Zhao Wang

This paper presents a multi-scale and multi-chemo–physics platform to evaluate the lifecycle of structural concrete under environmental and mechanical impacts. Following the scheme from nanometer scale of cement hydrated with water molecule to meter scale of reinforced concrete (RC) members, the platform covers characteristic upscaling based on causality and behavioral response toward both environmental and mechanical impacts. During the process, multi-chemo–physics is incorporated to tackle the

A series of environmental–geological problems have been caused by over-exploitation of deep groundwater (i.e., confined aquifer water) in the North China Plain. In order to better understand the status of deep groundwater over-exploitation and the resultant environmental–geological problems on a regional scale, the over-exploitation of groundwater has been assessed by way of the groundwater exploitation potential coefficient (i.e., the ratio of exploitable amount of deep groundwater to current e

A kind of venting method was designed to determine ammonia volatilization from soil in field, and proved by recovery tests and field experiments The obtained results showed that compared with traditional enclosure method, the venting method was simple in structure, easy to operate, and high in accuracy and precision with a recovery of 99 51% and a variation coefficient of 0 77% The average volatilization rates and the total amounts of volatilized ammonia determined by the venting method ranged f

Corrosion of reinforcing bars in structural concrete is a critical deterioration issue. Corrosion could attribute to the electro-chemical reactions which are closely related to the electrical field and chemical substances. Generally, two types of corrosion are classified including the micro-cell and macro-cell corrosion depending on whether the anodic and cathodic polarization take place at the same location or not. This paper presented a numerical evaluation of macro-cell corrosion of structura

To perform the assessment of reinforced concrete infrastructures in service, a multi-scale simulation has been developed and improved with an integrated hygro-thermal-chemo-electrical-mechanistic approach. Various durability issues are successfully evaluated in terms of fatigue behaviours with damage induced by moisture motion through pores and cracks, temperature-related deterioration such as frost/fire damage, degradation by chemical reaction like alkali-silica reaction, and the macro-cell cor

Steel corrosion is one of the damaging factors for structural concrete and has drawn engineering interest in the past decades. Macro-cell corrosion, a type of steel corrosion, is related to not only electric fields but also chemical substances of both polarized metals and electrolytes such as the concrete matrix. To investigate such multi-ion kinetics induced by macro-cell circuits, this study presents an experimental validation to build a numerical simulation platform using pseudo-concrete with

It is widely known that concrete structures in cold and humid environments usually suffer frost damage and thus deteriorate faster, especially those structures without using air-entraining agents and with exposure to excessive moisture. Most available research on concrete under a freezing environment could be roughly categorized into: (1) intact concrete under freezing temperature where the ice-strengthening effect in pores was predominant; and (2) frost-damaged under room temperature where the

The unsustainability of China’s agricultural production requires an urgent shift from traditional to more sustainable practices; however, the acceleration thereof remains challenging. New agricultural business entities (NABEs) lead agricultural modernization and strongly guide the application of innovative agricultural technologies and models. Thus, an understanding of the factors that influence NABEs’ adoption of sustainable intensification practices will promote their widespread adoption. We d

A multi-physical and multi-scale analytical method based on thermo-hydro-mechanical models is adopted to evaluate the long-term deflection of RC beams with cracking under sustained loads and cyclic wet-dry conditions. The major physical-mechanical coupling mechanisms considered in this study includes: 1) water transport and phase equilibrium in the microstructure of gel and capillary pores; 2) accelerated moisture transport affected by cracking in concrete; 3) saturation-dependent creep coeffici