Stability analysis of floating raft system under multiexcitation condition

A floating raft system is subjected to multiple excitation sources with multiple frequencies for each excitation source. Considering the two characteristics of excitation source, the stability of floating raft system was analyzed. A vibration equation for the floating raft system under multiexcitation condition was established. A multiscale method was then used to solve the equation. The amplitude–frequency response equation and unstable region of solution are discussed. The results show that the vibration of raft frame fits the pattern of soft-spring vibration. This indicates that the excitation of main raft unit with a rigid connection compromises the stability of the system, whereas the excitation of unit with elastic connection increases stability

Cracked modeling and vibration analysis of pipe with a part-through crack

Pipeline is an important transportation facility in the oil and gas industries. But cracks inevitably appear in the pipe body due to various factors. Mechanical analysis of cracked pipe structures based on local flexibility has received increased attention in the last three decades. However, few reports exist on the local flexibility of pipes with an arbitrary angled crack. In this paper, the general solution of the local flexibility equations of a pipe with a part through-crack subjected to axial force, shearing force, and bending moment is deduced with respect to an arbitrary angled crack. The proposed equations consider the influence of the crack orientation on the local flexibility coefficient. An adaptive Simpson method is used to calculate the local flexibility coefficients of a cracked pipe. The results of testing by Naniwadekar’s and Authors’ are used to validate the proposed method. The results demonstrate that the proposed method is accurate for calculating local flexibility and can be applied for vibration analysis in a pipe-like structure

Human activities accelerated the degradation of saline seepweed red beaches by amplifying top‐down and bottom‐up forces

Salt marshes dominated by saline seepweed (Suaeda heteroptera) provide important ecosystem services such as sequestering carbon (blue carbon), maintaining healthy fisheries, and protecting shorelines. These salt marshes also constitute stunning red beach landscapes, and the resulting tourism significantly contributes to the local economy. However, land use change and degradation have led to a substantial loss of the red beach area. It remains unclear how human activities influence the top‐down and bottom‐up forces that regulate the distribution and succession of these salt marshes and lead to the degradation of the red beaches. We examined how bottom‐up forces influenced the germination, emergence, and colonization of saline seepweed with field measurements and a laboratory experiment. We also examined whether top‐down forces affected the red beach distribution by conducting a field survey for crab burrows and density, laboratory feeding trials, and waterbird investigations. The higher sediment accretion rate induced by human activities limited the establishment of new red beaches. The construction of tourism facilities and the frequent presence of tourists reduced the density of waterbirds, which in turn increased the density of crabs, intensifying the top‐down forces such as predators and herbivores that drive the degradation of the coastal red beaches. Our results show that sediment accretion and plant–herbivory changes induced by human activities were likely the two primary ecological processes leading to the degradation of the red beaches. Human activities significantly shaped the abundance and distribution of the red beaches by altering both top‐down and bottom‐up ecological processes. Our findings can help us better understand the dynamics of salt marshes and have implications for the management and restoration of coastal wetlands

Damage modeling and simulation of vibrating pipe with part-through circumferential crack

A new finite element model is developed to perform vibration analysis of a cracked pipe. To formulate the method, the local flexibility coefficients of a part-through circumferential crack in a pipe that is subjected to axial force, shear force and bending moment are analytically derived using linear fracture mechanics. In particular, an adaptive Simpson method is utilized to carry out the numerical integration for calculating the flexibility coefficients. With the flexibility coefficients, a finite element model is established to study the vibration characteristics of the cracked pipe, with particular emphasis on the crack effect represented by change in natural frequency. As an illustrative application, the finite element model is utilized to identify a crack in a pipe by contour plots of frequency ratio as function of crack location and crack depth, with the crack location and depth identified accurately. The proposed method is effective in characterizing the vibration behavior of a pipe with a crack