Numerical simulation of powder effect on solidification in directed energy deposition additive manufacturing

An integrated simulation of powder effects on particle temperature and microstructural evolution in laser directed energy deposition additive manufacturing process was carried out.The spatial distribution of the flying powder particles was simulated by the discrete element method to calculate the energy for the flying powder particles under the laser−particle interaction with electromagnetic wave analysis.Combined with the phase field method,the influence of particle size on the microstructural evolution was studied.The microstructural evolution is validated through comparison with experimental observation.Results indicate that the narrow particle size distribution is beneficial to obtaining a more uniform temperature distribution on the deposited layers and forming smaller equiaxed grains near the side surfaces of the sample.Appropriate powder particle size is beneficial to the conversion of the electromagnetic energy into heat.Particles with small size are recommended to form equiaxed grains and to improve product quality.Appropriate powder flow rate improves the laser energy efficiency,and higher powder flow rate leads to more uniform equiaxed grains on both sides of the cross-section.

Progress in preparation of AlN-reinforced magnesium matrix composites:A review

As a ceramic material,AlN has very good thermophysical and mechanical properties.In addition,AlN is an effective refining agent for Mg alloys because it has a lattice constant similar to that of Mg.Therefore,AlN is an ideal reinforcement for magnesium matrix composites(MMCs),and is attracting increasing attention.This review addresses the development of preparation technologies for AlN-reinforced Mg matrix composites.The mainstream preparation techniques include stir casting,melt infiltration,powder metallurgy,and in-situ methods.In addition,the advantages and disadvantages of these techniques are analyzed in depth,and it is pointed out that the next direction for the preparation of high-performance AlN-reinforced MMCs is less aluminization and multiple technologies integration.

挤压铸造压力对超声辅助成形纳米SiCp/Al-Cu复合材料颗粒分布与力学性能的影响

采用超声振动技术制备2%(质量分数)纳米SiCp/Al-Cu复合材料浆料,并研究挤压铸造压力对纳米SiCp/Al-Cu复合材料颗粒分布和力学性能的影响。研究发现,随着挤压压力从0增至400 MPa,合金α(Al)晶粒尺寸先大幅降低而后下降趋势变缓,并且铸件中孔隙率明显降低。当挤压压力为400 MPa时,α(Al)晶粒尺寸从105μm减小到25μm,纳米SiCp分布得到明显改善,以致其力学性能最佳。复合材料的抗拉强度、屈服强度和伸长率分别为290 MPa、182 MPa和10%,相比于重力铸造(0 MPa)分别提高52.6%、25.5%和400%。在高压作用下,纳米SiCp/Al-Cu复合材料强度和伸长率的提高归因于晶粒细化、孔隙率降低和纳米颗粒均匀分布。

Mechanical Stimulus Inhibits the Growth of a Bone Tissue Model Cultured In Vitro

Objectives To construct the cancellous bone explant model and a method of culturing these bone tissues in vitro, and to investigate the effect of mechanical load on growth of cancellous bone tissue in vtro. Methods Cancellous bone were extracted from rabbit femoral head and cut into I-ram-thick and 8-ram-diameter slices under sterile conditions. HE staining and scanning electron microscopy were employed to identify the histomorphology of the model after being cultured with a new dynamic load and circulating perfusion bioreactor system for 0, 3, 5, and 7 days, respectively. We built a three-dimensional model using microCT and analyzed the loading effects using finite element analysis. The model was subjected to mechanical load of 1000, 2000, 3000, and 4000 με respectively for 30 minutes per day. After 5 days of continuous stimuli, the activities of alkaline phosphatase （AKP） and tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase （TRAP） were detected. Apoptosis was analyzed by DNA ladder detection and caspase-3/8/9 activity detection. Results After being cultured for 3, 5, and 7 days, the bone explant model grew well. HE staining showed the apparent nucleus in cells at the each indicated time, and electron microscope revealed the living cells in the bone tissue. The activities of AKP and TRAP in the bone explant model under mechanical load of 3000 and 4000 με were significantly lower than those in the unstressed bone tissues （all P〈0.05）. DNA ladders were seen in the bone tissue under 3000 and 4000με mechanical load. Moreover, there was significant enhancement in the activities of caspase-3/8/9 in the mechanical stress group of 3000 and 4000 με （all P〈0.05）. Conclusions The cancellous bone explant model extracted from the rabbit femoral head could be alive at least for 7 days in the dynamic load and circulating perfusion bioreactor system, however, pathological mechanical load could affect the bone tissue growth by apoptosis in vitro. The differentiation of osteobiasts and osteoclasts might be inhibited after the model is stimulated by mechanical load of 3000 and 4000 με.

DYT1 MUTATIONS AMONGST EARLY ONSET PRIMARY DYSTONIA PATIENTS IN CHINA

Objective To investigate the frequency of GAG deletion in the DYT1 gene among early onset primary dystonia patients in China. Methods Thirteen patients with early onset primary torsion dystonia were screened for mutation in exon 5 of the DYT1 gene using denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography （DHPLC） and DNA sequencing, and the results were confirmed with polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism （PCR-RFLP）. Results The GAG deletion mutation which results in Glu302del in exon 5 of the DYT1 gene was found in 5 patients. The detecting results were consistent between with DHPLC and PCR-RFLP. We did not find any other mutations in the DYT1 gene. Conel^iotm The GAG deletion in the DYT1 gene is common amongst early onset primary torsion dystonia patients in Chin＆ The frequency of DYT1 mutation is not significantly different between European and Asian patients with early onset primary dystonia.

Integrated Modeling of Process–Microstructure–Property Relations in Friction Stir Additive Manufacturing

Friction stir additive manufacturing is a newly developed solid-state additive manufacturing technology.The material in the stirring zone can be re-stirred and reheated,and mechanical properties can be changed along the building direction.An integrated model is developed to investigate the internal relations of process,microstructure and mechanical properties.Moving heat source model is used to simulate the friction stir additive manufacturing process to obtain the temperature histories,which are used in the following microstructural simulations.Monte Carlo method is used for simulation of recrystallization and grain growth.Precipitate evolution model is used for calculation of precipitate size distributions.Mechanical property is then predicted.Experiments are used for validation of the predicted grains and hardness.Results indicate that the average grain sizes on diff erent layers depend on the temperature in stirring and re-stirring processes.With the increase in building height,average grain size is decreased and hardness is increased.The increase in layer thickness can lead to temperature decrease in reheating and re-stirring processes and then lead to the decrease in average grain size and increase of hardness in stir zone.

Deep Brain Stimulation of the Globus Pallidus Internus in Patients with Intractable Tourette Syndrome： A 1-year Follow-up Study

Background： Deep brain stimulation （DBS） has been a promising treatment for patients with refractory Tourette syndrome （TS） for more than a decade. Despite successful DBS treatment of TS in more than 100 patients worldwide, studies with a large patient sample and long-term follow-up assessments are still scarce. Accordingly, we investigated the clinical efficacy and safety of globus pallidus internus （GPi） DBS in the treatment of intractable TS in 24 patients with a 1-year follow-up assessment. Methods： Bilateral/unilateral GPi-DBS was performed in 24 patients with TS. We evaluated symptoms of tics and obsessive-compulsive disorder （OCD） through the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale （YGTSS） and Yale-Brown Obsessive-compulsive Scale （Y-BOCS）. We used the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised in China （WAIS-RC） to evaluate the safety of the treatment. We conducted follow-up assessments of all patients for at least 12 months （12-99 months）. Results： Symptoms of tics and OCD were significantly relieved at a 12-month follow-up assessment. The mean YGTSS score was 74.04 ± 11.52, 49.83 ± 10.91, 32.58 ± 7.97, and 31.21 ± 8.87 at baseline, 3, 6, and 12 months, respectively. The mean YGTSS scores obtained at the follow-up assessments were significantly different from the baseline （P 〈 0.05）. The improvement in motor tics was superior to that in phonic tics. The mean Y-BOCS scores were 21.61 ± 4.97, 18 ± 4.58, 14.39 ± 3.99, and 13.78 ± 4.56 at baseline, 3, 6, and 12 months, respectively （P 〈 0.05）. We observed a remarkable improvement in psychiatric comorbidities, such as OCD and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, after the procedure. WAIS-RC scores were comparable before and after the operation. There were no severe postoperative complications. Conclusion： GPi-DBS appears to comprehensively alleviate tic symptoms and psychiatric comorbidities in patients with TS, thus significantly improving patients＇ quality of life.

Evolutionary Computation for Expensive Optimization:A Survey

Expensive optimization problem(EOP) widely exists in various significant real-world applications. However, EOP requires expensive or even unaffordable costs for evaluating candidate solutions, which is expensive for the algorithm to find a satisfactory solution. Moreover, due to the fast-growing application demands in the economy and society, such as the emergence of the smart cities, the internet of things, and the big data era, solving EOP more efficiently has become increasingly essential in various fields, which poses great challenges on the problem-solving ability of optimization approach for EOP. Among various optimization approaches, evolutionary computation(EC) is a promising global optimization tool widely used for solving EOP efficiently in the past decades. Given the fruitful advancements of EC for EOP, it is essential to review these advancements in order to synthesize and give previous research experiences and references to aid the development of relevant research fields and real-world applications. Motivated by this, this paper aims to provide a comprehensive survey to show why and how EC can solve EOP efficiently. For this aim, this paper firstly analyzes the total optimization cost of EC in solving EOP. Then, based on the analysis, three promising research directions are pointed out for solving EOP, which are problem approximation and substitution, algorithm design and enhancement, and parallel and distributed computation. Note that, to the best of our knowledge, this paper is the first that outlines the possible directions for efficiently solving EOP by analyzing the total expensive cost. Based on this, existing works are reviewed comprehensively via a taxonomy with four parts, including the above three research directions and the real-world application part. Moreover, some future research directions are also discussed in this paper. It is believed that such a survey can attract attention, encourage discussions, and stimulate new EC research ideas for solving EOP and related real-world applications more efficiently.

Chemical Composition Effect on Microstructures and Mechanical Properties in Friction Stir Additive Manufacturing

The variation of chemical compositions can affect the mechanical property of friction stir additive manufacturing(FSAM).Quantitative characterization of the relationship between the chemical composition and the mechanical property of FSAM components is key to control the quality of FSAM components.The effect of chemical composition on the mechanical property of 6 xxx series aluminum alloy FSAM joint was studied by both experimental and numerical methods.A moving heat source model was established to simulate the heat transfer in FSAM process.The average grain size was calculated by Monte Carlo model,and the precipitate evolution model was used to calculate the hardness and constitutive stress-strain relationship.The validity of the numerical model was verified by experiments.Results indicate that the hardness and yield stress of 6 xxx series aluminum alloy FSAW joint can be enhanced by increasing silicon or magnesium contents.By increasing the content of magnesium(silicon),the volume fraction and the mean radius of MgSi can be increased when the content of silicon(magnesium) is excessive.With the decrease in volume fraction,the average grain size can be increased.By changing the weight percentage of magnesium and silicon in different layers,the hardness and yield stress along the build direction can be controlled.