A thermo-visco-plastic damage model and SPH simulations of plugging failure

ABSTRACT

A thermo-visco-plasticity model, recently developed based on a microinertia driven dynamic flow rule, is exploited to account for damage due to fracture. This is accomplished by adjoining the equations for thermo-visco-plasticity, herein discretized through the smooth particle hydrodynamics (SPH), with a “pseudospring” based discrete damage model. In treating ductile fractures, this coupled material model accounts for the inertia associated with moving microstructural defects and time lags for the dissipative fluxes to attain the steady state. In this approach, while the microinertia-driven flow rule provides a vehicle to evolve plastic strain, pseudosprings are exploited to treat material damage and the resulting reduced force transfer. The current scheme does not necessitate the introduction of a yield or damage surface in evolving the plastic-strain/damage parameters, and thus the numerical implementation avoids a computationally intensive return mapping. We demonstrate the performance of the proposed model through SPH-based numerical simulations and also undertake a validation exercise against experimental observations from gas-gun penetration tests on an 8-mm thick Weldox 460 E steel plate.     

Discovery of context-specific ranking functions for effective information retrieval using genetic programming

The Internet and corporate intranets have brought a lot of information. People usually resort to search engines to find required information. However, these systems tend to use only one fixed ranking strategy regardless of the contexts. This poses serious performance problems when characteristics of different users, queries, and text collections are taken into account. We argue that the ranking strategy should be context specific and we propose a , new systematic method that can automatically generate ranking strategies for different contexts based on genetic programming (GP). The new method was tested on TREC data and the results are very promising.     

Effect of pressure and substrate temperature on the deposition of nano-structured silicon-carbon-nitride superhard coatings by magnetron sputtering

A systematic investigation on the deposition of silicon-carbon-nitride (Si-C-N) films under varying deposition conditions such as pressure, substrate temperature and nitrogen content was carried out by radio frequency and direct current magnetron sputtering techniques. Significant role of the different deposition parameters on hardness and structure in the film was observed. It was observed that there was a certain range of nitrogen to argon partial pressure ratio (90:10 to 98:2) for which the particle size was reduced and the films were smooth with fine particle growth, beyond this limit the films had larger particle growth and roughness. The hardness of the deposited film varied between 4400 Hv and 473 Hv depending on deposition condition. Si-C-N film with hardness above 4400 Hv by reactive RF magnetron sputtering from SiC-C composite target in nitrogen-argon was obtained. X-ray diffraction studies revealed the amorphous nature of the deposited films, whereas nano-crystallinity of the particles was noticed during atomic forced microscopy observations. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis showed the presence of C-N and Si-N bonds in the harder films. It was found that the presence of β-C₃N₄, Si₃N₄ and graphite phases and the particle growth in the deposited films control the hardness of the film.     

Studies on microbridges of superconducting YBCO thin film

Critical current densities of the superconducting Y-Ba-Cu-O (YBCO) films have been observed to decrease with the increase of power of microwave radiation. Presence of Josephson type of junctions in the microbridges has been established from the microwave irradiation and magnetic field studies. BCS energy gap parameter (2/kT _c ) has been calculated from thedI/dV characteristics and found to be 3.7 at 13 K.     

Edge-guided boundary delineation in prostate ultrasound images

Accurate detection of prostate boundaries is required in many diagnostic and treatment procedures for prostate disease. In this paper, a new paradigm for guided edge delineation is described, which involves presenting automatically detected prostate edges as a visual guide to the observer, followed by manual editing. This approach enables robust delineation of the prostate boundaries, making it suitable for routine clinical use. The edge-detection algorithm is comprised of three stages. An algorithm called sticks is used to enhance contrast and at the same time reduce speckle in the transrectal ultrasound prostate image. The resulting image is further smoothed using an anisotropic diffusion filter. In the third stage, some basic prior knowledge of the prostate, such as shape and echo pattern, is used to detect the most probable edges describing the prostate. Finally, patient-specific anatomic information is integrated during manual linking of the detected edges. The algorithm was tested on 125 images from 16 patients. The performance of the algorithm was statistically evaluated by employing five expert observers. Based on this study, we found that consistency in prostate delineation increases when automatically detected edges are used as visual guide during outlining, while the accuracy of the detected edges was found to be at least as good as those of the human observers. The use of edge guidance for boundary delineation can also be extended to other applications in medical imaging where poor contrast in the images and the complexity in the anatomy limit the clinical usability of fully automatic edge-detection techniques.     

Covered conduction of individual C(60) nanowhiskers

We investigate the electronic properties of individual C(60) nanowhiskers by exploiting conductive atomic force microscopy at room temperature in ambient atmosphere. The pristine individual C(60) nanowhiskers exhibit conducting behavior. The outer C(60) oxide covering, confirmed by Auger electron spectroscopy, shelters the conductive properties of the C(60) nanowhiskers. It is proposed that the insulating outer C(60) oxide covering might be used as the dielectric layer in potential single C(60) nanowhisker-based field-effect transistors for nanoelectronics.     

ITER vacuum vessel: Design review and start of procurement process

The ITER vacuum vessel (VV) is one of the most critical components in the ITER project. It is on the critical path in the construction schedule and it is also a safety important class component (SIC), providing the first confinement barrier.As a result of reviews and the latest physics analyses, design requirements have been updated (e.g. ELM/VS coils) and a few design changes have to be implemented. This paper covers the updates of the VV vertical and horizontal EM load conditions during asymmetric VDEs, the design analysis of the ELM/VS coils and their interfaces to the VV, the blanket manifold design and the preparation of the technical specification in preparation for the procurement arrangement to be signed.     

Heavy oil and bitumen recovery by hot solvent injection

Thermal and miscible methods are commonly used for in situ recovery of heavy oil and bitumen. Both techniques have their own limitations and benefits. However, these methods can be combined by co-injecting solvent with steam or injecting solvent into a pre-heated reservoir. The current work was undertaken to study the performance of solvents at higher temperatures for heavy oil/bitumen recovery. Glass bead packs and Berea sandstone cores were used in the experiments to represent different types of pore structures, porosity and permeability. After saturating with heavy oil, the samples were exposed to the vapor of paraffinic solvents (propane and butane) at a temperature above the boiling point of the solvent, and a constant pressure of 1500 kPa. A mechanical convection oven was used to maintain constant temperature across the setup. The setup was designed in such a way that a reasonably long sample (up to 30 cm) can be tested to analyze the gravity effect. The oil recovered from each of these experiments was collected using a specifically designed collection system and analyzed for composition, viscosity and asphaltene content.The final amount of oil recovered in each case (recovery factor but not extraction rate) was also analyzed and the quantity and nature of asphaltene precipitated with each of the tested solvents under the prevailing temperature and pressure of the experiment was reported. Optimal conditions for each solvent type were identified for the highest ultimate recovery. It was observed that recovery decreased with increasing temperature and pressure of the system for both solvents, and that the best results were found when experimental temperature is only slightly higher than the saturation temperature of the solvent used. It was also noticed that butane diluted the oil more than propane which resulted in lower asphaltene content and viscosity of oil produced with butane as a solvent.     

ITER Vacuum Vessel design and construction

After implementing a few design modifications (referred to as the “Modified Reference Design”) in 2009, the Vacuum Vessel (VV) design had been stabilized. The VV design is being finalized, including interface components such as support rails and feedthroughs for the in-vessel coils. It is necessary to make adjustments to the locations of the blanket supports and manifolds to accommodate design modifications to the in-vessel coils. The VV support design is also being finalized considering a structural simplification. Design of the in-wall shielding (IWS) has progressed, considering the assembly methods and the required tolerances. The detailed layout of ferritic steel plates and borated steel plates was optimized based on the toroidal field ripple analysis. A dynamic test on the inter-modular key to support the blanket modules was performed to measure the dynamic amplification factor (DAF). An R&D program has started to select and qualify the welding and cutting processes for the port flange lip seal. The ITER VV material 316 L(N) IG was already qualified and the Modified Reference Design was approved by the Agreed Notified Body (ANB) in accordance with the Nuclear Pressure Equipment Order procedure.     

Influence of Varying SiO2?% on the Mechanical Properties of Al Based MMC

The current investigation is focused on effective utilization of rice husk ash (RHA) SiO₂??an industrial waste available in abundance, by systematically dispersing into an Al?CMg (0.5, 1.0, 2.5, and 5.0?% by weight) matrix resulting in synthesis of composites via Liquid Metallurgy route. The effect of increasing Mg?% to improve the wettability with the increase in SiO₂?% as reinforcement was studied comparatively. The increase in the percentage of SiO₂ beyond 5?% as reinforcement into Al?CMg alloy increases the agglomeration of SiO₂ particles which creates more sites for crack initiation and hence lowers down the load bearing capacity of the composite while microhardenss and wear testing analysis. For the composite, Al?CMg (2.5?%)?CSiO₂ (5.0?%) the hardness was observed to be maximum corresponding to minimum wear loss. The uniform distribution of maximum amount of hard spinel structure of extremely small size within the matrix confirms maximum wetting characteristic of 2.5 wt% Mg.