Multi-layer perceptron-based data-driven multiscale modelling of granular materials with a novel Frobenius norm-based internal variable

One objective of developing machine learning(ML)-based material models is to integrate them with well-established numerical methods to solve boundary value problems(BVPs).In the family of ML models,recurrent neural networks(RNNs)have been extensively applied to capture history-dependent constitutive responses of granular materials,but these multiple-step-based neural networks are neither sufficiently efficient nor aligned with the standard finite element method(FEM).Single-step-based neural networks like the multi-layer perceptron(MLP)are an alternative to bypass the above issues but have to introduce some internal variables to encode complex loading histories.In this work,one novel Frobenius norm-based internal variable,together with the Fourier layer and residual architectureenhanced MLP model,is crafted to replicate the history-dependent constitutive features of representative volume element(RVE)for granular materials.The obtained ML models are then seamlessly embedded into the FEM to solve the BVP of a biaxial compression case and a rigid strip footing case.The obtained solutions are comparable to results from the FEM-DEM multiscale modelling but achieve significantly improved efficiency.The results demonstrate the applicability of the proposed internal variable in enabling MLP to capture highly nonlinear constitutive responses of granular materials.

A flexible ultra-broadband multi-layered absorber working at 2 GHz-40 GHz printed by resistive ink

A flexible extra broadband metamaterial absorber(MMA)stacked with five layers working at 2 GHz–40 GHz is investigated.Each layer is composed of polyvinyl chloride(PVC),polyimide(PI),and a frequency selective surface(FSS),which is printed on PI using conductive ink.To investigate this absorber,both one-dimensional analogous circuit analysis and three-dimensional full-wave simulation based on a physical model are provided.Various crucial electromagnetic properties,such as absorption,effective impedance,complex permittivity and permeability,electric current distribution and magnetic field distribution at resonant peak points,are studied in detail.Analysis shows that the working frequency of this absorber covers entire S,C,X,Ku,K and Ka bands with a minimum thickness of 0.098λ_(max)(λ_(max) is the maximum wavelength in the absorption band),and the fractional bandwidth(FBW)reaches 181.1%.Moreover,the reflection coefficient is less than-10 dB at 1.998 GHz–40.056 GHz at normal incidence,and the absorptivity of the plane wave is greater than 80%when the incident angle is smaller than 50°.Furthermore,the proposed absorber is experimentally validated,and the experimental results show good agreement with the simulation results,which demonstrates the potential applicability of this absorber at 2 GHz–40 GHz.

A low-profile metamaterial absorber with ultrawideband reflectionless and wide-angular stability

An ultrawideband reflectionless metamaterial absorber(MA)is proposed by replacing the metallic ground with the complementary split-ring resonator(CSRR)structure.The proposed MA exhibits-10 d B reflectivity spectrum from 1 GHz to 20 GHz,which maintains more than 90%absorption from 1.5 GHz to20 GHz.Furthermore,it achieves angle stability for TE and TM polarization at oblique incident angles up to 40°and 65°,respectively.To achieve broadband absorption spectrum,we have adopted a single-layer high-impedance surface(HIS)loaded with a double-layer magnetic material(MM)structure.To further realize the RCS reduction into a lower frequency range,we have employed the scattering cancellation technology into the traditional metallic ground.Finally,we have fabricated a sample exhibiting the 10 d B RCS reduction from 1 GHz to 20 GHz with a thickness of 10 mm.Measurement and simulation results confirm that the proposed MA exhibits excellent comprehensive performance,making it suitable for many practical applications.

Biomechanical analysis of an absorbable material for treating fractures of the inferior orbital wall

AIM:To investigate the biomechanical properties and practical application of absorbable materials in orbital fracture repair.METHODS:The three-dimensional(3D)model of orbital blowout fractures was reconstructed using Mimics21.0 software.The repair guide plate model for inferior orbital wall fracture was designed using 3-matic13.0 and Geomagic wrap 21.0 software.The finite element model of orbital blowout fracture and absorbable repair plate was established using 3-matic13.0 and ANSYS Workbench 21.0 software.The mechanical response of absorbable plates,with thicknesses of 0.6 and 1.2 mm,was modeled after their placement in the orbit.Two patients with inferior orbital wall fractures volunteered to receive single-layer and double-layer absorbable plates combined with 3D printing technology to facilitate surgical treatment of orbital wall fractures.RESULTS:The finite element models of orbital blowout fracture and absorbable plate were successfully established.Finite element analysis(FEA)showed that when the Young’s modulus of the absorbable plate decreases to 3.15 MPa,the repair material with a thickness of 0.6 mm was influenced by the gravitational forces of the orbital contents,resulting in a maximum total deformation of approximately 3.3 mm.Conversely,when the absorbable plate was 1.2 mm thick,the overall maximum total deformation was around 0.4 mm.The half-year follow-up results of the clinical cases confirmed that the absorbable plate with a thickness of 1.2 mm had smaller maximum total deformation and better clinical efficacy.CONCLUSION:The biomechanical analysis observations in this study are largely consistent with the clinical situation.The use of double-layer absorbable plates in conjunction with 3D printing technology is recommended to support surgical treatment of infraorbital wall blowout fractures.

Recent progress and future prospects of oil-absorbing materials

Oil and organic solvent contamination, derived from oil spills and organic solvent leakage, has been recognized as one of the major environmental issues imposing a serious threat to both human and ecosystem health. Among the various presented technologies applied for oil/water separation, oil absorption process has been explored widely and offers satisfactory results especially with surface modified oil-absorbing material and/or hybrid absorbents. In this review, we summarize the recent research activities involved in the designing strategies of oil-absorbing absorbents and their application in oil absorption. Then, an extensive list of various oil-absorbing materials from literature, including polymer materials, porous inorganic materials and biomass materials, has been compiled and the oil adsorption capacities toward various types of oils and organic solvents as available in the literature are presented along with highlighting and discussing the various factors involved in the designing of oil-absorbing absorbents tested so far for oil/water separation. Finally, some future trends and perspectives in oil-absorbing material are outlined.

Interaction of Electromagnetic Waves with Two-Dimensional Metal Covered with Radar Absorbing Material and Plasma

A two-dimensional metal model is established to investigate the stealth mechanisms of radar absorbing material （RAM） and plasma when they cover the model together. Using the finite-difference time-domain （FDTD） method, the interaction of electromagnetic （EM） waves with the model can be studied. In this paper, three covering cases are considered： a. RAM or plasma covering the metal solely; b. RAM and plasma covering the metal, while plasma is placed outside; e. RAM and plasma covering the metal, while RAM is placed outside. The calculated results show that the covering order has a great influence on the absorption of EM waves. Compared to case a, case b has an advantage in the absorption of relatively high-frequency EM waves （HFWs）, whereas case c has an advantage in the absorption of relatively low-frequency EM waves （LFWs）. Through the optimization of the parameters of both plasma and RAM, it is hopeful to obtain a broad absorption band by RAM and plasma covering. Near-field attenuation rate and far-field radar cross section （RCS） are employed to compare the different cases.

Microwave Absorption Properties of the Carbonyl Iron/EPDM Radar Absorbing Materials

Employing carbonyl iron powder and Ethylene-Propylene-Diene Monomer （EPDM） as the absorbent and matrix, rubber radar absorbing materials （RAM） were prepared. Effects of the carbonyl iron volume fraction and the thickness of the RAM on the microwave absorption properties in the frequency range of 2.6-18GHz were studied, and a mathematical analysis was made using the electromagnetic theory. The experimental results indicate that the minimum reflectivity of the radar absorbing materials continuously decreases with the increase of the carbonyl iron volume fraction, and the absorption peak also moves towards the low frequency for the same thickness of the RAM. The minimum reflectivity of the 3.0 mm RAM is -21.7dB at 3.5 GHz when the volume fraction of carbonyl iron is 45%. The reflectivity of the RAM is not in direct proportional to the thickness of the RAM, when the RAM has the same volume fraction of the carbonyl iron. The reflectivity of the RAM presents a regular trend at a given carbonyl iron volume fraction in the frequency range of 2.6-18 GHz. With the increase of the thickness, the maximum absorption peak moves towards low frequency band, the minimum reflectivity firstly decreases and then increases, and the absorption bandwidth for reflectivity〈-10 dB firstly increases and then decreases. The microwave absorption properties of the RAM are determined by the thickness and the composition of the radar absorbing materials. Theoretical analysis indicates that the reflectivity of the RAM is determined by the matching degree of the air＇s characteristic impedance and the input impedance.

Research Progress on Nanostructured Radar Absorbing Materials

Nanostructured radar absorbing materials (RAMs) have received steadily growing interest because of their fascinating properties and various applications compared with the bulk or microsized counterparts. The increased surface area, number of dangling bond atoms and unsaturated co-ordination on surface lead to interface polarization, multiple scatter and absorbing more microwave. In this paper, four types of nanostructured RAMs were concisely introduced as follows: nanocrystal RAMs, core-shell nanocomposite RAMs, nanocomposite of MWCNT and inorganic materials RAMs, nanocomposite of nanostructured carbon and polymer RAMs. Their microwave properties were described in detail by taking various materials as

Fabrication and performance optimization of Mn-Zn ferrite/EP composites as microwave absorbing materials

Magnesium-substituted Mn0.8Zn0.2Fe2O4 ferrite is synthesized by the sol–gel combustion method using citrate acid as the complex agent. The electromagnetic absorbing behaviors of ferrite/polymer coatings fabricated by dispersing Mn–Zn ferrite into epoxy resin （EP） are studied. The microstructure and morphology are characterized by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscope. Complex permittivity, complex permeability, and reflection loss of ferrite/EP composite coating are investigated in a low frequency range. It is found that the prepared ferrite particles are traditional cubic spinel ferrite particles with an average size of 200 nm. The results reveal that the electromagnetic microwave absorbing properties are significantly influenced by the weight ratio of ferrite to polymer. The composites with a weight ratio of ferrite/polymer being 3：20 have a maximum reflection loss of –16 dB and wide absorbing band. Thus, the Mn–Zn ferrite is the potential candidate in electromagnetic absorbing application in the low frequency range （10 MHz–1 GHz）.

Theoretical Calculation and Analysis of Muffler Based on Multilayer Sound Absorbing Material

The multilayer impedance composite sound absorption structure of the new muffler is proposed by combining the microporous plate structure with the resonant sound absorption structure of the porous material.Firstly,the acoustic impedance and acoustic absorption coefficient of the new muffler structure are calculated by acoustic electric analogy method,and then the noise attenuation is calculated.When the new muffler structure parameters change,the relationship among the noise frequency,the sound absorption coefficient and the noise attenuation is calculated by using MATLAB.Finally,the calculated results are compared with the experimental data to verify the correctness of the theoretical calculation.The variation of resonance peak,resonance frequency and attenuation band width of each structural parameter is analyzed by the relation curve.The conclusion shows that it is feasible to use multilayer sound absorbing materials as the body structure of the new muffler.And the influence relationship between the change of various parameters of the sound absorption structure with the sound absorption coefficient and noise attenuation is obtained.

A Reverse Numerical Approach to Determine Elastic-plastic Properties of Multi-layer Material Systems with Flat Cylindrical Indenters

In the present study, the indentation testing with a flat cylindrical indenter on typical multi-layer material systems was simulated successfully by finite element method. The emphasis was put on the methods of extracting the yield stresses and strain-hardening modulus of upper and middle-layers of three-layer material systems from the indentation testing. The slope of the indentation depth to the applied indentation stress curve was found to have a turning point, which can be used to determine the yield stress of the upper-layer. Then, a different method was also presented to determine the yield stress of the middle-layer. This method was based on a set of assumed applied indentation stresses which were to be intersected by the experimental results in order to meet the requirement of having the experimental indentation depth. At last, a reverse numerical algorithm was explored to determine the yield stresses of upper and middle-layers simultaneously by using the indentation testing with two different size indenters. This method assumed two ranges of yield stresses to simulate the indentation behavior. The experimental depth behavior was used to intersect the simulated indentation behavior. And the intersection corresponded to the values of yield stresses of upper and middle-layers. This method was also used further to determine the strain-hardening modulus of upper and middle-layers simultaneously.

Effect of Phase Change Materials on the Thermal Protective Performance of the Multi-layered Fabrics Examined by TPP Tester under Flash Fire

Cotton fabrics treated with phase change materials( PCMs)were used in multi-layered fabrics of the fire fighter protective clothing to study its effect on thermal protection. The thermal protective performance( TPP) of the multi-layered fabrics was measured by a TPP tester under flash fire. Results showed that the utilization of the PCM fabrics improved the thermal protective performance of the multi-layered fabrics. The fabric with a PCM add on of 41. 9% increased the thermal protection by 50. 6% and reduced the time to reach a second degree burn by 8. 4 s compared with the reference fabrics( without PCMs). The employment of the PCM fabrics also reduced the blackened areas on the inner layers. The PCM fabrics with higher PCM melting temperature could bring higher thermal protective performance.

COMPUTER AIDED MEASUREMENT OF THE ELECTROMAGNETIC PARAMETER FOR THE MICROWAVE ABSORBING MATERIALS

The electromagnetic parameters of microwave absorbing materials are important criteria when appraising the properties of absorbents. For reconstruction of parameters which belongs to the inverse scattering problem, the test data in requirement of traditional impedance method are "just enough" and not "redundant" to comprehensively evaluate the electromagnetic properties of materials. A novel optimization approach involving multiple impedance measurements is introduced in this paper to implement automatic measurement for electromagnetic parameters on microwave slot-line. Some results for standard samples and microwave absorbing materials are given.

Unsteady natural convection Couette flow of heat generating/absorbing fluid between vertical parallel plates filled with porous material

The extended Brinkman Darcy model for momentum equations and an energy equation is used to calculate the unsteady natural convection Couette flow of a viscous incompressible heat generating/absorbing fluid in a vertical channel （formed by two infinite vertical and parallel plates） filled with the fluid-saturated porous medium. The flow is triggered by the asymmetric heating and the accelerated motion of one of the bounding plates. The governing equations are simplified by the reasonable dimensionless parameters and solved analytically by the Laplace transform techniques to obtain the closed form solutions of the velocity and temperature profiles. Then, the skin friction and the rate of heat transfer are consequently derived. It is noticed that, at different sections within the vertical channel, the fluid flow and the temperature profiles increase with time, which are both higher near the moving plate. In particular, increasing the gap between the plates increases the velocity and the temperature of the fluid, however, reduces the skin friction and the rate of heat transfer.

Electromagnetic Waves Absorbing Characteristics of Composite Material Containing Carbonyl Iron Particles

Results of measurements of permeability, permittivity and radar absorption properties of composites on basis of carbonyl iron particles R-10 brand are presented in this paper. The calculations and experimental studies have shown that in the super high frequency (SHF) and extremely high frequency (EHF) ranges on the basis of two-layer structures with different content of carbonyl iron particles can create a radar absorbing coatings with a reflectivity of less than -10 dB over a wide bandwidth from 3.1 to 17.1 GHz and from 27 to 37 GHz. Absorbing properties of composites are saved in terahertz frequency range from 250 to 525 GHz.

Calculation and Analysis of Acoustic Characteristics of Straight-Through Perforated Pipe Muffler Based on Multilayer Sound Absorbing Material

Using the multi-physical field simulation software COMSOL,the acoustic characteristics of the multilayer sound absorbing material straight-through perforated pipe muffler are studied by the finite element method.The results show that the finite element calculation of the multilayer sound absorbing material straight-through the perforated pipe muffler agrees well with the experimental measurement results.The reliability of the finite element method for studying the acoustic performance of the straight-through perforated pipe muffler with multilayer sound absorbing materials is shown.Furthermore,the influence of some structural parameters of porous sound absorbing material and micro-perforated plate on the acoustic performance of the multilayer sound absorbing material straight-through perforated pipe muffler is analyzed.The muffler based on multilayer sound absorbing material is different from the traditional muffler.After applying the multilayer sound absorbing material to the straight-through perforated pipe muffler,the transmission loss value greatly increases,which provides new ideas and directions for future research on the muffler.

Theoretical analysis and experimental investigation of a high-performance viscoelastic material shock absorber

To improve the performance of traditional mechanical shock absorber, a new type of high molecular polymer is formulated and applied to overloaded vehicle shock absorber. According to the operating principle of high-performance viscoelastic material shock absorber, the geometrical structure of shock absorber is designed and machined. Then its theoretical model is derived by using analytical method, and the impact test is carried out on high-performance viscoelastic material shock absorber. The results show that experimental and theoretical damping force curves have good agreement, which validates the credibility of theoretical model. The investigation provides a potential way to enhance damping performance and increase vehicle load.

Millimeter-Wave Absorption Properties of Thin Wave Absorber in Free Space with New Porous Carbon Material

In this paper, we focus on PHYTOPOROUS, a porous carbon material made entirely from plant-based ingredients, as a new broadband-wave absorber material that acts in the millimeter wave band. We created prototypes of thin rubber-sheet wave absorbers that contain porous carbon (PHYTOPOROUS) made from rice chaff and soybean hulls, which are both agricultural residue products that are generated in large quantities. We investigated the permittivity and reflectance characteristics of this material using the free-space time-domain method. The thin rubber-sheet wave absorber that contained PHYTOPOROUS made from soybean hulls exhibited a frequency band that was approximately 18 GHz wide and centered at 90 GHz. The return loss for this material was greater than −20 dB. This demonstrates that the material provides nearly constant reflection absorption over a wide frequency band.

The Optimizing Research about Radar Absorbent Material Parameters

From the Physical Optics theory (PO) and Leontovich Impedance Boundary Condition (IBC), We research RCS reduction (RCSR) of multilayer dielectric and magnetic medium on different shape conductors such as plate, cuboid and cone by use of Matlab programs. Some available RCS data and graph results are given. These show the connection between Radar Absorbent Material (RAM) parameters and the number of layers. In the mean time, the relation between RAM optimized parameters and RCS value is also shown. It has better practical significance.

A Wide-Spaced Dual-Band Metamaterial Absorber Based on 2.5D Frequency Selective Surfaces and Magnetic Material

By applying meander-line for electrical loss and magnetic material for magnetic loss,we present a metamaterial absorber which is wide-spaced and dual-band(1.35—2.24 GHz and 10.37—12.37 GHz).The novelty of this study mainly lies in a combination of two kinds of losses to consume electromagnetic energy,which can get better dual-band absorption.In the electrical loss layer,meander-line structures are printed on both surfaces of the substrate and the structure series with resistors.Considering the need for miniaturization,we connect eight metallic vias with these meander-line areas to form a compact 2.5-dimensional(2.5D)structure.The dimension of the unit cell is miniaturized to be 5.94 mm×5.94 mm,about 0.035λat the center frequency of the lower absorption band.In the magnetic loss layer,the 0.4 mm thick magnetic material is employed on a metallic ground plane.In addition,the complex permittivity and complex permeability of the magnetic material are given.Finally,we fabricate a prototype of the proposed absorber and obtain a measurement result which is in good agreement with the full-wave simulation result.