Crack deflection at an interface of alumina/metal joint: A numerical analysis

Deflection of a crack at the bimaterial interface is the initial mechanism required for obtaining enhanced toughness in bimaterial system. In this paper, a criterion is presented to predict the competition between crack deflection and penetration at the interface, using an energy release rate criterion. The finite element methods are used to calculate the strain energy release rates at the crack tip of alumina–metal bimaterial that either deflect or penetrate at the interface as a function of elastic mismatch and length of the deflected or penetrated crack. The effects of the elastic properties of two bonded materials were highlighted in order to evaluate the conditions for the crack deflection by the interface as well as the distance between the crack tip and the interface.     

Graph-Based Radio Resource Sharing Schemes for MTC in D2D-based 5G Networks

Apart from the the increasing demand of smartphones in human-to-human (H2H) communications, the introduction of machine-to-machine (M2M) devices poses significant challenges to wireless cellular networks. In order to offer the ability to connect billion of devices to propel the society into a new era of connectivity in our homes, officies and smart cities, we design novel radio resource sharing algorithms in a H2H/M2M coexistence case to accommodate M2M communications while not severely degrading existing H2H services. We propose group-based M2M communications that share the same spectrum with H2H communications through device-to-device (D2D) communication, as one of the technology components of 5G architecture. First, we formulate radio resource sharing problem as a sum-rate maximization, problem for which the optimal solution is non-deterministic polynomial-time hard (NP-hard). To overcome the computational complexity of the optimal solution, we model the resource sharing problem as a bipartite graph, then propose a novel interference-aware graph-based resource sharing scheme using a fixed M2M transmit power. To further enhance the protection of H2H services, we introduce an adaptive power control mechanism into the interference-aware graph-based resource sharing scheme. M2M transmit power is efficiently adjusted using one among the two following alternative controllers, namely, either the proportional integral derivative (PID) or the fuzzy logic. The latter is proposed within the aim to assure the desired quality-of-service (QoS) of H2H users and increase the efficiency of M2M spectrum usage. In both cases (fixed and adaptive), a centralized and a semi-distributed instantiations are given. Simulation results show that adaptive M2M radio resource sharing scheme using fuzzy logic is the one that achieves the best compromise. In fact, it guarantees H2H performance in terms of throughput and fairness while maximizing the efficiency of M2M spectrum usage. Simulation results also show that in spite of its quite good performance, semi-distributed M2M resource sharing instantiation achieves them with a decline of up to 10% in terms of H2H throughput compared to the centralized instantiation. This is achieved through a markedly lower communication overhead.

     

Effect of different starches on rheological and microstructural properties of (II) commercial processed cheese

A range of commercial processed cheese samples containing starch were prepared on a Rapid Visco Analyser (RVA) and on a pilot plant scale. This work clearly demonstrated that it was possible to manufacture processed cheese with part of the protein replaced with potato starch, while maintaining similar rheological attributes (firmness) to those of the control and an acceptable melt index. Sensory evaluation showed that, although the reduced‐protein cheese samples had a good, clean, fresh flavour that was comparable with that of the control, at high starch concentrations the starch‐containing processed cheese had a pasty texture and tended to stick to the wrapper.     

Improving the performance of retail stores subject to execution errors: coordination versus RFID technology

This paper analyzes a Newsvendor type inventory model in which a manufacturer sells a single product to a retailer store whose inventory is subject to errors stemming from execution problems. Hence, within the store, all of the products are not available on shelf for sales either because the replenishment of the shelf from the backroom is subject to execution errors that mainly result in products lost in the backroom or products misplaced on the other shelves of the store. We compare two situations: in the first situation, the two supply chain actors are aware of errors and optimize their ordering decisions by taking into account this issue. The second situation deals with the case where an advanced automatic identification system such as the Radio Frequency Identification technology is deployed in order to eliminate errors. Each situation is developed for three scenarios: in the centralized scenario, we consider a single decision-maker who is concerned with maximizing the entire supply chain’s profit; in the decentralized uncoordinated scenario, the retailer and the manufacturer act as different parties and do not cooperate. The third scenario is the decentralized coordinated scenario where we give conditions for coordinating the channel by designing a buyback contract. The authors would like to thank the editor, Prof. Dr. Hans-Otto Guenther, and two anonymous referees for their constructive comments to improve this article.     

Metabolically blocked analogs of housefly sex pheromone: I. Synthesis of alternative substrates for the cuticular monooxygenases

Cuticular monooxygenases in the cuticle of the female houseflyMusca domestica oxidize (Z)-9-tricosene to m-9,10-epoxytricosane and to (Z)-9-tricosen-14-one. One possible explanation for these two products is that a single monooxygenase accepts the alkene substrate in two different orientations. Eleven analogs of (Z)-9-tricosene bearing methyl substituents, cyclopropyl groups, fluorine substituents, deuterium substituents, and additional double bonds were synthesized to probe the substrate requirements of this monooxygenase system. In addition, the 11 corresponding epoxides were prepared to aid in identification of the metabolites of each modified alkene.     

Material response characterization of a low-density carbon composite ablator in high-enthalpy plasma flows

Future space exploration missions beyond Earth’s orbit, such as sample returns from Mars, will use ablative materials for the thermal protection system in order to shield the spacecraft from the severe heating during reentry. In this paper, we present the results of an elaborate test campaign on a lightweight carbon composite ablator with the aim of defining a procedure for material response characterization in a 1.2-MW inductively heated Plasmatron facility, suitable to reproduce the hypersonic flight boundary layer environment. Three different test gases were used, air, nitrogen, and argon, at surface temperatures exceeding 3300 K. A comprehensive experimental setup was developed including a nonintrusive technique to measure surface recession by means of a high-speed camera. Surface degradation was strongly test gas dependent, while mass loss was mainly driven by in-depth decomposition of phenolic resin. Emission spectroscopy helped us identify C₂ as a product of dissociating hydrocarbons, as well as cyanogen, suggesting surface nitridation. Melt flow at the surface and silicon emission indicated degradation of the glass microspheres used as additional filler. In air plasma, oxidation was inferred to be the main mechanism for ablation.     

Fatigue life prediction under variable loading based on a new damage model

To examine the performance of nonlinear models proposed in the estimation of fatigue damage and fatigue life of components under random loading, a batch of specimens made of 6082 T 6 aluminium alloy has been studied and some of the results are reported in the present paper. The paper describes an algorithm and suggests a fatigue cumulative damage model, especially when random loading is considered. This paper contains the results of mono-axial random load fatigue tests with different mean and amplitude values performed on 6082 T 6 aluminium alloy specimens. Cycles were counted with rainflow algorithm and damage was cumulated with a new model proposed in this paper and with the Palmgren–Miner model. The proposed model has been formulated to take into account the damage evolution at different load levels and it allows the effect of the loading sequence to be included by means of a recurrence formula derived for multilevel loading, considering complex load sequences. It is concluded that a ‘damaged stress interaction damage rule’ proposed here allows a better fatigue damage prediction than the widely used Palmgren–Miner rule, and a formula derived in random fatigue could be used to predict the fatigue damage and fatigue lifetime very easily. The results obtained by the model are compared with the experimental results and those calculated by the most fatigue damage model used in fatigue (Miner’s model). The comparison shows that the proposed model, presents a good estimation of the experimental results. Moreover, the error is minimized in comparison to the Miner’s model.     

Stress distribution in dental implant with elastomeric stress barrier

Dental implant has been used and studied for the replacement of missing teeth for many years. It has been well known that the success of dental implant is heavily dependent on initial stability and long-term Osseointegration due to optimal stress distribution in the surrounding bones. For this reason, the search of the rational solutions to reduce these stresses has become an important issue in this field. Alternatives to reduce the forces transmitted to implants have been studied, including variations in implant positioning, implant design, prosthesis shape, occlusal requirements, prosthetic components and prosthetic materials. Thus, a new concept of adding a bio-elastomer to the prosthetic components of implant system was interposed between the abutment and the framework crown in order to damp the occlusive shocks and to attenuate the stress concentrated at the implant/bone interface. The new implant system design was assessed by the three dimensional finite element techniques using ABAQUS program to study the effect of elastomer material under an occlusal load on the induced equivalent von Mises interface stresses. These stresses were compared with those provoked by the standardized implant. The von Mises stress distribution indicated that stress was maximal around the top of the implant with varying intensities in the different loading cases. The stress was highest in the cortical bone at the neck of implant and lowest in the cancellous bone. Overall, the novel implant provoked lower interface stresses only in the cortical bone due to the stress shielding effect of the elastomeric stress barrier.     

Ubiquitous robotics: Recent challenges and future trends

Ambient intelligence, ubiquitous and networked robots, and cloud robotics are new research hot topics that have started to gain popularity among the robotics community. They enable robots to acquire richer functionalities and open the way for the composition of a variety of robotic services with three functions: semantic perception, reasoning and actuation. Ubiquitous robots (ubirobots) overcome the limitations of stand-alone robots by integrating them with web services and ambient intelligence technologies. The overlap that exists now between ubirobots and ambient intelligence makes their integration worthwhile. It targets to create a hybrid physical–digital space rich with a myriad of proactive intelligent services that enhance the quality and the way of our living and working. Furthermore, the emergence of cloud computing initiates the massive use of a new generation of ubirobots that enrich their cognitive capabilities and share their knowledge by connecting themselves to cloud infrastructures. The future of ubirobots will certainly be open to an unlimited space of applications such as physical and virtual companions assisting people in their daily living, ubirobots that are able to co-work alongside people and cooperate with them in the same environment, and physical and virtual autonomic guards that are able to protect people, monitor their security and safety, and rescue them in indoor and outdoor spaces. This paper introduces the recent challenges and future trends on these topics.     

A C5 parallel robot identification and control

The paper proposes a controller scheme based on a priori identification for a C5 parallel robot. First we realize the identification of dynamic parameters of the robot using the Least Squares technique. Different data are used for this step of identification. The cross validation permitted to select and confirm the identified parameters. After, a control scheme (computed torque) is applied to control the C5 parallel robot. The functions of this control scheme are based on precedent identified parameters. In order to reduce the effect of the identification error, we have added a robustness term based on sliding mode technique. The stability of the system in closed loop is presented using the Lyapunov principle. Experimental results of identification and control are presented and show the effectiveness of our methodology.