Integer linear programming models for topology optimization in sheet metal design

The process of designing new industrial products is in many cases solely based on the intuition and experience of the responsible design engineer. The aid of computers is restricted to visualization and manual manipulation tools. We demonstrate that the design process for conduits, which are made out of sheet metal plates, can be supported by mathematical optimization models and solution techniques, leading to challenging optimization problems. The design goal is to find a topology that consists of several channels with a given cross section area using a minimum amount of sheet metal and, at the same time, maximizing its stiffness. We consider a mixed integer linear programming model to describe the topology of two dimensional slices of a three dimensional sheet metal product. We give different model formulations, based on cuts and on multicommodity flows. Numerical results for various test instances are presented.     

Large eddy simulation of a sheet/cloud cavitation on a NACA0015 hydrofoil

A single fluid model of sheet/cloud cavitation is developed and applied to a NACA0015 hydrofoil. First, a cavity formation model is set up, based on a three-dimensional (3D) non-cavitation model of Navier–Stokes equations with a large eddy simulation (LES) scheme for weakly compressible flows. A fifth-order polynomial curve is adopted to describe the relationship between density coefficient ratio and pressure coefficient when cavitation occurs. The Navier–Stokes equations including cavitation bubble clusters are solved using the finite-volume approach with time-marching scheme, and MacCormack’s explicit-corrector scheme is adopted. Simulations are carried out in a 3D field acting on a hydrofoil NACA0015 at angles of attack 4°, 8° and 20°, with cavitation numbers σ = 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0, Re = 10⁶, and a 360 × 63 × 29 meshing system. We study time-dependent sheet/cloud cavitation structures, caused by the interaction of viscous objects, such as vortices, and cavitation bubbles. At small angles of attack (4°), the sheet cavity is relatively stable just by oscillating in size at the accumulation stage; at 8° it has a tendency to break away from the upper foil section, with the cloud cavitation structure becoming apparent; at 20°, the flow separates fully from the leading edge of the hydrofoil, and the vortex cavitation occurs. Comparisons with other studies, carried out mainly in the context of flow patterns on which prior experiments and simulations were done, demonstrate the power of our model. Overall, it can snapshot the collapse of cloud cavitation, and allow a study of flow patterns and their instabilities, such as “crescent-shaped regions.”     

The effect of electro-annealing on the electrical properties of ITO film on colorless polyimide substrate

The effect of different annealing methods on the sheet resistance of indium tin oxide (ITO) on polyimide (PI) substrate has been investigated. ITO thin films were prepared by RF magnetron sputtering in pure Ar gas and electro-annealing, this was carried out in the flow of an electric current at several temperatures between 100 and 180 °C in air. Electro- and thermal annealing were compared in order to confirm differences between the electrical, optical and microstructural properties of the ITO thin films. As electro-annealing induced the predominant growth of crystallites of ITO thin films along (4 0 0) plane, the sheet resistance of ITO films that were electro-annealed for 2 mA at 180 °C considerably decreased from 50 to 28 Ω/cm².     

Convex polynomial yield functions

It is shown that some of the recently proposed orthotropic yield functions obtained through the linear transformation method are homogeneous polynomials. This simple observation has the potential to simplify considerably their implementation into finite element codes. It also leads to a general method for designing convex polynomial yield functions with powerful modeling capabilities. Convex parameterizations are given for the fourth, sixth and eighth order plane stress orthotropic homogeneous polynomials. Illustrations are shown for the modeling of biaxial and directional yielding properties of steel and aluminum alloy sheets. The parametrization method can be easily extended to general, 3D stress states.     

Application of digital image correlation to the study of planar anisotropy of sheet metals at large strains

The aim of this work is to measure and model the planar anisotropy of thin steel sheets. The experimental data have been collected using the digital image correlation technique. This is a powerful tool to measure the strain field on differently shaped specimens subjected to large plastic deformations. In this manner, it is possible to observe the material behaviour under different stress-strain states, from small to large deformation conditions, on the entire specimen surface. The experimental results on smooth and notched samples have been used to characterize the flow stress curve after necking and a nonassociated plastic flow rule is proposed to describe the anisotropic behaviour of the material. To compare the experimental data with the predictions of the adopted constitutive model, a novel method, based on the image correlation results, has been implemented.     

灰色关联分析方法在板料抗皱性影响因素研究中的应用

应用灰色关联分析方法进行板料参数对抗皱性的综合影响研究，得到较为满意的结果。与通常的统计回归方法相比，这种方法具有计算简单、客观真实等优点．     

A continuum model of the blood flow in the lung microcirculation

An one-dimensional continuum model and the corresponding governing equations are proposed for the blood flow in lung microcirculation, the analytical solutions in closed form are presented. It is shown that the obtained results coincide with Fung's in sheet flow. Project is supported by the National Natural, Science Fundation of China.     

Formability of TWIP (twinning induced plasticity) automotive sheets

The main objective of this work is to experimentally and numerically evaluate the macro-performance of the automotive TWIP (twinning induced plasticity) sheet in conjunction with formability. In order to characterize the mechanical properties, the simple tension and compression tests were performed for anisotropic properties, while the strain rate test was carried out to evaluate strain rate sensitivity. The forming limit diagram was measured and incorporated into the simulation program, while the theoretical prediction of the diffuse and localized necking was also carried out utilizing Hill’s and the M-K theories as well as Dorn’s and Swift’s diffuse theories. Note that the generalized criteria of Hill’s, Dorn’s and Swift’s theories were derived for general anisotropic sheets as well in this work. For numerical simulations, the anisotropic yield functions Yld2000-2d and Hill48 as well as the isotropic Mises yield function were selectively applied along with the isotropic hardening law. Formability verification was performed, utilizing Yld2000-2d, for the hemispherical dome stretching, notch and simple tension tests with specimens selectively prepared by milling and punching, while anisotropic properties were verified through the three point bending and cylindrical cup drawing tests, comparing the performance of the three yield functions.     

The influence of incorporating organic molecules or inorganic nanoparticles on the optical and electrical properties of carbon nanotube films

Organic molecules and inorganic nanoparticles were incorporated into transparent and conductive single- or double-wall carbon nanotube (SWNT or DWNT) films, and their electrical and optical properties were measured. When organic tetrafluoro-tetracyanoquinodimethane (F₄TCNQ) molecules were incorporated into the nanotube films, sheet resistance was reduced to ∼50% of those from the pristine SWNT and DWNT films. Larger improvements were observed with Au nanoparticle decoration or HNO₃/SOCl₂ dipping processes. The sheet resistances were measured to be at 75% of transmittance for HNO₃/SOCl₂-treated DWNT films and at 77% for Au-incorporated DWNT films, making their electrical conductivities 200%-300% better than those of the pristine DWNT films. It was observed that DWNTs have better electrical/optical performance than SWNTs. The relative influence of various dopants, F₄TCNQ, Au, and HNO₃/SOCl₂ as well as microwave irradiation on the optical and electrical properties was identified by using Raman and UV-vis-NIR spectra.     

Experimental investigation on laser flattening of sheet metal

The purpose of this research is to establish the technique of laser flattening and to consider the fundamental mechanism. The thermal stress produced by heating with a laser beam is used to make a flat sheet from a sheet metal of protruded distortion. Three kinds of protrusions are chosen as the typical protruded distortion; point protrusion, line protrusion and face protrusion. For point protrusion, laser irradiation along the circular path is effective when the height of protrusion is large, and the laser irradiation along the radial path is effective when it is small. For line protrusion, laser beam is irradiated along the short straight path whose direction is normal to the centerline of the protrusion. For face protrusion, the height decreases from 1-0.1 mm by the laser irradiation along the circular path. The residual stress at the convex surface of a point protrusion on the sheet metal changes from a large compressive stress to a small tensile stress by the laser irradiation.