New HPLC Method with Experimental Design and Fluorescence Detection for Analytical Study of Antihypertensive Mixture,Amlodipine and Valsartan

New HPLC method was developed for determination of amlodipine and valsartan in their binary mixture as a part of routine control of combined formulations. The method was validated to meet official requirements including selectivity, stability, linearity, precision and accuracy. Chromatography was carried out using a LiChrospher RP-18 column, a mixture containing acetonitrile, phosphate buffer of pH 3.5 and methanol (45:45:10, v/v/v) and new fluorescence detection at 255 nm for excitation and 448 nm for emission. The effect of methanol content, pH of the buffer, flow rate, detection wavelengths and column temperature was estimated in robustness study, according to a plan defined by the Plackett-Burman design. For identification of significant effects, both graphical and statistical methods were used. Ro-bustness for dissolution test was checked estimating the effects of paddle speed, temperature and pH of dissolution medium. The method was proved to complying with all official guidelines. Therefore, it is suitable for determination of amlodipine and valsartan in their binary mixtures for different analytical and pharmaceutical purposes.

Mixed Finite Volume Element Method for Vibration Equations of Beam with Structural Damping

In this paper, for the initial and boundary value problem of beams with structural damping, by introducing intermediate variables, the original fourth-order problem is transformed into second-order partial differential equations, and the mixed finite volume element scheme is constructed, and the existence, uniqueness and convergence of the scheme are analyzed. Numerical examples are provided to confirm the theoretical results. In the end, we test the value of δ to observe its influence on the model.

Experimental study on secondary air mixing along the bed height in a circulating fluidized bed with a multitracer-gas method

A multitracer-gas method was proposed to study the secondary air(SA)mixing along the bed height in a circulating fluidized bed(CFB)using carbon monoxide(CO),oxygen(O_(2)),and carbon dioxide(CO_(2))as tracer gases.Experiments were carried out on a cold CFB test rig with a cross-section of 0.42 m×0.73 m and a height of 5.50 m.The effects of superficial velocity,SA ratio,bed inventory,and particle diameter on the SA mixing were investigated.The results indicate that there are some differences in the measurement results obtained using different tracer gases,wherein the deviation between CO and CO_(2) ranges from 42%to 66%and that between O_(2) and CO_(2) ranges from 45%to 71%in the lower part of the fluidized bed.However,these differences became less pronounced as the bed height increased.Besides,the high solid concentration and fine particle diameter in the CFB may weaken the difference.The measurement results of different tracer gases show the same trends under the variation of operating parameters.Increasing superficial velocity and SA ratio and decreasing particle diameter result in better mixing of the SA.The effect of bed inventory on SA mixing is not monotonic.

Stability Analysis and Performance Evaluation of Additive Mixed-Precision Runge-Kutta Methods

Additive Runge-Kutta methods designed for preserving highly accurate solutions in mixed-precision computation were previously proposed and analyzed.These specially designed methods use reduced precision for the implicit computations and full precision for the explicit computations.In this work,we analyze the stability properties of these methods and their sensitivity to the low-precision rounding errors,and demonstrate their performance in terms of accuracy and efficiency.We develop codes in FORTRAN and Julia to solve nonlinear systems of ODEs and PDEs using the mixed-precision additive Runge-Kutta(MP-ARK)methods.The convergence,accuracy,and runtime of these methods are explored.We show that for a given level of accuracy,suitably chosen MP-ARK methods may provide significant reductions in runtime.

To improve robustness of mechanical properties of semi-solid cast A356 alloy using taguchi design method

Mechanical properties of semi-solid casting are dependent on multiple processing parameters,and improper processing parameters will not only reduce mean data but also increase variations.The present study investigated the impact of parameters in slurry preparation and heat treatment on the yield strength and ductility of T6 heat-treated A356 Al-Si alloy using rapid slurry forming(RSF)semi-solid casting.The focus was primarily on the robustness of mechanical properties based on Taguchi design method.By analyzing signal-to-noise ratio and minimum value calculated from-3S,the optimum slurry preparation parameters and heat treatment parameters were determined to be no quench,enthalpy exchange material(EEM)temperature of 140℃,EEM-to-melt ratio of 6mass%,stirring time of 18 s,solution heat treated at 520℃ for 2 h,and ageing heat treated at 190℃ for 6 h.In a small batch validation,the-3S yield strength and-3S elongation reach 256.1 MPa and 5.03% respectively,showing a satisfactory robustness.The hardness and microstructure of heat-treated samples with the best and worst properties were characterized to gain insight into the underlying mechanisms affecting the mean value and variations of mechanical properties.

Seismic effectiveness evaluation and optimized design of tie up method for securing museum collections

To quantify the seismic effectiveness of the most commonly used fishing line tie up method for securing museum collections and optimize fixed strategies for exhibitions,shaking table tests of the seismic systems used for typical museum collection replicas have been carried out.The influence of body shape and fixed measure parameters on the seismic responses of replicas and the interaction behavior between replicas and fixed measures have been explored.Based on the results,seismic effectiveness evaluation indexes of the tie up method are proposed.Reasonable suggestions for fixed strategies are given,which provide a basis for the exhibition of delicate museum collections considering the principle of minimizing seismic responses and intervention.The analysis results show that a larger ratio of height of mass center to bottom diameter led to more intense rocking responses.Increasing the initial pretension of fishing lines was conducive to reducing the seismic responses and stress variation of the lines.Through comprehensive consideration of the interaction forces and effective securement,it is recommended to apply 20%of breaking stress as the initial pretension.For specific museum collections that cannot be effectively protected by the independent tie up method,an optimized strategy of a combination of fishing lines and fasteners is recommended.

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.

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.

Support design method for deep soft-rock tunnels in non-hydrostatic high in-situ stress field

Due to the long-term plate tectonic movements in southwestern China,the in-situ stress field in deep formations is complex.When passing through deep soft-rock mass under non-hydrostatic high in-situ stress field,tunnels will suffer serious asymmetric deformation.There is no available support design method for tunnels under such a situation in existing studies to clarify the support time and support stiffness.This study first analyzed the mechanical behavior of tunnels in non-hydrostatic in-situ stress field and derived the theoretical equations of the ground squeezing curve(GSC)and ground loosening curve(GLC).Then,based on the convergence confinement theory,the support design method of deep soft-rock tunnels under non-hydrostatic high in-situ stress field was established considering both squeezing and loosening pressures.In addition,this method can provide the clear support time and support stiffness of the second layer of initial support.The proposed design method was applied to the Wanhe tunnel of the China-Laos railway in China.Monitoring data indicated that the optimal support scheme had a good effect on controlling the tunnel deformation in non-hydrostatic high in-situ stress field.Field applications showed that the secondary lining could be constructed properly.

Research on the design method for uniform wear of shield cutters in sand-pebble strata

During shield tunneling in highly abrasive formations such as sand–pebble strata,nonuniform wear of shield cutters is inevitable due to the different cutting distances.Frequent downtimes and cutter replacements have become major obstacles to long-distance shield driving in sand–pebble strata.Based on the cutter wear characteristics in sand–pebble strata in Beijing,a design methodology for the cutterhead and cutters was established in this study to achieve uniform wear of all cutters by the principle of frictional wear.The applicability of the design method was verified through three-dimensional simulations using the engineering discrete element method.The results show that uniform wear of all cutters on the cutterhead could be achieved by installing different numbers of cutters on each trajectory radius and designing a curved spoke with a certain arch height according to the shield diameter.Under the uniform wear scheme,the cutter wear coefficient is greatly reduced,and the largest shield driving distance is increased by approximately 47%over the engineering scheme.The research results indicate that the problem of nonuniform cutter wear in shield excavation could be overcome,thereby providing guiding significance for theoretical innovation and construction of long-distance shield excavation in highly abrasive strata.

A Mixed-Variable Experimental Design Method

Mixed-variable problems are inevitable in engineering. However, few researches pay attention to discrete variables. This paper proposed a mixed-variable experimental design method (ODCD): first, the design variables were divided into discrete variables and continuous variables;then, the DVD method was employed for handling discrete variables, the LHD method was applied for continuous variables, and finally, a Columnwise-Pairwise Algorithm was used for the overall optimization of the design matrix. Experimental results demonstrated that the ODCD method outperforms in terms of the sample space coverage performance.

Application of the Modified nverse Design Method in the Optimization of the Runner Blade of a Mixed-Flow Pump

To improve the design speed and reduce the design cost for the previous blade design method, a modified inverse design method is presented. In the new method, after a series of physical and mathematical simplifications, a sail?like constrained area is proposed, which can be used to configure di erent runner blade shapes. Then, the new method is applied to redesign and optimize the runner blade of the scale core component of the 1400?MW canned nuclear coolant pump in an established multi?optimization system compromising the Computational Fluid Dynamics(CFD) analysis, the Response Surface Methodology(RSM) and the Non?dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm?II(NSGA?II). After the execution of the optimization procedure, three optimal samples were ultimately obtained. Then, through comparative analysis using the target runner blade, it was found that the maximum e ciency improvement reached 1.6%, while the head improvement was about 10%. Overall, a promising runner blade inverse design method which will benefit the hydraulic design of the mixed?flow pump has been proposed.

Selection of Water Transmission Method and Analysis of Pipe Network Zoning in Municipal Water Supply and Drainage Design

With the acceleration of urbanization,the demand for water supply and drainage pipe networks has increased significantly.In the planning of urban construction,it is necessary to optimize the design of the water supply and drainage system pipe network to effectively save energy while providing residents with more accessible water resources.Therefore,the municipal water supply and drainage system and the water transmission methods should be designed according to the geographical conditions of the city.In this paper,we mainly analyze the design of municipal water supply and drainage systems and the selection of water transmission methods.Besides,the optimization of the water supply and drainage network zoning process and pipe network maintenance is also discussed,so as to provide a reference for municipal water supply and drainage work.

Hydraulic Design Method of Wave Dissipating Structure with Partially Perforated Front Wall

Based on the matching conditions of different fluid regions, the eigenfunction expansion method is used to develop a theoretical formula for wave reflection in front of the perforated structure with a partially slit front wall. The accuracy of the solution is verified by comparing the numerical results with experimental data. In addition, a new hydraulic design method is developed by derivation of the theoretical formula with respect to the porosity of the slit wall, and the results of this design method is drafted for harbour engineers to use.

Numerical simulations of compressible mixing layers with a discontinuous Galerkin method

Discontinuous Galerkin（DG） method is known to have several advantages for flow simulations,in particular,in fiexible accuracy management and adaptability to mesh refinement. In the present work,the DG method is developed for numerical simulations of both temporally and spatially developing mixing layers. For the temporally developing mixing layer,both the instantaneous fiow field and time evolution of momentum thickness agree very well with the previous results. Shocklets are observed at higher convective Mach numbers and the vortex paring manner is changed for high compressibility. For the spatially developing mixing layer,large-scale coherent structures and self-similar behavior for mean profiles are investigated. The instantaneous fiow field for a three-dimensional compressible mixing layer is also reported,which shows the development of largescale coherent structures in the streamwise direction. All numerical results suggest that the DG method is effective in performing accurate numerical simulations for compressible shear fiows.

On the symplectic superposition method for free vibration of rectangular thin plates with mixed boundary constraints on an edge

A novel symplectic superposition method has been proposed and developed for plate and shell problems in recent years.The method has yielded many new analytic solutions due to its rigorousness.In this study,the first endeavor is made to further developed the symplectic superposition method for the free vibration of rectangular thin plates with mixed boundary constraints on an edge.The Hamiltonian system-based governing equation is first introduced such that the mathematical techniques in the symplectic space are applied.The solution procedure incorporates separation of variables,symplectic eigen solution and superposition.The analytic solution of an original problem is finally obtained by a set of equations via the equivalence to the superposition of some elaborated subproblems.The natural frequency and mode shape results for representative plates with both clamped and simply supported boundary constraints imposed on the same edge are reported for benchmark use.The present method can be extended to more challenging problems that cannot be solved by conventional analytic methods.

The Method for Optimum Design of Water Rocket Flight Stability Performance Conditions Using CAE with T Method and Robust Parameter Design

A water rocket is a rocket system that obtains thrust by injecting water with compressed air of up to about 8 atmospheres. It is usually manufactured using a pressure-resistant PET bottle. The mechanical elements and principles contained in the water rocket have much in common with the actual small rocket system, and are suitable as educational and research teaching materials in the field of mechanics. Especially in the field of disaster prevention and mitigation, the use of water rockets is being researched and developed as a rescue tool in the event of a flood or earthquake as a disaster countermeasure. However, since the water rocket is a flying object based on the mechanical principle, it is important to ensure the accuracy and stability of the flight path. In this paper, a mechanical simulator is developed with a numerical calculation program based on the mechanical consideration of water rocket flight performance. In addition, the correlation between the flight distance obtained in the simulation and the estimated flight distance is analyzed by applying a multivariate analysis method and verifying the validity of the flight distance calculated from the result. Based on the verification results, we will apply a statistical optimization method to approach the optimization of flight stability performance conditions for water rockets.

Nonlinear simulation of arch dam cracking with mixed finite element method

This paper proposes a new, simple and efficient method for nonlinear simulation of arch dam cracking from the construction period to the operation period, which takes into account the arch dam construction process and temperature loads. In the calculation mesh, the contact surface of pair nodes is located at places on the arch dam where cracking is possible. A new effective iterative method, the mixed finite element method for friction-contact problems, is improved and used for nonlinear simulation of the cracking process. The forces acting on the structure are divided into two parts： external forces and contact forces. The displacement of the structure is chosen as the basic variable and the nodal contact force in the possible contact region of the local coordinate system is chosen as the iterative variable, so that the nonlinear iterative process is only limited within the possible contact surface and is much more economical. This method was used to simulate the cracking process of the Shuanghe Arch Dam in Southwest China. In order to prove the validity and accuracy of this method and to study the effect of thermal stress on arch dam cracking, three schemes were designed for calculation. Numerical results agree with actual measured data, proving that it is feasible to use this method to simulate the entire process of nonlinear arch dam cracking.

Sense of Coherence in Persons with Dementia and Their Next of Kin—A Mixed-Method Study

Indications of dementia disease include deterioration of memory, thinking, behaviour, and the ability to perform everyday activities. Any of these symptoms can lead to stress and difficulties organizing everyday life. As a way to view factors that support human health and well-being despite stressful situations, Antonovsky introduced a salutogenic model. This model proposes that sense of coherence primarily determines physical and mental health i.e. psychological well-being. Having a sense of coherence in everyday life can reduce the impact of stress on the individual in everyday life. The study’s aim of this study was to explore how participants in existing support groups scored on the Sense of Coherence Scale (SOC), and what they perceived as contributory factors to a meaningful, manageable, and comprehensible everyday life in the presence of dementia using a mixed method. Persons with dementia had the highest scores on the SOC scale and their partners the lowest. Persons with dementia expressed that being with others who understood them made their everyday life comprehensible and manageable. Their partners expressed that learning about dementia was helpful in managing and comprehending everyday situations. The adult children expressed that it was meaningful to care for their parents and they scored slightly higher than the partners on the SOC scale. Long-term ongoing support supplemented with information and social support can contribute to the sense of coherence in persons with dementia and their next of kin.

Non-Darcy Mixed Convection between Differentially Heated Vertical Walls Filled with a Porous Material: Application of New Modified Adomian Decomposition Method

This paper presents non-Darcy mixed convective flow of an incompressible and viscous fluid in a differentially heated vertical channel filled with a porous material in the presence of a temperature dependent source/sink. The analytical solution of fourth order non-linear ordinary differential equation for temperature field, which is formed by eliminating velocity field from system of governing equations in non-dimensional form, is obtained by using new modified Adomian decomposition method (NMADM) in terms of various parameters. In order to illustrate the interactive influences of governing parameters on the temperature and velocity fields, a numerical study of the analytical solution is performed with respect to three categories of transport processes i) when forced convection is dominated, ii) when forced and natural convection are equal and iii) when natural convection is dominated. Analysis of all categories has revealed that the temperature and velocity profiles are increasing function of modified Darcy number while decreasing function of Forchheimer number.