Influence of core box vents distribution on flow dynamics of core shooting process based on experiment and numerical simulation

Core shooting process plays a decisive role in the quality of sand cores, and core box vents distribution is one of the most important factor determining the effectiveness of core shooting process. In this paper, the influence of core box vents distribution on the flow dynamics of core shooting process was investigated based on in situ experimental observations with transparent core box, high-speed camera and pressure measuring system. Attention was focused on the variation of both the flow behavior of sand and pressure curves due to different vents distribution. Taking both kinetic and frictional stress into account, a kinetic-frictional constitutive model was established to describe the internal momentum transfer in the solid phase. Two-fluid model(TFM) simulation was then performed and good agreement was achieved between the experimental and simulated results on both the flow behavior of sand and the pressure curves. It was found that vents distribution has direct effect on the pressure difference of different locations in the core box, which determines the buoyancy force exerting on the sand particles and significantly influences the filling process of core sand.

Cold Cracking of Flux Cored Arc Welded Armour Grade High Strength Steel Weldments

In this investigation, an attempt has been made to study the influence of welding consumables on the factors that influence cold cracking of armour grade quenched and tempered （Q＆.T） steel welds. Flux cored arc welding （FCAW） process were used making welds using austenitic stainless steel （ASS） and low hydrogen ferritic steel （LHF） consumables. The diffusible hydrogen levels in the weld metal of the ASS and LHF consumables were determined by mercury method. Residual stresses were evaluated using X-ray stress analyzer and implant test was carried out to study the cold cracking of the welds. Results indicate that ASS welds offer a greater resistance to cold cracking of armour grade Q＆T steel welds.

Experimental Investigation on the Performance of Armour Grade Q&T Steel Joints Fabricated by Flux Cored Arc Welding with Low Hydrogen Ferritic Consumables

Quenched and Tempered （Q＆T） steels are widely used in the construction of military vehicles due to its high strength to weight ratio and high hardness. These steels are prone to hydrogen induced cracking （HIC） and softening in the heat affected zone （HAZ） after welding. The use of austenitic stainless steel （ASS） consumables to weld the above steel was the only available remedy to avoid HIC because of higher solubility for hydrogen in austenitic phase. Recent studies revealed that low hydrogen ferritic （LHF） steel consumables can also be used to weld Q＆T steels, which can give very low hydrogen levels in the weld deposits and required resistance against cold cracking. Hence, in this investigation an attempt has been made to study the performance of armour grade Q＆T steel joints fabricated by flux cored arc welding with LHF steel consumables. Two different consumables namely （i） austenitic stainless steel and （ii） low hydrogen ferritic steel have been used to fabricate the joints by flux cored arc welding （FCAW） process. The joints fabricated by LHF consumable exhibited superior transverse tensile properties due to the presence of ferrite microstructure in weld metal. The joints fabricated by ASS consumable showed higher impact toughness due to the presence of austenitic phase in weld metal microstructure. The HAZ softening in coarse grain heat affected zone （CGHAZ） is less in the joints fabricated using LHF consumable due to the lower heat input involved during fabrication compared to the joints fabricated using ASS consumables.

Influence of core sand properties on flow dynamics of core shooting process based on experiment and multiphase simulation

The influence of core sand properties on flow dynamics was investigated synchronously with various core sands, transparent core-box and high-speed camera. To confirm whether the core shooting process has significant turbulence, the flow pattern of sand particles in the shooting head and core box was reproduced with colored core sands. By incorporating the kinetic theory of granular flow(KTGF), kinetic-frictional constitutive correlation and turbulence model, a two-fluid model(TFM) was established to study the flow dynamics of the core shooting process. Two-fluid model(TFM) simulations were then performed and a areasonable agreement was achieved between the simulation and experimental results. Based on the experimental and simulation results, the effects of turbulence, sand density, sand diameter and binder ratio were analyzed in terms of filling process, sand volume fraction(αs) and sand velocity(Vs).

GPU based numerical simulation of core shooting process

Core shooting process is the most widely used technique to make sand cores and it plays an important role in the quality of sand cores. Although numerical simulation can hopefully optimize the core shooting process, research on numerical simulation of the core shooting process is very limited. Based on a two-fluid model(TFM) and a kinetic-friction constitutive correlation, a program for 3D numerical simulation of the core shooting process has been developed and achieved good agreements with in-situ experiments. To match the needs of engineering applications, a graphics processing unit(GPU) has also been used to improve the calculation efficiency. The parallel algorithm based on the Compute Unified Device Architecture(CUDA) platform can significantly decrease computing time by multi-threaded GPU. In this work, the program accelerated by CUDA parallelization method was developed and the accuracy of the calculations was ensured by comparing with in-situ experimental results photographed by a high-speed camera. The design and optimization of the parallel algorithm were discussed. The simulation result of a sand core test-piece indicated the improvement of the calculation efficiency by GPU. The developed program has also been validated by in-situ experiments with a transparent core-box, a high-speed camera, and a pressure measuring system. The computing time of the parallel program was reduced by nearly 95% while the simulation result was still quite consistent with experimental data. The GPU parallelization method can successfully solve the problem of low computational efficiency of the 3D sand shooting simulation program, and thus the developed GPU program is appropriate for engineering applications.

In situ strength profiles along two adjacent vertical drillholes from digitalization of hydraulic rotary drilling

Drilling speed and associated analyses from factual field data of hydraulic rotary drilling have not been fully utilized.The paper provides the reference and comparison for the utilization of drilling information from two adjacent vertical drillholes that were formed with the same hydraulic rotary drilling machine and bit.The analysis of original factual data is presented to obtain the constant drilling speed during net drilling process.According to the factual data along two adjacent drillholes,the digitalization results respectively include 461 linear zones and 210 linear zones with their constant drilling speeds and associated drilling parameters.The digitalization results can accurately present the spatial distributions and interface boundaries of drilled geomaterials and the results are consistent with the paralleled site loggings.The weighted average drilling speeds from 2.335 m/min to 0.044 m/min represent 13 types of drilled geomaterials from soils to hard rocks.The quantitative relation between drilling speed and strength property is provided.The digitalization results can statistically profile the basic strength quality grades of III to VI from soils to hard rocks.The thickness distributions of four strength quality grades are presented for each individual type of geomaterials along two drillholes.In total,50.2%of geomaterials from drillhole A are grade IV and 57.4%of geomaterials from drillhole B are grade III.The digitalization results can offer an accurate and cost-effective tool to quantitatively describe the spatial distribution and in situ strength profile of drilled geomaterials in the current drilling projects.

Black Holes in Role, Essence and Function

This study endeavors to explain black holes through their role, essence and function. It utilizes a customized hypothetico-deductive methodology as a cognitive approach to construct and explain the model. The paper presents schematics as illustrations. Black holes are formed through a clash of Universal energy ripples, or through stellar collapse. Its micro level roles are to: recycle cosmological debris, stabilize the formation of galaxies, define the shape of galaxies, and stratify space around them. Their macro role is a subsystem in the preservation of the Universal balance, construct and shape. Black holes are made of two semi-cores of opposite spins. The cores are heterogeneous and made up of structures of dark matter particles. Surrounding the black hole are the process horizon, event horizon, and trap horizon. Primitive cores cannot survive;black holes which collapse to primitive cores decay and vanish. Black holes attract objects via energy fields, where energy tends to accumulate mass for more complex structure development in which more energy colonizes. Photons can either fall on the event horizon or directly cross to the process horizon depending on the black hole structure. This paper has transformed black holes from a set of scattered and vague ideas into structured objects of defined and necessary universal roles. The paper calls for empirical validation or falsification of its model, theoretical model, and hypothesis.

STUDY OF THE NEW PROCESS OF COLD BOX ──COLD BOX PLUS PROCESS

The cold box plus process it discussed in principle When the proper heating to the corebox is given (65℃±2℃). the binder lever can be saved, also the core strength and surface hardnessare imtroved, the moisture-sensitvity is reduced. The mechanism of the cold box plus process isthat the proper heat increases the activity of resin function groups and promotes the crosslinking re-action The result of a scanning electron microscope analysis shows that the core surface strength isimproved by heat

Effect of Welding Processes and Consumables on Tensile and Impact Properties of High Strength Quenched and Tempered Steel Joints

Quenched and tempered steels are prone to hydrogen induced cracking in the heat affected zone after welding. The use of austenitic stainless steel consumables to weld the above steel was the only available remedy because of higher solubility for hydrogen in austenitic phase. In this investigation, an attempt was made to determine a suitable consumable to replace expensive austenitic consumables. Two different consumables, namely, austenitie stain less steel and low hydrogen ferritic steel, were used to fabricate the joints by shielded metal are welding （SMAW） and flux cored arc welding （FCAW） processes. The joints fabricated by using low hydrogen ferritic steel consumables showed superior transverse tensile properties, whereas joints fabricated by using austenitic stainless steel consumables exhibited better impact toughness, irrespective of the welding process used. The SMAW joints exhibited superior mechanical and impact properties, irrespective of the consumables used, than their FCAW counterparts.

AntarcticaLC2000：The new Antarctic land cover database for the year 2000

Antarctica plays a key role in global energy balance and sea level change.It has been conventionally viewed as a whole ice body with high albedo in General Circulation Models or Regional Climate Models and the differences of land cover has usually been overlooked.Land cover in Antarctica is one of the most important drivers of changes in the Earth system.Detailed land cover information over the Antarctic region is necessary as spatial resolution improves in land process models.However,there is a lack of complete Antarctic land cover dataset derived from a consistent data source.To fill this data gap,we have produced a database named Antarctic Land Cover Database for the Year 2000(AntarcticaLC2000) using Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus(ETM+) data acquired around 2000 and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer(MODIS) images acquired in the austral summer of 2003/2004 according to the criteria for the 1:100000-scale.Three land cover types were included in this map,separately,ice-free rocks,blue ice,and snow/firn.This classification legend was determined based on a review of the land cover systems in Antarctica(LCCSA) and an analysis of different land surface types and the potential of satellite data.Image classification was conducted through a combined usage of computer-aided and manual interpretation methods.A total of 4067 validation sample units were collected through visual interpretation in a stratified random sampling manner.An overall accuracy of 92.3%and the Kappa coefficient of 0.836 were achieved.Results show that the areas and percentages of ice-free rocks,blue ice,and snow/firn are 73268.81 km2(0.537%),225937.26 km2(1.656%),and 13345460.41 km2(97.807%),respectively.The comparisons with other different data proved a higher accuracy of our product and a more advantageous data quality.These indicate that AntarcticaLC2000,the new land cover dataset for Antarctica entirely derived from satellite data,is a reliable product for a broad spectrum of applications.

A multi-scale architecture for multi-scale simulation and its application to gas-solid flows

A multi-scale hardware and software architecture implementing the EMMS （energy-minimization multi-scale） paradigm is proven to be effective in the simulation of a two-dimensional gas-solid suspension. General purpose CPUs are employed for macro-scale control and optimization, and many integrated cores （MlCs） operating in multiple-instruction multiple-data mode are used for a molecular dynamics simulation of the solid particles at the meso-scale. Many cores operating in single-instruction multiple- data mode, such as general purpose graphics processing units （GPGPUs）, are employed for direct numerical simulation of the fluid flow at the micro-scale using the lattice Boltzmann method. This architecture is also expected to be efficient for the multi-scale simulation of other comolex systems.