Numerical simulation analysis and experimental validation on wear/fracture mechanisms of polycrystalline cubic boron nitride superabrasives in high-speed grinding

In this study, a two-dimensional finite element model is proposed to investigate the wear/fracture mechanisms of polycrystalline cubic boron nitride (PCBN) superabrasives in high-speed grinding process. The special geometric microstructures of PCBN grains are constructed by using the classic Voronoi tessellation technique, and cohesive elements are embedded into the geometric model of PCBN grains as the potential crack propagation paths for simulating the wear/fracture behaviours of PCBN grains under grinding loads. The effects of uncut chip thickness per grain (a_gmax) on the stress distribution characteristics and wear/fracture behaviours of PCBN grains during grinding are discussed in detail. Results show that the wear behaviour of PCBN grains during grinding mainly occurs around the grain vertex region; however, the fracture behaviour, leading to the quick failure of PCBN grains, is prone to appear around the grain–filler bonding interface, which is usually on the opposite side of the in-feed direction. Moreover, to separate the PCBN grains from the macro-fracture during grinding, the uncut chip thickness per grain should be kept smaller than 1.0?µm to prevent the unfavourable fracture behaviour from appearing around the grain–filler bonding interface. Furthermore, the corresponding single-grain grinding trials are performed to validate the numerical simulation results by evaluating the wear/fracture morphologies of the PCBN superabrasives in the actual grinding operation.     

Voronoi based discrete least squares meshless method for heat conduction simulation in highly irregular geometries

A new technique is used in Discrete Least Square Meshfree(DLSM) method to remove the common existing deficiencies of meshfree methods in handling of the problems containing cracks or concave boundaries. An enhanced Discrete Least Squares Meshless method named as VDLSM(Voronoi based Discrete Least Squares Meshless) is developed in order to solve the steady-state heat conduction problem in irregular solid domains including concave boundaries or cracks. Existing meshless methods cannot estimate precisely the required unknowns in the vicinity of the above mentioned boundaries. Conducted researches are limited to domains with regular convex boundaries. To this end, the advantages of the Voronoi tessellation algorithm are implemented. The support domains of the sampling points are determined using a Voronoi tessellation algorithm. For the weight functions, a cubic spline polynomial is used based on a normalized distance variable which can provide a high degree of smoothness near those mentioned above discontinuities. Finally, Moving Least Squares(MLS) shape functions are constructed using a varitional method. This straight-forward scheme can properly estimate the unknowns(in this particular study, the temperatures at the nodal points) near and on the crack faces, crack tip or concave boundaries without need to extra backward corrective procedures, i.e. the iterative calculations for modifying the shape functions of the nodes located near or on these types of the complex boundaries. The accuracy and efficiency of the presented method are investigated by analyzing four particular examples. Obtained results from VDLSM are compared with the available analytical results or with the results of the well-known Finite Elements Method(FEM) when an analytical solution is not available. By comparisons, it is revealed that the proposed technique gives high accuracy for the solution of the steady-state heat conduction problems within cracked domains or domains with concave boundaries and at the same time possesses a high convergence rate which its accuracy is not sensitive to the arrangement of the nodal points. The novelty of this paper is the use of Voronoi concept in determining the weight functions used in the formulation of the MLS type shape functions.     

Progressive cutting tool wear detection from machined surface images using Voronoi tessellation method

Tool condition monitoring by machine vision approach has been gaining popularity day by day since it is a low cost and flexible method. In this paper, a tool condition monitoring technique by analysing turned surface images has been presented. The aim of this work is to apply an image texture analysis technique on turned surface images for quantitative assessment of cutting tool flank wear, progressively. A novel method by the concept of Voronoi tessellation has been applied in this study to analyse the surface texture of machined surface after the creation of Voronoi diagram. Two texture features, namely, number of polygons with zero cross moment and total void area of Voronoi diagram of machined surface images have been extracted. A correlation study between measured flank wear and extracted texture features has been done for depicting the tool flank wear. It has been found that number of polygons with zero cross moment has better linear relationship with tool flank wear than that of total void area.     

Microstructure models for cellular materials

Laguerre tessellations generated by random sphere packings are promising models for the microstructure of cellular or polycrystalline materials. In this paper, the case of hard sphere packings with lognormal or gamma distributed volumes is investigated. The dependence of the geometric characteristics of the Laguerre cells on the volume fraction of the sphere packing and the coefficient of variation of the volume distribution is studied in detail. The moments of certain cell characteristics are described by polynomials, which allows to fit tessellation models to real materials without further simulations. The procedure is demonstrated by the examples of open polymer and aluminium foams.     

3D random Voronoi grain-based models for simulation of brittle rock damage and fabric-guided micro-fracturing

A grain-based distinct element model featuring three-dimensional （3D） Voronoi tessellations （randompoly-crystals） is proposed for simulation of crack damage development in brittle rocks. The grainboundaries in poly-crystal structure produced by Voronoi tessellations can represent flaws in intact rockand allow for numerical replication of crack damage progression through initiation and propagation ofmicro-fractures along grain boundaries. The Voronoi modelling scheme has been used widely in the pastfor brittle fracture simulation of rock materials. However the difficulty of generating 3D Voronoi modelshas limited its application to two-dimensional （2D） codes. The proposed approach is implemented inNeper, an open-source engine for generation of 3D Voronoi grains, to generate block geometry files thatcan be read directly into 3DEC. A series of Unconfined Compressive Strength （UCS） tests are simulated in3DEC to verify the proposed methodology for 3D simulation of brittle fractures and to investigate therelationship between each micro-parameter and the model＇s macro-response. The possibility of numericalreplication of the classical U-shape strength curve for anisotropic rocks is also investigated innumerical UCS tests by using complex-shaped （elongated） grains that are cemented to one another alongtheir adjoining sides. A micro-parameter calibration procedure is established for 3D Voronoi models foraccurate replication of the mechanical behaviour of isotropic and anisotropic （containing a fabric） rocks.
2014 Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Production and hosting byElsevier B.V. All rights reserved.     

Feature-Adaptive Rendering of Loop Subdivision Surfaces on Modern GPUs

We present a novel approach for real-time rendering Loop subdivision surfaces on modern graphics hardware. Our algorithm evaluates both positions and normals accurately, thus providing the true Loop subdivision surface. The core idea is to recursively refine irregular patches using a GPU compute kernel. All generated regular patches are then directly evaluated and rendered using tile hardware tessellation unit. Our approach handles triangular control meshes of arbitrary topologies and incorporates common subdivision surface features such as semi-sharp creases and hierarchical edits. While surface rendering is accurate up to machine precision, we also enforce a consistent bitwise evaluation of positions and normals at patch boundaries. This is particularly useful in the context of displacement mapping which strictly requires inatching surface normals. Furthermore, we incorporate efficient level-of-detail rendering where subdivision depth and tessellation density can be adjusted on-the-fly. Overall, our algorithm provides high-quality results at real-time frame rates, thus being ideally suited to interactive rendering applications such as video games or authoring tools.     

一种基于Voronoi图求解车辆路径问题的混合启发式算法

针对由多个配送中心和多个客户点组成的物流网络中的车辆路径问题,提出了一种基于“集群第一,路线第二”的路径优化策略,即首先使用Voronoi分割对配送区域进行划分,然后引入综合插入算法和变邻域搜索算法的混合启发式算法求解配送区域内车辆路径问题。通过算例和应用系统的分析与验证表明,该混合算法既能获取质量较优解,同时也具有较好的实时性,能较好地满足实际应用需求。     

应用Voronoi随机模型研究多孔材料中波的传播特性

高孔隙率泡沫金属材料由于其较长的应力平台可以吸收较多的能量,在结构耐撞性设计中有重要的应用前景。然而,实验研究表明当高孔隙率泡沫金属材料承受强冲击载荷时,可能发生应力/力增强现象,从而对被保护结构造成较严重的损伤。采用二维Voronoi随机分布模型研究"真实"泡沫材料在不同持时的强冲击载荷作用下可能出现的力/应力增强现象。对5种不规则的泡沫金属材料计算结果表明:在强冲击载荷达到一定强度时,在泡沫金属材料中应力/力传递会出现应力/力的增强现象。     

基于宏—细观模型的疲劳裂纹萌生数值模拟

为了研究材料微观特性对结构疲劳寿命的影响,提高结构疲劳寿命预估精度,根据Tanaka-Mura单一微裂纹及裂尖微裂纹萌生寿命预测模型,模拟疲劳载荷下某马氏体钢孔边疲劳裂纹萌生寿命。利用泰森多边形生成法,生成代表多晶结构的二维特征单元。考虑晶粒内相互垂直的多滑移特性以及已起裂裂纹对相邻晶粒裂纹萌生的影响,建立微裂纹起裂与扩展的改进模型。中心孔平板试件疲劳寿命的数值模拟结果与试验值吻合良好,说明给出的改进宏细观疲劳寿命预测模型的有效性。     

Mechanical response of cellular solids: Role of cellular topology and microstructural irregularity

Rapid advance in additive manufacturing techniques promises that, in the near future, the fabrication of functional cellular structures will be achieved with desired cellular microstructures tailored to specific application in mind. In this perspective, it is essential to develop a detailed understanding of the relationship between mechanical response and cellular microstructure. The present study reports on the results of a series of computational experiments that explore the effect topology and microstructural irregularity (or non-periodicity) on overall mechanical response of cellular solids. Compressive response of various 2D topologies such as honeycombs, stochastic Voronoi foams as well as tetragonal and triangular lattice structures have been investigated as functions of quantitative irregularity parameters. The fundamental issues addressed are (i) uniqueness of mechanical response in irregular microstructures, and effects of (ii) specimen size, (iii) boundary morphology, (iv) cellular topology, and (v) microstructural irregularity on mechanical response.