A Nonlinear Explicit Model of A Non-Circular Subsea Tunnel-Liner System with An FGM Inverted Arch Under Mechanical Loading and Fire Fields

This paper proposes an explicit scheme to analyze the failure of a subsea polyhedral tunnel-liner system with an inverted arch under mechanical loading and fire fields.The thin-walled liner is made of Functionally Graded Materials(FGMs),which may improve the stability behavior of the tunnel-liner system.Hydrostatic pressure is inevitable in the liner since underground water may penetrate the cracks of the tunnel,and reach the outer surface of the liner.In addition,an elevated temperature loading is taken into account,considering that fire may occur in the tunnel-liner system.Under the combination of mechanical loading and thermal loading,the liner deforms into a single-lobe shape,which is depicted by a trigonometric function.The total potential energy is expressed quantitatively after the energy approach and thin-walled shell theory are used.The minimum potential energy is obtained when the critical buckling occurs.The critical buckling pressure is calculated,which considers the effect of the thermal field.The present analytical prediction is subsequently compared precisely with other closed-form solutions.Finally,the effects of several parameters,such as the geometric shapes,temperature variations,and volume fraction indices,are discussed to further survey the buckling performance of the nonlinear buckling of an FGM polyhedral liner with an inverted arch.One may address a polyhedral liner with fewer polyhedral sides,and a lower volume fraction index is recommended to rehabilitate cracked tunnels in engineering applications.

High Fe‑Loading Single‑Atom Catalyst Boosts ROS Production by Density Effect for Efficient Antibacterial Therapy

The current single-atom catalysts(SACs)for medicine still suffer from the limited active site density.Here,we develop a synthetic method capable of increasing both the metal loading and mass-specific activity of SACs by exchanging zinc with iron.The constructed iron SACs(h^(3)-FNC)with a high metal loading of 6.27 wt%and an optimized adjacent Fe distance of~4 A exhibit excellent oxidase-like catalytic performance without significant activity decay after being stored for six months and promising antibacterial effects.Attractively,a“density effect”has been found at a high-enough metal doping amount,at which individual active sites become close enough to interact with each other and alter the electronic structure,resulting in significantly boosted intrinsic activity of single-atomic iron sites in h^(3)-FNCs by 2.3 times compared to low-and medium-loading SACs.Consequently,the overall catalytic activity of h^(3)-FNC is highly improved,with mass activity and metal mass-specific activity that are,respectively,66 and 315 times higher than those of commercial Pt/C.In addition,h^(3)-FNCs demonstrate efficiently enhanced capability in catalyzing oxygen reduction into superoxide anion(O_(2)·^(−))and glutathione(GSH)depletion.Both in vitro and in vivo assays demonstrate the superior antibacterial efficacy of h^(3)-FNCs in promoting wound healing.This work presents an intriguing activity-enhancement effect in catalysts and exhibits impressive therapeutic efficacy in combating bacterial infections.

A Greedy Algorithm for Task Offloading in Mobile Edge Computing System

Mobile edge computing （MEC） is a novel technique that can reduce mobiles＇ com- putational burden by tasks offioading, which emerges as a promising paradigm to provide computing capabilities in close proximity to mobile users. In this paper, we will study the scenario where multiple mobiles upload tasks to a MEC server in a sing cell, and allocating the limited server resources and wireless chan- nels between mobiles becomes a challenge. We formulate the optimization problem for the energy saved on mobiles with the tasks being dividable, and utilize a greedy choice to solve the problem. A Select Maximum Saved Energy First （SMSEF） algorithm is proposed to realize the solving process. We examined the saved energy at different number of nodes and channels, and the results show that the proposed scheme can effectively help mobiles to save energy in the MEC system.

Application of subsurface wastewater infiltration system to on-site treatment of domestic sewage under high hydraulic loading rate

In order to enhance the hydraulic loading rate （HLR） of a subsurface wastewater infiltration system （SWIS） used in treating domestic sewage, the intermittent operation mode was employed in the SWIS. The results show that the intermittent operation mode contributes to the improvement of the HLR and the pollutant removal rate. When the wetting-drying ratio （RwD） was 1.0, the pollutant removal rate increased by （13.6 ± 0.3）% for NH3-N, （20.7 ± 1.1）% for TN, （18.6± 0.4）% for TP, （12.2 ± 0.5）% for BOD, （10.1 ± 0.3）% for COD, and （36.2 ± 1.2）% for SS, compared with pollutant removal rates under the continuous operation mode. The pollutant removal rate declined with the increase of the HLR. The effluent quality met The Reuse of Urban Recycling Water - Water Quality Standard for Scenic Environment Use （GB/T 18921-2002） even when the HLR was as high as 10 cm/d. Hydraulic conductivity, oxidation reduction potential （ORP）, the quantity of nitrifying bacteria, and the pollutant removal rate of NH3-N increased with the decrease of the RWD. For the pollutant removal rates of TP, BOD, and COD, there were no significant difference （p 〈 0.05） under different RwDS. The suggested RWD was 1.0. Relative contribution of the pretreatment and SWlS to the pollutant removal was examined, and more than 80% removal of NH3-N, TN, TP, COD, and BOD occurred in the SWIS.

TOPOLOGY OPTIMIZATION OF TRUSS STRUCTURES WITH SYSTEMATIC RELIABILITY CONSTRAINTS UNDER MULTIPLE LOADING CASES

In this paper, a mathematical model for topology optimization oftruss structures with constraints of displacement and systemreliability under multiple loading cases is constructed. In order toavoid the difficulty of computing the structure's system reliability,a solving approach is presented in which the failure probability ofsystem is divided into the sum of a all bars' failures probability bymeans of reliability distribution. In addition, by drawing into thereliability safety factor and the fundamen- tal relationship instructural mechanics, all probability constraints of displacement andstress are equiv- alently displayed as conventional form and linearfunction of the design variables.

Effect of Hydraulic Loading Rate on the Efficiency of Effluent Treatment in a Recirculating Puffer Aquaculture System Coupled with Constructed Wetlands

Constructed wetlands(CWs) were integrated into an indoor recirculating aquaculture system of obscure puffer(Takifugu obscurus) for effluent treatment. The effect of hydraulic loading rate(HLR) on the efficiency of effluent treatment by CWs was examined for over a month. The CWs were operated under brackish conditions(salinity 7.4–7.6) at 3 different HLRs(0.762, 0.633, and 0.458 m d–1) 3 times, 10 days each. Overall, the CWs exhibited high efficiency in removal of total ammonium nitrogen(by 81.03–92.81%) and nitrite nitrogen(by 99.40%–99.68%). The efficiency of CWs in removal of total ammonium nitrogen, nitrate nitrogen, total Kjeldahl nitrogen, total phosphorous, and total suspended solids(TSS) increased with the decrease of HLR. The CWs operated at the 3 HLRs in a decreasing trend proves to be effective, providing a useful method for effluent treatment in commercial puffer aquaculture systems.

Energy Anaiysis for TMD-Structure Systems Subjected to Impact Loading

This paper investigates the characteristics of reduction of the lateral vibration by use of a Tuned Mass Damper(TMD) for offshore jacket platforms under impact loading. Unlike traditional analysis, the present analysis focnses on theenergy concept of TMD/structure systems. In this study, a time domain is taken. The platform is modeled as a simplifiedsingle-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) system by extraction of the first vibration mode of the structure and the excited force isassumed to be impact loading. The energy dissipation and energy transmission of the structure-TMD system are studied.Finally, an optimized TMD design for the modeled platform is demonstrated based on a new type of cost function - maxi-mum dissipated energy by TMD. Results indicate that TMD control is effective in reducing the standard deviation of thedeck motion but less effective in reducing the maximum response under impact loading.

An automatic loading system for rock core testing with an industrial CT scanner

A new type of a loading and measuring system was developed for testing failure and deformation of rock core samples with an industrial CT （ICT） scanner.The loading and measuring system consisted of a loading system and a computer control system.The maximum servo-controlled force was 2 tonnes.The new system was a high-stiffness system with a small size.During ICT tests,rock core samples could be easily loaded in the axial direction.So the initiation,propagation,and coalescence of cracks in core samples were observed on ICT images.

Loading System for Full-Scale Heavy-Duty Support Node Test with Multi-Directional Loading Requirements

This paper presents the design, analysis and experimental study of a loading system for heavy-duty nodes test based on a large-scale multi-directional in-plane loading device, which has been used in a full-scale heavy-duty support node test. Test loads of the support reached 6 567 kN with multi-directional loading requirements, which outrange the capacity of the available loading devices. Through the reinforcement of a large-scale multi-directional inplane loading device, the innovative design of a self-balanced load transferring device, and other arrangement considerations of the loading system, the test was implemented and the loading capacity of the ring was considerably enlarged. Due to the heavy loading requirements, some checking computations of the ring and the load transferring device outranged the limit of the Chinese national code "Code for Design of Steel Structures (GB 50017—2003)", thus elastic-plastic finite element (FE) analysis was carried out on the two devices, and also the real-time monitoring on the whole loading systems during experiments to ensure test safety. FE analysis and test results show that the loading system worked elastically during experiments.

Catastrophe model and its experimental verification ofstatic loading rock system under impact load

According to the catastrophe model for impact buckling of static loading structures, a new catastrophe model for impact loading failure of a static loading rock system was established, and one dimension (1D) catastrophe model was analyzed. The analysis results indicate that the furcation collection where catastrophe may take place is not only decided by mechanical system itself but also relates to exterior loading, which is different from the results obtained under mono-static loading where the bifurcation collection is only determined by mechanics of the system itself and has nothing to do with exterior loading. In addition, the corresponding 1D coupled static-dynamic loading experiment is designed to verify the analysis results of catastrophe model. The test is done with Instron 1342 electro-servo controlled testing system, in which medium strain rate is caused by monotony rising dynamic load. The parameters are obtained combining theoretical model with experiment. The experimental and theoretical curves of critical dynamic load vs static load are rather coincided, thus the new model is proved to be correct.

Capacity Maximization Based Power Loading Analysis for Digital Channelized Satcom Systems

For digital channelized frequency division multiple access based satellite communication(SATCOM) systems,it is a challenging but critical issue to improve the transponder power and spectrum efficiency simultaneously under limited and non-linear high-power amplifier conditions.In this paper,different from the traditional link supportability designs aiming at minimizing the total transponder output power,a maximal sum Shannon capacity optimization objective is firstly raised subject to link supportability constraints.Furthermore,an efficient multilevel optimization(MO) algorithm is proposed to solve the considered optimization problem in the case of single link for each terminal.Moreover,in the case of multiple links for one terminal,an improved MO algorithm involving Golden section and discrete gradient searching procedures is proposed to optimize power allocation over all links.Finally,several numerical results are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposals.Comparison results show that,by the MO algorithm,not only all links' supportability can be guaranteed but also a larger sum capacity can be achieved with lower complexity.

Low complexity bit loading algorithm for OFDM system

A new approach to loading for orthogonal frequency division multiplexing （OFDM） system is proposed, this bit-loading algorithm assigns bits to different subchannels in order to minimize the transmit energy. In the algorithm, first most bit are allocated to each subchannels according to channel condition, Shannon formula and QoS require of the user, then the residual bit are allocated to the subchannels bit by bit. In this way the algorithm is efficient while calculation is less complex. This is the first time to load bits with the scale following Shannon formula and the algorithm is of O （4 N） complexity.

High drug loading hydrophobic cross-linked dextran microspheres as novel drug delivery systems for the treatment of osteoarthritis

Drug delivery via intra-articular(IA)injection has proved to be effective in osteoarthritis(OA)therapy,limited by the drug efficiency and short retention time of the drug delivery systems(DDSs).Herein,a series of modified cross-linked dextran(Sephadex,S0)was fabricated by respectively grafting with linear alkyl chains,branched alkyl chains or aromatic chain,and acted as DDSs after ibuprofen(Ibu)loading for OA therapy.This DDSs expressed sustained drug release,excellent anti-inflammatory and chondroprotective effects both in IL-1βinduced chondrocytes and OA joints.Specifically,the introduction of a longer hydrophobic chain,particularly an aromatic chain,distinctly improved the hydrophobicity of S0,increased Ibu loading efficiency,and further led to significantly improving OA therapeutic effects.Therefore,hydrophobic microspheres with greatly improved drug loading ratio and prolonged degradation rates show great potential to act as DDSs for OA therapy.

Mechanical responses of anchoring structure under triaxial cyclic loading

Dynamic load on anchoring structures(AS)within deep roadways can result in cumulative damage and failure.This study develops an experimental device designed to test AS under triaxial loads.The device enables the investigation of the mechanical response,failure mode,instability assessment criteria,and anchorage effect of AS subjected to combined cyclic dynamic-static triaxial stress paths.The results show that the peak bearing strength is positively correlated with the anchoring matrix strength,anchorage length,and edgewise compressive strength.The bearing capacity decreases significantly when the anchorage direction is severely inclined.The free face failure modes are typically transverse cracking,concave fracturing,V-shaped slipping and detachment,and spallation detachment.Besides,when the anchoring matrix strength and the anchorage length decrease while the edgewise compressive strength,loading rate,and anchorage inclination angle increase,the failure intensity rises.Instability is determined by a negative tangent modulus of the displacement-strength curve or the continued deformation increase against the general downward trend.Under cyclic loads,the driving force that breaks the rock mass along the normal vector and the rigidity of the AS are the two factors that determine roadway stability.Finally,a control measure for surrounding rock stability is proposed to reduce the internal driving force via a pressure relief method and improve the rigidity of the AS by full-length anchorage and grouting modification.

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.

Reinforcing effects of polypropylene on energy absorption and fracturing of cement-based tailings backfill under impact loading

Polypropylene(PP)fiber-reinforced cement-based tailings backfill(FRCTB)is a green compound material with superior crack resistance and has good prospects for application in underground mining.However,FRCTB exhibits susceptibility to dynamic events,such as impact ground pressure and blast vibrations.This paper investigates the energy and crack distribution behavior of FRCTB under dynamic impact,considering the height/diameter(H/D)effect.Split Hopkinson pressure bar,industrial computed tomography scan,and scanning electron microscopy(SEM)experiments were carried out on six types of FRCTB.Laboratory outcomes confirmed fiber aggregation at the bottom of specimens.When H/D was less than 0.8,the proportion of PP fibers distributed along theθangle direction of80°-90°increased.For the total energy,all samples presented similar energy absorption,reflectance,and transmittance.However,a rise in H/D may cause a rise in the energy absorption rate of FRCTB during the peak phase.A positive correlation existed between the average strain rate and absorbed energy per unit volume.The increase in H/D resulted in a decreased crack volume fraction of FRCTB.When the H/D was greater than or equal to 0.7,the maximum crack volume fraction of FRCTB was observed close to the incidence plane.Radial cracks were present only in the FRCTB with an H/D ratio of 0.5.Samples with H/D ratios of 0.5 and 0.6 showed similar distributions of weakly and heavily damaged areas.PP fibers can limit the emergence and expansion of cracks by influencing their path.SEM observations revealed considerable differences in the bonding strengths between fibers and the FRCTB.Fibers that adhered particularly well to the substrate were attracted together with the hydration products adhering to surfaces.These results show that FRCTB is promising as a sustainable and green backfill for determining the design properties of mining with backfill.

Liquefaction susceptibility and deformation characteristics of saturated coral sandy soils subjected to cyclic loadings-a critical review

Coral sandy soils widely exist in coral island reefs and seashores in tropical and subtropical regions.Due to the unique marine depositional environment of coral sandy soils,the engineering characteristics and responses of these soils subjected to monotonic and cyclic loadings have been a subject of intense interest among the geotechnical and earthquake engineering communities.This paper critically reviews the progress of experimental investigations on the undrained behavior of coral sandy soils under monotonic and cyclic loadings over the last three decades.The focus of coverage includes the contractive-dilative behavior,the pattern of excess pore-water pressure(EPWP)generation and the liquefaction mechanism and liquefaction resistance,the small-strain shear modulus and strain-dependent shear modulus and damping,the cyclic softening feature,and the anisotropic characteristics of undrained responses of saturated coral sandy soils.In particular,the advances made in the past decades are reviewed from the following aspects:(1)the characterization of factors that impact the mechanism and patterns of EPWP build-up;(2)the identification of liquefaction triggering in terms of the apparent viscosity and the average flow coefficient;(3)the establishment of the invariable form of strain-based,stress-based,or energy-based EPWP ratio formulas and the unique relationship between the new proxy of liquefaction resistance and the number of cycles required to reach liquefaction;(4)the establishment of the invariable form of the predictive formulas of small strain modulus and strain-dependent shear modulus;and(5)the investigation on the effects of stress-induced anisotropy on liquefaction susceptibility and dynamic deformation characteristics.Insights gained through the critical review of these advances in the past decades offer a perspective for future research to further resolve the fundamental issues concerning the liquefaction mechanism and responses of coral sandy sites subjected to cyclic loadings associated with seismic events in marine environments.

Damage evolution of rock-encased-backfill structure under stepwise cyclic triaxial loading

Rock-encased-backfill(RB)structures are common in underground mining,for example in the cut-andfill and stoping methods.To understand the effects of cyclic excavation and blasting activities on the damage of these RB structures,a series of triaxial stepwise-increasing-amplitude cyclic loading experiments was conducted with cylindrical RB specimens(rock on outside,backfill on inside)with different volume fractions of rock(VF=0.48,0.61,0.73,and 0.84),confining pressures(0,6,9,and 12 MPa),and cyclic loading rates(200,300,400,and 500 N/s).The damage evolution and meso-crack formation during the cyclic tests were analyzed with results from stress-strain hysteresis loops,acoustic emission events,and post-failure X-ray 3D fracture morphology.The results showed significant differences between cyclic and monotonic loadings of RB specimens,particularly with regard to the generation of shear microcracks,the development of stress memory and strain hardening,and the contact forces and associated friction that develops along the rock-backfill interface.One important finding is that as a function of the number of cycles,the elastic strain increases linearly and the dissipated energy increases exponentially.Also,compared with monotonic loading,the cyclic strain hardening characteristics are more sensitive to rising confining pressures during the initial compaction stage.Another finding is that compared with monotonic loading,more shear microcracks are generated during every reloading stage,but these microcracks tend to be dispersed and lessen the likelihood of large shear fracture formation.The transition from elastic to plastic behavior varies depending on the parameters of each test(confinement,volume fraction,and cyclic rate),and an interesting finding was that the transformation to plastic behavior is significantly lower under the conditions of 0.73 rock volume fraction,400 N/s cyclic loading rate,and 9 MPa confinement.All the findings have important practical implications on the ability of backfill to support underground excavations.

Lateral earth pressure of granular backfills on retaining walls with expanded polystyrene geofoam inclusions under limited surcharge loading

Existing studies have focused on the behavior of the retaining wall equipped with expanded polystyrene(EPS)geofoam inclusions under semi-infinite surcharge loading rather than limited surcharge loading.In this paper,the failure mode and the earth pressure acting on the rigid retaining wall with EPS geofoam inclusions and granular backfills(henceforth referred to as EPS-wall),under limited surcharge loading are investigated through two-and three-dimensional model tests.The testing results show that different from the sliding of almost all the backfill in the EPS-wall under semi-infinite surcharge loading,only an approximately triangular backfill slides in the wall under limited surcharge loading.The distribution of the lateral earth pressure on the EPS-wall under limited surcharge loading is non-linear,and the distribution changes from the increase of the wall depth to the decrease with the increase of the limited surcharge loading.An approach based on the force equilibrium of a differential element is developed to predict the lateral earth pressure behind the EPS-wall subjected to limited surcharge loading,and its performance was fully validated by the three-dimensional model tests.

Adaptive bit and power loading algorithm with low complexity in MIMO-OFDM systems

Two adaptive power and bit loading algorithms to maximize the throughput of MIMO-OFDM systems in frequency selective fading environment are proposed. The two algorithms allocate bit based on maximizing the overall throughput. One algorithm allocates power based on guaranteeing that the bit error rate （BER） of each sub-carrier and the total allocated power remain below a target BER threshold and a power threshold, respectively; another one allocates power based on guaranteeing that the mean BER of sub-carriers and the total allocated power remain below a target BER threshold and a power threshold, respectively. The simulation results show that the proposed algorithms can achieve faster throughput with lower computational complexity, which indicates that the proposed algorithms are effective when compared to some existing algorithms.