Experimental study to assess the effect of carbon nanotube addition on the through-thickness electrical conductivity of CFRP laminates for aircraft applications

The present paper tests experimentally the through-thickness electrical conductivity of carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites laminates for aircraft applications. Two types of samples were prepared: Type A samples with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and Type B samples without CNTs. During the electrical experiments, electrical currents of several mA were injected through the specimens. Electrical resistance was monitored simultaneously in order to deduce the changes in the through-the-thickness electrical conductivity caused by the addition of CNTs. Improvement of electrical conduction by two orders of magnitude was achieved through the addition of 1 wt% carbon nanotubes as compared to classic CFRP without CNTs. For moisture saturated samples, the influence of moisture absorption on such measures was found to be negligible.     

Mechanical performance of innovative GFRP-bamboo-wood sandwich beams: Experimental and modelling investigation

Innovative GFRP-bamboo-wood sandwich beams were developed and investigated experimentally and by modeling. The effects of the thickness of the GFRP and bamboo layers on the overall structural performance in bending were clarified. It was shown that an increase of thickness of the bamboo and GFRP layers could significantly increase the flexural stiffness and ultimate load of the sandwich beams. ANSYS was used to parametrically analyze the material efficiency and to obtain optimal solutions for the thickness of the GFRP, wood, and bamboo layers. The total depth of 60 mm and the thickness of 6 mm for bamboo and of 4.5 mm for GFRP presented the best material efficiency in terms of stiffness enhancement. A simplified model based on Timoshenko beam theory was proposed to predict the load-deflection behavior of the sandwich beams, where the section transformation method was used to calculate the stress distribution along the depth of the sandwich beams. The calculated results showed good correlation with the experimental and numerical results. Design optimization in terms of self-weight and cost of the proposed sandwich beam was conducted using MATLAB and ANSYS, and the optimized thicknes was obtained with minimized self-weight, cost, and acceptable mechanical performance.     

Review of pulsed thermal NDT: Physical principles,theory and data processing

This paper summarizes the basics of pulsed thermal nondestructive testing (TNDT) including theoretical solutions, data processing algorithms and practical implementation. Typical defects are discussed along with 1D analytical and multi-dimensional numerical solutions. Special emphasis is focused on defect characterization by the use of inverse solutions. A list of TNDT terms is provided. Applications of active TNDT, mainly in the aerospace industry, are discussed briefly, and some trends in the further development of this technique are described.     

Poly(3-hydroxyalkanoate)-grafted carbon nanotube nanofillers as reinforcing agent for PHAs-based electrospun mats

Poly(3-hydroxyalkanoate)s, PHAs, have been covalently grafted onto the surface of multi-walled carbon nanotubes, MWCNTs, providing nanofillers (MWCNT-graft-PHAs) with enhanced compatibility and reinforcement effect towards PHAs. MWCNTs were first modified by in-situ generated diazonium cations obtained from a hydroxyl-containing aniline derivative, yielding MWCNTs with reactive hydroxyl surface groups, MWCNT-OH. Then, MWCNT-graft-PHAs were obtained by direct, i.e. without using any catalyst, transesterification approach. The successful chemical modification of MWCNTs surface was evidenced by Raman spectroscopy and XPS analysis confirming the covalent grafting of PHA on MWCNT. 3-Dimension mats were further produced through electrospinning of a PHA/MWCNT-graft-PHA solution providing nanocomposites with well-defined nanofibrous morphology. No aggregation of the MWCNTs was evidenced by SEM attesting that the grafting of PHA onto MWCNT improved their dispersion within the PHA matrix and consequently, the properties of the corresponding nanomaterials. Indeed, mechanical analysis results have shown that nanofibers loaded with MWCNT-graft-PHA (3 wt%) displayed excellent properties with an increase (+41%) of the tensile strain at break without any decrease of the high elastic modulus as compared to pristine PHA (131 MPa).     

Structural performance of ballastless track slabs reinforced with BFRP and SFCB

Because of the inductive impedance caused by steel meshes in traditional reinforced ballastless track slabs, the electrical properties, primarily the rail resistance and inductance, of jointless track circuits are affected by electromagnetic induction between the slabs and the electric current in the rail. This problem results in poor transmission performance throughout the track circuit. Insulating sleeves or cards between the steel meshes have been used to improve the insulation capability of steel meshes in slabs; however, they reduce the bonding performance between the steel bars and concrete. Because of the good insulation properties of fiber-reinforced polymer composite bars (FRPs) and steel-fiber reinforced polymer composite bars (SFCBs), these composite materials have shown potential to overcome this insulation problem. However, the structural performance of the ballastless track slabs reinforced by basalt fiber reinforced polymer composite bars (BFRPs) and SFCBs, which play a key role in the structure and transportation safety, needs to be investigated. In this paper, six ballastless track slabs reinforced with BFRPs, SFCBs, and steel bars were constructed and tested. The following results were obtained. (1) Shear failures were observed for all slabs, both the BFRP and SFCB slabs meet the load level requirements, and SFCBs reinforcements have higher strength utilization compared with BFRPs reinforcements. (2) The bond-quality of SFCBs and BFRPs reinforcements proved slightly poorer than that of the steel bars. Because of the good corrosion resistance of the FRP, the maximum crack width limits can be slightly larger than that of the RC slabs. (3) Bischoff’s equation was initially used to calculate the deflection of partially prestressed concrete slabs under service loads. The results demonstrated a good agreement between the theoretical and experimental analysis. (4) Considering the tensile stiffness, the modified ACI equation was used to calculate the slabs’ crack width and the theoretical and experimental results showed a good agreement.     

Influence of niobium and molybdenum addition on microstructure and wear behavior of laser-borided layers produced on Nimonic 80A-alloy

Laser alloying was used for production of thick layers on surface of Nimonic 80A-alloy. For laser surface modification, three types of pre-coated pastes were applied: with amorphous boron, with amorphous boron and molybdenum as well as with amorphous boron and niobium. The microstructure, hardness and wear resistance of produced layers were studied in details. The presence of different types of borides in re-melted zone depended on the paste composition and caused an increase in hardness up to about HV 1000. The wear resistance was evaluated by calculation of mass wear intensity factor I_mw and relative mass loss of specimen and counter-specimen. The wear behavior of the tested frictional pairs was determined by 3D interference microscopy, scanning electron microscopy equipped with EDS microanalyzer. The significant increase in abrasive wear resistance was observed in comparison to untreated Nimonic 80A-alloy. The lowest mass loss intensity factor was characteristic of laser-alloyed Nimonic 80A-alloy with boron and niobium (I_mw=1.234 mg/(cm²·h)). Laser alloyed-layers indicated abrasive wear mechanism with clearly visible grooves. Laser alloying with boron and niobium resulted in the additional oxidative wear mechanism. In this case, EDS patterns revealed presence of oxygen on the worn surface of specimen.     

基于变异测试的错误定位研究进展

随着软件规模和复杂度的不断提高，软件的质量问题成为了关注的焦点，如何高效地找出软件中的错误成为一个亟需解决的问题。错误定位是软件质量保证的重要途径之一，近年来已经成为软件工程中一个非常重要的研究课题。基于变异测试的错误定位通过比较原程序和对应变异体的差异来计算每条语句的怀疑度，再由怀疑度大小进行排序，程序员根据排序逐个检查找出错误语句。汇总近7年（2012-2018）国内外的基于变异测试的错误定位技术的研究成果，介绍了错误定位的基本方法，介绍基于变异测试的错误定位思想，从变异算子、变异体及等价变异体3个方面对已有的研究工作进行分类归纳和总结，探讨了基于变异测试的错误定位未来可能的研究方向、机遇和挑战。     

基于弱变异准则的测试用例约简方法

针对为数较多的测试用例增加了回归测试成本的问题，提出一种基于弱变异准则的测试用例约简方法。首先，基于弱变异准则获得测试用例和变异分支关系矩阵；然后，重复约简4种无效测试需求和子集测试用例；最后，结合人工鱼群算法选择当前最优测试用例，并且交替执行简化和测试用例选择操作直至覆盖所有测试需求。该方法针对6个经典程序与贪心算法和HGS算法相比，基于弱变异准则并且不改变或稍微改变变异评分的条件下，约简率分别提高了73.4%和8.2%，且耗时分别降低了25.3%和56.1%。实验结果表明，所提方法在回归测试中可有效约简测试用例，降低测试代价。     

Acoustic emission analysis using Bayesian model selection for damage characterization in ceramic matrix composites

Acoustic emission (AE) during tensile testing of three-dimensional woven SiC/SiC composites was analyzed by a statistical modeling method based on a Bayesian approach to quantitatively evaluate the fracture process. Gaussian mixture models and Weibull mixture models were utilized as candidate models describing the AE time-series data. After fitting AE time-series data to these models with Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods, the model selection was conducted by stochastic complexity. Among the candidate models, the two-component Weibull mixture model was automatically selected. It was confirmed that the component distributions in the two-component Weibull mixture model were corresponding to the evolution of matrix cracking and fiber breakage, respectively. Since the proposed AE analysis method can determine the number of component distributions without the decision of researchers and inspectors, it is expected to be useful for an understanding of the fracture process in newly developed materials and the reliability assessment in service.     

Adaptive retrieval practice with multiple-choice questions in the university classroom

Retrieval practice promotes retention more than restudying (i.e., the testing effect) and is applied to many educational settings. However, little research has investigated means to enhance this effect in educational settings. Theoretical accounts assume retrieval practice to be the most effective whenever retrieval is difficult but successful. Therefore, we developed a novel retrieval practice procedure, which adapts to learners' abilities and can be applied irrespective of learning content. This adaptive procedure aims to make retrieval gradually easier whenever students provide an incorrect answer. In a field experiment, students read book chapters as part of a weekly university course. In three consecutive weeks, they then practiced reading assignments by (a) adaptive testing, (b) non-adaptive testing and (c) restudy. In Week 4, a surprise criterial test took place. Restudy outperformed both testing conditions, whereas adaptive testing performed equally well as non-adaptive testing. However, exploratory analyses revealed that with increasing retention intervals, the superiority of restudy disappeared. Furthermore, whenever participants fully read the assignments and retention intervals increased, adaptive testing outperformed non-adaptive testing. In sum, adaptive retrieval practice did not prove to be generally superior, but retention interval and students' preparation for class might be conditions rendering adaptive retrieval useful in educational settings.