Numerical simulation of microstructure and microporosity morphology in directional solidification of aluminum-copper alloys:Effect of copper content and withdrawal rate

Microporosity formed in the solidification process of Al alloys is detrimental to the alloy properties.A two-dimensional cellular automaton(CA)model was developed to simulate the microstructure and microporosity formation in Al-Cu alloys,considering variations in Cu content and solidification rate.The results indicate that the Cu content primarily influences the growth of microporosity.To validate the model,directional solidification experiments were conducted on Al-Cu alloys with varing Cu contents and withdrawal rates.The experimental results of dendrites and microporosity characteristics agree well with the predictions from the developed model,thus confirming the validity of the model.The alloy’s liquidus temperature,dendrite morphology,and hydrogen saturation solubility arising from different Cu contents have significant effects on microporosity morphology.The withdrawal rate primarily affects the nucleation of hydrogen microporosity by altering cooling rates and dendritic growth rates,resulting in different microporosity characteristics.

Estimation of the anisotropy of hydraulic conductivity through 3D fracture networks using the directional geological entropy

With an extension of the geological entropy concept in porous media,the approach called directional entrogram is applied to link hydraulic behavior to the anisotropy of the 3D fracture networks.A metric called directional entropic scale is used to measure the anisotropy of spatial order in different directions.Compared with the traditional connectivity indexes based on the statistics of fracture geometry,the directional entropic scale is capable to quantify the anisotropy of connectivity and hydraulic conductivity in heterogeneous 3D fracture networks.According to the numerical analysis of directional entrogram and fluid flow in a number of the 3D fracture networks,the hydraulic conductivities and entropic scales in different directions both increase with spatial order(i.e.,trace length decreasing and spacing increasing)and are independent of the dip angle.As a result,the nonlinear correlation between the hydraulic conductivities and entropic scales from different directions can be unified as quadratic polynomial function,which can shed light on the anisotropic effect of spatial order and global entropy on the heterogeneous hydraulic behaviors.

Bioinspired directional structures for inhibiting wetting on super-melt-philic surfaces above 1200°C

Over the past two decades,superhydrophobic surfaces that are easily created have aroused considerable attention for their superior performances in various applications at room temperature.Nowadays,there is a growing demand in special fields for the development of surfaces that can resist wetting by high-temperature molten droplets(>1200°C)using facile design and fabrication strategies.Herein,bioinspired directional structures(BDSs)were prepared on Y2O3-stabilized ZrO2(YSZ)surfaces using femtosecond laser ablation.Benefiting from the anisotropic energy barriers,the BDSs featured with no additional modifiers showed a remarkable increase from 9.2°to 60°in the contact angle of CaO–MgO–Al2O3–SiO2(CMAS)melt and a 70.1%reduction in the spreading area of CMAS at 1250°C,compared with polished super-CMAS-melt-philic YSZ surfaces.Moreover,the BDSs demonstrated exceptional wetting inhibition even at 1400°C,with an increase from 3.3°to 31.3°in contact angle and a 67.9%decrease in spreading area.This work provides valuable insight and a facile preparation strategy for effectively inhibiting the wetting of molten droplets on super-melt-philic surfaces at extremely high temperatures.

Study of the pressure transient behavior of directional wells considering the effect of non-uniform flux distribution

During the production,the fluid in the vicinity of the directional well enters the wellbore with different rates,leading to non-uniform flux distribution along the directional well.However,in all existing studies,it is oversimplified to a uniform flux distribution,which can result in inaccurate results for field applications.Therefore,this paper proposes a semi-analytical model of a directional well based on the assumption of non-uniform flux distribution.Specifically,the direction well is discretized into a carefully chosen series of linear sources,such that the complex well trajectory can be captured and the nonuniform flux distribution along the wellbore can be considered to model the three-dimensional flow behavior.By using the finite difference method,we can obtain the numerical solutions of the transient flow within the wellbore.With the aid of Green's function method,we can obtain the analytical solutions of the transient flow from the matrix to the wellbore.The complete flow behavior of a directional well is perfectly represented by coupling the above two types of transient flow.Subsequently,on the basis of the proposed model,we conduct a comprehensive analysis of the pressure transient behavior of a directional well.The computation results show that the flux variation along the direction well has a significant effect on pressure responses.In addition,the directional well in an infinite reservoir may exhibit the following flow regimes:wellbore afterflow,transition flow,inclined radial flow,elliptical flow,horizontal linear flow,and horizontal radial flow.The horizontal linear flow can be observed only if the formation thickness is much smaller than the well length.Furthermore,a dip region that appears on the pressure derivative curve indicates the three-dimensional flow behavior near the wellbore.

MSD-Net: Pneumonia Classification Model Based on Multi-Scale Directional Feature Enhancement

Computer-aided diagnosis of pneumonia based on deep learning is a research hotspot.However,there are some problems that the features of different sizes and different directions are not sufficient when extracting the features in lung X-ray images.A pneumonia classification model based on multi-scale directional feature enhancement MSD-Net is proposed in this paper.The main innovations are as follows:Firstly,the Multi-scale Residual Feature Extraction Module(MRFEM)is designed to effectively extract multi-scale features.The MRFEM uses dilated convolutions with different expansion rates to increase the receptive field and extract multi-scale features effectively.Secondly,the Multi-scale Directional Feature Perception Module(MDFPM)is designed,which uses a three-branch structure of different sizes convolution to transmit direction feature layer by layer,and focuses on the target region to enhance the feature information.Thirdly,the Axial Compression Former Module(ACFM)is designed to perform global calculations to enhance the perception ability of global features in different directions.To verify the effectiveness of the MSD-Net,comparative experiments and ablation experiments are carried out.In the COVID-19 RADIOGRAPHY DATABASE,the Accuracy,Recall,Precision,F1 Score,and Specificity of MSD-Net are 97.76%,95.57%,95.52%,95.52%,and 98.51%,respectively.In the chest X-ray dataset,the Accuracy,Recall,Precision,F1 Score and Specificity of MSD-Net are 97.78%,95.22%,96.49%,95.58%,and 98.11%,respectively.This model improves the accuracy of lung image recognition effectively and provides an important clinical reference to pneumonia Computer-Aided Diagnosis.

Effects of cooling rate on microstructure and microhardness of directionally solidified Galvalume alloy

The influences of cooling rate on the phase constitution,microstructural length scale,and microhardness of directionally solidified Galvalume(Zn-55Al-1.6Si)alloy were investigated by directional solidification experiments at different withdrawal speeds(5,10,20,50,100,200,and 400μm·s^(-1)).The results show that the microstructure of directionally solidified Galvalume alloys is composed of primary Al dendrites,Si-rich phase and(Zn-Al-Si)ternary eutectics at the withdrawal speed ranging from 5 to 400μm·s^(-1).As the withdrawal speed increases,the segregation of Si element intensifies,resulting in an increase in the area fraction of the Si-rich phase.In addition,the primary Al dendrites show significant refinement with an increase in the withdrawal speed.The relationship between the primary dendrite arm spacing(λ_(1))and the thermal parameters of solidification is obtained:λ_(1)=127.3V^(-0.31).Moreover,as the withdrawal speed increases from 5 to 400μm·s^(-1),the microhardness of the alloy increases from 90 HV to 151 HV.This is a combined effect of grain refinement and second-phase strengthening.

Numerical simulation on directional solidification and heat treatment processes of turbine blades

Study on turbine blades is crucial due to their critical role in ensuring the efficient and reliable operation of aircraft engines.Nickel-based single crystal superalloys are extensively used in the hot manufacturing of turbine blades due to their exceptional high-temperature mechanical properties.The hot manufacturing of single crystal blades involves directional solidification and heat treatment.Experimental manufacturing of these blades is time-consuming,capital-intensive,and often insufficient to meet industrial demands.Numerical simulation techniques have gained widespread acceptance in blade manufacturing research due to their low energy consumption,high efficiency,and rapid turnaround time.This article introduces the modeling and simulation of hot manufacturing in single crystal blades.The discussion outlines the prevalent mathematical models employed in numerical simulations related to blade hot manufacturing.It encapsulates the advancements in research concerning macro to micro-level numerical simulation techniques for directional solidification and heat treatment processes.Furthermore,potential future trajectories for the numerical simulation of single crystal blade hot manufacturing are also discussed.

Dependence of microstructure and mechanical properties on solidification condition of directionally solidified Zn-55Al-1.6Si alloys

In this study,directional solidification was utilized to explore the relationship between microstructure,mechanical properties,and withdrawal speeds of Zn-55Al-1.6Si alloys.In order to assess the characteristics of Zn-55Al-1.6Si alloys,both the microstructure and mechanical properties were thoroughly analyzed.This involved conducting room temperature tensile tests on samples with different withdrawal speeds(5,10,100,200,and 400μm·s^(-1)).The results reveal that both the as-cast alloy and samples after directional solidification are composed of zinc,aluminum,and silicon phases.As the withdrawal speed increases,an evident decrease in the size of the primary dendrites is observed.The results of tensile experiments show that Zn-55Al-1.6Si alloys after directional solidification exhibit brittle fracture characteristics,both the tensile strength and elongation of the alloys increase with withdrawal speed.

Security-Enhanced Directional Modulation Based on Two-Dimensional M-WFRFT

Directional modulation(DM)is one of the most promising secure communication techniques.However,when the eavesdropper is co-located with the legitimate receiver,the conventional DM has the disadvantages of weak anti-scanning capability,anti-deciphering capability,and low secrecy rate.In response to these problems,we propose a twodimensional multi-term weighted fractional Fourier transform aided DM scheme,in which the legitimate receiver and the transmitter use different transform terms and transform orders to encrypt and decrypt the confidential information.In order to further lower the probability of being deciphered by an eavesdropper,we use the subblock partition method to convert the one-dimensional modulated signal vector into a twodimensional signal matrix,increasing the confusion of the useful information.Numerical results demonstrate that the proposed DM scheme not only provides stronger anti-deciphering and anti-scanning capabilities but also improves the secrecy rate performance of the system.

Failure mechanism of directional roof cutting and design method optimization

Directional roof cutting(DRC)is one of the key techniques in non-pillar coal mining with self-formed entries(NCMSE)mining method.Due to the inability to accurately measure the expansion coefficient of the goaf rock mass,the implementation of this technology often encounters design challenges,leading to suboptimal results and increased costs.This paper establishes a structural analysis model of the goaf working face roof,revealing the failure mechanism of DRC,and clarifies the positive role of DRC in improving the stress of the roadway surrounding rock and reducing the subsidence of the roof through numerical simulation experiments.On this basis,the paper further analyses the roadway pressure and roof settlement under different DRC design heights,and ultimately proposes an optimized design method for the DRC height.The results indicate that the implementation of DRC can significantly optimize the stress environment of the working face roadway surrounding rock.At the same time,during the application of DRC,three scenarios may arise:insufficient,reasonable,and excessive DRC height.Insufficient height will significantly reduce the effectiveness of the technology,while excessive height has little impact on the implementation effect but will greatly increase construction costs and difficulty.Engineering verification shows that the optimized DRC design method proposed in this paper reduces the peak stress of the protective coal pillar in the roadway by 27.2%and the central subsidence of the roof by 41.8%,demonstrating excellent application results.This method provides technical support for the further promotion of NCMSE mining method.

Effect of TiB_(2) Nanoparticles on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Ni_(60)Cr_(21)Fe_(19) Alloy in Rapid Directional Solidification Process:Molecular Dynamics Study

Molecular dynamics(MD)simulations are employed to delve into the multifaceted effects of TiB_(2) nanoparticles on the intricate grain refinement mechanism,microstructural evolution,and tensile performance of Inconel 718 superalloys during the rapid directional solidification.Specifically,the study focuses on elucidating the role of TiB2 nanoparticles in augmenting the nucleation rate during the rapid directional solidification process of Ni_(60)Cr_(21)Fe_(19) alloy system.Furthermore,subsequent tensile simulations are conducted to comprehensively evaluate the anisotropic behavior of tensile properties within the solidified microstructures.The MD results reveal that the incorporation of TiB₂nanoparticles during the rapid directional solidification of the Ni_(60)Cr_(21)Fe_(19) significantly enhances the average nucleation rate,escalating it from 1.27×10^(34)m^(-3)·s^(-1)to 2.55×10^(34)m^(-3)·s^(-1).Notably,within the face centered cube(FCC)structure,Ni atoms exhibit pronounced compositional segregation,and the solidified alloy maintains an exceptionally high dislocation density reaching up to 10^(16)m^(-2).Crucially,the rapid directional solidification process imparts a distinct microstructural anisotropy,leading to a notable disparity in tensile strength.Specifically,the tensile strength along the solidification direction is markedly superior to that perpendicular to it.This disparity arises from different deformation mechanisms under varying loading orientations.Tensile stress perpendicular to the solidification direction encourages the formation of smooth and organized mechanical twins.These twins act as slip planes,enhancing dislocation mobility and thereby improving stress relaxation and dispersion.Moreover,the results underscore the profound strengthening effect of TiB_(2) nanoparticles,particularly in enhancing the tensile strength along the rapid directional solidification direction.

Individual tree segmentation in occluded complex forest stands through ellipsoid directional searching and point compensation

Terrestrial laser scanning(TLS)accurately captures tree structural information and provides prerequisites for treescale estimations of forest biophysical attributes.Quantifying tree-scale attributes from TLS point clouds requires segmentation,yet the occlusion effects severely affect the accuracy of automated individual tree segmentation.In this study,we proposed a novel method using ellipsoid directional searching and point compensation algorithms to alleviate occlusion effects.Firstly,region growing and point compensation algorithms are used to determine the location of tree roots.Secondly,the neighbor points are extracted within an ellipsoid neighborhood to mitigate occlusion effects compared with k-nearest neighbor(KNN).Thirdly,neighbor points are uniformly subsampled by the directional searching algorithm based on the Fibonacci principle in multiple spatial directions to reduce memory consumption.Finally,a graph describing connectivity between a point and its neighbors is constructed,and it is utilized to complete individual tree segmentation based on the shortest path algorithm.The proposed method was evaluated on a public TLS dataset comprising six forest plots with three complexity categories in Evo,Finland,and it reached the highest mean accuracy of 77.5%,higher than previous studies on tree detection.We also extracted and validated the tree structure attributes using manual segmentation reference values.The RMSE,RMSE%,bias,and bias%of tree height,crown base height,crown projection area,crown surface area,and crown volume were used to evaluate the segmentation accuracy,respectively.Overall,the proposed method avoids many inherent limitations of current methods and can accurately map canopy structures in occluded complex forest stands.

Unleashing the Potential of Unidirectional Mechanical Materials: Breakthroughs and Promising Applications

The emergence of mechanically one-way materials presents an exciting opportunity for materials science and engineering. These substances exhibit unique nonreciprocal mechanical responses, enabling them to selectively channel mechanical energy and facilitate directed sound propagation, controlled mass transport, and concentration of mechanical energy amidst random motion. This article explores the fundamentals of mechanically one-way materials, their potential applications across various industries, and the economic and environmental considerations related to their production and use.

Direct Photolithography of WO_(x) Nanoparticles for High‑Resolution Non‑Emissive Displays

High-resolution non-emissive displays based on electrochromic tungsten oxides(WOx)are crucial for future near-eye virtual/augmented reality interactions,given their impressive attributes such as high environmental stability,ideal outdoor readability,and low energy consumption.However,the limited intrinsic structure of inorganic materials has presented a significant challenge in achieving precise patterning/pixelation at the micron scale.Here,we successfully developed the direct photolithography for WOx nanoparticles based on in situ photo-induced ligand exchange.This strategy enabled us to achieve ultra-high resolution efficiently(line width<4μm,the best resolution for reported inorganic electrochromic materials).Additionally,the resulting device exhibited impressive electrochromic performance,such as fast response(<1 s at 0 V),high coloration efficiency(119.5 cm^(2) C^(−1)),good optical modulation(55.9%),and durability(>3600 cycles),as well as promising applications in electronic logos,pixelated displays,flexible electronics,etc.The success and advancements presented here are expected to inspire and accelerate research and development(R&D)in high-resolution non-emissive displays and other ultra-fine micro-electronics.

Immune indicators and depression in adolescents:Associations with monocytes,lymphocytes,and direct bilirubin

BACKGROUND Depression is a significant psychiatric disorder with particularly high prevalence among adolescents.This mental health condition can have severe consequences,including academic failure,social withdrawal,and suicidal behavior.Given the increasing rate of depression in this age group,understanding the underlying biological mechanisms is essential for early detection and intervention.Recent studies have suggested that immune markers play a role in the pathophysiology of depression,prompting further investigation of their potential association with depressive symptoms in adolescents.AIM To investigate the relationship between immune markers(monocytes,lymphocytes,and direct bilirubin)and the incidence and severity of depression among adolescents.METHODS This cross-sectional study recruited 145 adolescent patients with depression[male(M)/female(F)=38/107]from Jiangbin Hospital in Guangxi,Zhuang and 163 healthy controls(M/F=77/86)from routine health check-ups.Blood samples were collected after an overnight fast.Depression severity was measured using the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale.The inclusion criteria were age 12-24 years,diagnosis of depressive disorder(ICD-10),and no recent antidepressant use.The exclusion criteria included psychiatric comorbidities and serious somatic diseases.Key statistical methods included group comparisons and correlation analyses.RESULTS There was a higher prevalence of females in the depression group(P<0.001).Significant age differences were observed between the groups(Z=9.43,P<0.001).The depression group had higher monocyte(Z=3.43,P<0.001)and lymphocyte(t=2.29,P<0.05)counts,and higher serum direct bilirubin levels(Z=4.72,P<0.001).Monocyte count varied significantly according to depression severity,with lower counts in the mild group(Z=-2.90,P<0.05).A negative correlation between age and lymphocyte counts was observed(ρ=-0.22,P<0.01).Logistic regression analysis showed that serum direct bilirubin levels significantly predicted depression.CONCLUSION The potential role of elevated levels of immune markers in the early detection of depression in adolescents has been highlighted.Therefore,it is necessary to explore further the relationships between these immune markers and depression.

Mesoscopic fracture damage evolution and fractal damage constitutive model of heat-treated red sandstone under direct tensile impact loadings

Understanding the mesoscopic tensile fracture damage of rock is the basis of evaluating the deterioration process of mechanical properties of heat-damaged rock. For this, tensile tests of rocks under high-temperature treatment were conducted with a ϕ75 mm split Hopkinson tension bar (SHTB) to investigate the mesoscopic fracture and damage properties of rock. An improved scanning electron microscopy (SEM) experimental method was used to analyze the tensile fracture surfaces of rock samples. Qualitative and quantitative analyses were performed to assess evolution of mesoscopic damage of heat-damaged rock under tensile loading. A constitutive model describing the mesoscopic fractal damage under thermo-mechanical coupling was established. The results showed that the high temperatures significantly reduced the tensile strength and fracture surface roughness of the red sandstone. The three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction of the fracture surface of the samples that experienced tensile failure at 900 °C showed a flat surface. The standard deviation of elevation and slope angle of specimen fracture surface first increased and then decreased with increasing temperature. The threshold for brittle fracture of the heat-damaged red sandstone specimens was 600 °C. Beyond this threshold temperature, local ductile fracture occurred, resulting in plastic deformation of the fracture surface during tensile fracturing. With increase of temperature, the internal meso-structure of samples was strengthened slightly at first and then deteriorated gradually, which was consistent with the change of macroscopic mechanical properties of red sandstone. The mesoscopic characteristics, such as the number, mean side length, maximum area, porosity, and fractal dimension of crack, exhibited an initial decline, followed by a gradual increase. The development of microcracks in samples had significant influence on mesoscopic fractal dimension. The mesoscopic fractal characteristics were used to establish a mesoscopic fractal damage constitutive model for red sandstone, and the agreement between the theoretical and experimental results validated the proposed model.

Anomalous yield and intermediate temperature brittleness behaviors of directionally solidified nickel-based superalloy

A nickel-based superalloy with good corrosion resistance was fabricated by directional solidification, and its microstructure and tensile properties at elevated temperatures were investigated. Microstructure observations reveal that the γ＇ precipitates are arrayed in the y matrix regularly with some MC, Ni5Hf and M3B2 particles distributed along the grain boundary. The tensile tests exhibit that the tensile properties depend on temperature significantly and demonstrate obvious anomalous yield and intermediate-temperature brittleness （ITB） behavior. Below 650℃, the yield strength decreases slightly but the ultimate tensile strength almost has no change. When the temperature is between 650 ℃ and 750 ℃, the yield and ultimate tensile strengths rise rapidly, and after then they both decrease gradually with temperature increasing further. The elongation has its minimum value at about 700 ℃. The TEM examination exhibits that sharing of the γ＇ by dislocation is almost the main deformation mechanism at low temperatures, but the γ＇ by-pass dominates the deformation at high temperatures. The transition temperature from shearing to by-pass should be around 800 ℃. The anomalous yield and intermediate-temperature brittleness behaviors should be attributed to the high content of γ＇. In addition, the carbides and eutectic structure also contribute some to the ITB behaviors of the alloy.

Effect of carbon and boron additions on segregation behavior of directionally solidified nickel-base superalloys with rhenium

The phase transformation temperature, segregation behavior of elements and as-cast microstructure were investigated in experimental nickel-base superalloys with different levels of carbon and boron. The results show that the liquidus temperature decreases gradually but the carbide solvus temperature increases obviously with increasing carbon addition. Minor boron addition to the alloy decreases the liquidus temperature, carbide solvus temperature and solidus temperature slightly. Apart from rhenium, the segregation coefficients of the elements alter insignificantly with the addition of carbon. The segregation behavior of rhenium, tungsten and tantalum become more severe with boron addition. The volume fraction and size of primary carbides increase with increasing carbon addition. The main morphology of the carbides is script-like in the alloys with carbon addition while the carbide sheets tend to be concentrated and coarse in the boron-containing alloys

Effect of traveling magnetic field on dendrite growth of Pb-Sn alloy during directional solidification

The influence of melt convection on dendrite growth during the upward-directional solidification of Pb-33%Sn binary alloys was investigated.The melt convection was modulated by traveling magnetic field.When the direction of traveling magnetic field was changed from upward to downward,the primary dendrite spacing gradually increased,and the distribution peak of the primary dendrite spacing shifted to the field of narrower spacing.These result from the different intensities of melt convection,which are controlled by the traveling magnetic field.The effects of the traveling magnetic field on melt convection are similar to those of adjustment in the gravity level,thus,the primary dendrite spacing varies.When the intensity of the traveling magnetic field was 1 mT,and the drawing speed was 50 μm/s,the gravity acceleration reached 0.22g for the downward-traveling magnetic field and 3.07g for the upward-traveling magnetic field.

Effect of configuration on magnetic field in cold crucible using for continuous melting and directional solidification

To improve the power efficiency and optimize the configuration of cold crucible using for continuous melting and directional solidification （DS）, based on experimental verification, 3D finite element （FE） models with various configuration-elements were developed to investigate the magnetic field in cold crucible. Magnetic flux density （B） was measured and calculated under different configuration parameters. These parameters include the inner diameter （D2）, the slit width （d）, the thickness of crucible wall, the section shape of the slit and the shield ring. The results show that the magnetic flux density in z direction （Bz） both at the slit and at the midpoint of segment will increase with the decrease of D2 or with the increase of the width of the slit and the section area of wedge slit or removing the shield ring. In addition, there is a worst wall thickness that can induce the minimum Bz for a cold crucible with a certain outer diameter.