Tailoring particle shape for enhancing the homogeneity of powder mixtures:Experimental study and DEM modelling

The effect of particle shape modification on the segregation reduction of enzyme granules in laundry detergent powder mixtures was investigated,both experimentally and computationally using Deseret Element Method(DEM).The shape of modified enzyme particles was in such a way that the large and dense enzyme particles were layered by other fine particles in the detergent powder,by means of a process known in the literature as“seeded granulation”.It is found that the homogeneity of modified enzyme particles could be improved significantly comparing to the original spherical enzyme particles in powder mixtures.Overall,the results of this research demonstrated that the segregation-induced properties of the dense/spherical enzyme particles could be lowered by altering their shape,which could enable the enzyme particles to behave almost similar to other ingredients during the pile formation process.     

Smart computing approach for design and scale-up of conical spouted beds with open-sided draft tubes

Open-sided draft tubes provide an optimal gas distribution through a cross flow pattern between the spout and the annulus in conical spouted beds.The design,optimization,control,and scale-up of the spouted beds require precise information on operating and peak pressure drops.In this study,a multi-layer perceptron(MLP)neural network was employed for accurate prediction of these hydrodynamic characteristics.A relatively huge number of experiments were accomplished and the most influential dimensionless groups were extracted using the Buckingham-pi theorem.Then,the dimensionless groups were used for developing the MLP model for simultaneous estimation of operating and peak pressure drops.The iterative constructive technique confirmed that 4-14-2 is the best structure for the MLP model in terms of absolute average relative deviation(AARD%),mean square error(MSE),and regression coefficient(R²).The developed MLP approach has an excellent capacity to predict the transformed operating(MSE=0.00039,AARD%=1.30,and R²=0.76099)and peak(MSE=0.22933,AARD%=11.88,and R2=0.89867)pressure drops.     

Improving the hydrodynamic performance of the SUBOFF bare hull model: a CFD approach

The main aims of this study are to investigate the hydrodynamic performance of an autonomous underwater vehicle(AUV),calculate its hydrodynamic coefficients,and consider the flow characteristics of underwater bodies.In addition,three important parts of the SUBOFF bare hull,namely the main body,nose,and tail,are modified and redesigned to improve its hydrodynamic performance.A three-dimensional(3D)simulation is carried out using the computational fluid dynamics(CFD)method.To simulate turbulence,the k-ωshear stress transport(SST)model is employed,due to its good prediction capability at reasonable computational cost.Considering the effects of the length-to-diameter ratio(LTDR)and the nose and tail shapes on the hydrodynamic coefficients,it is concluded that a hull shape with bullet nose and sharp tail with LTDR equal to 7.14 performs better than the SUBOFF model.The final proposed model shows lower drag by about 14.9%at u=1.5 m·s^-1.Moreover,it produces 8 times more lift than the SUBOFF model at u=6.1 m·s^-1.These effects are due to the attachment of the fluid flow at the tail area of the hull,which weakens the wake region.     

Analysis of a two-grid method for semiconductor device problem

The mathematical model of a semiconductor device is governed by a system of quasi-linear partial differential equations.The electric potential equation is approximated by a mixed finite element method,and the concentration equations are approximated by a standard Galerkin method.We estimate the error of the numerical solutions in the sense of the Lqnorm.To linearize the full discrete scheme of the problem,we present an efficient two-grid method based on the idea of Newton iteration.The main procedures are to solve the small scaled nonlinear equations on the coarse grid and then deal with the linear equations on the fine grid.Error estimation for the two-grid solutions is analyzed in detail.It is shown that this method still achieves asymptotically optimal approximations as long as a mesh size satisfies H=O(h^1/2).Numerical experiments are given to illustrate the efficiency of the two-grid method.     

Shape of free-fall arch in quasi-2D silo

In this study,the optical flow method is used to measure the velocity distribution of a granular flow in a rectangular quasi-two-dimensional silo.Using the velocity gradient,a free-fall arch(FFA)is obtained and its geometric characteristics are calculated.A parabola-shaped FFA structure is discovered above the orifice in the steady flow state.The shape of the FFA affects the flow rate through the orifice.Furthermore,as jamming begins to occur,the geometry of the FFA disappears gradually from both sides and then from the middle;finally,the FFA disappears completely in the state of jamming.As the boundary between finite-stress and stress-free regions,the FFA facilitates further studies regarding the discontinuity of the stress area above the orifice.     

A drag force formula for heterogeneous granular flow systems based on finite average statistical method

The existing drag models are mostly based on the assumption of homogenous fluidization.However,the use of a homogeneous drag model to predict a heterogeneous granular flow system will cause a deviation.In this study,we developed a drag force model based on the assumption of heterogeneous fluidization.To prevent weakening of the heterogeneous characteristics in the drag force formula,we propose a finite average statistical method to filter the information of the heterogeneous granular cluster.The filtered information was used to fit the modified drag formula,which can reflect the heterogeneity of the granular cluster considering different configurations.A comparison shows that the new proposed drag formula filtered by the finite average statistical method fits well with energy minimization multi-scale simulation results.     

Effective enhanced model for a large deformable soft pneumatic actuator

Soft pneumatic actuators have been widely used for implementing sophisticated and dexterous movements,due to numerous fascinating features compared with their rigid counterparts.Relatively speaking,modeling and analysis of an entire soft pneumatic actuator considering contact interaction between two adjacent air chambers is extremely rare,which is exactly what we are particularly interested in.Therefore,in order to establish an accurate mechanical model and analyze the overall configuration and stress distribution for the soft pneumatic actuator with large deflection,we consider the contact interaction of soft materials rather than hard materials,to produce an effective enhanced model for soft contact of a large deformable pneumatic actuator.In this article,a multiple-point contact approach is developed to circumvent the mutual penetration problem between adjacent air chambers of the soft actuator that occurs with the single-point contact approach employed in linear elastic rigid materials.In contrast to the previous simplified rod-based model that did not focus on contact interaction which was adopted to clarify the entire deformation of the actuator,the present model not only elaborates nonlinear large deformation and overall configuration variations,but also accurately delineates stress distribution law inside the chamber structure and the stress concentration phenomenon.By means of a corresponding static experiment,a comparison of the simulation results with experimental data validates the effectiveness and accuracy of this model employing a multiple-point contact approach.Excellent simulation of the actual bending deformation of the soft actuator is obtained,while mutual penetration is successfully circumvented,whereas the model with single-point contact cannot achieve those goals.Finally,as compared with the rod-based model,the results obtained using the proposed model are more consistent with experimental data,and simulation precision is improved.     

A numerical investigation of CO2 dilution on the thermochemical characteristics of a swirl stabilized diffusion flame

The turbulent combustion flow modeling is performed to study the effects of CO_2 addition to the fuel and oxidizer streams on the thermochemical characteristics of a swirl stabilized diffusion flame. A flamelet approach along with three well-known turbulence models is utilized to model the turbulent combustion flow field. The k-ω shear stress transport(SST) model shows the best agreement with the experimental measurements compared with other models. Therefore, the k-ω SST model is used to study the effects of CO_2 dilution on the flame structure and strength, temperature distribution, and CO concentration. To determine the chemical effects of CO_2 dilution, a fictitious species is replaced with the regular CO_2 in both the fuel stream and the oxidizer stream. The results indicate that the flame temperature decreases when CO_2 is added to either the fuel or the oxidizer stream. The flame length reduction is observed at all levels of CO_2 dilution. The H radical concentration indicating the flame strength decreases, following by the thermochemical effects of CO_2 dilution processes. In comparison with the fictitious species dilution, the chemical effects of CO_2 addition enhance the CO mass fraction. The numerical simulations show that when the dilution level is higher, the rate of the flame length reduction is more significant at low swirl numbers.     

Application of micro-morphology in the physical characterization of urban road dust

Urban road dust was collected from Vellore City,Tamil Nadu,India,and analyzed.Scanning electron microscopy(SEM)was used to examine road dust from nine sampling locations in the study region.SEM image analysis was used to identify various shape factors of collected dust particles.The equivalent spherical diameter of most particles was between 10μm and 30μm.Fine particles had greater concentrations at locations with higher traffic flow.Particles were categorized into four classes based on their shape factors,viz.,spherical,mineral,elongated,or irregular.Spherical particles had the smallest mean equivalent diameter(1.95μm)and mineral particles had the largest diameter(33.3μm).Spherical particles made up the smallest portion of road dust(0-12%)in the study region and mineral particles made up the largest(45-65%).Elongated and irregular particles,each made up 23-30%of road dust.Electron dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis was used to identify the elemental composition of dust particles.Spherical particles were mostly from combustion sources and mineral particles were largely of crustal origin.No individual source was found for irregular and elongated particles.Biological debris was the major source of irregular particles.     

Static output feedback stabilization for second-order singular systems using model reduction methods

In this paper,the static output feedback stabilization for large-scale unstable second-order singular systems is investigated.First,the upper bound of all unstable eigenvalues of second-order singular systems is derived.Then,by using the argument principle,a computable stability criterion is proposed to check the stability of secondorder singular systems.Furthermore,by applying model reduction methods to original systems,a static output feedback design algorithm for stabilizing second-order singular systems is presented.A simulation example is provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the design algorithm.     

一种基于直接计算高阶奇异积分的断裂力学双边界积分方程分析法

相对于有限元法,边界单元法在求解断裂问题上有着独特的优势,现有的边界单元法中主要有子区域法和双边界积分方程法.采用一种改进的双边界积分方程法求解二维、三维断裂问题的应力强度因子,对非裂纹边界采用传统的位移边界积分方程,只需对裂纹面中的一面采用面力边界积分方程,并以裂纹间断位移为未知量直接用于计算应力强度因子.采用一种高阶奇异积分的直接法计算面力边界积分方程中的超强奇异积分;对于裂纹尖端单元,提供了三种不同形式的间断位移插值函数,采用两点公式计算应力强度因子.给出了多个具体的算例,与现存的精确解或参考解对比,可得到高精度的计算结果.      

汶川地震诱发文家沟巨型滑坡 碎屑流基本特征及成因机制初步分析

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2008年5月12日,汶川M80地震在四川省绵竹市清平乡文家沟内诱发一巨型滑坡。通过现场调查得知,滑坡前后缘高差455m,厚度20～30m,滑面为基岩层面,初始方量2750×107m3。滑体在运动中转化为碎屑流。滑坡-碎屑流总的水平运动距离为4022m,垂直运动距离为1443m,遗留的堆积物体积达5×107m3。滑坡距映秀—北川断裂仅36km,位于其下盘,地震烈度达XI度。滑坡导致文家沟中48人遇害,并形成一条完整的地震次生地质灾害链。初步分析表明滑坡启动速度快,滑坡向碎屑流转化过程明显、地点明确。碎屑流运动过程复杂,伴有强烈的“气垫效应”和“前缘气浪冲击效应”。作者认为,文家沟滑坡的高启动速度是长持时强烈地震动作用的结果,与山体的猛烈碰撞是导致滑体解体并转化为碎屑流的原因。     

Preface: Orbits around asteroid

One of the core issues in modern celestial mechanics is the orbital dynamics in the near-regime gravitational field of as- teroids, which provides deep insights into the mathematical nature of a class of nonlinear systems, and plays as a critical basis for in situ explorations of different science goals. Lots of efforts have been made to reveal the characteristics of orbital motion in the vicinity of asteroids, and to improve the skills of asteroid research in methodology.     

The 7th International Conference on Fluid Mechanics May 24-27,2015,Qingdao,China

正http://www.icfm7.org First Announcement and Call for PapersThe objective of International Conference on Fluid Mechanics(ICFM)is to provide a forum for researchers to exchange new ideas and recent advances in the fields of theoretical,experimental,computational Fluid Mechanics as well as interdisciplinary subjects.It was successfully convened by the Chinese Society of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics(CSTAM)in Beijing(1987,     

INFORMATION FOR CONTRIBUTORS

Contributions： The Journal, Acta Mechanica Solida Sinica, is pleased to receive papers from engineers and scientists working in various aspects of solid mechanics. All contributions are subject to critical review prior to acceptance and publication.