Adaptive Mesh Refinement FEM for Damage Evolution of Heterogeneous Brittle Media

Damage evolution of heterogeneous brittle media involves a wide range of length scales. The coupling between these length scales underlies the mechanism of damage evolution and rupture. However, few of previous numerical algorithms consider the effects of the trans-scale coupling effectively. In this paper, an adaptive mesh refinement FEM algorithm is developed to simulate this trans-scale coupling. The adaptive serendipity element is implemented in this algorithm, and several special discontinuous base functions are created to avoid the incompatible displacement between the elements. Both the benchmark and a typical numerical example under quasi-static loading are given to justify the effectiveness of this model. The numerical results reproduce a series of characteristics of damage and rupture in heterogeneous brittle media.

Phase Evolution and its Effect on Magnetic Properties of Nd60Al10Fe20Co10 Bulk Metallic Glass

The thermal stability of nanocrystalline clusters, the phase evolution, and their effects on magnetic Propertieswere studied for as-cast Nd60Al10Fe20Co10 alloy using differential scanning calorimetry curves, x-ray diffraction patterns, scanning electron microscopy, and high-resolution transition electron microscopy. Thermomagnetic curves and hysteresis loops of the bulk metallic glass were measured during the annealing process. The high thermostability of the hardmagnetic properties of the samples observed is attributed to the stability of the nanocrystalline clusters upon annealing, while the slight enhancement in the magnetization is due to the precipitation of some Nd-rich metastable phases. The mechanism of thermostability of the nanocrystalline clusters and the formation of the metastable phases are discussed.

Numerical simulation of temperature field evolution of metallic alloy surface due to pulsed laser treatment

This paper performed a numerical simulation on temperature field evolution for the surface layer of a metallic alloy subjected to pulsed Nd:YAG laser treatment. The enthalpy method was adopted to solve the moving boundary problem, I.e. Stefan problem. Computational results were obtained to show the temperature field evolution. Effects of latent heat and mushy zone width on the temperature field were investigated. The results also show very high values of temperature gradient and cooling rate, which are typical characteristics during the solidification process.

Electron Beam Surface Treatment. Part II: Microstructure Evolution of Stainless Steel and Aluminum Alloy During Electron Beam Rapid Solidification

Surface rapid solidification microstructures of AISI 321 austenitic stainless steel and 2024 aluminum alloy have been investigated by electron beam remelting process and optical microscopy observation. It is indicated that the morphologies of the melted layer of both stainless steel and aluminum alloy change dramatically compared to the original materials. Also, the microstructures were greatly refined after the electron beam irradiation.

Microdamage Evolution, Energy Dissipation and Their Trans-Scale Effects on Macroscopic Failure

The process of damage evolution concerns various scales, from micro- to macroscopic. How to characterize the trans-scale nature of the process is on the challenging frontiers of solid mechanics. In this paper, a closed trans-scale formulation of damage evolution based on statistical microdamage mechanics is presented. As a case study, the damage evolution in spallation is analyzed with the formulation. Scaling of the formulation reveals that the following dimensionless numbers: reduced Mach number M, damage number S, stress wave Fourier number P, intrinsic Deborah number D*, and the imposed Deborah number De*, govern the whole process of deformation and damage evolution. The evaluation of P and the estimation of temperature increase show that the energy equation can be ignored as the first approximation in the case of spallation. Hence, apart from the two conventional macroscopic parameters: the reduced Mach number M and damage number S, the damage evolution in spallation is mainly governed by two microdamage-relevant parameters: the Deborah numbers D* and De*. Higher nucleation and growth rates of microdamage accelerate damage evolution, and result in higher damage in the target plate. In addition, the mere variation in nucleation rate does not change the spatial distribution of damage or form localized rupture, while the increase of microdamage growth rate localizes the damage distribution in the target plate, which can be characterized by the imposed Deborah number De*.

Dislocation evolution in epitaxial multilayers and graded composition buffers

This paper presents models to describe the dislocation dynamics of strain relaxation in an epitaxial uniform layer, epitaxial multilayers and graded composition buffers. A set of new evolution equations for nucleation rate and annihilation rate of threading dislocations is developed. The dislocation interactions are incorporated into the kinetics process by introducing a resistance term, which depends only on plastic strain. Both threading dislocation nucleation and threading dislocation annihilation are characterized. The new evolution equations combined with other evolution equations for the plastic strain rate, the mean velocity and the dislocation density rate of the threading dislocations are tested on GexSi1-x/Si(100) heterostructures, including epitaxial multilayers and graded composition buffers. It is shown that the evolution equations successfully predict a wide range of experimental results of strain relaxation and threading dislocation evolution in the materials system. Meanwhile, the simulation results clearly signify that the threading dislocation annihilation plays a vital role in the reduction of threading dislocation density.

Nucleated polymerization with secondary pathways. I. Time evolution of the principal moments.

Self-assembly processes resulting in linear structures are often observed in molecular biology, and include the formation of functional filaments such as actin and tubulin, as well as generally dysfunctional ones such as amyloid aggregates. Although the basic kinetic equations describing these phenomena are well-established, it has proved to be challenging, due to their non-linear nature, to derive solutions to these equations except for special cases. The availability of general analytical solutions provides a route for determining the rates of molecular level processes from the analysis of macroscopic experimental measurements of the growth kinetics, in addition to the phenomenological parameters, such as lag times and maximal growth rates that are already obtainable from standard fitting procedures. We describe here an analytical approach based on fixed-point analysis, which provides self-consistent solutions for the growth of filamentous structures that can, in addition to elongation, undergo internal fracturing and monomer-dependent nucleation as mechanisms for generating new free ends acting as growth sites. Our results generalise the analytical expression for sigmoidal growth kinetics from the Oosawa theory for nucleated polymerisation to the case of fragmenting filaments. We determine the corresponding growth laws in closed form and derive from first principles a number of relationships which have been empirically established for the kinetics of the self-assembly of amyloid fibrils.

Statistical and stochastic description of microvoid evolution observed in dynamic failure of ductile materials

A brief review is presented of statistical approaches on microdamage evolution. An experimental study of statistical microdamage evolution in two ductile materials under dynamic loading is carried out. The observation indicates that there are large differences in size and distribution of microvoids between these two materials. With this phenomenon in mind, kinetic equations governing the nucleation and growth of microvoids in nonlinear rate-dependent materials are combined with the balance law of void number to establish statistical differential equations that describe the evolution of microvoids' number density. The theoretical solution provides a reasonable explanation of the experimentally observed phenomenon. The effects of stochastic fluctuation which is influenced by the inhomogeneous microscopic structure of materials are subsequently examined (i.e. stochastic growth model). Based on the stochastic differential equation, a Fokker-Planck equation which governs the evolution of the transition probability is derived. The analytical solution for the transition probability is then obtained and the effects of stochastic fluctuation is discussed. The statistical and stochastic analyses may provide effective approaches to reveal the physics of damage evolution and dynamic failure process in ductile materials.

Numerical Investigation On Detonation Cell Evolution In A Channel With Area-Changing Cross Section

The two-dimensional cellular detonation propagating in a channel with area-changing cross section was numerically simulated with the dispersion-controlled dissipative scheme and a detailed chemical reaction model. Effects of the flow expansion and compression on the cellular detonation cell were investigated to illustrate the mechanism of the transverse wave development and the cellular detonation cell evolution. By examining gas composition variations behind the leading shock, the chemical reaction rate, the reaction zone length, and thermodynamic parameters, two kinds of the abnormal detonation waves were identified. To explore their development mechanism, chemical reactions, reflected shocks and rarefaction waves were discussed, which interact with each other and affect the cellular detonation in different ways.

Shear Localization In Dynamic Deformation: Microstructural Evolution

Investigations made by the authors and collaborators into the microstructural aspects of adiabatic shear localization are critically reviewed. The materials analyzed are low-carbon steels, 304 stainless steel, monocrystalline Fe-Ni-Cr, Ti and its alloys, Al-Li alloys, Zircaloy, copper, and Al/SiCp composites. The principal findings are the following: (a) there is a strain-rate-dependent critical strain for the development of shear bands; (b) deformed bands and white-etching bands correspond to different stages of deformation; (c) different slip activities occur in different stages of band development; (d) grain refinement and amorphization occur in shear bands; (e) loss of stress-carrying capability is more closely associated with microdefects rather than with localization of strain; (f) both crystalline rotation and slip play important roles; and (g) band development and band structures are material dependent. Additionally, avenues for new research directions are suggested.

Numerical Investigation On Evolution Of Cylindrical Cellular Detonation

Cylindrical cellular detonation is numerically investigated by solving two-dimensional reactive Euler equations with a finite volume method on a two-dimensional self-adaptive unstructured mesh. The one-step reversible chemical reaction model is applied to simplify the control parameters of chemical reaction. Numerical results demonstrate the evolution of cellular cell splitting of cylindrical cellular detonation explored in experimentas. Split of cellular structures shows different features in the near-field and far-field from the initiation zone. Variation of the local curvature is a key factor in the behavior of cell split of cylindrical cellular detonation in propagation. Numerical results show that split of cellular structures comes from the self-organization of transverse waves corresponding to the development of small disturbances along the detonation front related to detonation instability.

Damage Evolution In Cement Mortar Due To Erosion Of Sulphate

Ultrasonic technique is used to detect the velocity change of stress wave propagated in the cement mortar immersed in the solution of sodium sulfate for 425 days. Also the density change of specimens at different erosion time is measured. By curve fitting, the effect of solutions' concentration and water/cement ratio on the damage evolution is analyzed. The SEM observation on the growth of delayed ettringite is also performed. It shows that the damage evolution of specimens attacked by sulphate solution is dominantly induced by the nucleation and growth of delayed ettringite, and the average size of microvoids in cement mortar affects the damage evolution significantly. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Catholic social economy : past evolution and present challenges

Introducción: This article provides a historical interpretation of Catholic social economy (also called Social Catholicism) in an attempt to give a Christian form to capitalism. The aim of this writing is to reflect on the evolution of Catholic economic thought and to offer some foreseeable development in light of the experience that characterized the early stages of this movement. By Catholic social economy, the author does not mean the social doctrine of the church, but the whole set of scientific work of Catholic scholars, with their different orientations and acceptance by the official documents of the holy soil. Roman Catholicism is the only religion that has produced wide and continuous scientific research about political economy. This should not be considered an anomaly, because the positivistic attitude of modern economics tends to crowd out the classic unitary view of man and of a good life that characterizes Catholic anthropology. As a consequence, it can be considered an attempt to address scientific research in a way compatible to the Catholic view of the “social nature of man”, and not an attempt to resist or to contrast the role of science. The fundamental concepts of this stream of research have been the idea of natural law intended as a moral order (vs. the equilibrium of conflicting strategies), the social nature of man (vs. individualism and individual autonomy) and the role that charity and justice assume for individual behaviour inspired by the common good (vs. freedom and laissez faire)...