Mode-based equivalent multi-degree-of-freedom system for one-dimensional viscoelastic response analysis of layered soil deposit

Discrete models such as the lumped parameter model and the finite element model are widely used in the solution of soil amplification of earthquakes. However, neither of the models will accurately estimate the natural frequencies of soil deposit, nor simulate a damping of frequency independence. This research develops a new discrete model for onedimensional viscoelastic response analysis of layered soil deposit based on the mode equivalence method. The new discrete model is a one-dimensional equivalent multi-degree-of-freedom（MDOF） system characterized by a series of concentrated masses, springs and dashpots with a special configuration. The dynamic response of the equivalent MDOF system is analytically derived and the physical parameters are formulated in terms of modal properties. The equivalent MDOF system is verified through a comparison of amplification functions with the available theoretical solutions. The appropriate number of degrees of freedom（DOFs） in the equivalent MDOF system is estimated. A comparative study of the equivalent MDOF system with the existing discrete models is performed. It is shown that the proposed equivalent MDOF system can exactly present the natural frequencies and the hysteretic damping of soil deposits and provide more accurate results with fewer DOFs.

Energetical Theories on Fatigue Life Prediction

Current developments on fatigue life prediction methods have been systematically reviewed.In con- sideration of the irreversibility of energy dissipation during fatigue damage process,the main contents for fatigue damage estimation and localized equivalence as well as simulation models have been established.A frame of energy-based fatigue life prediction method has been proposed,meanwhile, the procedure in application to a practical structure component has been described.

Characteristic Verification and Parameter Optimization of Airbags Cushion System for Airborne Vehicle

Abstract： The major methods to investigate the airbags cushion system are experimental method, thermodynamic method and finite element method （FEM）. Airbags cushion systems are very complicated and very difficult to be investigated thoroughly by such methods For experimental method, it is nearly impossible to completely analyze and optimize the cushion characteristics of airbags of airborne vehicle because of charge issue, safety concern and time constraint. Thermodynamic method fails to take the non-linear effects of large airbag deformation and varied contact conditions into consideration. For finite element method, the FE model is usually complicated and the calculation takes tens of hours of CPU time. As a result, the optimization of the design based on a nonlinear model is very difficult by traditional iterative approach method. In this paper, a model based on FEM and control volume method is proposed to simulate landing cushion process of airborne vehicle with airbags cushion system in order to analyze and optimize the parameters in airbags cushion system. At first, the performance of airbags cushion system model is verified experimentally. In airdrop test, accelerometers are fixed in 4 test points distributed over engine mount, top, bottom and side armor plate of hull to obtain acceleration curves with time. The simulation results are obtained under the same conditions of the airdrop test and the simulation results agree very well with the experimental results, which indicate the established model is valid for further optimization. To optimize the parameters of airbags, equivalent response model based on Latin Hypercube DOE and radial basis function is employed instead of the complex finite element model. Then the optimal results based on equivalent response model are obtained using simulated annealing algorithm. After optimization, the maximal acceleration of airborne vehicle landing reduces 19.83%, while the energy absorption by airbags increases 7.85%. The performance of the airbags cushion system thus is largely improved through optimization, which indicates the proposed method has the capability of solving the parameter optimization problem of airbags cushion system for airborne vehicle.

Performance enhancement of CMOS terahertz detector by drain current

In this paper, we study the effect of the drain current on terahertz detection for Si metal-oxide semiconductor fieldeffect transistors（MOSFETs） both theoretically and experimentally. The analytical model, which is based on the smallsignal equivalent circuit of MOSFETs, predicts the significant improvement of the voltage responsivity Rv with the bias current. The experiment on antennas integrated with MOSFETs agrees with the analytical model, but the Rv improvement is accompanied first by a decrease, then an increase of the low-noise equivalent power（NEP） with the applied current. We determine the tradeoff between the low-NEP and high-Rv for the current-biased detectors. As the best-case scenario, we obtained an improvement of about six times in Rv without the cost of a higher NEP. We conclude that the current supply scheme can provide high-quality signal amplification in practical CMOS terahertz detection.