Ultrasonically Assisted Cutting of Histological Sections for Reducing the Environmental and Financial Impact of Microtomy

Modern-day microtomy requires high precision equipment to thinly section biological tissues.The sectioned tissue must be of good quality not showing cutting tracks or so-called artefacts.The quality of these sections is dependent on the blade wear,which is related to the hardness of the tissue sample,cutting angle and cutting speed.A test rig has been designed and manufactured to allow these parameters to be controlled.This has allowed for the blade wear to be analysed and quantified,and this has been completed for both ultrasonically assisted and conventional cutting.The obtained results showed a 25.2%decrease in average blade roughness after 38 cuts when using the ultrasonically assisted cutting regime.The data also showed no adverse effect on the quality of the slides produced when using this cutting methodology.Finally,the cutting force measured for both cutting regimes showed that ultrasonically assisted cutting required less force compared to conventional cutting.With the reduction of surface roughness and force,it is possible to state that ultrasonically assisted cutting reduces the wear of the blade,thereby increasing the life of the blades.An increase of just 10%in blade life would yield a cost saving of approximately 25%thereby reducing the environmental and financial impact of microtomy.

Ultrasonically Assisted Regioselective Nitration of Aromatic Compounds in Presence of Certain Group V and VI Metal Salts

Ultrasonically assisted nitration reactions (USANR) with anilides, moderately activated and non-activated aromatic compounds underwent smoothly and afforded good yields of products with high regio selectivity. Observed longer reaction times (6 - 8 hrs.) in metal catalyzed reactions reduced to (1 - 2 hrs.) under sonication. When ortho position is blocked para derivatives are obtained, and ortho nitro products are obtained when para position is blocked. In case of USANR of aromatic carbonyl and related compounds the effect of sonication is much more effective. The reactions could be completed only in few minutes.

Semisolid casting with ultrasonically melt-treated billets of Al-7mass%Si alloys

The demand for high performance cast aluminum alloy components is often disturbed by increasing impurity elements,such as iron accumulated from recycled scraps.It is strongly required that coarse plate-like iron compound of β-Al5FeSi turns into harmless form without the need for applying refining additives or expensive virgin ingots.The microstructural modification of Al-7mass%Si alloy billets with different iron contents was examined by applying ultrasonic vibration during the solidification.Ultrasonically melt-treated billets were thixocast right after induction heating up to the semisolid temperature of 583 oC,the microstructure and tensile properties were evaluated in the thixocast components.Globular primary α-Al is required to fill up a thin cavity in thixocasting,so that the microstructural modification by ultrasonic melt-treatment was firstly confirmed in the billets.With ultrasonic melt-treatment in the temperature range of 630 oC to 605 oC,the primary α-Al transforms itself from dendrite into fine globular in morphology.The coarse plate-like β-Al5FeSi compound becomes markedly finer compared with those in non-treated billets.Semisolid soaking up to 583 oC,does not appreciably affect the size of β-Al5FeSi compounds;however,it affects the solid primary α-Al morphology to be more globular,which is convenient for thixocasting.After thixocasting with preheated billets,eutectic silicon plates are extremely refined due to the rapid solidification arising from low casting temperature.The tensile strength of thixocast samples with different iron contents does not change much even at 2mass% of iron,when thixocast with ultrasonically melt-treated billets.However,thixocast Al-7mass%Si-2mass%Fe alloy with non-treated billets exhibits an inferior strength of 80MPa,compared with 180MPa with ultrasonically melt-treated billets.The elongation is also improved by about a factor of two in thixocastings with ultrasonically melt-treated billets for all iron contents of Al-7mass%Si alloys,for example,the elongation of 11% in thixocast of Al-7mass%Si-0.5mass%Fe alloy with ultrasonically melt-treated billets,5% in that with non-treated billets.

Study on the Mechanism of Ultrasonically Enhanced Flotation Desulphurization

The mechanism of ultrasonic action and the influence of ultrasonic treatment on the changfs or particle size, dissolved oxygen, pH and the feasibility of flotation desul phurization with ultrasonic enhancement are studied. A new means of ultrasonic treatment for slurry is put forward. The test results indicate that by employing this means and an approprlate floatation technology and pyrite-depressed method, the optimum effect of rlotation desul phurization can be achieved.

Morphological Correlates of the Phonatory Organ in an Ultrasonically Phonating Frog

The concave-eared torrent frog(Odorrana tormota) is the first species of tailless amphibian that was evidenced to phonate and detect ultrasounds. We employed anatomic and histological methods to examine the phonatory organs, including the floor of the buccal cavity, vocal cords and glottis, of O. tormota and its sympatric species including O. graminea, O. schmackeri, and Amolops wuyiensis with different fundamental frequencies, and Pelophylax nigromaculatus as a control. Our results reveal that O. tormota possesses specialized phonatory organ structures, with thinner vocal cords modulated by a moderately stronger muscular mastoideus between the medial vocal cords and the lateral cricoid cartilages, and more elastic mouth floor to likely supply faster air stream which could make the vocal cords vibrate at higher frequencies, larger relative distance between the two muscles m. intermandibulares(RDMI), and higher nucleus density of m. intermandibularis(NDMI) and m. geniohyoideus(NDMG). The results of Pearson’s correlation tests between the mean values of the above measurements and the fundamental frequencies from the five species imply that all the specialized phonatory organ structures mentioned above might be favored by higher frequency of phonation of O. tormota.

The effect of the continuous casting process on ultrasonically-tested defects in heavy plates

A plate＇s internal quality is very critical, especially for boilers and high-pressure vessels. The ultrasonic test （UT） is the main type of non-destructive flaw detection for heavy plates, which is important because one of the main reasons for plate defects is ultrasonic flaws. This study, based on Baosteel＇ s practical experience in the manufacture of heavy plates, elucidates the cause of defect formation by analyzing ultrasonic flaw testing maps and using special equipment, such as the scanning electron microscope, electron probe and the optical microscope. The author puts forward the following improvement measures： ① Ultrasonic flaws are caused by central porosity and segregation,[H] bubbles and inclusion in slabs.②Ultrasonic flaws are more likely to occur in the bottom and top of slabs rather than the other positions in the casting sequence. It is clear that one-quarter of the inner camber＇ s thickness is accumulated inclusion.③It is clear that overheating in the tundish and the flow of the casting mould have an effect on ultrasonic flaws caused by inclusions.④Soft reduction improves central porosity and segregation,which decreases the number of ultrasonic flaws in the plate.

Dislocation behavior in Cu single crystal joints under the ultrasonically excited high-strain-rate deformation

The coupling effects of ultrasonic excitation and high-strain-rate deformation are the core factors for weld formation during ultrasonic welding.However,interfacial deformation behavior still shrouds in uncer-tainty because of the contradictory features between mutual dislocation retardation caused by severely frictional deformation and ultrasonic-accelerated dislocation motion.[101]and[111]-oriented Cu single crystals which tended to form geometrically necessary boundaries(GNBs)were selected as the welding substrates to trace the uniquely acoustoplastic effects in the interfacial region under the ultrasonically excited high-strain-rate deformation.It was indicated that for a low energy input,micro-welds localized at the specific interface region,and equiaxed dislocation cells substituting for GNBs dominated in the ini-tial single crystal rotation region.As the welding energy increased,continuous shear deformation drove the dynamic recrystallization region covered by equiaxed grains to spread progressively.Limited discrete dislocations inside the recrystallized grains and nascent dislocation cells at the grain boundaries were ob-served in[101]and[111]joints simultaneously,suggesting that the ultrasonic excitation promoted motion of intragranular dislocation and pile-up along the sub-grain boundaries.The interfacial morphology be-fore and after expansion of recrystallization region all exhibited the weakening of orientation constraint on dislocation motion,which was also confirmed by the similar micro-hardness in joint interface.The first-principle calculation and applied strain-rate analysis further revealed that ultrasonic excitation en-hanced dislocation slipping,and enabled dislocation motion to accommodate severe plastic deformation at a high-strain-rate.

超声空化在船舶与海洋工程中的应用

Biofouling on ships and offshore structures has always been a difficult problem to solve,which not only jeopardizes the structural strength but also brings great economic losses.Ultrasonic cavitation is expected to solve this problem due to its characteristics of no damage to structures and no pollution.Starting from the phenomenon and mechanism of ultrasonic cleaning,this paper introduces the application of ultrasonic cavitation in ship,pipeline and oil cleaning as well as ballast water treatment.By reviewing the existing studies,limitations such as insufficient ultrasonic parameter studies,lack of uniform cleanliness standards,and insufficient cavitation studies are summarized to provide traceable research ideas for improving ultrasonic cavitation technology and to guide the expansion and improvement of its applications.

Microstructure and forming mechanism of metals subjected to ultrasonic vibration plastic forming: A mini review

Compared with traditional plastic forming,ultrasonic vibration plastic forming has the advantages of reducing the forming force and improving the surface quality of the workpiece.This technology has a very broad application prospect in industrial manufactur-ing.Researchers have conducted extensive research on the ultrasonic vibration plastic forming of metals and laid a deep foundation for the development of this field.In this review,metals were classified according to their crystal structures.The effects of ultrasonic vibration on the microstructure of face-centered cubic,body-centered cubic,and hexagonal close-packed metals during plastic forming and the mech-anism underlying ultrasonic vibration forming were reviewed.The main challenges and future research direction of the ultrasonic vibra-tion plastic forming of metals were also discussed.

A Novel On-Site-Real-Time Method for Identifying Characteristic Parameters Using Ultrasonic Echo Groups and Neural Network

On-site and real-time non-destructive measurement of elastic constants for materials of a component in a in-service structure is a challenge due to structural complexities,such as ambiguous boundary,variable thickness,nonuniform material properties.This work develops for the first time a method that uses ultrasound echo groups and artificial neural network(ANN)for reliable on-site real-time identification of material parameters.The use of echo groups allows the use of lower frequencies,and hence more accommodative to structural complexity.To train the ANNs,a numerical model is established that is capable of computing the waveform of ultrasonic echo groups for any given set of material properties of a given structure.The waveform of an ultrasonic echo groups at an interest location on the surface the structure with material parameters varying in a predefined range are then computed using the numerical model.This results in a set of dataset for training the ANN model.Once the ANN is trained,the material parameters can be identified simultaneously using the actual measured echo waveform as input to the ANN.Intensive tests have been conducted both numerically and experimentally to evaluate the effectiveness and accuracy of the currently proposed method.The results show that the maximum identification error of numerical example is less than 2%,and the maximum identification error of experimental test is less than 7%.Compared with currently prevailing methods and equipment,the proposefy the density and thickness,in addition to the elastic constants.Moreover,the reliability and accuracy of inverse prediction is significantly improved.Thus,it has broad applications and enables real-time field measurements,which has not been fulfilled by any other available methods or equipment.

Damage Evolution of Ballastless Track Concrete Exposed to Flexural Fatigue Loads:The Application of Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity,Impact-echo and Surface Electrical Resistance Method

In order to clarify the fatigue damage evolution of concrete exposed to flexural fatigue loads,ultrasonic pulse velocity(UPV),impact-echo technology and surface electrical resistance(SR) method were used.Damage variable based on the change of velocity of ultrasonic pulse(Du) and impact elastic wave(Di)were defined according to the classical damage theory.The influences of stress level,loading frequency and concrete strength on damage variable were measured.The experimental results show that Du and Di both present a three-stages trend for concrete exposed to fatigue loads.Since impact elastic wave is more sensitive to the microstructure damage in stage Ⅲ,the critical damage variable,i e,the damage variable before the final fracture of concrete of Di is slightly higher than that of Du.Meanwhile,the evolution of SR of concrete exposed to fatigue loads were analyzed and the relationship between SR and Du,SR and Di of concrete exposed to fatigue loads were established.It is found that the SR of concrete was decreased with the increasing fatigue cycles,indicating that surface electrical resistance method can also be applied to describe the damage of ballastless track concrete exposed to fatigue loads.

Theoretical Modeling and Surface Roughness Prediction of Microtextured Surfaces in Ultrasonic Vibration-Assisted Milling

Textured surfaces with certain micro/nano structures have been proven to possess some advanced functions,such as reducing friction,improving wear and increasing wettability.Accurate prediction of micro/nano surface textures is of great significance for the design,fabrication and application of functional textured surfaces.In this paper,based on the kinematic analysis of cutter teeth,the discretization of ultrasonic machining process,transformation method of coordinate systems and the cubic spline data interpolation,an integrated theoretical model was established to characterize the distribution and geometric features of micro textures on the surfaces machined by different types of ultrasonic vibration-assisted milling(UVAM).Based on the theoretical model,the effect of key process parameters(vibration directions,vibration dimensions,cutting parameters and vibration parameters)on tool trajectories and microtextured surface morphology in UVAM is investigated.Besides,the effect of phase difference on the elliptical shape in 2D/3D ultrasonic elliptical vibration-assisted milling(UEVAM)was analyzed.Compared to conventional numerical models,the method of the cubic spline data interpolation is applied to the simulation of microtextured surface morphology in UVAM,which is more suitable for characterizing the morphological features of microtextured surfaces than traditional methods due to the presence of numerous micro textures.The prediction of surface roughness indicates that the magnitude of ultrasonic amplitude in z-direction should be strictly limited in 1D rotary UVAM,2D and 3D UEVAM due to the unfavorable effect of axial ultrasonic vibration on the surface quality.This study can provide theoretical guidance for the design and fabrication of microtextured surfaces in UVAM.

Comparative analysis of single-crater parameters in ultrasonic-assisted and unassisted micro-EDM of Ti6Al4V using discharge plasma imaging

Ultrasonic-assisted micro-electro-discharge machining(EDM)has the potential to enhance processing responses such as material removal rate(MRR)and surface finish.To understand the reasons for this enhancement,the physical mechanisms responsible for the individual discharges and the craters that they form need to be explored.This work examines features of craters formed by single discharges at various parameter values in both conventional and ultrasonic-assistedEDM of Ti6Al4V.High-speed imaging of the plasma channel is performed,and data on the individual discharges are captured in real-time.A 2D axisymmetric model using finite element software is established to model crater formation.On the basis of simulation and experimental results,a comparative study is then carried out to examine the effects of ultrasonic vibrational assistance on crater geometry.For every set ofEDM parameters,the crater diameter and depth from a single discharge are found to be higher in ultrasonic-assistedEDM than in conventionalEDM.The improved crater geometry and the reduced bulge formation at the crater edges are attributed to the increased melt pool velocity and temperature predicted by the model.

Understanding the spatial interaction of ultrasounds based on three-dimensional dual-frequency ultrasonic field numerical simulation

A transient 3D model was established to investigate the effect of spatial interaction of ultrasounds on the dual-frequency ultrasonic field in magnesium alloy melt.The effects of insertion depth and tip shape of the ultrasonic rods,input pressures and their ratio on the acoustic field distribution were discussed in detail.Additionally,the spacing,angle,and insertion depth of two ultrasonic rods significantly affect the interaction between distinct ultrasounds.As a result,various acoustic pressure distributions and cavitation regions are obtained.The spherical rods mitigate the longitudinal and transversal attenuation of acoustic pressure and expand the cavitation volume by 53.7%and 31.7%,respectively,compared to the plate and conical rods.Increasing the input pressure will enlarge the cavitation region but has no effect on the acoustic pressure distribution pattern.The acoustic pressure ratio significantly affects the pressure distribution and the cavitation region,and the best cavitation effect is obtained at the ratio of 2:1(P15:P20).

Improving fatigue properties of normal direction ultrasonic vibration assisted face grinding Inconel 718 by regulating machined surface integrity

Fatigue properties are crucial for critical aero-engine components in extreme serviceenvironments,which are significantly affected by surface integrity(SI)indexes(especially surface topography,residual stressσ_(res),and microhardness)after machining processes.Normal-direction ultrasonic vibration-assisted face grinding(ND-UVAFG)has advantages in improving the machinability of Inconel 718,but there is a competitive relationship between higher compressiveσ_(res)and higher surface roughness R_(a)in affecting fatigue strength.The lack of a quantitative relationship between multiple SI indexes and fatigue strength makes theindeterminacy of a regulatory strategy for improving fatigue properties.In this work,a model of fatigue strength(σ_f)_(sur)considering multiple SI indexes was developed.Then,high-cycle fatigue tests were carried out on Inconel 718 samples with different SI characteristics,and the influence of ND-UVAFG process parameters on SI was analyzed.Based on SI indexes data,the(σ_f)_(sur)distribution in the grinding surface layer for ND-UVAFG Inconel 718 samples was determined using the developed model,and then the fatigue crack initiation(FCI)sites were furtherpredicted.The predicted FCI sites corresponded well with the experimental results,therebyverifying this model.A strategy for improving the fatigue life was proposed in this work,which was to transfer the fatigue source from the machined surface to the bulk material by controlling the SI indexes.Finally,a critical condition of SI indexes that FCI sites appeared on the surface or in bulk material was given by fitting the predicted results.According to the critical condition,an SI field where FCI sites appeared in the bulk material could be obtained.In this field,thefatigue life of Inconel 718 samples could be improved by approximately 140%.

Grindability Evaluation of Ultrasonic Assisted Grinding of Silicon Nitride Ceramic Using Minimum Quantity Lubrication Based SiO_(2)Nanofluid

Minimum quantity Lubrication(MQL)is a sustainable lubrication system that is famous in many machining systems.It involve the spray of an infinitesimal amount of mist-like lubricants during machining processes.The MQL system is affirmed to exhibit an excellent machining performance,and it is highly economical.The nanofluids are understood to exhibit excellent lubricity and heat evacuation capability,compared to pure oil-based MQL system.Studies have shown that the surface quality and amount of energy expended in the grinding operations can be reduced considerably due to the positive effect of these nanofluids.This work presents an experimental study on the tribological performance of SiO_(2)nanofluid during grinding of Si_(3)N_(4)ceramic.The effect different grinding modes and lubrication systems during the grinding operation was also analyzed.Different concentrations of the SiO_(2)nanofluid was manufactured using canola,corn and sunflower oils.The quantitative evaluation of the grinding process was done based on the amount of grinding forces,specific grinding energy,frictional coefficient,and surface integrity.It was found that the canola oil exhibits optimal lubrication performance compared to corn oil,sunflower oil,and traditional lubrication systems.Additionally,the introduction of ultrasonic vibrations with the SiO_(2)nanofluid in MQL system was found to reduce the specific grinding energy,normal grinding forces,tangential grinding forces,and surface roughness by 65%,57%,65%,and 18%respectively.Finally,regression analysis was used to obtain an optimum parameter combinations.The observations from this work will aid the smooth transition towards ecofriendly and sustainable machining of engineering ceramics.

Non-Kramers doublet ground state in a quaternary cubic compound PrRu_(2)In_(2)Zn_(18) investigated by ultrasonic measurements

We performed ultrasonic measurements on a quaternary cubic compound PrRu_(2)In_(2)Zn_(18) to explore the ground state properties derived from non-Kramers Γ_(3) doublet of Pr^(3+).PrRu_(2)In_(2)Zn_(18) is a quaternary derivative of the ternary compound PrRu_(2)Zn_(20) that exhibits a structural phase transition at T_S=138 K.In PrRu_(2)In_(2)Zn_(18),the Zn atoms at the 16c site in PrRu_(2)Zn_(20) are selectively replaced by In atoms.A monotonic increase was observed in the temperature dependence of elastic constants C_L=(C_(11)+2C_(12)+4C_(44))/3 and C_(T)=(C_(11)-C_(12)+C_(44))/3 in the temperature range around T_(S) to which an elastic softening was observed in(C_(11)-C_(12))/2 for PrRu_(2)Zn_(20).The disappearance of the softening indicates that the structural transition in PrRu_(2)Zn_(20) is suppressed by the substitution of Zn ions by In ones with a larger ionic radius.Alternatively,the C_(T) of PrRu_(2)In_(2)Zn_(18) exhibits a precursor Curie-type elastic softening toward low temperatures being responsible for the non-Kramers Γ_(3) ground state.We discuss the ground state and the evolution of the elastic properties of the different single-crystal samples of PrRu_(2)In_(2)Zn_(18) grown under different conditions.

Hybrid pedestrian positioning system using wearable inertial sensors and ultrasonic ranging

Pedestrian positioning system(PPS)using wearable inertial sensors has wide applications towards various emerging fields such as smart healthcare,emergency rescue,soldier positioning,etc.The performance of traditional PPS is limited by the cumulative error of inertial sensors,complex motion modes of pedestrians,and the low robustness of the multi-sensor collaboration structure.This paper presents a hybrid pedestrian positioning system using the combination of wearable inertial sensors and ultrasonic ranging(H-PPS).A robust two nodes integration structure is developed to adaptively combine the motion data acquired from the single waist-mounted and foot-mounted node,and enhanced by a novel ellipsoid constraint model.In addition,a deep-learning-based walking speed estimator is proposed by considering all the motion features provided by different nodes,which effectively reduces the cumulative error originating from inertial sensors.Finally,a comprehensive data and model dual-driven model is presented to effectively combine the motion data provided by different sensor nodes and walking speed estimator,and multi-level constraints are extracted to further improve the performance of the overall system.Experimental results indicate that the proposed H-PPS significantly improves the performance of the single PPS and outperforms existing algorithms in accuracy index under complex indoor scenarios.

Behaviors of cavitation bubbles driven by high-intensity ultrasound

In a multi-bubble system, the bubble behavior is modulated by the primary acoustic field and the secondary acoustic field. To explore the translational motion of bubbles in cavitation liquids containing high-concentration cavitation nuclei,evolutions of bubbles are recorded by a high-speed camera, and translational trajectories of several representative bubbles are traced. It is found that translational motion of bubbles is always accompanied by the fragmentation and coalescence of bubbles, and for bubbles smaller than 10 μm, the possibility of bubble coalescence is enhanced when the spacing of bubbles is less than 30 μm. The measured signals and their spectra show the presence of strong negative pressure, broadband noise,and various harmonics, which implies that multiple interactions of bubbles appear in the region of high-intensity cavitation.Due to the strong coupling effect, the interaction between bubbles is random. A simplified triple-bubble model is developed to explore the interaction patterns of bubbles affected by the surrounding bubbles. Patterns of bubble interaction, such as attraction, repulsion, stable spacing, and rebound of bubbles, can be predicted by the theoretical analysis, and the obtained results are in good agreement with experimental observations. Mass exchange between the liquid and bubbles as well as absorption in the cavitation nuclei also plays an important role in multi-bubble cavitation, which may account for the weakening of the radial oscillations of bubbles.

Preliminary study of the electrospray DPE peculiarities from the liquid surface in the presence of the CSWs

The Ultrasonic Electric Propulsion(UEP)system is a cutting-edge propulsion technology that is mostly used on platforms for small satellites(less than 10 kg).The characteristics of droplet partial emissions(DPEs)in the UEP system are investigated using a high-speed imaging technique(an ultra-high speed camera(NAC HX-6)and a long-distance microscope)in this work.The experiments demonstrate that there are a few partial emission modes,including left-side emission,double-side emission,and right-side emission,that are present in the droplet emission process of the UEP system.These modes are primarily caused by the partial formation of capillary standing waves(CSWs)on the emission surface of the ultrasonic nozzle.The emission rate for single-and double-sided emissions varies at different times,indicating that there are different CSWs engaged in droplet emission due to variations in the liquid film thickness and charge state of the liquid cones.Additionally,as the droplets emit continuously,a raised area on the emission surface appears,with several droplets emitting there as a result of charge accumulation.Additionally,photos of the CSWs with emitting droplets are obtained,which highlights the CSWs'distinctive wave morphology.