Material microstructures analyzed by using gray level Co-occurrence matrices

The mechanical properties of materials greatly depend on the microstructure morphology. The quantitative characterization of material microstructures is essential for the performance prediction and hence the material design. At present,the quantitative characterization methods mainly rely on the microstructure characterization of shape, size, distribution,and volume fraction, which related to the mechanical properties. These traditional methods have been applied for several decades and the subjectivity of human factors induces unavoidable errors. In this paper, we try to bypass the traditional operations and identify the relationship between the microstructures and the material properties by the texture of image itself directly. The statistical approach is based on gray level Co-occurrence matrix（GLCM）, allowing an objective and repeatable study on material microstructures. We first present how to identify GLCM with the optimal parameters, and then apply the method on three systems with different microstructures. The results show that GLCM can reveal the interface information and microstructures complexity with less human impact. Naturally, there is a good correlation between GLCM and the mechanical properties.

Mechanisms of low-frequency sea level fluctuations in the Hangzhou Bay

-low-frequency sea level fluctuations in the Hangzhou Bay in winter and summer, 1973-1974 are analyzed in this paper. The established multi-spectrum response models effectively identify the different dynamical factors and their contributions to the low-frequency sea level fluctuations inside the bay. The results show that the Ekman transport due to longshore winds is the major mechanism to induce the sea level fluctuations, more important than the frictional effect of local winds. There also exists obviously the influental effect of the free fluctuations of the continental shelf. In addition ,a simple estimation suggests that the remarkable sea level fluctuation of 0. 4 d-1 in the bay is related to the resonance of the Huanghai Sea and the Bohai Sea (taken as a single bay).

DNS analysis of incipient drop impact dynamics using an accurate level set method

A series of 2D direct numerical simulations were performed with an accurate level set method for single drop impacts.The adopted ACLS method was validated to be efficient with perfect mass conservation in both normal and oblique impacts.A square-root correction for neck bases was modified in accuracy as well as scope of applications.In addition,process of jet formation and evolution was studied to reveal internal dynamics in drop impacts.It's found that pressure gradient and vortex are coexisting and completive reasons for jet topology while the inclined angle has a significant effect on them.Mechanisms of jet formation and evolution are different in the front and back necks.With the help of PDF distribution and correction calculation,a compromise in the competition is observed.This work lays a solid foundation for further studies of dynamics in gas-liquid flows.

Cassava Production in NigeriamAn Application of Mechanization Levels

Cassava （Manihot esculenta Crantz） is globally known for its versatility. Its demand in the global market has increased in recent times. Many scholars have opined that the development of this root crop will boost rural economy especially in developing economies. This study investigates the production of cassava in Nigeria using different mechanization levels, which include： Hand Tools Technology （HTT）, Draught Animal Technology （DAT） and Engine Powered Technology （EPT）. These levels are classified into, low level mechanization, fair level mechanization and high level mechanization. The results show that the level of mechanization was high, only in land preparation while spraying, stem-cutting and weeding have low mechanization level. This shows that there are many unacceptable machines and suggests that efforts should be made to encourage cassava production considering the high economic, social and medical importance.

Reservoir-induced landslides and risk control in Three Gorges Project on Yangtze River,China

The Three Gorges region in China was basically a geohazard-prone area prior to construction of the Three Gorges Reservoir （TGR）. After construction of the TGR, the water level was raised from 70 m to 175 m above sea level （ASL）, and annual reservoir regulation has caused a 30-m water level difference after impoundment of the TGR since September 2008. This paper first presents the spatiotemporal distribution of landslides in six periods of 175 m ASL trial impoundments from 2008 to 2014. The results show that the number of landslides sharply decreased from 273 at the initial stage to less than ten at the second stage of impoundment. Based on this, the reservoir-induced landslides in the TGR region can be roughly classified into five failure patterns, i.e. accumulation landslide, dip-slope landslide, reversed bedding landslide, rockfall, and karst breccia landslide. The accumulation landslides and dip-slope landslides account for more than 90%. Taking the Shuping accumulation landslide （a sliding mass volume of 20.7 × 106 m^3） in Zigui County and the Outang dip-slope landslide （a sliding mass volume of about 90 × 106 m^3） in Fengjie County as two typical cases, the mechanisms of reactivation of the two landslides are analyzed. The monitoring data and factor of safety （FOS） calculation show that the accumulation landslide is dominated by water level variation in the reservoir as most part of the mass body is under 175 m ASL, and the dip-slope landslide is controlled by the coupling effect of reservoir water level variation and precipitation as an extensive recharge area of rainfall from the rear and the front mass is below 175 m ASL. The characteristics of landslide-induced impulsive wave hazards after and before reservoir impoundment are studied, and the probability of occurrence of a landslide-induced impulsive wave hazard has increased in the reservoir region. Simulation results of the Ganjingzi landslide in Wushan County indicate the strong relationship between landslide-induced surge and water variation with high potential risk to shipping and residential areas. Regarding reservoir regulation in TGR when using a single index, i.e. 1-d water level variation, water resources are not well utilized, and there is also potential risk of disasters since 2008. In addition, various indices such as 1-d, 5-d, and 10-d water level variations are proposed for reservoir regulation. Finally, taking reservoir-induced landslides in June 2015 for example, the feasibility of the optimizing indices of water level variations is verified.

An evaluation of underlying mechanisms for“fishing down marine food webs”

Since the concept of ＂fishing down marine food webs＂ was first proposed in 1998, mean trophic level of fisheries landings（MTL） has become one of the most widely used indicators to assess the impacts of fishing on the integrity of marine ecosystem and guide the policy development by many management agencies. Recent studies suggest that understanding underlying causes for changes in MTL is vital for an appropriate use of MTL as an indicator of fishery sustainability. Based on the landing data compiled by Food and Agriculture Organization（FAO） and trophic information of relevant species in Fishbase, we evaluated MTL trends in 14 FAO fishing areas and analyzed catches of upper and lower trophic level groups under different trends of MTL and found that both the cases of a recovered MTL trend and a generally increasing MTL trend could be accompanied by decreasing catches of lower trophic level species. Further, community structure and exploitation history should be considered in using MTL after excluding species with trophic levels lower than 3.25 to distinguish ＂fishingthrough＂ from ＂fishing-down＂. We conclude that MTL used as an indicator to measure fishery sustainability can benefit from a full consideration of both upper and lower trophic level species and masking effects of community structure and exploitation history.

Improved estimation model and empirical analysis of relationship between agricultural mechanization level and labor demand

The research on the relationship between mechanization level in planting industry and labor demand was carried out based on the present literatures.The former estimation model of labor demand in planting industry was established without analyzing the effects of planting structure on labor demand in planting industry.The purpose of the research is to develop and perfect the theory of estimating both labor demand and rural surplus labor in planting industry,then to provide some theoretical references for scientific estimation.The model established in this research can be used to calculate not only the amount of current labor demand,but also the demand in the various moment of future according to forecasted mechanization level and cultivated areas.Furthermore,it was explored how to obtain the indexes of cultivated areas,mechanization level and the average cultivated area that each labor can burden when the mechanization level is 0 and 100%.According to statistics principle,the methods of inspection to eliminate abnormal data and data processing were given in order to make the data more credible.Finally,an example was presented for demonstration purposes.

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.