Modeling of time to corrosion-induced cover cracking in reinforced concrete structures

Service life of the concrete structures depends on the protective action provided by the cover concrete against the susceptibility of the reinforcement to the corrosive environment. Depending on the level of the oxidation of metallic iron, corrosion products may have much greater volume than the original iron that gets consumed by the process of corrosion. This volume expansion is mainly responsible for exerting the expansive radial pressure at the steel-concrete interface and development of hoop tensile stresses in the surrounding concrete resulting ultimately in the through cracking of the cover concrete. This cover cracking would indicate the loss of the service life for the corrosion-affected structures. In the present paper, an attempt has been made to develop analytical models for predicting the time to cover cracking by considering the residual strength of the cracked concrete and the stiffness provided by the combination of the reinforcement and expansive corrosion products. The problem is modeled as a boundary value problem wherein the governing equations are expressed in terms of the radial displacement and the analytical solutions are presented considering a simple 2-zone model for the cover concrete viz. cracked or uncracked. The analytical models are then evaluated through their ability to reproduce available experimental trends and subsequently a sensitivity analysis has also been carried out to show the influence of the various variable parameters of the proposed models with reference to the experimental trends.     

离散零空间算法在机织物仿真中的应用

针对机织物卡尔丹角多体模型维数较高,计算效率不理想的问题,提出采用离散零空间算法降低多体动力学方程维数,减少计算复杂度和约束违约所导致的数值漂移.首先结合离散零空间等效变换消去拉格朗日乘子项,然后进行结点参数化,实现两次系统降维,提高机织物仿真速度.通过KES剪切试验与仿真,验证了上述算法应用的可行性.通过仿真计算复杂度及效率特征指标对比,反映出优化方程的降维优势和计算高效,尤其适用于大型织物仿真.     

Investigation of mass transport in gas diffusion layer at the air cathode of a PEMFC

In a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), slow diffusion in the gas diffusion electrode may induce oxygen depletion when using air at the cathode. This work focuses on the behavior of a single PEMFC built with a Nafion^® based MEA and an E-TEK gas diffusion layer and fed at the cathode with nitrogen containing 5, 10 and 20% of oxygen and working at different cell temperatures and relative humidities. The purpose is to apply the experimental impedance technique to cells wherein transport limitations at the cathode are significant. In parallel, a model is proposed to interpret the polarization curves and the impedance diagrams of a single PEMFC. The model accounts for mass transport through the gas diffusion electrode. It allows us to qualitatively analyze the experimental polarization curves and the corresponding impedance spectra and highlights the intra-electrode processes and the influence of the gas diffusion layer.     

关于数学建模教学及竞赛改革的思考

从笔者学校实际情况出发,阐述数学建模课程的特点,探讨数学建模教学及竞赛存在的问题,从开设《数学建模与实验》公共选修课、编写教材或讲义、教学方法改革、成立数学建模竞赛教学团队及考核形式多样化等五个方面提出数学建模课程改革的思路,并给出数学建模教学及竞赛改革的具体建议。     

Liquid flow and phase holdup—measurement and CFD modeling for two-and three-phase bubble columns

Bubble columns are an important class of contacting devices in chemical industry and biotechnology. Their simple setup makes them ideal reactors for two- and three-phase operations such as fermentations or heterogeneous catalysis. Still, design and operation of these reactors is subject to widely empirical scale-up strategies. With recent advances in the development of measurement techniques, a more detailed approach to the development of optimized reactors for specific operations should become possible. This report is based on detailed measurements of local dispersed phase holdups in a pilot plant-sized bubble column operated at high superficial gas velocities and solid holdups. It deals with the influence of superficial gas velocity, solid loading and sparger geometry on measured and computed liquid flow velocities and holdup distributions. Liquid velocity measurements have been performed using the electrodiffusion method, modeling calculations have been carried out using the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code CFX-4.3. Measurement results presented here give an insight into the development of liquid circulation and fluctuating velocity distribution depending on superficial gas velocity, solid loading and sparger geometry. CFD results implementing a multi-fluid model with k-ε turbulence and special momentum exchange terms for direct gas-solid interactions show that, even on standard PC workstations, this kind of computations can deliver qualitatively reasonable agreement with measurements.     

Experimental study and numerical simulation on the formation of microstructure in cementitious materials at early age

The formation of microstructure in early age cement paste and concrete was examined with an ultrasonic experimental set-up. Research parameters included the influence of curing temperature (isothermal curing at 20, 30 and 40 °C), water/cement ratio (0.40, 0.45 and 0.55) and amount of aggregate. In parallel with the experiments, the cement hydration model HYMOSTRUC was utilized to simulate the formation of the microstructure. In this study, the cement paste was considered as a four-phase system consisting of water, unhydrated cement, hydration products and that part of the hydration product that causes the contact between the hydrating cement grains (so called “bridge volume”). A correlation has been found between the growth of bridge volume calculated with the model and the changes in the pulse velocity. It is believed that ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) measurements can represent a valuable tool to investigate the development of the microstructure at early age.     

Characterization and modeling of diffusion process for mass transport through the Tournemire argillites (Aveyron, France)

Argillites are one of the geological formations studied by IRSN for their confining properties for isolation of radioactive wastes. One of the main objectives is the study of water transport through rocks with very low water content and very low hydraulic conductivity by modeling of natural tracer profiles. This paper presents the protocol developed for and applied to the acquisition of data for chloride content in interstitial water of the Toarcian argillites at the Tournemire site (Southern France). This protocol is based on laboratory diffusion experiments and on modeling. Experimental data obtained during the transient and steady-state parts of diffusion experiments enable, respectively, the assessment of the diffusion coefficient and the determination of Cl concentration in pore water. Using this protocol, profiles with depth for both of these data sets have been acquired along the geological sequence. Taking into account the present knowledge of the geological and hydrogeological history of the Tournemire massif, a conceptual model granting the main role for mass transport to diffusion has been proposed. According to this conceptual model, a one-dimensional numerical model was built for simulating the mass transport of chloride through the sedimentary column, over 53 Ma. The good agreement between experimental data and calculated values for both diffusion coefficients and concentrations of chloride confirms that diffusion is likely the main process for mass transport in the massif. This model was also tested with the deuterium content of interstitial water, applying variable concentrations at the aquifer system boundaries for reflecting the thermal dependency of isotopic composition in precipitation. These simulations also reveal the likely important role of heterogeneities, such as fractures, in the variability of tracer concentrations with regards to a simple diffusion profile.     

A Building Information Model enabled Multiple Traveling Salesman Problem for building interior patrols

During building emergencies, an effective and visible primary search plan enhances situation awareness and enables a more efficient rescue mission. The aim of the primary search during an emergency is the rapid screening of every space in the building to identify locations of victims and their conditions. Afterwards, first responders can plan for the rescue of those victims. To provide a timely draw up of interior patrol routes and assign rescue teams to conduct the primary search, this study formulates the problem as a multiple traveling salesman problem (M-TSP) where the comprehensive building interior network is given by the building information models (BIMs), while the total traveling costs (lengths) of every rescue team is minimized. To meet the requirement of real-time patrol routes optimization, we employed the branch-and-price algorithm for the enhancement of computation efficiency. In addition, a heuristic method was introduced to provide timely solutions for large-scale networks. A case study is conducted for a single-floor convention center. We utilized BIM to construct a network of nodes and arcs where the decision model requires as input, and the branch-and-price algorithm finds the optimal patrol. The resulting patrol routes can be visualized and serve as guide for rescue teams to conduct the primary search. The integrated approach proposed in this study is practical and can expedite search and rescue missions.     

Probabilistic observation model correction using non-Gaussian belief fusion

This paper presents a framework for state estimation which tolerates uncertainty in observation model parameters by (1) incorporating this uncertainty in state observation, and (2) correcting model parameters to improve future state observations. The first objective is met by an uncertainty propagation approach, while the second is achieved by gradient-descent optimization. The novel framework allows state estimates to be represented by non-Gaussian probability distribution functions. By correcting observation model parameters, estimation performance is enhanced since the accuracy of observations is increased. Monte Carlo simulation experiments validate the efficacy of the proposed approach in comparison with conventional estimation techniques, showing that as model parameters converge to ground-truth over time, state estimation correspondingly improves when compared to a static model estimate. Because observation models cannot be known with perfect accuracy and existing approaches do not address parametric uncertainties in non-Gaussian estimation, this work has both novelty and usefulness in most state estimation contexts.     

浅析配电线路运行管理

随着当今社会经济的迅速繁荣,电力需求迅猛增加,对于电力供应的配电线路的质量要求也日益增强.作为电网结构重要环节的配电网,由于点多面广、径难线长,其维护工作也越来越困难.针对配电线路的日常运行管理以及配电设备的检修抢修等进行了简单的阐述分析,指出配电线路如何才能在科学管理的指导下,实现高效、安全、优质、经济运行.