Processing and characterization of epoxy/clay nanocomposites

Nanocomposite materials consisting of an epoxy matrix and silicate clay particles have been processed and characterized mechanically. The clay material used was a modified natural montmorillonite. The clay particles consisted of 1 nm thick layers with aspect ratios in the range of 100–1000. The clay particles were mixed with acetone and sonicated, then mixed with the polymer, deaerated and cured. The ultimate objective of processing was to produce a polymer/clay nanocomposite with separated (exfoliated) platelets, dispersed as uniformly as possible. Samples were prepared with clay concentrations of up to 10 wt%. The process used resulted in limited exfoliation but mostly intercalation, i.e., infusion of polymer between the silicate layers and increase of interlayer spacing. The characteristics of the nanocomposite were assessed by transmission electron microscopy and x-ray diffraction. Results from these observations show that the basal spacing of clay platelets increased from an initial pre-processing value of 1.85 nm to 4.5 nm. Enhancement of mechanical properties was measured by tensile testing of coupons. Stiffness increases of up to 50% over that of the unfilled epoxy were measured for clay concentrations of 5 wt%. Strength increases were also measured for low clay concentrations and low strain rate loading. Micromechanics modeling of mechanical behavior is discussed as a function of clay platelet dispersion.     

DYNAMIC MODELING AND STABILITY CONTROL OF FOLDING WING AIRCRAFT 1)

折叠翼飞行器在变形过程中,其动力学模型呈现多刚体、多自由度和强非线性特点,同时气动力/力矩、压心、质心和转动惯量等参数也会大幅度变化,严重影响飞行稳定性. 由此,本论文将对飞行器的多刚体动力学建模与变形稳定控制进行研究.基于凯恩方法建立了折叠翼飞行器的多刚体动力学模型,并从中得到了变形所产生的附加力和力矩表达式.通过气动计算拟合出气动参数与折叠角之间的函数关系,由此分析了不同折叠角速度下飞行器的纵向动态特性, 结果表明,折叠翼飞行器变形过程中速度、高度和俯仰角均会发生变化,飞行器无法保持稳定飞行.为此提出了一种基于自抗扰理论的飞行器变形过程中的稳定控制方法.将折叠翼飞行器纵向非线性动力学模型中存在的非线性项、耦合项以及参数时变项都视为系统内外总扰动,利用扩张状态观测器对总扰动进行实时估计和补偿, 针对补偿后的系统设计PD控制器,实现了速度通道和高度通道的解耦控制.通过Lyapunov稳定性原理证明了系统的稳定性, 并进行数学仿真验证. 仿真结果表明,基于自抗扰理论设计的稳定控制器能够解决飞行器变形所带来的强非线性和参数时变等问题,保证飞行器的高精度稳定控制.     

Numerical Solution and Sensitivity Analysis of Pore Liquid Pressure and Cake Porosity to Model Parameters

Filter cake formation is important in groundwater and oil wells where drilling contains suspended mud particles. The accumulation of these mud particles on the borehole wall creates a pressure drop in the well. Furthermore, the migration of colloidal particles into adjacent porous rock could damage the formation and cause productivity decline. In this study, numerical solutions for pore liquid pressure variation across the cake with variable total stress and associated porosity variation are obtained. Mass equations for captured and suspended particles are averaged along the mud cake thickness, taking into account conditions on the cake surface and at the filter septum. The variability of total stress in soil consolidations problem is considered to determine the pore liquid pressure along the mud cake thickness. Then, the relation between porosity and pressure is studied to determine the mud cake porosity. Experimental data obtained by various researchers is used to compare and test the validity of numerical solutions to develop guidelines for model applications. Results show that the pore liquid pressure increases with the decrease of membrane impedance value (i.e. less pervious membrane). Also, the pressure profile has a cubic function of dimensionless cake thickness. The conclusions from the sensitivity analysis conducted in this study agree with earlier conclusions.     

3D Dynamic analysis of soil–tool interaction using the finite element method

Previous experimental and finite element studies have shown the influence of both soil initial conditions and blade operating conditions on cutting forces. However, most of these finite element analyses (FEA) are limited to small blade displacements to reduce element distortion which can cause solution convergence problems. In this study a dynamic three-dimensional FEA of soil–tool interaction was carried out based on predefined failure surfaces to investigate the effect of cutting speed and angle on cutting forces over large blade displacements. Sandy soil was considered in this study and modeled using the hypoplastic constitutive model implemented in the commercial FEA package, ABAQUS. Results reveal the validity of the concept of predefined failure surfaces in simulating soil–tool interaction and the significant effect of cutting acceleration on cutting forces.     

Basic features of plastic strains: From micro-mechanics to incrementally nonlinear models

Most rate-independent constitutive relations for granular materials are based on the existence of a regular flow rule. This assumption states that once the mechanical state of a material point belongs to the yield surface, then the direction of the plastic strains is independent of the loading direction. In this paper, the notion of a regular flow rule is shown to exist only for two-dimensional and axisymmetric loading conditions. By considering our incrementally nonlinear constitutive model, it is established that this notion disappears as soon as more general loading conditions are applied, as also predicted from discrete element simulations. Moreover, a sound micro-mechanical interpretation of the vanishing of a regular flow rule in three-dimensional loading conditions is given from a multi-scale perspective using the micro-directional model. This model highlights the great influence of the loading history on the shape of the plastic Gudehus response-envelope.     

钢摩擦磨损的概率统计模型

本文根据对钢磨陨表面系统的扫描电子显微镜与俄歇电子能谱仪分析提出了摩擦磨损的概率统计模型,其要点在于将真实接触面积内的接触形式区分为3种,即氧化膜-氧化膜、金属-金属和金属-氧化膜,并且指出每一种接触形式的比率都是随机的,因而都服从概率分布。本文应用概率统计方法推导出了摩擦系数与磨损率的数学表达式。在推导过程中使用了一个“新鲜暴露金属发面”的新概念。理论计算结果与实测值相吻合。     

Progress in subgrid-scale transport modelling for continuous hybrid non-zonal RANS/LES simulations

The partially integrated transport modelling (PITM) method can be viewed as a continuous approach for hybrid RANS/LES modelling allowing seamless coupling between the RANS and the LES regions. The subgrid turbulence quantities are thus calculated from spectral equations depending on the varying spectral cutoff location [Schiestel, R., Dejoan, A., 2005. Towards a new partially integrated transport model for coarse grid and unsteady turbulent flow simulations. Theoretical and Computational Fluid Dynamics 18, 443–468; Chaouat, B., Schiestel, R., 2005. A new partially integrated transport model for subgrid-scale stresses and dissipation rate for turbulent developing flows. Physics of Fluids, 17 (6)] The PITM method can be applied to almost all statistical models to derive its hybrid LES counterpart. In the present work, the PITM version based on the transport equations for the turbulent Reynolds stresses together with the dissipation transport rate equation is now developed in a general formulation based on a new accurate energy spectrum function E(κ) valid in both large and small eddy ranges that allows to calibrate more precisely the c_sgs2 function involved in the subgrid dissipation rate _sgs transport equation. The model is also proposed here in an extended form which remains valid in low Reynolds number turbulent flows. This is achieved by considering a characteristic turbulence length-scale based on the total turbulent energy and the total dissipation rate taking into account the subgrid and resolved parts of the dissipation rate. These improvements allow to consider a large range of flows including various free flows as well as bounded flows. The present model is first tested on the decay of homogeneous isotropic turbulence by referring to the well known experiment of Comte-Bellot and Corrsin. Then, initial perturbed spectra E(κ) with a peak or a defect of energy are considered for analysing the model capabilities in strong non-equilibrium flow situations. The second test case is the classical fully turbulent channel flow that allows to assess the performance of the model in non-homogeneous flows characterised by important anisotropy effects. Different simulations are performed on coarse and refined meshes for checking the grid independence of solutions as well as the consistency of the subgrid-scale model when the filter width is changed. A special attention is devoted to the sharing out of the energy between the subgrid-scales and the resolved scales. Both the mean velocity and the turbulent stress computations are compared with data from direct numerical simulations.     

Finite element modeling of contact conditions in multibody system dynamics

In this paper a new method is developed for the dynamic analysis of contact conditions in flexible multibody systems undergoing a rolling type of motion. The relative motion between the two contacting bodies is treated as a constraint condition describing their kinematic and geometric relations. Equations of motion of the system are presented in a matrix form making use of Kane's equations and finite element method. The method developed has been implemented in a general purpose program called DARS and applied to the simulation and analysis of a rotating wheel on a track. Both the bodies are assumed flexible and discretized using a three dimensional 8-noded isoparametric elements. The time variant constraint conditions are imposed on the nodal points located at the peripheral surfaces of the bodies under consideration. The simulation is carried out under two different boundary conditions describing the support of the track. The subsequent constraint forces associated with the generalized coordinates of the system are computed and plotted. The effects of friction are also discussed.     

Heat Transport in Unsaturated Zone Thermal Energy Storage – Analysis with Two-Phase and Single-Phase Models

We analyze a field experiment where ambient air is injected into the soil during the summer and extracted again during the winter. A multiphase model accounting for the conductive transport as well as the convective transport with the moving liquid and gas phases is used along with a more simplified single-phase model where the convective transport is due to the gas alone. The latter model also accounts for subzero wintertime temperatures. The multiphase model captures well both the seasonal variations and the actual test sequence, the main calibration being in the adjustment of medium permeabilities based on the observed pressure responses. The effect of the injection pump on the temperature and humidity of the injection air needs to be known accurately. Taking into account the humidity of the injection air explicitly instead of using humidity-corrected enthalpy values also has an effect. The effect of various humidity and specific enthalpy assumptions is of the order of 1–1.5°C, while ignoring the wintertime subzero temperatures has an effect of 1–2°C. These differences are of the same order of magnitude as the heterogeneity-introduced differences in field data. Using the simplified single-phase model typically appears to cause a difference of 1–2°C, but can yield an even higher deviation of the order of 3–4°C.