Lightweight cellular concrete (LCC) is a mixture of cement, water and foam, with a density less than 50 pcf. This material is being used increasingly often in a variety of construction applications due to its self-leveling, self-compacting, and self-consolidating properties. LCC may be used as a backfill or structural fill in areas where traditional granular backfill might normally be used. This material may be especially advantageous in areas where the underlying soil may not support the weight of a raised earth embankment. Testing on the behavior of LCC when used as backfill behind retaining walls is relatively limited. The effects of surcharge on the development of active pressure material are unknown. Two large-scale active pressure tests were conducted in the structures laboratory of Brigham Young University. Each test was performed within a 10-ft x 10-ft x 12-ft box that was filled with four lifts of LCC. Hydraulic jacks mounted to a steel reaction frame provided a surcharge load to the LCC surface. In the first test, the LCC was confined on three sides by the reaction frame, while the fourth side was confined by a reinforced concrete cantilever (RCC) wall. Both vertical and horizontal pressures and deflections were measured to determine the effect of the surcharge load on the development of active pressure behind the wall. In the second test, the LCC was confined on three sides and exposed on the fourth. Surcharge was applied to this sample in a similar fashion until the LCC reached ultimate failure. Vertical pressures and displacements, along with horizontal displacements, were measured in this test. Sample cylinders of LCC were cast at the time the test box was filled. These samples were tested periodically to determine the material strength and density. It was observed that the LCC backfill developed active pressure most similarly to a granular soil with a friction angle of 34º and a cohesion between 700 and 1600 psf. The RCC wall was seen to add vertical bearing capacity to the LCC, as well as prevent the catastrophic and brittle failure seen in the free-face test. It was also observed that an induced shear plane in the material dramatically decreased the total bearing capacity when compared to a uniformly loaded specimen with no induced shear plane. The results of this study were compared with design parameters given in previous research, and new design suggestions are presented herein.

This thesis reports the discovery of a wide negative di↵erential resistance (NDR) region in a graphite-silicone composite that was utilized to create a strain-tuned flexible oscillator. Encoding the strain into frequency mimics the behavior of mechanoreceptor neurons in the skin and demonstrates a flexible and electronically active material suitable for state of the art bio-electronic applications. The NDR was investigated over a range of composite filling fractions and temperatures; alongside theoretical modelling to calculate the tunneling current through a graphite-silicone barrier. This led to the understanding that the NDR is the result of a semi-metal to insulator transition of embedded graphene bilayers within the graphite nanoparticles. The transition, brought about by a transverse bias across specifically orientated particles, opens a partial band-gap at the Fermi level of the bilayer. NDR in a flexible material has not been observed before and has potential for creating a flexible active device. The electromechanical properties of the composite were considered through a bend induced bilayer strain. The piezoresistance was found to be dominated by transient resistance spiking from the breaking of conduction lines, which then reform according to the viscoelasticity of the polymer matrix. The resistance spiking was embraced as a novel method for sensitive di↵erential pressure detection, used in the development of two applications. Firstly, it was employed for the detection of ultrasound waves and found to have an acoustic pressure detection threshold as low as 48 Pa. A commensurability was observed between the composite width and ultrasound wavelength which was shown to be consistent with the formation of standing waves, described by Bragg’s law. Secondly, a differential pressure array of 64 composite pixels was fabricated and demonstrated to image pressures under 3.8 kPa at a resolution of 10 dpi. The NDR active region was incorporated into an LC circuit where it was demonstrated to sustain oscillations of up to 12.5 kHz. The composite was then strained and an intrinsic frequency was observed which had a linear dependence on the strain with a frequency shift of 84 Hz / % strain. Lastly the composite was used in a strain-tuned amplifier circuit and shown to provide a gain of up to 4.5. This thesis provided the groundwork for a completely flexible electronically active device for futuristic bio-electronic skins with resolutions and sensitivities rivalling those of human tactile sensing.

The basic mixture of lightweight cellular concrete (LCC) consists of cement, water, and a stable foaming agent. It is generally classified as having a density of less than 50 pounds per cubic foot (pcf), which is less than both traditional concrete and backfill materials. LCC has gained popularity in construction due to its lightweight, self-leveling, and ease of production and placement. These characteristics have made LCC a popular lightweight backfill material for mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) walls. However, there has been relatively little research on the large-scale behavior of LCC as a MSE backfill. Therefore, large-scale test results defining failure mechanisms and the strength criteria of reinforced LCC are extremely valuable. In this study, a three walled test box (10 ft wide x 12 ft long x 10 ft high) was constructed to contain the LCC. Two 5 ft tall x 10 ft wide MSE wall segments were poured and cured, before being placed as the fourth wall of the test box. The test box was built with a steel reaction frame to reduce lateral deflections during testing of the LCC that was not in the direction of the MSE wall, thus creating a two-dimensional or pseudo "plane strain" geometry. The box was filled with four lifts of Class II LCC 2.5 feet thick with ribbed-strip reinforcements at the center of each lift. After the LCC was cured, two static load tests were performed by applying surcharge to the surface of the LCC using six hydraulic jacks. The static load tests compared the LCC behavior of an MSE wall in comparison with unreinforced LCC without MSE wall panels. Multiple forms of instrumentation were used to understand the behavior of the LCC during surcharge loading. The instrumentation also helped to characterize the strength criteria for LCC based on failure in the large-scale and laboratory testing. This was done to determine the failure mechanism for the MSE wall retaining system with ribbed-strip reinforced LCC backfill. Data was gathered primarily through lateral wall pressures, lateral wall deflections, and forces induced on the ribbed-strip reinforcements. The test results show that an MSE wall with LCC backfill can withstand significant surcharge loading with limited axial and lateral deformations. However, failure occurred at surcharge pressures of about 60% of the unconfined compressive strength. The use of a retaining system significantly increased the failure loads and produced a more ductile failure mode than Class II LCC with a free-face. The active pressures observed are similar to a granular material with a friction angle (ϕ) of 34°, Ka=0.28, and a cohesion of 700 to 1600 psf for Class II LCC. Likewise, failure of the free-face occurred at a value predicted by Rankine theory with ϕ = 34° and c = 1600 psf.