Decoding topological XYZ^(2) codes with reinforcement learning based on attention mechanisms

Quantum error correction, a technique that relies on the principle of redundancy to encode logical information into additional qubits to better protect the system from noise, is necessary to design a viable quantum computer. For this new topological stabilizer code-XYZ^(2) code defined on the cellular lattice, it is implemented on a hexagonal lattice of qubits and it encodes the logical qubits with the help of stabilizer measurements of weight six and weight two. However topological stabilizer codes in cellular lattice quantum systems suffer from the detrimental effects of noise due to interaction with the environment. Several decoding approaches have been proposed to address this problem. Here, we propose the use of a state-attention based reinforcement learning decoder to decode XYZ^(2) codes, which enables the decoder to more accurately focus on the information related to the current decoding position, and the error correction accuracy of our reinforcement learning decoder model under the optimisation conditions can reach 83.27% under the depolarizing noise model, and we have measured thresholds of 0.18856 and 0.19043 for XYZ^(2) codes at code spacing of 3–7 and 7–11, respectively. our study provides directions and ideas for applications of decoding schemes combining reinforcement learning attention mechanisms to other topological quantum error-correcting codes.

Enhancing Image Description Generation through Deep Reinforcement Learning:Fusing Multiple Visual Features and Reward Mechanisms

Image description task is the intersection of computer vision and natural language processing,and it has important prospects,including helping computers understand images and obtaining information for the visually impaired.This study presents an innovative approach employing deep reinforcement learning to enhance the accuracy of natural language descriptions of images.Our method focuses on refining the reward function in deep reinforcement learning,facilitating the generation of precise descriptions by aligning visual and textual features more closely.Our approach comprises three key architectures.Firstly,it utilizes Residual Network 101(ResNet-101)and Faster Region-based Convolutional Neural Network(Faster R-CNN)to extract average and local image features,respectively,followed by the implementation of a dual attention mechanism for intricate feature fusion.Secondly,the Transformer model is engaged to derive contextual semantic features from textual data.Finally,the generation of descriptive text is executed through a two-layer long short-term memory network(LSTM),directed by the value and reward functions.Compared with the image description method that relies on deep learning,the score of Bilingual Evaluation Understudy(BLEU-1)is 0.762,which is 1.6%higher,and the score of BLEU-4 is 0.299.Consensus-based Image Description Evaluation(CIDEr)scored 0.998,Recall-Oriented Understudy for Gisting Evaluation(ROUGE)scored 0.552,the latter improved by 0.36%.These results not only attest to the viability of our approach but also highlight its superiority in the realm of image description.Future research can explore the integration of our method with other artificial intelligence(AI)domains,such as emotional AI,to create more nuanced and context-aware systems.

Erosion and Toughening Mechanisms of Electroless Ni-P-Nano-NiTi Composite Coatings on API X100 Steel under Single Particle Impact

The addition of superelastic NiTi to electroless Ni-P coating has been found to toughen the otherwise brittle coatings in static loading conditions, though its effect on erosion behaviour has not yet been explored. In the present study, spherical WC-Co erodent particles were used in single particle impact testing of Ni-P-nano-NiTi composite coatings on API X100 steel substrates at two average velocities—35 m/s and 52 m/s. Erosion tests were performed at impact angles of 30°, 45°, 60°, and 90°. The effect of NiTi concentration in the coating was also examined. Through examination of the impact craters and material response at various impact conditions, it was found that the presence of superelastic NiTi in the brittle Ni-P matrix hindered the propagation of cracks and provided a barrier to crack growth. The following toughening mechanisms were identified: crack bridging and deflection, micro-cracking, and transformation toughening.

Toughening mechanism of lined Al_2O_3-ZrO_2 multiphaseceramics in SHS composite pipes

Hypoeutectic and hypereutectic Al2O3-ZrO2 multiphase ceramics-lined composite pipes were produced by using the gravitational separation self-propagate high-temperature synthesis （SHS） process. The microstructure of the ceramics was observed by means of SEM and EPMA. The fracture toughness of the multiphase ceramics was tested by using the Vickers indentation method. The fracture toughness of hypoeutectic Al2O3-ZrO2 multiphase ceramics is 15.96 MPa·m^1/2 and that of hypoeutectic Al2O3-ZrO2 multiphase ceramics is 15.23 MPa·m^1/2. The toughening mechanisms were systematically investigated by means of SEM and XRD. The results show that the bridging toughening mechanism, stress induced ZrO2 transformation toughening mechanism, and microcrack toughening mechanism are the predominant toughening mechanism.

Microstructure-fracture toughness relationships and toughening mechanism of TC21 titanium alloy with lamellar microstructure

The independent influence of microstructural features on fracture toughness of TC21alloy with lamellar microstructure was investigated.Triple heat treatments were designed to obtain lamellar microstructures with different parameters,which were characterized by OM and SEM.The size and content ofαplates were mainly determined by cooling rate from singleβphase field and solution temperature in two-phase field;while the precipitation behavior of secondaryαplatelets was dominantly controlled by aging temperature in two-phase field.The content and thickness ofαplates and the thickness of secondaryαplatelets were important microstructural features influencing the fracture toughness.Both increasing the content ofαplates and thickeningαplates(or secondaryαplatelets)could enhance the fracture toughness of TC21alloy.Based on energy consumption by the plastic zone of crack tip inαplates,a toughening mechanism for titanium alloys was proposed.

Mechanical and Thermal Properties of Muscovite and Density Polyethylene-reinforced and–toughened Polypropylene Composites

The mechanical and thermal properties of polypropylene （PP）/muscovite/ low-density polyethylene （LDPE）/ polypropylenegraftmaleic anhydride （PP-g-MAH） ternary composites were investigated. In PP matrix, muscovite, LDPE, and PP-g-MAH were added as strengthening agent, toughening agent, and compatibilizer, respectively. The effects of dosages of the added materials were analyzed. The - experimental results show that the optimum recipe of PP/muscovite/LDPE/PP-g-MAH composites is 100/10/6/20 （mass ratio）. Compared with the pure PP, the mechanical properties of PP/muscovite/LDPE/PP-g-MAH composites, including notched impact strength, Rockwell hardness and flexural strength, are improved. Although tensile strength is slightly decreased, they have better toughness. Filled with muscovite, the heat-resistance and heat-decompostion of the composites are improved.

Reinforcement learning based adaptive control for uncertain mechanical systems with asymptotic tracking

This paper mainly focuses on the development of a learning-based controller for a class of uncertain mechanical systems modeled by the Euler-Lagrange formulation.The considered system can depict the behavior of a large class of engineering systems,such as vehicular systems,robot manipulators and satellites.All these systems are often characterized by highly nonlinear characteristics,heavy modeling uncertainties and unknown perturbations,therefore,accurate-model-based nonlinear control approaches become unavailable.Motivated by the challenge,a reinforcement learning(RL)adaptive control methodology based on the actor-critic framework is investigated to compensate the uncertain mechanical dynamics.The approximation inaccuracies caused by RL and the exogenous unknown disturbances are circumvented via a continuous robust integral of the sign of the error(RISE)control approach.Different from a classical RISE control law,a tanh(·)function is utilized instead of a sign(·)function to acquire a more smooth control signal.The developed controller requires very little prior knowledge of the dynamic model,is robust to unknown dynamics and exogenous disturbances,and can achieve asymptotic output tracking.Eventually,co-simulations through ADAMS and MATLAB/Simulink on a three degrees-of-freedom(3-DOF)manipulator and experiments on a real-time electromechanical servo system are performed to verify the performance of the proposed approach.

THE REINFORCING MECHANISM OF TiB2 IN TiB2/A357 COMPOSITE

Mechanical properties were tested for in situ TiB2/A357 composite fabricated by LSM (mixed salts reaction) method. Micro structures of as cast and plastic deformed TiB2/A357 were investigated. The results show that there is a low misfit between (200) Al and (101)TiB2 with [011]//Al [101]TiB2. There is a change from fully dendritic structure of the α-Al of A357 to a rosette-type structure of TiB2/A357. Significant increases in proof stress and Young's modulus can be obtained at low TiB2 additions. There exist dislocation loops around neighboring TiB2 particles with about 0.1μm in diameter and dislocation multiplication near TiB2 particles.

Study on mechanical principle of reinforcing sidewalls and corners of roadway to control floor heave by anchors

The movement principle of sidewalls and floor of extraction opening is analyzed, it is found that floor heave not only has something to do with the floor strata, but sidewalls. The effect of sidewall anchor and corner anchor is studied, the mechanical principle of reinforcing sidewalls and corners is put forward and applied in engineering practice.

Composite Panels from the Combination of Rice Husk and Wood Chips with a Natural Resin Based on Tannins Reinforced with Sugar Cane Molasses Intended for Building Insulation: Physico-Mechanical and Thermal Properties

The objective of this work is to develop new biosourced insulating composites from rice husks and wood chips that can be used in the building sector. It appears from the properties of the precursors that rice chips and husks are materials which can have good thermal conductivity and therefore the combination of these precursors could make it possible to obtain panels with good insulating properties. With regard to environmental and climatic constraints, the composite panels formulated at various rates were tested and the physico-mechanical and thermal properties showed that it was essential to add a crosslinker in order to increase certain solicitation. an incorporation rate of 12% to 30% made it possible to obtain panels with low thermal conductivity, a low surface water absorption capacity and which gives the composite good thermal insulation and will find many applications in the construction and real estate sector. Finally, new solutions to improve the fire reaction of the insulation panels are tested which allows to identify suitable solutions for the developed composites. In view of the flame tests, the panels obtained are good and can effectively combat fire safety in public buildings.

AN INVESTIGATION OF HIGH-TEMPERATURE DEFORMATION STRENGTHENING AND TOUGHENING MECHANISM OF TITANIUM ALLOY

The high-temperature deformation strengthening and toughening mechanisms of titanium alloys have been investigated in this paper. The materials processed by this method produce a new tri-modal microstrvcture, which consists of 10-20% equiaxed alpha, streaky alpha and transformed beta matrix. It is found that the higher ductility of tri-modal microstructure is attributed to the equiaxed alpha's coopemtive slip and coordinated deformation with the transformed beta matrix. The streaky alpha phases not only increase the strength and creep properties, but also increase the fracture toughness. Propagating along grain boundaries between two neighboring streaky alpha phases, cracks in tri-modal microstructure make a more tortuous way, and then the materials show a higher fracture toughness. This new method is applicable to α, near α,α+β and near β titanium alloys.

BRIDGE-TOUGHENING ANALYSIS OF THE FIBER REINFORCED COMPOSITE CONTAINING INTERPHASE EFFECT

A detailed fracture mechanics analysis of bridge-toughening in a fiber reinforced composite is presented in this paper. The integral equation governing bridge-toughening as well as crack opening displacement (COD) for the composite with interfacial layer is derived from the Castigliano's theorem and interface shear-lag model. A numerical result of the COD equation is obtained using the iteration solution of the second Fredholm integral equation. In order to investigate the effect of various parameters on the toughening, an approximate analytical solution of the equation is present and its error analysis is performed, which demonstrates the approximate solution to be appropriate. A parametric study of the influence of the crack length, interfacial shear modules, thickness of the interphase, fiber radius, fiber volume fraction and properties of materials on composite toughening is therefore carried out. The results are useful for experimental demonstration and toughening design including the fabrication process of the composite.

Influence of Coupled Chemo-Mechanical Process on Corrosion Characteristics in Reinforcing Bars

We studied the corrosion characteristics of reinforcing bars in concrete under different corrosion conditions. The area-box （AB） value was used to classify the shape of pitting corrosion morphology in meso-scale, and fractographs of reinforcing bars with different corrosion morphology were discussed in micro- and macro-scales. The results show that the existence of the tensile stress affects the corrosion characteristics of reinforcing bars. The pitting morphology and fractograph of reinforcing bars exhibit a statistical fractal feature. The linear regression model fits the relationship between fractal dimensions of corrosion morphology and fractal dimension of fractograph fairly well. Using fractal dimension as the characterization parameter can not only reflect the characteristics of pitting corrosion morphology in reinforcing bars, but also reveal the fracture feature of corroded reinforcing bars.

Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of CaCO_3 Whisker-reinforced Cement

Composite Portland cement （PC） played an important role in various kinds of construction engineering owing to low hydration heat,low-cost,and application of solid industrial waste,but its brittleness and low strength limited its use in stress-bearing locations.The aim of this study is to improve the toughness and fracture resistance by incorporating CaCO3 whisker in cement matrix.Effect of different content of calcium carbonate whiskers on the mechanical properties of PC was investigated.The results showed that the flexural strength,impact strength and split tensile strength were increased by 39.7%,39.25% and 36.34% at maximum,respectively.Microstructure and elements of the whiskers in hardened cement were observed and analyzed by SEM/EDS.The mechanisms of the reinforcement of CaCO3 whisker on cement were also discussed,and the conclusion was that the improvement could be correlated to energy-dissipating processes owing to crack bridging,crack deflection,and whisker pull-out at the crack tips.

Mechanical Properties and Microstructure of CaSO4 Whisker Reinforced Cement Mortar

Calcium sulfate whisker(CaSO4 whiskers), a new type of microfiber material, was used in cement matrix to increase the strength of the cement based composites. Effect of CaSO4 whiskers on the mechanical properties of the resulting cement mortar was also studied. The results showed that the flexural strength and compressive strength of the mortar specimen was improved as high as 28.3% and 8.5% by incorporating 5 wt% CaSO4 whiskers. Also, the chemical composition and structural transformation of the hardened cement matrix with CaSO4 whiskers were identified by X-ray diffraction(XRD) and scanning electron microscope(SEM). Conclusion can be drawn that CaSO4 whiskers can effectively retard the formation and restrict the coalescence of micro-crack expansion. The interaction mechanism of CaSO4 whisker on the reinforcement is mainly on three aspects: whisker pullout, crack deflection, and crack bridging. Mercury intrusion porosimetry(MIP) tests have confirmed that for 28 d cement mortar, the harmless pores increased from 9.33% to 10.62%, and the harmful pores decreased from 2.08% to 1.90%. Therefore, the whisker can optimize the pore size distribution of the resulting cement mortar.

Improved Mechanical Properties of Textile Reinforced Concrete Thin Plate

Textile reinforced concrete （TRC） is especially suitable for the thin-walled and light-weight structural elements with a high load-bearing capacity. For this thin element, the concrete cover thickness is an important factor in affecting the mechanical and anti-crack performance. Therefore, the influences of the surface treatment of the textile and mixing polypropylene fiber into the concrete on the properties of the components with different cover thickness were experimentally studied with four-point bending tests. The experimental results show that for the components with the same cover thickness, sticking sand on epoxy resin-impregnated textile and adding short fiber into the concrete are helpful to improve their mechanical performance. The 2-3 mm cover thickness is enough to meet the anchorage requirements of the reinforcement fiber and the component has good crack pattern and mechanical behavior at this condition. Comparison between the calculated and the experimental Values of flexural capacity reveals satisfactory agreement. Finally, based on the calculation model of the crack spacing of reinforced concrete structures, the crack extension of this thin-wall component was qualitatively analyzed and the same results with the experimental were obtained.

Synergistically Toughening Effect of SiC Whiskers and Nanoparticles in Al_2O_3-based Composite Ceramic Cutting Tool Material

In recent decades, many additives with different characteristics have been applied to strengthen and toughen Al2O3-based ceramic cutting tool materials. Among them, SiC whiskers and SiC nanoparticles showed excellent performance in improving the material properties. While no attempts have been made to add SiC whiskers and SiC nanoparticles together into the ceramic matrix and the synergistically toughening effects of them have not been studied. An Al2O3-SiCw-SiC np advanced ceramic cutting tool material is fabricated by adding both one-dimensional SiC whiskers and zero-dimensional SiC nanoparticles into the Al2O3 matrix with an effective dispersing and mixing process. The composites with 25 vol% SiC whiskers and 25 vol% SiC nanoparticles alone are also investegated for comparison purposes. Results show that the Al2O3-SiCw-SiCnp composite with both 20 vo1% SiC whiskers and 5 vol% SiC nanoparticles additives have much improved mechanical properties. The flexural strength of Al2O3-SiCw-SiCnp is 730＋ 95 MPa and fracture toughness is 5.6 ± 0.6 MPa.m1/2. The toughening and strengthening mechanisms of SiC whiskers and nanoparticles are studied when they are added either individually or in combination. It is indicated that when SiC whiskers and nanoparticles are added together, the grains are further refined and homogenized, so that the microstructure and fracture mode ratio is modified. The SiC nanoparticles are found helpful to enhance the toughening effects of the SiC whiskers. The proposed research helps to enrich the types of ceramic cutting tool and is benefit to expand the application range of ceramic cutting tool.

Mechanical Properties of Layered Steel Fiber and Hybrid Fiber Reinforced Concrete

To explore a new structure form of fiber reinforced concrete, namely, the layered steel fiber and layered hybrid fiber reinforced concrete （LSFRC and LHFRC）, the mechanical properties of LSFRC and LHFRC, such as compressive strength, tensile strength, flexural strength, fatigue and durability were focused on. The experimental results show that LSFRC and LHFRC can improve the flexural strength of concrete by 20%-50%. In the aspect of improving the flexural strength of concrete, adulterant rate has more obvious effect than length/diameter ratio. Double logarithmic fatigue equation considered liveability was founded. The impermeability of LHFRC is superior to LSFRC and plain concrete （C）. However, the porosity of LHFRC is lower than LSFRC and C. The shrinkage of LHFRC at every age is obviously lower than C. The antifreeze durability of LHFRC is also better than C.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of a hot-extruded Al-based composite reinforced with core–shell-structured Ti/Al3Ti

An Al-based composite reinforced with core–shell-structured Ti/Al_3Ti was fabricated through a powder metallurgy route followed by hot extrusion and was found to exhibit promising mechanical properties. The ultimate tensile strength and elongation of the composite sintered at 620°C for 5 h and extruded at a mass ratio of 12.75:1 reached 304 MPa and 14%, respectively, and its compressive deformation reached 60%. The promising mechanical properties are due to the core–shell-structured reinforcement, which is mainly composed of Al_3Ti and Ti and is bonded strongly with the Al matrix, and to the reduced crack sensitivity of Al_3Ti. The refined grains after hot extrusion also contribute to the mechanical properties of this composite. The mechanical properties might be further improved through regulating the relative thickness of Al–Ti intermetallics and Ti metal layers by adjusting the sintering time and the subsequent extrusion process.

Effects of characteristic inhomogeneity of bamboo culm nodes on mechanical properties of bamboo fiber reinforced composite

Dendrocalamus farinosus and Phyllostachys heterocycla bamboo logs were subjected to a novel treat- ment process for the preparation of bamboo fiber mats （BFMs）, and the obtained BFM were used to fabricate bamboo fiber reinforced composite （BFRC）. We studied the mechanical properties of the BFRCs manufactured from the mats with and without bamboo nodes. The pres- ence of nodes in BFM greatly reduced tensile strength, compressive strength, modulus of elasticity, and modulus of rupture of the BFRCs, while the BFRCs fabricated from BFMs with nodes possessed higher horizontal shear strength. Therefore, the nodes in bamboo culms were an important factor in the uniform distribution of mechanical properties, and BFMs should be homogeneously arranged to reduce the impact of nodes on the mechanical strengths of BFRCs.