A Hybrid Level Set Optimization Design Method of Functionally Graded Cellular Structures Considering Connectivity

With the continuous advancement in topology optimization and additive manufacturing(AM)technology,the capability to fabricate functionally graded materials and intricate cellular structures with spatially varying microstructures has grown significantly.However,a critical challenge is encountered in the design of these structures–the absence of robust interface connections between adjacent microstructures,potentially resulting in diminished efficiency or macroscopic failure.A Hybrid Level Set Method(HLSM)is proposed,specifically designed to enhance connectivity among non-uniform microstructures,contributing to the design of functionally graded cellular structures.The HLSM introduces a pioneering algorithm for effectively blending heterogeneous microstructure interfaces.Initially,an interpolation algorithm is presented to construct transition microstructures seamlessly connected on both sides.Subsequently,the algorithm enables the morphing of non-uniform unit cells to seamlessly adapt to interconnected adjacent microstructures.The method,seamlessly integrated into a multi-scale topology optimization framework using the level set method,exhibits its efficacy through numerical examples,showcasing its prowess in optimizing 2D and 3D functionally graded materials(FGM)and multi-scale topology optimization.In essence,the pressing issue of interface connections in complex structure design is not only addressed but also a robust methodology is introduced,substantiated by numerical evidence,advancing optimization capabilities in the realm of functionally graded materials and cellular structures.

High Performance Ultraviolet Photodetector Fabricated with ZnO Nanoparticles-graphene Hybrid Structures

Ultraviolet （UV） photodetector constructed by ZnO material has attracted intense research and commercial interest. However, its photoresistivity and photoresonse are still unsatisfied. Herein, we report a novel method to assemble ZnO nanoparticles （NPs） onto the reduced graphite oxide （RGO） sheet by simple hydrothermal process without any surfactant. It is found that the high-quality crystallized ZnO NPs with the average diameter of 5 nm are well dispersed on the RGO surface, and the density of ZnO NPs can be readily controlled by the concentration of the precursor. The photodetector fabricated with this ZnO NPs- RGO hybrid structure demonstrates an excellent photoresponse for the UV irradiation. The results make this hybrid especially suitable as a novel material for the design and fabrication of high performance UV photodector.

Influence of Weave Structures on the Tribological Properties of Hybrid Kevlar/PTFE Fabric Composites

The existing research of the woven fabric self-lubricating liner mainly focus on the tribological performance improvements and the service life raised by changing different fiber type combinations, adding additive modification, and performing fiber surface modification. As fabric composites, the weave structures play an important role in the mechanical and tribological performances of the liners. However, hardly any literature is available on the friction and wear behavior of such composites with different weave structures. In this paper, three weave structures （plain, twill 1/3 and satin 8/5） of hybrid Kevlar/PTFE fabric composites are selected and pin-on-flat linear reciprocating wear studies are done on a CETR tester under different pressures and different frequencies. The relationship between the tensile strength and the wear performance are studied. The morphologies of the worn surfaces under the typical test conditions are analyzed by means of scanning electron microscopy （SEM）. The analysis results show that at 10 MPa, satin 8/5 performs the best in friction-reduction and antiwear performance, and plain is the worst. At 30 MPa, however, the antiwear performance is reversed and satin 8/5 does not even complete the 2 h wear test at 16 Hz. There is no clear evidence proving that the tensile strength has an influence on the wear performance. So the different tribological performance of the three weave structures of fabric composites may be attributed to the different PTFE proportions in the fabric surface and the different wear mechanisms. The fabric composites are divided into three regions： the lubrication region, the reinforced region and the bonding region. The major mechanisms are fatigue wear and the shear effects of the friction force in the lubrication region. In the reinforced region fiber-matrix de-bonding and fiber breakage are involved. The proposed research proposes a regional wear model and further indicates the wear process and the wear mechanism of fabric composites.

Effects of material of metallic frame on the penetration resistances of ceramic-metal hybrid structures

The effects of metallic material on the penetration resistances of ceramic-metal hybrid structures against vertical long-rod tungsten projectiles were studied by artillery-launched experiments and numerical simulation.Hybrid structures with rectangular cores in transverse orthogonal arrangement and slidefitting ceramic inserts of zirconia toughened alumina prisms were fabricated with titanium alloy TC4(Ti6 Al4 V),AISI 4340 steel and 7075 aluminum alloy panels,respectively.The results showed that the hybrid structure of Ti6A14V exhibited the highest penetration resistance,followed by that of 7075 aluminum alloy with the same area density.The penetration resistance of the hybrid structure of AISI4340 steel was the lowest.The underlying mechanisms showed that the metallic material of a ceramicmetal hybrid structure can directly affect its energy absorption from the impact projectile,which further affects its penetration resistance.Different metallic frames exhibited different failure characteristics,resulting in different constraint conditions or support conditions for ceramic prisms.The high penetration resistance of the Ti6Al4V hybrid structure was due to its stronger back support to ceramic prisms as compared with that of AISI 4340 steel hybrid structure,and better constraint condition for ceramic prisms by metallic webs as compared with that of 7075 aluminum alloy hybrid structure.The results of mass efficiency and thickness efficiency showed that the Ti6Al4V hybrid structure has advantages in reducing both the thickness and the mass of protective structure.In addition,because the ceramic-metal hybrid structures in the present work were heterogeneous,impact position has slight influence on their penetration resistances.

3D Digital Design of Cranes' Structures Based on Hybrid Software Architecture

3D digital design for cranes’ structures based on hybrid software architecture of Client/Server and Browser/Server is introduced in this paper. Based on Pro/ENGINEER platform,3D parametric model family is built to allow generation of feasible configurations of cranes’ structures in Client/Server framework. Taking use of Visual C++,the second exploiting software kit provided by Pro/ENGINEER and ANSYS GUI/APDL modeling patterns,an integration method of 3D CAD and CAE is achieved,which includes regeneration of 3D parametric model,synchronous updating and analysis of FEA model. As in Browser/Server framework,the 3D CAD models of parts,components and the whole structure could also be displayed in the customer’s browser in VRML format.

An 8-Node Plane Hybrid Element for StructuralMechanics Problems Based on the Hellinger-Reissner Variational Principle

The finite element method (FEM) plays a valuable role in computer modeling and is beneficial to the mechanicaldesign of various structural parts. However, the elements produced by conventional FEM are easily inaccurate andunstable when applied. Therefore, developing new elements within the framework of the generalized variationalprinciple is of great significance. In this paper, an 8-node plane hybrid finite element with 15 parameters (PHQ8-15β) is developed for structural mechanics problems based on the Hellinger-Reissner variational principle.According to the design principle of Pian, 15 unknown parameters are adopted in the selection of stress modes toavoid the zero energy modes.Meanwhile, the stress functions within each element satisfy both the equilibrium andthe compatibility relations of plane stress problems. Subsequently, numerical examples are presented to illustrate theeffectiveness and robustness of the proposed finite element. Numerical results show that various common lockingbehaviors of plane elements can be overcome. The PH-Q8-15β element has excellent performance in all benchmarkproblems, especially for structures with varying cross sections. Furthermore, in bending problems, the reasonablemesh shape of the new element for curved edge structures is analyzed in detail, which can be a useful means toimprove numerical accuracy.

Sound Absorption Enhancement by Thin Multi-Slit Hybrid Structures

We report an extraordinary sound absorption enhancement in low and intermediate frequencies achieved by a thin multi-slit hybrid structure formed by incorporating micrometer scale micro-slits into a sub-millimeter scale meso-slit matrix. Theoretical and numerical results reveal that this exotic phenomenon is attributed to the noticeable velocity and temperature gradients induced at the junctures of the micro- and meso-slits, which cause significant loss of sound energy as a result of viscous and thermal effects. It is demonstrated that the proposed thin multi-slit hybrid structure with micro-scale configuration is capable of controling low frequency noise with large wavelength, which is attractive for applications where the size and weight of a sound absorber are restricted.

Development of hybrid optimization algorithm for structures furnished with seismic damper devices using the particle swarm optimization method and gravitational search algorithm

Previous studies about optimizing earthquake structural energy dissipation systems indicated that most existing techniques employ merely one or a few parameters as design variables in the optimization process,and thereby are only applicable only to simple,single,or multiple degree-of-freedom structures.The current approaches to optimization procedures take a specific damper with its properties and observe the effect of applying time history data to the building;however,there are many different dampers and isolators that can be used.Furthermore,there is a lack of studies regarding the optimum location for various viscous and wall dampers.The main aim of this study is hybridization of the particle swarm optimization(PSO) and gravitational search algorithm(GSA) to optimize the performance of earthquake energy dissipation systems(i.e.,damper devices) simultaneously with optimizing the characteristics of the structure.Four types of structural dampers device are considered in this study:(ⅰ) variable stiffness bracing(VSB) system,(ⅱ) rubber wall damper(RWD),(ⅲ) nonlinear conical spring bracing(NCSB) device,(iv) and multi-action stiffener(MAS) device.Since many parameters may affect the design of seismic resistant structures,this study proposes a hybrid of PSO and GSA to develop a hybrid,multi-objective optimization method to resolve the aforementioned problems.The characteristics of the above-mentioned damper devices as well as the section size for structural beams and columns are considered as variables for development of the PSO-GSA optimization algorithm to minimize structural seismic response in terms of nodal displacement(in three directions) as well as plastic hinge formation in structural members simultaneously with the weight of the structure.After that,the optimization algorithm is implemented to identify the best position of the damper device in the structural frame to have the maximum effect and minimize the seismic structure response.To examine the performance of the proposed PSO-GSA optimization method,it has been applied to a three-story reinforced structure equipped with a seismic damper device.The results revealed that the method successfully optimized the earthquake energy dissipation systems and reduced the effects of earthquakes on structures,which significantly increase the building’s stability and safety during seismic excitation.The analysis results showed a reduction in the seismic response of the structure regarding the formation of plastic hinges in structural members as well as the displacement of each story to approximately 99.63%,60.5%,79.13% and 57.42% for the VSB device,RWD,NCSB device,and MAS device,respectively.This shows that using the PSO-GSA optimization algorithm and optimized damper devices in the structure resulted in no structural damage due to earthquake vibration.

Functionally graded structure of a nitride-strengthened Mg_(2)Si-based hybrid composite

The ex-situ incorporation of the secondary SiC reinforcement,along with the in-situ incorporation of the tertiary and quaternary Mg_(3)N_(2) and Si_(3)N_(4) phases,in the primary matrix of Mg_(2)Si is employed in order to provide ultimate wear resistance based on the laser-irradiation-induced inclusion of N_(2) gas during laser powder bed fusion.This is substantialized based on both the thermal diffusion-and chemical reactionbased metallurgy of the Mg_(2)Si–SiC/nitride hybrid composite.This study also proposes a functional platform for systematically modulating a functionally graded structure and modeling build-direction-dependent architectonics during additive manufacturing.This strategy enables the development of a compositional gradient from the center to the edge of each melt pool of the Mg_(2)Si–SiC/nitride hybrid composite.Consequently,the coefficient of friction of the hybrid composite exhibits a 309.3%decrease to–1.67 compared to–0.54 for the conventional nonreinforced Mg_(2)Si structure,while the tensile strength exhibits a 171.3%increase to 831.5 MPa compared to 485.3 MPa for the conventional structure.This outstanding mechanical behavior is due to the(1)the complementary and synergistic reinforcement effects of the SiC and nitride compounds,each of which possesses an intrinsically high hardness,and(2)the strong adhesion of these compounds to the Mg_(2)Si matrix despite their small sizes and low concentrations.

Symbiosis between fungi and the hybrid Cymbidium and its mycorrhizal microstructures

Tissue culture seedlings of the hybrid Cymbidium were inoculated with six different fungal strains, isolated from the roots of different wild terrestrial orchids. About three months later, the average increment of fresh weight of seedlings inoculated with strains CF1, CF3 and CF12 were respectively 130.26%, 345.65% and 153.34% while that of the control was only 88.40%. The differences between the three treatments and the control were statistically significant （α = 0.05）, highlighting the treatment with strain CF3 （α = 0.01）. In addition, the three strains were obtained by re-isolating. Pelotons, regarded as typical structures of orchid mycorrhiza, were also found in the inoculating roots under a microscope. It seems that the strains of CF1, CF3, and CF12 are associated with the hybrid Cymbidium and supplied the orchid with nutrition. It can be confirmed that the three strains are beneficial for the seedlings of this hybrid.

Au Microdisk-Size Dependence of Quantum Dot Emission from the Hybrid Metal-Distributed Bragg Reflector Structures Employed for Single Photon Sources

We investigate metallic microdisk-size dependence of quantum dot （QD） spontaneous emission rate and micro- antenna directional emission effect for the hybrid metM-distributed Bragg reflector structures based on a particular single QD emission. It is found that the measured photolumineseence （PL） intensity is very sensitive to the size of metMlic disk, showing an enhancement factor of 11 when the optimal disk diameter is 2μm and the numerical aperture of microscope objective NA=0.5. It is found that for large metal disks, the Purcell effect is dominant for enhanced PL intensity, whereas for small size disks the main contribution comes from plasmon scattering at the disk edge within the light cone collected by the microscope objective.

Syntheses, Structures and Fluorescent Properties of Two 1D Chain Organic Amines and Metal Iodine Organic-inorganic Hybrid Compounds

Two bifunctional amines, 4-(2-aminoethyl)morpholine and histamine, were heated with PbI_2 and BiI_3 in concentrated HI aqueous solution to give one-dimensional(1D) organicinorganic hybrid compounds [(C_6H_(16)N_2O)PbI4]n(1) and [(C_(16)H_(20)N_(20))Bi_2I_(10)](2), respectively. In 1, the [PbI6] octahedra formed double chain anions through sharing-corner and-edge, and the protonated(C_6H_(16)N_2O)^(2+) cations were located at the vicinity of the double chains by hydrogen bonds. In 2, the [BiI_6] octahedra firstly formed dimeric [Bi_2I_(10)]^(4-) anion through sharing edge, and subsequently, the protonated histamine cations worked as bridge to link alternately with [Bi_2I_(10)]^(4-) anion by hydrogen bonds to form organic-inorganic hybrid 1D chains. In addition, compound 1 emitted a green light at the excitation wavelength of 400 nm and the maximum emission wavelength is at 503 nm.

Static and Dynamic Analyses of Long-Span Spatial Steel-Cable-Membrane Hybrid Structures

With the increment of the complexity of structural systems and the span of spatial structures, the interactions between parts of the structures, especially between some flexible substructures, become too complex to be analyzed clearly. In this paper, taking an actual gymnasium of a long-span spatial steel-cable-membrane hybrid structure as the calculation model, the static and dynamic analyses of the hybrid structures are performed by employing the global analysis of the whole hybrid structure and the substructural analysis of the truss arch substructure, the cable-membrane substructure, etc. In addition, the comparison of stresses and displacements of structural members in the global and substructural analyses is made. The numerical results show that serious errors exist in the substructural analysis of the hybrid structure, and the global analysis is necessary for the hybrid structure under the excitation of static loads and seismic loads.

Hybrid PMM-MoM Method for the Analysis of Finite Periodic Structures

In this paper, a hybrid method (hybrid PMM-MoM method) is presented for the effective and accurate analysis of finite periodic structures. This method divides a finite periodic structure into two parts. The inner part of an approximate infinite periodic structure is analyzed by periodic method of moment (PMM);the outer part is then analyzed by method of moments (MoM). For the finite periodic structures, the accuracy of the new method is much better than that of the pure PMM, and is almost the same as that of pure MoM. Because pure PMM uses the periodic boundary conditions, it takes much less memory resources and computation time. For hybrid PMM-MoM method, because the inner part is calculated by PMM, the calculation work concentrates on the outer part. Consequently, compared with the exact MoM, the new method saves much more memory resources and computation time, which provides a drastic reduction of unknowns.

A Into-Plane Rotating Micromirror Actuated by a Hybrid Electrostatic Driving Structure

A novel into-plane rotating rnicromirror actuated by a hybrid electrostatic driving structure is presented. The hybrid driving structure is made up of a planar plate drive and a vertical comb drive. The device is fabricated in SOI substrate by using a bulk-and-surface mixed silicon micromachining process. As demonstrated by experiment, the novel driving structure can actuate the mirror to achieve large-range continuous rotation as well as spontaneous 90°rotation induced by the pull-in effect. The continuous rotating range of the micromirror is increased to about 46° at an increased yielding voltage. The measured yielding voltages of the mirrors with torsional springs of 1 and 0.5μm in thickness are 390 - 410V and 140 - 160V, respectively. The optical insertion loss has also been measured to be --1.98dB when the mirror serves as an optical switch.

Room temperature NO_2 gas sensing of Au-loaded tungsten oxide nanowires/porous silicon hybrid structure

In this work, we report an enhanced nitrogen dioxide（NO_2） gas sensor based on tungsten oxide（WO_3）nanowires/porous silicon（PS） decorated with gold（Au） nanoparticles. Au-loaded WO_3 nanowires with diameters of 10 nm–25 nm and lengths of 300 nm–500 nm are fabricated by the sputtering method on a porous silicon substrate. The high-resolution transmission electron microscopy（HRTEM） micrographs show that Au nanoparticles are uniformly distributed on the surfaces of WO_3 nanowires. The effect of the Au nanoparticles on the NO_2-sensing performance of WO_3 nanowires/porous silicon is investigated over a low concentration range of 0.2 ppm–5 ppm of NO_2 at room temperature（25℃）. It is found that the 10-？ Au-loaded WO_3 nanowires/porous silicon-based sensor possesses the highest gas response characteristic. The underlying mechanism of the enhanced sensing properties of the Au-loaded WO_3 nanowires/porous silicon is also discussed.

Energy-absorption forecast of thin-walled structure by GA-BP hybrid algorithm

In order to analyze the influence rule of experimental parameters on the energy-absorption characteristics and effectively forecast energy-absorption characteristic of thin-walled structure, the forecast model of GA-BP hybrid algorithm was presented by uniting respective applicability of back-propagation artificial neural network （BP-ANN） and genetic algorithm （GA）. The detailed process was as follows. Firstly, the GA trained the best weights and thresholds as the initial values of BP-ANN to initialize the neural network. Then, the BP-ANN after initialization was trained until the errors converged to the required precision. Finally, the network model, which met the requirements after being examined by the test samples, was applied to energy-absorption forecast of thin-walled cylindrical structure impacting. After example analysis, the GA-BP network model was trained until getting the desired network error only by 46 steps, while the single BP-ANN model achieved the same network error by 992 steps, which obviously shows that the GA-BP hybrid algorithm has faster convergence rate. The average relative forecast error （ARE） of the SEA predictive results obtained by GA-BP hybrid algorithm is 1.543%, while the ARE of the SEA predictive results obtained by BP-ANN is 2.950%, which clearly indicates that the forecast precision of the GA-BP hybrid algorithm is higher than that of the BP-ANN.

Shake table testing of a multi-tower connected hybrid structure

Many single-tower reinforced concrete core wall-steel frame （RCC-SF） buildings have been built in China, but there are no buildings of different-height multi-tower hybrid system. A multi-tower RCC-SF tall building was thus studied because of its structural complexity and irregularity. First, a 1/15 scaled model structure was designed and tested on the shake table under minor, moderate, and major earthquake levels. Then, the dynamic responses of the model structure were interpreted to those of the prototype structure according to the similitude theory. Experimental results demonstrate that, despite the complexity of the structure, the lateral deformation bends as the ＂bending type＂ and the RC core walls contribute more than the steel frames to resist seismic loads. The maximum inter-story drift of the complex building under minor earthquakes is slightly beyond the elastic limitation specified in the Chinese code, and meets code requirements under major earthquakes. From the test results some suggestions are provided that could contribute favorable effect on the seismic behavior and the displacement of the building.

Plant Type and Its Effects on Canopy Structure at Heading Stage in Various Ecological Areas for a Two-line Hybrid Rice Combination,Liangyoupeijiu

A two-line hybrid rice combination, Liangyoupeijiu, was used to estimate several factors of plant type, and environmental models for these factors at the heading stage were established using the data of eight ecological experimental sites in 2006 and 2007. According to climatic data from 1951 to 2005, the differences in those factors and their effects on plant canopy were analyzed for four rice cropping areas in China, including South China, the middle-lower reaches of the Yangtze River, Sichuan Basin, and river valley in Yunnan, China. The thickness of leaf layer （the distance from pulvinus of the third leaf from the top to the tip of flag leaf） and distribution of leaf area could be used as candidate indices for the plant type of a rice canopy.

Estimation Method of State-of-Charge For Lithium-ion Battery Used in Hybrid Electric Vehicles Based on Variable Structure Extended Kalman Filter

Since the main power source of hybrid electric vehicle（HEV） is supplied by the power battery,the predicted performance of power battery,especially the state-of-charge（SOC） estimation has attracted great attention in the area of HEV.However,the value of SOC estimation could not be greatly precise so that the running performance of HEV is greatly affected.A variable structure extended kalman filter（VSEKF）-based estimation method,which could be used to analyze the SOC of lithium-ion battery in the fixed driving condition,is presented.First,the general lower-order battery equivalent circuit model（GLM）,which includes column accumulation model,open circuit voltage model and the SOC output model,is established,and the off-line and online model parameters are calculated with hybrid pulse power characteristics（HPPC） test data.Next,a VSEKF estimation method of SOC,which integrates the ampere-hour（Ah） integration method and the extended Kalman filter（EKF） method,is executed with different adaptive weighting coefficients,which are determined according to the different values of open-circuit voltage obtained in the corresponding charging or discharging processes.According to the experimental analysis,the faster convergence speed and more accurate simulating results could be obtained using the VSEKF method in the running performance of HEV.The error rate of SOC estimation with the VSEKF method is focused in the range of 5% to 10% comparing with the range of 20% to 30% using the EKF method and the Ah integration method.In Summary,the accuracy of the SOC estimation in the lithium-ion battery cell and the pack of lithium-ion battery system,which is obtained utilizing the VSEKF method has been significantly improved comparing with the Ah integration method and the EKF method.The VSEKF method utilizing in the SOC estimation in the lithium-ion pack of HEV can be widely used in practical driving conditions.