Modeling the high strain rate behavior of titanium undergoing ballistic impact and penetration

Titanium is an important candidate in the search for lighter weight armors. Increasingly, it is being considered as a replacement for steel components. It is also an important component in the application of ceramics to armor systems, especially in armor modules that are capable of defeating kinetic energy penetrators while sustaining little or no penetration of the ceramic element. The best alloy available today for ballistic applications is Ti-6Al-4V, an aerospace grade titanium alloy. The principal deterrent to widespread use of this alloy as an armor material is cost, and a significant portion of the cost is in processing. Consequently, the U.S. Army Research Laboratory undertook a program to study a particular lower cost processing technique [1].

The objectives of this work are to characterize the low-cost titanium alloy by generating constants for the Johnson-Cook (JC) and Zerilli-Armstrong (ZA) strength models, and to use and compare these two models in simulations of ballistic experiments. High strain rate strength data for the low-cost titanium alloy are used to generate parameters for the two models. The approach to fitting the JC parameters follows one previously used successfully to model 2-in thick rolled homogeneous armor (RHA) [2]. The approach to fitting the ZA parameters is based on a method described by Gray et al. [3]. The resulting model parameters are used in the shock physics code CTH [4] to model a Ti-6Al-4V penetrator penetrating a Ti-6Al-4V semi-infinite block at impact velocities up to 2,000 m/s. Similar experiments are performed, and the predictions of the two models are compared to each other and to the experimental results.     

3D XFEM investigation of the plasticity effect on fatigue propagation under thermo-mechanical loading

The aim of this paper is to propose a computation strategy for fatigue propagation simulation of a crack by taking into account the plasticity. Feulvarch et al. (Comput Methods Appl Mech Eng 361: 112805, 2020) recently proposed a first XFEM formulation capable of overcoming the volumetric locking phenomenon due to plastic incompressibility in 3D. This formulation is here applied to quadratic elements for the mode I propagation of a crack in a valve structure submitted to cyclic thermo-mechanical loading. A simulation strategy is proposed where it is not necessary to compute all the cycles and thus the complete plastic history. This is of great interest because it avoids the treatment of the possible closing of the crack and uses the conventional J-integral. The application reveals the interest of taking plasticity into account for the propagation accuracy.

     

Effect of dietary selenium on tumor induction by an oncogenic virus

Streptokinase-streptodornase (SK-SD) induced immediate and delayed skin test reactions in a high proportion of patients with disorders in which beta-streptococcal infection may be involved. The P-K test and absorption experiments with antigen or anti-IgE suggested that the immediate reaction was mediated by specific IgE antibody against SK-SD. Furthermore, the ratio of specific IgE antibody against SK-SD to total IgE was roughly calculated to be 20 percent. Finally, the RAST technique was applied to detect specific IgE antibody against SK-SD which showed high radiocounts bound to SK-SD-coupled particles in the sera of nephrotic patients who had a strong immediate reaction against SK-SD and a severe disease state.     

Strahlendiagnostik — in der Medizin ja,für die Verfahrenstechnik nein? Ein kritischer Vergleich

Radiodiagnostics – yes in medical applications, no in process engineering? A critical comparison . There is no doubt that to date medicine has profited most from the application of radiation. There are indeed applications in engineering, including in process engineering, but if one compares the vast field of medical radiodiagnostics, including the important area of computer tomography, to the transmission measurements relying on the same fundamental principles of measurement and employed in engineering, e.g. in the determination of the density of a material, enormous differences can be found as regards both the quantity and the quality of such measurements. This becomes even more apparent if one compares the localization and functional examinations in nuclear medicine to the functional tests performed on process equipment or processes with the help of radiotracers. Whilst today diagnosis with radionuclides is quite commonplace in any major hospital, radiotracer techniques are used but rarely, if at all, in apparatus and process engineering.     

On the presence of Inulin and Oligofructose as natural ingredients in the western diet

The classic definitions of inulin and oligofructose are constructively criticized. It is observed that inulin cannot unequivocally be described as a polydisperse 1‐kestose‐based (GF_n) β(2 ? 1) linear fructan chain, but that inulin always contains small amounts of F_m and branched molecules. This review article describes the presence of inulin and oligofructose in common foodstuffs. Historical data on human consumption add an extra dimension.

Modern analytical techniques (HPLC, LGC, HPAEC‐PAD) are used to check the variety of data mentioned in the literature throughout the past century. Methods to determine inulin and oligofructose in natural foodstuffs (cereals, fruit, and vegetables) are optimized and used to determine the loss of inulin during storage and during preparation of the food.

These findings allow quantification of the amount of inulin and oligofructose in the average daily western diet. The daily per capita intake is estimated to range from 1 to 10 g, depending on geographic, demographic, and other related parameters (age, sex, season, etc.).

Inulin and oligofructose are not measured by classic methods of dietary fiber analysis and consequently are often not mentioned in food tables. Their significant contribution (1 to 10 g/d/per capita) to the dietary fiber fraction (recommended at 25 g/d/per capita) is not taken into account in any nutritional recommendations. In view of this, inulin and oligofructose deserve more attention, both in food composition tables and in diet or nutrition studies.     

A data base management system for industrial process control

Present-day systems for monitoring energy distribution must be capable of handling continuous changes in the structure and the extent of the data. Only a data base system which satisfies the special requirements of process control can cope with this. The process real-time information management System for on-line Control (PRIMO) data base system described here is implemented on DEC PDP-11 computers from $\text{11}\text{34}$ upwards and is used for process control in Brown Boveri energy control software systems.     

Development of a real-time PCR method for the simultaneous detection of soya and lupin mitochondrial DNA as markers for the presence of allergens in processed food

Lupin and soya are members of the Leguminosae family which are recognised as some of the richest source of vegetable proteins. Lupin- and soya-containing products are available on the EU market and could cause severe adverse reactions in allergic individuals, even if consumed at low concentrations. In this context the development of methods for reliable detection of these allergens in food products is a useful tool for the surveillance of established legislation on food labelling within the EU. This work described the development of a duplex real-time PCR method allowing the simultaneous detection of traces of lupin and soya in processed food based on a specific TaqMan® probe designed on a mitochondrial tRNA-MET gene. A set of primers and probes was designed for the amplification of a 168 and 175 bp fragment of lupin and soya mitochondrial DNA, respectively. The performance of the method was established using lupin and soya flours and cookies baked from lupin- and soya-containing dough (different concentrations and baking times). The PCR platform yielded consistent and repeatable results. The specificity of the system was tested with DNA from 28 plant species. The sensitivity of the method was suitable to detect allergenic ingredients in the low mg per kg range. Both lupin and soya at a level of 2.5 mg per kg food matrix could be detected in cookies baked at 180 °C for 10 min. The method was successfully applied to bakery (e.g. bread) and vegetarian (e.g. non-meat sausages) food products that contain or may contain soya and/or lupin as ingredient or contaminant (according to the declaration on the product label).     

The efficacy of sieving, filth flotation and Tullgren heat extraction for detecting various developmental stages of Tribolium castaneum and Ephestia kuehniella in samples of wheat grain, flour and semolina

A prerequisite for effective pest risk management in food is the unbiased interpretation of results obtained by various detection methods. In this study we compared the sensitivity of filth flotation tests, sieving and heat extraction in Tullgren–Berlese funnels for detecting insect contaminants. Samples of wheat grain, flour and semolina were contaminated with eggs, juveniles and adults of Tribolium castaneum, and eggs or larvae of Ephestia kuehniella. Calibration methods were applied for every detection method, and total and sample recoveries and detection limits were calculated for each method, food substrate and contaminant type. The tested contaminants were not detected on a qualitative level by any single technique, instead a combination of techniques was necessary for detection. Sieving was the method with the highest total recoveries, ranging from 90 to 100%. Filth flotation was a uniquely effective for egg detection, with total recoveries ranging from 65 to 95%. The extraction of adults and larvae of both species in Tullgren–Berlese funnels failed in semolina and flour, and was of very limited success in grain. The detection limits for sieving were from 1 to 16 contaminants/kg commodity. The detection limits for filth flotation were from 224 to 508 eggs, and 58 to 507 adults or larvae/kg commodity. The sample recoveries were usually influenced by sample size, species, stadium and their interactions, and indicated how to optimize method protocols. The calibration of methods provided estimates of contaminant densities different from those obtained without calibration. Our work revealed that some currently used methods are not sensitive enough to detect all stages of insect pests, or in some cases, low levels of pest infestation. This lack of sensitivity potentially enables the infested cereal food product to continue down the food processing chain even after laboratory inspection.