The effect of solution annealing on the microstructural behavior of alloy 22 welds

Multipass gas tungsten are welds of alloy 22 were subjected to solution annealing durations of 20 minutes, 24 hours, 72 hours, and 1 week at temperatures of 1075°C, 1121°C, 1200°C, and 1300°C. The specimens were studied in cross section by secondary electron microscopy to determine the effect of solution annealing on tetrahedrally close-packed (TCP) precipitate stability. Electron backscatter diffraction mapping was also performed on all of the specimens to determine the recrystallization behavior of the welds. It was found that complete TCP precipitate dissolution occurs after solution annealing at 1075°C and 1121°C for 24 hours, and at 1200°C and 1300°C for durations of 20 minutes. Regions of most rapid recrystallization were correlated to the regions of lowest solute content, highest plastic strain, and highest residual stresses. Texture analysis indicated that while the columnar dendrites originally present in the weld grew with a <001> orientation in the transverse direction (approximately opposite the heat flow direction), the recrystallized grains adopt a <101> orientation in the transverse direction when recrystallization and TCP phase dissolution occur simultaneously.     

A hybrid genetic algorithm for solving no-wait flowshop scheduling problems

A hybrid genetic algorithm is proposed in this paper to minimize the makespan and the total flowtime in the no-wait flowshop scheduling problem, which is known to be NP-hard for more than two machines. The Variable Neighborhood Search is used as an improvement procedure in the last step of the genetic algorithm. First, comparisons are provided with respect to several techniques that are representative of the previous works in the area. Then, we compare the results given by three proposed algorithms. For the makespan criterion as well as for the total flowtime, the computational results show that our algorithms are able to provide competitive results and new best upper bounds.     

Crystallographic anisotropy of growth and etch rates of CVD diamond

The investigation of orientation dependent crystal growth and etch processes can provide deep insights into the underlying mechanisms and thus helps to validate theoretical models. Here, we report on homoepitaxial diamond growth and oxygen etch experiments on polished, polycrystalline CVD diamond wafers by use of electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) and white-light interferometry (WLI). Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was applied to provide additional atomic scale surface morphology information. The main advantage of using polycrystalline diamond substrates with almost random grain orientation is that it allows determining the orientation dependent growth (etch) rate for different orientations within one experiment. Specifically, we studied the effect of methane concentration on the diamond growth rate, using a microwave plasma CVD process. At 1% methane concentration a maximum of the growth rate near <100> and a minimum near <111> is detected. Increasing the methane concentration up to 5% shifts the maximum towards <110> while the minimum stays at <111>. Etch rate measurements in a microwave powered oxygen plasma reveal a pronounced maximum at <111>. We also made a first attempt to interpret our experimental data in terms of local micro-faceting of high-indexed planes.     

Distribution of Grain Boundaries in SrTiO3 as a Function of Five Macroscopic Parameters

Measurements of the grain boundary population as a function of misorientation and boundary plane orientation show that the distribution is inversely correlated to the sum of the energies of the surfaces comprising each boundary. The observed correlation suggests that the difference between the energy of a high-angle grain boundary and the two component surfaces is relatively constant as a function of misorientation. Two exceptions to this correlation were identified: low-misorientation-angle boundaries and the coherent twin boundary, where the (111) planes in the adjoining crystals are parallel to each other, but rotated by 60° around the [111] axis. In these cases, the high degree of coincidence across this interface probably lowers the boundary energy with respect to that of the component surfaces. For all other boundaries, the anisotropy of the population is accurately predicted by the surface energy anisotropy, and in general, boundaries display a preference for {100} orientations, the planes of minimum surface energy.     

Importance of in-plane shear rigidity in finite element analyses of woven fabric composite preforming

A finite element made of woven unit cells under biaxial tension and in-plane shear is proposed for the simulation of fabric forming. The simulation is made within an explicit dynamic approach and is based on a simplified dynamic equation accounting for tension and in-plane shear strain energy. The biaxial tensile properties (given by two surfaces) and the in-plane shear properties (given by a curve) can be determined both by biaxial tensile tests and picture frame experiments or obtained by mesoscopic 3D finite element analyses of the woven unit cell. The interior load components of the proposed finite element are calculated explicitly and simply from the tensions and shear torque on four woven cells. The results obtained by the simulations of a hemispherical forming process on a very unbalanced fabric are compared to experiments. It is shown that the tension strain energy permits to describe the asymmetry of the response but that the computation of wrinkles and of the deformed states when the locking angle is exceeded needs to take the in-plane shear stiffness and its evolution with shear angle into account.     

Verformungsverhalten weicher Böden im spannungsgesteuerten Kompressionsversuch

Anhand von spannungsgesteuerten Kompressionsversuchen kann das Verformungsverhalten weicher Böden wirklichkeitsnäher beschrieben werden, da durch die Wahl einer geeigneten Spannungsrate eine Ähnlichkeit zu den Belastungsbedingungen in situ vorliegt. Die Versuchsergebnisse werden in kontinuierlichen Kurven dargestellt, die eine lückenlose Interpretation der Versuchsergebnisse ermöglichen. Die Versuchsdauer wird dabei maßgeblich reduziert. Im vorliegenden Beitrag werden die mathematischen Grundlagen in kontinuierlichen Kurven dargestellt, die eine lückenlose Interpretation der Versuchsergebnisse ermöglichen. Außerdem werden die Versuchsdauer, labor‐ und bodenmechanischen Grundlagen zur Ausführung von spannungsgesteuerten Kompressionsversuchen dargestellt. Versuchsergebnisse von aufbereiteten Kaolin‐ und ungestörten Seetonproben werden ebenfalls präsentiert und mit den Ergebnissen des Standardkompressionsversuchs verglichen. Schließlich wird eine Modellierung des geschwindigkeitsabhängigen Kompressionsverhaltens vorgestellt. Constant rate of loading consolidation tests on soft soils. The one‐dimensional consolidation tests under constant rate of loading (CRL‐test) have the ability to describe the behaviour of soft soils realistically because of its similarity to the field loading conditions. The test results can be presented in continues curves, which enable a steeples Interpretation of the test results. Moreover the testing time will be enormously reduced. In the present paper the mathematical and the procedural basics are presented in order to carry out the CRL‐test. Test results of remoulded kaolin as well as undisturbed lacustrine clay are shown and compared to the results from the incremental loading consolidation tests (IL‐Test). Finally a modelling of the compressibility behaviour depending on the loading rate will be presented.     

Proteomic and Transcriptomic Responses Enable Clams to Correct the pH of Calcifying Fluids and Sustain Biomineralization in Acidified Environments

Seawater pH and carbonate saturation are predicted to decrease dramatically by the end of the century. This process, designated ocean acidification (OA), threatens economically and ecologically important marine calcifiers, including the northern quahog (Mercenaria mercenaria). While many studies have demonstrated the adverse impacts of OA on bivalves, much less is known about mechanisms of resilience and adaptive strategies. Here, we examined clam responses to OA by evaluating cellular (hemocyte activities) and molecular (high-throughput proteomics, RNASeq) changes in hemolymph and extrapallial fluid (EPF—the site of biomineralization located between the mantle and the shell) in M. mercenaria continuously exposed to acidified (pH ~7.3; pCO₂ ~2700 ppm) and normal conditions (pH ~8.1; pCO₂ ~600 ppm) for one year. The extracellular pH of EPF and hemolymph (~7.5) was significantly higher than that of the external acidified seawater (~7.3). Under OA conditions, granulocytes (a sub-population of hemocytes important for biomineralization) were able to increase intracellular pH (by 54% in EPF and 79% in hemolymph) and calcium content (by 56% in hemolymph). The increased pH of EPF and hemolymph from clams exposed to high pCO₂ was associated with the overexpression of genes (at both the mRNA and protein levels) related to biomineralization, acid–base balance, and calcium homeostasis, suggesting that clams can use corrective mechanisms to mitigate the negative impact of OA.