Repeated low-velocity impact responses of SiC particle reinforced Al metal-matrix composites

This study aimed to investigate experimentally the repeated low-velocity impact behaviors of SiC reinforced aluminum 6061 metal-matrix composites for different volume fractions and energy levels. In addition, the hardness variations were measured by the Vickers hardness tests from the impacted and impact-free cross-sections of the particle reinforced metal-matrix composites. Low-velocity impact tests were applied to composite samples manufactured by powder metallurgy (in 10, 20, and 30% volume fractions) at two total energy levels (15 and 60 J as single) and in repetitions equal to the sum of these energy levels (5 + 5 + 5 and 20 + 20 + 20 J as repeated). As a result, in increasing the impact number for all volume fractions, the total contact time was shortened and the peak contact force increased, whereas both the permanent central deflection and the absorbed energies reduced. Hence, these variations obtained under repeated impacts (5 + 5 + 5 and 20 + 20 + 20 J) revealed that metal-matrix composites showed a tougher behavior with an increase in the impact numbers from 1st to 3rd, particularly because of the strain hardening effect. Furthermore, an increase in volume fraction from 10 to 30% resulted in an increase in the impact strength under all repeated and single impacts despite changing deformation and damage mechanisms due to increasing the strain hardening effect and particle fractures. The hardness was affected by the volume fraction and increased as the volume fraction increased in both the impacted and impact-free zones. The repeated impact increased the impacted zone hardness more than the single impact for all volume fractions. Additionally, the hardness of the impacted zone under 20 + 20 + 20 J repeated impact was measured as the highest value in the 30% volume fraction. Therefore, metal-matrix composites can behave harder with the strain hardening effect under repeated impacts.     

Two-level intelligent modeling method for the rate of penetration in complex geological drilling process

The rate of penetration (ROP) model is of great importance in achieving a high efficiency in the complex geological drilling process. In this paper, a novel two-level intelligent modeling method is proposed for the ROP considering the drilling characteristics of data incompleteness, couplings, and strong nonlinearities. Firstly, a piecewise cubic Hermite interpolation method is introduced to complete the lost drilling data. Then, a formation drillability (FD) fusion submodel is established by using Nadaboost extreme learning machine (Nadaboost-ELM) algorithm, and the mutual information method is used to obtain the parameters, strongly correlated with the ROP. Finally, a ROP submodel is established by a neural network with radial basis function optimized by the improved particle swarm optimization (RBFNN-IPSO). This two-level ROP model is applied to a real drilling process and the proposed method shows the best performance in ROP prediction as compared with conventional methods. The proposed ROP model provides the basis for intelligent optimization and control in the complex geological drilling process.     

Numerical verification of the continuous calculation method for tip stress during the driving process of the dynamic penetration test

This paper presents a calculation method for obtaining the continuous variation in stress between the tip and the soil during dynamic penetration tests, particularly in the case of using the Panda 3® penetration testing device. The originality of the method is that the tip stress can be computed continuously throughout the driving process. For each impact of the hammer on the penetrometer, data are recorded by sensors located at the top of the apparatus. Then, the stress at the tip and the displacement of the apparatus are calculated with a method based on the propagation of waves in the device. A three-dimensional numerical model of the penetration test, based on the Panda 3® specifications and using the discrete element method (DEM), is proposed in this paper. The purpose of the simulations is to validate the calculation method by comparing the curves of the tip stress versus the penetration distance obtained in two different ways, the first being the distance directly observed at the tip and the second being the distance calculated from the data recorded at the top of the penetrometer, as with the experimental device. The entire apparatus is represented, including the hammer, the rod, and the tip, and is driven into the model soil. The calculation method is applied, and the results are compared to the actual response of the soil to the driving of the penetrometer directly at the tip, which can be obtained with the numerical model. The responses are found to be very similar, confirming the theoretical framework and its underlying assumptions. This method is applied to dynamic penetration tests and provides the opportunity to obtain mechanical parameters other than the tip resistance from the tests.     

高性能计算分析技术在大型钠冷快堆屏蔽设计中的应用

钠冷快堆堆容器是一体化的池式结构，由众多堆内构件组成且结构复杂，堆芯到生物屏蔽外中子输运过程中各向异性明显且深穿透问题严重，大尺度范围下三维S_N方法计算是制约快堆屏蔽设计的瓶颈。通过将三维SN程序与高性能计算技术相结合，采用并行计算方法可解决快堆堆本体内各向异性的三维深穿透屏蔽问题。本文以中国示范快堆（CFR600）堆本体为研究对象，采用JSNT-CFR程序详细计算了堆本体内的中子注量率、光子注量率、剂量率，并将计算结果与已有的二维程序设计结果进行比较。结果表明，将传统屏蔽计算方法与高性能计算相结合，能满足CFR600堆本体屏蔽计算精度要求，获得更为全面的三维展示效果，在计算模型复杂、粒子穿透深度等复杂问题的屏蔽计算上具有较明显的优势，为大型钠冷快堆屏蔽设计提供有力支撑。     

国内在役核电厂首例电气贯穿件更换改造

核电厂电气贯穿件作为安全壳上的关键设备，承担着核岛内外各种电力和信号传输以及保证安全壳压力边界完整性的重要功能。通过秦山核电厂一期工程30万千瓦机组第18次大修期间国产在役DDG-1型电气贯穿件更换改造项目的实施，分析了秦山核电厂一期工程在役电气贯穿件设备现状和改造的必要性；针对在役核电厂更换改造工期短和贯穿件密封性能验证难等问题，通过优化检验工序、制作专用检漏工装的方法，缩短了贯穿件改造的工期并验证了贯穿件密封性能。      

Role of weave design on the mechanical properties of 3D woven fabrics as reinforcements for structural composites

3D fabrics as reinforcement can be manipulated in discrete numbers of weave designs in order to earn maximum gain so that the desired mechanical properties of the composites can be achieved eventually for particular end use. Thus interest has been focused to investigate tensile, impact and knife penetration properties of 3D orthogonal and interlock structures of different weave designs by varying their binder interlacement patterns keeping stuffer binder ratio constant. The tensile properties were effectively influenced by the linear densities as well as crimp of load bearing tows, which were determined by the weave design of the fabric. The compact structure generated from regular weave pattern in case of 1 × 1 plain orthogonal and 1 × 1 plain interlock fabrics exhibited better impact energy absorption. Owing to higher values of peak energy in the knife penetration test, it is revealed that more is the number of fibres in the in-plane direction better is the protection.     

Multicellular Tumor Spheroids (MCTS) as a 3D In Vitro Evaluation Tool of Nanoparticles

Multicellular tumor spheroid models (MCTS) are often coined as 3D in vitro models that can mimic the microenvironment of tissues. MCTS have gained increasing interest in the nano‐biotechnology field as they can provide easily accessible information on the performance of nanoparticles without using animal models. Considering that many countries have put restrictions on animals testing, which will only tighten in the future as seen by the recent developments in the Netherlands, 3D models will become an even more valuable tool. Here, an overview on MCTS is provided, focusing on their use in cancer research as most nanoparticles are tested in MCTS for treatment of primary tumors. Thereafter, various types of nanoparticles—from self‐assembled block copolymers to inorganic nanoparticles, are discussed. A range of physicochemical parameters including the size, shape, surface chemistry, ligands attachment, stability, and stiffness are found to influence nanoparticles in MCTS. Some of these studies are complemented by animal studies confirming that lessons from MCTS can in part predict the behaviour in vivo. In summary, MCTS are suitable models to gain additional information on nanoparticles. While not being able to replace in vivo studies, they can bridge the gap between traditional 2D in vitro studies and in vivo models.     

Computational Investigation of Effects of Grain Size on Ballistic Performance of Copper

Numerical simulations were conducted to compare ballistic performance and penetration mechanism of copper (Cu) with four representative grain sizes. Ballistic limit velocities for coarse-grained (CG) copper (grain size ≈ 90 µm), regular copper (grain size ≈ 30 µm), fine-grained (FG) copper (grain size ≈ 890 nm), and ultrafine-grained (UG) copper (grain size ≈ 200 nm) were determined for the first time through the simulations. It was found that the copper with reduced grain size would offer higher strength and better ductility, and therefore renders improved ballistic performance than the CG and regular copper. High speed impact and penetration behavior of the FG and UG copper was also compared with the CG coppers strengthened by nanotwinned (NT) regions. The comparison results showed the impact and penetration resistance of UG copper is comparable to the CG copper strengthened by NT regions with the minimum twin spacing. Therefore, besides the NT-strengthened copper, the single phase copper with nanoscale grain size could also be a strong candidate material for better ballistic protection. A computational modeling and simulation framework was proposed for this study, in which Johnson–Cook (JC) constitutive model is used to predict the plastic deformation of Cu; the JC damage model is to capture the penetration and fragmentation behavior of Cu; Bao–Wierzbicki (B-W) failure criterion defines the material's failure mechanisms; and temperature increase during this adiabatic penetration process is given by the Taylor–Quinney method.     

Quantitative wood–adhesive penetration with X-ray computed tomography

Micro X-ray computed tomography (XCT) was used to analyze the 3D adhesive penetration behavior of different wood–adhesive bondlines. Three adhesives, a phenol formaldehyde (PF), a polymeric diphenylmethane diisocyanate (pMDI), and a hybrid polyvinyl acetate (PVA), all tagged with iodine for enhanced X-ray attenuation, were used to prepare single-bondline laminates in two softwoods, Douglas-fir and loblolly pine, and one hardwood, a hybrid polar. Adhesive penetration depth was measured with two separate calculations, and results were compared with 2D fluorescent micrographs. A total of 54 XCT scans were collected, representing six replicates of each treatment type; each replicate, however, consisted of approximately 1500 individual, cross-section slices stacked along the specimen length. As these adhesives were highly modified, the presented results do not indicate typical behavior for their broader adhesive classes. Still, clear penetration differences were observed between each adhesive type, and between wood species bonded with both the PF and pMDI adhesives. Furthermore, penetration results depended on the calculation method used. Two adhesive types with noticeably different resin distributions in the cured bondline, showed relatively similar penetration depths when calculated with a traditional effective penetration equation. However, when the same data was calculated with a weighted penetration calculation, which accounts for both adhesive area and depth, the results appeared to better represent the different distributions depicted in the photomicrographs and tomograms. Additionally, individual replicate comparisons showed variation due to specimen anatomy, not easily observed or interpreted from 2D images. Finally, 3D views of segmented 3D adhesive phases offered unique, in-situ views of the cured adhesive structures. In particular, voids formed by CO₂ bubbles generated during pMDI cure were clearly visible in penetrated columns of the solidified adhesive.