A homogenization method for nonlinear inhomogeneous elastic materials

Background Fast simulation techniques are strongly favored in computer graphics,especially for the nonlinear inhomogeneous elastic materials.The homogenization theory is a perfect match to simulate inhomogeneous deformable objects with its coarse discretization,as it reveals how to extract information at a fine scale and to perform efficient computation with much less DOF.The existing homogenization method is not applicable for ubiquitous nonlinear materials with the limited input deformation displacements.Methods In this paper,we have proposed a homogenization method for the efficient simulation of nonlinear inhomogeneous elastic materials.Our approach allows for a faithful approximation of fine,heterogeneous nonlinear materials with very coarse discretization.Modal analysis provides the basis of a linear deformation space and modal derivatives extend the space to a nonlinear regime;based on this,we exploited modal derivatives as the input characteristic deformations for homogenization.We also present a simple elastic material model that is nonlinear and anisotropic to represent the homogenized materials.The nonlinearity of material deformations can be represented properly with this model.The material properties for the coarsened model were solved via a constrained optimization that minimizes the weighted sum of the strain energy deviations for all input deformation modes.An arbitrary number of bases can be used as inputs for homogenization,and greater weights are placed on the more important low-frequency modes.Results Based on the experimental results,this study illustrates that the homogenized material properties obtained from our method approximate the original nonlinear material behavior much better than the existing homogenization method with linear displacements,and saves orders of magnitude of computational time.Conclusions The proposed homogenization method for nonlinear inhomogeneous elastic materials is capable of capturing the nonlinear dynamics of the original dynamical system well.

Estimation of Shallow Landslide Susceptibility Incorporating the Impacts of Vegetation on Slope Stability

This study aimed to develop a physical-based approach for predicting the spatial likelihood of shallow landslides at the regional scale in a transition zone with extreme topography.Shallow landslide susceptibility study in an area with diverse vegetation types as well as distinctive geographic factors(such as steep terrain,fractured rocks,and joints)that dominate the occurrence of shallow landslides is challenging.This article presents a novel methodology for comprehensively assessing shallow landslide susceptibility,taking into account both the positive and negative impacts of plants.This includes considering the positive efects of vegetation canopy interception and plant root reinforcement,as well as the negative efects of plant gravity loading and preferential fow of root systems.This approach was applied to simulate the regional-scale shallow landslide susceptibility in the Dadu River Basin,a transition zone with rapidly changing terrain,uplifting from the Sichuan Plain to the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau.The research fndings suggest that:(1)The proposed methodology is efective and capable of assessing shallow landslide susceptibility in the study area;(2)the proposed model performs better than the traditional pseudo-static analysis method(TPSA)model,with 9.93%higher accuracy and 5.59%higher area under the curve;and(3)when the ratio of vegetation weight loads to unstable soil mass weight is high,an increase in vegetation biomass tends to be advantageous for slope stability.The study also mapped the spatial distribution of shallow landslide susceptibility in the study area,which can be used in disaster prevention,mitigation,and risk management.

Decomposition of carboxymethyl cellulose based on nano-knife principle

The traditional degradation of organic pollutants is based on the sacrifice of chemical or biological reagents. In this study, a purely physical technique was developed to break the chemical bonds and consequently decompose macromolecules in aqueous solution. Assisted with a high-speed mechanical blade, refined quartz sand grains with particularly sharp nanoscale edges can act as ‘nano-knives', which are able to cut the long chain of carboxymethyl cellulose(CMC, as a model molecule). High performance size exclusion chromatography measurements evidenced that the original CMC molecules(41,000 Da) were decomposed into a series of smaller molecules(460, 1000, 2200, 21,000, 27,000 and 31,000 Da). Consequently, the initial viscosity of the CMC solution(2 g/L) rapidly decreased by approximately 50% after 3 min treatment by the nano-knife materials along with the mechanical blade. Fourier transform infrared(FTIR) spectra indicated that the original functional groups were still present and new functional groups were not produced after shearing. The intensity of the main functional groupβ-1-4-glycosidic bond(wavenumber 1062 cm-1) was observed to markedly decrease after shearing. These results indicated that the long-chain CMC was cleaved into short-chain CMC. A degradation mechanism was proposed whereby the cutting force generated by the rapid motion of the nano-knives may be responsible for the breakage of β-1-4-glycosidic bonds in the macromolecular cellulose backbone. These results provide support for a potentially more affordable and environment-friendly strategy for physical-based decomposition of recalcitrant organic pollutants from aqueous solution without the need of chemical or biological reagents.

Digitizing the thermal and hydrological parameters of land surface in subtropical China using AMSR-E brightness temperatures

Digitizing the land surface temperature(T_(s))and surface soil moisture(m _(v))is essential for developing the intelligent Digital Earth.Here,we developed a two parameter physical-based passive microwave remote sensing model for jointly retrieving T_(s) and m_(v) using the dual-polarized T_(b) of Aqua satellite advanced microwave scanning radiometer(AMSR-E)C-band(6.9 GHz)based on the simplified radiative transfer equation.Validation using in situ T_(s) and m_(v) in southern China showed the average root mean square errors(RMSE)of T s and m_(v) retrievals reach 2.42 K(R^(2)=0.61,n=351)and 0.025 g cm^(−3)(R^(2)=0.68,n=663),respectively.The results were also validated using global in situ T_(s)(n=2362)and m_(v)(n=1657)of International Soil Moisture Network.The corresponding RMSE are 3.44 k(R 2=0.86)and 0.039 g cm^(−3)(R^(2)=0.83),respectively.The monthly variations of model-derived Ts and mv are highly consistent with those of the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer T_(s)(R^(2)=0.57;RMSE=2.91 k)and ECV_SM m_(v)(R^(2)=0.51;RMSE=0.045 g cm^(−3)),respectively.Overall,this paper indicates an effective way to jointly modeling T_(s) and m_(v) using passive microwave remote sensing.

Modeling Study of the Particle Pinning Effect on the Grain Boundary Movement

In this work,based on the classical grain boundary (GB) formula and the principle of work-energy conversion,a new physically-based model has been developed to predict the particle pinning force concerning the interaction between second phase particles (SPPs) and the moving GB.The effect of particles pinning on the GB movement is analyzed.The modeling results can be applied to quantitatively determine the critical numbers of SPPs required for complete pining the grain growth,such as the critical SPPs number of the unit GB area,the critical number for single grain stagnation,the critical volume fraction of particles at a given particle size.Theoretical predictions are in good agreement with the experimental results by Gladman.