Study and Performance Test of Full Complement Cycloidal Ball Reducer with Ceramic Balls as its Gear Teeth

To improve the transmission accuracy and stiffness of the ball cycloid reducer, the authors developed a novel cycloid ball reducer, which uses a full complement ball as its gear teeth. Ceramic balls are used to get better performance in severe working conditions. A simple synthesis method was also found to determine the raceway forms and compute the contact forces among the balls and raceways. The Contact Stress Analysis (CSA) computer program was used to optimize the design of the reducer. In this paper, the following topics are covered: (1) Study of the geometry of the raceways. (2) Analyses of the principal curvature of the raceways are also accomplished. In addition, the modification of the raceway is put forward. (3) The contact forces and the reducer efficiency are evaluated. (4) Study of the performance of ceramic balls used in the CBR. A reducer using the above design technique was tested and the performances show that the reducer has high precision and rigidity. An increase of more than 50 percent transmission power was realized in the new gearing.

Modeling and finite element analysis of transduction process of electromagnetic acoustic transducers for nonferromagnetic metal material testing

Facing the problems lack of considering the non-uniform distribution of the static bias magnetic field and computing the panicle displacements in the simulation model of electromagnetic acoustic transducer （EMAT）, a multi-field coupled model was established and the finite element method （FEM） was presented to calculate the entire transduction process. The multi-field coupled model included the static magnetic field, pulsed eddy current field and mechanical field. The FEM equations of the three fields were derived by Garlerkin FEM method. Thus, the entire transduction process of the EMAT was calculated through sequentially coupling the three fields. The transduction process of a Lamb wave EMAT was calculated according to the present model and method. The results show that, by the present method, it is valid to calculate the particle displacement under the given excitation signal and non-uniformly distributed static magnetic field. Calculation error will be brought about if the non-uniform distribution of the static bias magnetic field is neglected.

Discrete element simulation of crushable rockfill materials

A discrete element method was used to study the evolution of particle crushing in a rockfill sample subjected to triaxial shear. A simple procedure was developed to generate clusters with arbitrary shapes, which resembled real rockfill particles. A theoretical method was developed to define the failure criterion for an individual particle subjected to an arbitrary set of contact forces. Then, a series of numerical tests of large-scale drained triaxial tests were conducted to simulate the behaviors of the rockfill sample. Finally, we examined the development of micro-characteristics such as particle crushing, contact characteristics, porosity, deformation, movement, and energy dissipation. The simulation results were partially compared with the laboratory experiments, and good agreement was achieved, demonstrating that the particle crushing model proposed can be used to simulate the drained triaxial test ofrockfill materials. Based on a comparison of macro behaviors of the roekfill sample and micro structures of the particles, the microscopic mechanism of the rockfill materials subjected to triaxial shear was determined qualitatively. It is shown that the crushing rate, rather than the number of crushed particles, can be used to reflect the relationship between macro- and micro-mechanical characteristics of rockfill materials. These research results further develop our understanding of the deformation mechanism of rockfill materials.

Measurement of niobium reaction rate for material surveillance tests in fast reactors

A highly accurate and precise technique for measurement of the 93 Nb(n,n’)93m Nb reaction rate was established for the material surveillance tests,etc.in fast reactors.The self-absorption effect on the measurement of the characteristic X-rays emitted by 93m Nb was decreased by the dissolution and evaporation to dryness of niobium dosimeter.A highly precise count of the number of 93 Nb atoms was obtained by measuring the niobium solution concentration using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.X-rays of 93m Nb were measured accurately by means of comparing the X-ray intensity of irradiated niobium solution with that of the solution in which stable 93 Nb was added.The difference between both intensities indicates the effect of 182 Ta,which is generated from an impurity tantalum,and the intensity of X-rays from 93m Nb was evaluated.Measurement error of the 93 Nb(n,n’)93m Nb reaction rate was reduced to be less than 4%,which was equivalent to the other reaction rate errors of dosimeters used for Joyo dosimetry.In addition,an advanced technique using Resonance Ionization Mass Spectrometry was proposed for the precise measurement of 93m Nb yield,and 93m Nb will be resonance-ionized selectively by discriminating the hyperfine splitting of the atomic energy levels between 93 Nb and 93m Nb at high resolution.

Boron-10 stimulated helium production and accelerated radiation displacements for rapid development of fusion structural materials

Boron doping,combined with neutron capture in fission reactors,has been used to simulate the helium effect on fusion structural materials.However,inhomogeneous helium bubble formation was often observed due to boron segregation to grain boundaries.The excess radiation displacements due to^(10)B(n,α)^(7)Li reaction,the high-energy lithium and helium ions,also were not accounted for,which can significantly accelerate the displacements-per-atom(dpa)accumulation alongside helium production(appm).Hereby an isotopically pure^(10)B doping approach is proposed to simulate the extreme envi-ronment inside fusion reactors with a high He appm-to-dpa ratio of about 10,which is about 10^(2)×larger than in fission reactors.Computational modeling showed that~13%of total radiation displacement was induced by^(10)B(n,α)^(7)Li in the case of 1000 appm^(10)B doped Fe samples,which becomes even greater with increasing^(10)B loading.Spatially homogenous radiation damage and helium generation are pre-dicted for grain sizes less than 1 mm,even if the boron partially formed precipitates or segregates on grain boundaries.Feasibility studies with various^(10)B doping(and^(235)U-codoping)levels in research reactors showed the estimated helium generation and radiation damage would significantly mimic fusion conditions and greatly expedite fusion materials testing,from many years down to months.

Cumulative Deformation of Soft Clay Under Cyclic Loading

Reconstituted specimens are prepared by means of vacuum preloading. Both static and cyclic triaxial tests are carried out, with the specimens consolidated under different principal stress ratios. A finite element method is put forward for calculating the cumulative deformation of soft clay under cyclic loading.

SYNTHETIC ANALYSIS OF IMPACT LOADING OF SHIPS IN REGULAR WAVES ON PIERS

In this paper, the results of model tests of impact energy and forces and motions of moored ships from 20,000 dwt to 200,000 dwt in regular waves upon piers are synthetically analyzed. Based on the concept of wave energy transmission and the theory of vibration, a semi-empirical formula for evaluating impact energy and forces is proposed.

Mechanical and electrical properties of Pd-Ru system doped with Zr, Mo, Y

The effect of Zr, Mo, Y dopant on mechanical and electrical properties of Pd-Ru binary alloy was investigated in this work. The alloys were prepared in a vacuum high-frequency melting furnace. X-ray diffraction and metallographic microscope were employed to detect the microstructures of alloys. Electric bridge and eddy current conductive instrument were employed to test the electrical resistivity, and the mechanical properties of alloys were tested by AG-X100KN-type tensile testing machine. The results show that adding rare metal elements into Pd-Ru system could refine the structure effectively and increase the melting point, density, tensile strength, and hardness of alloy, but the elongation and electrical conductivity of alloy decrease. © The Nonferrous Metals Society of China and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2012.

Exact Bayesian and Fiducial Limits for the Mean of Lognormal Distribution

In this paper, the exact Bayesian limits, taking conjugate and noninformative prior distribution, and the exact fiducial limits for the mean of the lognormal distribution are presented. They can be found iteratively by one-dimension integral on a finite interval. The new algorithm is very convenient and with high accuracy. It can meet the practical engineering need excellently. However, the primitive algorithm is rather cumbersome. By the way, the very close approximate limits with a simple algorithm are derived. They can be applied immediately to engineering. Otherwise, they can also be used as a search interval to find the root of equation for the exact limits.

Experimental research on coal seam similar material proportion and its application

In this paper, the optimization design of the low strength mechanical test and orthogonal test have been analyzed in order to simulate the mechanical properties of thick and extra-thick coal seam accurately in a similar material simulation test. The results show that the specimen can reach a wider range of strength when cement has been used compared to that of gypsum, suggesting that cement is more suitable for making coal seam in similar material simulation tests. The uniaxial compressive strength is more sensitive to cement than coal or sand. The proportion of coal and sand do not play a decisive role in uniaxial compressive strength. The uniaxial compressive strength and specimen density decrease as the mass percent of coal and aggregate–binder ratio rise. There is a positive correlation between uniaxial compressive strength and density. The No. 5 proportion(cement: sand: water: activated carbon: coal = 6:6:7:1.1:79.9)was chosen to be used in the similar material simulation test of steeply dipping and extra-thick coal seam with a density of 0.913 g/cm^3 and an uniaxial compressive strength of 0.076 MPa which are in accordance with the similarity theory. The phenomenon of overburden stratum movement, fracture development and floor pressure relief were obtained during the similar material simulation test by using the proportion.

Experimental study on stress-strain-temperature models for structural steel

For the research on steel structure in fire,it is very important to determine the properties of structural steel at elevated temperature.Up to now,the high-temperature properties of material is believed to be related to only temperature state,which is not precise enough to simulate the behavior of steel structures under different combinations of heating,cooling,loading,and unloading.To analyze the influence of the temperature-load history on the steel properties,a series of tests were carried out under different temperature-load paths about steel Q235,which is widely used in steel structures in China.In this paper,the method to set the temperature-load paths was introduced;the variety regulation of steel properties changing with temperature was analyzed under different paths;according to experimental results,the formulas of elastic modulus and yield strength at elevated temperature were fitted,and the stress-strain-temperature 3D relationships of structural steel under different paths were presented.

Dependence of surface morphology of CVD diamond films on deposition conditions

The diamond films have been deposited by the hot filament CVD method on molybdenum substrates from the mixture reactant gas of acetone and hydrogen.The surface morphologies of the obtained diamond films under various deposition conditions have been observed by scanning electron microscope(SEM).The experimental results strongly indicate that the surface morphologies of the resulting films have closely related to the deposition conditions,i.e.,reaction pressure.For molybdenum substrates,under the lower reaction pressure the surface morphologies of the grains comprising the resulting films mainly display the small single crystal cubo-octahedron and double small crystal cubo-octahedron;under the higher reaction pressure,the surface morphologies mainly display the large cauliflower-like.These results show that there are various crystal habits for CVD diamond under various deposition conditions.

Detection and formation mechanism of micro-defects in ultrafine pitch Cu-Cu direct bonding

In this paper, Cu-Cu interconnects with ultrafine pad pitches of 6 p.m, 8 p.m, and 15 p.m are implemented on the 12 inch wafers by a direct bonding process. Defects are not found by traditional non-destructive （NDT） c-mode scanning acoustic microscopy （c-SAM）. However, cross sectional observation of bonding interfaces reveals that micro-defects such as micro seams are located at SiO2 bonding interfaces. In order to examine the micro-defects in the ultra-fine pitch direct bonding process by the NDT technology, a novel ＂defect-enlarged approach＂ is proposed. The bonded dies are first annealed in an N2 oven at 300 ℃ for a few hours and then cooled quickly in air. The c-SAM scanning images show large defects at the place where nothing can be detected by c-SAM before this treatment. Cross sectional observation of the bonding interfaces indicates that these defects consist of large size micro seams at the SiO2 bonding interface, especially near Cu pads with an ultrafine pitch of 6μm. However, these large defects disappear after several hours at room temperature, observed by c-SAM. It is inferred that the disappearance of these defects inspected by the ＂defect-enlarged approach＂ results from the combination of intrinsic micro seams and ＂weak＂ bonds in the silicon oxide layer. Then the underlying physical mechanism of these micro-defects is proposed, which is influenced by Cu pad surface topology and bonding models.

A dual-axis chewing simulator for in vitro wear test of dental restoration materials

The wear rate of dental restoration materials on fixed, removable, and implant prostheses is important in the maintenance of cuspate form, masticatory efficiency and occlusal stability. Many permanent restoration materials such as composite, amalgam, gold, or porcelain show enough resistance to wear, but the wear rates of newly developed materials are generally unknown. To evaluate the wear rate of these dental materials, in vivo (clinic) and in vitro methods can be used. Since in vivo investigations are expensive, time consuming, and difficult to standardize, various in vitro methods have been developed. The use of a chewing machine is considered the best method, because a variety of wear mechanisms, temperature changes, and chemical effects of food and drink can be simulated simultaneously. This paper describes a dual axis chewing simulator for in vitro wear test of dental restoration materials. It consists of 8 test chambers, two stepper motors and related mechanism, a hot and cool water circle system, and a control unit. In the chambers, samples and antagonists make chewing movements vertically and Albert Ludwigs University, School of dentistry, Freiburg, Germany (Lü XY, Kern M and Strub JR) horizontally driven by the stepper motors so that the gnashing and slippage of two teeth against each other is simulated. A weighted test object is programmed to collide with a sample under precise operator control. The antagonists strike against the samples at various speeds from a slow nudge to snapping. Sample holders are designed for installation of varying samples, from single teeth to complete dentures. Two baths, six valves, and a group of pipes are used for the thermocycling. The machine can simulate various chewing modes in the mouth, including fully programmable thermal water cycling between 5℃ and 60℃ The control unit consists of a computer system with a built in specific program. Important operations such as “Start”, “Zero point”, and “Stop” are carried out by pressing the function keys on the front board of the unit. During the programming process and the simulation, several test modes and relevant test parameters are shown on the monitor. The control unit is connected via a series of interfaces to different controlled parts of the machine, such as the stepper motors and the pumps of cool and warm water.

Mechanical tests on the reconstructed anterior cruciate ligament fixed with allogenetic cortical bone cross-pin on the femoral side

Background Anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction （ACLR） has developed dramatically in the last century.Now,ACLR has become a reliable and productive procedure.Patients feel satisfied in 〉90% cases.The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of allogenetic cortical bone cross-pin （ACBCP） used as a clinical fixation method in anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction on the femoral side based on biomechanical tests in vitro.Methods The specimens were provided by the bone banks of the First Affiliated Hospital of People＇s Liberation Army of General Hospital from September 2011 to June 2012.Fresh deep frozen human allogenetic cortical bone was machined into cross-pins which is 4.0 mm in diameter and 75.0 mm in length.Biomechanical parameters compared with Rigidfix were collected while cross-pins were tested in double-shear test.The load-to-failure test and cycling test were carried out in a goat model to reconstruct anterior cruciate ligament with Achilles tendon autograft on the femoral side fixed by human 4.0 mm ACBCP and 3.3 mm Rigidfix served as control.Maximum failure load,yield load,and stiffness of fixation in single load-to-failure test were compared between the two groups.Cycle-specific stiffness and displacement at cycles 1,30,200,400,and 1 000 were also compared in between.Results In double-shear test both maximum failed load and yield load of 4.0 mm humanACBCP were （1 236.998±201.940） N.Maximum failed load and yield load of Rigidfix were （807.929±110.511） N and （592.483±58.821） N.The differences of maximum failed load and yield load were significant between ACBCP and Rigidfix,P 〈0.05.The shear strength of ACBCP and Rigidfix were （49.243±8.039） MPa and （34.637±3.439） MPa,respectively,P 〈0.05.In the load-to-failure test ex vivo,yield load and maximum failed load of ACBCP fixation complexity （（867.104±132.856）N,（1 032.243±196.281） N） were higher than those of Rigidfix （（640.935±42.836） N,（800.568±64.890） N,P 〈0.05）.However,stiffness did not differ significantly between ACBCP group （（247.116±31.897）N/mm） and Rigidfix group （（220.413±51.332） N/mm,P 〉0.05）.In the cycling test,the cycle-specific stiffness and displacement at cycles 1,30,200,400,and 1 000 did not differ significantly between the ACBCP group and Rigidfix group,P 〉0.05.Conclusions Allogenetic cortical bone cross-pin possesses satisfactory biomechanical profile which is safe for ACLR and suitable for an aggressive rehabilitation program.Animal and clinical tests should be recommended before clinical use to secure the ACBCP could successfully substituted by host new bone in vivo.

Role of precoating in artificial vessel endothelialization

As the progress of vascular surgery, artificial vessels have become the substitute for large and middle diameter vessels but have not for small diameter ones owing to thrombogenesis and occlusion within a short period of time after being applied. Artificial vessel endothelialization is one of the ideal methods to resolve such issue and has been improved continuously since Herring in 1978 put forward this term in the first time and utilized vascular endothelial cells (ECs) harvested from living animals to perform the test of artificial vessel endothelialization. However, human endothelial cells show little adhesion to the currently available vascular graft materials and some expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) grafts have shown only 10%+/-7% endothelial cell attachment rate (ECA, ie, attachment of ECs when incubated in vitro). Moreover, when the graft is exposed to pulsatile blood flow, a high proportion of cells are washed off from the lumen. Maximum cell loss occurs in the first 30-45 min after exposure to pulsatile flow, with up to 70% of cells lost. After that, a slower exponential loss occurs over the next 24 h. The lack of retention of cells could be partly overcome by sodding, but other techniques, involving engineering the lumen to improve ECA and endothelial cell retention rate (ECR, ie, retention of ECs when the grafts are exposed to pulsatile flow) have been developed. These include shear stress preconditioning, electrostatic charging and, above all, most successfully to date, precoating with EC specific adhesive glues that are mostly found in the extracellular basement membrane of blood vessels. The commonest are chemical coatings, preclotting, chemical bonding, and surface modifications.

Measurement and analysis technologies for magnetic pulse welding： established methods and new strategies

Magnetic pulse welding （MPW） is a fast and clean joining technique that offers the possibility to weld dissimilar metals, e.g., aluminum and steel. The high-speed collision of the joining partners is used to generate strong atomic bonded areas. Critical brittle intermetallic phases can be avoided due to the absence of external heat. These features attract the notice of industries performing large scale productions of dissimilar metal joints, like automo- tive and plant engineering. The most important issue is to guarantee a proper weld quality. Numerical simulations are often used to predict the welding result a priori. Nevertheless, experiments and the measurement of process parameters are needed for the validation of these data. Sensors nearby the joining zone are exposed to high pressures and intense magnetic fields which hinder the evaluation of the electrical output signals. In this paper, existing analysis tools for process development and quality assurance in MPW are reviewed. New methods for the process monitoring and weld characterization during and after MPW are introduced, which help to overcome the mentioned drawbacks of established technologies. These methods are based on optical and mechanical measuring technologies taking advantage of the hypervelocity impact flash, the impact pressure and the deformation necessary for the weld formation.

Comparison of a new single-donor human fibrin adhesive with suture for posterior tibial nerve repair in rat： biomechanical resistance and functional analysis

Objective： The use of fibrin adhesives has a broad background in nerve repair. Currently the suboptimal physical properties of singledonor fibrin adhesives have restricted their usage. The present experiment studies the performance and physical characteristics of a modified fibrin glue prepared from single-donor human plasma in the repair of posterior tibial nerve of rat. Methods： Forty Wistar rats were divided into 5 groups; in the control group, tibial nerve was completely transected and no treatment was done, while in the four experimental groups the nerve stumps were reconnected by one suture, three sutures, one suture with fibrin glue and fibrin glue alone respectively. During 8 weeks of follow-up, Tibial Function Index was measured weekly and adhesive strength, inflammation and scar formation were assessed at the end of the study. Results： Nerve stumps dehiscence rate and adhesive strength were similar in all experimental groups and significantly differed from control group （P〈0.05）. By the end of the eighth follow-up week, functional recovery of one and three sutures groups were significantly higher than groups in which fibrin glue was used for repair （P〈0.05）. The amount of inflammation and scar tissue formation was similar among all groups. Conclusion： The study results show that the prepared single-donor fibrin adhesive has acceptable mechanical properties which could provide required adhesiveness and hold nerve stumps in the long term; yet, we acknowledge that more studies are needed to improve functional outcome ofsinszle donor fibrin adhesive repair.

Material Measurement Method Based on Femtosecond Laser Plasma Shock Wave

The acoustic emission signal of laser plasma shock wave, which comes into being when femtosecond laser ablates pure Cu, Fe, and A1 target material, has been detected by using the fiber Fabry-Perot （F-P） acoustic emission sensing probe. The spectrum characters of the acoustic emission signals for three kinds of materials have been analyzed and studied by using Fourier transform. The results show that the frequencies of the acoustic emission signals detected from the three kinds of materials are different. Meanwhile, the frequencies are almost identical for the same materials under different ablation energies and detection ranges. Certainly, the amplitudes of the spectral character of the three materials show a fixed pattern. The experimental results and methods suggest a potential application of the plasma shock wave on-line measurement based on the femtosecond laser ablating target by using the fiber F-P acoustic emission sensor probe.

Electromagneto-mechanical fields of giant magnetostrictive/piezoelectric laminates under concentrated load

This paper presents the nonlinear electromagneto-mechanical behavior of magnetostrictive/piezoelectric laminates under three-point bending both numerically and experimentally.The laminates are fabricated using thin Terfenol-D and PZT layers.The three-point bending test was conducted on the Terfenol-D/PZT laminates,and the displacement,induced magnetic field and induced voltage due to mechanical loads were measured.Three-dimensional finite element analysis was also carried out,and the electromagneto-mechanical fields in the laminates were predicted by introducing a second-order magnetoelastic constant for Terfenol-D.Comparison was then made between simulation and experiment.