Experimental Measurements of the Sensitivity of Fiber-optic Bragg Grating Sensors with a Soft Polymeric Coating under Mechanical Loading,Thermal and Magnetic under Cryogenic Conditions

The strain and temperature sensing performance of fiber-optic Bragg gratings （FBGs） with soft polymeric coating, which can be used to sense internal strain in superconducting coils, are evaluated under variable cryogenic field and magnetic field. The response to a temperature and strain change of coated-soft polymeric FBGs is tested by comparing with those of coated-metal FBGs. The results indicate that the coated-soft polymeric FBGs can freely detect temperature and thermal strain, their At variable magnetic field, the tested results indicate accuracy and repeatability are also discussed in detail. that the cross-coupling effects of FBGs with different matrixes are not negligible to measure electromagnetic strain during fast excitation. The present results are expected to be able to provide basis measurements on the strain of pulsed superconducting magnet/cable （cable- around-conduit conductors, cable-in-conduit conductors）, independently or utilized together with other strain measurement methods.

Influence of Gas Hydrate on the Acoustic Properties of Sediment: A Comprehensive Review with a Focus on Experimental Measurements

In recent years, natural gas hydrate has attracted increasing attention worldwide as a potential alternative energy source due to its attributes of wide distribution, large reserves, and low carbon. Since the acoustic characteristics of hydratebearing reservoirs clearly differ from those of adjacent formations, an acoustic approach, using seismic and acoustic logging, is one of the most direct, effective and widely used methods among the identification and characterization techniques for hydrate reservoir exploration. This review of research on the influence of hydrate(content and distribution) on the acoustic properties(velocity and attenuation) of sediments in the past two decades includes experimental studies based on different hydrate formation methods and measurements, as well as rock physics models. The main problems in current research are also pointed out and future prospects discussed.

An accurate loading experimental measurement device for superplastic free bulging

Superplastic alloy has very strong structure sensitivity. Superplastic bulging with a die of the plate is related not only to stress state but also closely to loading paths. It is an important basis for bulging forming with a die to study deformation law and experimental apparatus for superplastic free bulging, because the boundary of test piece is fixed and friction is insignificant for free bulging. In the paper, a pure high-pressure argon gas source is used as the loading media after it is heated by the heating system outside the furnace, which improves the heating efficiency and temperature uniformity of the test piece. The photoelectric non-contact measurement device can avoid negative influence on the additional stress and uneven temperature at the peak of bulging part caused by push rod in the contact measurement. The temperature and pressure of the test piece in cylindrical insulation furnace with blank holder give feedback control to improve the control precision. In loading gas channels, the pressure is adjusted by accurately measuring and controlling the rotation angle of the stepping motor, and is loaded by an electro-magnetic valve. It significantly increases the response characteristics of the control pressure. This paper also introduces steps and methods to realize several typical loading paths, such as constant pressure, jump pressure and additional back & differential pressure loading. These provide a new way to measure the strain rate sensitivity index m value and improve the deformation speed of superplastic free bulging.

Experimental measurement of radiation dose in a dedicated breast CT system

Radiation dose is an important performance indicator of a dedicated breast CT（DBCT）.In this paper,the method of putting thermoluminescent dosimeters（TLD） into a breast shaped PMMA phantom to study the dose distribution in breasts was improved by using smaller TLDs and a new half-ellipsoid PMMA phantom.Then the weighted CT dose index（CTDI_w） was introduced to average glandular assessment in DBCT for the first time and two measurement modes were proposed for different sizes of breasts.The dose deviations caused by using cylindrical phantoms were simulated using the Monte Carlo method and a set of correction factors were calculated.The results of the confirmatory measurement with a cylindrical phantom（11 cm/8 cm） show that CTDI_w gives a relatively conservative overestimate of the average glandular dose comparing to the results of Monte Carlo simulation and TLDs measurement.But with better practicability and stability,the CTDI_w is suitable for dose evaluations in daily clinical practice.Both of the TLDs and CTDI_w measurements demonstrate that the radiation dose of our DBCT system is lower than conventional two-view mammography.

Experiments on acoustic measurement of fractured rocks and application of acoustic logging data to evaluation of fractures

Fractures in oil and gas reservoirs have been the topic of many studies and have attracted reservoir research all over the world. Because of the complexities of the fractures, it is difficult to use fractured reservoir core samples to investigate true underground conditions. Due to the diversity of the fracture parameters, the simulation and evaluation of fractured rock in the laboratory setting is also difficult. Previous researchers have typically used a single material, such as resin, to simulate fractures. There has been a great deal of simplifying of the materials and conditions, which has led to disappointing results in application. In the present study, sandstone core samples were selected and sectioned to simulate fractures, and the changes of the compressional and shear waves were measured with the gradual increasing of the fracture width. The effects of the simulated fracture width on the acoustic wave velocity and amplitude were analyzed. Two variables were defined： H represents the amplitude attenuation ratio of the compressional and shear wave, and x represents the transit time difference value of the shear wave and compressional wave divided by the transit time of the compressional wave. The effect of fracture width on these two physical quantities was then analyzed. Finally, the methods of quantitative evaluation for fracture width with H and x were obtained. The experimental results showed that the rock fractures linearly reduced the velocity of the shear and compressional waves. The effect of twin fractures on thecompressional velocity was almost equal to that of a single fracture which had the same fracture width as the sum of the twin fractures. At the same time, the existence of fractures led to acoustic wave amplitude attenuations, and the compressional wave attenuation was two times greater than that of the shear wave. In this paper, a method was proposed to calculate the fracture width with x and H, then this was applied to the array acoustic imaging logging data.The application examples showed that the calculated fracture width could be compared with fractures on the electric imaging logs. These rules were applied in the well logs to effectively evaluate the fractures, under the case of no image logs, which had significance to prospecting and development of oil and gas in fractured reservoirs.

Cost Optimized Non-Contacting Experimental Modal Analysis Using a Smartphone

The vibrations behavior analysis is an essential step in the mechanical design process.Several methods such as analytical modelling,numerical analysis and experimental measurements can be used for this purpose.However,the numerical or analytical models should be validated through experimental measurements,usually expensive.This paper introduces an inexpensive smartphone as an accurate,non-intrusive vibrations’behavior measurement device.An experimental measurement procedure based on the video processing method is presented.This procedure allows the measurement of the natural frequencies and the mode shapes of a vibrating structure,simply by using a smartphone built-in camera.The experimental results are compared to those obtained using an accurate analytical model,where the natural frequencies error is less than 2.7%and the modal assurance criterion is higher than 0.89.In order to highlight the obtained results,a comparison has been done using a high quality and high frame per second(fps)camera-based measurement of material properties.Since the highest recovered natural frequency and its associated mode shape depend on the frame per second rate of the recorded video,this procedure has great potential in low frequencies problems such as for big structures like buildings and bridges.This validated technique re-introduces the personal smartphone as an accurate inexpensive non-contacting vibration measurement tool.

Simultaneous Measurements of Rainfall Intensity, Low Energy Neutrons and Gamma Radiation in Sao Jose Dos Campos, SP, Brazil

The article aims to study the possible correlation between the presence and intensity of rainfall X- and T-radiation and low energy neutrons at one specific location in S[io Jos6 dos Campos, SP, Brazil. Monitoring of these parameters was carried out from end February to half of June 2013 just in Physics Department of ITA （Technological Institute of Aeronautics）. By correlating the data of measurements of intensity of X and ）,-radiations with the rainfall it has been found that this meteorological parameter had a significant influence on the background of these radiation profile. A possible reason for this fact is associated with the presence of radon gas in the environment that is dragged to the surface during the occurrences of local rainfall. In relation neutrons, it was possible to note that the rainfall has small influence on this parameter measures.

Experimental Modal Damping Identification of a Mechanical Structure Using Video Magnification Technique

Vibration can be introduced in all mechanical fields in our life.Engineers try to avoid its negative effect leading in some cases to deformation in the machines.Many researches are dedicated to study the identification of damping especially in multi degree of freedom systems with particular attention to the source of energy dissipation.They focus on developing new tools or methods which may be used in real problems to obtain accurate results about the amount(or value)and the location of energy dissipation in the structure.The aim of this paper is to present an original procedure aims to experimentally determine the modal damping ratio of a mechanical structure.The proposed procedure consists of extracting the Frequency Response Function of the vibrating system using the video magnification method and then calculate the modal damping ratio using the 3-dB method.These experimental measurements are carried out by giving an external force on a cantilever beam,then the modal damping ratios are extracted using motion magnification.The obtained results show a relative error less than 4.2% between the experimental measurements and the analytical calculation for the Frequency Response Function(FRF)curves.The novelty of the paper is to combine the video magnification technique and the 3dB method in a procedure that aims to experimentally measure the modal damping of a mechanical structure.The proposed procedure in this paper represents the damping identification as a simple and easy engineering application.

Numerical simulation analysis for deformation deviation and experimental verification for an antenna thin-wall parts considering riveting assembly with finite element method

In the process of thin-wall parts assembly for an antenna,the parts assembly deformation deviation is occurring due to the riveting assembly.In view of the riveting assembly deformation problems,it can be analyzed through transient and static simulation.In this work,the theoretical deformation model for riveting assembly is established with round head rivet.The simulation analysis for riveting deformation is carried out with the riveting assembly piece including four rivets,which comparing with the measuring points experiment results of riveting test piece through dealing with the experimental data using the point coordinate transform method and the space line fitting method.Simultaneously,the deformation deviation of the overall thin-wall parts assembly structure is analyzed through finite element simulation;and its results are verified by the measuring experiment for riveting assembly with the deformation deviation of some key points on the thin-wall parts.Through the comparison analysis,it is shown that the simulation results agree well with the experimental results,which proves the correctness and effectiveness of the theoretical analysis,simulation results and the given experiment data processing method.Through the study on the riveting assembly for thin-wall parts,it will provide a theoretical foundation for improving thin-wall parts assembly quality of large antenna in future.

Qinghai-Tibet Expressway experimental research

As one part of the National Highway Network Planning in China, the Qinghai-Tibet Expressway （QTE） from Golmud to Lhasa will be built in the interior of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau （QTP） across about 630 km of permafrost lands. Due to the problematic interactions between the engineering foundations and permafrost, the frozen-soil roadbed of the QTE will be subjected to the more intense thermal disturbances due to the wider black surface. The design and construction for long-term thermal and mechanical stability will face more severe challenges than those in ordinary highways and railways in the same region. In order to provide scientific support for cold regions engineering practices, the QTE Experimental Demonstration Project （EDP） was constructed in situ in the vicinity of the Beilu＇he Permafrost Station in the interior of the QTP. In this paper, the anticipated problems of the proposed QTE project are enumerated, and the structures of the test sections for QTE EDP are described. Through numerical simulations, it was found that the heat transfer processes occurring in each specific road structure are significantly different. The heat accumulation in the highway embankment is mainly due to the black bituminous pavement, but in the railway embankment with its gravel surfaces, it mainly comes from the side slopes. As a result, the net heat accumulation of the highway embankment is three times higher than that in the railway. In expressway, the heat accumulation is further increased because of the wider pavement so that significantly more heat will be accumulated in the roadbed beneath the centerline area. Thus, the thermal stability of the fro- zen-soil roadbed and the underlying permafrost of the QTE can be seriously threatened without proper engineering measures protection against thawing. Based on research and practical experiences from the operating Qinghai-Tibet Railway （QTR） and the Qinghai-Tibet Highway （QTH）, combined with the predicted characteristics of heat transfer in an expressway embankment, nine kinds of engineering measures for mitigating the thaw settlement of foundation soils through the cooling the roadbed soils were built and are being tested in the EDP. The design of the monitoring system for the EDP and the observed parameters were also described.

Analysis of the Intrinsic Uncertainties in the Laser-Driven Iron Hugoniot Experiment Based on the Measurement of Velocities

One of the most challenging tasks in the laser-driven Hugoniot experiment is how to increase the reproducibility and precision of the experimental data to meet the stringent requirement in validating equation of state models. In such cases, the contribution of intrinsic uncertainty becomes important and cannot be ignored. A detailed analysis of the intrinsic uncertainty of the aluminum-iron impedance-match experiment based on the measurement of velocities is presented. The influence of mirror-reflection approximation on the shocked pressure of Fe and intrinsic uncertainties from the equation of state uncertainty of standard material are quantified, Furthermore, the comparison of intrinsic uncertainties of four different experimental approaches is presented. It is shown that, compared with other approaches including the most widely used approach which relies on the measurements of the shock velocities of AI and Fe, the approach which relies on the measurement of the particle velocity of Al and the shock velocity of Fe has the smallest intrinsic uncertainty, which would promote such work to significantly improve the diagnostics precision in such an approach.

Tensile and tear-type fracture toughness of gypsum material:Direct and indirect testing methods

In this context,four specimens,i.e.(i)circumferentially notched cylindrical torsion(CNCT),(ii)circum-ferentially notched cylindrical direct tension(CNCDT),(iii)edge notch disc bend(ENDB)and(iv)three-point bend beam(3PBB),were utilized to measure the modesⅠandⅢfracture toughness values of gypsum.While the CNCT specimen provides pure modeⅢloading in a direct manner,this pure mode condition is indirectly produced by the ENDB specimen.The ENDB specimen provided lower KⅢc and a non-coplanar(i.e.twisted)fracture surface compared with the CNCT specimen,which showed a planar modeⅢfracture surface.The ENDB specimen is also employed for conducting pure modeⅠ(with different crack depths)and mixed modeⅠ/Ⅲtests.KIc value was independent of the notch depth,and it was consistent with the RILEM and ASTM standard methods.But the modeⅢfracture results were highly sensitive to the notch depth.While the fracture resistance against modeⅢwas significantly lower than that of modeⅠ,the greater work of fracture under modeⅢwas noticeable.

载人潜水器支持母船水下辐射噪声评估和试验分析研究

This study investigates the underwater radiated noise(URN)of a manned submersible support mother ship.To this end,a detailed finite element model of the hull and outflow field is established,and the vibration wet mode of the scientific research ship is calculated.A combination of finite element and boundary element methods is used to analyze the spectral features of ship low-frequency URN.The URN source is comprehensively analyzed,the vibration energy is considered the basic parameter to describe the vibration,and the medium-and high-frequency URN of the ship are calculated using the statistical energy analysis.To obtain the full frequency-band URN of the ship,the risk position of exceeding the standard is determined,and the contribution of each main noise source in the ship to the URN is analyzed.The URN level of the ship is comprehensively measured in the free navigation state.The accuracy of the URN control evaluation model,and the method of the ship are verified.The data support for the ship to apply for the classification society certificate provides a scheme reference for the URN control of other scientific research ship in the future.

Flow Characteristics of Grains in a Conical Silo with a Central Decompression Tube Based on Experiments and DEM Simulations

Grains are widely present in industrial productions and processing,and are stored in silos.In the silo,auxiliary structures are added to achieve efficient production.However,little effort has been devoted to the influence of the internal structure of the silo on the granular flow.In this work,a silo with a central decompression tube is studied through experimental measurements and discrete element methods.Then,the influences of the central decompression tube on the flow behavior of grains and wall pressure are analyzed.Results show that the grains are in mass flow in the silo without a central decompression tube,while the grains are in funnel flow in the silo with a central decompression tube.Moreover,regardless of whether there is a central decompression tube in the silo,the maximum pressure appears at the top of the conical silo.In the lower part of the silo,the wall pressure of the silo with a central decompression tube is lower than that of the silo without a central decompression tube.Therefore,a silo with a central decompression tube is more conducive to grain storage and discharge than a silo without a central decompression tube.

CFD simulation of pressure fluctuation characteristics in the gas-solid fluidized bed:Comparisons with experiments

A simple hydrodynamic model based on two-fluid theory, taking into account the effect of discrete particles on both the gas- and solid-phase momentum equations, was used to numerically investigate the pressure fluctuation characteristics in a gas-solid fluidized bed with the aid of CFX 4.4, a commercial CFD software package, by adding user-defined Fortran subroutines. Numerical simulations together with typical experimental measurements show that pressure fluctuations originate above the distributor when a gas pulse is injected into the fluidized bed. The pressure above the bubble gradually increases due to the presence of a rising bubble. When the bubble passes through the bed surface, the pressure near the bed surface gradually decreases to a lower value. Moreover, the pressure signals in the bubbling fluidized beds show obviously periodic characteristics. The major frequency of pressure fluctuations at the same vertical position is affected slightly by the operating gas velocity, and the amplitude of pressure fluctuations is related to both the operating gas velocity and the vertical height. In this study, the influence of the operating gas velocity on the pressure wave propagation velocity can be ignored, and only two peak frequencies in the power spectrum of the pressure fluctuations are observed which are associated with the bubble formation above the distributor and its eruption at the bed surface.

Performance enhancement of wing-based piezoaeroelastic energy harvesting through freeplay nonlinearity

We investigate experimentally how controlled freeplay nonlinearity affects harvesting energy from a wing-based piezoaeroelastic energy harvesting system. This system consisits of a rigid airfoil which is supported by a nonlinear torsional spring （freeplay） in the pitch degree of freedom and a linear fiexural spring in the plunge degree of freedom. By attaching a piezoelectric material （PSI-5A4E） to the plunge degree of freedom, we can convert aeroelastic vibrations to electrical energy. The focus of this study is placed on the effects of the freeplay nonlinearity gap on the behavior of the harvester in terms of cut-in speed and level of harvested power. Although the freeplay nonlinearity may result in subcritical Hopf bifurcations （catastrophic for real aircrafts）, harvesting energy at low wind speeds is beneficial for designing piezoaeroelastic systems. It is demonstrated that increasing the freeplay nonlinearity gap can decrease the cut-in speed through a subcritical instability and gives the possibility to harvest energy at low wind speeds. The results also demonstrate that an optimum value of the load resistance exists, at which the level of the harvested power is maximized.

Effect of Overpressure on Rock Frame and Its Implications for Overpressure Evolution

Overpressure is a hot topic in the study of sedimentary basins. It is important in generation, maturation migration, and accumulation of hydrocarbon, but the effects of overpressure on rock frame have not been investigated. In this study, experiments were carried out to study the effects of overpressure on rock frame structures using five core samples from the Junggar basin, Northwest China. The deformations and velocities for the samples were measured at different effective pressures related to non-equilibrium compaction and fluid expansion overpressure mechanisms. The results show that the effect of overpressure on rock frames gradually increases when the effective pressure drops down to a certain value （called critical pressure）. Moreover, non-equilibrium compaction mechanism has more effects on rock frames than fluid expansion mechanism under the same effective pressure. Furthermore to study rock frame structural changes, we use Kuster and Toksoz＇s expressions to simulate the effective aspect ratios of inclusions a （penny shapes） for different effective pressures. The results show that the a decreases dramatically when the effective pressure decreases from the critical pressure. Changes of a can be interpreted as responses to the rock frame changes when grains conform one another by rotating and self-adjusting. However, different mechanisms of overpressure have different effects on rock frames. The rock frame can be affected more easily by overpressure in shallow regions generated by non-equilibrium compaction mechanism. Once this kind of rock frames are preserved after overpressure releases to a normal hydrostatic pressure, they can be identified by their specific rock frame characters. This method provides a new way to study overpressure release and fluid migration and accumulation.

Effect of Nozzle Temperature on the Performance of a 1 kW H_2-N_2 Arcjet Thruster

A 1 kW-class arcjet thruster was fired in a vacuum chamber at a pressure of 18 Pa. A gas mixture of H2 ： N2 = 2.8 ： 1.5 in volume at a total flow rate of 4.3 slm was used as the propellant with an input power fixed at 860 W. The time-dependent thrust, nozzle temperature and inlet pressure of the propellant were measured simultaneously. Results showed that with the increase in nozzle temperature the thrust decreased and various losses increased. The physical mechanisms involved in these effects are discussed.

Fluid simulation of inductively coupled Ar/O_2 plasmas:Comparisons with experiment

In this work, a two-dimensional fluid model has been employed to study the characteristics of Ar/O2 radio frequency（RF） inductively coupled plasma discharges. The emphasis of this work has been put on the influence of the external parameters（i.e., the RF power, the pressure, and the Ar/O2 gas ratio） on the plasma properties. The numerical results show that the RF power has a significant influence on the amplitude of the plasma density rather than on the spatial distribution.However, the pressure and the Ar/O2 gas ratio affect not only the amplitude of the plasma density, but also the spatial uniformity. Finally, the comparison between the simulation results and the experimental data has been made at different gas pressures and oxygen contents, and a good agreement has been achieved.

Investigation of Scouring Mechanism Around A Circular Pier

In the present study, the flow field around a circular pier is investigated with experimental measurements and numerical simulations. The transient flow patterns during erosion are studied in detail. The results show that the traditional equations of particle motion are not perfect for the calculation of the sand motion under this complex flow situation. The scouring agents, such as turbulent intensity, the fluctuating pressure and the vertical pressure gradient, having many effects on the sand motion with the increasing scouring depth, need to be considered in modifying the traditional model.