Thermo-activated Dislocation Emission at the Cu/Nb Interface Revealed by Molecular Dynamics Simulations

Nanolayered Cu-Nb composites offer a series of enhanced properties for their use in extreme conditions, e.g. high field magnets and high irradiation resistance. However, the stability of the Cu/Nb heterogeneous interface needs confirmation under various conditions. In the present work, molecular dynamics simulations were carried out to investigate the interracial behavior under various temperatures with initial stress at the interface. It is found that the interface becomes unstable at simulation temperatures higher than O00 K, resulting in the emission of dislocations and loops within one or more slip systems. The emission process is Found to be thermally-activated, i.e., the higher temperature, the shorter annealing time needed. The present study is believed to assist the experimental synthesis of the Cu-Nb multilayer nanocomposites For multiple applications.

Experimental investigation of rigid confinement effects of radial strain on dynamic mechanical properties and failure modes of concrete

In this study,to confirm the effect of confining pressure on dynamic mechanical behavior and failure modes of concrete,a split Hopkinson pressure bar dynamic loading device was utilized to perform dynamic compressive experiments under confined and unconfined conditions.The confining pressure was achieved by applying a lateral metal sleeve on the testing specimen which was loaded in the axial direction.The experimental results prove that dynamic peak axial stress,dynamic peak lateral stress,and peak axial strain of concrete are strongly sensitive to the strain rate under confined conditions.Moreover,the failure patterns are significantly affected by the stress-loading rate and confining pressure.Concrete shows stronger strain rate effects under an unconfined condition than that under a confined condition.More cracks are created in concrete subjected to uniaxial dynamic compression at a higher strain rate,which can be explained by a thermal-activated mechanism.By contrast,crack generation is prevented by confinement.Fitting formulas of the dynamic peak stress and dynamic peak axial strain are established by considering strain rate effects(50–250 s-1)as well as the dynamic confining increase factor(DIFc).

Thermal performances and invisible thermal barrier formation mechanism of arc-shaped metal-fin-enhanced thermally activated building envelopes with directional heat charging feature

Thermally activated building envelopes(TABEs)are multifunctional component that combines structural and energy properties.Based on re-examining the heat charging processes,an arc-shaped metal-fin-enhanced TABE(Arc-finTABE)with directional heat charging features is proposed to optimize the thermal barrier formation process.A comprehensive parameterized analysis is conducted based on a validated mathematical model to explore the influence of 5 fin-structure design parameters and the static insulation thickness.Results verified that the directional charging strengthening fins can improve transient thermal performances of Arc-finATBE and enlarge horizontal and vertical sizes of the thermal energy accumulation area surrounding the pipeline,while the maximum growth in extra heat loss is less than 3.17%.From the perspective of promoting heat injection into expected areas,the straight main fin configurations with the angle of main fins of 30°,shank length ratio of 0.4 and no leftward mounted fins are preferred in load-reduction mode,while the angle of main fins of 150°,shank length ratio of 0.8 and multiple fin designs,especially with one of the main fins horizontally toward the indoor side,are more favorable in auxiliary-heating mode.Besides,it is recommended to add one arc-shaped branch fin to each main fin to achieve a balance between performance improvement and material usage.Moreover,branch fins with larger arc angles are preferred in auxiliary-heating mode,while smaller arc angles are conducive to injecting heat into the wall along main fins in load-reduction mode and preventing the heat near the inner surface from being extracted.Under the direct influence of the strengthened invisible thermal barrier,Arc-finTABEs can reduce the amount of static insulation layer by 20%–80%while achieving equivalent thermal performances as conventional high-performance walls.