This study aims to investigate the effect of mica content on the mechanical properties of clays.Commercially available ground mica was blended with a locally available clayey soil,at varying mica contents by mass of 5...This study aims to investigate the effect of mica content on the mechanical properties of clays.Commercially available ground mica was blended with a locally available clayey soil,at varying mica contents by mass of 5%,10%,15%,20%,25%and 30%,to artificially prepare various micaceous clay blends.The preliminary testing phase included consistency limits and standard Proctor compaction tests.The primary testing program consisted of unconfined compression(UC),direct shear(DS)and scanning electron microscopy(SEM)tests.The test results showed that the liquid and plastic limits exhibited a linear,monotonically increasing trend with increase in mica content.The rate of increase in the plastic limit,however,was found to be greater than that of the liquid limit,thereby leading to a gradual transition towards a non-plastic,cohesionless character.The soft,spongy fabric and high water demand of the mica mineral led to higher optimum water contents and lower maximum dry unit weights with increasing mica content.Under low confinement conditions,i.e.the UC test and the DS test at low normal stresses,the shear strength was adversely affected by mica.However,the closer packing of the clay and mica components in the matrix under high confinement conditions offsets the adverse effects of mica by inducing frictional resistance at the shearing interface,thus leading to improved strength resistance.展开更多
Water in room temperature ionic liquids(RTILs) could impose significant effects on their interfacial properties at a charged surface. Although the interfaces between RTILs and mica surfaces exhibit rich microstructure...Water in room temperature ionic liquids(RTILs) could impose significant effects on their interfacial properties at a charged surface. Although the interfaces between RTILs and mica surfaces exhibit rich microstructure, the influence of water content on such interfaces is little understood,in particular, considering the fact that RTILs are always associated with water due to their hygroscopicity. In this work, we studied how different types of RTILs and different amounts of water molecules affect the RTIL-mica interfaces, especially the water distribution at mica surfaces,using molecular dynamics(MD) simulation. MD results showed that(1) there is more water and a thicker water layer adsorbed on the mica surface as the water content increases, and correspondingly the average location of K^+ ions is farther from mica surface;(2) more water accumulated at the interface with the hydrophobic [Emim][TFSI] than in case of the hydrophilic [Emim][BF4] due to the respective RTIL hydrophobicity and ion size. A similar trend was also observed in the hydrogen bonds formed between water molecules. Moreover, the 2D number density map of adsorbed water revealed that the high-density areas of water seem to be related to K^+ ions and silicon/aluminum atoms on mica surface. These results are of great importance to understand the effects of hydrophobicity/hydrophicility of RTIL and water on the interfacial microstructure at electrified surfaces.展开更多
基金made possible through the provision of an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship
文摘This study aims to investigate the effect of mica content on the mechanical properties of clays.Commercially available ground mica was blended with a locally available clayey soil,at varying mica contents by mass of 5%,10%,15%,20%,25%and 30%,to artificially prepare various micaceous clay blends.The preliminary testing phase included consistency limits and standard Proctor compaction tests.The primary testing program consisted of unconfined compression(UC),direct shear(DS)and scanning electron microscopy(SEM)tests.The test results showed that the liquid and plastic limits exhibited a linear,monotonically increasing trend with increase in mica content.The rate of increase in the plastic limit,however,was found to be greater than that of the liquid limit,thereby leading to a gradual transition towards a non-plastic,cohesionless character.The soft,spongy fabric and high water demand of the mica mineral led to higher optimum water contents and lower maximum dry unit weights with increasing mica content.Under low confinement conditions,i.e.the UC test and the DS test at low normal stresses,the shear strength was adversely affected by mica.However,the closer packing of the clay and mica components in the matrix under high confinement conditions offsets the adverse effects of mica by inducing frictional resistance at the shearing interface,thus leading to improved strength resistance.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51406060)Shenzhen Basic Research Project (JCYJ20170307171511292)the National Supercomputing Centers in Tianjin (Tianhe-1A) and Guangzhou (Tianhe Ⅱ)
文摘Water in room temperature ionic liquids(RTILs) could impose significant effects on their interfacial properties at a charged surface. Although the interfaces between RTILs and mica surfaces exhibit rich microstructure, the influence of water content on such interfaces is little understood,in particular, considering the fact that RTILs are always associated with water due to their hygroscopicity. In this work, we studied how different types of RTILs and different amounts of water molecules affect the RTIL-mica interfaces, especially the water distribution at mica surfaces,using molecular dynamics(MD) simulation. MD results showed that(1) there is more water and a thicker water layer adsorbed on the mica surface as the water content increases, and correspondingly the average location of K^+ ions is farther from mica surface;(2) more water accumulated at the interface with the hydrophobic [Emim][TFSI] than in case of the hydrophilic [Emim][BF4] due to the respective RTIL hydrophobicity and ion size. A similar trend was also observed in the hydrogen bonds formed between water molecules. Moreover, the 2D number density map of adsorbed water revealed that the high-density areas of water seem to be related to K^+ ions and silicon/aluminum atoms on mica surface. These results are of great importance to understand the effects of hydrophobicity/hydrophicility of RTIL and water on the interfacial microstructure at electrified surfaces.
