Numerical study of geyser events in rainstorm systems at different scales

Considering that we still do not fully understand the behavior of air pockets trapped in rainstorm systems and water flow changes inside pipes,the study of actual geysers presents many challenges.In this study,three-dimensional numerical models were developed to investigate the mechanisms of geyser events triggered by rapid filling flows at different scales.The results showed that,in the first stage of the water–air mixture of the prototype model,a large amount of air was released quickly,and the subsequent overflow lasted for a more extended period.The transport capacity of the downstream pipe,as a critical factor,significantly influenced the water–air interaction of the geyser.Restricting the outlet area and increasing the outlet pressure simultaneously resulted in a stronger geyser.The equivalent density of the water–air mixture increased as the scale decreased during the geyser event.

Numerical Simulation of Contamination Accumulation Characteristics of Composite Insulators in Salt Fog Environment

To investigate the fouling characteristics of the composite insulator surface under the salt fog environment,the FXBW-110/120-2 composite insulator was taken as the research object.Based on the field-induced charge mechanism,the multi-physical field coupling software COMSOL was used to numerically simulate the fouling characteristics,explored the calculation method of ESDD,and demonstrated its rationality.Based on this method,the pollution characteristics of the composite insulator under the pollution fog environment were studied,and the influence of wind speed,droplet size,and voltage type on the pollution characteristics of the composite insulator was analyzed.The results showed that:with the increase in wind speed,the amount of accumulated pollution of insulator increases in the range of droplet size,and the relationship between wind speed and accumulated pollution is approximately linear;at the same wind speed,the amount of accumulated pollution increases with the increase of droplet size under the action of DC voltage;when there is no voltage,the amount of dirt on the upper surface of the insulator is more than that on the lower surface,while it is the opposite under DC voltage.

THEORETICAL INVESTIGATION ON BY-ONLY-CURRENT ELECTROMAGNETIC SEPARATION OF INCLUSION FROM MOLTEN METALS

The electromagnetic field under applied AC and DC current in round and rectangular pipe was systematically investigated, then a concept of 'equivalent current density' was proposed for evaluating the inhomogeneous electromagnetic pinch force, and the mono-component removal efficiency and the overall removal efficiency of inclusion were formulated. It is founded that flat pipe is superior to round pipe for the electromagnetic removal of inclusion, and DC current can get a higher removal efficiency than A C current due to absence of skin phenomenon. Under usual condition, a removal efficiency of 52% for 10μm inclusion or more than 92% for 20μm inclusion can be achieved by imposing a current density of 3×106A/m2 in a flat pipe.

A LS-SVM （Least Squares Support Vector Machines） Approach for Predicting Critical Flashover Voltage of Polluted Insulators

LS-SVM （least squares support vector machines） are a class of kemel machines emphasizing on primal-dual aspects in a constrained optimization framework. LS-SVMs aim at extending methodologies typical of classical support vector machines for problems beyond classification and regression. This paper describes a methodology that was developed for the prediction of the critical flashover voltage of polluted insulators by using a LS-SVM. The methodology uses as input variables characteristics of the insulator such as diameter, height, creepage distance, form factor and equivalent salt deposit density. The estimation offlashover performance of polluted insulators is based on field experience and laboratory tests are invaluable as they significantly reduce the time and labour involved in insulators design and selection. The majority of the variables to be predicted are dependent upon several independent variables. The results from this work are useful to predict the contamination severity, critical flashover voltage as a function of contamination severity, arc length, and especially to predict the flashover voltage. The validity of the approach was examined by testing several insulators with different geometries. Moreover, the performance of the proposed approach with other intelligence method based on ANN （artificial neural networks） is compared. It can be concluded that the LS-SVM approach has better generalization ability that assist the measurement and monitoring of contamination severity, flashover voltage and leakage current.

Novel Ring Compression Test Method to Determine the Stress-Strain Relations and Mechanical Properties of Metallic Materials

Although there are methods for testing the stress-strain relation and strength,which are the most fundamental and important properties of metallic materials,their application to small-volume materials and tube components is lim-ited.In this study,based on energy density equivalence,a new dimensionless elastoplastic load-displacement model for compressed metal rings with isotropy and constitutive power law is proposed to describe the relations among the geometric dimensions,Hollomon law parameters,load,and displacement.Furthermore,a novel test method was developed to determine the elastic modulus,stress-strain relation,yield and tensile strength via ring compression test.The universality and accuracy of the method were verified within a wide range of imaginary materials using finite element analysis(FEA),and the results show that the stress-strain curves obtained by this method are consistent with those inputted in the FEA program.Additionally,a series of ring compression tests were performed for seven metallic materials.It was found that the stress-strain curves and mechanical properties predicted by the method agreed with the uniaxial tensile results.With its low material consumption,the ring compression test has the potential to be as an alternative to traditional tensile test when direct tension method is limited.

Discussion on Common Problems in Risk Assessment of Lightning Disaster

The problems in calculating parameters of equivalent collection area,earth resistivity and lightning protection category as well as their effects on lightning disaster risk assessment were analyzed,and practical examples proved the effects of those differences on lightning protection identification,intercept efficiency calculation in evaluating lightning disaster risk. In the meantime,several new concepts,such as the height of buildings for lightning protection were defined,and a fixed radius value was set to the ground flash density for calculation,establishing the ground flash density formula to solve the problems in parameter calculation,which would be beneficial to promote the standardization of lightning disaster risk assessment.

A Semi-analytical Model of Maximal First Principal Stress at Mode I Crack Tip

The first principal stress plays a key role in ductile fracture processes.Investigation of the distribution and evolution of the first principal stress at the crack tip is essential for exploring elastoplastic fracture behaviors.A semi-analytical model was developed in this study to determine the maximal first principal stress at the mode I crack tip with 3D constraints for materials following the Ramberg-Osgood law.The model,based on energy density equivalence and dimensional analysis,was validated through finite element analysis(FEA)of various materials and geometric dimensions of specimens with mode I cracks,under over 100 different types of working conditions.The dimensionless curves of maximal first principal stress versus load,as predicted by the model,agreed well with the FEA results,demonstrating the accuracy and applicability of the model.This research can provide a basis for future theoretical predictions of crack initiation and propagation.

Au nanocomposite enhanced electret film for triboelectric nanogenerator

A triboelectric nanogenerator （TENG） with an organic nanocomposite electret thin film as the triboelectric layer for mechanical energy harvesting was investigated systematically. In combination with corona charging, a TENG was fabricated by using embedded-nanocapacitor-structure polytetrafluoroethylene （PTFE） impregnated with gold nanoparticles （Au-NPs）. The output performances, stability, and durability of the TENGs with Au-PTFE nanocomposite films were characterized after being washed in water. It was found that the output current increases by 70% and the equivalent surface charge density （ESCD） reaches 85 μC/m^2 in comparison to the virgin PTFE film. Such outstanding performance is likely due to the equivalent nanocapacitors between the Au-NPs and PTFE molecules, which serve as nano charge traps in the nanocomposite electret film under negative high-voltage corona charging. This work not only expands the practical applications of TENGs, but also opens up new possibilities for the development of high performance triboelectric materials.