Hygrothermal Fracture Analysis of Orthotropic Materials Using J k -Integral

A new computational method based on the J _k -integral is put forward for the purpose of conducting fracture analysis of orthotropic materials subjected to hygrothermal stresses. By utilizing the constitutive relations of plane orthotropic hygrothermoelasticity, an alternative expression for the J _k -integral is derived to replace the general limit definition. A numerical procedure is developed and integrated into a finite element analysis software to implement the proposed form of the J _k -integral. Temperature and specific moisture concentration fields, which are required in fracture calculations, are also computed through finite element analysis. Numerical results are generated by considering an embedded crack in a polymer matrix fibrous composite laminate, that is subjected to steady-state hygrothermal loading. Comparisons of the mixed-mode stress intensity factors computed by the J _k -integral based method to those evaluated via the displacement correlation technique demonstrate that, the proposed form of the J _k -integral is domain independent and leads to numerical results of high accuracy. Presented parametric analyses illustrate the influences of the fiber volume fraction and the crack location on the modes I and II stress intensity factors, the energy release rate, and the T-stress.     

CIRCUMFERENTIAL CRACK PROBLEM FOR AN FGM CYLINDER UNDER THERMAL STRESSES

The main objective of this study is to determine the stress intensity factors associated with a circumferential crack in a thin-walled cylinder subjected to quasi-static thermal loading. The cylinder is assumed to be a functionally graded material. In order to make the problem analytically tractable, the thin-walled cylinder is modeled as a layer on an elastic foundation whose thermal and mechanical properties are exponential functions of the thickness coordinate. Hence a plane strain crack problem is obtained. First temperature and thermal stress distributions for a crack-free layer are determined. Then using these solutions, the crack problem is reduced to a local perturbation problem where the only nonzero loads are the crack surface tractions. Both internal and edge cracks are considered. Stress intensity factors are computed as functions of crack geometry, material properties, and time.     

Factors affecting the shape of lactation curves of Holstein cows from the Balikesir Province of Turkey

The shape of the lactation curve for 475 Turkish Holsteins was estimated by fitting a gamma function to daily milk yields from monthly recording of 754 lactations. Lactation curve traits that were analyzed included a scaling factor associated with yield at the beginning of lactation, the inclining and declining slopes before and after peak yield, DIM at peak yield, and peak and lactation yields. Persistency of lactation yield was measured from 1) the gamma function, 2) the coefficient of variation for monthly test-day yields, and 3) the ratio of lactation yield to peak yield. The log-transformed gamma function explained 71% of variation in daily yield. Effects of farm operation, calving year, calving season, parity, and service period were significant for the various lactation curve traits. Peak and lactation yields were higher for cows that calved in fall and winter, and persistency was higher for cows that calved in summer and fall. Peak and lactation yields were lower, but persistency was higher during first lactation. Repeatability estimates were moderate for peak (0.26) and lactation (0.34) yields and lower (0.06 to 0.20) for other lactation curve traits.     

2,4,6 Tri-Chlorophenol Containing Wastewater Treatment Using a Hybrid-Loop Bioreactor System

A hybrid-loop bioreactor system consisting of a packed column biofilm and an aerated tank bioreactor with an effluent recycle was used for biological treatment of 2,4,6 tri-chlorophenol (TCP) containing synthetic wastewater. The effects of sludge age (solids retention time) on chemical oxygen demand (COD), TCP, and toxicity removal performance of the system were investigated for sludge ages between 5 and 30?days, while the feed COD (2600±100?mg?L?1), TCP (370±10?mg?L?1), and the hydraulic residence time (25?h) were constant. Percent TCP, COD, and toxicity removals increased with increasing sludge age resulting in nearly complete COD, TCP, and toxicity removal at sludge ages above 20?days. Biomass concentrations in the packed column and in the aeration tank increased with increasing sludge age resulting in low reactor TCP concentrations, and therefore, high TCP, COD, and toxicity removals. More than 95% of COD, TCP, and toxicity removal took place in the packed column reactor. Volumetric rates of TCP and COD removal increased due to increasing biomass and decreasing effluent TCP and COD concentrations with increasing sludge age. The specific rate of TCP removal was maximum (120?mg?TCP?gX?1?day?1) at a sludge age of 20?days. TCP inhibition was eliminated by operation of the system at sludge age above 20?days to obtain nearly complete COD, TCP, and toxicity removal.     

Crystallographic analysis of the martensitic phase transformation associated with bcc to orthorhombic TaO<Subscript>y</Subscript>

Crystallographic parameters associated with the martensitic phase transformation from bcc to orthorhombic structure is derived by using the rigorous infinitesimal deformation approach, which predicts crystallographic parameters such as habit plane, orientation relationship between austenite and martensite, rotation matrix and total shape deformation matrix etc., from a knowledge of only the crystal structures of the austenite and martensite phase. The obtained numerical values of orientation relationships observed in TaO_y plates in the present study are compared with the predictions of the phenomenological crystallographic theory and experimental values.     

A constant recursive convolution technique for frequency dependent scalar wave equation based FDTD algorithm

A scalar wave equation based recursive convolution finite-difference time-domain algorithm is developed for a frequency-dependent Debye medium in this paper. This algorithm is based on a recursive evaluation of a convolution integral in the time domain. A numerical example is presented for a problem of wide-band reflection from an air-water interface. The obtained results are compared with an analytical solution. The excellent agreement is observed between the numerical results. Memory and computational time advantages of the proposed method over Maxwell’s equations based solution are also shown.     

Utilization of Catalytic Properties of the Encapsulated Lipase with Calix[4]arene-Adorned Sporopollenin

The dihydrazide calix[4]arene was immobilized onto sporopollenin in order to encapsulate Candida rugosa lipase (CRL) via sol-gel entrapment. The kinetic resolution of the new encapsulated lipase was investigated for enantioselective hydrolysis of racemic naproxen methyl ester and 2-phenoxypropionic acid methyl ester. The results demonstrated that the activity and enantioselectivity of the lipase were improved when the lipase was encapsulated in the presence of calix[4]arene-immobilized sporopollenin. The encapsulated lipase showed an excellent rate of enantioselectivity against the (R/S)-naproxen methyl and (R/S)-2-phenoxypropionic acid methyl esters, with E = 350 and 295, respectively, compared to the free enzyme.