path. In addition, the behavior of the material was characterized in terms of a nonlinear viscoelastic model by means of creep and recovery tests at 191°C. The model was employed to predict the response of the material under monotonic loading/unloading and multi‐step load histories. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008     

Effects of zone drawing on the structure of metallocene polyethylene

The influence of zone drawing on bulk properties and structure of metallocene polyethylene (m‐PE) is reported. Two different m‐PE materials were subjected to tensile stresses above the yield point by zone drawing in the temperature range from 50 to 100°C. Drawn materials were characterized by using small‐ and wide‐angle X‐ray scattering (SAXS, WAXS), molecular retraction, and small‐angle light scattering (SALS). Structural changes were studied as a function of drawing temperature, engineering stress, and draw ratio. WAXS showed strong crystalline orientation in drawn samples, and only the orthorhombic crystal modification was observed. SAXS showed lamellar orientation in drawn samples. At low drawing temperatures of 50 or 60°C, draw ratio increased as a step function of stress. There is a stress barrier, which must be exceeded before high‐draw ratios can be achieved at these temperatures. At drawing temperatures of 70°C or above, the barrier stress is low enough that draw ratio increases nearly linearly as a function of stress. Below the stress barrier, spherulitic structure is observed by small‐angle light scattering (SALS). Elongation occurs via deformation of the interspherulitic amorphous phase. Molecular retraction was low for these samples, indicating mostly plastic deformation of the amorphous material. Above the stress barrier, SALS showed that spherulites are destroyed. Elongation occurs via deformation of the intraspherulitic amorphous phase. Molecular retraction for these samples was high, indicating elastic deformation of the amorphous material. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 82: 3492–3504, 2001     

Controllable reinforcement of stiffness and toughness of polypropylene via thermally induced self‐assembly of β‐nucleating agent

An easy approach was reported to achieve the simultaneous reinforcement and toughening of polypropylene (PP) via thermally induced self‐assembly of β‐nucleating agent (TMB‐5). The results showed that the processing temperatures dictated the solubility and self‐assembly of TMB‐5 in the polymer melts to determine the subsequent morphology development of PP. At low processing temperature, TMB‐5 did not dissolve into the polymer melt but remained original shape to induce PP to crystallize into spherulites so that it only promoted the formation of β‐form crystals to enhance the toughness of the samples. At high processing temperature, TMB‐5 gradually dissolved into the polymer melts. On cooling, the dissolved nucleating agent self‐assembled into high aspect ratio fibrils through intermolecular hydrogen‐bonding interactions. Due to a favorable matching between PP and TMB‐5, PP preferred to nucleate and grow orthogonally to the fibril axis and into oriented hybrid shish‐kebab morphology with rich β‐form crystals. Compared with isotropic spherulites, the anisotropic structure exhibited excellent properties of the β‐form crystal and shish‐kebab morphology to simultaneously improve the strength and toughness of TMB‐5‐modified PP samples. With the increasing processing temperature, more dissolved TMB‐5 was involved in the self‐assembly procedure to generate longer fibrils and induce more lamellae to grow on the surface. As a consequence, the anisotropy of the PP samples increased further, bringing out more improvements of the tensile strength. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 40605.     

Temperature‐ and strain rate‐dependent constitutive modeling of the large deformation behavior of a transparent polyurethane interlayer

The dynamic mechanical behavior of a polyurethane used as an interlayer in a laminated windshield construction is studied by dynamic mechanical analysis, compression testing at various strain rates (0.001/s to 7000/s), and various temperatures (?40°C to 25°C) by using the universal testing machine and split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) equipped with temperature controllers. The obtained results show that the mechanical behavior of the polyurethane interlayer is sensitive to temperature and strain rate. Under dynamic loading condition, stress‐strain curves at ?40°C exhibit the transition from “rubbery” to “glassy”. On the basis of the constitutive theory and the experimental data, a one‐dimension thermal‐hyper‐viscoelastic constitutive equation is proposed to describe the large compressive deformation response of the polyurethane interlayer over wide ranges of strain rates and temperatures. The parameter of the function is significant to describe the trend of the stress–strain curve at larger strain. The stress–strain curves at low strain rate and low temperature can overlap the stress–strain curves at higher strain rate and higher temperature; there may be an equivalent relationship between temperature and strain rate. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 55:1864–1872, 2015. © 2014 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Viscoelastic behaviour of self‐assembling polyurethane and poly(vinyl alcohol)

The rheological behaviour of polyurethane (PU) and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) was investigated in aqueous solution and the hydrogel state. The dependence of viscosity on polymer concentration is discussed. The formation of supramolecular structures induced by temperature increase or shear conditions was evidenced. In PU solutions, as temperature increases, a self‐assembling process occurs due to hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interactions determining a thermoreversible hydrogel formation. In creep and recovery tests, the weak PU network presents high elasticity only at low shear stress (below 10 Pa); it recovers only 15%–20% of strain above 40 Pa and the hydrogel structure fails at high shear stress (above 150 Pa). Also, PU hydrogel is not able to recover its structure after being submitted to successive low and high deformations. In PVA solutions, a shear induced aggregation was observed at 37 °C. PVA hydrogels obtained by the freezing–thawing method present high elasticity and stability due to the strong polymer–polymer interactions established between the polymer chains. Physical networks based on PU/PVA mixtures synergistically combine the characteristics of the two polymers, showing high elasticity when a shear stress up to 3000 Pa is applied during the creep test followed by a fast recovery of the hydrogel structure after exhibiting successive levels of deformation (self‐healing ability). Therefore, these hydrogels are suitable materials for tissue engineering applications. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry     

Development of a creep‐free stress‐strain law for fire analysis of steel structures

This paper presents a practical procedure for obtaining creep‐free stress‐strain laws for steel exposed to fire, on the basis of codified stress‐strain laws that consider creep implicitly. The applicability of the proposed procedure has been tested on two commonly used stress‐strain laws for steel at elevated temperature, the Eurocode 3 law and a Ramberg–Osgood model, both of which have implicit consideration of creep. The simulation of two published steel coupon experiments on steel of grades S275 and S355 shows that both the Eurocode and Ramberg–Osgood stress‐strain laws produce inaccurate predictions of creep in fire at elevated temperatures. The proposed procedure was thereby used to extract the implicit creep according to the heating rates of the transient coupon tests and to derive the creep‐free stress‐strain laws. It has been shown that, by combining the creep‐free stress strain law obtained by the proposed methodology with an explicit creep model, a more realistic prediction of steel behaviour in the selected coupon test studies can be achieved. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Self‐Detecting and Self‐Healing Reinforce Elastomer Doped with Aggregation‐Induced Emission Molecules

Most of elastomers for fabrication of comfortable epidermal devices and smart actuators produce responsive signals by the stimuli‐induced deformation. Herein, a dynamic visualization of external stimuli rather than the deformation through synthesis of a self‐healing poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS)‐based elastomer doped with aggregation‐induced emission (AIE) molecules is reported. The self‐healing PDMS‐based elastomer is designed and synthesized through molecule integration of reversible multi‐strength H‐bonds and permanent covalent crosslink sites. The adjustment of the weight ratio of elastic cross‐linker offers tunable mechanical properties of the resultant elastomer. After doping such an elastomer with AIE molecules of 1,1,2,2‐tetrakis(4‐nitrophenyl)ethane, the elastomer composite displays strong on–off fluorescence depending upon mechanical damage and temperatures, which can be used to detect the breaking and self‐healing performances, as well as the temperature change. The strategy described here provides another way to develop smart polymeric elastomers for practical applications.     

On the mechanism of polypropylene fibres in preventing fire spalling in self-compacting and high-performance cement paste

With the increasing application of self-compacting concrete (SCC) in construction and infrastructure, the fire spalling behavior of SCC has been attracting due attention. In high performance concrete (HPC), addition of polypropylene fibers (PP fibers) is widely used as an effective method to prevent explosive spalling. Hence, it would be useful to investigate whether the PP fibers are also efficient in SCC to avoid explosive spalling. However, no universal agreement exists concerning the fundamental mechanism of reducing the spalling risk by adding PP fiber. For SCC, the reduction of flowability should be considered when adding a significant amount of fibres.In this investigation, both the micro-level and macro-level properties of pastes with different fiber contents were studied in order to investigate the role of PP fiber at elevated temperature in self-compacting cement paste samples. The micro properties were studied by backscattering electron microscopy (BSE) and mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) tests. The modification of the pore structure at elevated temperature was investigated as well as the morphology of the PP fibers. Some macro properties were measured, such as the gas permeability of self-compacting cement paste after heating at different temperatures. The factors influencing gas permeability were analyzed.It is shown that with the melting of PP fiber, no significant increase in total pore volume is obtained. However, the connectivity of isolated pores increases, leading to an increase of gas permeability. With the increase of temperature, the addition of PP fibers reduces the damage of cement pastes, as seen from the total pore volume and the threshold pore diameter changes. From this investigation, it is concluded that the connectivity of pores as well as the creation of micro cracks are the major factors which determine the gas permeability after exposure to high temperatures. Furthermore, the connectivity of the pores acts as a dominant factor for temperatures below 300 °C. For higher temperatures micro cracks are becoming the major factor which influences the gas permeability.     

Structure and properties of biaxial‐oriented crystalline polymers by solid‐state crossrolling

The effect of biaxial orientation by solid‐state crossrolling on the morphology of crystalline polymers including polypropylene (PP), high density polyethylene (HDPE) and Nylon 6/6 was investigated with polarized optical microscopy, atomic force microscopy, wide‐angle X‐ray scattering, and small‐angle X‐ray scattering techniques. It was found that crossrolling gradually changed the initial spherulitic structure into a biaxially oriented crystal texture with chain axis of crystals becoming parallel to the rolling direction for all three polymers. The effect of microstructure change on the macromechanical properties was studied in tension at both ambient temperature and ?40°C. In tension at room temperature, the localized necking deformation of HDPE and PP control changed upon orientation into homogeneous deformation for the entire sample length. This was attributed to that the oriented crystal morphology eliminated the stress concentration, which existed in the original spherulitic structure from lamellae orientation in the polar and equatorial regions. At ambient conditions, the elastic moduli of HDPE and PP were found to decrease slightly with orientation whereas the modulus of Nylon 6/6 increased with increasing orientation. This was due to the fact that the amorphous chains of HDPE and PP are in a rubbery state and orientation increased the shear relaxation in the orientation direction but the amorphous chains of Nylon 6/6 are in the glassy state inhibited the shear relaxation. Both the yield stress and strain hardening exponent increased with increasing orientation for all three polymers. In tension at ?40°C, orientation changed the failure mechanism of all three polymers from brittle fracture into ductile failure, as the original spherulitic structure was changed into an oriented structure with chain axis of crystals becoming parallel to the tension direction, which allowed chain slip deformation of crystals and resulted in oriented samples showing ductile failure. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010     

Deformation kinetics of polypropylene hollow fibers in a continuous drawing process

Effects of isothermal drawing conditions on the deformation kinetics and dimensional change of polypropylene (PP) hollow fibers in a continuous drawing process were investigated. The deformation behavior of solid PP polymers during stretching between two rolls in the isothermal bath was analyzed by a simple model describing the continuous drawing process with a constitutive relation that can express a true (stress–strain–strain rate) surface of solid semicrystalline polymers. Necking profiles during drawing can be calculated from this model without any special assumption for neck criterion, and the calculated results predict that the localization of deformation is promoted with the increase of applied draw ratios. It is also found that at 20°C, the neck is observed apparently both from the calculated and experimental results, and the strain‐rate sensitivity parameter is considered to be a critical factor that determines the intensity of the neck geometry. The calculated drawing forces are shown to increase with increasing the applied draw ratio and decreasing the drawing temperature, and these trends were verified by experimental results. The hollowness, defined as the ratio of inner to total cross‐sectional area, increases as it is drawn at 30°C, but decreases as drawn above this temperature compared with that of the undrawn fiber. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 74: 1836–1845, 1999