Damage and fracture: Classical continuum theories

This paper reports the research results on the continuum theory of damage which goes back to the works of Kachanov, Gurson, and Rabotnov. In these models, internal variables that generally have different mathematical structure are explicitly introduced to constitutive relations. The internal variables describe a non-oriented (using scalar damage parameters) or oriented (using different-order tensors) damage distribution in the material. Then, a fracture criterion is introduced based on mechanical or thermodynamic considerations. Models of this type are still most frequently used in the structural analysis of strength of some materials (e.g., composites). Since damage nucleation and growth are closely related to strain localization, consideration is given to formulations and methods for analyzing the stability of inelastic deformation processes. Much attention is given to the effect of the finite element mesh on simulation results, to solution algorithms for such problems, and to the possibilities of using non-local constitutive models. The studies that use gradient models are also included, because damage formation is associated with sharp spatial variations of kinematic and/or dynamic characteristics which must be described by non-classical constitutive relations (gradient, non-local, micromorphic continuum).     

Total reflection X-ray fluorescence and energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence characterizations of nuclear materials

Nuclear energy is one of the clean options of electricity generation for the betterment of human life. India has an ambitious program for such electricity generation using different types of nuclear reactors. The safe and efficient generation of electricity from these reactors requires quality control of different nuclear materials, e.g. nuclear fuel, structural materials, coolant, moderators etc. These nuclear materials have to undergo strict quality control and should have different specified parameters for their use in nuclear reactors. The concentration of major and trace elements present in these materials should be within specified limits. For such chemical quality control of these materials, major and trace elemental analytical techniques are required. Since some of these materials are radioactive, the ideal chemical characterization techniques should have multielement analytical capability, should require very less sample (micrograms level) for analysis so that the radioactive waste generated, and radiation exposure to the detector and operator are minimum. Total reflection X-ray fluorescence (TXRF) and energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) with improved features, e.g. application of filters, secondary target and instrumental geometry require very small amount of sample and thus can be suitably used for the characterization of nuclear materials mainly for the determination of elements at trace and major concentration levels. In Fuel Chemistry Division, TXRF analytical methods have been developed for trace element determinations in uranium and thorium oxides, chlorine determination in nuclear fuel and cladding materials, sulphur in uranium, uranium in sea water etc. Similarly, EDXRF analytical methods with radiation filters (to reduce background) and improved sample preapartion techniques, e.g. fusion bead and taking samples in the form of solution on filter papers have been used for developing analytical methods for the determination of U and Th in their mixed matrices, Cd in uranium etc. Some of these studies have been reported in this paper.     

Study of the Arc and of the Interaction between Arc and Operating Mechanism in SF6 Puffer Breakers

The article deals with studies of the arcing performance of SF6 puffer breakers at currents of up to 80 kA and voltages of up to 200 kV, using an interrupter unit fitted with viewing windows. The studies are mainly concerned with the behavior of the arc at current zero and with restrike phenomena under various conditions. In addition to measurements of the electrical variables and the pressure variation, the tests cover the use of high-speed cameras, spectroscopic diagnostic methods, and schlieren methods. The density fields and flow fields derived from the latter are used to optimize the gas flow. On the basis of the breaker data and those of its operating mechanism a method for computing the essential variables, e.g., pressure, gas flow, back pressure, and contact travel, is developed. The variation of these parameters as a function of the interrupter data for various currents and with due allowance for the interaction between the arc and the operating mechanism must be known if the breaker design is to be optimized. The method uses simplified equations for the gas flow and the arc. The relationship between the gas data (e. g., density, enthalpy, speed of sound, electrical conductivity, and dielectric strength) and the temperature is taken into account by using approximation functions. The temperature of the arc core is matched to the test results.     

A new method for deriving analytical solutions of partial differential equations — Algebraically explicit analytical solutions of two-buoyancy natural convection in porous media

Analytical solutions of governing equations of various phenomena have their irreplaceable theoretical meanings. In addition, they can also be the benchmark solutions to verify the outcomes and codes of numerical solutions, and even to develop various numerical methods such as their differencing schemes and grid generation skills as well. A hybrid method of separating variables for simultaneous partial differential equation sets is presented. It is proposed that different methods of separating variables for different independent variables in the simultaneous equation set may be used to improve the solution derivation procedure, for example, using the ordinary separating method for some variables and using extraordinary methods of separating variables, such as the separating variables with addition promoted by the first author, for some other variables. In order to prove the ability of the above-mentioned hybrid method, a lot of analytical exact solutions of two-buoyancy convection in porous media are successfully derived with such a method. The physical features of these solutions are given. Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 50576097) and the National Basic Research Development Program of China (Grant No. 2007CB206902)     

Flow Characteristics of Granular Bulk Materials

The paper discusses the interest in conventional triaxial tests widely used in soil mechanics for a better understanding of both the mechanical behaviour and flow characteristics of granular bulk materials. It proposes a rheological characterization of granular foodstuffs on diverse types of stress path using a conventional triaxial cell. The characteristic state concept, defining the disaggregation threshold of the granular structure, is found to be suitable and even indispensible for examining the mechanical behaviour and the flowability of stored bulk materials. The experimental results readily suggest, as an indicator of the arching effect, a rheological index that characterizes the particle interlocking breakdown and hence the flowability of the stored materials. In addition, this study offers a realistic physical meaning for parameters in use in constitutive models (yield conditions and flow rules) when describing granular flow in various hopper geometries. The case of silos equipped with vibrating hoppers necessitates additionally the study of the rheological behaviour of materials under cyclic and vibratory loadings in order to analyse the processes of densification or disaggregation conditioning the flowability of the stored materials during emptying operations.     

A spread in electrophysical parameters of ferroelectric piezoelectric solid solutions and its minimization

A spread in electrophysical parameters of solid solutions based on PZT and niobium oxides is considered for a wide range of component concentration. It is shown that composition fluctuations and their associated solution imperfection cause a significant deviation of the parameters from their mean values. The fluctuations are most pronounced when the crystal structure is unstable (e.g., at morphotropic transitions and near the solubility limits of the components). The optimization of methods for solid solution preparation greatly reduces the effect of process variables on parameter reproducibility.     

Obtaining reliable phase-gradient delays from otoacoustic emission data

Reflection-source otoacoustic emission phase-gradient delays are widely used to obtain noninvasive estimates of cochlear function and properties, such as the sharpness of mechanical tuning and its variation along the length of the cochlear partition. Although different data-processing strategies are known to yield different delay estimates and trends, their relative reliability has not been established. This paper uses in silico experiments to evaluate six methods for extracting delay trends from reflection-source otoacoustic emissions (OAEs). The six methods include both previously published procedures (e.g., phase smoothing, energy-weighting, data exclusion based on signal-to-noise ratio) and novel strategies (e.g., peak-picking, all-pass factorization). Although some of the methods perform well (e.g., peak-picking), others introduce substantial bias (e.g., phase smoothing) and are not recommended. In addition, since standing waves caused by multiple internal reflection can complicate the interpretation and compromise the application of OAE delays, this paper develops and evaluates two promising signal-processing strategies, the first based on time-frequency filtering using the continuous wavelet transform and the second on cepstral analysis, for separating the direct emission from its subsequent reflections. Altogether, the results help to resolve previous disagreements about the frequency dependence of human OAE delays and the sharpness of cochlear tuning while providing useful analysis methods for future studies.     

Wideband antireflective polarizers based on integrated diffractive multilayer microstructures

Microstructures of composite materials can exhibit properties significantly different from their individual constitution. By utilizing these unique characteristics, we design diffractive optical elements to demonstrate transmission-only polarizers for telecommunications. The transmittance and the extinction ratio of the proposed structure are >95% and >40 dB at 1470-1910 nm wavelengths, respectively. The average reflectance for random polarization is less than 1% at 1350-1580 nm. The methods are applicable to diffractive optics, e.g., in the ultraviolet and visible spectrum.     

天线方向系数的一类计算逼近方法

天线的方向系数是天线的核心性能指标之一,准确计算方向系数是高性能天线应用的核心要求.本文基于平面近场测试理论、实测数据和快速傅里叶变换算法,系统阐述基于近场测试来数值计算天线方向系数的原理,并进行深入的误差分析.本文选择一种方向图函数和方向系数已知的被测天线,来检验所讨论的误差评估方案.评估分两步实现,第一步,针对这一天线,采用标准的近场测试配置,仿真模拟出(相当于实际测量出)一套平面近场数据.第二步,基于这套近场数据,利用数值积分计算出天线方向系数.本文使用或提出了四种数值算法,分析了提出的后三种算法本身的误差来源,并开发出程序搜索方案,确定出后两种算法的最小误差界.随后,利用这四种数值算法分别得出天线的方向系数.结果表明,计算所得的近场方向系数都比真实方向系数大,但误差不超过0.6 d B.这一结果对实际应用中正确评估基于近场测试的天线方向系数准确性有重要参考价值.     

2-D differential quadrature solution for vibration analysis of functionally graded conical, cylindrical shell and annular plate structures

This paper focuses on the dynamic behavior of functionally graded conical, cylindrical shells and annular plates. The last two structures are obtained as special cases of the conical shell formulation. The first-order shear deformation theory (FSDT) is used to analyze the above moderately thick structural elements. The treatment is developed within the theory of linear elasticity, when materials are assumed to be isotropic and inhomogeneous through the thickness direction. The two-constituent functionally graded shell consists of ceramic and metal that are graded through the thickness, from one surface of the shell to the other. Two different power-law distributions are considered for the ceramic volume fraction. The homogeneous isotropic material is inferred as a special case of functionally graded materials (FGM). The governing equations of motion, expressed as functions of five kinematic parameters, are discretized by means of the generalized differential quadrature (GDQ) method. The discretization of the system leads to a standard linear eigenvalue problem, where two independent variables are involved without using the Fourier modal expansion methodology. For the homogeneous isotropic special case, numerical solutions are compared with the ones obtained using commercial programs such as Abaqus, Ansys, Nastran, Straus, Pro/Mechanica. Very good agreement is observed. Furthermore, the convergence rate of natural frequencies is shown to be very fast and the stability of the numerical methodology is very good. Different typologies of non-uniform grid point distributions are considered. Finally, for the functionally graded material case numerical results illustrate the influence of the power-law exponent and of the power-law distribution choice on the mechanical behavior of shell structures.     

Mixed outer synchronization of coupled complex networks with time-varying coupling delay

In this paper, the problem of outer synchronization between two complex networks with the same topological structure and time-varying coupling delay is investigated. In particular, we introduce a new type of outer synchronization behavior, i.e., mixed outer synchronization (MOS), in which different state variables of the corresponding nodes can evolve into complete synchronization, antisynchronization, and even amplitude death simultaneously for an appropriate choice of the scaling matrix. A novel nonfragile linear state feedback controller is designed to realize the MOS between two networks and proved analytically by using Lyapunov-Krasovskii stability theory. Finally, numerical simulations are provided to demonstrate the feasibility and efficacy of our proposed control approach.     

Microstructure characterization of granular materials

This paper presents techniques and algorithms to compute microstructure properties of irregular-shaped granulate assemblies utilizing 3D images. The techniques are capable of extracting microstructure properties of particles such as centeroid, particle size distribution, shape indices (i.e., sphericiy and angularity), number of contacts (i.e., distribution of coordination numbers), contact network, packing efficiency, distribution of local void ratio and radial distribution function. Such properties are critical parameters for micromechanical-based numerical models to capture micro- and macromechanical behavior of geomaterials. X-ray microtomography was used to reconstruct high-resolution 3D image of a natural sand system to represent granular materials. Microstructure properties of the sand system were computed and compared with properties of a computer-simulated image of periodic random spheres. Findings indicate that the use of simplified systems of idealized spheres to model micro- and macromechanical behavior of granular systems can lead to inaccurate results due to the differences in the microstructure between both systems. Methods presented in this paper enabled capturing a more realistic microstructure that can be incorporated in micromechanical models to better simulate, understand, or explain macroscale behavior of granular materials based on their actual microstructure.     

Amorphous High-Entropy Hydroxides of Tunable Wide Solar Absorption for Solar Water Evaporation

The high-entropy materials have raised much attention in recent years due to their extraordinary performances in mechanical, catalysis, energy storage fields. Herein, a new type of high-entropy hydroxides (e.g., NiFeCoMnAl(OH)_x) that are amorphous and capable of broad solar absorption is reported. A facile one-pot co-precipitation method is employed to synthesize these amorphous high-entropy hydroxides (a-HEHOs) under ambient conditions. The a-HEHOs thus obtained display widely tunable bandgap (e.g., from 2.6 to 1.1 eV) due to their high-entropy and amorphous characteristics, enabling efficient light absorbance and photothermal conversion in the solar regime. Further solar water evaporation measurements show that the a-HEHOs delivered a considerable energy conversion efficiency of 55%, comparable to black titanium oxides that are synthesized using more complex and expensive methods.     

Renormalization Group Maps for Ising Models in Lattice-Gas Variables

Real-space renormalization group maps, e.g., the majority rule transformation, map Ising-type models to Ising-type models on a coarser lattice. We show that each coefficient in the renormalized Hamiltonian in the lattice-gas variables depends on only a finite number of values of the renormalized Hamiltonian. We introduce a method which computes the values of the renormalized Hamiltonian with high accuracy and so computes the coefficients in the lattice-gas variables with high accuracy. For the critical nearest neighbor Ising model on the square lattice with the majority rule transformation, we compute over 1,000 different coefficients in the lattice-gas variable representation of the renormalized Hamiltonian and study the decay of these coefficients. We find that they decay exponentially in some sense but with a slow decay rate. We also show that the coefficients in the spin variables are sensitive to the truncation method used to compute them.     

Characteristic modes and the transition to chaos of a resonant Josephson circuit

The periodic modes of a voltage-driven resonant small-junction Josephson circuit are studied by accurate numerical methods starting from large dissipation. As dissipation decreases, sections of the average current vs. voltage characteristic become unstable and new branches develop on those sections, corresponding to new modes which are exact subharmonics of the old mode. For low enough dissipation chaotic ranges of voltage occur, i.e., ranges with no stable periodic modes. This circuit is a component of many experimental circuits, e.g., finite junctions, DC and RF squids, etc., and so the behavior found here should occur widely.     

反应扩散模型在图灵斑图中的应用及数值模拟

反应扩散方程模型常被用于描述生物学中斑图的形成.从反应扩散模型出发,理论推导得到GiererMeinhardt模型的斑图形成机理,解释了非线性常微分方程系统的稳定常数平衡态在加入扩散项后会发生失稳并产生图灵斑图的过程.通过计算该模型,得到图灵斑图产生的参数条件.数值方法中采用一类有效的高精度数值格式,即在空间离散条件下采用Chebyshev谱配置方法,在时间离散条件下采用紧致隐积分因子方法.该方法结合了谱方法和紧致隐积分因子方法的优点,具有精度高、稳定性好、存储量小等优点.数值模拟表明,在其他条件一定的情况下,系统控制参数κ取不同值对于斑图的产生具有重要的影响,数值结果验证了理论结果.     

(Semi-)Automatically Parsing Private Protocols for In-Vehicle ECU Communications

In-vehicle electronic control unit (ECU) communications generally count on private protocols (defined by the manufacturers) under controller area network (CAN) specifications. Parsing the private protocols for a particular vehicle model would be of great significance in testing the vehicle’s resistance to various attacks, as well as in designing efficient intrusion detection and prevention systems (IDPS) for the vehicle. This paper proposes a suite of methods for parsing ECU private protocols on in-vehicle CAN network. These methods include an algorithm for parsing discrete variables (encoded in a discrete manner, e.g., gear state), an algorithm for parsing continuous variables (encoded in a continuous manner, e.g., vehicle speed), and a parsing method based on upper-layer protocols (e.g., OBD and UDS). Extensive verifications have been performed on five different brands of automobiles (including an electric vehicle) to demonstrate the universality and the correctness of these parsing algorithms. Some parsing tips and experiences are also presented. Our continuous-variables parsing algorithm could run in a semi-automatic manner and the parsing algorithm from upper-layer protocols could execute in a completely automatic manner. One might view the results obtained by our parsing algorithms as an important indicator of penetration testing on in-vehicle CAN network.     

Evaluation of the acoustic and non-acoustic properties of sound absorbing materials using a three-microphone impedance tube

This paper presents a straightforward application of an indirect method based on a three-microphone impedance tube setup to determine the non-acoustic properties of a sound absorbing porous material. First, a three-microphone impedance tube technique is used to measure some acoustic properties of the material (i.e., sound absorption coefficient, sound transmission loss, effective density and effective bulk modulus) regarded here as an equivalent fluid. Second, an indirect characterization allows one to extract its non-acoustic properties (i.e., static airflow resistivity, tortuosity, viscous and thermal characteristic lengths) from the measured effective properties and the material open porosity. The procedure is applied to four different sound absorbing materials and results of the characterization are compared with existing direct and inverse methods. Predictions of the acoustic behavior using an equivalent fluid model and the found non-acoustic properties are in good agreement with impedance tube measurements.     

Waveguide invariant analysis for modeling time-frequency striations in a range-dependent environment

The waveguide invariant is a useful parameter for understanding the behavior of interference patterns (e.g., striations in time-frequency plots) resulting from broadband acoustic sources in shallow water waveguides. It is possible to model these striations for range-dependent environments using conventional parabolic equation methods; although this approach can be computationally intensive as a full field must be created for each frequency and azimuthally dependent geometry. This letter discusses the formulation and use of a range-dependent waveguide invariant distribution that can be used to describe spectral striation patterns using a fraction of the computing power required by parabolic equation methods.     

Approximation of joint PDFs by discrete distributions generated with Monte Carlo methods

A new method for the approximation of multivariate scalar probability density functions (PDFs) in turbulent reacting flow by means of a joint presumed discrete distribution (jPDD) is presented. The jPDDs can be generated with specified mean values and variances as well as covariances. Correlations between variables – e.g. fluctuating mixture fractions and/or reaction progress – can thereby be taken into account. In this way the new approach overcomes an important limitation of ordinary presumed PDF methods, where statistical independence between the variables is often assumed. Different methods are presented to generate discrete distributions, based either on biased random number generators or on mixing models familiar from PDF transport models.

The new approach is extensively validated on a turbulent flow configuration with simultaneous mixing and reaction. Large eddy simulation data as well as results from a transported PDF model are used for the validation of the jPDD approach. The comparison shows that in particular distributions generated with mixing models are able to predict mean reaction rates accurately. For the configuration considered, the neglect of correlations results in significant underestimation of reaction rates. Moreover it is found that higher statistical moments (e.g. the skewness) can influence reaction rates. The consequences for the generation of jPDDs are discussed.

In summary, the new jPDD model has the potential to be significantly more accurate than established presumed PDF methods, because correlations between fluctuating variables can be taken into account. At the same time, the new approach is nearly as efficient as standard presumed PDF formulations, since mean rates are computed in a pre-processing step and stored in look-up tables as a function of the first and second moments of the relevant variables.