Nacre-Inspired,Liquid Metal-Based Ultrasensitive Electronic Skin by Spatially Regulated Cracking Strategy

The realization of liquid metal-based wearable systems will be a milestone toward high-performance, integrated electronic skin. However, despite the revolutionary progress achieved in many other components of electronic skin, liquid metal-based flexible sensors still suffer from poor sensitivity due to the insufficient resistance change of liquid metal to deformation. Herein, a nacre-inspired architecture composed of a biphasic pattern (liquid metal with Cr/Cu underlayer) as “bricks” and strain-sensitive Ag film as “mortar” is developed, which breaks the long-standing sensitivity bottleneck of liquid metal-based electronic skin. With 2 orders of magnitude of sensitivity amplification while maintaining wide (>85%) working range, for the first time, liquid metal-based strain sensors rival the state-of-art counterparts. This liquid metal composite features spatially regulated cracking behavior. On the one hand, hard Cr cells locally modulate the strain distribution, which avoids premature cut-through cracks and prolongs the defect propagation in the adjacent Ag film. On the other hand, the separated liquid metal cells prevent unfavorable continuous liquid-metal paths and create crack-free regions during strain. Demonstrated in diverse scenarios, the proposed design concept may spark more applications of ultrasensitive liquid metal-based electronic skins, and reveals a pathway for sensor development via crack engineering.     

Behaviour of Surface Defects in Wire Rod Rolling

Defects are often present in rolled products, such as wire rod. The market demand for wire rod without any defects has increased. In the final wire rod products, defects originating from steel making, casting, pre‐rolling of billets and during wire rod rolling can appear. In this work, artificial V‐shaped longitudinal surface cracks have been analysed experimentally and by means of FEM. The results indicate that the experiments and FEM calculations show the same tendency except in two cases, where instability due to fairly “round” false round bars disturbed the experiment. FE studies in combination with practical experiments are necessary in order to understand the behaviour of the material flows in the groove and to explain whether the crack will open up as a V‐shape or if it will be closed as an I‐shape.     

Fatigue crack propagation of multiple coplanar cracks with the coupled extended finite element/fast marching method

A numerical technique for modeling fatigue crack propagation of multiple coplanar cracks is presented. The proposed method couples the extended finite element method (X-FEM) [Int. J. Numer. Meth. Engng. 48 (11) (2000) 1549] to the fast marching method (FMM) [Level Set Methods & Fast Marching Methods: Evolving Interfaces in Computational Geometry, Fluid Mechanics, Computer Vision, and Materials Science, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 1999]. The entire crack geometry, including one or more cracks, is represented by a single signed distance (level set) function. Merging of distinct cracks is handled naturally by the FMM with no collision detection or mesh reconstruction required. The FMM in conjunction with the Paris crack growth law is used to advance the crack front. In the X-FEM, a discontinuous function and the two-dimensional asymptotic crack-tip displacement fields are added to the finite element approximation to account for the crack using the notion of partition of unity [Comput. Meth. Appl. Mech. Engng. 139 (1996) 289]. This enables the domain to be modeled by a single fixed finite element mesh with no explicit meshing of the crack surfaces. In an earlier study [Engng. Fract. Mech. 70 (1) (2003) 29], the methodology, algorithm, and implementation for three-dimensional crack propagation of single cracks was introduced. In this paper, simulations for multiple planar cracks are presented, with crack merging and fatigue growth carried out without any user-intervention or remeshing.     

Study of elastic wave propagation induced by piezoelectric actuators for crack identification

The current paper provides a theoretical study of elastic wave propagation in a cracked elastic medium induced by an embedded piezoelectric actuator. The formulation of the problem is based on a newly developed actuator model and the solution of coupled crack and actuator problems. The interaction between an actuator and a crack is studied to develop basic understanding of the effect of the crack upon the wave field generated. The resulting wave field is used to simulate 'sensor signals'. Scattered wave from the crack is then regenerated by solving a reverse elastodynamic problem and used in an imaging technique to identify the crack.     

Computational analysis of thin coating layer failure using a cohesive model and gradient plasticity

Thermal barrier coatings (TBC) are widely used to prevent transient high temperature attack and allow components high durability. Due to strong inhomogeneous material properties the TBC failure often initiates near the interface between the brittle oxide layer and the ductile substrate. A reliable prediction of the TBC failure requires detailed information about the crack tip field and the consequent fracture criteria. In the present paper both cohesive model and gradient plasticity are used to simulate the failure process and to study interdependence of the interface stress distribution with the specific fracture energies. Computations confirm that combination of the two models is able to simulate different failure mechanisms in the TBC system. The computational model has the potential to give a realistic prediction of the crack propagation process.     

超声波车辆车轴探头的研制与应用

提出了一种用于检测在役车辆车轴产生疲劳裂纹的超声波方法,设计了中心孔探头与斜角探头一起,完成了对车辆车轴的关键区域探伤。     

炉衬产生的氧对真空钢液脱氮的动力学影响

采用 99.99%氧化镁砂捣打炉衬的 2 0kg真空感应炉 ,研究了超低碳钢熔炼时炉衬产生的氧对真空钢液脱氮的影响。试验结果表明 :钢液中氧含量在 1 2 0× 1 0 - 6 时 ,脱氮的限制性环节是界面化学反应 ;随炉衬中氧的逸出 ,当钢液中氧含量在 5 1 0×1 0 - 6 时 ,真空钢液脱氮处于界面化学反应和液相边界层扩散控制的边缘区域 ,脱氮速率降低     

浅谈界河倒虹吸预应力混凝土裂缝的预控措施

文章在通过对混凝土裂缝产生的原因进行分析的基础上,阐述了对在界河倒虹吸施工中预应力混凝土裂缝所采取的预控措施。     

The stress intensity factors for a short crack partially penetrating an inclusion of arbitrary shape

Some approximate solutions for predicting the stress intensity factor of a short crack penetrating an inclusion of arbitrary shape have been developed under mode I and mode II loading conditions. The derivation of the fundamental formula is based on the transformation toughening theory. The transformation strains in the inclusion are induced by the crack-tip field and remotely applied stresses, and approximately evaluated by the Eshelby equivalent inclusion theory. As validated by detailed finite element (FE) analyses, the developed solutions have good accuracy for different inclusion shape and for a wide range of modulus ratio between inclusion and matrix material.     

Three dimensional boundary element analysis of internal cracks under sliding contact load with a spherical indenter

Using boundary element based three dimensional modelling for linear fracture mechanics, we present an analysis of cracking in a homogeneous medium subject to contact load. The proposed iterative solution procedure allows a simultaneous treatment of a reasonable number of partially closed cracks. It is shown that the most probable direction of propagation of a vertical internal crack is strongly dependent on its size compared to the contact radius and its location with respect to the axis of maximum normal load.