Crashworthiness design of density-graded cellular metals

AbstractCrashworthiness of cellular metals with a linear density gradient was analyzed by using cell-based finite element models and shock models. Mechanisms of energy absorption and deformation of graded cellular metals were explored by shock wave propagation analysis. Results show that a positive density gradient is a good choice for protecting the impacting object because it can meet the crashworthiness requirements of high energy absorption, stable impact resistance and low peak stress

Dynamic response of elastic beam to a moving pulse: finite element analysis of critical velocity

Dynamic behaviour of a semi-infinite elastic beam subjected to a moving single sinusoidal pulse was investigated by using finite element method associated with dimensionless analysis. The typical features of the equivalent stress and beam deflection were presented. It is found that the average value of maximal equivalent stress in the beam reaches its maximum value when the velocity of moving pulse is closed to a critical velocity. The critical velocity decreases as the pulse duration increases. The material, structural and load parameters influencing the critical velocity were analysed. An empirical formula of the critical velocity with respect to the speed of elastic wave, the gyration radius of the cross-section and the pulse duration was obtained

High channel count and high precision channel spacing multi-wavelength laser array for future PICs

Multi-wavelength semiconductor laser arrays (MLAs) have wide applications in wavelength multiplexing division (WDM) networks. In spite of their tremendous potential, adoption of the MLA has been hampered by a number of issues, particularly wavelength precision and fabrication cost. In this paper, we report high channel count MLAs in which the wavelengths of each channel can be determined precisely through low-cost standard μm-level photolithography/holographic lithography and the reconstruction-equivalent-chirp (REC) technique. 60-wavelength MLAs with good wavelength spacing uniformity have been demonstrated experimentally, in which nearly 83% lasers are within a wavelength deviation of ±0.20 nm, corresponding to a tolerance of ±0.032 nm in the period pitch. As a result of employing the equivalent phase shift technique, the single longitudinal mode (SLM) yield is nearly 100%, while the theoretical yield of standard DFB lasers is only around 33.3%

Development of a Novel Disturbance Observer Based Fractional Order PD Controller for a Gun Control System

Motion control of gun barrels is an ongoing topic for the development of gun control equipment (GCE) with excellent performances. In this paper, a novel disturbance observer (DOB) based fractional order PD (FOPD) control strategy is proposed for the GCE. By adopting the DOB, the control system behaves as if it were the nominal closed-loop system in the absence of disturbances and uncertainties. The optimal control parameters of the FOPD are determined from the loop-shaping perspective, and the Q-filter of the DOB is deliberately designed with consideration of system robustness. The linear frame of the proposed control system will enable the analysis process more convenient. The disturbance rejection properties and the tracking performances of the control system are investigated by both numerical and experimental tests, the results demonstrate that the proposed DOB based FOPD control system is of more robustness, and it is much more suitable for the gun control system with strong nonlinearity and disturbance

Multi-time scale stochastic production simulation under VHVDC long-term contract trading electricity quantity constraint

A two-layer multi-time scale stochastic production simulation framework is constructed to account for the long-term contract electricity quantity of ultra-high voltage direct current (UHVDC) transmission. On the upper layer, based on the characteristics of load demand and renewable energy output extracted from the historical operating data, monthly and daily production simulation models are carried out considering the seasonal characteristics of hydropower during a high-water period and low-water period to optimize the distribution of contract electric quantity sending through UHVDC transmission in the target year or month. According to the DC transmission electric quantity optimized by the daily production simulation in the upper layer, together with the forecast scenario, the lower layer of the framework provides the optimization of day-ahead scheduling and intra-day rolling dispatch in the implementation process. The day-ahead dispatch optimization makes full use of the adjustment capability of transmission and optimizes the DC transmission electric quantity correction. Its compensation is based on the result of the daily production simulation, then the correction will be returned to the upper layer to restart the optimization of the remaining UHVDC contract electric quantity of the subsequent period and its distribution plan. Combined with the day-ahead DC transmission plan, the intra-day rolling optimization is carried out to adjust the output of the unit using more accurate forecasting scenarios. The distributionally robust optimization model is used in the lower layer to convert an uncertain problem into a deterministic quadratically constrained quadratic programming (QCQP) problem according to the form of an uncertain distribution set. Then the QCQP problem is further converted into a linear programming (LP) problem by using the reformulation linearization technique (RLT). A test system with the energy composition and distribution referring to a real provincial power grid in northwest China is established for verification. The results show that the proposed method can effectively improve the economics of system operation and the accommodation of renewable energy based on ensuring security

All-Trans Retinoic Acid Promotes TGF-β-Induced Tregs via Histone Modification but Not DNA Demethylation on Foxp3 Gene Locus

It has been documented all-trans retinoic acid (atRA) promotes the development of TGF-β-induced CD4(+)Foxp3(+) regulatory T cells (iTreg) that play a vital role in the prevention of autoimmune responses, however, molecular mechanisms involved remain elusive. Our objective, therefore, was to determine how atRA promotes the differentiation of iTregs.Addition of atRA to naïve CD4(+)CD25(-) cells stimulated with anti-CD3/CD28 antibodies in the presence of TGF-β not only increased Foxp3(+) iTreg differentiation, but maintained Foxp3 expression through apoptosis inhibition. atRA/TGF-β-treated CD4(+) cells developed complete anergy and displayed increased suppressive activity. Infusion of atRA/TGF-β-treated CD4(+) cells resulted in the greater effects on suppressing symptoms and protecting the survival of chronic GVHD mice with typical lupus-like syndromes than did CD4(+) cells treated with TGF-β alone. atRA did not significantly affect the phosphorylation levels of Smad2/3 and still promoted iTreg differentiation in CD4(+) cells isolated from Smad3 KO and Smad2 conditional KO mice. Conversely, atRA markedly increased ERK1/2 activation, and blockade of ERK1/2 signaling completely abolished the enhanced effects of atRA on Foxp3 expression. Moreover, atRA significantly increased histone methylation and acetylation within the promoter and conserved non-coding DNA sequence (CNS) elements at the Foxp3 gene locus and the recruitment of phosphor-RNA polymerase II, while DNA methylation in the CNS3 was not significantly altered.We have identified the cellular and molecular mechanism(s) by which atRA promotes the development and maintenance of iTregs. These results will help to enhance the quantity and quality of development of iTregs and may provide novel insights into clinical cell therapy for patients with autoimmune diseases and those needing organ transplantation

Apremilast Ameliorates Experimental Arthritis via Suppression of Th1 and Th17 Cells and Enhancement of CD4+Foxp3+ Regulatory T Cells Differentiation

Apremilast is a novel phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) inhibitor suppressing immune and inflammatory responses. We assessed the anti-inflammatory effects of Apremilast in type II collagen (CII)-induced arthritis (CIA) mouse model. To determine whether Apremilast can ameliorate arthritis onset in this model, Apremilast was given orally at day 14 after CII immunization. Bone erosion was measured by histological and micro-computed tomographic analysis. Anti-mouse CII antibody levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and Th17, Th1 cells, and CD4+Foxp3+ regulatory T (Treg) cells were assessed by flow cytometry in the lymph nodes. Human cartilage and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) synovial fibroblasts (RASFs) implantation in the severe combined immunodeficiency mouse model of RA were used to study the role of Apremilast in the suppression of RASF-mediated cartilage destruction in vivo. Compared with untreated and vehicle control groups, we found that Apremilast therapy delayed arthritis onset and reduced arthritis scores in the CIA model. Total serum IgG, IgG1, IgG2a, and IgG2b were all decreased in the Apremilast treatment groups. Moreover, Apremilast markedly prevented the development of bone erosions in CIA mice by CT analysis. Furthermore, in the Apremilast treated group, the frequency of Th17 cells and Th1 cells was significantly decreased while Treg cells’ frequency was significantly increased. The high dose of Apremilast (25 mg/kg) was superior to low dose (5 mg/kg) in treating CIA. Apremilast treatment reduced the migratory ability of RASFs and their destructive effect on cartilage. Compared with the model group, Apremilast treatment significantly reduced the RASFs invasion cartilage scores in both primary implant and contralateral implant models. Our data suggest that Apremilast is effective in treating autoimmune arthritis and preventing the bone erosion in the CIA model, implicating its therapeutic potential in patients with RA