Finite element analysis of laser transformation hardening

The problem of determining stresses, phase compositions and temperature distributions during the transformation hardening of steel with a CO-laser beam is investigated. To model the different phases in each material point a parallel fraction model is used, in which each fraction represents one phase. The description of phase transformations is obtained by an incremental formulation of the Avrami-equation for isothermal transformation. A model is developed to describe the superheating of ferrite and pearlite. The model is demonstrated by a detailed computation of stresses, deformations and phase compositions in the case of a stationary laser flash

Comparison of ALE finite element method and adaptive smoothed finite element method for the numerical simulation of friction stir welding

In this paper, the material flow around the pin during friction stir welding (FSW) is simulated using a 2D plane\ud strain model. A pin rotates without translation in a disc with elasto-viscoplastic material properties and the outer boundary of\ud the disc is clamped. Two numerical methods are used to solve this problem and an analytical solution is derived. The analytical\ud model is complementary to validate the two numerical methods, i.e. the arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) method and the\ud adaptive smoothed finite elements method (ASFEM)

Constitutive modelling of Sandvik 1RK91

A physically based constitutive equation is being developed for the maraging\ud stainless steel Sandvik 1RK91. The steel is used to make precision parts. These parts are formed through multistage forming operations and heat treatments from cold rolled and annealed sheets. The specific alloy is designed to be thermodynamically unstable, so that deformation even at room temperatures can bring about a change in the phase of face centred cubic austenite to either hexagonal closed packed martensite and/or, body centred cubic martensite. This solid state phase change is a function of the strain path, strain, strain rate and temperature. Thus, the fraction of the new phase formed depends on the state of stress at a given location in the part being formed. Therefore a set of experiments is being conducted in order to quantify the stress-strain behavior of this steel under various stress states, strain, strain rate as well as temperature. A magnetic sensor records the fraction of ferromagnetic martensite formed from paramagnetic austenite. A thermocouple as well as an infra red thermometer is used to log the change in temperature of the steel during a mechanical test. The force-displacement data are converted to stress-strain data after correcting for the changes in strain rate and temperature. These data are then cast into a general form of constitutive equation and the transformation equations are derived from Olson-Cohen type functions

The history of African village chickens: an archaeological and molecular perspective

The history of the introduction and dispersal of village chickens across the African continent is a subject of intense debate and speculation among scholars. Here, we synthesize and summarise the current scientific genetic and nongenetic knowledge in relation to the history of the species on the continent. Sociocultural, linguistic, archaeological and historic data all suggest a complex history for the species in Africa, characterized by multiple maritime and/or terrestrial introductions over time and several dispersal routes towards and within Africa. Molecular genetics information supports these observations and in addition suggests possible Asian centers of origin for African domestic chickens, including South Asia and Island Southeast Asia. However, both sets of data were until now too limited in their geographic scope, both within Africa and in comparison with chickens from Asia, to unravel the history of the species in detail. We anticipate that further continent-wide studies combining archaeological, ancient and/or modern genetic information may shed new insights on the history of the species. These will contribute to a deeper understanding of the history of trading networks and human interactions within Africa and between African and Asian societies, at the root of the development and expansion of African civilizations

Large Bi-2212 single crystal growth by the floating-zone technique

Effects of the growth velocity on the crystal growth behavior of Bi_2Sr_2Ca_1Cu_2O_x (Bi-2212) have been studied by floating zone technique. The results show that a necessary condition for obtaining large single crystals along the c-axis is that the solid-liquid interface of a growing rod maintains a stable planar growth front. The planar liquid-solid growth interface tends to break down into a cellular interface, while the growth velocity is higher than 0.25 mm/h. Single crystals of up to 50x7.2x7 mm3 along the a-, b- and caxes have been cut in a 7.2 mm diameter rod with optimum growth conditions. Tconset is 91 K measured by magnetic properties measurement system (MPMS) for as-grown crystals. Optical polarization microscope and neutron diffraction show that the quality of the single crystals is good.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

The Importance of Monomeric Anthocyanins in the Definition of Wine Colour Properties

Monomeric anthocyanins are the main contributor of colour in young red wines. To study the importance of monomeric anthocyanins to the wine colour, 41 wines of Vitis vinifera L. Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Gernischt and Merlot were examined. Seven monomeric anthocyanins were isolated and applied as standards in HPLC analysis. Multiple linear regression (MLR) and partial least squares regression (PLSR) were performed to relate and validate the correlations between the monomeric anthocyanins and CIELab colour parameters. Malvidin-3-O-glucoside (Mv3g) was the most abundant anthocyanin in all tested wines, but not the anthocyanin that showed the highest correlation with the colour parameters evaluated. L*, b* and h were shown to be correlated significantly with mainly the anthocyanins for Cabernet Sauvignon, L* with the anthocyanins for Cabernet Gernischt and h with the anthocyanins for Merlot. MLR and PLSR both successfully predicted the colour from the anthocyanin composition of the wine. Delphinidin-3-glucoside (Dp3g), malvidin-3-O-acetylglucoside (Mv3ac) and Dp3g were the most important monomeric anthocyanins contributing to the prediction of the wine colour of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Gernischt and Merlot respectively. Different grape varieties had profound influences on the correlation of wine colour with anthocyanin composition