Investigation of the block toppling evolution of a layered model slope by centrifuge test and discrete element modeling

Primary toppling usually occurs in layered rock slopes with large anti-dip angles.In this paper,the block toppling evolution was explored using a large-scale centrifuge system.Each block column in the layered model slope was made of cement mortar.Some artificial cracks perpendicular to the block column were prefabricated.Strain gages,displacement gages,and high-speed camera measurements were employed to monitor the deformation and failure processes of the model slope.The centrifuge test results show that the block toppling evolution can be divided into seven stages,i.e.layer compression,formation of major tensile crack,reverse bending of the block column,closure of major tensile crack,strong bending of the block column,formation of failure zone,and complete failure.Block toppling is characterized by sudden large deformation and occurs in stages.The wedge-shaped cracks in the model incline towards the slope.Experimental observations show that block toppling is mainly caused by bending failure rather than by shear failure.The tensile strength also plays a key factor in the evolution of block toppling.The simulation results from discrete element method(DEM)is in line with the testing results.Tensile stress exists at the backside of rock column during toppling deformation.Stress concentration results in the fragmented rock column and its degree is the most significant at the slope toe.

Microstructure and Hot Tearing Sensitivity Simulation and Parameters Optimization for the Centrifugal Casting of Al-Cu Alloy

Four typical theories on the formation of thermal tears:strength,liquid film,intergranular bridging,and solidifica-tion shrinkage compensation theories.From these theories,a number of criteria have been derived for predicting the formation of thermal cracks,such as the stress-based Niyama,Clyne,and RDG(Rapaz-Dreiser-Grimaud)criteria.In this paper,a mathematical model of horizontal centrifugal casting was established,and numerical simulation analysis was conducted for the centrifugal casting process of cylindrical Al-Cu alloy castings to investigate the effect of the centrifugal casting process conditions on the microstructure and hot tearing sensitivity of alloy castings by using the modified RDG hot tearing criterion.Results show that increasing the centrifugal rotation and pouring speeds can refine the microstructure of the alloy but increasing the pouring and mold preheating temperatures can lead to an increase in grain size.The grain size gradually transitions from fine grain on the outer layer to coarse grain on the inner layer.Meanwhile,combined with the modified RDG hot tearing criterion,the overall distribution of the castings’hot tearing sensitivity was analyzed.The analysis results indicate that the porosity in the middle region of the casting was large,and hot tearing defects were prone to occur.The hot tearing tendency on the inner side of the casting was greater than that on the outer side.The effects of centrifugal rotation speed,pouring temperature,and preheating temperature on the thermal sensitivity of Al-Cu alloy castings are summarized in this paper.This study revealed that the tendency of alloy hot cracking decreases with the increase of the centrifugal speed,and the maximum porosity of castings decreases first and then increases with the pouring temperature.As the preheating temperature increases,the overall maximum porosity of castings shows a decreasing trend.

Centrifuge modeling of a large-scale surcharge on adjacent foundation

This study investigates the ground and structural response of adjacent raft foundations induced by largescale surcharge by ore in soft soil areas through a 130g centrifuge modeling test with an innovative layered loading device.The prototype of the test is a coastal iron ore yard with a natural foundation of deep soft soil.Therefore,it is necessary to adopt some measures to reduce the influence of the large-scale surcharge on the adjacent raft foundation,such as installing stone columns for foundation treatment.Under an acceleration of 130 g,the model conducts similar simulations of iron ore,stone columns,and raft foundation structures.The tested soil mass has dimensions of 900 mm×700 mm×300 mm(lengthwidthdepth),which is remodeled from the soil extracted from the drilling holes.The test conditions are consistent with the actual engineering conditions and the effects of four-level loading conditions on the composite foundation of stone columns,unreinforced zone,and raft foundations are studied.An automatic layer-by-layer loading device was innovatively developed to simulate the loading process of actual engineering more realistically.The composite foundation of stone columns had a large settlement after the loading,forming an obvious settlement trough and causing the surface of the unreinforced zone to rise.The 12 m surcharge loading causes a horizontal displacement of 13.19 cm and a vertical settlement of 1.37 m in the raft foundation.The stone columns located on both sides of the unreinforced zone suffered significant shear damage at the sand-mud interface.Due to the reinforcement effect of stone columns,the sand layer below the top of the stone columns moves less.Meanwhile,the horizontal earth pressure in the raft foundation zone increases slowly.The stone columns will form new drainage channels and accelerate the dissipation of excess pore pressure.

Numerical Simulation and Entropy Production Analysis of Centrifugal Pump with Various Viscosity

The fluid’s viscosity significantly affects the performance of a centrifugal pump.The entropy production method and leakage are employed to analyze the performance changes under various viscosities by numerical simulation and validated by experiments.The results showed that increasing viscosity reduces both the pump head and efficiency.In addition,the optimal operating point shifts to the left.Leakage is influenced by vortex distribution in the front chamber and boundary layer thickness in wear-ring clearance,leading to an initial increase and subsequent decrease in leakage with increasing viscosity.The total entropy production Spro,Total inside the pump rises with increasing viscosity.The different mechanisms dominate under varying conditions:Turbulent dissipation dominates at low viscosity.Under high-viscosity conditions,energy loss is primarily caused by direct dissipation Spro,D and wall entropy production Spro,W.This study provides a deeper and more objective understanding of the energy characteristics of centrifugal pumps handling fluids of various viscosity,potentially aiding in optimizing pump design and improving energy conversion efficiency.

Performance of composite foundations with different load transfer platforms and substratum stiffness over silty clay

The semi-rigid pile-supported composite foundation is widely used in highway projects due to its effectiveness in increasing the bearing capacity and stability of foundations.It is crucial to understand the stress distribution across the embankment width and the behaviour of unreinforced foundations.Thus,five centrifuge tests were conducted to examine the bearing and deformation behaviours of NPRS(Non-Connected Piled Raft Systems)and GRPS(GeosyntheticReinforced Pile-Supported systems)with varying substratum stiffness,then a comparative analysis was conducted on embankment settlement,pressures underneath the embankments,and axial forces along the piles.The results indicated that greater substratum stiffness correlates with reduced settlement and deformation at various depths.Deformation occurring 5 meters from the embankment toe includes settlement in NPRS and upward movement in GRPS.The potential sliding surface is primarily located within the embankment in NPRS,whereas it may extend through both the embankment and foundation in GRPS.The pile-soil stress ratio and efficiency in NPRS are higher than in GRPS across the embankment.The axial force borne by end-bearing piles is significantly greater than that by floating piles.As the buried depth increases,the axial force in GRPS initially rises then declines,whereas in NPRS,it remains relatively constant within a certain range before decreasing.This study aids in assessing the applicability of composite foundations in complex railway environments and provides a reference for procedural measures under similar conditions.

Effect of the sloping seabed on 3D soil-spudcan interaction using a material point-finite element(MPM-FEM)model

The sloping seabed affects the bearing capacity and failure mechanism of soil,which may compromise the stability and safety of offshore structures such as jack-up platforms.This paper employs a coupled model combining the material point method and finite element method(MPM-FEM)to analyze the impact of sloping seabeds on the three-dimensional soil-spudcan interaction.The MPM-FEM model implements the B¯approach to solve the challenge of volumetric locking due to the incompressibility constraints imposed by yield criterion.It is validated against the centrifuge results.The effects of sloping seabeds on penetration resistance,soil flow pattern,lateral response,stress distribution,and failure mechanism are discussed.The soil mainly undergoes overall failure when the ratio of penetration depth to spudcan diameter(i.e.D P/D)is between 0 and 0.25.As the slope angle increases,the soil on the side of lower slope is expelled further,resulting in an asymmetric stress distribution and a larger horizontal sliding force of soil.When D P/D increases to 0.75,the soil transitions to localized plastic flow failure,and the range of soil flow affected by the spudcan penetration decreases.The results show that,when the slope angle increases,the lateral displacement and stress distribution on the lower slope of a sloping seabed is significantly larger than that of a horizontal seabed,impacting the spudcan and surrounding soil behavior.The study suggests that the seabed slope significantly affects the range of soil flow and failure at shallow penetration,indicating that the slope angle should be taken into account in the design and installation of offshore jack-up rigs,particularly in areas with sloping seabeds.

Adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cell-incorporated PLLA porous microspheres for cartilage regeneration

Background:In facial plastic surgery,patients with nasal deformity are often treated by rib cartilage transplantation.In recent years,cartilage tissue engineering has developed as an alternative to complex surgery for patients with minor nasal defects via injection of nasal filler material.In this study,we prepared an injectable nasal filler material containing poly-L-l actic acid(PLLA)porous microspheres(PMs),hyaluronic acid(HA)and adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells(ADMSCs).Methods:We seeded ADMSCs into as-prepared PLLA PMs using our newly invented centrifugation perfusion technique.Then,HA was mixed with ADMSC-i ncorporated PLLA PMs to form a hydrophilic and injectable cell delivery system(ADMSCincorporated PMH).Results:We evaluated the biocompatibility of PMH in vitro and in vivo.PMH has good injectability and provides a favorable environment for the proliferation and chondrogenic differentiation of ADMSCs.In vivo experiments,we observed that PMH has good biocompatibility and cartilage regeneration ability.Conclusion:In this study,a injectable cell delivery system was successfully constructed.We believe that PMH has potential application in cartilage tissue engineering,especially in nasal cartilage regeneration.

Transient Experiments on a Prototype Pump with an Atypical Open Impeller for Different Discharge Valve Openings

In order to obtain the transient characteristics of a low-speed centrifugal pump during the start-up and shutdown stages,dedicated experimental tests were conducted with eight different valve opening conditions.The Pearson correlation coefficient was used to reveal the linear correlation between variables.According to the results,the stable rotational speed decreases with increasing valve opening(rotational speed decreases from approximately 1472 to 1453 r/min),while the stable shaft power exhibits an increasing trend(shaft power increases from approximately 0.242 to 0.390 kW).The stable time and zeroing time of each parameter during start-up and shutdown processes vary,with the flow zeroing time significantly increasing with the relative flow,reaching up to 10.468 s,while the shaft power zeroing time is roughly between 1.219 and 1.375 s.The results demonstrate that with increasing valve opening,the stable and zeroing time of flow significantly increase(|r|greater than 0.95),while the stable and zeroing time of rotational speed,power,and head display a smaller sensitivity on the valve opening(|r|less than 0.6).

Blade Wrap Angle Impact on Centrifugal Pump Performance:Entropy Generation and Fluid-Structure Interaction Analysis

The centrifugal pump is a prevalent power equipment widely used in different engineering patterns,and the impeller blade wrap angle significantly impacts its performance.A numerical investigation was conducted to analyze the influence of the blade wrap angle on flow characteristics and energy distribution of a centrifugal pump evaluated as a low specific speed with a value of 69.This study investigates six impellermodels that possess varying blade wrap angles(95°,105°,115°,125°,135°,and 145°)that were created while maintaining the same volute and other geometrical characteristics.The investigation of energy loss was conducted to evaluate the values of total and entropy generation rates(TEG,EGR).The fluid-structure interaction was considered numerically using the software tools ANSYS Fluent and ANSYSWorkbench.The elastic structural dynamic equation was used to estimate the structural response,while the shear stress transport k–ωturbulence model was utilized for the fluid domain modeling.The findings suggest that the blade wrap angle has a significant influence on the efficiency of the pump.The impeller featuring a blade wrap angle of 145°exhibits higher efficiency,with a notable increase of 3.76%relative to the original model.Variations in the blade wrap angle impact the energy loss,shaft power,and pump head.The model with a 145°angle exhibited a maximum equivalent stress of 14.8MPa and a total deformation of 0.084 mm.The results provide valuable insights into the intricate flow mechanism of the centrifugal pump,particularly when considering various blade wrap angles.

Experimental Analysis of Radial Centrifugal Pump Shutdown

Centrifugal pumps are widely used in the metallurgy,coal,and building sectors.In order to study the hydraulic characteristics of a closed impeller centrifugal pump during its shutdown in the so-called power frequency and frequency conversion modes,experiments were carried to determine the characteristic evolution of parameters such as speed,inlet and outlet pressure,head,flow rate and shaft power.A quasi-steady-state method was also used to further investigate these transient behaviors.The results show that,compared to the power frequency input,the performance parameter curves for the frequency conversion input are less volatile and smoother.The characteristic time is longer and the response to shutdown is slower.The quasi-steady-state theoretical head-flow curves match the experimental head-flow curves more closely at low flow rates when the frequency conversion input is considered.Moreover,in this case,the similarity law predicts the hydraulic performance more accurately.

Numerical analysis on seismic performance of underground structures in liquefiable interlayer sites from centrifuge shaking table test

When an underground structure passes through a liquefiable soil layer,the soil liquefaction may pose a significant threat to the structure.A centrifuge shaking table test was performed to research the seismic response of underground structures in liquefiable interlayer sites,and a valid numerical model was obtained through simulation model test.Finally,the calibrated numerical model was used to perform further research on the influence of various distribution characteristics of liquefiable interlayers on the seismic reaction of underground structures.The key findings are as follows.The structure faces the most unfavorable condition once a liquefiable layer is located in the middle of the underground structure.When a liquefiable layer exists in the middle of the structure,the seismic reactions of both the underground structure and model site will increase with the rise of the thickness of the liquefiable interlayer.The inter-story drift of the structure in the non-liquefiable site is much smaller than that in the liquefiable interlayer site.The inter-story drift of the structure is not only associated with the site displacement and the soil-structure stiffness ratio but also closely associated with the slippage of the soil-structure contact interface under the condition of large deformation of the site.

Effect of the Density of Molten Metal on the Raining Phenomenon in Horizontal Centrifugal Casting

In this work the influence of the density of the molten metal on the emergence of the raining phenomenon in the horizontal centrifugal casting process is numerically studied. Transient 2D numerical simulations were carried out using Computational Fluid Dynamics software. Three molten metals with different density, namely aluminum, iron and lead, and three angular frequencies, namely 50, 66 and 77 rad/s were considered. It is found that the density of the molten metal significantly affects the emergence, transient or permanent, of the rain phenomenon. However, the magnitude and duration of the rain phenomenon depend on the angular frequency of the rotating mold. Likewise, since gravitational forces affect the metal according to its density, the value of the critical rotation speed of the mold is also affected.

Defining honeybee subspecies in an evolutionary context warrants strategized conservation

Despite the urgent need for conservation consideration,strategic action plans for the preservation of the Asian honeybee,Apis cerana Fabricius,1793,remain lacking.Both the convergent and divergent adaptations of this widespread insect have led to confusing phenotypical traits and inconsistent infraspecific taxonomy.Unclear subspecies boundaries pose a significant challenge to honeybee conservation efforts,as it is difficult to effectively prioritize conservation targets without a clear understanding of subspecies identities.Here,we investigated genome variations in 362 worker bees representing almost all populations of mainland A.cerana to understand how evolution has shaped its population structure.Whole-genome single nucleotide polymorphisms(SNPs)based on nuclear sequences revealed eight putative subspecies,with all seven peripheral subspecies exhibiting mutually exclusive monophyly and distinct genetic divergence from the widespread central subspecies.Our results demonstrated that most classic morphological traits,including body size,were related to the climatic variables of the local habitats and did not reflect the true evolutionary history of the organism.Thus,such morphological traits were not suitable for subspecific delineation.Conversely,wing vein characters showed relative independence to the environment and supported the subspecies boundaries inferred from nuclear genomes.Mitochondrial phylogeny further indicated that the present subspecies structure was a result of multiple waves of population divergence from a common ancestor.Based on our findings,we propose that criteria for subspecies delineation should be based on evolutionary independence,trait distinction,and geographic isolation.We formally defined and described eight subspecies of mainland A.cerana.Elucidation of the evolutionary history and subspecies boundaries enables a customized conservation strategy for both widespread and endemic honeybee conservation units,guiding colony introduction and breeding.

Effect of melt-to-solid volume ratio and preheating temperature on Mg/Al bimetals interface by centrifugal casting

Compound casting is an efficient method for bonding dissimilar metals,in which a dramatic reaction can occur between the melt and solid.The centrifugal casting process,a type of compound casting,was applied to cast Al/Mg dissimilar bimetals.Magnesium melt was poured at 700 °C,with melt-to-solid volume ratios(Vm/Vs) of 1.5 and 3,into a preheated hollow aluminum cylinder.The preheating temperatures of the solid part were 320,400,and 450 °C,and the constant rotational speed was 1,600 rpm.The cast parts were kept inside the casting machine until reaching the cooling temperature of 150 °C.The result showed that an increase in preheating temperature from 320 to 450 °C led to an enhanced reaction layer thickness.In addition,an increase in the Vm/Vs from 1.5 to 3 resulted in raising the interface thickness from 1.2 to 1.8 mm.Moreover,the interface was not continuously formed when a Vm/Vs of 3 was selected.In this case,the force of contraction overcame the resultant acting force on the interface.An interface formed at the volume ratio of 1.5 was examined using scanning electron microscopy(SEM) equipped with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy(EDS),and the results demonstrated the formation of Al_(3)Mg_(2),Al_(12)Mg_(17) and(δ+Al_(12)Mg_(17)) eutectic structures in the interface.

Discrete Optimization on Unsteady Pressure Fluctuation of a Centrifugal Pump Using ANN and Modified GA

Pressure fluctuation due to rotor-stator interaction in turbomachinery is unavoidable,inducing strong vibration in the equipment and shortening its lifecycle.The investigation of optimization methods for an industrial centrifugal pump was carried out to reduce the intensity of pressure fluctuation to extend the lifecycle of these devices.Considering the time-consuming transient simulation of unsteady pressure,a novel optimization strategy was proposed by discretizing design variables and genetic algorithm.Four highly related design parameters were chosen,and 40 transient sample cases were generated and simulated using an automatic program.70%of them were used for training the surrogate model,and the others were for verifying the accuracy of the surrogate model.Furthermore,a modified discrete genetic algorithm(MDGA)was proposed to reduce the optimization cost owing to transient numerical simulation.For the benchmark test,the proposed MDGA showed a great advantage over the original genetic algorithm regarding searching speed and effectively dealt with the discrete variables by dramatically increasing the convergence rate.After optimization,the performance and stability of the inline pump were improved.The efficiency increased by more than 2.2%,and the pressure fluctuation intensity decreased by more than 20%under design condition.This research proposed an optimization method for reducing discrete transient characteristics in centrifugal pumps.

A Comparative study on generalized Manev potential and Newtonian potential in perturbed restricted four-body problem

The motion of a test particle within the context of the restricted four-body problem(R4BP)driven by a new kind of potential,called the generalized Manev potential,with perturbations in the Coriolis and centrifugal forces is considered in this study.The system possesses eight libration points which were distributed on its plane of motion in different manner from those of the usual Newtonian potential.Unlike the case of the perturbed R4BP under Newtonian potential,where two of these librations are stable,all of them are unstable in linear sense under Manev potential.We found that a gradual perturbation in the centrifugal force causes the trajectories of motion to drift inward but the Coriolis force was proven to have no effect on the location of the libration points of the system.Using first order Lyapunov characteristic exponents,the dynamical behavior of the system is found irregular.We experimented with a high velocity stellar system(82 G.Eridani)to establish the applicability of the model in astrophysics.

A modified generalized scaling law for the similitude of dynamic strain in centrifuge modeling

Soil strain is the key parameter to control the elasto-plastic deformation and even the failure processes.To overcome the defect that the strain of the model soil is always smaller than that of the prototype in Iai′s generalized scaling law(GSL),a modified scaling law was proposed based on Iai′s GSL to secure the same dynamic shear strain between the centrifuge model and the prototype by modulating the amplitude and frequency of the input motion at the base.A suite of dynamic centrifuge model tests of dry sand level ground was conducted with the same overall scaling factor(λ=200)under different centrifugal accelerations by using the technique of“modeling of models”to validate the modified GSL.The test results show that the modified GSL could achieve the same dynamic strain in model as that of the prototype,leading to better modeling for geotechnical problems where dynamic strain dominates the response or failure of soils.Finally,the applicability of the proposed scaling law and possible constraints on geometry scaling due to the capability limits of existing centrifuge shaking tables are discussed.

Experimental and Numerical Investigation on High-Pressure Centrifugal Pumps:Ultimate Pressure Formulation,Fatigue Life Assessment and Topological Optimization of Discharge Section

A high percentage of failure in pump elements originates from fatigue.This study focuses on the discharge section behavior,made of ductile iron,under dynamic load.An experimental protocol is established to collect the strain under pressurization and depressurization tests at specific locations.These experimental results are used to formulate the ultimate pressure expression function of the strain and the lateral surface of the discharge section and to validate finite element modeling.Fe-Safe is then used to assess the fatigue life cycle using different types of fatigue criteria(Coffin-Manson,Morrow,Goodman,and Soderberg).When the pressure is under 3000 PSI,pumps have an unlimited service life of 107 cycles,regardless of the criterion.However,for a pressure of 3555 PSI,only the Morrow criterion denotes a significant decrease in fatigue life cycles,as it considers the average stress.The topological optimization is then applied to the most critical pump model(with the lowest fatigue life cycle)to increase its fatigue life.Using the solid isotropic material with a penalization approach,the Abaqus Topology OptimizationModule is employed.The goal is to reduce the strain energy density while keeping the volume within bounds.According to the findings,a 5%volume reduction causes the strain energy density to decrease from 1.06 to 0.66106 J/m^(3).According to Morrow,the fatigue life cycle at 3,555 PSI is 782,425 longer than the initial 309,742 cycles.

Performance Prediction of an Optimized Centrifugal Pump with High Efficiency

The main structural parameters of the IR100-80-100A type chemical centrifugal pump have been optimized by means of an orthogonal test approach.The centrifugal pump has been modeled using the CFturbo software,and 16 sets of orthogonal-test schemes have been defined on the basis of 4 parameters,namely,the blade number,blade outlet angle,impeller outlet diameter,and impeller outlet width.Such analysis has been used to determine the influence of each index parameter on the pump working efficiency and identify a set of optimal combinations of such parameters.The internalflowfield in the centrifugal pump has been simulated by using the PumLinx software.These numerical results have shown that,compared with the prototype pump,the outlet pressure and shaft power of the optimized pump can be significantly reduced,and the pump working efficiency can be improved by 5.59%.In the present study,some arguments are also provided to demonstrate that,with respect to other optimization methods,the orthogonal test approach is more convenient,and requires less test times.

Optimal Structural Parameters for a Plastic Centrifugal Pump Inducer

The aim of the study is to determine the optimal structural parameters for a plastic centrifugal pump inducer within the framework of an orthogonal experimental method.For this purpose,a numerical study of the related flow field is performed using CFX.The shaft power and the head of the pump are taken as the evaluation indicators.Accordingly,the examined variables are the thickness(S),the blade cascade degree(t),the blade rim angle(β1),the blade hub angle(β2)and the hub length(L).The impact of each structural parameter on each evaluation index is examined and special attention is paid to the following combinations:S2 mm,t 2,β1235°,β2360°and L 140 mm(corresponding to a maximum head of 98.15 m);S 5 mm,t 1.6,β1252°,β2350°and L 140 mm(corresponding to a minimum shaft power of 63.06 KW).Moreover,using least squares and fish swarm algorithms,the pump shaft power and head are further optimized,yielding the following optimal combination:S 5 mm,t 1.9,β1252°,β2360°and L 145 mm(corresponding to the maximum head of 91.90 m,and a minimum shaft power of 64.83 KW).