Fatigue crack growth analysis of welded aluminium RHS T-joints with manipulated residual stress level

The fatigue life of a welded aluminium T‐joint made from beams with rectangular hollow section (RHS) has been predicted using a crack propagation analysis and compared with experimental results from joints with different residual stress levels. To include the effect of the residual stresses, the stress ratio was calculated at the weld toe and, via Walker's equation, introduced into the analysis. How to obtain the Walker exponent has been discussed in detail. The introduction of a stress ratio at the weld toe provides good agreement between the experimentally and analytically found S–N curves. The effect of the residual stress was successfully included in the analysis.     

A new efficient numerical method and the dynamic analysis of composite laminates with piezoelectric layers

Firstly, a numerical method for the inversion of Laplace transform is developed and its accuracy is shown through examples. Then, a state-vector equation for the dynamic problems of piezoelectric plates is deduced directly from a modified mixed variational principle for piezoelectric bodies and its exact solution for the dynamic problems of simply supported rectangle piezoelectric plate is simply given. For multilayered hybrid plates, we derive the solution in terms of the propagator matrices. The techniques accounts for the compatibility of generalized displacements and generalized stresses on the interface both the elastic layers and piezoelectric layers, and the transverse shear deformation and the rotary inertia of laminate are also considered in the global algebraic equation of structure. Meanwhile, there is no restriction on the thickness and the number of layers. As an application of the numerical inversion of Laplace transform presented in this paper, typical numerical examples of the harmonic vibration and transient response are proposed and discussed. Since the highly accurate numerical results, they can serve as benchmarks to test various thick plate theories and various numerical methods, such as the finite and boundary element methods for transient response problems.     

Synthesis and properties of PDMS modified waterborne polyurethane–acrylic hybrid emulsion by solvent-free method

A new type of polysiloxane modified polyurethane–acrylic hybrid emulsion was synthesized by solvent-free method and the polysiloxane was introduced into the soft segment of polyurethane chains using dihydroxybutyl-terminated polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). The formed film from the hybrid emulsion could provide obviously higher water-resistance property. The preparation technologies such as the content of carboxy group and acrylic monomer, the rate and the time of emulsification were discussed systematically. The chain structure and the particle size were confirmed by the analysis of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy, respectively. The effect of PDMS content on the water resistance and the mechanical property were investigated by absorbed water ratio, water contact angle and dynamic mechanical measurement.     

Determination of the total concentration and speciation of Al(III) in tea infusions

The aluminium species in different tea infusions were investigated, by determining their stability constants and concentration. This was done for some particular samples using a simple experimental method based on the sorption of aluminium on the strongly sorbing resin Chelex 100, by a batch procedure. From the thermodynamic information obtained it is possible to calculate the concentration of the different species, and in particular that of the free metal ion, which is very important for evaluating the adsorption of aluminium on biological membranes. It was found that aluminium in the tea infusions here considered is present at high total concentration, approximately 0.1 mM, but mainly linked to strong complexes, for instance with side reaction coefficient higher than 10(5.11) at pH 3.95 in one case (tea 1). This could be the reason for the low toxicity of aluminium in tea. These strong complexes were not dissociated even in the presence of Chelex 100. In this case only a limiting value of the reaction coefficient could be evaluated. The presence of the very strong complexes was found in all the tea sample here considered. In two of the considered samples (one black and one green tea) a part of Al(III) was linked to less strong complexes, for example with a reaction coefficient 10(4.14) (tea 2, pH 4.20). The presence in the considered tea infusions of other substances able to complex aluminium was also detected, by the well known ligand titration procedure, at concentration ranging from 0.65 to 3.37 mM in three tea infusions, and at somewhat higher concentration in the case of the ready drink, which was also considered for comparison.     

Averaging of nonsmooth systems using dither

It was shown by Zames and Shneydor and later by Mossaheb that a high-frequency dither signal of a quite arbitrary shape can be used to narrow the effective nonlinear sector of Lipschitz continuous feedback systems. In this paper, it is shown that also discontinuous nonlinearities of feedback systems can be narrowed using dither, as long as the amplitude distribution function of the dither is absolutely continuous and has bounded derivative. The averaged system is proven to approximate the dithered system with an error of the order of dither period.     

二维卡尔曼─中值混合自适应滤波

本文提出了能同时抑制加性噪声，脉冲噪声干扰和点扩展函数模糊，又能保护图象边缘及细节信息的新型滤波方法—“二维Kalman－Median混合自适应滤波”，并成功地应用于统计图象恢复，取得了满意的效果。     

Energy storage devices for future hybrid electric vehicles

Powertrain hybridization as well as electrical energy management are imposing new requirements on electrical storage systems in vehicles. This paper characterizes the associated vehicle attributes and, in particular, the various levels of hybrids. New requirements for the electrical storage system are derived, including: shallow-cycle life, high dynamic charge acceptance particularly for regenerative braking and robust service life in sustained partial-state-of-charge usage. Lead/acid, either with liquid or absorptive glass-fibre mat electrolyte, is expected to remain the predominant battery technology for 14 V systems, including micro-hybrids, and with a cost-effective battery monitoring system for demanding applications. Advanced AGM batteries may be considered for mild or even medium hybrids once they have proven robustness under real-world conditions, particularly with respect to cycle life at partial-states-of-charge and dynamic charge acceptance. For the foreseeable future, NiMH and Li-ion are the dominating current and potential battery technologies for higher-functionality HEVs. Li-ion, currently at development and demonstration stages, offers attractive opportunities for improvements in performance and cost. Supercapacitors may be considered for pulse power applications. Aside from cell technologies, attention to the issue of system integration of the battery into the powertrain and vehicle is growing. Opportunities and challenges for potential “battery pack” system suppliers are discussed.     

语音帧间相关信息对基于HMM系统识别精度的影响

本文探讨经短时信号处理后的语音信号帧间相关信息对基于隐马尔可夫模型（ＨＭＭ）的语音识别系统识虽精度的影响，鉴于ＨＭＭ的输出独立假设导致语音帧间相关信息的损失，本文提出了一种描述帧间相关信息的统计模型－马尔可夫链（ＭＣＭ）用来弥补ＨＭＭ在这方面的缺陷；经非特定人和多话者孤立字实验表明，用ＭＣＭ作为ＨＭＭ的辅助模型，可将原有ＨＭＭ系统的识别率提高约１～６个百分点。     

Scale Transition in Steel-Concrete Interaction. II:?Applications

The proposed mode of consideration of the steel-concrete interaction (Part I) is applied to real-life engineering structures. Two structures recently investigated numerically at Vienna University of Technology are considered: (1) the reinforced concrete (RC) cooling tower III Ptolema?s SES (Greece) and (2) a part of the shotcrete tunnel lining installed at the Lainzer tunnel (Austria). In both examples, the uniaxial fracture criterion used in Part I is replaced by the maximum stress (Rankine) criterion. Together with the Drucker-Prager criterion, which is used for the simulation of compressive failure of concrete/shotcrete, it defines the space of admissible stress states in the framework of multisurface plasticity. For the simulation of early-age fracture of shotcrete, consideration of the steel-concrete interaction presented in Part I of this paper is extended towards young shotcrete. Similar to the benchmark problem investigated in Part I of this paper, several analyses with different degrees of consideration of the steel-concrete interaction are performed. The obtained results give insight into the influence of the steel-concrete interaction on the load-carrying behavior of the investigated structures.