Effects of mechanical boundary conditions on thermal shock resistance of ultra-high temperature ceramics

The effects of mechanical boundary conditions, often encountered in thermalstructural engineering, on the thermal shock resistance（TSR） of ultra-high temperature ceramics（UHTCs） are studied by investigating the TSR of a UHTC plate with various types of constraints under the first, second, and third type of thermal boundary conditions. The TSR of UHTCs is strongly dependent on the heat transfer modes and severity of the thermal environments. Constraining the displacement of the lower surface in the thickness direction can significantly decrease the TSR of the UHTC plate, which is subject to the thermal shock at the upper surface. In contrast, the TSR of the UHTC plate with simply supported edges or clamped edges around the lower surface is much better.

A review of down-hole tubular string buckling in well engineering

Down-hole tubular string buckling is the most classic and complex part of tubular string mechanics in well engineering. Studies of down-hole tubular string buckling not only have theoretical significance in revealing the buckling mechanism but also have prominent practical value in design and control of tubular strings. In this review, the basic principles and applicable scope of three classic research methods （the beam-column model, buck- ling differential equation, and energy method） are intro- duced. The critical buckling loads and the post-buckling behavior under different buckling modes in vertical, inclined, horizontal, and curved wellbores from different researchers are presented and compared. The current understanding of the effects of torque, boundary condi- tions, friction force, and connectors on down-hole tubular string buckling is illustrated. Meanwhile, some unsolved problems and controversial conclusions are discussed. Future research should be focused on sophisticated description of buckling behavior and the coupling effect of multiple factors. In addition, active control of down-hole tubular string buckling behavior needs some attention urgently.

Effect of grain boundary on the mechanical behaviors of irradiated metals: a review

The design of high irradiation-resistant materials is very important for the development of next-generation nuclear reactors. Grain boundaries acting as effective defect sinks are thought to be able to moderate the deterioration of mechanical behaviors of irradiated materials, and have drawn increasing attention in recent years. The study of the effect of grain boundaries on the mechanical behaviors of irradiated materials is a multi-scale problem. At the atomic level, grain boundaries can effectively affect the production and formation of irradiation-induced point defects in grain interiors, which leads to the change of density, size distribution and evolution of defect clusters at grain level. The change of microstructure would influence the macroscopic mechanical properties of the irradiated polycrystal. Here we give a brief review about the effect of grain boundaries on the mechanical behaviors of irradiated metals from three scales: microscopic scale, mesoscopic scale and macroscopic scale.

Effect of Solution Annealing on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of a Ni-Cr-W-Fe Alloy

The effect of solution annealing on the microstructure and mechanical properties of a Ni-Cr-W-Fe alloy developed for advanced 700？C ultra-supercritical power plants was investigated. Test samples in this study were subjected to different solution treatments and the same aging treatment（at 760？C for 1 h）.When solution annealing temperature was elevated from 1020？C to 1150？C, the stress-rupture life at750？C/320 MPa was increased from 60 h to 300 h, the stress-rupture elongation was enhanced from12% to 17%, and the elongation of the tensile at 750？C was improved from 11% to 24%. All tensile and stress-rupture samples displayed an intergranular dimple mixed fracture. Intergranular micro-cracks had a great relationship with the morphology of grain boundary carbides. Most carbides retained the morphology of globular shape and continuous thin plate. After tensile and stress-rupture tests, a few carbides were converted into lamellar. The results showed that intergranular micro-cracks were easier to form at continuous thin plate carbides than at globular shape carbides. Lamellar carbides hardly caused the nucleation of micro-cracks. Besides, grain boundaries sliding and elements diffusion during stressrupture tests led to the formation of precipitate free zones, which accelerated the extension of microcracks and influenced the stress-rupture life.

Minimal conceptual models for tropical cyclone intensification

We examine a hierarchy of minimal conceptual models for tropical cyclone intensification.These models are framed mostly in terms of axisymmetric balance dynamics.In the first set of models,the heating rate is prescribed in such a way to mimic a deep overturning circulation with convergence in the lower troposphere and divergence in the upper troposphere,characteristic of a region of deep moist convection.In the second set,the heating rate is related explicitly to the latent heat release of ascending air parcels.The release of latent heat markedly reduces the local static stability of ascending air,raising two possibilities in the balance framework.The first possibility is that the effective static stability and the related discriminant in the Eliassen equation for the overturning circulation in saturated air,although small,remains positive so the Eliassen equation is globally elliptic.The second possibility,the more likely one during vortex intensification,is that the effective static stability in saturated air is negative and the Eliassen equation becomes locally hyperbolic.These models help to understand the differences between the early Ooyama models of 1968 and 1969,the Emanuel,1989 model,and the later Emanuel models of 1995,1997 and 2012.They provide insight also into the popular explanation of the WISHE feedback mechanism for tropical cyclone intensification.Some implications for recent work are discussed.