47 research outputs found
On the micro mechanics of one-dimensional normal compression
Discrete-element modelling has been used to investigate the micro mechanics of one-dimensional compression. One-dimensional compression is modelled in three dimensions using an oedometer and a large number of particles, and without the use of agglomerates. The fracture of a particle is governed by the octahedral shear stress within the particle due to the multiple contacts and a Weibull distribution of strengths. Different fracture mechanisms are considered, and the influence of the distribution of fragments produced for each fracture on the global particle size distribution and the slope of the normal compression line is investigated. Using the discrete-element method, compression is related to the evolution of a fractal distribution of particles. The compression index is found to be solely a function of the strengths of the particles as a function of size
An insight into the yielding and normal compression of sand with irregularly-shaped particles using DEM
The micro mechanics of one-dimensional and isotropic normal compression of granular soil have recently been revealed using the discrete element method. By modelling soil grains as spheres and implementing a new crushing model, the authors have previously investigated the influence of fracture mechanism, particle strengths (and distributions), and the size-hardening law on both the normal compression line and resultant particle size distribution; this resulted in a new compression law. In this work, irregular particle shape is introduced, using âclumpsâ (groups of spherical particles), allowing different relative densities of the same material to be subjected to normal compression. An investigation into the mechanics of yielding is presented, in which the onset of crushing is related to the average particle octahedral shear stress and âyieldâ is seen to be a function of the available void space. Beyond yield, the normal compression lines for the clumps at different initial densities are examined and compared to that for spheres. The effect of coordination number and particle shape on the normal compression are studied, and in particular the micro mechanics behind the evolution of a fractal particle size distribution are revealed
Micro mechanics of critical states for isotropically overconsolidated sand
The discrete element method has been used to investigate the micro mechanics of shearing to a critical state on the loose and dense sides of critical. Isotropic compression has previously been modelled in 3D using a large number of particles and without the use of agglomerates. The same procedure is used here. Particle fracture is governed by the octahedral shear stress within the particle due to the multiple contacts and a Weibull distribution of strengths. Isotropic compression of a silica sand has been simulated to 20 MPa and followed by unloading to a range of stresses before shearing to a critical state, using micro parameters which relate to the silica sand particle strengths. The samples at the lowest stress levels exhibit peak strength and dilation. The sample at the highest stress exhibits contraction and ductile yielding to a critical state. A critical state line is established, which appears to become parallel to the isotropic line in log e-log p space at high stress levels. This paper shows that it is the evolving fractal particle size distribution during isotropic normal compression which governs the behaviour on unloading to different overconsolidation ratios. The micro mechanics of the critical state line are shown to be in the evolving particle size distribution during normal compression, and how such an aggregate behaves when it is unloaded
Automated PDF highlighting to support faster curation of literature for Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease
Neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinsonâs and Alzheimerâs disease are devastating and costly illnesses, a source of major global burden. In order to provide successful interventions for patients and reduce costs, both causes and pathological processes need to be understood. The ApiNATOMY project aims to contribute to our understanding of neurodegenerative disorders by manually curating and abstracting data from the vast body of literature amassed on these illnesses. As curation is labour-intensive, we aimed to speed up the process by automatically highlighting those parts of the PDF document of primary importance to the curator. Using techniques similar to those of summarisation, we developed an algorithm that relies on linguistic, semantic and spatial features. Employing this algorithm on a test set manually corrected for tool imprecision, we achieved a macro F1-measure of 0.51, which is an increase of 132% compared to the best bag-of-words baseline model. A user based evaluation was also conducted to assess the usefulness of the methodology on 40 unseen publications, which reveals that in 85% of cases all highlighted sentences are relevant to the curation task and in about 65% of the cases, the highlights are sufficient to support the knowledge curation task without needing to consult the full text. In conclusion, we believe that these are promising results for a step in automating the recognition of curation-relevant sentences. Refining our approach to pre-digest papers will lead to faster processing and cost reduction in the curation process
Young and Intermediate-age Distance Indicators
Distance measurements beyond geometrical and semi-geometrical methods, rely
mainly on standard candles. As the name suggests, these objects have known
luminosities by virtue of their intrinsic proprieties and play a major role in
our understanding of modern cosmology. The main caveats associated with
standard candles are their absolute calibration, contamination of the sample
from other sources and systematic uncertainties. The absolute calibration
mainly depends on their chemical composition and age. To understand the impact
of these effects on the distance scale, it is essential to develop methods
based on different sample of standard candles. Here we review the fundamental
properties of young and intermediate-age distance indicators such as Cepheids,
Mira variables and Red Clump stars and the recent developments in their
application as distance indicators.Comment: Review article, 63 pages (28 figures), Accepted for publication in
Space Science Reviews (Chapter 3 of a special collection resulting from the
May 2016 ISSI-BJ workshop on Astronomical Distance Determination in the Space
Age
Toward an internally consistent astronomical distance scale
Accurate astronomical distance determination is crucial for all fields in
astrophysics, from Galactic to cosmological scales. Despite, or perhaps because
of, significant efforts to determine accurate distances, using a wide range of
methods, tracers, and techniques, an internally consistent astronomical
distance framework has not yet been established. We review current efforts to
homogenize the Local Group's distance framework, with particular emphasis on
the potential of RR Lyrae stars as distance indicators, and attempt to extend
this in an internally consistent manner to cosmological distances. Calibration
based on Type Ia supernovae and distance determinations based on gravitational
lensing represent particularly promising approaches. We provide a positive
outlook to improvements to the status quo expected from future surveys,
missions, and facilities. Astronomical distance determination has clearly
reached maturity and near-consistency.Comment: Review article, 59 pages (4 figures); Space Science Reviews, in press
(chapter 8 of a special collection resulting from the May 2016 ISSI-BJ
workshop on Astronomical Distance Determination in the Space Age
Characterization of Loading Responses and Failure Loci of a Boron Steel Spot Weld
Boron steel, classed as an ultra high-strength steel (UHSS), has been utilized in anti-intrusion systems in automobiles, providing high strength and weight-saving potential through gage reduction. UHSS spot welds exhibit unique hardness distributions, with a hard nugget and outlying base material, but with a soft heat-affected zone in-between these regions. This soft zone reduces the strength of the weld and makes it susceptible to failure. Due to the interaction of various weld zones that occurs during loading, there is a need to characterize the loading response of the weld for accurate failure predictions. The loading response of certain weld zones, as well as failure loci, was obtained through physical simulation of the welding process. The results showed a significant difference in mechanical behavior through the weld length. An important result is that instrumented indentation was shown to be a valid, quantitative method for verifying the accuracy with which weld microstructure has been recreated with regard to the target weld microstructure
Horizontal Branch Stars: The Interplay between Observations and Theory, and Insights into the Formation of the Galaxy
We review HB stars in a broad astrophysical context, including both variable
and non-variable stars. A reassessment of the Oosterhoff dichotomy is
presented, which provides unprecedented detail regarding its origin and
systematics. We show that the Oosterhoff dichotomy and the distribution of
globular clusters (GCs) in the HB morphology-metallicity plane both exclude,
with high statistical significance, the possibility that the Galactic halo may
have formed from the accretion of dwarf galaxies resembling present-day Milky
Way satellites such as Fornax, Sagittarius, and the LMC. A rediscussion of the
second-parameter problem is presented. A technique is proposed to estimate the
HB types of extragalactic GCs on the basis of integrated far-UV photometry. The
relationship between the absolute V magnitude of the HB at the RR Lyrae level
and metallicity, as obtained on the basis of trigonometric parallax
measurements for the star RR Lyrae, is also revisited, giving a distance
modulus to the LMC of (m-M)_0 = 18.44+/-0.11. RR Lyrae period change rates are
studied. Finally, the conductive opacities used in evolutionary calculations of
low-mass stars are investigated. [ABRIDGED]Comment: 56 pages, 22 figures. Invited review, to appear in Astrophysics and
Space Scienc
Measurement of the Positive Muon Anomalous Magnetic Moment to 0.46 ppm
We present the first results of the Fermilab Muon g-2 Experiment for the
positive muon magnetic anomaly . The anomaly is
determined from the precision measurements of two angular frequencies.
Intensity variation of high-energy positrons from muon decays directly encodes
the difference frequency between the spin-precession and cyclotron
frequencies for polarized muons in a magnetic storage ring. The storage ring
magnetic field is measured using nuclear magnetic resonance probes calibrated
in terms of the equivalent proton spin precession frequency
in a spherical water sample at 34.7C. The
ratio , together with known fundamental
constants, determines
(0.46\,ppm). The result is 3.3 standard deviations greater than the standard
model prediction and is in excellent agreement with the previous Brookhaven
National Laboratory (BNL) E821 measurement. After combination with previous
measurements of both and , the new experimental average of
(0.35\,ppm) increases the
tension between experiment and theory to 4.2 standard deviationsComment: 10 pages; 4 figure