Mg-6%Al-1%Sn (mass fraction) alloy is a newly developed anode material for seawater activated batteries. The electrochemical properties of Mg-1%Sn, Mg-6%Al and Mg-6%Al-1%Sn alloys are measured by galvanostatic and potentiodynamic tests. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS) is used to characterize the microstructures of the experimental alloys. The results show that the Mg-6%Al-1%Sn alloy obtains more negative discharge potential (−1.38 V (vs SCE)) in hot-rolled condition. This is attributed to the fine dynamically recrystallized grains during the hot rolling process. After the experimental alloys are annealed at 473 K for 1 h, the discharge potentials of Mg-6%Al-1%Sn alloy are more negative than those of Mg-6%Al alloy under different current densities. After annealing at 673 K, the discharge potentials of Mg-6%Al-1%Sn alloy become more positive than those of Mg-6%Al alloy. Such phenomenon is due to the coarse grains and the second phase Mg₂Sn. The discharge potentials of Mg-1%Sn shift positively obviously in the discharge process compared with Mg-6%Al-1%Sn alloy. This is due to the corrosion products pasting on the discharge surface, which leads to anode polarization.

Anodized composite films containing SiC nanoparticles were synthesized on Ti6Al4V alloy by anodic oxidation procedure in C₄O₆H₄Na₂ electrolyte. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were employed to characterize the morphology and composition of the films fabricated in the electrolytes with and without addition of SiC nanoparticles. Results show that SiC particles can be successfully incorporated into the oxide film during the anodizing process and preferentially concentrate within internal cavities and micro-cracks. The ball-on-disk sliding tests indicate that SiC-containing oxide films register much lower wear rate than the oxide films without SiC under dry sliding condition. SiC particles are likely to melt and then are oxidized by frictional heat during sliding tests. Potentiodynamic polarization behavior reveals that the anodized alloy with SiC nanoparticles results in a reduction in passive current density to about 1.54×10⁻⁸ A/cm², which is more than two times lower than that of the TiO₂ film (3.73×10⁻⁸ A/cm²). The synthesized composite film has good anti-wear and anti-corrosion properties and the growth mechanism of nanocomposite film is also discussed.

Ni-W-P composite coatings reinforced by CeO₂ and SiO₂ nano-particles on the surface of common carbon steels, were prepared by double pulse electrodeposition. The crystallization course was characterized by phase structures, crystallinity, grain sizes and microstructures. The results indicate that as-deposited composite coating is amorphous. Whereas it turns into the crystalline structure with 98.25% crystallinity, and Ni₃P, Ni₂P and Ni₅P₂ alloy phases precipitate from structures at 400 °C. Thereafter, Ni₂P and Ni₅P₂ metastable alloy phases turn into Ni₃P stable alloy phase at 500 °C. The crystallization course of the composite coating has finished when being heat-treated at 700 °C. The average sizes of Ni grains increase with the rise of heat treatment temperature from 400 °C to 700 °C. CeO₂ and SiO₂ nano-particles deposited into Ni-W-P alloys can delay the crystallization course and habit the growth of alloy phases.

Hydrogen diffusion coefficients of different regions in the welded joint of X80 pipeline steel were measured using the electro-chemical permeation technique. Using ABAQUS software, hydrogen diffusion in X80 pipeline steel welded joint was studied in consideration of the inhomogeneity of the welding zone, and temperature-dependent thermo-physical and mechanical properties of the metals. A three dimensional finite element model was developed and a coupled thermo-mechanical-diffusion analysis was performed. Hydrogen concentration distribution across the welded joint was obtained. It is found that the postweld residual hydrogen exhibits a non-uniform distribution across the welded joint. A maximum equivalent stress occurs in the immediate vicinity of the weld metal. The heat affected zone has the highest hydrogen concentration level, followed by the weld zone and the base metal. Simulation results are well consistent with theoretical analysis.

Removal of brittle materials in the brittle or ductile mode inevitably causes damaged or strained surface layers containing cracks, scratches or dislocations. Within elastic deformation, the arrangement of each atom can be recovered back to its original position without any defects introduced. Based on surface hydroxylation and chemisorption theory, material removal mechanism of quartz glass in the elastic mode is analyzed to obtain defect-free surface. Elastic contact condition between nanoparticle and quartz glass surface is confirmed from the Hertz contact theory model. Atoms on the quartz glass surface are removed by chemical bond generated by impact reaction in the elastic mode, so no defects are generated without mechanical process. Experiment was conducted on a numerically controlled system for nanoparticle jet polishing, and one flat quartz glass was polished in the elastic mode. Results show that scratches on the sample surface are completely removed away with no mechanical defects introduced, and micro-roughness (R_a) is decreased from 1.23 nm to 0.47 nm. Functional group Ce-O-Si on ceria nanoparticles after polishing was detected directly and indirectly by FTIR, XRD and XPS spectra analysis from which the chemical impact reaction is validated.

The adsorption behavior of molybdenum onto D314 was studied with the static adsorption method. The adsorption process was analyzed from thermodynamic and kinetic aspects. The experimental results show that the equilibrium adsorption data conform satisfactorily to the Langmuir equation. In the adsorption process of D314 for molybdenum, the enthalpy change ΔH is positive when temperature is in the range of 298–338 K, which indicates that the adsorption is an endothermic process, and the elevated temperature benefits to the adsorption. Kinetic analysis shows that the adsorption rate is controlled by intraparticle diffusion and chemical diffusion at the same time. The adsorption mechanism of molybdenum onto D314 was discussed based on IR spectra.

The effects of pyrolysis mode and pyrolysis parameters on Cl content in alumina were investigated, and the alumina products were characterized by XRD, SEM and ASAP. The experimental results indicate that the spray pyrolysis efficiency is higher than that of static pyrolysis process, and the reaction and evaporation process lead to a multi-plot state of the alumina products by spray pyrolysis. Aluminum phase starts to transform into γ-Al₂O₃ at spray pyrolysis temperature of 600 °C, which is about 200 °C lower than that of static pyrolysis process. The primary particle size of γ-Al₂O₃ product is 27.62 nm, and Cl content in alumina products is 0.38% at 800 °C for 20 min.

The armored cable used in a deep-sea remotely operated vehicle (ROV) may undergo large displacement motion when subjected to dynamic actions of ship heave motion and ocean current. A novel geometrically exact finite element model for two-dimensional dynamic analysis of armored cable is presented. This model accounts for the geometric nonlinearities of large displacement of the armored cable, and effects of axial load and bending stiffness. The governing equations are derived by consistent linearization and finite element discretization of the total weak form of the armored cable system, and solved by the Newmark time integration method. To make the solution procedure avoid falling into the local extreme points, a simple adaptive stepping strategy is proposed. The presented model is validated via actual measured data. Results for dynamic configurations, motion and tension of both ends of the armored cable, and resonance-zone are presented for two numerical cases, including the dynamic analysis under the case of only ship heave motion and the case of joint action of ship heave motion and ocean current. The dynamics analysis can provide important reference for the design or product selection of the armored cable in a deep-sea ROV system so as to improve the safety of its marine operation under the sea state of 4 or above.

In order to ensure that the system has the advantage of light weight and vibration absorption, the steel rope is used as a flexible transmission part. A flexible drive unit (FDU) is developed, whose features are guided by steel rope, increasing force by the movable pulley group, modular, convenient and flexible. Dynamics model for controller is deduced based on the constitutive equation of viscoelasticity. Controller is designed for position control and is based on the viscoelasticity dynamics model compensation control strategy proposed. The control system is based on the TURBO PMAC multi-axis motion control card. Prototype loading experiments and velocity experiments results show that the FDU can reach 2 Hz with no load and the max speed of 30 (°)/s. The FDU has the capability of the load torque 11.2 N·m and the speed of 24 (°)/s simultaneously, and the frequency response is 1.3 Hz. The FDU can be used to be the pitch joint of hip for biped robot whose walking speed is 0.144 km/h theoretically.

To explore the precise dynamic response of the levitation system with active controller, a maglev guide way-electromagnet-air spring-cabin coupled model is derived firstly. Based on the mathematical model, it shows that the inherent nonlinearity, inner coupling, misalignments between the sensors and actuators, load uncertainties and external disturbances are the main issues that should be solved in engineering. Under the assumptions that the loads and external disturbance are measurable, the backstepping module controller developed in this work can tackle the above problems effectively. In reality, the load is uncertain due to the additions of luggage and passengers, which will degrade the dynamic performance. A load estimation algorithm is introduced to track the actual load asymptotically and eliminate its influence by tuning the parameters of controller online. Furthermore, considering the external disturbances generated by crosswind, pulling motor and air springs, the extended state observer is employed to estimate and suppress the external disturbance. Finally, results of numerical simulations illustrating closed-loop performance are provided.

The objective of this work was to study the vibration transmissibility characteristics of the undamped and damped smart spring systems. The frequency response characteristics of them were analyzed by using the equivalent linearization technique, and the possible types of the system motion were distinguished by using the starting and ending frequencies. The influences of system parameters on the vibration transmissibility characteristics were discussed. The following conclusions may be drawn from the analysis results. The undamped smart spring system may simultaneously have one starting frequency and one ending frequency or only have one starting frequency, and the damped system may simultaneously have two starting frequencies and one ending frequency. There is an optimal control parameter to make the peak value of the vibration transmissibility curve of the system be minimum. When the mass ratio is far away from the stiffness ratio, the vibration transmissibility is small. The effect of the damping ratio on the system vibration transmissibility is significant while the control parameter is less than its optimal value. But the influence of the relative damping ratio on the vibration transmissibility is small.

Based on the log-linear virtual age process, an imperfect preventive maintenance policy for numerical control (NC) machine tools with random maintenance quality is proposed. The proposed model is a combination of the Kijima type virtual age model and the failure intensity adjustment model. Maintenance intervals of the proposed hybrid model are derived when the failure intensity increase factor and the restoration factor are both random variables with uniform distribution. The optimal maintenance policy in infinite time horizon is presented. A numerical example is given when the failures of NC machine tools are described by the log-linear process. Finally, a discussion is presented to show how the optimal results depend on the different cost parameters.

For entire roller embedded shapemeter roll, the relationship between the value of interference fit and the sensor pre-pressure, and the pressure transfer performance of shapemeter roll were analyzed by elasticity theory during the cold reversible rolling process. Considering the influence of strip temperature on the interference fit, the distributions of contact pressure of the framework’s top surface and the sensor pre-pressure on different values of interference fit were analyzed by the finite element technology. The results show that the contact pressure of the framework’s top surface and the sensor pre-pressure increase with the increase of the value of interference fit. When the value of interference fit is between 0.05 mm and 0.09 mm, roll body’s inner hole surface, the framework and pressure magnetic sensitive component don’t separate from each other, and the sensor works in the linear segment of characteristic curve, so the normal operation of shapemeter roll is guaranteed.

Real time remaining useful life (RUL) prediction based on condition monitoring is an essential part in condition based maintenance (CBM). In the current methods about the real time RUL prediction of the nonlinear degradation process, the measurement error is not considered and forecasting uncertainty is large. Therefore, an approximate analytical RUL distribution in a closed-form of a nonlinear Wiener based degradation process with measurement errors was proposed. The maximum likelihood estimation approach was used to estimate the unknown fixed parameters in the proposed model. When the newly observed data are available, the random parameter is updated by the Bayesian method to make the estimation adapt to the item’s individual characteristic and reduce the uncertainty of the estimation. The simulation results show that considering measurement errors in the degradation process can significantly improve the accuracy of real time RUL prediction.

A new method of system failure analysis was proposed. First, considering the relationships between the failure subsystems, the decision making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) method was used to calculate the degree of correlation between the failure subsystems, analyze the combined effect of related failures, and obtain the degree of correlation by using the directed graph and matrix operations. Then, the interpretative structural modeling (ISM) method was combined to intuitively show the logical relationship of many failure subsystems and their influences on each other by using multilevel hierarchical structure model and obtaining the critical subsystems. Finally, failure mode effects and criticality analysis (FMECA) was used to perform a qualitative hazard analysis of critical subsystems, determine the critical failure mode, and clarify the direction of reliability improvement. Through an example, the result demonstrates that the proposed method can be efficiently applied to system failure analysis problems.

A motion parameter optimization method based on the objective of minimizing the total energy consumption in segment positioning was proposed for segment erector of shield tunneling machine. The segment positioning process was decomposed into rotation, lifting and sliding actions in deriving the energy calculation model of segment erection. The work of gravity was taken into account in the mathematical modeling of energy consumed by each actuator. In order to investigate the relationship between the work done by the actuator and the path moved along by the segment, the upward and downward directions as well as the operating quadrant of the segment erector were defined. Piecewise nonlinear function of energy was presented, of which the result is determined by closely coupled components as working parameters and some intermediate variables. Finally, the effectiveness of the optimization method was proved by conducting a case study with a segment erector for the tunnel with a diameter of 3 m and drawing comparisons between different assembling paths. The results show that the energy required by assembling a ring of segments along the optimized moving path can be reduced up to 5%. The method proposed in this work definitely provides an effective energy saving solution for shield tunneling machine.

In N-policy, the nodes attempt to seize the channel when the number of packets in the buffer approaches N. The performance of N-policy on the energy efficiency is widely studied in the past years. And it is presented that there exists one optimal N to minimize the energy consumption. However, it is noticed that the delay raised by N-policy receives little attention. This work mathematically proves the delay to monotonically increase with increasing N in the collision-unfree channel. For planar network where the near-to-sink nodes burden heavier traffic than the external ones, the data stemming from the latter undergo longer delay. The various-N algorithm is proposed to address this phenomenon by decreasing the threshold N of outer nodes. Without the impacting on the network longevity, the maximum delay among the network has decreased 62.9% by the algorithm. Extensive simulations are given to verify the effectiveness and correctness of our analysis.

Steganography based on bits-modification of speech frames is a kind of commonly used method, which targets at RTP payloads and offers covert communications over voice-over-IP (VoIP). However, direct modification on frames is often independent of the inherent speech features, which may lead to great degradation of speech quality. A novel frame-bitrate-change based steganography is proposed in this work, which discovers a novel covert channel for VoIP and introduces less distortion. This method exploits the feature of multi-rate speech codecs that the practical bitrate of speech frame is identified only by speech decoder at receiving end. Based on this characteristic, two steganography strategies called bitrate downgrading (BD) and bitrate switching (BS) are provided. The first strategy substitutes high bit-rate speech frames with lower ones to embed secret message, which introduces very low distortion in practice, and much less than other bits-modification based methods with the same embedding capacity. The second one encodes secret message bits into different types of speech frames, which is an alternative choice for supplement. The two strategies are implemented and tested on our covert communication system StegVoIP. The experiment results show that our proposed method is effective and fulfills the real-time requirement of VoIP communication.

The mean Hausdorff distance, though highly applicable in image registration, does not work well on partial matching images. An improvement upon traditional Hausdorff-distance-based image registration method is proposed, which consists of the following two aspects. One is to estimate transformation parameters between two images from the distributions of geometric property differences instead of establishing explicit feature correspondences. This procedure is treated as the pre-registration. The other aspect is that mean Hausdorff distance computation is replaced with the analysis of the second difference of generalized Hausdorff distance so as to eliminate the redundant points. Experimental results show that our registration method outperforms the method based on mean Hausdorff distance. The registration errors are noticeably reduced in the partial matching images.

Image enhancement technology plays a very important role to improve image quality in image processing. By enhancing some information and restraining other information selectively, it can improve image visual effect. The objective of this work is to implement the image enhancement to gray scale images using different techniques. After the fundamental methods of image enhancement processing are demonstrated, image enhancement algorithms based on space and frequency domains are systematically investigated and compared. The advantage and defect of the above-mentioned algorithms are analyzed. The algorithms of wavelet based image enhancement are also deduced and generalized. Wavelet transform modulus maxima (WTMM) is a method for detecting the fractal dimension of a signal, it is well used for image enhancement. The image techniques are compared by using the mean (µ), standard deviation (σ), mean square error (MSE) and PSNR (peak signal to noise ratio). A group of experimental results demonstrate that the image enhancement algorithm based on wavelet transform is effective for image de-noising and enhancement. Wavelet transform modulus maxima method is one of the best methods for image enhancement.

New adaptive preprocessing algorithms based on the polar coordinate system were put forward to get high-precision corneal topography calculation results. Adaptive locating algorithms of concentric circle center were created to accurately capture the circle center of original Placido-based image, expand the image into matrix centered around the circle center, and convert the matrix into the polar coordinate system with the circle center as pole. Adaptive image smoothing treatment was followed and the characteristics of useful circles were extracted via horizontal edge detection, based on useful circles presenting approximate horizontal lines while noise signals presenting vertical lines or different angles. Effective combination of different operators of morphology were designed to remedy data loss caused by noise disturbances, get complete image about circle edge detection to satisfy the requests of precise calculation on follow-up parameters. The experimental data show that the algorithms meet the requirements of practical detection with characteristics of less data loss, higher data accuracy and easier availability.

To solve the problem of advanced digital manufacturing technology in the practical application, a knowledge engineering technology was introduced into the computer numerical control (CNC) programming. The knowledge acquisition, knowledge representation and reasoning used in CNC programming were researched. The CNC programming system functional architecture of impeller parts based on knowledge based engineering (KBE) was constructed. The structural model of the general knowledge-based system (KBS) was also constructed. The KBS of CNC programming system was established through synthesizing database technology and knowledge base theory. And in the context of corporate needs, based on the knowledge-driven manufacturing platform (i.e. UG CAD/CAM), VC++6.0 and UG/Open, the KBS and UG CAD/CAM were integrated seamlessly and the intelligent CNC programming KBE system for the impeller parts was developed by integrating KBE and UG CAD/CAM system. A method to establish standard process templates was proposed, so as to develop the intelligent CNC programming system in which CNC machining process and process parameters were standardized by using this KBE system. For the impeller parts processing, the method applied in the development of the prototype system is proven to be viable, feasible and practical.

The present investigation addresses the simultaneous effects of heat and mass transfer in the mixed convection peristaltic flow of viscous fluid in an asymmetric channel. The channel walls exhibit the convective boundary conditions. In addition, the effects due to Soret and Dufour are taken into consideration. Resulting problems are solved for the series solutions. Numerical values of heat and mass transfer rates are displayed and studied. Results indicate that the concentration and temperature of the fluid increase whereas the mass transfer rate at the wall decreases with increase of the mass transfer Biot number. Furthermore, it is observed that the temperature decreases with the increase of the heat transfer Biot number.

A simple and highly accurate semi-analytical method, called the differential transformation method (DTM), was used for solving the nonlinear temperature distribution equation in solid and porous longitudinal fin with temperature dependent internal heat generation. The problem was solved for two main cases. In the first case, heat generation was assumed variable by fin temperature for a solid fin and in second heat generation varied with temperature for a porous fin. Results are presented for the temperature distribution for a range of values of parameters appearing in the mathematical formulation (e.g. N, ɛ_G, and G). Results reveal that DTM is very effective and convenient. Also, it is found that this method can achieve more suitable results in comparison to numerical methods.

In order to reveal the mechanics of composite regeneration by coupling cerium-based additive and microwave for a diesel particulate filter, a composite regeneration model by coupling cerium-based additive and microwave for a diesel particulate filter was established based on field synergy theory. Performance evaluation on field synergy and composite regeneration of the diesel particulate filter was conducted by using the vortex crushing combustion and field synergy mathematical models. The results show that the peak temperature of the particulate filter body reaches 1180–1190 K when the regeneration time is 175 s, and there are optimal coordination degree between the velocity vector and temperature gradient of the filter body and the maximum ratio 0.56–0.60 of the best burning regeneration region is obtained. Accordingly, the largest regeneration combustion rate inside the particulate filter body and the highest regeneration efficiency at the moment are achieved.

Dynamic performance is important to the controlling and monitoring of the organic Rankine cycle(ORC) system so to avoid the occurrence of unwanted conditions. A small scale waste heat recovery system with organic Rankine cycle was constructed and the dynamic behavior was presented. In the dynamic test, the pump was stopped and then started. In addition, there was a step change of the flue gas volume flow rate and the converter frequency of multistage pump, respectively. The results indicate that the working fluid flow rate has the shortest response time, followed by the expander inlet pressure and the expander inlet temperature. The operation frequency of pump is a key parameter for the ORC system. Due to a step change of pump frequency (39.49–35.24 Hz), the expander efficiency and thermal efficiency drop by 16% and 21% within 2 min, respectively. Besides, the saturated mixture can lead to an increase of the expander rotation speed.

Thermal decomposition of 21 kinds of binary mixtures between typical medical compositions was investigated under nitrogen conditions by dynamic thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) at 25–800 °C. The weighed sum method (WSM) coupled with thermal analysis was applied to study the interaction between components. Then, co-pyrolysis kinetic model of the binary mixtures (tube for transfusion (TFT) and gauze) was established to verify the reliability of conclusions. The results show the follows. 1) Strong or weak interactions are shown between binary mixtures containing polyvinyl chloride (PVC), the main ingredient of TFT. The addition of other medical waste could enhance first stage decomposition of TFT. While, the secondary stage pyrolysis may be suppressed or enhanced or not affected by the addition. 2) There exists no interaction between catheter and other component, the DTG peak temperature representing CaCO₃ decomposition in catheter fraction is obviously lower than that of pure catheter; while, the shape of DTG peak keeps unchanged. 3) No evident reaction occurs between the other mix-samples, it is considered that their co-pyrolysis characteristics are linear superposition of mono-component pyrolysis characteristics.

The aim of this work was to investigate the effect of different surfactants on the removal efficiency of heavy metals in sewage sludge treated by a method combining bio-acidification with Fenton oxidation. Four surfactants were adopted such as anionic surfactant (sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate, SDBS), nonionic surfactants (tween-20 and tween-60) and cationic surfactant (hexadecyl trimethyl ammonium chloride, HTAC), respectively. The indigenous sulfur-oxidizing bacteria in bio-acidification phase were enriched and cultured from fresh activated sludge obtained from a wastewater treatment plant. It is shown that different surfactants exhibited distinct effect on the removal efficiency of heavy metals from sewage sludge. The nonionic surfactants, especially tween-60, promotes the solubilization of heavy metals, while the anionic and cationic surfactants hinder the removal of heavy metals. Copper is efficiently leached. The removal efficiency of cadium is relatively lower than that of Cu due to the demand for rigorous pH value. Lead is leached with a low efficiency as the formation of low soluble PbSO₄ precipitates.

The sand-conglomerate fans are the major depositional systems in the lower third member of Shahejie Formation in Shengtuo area, which formed in the deep lacustrine environment characterized by steep slope gradient, near sources and intensive tectonic activity. This work was focused on the sedimentary feature of the glutenite segment to conduct the seismic sedimentology research. The near-shore subaqueous fans and its relative gravity channel and slump turbidite fan depositions were identified according to observation and description of cores combining with the numerous data of seismic and logging. Then, the depositional model was built depending on the analysis of palaeogeomorphology. The seismic attributes which are related to the hydrocarbon but relative independent were chosen to conduct the analysis, the reservoir area of the glutenite segment was found performing a distribution where the amplitude value is relatively higher, and finally the RMS amplitude attribute was chosen to conduct the attribute predicting. At the same time, the horizontal distribution of the sedimentary facies was analyzed qualitatively. At last, the sparse spike inversion method was used to conduct the acoustic impedance inversion, and the inversion result can distinguish glutenite reservoir which is greater than 5 m. This method quantitatively characterizes the distribution area of the favorable reservoir sand.

Significant changes in spontaneous potential and exciting currents are observed during water and grout injection in a simulated porous media. Obvious correlations between the seepage flow field and the electric field in the porous media are identified. In this work, a detailed experimental study of geoelectric field variation occurring in water migration was reported by analyzing water and grout injection processes in a simulated porous media. The spontaneous potential varies linearly with the thickness of unsaturated porous media. Very interestingly, the spontaneous potential generated in the second grout injection exhibits some “memory” of previous grouting paths. The decreases in spontaneous potential observed during grout injection is very probably due to that the spontaneous potential variations are primarily caused by electro-filtration potential, as indicated by the far larger viscosity of grout compared to that of water. The geoelectric response can be utilized to effectively identify the grouting paths in water-bearing rocks.

Failure of rock under impact loadings involves complex micro-fracturing and progressive damage. Strength increase and splitting failure have been observed during dynamic tests of rock materials. However, the failure mechanism still remains unclear. In this work, based on laboratory tests, numerical simulations with the particle flow code (PFC) were carried out to reproduce the micro-fracturing process of granite specimens. Shear and tensile cracks were both recorded to investigate the failure mode of rocks under different loading conditions. At the same time, a dynamic damage model based on the Weibull distribution was established to predict the deformation and degradation behavior of specimens. It is found that micro-cracks play important roles in controlling the dynamic deformation and failure process of rock under impact loadings. The sharp increase in the number of cracks may be the reason for the strength increase of rock under high strain rates. Tensile cracks tend to be the key reason for splitting failure of specimens. Numerical simulation of crack propagation by PFC can give vivid description of the failure process. However, it is not enough for evaluation of material degradation. The dynamic damage model is able to predict the stress-strain relationship of specimens reasonably well, and can be used to explain the degradation of specimens under impact loadings at macro-scale. Crack and damage can describe material degradation at different scales and can be used together to reveal the failure mechanism of rocks.

The shear behavior of rock joints is important in solving practical problems of rock mechanics. Three group rock joints with different morphologies are made by cement mortar material and a series of CNL (constant normal loading) shear tests are performed. The influences of the applied normal stress and joint morphology to its shear strength are analyzed. According to the experimental results, the peak dilatancy angle of rock joint decreases with increasing normal stress, but increases with increasing roughness. The shear strength increases with the increasing normal stress and the roughness of rock joint. It is observed that the modes of failure of asperities are tensile, pure shear, or a combination of both. It is suggested that the three-dimensional roughness parameters and the tensile strength are the appropriate parameter for describing the shear strength criterion. A new peak shear criterion is proposed which can be used to predict peak shear strength of rock joints. All the used parameters can be easily obtained by performing tests.

Large amount of groundwater discharging from tunnel is likely to cause destruction of the ecological environment in the vicinity of the tunnel, thus an appropriate drainage criterion should be established to balance the tunnel construction and groundwater. To assess the related problems, an limiting drainage standard ranging from 0.5 to 2.0 m³/(m·d) was suggested for mountain tunnels based on survey and comparative analysis. After that, for the purpose of verifying the rationality of the standard, a calculated formula for dewatering funnel volume caused by drainage was deduced on the basis of the groundwater dynamics and experience method. Furthermore, the equation about the relationship between water discharge and drawdown of groundwater table was presented. The permeability coefficient, specific yield and groundwater table value were introduced, and then combined with the above equation, the drawdown of groundwater table under the proposed limiting drainage criterion was calculated. It is shown that the proposed drainage standard can reach the purpose of protecting ecological environment under the following two conditions. One is the permeability coefficient ranges from 10⁻⁴ to 10⁻⁵ m/s and the specific yield ranges from 0.1 to 0.001. The other is the permeability coefficient varies from 10⁻⁶ to 10⁻⁸ m/s and the specific yield varies from 0.1 to 0.01. In addition, a majority of common geotechnical layers are involved in the above ranges. Thus, the proposed limiting drainage standard which ranges from 0.5 to 2.0 m³/(m·d) for mountain tunnel is reasonable.

Based on nonlinear Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion, the analytical solutions of stability number and supporting force on twin shallow tunnels were derived using upper bound theorem of limit analysis. The optimized solutions were obtained by the technique of sequential quadratic programming. When nonlinear coefficient equals 1 and internal friction angle equals 0, the nonlinear Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion degenerates into linear failure criterion. The calculated results of stability number in this work were compared with previous results, and the agreement verifies the effectiveness of the present method. Under the condition of nonlinear Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion, the results show that the supporting force on twin shallow tunnels obviously increases when the nonlinear coefficient, burial depth, ground load or pore water pressure coefficients increase. When the clear distance is 0.5 to 1.0 times the diameter of tunnel, the supporting force of twin shallow tunnels reaches its maximum value, which means that the tunnels are the easiest to collapse. While the clear distance increases to 3.5 times the diameter of tunnel, the calculation for twin shallow tunnels can be carried out by the method for independent single shallow tunnel. Therefore, 3.5 times the diameter of tunnel serves as a critical value to determine whether twin shallow tunnels influence each other. In designing twin shallow tunnels, appropriate clear distance value must be selected according to its change rules and actual topographic conditions, meanwhile, the influences of nonlinear failure criterion of soil materials and pore water must be completely considered. During the excavation process, supporting system should be intensified at the positions of larger burial depth or ground load to avoid collapses.

The weak intercalated soils in redbed soft rocks of Badong formation have obvious creep characters. In order to predict the unsaturated creep behaviors of weak intercalated soils, an unsaturated creep model was established based on the unsaturated creep tests of weak intercalated soils by using GDS triaxial apparatus. The results show that the creep behaviors of intercalated soils are apparent and significantly affected by matric suction. Based on this, an empirical Mesri creep model for intercalated soils under varying matric suctions was built. The fitting results show that the parameters E_d and m of this model are in good power relations with matric suction s and stress level D_r, respectively. An improved Mesri creep model was established involving stress-matric suction-strain-time, which is more precise than the Mesri creep model in predicting the unsaturated creep behaviors of weak intercalated soils.

Based on mineral component and in-situ vane shear strength of deep-sea sediment, four kinds of simulative soils were prepared by mixing different bentonites with water in order to find the best simulative soil for the deep-sea sediment collected from the Pacific C-C area. Shear creep characteristics of the simulative soil were studied by shear creep test and shear creep parameters were determined by Burgers creep model. Research results show that the shear creep curves of the simulative soil can be divided into transient creep, unstable creep and stable creep, where the unstable creep stage is very short due to its high water content. The shear creep parameters increase with compressive stress and change slightly or fluctuate to approach a constant value with shear stress, and thus average creep parameters under the same compressive stress are used as the creep parameters of the simulative soil. Traction of the deep-sea mining machine walking at a constant velocity can be calculated by the shear creep constitutive equation of the deep-sea simulative soil, which provides a theoretical basis for safe operation and optimal design of the deep-sea mining machine.

A new approach was proposed to describe settlement behavior of an unsaturated soil with subgrade filling for high-speed railway. Firstly, based on Terzaghi consolidation theory, equations considering the variation coefficient of consolidation with void ratio and saturation for consolidation of an unsaturated soil under stage continuous loading were derived, and according to analytical solutions of equations, a formula for settlement computation under stage continuous loading was obtained. Then, combined with the width-to-height ratio of subgrade to compute ground reaction, and by means of in-situ plate loading curves, a correctional approach was presented for the analysis of nonlinear settlement of foundation. Also, the comparison between calculated and measured load-settlement behavior for an unsaturated soil in Qingdao-Ji’nan high-speed railway was given to demonstrate the effectiveness and accuracy of the proposed approach. It can be noted that the presented solution can be used to predict the settlement of an unsaturated soil foundation under stage continuous loading in engineering design.

In the research field of ground water, hydraulic gradient is studied for decades. In the consolidation field, hydraulic gradient is yet to be investigated as an important hydraulic variable. So, the variation of hydraulic gradient in nonlinear finite strain consolidation was focused on in this work. Based on lab tests, the nonlinear compressibility and nonlinear permeability of Ningbo soft clay were obtained. Then, a strongly nonlinear governing equation was derived and it was solved with the finite element method. Afterwards, the numerical analysis was performed and it was verified with the existing experiment for Hong Kong marine clay. It can be found that the variation of hydraulic gradient is closely related to the magnitude of external load and the depth in soils. It is interesting that the absolute value of hydraulic gradient (AVHG) increases rapidly first and then decreases gradually after reaching the maximum at different depths of soils. Furthermore, the changing curves of AVHG can be roughly divided into five phases. This five-phase model can be employed to study the migration of pore water during consolidation.

From the mathematical principles, the generalized potential theory can be employed to create constitutive model of geomaterial directly. The similar Cam-clay model, which is created based on the generalized potential theory, has less assumptions, clearer mathematical basis, and better computational accuracy. Theoretically, it is more scientific than the traditional Cam-clay models. The particle flow code PFC3D was used to make numerical tests to verify the rationality and practicality of the similar Cam-clay model. The verification process was as follows: 1) creating the soil sample for numerical test in PFC3D, and then simulating the conventional triaxial compression test, isotropic compression test, and isotropic unloading test by PFC3D; 2) determining the parameters of the similar Cam-clay model from the results of above tests; 3) predicting the sample’s behavior in triaxial tests under different stress paths by the similar Cam-clay model, and comparing the predicting results with predictions by the Cam-clay model and the modified Cam-clay model. The analysis results show that the similar Cam-clay model has relatively high prediction accuracy, as well as good practical value.

The effect of moisture content upon compressive mechanical behavior of concrete under impact loading was studied. The axial rapid compressive loading tests of over 50 specimens with five different saturations were executed. The technique “split Hopkinson pressure bar” (SHPB) was used. The impact velocity was 10 m/s with corresponding strain rate of 50 s⁻¹. The compressive behavior of materials was measured in terms of stress-strain curves, dynamic compressive strength, dynamic increase factor (DIF) and critical strain at a maximum stress. The data obtained from test indicate that both ascending and descending portions of stress-stain curves are affected by moisture content. However, the effect is noted to be more significant in ascending portion of the stress-strain curves. Dynamic compressive strength is higher at lower moisture content and weaker at higher moisture content. Furthermore, under nearly saturated condition, an increase in compressive strength can be found. The effect of moisture content on the average DIF of concrete is not significant. The critical compressive strain of concrete does not change with moisture content.

The damage process of concrete exposed to sodium sulfate attack and drying-wetting cycles was investigated. The water to binder (W/B) ratio and the concentration of sulfate solution were taken as variable parameters. Through the experiment, visual change, relative dynamic modulus of elasticity (RDME) and the surface damage layer thickness of concrete were measured. Furthermore, SEM and thermal analysis were used to investigate the changing of microstructure and corrosion products of concrete. The test results show that the ultrasonic velocity is related to the damage layer of concrete. It approves that an increase in damage layer thickness reduces the compactness and the ultrasonic velocity. The deterioration degree of concrete could be estimated effectively by measuring the surface damage layer and the RDME of concrete. It is also found that the content of gypsum in concrete is less than that of ettringite in test, and some gypsum is checked only after a certain corrosion extent. When the concrete is with high W/B ratio or exposed to high concentration of sulfate solution, the content of ettringite first increases and then decreases with corrosion time. However, the content of gypsum increases at a steady rate. The content of corrosion products does not correspond well with the observations of RDME change, and extensive amount of corrosion products can be formed before obvious damage occurs.

Video processing is one challenge in collecting vehicle trajectories from unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and road boundary estimation is one way to improve the video processing algorithms. However, current methods do not work well for low volume road, which is not well-marked and with noises such as vehicle tracks. A fusion-based method termed Dempster-Shafer-based road detection (DSRD) is proposed to address this issue. This method detects road boundary by combining multiple information sources using Dempster-Shafer theory (DST). In order to test the performance of the proposed method, two field experiments were conducted, one of which was on a highway partially covered by snow and another was on a dense traffic highway. The results show that DSRD is robust and accurate, whose detection rates are 100% and 99.8% compared with manual detection results. Then, DSRD is adopted to improve UAV video processing algorithm, and the vehicle detection and tracking rate are improved by 2.7% and 5.5%, respectively. Also, the computation time has decreased by 5% and 8.3% for two experiments, respectively.

An optimization model and its solution algorithm for alternate traffic restriction (ATR) schemes were introduced in terms of both the restriction districts and the proportion of restricted automobiles. A bi-level programming model was proposed to model the ATR scheme optimization problem by aiming at consumer surplus maximization and overload flow minimization at the upper-level model. At the lower-level model, elastic demand, mode choice and multi-class user equilibrium assignment were synthetically optimized. A genetic algorithm involving prolonging codes was constructed, demonstrating high computing efficiency in that it dynamically includes newly-appearing overload links in the codes so as to reduce the subsequent searching range. Moreover, practical processing approaches were suggested, which may improve the operability of the model-based solutions.

A schematic to make the spectra of the exterior noise of high speed railway was put forward. The exterior noise spectrum was defined based on the characteristics of the high-speed train exterior noise. Its characteristics considered here include identifying the exterior main sources and their locations, their frequency components including the Doppler effect due to the noise sources moving at high speed, the sound field intensity around the train in high-speed operation, the sound radiation path out of the train, and the pressure level and frequency components of the noise at the measuring points specified by the International Organization for Standardization(ISO). The characteristics of the high-speed train exterior noise of the high speed railways in operation were introduced. The advanced measuring systems and their principles for clearly indentifying the exterior noise sources were discussed in detail. Based on the concerned noise results measured at sites, a prediction model was developed to calculate the sound level and the characteristics of the exterior noise at any point where it is difficult to measure and to help to make the exterior noise spectrums. This model was also verified with the test results. The verification shows that there is a good agreement between the theoretical and experimental results.