This paper focuses on developing improved concept models for straight thin-walled box sectional columns which can better predict the peak crushing force that occurs during crashworthiness analyses. We develop a nonlinear translational spring based on previous research and apply such a spring element to build the enhanced concept models. The work presented in this article is developed on the basis of the publication of the author (Liu and Day, 2006b) and has been applied in a crashworthiness design issue, which is presented by the author in another paper (Liu, 2008).

A tensor-based updated Lagrangian (UL) formulation for the geometrically nonlinear analysis of 2D beam-column structures is developed by using curvilinear coordinates, which has considered the effects of the deformed curvature. Between the known configuration C₁ and the desired configuration C₂, a configuration C₂^* derived by rigid-body motion of C₁ is introduced to eliminate the element-end transverse displacements between C₂^* and C₂. A stiffness matrix is obtained in C₂^*; and then by a transformation defined by the element-end displacements, the stiffness matrix in C₂^* is transformed into that in C₁. Comparing the stiffness matrix with that in the conventional UL formulation for a 2D beam element, the initial displacement stiffness matrix emerges, which results from the deformed curvature within the element. Numerical examples have verified the accuracy and efficiency of the present formulation, and the results show that the deformed curvatures have significant effects when deformations are large.

The bender element testing features its in-plane directivity, which allows using bender elements to measure the shear wave velocities in a wider range of in-plane configurations besides the standard tip-to-tip alignment. This paper proposed a novel bender element testing technique for measuring the horizontal shear wave velocity of soils, where the bender elements are surface-mounted and the axes of the source and receiver elements are parallel to each other. The preliminary tests performed on model ground of silica sand showed that, by properly determining the travel distance and time of the shear waves, the surface-mounted bender elements can perform as accurately as the conventional “tip-to-tip” configuration. Potentially, the present system provides a promising nondestructive tool for characterizing geomaterials and site conditions both in laboratory and in the fields.

Water distribution networks are essential components of water supply systems. The combination of pipe structural deterioration and mechanics leads to the failure of pipelines. A physical model for estimating the pipe failure must include both the pipe deterioration model and mechanics model. Winkler pipe-soil interaction (WPSI), an analytical mechanics model developed by Rajani and Tesfamariam (2004), takes external and internal loads, temperature changes, loss of bedding support, and the elastoplastic effect of soil into consideration. Based on the WPSI model, a method to evaluate the elastic and plastic areas was proposed in the present study. An FEM model based on pipe-soil interaction (PSI) element was used to verify the analytical model. Sensitivity analyses indicate that the soft soil, long pipe and high temperature induced the axial plastic deformation more likely, which, however, may not occur in normal scenarios. The soft soil, pipes in small diameters, long unsupported bedding are prone to form flexural plastic area. The results show that the pipes subjected to the same loads have smaller stresses in the elastoplastic analysis than elastic analysis. The difference, however, is slight.

A study of the behaviour of constructional cold-formed stainless steel beams at elevated temperatures was conducted in this paper. An accurate finite element model (FEM) for stainless steel beams was developed using the finite element program ABAQUS. Stainless steel beams having different cross-sections were simulated in this study. The nonlinear FEM was verified against the experimental results. Generally, the developed FEM could accurately simulate the stainless steel beams. Based on the high temperature stainless steel material test results, a parametric study was carried out on stainless steel beams at elevated temperatures using the verified FEM. Both high strength stainless steel EN 1.4462 and normal strength stainless steel EN 1.4301 were considered. A total of 42 stainless steel beams were simulated in the parametric study. The effect of temperatures on the behaviour of stainless steel beams was investigated. In addition, a limiting temperature for stainless steel beams was also proposed.

In this study, an artificial neural network (ANN) model for studying the strength properties of steel fiber reinforced concrete (SFRC) containing fly ash was devised. The mixtures were prepared with 0 wt%, 15 wt%, and 30 wt% of fly ash, at 0 vol.%, 0.5 vol.%, 1.0 vol.% and 1.5 vol.% of fiber, respectively. After being cured under the standard conditions for 7, 28, 90 and 365 d, the specimens of each mixture were tested to determine the corresponding compressive and flexural strengths. The parameters such as the amounts of cement, fly ash replacement, sand, gravel, steel fiber, and the age of samples were selected as input variables, while the compressive and flexural strengths of the concrete were chosen as the output variables. The back propagation learning algorithm with three different variants, namely the Levenberg-Marquardt (LM), scaled conjugate gradient (SCG) and Fletcher-Powell conjugate gradient (CGF) algorithms were used in the network so that the best approach can be found. The results obtained from the model and the experiments were compared, and it was found that the suitable algorithm is the LM algorithm. Furthermore, the analysis of variance (ANOVA) method was used to determine how importantly the experimental parameters affect the strength of these mixtures.

The interaction between the heat source location, its intensity, thermal expansion coefficient, the machine system configuration and the running environment creates complex thermal behavior of a machine tool, and also makes thermal error prediction difficult. To address this issue, a novel prediction method for machine tool thermal error based on Bayesian networks (BNs) was presented. The method described causal relationships of factors inducing thermal deformation by graph theory and estimated the thermal error by Bayesian statistical techniques. Due to the effective combination of domain knowledge and sampled data, the BN method could adapt to the change of running state of machine, and obtain satisfactory prediction accuracy. Experiments on spindle thermal deformation were conducted to evaluate the modeling performance. Experimental results indicate that the BN method performs far better than the least squares (LS) analysis in terms of modeling estimation accuracy.

This paper presents a disturbance rejection scheme for walking robots under unknown external forces and moments. The disturbance rejection strategy, which combines the inverse dynamics control with the acceleration projection onto the ZMP (zero moment point)-plane, can ensure the overall dynamic stability of the robot during tracking the pre-computed trajectories. Under normal conditions, i.e., the system is dynamically balanced, a primary inverse dynamics control is utilized. In the case that the system becomes unbalanced due to external disturbances, the acceleration projection control (APC) loop, will be activated to keep the dynamic stability of the walking robot through modifying the input torques. The preliminary experimental results on a robot leg demonstrate that the proposed method can actually make the robot keep a stable motion under unknown external perturbations.

The singular points of a 6-SPS Stewart platform are distributed on the multi-dimensional singularity hypersurface in the task-space, which divides the workspace of the manipulator into several singularity-free regions. Because of the motion uncertainty at singular points, while the manipulator traverses this kind of hypersurface from one singularity-free region to another, its motion cannot be predetermined. In this paper, a detailed approach for the manipulator to traverse the singularity hypersurface with its non-persistent configuration is presented. First, the singular point transfer disturbance and the pose disturbance, which make the perturbed singular point transfer horizontally and vertically, respectively, are constructed. Through applying these disturbances into the input parameters within the maximum loss control domain, the perturbed persistent configuration is transformed into its corresponding non-persistent one. Under the action of the disturbances, the manipulator can traverse the singularity hypersurface from one singularity-free region to another with a desired configuration.

A novel ε-type solenoid actuator is proposed to improve the dynamic response of electro-pneumatic ejector valves by reducing moving mass weight. A finite element analysis (FEA) model has been developed to describe the static and dynamic operations of the valves. Compared with a conventional E-type actuator, the proposed ε-type actuator reduced the moving mass weight by almost 65% without significant loss of solenoid force, and reduced the response time (RT) typically by 20%. Prototype valves were designed and fabricated based on the proposed ε-type actuator model. An experimental setup was also established to investigate the dynamic characteristics of valves. The experimental results of the dynamics of valves agreed well with simulations, indicating the validity of the FEA model.

A simple formula is proposed to predict the vertical distribution of a suspended load concentration in a 2D steady turbulent flow. The proposed formula significantly improves the well-known Rouse formula where sediment concentration has an infinitely large value at the channel bottom and a zero value at the water surface. Based on this formula and the logarithmic velocity profile, a theoretical elementary function for the transport rate of a suspended load is developed. This equation improves the Einstein equation in which the unit-width suspended sediment discharge must be solved by numerical integration and a contradiction between the lower limit of the integral and that of velocity distribution exists.

To investigate the dynamic characteristics of total suspended solids (TSS) and their particle-bound heavy metals in a first flush, the runoff sampling together with its flow rate measuring was conducted for three rainfall events at outfalls of highway in Shanghai from June to September 2007. Field samples were analyzed to determine the concentrations of TSS and particle-bound heavy metals, such as Zn, Pb, and Cu. Results show that the wash off behavior of TSS under varying runoff rate condition can be explained by different antecedent dry weather period (ADWP). Contribution of fine fraction (<45 μm) to TSS was generally higher than that of coarse fraction (>45 μm). When the runoff flow increased obviously, a significant contribution of the coarse fraction was observed for a certain rainfall events with long antecedent dry weather condition. The changes of total metals concentration and particle-bound metal concentrations were strongly dependent on the TSS variation. TSS was generally well correlated with most particulate-bound heavy metals. Of the heavy metals, the concentration of Zn was found considerably high and that of Pb was significantly low at North Zhongshan 2 Road, in Shanghai, China, but they are still within the range reported in the literature. Fluctuation of heavy metal contents in the coarse fraction during a first flush period was more significant compared with that in the fine fraction. The results will assist in the development of effective control strategies to minimize heavy metals and solids in highway runoff.

Due to the importance of biological safety in drinking water quality and the disadvantages which exist in traditional methods of detecting typical microorganisms such as Cryptosporidium and Giardia, it is necessary to develop an alternative. Particle counts is a qualitative measurement of the amount of dissolved solids in water. The removal rate of particle counts was previously used as an indicator of the effectiveness of a biological activated carbon (BAC) filter in removing Cryptosporidium and Giardia. The particle counts in a BAC filter effluent over one operational period and the effects of BAC filter construction and operational parameters were investigated with a 10 m³/h pilot plant. The results indicated that the maximum particle count in backwash remnant water was as high as 1296 count/ml and it needed about 1.5 h to reduce from the maximum to less than 50 count/ml. During the standard filtration period, particle counts stay constant at less than 50 count/ml for 5 d except when influenced by sand filter backwash remnant water. The removal rates of particle counts in the BAC filter are related to characteristics of the carbon. For example, a columned carbon and a sand bed removed 33.3% and 8.5% of particles, respectively, while the particle counts in effluent from a cracked BAC filter was higher than that of the influent. There is no significant difference among particle removal rates with different filtration rates. High post-ozone dosage (>2 mg/L) plays an important role in particle count removal; when the dosage was 3 mg/L, the removal rates by carbon layers and sand beds decreased by 17.5% and increased by 9.5%, respectively, compared with a 2 mg/L dosage.

This paper presents an experimental study on the emission characteristics and combustion instabilities of oxy-fuel combustions in a swirl-stabilized combustor. Different oxygen concentrations (X_oxy=25%~45%, where X_oxy is oxygen concentration by volume), equivalence ratios (φ=0.75~1.15) and combustion powers (CP=1.08~2.02 kW) were investigated in the oxy-fuel (CH₄/CO₂/O₂) combustions, and reference cases (X_oxy=25%~35%, CH₄/N₂/O₂ flames) were covered. The results show that the oxygen concentration in the oxidant stream significantly affects the combustion delay in the oxy-fuel flames, and the equivalence ratio has a slight effect, whereas the combustion power shows no impact. The temperature levels of the oxy-fuel flames inside the combustion chamber are much higher (up to 38.7%) than those of the reference cases. Carbon monoxide was vastly produced when X_oxy>35% or φ>0.95 in the oxy-fuel flames, while no nitric oxide was found in the exhaust gases because no N₂ participates in the combustion process. The combustion instability of the oxy-fuel combustion is very different from those of the reference cases with similar oxygen content. Oxy-fuel combustions excite strong oscillations in all cases studied X_oxy=25%~45%. However, no pressure fluctuations were detected in the reference cases when X_oxy>28.6% accomplished by heavily sooting flames which were not found in the oxy-fuel combustions. Spectrum analysis shows that the frequency of dynamic pressure oscillations exhibits randomness in the range of 50~250 Hz, therefore resulting in a very small resultant amplitude. Temporal oscillations are very strong with amplitudes larger than 200 Pa, even short time fast Fourier transform (FFT) analysis (0.08 s) shows that the pressure amplitude can be larger than 40 Pa.

A series of photochromic diarylethene derivatives containing different fluorophores was synthesized by the Sonogashira coupling reaction and characterized by ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), ¹³C NMR and mass spectroscopy. Photochromic conversion of Cz-MS was observed and its structural change was confirmed by proton NMR. Switchable absorption and emission phenomena were observed for these molecules. These phenomena were attributed to the reversible photochromic fluorescence resonance energy transfer (pcFRET) process. The design of this novel photochromic system of Py-4MS enables information to be processed in a non-destructive manner. This overcomes the problem of the destructive nature of tracking photochromism using ultraviolet (UV)-vis spectroscopy.

Ferrospheres in fly ashes from a coal-fired power plant were extracted by a magnetic separation technique and their microstructure was studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) and environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM). Ferrospheres in fly ashes show significant iron enrichment compared to their respective fly ashes. Iron oxides in ferrospheres mainly occur as minerals magnetite (Fe₃O₄) and hematite (α-Fe₂O₃), which are derived mainly from the decomposition and oxidation of iron-bearing minerals in coal during combustion. EDX data indicate that ferrospheres also contain Si, S, Al and Ca resulting from quartz, mullite, anhydrite and amorphous materials. A large percentage of ferrospheres are commonly 5~50 μm in size. The microstructure of ferrospheres includes smooth, polygonal, dendritic, granular and molten drop characteristics. SEM coupled with EDX provided fast and accurate results of the microstructure and chemical composition of ferrospheres, and helped us to assess environmental issues related to the disposal and utilization of fly ashes.

A model describing the absorption process of SO₂ into limestone slurry with a spray scrubber is presented. Both the physical performance of the spray liquid in the scrubber and the involved chemical reactions are analyzed in the model. A continuous concentration change of H⁺ was solved by iterative coupling using Matlab, and it was found that there was a remarkable influence on the concentration of the other elements in the process of SO₂ absorption. The calculations show that the enhancement factor exponentially grows with an increasing value of pH and logarithmically decays with an increasing value of the driving force. To verify the accuracy of the model, experiments were also carried out, and the results suggest that the model, after combining the physical performance of the spray and the enhancement factor, can more precisely describe SO₂ absorption in a spray scrubber. Furthermore, a commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tool is used to perform several simulations which describe and clarify the effects of variables on SO₂ absorption. The results of numerical simulation can provide a basis for further design and optimization of the scrubber.

In this work, polypropylene (PP)/polystyrene (PS) blends with different organoclay concentrations were prepared via melt compounding. Differing from the results of previous reports, the organoclay platelets are mostly located in the dispersed PS phase instead of the interface. The dimensions of the dispersed PS droplets are greatly reduced and apparent compatibilization effect still exists, which cannot be explained by the traditional compatibilization mechanism. A novel compatibilization mechanism, “cutting” to apparently compatibilize the immiscible PP/PS blends was proposed. The organoclay platelets tend to form a special “knife-like structure” in the PS domain under the shear stress of the continuous PP phase during compounding. The “clay knife” can split the dispersed PS domain apart and lead to the dramatic reduction of the dispersed domain size.