Fatigue evaluation of metallic components based on chaotic characteristics of second harmonic generation signal

In the nonlinear ultrasonic technique, the nonlinear received signal, such as second harmonic generation (SHG) signal in higher harmonic experiments, is complicated and non-stationary time series which reflects the fatigue damage of metal components. To effectively evaluate the fatigue damage of metal components, especially the earlier fatigue damage, the chaos and fractal theory are proposed to analyze the received signal of higher harmonic experiments. Chaotic characteristics, for example Lyapunov exponent, correlation dimension and Kolmogorov entropy, are extracted to evaluate the fatigue damage. Experiments results indicate that chaotic characteristics can reasonably characterize and evaluate the fatigue state of beams, which the variation trend of chaotic characteristics has a close relationship with fatigue crack propagation. Furthermore, chaotic characteristics are very sensitive to earlier fatigue damage of used connecting rods, especially the Lyapunov exponent. Therefore, chaos and fractal theory could effectively extract the nonlinear received signals, and chaotic characteristics could reasonably evaluate the fatigue damage state of metal components

Efficient Trajectory Planning and Control for USV with Vessel Dynamics and Differential Flatness

Unmanned surface vessels (USVs) are widely used in ocean exploration and environmental protection fields. To ensure that USV can successfully perform its mission, trajectory planning and motion tracking are the two most critical technologies. In this paper, we propose a novel trajectory generation and tracking method for USV based on optimization theory. Specifically, the USV dynamic model is described with differential flatness, so that the trajectory can be generated by dynamic RRT* in a linear invariant system expression form under the objective of optimal boundary value. To reduce the sample number and improve efficiency, we adjust the trajectory through local optimization. The dynamic constraints are considered in the optimization process so that the generated trajectory conforms to the kinematic characteristics of the under-actuated hull, and makes it easier to be tracked. Finally, motion tracking is added with model predictive control under a sequential quadratic programming problem. Experimental results show the planned trajectory is more in line with the kinematic characteristics of USV, and the tracking accuracy remains a higher level

Assessment of Long-Term Watershed Management on Reservoir Phosphorus Concentrations and Export Fluxes.

Source water nutrient management to prevent eutrophication requires critical strategies to reduce watershed phosphorus (P) loadings. Shanxi Drinking-Water Source Area (SDWSA) in eastern China experienced severe water quality deterioration before 2010, but showed considerable improvement following application of several watershed management actions to reduce P. This paper assessed the changes in total phosphorus (TP) concentrations and fluxes at the SDWSA outlet relative to watershed anthropogenic P sources during 2005⁻2016. Overall anthropogenic P inputs decreased by 21.5% over the study period. Domestic sewage, livestock, and fertilizer accounted for (mean ± SD) 18.4 ± 0.6%, 30.1 ± 1.9%, and 51.5 ± 1.5% of total anthropogenic P inputs during 2005⁻2010, compared to 24.3 ± 2.7%, 8.8 ± 10.7%, and 66.9 ± 8.0% for the 2011⁻2016 period, respectively. Annual average TP concentrations in SDWSA decreased from 0.041 ± 0.019 mg/L in 2009 to 0.025 ± 0.013 mg/L in 2016, a total decrease of 38.2%. Annual P flux exported from SDWSA decreased from 0.46 ± 0.04 kg P/(ha·a) in 2010 to 0.25 ± 0.02 kg P/(ha·a) in 2016, a decrease of 44.9%. The success in reducing TP concentrations was mainly due to the development of domestic sewage/refuse collection/treatment and improved livestock management. These P management practices have prevented harmful algal blooms, providing for safe drinking water

Cooperative trajectory planning algorithm of USV-UAV with hull dynamic constraints

Efficient trajectory generation in complex dynamic environment stills remains an open problem in the unmanned surface vehicle (USV) domain. In this paper, a cooperative trajectory planning algorithm for the coupled USV-UAV system is proposed, to ensure that USV can execute safe and smooth path in the process of autonomous advance in multi obstacle maps. Specifically, the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) plays the role as a flight sensor, and it provides real-time global map and obstacle information with lightweight semantic segmentation network and 3D projection transformation. And then an initial obstacle avoidance trajectory is generated by a graph-based search method. Concerning the unique under-actuated kinematic characteristics of the USV, a numerical optimization method based on hull dynamic constraints is introduced to make the trajectory easier to be tracked for motion control. Finally, a motion control method based on NMPC with the lowest energy consumption constraint during execution is proposed. Experimental results verify the effectiveness of whole system, and the generated trajectory is locally optimal for USV with considerable tracking accuracy.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figure

Behavior of innovative T-shaped multi-partition steel-concrete composite columns under concentric and eccentric compressive loadings

[EN] T-shaped multi-partition steel-concrete composite column, composed of several concrete-filled rectangular steel hollow sections, is considered as an innovative composite member with the ability to accommodate neighboring wall thickness with great easiness. This paper intends to study the behavior of this innovative composite member under concentric and eccentric compressive loadings. A finite element (FE) analysis model accounting for the influences of confinement effects, geometric and material nonlinearities is developed using the program ABAQUS. The ultimate strength and load-strain responses predicted from the analysis are validated against the test results in the experiments conducted by the authors. The comparisons indicate that the FE model reasonably estimates the responses of the concentrically and eccentrically loaded T-shaped multi-partition steel-concrete composite columns. The verified model is then utilized to numerically investigate the working mechanism of the columns. The load distribution between the infilled concrete and the steel tubes and the stress distribution of the concrete during the loading process are analyzed. Moreover, parametric studies are performed to investigate the behavior of T-shaped multi-partition steel-concrete composite columns under different loadings. The studied parameters include steel to concrete area ratio, concrete compressive strength, steel yield strength and load eccentricity. Combined with the experimental results, FE analysis and parametric studies, the design recommendations for T-shaped multi-partition steel-concrete composite columns under different loadings are proposed.The research work reported in this paper were supported by National Key Research and Development Program (2016YFC0701201), and National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51578187); their financial supports are highly appreciated.Chen, J.; Zhang, S.; Huang, Z.; Zhang, X.; Guo, L. (2018). Behavior of innovative T-shaped multi-partition steel-concrete composite columns under concentric and eccentric compressive loadings. En Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Advances in Steel-Concrete Composite Structures. ASCCS 2018. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 289-296. https://doi.org/10.4995/ASCCS2018.2018.7004OCS28929

Dissonance in harmony: The UV/optical periodic outbursts of ASASSN-14ko exhibit repeated bumps and rebrightenings

ASASSN-14ko was identified as an abnormal periodic nuclear transient with a potential decreasing period. Its outbursts in the optical and UV bands have displayed a consistent and smooth "fast-rise and slow-decay" pattern since its discovery, which has recently experienced an unexpected alteration in the last two epochs, as revealed by our proposed high-cadence Swift observations. The new light curve profiles show a bump during the rising stages and a rebrightening during the declining stages, making them much broader and symmetrical than the previous ones. In the last two epochs, there is no significant difference in the X-ray spectral slope compared to the previous one, and its overall luminosity is lower than those of the previous epochs. The energy released in the early bump and rebrightening phases ($\sim10^{50}$ erg) could be due to collision of the stripped stream from partial tidal disruption events (pTDEs) with an expanded accretion disk. We also discussed other potential explanations, such as disk instability and star-disk collisions. Further high-cadence multi-wavelength observations of subsequent cycles are encouraged to comprehend the unique periodic source with its new intriguing features.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJL, 10 pages, 6 figure

Preparation, Characterization, and Application of Magnetic Fe-SBA-15 Mesoporous Silica Molecular Sieves

Magnetic Fe-SBA-15 mesoporous silica molecular sieves were prepared, characterized, and used for magnetic separation. Wet impregnation, drying, and calcination steps led to iron inclusion within the mesopores. Iron oxide was reduced to the metal form with hydrogen, and the magnetic Fe-SBA-15 was obtained. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy confirmed the preparation process from the oxide to metal forms. The structure of magnetic materials was confirmed by Mössbauer spectra. Powder X-ray diffraction data indicated that the structure of Fe-SBA-15 retained the host SBA-15 structure. Brunauer-Emmett-Teller analysis revealed a decrease in surface area and pore size, indicating Fe-SBA-15 coating on the inner surfaces. Scanning electron micrographs confirmed the decrease in size for modified SBA-15 particles. From scanning electron micrographs, it was found that the size of the modified SBA-15 particles decreased. Transmission electron micrographs also confirmed that modified SBA-15 retained the structure of the parent SBA-15 silica. Fe-SBA-15 exhibited strong magnetic properties, with a magnetization value of 8.8 emu g−1. The iron content in Fe-SBA-15 was determined by atom adsorption spectroscopy. Fe-SBA-15 was successfully used for the magnetic separation of three aromatic compounds in water. Our results suggest wide applicability of Fe-SBA-15 magnetic materials for the rapid and efficient separation of various compounds

Simultaneous inference of periods and period-luminosity relations for Mira variable stars

The Period--Luminosity relation (PLR) of Mira variable stars is an important tool to determine astronomical distances. The common approach of estimating the PLR is a two-step procedure that first estimates the Mira periods and then runs a linear regression of magnitude on log period. When the light curves are sparse and noisy, the accuracy of period estimation decreases and can suffer from aliasing effects. Some methods improve accuracy by incorporating complex model structures at the expense of significant computational costs. Another drawback of existing methods is that they only provide point estimation without proper estimation of uncertainty. To overcome these challenges, we develop a hierarchical Bayesian model that simultaneously models the quasi-periodic variations for a collection of Mira light curves while estimating their common PLR. By borrowing strengths through the PLR, our method automatically reduces the aliasing effect, improves the accuracy of period estimation, and is capable of characterizing the estimation uncertainty. We develop a scalable stochastic variational inference algorithm for computation that can effectively deal with the multimodal posterior of period. The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated through simulations, and an application to observations of Miras in the Local Group galaxy M33. Without using ad-hoc period correction tricks, our method achieves a distance estimate of M33 that is consistent with published work. Our method also shows superior robustness to downsampling of the light curves