Multi-Scale Design and Optimization of Composite Material Structure for Heavy-Duty Truck Protection Device

In this paper,to present a lightweight-developed front underrun protection device(FUPD)for heavy-duty trucks,plain weave carbon fiber reinforced plastic(CFRP)is used instead of the original high-strength steel.First,the mechanical and structural properties of plain carbon fiber composite anti-collision beams are comparatively analyzed from a multi-scale perspective.For studying the design capability of carbon fiber composite materials,we investigate the effects of TC-33 carbon fiber diameter(D),fiber yarn width(W)and height(H),and fiber yarn density(N)on the front underrun protective beam of carbon fiber compositematerials.Based on the investigation,a material-structure matching strategy suitable for the front underrun protective beam of heavy-duty trucks is proposed.Next,the composite material structure is optimized by applying size optimization and stack sequence optimization methods to obtain the higher performance carbon fiber composite front underrun protection beam of commercial vehicles.The results show that the fiber yarn height(H)has the greatest influence on the protective beam,and theH1matching scheme for the front underrun protective beamwith a carbon fiber composite structure exhibits superior performance.The proposed method achieves a weight reduction of 55.21% while still meeting regulatory requirements,which demonstrates its remarkable weight reduction effect.

Multi-scale Modeling and Finite Element Analyses of Thermal Conductivity of 3D C/SiC Composites Fabricating by Flexible-Oriented Woven Process

Thermal conductivity is one of the most significant criterion of three-dimensional carbon fiber-reinforced SiC matrix composites(3D C/SiC).Represent volume element(RVE)models of microscale,void/matrix and mesoscale proposed in this work are used to simulate the thermal conductivity behaviors of the 3D C/SiC composites.An entirely new process is introduced to weave the preform with three-dimensional orthogonal architecture.The 3D steady-state analysis step is created for assessing the thermal conductivity behaviors of the composites by applying periodic temperature boundary conditions.Three RVE models of cuboid,hexagonal and fiber random distribution are respectively developed to comparatively study the influence of fiber package pattern on the thermal conductivities at the microscale.Besides,the effect of void morphology on the thermal conductivity of the matrix is analyzed by the void/matrix models.The prediction results at the mesoscale correspond closely to the experimental values.The effect of the porosities and fiber volume fractions on the thermal conductivities is also taken into consideration.The multi-scale models mentioned in this paper can be used to predict the thermal conductivity behaviors of other composites with complex structures.

Rock bridge slice element method in slope stability analysis based on multi-scale geological structure mapping

The searching method of failure surface which consists of complex geological structures in high and steep rock slopes was studied. Based on computer simulation technology and Monte-Carlo method, three dimensional multi-scale geological structures such as engineering scale and statistical scale structures of the slope were simulated. The searching method of failure route which consists of joints and rock bridges was determined via simulation annealing method by considering the shear strength of joints or rock bridges in one supposed route. When shear strengths of all the supposed routes were computed, the least shear strength route was considered failure route. Then, the inclined slice of joint slices and rock bridge slices were separated according to the position of joints and rock bridges. For the rock bridge slices, by distinguishing the failure model, the force direction to the next slice was defined. Finally, the limit equilibrium equations for every slice were established, and the slope stability factor was obtained. One practical example indicates that the discussed method is more closely to the real condition.

Dynamic response of multi-scale structure in flexible pavement to moving load

In order to study the dynamic responses in the microstructures of the pavement structure, the multi-scale modeling subjected to moving load is analyzed using the discrete element method （DEM）. The macro-scale discrete element model of the flexible pavement structure is established. The stress and strain at the bottom of the asphalt concrete layer under moving load are calculated. The DEM model is validated through comparison between DEM predictions and the results from the classical program. Based on the validated macro-scale DEM model, the distribution and the volumetric fraction of coarse aggregate, mastics and air voids at the bottom of the asphalt layer are modeled, and then the multi-scale model is constructed. The dynamic response in the microstructures of the multi-scale model are calculated and compared with the results from the macro model. The influence of mastic stiffness on the distribution of dynamic response in the microstructures is also analyzed. Results show that the average values and the variation coefficient of the tensile stress at the aggregate-mastic interface are far more than those within the mastics. The dynamic response including stress and strain distributes non-uniformly in both mastics and the interface. An increase in mastic stiffness tends to a uniform distribution of tensile stress in asphalt concrete.

Combined Insights from Leachate Structure and Microstructure Characteristics for Eating Quality of Convenience Rice Processed by Super-Heated and Pressurized Steam Technologies

Convenience rice has become widely popular due to its easy availability for cooking. This study investigated the starch structure and composition of leachate and the microstructure of reheated convenience rice using novel processing technologies: super-heated steaming(SHS), auto-electric cooking(AEC), and pressurized-steam cooking(PSC). Additionally, the effect of two different target water contents(58% and 63%) was also evaluated. The PSC_63% sample had the highest total solids and amylopectin amount in the leachate. The amylopectin amount in the leachate differed significantly based on the targeted water content. Morphological characterization revealed that the swelling of starch and the coated layer on the surface of rice grains were most pronounced in the PSC_63% sample due to the pressure processing. The textural hardness of the AEC_58% sample was much higher than that of the other samples. The PSC_63% sample had the highest textural adhesiveness value, which can be attributed to the highest amylopectin amount in the leachate. Sensory characterization showed that the PSC_63% sample had the highest glossiness, whiteness, moistness, and overall acceptability. The principal component analysis score plots presented substantial differences in the leachate and textural and sensory characteristics of reheated convenience rice among the different processing technologies.

Relationship between polyhedral structures formed by tangent planes of ellipsoidal particles and system sound velocity

Internal polyhedral structures of a granular system can be investigated using the Voronoi tessellations.This technique has gained increasing recognition in research of kinetic properties of granular flows.For systems with mono-sized spherical particles,Voronoi tessellations can be utilized,while radial Voronoi tessellations are necessary for analyzing systems with multi-sized spherical particles.However,research about polyhedral structures of non-spherical particle systems is limited.We utilize the discrete element method to simulate a system of ellipsoidal particles,defined by the equation(x a)2+(y1)2+(z 1/a)2=1,where a ranges from 1.1 to 2.0.The system is then dissected by using tangent planes at the contact points,and the geometric quantities of the resulting polyhedra in different shaped systems,such as surface area,volume,number of vertices,number of edges,and number of faces,are calculated.Meanwhile,the longitudinal and transverse wave velocities within the system are calculated with the time-of-flight method.The results demonstrate a strong correlation between the sound velocity of the system and the geometry of the dissected polyhedra.The sound velocity of the system increases with the increase in a,peaking at a=1.3,and then decreases as a continues to increase.The average volume,surface area,number of vertices,number of edges,and number of faces of the polyhedra decrease with the increase in sound velocity.That is,these quantities initially decrease with the increase in a,reaching minima at a=1.3,and then increase with further increase of a.The relationship between sound velocity and the geometric quantities of the dissected polyhedra can serve as a reference for acoustic material design.

Improved multi-scale inverse bottleneck residual network based on triplet parallel attention for apple leaf disease identification

Accurate diagnosis of apple leaf diseases is crucial for improving the quality of apple production and promoting the development of the apple industry. However, apple leaf diseases do not differ significantly from image texture and structural information. The difficulties in disease feature extraction in complex backgrounds slow the related research progress. To address the problems, this paper proposes an improved multi-scale inverse bottleneck residual network model based on a triplet parallel attention mechanism, which is built upon ResNet-50, while improving and combining the inception module and ResNext inverse bottleneck blocks, to recognize seven types of apple leaf(including six diseases of alternaria leaf spot, brown spot, grey spot, mosaic, rust, scab, and one healthy). First, the 3×3 convolutions in some of the residual modules are replaced by multi-scale residual convolutions, the convolution kernels of different sizes contained in each branch of the multi-scale convolution are applied to extract feature maps of different sizes, and the outputs of these branches are multi-scale fused by summing to enrich the output features of the images. Second, the global layer-wise dynamic coordinated inverse bottleneck structure is used to reduce the network feature loss. The inverse bottleneck structure makes the image information less lossy when transforming from different dimensional feature spaces. The fusion of multi-scale and layer-wise dynamic coordinated inverse bottlenecks makes the model effectively balances computational efficiency and feature representation capability, and more robust with a combination of horizontal and vertical features in the fine identification of apple leaf diseases. Finally, after each improved module, a triplet parallel attention module is integrated with cross-dimensional interactions among channels through rotations and residual transformations, which improves the parallel search efficiency of important features and the recognition rate of the network with relatively small computational costs while the dimensional dependencies are improved. To verify the validity of the model in this paper, we uniformly enhance apple leaf disease images screened from the public data sets of Plant Village, Baidu Flying Paddle, and the Internet. The final processed image count is 14,000. The ablation study, pre-processing comparison, and method comparison are conducted on the processed datasets. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method reaches 98.73% accuracy on the adopted datasets, which is 1.82% higher than the classical ResNet-50 model, and 0.29% better than the apple leaf disease datasets before preprocessing. It also achieves competitive results in apple leaf disease identification compared to some state-ofthe-art methods.

Structure characterization of the oxide film on FGH96 superalloy powders with various oxidation degrees

The structure of the oxide film on FGH96 alloy powders significantly influences the mechanical properties of superalloys.In this study,FGH96 alloy powders with various oxygen contents were investigated using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and atomic probe technology to elucidate the structure evolution of the oxide film.Energy dispersive spectrometer analysis revealed the presence of two distinct components in the oxide film of the alloy powders:amorphous oxide layer covering the γ matrix and amorphous oxide particles above the carbide.The alloying elements within the oxide layer showed a laminated distribution,with Ni,Co,Cr,and Al/Ti,which was attributed to the decreasing oxygen equilibrium pressure as oxygen diffused from the surface into the γ matrix.On the other hand,Ti enrichment was observed in the oxide particles caused by the oxidation and decomposition of the carbide phase.Comparative analysis of the oxide film with oxygen contents of 140,280,and 340 ppm showed similar element distributions,while the thickness of the oxide film varies approximately at 9,14,and 30 nm,respectively.These findings provide valuable insights into the structural analysis of the oxide film on FGH96 alloy powders.

Ballistic performances of the hourglass lattice sandwich structures under high-velocity fragments

In this paper,the numerical simulation method is used to study the ballistic performances of hourglass lattice sandwich structures with the same mass under the vertical incidence of fragments.Attention is paid to elucidating the influences of rod cross-section dimensions,structure height,structure layer,and rod inclination angle on the deformation mode,ballistic performances,and ability to change the ballistic direction of fragments.The results show that the ballistic performances of hourglass lattice sandwich structures are mainly affected by their structural parameters.In this respect,structural parameters optimization of the hourglass lattice sandwich structures enable one to effectively improve their ballistic limit velocity and,consequently,ballistic performances.

An 8-Node Plane Hybrid Element for StructuralMechanics Problems Based on the Hellinger-Reissner Variational Principle

The finite element method (FEM) plays a valuable role in computer modeling and is beneficial to the mechanicaldesign of various structural parts. However, the elements produced by conventional FEM are easily inaccurate andunstable when applied. Therefore, developing new elements within the framework of the generalized variationalprinciple is of great significance. In this paper, an 8-node plane hybrid finite element with 15 parameters (PHQ8-15β) is developed for structural mechanics problems based on the Hellinger-Reissner variational principle.According to the design principle of Pian, 15 unknown parameters are adopted in the selection of stress modes toavoid the zero energy modes.Meanwhile, the stress functions within each element satisfy both the equilibrium andthe compatibility relations of plane stress problems. Subsequently, numerical examples are presented to illustrate theeffectiveness and robustness of the proposed finite element. Numerical results show that various common lockingbehaviors of plane elements can be overcome. The PH-Q8-15β element has excellent performance in all benchmarkproblems, especially for structures with varying cross sections. Furthermore, in bending problems, the reasonablemesh shape of the new element for curved edge structures is analyzed in detail, which can be a useful means toimprove numerical accuracy.

Boundary Element Analysis forModeⅢCrack Problems of Thin-Walled Structures from Micro-to Nano-Scales

This paper develops a new numerical framework for modeⅢcrack problems of thin-walled structures by integrating multiple advanced techniques in the boundary element literature.The details of special crack-tip elements for displacement and stress are derived.An exponential transformation technique is introduced to accurately calculate the nearly singular integral,which is the key task of the boundary element simulation of thin-walled structures.Three numerical experiments with different types of cracks are provided to verify the performance of the present numerical framework.Numerical results demonstrate that the present scheme is valid for modeⅢcrack problems of thin-walled structures with the thickness-to-length ratio in the microscale,even nanoscale,regime.

A Modified Model for Soil–Structure Interface Considering Random Damage of Mesoscopic Contact Elements

The interaction between soil and marine structures like submarine pipeline/pipe pile/suction caisson is a complicated geotechnical mechanism process.In this study,the interface is discretized into multiple mesoscopic contact elements that are damaged randomly throughout the shearing process due to the natural heterogeneity.The evolution equation of damage variable is developed based on the Weibull function,which is able to cover a rather wide range of distribution shapes by only two parameters,making it applicable for varying scenarios.Accordingly,a statistical damage model is established by incorporating Mohr–Coulomb strength criterion,in which the interfacial residual strength is considered whereby the strain softening behavior can be described.A concept of“semi-softening”characteristic point on shear stress–displacement curve is proposed for effectively modeling the evolution of strain softening.Finally,a series of ring shear tests of the interfaces between fine sea sand and smooth/rough steel surfaces are conducted.The predicted results using the proposed model are compared with experimental data of this study as well as some results from existing literature,indicating that the model has a good performance in modeling the progressive failure and strain softening behavior for various types of soil–structure interfaces.

Concurrent multi-scale design optimization of composite frame structures using the Heaviside penalization of discrete material model

This paper deals with the concurrent multi-scale optimization design of frame structure composed of glass or carbon fiber reinforced polymer laminates. In the composite frame structure, the fiber winding angle at the micro-material scale and the geometrical parameter of components of the frame in the macro-structural scale are introduced as the independent variables on the two geometrical scales. Considering manufacturing requirements, discrete fiber winding angles are specified for the micro design variable. The improved Heaviside penalization discrete material optimization interpolation scheme has been applied to achieve the discrete optimization design of the fiber winding angle. An optimization model based on the minimum structural compliance and the specified fiber material volume constraint has been established. The sensitivity information about the two geometrical scales design variables are also deduced considering the characteristics of discrete fiber winding angles. The optimization results of the fiber winding angle or the macro structural topology on the two single geometrical scales, together with the concurrent two-scale optimization, is separately studied and compared in the paper. Numerical examples in the paper show that the concurrent multi-scale optimization can further explore the coupling effect between the macro-structure and micro-material of the composite to achieve an ultralight design of the composite frame structure. The novel two geometrical scales optimization model provides a new opportunity for the design of composite structure in aerospace and other industries.

Multi-scale fatigue damage model for steel structures working under high temperature

In order to better understand the fatigue mechanisms of steel structures working under high temperature, a multi-scale fatigue damage model at high temperature is developed. In the developed model, the macroscopic fatigue damage of metallic materials due to the collective behavior of micro-cracks is quantified by using the generalized self-consistent method. The influence of temperature on fatigue damage of steel structures is quantified by using the previous creep damage model. In addition, the fatigue damage at room temperature and creep damage is coupled in the multi-scale fatigue damage model. The validity of the developed multi-scale damage model is verified by comparing the predicted damage evolution curve with the experimental data. It shows that the developed model is effectiveness. Finally, the fatigue analysis on steel crane runway girders (CRGs) of industrial steel melt shop is performed based on the developed model.

A multi-scale point of view on the structure–property relationships of A15 superconductors

Nb3Sn and other A15 members have been widely applied in nuclear power, nuclear magnetic resonance, and high-energy particle accelerators for their high critical current density （Jc） and upper critical field （Bc2）. There have been comprehensive and intensive studies on the applications, the fundamental lattice dynamic and electronic properties, etc., of A15 superconductors. Various reviews on the preparations, structures, and properties have already been written in the last few years. Nevertheless, on account of the large amount of existing facts and views, a coherent view on the relations between the structures and properties has not appeared to unify the facts. This article sketches a multi-scale point of view on the relations between the multi- scale structures and the corresponding properties.

Finite element analysis of stress at implant-bone interface of dental implants with different structures

The effect of structure,elastic modulus and thickness of lower modulus layer in porous titanium implants on the stress distribution at the implant-bone interface was investigated.Three-dimensional finite element models of different titanium implants were constructed.The structures of the implants included the whole lower modulus style （No.1）,bio-mimetic style （No.2）,the whole lower modulus style in cancellous bone （No.3） and the whole dense style No.4.The stress distributions at bone-implant interface under static loading were analyzed using Ansys Workbench 10.0 software.The results indicated that the distribution of interface stress is strongly depended on the structure of the implants.The maximum stresses in cancellous bone and root region of implant No.2 are lower than those in the other three implants.A decrease in the modulus of the low modulus layer facilitates the interface stress transferring.Increasing the thickness of the low modulus layer can reduce the stress and induce a more uniform stress distribution at the interface.Among the four implants,biomimetic style implant No.2 is superior in transferring implant-bone interface stress to surrounding bones.

Comparative Studies on the Fine Structure and Elemental Composition of Envelopes of Trachelomonas and Strombomonas (Euglenophyta)

Fine structure and elemental composition of envelopes of 10 taxa of Trachelomonas and Strombomonas from natural freshwater bodies in China were studied and phylogeny of both genera were discussed. The results indicate that iron (Fe) and silicon (Si) are the primary mineral elements of the envelopes. Composition of mineral elements was uncorrelated with envelope color, however, it was highly correlated with the microarchitecture of the envelopes. Content of Si was higher than that of Fe in all species of Strombomonas and some species of Trachelomonas with rough surface. In most species of Trachelomonas, especially those with dense and smoothy surface, content of Fe was higher than that of Si. Based on the above results, we propose to assign those species of Strombomonas into Trachelomonas and consider them as a group of the latter. These species were the most primitive among the group with envelopes in Euglenaceae.

SMART STRUCTURES USING PIEZOELEMENTS FOR ACTIVE VIBRATION AND NOISE SUPPRESSION IN AVIATION AND AEROSPACE

Smart material and structure (SMS) is a challenging novel technique for the 21 century especially in fields of aviation and aerospace. Vibration and noise suppression smart structure is an important branch of SMS. There are several typical structures such as the cabin of an airplane, space station, the solar board of satellite and the rotor blade of a helicopter, of which the vibrations and radiation noises have bad influences on precise equipments and aiming systems. In order to suppress vibrations and noises of these structures, several algorithms are applied to the models which simulate the structures. Experiments are performed to suppress vibrations and noises by bonding sensors and actuators to the structures at the optimized locations and using computer based measurement and control systems. For the blade vibration control of a helicopter, a non contact method of signal transmission by magneto electric coupling is discussed. The experimental results demonstrate that the methods used for active control are effective.

Multi-scale pore fractal characteristics of differently ranked coal and its impact on gas adsorption

Well-developed pores and cracks in coal reservoirs are the main venues for gas storage and migration.To investigate the multi-scale pore fractal characteristics,six coal samples of different rankings were studied using high-pressure mercury injection(HPMI),low-pressure nitrogen adsorption(LPGA-N2),and scanning electron microscopy(SEM)test methods.Based on the Frankel,Halsey and Hill(FHH)fractal theory,the Menger sponge model,Pores and Cracks Analysis System(PCAS),pore volume complexity(D_(v)),coal surface irregularity(Ds)and pore distribution heterogeneity(D_(p))were studied and evaluated,respectively.The effect of three fractal dimensions on the gas adsorption ability was also analyzed with high-pressure isothermal gas adsorption experiments.Results show that pore structures within these coal samples have obvious fractal characteristics.A noticeable segmentation effect appears in the Dv1and Dv2fitting process,with the boundary size ranging from 36.00 to 182.95 nm,which helps differentiate diffusion pores and seepage fractures.The D values show an asymmetric U-shaped trend as the coal metamorphism increases,demonstrating that coalification greatly affects the pore fractal dimensions.The three fractal dimensions can characterize the difference in coal microstructure and reflect their influence on gas adsorption ability.Langmuir volume(V_(L))has an evident and positive correlation with Dsvalues,whereas Langmuir pressure(P_(L))is mainly affected by the combined action of Dvand Dp.This study will provide valuable knowledge for the appraisal of coal seam gas reservoirs of differently ranked coals.

Compression behavior of 316L lattice structures produced by indirect additive manufacturing

As a new type of lightweight structure,metallic lattice structure has higher stiffness and strength to weight ratio.To freely obtain 316L lattice structures with designed cell structure and adjustable porosity,additive manufacturing combined with investment casting was conducted to fabricate the 316L lattice structures with Kelvin cell.The compression simulation of 316L lattice structures with different porosities was carried out by using the finite element method.The numerical simulation results were verified by compression experiment,and the simulated results were consistent with the compression tests.The compressive mechanical properties of 316L lattice structures are directly related to porosity and independent of strut diameters.The 316L lattice structures with Kelvin cell have a smooth stress-strain curve and obvious plastic platform,and the hump stress-strain curves are avoided.