Applications of computer and numerical analysis techniques in welding research

In recent years, computer technology has made remarkable progress and a computer has become an indispensable tool for both engineers and scientists. In this article, utilization of computers in welding research is briefly summarized. Their use in numerical analysis is particularly discussed and applied to physical phenomena in molten pool, hydrogen diffusion and residual stresses due to welding. A comparison is made between theoretical and experimental results.     

氟化活性炭纤维对极性分子的吸附

将活性炭纤维（ACF）与氟气反应制备出氟化活性炭纤维（FACF），根据将FACF与参照试样XPS的对比，碳原子是以sp^3杂化轨道同氟原子形成共健键。αs图分析氮吸附等温线的线果表明，ACF氟化后其比表面积和微孔容积都显著降低，微孔宽度基本不变，ACF的水吸附等温线呈V型，而FACF对水的吸附量极小；FACF的微孔表面具有完美的憎水性和高稳定性，乙醇和甲醇在ACF上的吸附等温线是Ⅰ型，在FACF上接近于Ⅰ型，但吸附量显著降低。     

Fabrication of damascene Cu wirings using solid acidic catalyst

The copper damascene process is one of the most promising technologies for fabricating Cu wirings for electronic devices such as LSIs. In this research, the fabrication of damascene Cu wirings was conducted using solid acidic catalyst. When a Cu-plated wafer, whose oxide is a basic oxide is dipped into a mixture of oxidizing solution and acidic solution, surface atoms are ionized and etched off into the solution. However, because conventional nonelectrolytic etching does not have a reference surface, it is difficult to utilize for planarization. Therefore, a new nonelectrolytic machining method using a cation-exchange fabric instead of an acidic solution was developed. To be more precise, the planarization of a Cu-plated wafer was carried out by rubbing with the cation-exchange fabric in ozone water. Basically, this method exploits chemical reactions so that the physical properties of the workpiece surface are not deteriorated. Furthermore, this method uses no chemicals except for ozone water, which easily dissociates into water and oxygen molecules; thus, this method is a low-cost, environmentally friendly process. In this paper, as a preliminary experiment, the nonelectrolytic etching of a Cu sample using solutions of O₃ and CO₂ was carried out to inspect the dependence of the etching rate on [O₃] and [H⁺]. The results indicate that the etching rate increased as [O₃] and [H⁺] increased. When [H⁺] was high relative to [O₃], a smooth etch-pit-free surface was achieved. Next, nonelectrolytic etching using a cation-exchange fabric was carried out, and properties similar to those in the case of etching using solutions were obtained. Finally, damascene Cu wirings were fabricated using ozone water and a cation-exchange catalyst.     

Organic–silicate hybrid catalysts based on various defined structures for Knoevenagel condensation

Two types of organic–inorganic hybrid base catalysts are prepared. Organic-functionalized molecular sieves (OFMSs), particularly “amine-immobilized porous silicates”, are designed based on common idea to immobilize catalytic active sites on silicate surface. Silicate–organic composite materials (SOCMs), such as “ordered porous silicate–quaternary ammonium composite materials”, are the precursors of ordered porous silicates obtained during the synthesis. Both the OFMS and the SOCM are used as the catalysts for Knoevenagel condensation. Among the OFMSs, there is clear tendency that the use of molecular sieve with larger pore volume and/or surface area gives the product in higher yield. Aminopropylsilyl (AP)-functionalized mesoporous silicates such as AP-MCM-41 gives the product in high yield under mild conditions. No loss of activity is observed after repeated use for three times. The SOCMs are also active for the same reaction. The precursors of the mesoporous silicates are more active than those of microporous silicates. This material can be repeatedly used without significant loss of activity. High activity is not due to the leached species. The active sites of the SOCM catalysts are considered to be SiO⁻ moieties located on the pore-mouth. Activity of the SOCM increases when the reaction is carried out without solvent, whereas decrease in activity of the OFMS is observed in the solvent-free system.     

Simulation of ultrasonic-vibration drawing using the finite element method (FEM)

In ultrasonic-vibration drawing, wires are drawn while ultrasonic vibration is applied to a drawing die. Prior studies provide experimental proof that ultrasonic-vibration drawing reduces drawing resistance, improves lubrication and prevents wire breakage. In the future, ultrasonic-vibration drawing is expected to contribute to the drawing of difficult-to-draw materials and operations, such as shaped wires, ultrafine wires, and the wire drawing operation in semidry or dry condition. However, a detailed analysis and understanding of the mechanism of improvement is not possible on the basis of conventional experimental observations because the ultrasonic-vibration processing phenomenon occurs at high speed. Therefore, we attempted to understand the processing mechanism of ultrasonic-vibration drawing using the finite element method (FEM). ABAQUS was used for the FEM. Drawing force and stress–strain distributions in drawn wires were analyzed. From these studies, we quantitatively clarified the mechanism of improved drawing characteristics, such as decreased drawing force.     

NMR-Guided Repositioning of Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs into Tight Junction Modulators

Bioavailability is a major bottleneck in the clinical application of medium molecular weight therapeutics, including protein and peptide drugs. Paracellular transport of these molecules is hampered by intercellular tight junction (TJ) complexes. Therefore, safe chemical regulators for TJ loosening are desired. Here, we showed a potential application of select non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) as TJ modulators. Based on our previous observation that diclofenac and flufenamic acid directly bound various PDZ domains with a broad specificity, we applied solution nuclear magnetic resonance techniques to examine the interaction of other NSAIDs and the first PDZ domain (PDZ1) of zonula occludens (ZO)-1, ZO-1(PDZ1). Inhibition of ZO-1(PDZ1) is expected to provide loosening of the epithelial barrier function because the domain plays a crucial role in maintaining TJ integrity. Accordingly, diclofenac and indomethacin were found to decrease the subcellular localization of claudin (CLD)-2 but not occludin and ZO-1 at the apicolateral intercellular compartment of Madin–Darby canine kidney (MDCK) II cells. These NSAIDs exhibited 125–155% improved paracellular efflux of fluorescein isothiocyanate insulin for the Caco-2 cell monolayer. We propose that these NSAIDs can be repurposed as drug absorption enhancers for peptide drugs.     

Applications of inherent strain and interface element to simulation of welding deformation in thin plate structures

Welding-induced distortion not only reduces largely manufacturing accuracy but also decreases significantly productivity due to correction works. If welding distortion can be predicted through a simple and practical method beforehand, the predictions will be helpful for taking active as well as appropriate measures to control the dimension accuracy. Based on inherent strain theory and interface element formulation, we developed a practical prediction system to compute the accumulated distortion during the welding assembly process in the current study. Using the developed prediction method, we calculated the welding distortion in a thin plate structure with considering both the shrinkage due to heat input and the gap/misalignment generated during assembly process. Meanwhile, we investigated the influences of assembly sequence and gap correction on the final distortion.     

Investigation on twisting distortion of thin plate stiffened structure under welding

The welding distortion of thin plate was selected as research subject, which causes loss of dimensional control, structural integrity and increases fabrication costs for straightening. To study the characteristic of the welding distortion on thin plate structures, experiments were conducted. The test model was a thin plate stiffened structure and a large twisting distortion was observed. The welding distortion of the same structure was analyzed as a large deformation problem using a thermal elastic plastic FEM and an elastic FEM based on the concept of inherent deformation. The computed results by both methods showed the twisting distortion which is a typical buckling type deformation and the magnitude of this distortion agreed well with the experimental measurement.     

Correction to: Designing cost-efficient inspection schemes for stochastic streamflow environment using an effective Hamiltonian approach

Optimization and Engineering -     

添加钛、铌、锰、硫及镁对亚共晶灰铸铁初生奥氏体形核及生长的影响

共晶铸铁在共晶凝固时,熔体中碳的状态,即“C的微小集合体”已经被深入研究.然而时于与初生奥氏体密切相关的铁原子的状态,即“铁的微小集合体”却缺乏研究.本文作者提出,在亚共晶灰铸铁熔体中,初晶γ的形核受“Fe的富集部”的影响,而“Fe的富集部”的形成及消失与“C的微小集合体”有关.研究表明,初生奥氏体的形核过冷度、形核数和晶核生长形貌随工艺条件如过热度、保温时间和冷却速率而变化.本文讨论了在熔体的过热度、保温时间和冷却速率固定的条件下,钛、铌、锰、硫和镁这五种添加元素对亚共晶灰铸铁初晶γ的凝固过程的影响.