Smooth finite element methods: Convergence,accuracy and properties

A stabilized conforming nodal integration finite element method based on strain smoothing stabilization is presented. The integration of the stiffness matrix is performed on the boundaries of the finite elements. A rigorous variational framework based on the Hu–Washizu assumed strain variational form is developed. We prove that solutions yielded by the proposed method are in a space bounded by the standard, finite element solution (infinite number of subcells) and a quasi‐equilibrium finite element solution (a single subcell). We show elsewhere the equivalence of the one‐subcell element with a quasi‐equilibrium finite element, leading to a global a posteriori error estimate. We apply the method to compressible and incompressible linear elasticity problems. The method can always achieve higher accuracy and convergence rates than the standard finite element method, especially in the presence of incompressibility, singularities or distorted meshes, for a slightly smaller computational cost. It is shown numerically that the one‐cell smoothed four‐noded quadrilateral finite element has a convergence rate of 2.0 in the energy norm for problems with smooth solutions, which is remarkable. For problems with rough solutions, this element always converges faster than the standard finite element and is free of volumetric locking without any modification of integration scheme. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

基于管内填充方法的客车侧翻安全性改进研究

按照欧洲ECE R66法规,建立了客车整车有限元模型,利用LS_DYNA软件模拟了客车侧翻时车身的动态响应。针对原车身结构侧翻存在的问题,提出了基于管内填充方法的结构改进方案,并进行了仿真分析和试验验证。仿真及试验结果表明,在适当位置的矩形钢管内填充石蜡、松香或环氧树脂与木屑及固化剂的混合物,都可使车身上部结构刚度提高。考虑到高温时的稳定性,环氧树脂与木屑及固化剂的混合物效果更佳。改进后的客车车身骨架在侧翻时没有与乘员生存空间发生相互穿透,满足法规要求。     

An experimental study on micro-EDM in low-resistivity deionized water using short voltage pulses

Deionized water has been used as dielectric fluid for micro-electrical discharge machining (micro-EDM) because it gives higher material removal rate and lower tool wear than hydrocarbon oil. Moreover, it is a relatively low-cost and eco-friendly substance. Therefore, deionized water tends to be more favorable for micro-EDM. However, it causes weak electrochemical reaction during micro-EDM due to its slight conductivity. This leads to the unanticipated additional material removal from the workpiece which affects the machining shape and quality. The study in this paper aims to suppress the electrochemical reaction in die-sinking micro-EDM using deionized water by employing short voltage pulse. Experiments were carried out to fabricate micro-holes using the developed nanosecond pulse circuit. Different pulse parameters were applied to identify the main factor affecting the electrochemical reaction rate. Machining gap was found to be thinner and workpiece surface adjacent to the rim of micro-holes were found to be free of defects caused by material dissolution when pulse duration reached a critical value. Moreover, the influence of pulse parameters on material removal rate and machined shape was also investigated. Besides, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis showed that the machined surface using deionized water was less affected from material migration during micro-EDM process in comparison to hydrocarbon oil.     

Effect of biogas technology on nutrient flows for small- and medium-scale pig farms in Vietnam

Increased demand for meat products has led to increased livestock production in Vietnam, which now risks environmental pollution from inappropriate animal manure management on livestock farms. Biogas technology is generally considered an efficient solution for such farms to produce renewable biofuel for use in the household and to reduce the pollution impact from animal waste. However, with biogas technology, farmers may reduce their use of manure for fertilising crops. This field survey investigated nutrient flows on small- and medium-scale livestock farms with and without biogas in Northern Vietnam, in order to identify existing problems and possibilities for sustainable livestock production. A field survey was conducted on 12 pig farms with biogas and 12 pig farms without biogas in Quoc Oai district, Hanoi city. In general, the non-biogas pig farms used on average 3.8 ton compost and 3.1 ton fresh solid manure ha^?1?crop^?1 for each of three crops typically grown per year on their arable land. They discharged on average 16?% of the total manure produced into the environment in liquid form through the public sewage system. On biogas pig farms, the use of fresh solid manure for crops and discharge of liquid manure was lower, as manure was used to produce biogas. However, excessive use of washing water on several of these farms resulted in very dilute slurry (solid manure:water ratio 1:11) entering the biogas digester. This lowered the retention time in the digester (below the optimum range of 35?C55?days), leading to low biogas production rates and possible accumulation of sediment. The digestate was also highly diluted and hence difficult and costly to transport and apply to crops, so it was largely (60?%) discharged to the environment. The input volume of washing water should therefore be reduced to a ratio of 1:5. For better sustainability, appropriate technologies are needed to absorb nutrients from the digestate before discharge and to recycle these nutrients to crops.     

Musk fragrances, DEHP and heavy metals in a 20 years old sludge treatment reed bed system

The Sludge Treatment Reed Bed (STRB) technology is a cost-efficient and environmentally friendly technology to dewater and mineralize surplus sludge from conventional wastewater treatment systems. Primary and secondary liquid sludge is loaded onto the surface of the bed over several years, where it is dewatered, mineralized and turned into a biosolid with a high dry matter content for use as an organic fertilizer on agricultural land. We analysed the concentrations of five organic micropollutants (galaxolide, tonalide, cashmeran, celestolide and DEHP) and six heavy metals (Pb, Ni, Cu, Cd, Zn and Cr) in the accumulated sludge in a 20-year old STRB in Denmark in order to assess the degradation and fate of these contaminants in a STRB and the relation to sludge composition. The results showed that the deposited sludge was dewatered to reach a dry matter content of 29%, and that up to a third of the organic content of the sludge was mineralized. The concentrations of heavy metals generally increased with depth in the vertical sludge profile due to the dewatering and mineralization of organic matter, but in all cases the concentrations were below the European Union legal limits for agricultural land disposal. The concentrations of fragrances and DEHP ranged from 10 to 9000 ng g⁻¹ dry mass. The attenuation of hydrophobic micropollutants from the top to the bottom layer of the reed bed ranged from 40 to 98%, except for tonalide which increased significantly with sludge depth, and consequently showed an unusual depth distribution of the galaxolide/tonalide ratio. This unexpected pattern may reflect changes imposed by a long storage time and/or different composition of the fresh sludge in the past. The lack of a significant decreasing DEHP concentration with sludge age might indicate that this compound is very persistent in STRBs. In conclusion the STRB was a feasible technology for sludge treatment before its land disposal.     

Impact of sonication at 20 kHz on Microcystis aeruginosa, Anabaena circinalis and Chlorella sp

Blooms of toxic cyanobacteria such as Microcystis aeruginosa periodically occur within wastewater treatment lagoons in the warmer months, and may consequently cause contamination of downstream water and outages of the supply of recycled wastewater. Lab-scale sonication (20 kHz) was conducted on suspensions of M. aeruginosa isolated from a wastewater treatment lagoon, and two other algal strains, Anabaena circinalis and Chlorella sp., to investigate cell reduction, growth inhibition, release of microcystin and sonication efficiency in controlling the growth of the M. aeruginosa. For M. aeruginosa, for all sonication intensities and exposure times trialled, sonication led to an immediate reduction in the population, the highest reduction rate occurring within the initial 5 min. Sonication for 5 min at 0.32 W/mL, or for a longer exposure time (>10 min) at a lower power intensity (0.043 W/mL), led to an immediate increase in microcystin level in the treated suspensions. However, prolonged exposure (>10 min) to sonication at higher power intensities reduced the microcystin concentration significantly. Under the same sonication conditions, the order of decreasing growth inhibition of the three algal species was: A. circinalis > M. aeruginosa > Chlorella sp., demonstrating sonication has the potential to selectively remove/deactivate harmful cyanobacteria from the algal communities in wastewater treatment lagoons.     

Microscale geochemical gradients in Hanford 300 Area sediment biofilms and influence of uranium

The presence and importance of microenvironments in the subsurface at contaminated sites were suggested by previous geochemical studies. However, no direct quantitative characterization of the geochemical microenvironments had been reported. We quantitatively characterized microscale geochemical gradients (dissolved oxygen (DO), H₂, pH, and redox potential) in Hanford 300A subsurface sediment biofilms. Our results revealed significant differences in geochemical parameters across the sediment biofilm/water interface in the presence and absence of U(VI) under oxic and anoxic conditions. While the pH was relatively constant within the sediment biofilm, the redox potential and the DO and H₂ concentrations were heterogeneous at the microscale (<500-1000 μm). We found microenvironments with high DO levels (DO hotspots) when the sediment biofilm was exposed to U(VI). On the other hand, we found hotspots (high concentrations) of H₂ under anoxic conditions both in the presence and in the absence of U(VI). The presence of anoxic microenvironments inside the sediment biofilms suggests that U(VI) reduction proceeds under bulk oxic conditions. To test this, we operated our biofilm reactor under air-saturated conditions in the presence of U(VI) and characterized U speciation in the sediment biofilm. U L_III-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XANES and EXAFS) showed that 80-85% of the U was in the U(IV) valence state.     

Effect of working-fluid filling ratio and cooling-water flow rate on the performance of solar collector with closed-loop oscillating heat pipe

This study experimentally investigated the effect of the working-fluid filling ratio (FR) and the cooling-water flow rate (CWFR) on the top heat loss and the performance of a solar collector equipped with a closed-loop oscillating heat pipe (CLOHP). The CLOHP was composed of a heating section, a cooling section, and an adiabatic section; it had a 0.002-m internal diameter and eight turns. The heating section was attached to a copper plate coated with black chrome, which absorbed energy from a solar simulator that had 12 halogen lamps and was controlled by a voltage regulator. The cooling section was inserted into the collector’s cooling box, which was made of a transparent acrylic plate. The FR of the working fluid ranged from 30% to 80% with a 10% interval, and the CWFRs were 0.15 l/min, 0.30 l/min, and 0.45 l/min. The experimental results show that the solar collector equipped with the CLOHP has good performance at working-fluid FRs of 60% and 70% with low flow rates of 0.15 l/min and 0.30 l/min.     

Role of attachment to surfaces on the prevalence and survival of Campylobacter through food systems

Campylobacter continues to be one of the bacterial pathogens most frequently associated with human gastrointestinal illness worldwide. Because Campylobacter primarily colonizes the intestines of animals used for food production, food products of animal origin can become contaminated with this pathogen and thus represent a significant risk factor. Despite application of numerous physical and chemical interventions to control Campylobacter during food processing, the high isolation rate of this pathogen from some retail meat products indicates that Campylobacter is able to persist from animal slaughterhouses through food systems. Given the fastidious growth requirements and high susceptibility of this pathogen to environmental conditions, the ability of Campylobacter to attach to food and food-related surfaces is likely to play an important role in food contamination and movement through food systems. This review was compiled to (i) describe how the attachment of Campylobacter to surfaces influences the prevalence and survival of the organism through food systems, (ii) examine the potential factors affecting the ability of Campylobacter to attach to surfaces, and (iii) suggest strategies for controlling this attachment process.