The nanogranular nature of C-S-H

Despite its ubiquitous presence as binding phase in all cementitious materials, the mechanical behavior of calcium-silicate-hydrates (C-S-H) is still an enigma that has deceived many decoding attempts from experimental and theoretical sides. In this paper, we propose and validate a new technique and experimental protocol to rationally assess the nanomechanical behavior of C-S-H based on a statistical analysis of hundreds of nanoindentation tests. By means of this grid indentation technique we identify in situ two structurally distinct but compositionally similar C-S-H phases heretofore hypothesized to exist as low density (LD) C-S-H and high density (HD) C-S-H, or outer and inner products. The main finding of this paper is that both phases exhibit a unique nanogranular behavior which is driven by particle-to-particle contact forces rather than by mineral properties. We argue that this nanomechanical blueprint of material invariant behavior of C-S-H is a consequence of the hydration reactions during which precipitating C-S-H nanoparticles percolate generating contact surfaces. As hydration proceeds, these nanoparticles pack closer to center on-average around two characteristic limit packing densities, the random packing limit (η=64%) and the ordered face-centered cubic (fcc) or hexagonal close-packed (hcp) packing limit (η=74%), forming a characteristic LD C-S-H and HD C-S-H phase.     

Confined viscoplastic flows with heterogeneous wall slip

The steady, pressure-driven flow of a Herschel-Bulkley fluid in a microchannel is considered, assuming that different power-law slip equations apply at the two walls due to slip heterogeneities, allowing the velocity profile to be asymmetric. Three different flow regimes are observed as the pressure gradient is increased. Below a first critical pressure gradient G ₁, the fluid moves unyielded with a uniform velocity, and thus, the two slip velocities are equal. In an intermediate regime between G ₁ and a second critical pressure gradient G ₂, the fluid yields in a zone near the weak-slip wall and flows with uniform velocity near the stronger-slip wall. Beyond this regime, the fluid yields near both walls and the velocity are uniform only in the central unyielded core. It is demonstrated that the central unyielded region tends towards the midplane only if the power-law exponent is less than unity; otherwise, this region rends towards the weak-slip wall and asymmetry is enhanced. The extension of the different flow regimes depends on the channel gap; in particular, the intermediate asymmetric flow regime dominates when the gap becomes smaller than a characteristic length which incorporates the wall slip coefficients and the fluid properties. The theoretical results compare well with available experimental data on soft glassy suspensions. These results open new routes in manipulating the flow of viscoplastic materials in applications where the flow behavior depends not only on the bulk rheology of the material but also on the wall properties.     

Singular finite elements for the sudden-expansion and the die-swell problems

The singular finite element method is used to solve the sudden-expansion and the die-swell problems in order to improve the accuracy of the solution in the vicinity of the singularity and to speed up the convergence. The method requires minor modifications to standard finite element schemes, and even coarse meshes give more accurate results than refined ordinary finite element meshes. Improved normal stress results for the sudden-expansion problem have been obtained for various Reynolds numbers up to 100 using the singular elements constructed for the creeping flow problem. In addition, the normal stresses at the walls appear to be insensitive to the singularity powers used in the construction of the singular basis functions. The die-swell problem is solved using the singular elements constructed for the stick–slip problem. The singular elements accelerate the convergence of the free surface dramatically.     

The Method of Fundamental Solutions for Stokes flows with a free surface

We investigate the use of the Method of Fundamental Solutions (MFS) for solving Stokes flow problems with a free surface. We apply the method to the creeping planar Newtonian extrudate-swell problem and study the effect of the surface tension on the free surface. The results are in good agreement with existing finite element and boundary element solutions. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq 14: 667–678, 1998     

A Lie symmetry analysis and explicit solutions of the two‐dimensional ∞‐Polylaplacian

In this work, we consider the Lie point symmetry analysis of a strongly nonlinear partial differential equation of third order, the ∞‐Polylaplacian, in two spatial dimensions. This equation is a higher order generalization of the ∞‐Laplacian, also known as Aronsson's equation, and arises as the analog of the Euler–Lagrange equations of a second‐order variational principle in L^∞. We obtain its full symmetry group, one‐dimensional Lie subalgebras and the corresponding symmetry reductions to ordinary differential equations. Finally, we use the Lie symmetries to construct new invariant ∞‐Polyharmonic functions.     

A highly concentrated vanadium protic ionic liquid electrolyte for the vanadium redox flow battery

A protic ionic liquid is designed and implemented for the first time as a solvent for a high energy density vanadium redox flow battery.Despite being less condu...     

A generalized expression for the ratio of the critical temperature to the critical pressure with the van der Waals surface area

Using an extensive database of experimental critical properties for heavy compounds, which have been compiled mostly from recent literature sources, it is shown that the ratio T_c: P_c (critical temperature over critical pressure) can be expressed in terms of the van der Waals surface area (Q_w), which is readily available for any compound from the group contributions of Bondi (given also in UNIFAC tables). The proposed correlation is based on the hole theory of Kurata and Isida for n-paraffin liquids, which is mathematically equivalent to Flory's theory of polymer solutions. The method is suitable for medium to high molecular weight compounds with unknown critical constants. For example, if only one of the two critical constants is available, then the proposed generalized equation offers a useful rapid procedure for the estimation of the other critical property for use in corresponding states, and other relevant applications where knowledge of the critical properties is required. Furthermore, the T_c: P_c method can be used in many cases for identifying the most suitable among the existing group contribution methods for estimating the critical properties of heavy and complex compounds for which experimental values are, very often, not available.