Nonlinear Impact Damage Evolution of Charpy Type and Analysis of Its Key Influencing Factors

The current research of Charpy impact mainly focuses on obtaining the ductile brittle transition temperature of materials by experiments.Compared with experiments,numerical simulation can study many problems with harsh conditions.However,there are still few studies on the influence of geometric factors such as side grooves.In this paper,the geometry of standard Charpy impact test is designed.Specimens with different widths and side grooves are tested.The finite element model of Charpy impact was established by ABAQUS software.Use test results and simulation results to verify each other.The effects of sample width,side groove depth and side groove bottom fillet on the impact fracture resistance of the sample were studied.The results show that the specimen width is positively correlated with the impact toughness of the specimen.The side groove greatly reduces the impact toughness of the material;the toughness of side groove decreases with the increase of depth;the fracture toughness of side groove decreases with the increase of fillet at the bottom of side groove.The proportion of toughness energy to impact energy of samples was analyzed.The results show that the toughness energy accounts for about 70%of the impact energy of the sample,which has little to do with the geometric characteristics of the sample.This study presents a reliable method for studying Charpy impact tests.The influence of geometric parameters is obtained,which provides a reference method for the study of impact toughness of high toughness materials.

A Comparison of Arithmetic Operations for Dynamic Process Optimization Approach

A comparison of arithmetic operations of two dynamic process optimization approaches called quasi-sequential approach and reduced Sequential Quadratic Programming(rSQP)simultaneous approach with respect to equality constrained optimization problems is presented.Through the detail comparison of arithmetic operations,it is concluded that the average iteration number within differential algebraic equations(DAEs)integration of quasi-sequential approach could be regarded as a criterion.One formula is given to calculate the threshold value of average iteration number.If the average iteration number is less than the threshold value,quasi-sequential approach takes advantage of rSQP simultaneous approach which is more suitable contrarily.Two optimal control problems are given to demonstrate the usage of threshold value.For optimal control problems whose objective is to stay near desired operating point,the iteration number is usually small.Therefore,quasi-sequential approach seems more suitable for such problems.

Deactivation mechanism for water splitting:Recent advances

Hydrogen(H_(2)) has been regarded as a promising alternative to fossil-fuel energy.Green H_(2) produced via water electrolysis(WE)powered by renewable energy could achieve a zero-carbon footprint.Considerable attention has been focused on developing highly active catalysts to facilitate the reaction kinetics and improve the energy efficiency of WE.However,the stability of the electrocatalysts hampers the commercial viability of WE.Few studies have elucidated the origin of catalyst degradation.In this review,we first discuss the WE mechanism,including anodic oxygen evolution reaction(OER)and cathodic hydrogen evolution reaction(HER).Then,we provide strategies used to enhance the stability of electrocatalysts.After that,the deactivation mechanisms of the typical commercialized HER and OER catalysts,including Pt,Ni,RuO_(2),and IrO_(2),are summarized.Finally,the influence of fluctuating energy on catalyst degradation is highlighted and in situ characterization methodologies for understanding the dynamic deactivation processes are described.

Lithium Salt Combining Fluoroethylene Carbonate Initiates Methyl Methacrylate Polymerization Enabling Dendrite-Free Solid-State Lithium Metal Battery

This work demonstrates a novel polymerization-derived polymer electrolyte consisting of methyl methacrylate,lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide and fluoroethylene carbonate.The polymerization of MMA was initiated by the amino compounds following an anionic catalytic mechanism.LiTFSI plays both roles including the initiator and Li ion source in the polymer electrolyte.Normally,lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide has difficulty in initiating the polymerization reaction of methyl methacrylate monomer,a very high concentration of lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide is needed for initiating the polymerization.However,the fluoroethylene carbonate additive can work as a supporter to facilitate the degree of dissociation of lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide and increase its initiator capacity due to the high dielectric constant.The as-prepared poly-methyl methacrylate-based polymer electrolyte has a high ionic conductivity(1.19×10^(−3)S cm^(−1)),a wide electrochemical stability window(5 V vs Li^(+)/Li),and a high Li ion transference number(t_(Li^(+)))of 0.74 at room temperature(RT).Moreover,this polymerization-derived polymer electrolyte can effectively work as an artificial protective layer on Li metal anode,which enabled the Li symmetric cell to achieve a long-term cycling performance at 0.2 mAh cm^(−2)for 2800 h.The LiFePO_(4)battery with polymerization-derived polymer electrolyte-modified Li metal anode shows a capacity retention of 91.17%after 800 cycles at 0.5 C.This work provides a facile and accessible approach to manufacturing poly-methyl methacrylate-based polymerization-derived polymer electrolyte and shows great potential as an interphase in Li metal batteries.

Investigation of CFD Calculation Method of a Centrifugal Pump with Unshrouded Impeller

Currently, relatively large errors are found in numerical results in some low-specific-speed centrifugal pumps with unshrouded impeller because the effect of clearances and holes are not accurately modeled. Establishing an accurate analytical model to improve performance prediction accuracy is therefore necessary. In this paper, a three-dimensional numerical simulation is conducted to predict the performance of a low-specific-speed centrifugal pump, and the modeling, numerical scheme, and turbulent selection methods are discussed. The pump performance is tested in a model pump test bench, and flow rate, head, power and efficiency of the pump are obtained. The effect of taking into consideration the back-out vane passage, clearance, and balance holes is analyzed by comparing it with experimental results, and the performance prediction methods are validated by experiments. The analysis results show that the pump performance can be accurately predicted by the improved method. Ignoring the back-out vane passage in the calculation model of unshrouded impeller is found to generate better numerical results. Further, the calculation model with the clearances and balance holes can obviously enhance the numerical accuracy. The application of disconnect interface can reduce meshing difficulty but increase the calculation error at the off-design operating point at the same time. Compared with the standard k-ε, renormalization group k-ε, and Spalart-Allmars models, the Realizable k-ε model demonstrates the fastest convergent speed and the highest precision for the unshrouded impeller flow simulation. The proposed modeling and numerical simulation methods can improve the performance prediction accuracy of the low-specific-speed centrifugal pumps, and the modeling method is especially suitable for the centrifugal pump with unshrouded impeller.

Industrially Experimental Investigations and Development of the Curve-ROD Baffle Heat Exchanger

The conventional heat exchanger with segmental baffles is prone to bring forth fluid-induced vibration of heat transfer tubes and increase the pressure drop of shell-side greatly at higher fluid flow velocity. In order to avoid the above defects, the ROD-baffle heat exchanger has been developed. However, its collocation of heat transfer tubes is conventionally in square, which leads to fewer heat transfer area per unit volume. Based on the ROD-baffle heat exchanger, a new type curve-ROD baffle has been developed, and an industrial investigation of the curve-ROD baffle heat exchanger with normal triangular collocation has been carried into execution. In this paper, two equations using the Reynolds number were acquired to predict the heat transfer coefficients of the shell-side and tube-side. The experimental results show that the shell-side heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics of the curve-ROD baffle heat exchanger are superior to those of the segmental baffle one.

Rarefaction and Temperature Gradient Effect on the Performance of the Knudsen Pump

The prediction of the multiscale flow in the Knudsen pump is important for understanding its pumping mechanism.However,there is little research on such interesting multiscale phenomenon in the Knudsen pumps.In this paper,a novel numerical analysis method combining the direct simulation Monte Carlo（DSMC） method with the smoothed particle hydrodynamics（SPH） method is presented for simulating the multiscale flow,which is often encountered in the application of the Knudsen pumps.Validity and accuracy of the new method are given by comparing its results with that of the previous research.Using the coupled multiscale approach,the rarefaction and the temperature drive are studied,which are two main factors on the performance of the Knudsen pumps.To investigate the effect of rarefaction on the performance of the Knudsen pump,various pump operation pressures are compared.The flow characteristics and pumping ability at different rarefaction are analyzed,and the phenomenon of the multiscale flow is also discussed.Several cases with different linear or nonlinear temperature gradients are set to investigate the effect of temperature gradient on the performance of the Knudsen pump.The flow characteristics of the Knudsen pump such as the velocity,pressure increase,and the mass flowrate are presented.A unique phenomenon,the reverse transpiration effect caused by the nonlinear temperature gradient is studied,and the reason of the significant pressure increase in the pump channel is also analyzed.Since the multiscale gas flow is widely encountered in the microflow systems,the above method and its results can also be greatly beneficial and provide significant insights for the design of the MEMS devices.

A comprehensive review of cavitation in valves:mechanical heart valves and control valves

Valves are widely used in various working conditions for their flow control functions,and the cavitation inside valves has been investigated owing to its harm to the valve itself and the connecting downstream parts.This paper presents a comprehensive review of the progress that has been achieved in the past years about cavitation in valves including both mechanical heart valves and control valves.The review is divided in the following parts,namely the location where there is a high possibility of the occurrence of cavitation,the parameters that affect cavitation intensity,and the methods to minimize cavitation intensity.It should be noticed that although simulation has been widely used,advanced experiments are still needed in order to obtain accurate analysis of cavitation in valves and the cavitation model still needs to be improved.

Extreme Pressure Equipments

Pressure equipments in the process industries and the newly developing industries usually have extreme sizes and/or are subjected to extreme operating conditions such as high pressure,blast loading,cryogenic temperature,elevated temperature,complex corrosion,and so on.In order to understand,research and develop these equipments systematically,a concept of extreme pressure equipments（EPEs） is proposed.The applications and demands of EPEs in petrochemical industry,coal chemical industry,advanced energy,military,space technology,and environment protection are introduced.Basic scientific problems in material,design,inspection, and safety related to EPEs are discussed.Then,take chemical composition,manufacturing process,service duration,and operating conditions for example,main factors which affect material properties of EPEs are analyzed.New design concepts including design based on life cycle,dynamic design and light-weight design are introduced.EPEs with higher efficiency,lower cost and safer performance are in urgent demand in national major projects including ten million ton oil refinery,one million ton ethylene,liquefied natural gas transportation,and nuclear power plant.Thus,further research should be conducted on information acquisition, multi-mechanism damage coupling model,damage inspection,life prediction,online safety monitoring,maintenance strategy,safety pre-warning system,and emergency system.

Spinning from Nature:Engineered Preparation and Application of High-Performance Bio-Based Fibers

Many natural fibers are lightweight and display remarkable strength and toughness.These properties originate from the fibers’hierarchical structures,assembled from the molecular to macroscopic scale.The natural spinning systems that produce such fibers are highly energy efficient,inspiring researchers to mimic these processes to realize robust artificial spinning.Significant developments have been achieved in recent years toward the preparation of high-performance bio-based fibers.Beyond excellent mechanical properties,bio-based fibers can be functionalized with a series of new features,thus expanding their sophisticated applications in smart textiles,electronic sensors,and biomedical engineering.Here,recent progress in the construction of bio-based fibers is outlined.Various bioinspired spinning methods,strengthening strategies for mechanically strong fibers,and the diverse applications of these fibers are discussed.Moreover,challenges in reproducing the mechanical performance of natural systems and understanding their dynamic spinning process are presented.Finally,a perspective on the development of biological fibers is given.

Numerical analysis of temperature rise within 70MPa composite hydrogen vehicle cylinder during fast refueling

The numerical simulation model for predicting fast filling process of 70 MPa type Ⅲ(with metal liner) hydrogen vehicle cylinder was presented,which has considered turbulence,real gas effect and solid heat transfer issues.Through the numerical analysis method,the temperature distributions of the gas within the solid walls were revealed; adiabatic filling was studied to evaluate the heat dissipation during the filling; the influences of various filling conditions on temperature rise were analyzed in detail.Finally,cold filling was proposed to evaluate the effect on temperature rise and SoC(state of charge) within the cylinder.The hydrogen pre-cooling was proved to be an effective solution to reduce maximum temperature and acquire higher SoC during the filling process.

3D FEM analysis of welding residual stress and deformation of aero-engine blisk

Aero-engine blisk welded by electron beam welding（EBW） method is a complicated structure. Fixtures were used to control the deformation of blisk during its manufacturing process. Finite element method was utilized to study the evolution of the welding residual stress and deformation of this structure. In which an attenuation function was applied to the double ellipsoid heat source model based on the characteristic of EBW, and the effects of fixtures on the welding residual stresses and deforamtion were also reserached. The simulation results showed that the temperature contour of weld cross section vertical to the weld centerline followed a ＇＂ V＂ shape. Moreover, large welding residual stress and distortion were found in the interface between blisk and fixtures. The stress concentration was reduced sufficiently in starting and end part of weldment as the fixtures were renmved after welding process, while the removing operation had almost no effects on the welding residual stress in the middle section of weld bead.

Nanoindentation Characterization of Creep-fatigue Interaction on Local Creep Behavior of P92 Steel Welded Joint

In modern fossil and nuclear power plants,the components are subjected to creep,fatigue,and creep-fatigue(CF)due to frequent start-up and shut-down operations at high temperatures.The CF interaction on the in-service P92 steel welded joint was investigated by strain-controlled CF tests with different dwell times of 30,120,300,600 and 900 s at 650℃.Based on the observations of the fracture surface by scanning electron microscope(SEM),the character-istic microstructure of fatigue-induced damage was found for the CF specimens with short dwell times(30 and 120 s).The hardness,elastic modulus and creep deformation near the fracture edges of four typical CF specimens with 30,120,600 and 900 s dwell times were measured by nanoindentation.Compared to specimens with post-weld heat treatment(PWHT),lower hardness and creep strength were found for all CF specimens.In addition,significant reduc-tions in hardness,elastic modulus,and creep strength were measured near the fracture edges for the CF specimens with short dwell times compared to the PWHT specimens.Compared to PWHT specimens(0.007),the increased strain rate sensitivities(SRS)of 0.010 to 0.17 were estimated from secondary creep.The increased values of SRS indicate that the room temperature creeps behavior is strongly affected by the decrease in dislocation density after the CF tests.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of Cu/Al joints brazed using(Cu,Ni,Zr,Er)-modified Al−Si filler alloys

To design a promising Al−Si filler alloy with a relatively low melting-point,good strength and plasticity for the Cu/Al joint,the Cu,Ni,Zr and Er elements were innovatively added to modify the traditional Al−Si eutectic filler.The microstructure and mechanical properties of filler alloys and Cu/Al joints were investigated.The result indicated that the Al−Si−Ni−Cu filler alloys mainly consisted of Al(s,s),Al_(2)(Cu,Ni)and Si(s,s).The Al−10Si−2Ni−6Cu filler alloy exhibited relatively low solidus(521℃)and liquidus(577℃)temperature,good tensile strength(305.8 MPa)and fracture elongation(8.5%).The corresponding Cu/Al joint brazed using Al−10Si−2Ni−6Cu filler was mainly composed of Al_(8)(Mn,Fe)_(2)Si,Al_(2)(Cu,Ni)3,Al(Cu,Ni),Al_(2)(Cu,Ni)and Al(s,s),yielding a shear strength of(90.3±10.7)MPa.The joint strength was further improved to(94.6±2.5)MPa when the joint was brazed using the Al−10Si−2Ni−6Cu−0.2Er−0.2Zr filler alloy.Consequently,the(Cu,Ni,Zr,Er)-modified Al−Si filler alloy was suitable for obtaining high-quality Cu/Al brazed joints.

Shape design of the reinforcement for bending load-carrying capacity of under-matched butt joint under four-point bending load

To improve the bending load-carrying capacity （ BLCC） of under-matched butt joint under four-point bending load in the elastic stage, the shape design of the reinforcement is studied based on the theoretics of mechanics of materials. The concept, criterion, realization condition and design proposal of equal bending load-carrying capacity （EBLCC） are put forward. The theoretical analysis results have been verified by the finite element method. The simulation results are coincident basically with the ones of theoretical analysis. The research results show that the shape design of the reinforcement of EBLCC can improve BLCC of under-matched butt joint and the unilateral-side type reinforcement can replace double-side symmetry

Simulations of the Transient Flow Generated from a Started Flat Plate

Transient operations are commonly founded in fluid machineries such as the starting, stopping, and variations of rotor speeds, etc. Flow generated from a started fiat plate is of fundamental importance. Experiments have been done to observe the flow evolution in current researches. And in order to explore the flow in more detailed scale, some vortex methods with high resolution and other numerical methods were developed to solve various related problems by some researchers. But the promotion of vortex method to engineering application is rare due to its complexity and difficulty in specifying the boundary conditions. In order to build up a method of numerical study for such problems, a simplified model is built up with a flat plate. The development of two-dimensional viscous incompressible flow generated from an impulsively started and uniformly accelerated infinitesimally thin flat plate is simulated numerically. A dynamic mesh（DM） method based on the spring analogue and local remeshing is applied to realize the mesh motion caused by the started plate. Researches show that the mesh quality will decline under large grid shear force during the updating process. To conquer this problem, a region near the plate is separated to guarantee the mesh quality at location of interest which is the innovation of the present paper. All computations at least cover a period during which the plate translates 6 times its length. The simulated instantaneous velocity profiles, flow structures and drag coefficients under several Reynolds numbers （20 ≤ Re ≤ 126） and accelerations （20 m/s2≤ a ≤ 152 m/s2） are presented and compared with existing results in literatures. Comparisons are found to be satisfactory, confirming the validity of the current proposed method（region separated DM）. The proposed DM method is firstly used to study the transient flow generated from a started flat plate and can be used in further study of transient characteristics during transient operations of turbo machineries.

Simulation and analysis of soil homogenization drills based on discrete element method and response surface methodology

Currently,rotary drilling is one of the main pieces of equipment used for in-situ remediation of contaminated soil.However,this equipment has problems such as uneven mixing and low utilization efficiency,which affect the efficiency of in-situ soil remediation.To improve the efficiency of in-situ soil remediation,this paper takes contaminated black soil as the research object,and the structural design of the new three-stage soil remediation auger is carried out based on SolidWorks.The mixing process of soil and heavy metal passivator under different motion and structural parameters was investigated by the discrete element method(DEM)and response surface methodology.The experimental design was based on rotational speed,homogenizing mixing time,crushing section pitch,and homogenizing section pitch as factors,and soil fragmentation ratio,the coefficient of dispersion,and torque as optimization indices.The kinematic and structural parameters of the three-stage auger drill bit were then optimized using the one-factor method,the orthogonal test,and the response surface methodology,respectively.The test method uses a one-way test to determine the central level value of the orthogonal test and a comprehensive balance method to determine the best combination of parameters for the orthogonal test,which is then used as the central value of the response surface test for parameter optimization.The optimal combinations of kinematic and structural parameters of the three-stage auger drill bit are determined and validated using response surface methodology.The optimum combination of parameters was found to be a speed of 129 rpm,a homogenizing mixing time of 24 s,a pitch of 165 mm in the crushing section,and a pitch of 132 mm in the homogenizing section.The error between the optimal value of the predicted model using the response surface method and the actual simulated value under the optimal parameters is 4.2%,4.9%,and 5.3%,respectively.The optimized factor parameters provide a reference for the design of the structural and kinematic parameters of the in-situ homogenization equipment.

New formula for predicting the plastic buckling pressure of steel torispherical heads under internal pressure

Thin-walled torispherical heads under internal pressure can fail by plastic buckling because of compressive circumferential stresses in the head knuckle.However,existing formulas still have limitations,such as complicated expressions and low accuracy,in determining buckling pressure.In this paper,we propose a new formula for calculating the buckling pressure of torispherical heads based on elastic-plastic analysis and experimental results.First,a finite element(FE)method based on the arc-length method is established to calculate the plastic buckling pressure of torispherical heads,considering the effects of material strain hardening and geometrical nonlinearity.The buckling pressure results calculated by the FE method in this paper have good consistency with those of BOSOR5,which is a program for calculating the elastic-plastic bifurcation buckling pressure based on the finite difference energy method.Second,the effects of geometric parameters,material parameters,and restraint form of head edge on buckling pressure are investigated.Third,a new formula for calculating plastic buckling pressure is developed by fitting the curve of FE results and introducing a reduction factor determined from experimental data.Finally,based on the experimental results,we compare the predictions of the new formula with those of existing formulas.It is shown that the new formula has a higher accuracy than the existing ones.

Multi-level coarse-grained discrete element method modeling of cylinder particle flow in a rotating drum

The coarse-grained discrete element method(DEM)is probably a feasible option for simulating an actual drum-type biomass boiler,which contains over 10 million cylinder particles.A multi-level study was conducted based on particle and coarse-grained level data to evaluate the adequacy of the coarse-grained approach in terms of geometrical characteristics,kinematic features,and dynamic properties.Two scaling laws for contact parameters were used and compared during the simulations.The results show that the coarse-grained approach can accurately predict the positions of the free surface and active-passive interface,the mixing index,and the orientation properties.Deviations in the velocity fields may occur due to the worse flowability of coarse-grained particles near the free surface.The efficiency is significantly improved by the coarse-grained model compared with the corresponding original case(the same DEM code without a coarse-grained model was used for the original simulations).

Shape estimation for a TPU-based multi-material 3D printed soft pneumatic actuator using deep learning models

Real-time proprioception presents a significant challenge for soft robots due to their infinite degrees of freedom and intrinsic compliance.Previous studies mostly focused on specific sensors and actuators.There is still a lack of generalizable technologies for integrating soft sensing elements into soft actuators and mapping sensor signals to proprioception parameters.To tackle this problem,we employed multi-material 3D printing technology to fabricate sensorized soft-bending actuators(SBAs)using plain and conductive thermoplastic polyurethane(TPU)filaments.We designed various geometric shapes for the sensors and investigated their strain-resistive performance during deformation.To address the nonlinear time-variant behavior of the sensors during dynamic modeling,we adopted a data-driven approach using different deep neural networks to learn the relationship between sensor signals and system states.A series of experiments in various actuation scenarios were conducted,and the results demonstrated the effectiveness of this approach.The sensing and shape prediction steps can run in real-time at a frequency of50 Hz on a consumer-level computer.Additionally,a method is proposed to enhance the robustness of the learning models using data augmentation to handle unexpected sensor failures.All the methods are efficient,not only for in-plane 2D shape estimation but also for out-of-plane 3D shape estimation.The aim of this study is to introduce a methodology for the proprioception of soft pneumatic actuators,including manufacturing and sensing modeling,that can be generalized to other soft robots.