Meso-scale Computational Investigation of Shock-Wave Attenuation by Trailing Release Wave in Different Grades of Polyurea

Over the past several years, considerable research efforts have been made toward investigating polyurea, a segmented thermoplastic elastomer, and particularly its shock-mitigation capacity, i.e., an ability to attenuate and disperse shock-waves. These research efforts have clearly established that the shock-mitigation capacity of polyurea is closely related to its chemistry, processing route, and the resulting microstructure. Polyurea typically possesses a nano-segregated microstructure consisting of (high glass transition temperature, T _g) hydrogen-bonded discrete hard domains and a (low T _g) contiguous soft matrix. While the effect of polyurea microstructure on its shock-mitigation capacity is well-established, it is not presently clear what microstructure-dependent phenomena and processes control its shock-mitigation capacity. To help identify these phenomena and processes, meso-scale simulations of the formation of nano-segregated microstructure and its interaction with a leading shock-wave and a trailing release-wave is analyzed in the present work. The results obtained revealed that shock-induced hard-domain densification makes an important contribution to the superior shock-mitigation capacity of polyurea, and that the extent of densification is a sensitive function of the polyurea soft-segment molecular weight. In particular, the ability of release-waves to capture and neutralize shock-waves has been found to depend strongly on the extent of shock-induced hard-domain densification and, thus, on the polyurea soft-segment molecular weight.     

Optimal servo problems with incomplete state feedback

A method of designing optimal dynamic compensators for a multi-input multi-output system with polynomial types of desired outputs assuming that the outputs alone are available for feedback is presented in this paper. A performance index quadratic in the state-variable vector, x and a certain derivative of the input to the plant, u is chosen as the criterion for optimality. The problem is solved by first augmenting the plant by a ‘pr’th order compensator and then reducing the augmented system to a regulator system.     

Optical layer survivability: a post-bubble perspective

We revisit the topic of optical layer protection from a motivation and deployment perspective. We first discuss the changes that have occurred in optical networking in general and the implications for protection. We then discuss scenarios where optical protection makes sense, recognizing that other fast protection schemes at the client layer provide viable alternatives in certain cases. Our conclusion is that optical protection makes sense for metro networks, as long as they are based on simple dedicated schemes. When it gets to more complex shared ring and mesh protection, we believe that OEO-based schemes are more viable, whether crossconnect-based or packet-switch-based.     

Defect structures produced by cyclic deformation

The application of dislocation theory and electron microscopy to problems of low-cycle fatigue has attracted considerable interest in the last three decades. The evolution of defect structure and microstructure during cyclic deformation and its effect on cyclic hardening and cyclic softening have been studied intensively. Studies of strain localization in persistent slip bands have led to a sound understanding of the cyclic stress-strain curve. The sliding and the migration of boundaries during high temperature fatigue have been investigated. These developments are illustrated with selected examples from the vast literature on the subject.     

Selection of optimal set of cutting tools for machining of polygonal pockets with islands

Selection of the optimal set of cutting tools is one of the most important steps in process planning for 2.5-D pocket machining. Conventional CAM software requires considerable input from the user in terms of selection of tool sizes and machining strategy. This trial-and-error procedure to determine the optimal process sequence tends to generate conservative and suboptimal results. This paper presents a methodology for optimal selection of a sequence of tools to minimize the total time required to end mill a non-convex polygonal pocket with or without islands using the staircase milling strategy. The algorithm decomposes the pocket geometry into convex regions and mills each region independently by selecting a sequence of tools based on the accessibility of various tools to the region. Strategies have been developed for machining the main pass and the subsequent leftover areas in order to obtain the final pocket geometry. Subsequently, the machining times for each decomposed area are aggregated while accounting for the need to use multiple passes, non-cutting time, and the tool change time. A dynamic programming approach is used to determine the optimal set of tools which minimizes the total processing time. The effect of varying the non-cutting speed and tool change time on the tool path length and number of tool selection is studied.     

Design of logical topologies for wavelength-routed optical networks

The problem of designing a logical topology over a wavelength-routed all-optical network (AON) physical topology is studied. The physical topology consists of the nodes and fiber links in the network. On an AON physical topology, we can set up lightpaths between pairs of nodes, where a lightpath represents a direct optical connection without any intermediate electronics. The set of lightpaths along with the nodes constitutes the logical topology. For a given network physical topology and traffic pattern, our objective is to design the logical topology and the routing algorithm so as to minimize the network congestion while constraining the average delay seen by a source-destination pair and the amount of processing required at the nodes (degree of the logical topology). Ignoring the delay constraints can result in fairly convoluted logical topologies with very long delays. On the other hand, in all our examples, imposing it results in a minimal increase in congestion. While the number of wavelengths required to imbed the resulting logical topology on the physical all optical topology is also a constraint in general, we find that in many cases of interest this number can be quite small. We formulate the combined logical topology design and routing problem described above as a mixed integer linear programming problem which we then solve for a number of cases of a six-node network. This programming problem is split into two subproblems: logical topology design, and routing. We then compare the performance of several heuristic topology design algorithms against that of randomly generated topologies, as well as lower bounds