A Meshfree Weak- Strong-form (MWS) method for solid and fluid mechanics

Mesh free methods can be largely categorized into two main categories: mesh free methods based on strong forms (e.g. collocation methods) and mesh free methods based on the weak forms (EFG, MLPG, PIM, etc.; see Mesh Free Methods, by G. R. Liu, CRC Press, 2002). The mesh free collocation method is simple to implement and computationally efficient. However, it is often found unstable and less accurate, especially for problems governed by partial differential equations with Neumann (derivative) boundary conditions, such as solid mechanics problems with stress (natural) boundary conditions. On the other hand, the mesh free methods based on the weak form exhibits very good stability and excellent accuracy. However, the numerical integration makes them computational expensive, and the background mesh (global or local) for integration is responsible for not being “truly” mesh free. In this paper, a new idea of combination of both the strong form and the local weak form is proposed to develop truly meshless method for 2-D elasto-statics. A novel truly meshfree method, the meshfree weak-strong (MWS) form method, is originated by Liu et al. (2002) based on a combined formulation of both the strong and local weak forms. As shown in Figure 1, the problem domain and boundaries are represented by properly scattered nodes. The key idea of the MWS method is that in establishing the discrete system equations, both the strong-form and the local Petrov-Galerkin weak-form are used for the same problem, but for different nodes. This paper details the MWS method for solid and fluid mechanics problems. In the MWS method, the problem domain and its boundary is represented by a set of points or nodes. The strong form or collocation method is used for all the internal nodes and the nodes on the essential (Dirichlet) boundaries. The local weak form (Petrov-Galerkin weak form) is used for nodes on the natural (Neumann) boundaries. There is no need for numerical integrations for all the internal nodes and the nodes on the essential boundaries. The local numerical integration is performed only for the nodes on the natural/Neumann boundaries. The natural/Neumann boundary conditions can then be easily imposed to produce stable and accurate solutions. The locally supported radial point interpolation method (RPIM) and moving least squares (MLS) approximation are used to construct the shape functions. The final system matrix will be sparse and banded for computational efficiency. Numerical examples of solids and fluids are presented to demonstrate the efficiency, stability and accuracy of the proposed meshfree method.Singapore-MIT Alliance (SMA

PHP61 The Financial Impacts of Pharmacist Intervention in Inpatient Department of a Local Hospital in Taiwan

Morphometric analysis of S. mortenseni. (DOC 44 kb

Experimental research on night heat loss and dust effect of distillation-solar chimney power plant

To more comprehensively grasp the operating characteristics of the solar chimney power plants combined with distillation and provide a valuable reference for the design and operation of the power plants, a comparative test platform was built in this paper, which adopted manual covering of insulation layer and dust, and explored for the first time the impact of the insulation layer and dust accumulation on the operational characteristics of power plants. The results show that the insulation layer can increase the temperature rise of the airflow at night by a maximum of 2.1 ◦C, which is 25.9 %; but at the same time, it will reduce the temperature difference between the seawater and the solar still cover, resulting in a decrease of more than 7 % in daily water yield. Therefore, if the power plant pursues water production, it is not necessary to install insulation layers. Dust accumulation will affect the heat collection and storage performance of the system, reduce the power output, and shorten the effective power generation time; at the same time, lowering the seawater temperature will also reduce the water yield of the system by more than 10 %, so the power plant must regularly clean the collector roof

Developing independence in pre-transition students through hybrid learning environments

Our student-centred bridging course applies a range of pedagogical approaches and novel integration of technological tools, to help students build a deep understanding of core biological concepts and competencies while exposing them to authentic university experiences

Laser powder bed fusion of high-strength and corrosion-resistant Inconel alloy 725

The development of additive manufacturing, or three-dimensional (3D) printing, technologies has produced breakthroughs in the design and manufacturing of products by enhancing design freedom and minimising manufacturing steps. In addition, the complex, unique microstructures imparted by the additive processes offer prospects of unprecedented advances to produce high-performance metal alloys for high-temperature and corrosive environments. Here, we present the first additive manufacturing of Inconel alloy 725, an advanced nickel-base superalloy that is the widely accepted gold standard material of choice for oil and gas, chemical, and marine applications. We explore the printability of Inconel alloy 725 and identify a wide processing space to build material with a crack- and near-pore-free microstructure. The conventionally heat-treated Inconel alloy 725 has an equiaxed, near-fully recrystallised microstructure containing copious twin boundaries and nano-precipitates. It also displays promising tensile properties and corrosion resistance compared to its wrought counterpart. Our work opens the door toward additive manufacturing of Inconel alloy 725 components with optimised microstructure and topology geometry for applications in harsh environments

CD40 signal rewires fatty acid and glutamine metabolism for stimulating macrophage anti-tumorigenic functions.

Exposure of lipopolysaccharide triggers macrophage pro-inflammatory polarization accompanied by metabolic reprogramming, characterized by elevated aerobic glycolysis and a broken tricarboxylic acid cycle. However, in contrast to lipopolysaccharide, CD40 signal is able to drive pro-inflammatory and anti-tumorigenic polarization by some yet undefined metabolic programming. Here we show that CD40 activation triggers fatty acid oxidation (FAO) and glutamine metabolism to promote ATP citrate lyase-dependent epigenetic reprogramming of pro-inflammatory genes and anti-tumorigenic phenotypes in macrophages. Mechanistically, glutamine usage reinforces FAO-induced pro-inflammatory and anti-tumorigenic activation by fine-tuning the NAD <sup>+</sup> /NADH ratio via glutamine-to-lactate conversion. Genetic ablation of important metabolic enzymes involved in CD40-mediated metabolic reprogramming abolishes agonistic anti-CD40-induced antitumor responses and reeducation of tumor-associated macrophages. Together these data show that metabolic reprogramming, which includes FAO and glutamine metabolism, controls the activation of pro-inflammatory and anti-tumorigenic polarization, and highlight a therapeutic potential of metabolic preconditioning of tumor-associated macrophages before agonistic anti-CD40 treatments

Thermal and back-action noises in dual-sphere gravitational-waves detectors

We study the sensitivity limits of a broadband gravitational-waves detector based on dual resonators such as nested spheres. We determine both the thermal and back-action noises when the resonators displacements are read-out with an optomechanical sensor. We analyze the contributions of all mechanical modes, using a new method to deal with the force-displacement transfer functions in the intermediate frequency domain between the two gravitational-waves sensitive modes associated with each resonator. This method gives an accurate estimate of the mechanical response, together with an evaluation of the estimate error. We show that very high sensitivities can be reached on a wide frequency band for realistic parameters in the case of a dual-sphere detector.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figure

Oscillations of a solid sphere falling through a wormlike micellar fluid

We present an experimental study of the motion of a solid sphere falling through a wormlike micellar fluid. While smaller or lighter spheres quickly reach a terminal velocity, larger or heavier spheres are found to oscillate in the direction of their falling motion. The onset of this instability correlates with a critical value of the velocity gradient scale $\Gamma_{c}\sim 1$ s$^{-1}$. We relate this condition to the known complex rheology of wormlike micellar fluids, and suggest that the unsteady motion of the sphere is caused by the formation and breaking of flow-induced structures.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Time series irreversibility: a visibility graph approach

We propose a method to measure real-valued time series irreversibility which combines two differ- ent tools: the horizontal visibility algorithm and the Kullback-Leibler divergence. This method maps a time series to a directed network according to a geometric criterion. The degree of irreversibility of the series is then estimated by the Kullback-Leibler divergence (i.e. the distinguishability) between the in and out degree distributions of the associated graph. The method is computationally effi- cient, does not require any ad hoc symbolization process, and naturally takes into account multiple scales. We find that the method correctly distinguishes between reversible and irreversible station- ary time series, including analytical and numerical studies of its performance for: (i) reversible stochastic processes (uncorrelated and Gaussian linearly correlated), (ii) irreversible stochastic pro- cesses (a discrete flashing ratchet in an asymmetric potential), (iii) reversible (conservative) and irreversible (dissipative) chaotic maps, and (iv) dissipative chaotic maps in the presence of noise. Two alternative graph functionals, the degree and the degree-degree distributions, can be used as the Kullback-Leibler divergence argument. The former is simpler and more intuitive and can be used as a benchmark, but in the case of an irreversible process with null net current, the degree-degree distribution has to be considered to identifiy the irreversible nature of the series.Comment: submitted for publicatio