Effect of complexation of oxidised corn starch with mineral elements on physicochemical properties

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of complexation of oxidised starch with mineral elements on its physicochemical properties. Corn starch was oxidised with sodium hypochlorite and, afterwards, modified with ions of potassium, magnesium and iron. Thus, native and modified starches were analysed for: contents of mineral elements, colour parameters (L*a*b*), water binding capacity and solubility in water at temperature of 60 and 80 °C. Thermodynamic characteristics of gelatinisation by DSC, molecular weight distribution by GPC, intrinsic viscosity and pasting properties by RVA were studied. The efficiency of incorporation of metal ions into oxidised corn starch was about 30%, 20% and 20% for potassium, magnesium and iron ions, respectively. The complexation with potassium ions caused the greatest changes in the molecular weight distribution and the intrinsic viscosity of starches and viscosity of starch pastes. Only modification of starch with iron ions affected the colour parameters of the starch. Incorporation of metal ions into starch resulted also in changes in its water binding capacity and solubility in water.     

An element-based displacement preconditioner for linear elasticity problems

Finite element analysis of problems in structural and geotechnical engineering results in linear systems where the unknowns are displacements and rotations at nodes. Although the solution of these systems can be carried out using either direct or iterative methods, in practice the matrices involved are usually very large and sparse (particularly for 3D problems) so an iterative approach is often advantageous in terms of both computational time and memory requirements. This memory saving can be further enhanced if the method used does not require assembly of the full coefficient matrix during the solution procedure. One disadvantage of iterative methods is the need to apply preconditioning to improve convergence. In this paper, we review a range of established element-based preconditioning methods for linear elastic problems and compare their performance with a new method based on preconditioning with element displacement components. This new method appears to offer a significant improvement in performance.     

Numerical Study of Finite Element Method Based Solutions for Propagation of Wetting Fronts in Unsaturated Soil

The accurate prediction of the propagation of a wetting front in an unsaturated soil subjected to surficial infiltration is of practical importance to many geotechnical and geoenvironmental problems. The finite element method is the most common solution technique as the hydraulic soil properties are highly nonlinear. Two important issues are often found to create difficulties in such analyses. First, numerical oscillations are usually observed in the calculated pore pressures at the wetting front. Second, when a reasonable mesh size and time step are used, the elevation of the wetting front may be seriously overpredicted. This paper is focused on the second issue. The under-relaxation (UR) technique used in the iterative process within each time step is found to have a serious impact on rate of convergence with refinement in mesh size and time step. Two different techniques are typically used; the first evaluates the hydraulic conductivity using an average of heads calculated from the preceding time node and the most recent iteration of the current time node (UR1), and the second evaluates the hydraulic conductivity using the average of heads calculated from the two most recent iterations of the current time nodes (UR2). The study shows that UR1, which is adopted in programs such as SEEP/W, ensures that the solution converges rapidly to a stable solution within a time step, but may converge to the wrong wetting front at a given elapsed time unless a sufficiently refined mesh is used. UR2 converges much more slowly within a time step, but the error in the wetting front is smaller than that generated by UR1.     

Chemical leaching and magnetic properties of non-equilibrium Al(Co–Cu) powders produced by rod milling

We report upon the chemical leaching and magnetic properties of nanoscale crystalline Al_0.6(Co₂₅Cu₇₅)_0.4 alloy powders produced by rod milling. X-Ray diffractometry (XRD), transmission electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, vibrating sample magnetometry, and superconducting quantum interference device magnetometry were used to characterize the as-milled and leached specimens. After 400 h of milling, only the b.c.c. phase of the intermetallic compound γ-Al_3.892Cu_6.10808 was detected by XRD. After annealing the leached specimen at 600 °C for 1 h, the nanoscale crystalline phase was transformed into the f.c.c. Cu phase, and this was accompanied by a change in the magnetic properties. The peaks of the magnetization shifted towards lower temperature with increasing external field. The temperature behavior at T_f (45 K) for direct current (d.c.) magnetic susceptibility measurements was quite different for field cooling and zero-field cooling. After cooling the leached specimen from 800 °C, magnetization increased gradually.     

PowerPoint2000动画设计应用

PowerPoint2000是Microsoft公司办公自动化软件Office2000的重要构件之一。其自身具有强大的处理功能，尤其是PowerPoint2000所提供的基本动画效果，更是给演示文稿增添了很多色彩。如果能将这些基本动画效果巧妙地组合在一起，就会创作出更富感染力的作品。就创作中的技巧并结合应用举例分析如下。相信人们可以利用这些设计思想，创作出更加精彩的作品。     

The solution of the inverse problem of gravitational potential using a set of measurements of different field elements

A numerical solution of the inverse problem of the gravitational field at a single point is obtained using six field elements for a point, a spherical cap, a differential spherical sector and a vertical segment. In the system of six equations obtained, the unknowns are the mass of the body, the depth of its center, and the second, third, and fourth degree moments. The accuracy of the solution of this system is ten times higher than when using three field elements. __________ Translated from Izmeritel’naya Tekhnika, No. 5, pp. 3–8, May, 2007.     

Model Validation for Bridge-Road-Vehicle Dynamic Interaction System

The dynamic response of highway bridges subjected to moving truckloads has been observed to be dependent on (1) dynamic characteristics of the bridge; (2) truck configuration, speed, and lane position on the bridge; and (3) road surface roughness profile of the bridge and its approach. Historically, truckloads were measured to determine the load spectra for girder bridges. However, truckload measurements are either made for a short period of time [for example, weigh-in-motion (WIM) data] or are statistically biased (for example, weigh stations) and cost prohibitive. The objective of this paper is to present results of a 3D computer-based model for the simulation of multiple trucks on girder bridges. The model is based on the grillage approach and is applied to four steel girder bridges tested under normal truck traffic. Actual truckload data collected using a discrete bridge WIM system are used in the model. The data include axle loads, truck gross weight, axle configuration, and statistical data on multiple presence (side by side or following). The results are presented as a function of the static and dynamic stresses in each girder and compared with code provisions for dynamic load factor. The study provides an alternate method for the development of live-load models for bridge design and evaluation.     

Dynamic crack propagation with cohesive elements: a methodology to address mesh dependency

In this paper, two brittle fracture problems are numerically simulated: the failure of a ceramic ring under centrifugal loading and crack branching in a PMMA strip. A three‐dimensional finite element package in which cohesive elements are dynamically inserted has been developed. The cohesive elements' strength is chosen to follow a modified weakest link Weibull distribution. The probability of introducing a weak cohesive element is set to increase with the cohesive element size. This reflects the physically based effect according to which larger elements are more likely to contain defects. The calculations illustrate how the area dependence of the Weibull model can be used to effectively address mesh dependency. On the other hand, regular Weibull distributions have failed to reduce mesh dependency for the examples shown in this paper. The ceramic ring calculations revealed that two distinct phenomena appear depending on the magnitude of the Weibull modulus. For low Weibull modulus, the fragmentation of the ring is dominated by heterogeneities. Whereas many cracks were generated, few of them could propagate to the outer surface. Monte Carlo simulations revealed that for highly heterogeneous rings, the number of small fragments was large and that few large fragments were generated. For high Weibull modulus, signifying that the ring is close to being homogeneous, the fragmentation process was very different. Monte Carlo simulations highlighted that a larger number of large fragments are generated due to crack branching. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Terminal velocity of non-spherical particles falling through a Carreau model liquid

A procedure has been proposed for the estimation of the terminal falling velocity of non-spherical particles moving in a Carreau model fluid in the transition flow region. The procedure is based on a modification of the relationship formerly developed for the fall of spherical particles including the particle dynamic shape factor. The suitability of the proposed procedure has been confirmed by good agreement between experimental and calculated terminal falling velocity data. In the experiments, the terminal falling velocity of short cylinders and rectangular prisms in polymer solutions of different measure of shear thinning and elasticity has been measured.