Influence of the loading path on the strength of fiber-reinforced composites subjected to transverse compression and shear

The influence of the loading path on the failure locus of a composite lamina subjected to transverse compression and out-of-plane shear is analyzed through computational micromechanics. This is carried out using the finite element simulation of a representative volume element of the microstructure, which takes into account explicitly fiber and matrix spatial distribution within the lamina. In addition, the actual failure mechanisms (plastic deformation of the matrix and interface decohesion) are included in the simulations through the corresponding constitutive models. Two different interface strength values were chosen to explore the limiting cases of composites with strong or weak interfaces. It was found that failure locus was independent of the loading path for the three cases analyzed (pseudo-radial, compression followed by shear and shear followed by compression) in the composites with strong and weak interfaces. This result was attributed to the fact that the dominant failure mechanism in each material was the same in transverse compression and in shear. Failure is also controlled by the same mechanisms under a combination of both stresses and the failure locus depended mainly on the magnitude of the stresses that trigger fracture rather than in the loading path to reach the critical condition.     

Static and dynamic detection of axial surface defects on metallic wires by conical triple laser reflection

The quality of the surface of metallic wires is relevant for different applications. The reflection of a laser beam on the surface of a metallic cylindrical wire provides an efficient way to inspect the quality of its surface. Our interest is focused in the detection of axially oriented defects, which are the most relevant for the wire drawing process. We present a simple interference-geometrical model to describe the light pattern reflected from a wire with defects. This model adequately accounts for the observed results from an industrial prototype developed for the purpose. It incorporates three-laser beams incident on the wire at equidistant locations in its perimeter, which produce three reflection cones with a CCD. This configuration permits to explore the whole perimeter of the wire. Several results are presented, both in static operation and in production line, in agreement with qualitative and quantitative predictions.     

Vertical migration of 85Sr, 137Cs and 131I in various arable and undisturbed soils

The vertical migration of ⁸⁵Sr, ¹³⁷Cs and ¹³¹I in some arable and undisturbed single-contaminated soils was studied by gamma-spectrometry measurements under lysimetric laboratory conditions during irrigation of the soil profiles with wet atmospheric precipitation for about one year, except ¹³¹I. A new simple exponential compartment (box) model was derived, which makes it possible to calculate the migration rate constants and migration rates in the individual soil layers (vertical sections) as well as the total vertical migration rate constants and total vertical migration rates of radionuclides in the bulk soil horizon. The relaxation times of radionuclides in respective soil horizons can also be evaluated.     

On the Solution of Discontinuous IVPs by Adaptive Runge–Kutta Codes

In this paper an automatic technique for handling discontinuous IVPs when they are solved by means of adaptive Runge–Kutta codes is proposed. This technique detects, accurately locates and passes the discontinuities in the solution of IVPs by using the information generated by the code along the numerical integration together with a continuous interpolant of the discrete solution. A remarkable feature is that it does not require additional information on the location of the discontinuities. Some numerical experiments are presented to illustrate the reliability and efficiency of the proposed algorithms.     

A categorical characterization of varieties

A simple, direct proof of the following characterization of varieties of (finitary) algebras is presented: a cocomplete category is equivalent to a variety iff it has an algebraic generator, i.e., a regular generator which is exactly projective and finitely generated. This improves somewhat a recent restatement, due to Pedicchio and Wood, of the classical characterization theorem of Lawvere. A bijective correspondence between algebraic theories and algebraic generators is established.     

Covering group and graph of discretized volumes

We consider a discretized volume V consisting of finite, congruent and attached copies of a tile t. We find a group L _V the orbit of which, when applied to t, is just V. We show the connection between the structural matrixQ in the formal solution of a boundary value problem formulated for volume V and the so called auxiliary matrix of the graph Γ _v associated with V. We show boundary value problems to be isomorphic if the graphs associated with the volumes are isomorphic, or, if the covering groups are Sunada pairs.     

Local chain‐configuration dependence of the mechanisms of the chemical reaction of poly(vinyl chloride). IX. Novel results on stereoselectivity of chlorination reaction

A poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) sample was chlorinated in solution in the presence of 2,2′‐azobisisobutyronitrile and by the fluid‐bed method. The aim was to evaluate the scope of the stereoselectivity of the chlorination reaction. The quantitative microstructural analysis of the residual PVC with a degree of chlorination was followed by ¹³C NMR spectroscopy. From the evolution of the content of isotactic (mm), heterotactic (mr), and syndiotactic (rr) triads and of mmmm, mmmr, and rmmr isotactic pentads in the unchlorinated parts of the polymer, it was unambiguously inferred that the chlorination reaction proceeds by a stereoselective mechanism in that the mr heterotactic triads are the most reactive structures followed by the isotactic triad at mmmr and rmmr pentads. This conclusion was confirmed on the basis of the Fourier transform infrared results. The results provide valuable information regarding the effect of tacticity and related local conformations in the chemical reactions of PVC. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 41: 508–519, 2003     

Thermodynamic Limit and Proof of Condensation for Trapped Bosons

We study condensation of trapped bosons in the limit when the number of particles tends to infinity. For the noninteracting gas we prove that there is no phase transition in any dimension, but in any dimension, at any temperature the system is 100% condensated into the one-particle ground state. In the case of an interacting gas we show that for a family of suitably scaled pair interactions, the Gross–Pitaevskii scaling included, a less-than-100% condensation into a single-particle eigenstate, which may depend on the interaction strength, persists at all temperatures.     

Modelling of a city canyon problem in a turbulent atmosphere using an equivalent sources approach

The sound propagation into a courtyard shielded from direct exposure is predicted using an equivalent sources approach. The problem is simplified into that of a two-dimensional city canyon. A set of equivalent sources are used to couple the free half-space above the canyon to the cavity inside the canyon. Atmospheric turbulence causes an increase in the expected value of the sound pressure level compared to a homogeneous case. The level increase is estimated using a von Kármán turbulence model and the mutual coherences of all equivalent sources' contributions. For low frequencies the increase is negligible, but at 1.6 kHz it reaches 2-5 dB for the geometries and turbulence parameters used here. A comparison with a ray-based model shows reasonably good agreement.