Precipitous weakening of quartz at the α–β phase inversion

Crystalline quartz has long been identified as among the weakest of abundant crustal minerals. This weakness is particularly evident around the α–β phase inversion at 573°C, in which Si–O bonds undergo a displacive structural transformation from trigonal to hexagonal symmetry. Here we present data using indentation testing methodologies that highlight the precipitous extent of the transformational weakening. Although the indentations are localized over relatively small specimen contact areas, the data quantify the essential deformation and fracture properties of quartz in a predominantly (but not exclusively) compressive stress field, at temperatures and pressures pertinent to conditions in the earth's crust.     

Dense and core-rim structured B4C-TiB2 ceramics with Mo-Co-WC additive

B₄C-TiB₂ ceramics (TiB₂ ranging 5~70 vol%) with Mo-Co-WC as the sintering additive were prepared by spark plasma sintering. In comparison with B₄C-TiB₂ without additive, the enhanced densification was evident in the sintered specimen with Mo-Co-WC additive. Core-rim structured grain was observed around TiB₂ grains. The interface of the rim between TiB₂ and B₄C phases demonstrated different feature: the inner borderline of the rim exhibited a smooth feature, whereas a sharp curved grain boundary was observed between the rim and the B₄C grain. The formation mechanism is discussed: the epitaxial growth of (Ti,Mo,W)B₂ rim around the TiB₂ core may occur as a result of the solid solution and dissolution-precipitation between TiB₂ phase and the sintering additive. It was revealed that the fracture toughness increased as the content of TiB₂ content increased, alongside the decreased hardness. B₄C-30 vol% TiB₂ specimen demonstrated the optimal combination of mechanical properties, reaching Vickers hardness of 24.3 GPa and fracture toughness of 3.33 MPa·m^1/2.     

Pressure-induced transparency of MgO,Al2O3, AlN,and cBN ceramics at room temperature

The in situ axial X-ray diffraction patterns of four ceramic powder samples (MgO, Al₂O₃, AlN, and cBN) that were compressed in a diamond anvil cell under uniaxial non-hydrostatic conditions were recorded. The microscopic deviatoric stress as a function of the pressure was determined from the X-ray diffraction peak broadening analysis: the curves increased approximately linearly with the pressure at the initial compression stage and then levelled off under further compression. Pressure-induced transparency was observed in all of the samples under compression, and the pressure at the turning point on the curves of the microscopic deviatoric stress versus pressure corresponded to the pressure at which the samples became transparent. Analysis of the microstructural features of the pressure-induced transparent samples indicated that the compression caused the grains to fracture, and the broken grains bonded with each other. We demonstrated that the ceramics’ pressure-induced transparency was a process during which the grains were squeezed and broken, the pores were close between the grains, and the broken grains were re-bonded under compression.     

Inconel 690传热管GTAW对接焊接头组织及力学性能研究

对Inconel 690传热管材进行钨极气体保护焊(GTAW)对接焊,采用拉伸试验机、压扁试验机和光学显微镜测试和分析传热管焊接接头,同时利用ANSYS软件开展焊接接头在设计工况失压时的一次应力强度校核。研究结果表明:焊缝中心为树枝胞状晶,熔合线附近为粗大柱状晶。室温时接头的平均抗拉强度为619 MPa,平均屈服强度为292 MPa,350℃时接头平均抗拉强度为475 MPa,平均屈服强度为206 MPa,拉伸接头断裂从熔合区开始贯穿整个焊缝组织,呈塑性断裂。压扁试验和反向压扁试验结果表明管接头完好。通过ANSYS分析可知,设计工况下传热管接头350℃许用应力强度150 MPa限值可满足其一次应力强度要求,且裕量较大。     

Prediction of mode I fracture toughness of rock using linear multiple regression and gene expression programming

Prediction of mode I fracture toughness (K_IC) of rock is of significant importance in rock engineering analyses. In this study, linear multiple regression (LMR) and gene expression programming (GEP) methods were used to provide a reliable relationship to determine mode I fracture toughness of rock. The presented model was developed based on 60 datasets taken from the previous literature. To predict fracture parameters, three mechanical parameters of rock mass including uniaxial compressive strength (UCS), Brazilian tensile strength (BTS), and elastic modulus (E) have been selected as the input parameters. A cluster of data was collected and divided into two random groups of training and testing datasets. Then, different statistical linear and artificial intelligence based nonlinear analyses were conducted on the training data to provide a reliable prediction model of K_IC. These two predictive methods were then evaluated based on the testing data. To evaluate the efficiency of the proposed models for predicting the mode I fracture toughness of rock, various statistical indices including coefficient of determination (R²), root mean square error (RMSE), and mean absolute error (MAE) were utilized herein. In the case of testing datasets, the values of R², RMSE, and MAE for the GEP model were 0.87, 0.188, and 0.156, respectively, while they were 0.74, 0.473, and 0.223, respectively, for the LMR model. The results indicated that the selected GEP model delivered superior performance with a higher R² value and lower errors.     

Modelling of chromatic contrast for retrieval of wallpaper images

Colour remains one of the key factors in presenting an object and, consequently, has been widely applied in retrieval of images based on their visual contents. However, a colour appearance changes with the change of viewing surroundings, the phenomenon that has not been paid attention yet while performing colour‐based image retrieval. To comprehend this effect, in this article, a chromatic contrast model, CAMcc, is developed for the application of retrieval of colour intensive images, cementing the gap that most of existing colour models lack to fill by taking simultaneous colour contrast into account. Subsequently, the model is applied to the retrieval task on a collection of museum wallpapers of colour‐rich images. In comparison with current popular colour models including CIECAM02, HSI and RGB, with respect to both foreground and background colours, CAMcc appears to outperform the others with retrieved results being closer to query images. In addition, CAMcc focuses more on foreground colours, especially by maintaining the balance between both foreground and background colours, while the rest of existing models take on dominant colours that are perceived the most, usually background tones. Significantly, the contribution of the investigation lies in not only the improvement of the accuracy of colour‐based image retrieval but also the development of colour contrast model that warrants an important place in colour and computer vision theory, leading to deciphering the insight of this age‐old topic of chromatic contrast in colour science. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 40, 361–373, 2015     

Toughness enhancement and equivalent initial fracture toughness of cementitious composite reinforced with aligned steel fibres

Based on theoretical analysis and numerical simulation, the impact of steel fibres on the stress intensity factor (SIF) at the crack tip for cementitious composite was studied. The enhanced toughness of steel fibre reinforced cementitious composite (SFRC) in resisting cracks was explained by the decrement of SIF caused by steel fibre inclusions at the crack tip of the composite. The equivalent initial fracture toughness was used to characterize the crack initiation of SFRC. A simplified method for determining the of SFRC was proposed based on a linear regression method. Fracture tests were conducted on three‐point bending notched beams with different steel fibre volume fractions and specimen sizes to study the crack initiation behaviour of aligned steel fibre reinforced cementitious composite (ASFRC). of ASFRC was calculated, and the size effect of was analysed. The results showed that slightly increased with the steel fibre volume fraction and gradually became stable. For the tested specimens, whose heights varied between 40 and 100 mm, the specimen size had little impact on the .