Compared with electrical strain gauges, fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensing technology is a relatively novel method for tunnel structural health monitoring, which has a number of advantages including high accuracy, multiplexing, electromagnetic interference resistance, and good repeatability. In order to study the internal force of the tunnel liner and detect the potential safety hazards, series of strain monitoring tests of a loess tunnel, taking into account the complex stress and strain variation of the loess during tunnelling, were performed by employing the tandem linear FBG sensor arrays controlled by the wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) technology. The concrete strain has obvious linear characteristics over time in the early stage and then gradually tends to a stable value. Moreover, after the necessary temperature compensation, loess tunnel structure safety was assessed through the analysis of real-time strain and internal force of the liner concrete, and the FBG monitoring data and safety assessment results indicate that the safety factors of various liner sections all meet the code requirements, which verify the safety and stability of the tunnel liner structure. The FBG sensors-based in situ monitoring technology can be well applied in the loess tunnel structure safety assessment.

It is well known that the tunnel structure will lose its function under the long-term repeated function of the vibration effect. A prime example is the Xi’an cross tunnel structure (CTS) of Metro Line 2 and the Yongningmen tunnel, where the vibration response of the tunnel vehicle load and metro train load to the structure of shield tunnel was analyzed by applying the three-dimensional (3D) dynamic finite element model. The effect of the train running was simulated by applying the time-history curves of vibration force of the track induced by wheel axles, using the fitted formulas for vehicle and train vibration load. The characteristics and the spreading rules of vibration response of metro tunnel structure were researched from the perspectives of acceleration, velocity, displacement, and stress. It was found that vehicle load only affects the metro tunnel within 14 m from the centre, and the influence decreases gradually from vault to spandrel, haunch, and springing. The high-speed driving effect of the train can be divided into the close period, the rising period, the stable period, the declining period, and the leaving period. The stress at haunch should be carefully considered. The research results presented for this case study provide theoretical support for the safety of vibration response of Metro Line 2 structure.

The combination of metal and semiconductor components in nanoscale to form a hybrid nanocrystal provides an important approach for achieving advanced functional materials with special optical, magnetic and photocatalytic functionalities. Here, a facile solution method is reported for the synthesis of Au-Ni-ZnO metal-semiconductor hybrid nanocrystals with a flower-like morphology and multifunctional properties. This synthetic strategy uses noble and magnetic metal Au@Ni nanocrystal seeds formed in situ to induce the heteroepitaxial growth of semiconducting ZnO nanopyramids onto the surface of metal cores. Evidence of epitaxial growth of ZnO{0001} facets on Ni {111} facets is observed on the heterojunction, even though there is a large lattice mismatch between the semiconducting and magnetic components. Adjustment of the amount of Au and Ni precursors can control the size and composition of the metal core, and consequently modify the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and magnetic properties. Room-temperature superparamagnetic properties can be achieved by tuning the size of Ni core. The as-prepared Au-Ni-ZnO nanocrystals are strongly photocatalytic and can be separated and re-cycled by virtue of their magnetic properties. The simultaneous combination of plasmonic, semiconducting and magnetic components within a single hybrid nanocrystal furnishes it multifunctionalities that may find wide potential applications.

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To study the creep property of salt rock, uniaxial compression creep tests on salt rock specimens were carried out. The test results indicate that there is no steady creep of the salt rock used in this test in a strict sense. Even in the steady creep stage, the creep rate of salt rock changes continuously over time, but with a relatively smaller change range. When the axial stress does not exceed 9.5 MPa, the isochronous stress–strain curve of salt rock is approximately straight. While the axial stress exceeds 9.5 MPa, the isochronous stress–strain curve deflects to the strain axis, and the larger the axial stress, the more obvious the deflection. Thus, the long-term strength of the salt rock used in this test can be determined as 9.5 MPa. A mathematical expression for predicting the creep failure time of rock is proposed on the basis of assuming the change rule of rock strength over time conforms to the Usher function. Then starting from the variation in deformation modulus with respect to time in the creep process of salt rock, the elastic modulus of the damaged rock material is characterized by the deformation modulus, and the creep damage evolution equation of rock is established. Combined with the continuous damage mechanics theory, a new creep damage constitutive model for rock is proposed. The rationality of the model is verified using the uniaxial compression creep test results of salt rock. The results show that the new model can not only describe the attenuation and the steady creep of salt rock under low stress level, but also reflect the whole creep failure process under high stress level. The predicted curves under different axial stresses are all in good agreement with the test data.

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