scholarly journals Evaluation of remodeling and geometry on the biomechanical properties of nacreous bivalve shells

2022 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Estefano Muñoz-Moya ◽  
Claudio M. García-Herrera ◽  
Nelson A. Lagos ◽  
Aldo F. Abarca-Ortega ◽  
Antonio G. Checa ◽  
...  

AbstractMollusks have developed a broad diversity of shelled structures to protect against challenges imposed by biological interactions(e.g., predation) and constraints (e.g., $$pCO_2$$ p C O 2 -induced ocean acidification and wave-forces). Although the study of shell biomechanical properties with nacreous microstructure has provided understanding about the role of shell integrity and functionality on mollusk performance and survival, there are no studies, to our knowledge, that delve into the variability of these properties during the mollusk ontogeny, between both shells of bivalves or across the shell length. In this study, using as a model the intertidal mussel Perumytilus purpuratus to obtain, for the first time, the mechanical properties of its shells with nacreous microstructure; we perform uniaxial compression tests oriented in three orthogonal axes corresponding to the orthotropic directions of the shell material behavior (thickness, longitudinal, and transversal). Thus, we evaluated whether the shell material’s stress and strain strength and elastic modulus showed differences in mechanical behavior in mussels of different sizes, between valves, and across the shell length. Our results showed that the biomechanical properties of the material building the P. purpuratus shells are symmetrical in both valves and homogeneous across the shell length. However, uniaxial compression tests performed across the shell thickness showed that biomechanical performance depends on the shell size (aging); and that mechanical properties such as the elastic modulus, maximum stress, and strain become degraded during ontogeny. SEM observations evidenced that compression induced a tortuous fracture with a delamination effect on the aragonite mineralogical structure of the shell. Findings suggest that P. purpuratus may become vulnerable to durophagous predators and wave forces in older stages, with implications in mussel beds ecology and biodiversity of intertidal habitats.

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xin Liu ◽  
Hansheng Geng ◽  
Hongfa Xu ◽  
Yinhao Yang ◽  
Linjian Ma ◽  
...  

Abstract The rock contains many inclusions which produce high locked-in stress under the ground stress. In order to study the influence of locked-in stress on the mechanical properties of rocks, the rock-like materials and nitrile rubber particles are used to make a test block of the rock-like model which contains inclusions. The rubber particles will expand as the test block is heated, which creates locked-in stress in the inclusions. Uniaxial compression tests of similar model blocks with different locked-in stresses and different inclusion contents were performed by using a water bath and MTS-5T uniaxial compression testing machine. The results show that the peak strength and elastic modulus decreased with the increasement of locked-in stress and inclusion content. In the meantime, the relationship among the peak strength, the elastic modulus of the test piece, the locked-in stress and the inclusion content were obtained with the help of a mathematical fitting analysis of the quantitative formula. Furthermore, the expression and value curve of the joint impact factor are calculated. This paper evaluates the importance of the locked-in stress in the mechanical properties of the rock-like material and provide a guide for other researchers to further investigate the locked-in stress in rocks.


Geofluids ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Man Lei ◽  
Fa-ning Dang ◽  
Haibin Xue ◽  
Mingming He

In order to study the mechanical properties of granite at the micro- and nanoscale, the load-displacement curve, residual indentation information, and component information of the quartz, feldspar, and mica in granite were obtained using a nanoindentation test, a scanning electron microscope (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The elastic modulus and the hardness of each component of the granite were obtained through statistical analysis. Treating rock as a composite material, the relation between the macro- and microscopic mechanical properties of rock was established through the theory of micromechanical homogenization. The transition from micromechanical parameters to macromechanical parameters was realized. The equivalent elastic modulus and Poisson’s ratio of the granite were obtained by the Self-consistent method, the Dilute method, and the Mori-Tanaka method. Compared with the elastic modulus and the Poisson ratio of granites measured by a uniaxial compression test and the available data, the applicability of the three methods were analyzed. The results show that the elastic modulus and hardness of the quartz in the granite is the largest, the feldspar is the second, the mica is the smallest. The main mineral contents in granite were analyzed using the semiquantitative method by XRD and the rock slice identification test. The elastic modulus and the Poisson ratio of granite calculated by three linear homogenization methods are consistent with those of the uniaxial compression test. After comparing the calculation results of the three methods, it is found that the Mori-Tanaka method is more suitable for studying the mechanical properties of rock materials. This method has an important theoretical significance and practical value for studying the quantitative relationship between macro- and micromechanical indexes of brittle materials. The research results provide a new method and an important reference for studying the macro-, micro-, and nanomechanical properties of rock.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tao Zhou ◽  
Haijun Chen ◽  
Liangxiao Xiong ◽  
Zhongyuan Xu ◽  
Jie Yang ◽  
...  

Abstract To study the influence of the inclination and length of Z-shaped fissures on the mechanical properties and failure characteristics of the rock mass, this study conducts a series of uniaxial compression tests on rock-like materials with prefabricated Z-shaped fractures. In addition, two-dimensional Particle Flow Code software is used to perform uniaxial compression numerical simulations. The results show that when the specified inclination angle γ (γ = 0°, 30° or 45°) of the parallel cracks on both sides remains unchanged, the peak strength and elastic modulus of the sample show an M-shaped change trend with an increase in the inclination angle β of the middle connection crack. When γ = 60° or 90°, however, the peak strength and elastic modulus of the sample show a trend of decreasing, increasing, and then decreasing as β increases. In addition, the peak strength and elastic modulus of the sample decrease with an increase in the crack length. The influence of crack length on the elastic modulus is less than that of compressive strength. Further, the main failure mode of specimens with Z-shaped cracks is determined to be tension–shear mixed failure manifested by crack propagation from the tip of the prefabricated crack to the upper and lower boundaries of the sample. As a result, a through failure surface is formed with the prefabricated crack, which destroys the sample.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (17) ◽  
pp. 3537
Author(s):  
Yuexiang Lin ◽  
Limin Peng ◽  
Mingfeng Lei ◽  
Xiang Wang ◽  
Chengyong Cao

Block-in-matrix-rocks (bimrocks) are very complicated geological masses that cause many challenging problems during the design and construction of engineering projects, such as parameter determination and landsliding. Successful engineering design and construction depends on a suitable constitutive model and reliable design parameters for geological masses. In this paper, the vibration attenuation signal of welded bimrocks was obtained and studied using resonance test technology. Combined with a uniaxial compression test, a constitutive model was proposed to describe the mechanical behavior of welded bimrocks. On this basis, the relations between the dynamic elastic modulus and the physical parameters of bimrocks were established, which included macroscopic mechanical parameters and damage constitutive parameters. Consequently, a new technological process was proposed to provide quick identification of the mechanical properties of welded bimrocks. The results indicate that the dynamic elastic modulus is highly correlated with the rock block proportion (RBP) and uniaxial compression strength (UCS). It is an effective parameter to predict the strength of the bimrocks with high RBPs. Additionally, the proposed constitutive model, which is based on damage theory, can accurately simulate the strain softening behavior of the bimrocks. Combining the resonant frequency technology and the proposed constitutive model, the complete stress strain curve can be obtained in a rapid and accurate manner, which provides a further guarantee of the stability and safety of underground engineering.


Geofluids ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Xiaoshuang Li ◽  
Yingchun Li ◽  
Saisai Wu

The time-dependent behaviors of the sedimentary rocks which refer to the altering of the mechanical and deformable properties of rock elements in the long-term period are of increasing importance in the investigation of the failure mechanism of the rock strata in underground coal mines. In order to obtain the accurate and reliable mechanical parameters of the sedimentary rocks at different weathering grades, the extensive experimental programs including the Brazilian splitting test, uniaxial compression tests, and direct shear tests have been carried out on the specimens that exposed to the nature environments at different durations. The correlation between the weathering grades and mechanical parameters including uniaxial tensile strength, uniaxial compression strength, elastic modulus, Poisson’s ratio, cohesion, and friction coefficient was proposed. The obtained results suggested that uniaxial tensile strength, uniaxial compressive strength, elastic modulus, and cohesion dramatically decreased with increasing weathering time, characterized as the negative exponential relationship in general. The influences of various weathering grades on fracture behavior of the rock specimens were discussed. The cumulative damage of the rock by the weathering time decreased the friction coefficient of the specimens which led to the initiation and propagation of microcrack within the rock at lower stress conditions. The obtained results improved the understanding of the roles of weathering on the mechanical properties of sedimentary rocks, which is helpful in the design of the underground geotechnical structures.


2018 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
pp. 104-108
Author(s):  
Luboš Řehounek ◽  
Petra Hájková ◽  
Petr Vakrčka ◽  
Aleš Jíra

Construction applications sometimes require use of a material other than construction steel or concrete – mainly in cases, where strength to weight ratio needs to be considered. A suitable solution to this problem are structures manufactured using the 3D printing process, as they have a very good strength to weight ratio (i.e.: Ti-6Al-4V – σ<sub>ult</sub> = 900 MPa and ρ = 4500 kg/m<sup>3</sup>). Trabecular structures are porous structures with local material characteristics identical to their commonly manufactured counterparts, but due to their geometry, they have different global mechanical properties and are suited for special applications. We designed and manufactured six variants of these structures and subjected them to uniaxial compression tests, nanoindentation tests and subsequently evaluated their differences and elastic moduli. The values of global moduli E are in the range of 2.55 GPa – 3.55 GPa for all specimens.


Author(s):  
Elena Ferretti ◽  
Massimo Moretti ◽  
Alberto Chiusoli ◽  
Lapo Naldoni ◽  
Francesco De Fabritiis ◽  
...  

This paper is part of a study of earthen mixtures for 3D printing of buildings. To meet the ever-growing environmental needs, the focus of the paper is on a particular type of biocomposite for the stabilization of earthen mixtures&mdash;the rice husk-lime biocomposite&mdash;and on how to enhance its effect on the long-term mechanical properties of the hardened product. Having assumed that the shredding of the vegetable fiber is precisely one of the possible ways to improve the mechanical properties, we compared the results of uniaxial compression tests performed on cubic specimens made with both shredded and unaltered vegetable fiber, for three curing periods. The results showed that the hardened earthen mixture is not a brittle material in the strict sense, because it exhibits some peculiar behaviors, anomalous for a brittle material. However, being a &ldquo;designable&rdquo; material, its properties can be varied with a certain flexibility to get as close as possible to the desired ones. One of the peculiar properties of the hardened earthen mixture deserves further investigation, rather than corrections. This is the vulcanization that occurs (in a completely natural way) in the long term, thanks to the mineralization of the vegetable fiber by carbonation of the lime.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Zhenhua Wang ◽  
Jun Fang ◽  
Gang Wang ◽  
Yifan Jiang ◽  
Dongwei Li

The uniaxial compression tests were conducted on granite samples with different joint dip angles to more favorably explore the influences of the nonconsecutive joint on mechanical properties and deformation characteristics of the rock mass. The stress-strain curves, deformation and strength characteristics, and energy evolution process of the samples were analyzed. Numerical simulation using particle flow code (PFC) is employed to study the crack propagation process. The mode of jointed and fractured rock was investigated. The research results showed a significant reduction in both the peak strength and elastic modulus of jointed samples compared with intact ones: the peak strength and elastic modulus drop to the minimum at the joint dip angle of about 45°, especially for the peak strength, which takes up about 55% of the intact samples. The fractured samples’ total energy, elastic strain energy, and dissipated energy during the uniaxial compression drop significantly relative to intact samples. The proportion of the fracture modes varies with different joint dip angles, in which the ratio of shear cracks grows at first and then declines, with the highest balance at the dip angle of 45°. The damage stress’s sensitivity to the dip angle change is greater than that of the peak stress, with reduction amplitude more extensive than the latter.


2007 ◽  
Vol 539-543 ◽  
pp. 2036-2042 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean Marc Pelletier ◽  
Sébastien Gravier ◽  
Jean Jacques Blandin

The effect of partial crystallization on the mechanical properties of a Zr based bulk metallic glass (Vitreloy 1) is investigated. Viscoelastic properties are studied by mechanical spectroscopy in large frequency and temperature ranges, both below or above the glass transition temperature (Tg), whereas viscoplastic properties are investigated by compression tests . To study the interaction between crystallization and mechanical properties at high temperature, nanocomposites are produced thanks to appropriate heat treatments. Formation of nanocrystalline particles induces an increase of the storage elastic modulus, especially in the glass transition range, where this modulus is very low in the amorphous material. It also results in a decrease of the loss elastic modulus, corresponding to a decrease of the atomic mobility. Finally, partial crystallization induces very large hardening revealed by the compression tests but the hardening extent depends strongly on the applied strain rate.


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