Measurement of the Timoshenko Shear Stiffness. II: Effect of Transverse Compressibility

This is the second of two papers devoted to the issue of measuring the Timoshenko shear stiffness of thin-walled composite beams. In the first paper, the effect of warping on the effective Timoshenko shear stiffness, as measured through bending tests, was studied. The bending test was simulated using finite-element analysis, and the results indicated that the warping effect was minimal. On the other hand, the evidence suggests that transverse flexibility may have a significant influence on the effective Timoshenko shear stiffness, decreasing the effective shear stiffness at shorter test spans. The purpose of the present study is to further investigate this effect and to explore the use of a sandwich theory to predict the measurement error. A higher-order sandwich theory, which captures the transverse strain at concentrated loads and supports, is applied to a commercially available thin-walled composite beam. The results indicate that the sandwich model does capture the decrease in the effective shear stiffness at short spans, and the dependence of the shear stiffness on span-to-depth ratio is similar to that calculated in the first paper, using the finite-element method.     

Self-Irradiation Cascade Simulations in Plutonium Metal: Model Behavior at High Energy

The Modified Embedded Atom Method model for Pu metal is revised so that it more accurately captures the behavior of the Ziegler-Biersack-Littmark model of ion-ion interactions. Two revision are tested with somewhat different stiffnesses in the 2-1000 eV range. The revised models show higher damage levels at 20 KeV than an earlier model, suggesting that the behavior of the models above 100 eV is dominating damage production, at least in the earlier stages of the cascade. Work was performed at Los Alamos National Laboratory under the auspices of the US Department of Energy, under contract DE-AC52-06NA25396.     

Reliability Analysis of Single-Degree-of-Freedom Elastoplastic Systems. II: Suboptimal Excitations

A method for constructing an approximation of the critical excitation that drives an elastoplastic system from rest to a target threshold at a specified time instant, referred to as the “suboptimal excitation,” is presented in this paper. It is based on the observations gained from study of the critical excitations in the companion paper. Essentially, for the usual case of interest where the failure time is not small compared to the natural period, the duration of the positive and negative pulses of the critical excitation are roughly equal to half of the natural period. This consideration allows for a simple intuitive approximation of the critical excitation. The amplitudes of the positive and negative pulses are obtained in closed forms using energy balance. Numerical investigations show that the critical excitations are well approximated by the suboptimal excitations.     

Enhancement of Flexural Design of Horizontally Curved Prestressed Bridges

In this paper, flexural behavior of horizontally curved prestressed (posttensioned) box bridges is studied by using three-dimensional and refined finite-element modeling and analysis. Bridge length, section geometry, and material properties are the same in all the models, while angle of curvature varies from 0 to 90°. The results of analysis show that in curved bridges, stress distribution is significantly different in comparison to straight bridges. Also, the level of stresses at some locations of section width is considerably high. It is proposed to vary the distribution of the prestressing tendons across section width in order to optimize the bridge capacity. Results show that by proper redistribution of prestressing in section width, significant reduction in resultant stress is possible.     

Applications of the discrete element method in mechanical engineering

Compared to other fields of engineering, in mechanical engineering, the Discrete Element Method (DEM) is not yet a well known method. Nevertheless, there is a variety of simulation problems where the method has obvious advantages due to its meshless nature. For problems where several free bodies can collide and break after having been largely deformed, the DEM is the method of choice. Neighborhood search and collision detection between bodies as well as the separation of large solids into smaller particles are naturally incorporated in the method. The main DEM algorithm consists of a relatively simple loop that basically contains the three substeps contact detection, force computation and integration. However, there exists a large variety of different algorithms to choose the substeps to compose the optimal method for a given problem. In this contribution, we describe the dynamics of particle systems together with appropriate numerical integration schemes and give an overview over different types of particle interactions that can be composed to adapt the method to fit to a given simulation problem. Surface triangulations are used to model complicated, non-convex bodies in contact with particle systems. The capabilities of the method are finally demonstrated by means of application examples. Commemorative Contribution.     

油气集输系统新增产能建设拓扑优化方法研究

在油气集输新增产能建设中,为充分利用已建管网系统的处理能力,达到降低投资,提高经济效益的目的,进行了油气集输新增产能建设布局优化方法的研究。针对新建集输管网为树状结构的情况,建立了油气集输系统新增产能建设拓扑优化的数学模型,讨论了计算复杂性问题。根据模型的特点,将问题分解为拓扑级优化和几何级优化两个子问题,并通过它们之间的迭代进行求解。实例计算表明,所建立的数学模型正确,求解方法可行,能用于工程实际设计。     

Extension of a combined analytical/numerical initial value problem solver for turbulent mixing with combustion

Here, we describe the development of a reacting flow multi-species/combustion methodology, implemented as an extension to the differential reduced ejector analysis (DREA) computer program [Mathematical and computer modeling, vol. 31, 2000, p. 21; Appl. Math. Model. 25 (2001) 427; Comput. Math. Appl. 43(10–11); NASA Contractor Report, 1998]. Use of the single fluid IVP solver framework that was developed for the original DREA model has been directly coupled into the combustion formulation. With these modifications, the analysis has an elementary single step reaction Fuel+Oxidizer→Product combustion capability. Though approximate in nature, the simplicity and efficiency of the DREA formulation make it suitable for its original niche, namely design and preliminary design environments where more complex and expensive models may be inappropriate.     

Density Measurement of Liquid Ni-Ta Alloys by a Modified Sessile Drop Method

The density of liquid Ni- Ta alloys was measured by using a modified sessile drop method. It is found that the density of the liquid Ni- Ta alloys decreases with the increasing temperature, but increases with the increase of tantalum concentration in the alloys. The molar volume of liquid Ni- Ta binary alloys increases with the increase of temperature ancl tantalum concentration.     

河流工程中的图形绘制与处理

在河流工程领域,不管是实体模型还是数学模型,对多样化的数据和丰富多彩的图形的需要越来越强烈,旧的表现形式已经被层出不穷的新的、信息量大而且地位高的2D、3D图形所取代,因此在工程中合理地选择绘图方式和开发软件就变得十分重要。以实际操作经验为基础,从基本操作类到二次开发类再到高端图形图像开发类,详细地讨论了在河流工程中各种图形的绘制和处理方法选择,具有一定参照价值。     

非透视3点问题的解析解

由于在机器人导航等领域新的图像装置不符合透视规则,无法运用传统的透视位置估计方法,采用吴氏零点分解方法,给出非透视3点问题的解析解.利用新图像装置的几何条件,建立了非透视3点方程系统.