• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.23 no.2
• /
• pp.147-161
• /
• 2006

Recent developments in fractal theory suggest that fractal may provide a more realistic representation of characteristics of cementitious materials. In this paper, the roughness of fracture surfaces in cementitious material has been characterized by fractal theory. A systematic experimental investigation was carried out to examine the dependency of fracture parameters on the aggregate sizes as well as the loading rates. Three maximum aggregate sizes (4.76 mm, 12.7 mm, and 19.1 mm) and two loading rates (slow and fast loading rate) were used. A total of 25 compression tests and 25 tension tests were performed. All fracture parameters exhibited an increase, to varying degrees, when aggregates were added to the mortar matrix. The fracture surfaces of the specimens were digitized and analyzed. Results of the fractal analysis suggested that concrete fracture surfaces exhibit fractal characteristics, and the fractal geometry provide a useful tool for characterizing nonlinear fracture behavior of concrete. Fractal dimension D was monotonically increased as maximum aggregate sizes increase. A new fractal fracture model was developed which considers the size and shape of aggregate, and the crack paths in the constituent phases. Detailed analyses were given for four different types of fracture paths. The fractal fracture model can estimate fractal dimension for multiphase composites.

• Computers and Concrete
• /
• v.26 no.6
• /
• pp.505-513
• /
• 2020

Grading of aggregate influences significantly almost all of the concrete performances. The purpose of this paper is to propose practicable equations that express the optimized total aggregate gradation, by weight or by number of particles in a concrete mix. The principle is based on the fractal feature of the grading of combined aggregate in a solid skeleton of concrete. Therefore, equations are derived based on the so-called fractal dimension of the grain size distribution of aggregates. Obtained model was then applied in such a way a correlation between some properties of the dry concrete mix and the fractal dimension of the aggregate gradation has been built. This demonstrates that the parameter fractal dimension is an efficacious tool to establish a unified model to study the solid phase of concrete in order to design aggregate gradation to meet certain requirements or even to predict some characteristics of the dry concrete mixture.

• Computers and Concrete
• /
• v.2 no.3
• /
• pp.239-248
• /
• 2005

The article presents the results of examination of the fractal dimension D of concrete specimen fracture surfaces obtained in fracture toughness tests. The concretes were made from three different types of coarse aggregate: gravel, dolomite and basalt aggregate. Ordinary concretes (C40) and high-performance concretes (HPC) were subjected to testing after 7, 14, 28 and 90 days of curing, respectively. In fracture toughness and compressive tests, different behaviours of concretes were found, depending on the type of aggregate and class of concrete (C40, HPC). A significant increase in the strength parameters tested occurred also after a period of 28 days (up to the $90^{th}$ day of curing) and was particularly large for concretes C40. Fractal examinations performed on fracture replicas showed that the fractal dimension D was diverse, depending on the coarse aggregate type and concrete class being, however, statistically constant after 7 and 14 days for respective concretes during curing. The fractal dimension D was the greater, the worse strength properties were possessed by the concrete. A cross-grain crack propagation occurred in that case, due to weak cohesion forces at the coarse aggregate/mortar interface. A similar effect was observed for C40 and HPC made from the same aggregate. A greater dimension D was exhibited by concretes C40, in which case the fracture was easier to form compared with high-performance concretes, where, as a result of high aggregate/mortar cohesion forces, the crack propagation was of inter-granular type, and the resulted fracture was flatter.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
• /
• 2001.06d
• /
• pp.605-611
• /
• 2001

A numerical technique for simulating the aggregation of charged particles was presented with a Brownian dynamic simulation in the free molecular regime. The Langevin equation was used for tracking each particle making up an aggregate. A periodic boundary condition was used for calculation of the aggregation process in each cell with 500 primary particles of 16 nm in diameter. We considered the thermal force and the electrostatic force for the calculation of the particle motion. The morphological shape of aggregates was described in terms of the fractal dimension. The fractal dimension for the uncharged aggregate was $D_{f}=1.761$. The fractal dimension changed slightly for the various amounts of bipolar charge. However, in case of unipolar charge, the fractal dimension decreased from 1.641 to 1.537 with the increase of the average number of charges on the particles from 0.2 to 0.3 in initial states.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
• /
• v.60 no.2
• /
• pp.260-266
• /
• 2022

Average aggregate size in particulate suspensions is estimated with scaling theories based on fractal concept and elasticity of colloidal gel. The scaling theories are used to determine structure parameters of the aggregates, i.e., fractal dimension and power-law exponent for aggregate size reduction with shear stress using scaling behavior of elastic modulus and shear yield stress as a function of particle concentration. The structure parameters are utilized to predict aggregate size which varies with shear stress through rheological modeling. Experimentally rheological measurement is conducted for aqueous suspension of zinc oxide particles with average diameter of 110 nm. The predicted aggregate size is about 1135 nm at 1 s^-1 and 739 nm at 1000 s^-1 on the average over the particle concentrations. It has been found that the predicted aggregate size near 0.1 s^-1 agrees with that the measured one by a dynamic light scattering analyzer operated un-sheared.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
• /
• v.26 no.2
• /
• pp.227-237
• /
• 2002

A numerical technique for simulating the aggregation of charged particles was presented with a Brownian dynamic simulation in the free molecular regime. The Langevin equation was used for tracking each particle making up an aggregate. A periodic boundary condition was used for calculation of the aggregation process in each cell with 500 primary particles of 16 nm in diameter. We considered the thermal force and the electrostatic force for the calculation of the particle motion. The electrostatic force on a particle in the simulation cell was considered as a sum of electrostatic forces from other particles in the original cell and its replicate cells. We assumed that the electric charges accumulated on an aggregate were located on its center of mass, and aggregates were only charged with pre-charged primary particles. The morphological shape of aggregates was described in terms of the fractal dimension. In the simulation, the fractal dimension for the uncharged aggregate was D$\_$f/ = 1.761. The fractal dimension changed slightly for the various amounts of bipolar charge. However, in case of unipolar charge, the fractal dimension decreased from 1.641 to 1.537 with the increase of the average number of charges on the particles from 0.2 to 0.3 in initial states. In the bipolar charge state, the average sizes of aggregates were larger than that of the uncharged state in the early and middle stages of aggregation process, but were almost the same as the case of the uncharged state in the final stage. On the other hand, in the unipolar charge state, the average size of aggregates and the dispersion of particle volume decreased with the increasing of the charge quantities.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
• /
• v.23 no.9
• /
• pp.1139-1150
• /
• 1999

The evolution of silica aggregate particles in coflow diffusion flames has been studied experimentally using light scattering and thermophoretic sampling techniques. The measurements of scattering cross section from $90^{\circ}$ light scattering have been utilized to calculate the aggregate number density and volume fraction using with combination of measuring the particle size and morphology through the localized sampling and a TEM image analysis. Aggregate or particle number densities and volume fractions were calculated using Rayleigh-Debye-Gans and Mie theory for fractal aggregates and spherical particles, respectively. Of particular interests are the effects of flame temperature on the evolution of silica aggregate particles. As the flow rate of $H_2$ increases, the primary particle diameters of silica aggregates have been first decreased, but, further increase of $H_2$ flow rate causes the diameter of primary particles to increase and for sufficiently larger flow rates, the fractal aggregates finally become spherical particles. The variation of primary particle size along the upward jet centerline and the effect of burner configuration have also been studied.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
• /
• v.42 no.1
• /
• pp.58-64
• /
• 2009

The objectives of this study were to investigate the aggregate fragmentation in wet-sieving and to evaluate the relationship between the aggregate fragmentation fractal dimension and macro-porosity of upland soils, using three different textural types of soils including Gopyeng series (Fine, Typic Hapludalfs), Gyuam series (Fine silty over coarse silty, Fluvaquentic Eutrudepts), and Jungdong series (Coarse loamy, Typic Udifluvents) located in Gyeonggi province. Undisturbed soil samples with five replicates were seasonally sampled and used for measuring water stable aggregate, macropores, and physico-chemical properties of soils. The aggregate stability in wet-sieving was digitalized as three types of fragmentation fractal dimension ($D_f$), geometric mean diameter (GMD), and mean weight diameter (MWD). $D_f$ had higher correlation with GMD than with MWD. Seasonal aggregate stability showed the highest values in summer, and decreased in the order of spring and autumn. The macroporosity had higher in topsoil, in autumn, and in ridge, than in plow pan layer, in summer, and in row, respectively. The relationship between $D_f$ and macroporosity, especially more than 99 m, showed high correlation only in soils with $D_f$ less than 3.1, which means more aggregated soils compared to soils with $D_f$ more than 3.1. Besides, in the soils with the fractal dimension less than 3.1, the power function relation between saturated hydraulic conductivity and macroporosity more than 99 m had relatively high determinant coefficient, and vice versa. Therefore, it could be thought that fragmentation fractal dimension is available for confirming macroporosity induced from aggregation.

• Elastomers and Composites
• /
• v.54 no.2
• /
• pp.156-160
• /
• 2019

The changes in the dispersion of carbon black in liquid polyisoprene under shear flow with time have been investigated by time-resolved ultra small-angle X-ray scattering (USAXS) method. The analyses of USAXS profile immediately after the start of shear flow clarified that the aggregates of carbon black with a mean radius of gyration of 14 nm and surface fractal dimension of 2.5 form the fractal network structure with mass-fractal dimension of 2.9. After the application of the shear flow, the scattering intensity increases with time at the observed whole entire q region, and then the a shoulder appears at $q=0.005nm^{-1}$, indicating that the agglomerate is broken and becomes smaller by shear flow. The analysis by the Unified Guinier/Power-law approach yielded several characteristic parameters, such as the sizes of aggregate and agglomerate, mass-fractal dimension of agglomerate, and surface fractal dimension of the primary particle. While the mean radius of gyration of the agglomerate decreases with time, the mean radius of gyration of the aggregate, mass fractal dimension, and surface fractal dimension don't change with time, indicating that the aggregates peel off the surface of the agglomerate.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.25 no.5
• /
• pp.565-576
• /
• 2007

The article describes a technique for the measurement of the level of complexity of fracture surfaces by the method of vertical sections, and a performed statistical analysis of the effect of profile lines on the fractographic and fractal parameters of fractures, i.e. the profile line development factor, $R_L$, and the fracture surface development factor, $R_S$, (as defined by the cycloid method), as well as the fractal dimension, $D_C$, (as determined by the chord method), and the fractal dimension, $D_{BC}$, (as determined by the box method). The above-mentioned parameters were determined for fracture surfaces of basalt and gravel concretes, respectively, which had previously been subjected to fracture toughness tests. The concretes were made from mixtures of a water/cement ratio ranging from 0.41 to 0.61 and with a variable fraction of coarse aggregate to fine aggregate, $C_{agg.}/F_{agg.}$, in the range from 1.5 to 3.5. Basalt and gravel aggregate of a fraction to maximum 16 mm were used to the tests. Based on the performed analysis it has been established that the necessary number of concrete fracture profile lines, which assures the reliability of obtained testing results, should amount to 12.