Related papers: Contraction gradient induced microcracking in hard…
We study a theoretical model of mud cracks, that is, the fracture patterns resulting from the contraction with drying in a thin layer of a mixture of granules and water. In this model, we consider the slip on the bottom of this layer and…
Volume alteration in solid materials is a common cause of material failure. Here we investigate the crack formation in thin elastic layers attached to a substrate. We show that small variations in the volume contraction and substrate…
We report surface hardening or crust formation, unlike caking, during drying when a confined porous medium was heated from above using IR radiation. These crusts have higher strength than their closest counterparts such as sandcastles and…
For corrosion-induced cracking in reinforced concrete, naturally occurring corrosion rates are so low that rust accumulates often over tens of years near the surface of the reinforcement bars before sufficient pressure in the surrounding…
The drying of a colloidal dispersion can result in a gel phase defined as a porous matrix saturated in solvent. During the drying process, high mechanical stresses are generated. When these stresses exceed the strength of the material, they…
Accelerated impressed current testing is the most common experimental method for assessing the susceptibility to corrosion-induced cracking, the most prominent challenge to the durability of reinforced concrete structures. Although it is…
The invasion of air into porous systems in drying processes is often localized in soft materials, such as colloidal suspensions and granular pastes, and it typically develops in the form of cracks before ordinary drying begins. To…
This study aims to identify and isolate the role of properties of water with respect to the shape of the first desorption isotherm of hardened cement pastes. It has been observed that desorption occurs not only by receding meniscus but is…
Substrate wettability alteration induced control over crack formation process in thin colloidal films has been addressed in the present study. Colloidal nanosuspension (53nm, mean particle diameter) droplets have been subjected to natural…
We report an experimental study on the drying of silica colloidal dispersions. Here we focus on a surface instability occurring in a drying paste phase before crack formation which affects the final film quality. Observations at macroscopic…
The poromechanical behaviour of hardened cement paste under isotropic loading is studied on the basis of an experimental testing program of drained, undrained and unjacketed compression tests. The macroscopic behaviour of the material is…
We present an experimental investigation of drying suspensions of both hard and soft nanolatex spheres. The crack formation is examined as a function of the proportion of hard and soft deformable particles, leading to tunable elastic…
A model for corrosion-induced cracking of reinforced concrete subjected to non-uniform chloride-induced corrosion is presented. The gradual corrosion initiation of the steel surface is investigated by simulating chloride transport…
The effect of undrained heating on volume change and induced pore pressure increase is an important point to properly understand the behaviour and evaluate the integrity of an oil well cement sheath submitted to rapid temperature changes.…
We propose a model for the formation of drying cracks in a viscoplastic material. In this model, we observe that when an external force is applied to a viscoplastic material before drying, the material memorizes the effect of the force as a…
A modelling framework for predicting carbonation-induced corrosion in reinforced concrete is presented. The framework constituents include a new model for water transport in cracked concrete, a link between corrosion current density and…
Cracking and peeling of a layer of clay on desiccation has been simulated using a spring model. A vertical section through the layer with finite thickness is represented by a rectangular array of nodes connected by linear springs on a…
In this paper, the influence of aggregate size and volume fraction on shrinkage induced micro-cracking and permeability of concrete and mortar was investigated. Nonlinear finite element analyses of model concrete and mortar specimens with…
Values of water permeability for cementitious materials reported in the literature show a large scatter. This is partially attributed to the fact that materials used in different studies are different. To eliminate the effects of cements,…
Cohesive granular materials, like wet sand, retain their shape before yielding under stress. This solid-like behavior is associated with elasticity. As the loading increases, the material typically flows. However, cohesive materials can…