Towards selective laser sintering of objects with customized mechanical properties based on ANFIS predictions

Recently, the adaptive network-based fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) has been used extensively in modeling of manufacturing processes to save both optimization time and manufacturing costs. ANFIS is a powerful iterative tool for optimizing non-linear and multivariable manufacturing operations. In the present study, ANFIS is used to predict the optimum manufacturing parameters in selective laser sintering (SLS) of cement-filled polyamide 12 (PA12) composite. For this purpose, a set of cement-filled PA12 test specimens is manufactured by SLS technique with 8 different values of laser power (4.5–8 Watt) and 8 different weight fractions of white cement (5 %–40 %). Mechanical characterization of cement-filled PA12 is carried out to evaluate the ultimate tensile strength (UTS), compressive strength, and flexural properties. The experimental data are then divided into two groups; one group for training the ANFIS model and the other group for checking the validity of the identified model. The built ANFIS model was validated experimentally and comparison with experimental results revealed mean relative errors of 2.92 %, 3.84 %, 4.75 %, and 3.31 % in the predictions of UTS, compressive strength, flexural modulus, and flexural yield strength, respectively.

     

Influence of building orientation on the flexural strength of laminated object manufacturing specimens

This study aims to define the best building orientation for components produced via the Laminated object manufacturing (LOM) technique to enhance their flexural performance. Results of previous research show that components produced via LOM are capable of with-standing higher deflections than components produced through other layer manufacturing techniques. However, the relation between the building orientation and flexural strength of components has not yet been assessed. Four types of specimens have been manufactured using different building orientations for each type. The specimens have been tested in a machine with four loading points to evaluate their failure mode and identify the best building orientation toward flexural loading. The best building orientation in terms of maximum load before failure is 45°. Furthermore, a repetitive failure pattern is found for each tested condition. Building orientation is confirmed to be a relevant parameter in LOM manufacturing by influencing the mechanical properties of components.     

Investigation into the selective laser sintering of styrene–acrylonitrile copolymer and postprocessing

The amorphous polymer of polystyrene (PS) has been widely used in the selective laser sintering (SLS) process. However, PS is not suitable to make parts with thin-wall or delicate structures because of the poor mechanical properties of its SLS parts. Therefore, styrene–acrylonitrile copolymer (SAN), another kind of amorphous polymers, was investigated as an SLS material. The effects of laser energy density on the relative density, mechanical properties, and dimensional accuracy of the SLS parts were studied, and the properties of PS and SAN SLS parts were compared. The postprocessing method of infiltrating with epoxy resin was used to reinforce the green SAN SLS parts. The results show that there is little difference in the relative density between the SAN and PS SLS parts, while the flexural strength of the SAN SLS specimens is obviously higher than that of the PS SLS specimens at the same energy density. After the postprocessing, the flexural strength, flexural modulus, and impact strength of the SAN SLS specimens increase by 133%, 4394%, and 254%, respectively, and the SLS parts maintain relatively high-dimensional accuracy although slight shrinkage occurs due to epoxy resin cure. SAN can be used to fabricate SLS parts with more complex and delicate structures.     

Study on vital static properties of fine blanking of GFRP composites with that of conventional drilling

Among the high performance engineering materials, fiber-reinforced plastics play an important role. The present work is concerned with the comparison of vital static strength properties of fine blanking with conventional drilling on hand lay-up made glass fiber-reinforced plastic (GFRP) laminates of four different reinforcement lay-up sequences such as unidirectional [0/0]_n, angle ply [0?±?45]_ns, quasi-isotropic [0/45/90]_ns, and cross-ply [0/90]_n. Observation includes tensile and flexural bending strengths of the specimens without hole and with hole by conventional drilling and fine blanking. In this work, an endeavor has been made to simulate the service conditions to determine their effect on the response of composite laminates. Detailed studies on GFRP composites when subjected to different loading environments such as static loading, particularly tensile loading, and low frequency high amplitude (fatigue) loading were carried out. The response of the composite laminates to these service environments has been evaluated in terms of flexural strength and modulus. From the tensile study, it was observed that by inserting a hole at center by drilling, the strength was reduced to one third, and by inserting a hole at center by fine blanking, the strength was increased nearly 20% than that of drilling. Apart from this, the flexural test conducted on polymeric composite specimens showed that an exposure to low frequency and high amplitude loading enhances the flexural strength up to certain duration of exposure, beyond which, due to accumulation of damage within the composites, the flexural strength reduces with number of cycles. This can be attributed to possible strain-induced stiffening of fibers and interface.     

Quantitative electron holographic tomography for the 3D characterisation of semiconductor device structures

Electron tomography and electron holography experiments have been combined to investigate the 3D electrostatic potential distribution in semiconductor devices. The experimental procedure for the acquisition and data reconstruction of holographic tilt series of silicon p-n junction specimens is described. A quantitative analysis of the experimental results from specimens of two different thicknesses is presented, revealing the 3D electrostatic potential variations arising from the presence of surfaces and damage generated by focused ion beam (FIB) sample preparation. Close to bulk-like properties are measured in the centre of the tomographic reconstruction of the specimen, revealing higher electrically active dopant concentrations compared to the measurements obtained at the specimen surfaces. A comparison of the experimental results from the different thickness specimens has revealed a 'critical' thickness for this specimen preparation method of 350nm that is required for this device structure to retain 'bulk'-like properties in the centre of the membrane.     

A torsional resonance mode AFM for in-plane tip surface interactions

Changing the method of tip/sample interaction leads to contact, tapping and other dynamic imaging modes in atomic force microscopy (AFM) feedback controls. A common characteristic of these feedback controls is that the primary control signals are based on flexural deflection of the cantilever probes, statically or dynamically. We introduce a new AFM mode using the torsional resonance amplitude (or phase) to control the feedback loop and maintain the tip/surface relative position through lateral interaction. The torsional resonance mode (TRmode™) provides complementary information to tapping mode for surface imaging and studies. The nature of tip/surface interaction of the TRmode facilitates phase measurements to resolve the in-plane anisotropy of materials as well as measurements of dynamic friction at nanometer scale. TRmode can image surfaces interleaved with TappingMode™ with the same probe and in the same area. In this way we are able to probe samples dynamically in both vertical and lateral dimensions with high sensitivity to local mechanical and tribological properties. The benefit of TRmode has been proven in studies of water adsorption on HOPG surface steps. TR phase data yields approximately 20 times stronger contrast than tapping phase at step edges, revealing detailed structures that cannot be resolved in tapping mode imaging. The effect of sample rotation relative to the torsional oscillation axis of the cantilever on TR phase contrast has been observed. Tip wear studies of TRmode demonstrated that the interaction forces between tip and sample could be controlled for minimum tip damage by the feedback loop.     

Effect of prestress level on the strength of CFRP composite laminate

The effect of fiber prestressing has been investigated on the tensile strength, modulus strength, flexural properties and residual stresses of Carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites. Unidirectional carbon fiber in an epoxy resin has been examined under different prestressing levels (0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 45, 60, 80 MPa) at ambient temperature and 50 % fiber volume fraction. A new method was implemented to produce the prestressed laminates for several standard tests. The results showed that prestressing on 3-ply unidirectional carbon fibers improved the fiber tensile strength to 99 % and the tensile modulus to 31 %. Similarly on 8-ply unidirectional carbon fibers has improved the fiber flexural strength to 63 % and flexural modulus to 81 %. A new technique was used to measure the residual stresses and tensile modulus of the composite laminate by recording the final extension and the remaining load directly after the curing process and releasing the applied load.

     

Measurement of strain rate sensitivity of aluminium foams for energy dissipation

In this paper the structural performance of aluminium alloy foams have been investigated under both static and dynamic compression loads. Three foam typologies (M-PORE, CYMAT, SCHUNK) in a wide range of density (from 0.14 to 0.75 g/cm³), made by means of different process-routes (melt gas injection, powder metallurgy, investment casting) have been analysed. Foams microstructural characterization has been carried out through morphometric measurements by means of Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Computed Tomography (CT) and subsequent digital image processing in order to determine average cells size and cell distributions on different section planes. The experimental study aims to assess the strain rate sensitivity and energy absorption capability of commercially available metal foams and to point out the correlation between the mechanical behaviour and the physical and geometrical properties of the foam. It has been found that the specific energy dissipation of foams with similar density can be quite different: for the same volume of foam, average values of 1770, 1780 and 5590 J/kg at 50% nominal compression have been measured on M-PORE (0.19 g/cm³), CYMAT (0.28 g/cm³) and SCHUNK (0.28 g/cm³) foams, respectively. Impact tests showed that the dependence of the plateau stress on strain rate could be considered negligible for M-PORE and CYMAT foams while it is quite remarkable for SCHUNK foams. Moreover, it was found that the peak stress of CYMAT foams has a quite large sensitivity on the loading rate.     

Analysis and modeling of flexural deformation of laminated steel

Steel/polymer/steel laminate sheets, commonly known as laminated steels, received attention for their superior noise damping properties in automotive applications. Published work indicates that the tensile properties of the laminated steel follow the prediction of the rule of mixtures. The flexural response of the laminated steel, however, depends on the type of the sandwich configuration. The flexural rigidity of the vibration-damping type of laminated steel is lower than the value calculated using beam theory. In industrial scale numerical simulations, automotive body panels are usually represented by using a single layer of shell element. Limited research work on finite element (FE) modeling of laminated steel has indicated that the vibration-damping type of laminated steel is better represented by using two layers of shells. It is logical to relate the simplest FE representation to the way the flexural rigidity of the laminated steel that conforms to the prediction using the beam theory. This paper examines the flexural response of the vibration-damping type of laminated steel through the comparison of beam theory predictions with the experimental results for cantilever beam and three-point bending configurations. It was found that the analytical solution for the split beam is in good agreement with the experimental results. This finding confirms the FE model that represents the vibration-damping type of laminated steel using two layers of shell with tied interface. The simulations using this method yielded good correlations with the experimental results for the two flexural loading cases studied in this paper.     

铝合金搅拌摩擦焊接加筋板剪切稳定性能研究

对2024-T3铝合金搅拌摩擦焊接加筋壁板的剪切稳定性能进行试验研究,得到该结构的剪切失稳形式及屈曲载荷、承载能力及破坏形式。应用有限元法对该焊接加筋壁板结构进行简化建模,对该结构的稳定性和承载能力进行计算,将计算结果与试验结果进行比较。试验及有限元计算结果表明,结构的剪切失稳形式表现为筋条间平板的局部屈曲;屈曲后结构进入张力场受力状态,破坏形式主要表现为平板的塑性变形和边缘撕裂、筋条的弯扭变形以及焊接区的局部脱焊;出现脱焊现象的试验件其承载能力较未出现脱焊现象的试验件下降7.7%;线性和非线性屈曲计算所得屈曲载荷分别比试验平均值高出18.4%和26.2%,而非线性计算所得承载能力比试验平均值高出5.7%,焊接引起的初始缺陷对结构承载能力的影响小于对屈曲载荷的影响;有限元分析得到的结构屈曲形式和失效形式与试验现象吻合,验证了有限元模型的合理性,但其仍需要进一步改进以考虑初始缺陷来减小计算误差。     

Soft sensor based composition estimation and controller design for an ideal reactive distillation column

In this research work, the authors have presented the design and implementation of a recurrent neural network (RNN) based inferential state estimation scheme for an ideal reactive distillation column. Decentralized PI controllers are designed and implemented. The reactive distillation process is controlled by controlling the composition which has been estimated from the available temperature measurements using a type of RNN called Time Delayed Neural Network (TDNN). The performance of the RNN based state estimation scheme under both open loop and closed loop have been compared with a standard Extended Kalman filter (EKF) and a Feed forward Neural Network (FNN). The online training/correction has been done for both RNN and FNN schemes for every ten minutes whenever new un-trained measurements are available from a conventional composition analyzer. The performance of RNN shows better state estimation capability as compared to other state estimation schemes in terms of qualitative and quantitative performance indices.     

Measurement and determination of dynamic biaxial flexural strength of thin ceramic substrates under high stress-rate loading

Quasi-static and dynamic piston-on-3-ball experiments have been performed on an 8-mol% yttria stabilized zirconia (8YSZ) ceramic material and its doped versions to investigate the effects of the dopants on the biaxial flexural strength of 8YSZ thin substrates. To facilitate the extraction of information from limited number of dynamic experimental results, a new strength model with constant stress-rate as an independent variable was developed based on Tuler and Butcher's concept of cumulative damage. By employing an overall least-squares curve fitting technique, the experimental data were fitted to this model. Results revealed that the alumina (Al₂O₃) dopant with amount less than 3 mol% and a 3-mol% yttria stabilized zirconia (3YSZ) dopant with amount less than 30 wt% do not change the biaxial flexural strength of 8YSZ thin substrates significantly under both quasi-static and dynamic loading conditions. However, all the materials exhibited clear loading rate strengthening effects.     

Acoustic investigations of the steel samples deformation during the tensile

The paper presents an experimental study of ultrasonic surface waves propagation in the low carbon steel specimens with different degree of degradation of microstructure and mechanical properties, subjected to tensile deformation. The purpose of this paper is to investigate and analyze the dependence between microstructure, mechanical and acoustic properties and to find appropriate parameters for stress state evaluation. For identification of degradation and stress state we use ultrasonic Rayleigh waves (URW) velocity variation obtained by in-line and off-line measurements. The degradation is imitated by structural changes caused by heat treatment.     

Thermomechanical investigation of the cortical bone analogue in third-generation Sawbones femurs

The mechanical properties of the short glass fibre reinforced (SGFR) epoxy resin used as the cortical bone analogue in the third-generation Sawbones femurs were investigated for use within orthopaedic benchtop tests. Tensile and four-point bending tests were used to assess the material properties of the SGFR epoxy at both room (22 'C) and body temperatures (37 degrees C). The 20 standardized specimens used for the materials testing were machined from third-generation Sawbones femurs. The flexural properties of the specimens were determined using ASTM D6272-02 and the tensile properties were obtained using ASTM D638-02. The mean (and standard deviation, or SD) values of the modulus of elasticity in four-point bending for room and body temperature specimens of 7.8 (0.64) GPa and 2.8 (0.66) GPa respectively were significantly different (P < 0.001). The mean (and SD) values of the modulus of elasticity in tension for the room and body temperature specimens of 9.4 (0.8) GPa and 5.4 (1.3) GPa respectively were also significantly different (P = 0.02). The modulus of elasticity of SGFR epoxy is highly temperature dependent. A reduction in the modulus of elasticity of up to 63 per cent was observed when increasing the temperature of the specimens from room to body temperature. SGFR epoxy Sawbones do not accurately represent the material properties of bone at body temperature.     

Optical complexities of living cytoplasm--implications for live cell imaging and photo-micromanipulation techniques

The ability to manipulate the intracellular environment within living cells and to monitor the cytosolic chemical changes which occur during cell stimulation has lead to major advances in our understanding of how cells read and respond to their environment. Perhaps the most powerful suite of techniques for achieving these dual objectives is based on the use of light (photons). Because cells are 'transparent', light has been used to both interrogate and manipulate the chemistry inside living cells, exploiting technical advances in both the physical and biochemical sciences. However, cells are neither transparent nor homogeneous with respect to their optical properties. The interface between light and the living cell cytoplasm thus represent an important, yet largely ignored, interface. There has been no review of the optical properties of cytoplasm and little discussion about how the optical properties of living cytoplasm influence the outcome of such measurements and manipulations. In this short review, we discuss the importance of understanding the optical properties of cytoplasm for such techniques and how imperfections in experimental interpretation can arise.     

DevelopmentofPhotocatalyst-BasedICP-MSCouplingTechniquesforDeterminationofTraceElementsandTheirSpecies

It is well known that the speciation, or chemical form, of metals governs its fate, toxicity, mobility, and bioavailability in environmental and biological systems. To assess these chemical properties and to accurately gauge their impact on human health and the environment, metals need to be characterized at the atomic level. To attain new information about environmental and biological effects of trace elements, new methodologies or modify conventional analytical methods is deemed as vital factor for the progress of bio- and environmental- studies. In view of the limitation on the analytical capability of single instrumental technique, analytical chemists can seldom rely on a single instrumental technique to analyze a sample with complicated matrix and analyte species with a variety of physico-chemical form. It is thus necessary to develop a technique which can fulfill ultratrace analyses of metal species down to the sub-g/L concentration range in complicated samples. Accordingly, the most important features of an analytical tool suitable for meeting the requirement of modern bio-analytical works are shorter temporal resolution, good selectivity and high sensitivity. For ultratrace elements measurements, ICP coupled with Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) has been considered as first priority option. Although the analytical sensitivity has been significantly improved by the technical advances in ICP-MS, instrumental limitations, such as difficulties in differentiating elemental species and removing matrix interferences caused by the concomitant salt, still remain in advanced analytical technologies. To satisfy the analytical requirements, the potency of hyphenating analytical separation techniques to mass spectrometers has been recognized. Basically, according to Hirschfeld1, the advantages brought about by coupling techniques are increasing the differentiating and separating power of analytical methods and synergism between methods. However, the design of the analytical system is difficult, owing to the complex composition of the real-world sample, the diversity of physicochemical forms of the element, their lability and low concentrations. For overcoming the abovementioned problems, attempts to couple ICP-MS with various types of chromatography for separation, as well as on-line sample pretreatment techniques for signal enhancement and matrix removal have been made. To expand the analytical capability, in this study, we developed several hyphenated systems by integrating the alternative photo-redox characteristic of nano-TiO₂ into the interfacing device to convert both inorganic and organic metal-containing species to gaseous products that are favor for ICP-MS determination. Based on our experimental results, this presentation will describe the studied hyphenated methods which have been proven feasible for the analyses of trace elements and their chemical species in environmental and biological systems.     

Experimental Characterization of Micro-Friction on a Mica Surface Using the Lateral Motion and Force Measurement Capability of an Instrumented Indenter

An experimental characterization of friction forces between asymmetric surfaces in the micro-regime is presented. The lateral motion and force-measurement capability of an instrumented indenter (triboindenter) is characterized and explored for determining friction properties at low velocities. Friction experiments are performed using the triboindenter with high repeatability. It is observed that real-time depth measurements closely follow the Hertzian prediction. Friction spikes with magnitudes depending on the drive velocity input are observed with peak friction force increasing with the dwell time. Anisotropy is observed between surfaces of different materials with stick-slip occurring only at specific relative orientations. Directions for expanding the current range of the triboindenter to obtain data from the nano to the macro scale are also presented.     

Effects of layer thickness and binder saturation level parameters on 3D printing process

Various parameters, such as binder properties, printing layer thickness, powder size, and binder saturation level, have effects on the strength and surface finish of the three-dimensional printing (3D printing) process. The objective of this research is to study the effects of two parameters of layer thickness and binder saturation level on mechanical strength, integrity, surface quality, and dimensional accuracy in the 3D printing process. Various specimens include tensile and flexural test specimens and individual network structure specimens are made by the 3D printing process under different layer thicknesses and binder saturation by use of ZCorp.'s ZP102 powder and Zb56 binder. Two printing layer thicknesses, 0.1 and 0.087 mm, are evaluated at 90% and 125% binder saturation levels. Experimental findings show that under the same layer thickness, increment of binder saturation level from 90% to 125% would result in an increase of tensile and flexural strengths of the specimens and decrease of dimensional accuracy and surface uniformity of specimens. On the other hand, under the same binder saturation conditions, increase in layer thickness from 0.087 to 0.1 mm would decrease tensile strength and increase flexural strength. Also, it gives better uniformity on the surface.     

一类金属橡胶阻尼器的建模与参数识别

研究了一类金属橡胶阻尼器的非线性特性,根据实验数据建立了具有迟滞非线性特性的阻尼器力学模型,通过实验获得了金属橡胶阻尼器特性数据,并提出了两种识别阻尼器迟滞恢复力参数的方法:二维拉格朗日插值法和人工神经网络方法。研究结果表明:拉格朗日插值法可以保证实验值与理论值在插值结点完全重合,具有较高的精度;人工神经网络具有较快的训练速度和很强的学习功能。通过将实验数据与理论计算数据进行对比表明,本文提出的两种方法都可以取得较好的识别效果,曲线拟合的均方差较小,在提高识别效率的同时保证了计算精度。     

Effects of off-focal radiation on dimensional measurements in industrial cone-beam micro-focus X-ray computed tomography systems

A study of the secondary source phenomenon due to the presence of off-focal radiation in industrial micro-focus cone-beam X-ray computed tomography (XCT) systems and its influence on dimensional measurements is presented. Although off-focal radiation production within X-ray tubes has been studied for medical X-ray imaging systems, its properties and its effects on dimensional measurements in industrial XCT systems have not been discussed prior to this research. The study comprises: evaluation of the geometrical properties of off-focal radiation through a theoretical and experimental study of two-dimensional projection images of the scanned objects, verification of these properties using computer simulations and evaluation of the impact of the secondary source on dimensional measurements using experimental and simulation approaches. In addition, ways to minimise the effects of off-focal radiation are discussed, and reference samples for characterising the properties of off-focal radiation are proposed.