Flexible Strain Sensors with Ultra‑High Sensitivity and Wide Range Enabled by Crack‑Modulated Electrical Pathways

This study presents a breakthrough in flexible strain sensor technology with the development of an ultrahigh sensitivity and wide-range sensor,addressing the critical challenge of reconciling sensitivity with measurement range.Inspired by the structure of bamboo slips,we introduce a novel approach that utilises liquid metal to modulate the electrical pathways within a cracked platinum fabric electrode.The resulting sensor demonstrates a gauge factor greater than 108 and a strain measurement capability exceeding 100%.The integration of patterned liquid metal enables customisable tuning of the sensor’s response,while the porous fabric structure ensures superior comfort and air permeability for the wearer.Our design not only optimises the sensor’s performance but also enhances the electrical stability that is essential for practical applications.Through systematic investigation,we reveal the intrinsic mechanisms governing the sensor’s response,offering valuable insights for the design of wearable strain sensors.The sensor’s exceptional performance across a spectrum of applications,from micro-strain to large-strain detection,highlights its potential for a wide range of real-world uses,demonstrating a significant advancement in the field of flexible electronics.

Novel Methodologies for Preventing Crack Propagation in Steel Gas Pipelines Considering the Temperature Effect

Using the software ANSYS-19.2/Explicit Dynamics,this study performedfinite-element modeling of the large-diameter steel pipeline cross-section for the Beineu-Bozoy-Shymkent gas pipeline with a non-through straight crack,strengthened by steel wire wrapping.The effects of the thread tensile force of the steel winding in the form of single rings at the crack edges and the wires with different winding diameters and pitches were also studied.The results showed that the strengthening was preferably executed at a minimum value of the thread tensile force,which was 6.4%more effective than that at its maximum value.The analysis of the influence of the winding dia-meters showed that the equivalent stresses increased by 32%from the beginning of the crack growth until the wire broke.The increment in winding diameter decelerated the disclosure of the edge crack and reduced its length by 8.2%.The analysis of the influence of the winding pitch showed that decreasing the distance between the winding turns also led to a 33.6%reduction in the length of the straight crack and a 7.9%reduction in the maximum stres-ses on the strengthened pipeline cross-section.The analysis of the temperature effect on the pipeline material,within a range from-40℃ to+50℃,resulted in a crack length change of up to 5.8%.As the temperature dropped,the crack length decreased.Within such a temperature range,the maximum stresses were observed along the cen-tral area of the crack,which were equal to 413 MPa at+50℃ and 440 MPa at-40℃.The results also showed that the presence of the steel winding in the pipeline significantly reduced the length of crack propagation up to 8.4 times,depending on the temperature effect and design parameters of prestressing.This work integrated the existing methods for crack localization along steel gas pipelines.

Dynamic Characteristics of Multi-degrees of Freedom System Rotor-bearing System with Coupling Faults of Rub-impact and Crack

Extensive studies on rotor systems with single or coupled multiple faults have been carried out. However these studies are limited to single-span rotor systems. A finite element model for a complex rotor-bearing system with coupled faults is presented. The dynamic responses of the rotor-bearing system are obtained by using the rotor dynamics theory and the modern nonlinear dynamics theory in connection with the continuation-shooting algorithm（commonly used for obtaining a periodic solution for a nonlinear system） for a range of rub-impact clearances and crack depths. The stability and Hopf instability of the periodic motion of the rotor-bearing system with coupled faults are analyzed by using the procedure described. The results indicate that the finite element method is an effective way for determining the dynamic responses of such complex rotor-bearing systems. Further for a rotor system with rub-impact and crack faults, the influences of the clearances are significantly different for different rub-impact stiffness. On the contrary, the influence of crack depths is rather small. The instability speeds of the rotor-bearing system increase due to the presence of the crack fault. The results obtained using the new finite element model, presented for computation and analysis of dynamic responses of the rotor-bearing systems with coupled faults, are in accordance with measurements in experiment. The formulations given can be used for diagnosis of faults, vibration control, and safe and stable operations of real rotor-bearing systems.

Simulations and Experimental Investigation on Motion Stability of a Flexible Rotor-bearing System with a Transverse Crack

In the classical process for stability studies on the rotor-bearing system with crack faults, the simple discrete model is adopted for research on such problems, which neglect some needful dynamical influence factor, such as the material damping, shearing effect and gyroscopic effects, etc. Therefore, it is necessary to find a precise calculation model for simulation of the rotor-bearing system with cracks faults. In this paper, instead of the traditional simple discrete model, finite element （FE） model is adopted to investigate the motion stability of a nonlinear rotor system with crack fault. According to finite element theory, the FE model of the cracked rotor system is established firstly. It should be pointed out that the element where the crack occurs is modeled by a particular crack element and the supports at both ends are simulated by two nonlinear loads. Then, based on dimensionless and dimensionality reduction, the Newmark-[3 method and the shooting method are employed to study the effect of eccentricity and the depth of crack on instability speed and bifurcation feature. Furthermore, the simulation results are verified by some corresponding experiments. The simulation and experimental results show that instability speed does not change monotonically, but decreases firstly and then increases when the amount of eccentricity increases. Moreover, as the type of instability changes, the instability speed jumps concomitantly. Additionally, the presence of crack fault can disturb the oil whirl, as a result, instability speed tends to increase slightly, but it does not affect the type of instability and jumping phenomenon. This research presents an effective and convenient method which uses the finite element method （FEM） to research the motion stability of the nonlinear rotor-bearing system with cracked faults and other nonlinear force, and the proposed method can provide a theoretical reference for stability analysis and vibration control in more complex relevant rotor-bearing system.

A Proposed Systemic Modeling Software for Jujube Fruit Cracking

Jujube fruit cracking has become a major concern in jujube production. It can affect fruit quality and yield and crop productivity, resulting in significant economic loss. Recent advances in jujube fruit cracking research provide opportunities to improve our understanding of the impacts of environmental factors and plant physiological metabolism on jujube fruit cracking. In this article, we have developed a novel systemic modeling software for jujube fruit cracking. The potential function and value of this modeling software are presented. Current issues and future research directions in the modeling of jujube fruit cracking system are also discussed. To our knowledge, this is the first functional and/or integrated modeling software developed for the management of jujube fruit cracking.

Investigation on behavior of crack penetration/deflection at interfaces in intelligent coating system

Based on the three-phase model, the propagation behavior of a matrix crack in an intelligent coating system is investigated by an energy criterion. The effect of the elastic mismatch parameters and the thickness of the interface layer on the ratio of the energy release rate for infinitesimal deflected and penetrated crack is evaluated with the finite element method. The results show that the ratio of the energy release rates strongly depends on the elastic mismatch al between the substrate and the driving layer. It also strongly depends on the elastic mismatch a2 between the driving layer and the sensing layer for a thinner driving layer when a primary crack reaches an interface between the substrate and the driving layer. Moreover, with the increase in the thickness of the driving layer, the dependence on a2 gradually decreases. The experimental observation on aluminum alloys monitored with intelligent coating shows that the established model can better explain the behavior of matrix crack penetration and can be used in optimization design of intelligent coating.

Dynamic Characteristics of Rotor System with a Slant Crack Based on Fractional Damping

The traditional modeling method of rotor system with a slant crack considers only integer-order calculus.However,the model of rotor system based on integer-order calculus can merely describe local characteristics,not historical dependent process.The occur of fractional order calculus just makes up for the deficiency in integer-order calculus.Therefore,a new dynamic model with a slant crack based on fractional damping is proposed.Here,the stiffness of rotor system with a slant crack is solved by zero stress intensity factor method.The proposed model is simulated by Runge-Kutta method and continued fraction Euler method.The influence of the fractional order,rotating speed,and crack depth on the dynamic characteristics of rotor system is discussed.The simulation results show that the amplitude of torsional excitation frequency increases significantly with the increase of the fractional order.With the increase of the rotating speed,the amplitude of first harmonic component becomes gradually larger,the amplitude of the second harmonic becomes smaller,while the amplitude of the other frequency components is almost invariant.The shaft orbit changes gradually from an internal 8-type shape to an ellipse-type shape without overlapping.With the increase of the slant crack depth,the amplitude of the transverse response frequency in the rotor system with a slant crack increases,and the amplitude in the second harmonic component also increases significantly.In addition,the torsional excitation frequency and other coupling frequency components also occur.The proposed model is further verified by the experiment.The valuable conclusion can provide an important guideline for the fault diagnosis of rotor system with a slant crack.

Crack Fault Diagnosis and Location Method for a Dual-Disk Hollow Shaft Rotor System Based on the Radial Basis Function Network and Pattern Recognition Neural Network

The crack fault is one of the most common faults in the rotor system,and researchers have paid close attention to its fault diagnosis.However,most studies focus on discussing the dynamic response characteristics caused by the crack rather than estimating the crack depth and position based on the obtained vibration signals.In this paper,a novel crack fault diagnosis and location method for a dual-disk hollow shaft rotor system based on the Radial basis function(RBF)network and Pattern recognition neural network(PRNN)is presented.Firstly,a rotor system model with a breathing crack suitable for a short-thick hollow shaft rotor is established based on the finite element method,where the crack's periodic opening and closing pattern and different degrees of crack depth are considered.Then,the dynamic response is obtained by the harmonic balance method.By adjusting the crack parameters,the dynamic characteristics related to the crack depth and position are analyzed through the amplitude-frequency responses and waterfall plots.The analysis results show that the first critical speed,first subcritical speed,first critical speed amplitude,and super-harmonic resonance peak at the first subcritical speed can be utilized for the crack fault diagnosis.Based on this,the RBF network and PRNN are adopted to determine the depth and approximate location of the crack respectively by taking the above dynamic characteristics as input.Test results show that the proposed method has high fault diagnosis accuracy.This research proposes a crack detection method adequate for the hollow shaft rotor system,where the crack depth and position are both unknown.

Multi-objective modeling and optimization for scheduling of cracking furnace systems

Cracking furnace is the core device for ethylene production. In practice, multiple ethylene furnaces are usually run in parallel. The scheduling of the entire cracking furnace system has great significance when multiple feeds are simultaneously processed in multiple cracking furnaces with the changing of operating cost and yield of product. In this paper, given the requirements of both profit and energy saving in actual production process, a multi-objective optimization model contains two objectives, maximizing the average benefits and minimizing the average coking amount was proposed. The model can be abstracted as a multi-objective mixed integer non- linear programming problem. Considering the mixed integer decision variables of this multi-objective problem, an improved hybrid encoding non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm with mixed discrete variables （MDNSGA-II） is used to solve the Pareto optimal front of this model, the algorithm adopted crossover and muta- tion strategy with multi-operators, which overcomes the deficiency that normal genetic algorithm cannot handle the optimization problem with mixed variables. Finally, using an ethylene plant with multiple cracking furnaces as an example to illustrate the effectiveness of the scheduling results by comparing the optimization results of multi-objective and single objective model.

Modeling of grout crack of rockbolt grouted system

This paper presents a numerical study on the pullout behavior of the rockholt grouted system. Among the complicated failure modes of the rockbolt grouted system, the crack of the grout is concerned here. A tri- linear cohesive zone model （CZM） is used to simulate the inteffacial behavior of rockbolt-grout interface： and a plastic damaged model is adopted for the grout materials. The feasibility of the numerical method is verified by comparing the calculated results with the test observations. The numerical results indicate that two types of cracks of the grout materials can be identified as the inclined crack and the horizontal crack. The inclined crack forms firstly and then the horizontal crack. Both cracks can reduce the interracial shear stress and thus reduce the load transfer efficiency. Further analysis indicates that the crack of the gout material can induce the obvious drops of load capacity, which is not a safe failure mode. This study leads to a better understanding of the mechanism for rockbolt grouted system.

Dynamic Stability Analysis of Periodically Time-Varying Rotor System with a Transverse Crack

Fatigue cracks may appear in horizontal rotating machinery due to periodic stresses imposed to its shaft. The investigation of stability behavior of cracked rotors can lead to proper diagnosis of machinery and to prevent possible accidents caused by the rotor failure. In this study, the dynamic stability of a rotor with a transverse crack is investigated. Models of both open and breathing cracks are developed and then used in the model of a cracked Jeffcot (de Laval) rotor. The stability of rotor motion equations represented by differential equations with periodic coefficients is investigated using Floquet theory. While both crack models show instability regions around the first un-damped frequency, sub-harmonic regions are predicted by the breathing crack models. Compared to perturbation methods frequently used to determine the stability regions, the transition matrix approach used in this study can be applied to complex models of rotors and consequently may help in the identification of cracks in rotating machinery.

Aluminum Alloy Fatigue Crack Damage Prediction Based on Lamb Wave-Systematic Resampling Particle Filter Method

Fatigue crack prediction is a critical aspect of prognostics and health management research.The particle filter algorithm based on Lamb wave is a potential tool to solve the nonlinear and non-Gaussian problems on fatigue growth,and it is widely used to predict the state of fatigue crack.This paper proposes a method of lamb wavebased early fatigue microcrack prediction with the aid of particle filters.With this method,which the changes in signal characteristics under different fatigue crack lengths are analyzed,and the state-and observation-equations of crack extension are established.Furthermore,an experiment is conducted to verify the feasibility of the proposed method.The Root Mean Square Error(RMSE)of the three different resampling methods are compared.The results show the system resampling method has the highest prediction accuracy.Furthermore,the factors affected by the accuracy of the prediction are discussed.

Recent research progress in the mechanism and suppression of fusion welding-induced liquation cracking of nickel based superalloys

Nickel-based superalloys are extensively used in the crucial hot-section components of industrial gas turbines,aeronautics,and astronautics because of their excellent mechanical properties and corrosion resistance at high temperatures.Fusion welding serves as an effective means for joining and repairing these alloys;however,fusion welding-induced liquation cracking has been a challenging issue.This paper comprehensively reviewed recent liquation cracking,discussing the formation mechanisms,cracking criteria,and remedies.In recent investigations,regulating material composition,changing the preweld heat treatment of the base metal,optimizing the welding process parameters,and applying auxiliary control methods are effective strategies for mitigating cracks.To promote the application of nickel-based superalloys,further research on the combination impact of multiple elements on cracking prevention and specific quantitative criteria for liquation cracking is necessary.

Exploring an eco-friendly approach to improve soil tensile behavior and cracking resistance

Soil tensile strength is a critical parameter governing the initiation and propagation of tensile cracking.This study proposes an eco-friendly approach to improve the tensile behavior and crack resistance of clayey soils.To validate the feasibility and efficacy of the proposed approach,direct tensile tests were employed to determine the tensile strength of the compacted soil with different W-OH treatment concentrations and water contents.Desiccation tests were also performed to evaluate the effectiveness of W-OH treatment in enhancing soil tensile cracking resistance.During this period,the effects of W-OH treatment concentration and water content on tensile properties,soil suction and microstructure were investigated.The tensile tests reveal that W-OH treatment has a significant impact on the tensile strength and failure mode of the soil,which not only effectively enhances the tensile strength and failure displacement,but also changes the brittle failure behavior into a more ductile quasi-brittle failure behavior.The suction measurements and mercury intrusion porosimetry(MIP)tests show that W-OH treatment can slightly reduce soil suction by affecting skeleton structure and increasing macropores.Combined with the microstructural analysis,it becomes evident that the significant improvement in soil tensile behavior through W-OH treatment is mainly attributed to the W-OH gel's ability to provide additional binding force for bridging and encapsulating the soil particles.Moreover,desiccation tests demonstrate that W-OH treatment can significantly reduce or even inhibit the formation of soil tensile cracking.With the increase of W-OH treatment concentration,the surface crack ratio and total crack length are significantly reduced.This study enhances a fundamental understanding of eco-polymer impacts on soil mechanical properties and provides valuable insight into their potential application for improving soil crack resistance.

Experimental study of the damage characteristics of rocks containing non-penetrating cracks under cyclic loading

The damage evolution process of non-penetrating cracks often causes some unexpected engineering disasters.Gypsum specimens containing non-penetrating crack(s)are used to study the damage evolution and characteristics under cyclic loading.The results show that under cyclic loading,the relationship between the number of non-penetrating crack(s)and the characteristic parameters(cyclic number,peak stress,peak strain,failure stress,and failure strain)of the pre-cracked specimens can be represented by a decreasing linear function.The damage evolution equation is fitted by calibrating the accumulative plastic strain for each cycle,and the damage constitutive equation is proposed by the concept of effective stress.Additionally,non-penetrating cracks are more likely to cause uneven stress distribution,damage accumulation,and local failure of specimen.The local failure can change the stress distribution and relieve the inhibition of non-penetrating crack extension and eventually cause a dramatic destruction of the specimen.Therefore,the evolution process caused by non-penetrating cracks can be regarded as one of the important reasons for inducing rockburst.These results are expected to improve the understanding of the process of spalling formation and rockburst and can be used to analyze the stability of rocks or rock structures.

Effect of icosahedral phase formation on the stress corrosion cracking(SCC)behaviors of the as-cast Mg-8%Li(in wt.%)based alloys

Through exploring the stress corrosion cracking(SCC)behaviors of the as-cast Mg-8%Li and Mg-8%Li-6%Zn-1.2%Y alloys in a 0.1 M NaCl solution,it revealed that the SCC susceptibility index(I_(SCC))of the Mg-8%Li alloy was 47%,whilst the I_(SCC)of the Mg-8%Li-6%Zn-1.2%Y alloy was 68%.Surface,cross-sectional and fractography observations indicated that for the Mg-8%Li alloy,theα-Mg/β-Li interfaces acted as the preferential crack initiation sites and propagation paths during the SCC process.With regard to the Mg-8%Li-6%Zn-1.2%Y alloy,the crack initiation sites included the I-phase and the interfaces of I-phase/β-Li andα-Mg/β-Li,and the preferential propagation paths were the I-phase/β-Li andα-Mg/β-Li interfaces.Moreover,the SCC of the two alloys was concerned with hydrogen embrittlement(HE)mechanism.

Thermally-induced cracking behaviors of coal reservoirs subjected to cryogenic liquid nitrogen shock

The benefits of using cryogenic liquid nitrogen shock to enhance coal permeability have been confirmed from experimental perspectives.In this paper,we develop a fully coupled thermo-elastic model in combination with the strain-based isotropic damage theory to uncover the cooling-dominated cracking behaviors through three typical cases,i.e.coal reservoirs containing a wellbore,a primary fracture,and a natural fracture network,respectively.The progressive cracking processes,from thermal fracture initiation,propagation or cessation,deflection,bifurcation to multi-fracture interactions,can be well captured by the numerical model.It is observed that two hierarchical levels of thermal fractures are formed,in which the number of shorter thermal fractures consistently exceeds that of the longer ones.The effects of coal properties related to thermal stress levels and thermal diffusivity on the fracture morphology are quantified by the fracture fractal dimension and the statistical fracture number.The induced fracture morphology is most sensitive to changes in the elastic modulus and thermal expansion coefficient,both of which dominate the complexity of the fracture networks.Coal reservoir candidates with preferred thermal-mechanical properties are also recommended for improving the stimulation effect.Further findings are that there exists a critical injection temperature and a critical in-situ stress difference,above which no thermal fractures would be formed.Preexisting natural fractures with higher density and preferred orientations are also essential for the formation of complex fracture networks.The obtained results can provide some theoretical support for cryogenic fracturing design in coal reservoirs.

Archimedes Spiral Cracks Developed in a Nanofilm/Substrate System

Perfect Archimedes spiral cracks at micrometer scales are found in a colloid film of several hundred nanometers in thickness coated on a glass substrate.To explain the formation of this kind of spiral crack,the relation between the geometrical properties of the Archimedes spiral and the growth kinematics of the spiral cracks are analyzed.Meanwhile,the initiation and propagation of the spiral cracks are speculated upon logically from the specific material system based on sufficient evidence.In addition,we introduce a new cracking phenomenon and provide an insight into the new mechanism for crack propagation in soft material nano films coated on stiff substrates.

Surface crack evolution patterns in freeze-thaw damage of fissured rock bodies

To explore the effects of freeze‒thaw cycles on the mechanical properties and crack evolution of fissured sandstone,biaxial compression experiments were carried out on sandstone subjected to freeze‒thaw cycles to characterize the changes in the physical and mechanical properties of fissured sandstone caused by freeze‒thaw cycles.The crack evolution and crack change process on the surface of the fissured sandstone were recorded and analysed in detail via digital image technology(DIC).Numerical simulation was used to reveal the expansion process and damage mode of fine-scale cracks under the action of freeze‒thaw cycles,and the simulation results were compared and analysed with the experimental data to verify the reliability of the numerical model.The results show that the mass loss,porosity,peak stress and elastic modulus all increase with increasing number of freeze‒thaw cycles.With an increase in the number of freeze‒thaw cycles,a substantial change in displacement occurs around the prefabricated cracks,and a stress concentration appears at the crack tip.As new cracks continue to sprout at the tips of the prefabricated cracks until the microcracks gradually penetrate into the main cracks,the displacement cloud becomes obviously discontinuous,and the contours of the displacement field in the crack fracture damage area simply intersect with the prefabricated cracks to form an obvious fracture.The damage patterns of the fractured sandstone after freeze‒thaw cycles clearly differ,forming a symmetrical"L"-shaped damage pattern at zero freeze‒thaw cycles,a symmetrical"V"-shaped damage pattern at 10 freeze‒thaw cycles,and a"V"-shaped damage pattern at 20 freeze‒thaw cycles.After 20 freeze‒thaw cycles,a"V"-shaped destruction pattern and"L"-shaped destruction pattern are formed;after 30 freeze‒thaw cycles,an"N"-shaped destruction pattern is formed.This shows that the failure mode of fractured sandstone gradually becomes more complicated with an increasing number of freeze‒thaw cycles.The effects of freeze‒thaw cycles on the direction and rate of crack propagation are revealed through a temperature‒load coupled model,which provides an important reference for an in-depth understanding of the freeze‒thaw failure mechanisms of fractured rock masses.

Asymptotic solutions for buckling delamination induced crack propagation in the thin film-compliant substrate system

In a thin film-substrate system in-plane compressive stress is commonly generated in the film due to thermal mismatch in operation or fabrication process. If the stress exceeds a critical value, part of the film may buckle out of plane along the defective interface. After buckling delamination, the interface crack at the ends may propagate. In the whole process, the compliance of the substrate compared with the film plays an important role. In this work, we study a circular film subject to compressive stress on an infinitely thick substrate. We study the effects of compliance of the substrate by modeling the system as a plate on an elastic foundation. The critical buckling condition is formulated. The asymptotic solutions of post-buckling deformation and the corresponding energy release rate of the interface crack are obtained with perturbation methods. The results show that the more compliant the substrate is, the easier for the film to buckle and easier for the interface crack to propagate after buckling.