Effect of retained austenite – Compressive residual stresses on rolling contact fatigue life of carburized AISI 8620 steel

In this study the rolling contact fatigue (RCF) of case carburized AISI 8620 steel was numerically and experimentally investigated. For the numerical study, a two dimensional finite element (FE) RCF model based on the continuum damage mechanics (CDM) was developed to investigate the fatigue damage accumulation, crack propagation and final fatigue life of carburized AISI 8620 steel under various operating conditions. A randomly generated Voronoi tessellation was used to model the effects of material microstructure topology. The boundaries of the Voronoi elements were assumed to be the weak planes where damage accumulates, cracks initiate and propagate to simulate inter-granular cracks. A series of torsional fatigue tests were conducted on carburized AISI 8620 steel specimens containing 0% and 35% retained austenite (RA) to determine fatigue load (S) vs. life (N) of the material. The S–N results were then used to determine the material parameters necessary for the rolling contact fatigue model. The torsional fatigue test results indicate that the carburized AISI 8620 specimens with higher RA demonstrate higher life than the specimens with lower RA. The RCF model also indicates that the material with higher level of compressive residual stresses (RS) and retained austenite demonstrates higher RCF life. In order to corroborate the results of RCF model, a three-ball-on-rod rolling contact fatigue test rig was used to determine the RCF lives of carburized AISI 8620 steels with different amounts of RA. The fatigue life and cracks evolution pattern from the numerical and experimental results were corroborated. The results indicate that they are in good agreement.     

Investigation into eddy current pulsed thermography for rolling contact fatigue detection and characterization

This paper reports on the use of eddy current pulsed thermography (ECPT) for detection and characterization of rolling contact fatigue (RCF). Detection mechanisms with eddy currents and heat propagation effects were discussed with RCF modeled as a simple angled defect. Two different angled defects were studied through numerical simulations and experimentally by using uniform magnetic field (UMF) excited by Helmholtz coils. Finally, a rail sample with RCF defects was inspected using UMF excitation. It is shown that ECPT with UMF excitation provides an efficient and robust method to detect angled defects, compared with nonuniform magnetic field (NUMF) excitation.     

Automated contact tracing: a game of big numbers in the time of COVID-19

One of the more widely advocated solutions for slowing down the spread of COVID-19 has been automated contact tracing. Since proximity data can be collected by personal mobile devices, the natural proposal has been to use this for automated contact tracing providing a major gain over a manual implementation. In this work, we study the characteristics of voluntary and automated contact tracing and its effectiveness for mapping the spread of a pandemic due to the spread of SARS-CoV-2. We highlight the infrastructure and social structures required for automated contact tracing to work. We display the vulnerabilities of the strategy to inadequate sampling of the population, which results in the inability to sufficiently determine significant contact with infected individuals. Of crucial importance will be the participation of a significant fraction of the population for which we derive a minimum threshold. We conclude that relying largely on automated contact tracing without population-wide participation to contain the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic can be counterproductive and allow the pandemic to spread unchecked. The simultaneous implementation of various mitigation methods along with automated contact tracing is necessary for reaching an optimal solution to contain the pandemic.     

轧机两侧刚度差的数字化分析与改善措施

轧机两侧刚度差是轧机功能精度的最重要指标之一，以弹跳方程为基础定量计算了轧机两侧刚度差对轧制稳定性的影响，主要包括调平值、调平值随轧制力的变化以及甩尾3个方面。以此为基础在某热轧线建立了轧机刚度评价体系，对轧机功能精度进行管控。同时，还分析了轧机两侧刚度差的影响因素，并在定量分析的基础上采取了一系列的改善措施，包括衬板、垫片维护、最大压靠轧制力和标定轧制力的调整等，使轧机刚度和轧制稳定性得到大幅提升。     

气控环形防喷器密封胶芯大变形分析

针对气控环形防喷器胶芯在密封过程中的大变形以及与油管存在密封压力难以计算的问题,建立胶芯物理模型,结合厚壁筒理论与橡胶本构方程,同时考虑胶芯的材料非线性和几何非线性,探讨防喷器密封过程中胶芯变形与接触压力的变化。根据胶芯变形过程中无变形阶段、自由变形阶段和接触变形阶段的不同受力状况,利用迭代的方法对每个离散微段施加控制压力,得到不同控制压力下胶芯变形量与接触压力,并与仿真结果进行比较。结果表明:在自由变形阶段,随控制压力增加,胶芯变形量逐渐增大且由中间向两侧逐渐减小;在接触变形阶段,胶芯内径保持不变,且与油管间接触压力不断增加。采用胶芯变形理论方法计算的接触压力变化规律与仿真结果基本相同,验证了胶芯变形理论计算方法的正确性。     

基于模糊多元联系度模型的尾矿库综合安全评价

为准确评价尾矿库的安全等级，以黄金洞尾矿库为例，分析影响尾矿库安全的各因素之间的关系，综合运用模糊多元联系度理论与层次分析法（AHP），建立了包含5个影响因素和26个影响因子的尾矿库综合安全评价模型。由AHP得出各项主、客观指标的权重系数，引入模糊多元联系度理论，综合考虑确定性与不确定性因素，处理综合集成问题，构造隶属函数量化指标的实测值。结果表明：黄金洞尾矿库安全等级为Ⅱ级，尾矿库处于较稳定状态。经比较不确定性因素大小，得出尾矿排放（B₃）>尾矿坝（B₂）>安全管理（B₁）>尾矿输送与回水（B₅）>排洪系统（B₄），说明尾矿排放指标的不确定性因素最大，需对尾矿排放加强管理。该模型得到的评价结果与实际结果相吻合，为尾矿库安全性评价提供了一种可行的方法。     

转载溜槽衬板磨损预测的DEM仿真方法

针对EDEM自动划分网格较稀疏问题,采用Hypermesh划分仿真模型网格,利用Herz-Mindlin接触理论的Archard磨损模型对转载溜槽磨损问题进行仿真,在网格单元上提取出漏斗和溜管衬板的接触能量和磨损量,分析了磨损量与接触能量的关系。假设转载溜槽衬板磨损深度为物料与溜槽衬板的使用时间为线性函数,根据现场衬板磨损量的测量值,将衬板的磨损系数关系的看作隐式的单变量方程,应用EDEM软件的仿真结果求解出磨损系数的标定值。分析了漏斗和溜管的磨损机理。该方法可用于转载溜槽的磨损预测。     

烟炱对电接触磨损的影响

选用常见的铜作为电接触材料,将烟炱溶液喷洒于试样表面,进行不同载荷下的电接触微动试验,用3D形貌仪和SEM对磨痕形貌进行分析。结果表明:载荷对材料的电接触性能影响显著,接触电阻与法向载荷成反比,即增加载荷可改善摩擦副的电接触性能;接触区域的有效导电面积是有限的,故载荷达到某一值后,随着载荷的增加,接触电阻不再有明显的下降趋势;小载荷下,烟炱的加入恶化了摩擦副的电接触性能,随着载荷的增加,这种恶化作用逐渐减小;摩擦因数随着载荷的增加而降低,载荷较低时(2～6 N),摩擦因数曲线可见明显的上升期、跑合期、下降期、稳定期;而载荷较高时(8～10 N),只有上升期和稳定期;大载荷下,触头接触区域匹配良好,摩擦副表面迅速达到了平衡点,摩擦因数较稳定。在电化学的作用下烟炱颗粒在摩擦副表面形成固体膜,起到减摩抗磨的作用。     

Changes in accommodative micro-fluctuations after wearing contact lenses of different optical designs

PurposeAccommodative micro-fluctuations (AMF) are small dioptric changes during accommodation. The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare changes in AMF when wearing silicone hydrogel contact lenses of two different optical designs.MethodsA multi-centre, randomised, cross-over, non-dispensing study was conducted on 68 adapted contact lens wearers aged 25–35 years to compare AMF responses to a spherical and aspheric silicone hydrogel (comfilcon A) lens designs. A Righton Speedy “i” series Auto Refractometer in accommodation analyser mode was utilized before and after reading a standard text in font size 8 on an iPhone 5 for 20 min at a 25 cm viewing distance. Phone screen brightness was set by automatic adjustment mode and ambient illumination was controlled at all sites.ResultsMean ± SD AMF change from before to after the reading task was 2.25 ± 5.6 and 0.13 ± 5.7 (relative values) for the spherical and aspheric lens designs, respectively. The difference was statistically significant (P = 0.017, Paired t-test).ConclusionsThe smaller change in AMF when using an aspheric lens design suggests reduced ciliary muscle stress when reading print on a smart phone at a close distance for short periods (20 min). Contact lens wearers who frequently use digital devices and are experiencing eye strain may benefit from switching from a spherical design to one that incorporates aspheric optics.