A phenomenological model for microstructure-dependent inelasticity in shape-memory alloys

Degradation in shape-memory alloy response is a crucial concern for a variety of innovative applications. Under cyclic loadings, these materials generally experience permanent inelastic deformations. The onset of plasticization is known to be very sensitive to the microstructure of the polycrystalline specimen. Moving from recent experimental findings (Malard et al. in Funct Mater Lett 2:45–54, 2009; Acta Mater 59:1542–1556, 2011), we present a phenomenological model for permanent inelastic effects in shape-memory alloys taking into account the polycrystalline microstructure. In particular, the mechanical response under cyclic loadings is investigated in connection with the mean crystal grain size. Formulated within the variational frame of generalized standard materials, the model consists in an extension of the model in Auricchio et al. (Int J Plast 23:207–226, 2007) to the case of microstructure-dependent parameters. The mathematical setting is discussed and numerical simulations showing the capability of the model to reproduce experiments are presented.     

A Counterexample to C 2,1 Regularity for Parabolic Fully Nonlinear Equations

We address the self-similar solvability of a singular parabolic problem and show that solutions to parabolic fully nonlinear equations are not expected to be C ^2,1.     

Existence and time-discretization for the finite-strain Souza–Auricchio constitutive model for shape-memory alloys

We prove the global existence of solutions for a shape-memory alloys constitutive model at finite strains. The model has been presented in Evangelista et al. (Int J Numer Methods Eng 81(6):761–785, 2010) and corresponds to a suitable finite-strain version of the celebrated Souza–Auricchio model for SMAs (Auricchio and Petrini in Int J Numer Methods Eng 55:1255–1284, 2002; Souza et al. in J Mech A Solids 17:789–806, 1998). We reformulate the model in purely variational fashion under the form of a rate-independent process. Existence of suitably weak (energetic) solutions to the model is obtained by passing to the limit within a constructive time-discretization procedure.     

Results of the 16th proficiency test on the determination of pesticide residues in olive oil

Accreditation and Quality Assurance - The Italian National Reference Laboratory (NRL) for pesticide residues yearly organizes proficiency tests (PTs) on olive oil in cooperation with the...     

Finite plasticity in $$\varvec{P}^\top \! \varvec{P}$$. Part I: constitutive model

We address a finite-plasticity model based on the symmetric tensor \(\varvec{P}^\top \! \varvec{P}\) instead of the classical plastic strain \(\varvec{P}\). Such a structure arises by assuming that the material behavior is invariant with respect to frame transformations of the intermediate configuration. The resulting variational model is lower dimensional, symmetric and based solely on the reference configuration. We discuss the existence of energetic solutions at the material-point level as well as the convergence of time discretizations. The linearization of the model for small deformations is ascertained via a rigorous evolution-\(\Gamma \)-convergence argument. The constitutive model is combined with the equilibrium system in Part II where we prove the existence of quasistatic evolutions and ascertain the linearization limit (Grandi and Stefanelli in 2016).     

Global existence for a class of generalized systems for irreversible phase changes

A nonlinear evolution system is investigated. It can describe a wide class of phase transition phenomena, including irreversible phase changes. The nonlinearities are of various kind and two maximal monotone graphs appear in the phase relaxation equation. An existence result is established for the related Cauchy-Neumann problem by using regularization, truncation, and monotonicity techniques.     

Determination of pyrethroid pesticide residues in fatty materials by solid-matrix dispersion partition, followed by mini-column size-exclusion chromatography

The method studied uses a combination of a solid-matrix dispersion partition (SMDP) followed by high-performance size-exclusion chromatography on a minicolumn (HPmSEC) of 7.8 mm I.D. for the separation of pyrethroid (PYR) residues from fatty material. The solid-matrix dispersion extraction is carried out by absorbing a fat solution onto an Extrelut-3 cartridge (filled with a macroporous diatomaceous material) and extracting the PYR residues with acetonitrile. Up to 1 g of fatty material can be extracted with 15 ml acetonitrile. The small amount (mean +/- S.D. = 12.4 +/- 5.9 mg) of fatty material which is eluted into the acetonitrile is further removed by HPmSEC. PYR pesticide residues are collected in a 2-ml fraction between 7 and 9 ml, the column being washed up to 24 ml. The two techniques used in series allow a better removal of fat, a greater input of sample and a lower consumption of solvent compared to the sole SEC on macrocolumns, and a lower limit of determination compared to the sole SEC on minicolumns. Recoveries of 9 PYR out of the 14 investigated residues from soya oil were in the range 66-83% at spiking levels ranging 0.49-2.57 mg/kg, while for 6 PYR residues tested at spiking levels in the range 0.13-0.53 mg/kg the recoveries were in the range 80-111%. Recovery of fluvalinate and permethrin could not be calculated due to interferences from soya oil, while lambda-cyhalothrin, esfenvalerate and tralomethrin gave low recovery. The final extract contains small amount (mean +/- S.D. = 2.4 +/- 0.9 mg) of lipid residue and is not completely free from interferences.     

Selective clean-up applicable to aqueous acetone extracts for the determination of carbendazim and thiabendazole in fruits and vegetables by high-performance liquid chromatography with UV detection

Fungicide residues in vegetables (benomyl, carbendazim, thiabendazole) are analyzed through a clean-up procedure that uses a portion of the aqueous acetone extract prepared for multiresidue methodology. A portion of the aqueous acetone extract (equivalent to 5 g of vegetables) is loaded onto an Extrelut-20 cartridge (the cartridge is filled with a coarse, large-pore diatomaceous material). Then, acetone is partially removed by an upward stream of nitrogen at 2l/min for 30 min. Benzimidazolic fungicides are recovered by percolating the cartridge with 100 ml of 0.1 M phosphoric acid solution, which also serves to convert benomyl to carbendazim. The percolating acid solution is drained on-line through a strong cation-exchange (SCX) solid-phase extraction cartridge with the aid of a slight vacuum. Benzimidazolic fungicides are retained on the SCX cartridge. The phosphoric acid solution is discarded together with the washings of the SCX cartridge, i.e., water followed by methanol-water (75:25), that remove unwanted coextractives. Finally, benzimidazolic fungicides are recovered by eluting the SCX cartridge with methanol-ammonium formate buffer (75:25). The final extract is then analyzed by reversed-phase HPLC with UV detection. Recoveries from crops such as apples, lettuce, strawberries and citrus fruits are generally greater than 80% and no interferences were observed. The clean-up is simple and straightforward, requires only disposable items, water solutions and a few milliliters of solvent and a minimum number of manipulations, and does not require concentration steps or electrical equipment.     

Dilational properties of monolayers at the oil-air interface

Time-domain representations of linear surface viscoelasticity are shown to be advantageous in the characterization of dynamic interface properties exhibited by petroleum and derivatives. General relationships are reported which allow time-representations to be analytically or numerically evaluated for any surface relaxation mechanism and for whatever form of the input surface area perturbation. Adopting the translational-diffusion model, an analytical expression is developed for describing the time evolution of the amplitude of surface tension rise and decay pertaining to a forcing tilted-step perturbation. By fitting this expression to experimental values, intrinsic surface properties can be determined. In addition to the technical interest, the theoretical treatment is also discussed in terms of its fundamental importance for the study of transport mechanisms at fluid-fluid interfaces as well as for the determination of thermodynamic equilibrium quantities.