A New Criterion for Prediction of Hot Tearing Susceptibility of Cast Alloys

A new criterion for prediction of hot tearing susceptibility of cast alloys is suggested which takes into account the effects of both important mechanical and metallurgical factors and is believed to be less sensitive to the presence of volume defects such as bifilms and inclusions. The criterion was validated by studying the hot tearing tendency of Al-Cu alloy. In conformity with the experimental results, the new criterion predicted reduction of hot tearing tendency with increasing the copper content.     

Time-resolved GISAXS and cryo-microscopy characterization of block copolymer membrane formation

Time-resolved grazing-incidence small-angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS) and cryo-microscopy were used for the first time to understand the pore evolution by copolymer assembly, leading to the formation of isoporous membranes with exceptional porosity and regularity. The formation of copolymer micelle strings in solution (in DMF/DOX/THF and DMF/DOX) was confirmed by cryo field emission scanning electron microscopy (cryo-FESEM) with a distance of 72 nm between centers of micelles placed in different strings. SAXS measurement of block copolymer solutions in DMF/DOX indicated hexagonal assembly with micelle-to-micelle distance of 84–87 nm for 14–20 wt% copolymer solutions. GISAXS in-plane peaks were detected, revealing order close to hexagonal. The d-spacing corresponding to the first peak in this case was 100–130 nm (lattice constant 115–150 nm) for 17 wt% copolymer solutions evaporating up to 100 s. Time-resolved cryo-FESEM showed the formation of incipient pores on the film surface after 4 s copolymer solution casting with distances between void centers of 125 nm.     

A bending theory for beams with vertical edge crack

In this paper a linear continuous theory for bending analysis of beams with an edge crack perpendicular to the neutral plane subject to bending has been developed. The model assumes that the displacement field is a superposition of the classical Euler-Bernoulli beam's displacement and of a displacement due to the crack. It is assumed that in bending the additional displacement due to crack decreases exponentially with distance from the crack tip. The strain and stress fields have been calculated using this displacement field and the bending equation has been obtained using equilibrium equations. Using a fracture mechanics approach the exponential decay rate has been calculated. There is a good agreement between the analytical results from solving the differential equation of cracked beam and those obtained by finite element method.     

ABSs系统模糊控制器优化设计

已经开发了的ABSs系统改善了突然制动和特别是滑动路面状况时车辆控制。这样的控制目标是在保持车辆合适稳定性及可操纵性和缩短车辆刹车距离情况下在要求的方向增大车轮的牵引力。本文提出了ABSs系统优化的模糊控制器。从保持其车轮滑动值为目标函数获得车轮最大的牵引力和车轮最大的减速度。采用遗传算法优化模糊系统的全部组件。采用误差数整体优化方法收敛接近最优点。仿真结果表明快速收敛和对不同路况的控制器的最好性能。     

Online monitoring of transit-time ultrasonic flowmeters based on fusion of optical observation

It is well-known that transit-time ultrasonic flowmeters (TTUF) are unsuitable for bubble-contained flows. This paper presents a new online monitoring method based on optical observation, which monitors the functionality of the TTUF in the presence of bubbles in the fluid. The method avoids the unnecessary Emergency Shutdowns (ESD) due to bubble presence in the fluid by bubble detection. The proposed method accomplishes bubble identification through a combination of image processing and wavelet analysis. In addition, a new method is proposed which estimates single bubble size in horizontal pipes using a data fusion approach.     

Influence of geotextile arrangement on seismic performance of mid-rise buildings subjected to MCE shaking

Geotextile layers make it possible to construct mid-rise buildings sitting on shallow foundations in unfavourable soil conditions; this study investigates how the arrangement of geotextiles affects the seismic performance of mid-rise buildings under Maximum Considered Earthquake (MCE) shaking. The geotextile arrangement considered here includes the stiffness (5000?kN/m – 12000?kN/m), the length with respect to width of the foundation (B) (1B – 4B), the number of geotextile layers (1 – 7 layers), and their spacing (250?mm – 1000?mm). FLAC3D is used for the numerical simulation and to carry out nonlinear dynamic analysis in the time domain, and an inelastic constitutive model is used to simulate the behaviour of the structure and the geotextile layers under seismic loads. Variations in the shear modulus of soil and the corresponding damping ratio with cyclic shear strain are considered using a hysteretic damping algorithm to model the reasonable dissipation of energy in the soil. The interface between the foundation and ground surface, including the material and geometrical nonlinearities, are used to capture any possible slide and uplift in the foundations. The results are presented with regard to the geotextile arrangement considered, and include the tensile force mobilised in the geotextile layers, the response spectra at the bedrock and ground surface, the shear force developed in the structure, the maximum rocking angle of the foundation, permanent foundation settlement, maximum lateral displacement and the maximum and residual inter-storey drifts. The results show that the geotextile layers close to the edges of the foundation sustained most of the stress induced by foundation rocking, and the geotextile arrangement has a significant influence on the seismic response of mid-rise buildings. Thus, to satisfy the seismic performance of buildings and to optimise the design of foundations reinforced with geotextiles, the stiffness, length, number and spacing of the geotextile layers should be designed with great care.     

Influence of particle contact models on soil response of poorly graded sand during cavity expansion in discrete element simulation

The discrete element method (DEM) has been extensively adopted to investigate many complex geotechnical related problems due to its capability to incorporate the discontinuous nature of granular materials. In particular, when simulating large deformations or distortion of soil (e.g. cavity expansion), DEM can be very effective as other numerical solutions may experience convergence problems. Cavity expansion theory has widespread applications in geotechnical engineering, particularly to the problems concerning in situ testing, pile installation and so forth. In addition, the behaviour of geomaterials in a macro-level is utterly determined by microscopic properties, highlighting the importance of contact models. Despite the fact that there are numerous contact models proposed to mimic the realistic behaviour of granular materials, there are lack of studies on the effects of these contact models on the soil response. Hence, in this study, a series of three-dimensional numerical simulations with different contact constitutive models was conducted to simulate the response of sandy soils during cylindrical cavity expansion. In this numerical investigation, three contact models, i.e. linear contact model, rolling resistance contact model, and Hertz contact model, are considered. It should be noted that the former two models are linear based models, providing linearly elastic and frictional plasticity behaviours, whereas the latter one consists of nonlinear formulation based on an approximation of the theory of Mindlin and Deresiewicz. To examine the effects of these contact models, several cylindrical cavities were created and expanded gradually from an initial radius of 0.055 m to a final radius of 0.1 m. The numerical predictions confirm that the calibrated contact models produced similar results regarding the variations of cavity pressure, radial stress, deviatoric stress, volumetric strain, as well as the soil radial displacement. However, the linear contact model may result in inaccurate predictions when highly angular soil particles are involved. In addition, considering the excessive soil displacement induced by the pile installation (i.e. cavity expansion), a minimum distance of 11a (a is the cavity radius) is recommend for practicing engineers to avoid the potential damages to the existing piles and adjacent structures.     

On the particle–particle contact effects on the hole cleaning process via a CFD–DEM model

ABSTRACT

The accurate and precise computational models in order to predict the hole cleaning process is one of the helpful assets in drilling industries. Besides the bulk properties such as the flow velocity, particles average size, cleaning fluid properties, etc., that will affect the cleaning process, there is an unanswered question about the microscopic properties of the particles, particularly those which determines the contact characteristics: Do those play a major role or not? The rudimentary answer is not. The first purpose of the present work is to answer this question via a developed computational fluid dynamics coupled with discrete element method (CFD–DEM) in which the six unknown rolling and sliding friction coefficients of particle–particle contact, particle–wall contact, and particle–drill contact are considered as the main microscopic properties of the contacts. The second purpose is to search for optimum values of these coefficients in order to calibrate the CFD–DEM model with the experimental data for a near horizontal well cleaning available in the literature. The verification of the calibrated CFD–DEM model is checked by simulation of the hole cleaning process for different inclination angles of the deviated well. The results indicate the pivotal role of the microscopic properties of the particles on the characteristics of the particle transport mechanism.     

Electrical and rheological properties of PMMA/LDPE blends filled with carbon black

Conductive immiscible multiphase blends of PMMA/LDPE filled with carbon black (CB) were studied in this work. Thermo-electrical behavior of the blends was compared with the composites made up of individual polymers in the blend, PMMA and LDPE filled with CB. The conductivity of the immiscible binary blend at different CB content was followed and modeled using a model circuit in which resistors resembling different phases and the interface between them present in the blend. Electrical percolation threshold was measured for the blend and compared with the single component polymers in order to judge the preferred phase for CB distribution in it. Rheological network formation by CB particles in the blend was also studied using dynamic rheology. The effect of CB loading on the morphology of the multiphase blend was also studied using FESEM images. Theoretical models were also used to predict the percolation thresholds for electrical and rheological network formation and compared with the experimental values.