Dis-Bond Detection and the Possibility of Interfacial Stiffness Measurement with Real-Time Impulsive Stimulated Thermal Scattering

We describe a new, real-time, noninvasive method for dis-bond (delamination) detection which is based on a technique known as impulsive stimulated thermal scattering (ISTS). We first explain the ISTS technique and compare data from polyimide films tightly bound to silicon substrates with data from unsupported polyimide films. The observed differences in the data from these two cases are readily understandable and offer an unmistakable signature for delaminations. We demonstrate ISTS dis-bond detection by locating and mapping out randomly-distributed and spatially-fine regions of delamination in a polyimide film-silicon substrate system. Finally, we present two simple physical models of the interfacial region which comprehensively describe acoustic data from the tightly-bound and the unsupported samples. With insight from simulations using these models, we suggest how ISTS might be used to determine interfacial adhesion quality and we show how ISTS sensitivity to interfacial effects can be adjusted.     

On Modulus and Fracture Toughness of Rigid Particulate Filled High Density Polyethylene

A Kaolin-filled, high-density polyethylene (HDPE) system was used to illustrate the influence of particulates on modulus and toughness of the bulk material. A variation of filler content, particulate size and coupling quality for two HDPE-matrix systems with different viscosity led to a strong dependency of elastic modulus and fracture toughness under various testing conditions, e.g. static loading, fatigue and impact.

A stiffness improvement with increasing filler content was achieved by all coupling qualities. The developed Kaolin reinforcement of HDPE with optimised coupling offers an improvement of the stiffness and toughness under all investigated loading conditions. The degree of improvement depends on the particulate size and matrix viscosity. The energy dissipation mechanisms were investigated by fractographic analysis.     

Coverage path planning for eddy current inspection on complex aeronautical parts

Non-destructive testing (NDT) plays a critical role in controlling the structural integrity (therefore the quality) of aeronautical parts, during fabrication as well as during maintenance. Eddy current (EC) testing is one of the most used NDT techniques in the aerospace industry. However, EC testing is still mainly performed by human operators and reliability as well as repeatability is not always guaranteed. To solve these issues, automating this NDT technique with a robotic system is investigated. In this paper, an EC probe equipped with a passive compliant system is assumed to be attached to the end-effector of a 6-DOF manipulator arm to carry on the inspection. Then, assuming that a 3D model of the inspected part is known a priori, a coverage path planning method using a zigzag (or rastering) pattern adapted to EC testing on aeronautical structures with a complex geometry is proposed. To reach this objective, the approach adopted in this work is to adapt existing coverage path planning techniques based on a “divide-and-conquer” strategy used for spraying applications to EC inspection. More precisely, three successive segmentations are applied to the surface to be inspected so that consistent rastering paths can be generated. Simulation results are shown for a complex part of an aeronautical structure to demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed method.     

快速闸门断流的轴流泵起动过程三维数值模拟

针对轴流泵机组起动过程的研究是泵站安全稳定运行研究的重要环节。为了准确捕捉轴流泵机组在起动过渡过程中的动态特性,建立轴流泵机组的全流道三维模型,采用三维CFD计算软件Fluent,利用基于有限体积法的动网格技术,配合VOF多相流模型对快速闸门断流的轴流泵机组起动过程进行了三维瞬态数值模拟,获得了轴流泵机组起动过渡过程中的流态变化及外特性参数的变化规律。闸门开启时间为60s时,机组起动扬程在12s时达到最大值2.76m,为运行扬程的1.28倍。减小快速闸门开启时间能够降低机组最大起动扬程,但同时会加剧回流及闸门处的水流撞击。计算结果表明:动网格技术结合VOF多相流模型可以较好的应用于快速闸门断流的轴流泵机组起动过渡过程数值模拟中,其结果可为泵站水力设计及轴流泵机组的过渡过程研究提供参考。     

循环荷载作用下重塑饱和粉黏土的刚度弱化特性研究

以东海大桥海上风电场项目为课题背景,通过动三轴系统对重塑饱和粉质黏土开展一系列长期不排水循环加载三轴试验,分别考虑围压、动应力比和频率3种因素,特别是对高频(f5 Hz)下土体的动力弱化特性进行了研究。试验结果表明:累积塑性应变与累积孔压随着循环次数的增加而增大并且趋于稳定,呈现出应变软化和孔压软化现象。割线动变形刚度模量和割线动弹性刚度模量则随着循环次数的增加,先急剧降低然后趋于稳定,从而表现出刚度弱化现象。进一步研究了割线动弹性刚度模量与循环应变幅值的关系,割线动弹性刚度模量的衰减趋势受动应力比和频率的影响不大,与围压有关,围压越大,割线动弹性刚度模量衰减趋势越慢,衰减稳定幅值越低。     

New software developments for quality mesh generation and optimization from biomedical imaging data

In this paper we present a new software toolkit for generating and optimizing surface and volumetric meshes from three-dimensional (3D) biomedical imaging data, targeted at image-based finite element analysis of some biomedical activities in a single material domain. Our toolkit includes a series of geometric processing algorithms including surface re-meshing and quality-guaranteed tetrahedral mesh generation and optimization. All methods described have been encapsulated into a user-friendly graphical interface for easy manipulation and informative visualization of biomedical images and mesh models. Numerous examples are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of the described methods and toolkit.     

Personalized identification of abdominal wall hernia meshes on computed tomography

An abdominal wall hernia is a protrusion of the intestine through an opening or area of weakness in the abdominal wall. Correct pre-operative identification of abdominal wall hernia meshes could help surgeons adjust the surgical plan to meet the expected difficulty and morbidity of operating through or removing the previous mesh. First, we present herein for the first time the application of image analysis for automated identification of hernia meshes. Second, we discuss the novel development of a new entropy-based image texture feature using geostatistics and indicator kriging. Third, we seek to enhance the hernia mesh identification by combining the new texture feature with the gray-level co-occurrence matrix feature of the image. The two features can characterize complementary information of anatomic details of the abdominal hernia wall and its mesh on computed tomography. Experimental results have demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed study. The new computational tool has potential for personalized mesh identification which can assist surgeons in the diagnosis and repair of complex abdominal wall hernias.     

基于概念设计阶段的解耦模式车门截面形状优化方法

为了提高车门静态刚度, 采用基于HDMR理论的多参数解耦优化方法与Morph技术结合, 对一款处于概念设计阶段车门的主截面形状进行优化。这种建模方法的特点在于通过少量的样本点识别形状变量之间的耦合关系, 进而将高维问题进行分解, 在保证精度的前提下提高计算效率。采用Kriging插值方法对Cut-HDMR的各项进行构造, 得到车门各刚度下的考察点位移和质量的近似模型, 进而利用非支配排序多目标遗传算法（NSGA-Ⅱ）对近似模型进行优化, 在车门静态刚度均达到设计要求的前提下合理进行减重, 使垂直刚度和扭转刚度得到了很大的提高。     

TVBPS：一种基于Parallel Sets的具有度量属性的多变元时态数据可视化方法

针对现有“具有度量属性的多变元时态数据”可视化方法不足,提出Parallel Sets分类值排列顺序优化算法ACLEARCR、基于相关度的Parallel Sets变元轴配置算法（VABC）、深度信息Parallel Sets（DCPS）共同组成基于Parallel Sets的具有度量属性的多变元时态数据可视化方法TVBPS。使用具体数据集对提出的可视化方法进行实验,获得的视图能够挖掘数据集中的隐含知识,证明了该方法的有效性。TVBPS可视化方法为分析多变元时态数据集提供了有效手段,具有较高的适用性和易用性。     

CFD modeling of pilot-scale pump-mixer: Single-phase head and power characteristics

The present work involves single-phase computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations of continuous flow pump-mixer employing top-shrouded Rushton turbines with trapezoidal blades. Baffle—impeller interaction has been modeled using sliding mesh and multiple reference frame approaches. Standard k-ε model has been used for turbulence modeling. Several CFD runs representing different combinations of geometric and process parameters have been carried out. Results of CFD simulations have been used to find out two macroscopic performance parameters of pump-mixer—power consumption and head generated by the impeller. The simulation results have been compared with the experimental data obtained on a pilot-scale setup. Good agreement between CFD predictions and experimental results is observed. In most cases, sliding mesh approach is found to perform better than multiple reference frame approach. Details from CFD simulations have been used to have an insight into the pumping action of the impeller.