Recent advances in the in-plane shear testing of Mg alloy sheets

Sheet-metal products are integral parts of engineering industries and academia research. Various testing techniques have revealed the deformation behaviors of sheet metals under complex stress states. Information obtained from tensile and compression tests, however, are insufficient for the identification of material parameters relevant to modern constitutive laws, which require experimental setups capable of generating various loading conditions and applying great amounts of strain to sheet metals. In-plane shear testing has emerged as an important method to overcome the challenges associated with tension and compression tests and can provide additional information about deformation behaviors under large plastic strains. Materials such as Mg alloys with poor levels of both ductility and formability cannot accommodate large plastic strains. Therefore, tension and compression tests have limitations in explaining the material behaviors that occur during sheet metal forming where large plastic strains are introduced. Many studies have been conducted to explain the deformation behaviors of Mg alloys under shear deformation techniques. These include severe plastic deformation(SPD), especially the equal channel angular pressing(ECAP)and equal channel angular extrusion, rolling combined with shear deformation i.e. differential speed rolling(DSR), and also in-plane shear for sheet metals, particularly under large levels of plastic strain. These in-plane shear technique involves the Miyauchi shear test, ASTM shear test, and twin bridge shear tests. Moreover, many experimental results have revealed that the evolution of microstructure and texture during in-plane shear is closely related to the failure behavior of materials. Therefore, this review is focused on techniques for in-plane shear testing that have been reported thus far, on the effect of in-plane shear on the microstructure development of Mg alloy sheets, and on the usefulness of in-plane shear testing to evaluate the formability of Mg alloy sheets.

Recent advances and key opportunities on in-plane micro-supercapacitors:From functional microdevices to smart integrated microsystems

The popularization of portable,implantable and wearable microelectronics has greatly stimulated the rapid development of high-power planar micro-supercapacitors(PMSCs).Particularly,the introduction of new functionalities(e.g.,high voltage,flexibility,stretchability,self-healing,electrochromism and photo/thermal response)to PMSCs is essential for building multifunctional PMSCs and their smart selfpowered integrated microsystems.In this review,we summarized the latest advances in PMSCs from various functional microdevices to their smart integrated microsystems.Primarily,the functionalities of PMSCs are characterized by three major factors to emphasize their electrochemical behavior and unique scope of application.These include but are not limited to high-voltage outputs(realized through asymmetric configuration,novel electrolyte and modular integration),mechanical resilience that includes various feats of flexibility or stretchability,and response to stimuli(self-healing,electrochromic,photo-responsive,or thermal-responsive properties).Furthermore,three representative integrated microsystems including energy harvester-PMSC,PMSC-energy consumption,and all-in-one selfpowered microsystems are elaborately overviewed to understand the emerging intelligent interaction models.Finally,the key perspectives,challenges and opportunities of PMSCs for powering smart microelectronics are proposed in brief.

One-photo excitation pathway in 2D in-plane heterostructures for effective visible-light-driven photocatalytic degradation

Broad-spectrum absorption and highly effective charge-carrier separation are two essential requirements to improve the photocatalytic performance of semiconductor-based photocatalysts.In this work,a fascinating one-photon system is reported by rationally fabricating 2D in-plane Bi_(2)O_(3)/BiOCl(i-Cl)heterostructures for efficient photocatalytic degradation of RhB and TC.Systematic investigations revealed that the matched band structure generated an internal electric field and a chemical bond connection between the Bi_(2)O_(3)and BiOCl in the Bi_(2)O_(3)/BiOCl composite that could effectively improve the utilization ratio of visible light and the separation effectivity of photo-generated carriers in space.The formed interactions at the 2D in-plane heterojunction interface induced the one-photon excitation pathway which has been confirmed by the experiment and DFT calculations.As a result,the i-Cl samples showed significantly enhanced photocatalytic efficiency towards the degradation of RhB and TC(RhB:0.106 min^(-1);TC:0.048 min^(-1))under visible light.The degradation activities of RhB and TC for i-Cl were 265.08 and 4.08times that of pure BiOCl,as well as 9.27 and 2.14 times that of mechanistically mixed Bi_(2)O_(3)/BiOCl samples,respectively.This work provides a logical strategy to construct other 2D in-plane heterojunctions with a one-photon excitation pathway with enhanced performance.

A PREDICTIVE APPROACH TO THE IN-PLANE MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF STITCHED COMPOSITE LAMINATES

This contribution attempts to model the alteration of the in-plane elastic properties in laminates caused by stitching, and to predict the in-plane effective tensile strength of the stitched composite laminates. The distortion of in-plane fibers is considered to be the main cause that affects the in-plane mechanical properties. A fiber distortion model is proposed to characterize the fiber misalignment and the fiber content concentration due to stitching. The undistorted region, the fiber distortion region, the resin-rich pocket and the through-thickness reinforcement section are taken into account. The fiber misalignment and inhomogeneous fiber content due to stitching have been formulated by introducing two parameters, the distortion width and maximum misalignment. It has been found that the ply stress concentration in stitched laminates is influenced by the two concurrent factors, the stitch hole and inhomogeneous fiber content. The stitch hole brings about the stress concentration whereas the higher fiber content at the local region induced by stitching restrains the local deformation of the composite. The model is used to predict the tensile strength of the [0/45/0/-45/90/45/0/-45]58 T300/QY9512 composite laminate stitched by Kevlar 29 yarn with different stitching configurations, showing an acceptable agreement with experimental data.

A 1D time-domain method for in-plane wave motions in a layered half-space

A 1D finite element method in time domain is developed in this paper and applied to calculate in-plane wave motions of free field exited by SV or P wave oblique incidence in an elastic layered half-space. First, the layered half-space is discretized on the basis of the propagation characteristic of elastic wave according to the Snell law. Then, the finite element method with lumped mass and the central difference method are incorporated to establish 2D wave motion equations, which can be transformed into 1D equations by discretization principle and explicit finite element method. By solving the 1D equations, the displacements of nodes in any vertical line can be obtained, and the wave motions in layered half-space are finally determined based on the characteristic of traveling wave. Both the theoretical analysis and the numerical results demonstrate that the proposed method has high accuracy and good stability.

Triggering in-plane defect cluster on MoS_(2) for accelerated dinitrogen electroreduction to ammonia

Electrochemical nitrogen reduction reaction (eNRR) is an alternative promising manner for sustainable N2 fixation with low-emission. The major challenge for developing an efficient electrocatalyst is the cleaving of the stable Ntriple bondN triple bonds. Herein, we design a new MoS_(2) with in-plane defect cluster through a bottom-up approach for the first time, where the defect cluster is composed of three adjacent S vacancies. The well-defined in-plane defect clusters could contribute to the strong chemical adsorption and activation towards inert nitrogen, achieving an excellent eNRR performance with an ammonia yield rate of 43.4 ± 3 μg h^(−1) mgcat.^(−1) and a Faradaic efficiency of 16.8 ± 2% at −0.3 V (vs. RHE). The performance is much higher than that of MoS_(2) with the edge defect. Isotopic labeling confirms that N atoms of produced NH4+ originate from N2. Furthermore, the in-plane defect clusters realized the alternate hydrogenation of nitrogen in a side-on way to synthesize ammonia. This work provides a prospecting strategy for fine-tuning in-plane defects in a catalyst, and also promotes the progress of eNRR.

IN-PLANE WAVE MOTION IN FINITE ELEMENT MODEL

The analysis method of lattice dynamics in classical physics is extended to study the properties of in-plane wave motion in the hybrid-mass finite element model in this paper. The dispersion equations of P and SV waves in the discrete model are first obtained by means of separating the characteristic equation of the motion equation, and then used to analyse the properties of P-and SV-homogeneous, inhomogeneous waves and other types of motion in the model. The dispersion characters, cut-off frequencies of P and SV waves, the polarization drift and appendent anisotropic property of wave motion caused by the discretization are finally discussed.

In-plane forced vibration of curved pipe conveying fluid by Green function method

The Green function method （GFM） is utilized to analyze the in-plane forced vibration of curved pipe conveying fluid, where the randomicity and distribution of the external excitation and the added mass and damping ratio are considered. The Laplace transform is used, and the Green functions with various boundary conditions are obtained subsequently. Numerical calculations are performed to validate the present solutions, and the effects of some key parameters on both tangential and radial displacements are further investigated. The forced vibration problems with linear and nonlinear motion constraints are also discussed briefly. The method can be radiated to study other forms of forced vibration problems related with pipes or more extensive issues.

Thickness-modulated in-plane Bi2O2Se homojunctions for ultrafast high-performance photodetectors

Bi2O2Se thin film could be one of the promising material candidates for the next-generation electronic and optoelectronic applications. However, the performance of Bi2O2Se thin film-based device is not fully explored in the photodetecting area. Considering the fact that the electrical properties such as carrier mobility, work function, and energy band structure of Bi2O2Se are thickness-dependent, the in-plane Bi2O2Se homojunctions consisting of layers with different thicknesses are successfully synthesized by the chemical vapor deposition(CVD) method across the terraces on the mica substrates,where terraces are created in the mica surface layer peeling off process. In this way, effective internal electrical fields are built up along the Bi2O2Se homojunctions, exhibiting diode-like rectification behavior with an on/off ratio of 102, what is more, thus obtained photodetectors possess highly sensitive and ultrafast features, with a maximum photoresponsivity of 2.5 A/W and a lifetime of 4.8 μs. Comparing with the Bi2O2Se uniform thin films, the photo-electric conversion efficiency is greatly improved for the in-plane homojunctions.

An experimental study of in-plane arch-shaped dampers

As an effort to minimize material utilization, seismic steel dampers designed to deform inelastically in an in-plane flexural mode have attracted serious attention recently. This paper presents a new type of metallic yielding damper referred to as the in-plane arch-shaped damper modified from its portal frame-shaped counterpart by replacing the straight beam with a circular arch to minimize the effects of stress concentration and warping, and therefore to avoid premature failure. Component tests of both the portal frame-shaped and arch-shaped in-plane dampers were conducted for comparison. Hysteresis loops obtained from the component tests under cyclic loads indicate substantial improvement on the energydissipative characteristics of the proposed damper. Moreover, seismic performance assessment of the proposed damper was carried out further via shaking table tests of a five-story model frame. Encouraging results have been achieved in terms of acceleration reduction, damping enhancement and peak suppression of the frequency response functions, suggesting the potential of the proposed device to be used in earthquake-resisting systems.

Effect of Sc and Zr on the in-plane anisotropy of Al-Mg-Mn alloy sheets

The Al-Mg-Mn alloy sheets with and without trace Sc and Zr were investigated by means of tensile test, X-ray diffraction, optical microscope, and transmission electron microscope. The indexes of in-plane anisotropy （IIPA） of their tensile mechanical properties were calculated and their inverse pole figures were obtained by Harris method. The two alloy sheets have the same law of in-plane anisotropy and remarkable in-plane anisotropy of mechanical properties, and the IIPA of the alloy sheet with Sc and Zr is bigger than that of the alloy sheet without Sc and Zr. The relationships of the in-plane anisotropy and the anisotropy of the crystallographic texture were analyzed based on the model of monocrystal. It is the common action of the anisotropy of crystallography and microstructures that causes the in-plane anisotropy of their mechanical properties, but the major cause is the { 110 }〈112〉 crystallographic texture. The trace Sc and Zr can promote the formation and stabilization of the { 110 } 〈 112〉 texture, inhibit the formation of the { 100 } 〈001 〉 texture, and increase the in-plane anisotropy of the alloy sheet containing trace Sc and Zr.

High sensitivity micro-displacement sensor based on fiber Bragg grating and amplification substrate

A micro-displacement sensor based on fiber Bragg grating(FBG) is proposed. The device consists of a pair of FBGs with different central wavelengths fabricated by femtosecond laser phase mask method and a metal substrate with lever structure. The displacement is amplified by lever structure and it converts into axial tension of FBG, which has a high displacement sensitivity. The amplification factors obtained by theoretical analysis and finite element simulation are 2.67 and 2.50, respectively. The experimental results show that in the range of 0-50 μm the shift of FBG center wavelength is linearly related to the displacement of measured object and displacement sensitivity reaches 121 pm/μm. In addition, the cascaded FBG is used to compensate the temperature.

Amplification of in-plane seismic ground motion by group cavities in layered half-space (Ⅱ): with saturated poroelastic soil layers

As the continuation study on amplification of in-plane seismic ground motion by underground group cavities in layered half-space, this study extends to the case of poroelastic half-space with dry poroelastic and saturated poroelastic soil layers. The influence of poroelastic layers on the amplification of seismic ground motion is studied both in frequency domain and time domain using indirect boundary element method （IBEM）. It is shown that for the example of a saturated poroelastic site in Tianjin under the excitation of Taft wave and E1 Centro wave, the amplification of seismic ground motion in poroelastic case is slightly smaller than that in the elastic case, and the amplification of PGA （peak ground acceleration） and its PRS （peak response spectrum）.. can be increased up to 38.8% and 64.6%; the predominant period of response spectra in poroelastic case becomes shorter to some extent compared with that in the elastic case. It is suggested that the effect of underground group cavities in poroelastic half-space on design seismic ground motion should be considered.

Analytical solution of rectangular plate with in-plane variable stiffness

The bending problem of a thin rectangular plate with in-plane variable stiffness is studied. The basic equation is formulated for the two-opposite-edge simply supported rectangular plate under the distributed loads. The formulation is based on the assumption that the flexural rigidity of the plate varies in the plane following a power form, and Poisson＇s ratio is constant. A fourth-order partial differential equation with variable coefficients is derived by assuming a Levy-type form for the transverse displacement. The governing equation can be transformed into a Whittaker equation, and an analytical solution is obtained for a thin rectangular plate subjected to the distributed loads. The validity of the present solution is shown by comparing the present results with those of the classical solution. The influence of in-plane variable stiffness on the deflection and bending moment is studied by numerical examples. The analytical solution presented here is useful in the design of rectangular plates with in-plane variable stiffness.

Amplification of in-plane seismic ground motion by group cavities in layered half-space (Ⅰ)

Amplification of in-plane seismic ground motion by underground group cavities in layered half-space is studied both in frequency domain and time domain by using indirect boundary element method （IBEM）, and the effect of cavity interval and spectrum of incident waves on the amplification are studied by numerical examples. It is shown that there may be large interaction between cavities, and group cavities with certain intervals may have significant amplification to seismic ground motion. The amplification of PGA （peak ground acceleration） and its PRS （peak response spectrum） can be increased up to 45.2% and 84.4%, for an example site in Tianjin, under the excitation of Taft wave and E1 Centro wave; and group cavities may also affect the spectra of the seismic ground motion. It is suggested that the effect of underground group cavities on design seismic ground motion should be considered.

Microstructure and strain analysis of GaN epitaxial films using in-plane grazing incidence x-ray diffraction

This paper investigates the major structural parameters, such as crystal quality and strain state of （001）-oriented GaN thin films grown on sapphire substrates by metalorganic chemical vapour deposition, using an in-plane grazing incidence x-ray diffraction technique. The results are analysed and compared with a complementary out-of-plane x- ray diffraction technique. The twist of the GaN mosaic structure is determined through the direct grazing incidence t of （100） reflection which agrees well with the result obtained by extrapolation method. The method for directly determining the in-plane lattice parameters of the GaN layers is also presented. Combined with the biaxial strain model, it derives the lattice parameters corresponding to fully relaxed GaN films. The GaN epilayers show an increasing residual compressive stress with increasing layer thickness when the two dimensional growth stage is established, reaching to a maximum level of-0.89 GPa.

Analysis of Stress Concentration Factors due to in-Plane Bending and out-of-Plane Bending Loads on Tubular TY-Joints of Offshore Structures

The aim of this work is to study the stress distributions and the location of hot spots stress in the vicinity of the intersection lines of the tubular elements of the tubular TY-joints.Using the finite element models,we analyze the effects of geometrical parameters on the stress concentration factor in the case of in-plane bending and out-of-plane bending loads,around the weld toe of the tubular joints.Our results reveal the location of the maximum stress concentration factor at the heel or toe in the case of in-plane bending loads and at the saddle point in the case of out-of-plane bending loads.Six parametric equations are established and used to calculate the stress concentration factor at critical locations using the non-linear regression method.The results obtained from the finite element analysis are close to the results of the parametric equations and the experimental data from the previous work.

Nonlinear in-plane thermal buckling of rotationally restrained functionally graded carbon nanotube reinforced composite shallow arches under uniform radial loading

The nonlinear in-plane instability of functionally graded carbon nanotube reinforced composite(FG-CNTRC)shallow circular arches with rotational constraints subject to a uniform radial load in a thermal environment is investigated.Assuming arches with thickness-graded material properties,four different distribution patterns of carbon nanotubes(CNTs)are considered.The classical arch theory and Donnell’s shallow shell theory assumptions are used to evaluate the arch displacement field,and the analytical solutions of buckling equilibrium equations and buckling loads are obtained by using the principle of virtual work.The critical geometric parameters are introduced to determine the criteria for buckling mode switching.Parametric studies are carried out to demonstrate the effects of temperature variations,material parameters,geometric parameters,and elastic constraints on the stability of the arch.It is found that increasing the volume fraction of CNTs and distributing CNTs away from the neutral axis significantly enhance the bending stiffness of the arch.In addition,the pretension and initial displacement caused by the temperature field have significant effects on the buckling behavior.

In-Plane Impact Dynamics Analysis of Re-Entrant Honeycomb with Variable Cross-Section

Due to the unique deformation characteristics of auxetic materials(Poisson’s ratioμ<0),they have better shock resistance and energy absorption properties than traditional materials.Inspired by the concept of variable crosssection design,a new auxetic re-entrant honeycomb structure is designed in this study.The detailed design method of re-entrant honeycomb with variable cross-section(VCRH)is provided,and five VCRH structures with the same relative density and different cross-section change rates are proposed.The in-plane impact resistance and energy absorption abilities of VCRH under constant velocity are investigated by ABAQUS/EXPLICIT.The results show that the introduction of variable cross-section design can effectively improve the impact resistance and energy absorption abilities of auxetic re-entrant honeycombs.The VCRH structure has better Young’s modulus,plateau stress,and specific energy absorption(SEA)than traditional re-entrant honeycomb(RH).The influence of microstructure parameters(such as cross-section change rateα)on the dynamic impact performance of VCRH is also studied.Results show that,with the increase in impact velocity andα,the plateau stress and SEA of VCRH increase.A positive correlation is also found between the energy absorption efficiency,impact load uniformity andαunder both medium and high impact speeds.These results can provide a reference for designing improved auxetic re-entrant honeycomb structures.

A Prediction Method for In-Plane Permeability and Manufacturing Applications in the VARTM Process

VARTM (Vacuum Assisted Resin Transfer Molding) is a popular method for manufacturing large-scaled, single-sided mold composite structures, such as wind turbine blades and yachts. Simulation to find the proper infusion scenario before manufacturing is essential to avoid dry spots as well as incomplete saturation and various fiber weaves with different permeability affect numerical simulation tremendously. This study focused on deriving the in-plane permeability prediction method for FRP (Fiber Reinforced Plastics) laminates in the VARTM process by experimental measurements and numerical analysis. The method provided an efficient way to determine the permeability of laminates without conducting lots of experiments in the future. In-plane permeability imported into the software, RTM-Worx, to simulate resin flowing pattern before the infusion experiments of a 3D ship hull with two different infusion scenarios. The close agreement between experiments and simulations proved the correctness and applicability of the prediction method for the in-plane permeability.