Thermal stability and high-temperature shape memory characteristics of Ti-20Zr-10Ta alloy

The microstructure, martensite transformation behavior, thermal stability and shape memory behavior of Ti–20Zr– 10Ta high temperature shape memory alloy were investigated. The Ti–20Zr–10Ta alloy exhibited a reversible transformation with the high martensite transformation temperature of 500oC and good thermal stability. The alloy displayed the elongation of 15% and a maximum recovery stain of 5.5% with 8% pre-strain.

Lateral dynamic flight stability of hovering insects: theory vs. numerical simulation

In the present paper, the lateral dynamic flight stability properties of two hovering model insects are predicted by an approximate theory based on the averaged model, and computed by numerical simulation that solves the complete equations of motion coupled with the Naviertokes equations. Comparison between the theoretical and simulational results provides a test to the validity of the assumptions made in the theory. One of the insects is a model dronefly which has relatively high wingbeat frequency （164Hz） and the other is a model hawkmoth which has relatively low wingbeat frequency （26 Hz）. The following conclusion has been drawn. The theory based on the averaged model works well for the lateral motion of the dronefly. For the hawkmoth, relatively large quantitative differences exist between theory and simulation. This is because the lateral non-dimensional eigenvalues of the hawkmoth are not very small compared with the non-dimensional flapping frequency （the largest lateral non-dimensional eigenvalue is only about 10% smaller than the non-dimensional flapping frequency）. Nevertheless, the theory can still correctly predict variational trends of the dynamic properties of the hawkmoth＇s lateral motion.

STABILITY ANALYSIS OF PILLARS IN CONSIDERATION OF RHEOLOGICAL BEHAVIOUR OF ROCK

The mined-out area of a gypsum mine is right un-derneath civil constructions of a township, threatening the safety of the latter. To evaluate the long-term stability of the mined-out area, a visco-elastic plastic finite element analysis is carried out,combined with in situ measurements. The visco-elastic plastic coefficients have been determined through laboratory rock creep tests. Noticing the lim-itations of conventional element failure criteria,the authors proposed a new method to evaluate the stability of the element.i. e. ,by a si-multaneous control of the energy density and strain of the element. Computation showed that at stable state,one third of the pillars are in the visco-plastic state,the rest of the pillars ,the roof and floor are still in the visco-elastic state. The stress concentration coefficient at the boundary of pillars and roof is 2. 3,and the maximum verti-cal stress on the pillars is 11. 8 MPa. Data measured on site are con-sistent with the computation results, indicating that the proposed cal-culation method is correct. Therefore, the current mined-out area is stable,and the dimension of pillars is reasonable. The next-step ex-traction work should be carried out maintaining the current parame-ters,with only a moderate increase in pillar sizes to enhance the sta-bility of the pillars.

H^2-Stabilization of the Isothermal Euler Equations: a Lyapunov Function Approach

The authors consider the problem of boundary feedback stabilization of the 1D Euler gas dynamics locally around stationary states and prove the exponential stability with respect to the H2-norm. To this end, an explicit Lyapunov function as a weighted and squared H2-norm of a small perturbation of the stationary solution is constructed. The authors show that by a suitable choice of the boundary feedback conditions, the H2- exponential stability of the stationary solution follows. Due to this fact, the system is stabilized over an infinite time interval. Furthermore, exponential estimates for the C norm are derived.