International Journal of Impact Engineering 164 (2022) 104192

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International Journal of Impact Engineering

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijimpeng

Dynamic compression mechanical properties of eco-friendly ultra-high

performance concrete produced with aeolian sand: Experimental and
three-dimensional mesoscopic investigation
Taotao Feng a, b, Fengjuan Wang a, b, Yongshan Tan c, Chengjun Yue d, Wenxiang Xu e,
Zhiyong Liu a, b, Zhiqiang Yang f, Yirui Wu a, b, Jinyang Jiang a, b, *
a
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, China
b
Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Construction Materials, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, China
c
College of Civil Science and Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225127, China
d
Engineering Research Center of Safety and Protection of Explosion & Impact of Ministry of Education, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, China
e
Institute of Materials and Structures Mechanics, College of Mechanics and Materials, Hohai University, Nanjing 211100, China
f
Railway Engineering Research Institute, China Academy of Railway Science Corporation Limited, Beijing 100081, China

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: The dynamic mechanical properties of ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) containing aeolian sand was
Dynamic mechanical properties studied via the split Hopkinson pressure bar technique and three-dimensional mesoscopic numerical simulation.
Ultra-high performance concrete A novel method for three-dimensional modeling of end-hook steel fibers was proposed. Employing the 3D
Aeolian sand, Mesoscale model
mesoscale model, the dynamic compressive responses of aeolian sand-based UHPC were simulated and analyzed.
Simulation results exhibited constitutive relationships and failure patterns that agree well with the impact test
results, which verified that the established three-dimensional mesoscopic model enables effective analysis of the
dynamic mechanical properties of aeolian sand-based UHPC. Then the effects of strain rate, fiber content and
matrix strength on the stress-strain relation and energy evolution process were quantitatively discussed, which
provide a basis for the application of aeolian sand-based UHPC.

1. Introduction China’s rich ecological environment [3].

China is among countries possessing the largest areas of desert in the
world. China’s total desert area of about 156.8 km2 accounts for about
11.4% of the global desert area and is distributed primarily throughout
its Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Gansu, Ningxia, and Qinghai regions [1].
The current stage of China’s civil engineering efforts emphasizes
large-scale construction, and concrete has become the most widely used
building material due to its superior performance. However, as the
consumption of concrete continues to climb each year, river sand re­
sources have become increasingly less able to meet the needs of
large-scale contemporary construction without compromises in reserve
maintenance, sustainable development, and cost [2]. If aeolian sand
resources can be reasonably and effectively applied as an alternative
input of practical concrete engineering, the considerable demand placed
on insufficient river sand reserves can be alleviated, potentially
accompanied by reductions in desertification that help to preserve
The research and application of aeolian sand as an engineering ma­
terial has an extensive history, focusing primarily on the sand’s use
as a filler and to prepare concrete. In 1982, Khan evaluated the en­
gineering characteristics of aeolian sand in the Sahara desert in Libya
and pointed out its feasibility as a road construction material [4].
Arabia, Europe, the Middle East, and the United States are among
countries and regions that have used aeolian sand to build roads, in
which the sand was used as roadbed, foundation, and filling material
for its desirable compaction and stability characteristics [5]. In 2012,
Padmakumar et al. compared the characteristics of aeolian sand
found in India, the Arabian Peninsula, Australia, and China, deter­
mining that these sources can be used as fine aggregates in concrete
[6]. Over recent years, many scholars have indeed used aeolian sand
to wholly or partially replace river sand as a source of fine aggregates
used to prepare concrete, offering valuable application prospects in

* Corresponding author at: School of Materials Science and Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, China.
E-mail address: jiangjinyang16@163.com (J. Jiang).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijimpeng.2022.104192
Received 4 November 2021; Received in revised form 29 January 2022; Accepted 5 February 2022
Available online 8 February 2022
0734-743X/© 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
T. Feng et al.
Fig. 1. Particle size distributions of river sand and aeolian sand.
regions where river sand is scarce. Seif demonstrated that the
strength of aeolian sand-based concrete is inversely proportional to
the amount of incorporated sand, and that the workability and
strength of concrete with certain contents of aeolian sand can meet
requirements for general engineering use [7]. Li et al. studied the
influence of aeolian sand on the mechanical behavior of concrete via
a multi-scale method, and their results indicated that the partial
replacement of river sand can improve mechanical properties [8].
The authors attributed the observed mechanical enhancement to two
general aspects: physical enhancement was facilitated by the aeolian
sand’s tendency to optimize aggregate gradation, which increases
the compacted density, changing the interfacial transition zone and
pore structures of the concrete; chemical enhancement was facili­
tated by the presence of ultra-fine particles in the aeolian sand,
which can promote cement hydration to strengthen the microstruc­
ture of the concrete matrix. Zhang et al. further examined light­
weight aggregate concrete prepared from aeolian sand, finding that
many of its technical indices, including bulk density, thermal con­
ductivity, workability, and mechanical properties, could satisfy
various design specifications [9]. Zhang et al. studied the mechanical
properties of aeolian sand-based concrete under high-strain-rate
conditions [10]. In their study, compressive strength increased
with increasing ratios of aeolian sand replacement up to an optimal
ratio of 40%, due to the sand’s ability to improve concrete
compactness. Because aeolian sand and river sand exhibit significant
differences in morphology and grading characteristics, scholars have
explored the design method of concrete containing aeolian sand. Yan
et al. proposed a method to design and optimize the mix proportion
of aeolian sand concrete based on a statistical model, achieving good
agreement between experimental and predicted values [11]. Li et al.
incorporated aeolian sand to prepare concrete with a strength of 55
MPa, and they established a time-varying compressive strength
model for aeolian sand concrete that provided accurate predictions
of concrete strength [12]. However, concretes prepared therein and
in other works thus far have been primarily of low-strength grade
due to the poor characteristics of fine particle size and smooth par­
ticle surface, and this has limited the large-scale use of aeolian sand
concrete in many engineering applications.
Ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) is a relatively new type of
cement-based composite material. Since its implementation in the
late 20th century, it has garnered extensive attention from the civil
engineering community. Compared with ordinary concrete, UHPC
exhibits superior properties of ultra-high strength, high toughness,
and high durability, enabling its broad application to the develop­
ment of infrastructure that includes high-rise buildings, long-span
bridges, and military protection projects [13–15]. Kachouh et al.
prepared fiber-reinforced concrete using aeolian sand as fine aggre­
gates, but they achieved a 28-d compressive strength of less than 40
2
International Journal of Impact Engineering 164 (2022) 104192
Mpa [16], unable to meet the requirements of UHPC. To reduce
engineering costs and realize the utilization of aeolian sand re­
sources, Jiang et al. adopted an extremely low water-binder ratio and
large amount of mineral admixtures in their concrete formulations,
successfully preparing aeolian sand-based UHPC that demonstrated a
compressive strength of more than 160 MPa [17]. The feasibility of
using aeolian sand to prepare impact-resistant materials has thus
been confirmed through preliminary research on the dynamic me­
chanical properties of aeolian sand-based UHPC. However, in­
vestigations of aeolian sand’s influence on UHPC have focused
primarily on the evaluation of macroscopic material properties,
while details of micro/meso‑level phenomena and intrinsic mecha­
nisms of enhanced performance have remained unexplored. A deeper
examination obtaining theoretical guidance for the successful future
development and application of aeolian sand-based UHPC was
needed.
Concrete is a kind of heterogeneous composite materials. Wittman
et al. believed that the mechanical properties of concrete can be
studied from three levels: microscopic, mesoscopic and macroscopic
[18]. Talebi et al. established a multi-scale mechanical analysis
model, which can well analyze the fracture characteristics of het­
erogeneous materials [19]. With the development of micro­
mechanics theory and computer technology, numerical simulation is
used to study the failure behavior of heterogeneous materials, which
provides a way to study the relationship between microscopic crack
development and macroscopic mechanical properties of concrete.
Rabczuk et al. proposed a new method for treating crack growth of
concrete by particle methods, which could well reconstruct the
damage behavior of concrete slab under blast loadings [20]. Fang
and Zhang established the three-dimensional numerical model about
the dynamic response and failure mode of steel fiber reinforced
concrete materials under impact and explosion loads, and the results
showed that the developed numerical model could precisely predict
the failure mode of concrete [21]. In addition, the meshfree method
for dynamic fracture and fragmentation of concrete structures has
also gained high recognition [22,23]. Concrete is a multiphase
composite material whose mechanical properties are determined by
the mesoscopic components. Bažant believed that the mesoscale
numerical analysis method which can accurately describe the
mesoscopic structure of concrete materials is an effective method to
analyze the mechanical properties of concrete or reinforced concrete
components [24]. Jin et al. proposed a two-dimensional mesoscopic
numerical model including matrix, aggregates and interface transi­
tion zone, which could be used to explain the damage mechanism of
concrete materials under different strain rates [25]. Chen et al.
developed a three-dimensional meso‑finite element model of con­
crete, and carried out the numerical simulation analysis of split
Hopkinson tensile bar (SHPB), which had a high match with the test
results [26]. The above studies showed that the use of numerical
simulation methods can effectively reflect the macroscopic me­
chanical properties of concrete materials.
This work employed the SHPB system to systematically study the
dynamic mechanical behavior of aeolian sand-based UHPC. Meso­
scopic numerical simulation of the material’s dynamic compressive
mechanical properties was developed and executed. First, a novel
model for the three-dimensional packing of end-hook fibers was
established. Then, the finite element method (LS-DYNA) was used to
simulate the impact process, and the dynamic mechanical simulation
parameters suitable for aeolian sand-based UHPC were proposed.
Then the effect of matrix strength, fiber content and strain rate on the
stress-strain relation and energy evolution process were systemati­
cally discussed. The research communicated herein provides a
theoretical basis for the utilization of aeolian sand-based UHPC in
protection engineering, promoting the mobilization of aeolian sand
resources toward engineered applications.
T. Feng et al. International Journal of Impact Engineering 164 (2022) 104192

Fig. 2. Particle surface morphologies.

Table 1
Contents of UHPC mixtures (kg/m3).
Sample OPC FA SF River sand Aeolian sand Water Water reducer Steel fiber

A0R100 606 303 101 1111 0 131.3 50.5 195

A100R0 606 303 101 0 1111 131.3 50.5 195

Fig. 3. Schematic of the SHPB test apparatus.

2. Materials and methods 2.3. Experimental methods

2.1. Concrete materials 2.3.1. Specimen preparation

Portland cement (PC) P•II52.5, fly ash (FA), and silica fume (SF)
were used as the raw cementitious materials. River sand and aeolian
sand were used as the fine aggregates. The river sand was provided by a
local company in Naning, while the aeolian sand originated from the
Gurbantunggut Desert in Xinjiang, China. Figs. 1 and 2 present the
particle size distributions and the morphological features, respectively,
of the two types of sand. Compared with river sand, aeolian sand
exhibited a finer particle size and smoother particle surface.
End-hook steel fibers of 0.35-mm diameter and 20-mm length were
dispersed in the concrete mixtures at a content of 2.5% (v/v). The elastic
modulus and tensile strength of the fibers were 203 and 2.0 GPa,
respectively. A polycarboxylate-based water-reducing agent of 40% (w/
w) solid was applied to obtain satisfactory workability.
2.2. Concrete formulation
The contents of the two prepared UHPC mixtures are summarized in
Table 1. Except for the contents of aeolian sand and river sand, pro­
portions of all components were equivalent among the two samples.
A forced single-axis mixer was used to prepare the UHPC mixtures.
First, the cementitious materials and sands were mixed via constant
stirring for 120 s. Second, a solution of the water and water reducer was
added to the mixture, which was then stirred for 180 s. Third, steel fibers
were added to the mixture within 120 s. Finally, the mixture was cast
into molds, which were then stored at room temperature, and approxi­
mately 48 h after casting, specimens were demolded. They were then
cured for 28 days in a moist room at a temperature of (20 ± 2) ◦ C and
minimum relative humidity of 95%.
2.3.2. Mechanical properties
The cured aeolian sand-based UHPC specimens were cylindrical
(Ф70 × 35 mm). A Φ100 mm SHPB test system comprising four primary
parts (i.e., the power device, bar, speed measurement, and signal
acquisition systems), as shown in Fig. 3, was used for dynamic
compression testing of the specimens. The bar system was composed of a
bullet, incident bar, transmission bar, and absorbing bar of lengths 600
mm, 5000 mm, 3000 mm, and 1000 mm, respectively, all with di­
ameters of 100 mm, made of stainless steel with an elastic modulus of
210 GPa and density of 7850 kg/m3. The signal was recorded by strain

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T. Feng et al. International Journal of Impact Engineering 164 (2022) 104192

Fig. 4. Reconstructed pore structures of river sand- and aeolian sand-based UHPC specimens cured for 28 days.

Fig. 5. Pore characteristics of different UHPC specimens cured for 28 days.]

gauges on the incident bar and transmission bar. The three-wave method 2.3.3. Pore structure
was used to calculate test results via the following formulae: Different mortar samples were prepared to determine the pore
structures of the two types of UHPC via X-ray-computed tomography (X-
EA0
σ (t) = (εi (t) + εr (t) + εt (t)) (1) CT, Precision S, YXLON Company) and mercury intrusion porosimetry
2A
(MIP, Micromeritics AutoPore IV 9500, Micromeritics Instrument Cor­
∫t poration). Cubic mortar samples of 50 mm side length were used for X-
c0 CT, and smaller mortar samples of approximately 0.5 mm side length
ε(t) = (εi (t) − εr (t) − εt (t))dt (2)
L
0
were used for the MIP test.

ε̇(t) =
c0
(εi (t) − εr (t) − εt (t)) (3) 2.3.4. Fiber distribution
L X-CT tests and VG studio software were used to analyze the fiber
distributions inside cylindrical specimens (Ф70 × 35 mm).
where σ (t) is the average stress of the specimen; εi(t), εr(t), and εt(t) are
the strain of the incident, reflected, and transmission wave, respectively;
A0 and A are the cross-sectional area of the pressure bar and specimen, 3. Results and discussion
respectively; L is the length of the specimen; E represents the elastic
modulus of the SHPB bars; c0 represents the propagation velocity in the 3.1. Pore structure characteristics of river and aeolian sand-based UHPC
SHPB bars; ε(t) is the strain and ε̇(t) is the strain rate of the specimen.
To clearly demonstrate the influences of aeolian sand and river sand
on the internal pore structure of UHPC, the three-dimensional recon­
struction of the X-CT results obtained from samples of the two types of

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T. Feng et al. International Journal of Impact Engineering 164 (2022) 104192

Table 2
Pore size distributions of different UHPC specimens cured for 28 days.
Sample Total Average pore Porosity of different types of pores
porosity diameter (nm) (%)
(%)
gel capillary macropores
pores pores

A0R100 2.99 14.51 1.13 1.24 0.62

A100R0 2.67 14.03 0.94 0.99 0.74

Table 3
Mechanical parameters of aeolian sand UHPC.
1
Sample fc/ Strain rate/s− Peak stress/MPa Peak strain/% DIF
MPa

A100N0 146.8 35.7 192.8 0.69 1.31

59.6 226.4 0.77 1.54
71.6 258.1 0.82 1.76
83.2 265.0 0.79 1.81
106.9 281.3 0.93 1.92

Fig. 8. Impact compression stress-strain curve of aeolian sand UHPC.

UHPC were performed, and the reconstructed 3D map was rendered

using the VG studio software, as shown in Fig. 4. In this figure, blue
indicates small pores (≤100 μm), green indicates mesopores (100–300
μm), and red indicates large pores (300–500 μm). The UHPC mixed with
either river sand or aeolian sand exhibited primarily small pores (blue).
Calculations of the total porosity, 11.39% for specimen A0R100 and
10.66% for specimen A100R0, indicated similarity in pore structures
between the two types of UHPC. The research of Jiang et al. [17]
measured the compressive strengths of 28-day cured A0R100 and
A100R0 samples to be 144.4 and 146.8 MPa, respectively; i.e., the
compressive strength of UHPC exhibited little variation when river sand
was replaced by aeolian sand as the fine aggregate. Per the literature
[27], pores distributed in cementitious materials can be classified as
follows: innocuous pores (<20 nm), less harmful pores (20–50 nm),
detrimental pores (50–200 nm), and very detrimental pores (>200 nm).
Because the resolution of the obtained X-CT images was 65 μm/pixel,
any pores (formed primarily from bubbles introduced during the stirring
process that were trapped by the air-entrainment effect of the super­
Fig. 6. Original waveform. plasticizer [28]) detectable by the CT statistical analysis inevitably had
an adverse effect on the strength of the UHPC. Thus, the previously re­
ported similarity in compressive strengths of the two types of UHPC can
be readily attributed to the similarities observed here in their pore
structures.
The MIP technique was also used to investigate the pore structures of
the two types of UHPC. Fig. 5 presents plots of the pore size distribution
of river sand and aeolian sand UHPC cured for 28 days. Table 2 sum­
marizes the pore structure information. Based on these measurements,
the total porosity and geometric pore size of the river sand UHPC sample
were 2.99% and 14.51 nm, respectively, while those of the aeolian sand
UHPC sample were 2.67% and 14.03 nm. Thus, the replacement of river
sand with aeolian sand marginally improved certain pore characteristics
of the prepared UHPC.
The pore structures of the two samples were further characterized by
dividing their pore size distributions into three ranges [29] designating
gel pores (<10 nm), capillary pores (10–5000 nm), and macropores
(>5000 nm), as shown in Table 3. Compared with that of river sand
UHPC, the porosity of macropores in aeolian sand UHPC increased by
0.12%, while the porosity of gel pores and capillary pores decreased by
0.19% and 0.25%, respectively. As such, when other mixture compo­
nents were held constant, the replacement of river sand with aeolian
sand did not significantly affect the total porosity or pore size distribu­
Fig. 7. Verification of data validity. tion of UHPC.
Combined analysis of the results obtained via X-CT and MIP suggests
that differences in pore structure between river sand- and aeolian sand-

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T. Feng et al. International Journal of Impact Engineering 164 (2022) 104192

showed that peak stress increased with the increasing of strain rate.
When the strain rate increased from 35.7 to 106.9 s− 1, the dynamic
compressive strength increased from 192.8 to 281.3 MPa.
The dynamic increase factor (DIF) is the ratio of the dynamic and
static strengths of concrete, and it characterizes the strength change of a
material caused by dynamic loading [32]. Fig. 9 [33] compares the data
obtained in the present study with research literature that details
changes in DIF with varying strain rates. The test results presented here
were similar to test data obtained by most scholars, indicating that the
mechanical behavior of aeolian sand-based UHPC is clearly influenced
by strain rate effects.

3.3. Three-dimensional reconstruction of end-hook steel fiber

In this work, a 3D meso‑scale model of aeolian sand-based UHPC was

developed to simulate the material’s failure behavior under dynamic
compression. To reconstruct the filler phase comprised of randomly
dispersed end-hook steel fibers, algorithms were developed for the
random generation and distribution of fibers in three dimensions. Spe­
Fig. 9. Summary of relationships between impact compression DIF and cific steps were as follows.
strain rate.
3.3.1. Determination of the number of fibers (step 1)
The shape of the end-hook steel fiber was first modeled as a chain of
five cylinders, and the volume of a single five-cylinder fiber was ob­
tained (VFiber). The total content of steel fibers in the prepared aeolian
sand UHPC was 2.5% (v/v), so the number of individual modeled fibers
was approximated via Eq. (4):
/
π 4 ∗ d2 ∗ h ∗ 2.5%
N= (4)
VFiber

where h is the height and d is the diameter of the UHPC specimen.

3.3.2. Determination of the random position of a fiber (step 2)

To obtain the position information, the center of a single end-hook

steel fiber was designated the origin of the coordinate system.
Then, the fiber was made to translate and rotate in three-dimensional
space, and the transformed position coordinates of the fiber were
Fig. 10. Three-dimensional space transformations of the fiber. obtained, as shown in Fig. 10.

based UHPC are minimal, and so the substitution of aeolian sand as a
fine aggregate is unlikely to markedly reduce compressive strength of
the concrete. Thus, aeolian sand is viable for use in the preparation of
UHPC that maintains excellent mechanical properties.
3.2. Dynamic impact compression response of aeolian sand-based UHPC
Fig. 6 presents a representative original waveform obtained from
impact compression tests performed on the aeolian sand-based UHPC
specimens. Measurements were verified to ensure that the stress balance
was satisfied: εi(t) + εr(t) = εt(t) [30,31]. As shown in Fig. 7, the
waveform in Fig. 6 satisfied this strain relationship, indicating that the
corresponding data set was valid.
The stress-strain curve obtained from aeolian sand UHPC under dy­
namic impact at different strain rates is shown in Fig. 8, and corre­
sponding mechanical parameters are summarized in Table 3. The results
The displacements of the fiber along X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis di­
rections of the three-dimensional coordinate system were designated x0,
y0, and z0, respectively, where possible values of x0 and y0 were assumed
randomly distributed over the interval [-d/2, d/2] and possible values of
z0 were assumed randomly distributed over the interval [-h/2, h/2],
providing the translation matrix:
⎛ ⎞
1 0 0 x0
⎜ 0 1 0 y0 ⎟
T=⎜ ⎝ 0 0 1 z0 ⎠
⎟ (5)
0 0 0 1
The rotation angles of the fiber relative to X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis
were designated α, β, and γ, respectively, where possible values of α, β,
and γ were assumed randomly distributed over the interval [0, 2π],
providing the rotation matrix:

⎛ ⎞⎛ ⎞⎛ ⎞
cosγ − sinγ 0 0 cosβ 0 − sinβ 0 1 0 0 0
⎜ sinγ cosγ 0 0⎟ ⎜ 0⎟ ⎜ cosα − sinα 0⎟
⎜
R=⎝ ⎟⎜ 0 1 0 ⎟⎜ 0 ⎟ (6)
0 0 1 0 ⎠⎝ sinβ 0 cosβ 0 ⎠⎝ 0 sinα cosα 0⎠
0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1

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T. Feng et al. International Journal of Impact Engineering 164 (2022) 104192

Fig. 11. Overlap evaluation for modeled straight fibers.

Fig. 12. Comparison of obtained fiber distributions.

Fig. 13. Finite element model of SHPB testing.

7
T. Feng et al.
Fig. 14. Three impendent failure surfaces and the material failure criteria of the K&C model.
The random coordinates of the modeled fiber’s position in three-
dimensional space were then obtained:
Pv = R⋅T⋅Pv (7)
where Pv is the endpoint coordinate after transformation, and Pv is the
endpoint coordinate before transformation.
3.3.3. Determination of the boundary conditions of a fiber (step 3)
To accurately model the distribution of steel fibers as a filler phase,
the values of any individual fiber coordinates could not be allowed to
exceed the boundary of the specimen space. Therefore, the boundary
conditions of the steel fiber were determined:
( 2 )〈( / )
xi + yi 2 d2 4 , (− h / 2) < zi < (h / 2) (8)
where xi, yi, zi are the endpoint coordinates of the end-hook fiber at i = 1,
2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
3.3.4. Evaluation of fiber intersections (step 4)
To model the distribution of steel fibers accurately in real space, it
was necessary to ensure that individual modeled fibers did not intersect.
Because the end-hook fiber can be regarded as five connected straight
cylinders, the evaluation of overlap between straight cylindrical fiber
segments was first considered, as follows.
Due to the large aspect ratio of the steel fibers used in UHPC, the
shape of the modeled straight fiber segment could be approximated as a
spherical cylinder, simplifying the evaluation of fiber overlap as shown
in Fig. 11. Given a constant fiber radius of R, two spherical cylindrical
fiber segments are tangent when the minimal distance between their
axes is equal to 2R. When the distance between two cylindrical axes is
less than 2R or greater than 2R, the fiber segments are intersecting or
separated, respectively. Thus, if two spherical cylindrical fiber segments
are not to overlap in space, the minimal distance between their axes
must be greater than 2R.
To make overlapping judgments, the end-hook steel fibers used to
prepare aeolian sand-based UHPC were regarded as a chain of five
spherical cylindrical segments. When evaluating the overlap of two
modeled fibers A and B, if the five spherical cylindrical segments of fiber
A and the five spherical cylindrical segments of fiber B do not intersect,
the two end-hook steel fibers will not overlap.
Per the algorithms described, Visual Studio C++ software was used
to establish the model of end-hook fibers in 3D space. The results of
numerical reconstruction were compared with the actual X-CT scanned
image, as shown in Fig. 12. The numerical model was found to accu­
rately reflect the actual distribution of fibers in UHPC specimens.
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International Journal of Impact Engineering 164 (2022) 104192
3.4. Mesoscopic finite element simulation
A finite element model comprising the incident bar, the UHPC
specimen, and the transmission bar, as shown in Fig. 13(a), was estab­
lished using the LS-PrePost software. The length and diameter of the
incident bar and transmission bar were 1500 mm and 100 mm,
respectively, and those of the cylindrical specimen were 35 and 70 mm.
The type of contact between the pressure bar and specimen was defined
as face-to-face contact with the keyword *CON­
TACT_AUTOMATIC_SURFACE TO SURFACE. At the mesoscale, the
aeolian sand UHPC specimen was regarded as a two-phase system
composed of a mortar matrix and a distribution of steel fibers, as shown
in Fig. 13(b,c), respectively. Physical and chemical bonding, mechanical
friction and grip wrapped force exist between steel matrix and fibers,
and debonding and sliding occur when drawing force exceeds the limit
of adhesive force between the two components [34,35]. Generally, three
contact methods, such as the contact algorithm, the ‘same nodes’ algo­
rithm and the coupling algorithm, were used to describe the interfacial
relationship between matrix and fibers. However, both the ‘same nodes’
algorithm and the contact algorithm require the same location of the
nodes of mortar matrix and fibers. Without doubt, the large number of
fibers with irregular distribution in space makes it difficult to mesh and
calculate the model [36]. Compared with the contact algorithm and the
‘same nodes’ algorithm, the fiber element and matrix element do not
need common nodes in the coupling algorithm. The fibers only need to
be included in the mortar matrix element and the positions are relatively
free, which makes the modeling process simpler. Zhang et al. adopted
coupling algorithm (CONSTRAINED_LAGRANGE_IN_SOLID) to describe
the bonding and slipping effects between the steel fibers and mortar
matrix, and the experimental results were well reproduced by the
mesoscopic approach [37]. Therefore, the interaction is dealt with the
keyword *CONSTRAINED_LAGRANGE_IN_SOLID in this paper. Addi­
tionally, the failure criterion of UHPC units was controlled using
MAT_ADD_EROSION [38,39]. Although simulated element failure does
not represent the actual characteristics of the material, it can be used to
characterize the macroscopic damage of specimens and overcome the
convergence problem caused by element distortion [40].
For the meso‑level numerical simulation, the eight-node hexahedral
SOLID 164-element body in LS-DYNA and CONCRETE_DAMAGE_Rel3
material model (K&C model, MAT_072R3) were used to model the
mortar matrix. The K&C model can simulate strain softening, shear
expansion, and other mechanical behavior and has been widely used for
nonlinear simulations of concrete [41]. The model introduces an initial
yield surface, ultimate strength surface, and softening strength surface
[42]. These three failure surfaces describe the variations in initial yield
strength, ultimate strength, and residual strength of concrete. Fig. 14
presents the failure surface and uniaxial constitutive relationship ob­
tained for the concrete materials. Fig. 14(a) exhibits the failure surface
T. Feng et al. International Journal of Impact Engineering 164 (2022) 104192

Table 4 meridian ratio.

Main mechanical parameters of materials. In the K&C model, when the stress reaches the initial yield surface
Materials Model number Model parameters Values but not the ultimate strength surface, it is represented by the strength­
ened surface, which is obtained by interpolating the current surface
Mortar matrix MAT_072R3 Mass density 2450 kg/m3
Compressive strength 120 MPa through the initial yield and maximum stress surfaces. When the stress
Poisson’s ratio 0.19 reaches the ultimate strength surface but not the residual strength sur­
Steel fiber MAT_003 Mass density 7850 kg/m3 face, it is represented by the softened surface, which is obtained by
Young’s modulus 203 GPa interpolating the current surface through the residual and maximum
Poisson’s ratio 0.28
Pressure bar MAT_001 Mass density 7850 kg/m3
stress surfaces. Using linear interpolation, the failure surface of the
Young’s modulus 210 GPa concrete under different stress states can be expressed as follows:
Poisson’s ratio 0.28 { ( )
η Δσ m − Δσy + Δσy (strain harding, λ ≤ λm )
Δσ = (12)
η(Δσ m − Δσ r ) + Δσ r (strain softing, λ > λm )
of the concrete material model (points 1, 2, and 3, respectively, denote
the surfaces of maximum, yield, and residual failure), while Fig. 14(b) where λm is the damage turning point, which distinguishes the
exhibits the uniaxial stress-strain relationship (points 4, 5, and 6 strengthened section from the softened section; λ is the damage variable,
represent, respectively, the ultimate, initial yield, and residual which is expressed as Eq. (13):
strengths). The figure clearly demonstrates that the failure of concrete is
⎧ ∫εp
typically divided into three processes: the elastic stage, plastic ⎪ dεp
⎪
⎪ p≥0
strengthening stage, and softening stage. ⎪
⎪
⎨ 0 γ f (1 + p/ft )
b1

The three compressed meridians were calculated as follows [43]: λ= (13)

⎧ ⎪
⎪ ∫εp
p ⎪
⎪ dεp
⎪
⎪ a0y + ( ) p ≥ 0.15fc ⎪
⎩
⎪
⎪ p<0
⎪
⎪ a1y + a2y p γ f (1 + p/ft )b2
⎪
⎪ 0
⎨ 3p
Δσy = 1.35ft + 0 ≤ p ≤ 0.15fc (9)
⎪
⎪ 3ft
⎪
⎪ 1−
⎪
⎪ fc
⎪
⎪
⎩
1.35(p + ft ) p≤0
⎧
⎪ p
⎪
⎪ a0 + p ≥ fc /3
⎪
⎨ (a1 + a2 p)
Δσ m = 1.35/ψ (p + ft ) ≤ p ≤ fc /3 (10)
⎪
⎪
⎪
⎪
⎩ 3(p/η + f ) p≤0
t

/( )
Δσr = a0f + p a1f + a2f p (11)

where Δσ y , Δσm , and Δσ r are the initial yield strength surface, the
maximum strength surface and the residual strength surface; a0, a1, a2,
a0y, a1y, a2y, a0f, a1f, and a2f are the constants of the concrete material,
which are usually determined by unconstrained and triaxial compres­
sion tests; fc and ft represents the unconfined uniaxial compressive and
tensile strength, respectively; p denotes the pressure, and η represents
the damage calculation parameters;ψ is the tensile-to-compressive Fig. 16. Comparison of the simulated and experimental incident waves.

Fig. 15. Numerical simulation for the static compression of aeolian sand UHPC.

9
T. Feng et al. International Journal of Impact Engineering 164 (2022) 104192

Fig. 17. Comparison of dynamic impact compression stress-strain curves of aeolian sand UHPC under different strain rates.

√̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅
where dεp = 2/3dεpij dεpij represents the effective plastic strain incre­ ( )
p
ment, in which the dεpij denotes the strain increment tensor; γf represents Δσme = γf × σ m (14)
γf
the dynamic increase factor; b1 and b2 are the damage scaling param­
eters for the cases of compression and tension, respectively. The EOS_TABULATED_COMPACTION (EOS_8) module in LS-DYNA
In addition, the strain-rate enhancing effect on the strength could be can be used with K&C model to describe the relation between pressure
reflected by the enhance strength Δσ me as a function of P and γf , which and volumetric strain as:
can be expressed as follows: p = C(μ) + γ 0 T(μ)E0 (15)

10
T. Feng et al. International Journal of Impact Engineering 164 (2022) 104192

Table 5 Numerous results show that the CEB-FIP model could better predict
Comparison of test and simulation results. the DIF values of ordinary concrete, however, the published paper
Strain rate/s− 1
Dynamic impact strength/MPa Error/% believed that it overestimated the DIF value of UHPC [45–48]. The
strain rate sensitivity of UHPC is lower than that of ordinary concrete
Experiment Simulation
can be attributed to the following reasons: (1) UHPC matrix has high
35.7 192.8 202.9 5.2 compactness, and the toughening and crack resistance effect of fibers
59.6 226.4 235.2 3.9
71.6 258.1 245.9 4.7
make the crack growth rate slower than plain concrete [49,50]; (2) The
83.2 265.0 255.3 3.7 strain rate sensitivity of steel fiber is lower than that of the concrete
106.9 281.3 268.1 4.7 matrix [51]. Considering the less accuracy of DIF formulas for normal
concrete in predicting the dynamic mechanical properties, many models
have been proposed to investigate the effect of strain rate on the material
where μ is the volumetric strain; E0 is the internal energy per initial properties of steel fiber reinforced concrete [52–56]. On the basis of the
volume; C(μ) and T(μ) is the tabulated pressure and temperature as CEB-FIP model, Wang et al. [57] proposed a DIF model of
functions of μ, respectively; E0 is the internal energy and γ 0 is the tem­ fiber-reinforced concrete considering the fiber effect, as shown in the
perature constant. following formula:
In the meso‑scale model, the steel fiber was simulated using the {
beam element and PLASTIC_KINEMATIC (MAT_003) material model, fcd (ε̇/ε̇sat )1.026α ε̇ < (30 + 23i)s− 1
DIF = = (17)
while the incident bar and transmission bar were simulated by the solid fcs η(ε̇/ε̇sat )(1+0.05i)/3 ε̇ ≥ (30 + 23i)s− 1
element and ELASTIC (MAT_001) material model. The modeled material
where i is a parameter considering the fiber effect, and when i is equal to
performance parameters of the mortar matrix, steel fibers, and pressure
0 or 1, it represents plain concrete and fiber-reinforced concrete,
bar are summarized in Table 4.
respectively.
The model proposed by Wang et al. [57] is roughly consistent with
The DIF calculation formula is a key parameter in the K&C model,
many experimental results. On the basis of Eq. (17), Yin et al. [58]
which can significantly affect the reliability of the analysis results. At
considered the influence of steel fiber volume fraction on the DIF values
present, a variety of DIF models have been used to predict the
and transition strain rate, and the modified model was proposed, which
strength enhancement effect of concrete under dynamic compression
could accurately describe the strain rate effect of fiber-reinforced con­
loads, among which the model recommended by the Euro-
crete under compression. The mathematical formula is as follows:
International Committee for Concrete (CEB-FIP model) is most
{
commonly used [44]: fcd (ε̇/ε̇sat )1.026α ε̇ < εt s− 1
{ DIF = = (1+0.018Vf )/3 (18)
fcd (ε̇/ε̇sat )1.026α ε̇ < 30s− 1 fcs γ vf γ(ε̇/ε̇sat ) ε̇ ≥ εt s− 1
DIF = = (16)
fcs γ(ε̇/ε̇sat )1/3 ε̇ ≥ 30s− 1
where εt is transition strain rate, εt = 41.087 + 7.677Vf −
( )
2 Vf
0.746Vf ;γVf = 0.607exp − 4.972 + 0.294; Vf is the volume fraction of
where fcd, fcs are the dynamic and static strengths, respectively, α = fibers.
(5 + 9fcs /fc0 )− 1 , fc0 =10 MPa, lgγ = 6.156α − 2, ε̇ and ε̇sat are the dy­ In the mesoscopic numerical analysis, the DIF value of the mortar
namic and static strain rates, respectively, ε̇sat = 3 × 10− 5 s− 1 . components can be obtained by setting Vf = 0 in Eq. (18).

Fig. 18. Dynamic impact damage in aeolian sand UHPC under low and high strain rates.

11
T. Feng et al.
Fig. 19. Evolving failure of aeolian sand UHPC over time (35.7 s− 1).
3.5. Numerical simulation results
Numerical simulation, which could compare with experimental re­
sults, was carried out for cubic concrete under static compression.
Fig. 15(a) shows the meso‑scale model with the fiber content of 2.5% (v/
v). The model size is 100 × 100 × 100 mm, while the total number of
grids is 125,000 (50 × 50 × 50). Fig. 15(b) presents the stress-strain
curve and the damage morphology of the simulation results. It can be
seen that the quasi-static strength of numerical simulation is 150.0 MPa,
while the test strength is 146.8 MPa, with an error of only 2.2%. It in­
dicates that the selected material models can be applied to the numerical
simulation of aeolian sand UHPC.
Based on the SHPB test results, the impact process under five strain
12
International Journal of Impact Engineering 164 (2022) 104192
rate conditions was simulated. To ensure that the simulated initial
loading conditions accurately represented the test, the incident wave
data collected from the test was used as the simulated loading curve.
Comparison of the simulated incident wave and the test acquisition
wave, shown in Fig. 16, reveals that the two waves were in good
agreement. Fig. 17 presents comparison of the stress-strain curves ob­
tained from test and simulation results, while Table 5 summarizes cor­
responding dynamic mechanical performance parameters. Comparison
of the peak stress values obtained from the test and predicted by the
simulation quantified the simulation error in a range of 3.7–5.2%, which
illustrates the reliability of the simulation and confirms that the material
parameters determined in this study could be properly used to predict
the dynamic mechanical behavior of aeolian sand-based UHPC. It is
T. Feng et al. International Journal of Impact Engineering 164 (2022) 104192

Fig. 20. Evolving failure of aeolian sand UHPC over time (106.9 s− 1).

those observed in the test. In the finite element calculation process, an

Table 6 element is automatically deleted when it reaches the failure criterion. In
Numerical examples of the dynamic mechanical properties of aeolian sand the actual test, however, a material element whose strain or stress ex­
UHPC. ceeds the failure criterion maintains residual load-bearing capacity.
Fiber volume fraction Matrix strength Strain rates (s− 1) Thus, the simulated stress-strain curve is unlikely to model the test well
(%) (MPa) during the descent section. Second, after the point of peak stress, the
0/0.5/1.0/1.5/2.0/ 120 35.7/59.6/71.6/83.2/106.9/150/ specimen sustains different degrees of damage such that stress
2.5/3.0 180/210/240 throughout the specimen is no longer in equilibrium, which contributes
2.5 80/100/120/140/
to an error in the simulation of peak strain and the ensuing descent.
160
To simulate failure observed during the impact process, the keyword
*MAT_ADD_EROSION was added. Fig. 18 presents the failure
worth noting that the fitting error of the descent section was relatively morphology of the specimen simulated when the maximum failure
large. This can be primarily attributed to two aspects [33]. First, the principal strain MXEPS was set to 0.03. At this value of MXEPS, the
failure modes of the simulation were not completely consistent with simulated failure results were similar to failure observed during testing.

13
T. Feng et al.
Fig. 21. DIF curves of mortar matrix with different strengths.
Note: M means matrix strength. For example, M120 indicates that the matrix
strength is 120 MPa.
Under a strain rate of 35.7 s− 1, the concrete could maintain a rela­
tively complete morphology with small amount of spalling at the edge of
the specimen. After the high-speed impact load at a strain rate of 106.9
s− 1, however, the cross-sectional surface of the UHPC specimen was
damaged, and large-area spalling occurred at the edge of the cylinder.
Fig. 22. The influence of fiber contents and strain rates on the dynamic mechanical properties of aeolian sand UHPC.
14
International Journal of Impact Engineering 164 (2022) 104192
Under the high-speed impact, the UHPC specimen could still maintain
the cylindrical shape, which is different from the characteristics of
fragments or powder of ordinary concrete. These results are similar to
those observed in other studies, in which a large fiber dosage in concrete
has been shown to enhance toughness via the crack-bridging effect [54,
59,60]. During failure of the concrete, the high content of fibers formed
a crisscrossing network structure, and the bridging effect of the fibers
can effectively inhibit further tensile damage to the matrix, allowing the
core of the UHPC specimen to retain its integrity [61,62].
Figs. 19 and 20 show the varying damage process over time observed
in aeolian sand UHPC under impact loading. A fixed position on the
incident bar was used as the starting point of timing. It can be seen that
the crack propagation of aeolian sand UHPC specimen under higher
strain-rate is more serious than that with low strain rate. For instance, at
a strain rate of 35.7 s− 1, no damage to the concrete was observed during
the initial stage. When the impact compression time reached 400 µs,
small cracks began to appear along the edge of the cylindrical sample. By
comparison, when the strain rate was 106.9 s− 1, cracks appeared earlier
at the time of 270 µs. By 340 µs, peeling had occurred at the cross section
of the cylinder specimen. As time progressed, the damage gradually
expanded toward the core of the sample cross section, while the cross
section of aeolian sand UHPC specimen can still maintain high integrity
under low-speed impact. The evolution of axial force of fibers is also
significantly affected by strain rate. It is obvious that at 200 μs and 300
μs, the fiber axial force under high strain rate is significantly greater than
that under low strain rate. As the compression process continues, when
the strain rate is 106.9 s− 1, the axial force of many fibers at the edge of
T. Feng et al.
Fig. 22. (continued).
the specimen gradually decreases to 0. It shows that due to the cracking
and peeling of the edge of the cylindrical specimen, the fibers at the
corresponding position no longer bear the load, and the stress gradually
disappears. When the strain rate is 35.7 s− 1, due to the small cracking
area at the edge of the specimen, only a small amount of fiber stress
disappears, and most of the fibers inside the specimen still bear the load.
This phenomenon corresponds to the damage degree of the specimens.
It can be seen from the above that the stress-strain curves of the
dynamic compression numerical simulation are in good agreement with
the test results. It shows that the adopted material model can be accu­
rately applied to the numerical analysis of dynamic compression me­
chanical properties of aeolian sand UHPC. Generally, fiber content and
matrix strength are important parameters that affect the mechanical
properties of UHPC, which were used as variables to study the influence
of these two parameters on the dynamic mechanical properties of
aeolian sand UHPC. In addition, under actual conditions, protective
engineering materials may withstand dynamic impact with higher strain
rate. On the basis of the above five strain rates, four simulation condi­
tions have been added, they are 150 s− 1, 180 s− 1, 210 s− 1, and 240 s− 1,
respectively. The specific numerical examples are shown in Table 6.
Changes in matrix strengths may cause differences in DIF. The DIF
laws of mortar matrix with different strengths were determined ac­
cording to Eq. (18), as shown in Fig. 21. It can be seen that when the
15
International Journal of Impact Engineering 164 (2022) 104192
matrix strengths increase from 80 to 160 MPa (the fiber content is 0%),
the DIF values decrease with the increase of the matrix strength. This
change law is consistent with the results of many studies [63–65], which
could be attributed to the smaller size of micro defects and interfacial
transition zone in the higher strength matrix [66,67].
The influence of fiber contents and strain rates on the dynamic me­
chanical properties is shown in Fig. 22. Fig. 22(a) exhibits the impact
compressive strengths of aeolian sand UHPC under different strain rates.
As the strain rate increases, the strengths continue to increase. When the
strain rate is 35.7 s− 1, the dynamic strength is 202.9 MPa, and when the
strain rate increased to 240 s− 1, the strength can exceed 300 MPa,
indicating that UHPC is a typical strain rate-related material [59,68].
The influence of different fiber contents on the dynamic strength of
aeolian sand UHPC is shown in Fig. 22(b). Taking the strain rate of 150
s− 1 as an example, when the fiber volume fraction is 0%, 0.5%, 1.0%,
1.5%, 2.0%, 2.5% and 3%, the dynamic compressive strength reaches
279.7, 280.0, 279.7, 281.0, 280.5, 286.2 and 288.0 MPa, respectively.
The results suggest that when the matrix strength and strain rate are
constant, changing the fiber contents has a weaker effect on the dynamic
strength of UHPC. Fig. 22(c) shows the influence of fiber contents and
strain rates on the dynamic strengths of aeolian sand UHPC. It can be
found that the peak stress increases with the increase of strain rate, and
the change of fiber contents has little effect on the compressive
T. Feng et al.
Fig. 23. The influence of matrix strengths on the dynamic mechanical properties of aeolian sand UHPC.
strengths. Compared with dynamic strength, the more significant
contribution of fiber to concrete is to increase its toughness. Fig. 22(d–f)
shows the energy absorption characteristics of aeolian sand UHPC under
different strain rates. Fig. 22(d) shows the energy evolution process
when the fiber content is 2.5%. With the increase of strain rates, the
energy absorption value gradually increases and the falling section of
the curve becomes steeper. The main reason is that initial kinetic energy
increases, the specimen could absorb higher energy. In addition, more
units of the simulated specimen are deleted under higher strain rate, as
well as corresponding energy information, so the falling section de­
creases sharply. When the strain rate is 150 s− 1, the results (Fig. 22(e))
reveal that the energy absorption values increase with the increase of the
fiber content. As the impact load continues, the internal defects in
concrete accelerate, and a large number of micro-cracks form and
expand. The fibers in UHPC play a very important bridging role, which
can effectively prevent the development of internal cracks in the spec­
imen, thereby increasing the energy absorption performance [69,70].
When the fiber volume fraction is 3.0% and the strain rate is 240 s− 1, the
energy absorption value of aeolian sand UHPC reaches the maximum
value of 746.1 J, as shown in Fig. 22(f).
The influence of matrix strengths on the dynamic mechanical prop­
erties of aeolian sand UHPC are given in Fig. 23. Keeping the fiber
volume fraction and strain rate constant at 2.5% and 150 s− 1, when the
16
International Journal of Impact Engineering 164 (2022) 104192
matrix strength is 80, 100, 120, 140, and 160 MPa, the dynamic strength
reaches 237.9, 263.1, 286.2, 309.1 and 331.6 MPa, respectively, and the
energy absorption values is 480.5, 508.0, 531.6, 551.0 and 586.5 J,
respectively. The results illustrate that the dynamic strengths of aeolian
sand UHPC increase with the increase of the matrix strengths. The in­
fluences of matrix strengths on the dynamic strengths and energy ab­
sorption of aeolian sand UHPC under different strain rates are shown in
Fig. 23(b,d), showing the same evolution as above. The higher matrix
strength indicates that there are fewer pores, cracks or other defects in
the concrete, and the denser microstructure could improve the bonding
performance between the fibers and matrix, thereby increasing the
strength and toughness of UHPC [71–73]. Keeping the fiber content
constant at 2.5%, when the strain rate and matrix strength are 240 s− 1
and 160 MPa, respectively, the dynamic strength and energy absorption
could reach the maximum values of 364.3 MPa and 780.6 J,
respectively.
4. Conclusion
In this work, the dynamic compression behavior of aeolian sand-
based UHPC was studied via the split Hopkinson pressure bar tech­
nique and 3D mesoscale simulation. Through the comparison of exper­
imental and simulation results, the impact compression finite element
T. Feng et al.
model parameters of the aeolian sand UHPC are determined. Based on
the mesoscopic numerical model, the influence of fiber content, matrix
strength and strain rate on the dynamic mechanical properties of aeolian
sand UHPC were systematically studied. Primary conclusions are sum­
marized as follows.
(1) The results of X-CT and MIP analysis confirmed that using aeolian
sand as a fine aggregate in prepared UHPC does not significantly
alter the internal pore structures of the hardened concrete body,
ensuring the ultra-high strength characteristics of aeolian sand-
based UHPC.
(2) Based on the algorithms for random generation and distribution,
a novel 3D model for the random packing of end-hook steel fibers
was proposed to effectively reconstruct the distribution of fibers
in UHPC.
(3) According to the comparison of numerical and tested results of
aeolian sand UHPC under different strain rates, i.e., compressive
strength and failure patterns, the rationality and reliability of
established 3D random mesoscale modeling approach and
selected model parameters have been fully verified.
(4) Fiber content and matrix strength are key parameters that affect
the dynamic mechanical properties of aeolian sand UHPC. The
increase in fiber contents has little effect on the dynamic strength,
but it can significantly increase the energy adsorption; and
increasing the matrix strengths can effectively improve the
impact compressive strength and toughness of aeolian sand
UHPC.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Taotao Feng: Conceptualization, Methodology, Investigation,
Writing – original draft. Fengjuan Wang: Visualization, Investigation,
Writing – original draft. Yongshan Tan: Methodology, Writing – review
& editing. Chengjun Yue: Software, Validation. Wenxiang Xu: Meth­
odology. Zhiyong Liu: Investigation. Zhiqiang Yang: Writing – review
& editing. Yirui Wu: Visualization. Jinyang Jiang: Conceptualization,
Methodology, Supervision, Resources, Writing – review & editing.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors have declared that no conflict of interest exists.
Acknowledgments
The authors greatly acknowledge the General Program of National
Natural Science Foundation of China (51878155). National Science
Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars, China (51925903). National
Postdoctoral Program for Innovative Talents (BX2021065). Science and
Technology Research and Development Plan of China Railway Corpo­
ration " Research on key technology of design and construction and
performance improvement of reinforced concrete in coastal environ­
ment with strong corrosion" (N2020G055).
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