Computational Fracture Analysis of an AFM-Specimen under Mixed Mode Loading Conditions

Fracture processes in ship-building structures are in many cases of a 3-D character. A finite element （FE） model of an all fracture mode （AFM） specimen was built for the study of 3-D mixed mode crack fracture behavior including modes Ⅰ,Ⅱ, and Ⅲ. The stress intensity factors （SIFs） were calculated by the modified virtual crack closure integral （MVCCI） method, and the crack initiation angle assessment was based on a recently developed 3-D fracture criterion--the Richard criterion. It was shown that the FE model of the AFM-specimen is applicable for investigations under general mixed mode loading conditions, and the computational results of crack initiation angles are in agreement with some available experimental findings. Thus, the applicability of the FE model of the AFM-specimen for mixed mode loading conditions and the validity of the Richard criterion can be demonstrated.

Seasonal and spatial variations in rare earth elements and yttrium of dissolved load in the middle,lower reaches and estuary of the Minjiang River,southeastern China

A bstract With the aim of elucidating the spatial and seasonal behaviors of rare earth elements(REEs), we investigated the dissolved REE concentrations of surface water collected during four seasons from middle, lower reaches and estuary of the Minjiang River, southeastern China. The results display that the REE abundances in Minjiang River, ranging from 3.3–785.9 ng/L, were higher than those of many of the major global rivers. The total REE concentrations(∑REE) were seasonally variable, averaging in 5 937.30, 863.79, 825.65 and 1 065.75 ng/L during second highest flow(SHF), normal flow(NF), low flow(LF) and high flow(HF) season, respectively. The R_(( L/M)) and R_((H/M)) ratios reveal the spatial and temporal variations of REE patterns, and particularly vary apparently in the maximum turbidity zone and estuary. REE patterns of dissolved loads are characterized by progressing weaker LREEs-enrichment and stronger HREEsenrichment downstream from middle reaches to estuary during all four seasons. Comparing with NF and LF seasons, in which REE patterns are relatively flat, samples of SHF season have more LREE-enriched and HREE-depleted patterns that close to parent rocks, while samples of HF season are more LREEs-depleted and HREE-enriched. REE fractionations from the middle to lower reaches are stronger in the SHF and HF seasons than those in NF and LF seasons. Generally, spatial and seasonal variations in REE abundance and pattern are presumably due to several factors, such as chemical weathering, mixture with rainfall and groundwater, estuarine mixing, runoff, biological production and mountain river characters, such as strong hydrodynamic forces and steep slopes. The highest Gd/Gd* always occurs at north ports during all four seasons, where most of the large hospitals are located. This suggests Gd anomalies are depended on the density of modern medical facilities. Y/Ho ratios fl uctuate and positively correlate to salinity in estuary, probably because of the geochemical behavior differences between Y and Ho.

Analysis of composite material interface crack face contact and friction effects using a new node-pairs contact algorithm

A new node-pairs contact algorithm is proposed to deal with a composite material or bi-material interface crack face contact and friction problem （e.g., resistant coating and thermal barrier coatings） subjected to complicated load conditions. To decrease the calculation scale and calculation errors, the local Lagrange multipliers are solved only on a pair of contact nodes using the Jacobi iteration method, and the constraint modification of the tangential multipliers are required. After the calculation of the present node-pairs Lagrange multiplier, it is turned to next contact node-pairs until all node-pairs have finished. Compared with an ordinary contact algorithm, the new local node-pairs contact algorithm is allowed a more precise element on the contact face without the stiffness matrix singularity. The stress intensity factors （SIFs） and the contact region of an infinite plate central crack are calculated and show good agreement with those in the literature. The contact zone near the crack tip as well as its influence on singularity of stress fields are studied. Furthermore, the frictional contacts are also considered and found to have a significant influence on the SIFs. The normalized mode-II stress intensity factors KII for the friction coefficient decrease by 16% when f changes from 1 to 0.

EFFECT OF NON-PROPORTIONAL OVERLOADING ON FATIGUE CRACK GROWTH

The effect of proportional and non-proportional overloading on mode l fatigue crack growth have been studied,and the influences of crack tip plastic zone,crack tip blunting as well as crack closure were discussed.Proportional(model I)overloading may cause more serious crack growth retardation than non-proportional(mixed mode)overloading.Therefore,for estimating the fatigue life of engineering structures to simplify a real overload which may of- ten be non-proportional as a proportional one is not always safe.

Using the discrete element method to assess the mixing of polydisperse solid particles in a rotary drum

Despite the wide applications of powder and solid mixing in industry, knowledge on the mixing of polydisperse solid particles in rotary drum blenders is lacking. This study investigates the mixing of monodisperse, bidisperse, tridisperse, and polydisperse solid particles in a rotary drum using the dis- crete element method. To validate the model developed in this study, experimental and simulation results were compared. The validated model was then employed to investigate the effects of the drum rotational speed, particle size, and initial loading method on the mixing quality. The degree of mixing of polydis- perse particles was smaller than that for monodisperse particles owing to the segregation phenomenon. The mixing index increased from an initial value to a maximum and decreased slightly before reaching a plateau for bidisperse, tridisperse, and polydisperse particles as a direct result of the segregation of par- ticles of different sizes. Final mixing indices were higher for polydisperse particles than for tridisperse and bidisperse particles. Additionally, segregation was weakened by introducing additional particles of intermediate size. The best mixing of bidisperse and tridisperse particles was achieved for top-bottom smaller-to-larger initial loading, while that of polydisperse systems was achieved using top-bottom smaller-to-larger and top-bottom larger-to-smaller initial loading methods.

Observation of ^1S0-^3P0 transition of bosonic strontium in the Lamb-Dicke regime

We report experiments on the observation of the ^1S0-^3P0 transition spectrum of ^88Sr in the Lamb-Dicke regime.After going through a two-stage magneto-optical trap（MOT）,88 Sr cold atoms with number of about 1 × 10^5 and a longitudinal temperature of 8.4 μK are loaded into a one-dimensional（1D） optical lattice, which is realized with a semiconductor laser at 813.4 nm. Using the magnetic field-inducing ^3P1 state mixing into ^3P0 state, the spectroscopy of the1S0-3P0 transition with a linewidth of 180 Hz is detected.