Time Petri nets as an evaluation tool for handling travel time uncertainty in vehicle routing solutions

Congestion on roads leads to uncertainty in travel times, which is important in delivery of goods, especially in a business environment where high levels of customer service are expected. Delivery periods to customers might be constrained by time windows, which makes the scheduling and routing of vehicles from the supplier’s side more difficult. Operations Research methods turn into heuristics for this type of application. But when, on top, uncertainty on travel times are the case, any hope of a simple and well-performing heuristic is lost. This study applies a methodology in which a heuristic is used to find a solution for scheduling and routing under deterministic travel times and, by means of simulation, though the use of Time Petri nets evaluates the sensitivity of the solution to uncertainties in travel times from one customer to the next in a route.     

Quantifying helium distribution in dual-ion beam irradiated SiCf/SiC composites by electron energy loss spectroscopy

In this study, we report a method to quantify the helium distribution in the SiC_f/SiC composites, which are used as the first-wall materials of fusion reactor. The helium-bubble formation in Hi-Nicalon Type-S (HNS) was observed in the irradiated SiC_f/SiC composites at a level of 100 dpa and at 800 °C and 1000 °C, respectively. We applied transmission electron microscopy and electron energy loss spectroscopy to investigate the helium-gas-bubbles-formation mechanisms. To simulate the practical first-wall environment of Deuterium–Tritium (D–T) fusion reactor, a dual-ion beam (6 MeV Si³⁺ and 1.13 MeV He⁺) was performed to irradiate the SiC_f/SiC composites. The relationship between the energy shift of He K-edge and the radius of the bubble of the SiC composites was estimated by electron energy loss spectroscopy analysis. The results show that all of the helium atoms irradiated at 1000 °C and formed the bubbles. On the other hand, at 800 °C, only 25.5% of the helium atoms form the helium bubbles. A clear thermal-dependent formation mechanism is found.     

Corrosion behavior of friction stir welded AZ31B magnesium alloy with plasma electrolytic oxidation coating formed in silicate electrolyte

A protective ceramic coating of about 50 μm thick on a friction stir welded (FSW) joint of AZ31B magnesium alloy was prepared by plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) in silicate electrolyte. Electrochemical corrosion behavior of uncoated and coated FSW joints was evaluated by potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The equivalent circuits of EIS plots for uncoated and coated FSW magnesium alloy were suggested. The corrosion resistance of FSW magnesium alloy depended on microstructure of the FSW joint. The heat-affected zone with severe grain growth was more susceptible to corrosion than the stir zone and base metal. The PEO coating consisted of a porous outer layer and a dense inner layer. The inner layer of PEO coating played a key role on corrosion protection of the FSW joint of magnesium alloy. Meanwhile, corrosion potential, corrosion current density and impedance at different zones of coated FSW joint were almost the same. The PEO surface treatment significantly improved the corrosion resistance of FSW joints of AZ31B magnesium alloy.     

Observations on patterns in foreign material investigations

Foreign material in foods (glass, plastic, metal, etc.) is the biggest single source of customer complaints received by many food manufacturers, retailers and enforcement authorities. This paper, presented in two parts, contains a comprehensive review of different types of foreign matter reported in food and drink and referred to CCFRA for examination during the past 20 years. In addition, it provides information on 2347 incidents of foreign matter contamination reported as part of a Food Standards Agency funded project on Breakdowns in Food Safety.     

Analysis based on microcontact mechanism for the roughness dependent stick–slip motion

The stick–slip behavior occurring between an indenter with its round tip treated as a rigid sphere with a radius of 300 nm and the (1 0 0) Si specimen was considered. The characteristic slip distances were observed in the stick–slip behavior under small normal loads. A statistical evaluation of microcontact on the basis of Fourier cosine series was proposed to evaluate the dominant scales of roughness under different normal loads. The experimental results showed the elastic deformation exhibited in the contact between the indenter and the specimen when the contact load was smaller than 40 μN. The characteristic scales of roughness obtained by the proposed method revealed good agreement with the experimental results of slip distance under different contact loads. Through the proposed method, the roughness dependence of the stick–slip behavior can be further understood quantitatively.     

AZ31镁合金搅拌摩擦焊接头微弧氧化表面防护研究

在硅酸盐溶液中于AZ31镁合金搅拌摩擦焊接头表面制备一层均匀的微弧氧化膜。分析微弧氧化膜的截面组织、相组成和显微硬度分布,并采用浸泡和电化学方法评估微弧氧化表面处理对焊接接头腐蚀行为的影响。结果表明:接头搅拌区的显微硬度高于镁合金母相区,热影响区硬度低于母相区,但接头不同区域对应的微弧氧化膜硬度都相同,比镁合金基体提高约7倍。在3.5%NaCl溶液中浸泡后,焊接样品热影响区腐蚀严重,而微弧氧化膜表面形貌没有明显变化。未表面处理的接头热影响区电位低于搅拌区和母相区,其腐蚀电流密度也较大,但不同区域微弧氧化膜的腐蚀电流密度都相近,并明显低于未氧化处理的焊接样品。微弧氧化表面处理能显著改善镁合金搅拌摩擦焊接头抗腐蚀性能。     

Size-resolved source apportionment of aerosol particles using polycapillary X-ray lens with a plateau in its focal spot

A laboratory micro X-ray fluorescence spectrometer based on a special polycapillary X-ray lens (PXRL) was used to carry out the source apportionment of aerosol particles. In the curve of the distribution of the X-ray intensity in the focal spot of the special PXRL, there was a plateau with a diameter of 21.3 μm in which the distribution of the X-ray intensity was homogeneous. The gain in flux density in the plateau of the PXRL is 1490. The uniformity of this plateau was 2.9%. This was helpful for the quantitative X-ray fluorescence analysis of a single aerosol particle with smaller size than that of the plateau of the PXRL. The fingerprint database of aerosol particles with given sizes from various air pollution sources was established with the single particle analysis method. The size-resolved source apportionment of aerosol particles in haze in Beijing city was performed with this fingerprint database.     

Effects of 50keV and 100keV Proton Irradiation on GaInP/GaAs/Ge Triple-Junction Solar Cells

GaInP/GaAs/Ge triple-junction solar cells were irradiated with 50 keV and 100 keV protons at fluences of 5 × 10 10cm-2,1 × 10 11cm-2,1 × 10 12cm-2,and 1 × 10 13cm-2.Their performance degradation is analyzed using current-voltage characteristics and spectral response measurements,and then the changes in I sc,V oc,P max and the spectral response of the cells are observed as functions of proton irradiation fluence and energy.The results show that the spectral response of the top cell degrades more significantly than that of the middle cell,and 100 keV proton-induced degradation rates of I sc,V oc and P max are larger compared with 50 keV proton irradiation.     

Anti-corrosion microarc oxidation coatings on SiCP/AZ31 magnesium matrix composite

The corrosion-resistant ceramic coatings up to 80 μm thick were fabricated on SiC_P/AZ31 magnesium matrix composite by microarc oxidation (MAO) technique in Na₃PO₄ + KOH + NaF solution. The microstructure, composition and phase constituent of ceramic coatings were analyzed by SEM and XRD, and the electrochemical corrosion behaviour of coatings was evaluated by the electrochemical polarization method. The thicker coating is compact and displays a good adhesion to the composite substrate. The ceramic coatings consist of MgO, Mg₂SiO₄, MgF₂, Mg₃(PO₄)₂, furthermore, a few residual SiC phases were also found in the coatings by means of SEM observation and EDX analysis. Most of SiC reinforced particles in the oxidized composite substrate have transformed into the oxides under microarc discharge sintering, but a few residual SiC reinforcements in the MAO coatings have not disrupted the continuity of coatings. So the corrosion resistance of the SiC_P/AZ31 composite is greatly improved by MAO surface treatment, however, the corrosion resistance of coated composite also depends on the coating thickness.