Discontinuity development patterns and the challenges for 3D discrete fracture network modeling on complicated exposed rock surfaces

Natural slopes usually display complicated exposed rock surfaces that are characterized by complex and substantial terrain undulation and ubiquitous undesirable phenomena such as vegetation cover and rockfalls.This study presents a systematic outcrop research of fracture pattern variations in a complicated rock slope,and the qualitative and quantitative study of the complex phenomena impact on threedimensional(3D)discrete fracture network(DFN)modeling.As the studies of the outcrop fracture pattern have been so far focused on local variations,thus,we put forward a statistical analysis of global variations.The entire outcrop is partitioned into several subzones,and the subzone-scale variability of fracture geometric properties is analyzed(including the orientation,the density,and the trace length).The results reveal significant variations in fracture characteristics(such as the concentrative degree,the average orientation,the density,and the trace length)among different subzones.Moreover,the density of fracture sets,which is approximately parallel to the slope surface,exhibits a notably higher value compared to other fracture sets across all subzones.To improve the accuracy of the DFN modeling,the effects of three common phenomena resulting from vegetation and rockfalls are qualitatively analyzed and the corresponding quantitative data processing solutions are proposed.Subsequently,the 3D fracture geometric parameters are determined for different areas of the high-steep rock slope in terms of the subzone dimensions.The results show significant variations in the same set of 3D fracture parameters across different regions with density differing by up to tenfold and mean trace length exhibiting differences of 3e4 times.The study results present precise geological structural information,improve modeling accuracy,and provide practical solutions for addressing complex outcrop issues.

Three-Dimensional Conjugate Tooth Surface Design and Contact Analysis of Harmonic Drive with Double-Circular-Arc Tooth Profle

A three-dimensional conjugate tooth surface design method for Harmonic Drive with a double-circular-arc tooth profle is proposed. The radial deformation function of the fexspline (FS), obtained through Finite Element (FE) analysis, is incorporated into the kinematics model. By analyzing the FS tooth enveloping process, the optimization of the overlapping conjugate tooth profle is achieved. By utilizing the hobbing process, the three-dimensional machinable tooth surface of FS can be acquired. Utilizing the coning deformation of the FS, simulations are conducted to analyze the multi-section assembly and meshing motion of the machinable tooth surface. The FE method is utilized to analyze and compare the loaded contact characteristics. Results demonstrate that the proposed design method can achieve an internal gear pair consisting of a circular spline with a spur gear tooth surface and the FS with a machinable tooth surface. With the rated torque, approximately 24% of the FS teeth are engaged in meshing, and more than 4/5 of the tooth surface in the axial direction carries the load. The contact patterns, maximum contact pressure, and transmission error of the machinable tooth surface are 227.2%, 40.67%, and 71.24% of those on the spur gear tooth surface, respectively. It clearly demonstrates exceptional transmission performance.

A Simple Monte Carlo Method for Locating the Three-dimensional Critical Slip Surface of a Slope

Based on the assumption of the plain-strain problem, various optimization or random search methods have been developed for locating the critical slip surfaces in slope-stability analysis, but none of such methods is applicable to the 3D case. In this paper, a simple Monte Carlo random simulation method is proposed to identify the 3D critical slip surface. Assuming the initial slip to be the lower part of a slip ellipsoid, the 3D critical slip surface is located by means of a minimized 3D safety factor. A column-based 3D slope stability analysis model is used to calculate this factor. In this study, some practical cases of known minimum safety factors and critical slip surfaces in 2D analysis are extended to 3D slope problems to locate the critical slip surfaces. Compared with the 2D result, the resulting 3D critical slip surface has no apparent difference in terms of only cross section, but the associated 3D safety factor is definitely higher.

Three-dimensional numerical simulation of crown spike due to coupling effect between bubbles and free surface

The motion of gas bubbles beneath a free surface will lead to a spike of fluid on the free surface. The distance of the bubbles to the free surface is the key factor to different phenomena. When the inception distance varies in some range, crown phenomenon would happen after the impact of weak buoyancy bubbles, so this kind of spike is defined as crown spike in the present paper. Based on potential flow theory, a three-dimensional numerical model is established to simulate the motion of the free-surface spike generated by one bubble or a horizontal line of two in-phase bubbles. After the downward jet formed near the end of the collapse phase, the simulation of the free surface is performed to study the crown spike without regard to the toroidal bubble＇s effect. Calculations about the interaction between one bubble and free surface agree well with the experimental results conducted with a high-speed camera, and relative error is within 15%. Crown spike in both single- and two-bubble cases are simulated numerically. Different features and laws of the motion of crown spike, depending on the bubble-boundary distances and the inter-bubble distances, have been investigated.

Stream Surface Strip Element Method and Simulation of Three-Dimensional Deformation of Continuous Hot Rolled Strip

A new method,the stream surface strip element method,for simulating the three-dimensional deformation of plate and strip rolling process was proposed.The rolling deformation zone was divided into a number of stream surface(curved surface)strip elements along metal flow traces,and the stream surface strip elements were mapped into the corresponding plane strip elements for analysis and computation.The longitudinal distributions of the lateral displacement and the altitudinal displacement of metal were respectively constructed to be a quartic curve and a quadratic curve,of which the lateral distributions were expressed as the third-power spline function,and the altitudinal distributions were fitted in the quadratic curve.From the flow theory of plastic mechanics,the mathematical models of the three-dimensional deformations and stresses of the deformation zone were constructed.Compared with the streamline strip element method proposed by the first author of this paper,the stream surface strip element method takes into account the uneven distributions of stresses and deformations along altitudinal direction,and realizes the precise three-dimensional analysis and computation.The simulation example of continuous hot rolled strip indicates that the method and the model accord with facts and provide a new reliable engineering-computation method for the three-dimensional mechanics simulation of plate and strip rolling process.

Surface characteristics analysis of fractures induced by supercritical CO_(2)and water through three-dimensional scanning and scanning electron micrography

Morphology of hydraulic fracture surface has significant effects on oil and gas flow,proppant migration and fracture closure,which plays an important role in oil and gas fracturing stimulation.In this paper,we analyzed the fracture surface characteristics induced by supercritical carbon dioxide(SC-CO_(2))and water in open-hole and perforation completion conditions under triaxial stresses.A simple calculation method was proposed to quantitatively analyze the fracture surface area and roughness in macro-level based on three-dimensional(3D)scanning data.In micro-level,scanning electron micrograph(SEM)was used to analyze the features of fracture surface.The results showed that the surface area of the induced fracture increases with perforation angle for both SC-CO_(2)and water fracturing,and the surface area of SC-CO_(2)-induced fracture is 6.49%e58.57%larger than that of water-induced fracture.The fractal dimension and surface roughness of water-induced fractures increase with the increase in perforation angle,while those of SC-CO_(2)-induced fractures decrease with the increasing perforation angle.A considerable number of microcracks and particle peeling pits can be observed on SC-CO_(2)-induced fracture surface while there are more flat particle surfaces in water-induced fracture surface through SEM images,indicating that fractures tend to propagate along the boundary of the particle for SC-CO_(2)fracturing while water-induced fractures prefer to cut through particles.These findings are of great significance for analyzing fracture mechanism and evaluating fracturing stimulation performance.

Three-dimensional surface model analysis in the gastrointestinal tract

The biomechanical changes during functional loading and unloading of the human gastrointestinal （GI） tract are not fully understood. GI function is usually studled by introducing probes in the GI lumen. Computer modeling offers a promising alternative approach in this regard, with the additional ability to predict regional stresses and strains in inaccessible locations. The tension and stress distributions in the GI tract are related to distensibility （tension-strain relationship） and smooth muscle tone. lore knowledge on the tension and stress on the GI tract are needed to improve diagnosis of patients with gastrointestinal disorders. A modeling framework that can be used to integrate the physiological, anatomical and medical knowledge of the GI system has recently been developed. The 3-D anatomical model was constructed from digital images using ultrasonography, computer tomography （CT） or magnetic resonance imaging （IRI）. Different mathematical algorithms were developed for surface analysis based on thin-walled structure and the finite element method was applied for the mucosa-folded three layered esophageal model analysis. The tools may be useful for studying the geometry and biomechanical properties of these organs in health and disease. These studies will serve to test the structurefunction hypothesis of geometrically complex organs.

Three-dimensional stereotactic surface projection in the statistical analysis of single photon emission computed tomography data for distinguishing between Alzheimer's disease and depression

AIM To evaluate usefulness of single photon emission computed tomography(SPECT) with three-dimensional stereotactic surface projection(3D-SSP) in distinguishing between Alzheimer's disease(AD) and depression.METHODS We studied 43 patients who presented with both depressive symptoms and memory disturbance. Each subject was evaluated using the following:(1) the Minimal Mental State Examination;(2) the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression;(3) Clinical Global Impression-Severity scale(CGI-S); and(4) SPECT imaging with 3D-SSP.RESULTS The MMSE scores correlated significantly with the maximum Z-scores of AD-associated regions. CGI-S scores correlated significantly with the maximum Z-scores of depression-associated regions. Factor analysis identified three significant factors. Of these, Factor 1 could be interpreted as favouring a tendency for AD, Factor 2 as favouring a tendency for pseudo-dementia, and Factor 3 as favouring a depressive tendency.CONCLUSION We investigated whether these patients could be categorized as types: Type A(true AD), Type B(pseudodementia), Type C(occult AD), and Type D(true depression). The factor scores in factor analysis supported the validity of this classification. Our results suggest that SPECT with 3D-SSP is highly useful for distinguishing between depression and depressed mood in the early stage of AD.

Microstructure-based three-dimensional characterization of chip formation and surface generation in the machining of particulate-reinforced metal matrix composites

Particulate-reinforced metal matrix composites(PRMMCs)are difficult to machine due to the inclusion of hard,brittle reinforcing particles.Existing experimental investigations rarely reveal the complex material removal mechanisms(MRMs)involved in the machining of PRMMCs.This paper develops a three-dimensional(3D)microstructure-based model for investigating the MRM and surface integrity of machined PRMMCs.To accurately mimic the actual microstructure of a PRMMC,polyhedrons were randomly distributed inside the matrix to represent irregular SiC particles.Particle fracture and matrix deformation and failure were taken into account.For the model’s capability comparison,a two-dimensional(2D)analysis was also conducted.Relevant cutting experiments showed that the established 3D model accurately predicted the material removal,chip morphology,machined surface finish,and cutting forces.It was found that the matrix-particle-tool interactions led to particle fractures,mainly in the primary shear and secondary deformation zones along the cutting path and beneath the machined surface.Particle fracture and dilodegment greatly influences the quality of a machined surface.It was also found that although a 2D model can reflect certain material removal features,its ability to predict microstructural variation is limited.

Optimization of Three-Dimensional Culture Conditions of HepG2 Cells with Response Surface Methodology Based on the VitroGel System

Objective This study optimizes three-dimensional(3D) culture conditions of HepG2 using response surface methodology(RSM) based on the VitroGel system to facilitate the cell model in vitro for liver tissues.Method HepG2 cell was 3D cultured on the VitroGel system.Cell viability was detected using Cell Counting Kit-8(CCK-8) assay of HepG2 lived cell numbers.The proliferation of HepG2 cell and clustering performance was measured via fluorescence staining test.Albumin concentration in the culture medium supernatant as an index of HepG2 cell biological function was measured with ELISA kit.Independent factor tests were conducted with three key factors:inoculated cell concentration,cultured time,and dilution degree of the hydrogel.The preliminary results of independent factor tests were used to determine the levels of factors for RSM.Result The selected optimal culture conditions are as follows:concentration of inoculated cells was4.44 × 10^(5)/mL,culture time was 4.86 days,and hydrogel dilution degree was 1:2.23.The result shows that under optimal conditions,the predicted optical density(OD) value of cell viability was 3.10 and measured 2.978 with a relative error of 3.94%.Conclusion This study serves as a reference for the 3D HepG2 culture and constructs liver tissues in vitro.Additionally,it provides the foundation for repeated dose high-throughput toxicity studies and other scientific research work.

Clinical Application of Surface Mode on Three-dimensional Ultrasonography: A Preliminary Study

To investigate the methodology and evaluate the clinical value of surface mode on three- dimensional ultrasonography (3DUS) in static anatomical structures, 62 patients with various diseases were studied. The equipment used here was Voluson 530D 3DUS imaging system and 3D volume trahsducer with frequency being 3. 0-5. 0 MHz. The 3DUS rendering method was surface mode. The results showed that: 1 ) Surface mode of 3DUS could demonstrate clearly the anatomical characteristics of the region-of-interest (ROI) and the inner wall of lesions or organs that contained fluid. The anatomic details, such as location, size, shape, and number of the ROI, could be visualized intuitively; 2) The outer anatomic features (e. g. contour, edge, configuration, etc. ) of some organs or lesions surrounded by fluid could be displayed clearly. It could be concluded that surface mode on 3DUS could provide more diagnostic information than two-dimensional ultrasonography (2DUS) in some cases and could served as a beneficial supplement to ZDUS in clinical practice.

Research on postprocessing of seven-axis linkage parallel kinematics machine with complicated surfaces

Because of restriction of workspace of parallel kinematics Machine (PKM), 6 DOF PKM can’t finish machining of workpiece with complicated surfaces under only once locating. It is necessary to fit workpiece beyond twice and to lead to low machining precision. Therefore the seven-axis linkage PKM is implemented by fixing a turntable on the worktable of the six-axis linkage PKM. However, the turntable angle decomposing problem from the CL file should be well considered. If the traditional decomposing methods are adopted, the nutation angle usually goes beyond the workspace of the machine. Therefore, according to the relation of the machine coordinate system and the workpiece coordinate system, the turntable angle decomposition algorithmic of the consistent coordinate system and the turntable angle decomposition algorithmic of the non-consistent coordinate system are developed to resolve the problem mentioned above. The turntable angle decomposition of the non-consistent coordinate system processes the decomposition which is based on the consistent coordinate system again. It calculates the initial angle of the locating workpiece, and the decomposed angle of the turntable at the machine coordinate system results in the nutation angle not going beyond workspace of the machine, thereby the decomposition process can be simplified.

Complicated hollow turbine blades and surface grain refinement process

The control of grain size in superalloys is critical in the manufacture of gas turbine blades.The aim of the present research is to provide the technology for producing complicated hollow turbine blades with fine surface grains and better comprehensive mechanical properties.By melt superheating treatment and coating the internal surfaces of shell mould using a cobalt aluminate-bearing coating material,the in-uence of cobalt aluminate as inoculant on the surface grain sizes of turbine blade was studied with addition of cobalt aluminate:0,35%,45%-65% and 100% respectively.At the same time,the effects of cooling circumstances of the blades on surface grain sizes were also experimented under the same addition of cobalt aluminate.The results showed that the melt superheating treatment plays a significant role in the grain size and carbide morphology;and fine surface grains were obtained when the internal surfaces of shell mould were coated using cobalt aluminate coatings.When the addition of cobalt aluminate in coating is between 45%-65%,and the melt is poured into preheated shell moulds with fine silica sand as backing sand,the blades satisfied the surface grain size requirement is over 90%.In addition,comparisons of the surface grain size and the mechanical properties were also conducted between home-made and foreign-made blades.

Tubular limiting stream surface: “tornado” in three-dimensional vortical flow

A new physical structure of vortical flow, i.e., tubular limiting stream surface(TLSS), is reported. It is defined as a general mathematical structure for the physical flow field in the neighborhood of a singularity, and has a close relationship with limit cycles.The TLSS is a tornado-like structure, which separates a vortex into two regions, i.e., the inner region near the vortex axis and the outer region further away from the vortex axis.The flow particles in these two regions can approach to(or leave) the TLSS, but never could reach it.

Level Statistics Crossover of Chiral Surface States in a Three-Dimensional Quantum Hall System

Recent experiments have demonstrated the realization of the three-dimensional quantum Hall effect in highly anisotropic crystalline materials, such as ZrTe|_5 and BaMnSb_2. Such a system supports chiral surface states in the presence of a strong magnetic field, which exhibit a one-dimensional metal-insulator crossover due to suppression of surface diffusion by disorder potential. We study the nontrivial surface states in a lattice model and find a wide crossover of the level-spacing distribution through a semi-Poisson distribution. We also discover a nonmonotonic evolution of the level statistics due to the disorder-induced mixture of surface and bulk states.

Three-dimensional analysis of pedicle screw channel,screw entry point and lateral surface of cervical vertebral body

Objective To explore three-dimensional relations of pedicle screw channel (PSC) ,screw entry point and lateral surface of cervical vertebral body by digital techniques. Methods CT scan images of cervical

Wind dynamic environment and wind-sand erosion and deposition processes on different surfaces along the Dunhuang–Golmud railway,China

The Dunhuang–Golmud railway passes through different deserts in arid areas,especially drifting-sand desert and sandy-gravel Gobi.The near-surface wind environment and wind-sand transport process vary due to different external factors,such as topography,vegetation,and regional climate,resulting in evident spatial differences in surface erosion and deposition.Consequently,the measures for preventing wind-sand hazards will differ.However,the mechanism and control theory of sand damage remain poorly understood.In this study,we used meteorological observation,three-dimensional(3D)laser scanning,and grain-size analysis to compare and evaluate the spatial distribution of wind conditions,sand erosion and deposition patterns,and grain composition in the drifting-sand desert and sandy-gravel Gobi along the Dunhuang–Golmud railway in China.Results show that the annual mean wind speed,the frequency of sand-driving wind,and the drift potential of sandy-gravel Gobi are higher than those of drifting-sand desert,indicating a greater wind strength in the sandy-gravel Gobi,which exhibits spatial heterogeneity in wind conditions.The major sediment components in sandy-gravel Gobi are very fine sand,fine sand,and medium sand,and that in drifting-sand desert are very fine sand and fine sand.We found that the sediment in the sandy-gravel Gobi is coarser than that in the drifting-sand desert based on mean grain size and sediment component.The spatial distributions of sand erosion and deposition in the sandy-gravel Gobi and drifting-sand desert are consistent,with sand deposition mainly on the west side of the railway and sand erosion on the east side of the railway.The area of sand deposition in the drifting-sand desert accounts for 75.83%of the total area,with a mean deposition thickness of 0.032 m;while the area of sand deposition in the sandy-gravel Gobi accounts for 65.31%of the total area,with a mean deposition thickness of 0.028 m,indicating greater deposition amounts in the drifting-sand desert due to the presence of more fine sediment components.However,the sand deposition is more concentrated with a greater thickness on the embankment and track in the sandy-gravel Gobi and is dispersed with a uniform thickness in the drifting-sand desert.The sand deposition on the track of the sandy-gravel Gobi mainly comes from the east side of the railway.The results of this study are helpful in developing the preventive measures and determining appropriate selection and layout measures for sand control.

Clinical Value of Trans-parenchymal Compressing Suture to Decrease the Cutting Surface Related Complications after Non-anatomical Liver Resection

Non-anatomical liver resection with appropriate resection margin is regarded as a potential curative treatment for selected major hepatic carcinoma due to preserving maximal normal liver,especially in cirrhotic patients.But occurrence of cutting surface related complications becomes a main challenge.From June 2010 to June 2016,448 patients with major hepatic carcinoma received non-anatomical liver resection in our liver surgery center.After excluding 66 cases that were incongruent with the purpose of study,235 patients undergoing transparenchymal compressing suture(TCS)to“not good”cutting surface were allocated as study group;147 patients with exposed surface(ES)were matched as control group.The characteristics of postoperative drainage,postoperative hepatic and renal functions,hospital days,and outcomes were collected retrospectively.We further compared cutting surface related complications under different levels of liver cirrhosis between the two groups.Compared with ES group,patients in TCS group had a decreased incidence of cutting surface related complications(14.3%vs.6.8%,P=0.011)and a decreased probability of interventions for cutting surface related complications(8.2%vs.3.4%,P=0.042).TCS application was much more effective to prevent cutting surface related complications in patients with moderate and severe cirrhosis(5.4%vs.15.8%,P=0.003).Postoperative hepatic and renal function,hospita 1 days and mortality did not differ between the two groups.In conclusion,TCS decreases the probability of cutting surface related complications and postoperative interventions for related complications,especially in patients with moderate and severe cirrhosis.

Influence of sampling on three-dimensional surface shape measurement

In order to accurately measure an object’s three-dimensional surface shape,the influence of sampling on it was studied.First,on the basis of deriving spectra expressions through the Fourier transform,the generation of CCD pixels was analyzed,and its expression was given.Then,based on the discrete expression of deformation fringes obtained after sampling,its Fourier spectrum expression was derived,resulting in an infinitely repeated"spectra island"in the frequency domain.Finally,on the basis of using a low-pass filter to remove high-order harmonic components and retaining only one fundamental frequency component,the inverse Fourier transform was used to reconstruct the signal strength.A method of reducing the sampling interval,i.e.,reducing the number of sampling points per fringe,was proposed to increase the ratio between the sampling frequency and the fundamental frequency of the grating.This was done to reconstruct the object’s surface shape more accurately under the condition of m>4.The basic principle was verified through simulation and experiment.In the simulation,the sampling intervals were 8 pixels,4 pixels,2 pixels,and 1 pixel,the maximum absolute error values obtained in the last three situations were 88.80%,38.38%,and 31.50%in the first situation,respectively,and the corresponding average absolute error values are 71.84%,43.27%,and 32.26%.It is demonstrated that the smaller the sampling interval,the better the recovery effect.Taking the same four sampling intervals in the experiment as in the simulation can also lead to the same conclusions.The simulated and experimental results show that reducing the sampling interval can improve the accuracy of object surface shape measurement and achieve better reconstruction results.

Regional magnetic anomaly fields:3D Taylor polynomial and surface spline models

We used data from 1960.0,1970.0,1980.0,1990.0,and 2000.0 to study the geomagnetic anomaly field over the Chinese mainland by using the three-dimensional Taylor polynomial（3DTP） and the surface spline（SS） models.To obtain the pure anomaly field,the main field and the induced field of the ionospheric and magnetospheric fields were removed from measured data.We also compared the SS model anomalies and the data obtained with Kriging interpolation（KI）.The geomagnetic anomaly distribution over the mainland was analyzed based on the SS and 3DTP models by transferring all points from 1960.0-1990.0 to 2000.0.The results suggest that the total intensity F anomalies estimated based on the SS and KI for each year are basically consistent in distribution and intensity.The anomalous distributions in the X-,Y-,and Z-direction and F are mainly negative.The 3DTP model anomalies suggest that the intensity in the X-direction increases from-100 nT to 0 nT with longitude,whereas the intensity in the Y-direction decreases from 400 nT to 20 nT with longitude and over the eastern mainland is almost negative.The intensity in the Z-direction and F are very similar and in most areas it is about-50 nT and higher in western Tibet.The SS model anomalies overall reflect the actual distribution of the magnetic field anomalies;however,because of the uneven distribution of measurements,it yields several big anomalies.Owing to the added altitude term,the 3DTP model offers higher precision and is consistent with KI.