Geometric Accuracy and Energy Absorption Characteristics of 3D Printed Continuous Ramie Fiber Reinforced Thin-Walled Composite Structures

The application of continuous natural fibers as reinforcement in composite thin-walled structures offers a feasible approach to achieve light weight and high strength while remaining environmentally friendly.In addition,additive manufacturing technology provides a favorable process foundation for its realization.In this study,the printability and energy absorption properties of 3D printed continuous fiber reinforced thin-walled structures with different configurations were investigated.The results suggested that a low printing speed and a proper layer thickness would mitigate the printing defects within the structures.The printing geometry accuracy of the structures could be further improved by rounding the sharp corners with appropriate radii.This study successfully fabricated structures with vari-ous configurations characterized by high geometric accuracy through printing parameters optimization and path smoothing.Moreover,the compressive property and energy absorption characteristics of the structures under quasi-static axial compression were evaluated and compared.It was found that all studied thin-walled structures exhibited progressive folding deformation patterns during compression.In particular,energy absorption process was achieved through the combined damage modes of plastic deformation,fiber pullout and delamination.Furthermore,the com-parison results showed that the hexagonal structure exhibited the best energy absorption performance.The study revealed the structure-mechanical property relationship of 3D printed continuous fiber reinforced composite thin-walled structures through the analysis of multiscale failure characteristics and load response,which is valuable for broadening their applications.

Furnace structure analysis for copper flash continuous smelting based on numerical simulation

According to the innate characteristic of four types of furnace, the copper flash continuous smelting （CFCS） furnace can be considered a synthetic reactor of two relatively independent processes： flash matte smelting process （FMSP） and copper continuous converting process （CCCP）. Then, the CFCS thermodynamic model was proposed by establishing the multi-phase equilibrium model of FMSP and the local-equilibrium model of CCCP, respectively, and by combining them through the smelting intermediates. Subsequently, the influences of the furnace structures were investigated using the model on the formation of blister copper, the Fe3O4 behavior, the copper loss in slag and the copper recovery rate. The results show that the type D furnace, with double flues and a slag partition wall, is an ideal CFCS reactor compared with the other three types furnaces. For CFCS, it is effective to design a partition wall in the furnace to make FMSP and CCCP perform in two relatively independent zones, respectively, and to make smelting gas and converting gas discharge from respective flues.

Regulatable Orthotropic 3D Hybrid Continuous Carbon Networks for Efficient Bi-Directional Thermal Conduction

Vertically oriented carbon structures constructed from low-dimen-sional carbon materials are ideal frameworks for high-performance thermal inter-face materials(TIMs).However,improving the interfacial heat-transfer efficiency of vertically oriented carbon structures is a challenging task.Herein,an orthotropic three-dimensional(3D)hybrid carbon network(VSCG)is fabricated by depositing vertically aligned carbon nanotubes(VACNTs)on the surface of a horizontally oriented graphene film(HOGF).The interfacial interaction between the VACNTs and HOGF is then optimized through an annealing strategy.After regulating the orientation structure of the VACNTs and filling the VSCG with polydimethylsi-loxane(PDMS),VSCG/PDMS composites with excellent 3D thermal conductive properties are obtained.The highest in-plane and through-plane thermal conduc-tivities of the composites are 113.61 and 24.37 W m^(-1)K^(-1),respectively.The high contact area of HOGF and good compressibility of VACNTs imbue the VSCG/PDMS composite with low thermal resistance.In addition,the interfacial heat-transfer efficiency of VSCG/PDMS composite in the TIM performance was improved by 71.3%compared to that of a state-of-the-art thermal pad.This new structural design can potentially realize high-performance TIMs that meet the need for high thermal conductivity and low contact thermal resistance in interfacial heat-transfer processes.

A low-frequency pure metal metamaterial absorber with continuously tunable stiffness

To address the incompatibility between high environmental adaptability and deep subwavelength characteristics in conventional local resonance metamaterials,and overcome the deficiencies in the stability of existing active control techniques for band gaps,this paper proposes a design method of pure metal vibration damping metamaterial with continuously tunable stiffness for wideband elastic wave absorption.We design a dual-helix narrow-slit pure metal metamaterial unit,which possesses the triple advantage of high spatial compactness,low stiffness characteristics,and high structural stability,enabling the opening of elastic flexural band gaps in the low-frequency range.Similar to the principle of a sliding rheostat,the introduction of continuously sliding plug-ins into the helical slits enables the continuous variation of the stiffness of the metamaterial unit,achieving a continuously tunable band gap effect.This successfully extends the effective band gap by more than ten times.The experimental results indicate that this metamaterial unit can be used as an additional vibration absorber to absorb the low-frequency vibration energy effectively.Furthermore,it advances the metamaterial absorbers from a purely passive narrowband design to a wideband tunable one.The pure metal double-helix metamaterials retain the subwavelength properties of metamaterials and are suitable for deployment in harsh environments.Simultaneously,by adjusting its stiffness,it substantially broadens the effective band gap range,presenting promising potential applications in various mechanical equipment operating under adverse conditions.

A comprehensive analysis of the response of the fungal community structure to long-term continuous cropping in three typical upland crops

Certain agricultural management practices are known to affect the soil microbial community structure;however,knowledge of the response of the fungal community structure to the long-term continuous cropping and rotation of soybean,maize and wheat in the same agroecosystem is limited.We assessed the fungal abundance,composition and diversity among soybean rotation,maize rotation and wheat rotation systems and among long-term continuous cropping systems of soybean,maize and wheat as the effect of crop types on fungal community structure.We compared these fungal parameters of same crop between long-term crop rotation and continuous cropping systems as the effect of cropping systems on fungal community structure.The fungal abundance and composition were measured by quantitative real-time PCR and Illumina MiSeq sequencing.The results revealed that long-term continuous soybean cropping increased the soil fungal abundance compared with soybean rotation,and the fungal abundance was decreased in long-term continuous maize cropping compared with maize rotation.The long-term continuous soybean cropping also exhibited increased soil fungal diversity.The variation in the fungal community structure among the three crops was greater than that between long-term continuous cropping and rotation cropping.Mortierella,Guehomyces and Alternaria were the most important contributors to the dissimilarity of the fungal communities between the continuous cropping and rotation cropping of soybean,maize and wheat.There were 11 potential pathogen and 11 potential biocontrol fungi identified,and the relative abundance of most of the potential pathogenic fungi increased during the long-term continuous cropping of all three crops.The relative abundance of most biocontrol fungi increased in long-term continuous soybean cropping but decreased in long-term continuous maize and wheat cropping.Our results indicate that the response of the soil fungal community structure to long-term continuous cropping varies based upon crop types.

Development of Linearizing Feedback Control with a Variable Structure Observer for Continuous Stirred Tank Reactors

This paper deals with the design of an observer-based nonlinear control for continuous stirred tank reactors(CSTR).A variable structure observer is constructed to estimate the whole process state variables.This observer is basically the conventional Luenberger observer with an additional switching term used to guarantee the robustness against modeling errors.The observer is coupled with a nonlinear controller,designed based on input-output linearization for controlling the reactor temperature.The asymptotical stability of the closed-loop system is shown by the Lyapunov stability theorem.Finally,computer simulations are developed for showing the performance of the proposed approach.

Effect of cooling structure on thermal behavior of copper plates of slab continuous casting mold

A three-dimensional finite-element model of slab continuous casting mold was conducted to clarify the effect of cooling structure on thermal behavior of copper plates. The results show that temperature distribution of hot surface is mainly governed by cooling structure and heat-transfer conditions. For hot surface centricity, maximum surface temperature promotions are 30 ℃and 15 ℃ with thickness increments of copper plates of 5 mm and nickel layers of 1 ram, respectively. The surface temperature without nickel layers is depressed by 10 ℃ when the depth increment of water slots is 2 mm and that with nickel layers adjacent to and away from mold outlet is depressed by 7℃ and 5 ℃, respectively. The specific trend of temperature distribution of transverse sections of copper plates is nearly free of cooling structure, but temperature is changed and its law is similar to the corresponding surface temperature.

Structure Design of SEN for High Efficiency Thin Slab Continuous Casting

Four-hole submerged entry nozzles （SEN） with dif- ferent structures were researched using the water simula- tion test by particle image velocimetry （PIV） and DJSO0 hydraulic measurement system to get suitable SEN for high efficiency continuous casting. The influences of the exit area ratio （2： 1：2, 3：2： 3, 1： 1：1 and 1：2： 1）, upper guide island angle θ （20°, 40°, 60° and 80°） , and lower guide island angle α （60°, 80°, 100° and 120°） on the vortex position in the mold and fluctuations were researched. The results show that the exit area ratio and the upper and low guide island angles have ob- vious influence on the flow field; the flow field in the mold is suitable at 1：2：1 of the exit area ratio, 80° of upper guide island angle, and 100° of lower guide island angle.

Study Segregation of Alloying Elements in Continuous Casting Slab with Valence Electron Structure

By calculating the electron structures of the phases that phosphor, sulfur and alloying elements dissolving inγ-Fe, the reason why alloying elements can bring centerline segregation in continuous casting slab (CCS) with nA, the number of electrons on the strongest covalent bonds, and the structure formation factor S were investigated, and an electron structural criterion to control and to eliminate the centerline segregation was advanced. Basing on this, the electron structures of a part of rare earth phosphides and sulfides are calculated, the physical mechanism that rare earth elements can control the segregation of phosphor and sulfur is analyzed, and the criterion is well verified.

Permanence and global attractivity of stage-structured predator-prey model with continuous harvesting on predator and impulsive stocking on prey

We investigate a stage-structured delayed predator-prey model with impulsive stocking on prey and continuous harvesting on predator. According to the fact of biological resource management, we improve the assumption of a predator-prey model with stage structure for predator population that each individual predator has the same ability to capture prey. It is assumed that the immature and mature individuals of the predator population are divided by a fixed age, and immature predator population does not have the ability to attach prey. Sufficient conditions are obtained, which guarantee the global attractivity of predator-extinction periodic solution and the permanence of the system. Our results show that the behavior of impulsive stocking on prey plays an important role for the permanence of the system, and provide tactical basis for the biological resource management. Numerical analysis is presented to illuminate the dynamics of the system.

ICM method for topology optimization of multimaterial continuum structure with displacement constraint

A new topology optimization method is formulated for lightweight design of multimaterial structures, using the independent continuous mapping (ICM) method to minimize the weight with a prescribed nodal displacement constraint. Two types of independent topological variable are used to identify the presence of elements and select the material for each phase, to realize the interpolations of the element stiffness matrix and total weight. Furthermore, an explicit expression for the optimized formulation is derived, using approximations of the displacement and weight given by first- and second-order Taylor expansions. The optimization problem is thereby transformed into a standard quadratic programming problem that can be solved using a sequential quadratic programming approach. The feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed multimaterial topology optimization method are demonstrated by determining the best load transfer path for four numerical examples. The results reveal that the topologically optimized configuration of the multimaterial structure varies with the material properties, load conditions, and constraint. Firstly, the weight of the optimized multimaterial structure is found to be lower than that composed of a single material. Secondly, under the precondition of a displacement constraint, the weight of the topologically optimized multimaterial structure decreases as the displacement constraint value is increased. Finally, the topologically optimized multimaterial structures differ depending on the elastic modulus of the materials. Besides, the established optimization formulation is more reliable and suitable for use in practical engineering applications with structural performance parameters as constraint.

A METHOD FOR THE ANALYSIS OF DYNAMIC RESPONSE OF STRUCTURE CONTAINING NON-SMOOTH CONTACTABLE INTERFACES

A novel single-step method is proposed for the analysis of dynamic response of visco-elastic structures containing non-smooth contactable interfaces. In the method, a two-level algorithm is employed for dealing with a nonlinear boundary condition caused by the dynamic contact of interfaces. At the first level, an explicit method is adopted to calculate nodal displacements of global viscoelastic system without considering the effect of dynamic contact of interfaces and at the second level, by introducing contact conditions of interfaces, a group of equations of lower order is derived to calculate dynamic contact normal and shear forces on the interfaces. The method is convenient and efficient for the analysis of problems of dynamic contact. The accuracy of the method is of the second order and the numerical stability condition is wider than that of other explicit methods.

Research on semi-active control method of a building structure based on non-smooth control

This study investigates the effectiveness of the non-smooth semi-active control algorithm on suppressing the vibration performance of a building structure subjected to seismic waves. According to the Lyapunov stability theory, it has bene proven that the non-smooth semi-active control algorithm can achieve a finite-time stability of the vibration relative to the isolation layer of a building structure. Through numerical simulation of two buildings with different parameters subjected to the input of a seismic wave, the vibration conditions of passive control, LQR semi-active control and non-smooth semiactive control are compared and analyzed. The simulation results show that the non-smooth semi-active control algorithm has a better robustness and effectiveness in restraining the impact of earthquakes on the structure.

Flow Structure and Short-Term Riverbed Evolution in Curved Flumes

River bending is the major effect responsible for bed topography and bank changes.In this study,fluid velocity(measured by a three-dimensional Doppler advanced point current meter)and bed topographical data have been collected in 40 sections of an experimental model.The whole flume was composed of an organic glass bend,upstream and downstream water tanks,two transition straight sections,a circulation pump,and a connection pipeline.Each section has been found to be characterized by a primary circulation and a small reverse circulation,with some sections even presenting three more or more circulation structures.The minimum circulation intensity has been detected in proximity to the top of the curved channel,while a region with small longitudinal velocity has been observed near the concave bank of each bend,corresponding to the flat bed formed after a short period of scouring.The maximum sediment deposition and scour depth in the presence of a uniform distribution of living flexible vegetation within 10 cm of the flume wall have been found to be smaller than those observed in the tests conducted without vegetation.

ICM Method Combined with Meshfree Approximation for Continuum Structure

The independent continuous mapping（ICM） method is integrated into element free Galerkin method and a new implementation of topology optimization for continuum structure is presented.To facilitate the enforcement of the essential boundary condition and derivative of various sensitivities,a singular weight function in element free Galerkin method is introduced.Material point variable is defined to illustrate the condition of material point and its vicinity instead of element or node.The topological variables field is constructed by moving least square approximation which inherits the continuity and smoothness of the weight function.Due to reciprocal relationships between the topological variables and design variables,various structural responses sensitivities are derived according to the method for calculating the partial derivatives of compound functions.Numerical examples indicate that checkerboard pattern and mesh-dependence phenomena are overcome without additional restriction methods.

A NEW METHOD FOR STRUCTURAL TOPOLOGICAL OPTIMIZATION BASED ON THE CONCEPT OF INDEPENDENT CONTINUOUS VARIABLES AND SMOOTH MODEL

A concept of the independent-continuous topological variable is proposed to establish its corresponding smooth model of structural topological optimization. The method can overcome difficulties that are encountered in conventional models and algorithms for the optimization of the structural topology. Its application to truss topological optimization with stress and displacement constraints is satisfactory, with convergence faster than that of sectional optimizations.

Simulation of microstructures in solidification of aluminum twin-roll casting

Based on the research on the solidification of twin-roll continuous casting aluminum thin strip, the analytical model of heterogeneous nucleation, the growth kinetics of tip （KGT） and columnar dendrite transformation to equiaxed dendrite （CET） of twin-roll continuous casting aluminum thin strip solidification was established by means of the principle of metal solidification and modem computer emulational technology. Meantime, based on the cellular automaton, the emulational model of twin-roll continuous casting aluminum thin strip, solidification was established. The foundation for the emulational simulation of twin-roll casting thin strip solidification structure was laid. Meanwhile, the mathematical simulation feasibility was confirmed by using the solidification process of twin-roll continuous casting aluminum thin strip.

Dynamical Solidification Behaviors and Metal Flow during Continuous Semisolid Extrusion Process of AZ31 Alloy

In this paper, a novel near-net-shape forming process, continuous semisolid extrusion process （CSEP） of AZ31 alloy was proposed, and the dynamical solidification behaviors and metal flow during the process were firstly investigated. During casting AZ31 alloy by this process, non-uniform microstructure distributions and non- equilibrium solidification region near the roll surface were found in the roll-shoe gap. Microstructural evolution from dendrite to rosette and spherical grains was observed during the casting by CSEP. Casting temperature, roll-shoe gap width and cooling ability have great effect on casting process and metal flow, so these factors should be carefully controlled, a proper casting temperature of 710-750℃ is suggested. The white α phases were strongly stretched during the processing, and the remnant liquids are correspondingly distributes along the solid phase boundaries and also show stripped lines.

Integrated design optimization of composite frames and materials for maximum fundamental frequency with continuous fiber winding angles

Fiber reinforced composite frame structure is an ideal lightweight and large-span structure in the fields of aerospace,satellite and wind turbine.Natural fundamental frequency is one of key indicators in the design requirement of the composite frame since structural resonance can be effectively avoided with the increase of the fundamental frequency.Inspired by the concept of integrated design optmization of composite frame structures and materials,the design optimization for the maximum structural fundamental frequency of fiber reinforced frame structures is proposed.An optimization model oriented at the maximum structural fundamental frequency under a composite material volume constraint is established.Two kinds of independent design variables are optimized,in which one is variables represented structural topology,the other is variables of continuous fiber winding angles.Sensitivity analysis of the frequency with respect to the two kinds of independent design variables is implemented with the semi-analytical sensitivity method.Some representative examples in the manuscript demonstrate that the integrated design optimization of composite structures can effectively explore coupled effects between structural configurations and material properties to increase the structural fundamental frequency.The proposed integrated optimization model has great potential to improve composite frames structural dynamic performance in aerospace industries.

Numerical study on three-dimensional flow field of continuously rotating detonation in a toroidal chamber

Gaseous detonation propagating in a toroidal chamber was numerically studied for hydrogen/oxygen/nitrogen mixtures. The numerical method used is based on the three-dimensional Euler equations with detailed finiterate chemistry. The results show that the calculated streak picture is in qualitative agreement with the picture recorded by a high speed streak camera from published literature. The three-dimensional flow field induced by a continuously rotating detonation was visualized and distinctive features of the rotating detonations were clearly depicted. Owing to the unconfined character of detonation wavelet, a deficit of detonation parameters was observed. Due to the effects of wall geometries, the strength of the outside detonation front is stronger than that of the inside portion. The detonation thus propagates with a constant circular velocity. Numerical simulation also shows three-dimensional rotating detonation structures, which display specific feature of the detonation- shock combined wave. Discrete burning gas pockets are formed due to instability of the discontinuity. It is believed that the present study could give an insight into the interest- ing properties of the continuously rotating detonation, and is thus beneficial to the design of continuous detonation propulsion systems.