The strength of composite materials loaded in uniaxial tension under pressure

This paper presents a method for the evaluation of the tensile strength of composite materials made of a soft matrix with hard inclusions. The tensile strength is calculated as the force per unit area required for the onset of plastic flow in the material. In addition to the tensile strength, the severity of the core deformation and the rate of void formation are also estimated. The results are based on an upper-bound analysis with a two parameter family of velocity fields which accounts for both non-homogeneity of deformation and void formation.The model of the composite and the family of the velocity field used here have already appeared in published articles. Moreover, the application of the present method to estimate the tensile strength in cases when ductile deformation prevails (i.e. when there is no void formation) would lead to the same results as in the previous studies based on the same model and velocity fields.New here is the completeness of the analysis. All possible flow patterns, including for the first time void forming flows, were considered. This made it possible to show that the conditions required to ensure that one or another flow pattern prevails (i.e. those conditions found here and in other articles based on the same model) are not only necessary but also sufficient, at least from a theoretical point of view.The results of this paper have not yet been confirmed experimentally. Although the general trends are in the expected direction, so far no attempt has been made to find the degree of correlation between the theory and the behavior of real materials.     

A probabilistic approach to polycrystalline plasticity part II: applications

Using our constitutive theory for polycrystalline plasticity, we have calculated characteristic yield conditions for several sample materials in which the dependence of the dislocation velocity on stress is given by an empirical power function. The shape of the yield surfaces for these materials varies resembling that of von Mises when the stress exponent is small and that of Tresca when the exponent is large. Additional examples illustrate the ability of the proposed theory to model such phenomena as the development of anisotropy during plastic deformation, material hardening and softening, the occurrence of upper and lower yield points, and a Bauschinger effect.     

Marangoni convection of power law fluids driven by power-law temperature gradient

This paper presents a research for Marangoni convection driven by a power-law temperature gradient. It is assumed that the surface tension is quadratic functions of the temperature and the effects of power law viscosity on temperature field into account by assuming that the temperature field is similar to the velocity field. The Navier–Stokes equations and the heat equation with modified Fourier's law heat conduction (Zheng's Model) for power law fluid media are reduced to two nonlinear ordinary differential equations and the solutions are presented numerically. The effects of the Power-law Number and the Marangoni Number on the interfacial velocity and the interfacial temperature gradient are presented in tabular form and the effects of various parameters on the velocity and temperature fields are analyzed and discussed in detail.     

Investigation of the heat transfer of a non-Newtonian fluid flow in an axisymmetric channel with porous wall using Parameterized Perturbation Method (PPM)

In the present article Parameterized Perturbation Method (PPM) is used to obtain the solutions of momentum and heat transfer equations of non-Newtonian fluid flow in an axisymmetric channel with porous wall for turbine cooling applications. The validity of the results of PPM solution were verified by comparison with numerical results obtained using a fourth order Runge–Kutta method. These comparisons reveal that Parameterized Perturbation Method is a powerful approach for solving this problem. The analytical investigation is carried out for different governing parameters namely, Reynolds number, injection Reynolds number, Prandtl number and power law index. The results show that skin friction coefficient increases with increase of Reynolds number, especially at high Reynolds numbers. Also it can be found that Nusselt number has direct relationship with Reynolds number, Prandtl number and power law index.     

山地平原交界带自然灾害与资源环境评价

本文论述了山地平原交界带的概念、分布与自然灾害发生的特点,并对其资源环境状况进行评价。分析指出,山地平原交界带不仅是自然资源丰富、多种自然灾害频繁发生的地带,而且又是社会、经济、文化方面的明显过渡带,具有独特的自然、人文地理景观。研究山地平原交界带自然灾,山地平原交界带、自然灾害、自然资源、环境评价     

Guaranteed cost synchronization for second-order wireless sensor networks with given cost budgets

The current paper addresses leader-following guaranteed cost synchronization with the cost budget given previously for the second-order wireless sensor networks. The published researches on guaranteed cost synchronization design criteria usually are based on the linear matrix inequality (LMI) techniques and cannot take the cost budget given previously into consideration. Firstly, the current paper proposes a guaranteed cost synchronization protocol, which can realize the tradeoff design between the battery power consumption and the synchronization regulation performance. Secondly, for the case without the given cost budget, sufficient conditions for leader-following guaranteed cost synchronization are presented and an upper bound of the cost function is shown. Thirdly, for the case that the cost budget is given previously, the criterion for leader-following guaranteed cost synchronization is proposed. Especially, the value ranges of control gains in these criteria are determined, which means that the existence of control gains in synchronization criteria can be guaranteed, but the LMI techniques can only determine the gain matrix and cannot give the value ranges of control gains. Moreover, these criteria are only associated with the minimum nonzero eigenvalue and the maximum eigenvalue, which can ensure the scalability of the wireless sensor networks. Finally, numerical simulations are given to illustrate theoretical results.     

Solution pH change in non-uniform alternating current electric fields at frequencies above the electrode charging frequency

AC Faradaic reactions have been reported as a mechanism inducing non-ideal phenomena such as flow reversal and cell deformation in electrokinetic microfluidic systems. Prior published work described experiments in parallel electrode arrays below the electrode charging frequency (f_c), the frequency for electrical double layer charging at the electrode. However, 2D spatially non-uniform AC electric fields are required for applications such as in plane AC electroosmosis, AC electrothermal pumps, and dielectrophoresis. Many microscale experimental applications utilize AC frequencies around or above f_c. In this work, a pH sensitive fluorescein sodium salt dye was used to detect [H⁺] as an indicator of Faradaic reactions in aqueous solutions within non-uniform AC electric fields. Comparison experiments with (a) parallel (2D uniform fields) electrodes and (b) organic media were employed to deduce the electrode charging mechanism at 5 kHz (1.5f_c). Time dependency analysis illustrated that Faradaic reactions exist above the theoretically predicted electrode charging frequency. Spatial analysis showed [H⁺] varied spatially due to electric field non-uniformities and local pH changed at length scales greater than 50 μm away from the electrode surface. Thus, non-uniform AC fields yielded spatially varied pH gradients as a direct consequence of ion path length differences while uniform fields did not yield pH gradients; the latter is consistent with prior published data. Frequency dependence was examined from 5 kHz to 12 kHz at 5.5 V_pp potential, and voltage dependency was explored from 3.5 to 7.5 V_pp at 5 kHz. Results suggest that Faradaic reactions can still proceed within electrochemical systems in the absence of well-established electrical double layers. This work also illustrates that in microfluidic systems, spatial medium variations must be considered as a function of experiment time, initial medium conditions, electric signal potential, frequency, and spatial position.     

Energy management strategy for parallel hybrid electric vehicles based on approximate dynamic programming and velocity forecast

In parallel hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), the power split between the engine and the electric motor as well as the gear shift in the gearbox determines the overall energy efficiency. In this paper an adaptive energy management strategy with velocity forecast is proposed to optimize the fuel consumption in parallel HEVs, which is formulated into a mixed-integer optimization problem. Approximate dynamic programming with a novel actor-gear-critic design is presented for simultaneously controlling the power split and gear shift online. The power split as a continuous variable is determined from an actor network to realize the energy distribution between two power sources. The gear shift as a discrete variable is obtained from a gear network to adjust the gear ratio in the gearbox. The concept enables an online learning of the energy management strategy for different driving behaviors without the requirement of a system model and the driving cycle. Simulation results indicate that the proposed strategy achieves close fuel economy compared with the optimal solutions resulting from dynamic programming. Furthermore, a multi-stage neural network is introduced for velocity forecast, providing a computationally efficient training framework with good prediction performance. The velocity prediction is finally combined with the energy management strategy for an effective application and fuel economy.     

Micromixer based on viscoelastic flow instability at low Reynolds number

We exploited the viscoelasticity of biocompatible dilute polymeric solutions, namely, dilute poly(ethylene oxide) solutions, to significantly enhance mixing in microfluidic devices at a very small Reynolds number, i.e., Re≈0.023, but large Peclet and elasticity numbers. With an abrupt contraction microgeometry (8:1 contraction ratio), two different dilute poly(ethylene oxide) solutions were successfully mixed with a short flow length at a relatively fast mixing time of <10 μs. Microparticle image velocimetry was employed in our investigations to characterize the flow fields. The increase in velocity fluctuation with an increase in flow rate and Deborah number indicates the increase in viscoelastic flow instability. Mixing efficiency was characterized by fluorescent concentration measurements. Our results showed that enhanced mixing can be achieved through viscoelastic flow instability under situations where molecular-diffusion and inertia effects are negligible. This approach bypasses the laminar flow limitation, usually associated with a low Reynolds number, which is not conducive to mixing.     

Probability of error in CPSK systems with intersymbol interference and additive noise

A simple lower bound, an upper bound and a simple approximation to the upper bound on the probability of error for coherent phase-shift-keyed (CPSK) systems operating in the presence of intersymbol interference and additive noise are obtained. The additive noises in the in-phase channel and the quadrature channel are assumed to be independent, and are independent of the signal, but not restricted to be Gaussian. The approximation to the upper bound is four times the lower bound, hence the tightness of these bounds is uniform for all cases. This fact and the simplicity of the bounds make these bounds a useful system design tool. Numerical examples for quaternary and octonary systems are presented and compared to known results.     

A class of generalized decision- feedback equalizers

An upper bound and a lower bound to the probability of error for data transmission systems using a decision-feedback equalizer, with error propagation effects taken into account, are presented. Numerical examples show that they are tight bounds.We introduce the concept of a generalized decision-feedback equalizer suggested by the form of the derived bounds. A subclass is studied and optimized numerically with the aid of the derived error probability bounds. The solution represents the best compromise achievable by that class between the output noise power and the output intersymbol interference due to error propagation. A numerical example is carried out in detail to illustrate the concept.     

Elastic waves in heterogeneous bars of varying cross-section

The propagation of elastic waves in a heterogeneous bar of variable cross-sectional area is investigated via use of the method of characteristics andthe Laplace transform technique. The Young's modulus and density are assumed to be representable as either power law or exponential distributions in the axial coordinate. The transform method is used to establish an infinite number of multi-parameter solutions in closed form for either a stress, velocity or displacement type boundary condition. The numerical characteristic computations show excellent agreement when compared to the transform solutions, and are then used to obtain additional solutions not attainable by the transform method. Detailed results and conclusions for a bar of ogival cross-section are given for a wide range of inhomogeneity.     

Examination of the role of transient receptor potential vanilloid type 4 in endothelial responses to shear forces

Shear stress is the major mechanical force applied on vascular endothelial cells by blood flow, and is a crucial factor in normal vascular physiology and in the development of some vascular pathologies. The exact mechanisms of cellular mechano-transduction in mammalian cells and tissues have not yet been elucidated, but it is known that mechanically sensitive receptors and ion channels play a crucial role. This paper describes the use of a novel and efficient microfluidic device to study mechanically-sensitive receptors and ion channels in vitro, which has three independent channels from which recordings can be made and has a small surface area such that fewer cells are required than for conventional flow chambers. The contoured channels of the device enabled examination of a range of shear stresses in one field of view, which is not possible with parallel plate flow chambers and other previously used devices, where one level of flow-induced shear stress is produced per fixed flow-rate. We exposed bovine aortic endothelial cells to different levels of shear stress, and measured the resulting change in intracellular calcium levels ([Ca²⁺]_i) using the fluorescent calcium sensitive dye Fluo-4AM. Shear stress caused an elevation of [Ca²⁺]_i that was proportional to the level of shear experienced. The response was temperature dependant such that at lower temperatures more shear stress was required to elicit a given level of calcium signal and the magnitude of influx was reduced. We demonstrated that shear stress-induced elevations in [Ca²⁺]_i are largely due to calcium influx through the transient receptor potential vanilloid type 4 ion channel.     

Probability of error in digital fiber optic systems with inter-symbol interference and signal dependent additive noise

Data transmission via optical fiber is a new discipline of communication theory. The principal difference from conventional baseband data transmission, which is characterized by a signal independent additive Gaussian noise, is the existence of a signal dependent shot noise.This paper presents a technique for estimating the error probability performance of digital systems with inter-symbol interference and signal dependent additive noise. For binary antipodal (±1) systems, the approximate upper bound to the error probability is twice the lower bound. Hence either can be taken as a good approximation to the actual error probability. The technique is then applied to a model of some promising optical data communication systems and a good approximation to the error probability is obtained. Some observations about the effect of various system parameters on the error probability and some numerical examples are presented.     

The analytical determination of friction for flow through conical converging dies

The effects of friction upon the intermediate and final distorted grids for wire drawing and/or extrusion were analytically studied for an assumed triangular velocity field. An upper-bound solution for the process was used. This solution predicted that the shape of the final and intermediate distorted grids were functions of the process geometry and of friction. Initially, combinations of reduction and semi-cone angle (α) were found for which the triangular velocity field was energetically preferred over an existing spherical velocity field. The analytical final distorted grids were then compared to experimentally obtained final distorted grids to determine the experimental friction. This was done by plotting calibration curves for distortion where friction served as the parameter and by comparing the actual distortion with the family of calibration curves.     

A microfluidic shear device that accommodates parallel high and low stress zones within the same culturing chamber

Fluid shear stress (FSS) plays a critical role in regulating endothelium function and maintaining vascular homeostasis. Current microfluidic devices for studying FSS effects on cells either separate high shear stress zone and low shear stress zone into different culturing chambers, or arranging the zones serially along the flow direction, which complicates subsequent data interpretation. In this paper, we report a diamond shaped microfluidic shear device where the high shear stress zone and the low shear stress zone are arranged in parallel within one culturing chamber. Since the zones with different shear stress magnitudes are aligned normal to the flow direction, the cells in one stress group are not substantially affected by the flow-induced cytokine/chemokine releases by cells in the other group. Cell loading experiments using human umbilical vein endothelial cells show that the device is able to reveal stress magnitude-dependent and loading duration-dependent cell responses. The co-existence of shear stress zones with varied magnitudes within the same culturing chamber not only ensures that all the cells are subject to the identical culturing conditions, but also allows the resemblance of the differential shear stress pattern in natural arterial conditions. The device is expected to provide a new solution for studying the effects of heterogeneous hemodynamic patterns in the onset and progression of various vascular diseases.     

饱和土体中半封闭压力隧洞的应力和位移场

基于Biot固结理论，研究分析了饱和土体中半封闭压力隧洞问题，建立了压力隧洞的半封闭边界条件．通过对控制方程的解耦，得到了孔隙水压力的消散方程．在Laplace变换域中得到隧洞边界上作用轴对称荷载和流体压力条件下的应力、位移和孔隙水压力解答，考虑了土体和孔隙流体的压缩性，运用Laplace数值逆变换得到时域中的解．文末给出了算例，分析了隧洞的半封闭特性对应力、位移和孔隙水压力的影响。     

Drawing and extrusion of superplastic metals through cone-shaped dies

Closed-form solutions are obtained for the stress and die pressure distributions, time and flow rates for drawing and extruding superplastic cylinders through a cone-shaped die with Coulomb friction. Numerical examples are presented graphically and the possible existence of a maximum limit for area reduction in the drawing process is pointed out and discussed.     

Fault-tolerant sensorless control of wind turbines achieving efficiency maximization in the presence of electrical faults

This paper proposes a sensorless fault-tolerant control strategy solving the tracking problem of the maximum delivered power characteristic for a wind energy conversion system equipped with a permanent magnet synchronous generator. A previously published control scheme ensuring the maximum power efficiency of the wind turbine, not requiring feedback information about rotor speed and position, and about wind velocity, is here extended to make the control scheme fault-tolerant with respect to possible electrical faults affecting the equations of the permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG) in the original (α, β) frame. The control law is based on a number of interconnected nonlinear observers. Closed loop asymptotic vanishing of the observation errors is proved. The proposed control solution has been validated on the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 5-MW three-blade wind turbine model.     

Improved results on synchronization of stochastic delayed networks under aperiodically intermittent control

This paper addresses the synchronization of stochastic complex networks with time-varying delay via aperiodically intermittent control (AIC). By proposing the concepts of average control ratio and average control frequency for AIC, some new synchronization conditions are obtained, which relax the constraints of the lower bound of control widths and the upper bound of control periods. And the proportion of rest widths can be any value in (0,1). So the constraints on AIC are loosened and thus the conservativeness is reduced compared with the existing related results. Two types of time delay are investigated: (i) the upper bound of time-varying delay should be smaller than the average control width but can be larger than the lower bound of control widths; (ii) the upper bound of time-varying delay has no relationship with control and rest widths. An example of coupled stochastic oscillators systems is presented to show the effectiveness and superiority of our results.