Fracture response of fibre-reinforced materials with macro/microcrack damage using the Boundary Element Technique

The Boundary Element Method (BEM) incorporating the Embedded Cell Approach (ECA) has been used to analyse the effects of constituent material properties, fibre spatial distribution and microcrack damage on the localised behaviour of transversely fractured, unidirectional fibre-reinforced composites. Three specific composites, i.e., glass fibre reinforced polyester, carbon fibre reinforced epoxy and a glass-carbon hybrid, are considered. The geometrical structures examined were perfectly periodic, uniformly spaced fibre arrangements in square and hexagonal embedded cells. In addition, numerical simulations were also conducted using embedded cells containing randomly distributed fibres. The models involve both elastic fibres and matrix, with the interfaces between the different phases being fully bonded. The results indicate that the constituent material properties (two phase composite) and spatial distribution have a significant effect on the localised stress distributions around the primary crack tip. However, the strain energy release rate associated with crack propagation is predominantly influenced by the material composition. The three-phase hybrid composite exhibited an apparent intermediate fracture toughness value, compared to the all-glass and all-carbon models. Furthermore, the strain energy release rate for the macrocrack lowers as it enters a zone of localised damage (microcracking). The presence of microcracks relaxes the stress field, which can result in a significant reduction in the energetics of the primary crack.     

农村通信如何"突围"

农村通信作为农村地区信息化的基础，对于全面建设小康具有特殊的重要地位。介绍了我国农村通信的发展现状，分析了农村通信发展的困难压其原因，最后对农村压边远、欠发达地区通信的均衡震展提出了一些建议。     

Alumina-supported catalysts for propane oxidative dehydrogenation from mixed VXM(6−X)O19 (M=W, Mo) hexametalate precursors

γ-Al₂O₃ supported vanadium oxides were modified by tungsten and molybdenum oxides in order to improve dispersion and selectivity towards olefins in propane oxidative dehydrogenation (ODH). Both vanadium–tungsten and vanadium–molybdenum catalysts were obtained by adsorption of mixed isopolyanions (VW₅O₁₉⁵⁻, V₂W₄O₁₉⁴⁻, VMo₅O₁₉⁵⁻ and V₂Mo₄O₁₉⁴⁻) from aqueous solutions. The isopolyanion solutions were characterized by UV-Vis and ⁵¹V NMR spectroscopy. Vanadium, vanadium–tungsten and vanadium–molybdenum precursors and catalysts were also characterized by UV-Vis (diffuse reflectance) and solid state ⁵¹V NMR spectroscopy. An improved selectivity to propene in the presence of tungsten and molybdenum in VO_x/γ-Al₂O₃ was observed and attributed to dilution of vanadium by tungsten or molybdenum oxides on the γ-Al₂O₃ surface.     

Scale-effects on mean and standard deviation of the mechanical properties of condensed matter: an energy-based unified approach

The size effects on the mean values of the mechanical properties of condensed matter and on the related variances are analysed by means of a unified approach based on the multiscale character of energy dissipation. In particular, the scaling law for fragmentation energy density is obtained taking into account the self-similarity of fragments. It is based on a generalization of the three classical comminution laws that has been performed to evaluate the energy dissipation, computing volume and surface area of the particles for one- two- and three-dimensional fragmented objects. The result is general and can be applied to different fractal energy dissipation mechanisms, e.g., plasticity. Based on this approach, the scaling laws for mean and standard deviation values of the main mechanical properties of materials can be derived, like Young's and shear elastic moduli, ultimate normal and shear stresses and strains, fracture energy and toughness.     

Kinetic Characteristics of Amino Acid Salt Crystallization in Methanol‐Water System

Nucleation and growth mechanisms and kinetics of crystals of an amino acid salt were investigated in a methanol‐water system by measuring and evaluating the induction time as a function of the supersaturation ratio and temperature in batch salting out crystallization experiments. Discrimination between the possible crystallization mechanisms, and estimation of the kinetic parameters were carried out using nonlinear parameter identification. The results concerning the growth mechanism obtained were checked additionally by measuring the induction time as a function of number density of seed crystals.     

FIRE: fractal indexing with robust extensions for image databases

As already documented in the literature, fractal image encoding is a family of techniques that achieves a good compromise between compression and perceived quality by exploiting the self-similarities present in an image. Furthermore, because of its compactness and stability, the fractal approach can be used to produce a unique signature, thus obtaining a practical image indexing system. Since fractal-based indexing systems are able to deal with the images in compressed form, they are suitable for use with large databases. We propose a system called FIRE, which is then proven to be invariant under three classes of pixel intensity transformations and under geometrical isometries such as rotations by multiples of /spl pi//2 and reflections. This property makes the system robust with respect to a large class of image transformations that can happen in practical applications: the images can be retrieved even in the presence of illumination and/or color alterations. Additionally, the experimental results show the effectiveness of FIRE in terms of both compression and retrieval accuracy.     

Performance limitation due to statistical Raman crosstalk in a WDM system with multiple-wavelength bidirectionally pumped Raman amplification

A general theoretical model of statistical Raman crosstalk and its impact on system performance in a multiwavelength bidirectionally pumped Raman fiber amplifier (RFA) is developed for the first time, where we have taken modulation statistics, dispersion-induced pulse walk-off and signal-induced pump depletion into account. Two kinds of statistical Raman crosstalk, from signal-induced forward-pump depletion and from signal-signal Raman interaction, are included in one model. Formulas for normalized Raman crosstalk, Raman crosstalk-induced relative intensity noise spectral density, and its variance and system performance impact in terms of Q penalty are presented for both a single-span system and a dispersion-compensated multispan wavelength-division-multiplexed (WDM) link. Based on these formulas, we numerically investigate the impact of Raman crosstalk on system performance in a three-wavelengths bidirectionally pumped 40 /spl times/ 40-Gb/s WDM system for various fiber types. In addition, Raman crosstalk in a four-wavelength bidirectionally pumped RFA was experimentally measured. The results agree well with our theory.     

Small–Capacity Modular Units. Experience in Startup and Management

A series of small–capacity units has recently been constructed in regions of oil field development and crude oil and gas condensate production to satisfy the requirements for such petroleum products as naphtha, diesel fuel, kerosene, and boiler fuel and to reduce costs for delivery of these products. There are almost no data in the technical literature, particularly in periodicals, on the construction and operation of small–capacity units. We attempt to generalize the experience of Orgeneftekhimzavody Trust in this area. We hope that this experience will be useful to specialists in the development and management of small–capacity plants.     

Application of convolutional error correcting codes in ultrawideband M-ary PPM signaling

The interference issues related to ultrawideband (UWB) radio pose tight restrictions on the maximum data rate of UWB radio telecommunication systems. A possible solution is to reduce the required signal to interference ratio (SIR) that gives satisfactory performance to the UWB system. In this letter, we propose coded M-ary UWB radio communication systems. Two classes of convolutional codes, namely, low-rate superorthogonal codes and high-rate punctured codes are considered for this purpose. Simulation results on the bit error rate of the proposed system indicates that the system is capable to work in lower SIR's and therefore supports higher data transmission rates in a real interference environment compared to the previously proposed UWB communication systems.     

Reducible rank codes and their applications to cryptography

We present a new family of so-called reducible rank codes which are a generalization of rank product codes . This family includes maximal rank distance (MRD) codes for lengths n>N in the field F/sub N/. We give methods for encoding and decoding reducible rank codes. A public key cryptosystem based on these codes and on the idea of a column scrambler is proposed. The column scrambler "mixes" columns of a generator (parity-check) matrix of a code. It makes the system more resistant to structural attacks such as Gibson's attacks. Possible attacks on the system are thoroughly studied. The system is found to be secure against known attacks for public keys of about 16 kbits and greater.