A Strategy for Magnifying Vibration in High-Energy Orbits of a Bistable Oscillator at Low Excitation Levels

This work focuses on how to maintain a high-energy orbit motion of a bistable oscillator when subjected to a low level excitation. An elastic magnifier （EM） positioned between the base and the bistable oscillator is used to magnify the base vibration displacement to significantly enhance the output characteristics of the bistable oscillator. The dimensionless electromechanical equations of the bistable oscillator with an EM are derived, and the effects of the mass and stiffness ratios between the EM and the bistable oscillator on the output displacement are studied. It is shown that the jump phenomenon occurs at a lower excitation level with increasing the mass and stiffness ratios. With the comparison of the displacement trajectories and the phase portraits obtained from experiments, it is vMidated that the bistable oscillator with an EM can effectively oscillate in a high-energy orbit and can generate a superior output vibration at a low excitation level as compared with the bistable oscillator without an EM.

Causes of seasonal sea level anomalies in the coastal region of the East China Sea

Based on the analysis of sea level, air temperature, sea surface temperature（SST）, air pressure and wind data during 1980-2013, the causes of seasonal sea level anomalies in the coastal region of the East China Sea（ECS） are investigated. The research results show：（1） sea level along the coastal region of the ECS takes on strong seasonal variation. The annual range is 30-45 cm, larger in the north than in the south. From north to south, the phase of sea level changes from 140° to 231°, with a difference of nearly 3 months.（2） Monthly mean sea level（MSL）anomalies often occur from August to next February along the coast region of the ECS. The number of sea level anomalies is at most from January to February and from August to October, showing a growing trend in recent years.（3） Anomalous wind field is an important factor to affect the sea level variation in the coastal region of the ECS. Monthly MSL anomaly is closely related to wind field anomaly and air pressure field anomaly. Wind-driven current is essentially consistent with sea surface height. In August 2012, the sea surface heights at the coastal stations driven by wind field have contributed 50%-80% of MSL anomalies.（4） The annual variations for sea level,SST and air temperature along the coastal region of the ECS are mainly caused by solar radiation with a period of12 months. But the correlation coefficients of sea level anomalies with SST anomalies and air temperature anomalies are all less than 0.1.（5） Seasonal sea level variations contain the long-term trends and all kinds of periodic changes. Sea level oscillations vary in different seasons in the coastal region of the ECS. In winter and spring, the oscillation of 4-7 a related to El Ni？o is stronger and its amplitude exceeds 2 cm. In summer and autumn, the oscillations of 2-3 a and quasi 9 a are most significant, and their amplitudes also exceed 2 cm. The height of sea level is lifted up when the different oscillations superposed. On the other hand, the height of sea level is fallen down.

Characteristics and possible causes of the seasonal sea level anomaly along the South China Sea coast

Based on sea level, air temperature, sea surface temperature（SST）, air pressure and wind data during 1980–2014,this paper uses Morlet wavelet transform, Estuarine Coastal Ocean Model（ECOM） and so on to investigate the characteristics and possible causes of seasonal sea level anomalies along the South China Sea（SCS） coast. The research results show that：（1） Seasonal sea level anomalies often occur from January to February and from June to October. The frequency of sea level anomalies is the most in August, showing a growing trend in recent years. In addition, the occurring frequency of negative sea level anomaly accounts for 50% of the total abnormal number.（2） The seasonal sea level anomalies are closely related to ENSO events. The negative anomalies always occurred during the El Ni？o events, while the positive anomalies occurred during the La Ni？a（late El Ni？o） events. In addition, the seasonal sea level oscillation periods of 4–7 a associated with ENSO are the strongest in winter, with the amplitude over 2 cm.（3） Abnormal wind is an important factor to affect the seasonal sea level anomalies in the coastal region of the SCS. Wind-driven sea level height（SSH） is basically consistent with the seasonal sea level anomalies. Moreover, the influence of the tropical cyclone in the coastal region of the SCS is concentrated in summer and autumn, contributing to the seasonal sea level anomalies.（4） Seasonal variations of sea level, SST and air temperature are basically consistent along the coast of the SCS, but the seasonal sea level anomalies have no much correlation with the SST and air temperature.

Co-seismic Water Level and Temperature Responses of Some Wells to Far-Field Strong Earthquakes and Their Mechanisms

The observation of water temperature in deep wells has been carried out for more than 20 years in China.However,study on the mechanism of water temperature response to earthquakes is inadequate.During the study of the co-seismic response characteristics of water level and temperature in 121 wells within the China subsurface fluid monitoring network at the time of the December 26,2004,M-S8.7 Indonesia earthquake,we found regular response characteristics,that is,when the water level in a deep well oscillates,the water temperature in the same well will mostly experience a cycle from dropping to restoration at the same time.The process will continue for dozens of minutes to several hours.In order to confirm the observed phenomenon,we collected the digital water level and temperature observation data for 39 far-field strong earthquakes from the Tangshan well in Hebei Province(with the data set beginning in 2001).The same response characteristics were observed.Based on the analysis of the influencing factors that may cause the water temperature drop,the authors suggest the gas escape mechanism for co-seismic water temperature drop and posit two main factors that influence the water temperature drop during the process of gas escape.Finally,the authors provide a rational explanation of some observed phenomena based on the mechanism.

Coseismic effects recorded by Fujian subsurface fluid network and its meaning to earthquake prediction

Based on analyses of the spatio-temporal evolutionary characteristics of teleseismic response recorded by Fujian subsurface fluid network and in combination with earthquakes happened in Fujian province during the same period, this paper points out that the step-like rising of water level after distant earthquakes may include some regional stress field information, and the area where water level step-like rises could be the position that the stress concentrated on and where the future earthquakes would occur. If combined with other impending precursors, the location of the events may be predicted to a certain degree.

Two-phase sink vortex suction mechanism and penetration dynamic characteristics in ladle teeming process

At the late stage of continuous casting（CC）ladle teeming,sink vortex can suck the liquid slag into tundish,and cause negative influences on the cleanliness of molten steel.To address this issue,a twophase fluid mechanical modeling method for ladle teeming was proposed.Firstly,a dynamic model for vortex suction process was built,and the profiles of vortex flow field were acquired.Then,based on the level set method（LSM）,a two-phase 3Dinterface coupling model for slag entrapment was built.Finally,in combination with high-order essentially non-oscillatory（ENO）and total variation diminishing（TVD）methods,a LSM-based numerical solution method was proposed to obtain the 3Dcoupling evolution regularities in vortex suction process.Numerical results show that the vortex with higher kinetic energy can form an expanded sandglass-shape region with larger slag fraction and lower rotating velocity;there is a pressure oscillation phenomenon at the vortex penetration state,which is caused by the energy shock of two-phase vortex penetration coupling.