The effects of pre-aging treatments on subsequent artificial aging response were investigated by means of transmission electron microscopy observations and hardness test in age hardened Al-3.95Cu-(1.32Mg)-0.52Mn-0.11Zr alloys. In Al-3.95Cu-0.52Mn-0.11Zr alloy, when the pre-aging temperature is 25 °C, the pre-aging treatment has no evident effect on the peak hardness of subsequent artificial aging, while a positive effect (increase of peak hardness) appears when pre-aging temperature is 50 °C. However, in Al-3.95Cu-1.32Mg-0.52Mn-0.11Zr alloy, it is found that whether the pre-aging temperature is 25 °C or 50 °C, the peak artificial aging hardness is lower than that of T6 treated alloy, that is to say, pre-aging treatment has a negative effect on the peak hardness of subsequent artificial aging in the alloys.

RuO₂·nH₂O film was deposited on tantalum foils by electrodeposition and heat treatment using RuCl₃·3H₂O as precursor. Surface morphology, composition change and cyclic voltammetry from precursor to amorphous and crystalline RuO₂·nH₂O films were studied by X-ray diffractometer, Fourier transformation infrared spectrometer, differential thermal analyzer, scanning electron microscope and electrochemical analyzer, respectively. The results show that the precursor was transformed gradually from amorphous to crystalline phase with temperature. When heat treated at 300 °C for 2 h, RuO₂·nH₂O electrode surface gains mass of 2.5 mg/cm² with specific capacitance of 782 F/g. Besides, it is found that the specific capacitance of the film decreased by roughly 20% with voltage scan rate increasing from 5 to 250 mV/s.

The phase compositions and properties of Ti₃SiC₂-based composites with SiC addition of 5%–30% in mass fraction fabricated by in-situ reaction and hot pressing sintering were studied. SiC addition effectively prevented TiC synthesis but facilitated SiC synthesis. The Ti₃SiC₂/TiC-SiC composite had better oxidation resistance when SiC added quantity reached 20% but poorer oxidation resistance with SiC addition under 15% than Ti₃SiC₂/TiC composite at higher temperatures. There were more than half of the original SiC and a few Ti₃SiC₂ remaining in Ti₃SiC₂/TiC-SiC with 20% SiC addition, but all constituents in Ti₃Si₂/TiC composite were oxidized after 12 h in air at 1500 °C. The oxidation scale thickness of TS30, 1505.78 μm, was near a half of that of T, 2715 μm, at 1500 °C for 20 h. Ti₃SiC₂/TiC composite had a flexural strength of 474 MPa, which was surpassed by Ti₃SiC₂/TiC-SiC composites when SiC added amount reached 15%. The strength reached the peak of 518 MPa at 20% SiC added amount.

Fe-Ni-Y₂O₃ nanocomposites with uniform distribution of fine oxide particles in the gamma FeNi matrix were successfully fabricated via solution combustion followed by hydrogen reduction. The morphological characteristics and phase transformation of the combusted powder and the Fe-Ni-Y₂O₃ nanocomposites were characterized by XRD, FESEM and TEM. Porous Fe-Ni-Y₂O₃ nanocomposites with crystallite size below 100 nm were obtained after reduction. The morphology, phases and magnetic property of Fe-Ni-Y₂O₃ nanocomposites reduced at different temperatures were investigated. The Fe-Ni-Y₂O₃ nanocomposite reduced at 900 °C has the maximum saturation magnetization and the minimum coercivity values of 167.41 A/(m²·kg) and 3.11 kA/m, respectively.

Flash point is a primary property used to determine the fire and explosion hazards of a liquid. New group contribution-based models were presented for estimation of the flash point of alkanes by the use of multiple linear regression (MLR) and artificial neural network (ANN). This simple linear model shows a low average relative deviation (AARD) of 2.8% for a data set including 50 (40 for training set and 10 for validation set) flash points. Furthermore, the predictive ability of the model was evaluated using LOO cross validation. The results demonstrate ANN model is clearly superior both in fitness and in prediction performance. ANN model has only the average absolute deviation of 2.9 K and the average relative deviation of 0.72%.

An inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) method was developed for the determination of Na, Mg, Al, K, Ca, Ti, Cr, Co, Ni, Cu, Ga, As, Mo, Ag, Cd and Pb in MnZn ferrites. The sample was digested by HNO₃+HCl with microwave digestion followed by dilution with ultrapure water, then the above 16 impurity elements in the solution were analyzed directly by ICP-MS. The impurity elements were introduced by the helium gas or hydrogen gas into the octopole reaction system (ORS) to eliminate the polyatomic interferences caused by the high salty matrixes. The matrix effect was minimized through matrix matching, and Be, Y and Rh were used as internal standard elements. The working parameters of the instrument were optimized. The results show that the method has good precision and high accuracy. The detection limits for the investigated elements are in the range of 0.9–37.5 ng/L, the relative standard deviation of each element is within 1.1%–4.8%, and the recovery of each element is 90%–108%.

To make sure the intermediate products of the carbothermic reduction of Al₂O₃ process, such as Al₄CO₄, Al₂CO and Al₄C₃, and the interaction of AlCl, AlCl₂, AlCl₃ with Al₄CO₄, Al₂CO and Al₄C₃, respectively, thermodynamic analyses were used to study the chloride reaction production of them under the vacuum situation. The stable structures and electronic properties of AlCl, AlCl₂ and AlCl₃ adsorbed on Al₄CO₄, Al₂CO and Al₄C₃ were calculated by first-principles calculations by the CASTEP module in the Materials Studio program. The results show that the AlCl₃ and AlCl₂ molecules have decomposed on the plane of Al₄C₃ (001), while there are no obvious decomposition of AlCl₃ and AlCl₂ on Al₄CO₄ (001) and Al₂CO (001) planes. The adsorption of AlCl on the Al₄CO₄ (001) and Al₂CO (001) planes is stronger than that on the Al₄C₃(001) plane. The interaction strength of AlCl₃, as well as AlCl₂, with Al₄CO₄, Al₂CO and Al₄C₃ is in the sequence of Al₄CO₄<Al₂CO<Al₄C₃, while the interaction strength of AlCl with Al₄CO₄, Al₂CO and Al₄C₃ is in the sequence of Al₄CO₄>Al₂CO>Al₄C₃.

In order to reasonably utilize the iron resources of copper slags, the smelting chlorination process was used to remove copper from copper slags. Higher holding temperature and O₂ flow rate are beneficial to increasing copper removal rate. However, the Cu₂O mode is formed by the reaction of surplus O₂ and CuCl with O₂ flow rate increasing over 0.4 L/min, causing CuCl volatilization rate and copper removal rate to decrease. The resulting copper removal rate of 84.34% is obtained under the optimum conditions of holding temperature of 1573 K, residence time of 10 min, CaCl₂ addition amount of 0.1 (mass ratio of CaCl₂ and the copper slag) and oxygen flow rate of 0.4 L/min. The efficient removal of copper from copper slags through chlorination is feasible.

A refractory gold concentrate with 19% arsenic was treated by a mixed moderately thermophiles in an airlift bioreactor through an adaptation protocol. The moderately thermophiles could respond well to 20% (w/v) pulp density with less than 10% loss of productivity, and resist arsenic up to 15 g/L. There were a lot of jarosite, arsenolite and sulfur, but not scorodite and ferric arsenate in the bioleached residue. Jarosite passivation and lower sulfur-oxidizing activity of the cells due to the toxicity of the high concentrations of soluble arsenic and iron ions at low pH value should mainly response for the incomplete extraction at high pulp density. The initial bacterial community did not change in nature except for new found P aeruginosa ANSC, but sulfur-oxidizing microorganisms have been dominant microorganisms after a long time of adaptation. Pseudomonas aeruginosa originating from the gold concentrate should be closely relative to the metabolism of the organic matters contained in the refractory gold concentrate.

The effects of root oxidization ability and P fertilization on As mobility in soils, and subsequently As uptake, translocation and speciation in rice plants were investigated. Results show that root oxidation significantly influences As mobility in rhizoshphere. Genotype TD71 with higher radial oxygen loss (ROL) induces more Fe plaque formation and sequesters more As and P in iron plaque and rhizoshphere soil, leading to the reduction of As accumulation in rice plants. Additionally, P addition mobilizes As in soil solution, and increases As accumulation in rice plants. Arsenic speciation results show that the majority of As species in husks detected is inorganic As, accounting for 82%–93% of the total As, while in grains the majority of As is inorganic As and dimethyl arsenic (DMA), with DMA accounting for 33%–64% of the total As. The fraction of inorganic As decreases while fraction of DMA increases, with increasing As and P concentrations. The study further elucidates the mechanisms involved in effects of ROL on As tolerance and accumulation in rice.

Nitric oxide (NO) from flue gas is hard to remove because of low solubility and reactivity. A new technology for photocatalytic oxidation of NO using ultraviolet (UV)/TiO₂/H₂O₂ process is studied in an efficient laboratory-scale reactor. Effects of several key operational parameters on NO removal efficiency are studied, including TiO₂ content, H₂O₂ initial concentration, UV lamp power, NO initial content, oxygen volume fraction and TiO₂/H₂O₂ solution volume. The results illustrate that the NO removal efficiency increases with the increasing of H₂O₂ initial concentration or UV lamp power. Meanwhile, a lower NO initial content or a higher TiO₂/H₂O₂ solution volume will result in higher NO removal efficiency. In addition, oxygen volume fraction has a little effect. The highest NO removal efficiency is achieved at the TiO₂ content of 0.75 g/L, H₂O₂ initial concentration of 2.5 mol/L, UV lamp power of 36 W, NO initial content of 206×10⁻⁶ and TiO₂/H₂O₂ solution volume of 600 mL. It is beneficial for the development and application of NO removal from coal-fired flue gas with UV/TiO₂/H₂O₂ process.

Fungi Z4 and Z8, isolated from the heavy metal polluted soil, have strong resistance to Cd and Pb. The strains were identified on the base of their morphology and internal transcribed spacers (ITS) region. Pot experiments were conducted to study the effect of two strains (Z4 and Z8) on the growth and accumulation of Cd and Pb of Guizhou oilseed rape. The results show that strains Z4 and Z8 belong to Mucor circinelloides and Mucor racemosus, respectively. The heights of Guizhou oilseed rape inoculated with strain Z8 increase by 47.90% than the control. The highest fresh mass is found in the plant with Z4/Z8, which is enhanced by 160.81%. Pot experiments show that Z4/Z8 inoculums can accelerate accumulation of heavy metals in the plant. The contents of Cd and Pb are increased by 117.60% and 63.48%, respectively. Meanwhile, the heavy metal concentrations in potting soil with the two strains are found to be lower than those of the control, and the concentrations of Cd and Pb are decreased by 60.57% and 27.12%, respectively.

Based on ecological niche theory, Microcystis Aeruginosa (MA) immobilized in the complex of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and sodium alginate (SA) crosslinked by CaCl₂, was treated as a new kind of special species, and its properties were investigated. Chlorophyll a was used to characterize the bioactivity of the immobilized MA. Results reveal that the gel beads have mechanical strength and chemical stability even under non-sterile harsh conditions, which may be attributed to the rarely seen structure (including three different layers: dense surface, tubular-shaped divergent structure and honeycomb crystal lattice layer) of the immobilized MA determined by scanning electron microscope (SEM). SEM also displays that more quantity of MA is attached to the inwall after cultivation, which demonstrates that the MA within beads maintains high bioactivity. Removal capacities on phosphorous (P) removal in wastewater in the presence and absence of the BG-11 medium were examined, and the removal ratios are 80.3% and 76.7%, respectively, which indicates that the beads without providing ample nutrients still have high capacity of P removal. In addition, control experiment, utilizing polyvinyl alcohol and sodium alginate (PVA-SA) beads without immobilized MA, demonstrates that MA within beads plays the key role in absorbing P.

A batch experiment was conducted to investigate the adsorption of an acid dye (Acid Orange 51) and a basic dye (Safranine) from aqueous solutions by the sludge-based activated carbon (SBAC). The results show that the adsorption of Acid Orange 51 decreases at high pH values, whereas the uptake of Safranine is higher in neutral and alkaline solutions than that in acidic conditions. The adsorption time needed for Safranine to reach equilibrium is shorter than that for Acid Orange 51. The uptakes of the dyes both increase with temperature increasing, indicating that the adsorption process of the dyes onto SBAC is endothermic. The equilibrium data of the dyes are both best represented by the Redlich-Peterson model. At 25 °C, the maximum adsorption capacities of SBAC for Acid Orange 51 and Safranine are 248.70 mg/g and 525.84 mg/g, respectively. The Elovich model is found to best describe the adsorption process of both dyes, indicating that the rate-limiting step involves the chemisorption. It can be concluded that SBAC is a promising material for the removal of Acid Orange 51 and Safranine from aqueous solutions.

This work proposes a map-based control method to improve a vehicle’s lateral stability, and the performance of the proposed method is compared with that of the conventional model-referenced control method. Model-referenced control uses the sliding mode method to determine the compensated yaw moment; in contrast, the proposed map-based control uses the compensated yaw moment map acquired by vehicle stability analysis. The vehicle stability region is calculated by a topological method based on the trajectory reversal method. A 2-DOF vehicle model and Pacejka’s tire model are used to evaluate the proposed map-based control method. The properties of model-referenced control and map-based control are compared under various road conditions and driving inputs. Model-referenced control uses a control input to satisfy the linear reference model, and it generates unnecessary tire lateral forces that may lead to worse performance than an uncontrolled vehicle with step steering input on a road with a low friction coefficient. However, map-based control determines a compensated yaw moment to maintain the vehicle within the stability region, so the typical responses of vehicle enable to converge rapidly. The simulation results with sine and step steering show that map-based control provides better the tracking responsibility and control performance than model-referenced control.

In order to reduce both the weight of vehicles and the damage of occupants in a crash event simultaneously, it is necessary to perform a multi-objective optimal design of the automotive energy absorbing components. Modified non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II (NSGA II) was used for multi-objective optimization of automotive S-rail considering absorbed energy (E), peak crushing force (F_max) and mass of the structure (W) as three conflicting objective functions. In the multi-objective optimization problem (MOP), E and F_max are defined by polynomial models extracted using the software GEvoM based on train and test data obtained from numerical simulation of quasi-static crushing of the S-rail using ABAQUS. Finally, the nearest to ideal point (NIP) method and technique for ordering preferences by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) method are used to find the some trade-off optimum design points from all non-dominated optimum design points represented by the Pareto fronts. Results represent that the optimum design point obtained from TOPSIS method exhibits better trade-off in comparison with that of optimum design point obtained from NIP method.

In view of an entire dynamic model of tilting-pad journal bearing (TPJB) in which the pads swing and vibrate along geometric direction of preload, a TPJB of elastic and damped pivots was designed and manufactured. Vibration experiments were carried out under the conditions of different rotor bending stiffness and oil supply pressure to find out the relationship between the new bearing’s vibration depression effect and other dynamic parameters of the rotor. The result shows that critical amplitudes can be efficaciously reduced while system’s stability can be remarkably improved by this bearing. Besides, the bearing’s effect of vibration depression weakens as the rotor bending stiffness increases, but heightens it as the oil supply pressure increases.

A layered modeling method is proposed to resolve the problems resulting from the complexity of the error model of a multi-axis motion control system. In this model, a low level layer can be used as a virtual axis by the high level layer. The first advantage of this model is that the complex error model of a four-axis motion control system can be divided into several simple layers and each layer has different coupling strength to match the real control system. The second advantage lies in the fact that the controller in each layer can be designed specifically for a certain purpose. In this research, a three-layered cross coupling scheme in a four-axis motion control system is proposed to compensate the contouring error of the motion control system. Simulation results show that the maximum contouring error is reduced from 0.208 mm to 0.022 mm and the integration of absolute error is reduced from 0.108 mm to 0.015 mm, which are respectively better than 0.027 mm and 0.037 mm by the traditional method. And in the bottom layer the proposed method also has remarkable ability to achieve high contouring accuracy.

This work was focused on the model-based design method of two-axis four-actuator (TAFA) fast steering mirror system (FSM), in order to improve the design efficiency. The structure and operation principle commonality of normal TAFA FSM were investigated. Based on the structure and the commonality, the conditions of single-axis idea, high-frequency resonance and coupling were modeled gradually. Combining these models, a holonomic system model was established to reflect and predict the performance of TAFA FSM. A model-based design method was proposed based on the holonomic system model. The design flow and design concept of the method were described. In accordance with the method, a TAFA FSM was designed. Simulations and experiments of the FSM were done, and the results of them were compared. The compared results indicate that the holonomic system model can well reflect and predict the performance of TAFA FSM. The bandwidth of TAFA FSM is more than 250 Hz; adjust time is less than 15 ms; overshoot is less than 8%; position accuracy is better than 10 μrad; the FSM prototype can satisfy the requirements.

As the stiffness of the elastic support varies with the physical-chemical erosion and mechanical friction, model catastrophe of a single degree-of-freedom (DOF) isolation system may occur. A 3-DOF four-point-elastic-support rigid plate (FERP) structure is presented to describe the catastrophic isolation system. Based on the newly-established structure, theoretical derivation for stiffness matrix calculation by free response (SMCbyFR) and the method of stiffness identification by stiffness matrix disassembly (SIbySMD) are proposed. By integrating the SMCbyFR and the SIbySMD and defining the stiffness assurance criterion (SAC), the procedures for stiffness identification of a FERP structure (SIFERP) are summarized. Then, a numerical example is adopted for the SIFERP validation, in which the simulated tested free response data are generated by the numerical methods, and operation for filtering noise is conducted to imitate the practical application. Results in the numerical example demonstrate the feasibility and accuracy of the developed SIFERP for stiffness identification.

A decentralized PID neural network (PIDNN) control scheme was proposed to a quadrotor helicopter subjected to wind disturbance. First, the dynamic model that considered the effect of wind disturbance was established via Newton-Euler formalism. For quadrotor helicopter flying at low altitude in actual situation, it was more susceptible to be influenced by the turbulent wind field. Therefore, the turbulent wind field was generated according to Dryden model and taken into consideration as the disturbance source of quadrotor helicopter. Then, a nested loop control approach was proposed for the stabilization and navigation problems of the quadrotor subjected to wind disturbance. A decentralized PIDNN controller was designed for the inner loop to stabilize the attitude angle. A conventional PID controller was used for the outer loop in order to generate the reference path to inner loop. Moreover, the connective weights of the PIDNN were trained on-line by error back-propagation method. Furthermore, the initial connective weights were identified according to the principle of PID control theory and the appropriate learning rate was selected by discrete Lyapunov theory in order to ensure the stability. Finally, the simulation results demonstrate that the controller can effectively resist external wind disturbances, and presents good stability, maneuverability and robustness.

In order to solve the problem of weak power performance of vehicle equipped with continuously variable transmission (CVT) system working under transient operating conditions, a new CVT equipped with planetary gear mechanism and flywheel was researched, a design method of transmission parameter optimization was proposed, and the comprehensive matching control strategy was established for the new transmission system. Fuzzy controllers for throttle opening and CVT speed ratio were designed, and power performance and fuel economy of both vehicles respectively equipped with conventional CVT system and new transmission system wrere compared and analyzed by simulation. The results show that power performance and fuel economy of the vehicle equipped with new transmission system are better than that equipped with conventional CVT, thus the rationality of the parameter design method and control algorithm are verified.

It is noted that any variation in operating conditions has a considerable effect on the tire/road interaction. Furthermore, choosing a range of proper values for carcass stiffness is very essential for both tire safety and effective driving action. In this work, an elaborated 3D model fully compliant with the geometrical size of radial tire 185/60 R15 is worked up, for evaluating the effects of components properties and working conditions on deformation and stress/strain fields created inside the tire. For the simulation, the tire structure is assumed to be composed of tread, carcass ply, and bead. The mechanical behavior of rubber as main component of tire is described by Mooney-Rivlin material model. The comparison of the obtained results and laboratory tests demonstrates the validity and high accuracy of analysis.

The prediction of the wheel wear is a fundamental problem in heavy haul railway. A numerical methodology is introduced to simulate the wheel wear evolution of heavy haul freight car. The methodology includes the spatial coupling dynamics of vehicle and track, the three-dimensional rolling contact analysis of wheel-rail, the Specht’s material wear model, and the strategy for reproducing the actual operation conditions of railway. The freight vehicle is treated as a full 3D rigid multi-body model. Every component is built detailedly and various contact interactions between parts are accurately simulated, taking into account the real clearances. The wheel-rail rolling contact calculation is carried out based on Hertz’s theory and Kalker’s FASTSIM algorithm. The track model is built based on field measurements. The material loss due to wear is evaluated according to the Specht’s model in which the wear coefficient varies with the wear intensity. In order to exactly reproduce the actual operating conditions of railway, dynamic simulations are performed separately for all possible track conditions and running velocities in each iterative step. Dimensionless weight coefficients are introduced that determine the ratios of different cases and are obtained through site survey. For the wheel profile updating, an adaptive step strategy based on the wear depth is introduced, which can effectively improve the reliability and stability of numerical calculation. At last, the wear evolution laws are studied by the numerical model for different wheels of heavy haul freight vehicle running in curves. The results show that the wear of the front wheelset is more serious than that of the rear wheelset for one bogie, and the difference is more obvious for the outer wheels. The wear of the outer wheels is severer than that of the inner wheels. The wear of outer wheels mainly distributes near the flange and the root; while the wear of inner wheels mainly distributes around the nominal rolling circle. For the outer wheel of front wheelset of each bogie, the development of wear is gradually concentrated on the flange and the developing speed increases continually with the increase of traveled distance.

Research on the distribution of smoke in tunnels is significant for the fire emergency rescue after an operating metro train catches fire. A dynamic grid technique was adopted to research the law of smoke flow diffusion inside the tunnel when the bottom of a metro train was on fire and to compare the effect of longitudinal ventilation modes on the smoke motion when the burning train stopped. Research results show that the slipstream curves around the train obtained by numerical simulation are consistent with experimental data. When the train decelerates, the smoke flow first extends to the tail of the train. With the decrease of the train’s speed, the smoke flow diffuses to the head of the train. After the train stops, the slipstream around the train formed in the process of train operation plays a leading role in the smoke diffusion in the tunnel. The smoke flow quickly diffuses to the domain in front of the train. After forward mechanical ventilation is provided, the smoke flow inside the tunnel continues to diffuse downstream. When reverse mechanical ventilation operates, the smoke in front of the train flows back rapidly and diffuses to the rear of the train.

The path following problem for an underactuated unmanned surface vehicle (USV) in the Serret-Frenet frame is addressed. The control system takes account of the uncertain influence induced by model perturbation, external disturbance, etc. By introducing the Serret-Frenet frame and global coordinate transformation, the control problem of underactuated system (a nonlinear system with single-input and ternate-output) is transformed into the control problem of actuated system (a single-input and single-output nonlinear system), which simplifies the controller design. A backstepping adaptive sliding mode controller (BADSMC) is proposed based on backstepping design technique, adaptive method and theory of dynamic slide model control (DSMC). Then, it is proven that the state of closed loop system is globally stabilized to the desired configuration with the proposed controller. Simulation results are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed controller.

In order to meet the high temperature environment requirement of deep and superdeep well exploitation, a technology of large length-to-diameter ratio metal stator screw lining meshing with rotor is presented. Based on the elastic-plasticity theory, and under the consideration of the effect of tube size, material mechanical parameters, friction coefficient and loading paths, the external pressure plastic forming mechanical model of metal stator screw lining is established, to study the optimal loading path of metal stator lining tube hydroforming process. The results show that wall thickness reduction of the external pressure tube hydroforming (THF) is about 4%, and three evaluation criteria of metal stator screw lining forming quality are presented: fillet stick mold coefficient, thickness relative error and forming quality coefficient. The smaller the three criteria are, the better the forming quality is. Each indicator has a trend of increase with the loading rate reducing, and the adjustment laws of die arc transition zone equidistance profile curve are acquired for improving tube forming quality. Hence, the research results prove the feasibility of external pressure THF used for processing high-accuracy large length-to-diameter ratio metal stator screw lining, and provide theoretical basis for designing new kind of stator structure which has better performance and longer service life.

Detection and tracking of multi-target with unknown and varying number is a challenging issue, especially under the condition of low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). A modified multi-target track-before-detect (TBD) method was proposed to tackle this issue using a nonstandard point observation model. The method was developed from sequential Monte Carlo (SMC)-based probability hypothesis density (PHD) filter, and it was implemented by modifying the original calculation in update weights of the particles and by adopting an adaptive particle sampling strategy. To efficiently execute the SMC-PHD based TBD method, a fast implementation approach was also presented by partitioning the particles into multiple subsets according to their position coordinates in 2D resolution cells of the sensor. Simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed method for time-varying multi-target tracking using raw observation data.

A novel method case-based reasoning was proposed for suspicious behavior recognition. The method is composed of three departs: human behavior decomposition, human behavior case representation and case-based reasoning. The new approach was proposed to decompose behavior into sub-behaviors that are easier to recognize using a saliency-based visual attention model. New representation of behavior was introduced, in which the sub-behavior and the associated time characteristic of sub-behavior were used to represent behavior case. In the process of case-based reasoning, apart from considering the similarity of basic sub-behaviors, order factor was proposed to measure the similarity of a time order among the sub-behaviors and span factor was used to measure the similarity of duration time of each sub-behavior, which makes the similarity calculations more rational and comprehensive. Experimental results show the effectiveness of the proposed method in comparison with other related works and can run in real-time for the recognition of suspicious behaviors.

The adaptive algorithm used for echo cancellation (EC) system needs to provide 1) low misadjustment and 2) high convergence rate. The affine projection algorithm (APA) is a better alternative than normalized least mean square (NLMS) algorithm in EC applications where the input signal is highly correlated. Since the APA with a constant step-size has to make compromise between the performance criteria 1) and 2), a variable step-size APA (VSS-APA) provides a more reliable solution. A nonparametric VSS-APA (NPVSS-APA) is proposed by recovering the background noise within the error signal instead of cancelling the a posteriori errors. The most problematic term of its variable step-size formula is the value of background noise power (BNP). The power difference between the desired signal and output signal, which equals the power of error signal statistically, has been considered the BNP estimate in a rough manner. Considering that the error signal consists of background noise and misalignment noise, a precise BNP estimate is achieved by multiplying the rough estimate with a corrective factor. After the analysis on the power ratio of misalignment noise to background noise of APA, the corrective factor is formulated depending on the projection order and the latest value of variable step-size. The new algorithm which does not require any a priori knowledge of EC environment has the advantage of easier controllability in practical application. The simulation results in the EC context indicate the accuracy of the proposed BNP estimate and the more effective behavior of the proposed algorithm compared with other versions of APA class.

An element-free Galerkin method (EFGM) is used to solve the two-dimensional (2D) ground penetrating radar (GPR) modelling problems, due to its simple pre-processing, the absence of elements and high accuracy. Different from element-based numerical methods, this approach makes nodes free from the elemental restraint and avoids the explicit mesh discretization. First, we derived the boundary value problem for the 2D GPR simulation problems. Second, a penalty function approach and a boundary condition truncated method were used to enforce the essential and the absorbing boundary conditions, respectively. A three-layered GPR model was used to verify our element-free approach. The numerical solutions show that our solutions have an excellent agreement with solutions of a finite element method (FEM). Then, we used the EFGM to simulate one more complex model to show its capability and limitations. Simulation results show that one obvious advantage of EFGM is the absence of element mesh, which makes the method very flexible. Due to the use of MLS fitting, a key feature of EFM, is that both the dependent variable and its gradient are continuous and have high precision.

For deposit body medium, the internal structural properties may be the controlling factors for the strength of the material and the mechanical response. Based on the results of soil-rock meso-statistics using digital imaging, a simulated annealing algorithm is adopted to expand the meso-structural features of deposit bodies in 3D. The construction of the 3D meso-structure of a deposit body is achieved, and then the particle flow analysis program PFC3D is used to simulate the mechanical properties of the deposit body. It is shown that with a combination of the simulated annealing algorithm and the statistical feature functions, the randomness and heterogeneity of the rock distribution in the 3D inner structure of deposit body medium can be realized, and the reconstructed structural features of the deposit medium can match the features of the digital images well. The spatial utilizations and the compacting effects of the body-centered cubic, hexagonal close and face-centered packing models are high, so these structures can be applied in the simulations of the deposit structures. However, the shear features of the deposit medium vary depending on the different model constructive modes. Rocks, which are the backbone of the deposit, are the factors that determine the shear strength and deformation modulus of the deposit body. The modeling method proposed is useful for the construction of 3D meso-scope models from 2D meso-scope statistics and can be used for studying the mechanical properties of mixed media, such as deposit bodies.

A series of monotonic and rotational shearing tests are carried out on reconstituted clay using a hollow cylinder apparatus under undrained condition. In the rotational shearing tests, the principal stress axes rotate cyclically with the magnitudes of the principal stresses keeping constant. The anisotropy of the reconstituted clay is analyzed from the monotonic shearing tests. Obvious pore pressure is induced by the principal stress rotation alone even with shear stress q₀=5 kPa. Strain components also accumulate with increasing the number of cycles and increases suddenly at the onset of failure. The deviatoric shear strain of 7.5% can be taken as the failure criterion for clay subjected to the pure cyclic principal stress rotation. The intermediate principal stress parameter b plays a significant role in the development of pore pressure and strain. Specimens are weakened by cyclic rotational shearing as the shear modulus decreases with increasing the number of cycles, and the shear modulus reduces more quickly with larger b. Clear deviation between the directions of the principal plastic strain increment and the principal stress is observed during pure principal stress rotation. Both the coaxial and non-coaxial plastic mechanisms should be taken into consideration to simulate the deformation behavior of clay under pure principal stress rotation. The mechanism of the soil response to the pure principal stress rotation is discussed based on the experimental observations.

Rate of penetration (ROP) of a tunnel boring machine (TBM) in a rock environment is generally a key parameter for the successful accomplishment of a tunneling project. The objectives of this work are to compare the accuracy of prediction models employing partial least squares (PLS) regression and support vector machine (SVM) regression technique for modeling the penetration rate of TBM. To develop the proposed models, the database that is composed of intact rock properties including uniaxial compressive strength (UCS), Brazilian tensile strength (BTS), and peak slope index (PSI), and also rock mass properties including distance between planes of weakness (DPW) and the alpha angle (α) are input as dependent variables and the measured ROP is chosen as an independent variable. Two hundred sets of data are collected from Queens Water Tunnel and Karaj-Tehran water transfer tunnel TBM project. The accuracy of the prediction models is measured by the coefficient of determination (R²) and root mean squares error (RMSE) between predicted and observed yield employing 10-fold cross-validation schemes. The R² and RMSE of prediction are 0.8183 and 0.1807 for SVMR method, and 0.9999 and 0.0011 for PLS method, respectively. Comparison between the values of statistical parameters reveals the superiority of the PLSR model over SVMR one.

This work focuses on the uniqueness of rate-dependency, creep and stress relaxation behaviors for soft clays under one-dimensional condition. An elasto-viscoplastic model is briefly introduced based on the rate-dependency of preconsolidation pressure. By comparing the rate-dependency formulation with the creep based formulation, the relationship between rate-dependency and creep behaviors is firstly described. The rate-dependency based formulation is then extended to derive an analytical solution for the stress relaxation behavior with defining a stress relaxation coefficient. Based on this, the relationship between the rate-dependency coefficient and the stress relaxation coefficient is derived. Therefore, the uniqueness between behaviors of rate-dependency, creep and stress relaxation with their key parameters is obtained. The uniqueness is finally validated by comparing the simulated rate-dependency of preconsolidation pressure, the estimated values of secondary compression coefficient and simulations of stress relaxation tests with test results on both reconstituted Illite and Berthierville clay.

The proliferation of Hoek-Brown nonlinear failure criterion and upper bound theorem makes it possible to evaluate the stability of circular tunnels with an original curved collapsing mechanism. The arch effect of shallow circle tunnel is not taken into consideration so that the mechanical characteristics can be easily described. Based on the mechanism, the upper bound solution of supporting pressure of tunnels under the condition of surface settlements and overloads on the ground surface is derived. The objective function is formed from virtual work equations under the variational principle, and solutions are presented by the optimum theory. Comparisons with previous works are made. The numerical results of the present method show great agreement with those of existing ones. With regard to the surface settlement and overloads, the influence of different rock parameters on the collapsing shape is analyzed.

The objective is to develop an approach for the determination of the target reliability index for serviceability limit state (SLS) of single piles. This contributes to conducting the SLS reliability-based design (RBD) of piles. Based on a two-parameter, hyperbolic curve-fitting equation describing the load-settlement relation of piles, the SLS model factor is defined. Then, taking into account the uncertainties of load-settlement model, load and bearing capacity of piles, the formula for computing the SLS reliability index (β_sls) is obtained using the mean value first order second moment (MVFOSM) method. Meanwhile, the limit state function for conducting the SLS reliability analysis by the Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) method is established. These two methods are finally applied to determine the SLS target reliability index. Herein, the limiting tolerable settlement (s_lt) is treated as a random variable. For illustration, four load test databases from South Africa are compiled again to conduct reliability analysis and present the recommended target reliability indices. The results indicate that the MVFOSM method overestimates β_sls compared to that computed by the MCS method. Besides, both factor of safety (FS) and s_lt are key factors influencing β_sls, so the combination of FS and β_sls is welcome to be used for the SLS reliability analysis of piles when s_lt is determined. For smaller s_lt, pile types and soils conditions have significant influence on the SLS target reliability indices; for larger s_lt, s_lt is the major factor having influence on the SLS target reliability indices. This proves that s_lt is the most key parameter for the determination of the SLS target reliability index.

Due to the influence of joint fissure, mining intensity, designed slope angle, underground water and rainfall, the failure process of mine slope project is extremely complicated. The current safety factor calculation method has certain limitations, and it would be difficult to obtain the reliability index when the performance function of reliability analysis is implicit or has high order terms. Therefore, with the help of the logistic equation of chaos theory, a new algorithm of mine slope reliability based on limiting state hyper-plane is proposed. It is shown that by using this new reliability algorithm the calculation of partial derivative of performance function is avoided, and it has the advantages of being simple and easy to program. The new algorithm is suitable for calculating the reliability index of complex performance function containing high order terms. Furthermore, the limiting state hyper-plane models of both simplified Bishop’s and Janbu’s method adaptive to slope project are obtained, and have achieved satisfactory effect in the study of mine slope stability in Dexing copper open pit.

It is important to investigate the dynamic behaviors of deep rocks near explosion cavity to reveal the mechanisms of deformations and fractures. Some improvements are carried out for Grigorian model with focuses on the dilation effects and the relaxation effects of deep rocks, and the high pressure equations of states with Mie-Grüneisen form are also established. Numerical calculations of free field parameters for deep underground explosions are carried out based on the user subroutines which are compiled by means of the secondary development functions of LS-DYNA970^3D software. The histories of radial stress, radial velocity and radial displacement of rock particles are obtained, and the calculation results are compared with those of U.S. Hardhat nuclear test. It is indicated that the dynamic responses of free field for deep underground explosions are well simulated based on improved Grigorian model, and the calculation results are in good agreement with the data of U.S. Hardhat nuclear test. The peak values of particle velocities are consistent with those of test, but the waveform widths and the rising times are obviously greater than those without dilation effects. The attenuation rates of particle velocities are greater than the calculation results with classic plastic model, and they are consistent with the results of Hardhat nuclear test. The attenuation behaviors and the rising times of stress waves are well shown by introducing dilation effects and relaxation effects into the calculation model. Therefore, the defects of Grigorian model are avoided. It is also indicated that the initial stress has obvious influences on the waveforms of radial stress and the radial displacements of rock particles.

One of the most important issues in geotechnical engineering is excess pore pressure caused by clay soil loading and consolidation. Regarding uncertainties and complexities, this issue has long been the subject of attention of many researchers. In this work, a one-dimensional consolidation apparatus was equipped in a way that pore water pressure and settlement could be continuously read and recorded during consolidation process under static loading. The end of primary consolidation was obtained using water pressure changes helping to present a new method for determining the end of primary consolidation and consolidation coefficient. This method was then compared with two classical theory methods of lg t and

The oil-pressboard insulation is a typical composite insulation system widely used in the design and manufactory of large power apparatus. The implement of oil-pressboard insulation may lead to surface electrification and discharge at the interface under certain condition. It is of significant importance to take an insight into the phenomenon occurring at the interface. Through experiment, the pressboard is found as a porous material. The interface changes abruptly from bulk pressboard to the bulk oil as a result of the porous structure. A new model is proposed which divides the interface into bulk oil region, transition region, and bulk pressboard region. The width of the transition region is decided according to the microtome figure. The effective permittivity of the transition region is calculated using a new model based on fractal theory. The model is validated and compared with previous calculation model. The effect of the existence of transition region on the electric field distribution is discussed.

The problem of water coning into the Tarim fractured sandstone gas reservoirs becomes one of the major concerns in terms of productivity, increased operating costs and environmental effects. Water coning is a phenomenon caused by the imbalance between gravity and viscous forces around the completion interval. There are several controllable and uncontrollable parameters influencing this problem. In order to simulate the key parameters affecting the water coning phenomenon, a model was developed to represent a single well with an underlying aquifer using the fractured sandstone gas reservoir data of the A-Well in Dina gas fields. The parametric study was performed by varying six properties individually over a representative range. The results show that matrix permeability, well penetration (especially fracture permeability), vertical-to-horizontal permeability ratio, aquifer size and gas production rate have considerable effect on water coning in the fractured gas reservoirs. Thus, investigation of the effective parameters is necessary to understand the mechanism of water coning phenomenon. Simulation of the problem helps to optimize the conditions in which the breakthrough of water coning is delayed.

Decreasing in emissions of greenhouse gases to confront the global warming needs to replace fossil fuels as the main doer of the world climate changes by renewable and clean fuels produced from biomass like wood waste which is neutral on the amount of CO₂. An analytical and engineering model for pyrolysis process of a single biomass particle has been presented. Using a two-stage semi global kinetic model which includes both primary and secondary reactions, the effects of parameters like shape and size of particle as well as porosity on the particle temperature profile and product yields have been investigated. Comparison of the obtained results with experimental data shows that our results are in a reasonable agreement with previous researchers’ works. Finally, a sensitivity analysis is done to determine the importance of each parameter on pyrolysis of a single biomass particle which is affected by many constant parameters.

Two-dimensional boundary layer flow of an incompressible third grade nanofluid over a stretching surface is investigated. Influence of thermophoresis and Brownian motion is considered in the presence of Newtonian heating and viscous dissipation. Governing nonlinear problems of velocity, temperature and nanoparticle concentration are solved via homotopic procedure. Convergence is examined graphically and numerically. Results of temperature and nanoparticle concentration are plotted and discussed for various values of material parameters, Prandtl number, Lewis number, Newtonian heating parameter, Eckert number and thermophoresis and Brownian motion parameters. Numerical computations are performed. The results show that the change in temperature and nanoparticle concentration distribution functions is similar when we use higher values of material parameters β₁ and β₂. It is seen that the temperature and thermal boundary layer thickness are increasing functions of Newtonian heating parameter γ. An increase in thermophoresis and Brownian motion parameters tends to an enhancement in the temperature.

In order to evaluate the effects of mesh generation techniques and grid convergence on pump performance in centrifugal pump model, three widely used mesh styles including structured hexahedral, unstructured tetrahedral and hybrid prismatic/tetrahedral meshes were generated for a centrifugal pump model. And quantitative grid convergence was assessed based on a grid convergence index (GCI), which accounts for the degree of grid refinement. The structured, unstructured or hybrid meshes are found to have certain difference for velocity distributions in impeller with the change of grid cell number. And the simulation results have errors to different degrees compared with experimental data. The GCI-value for structured meshes calculated is lower than that for the unstructured and hybrid meshes. Meanwhile, the structured meshes are observed to get more vortexes in impeller passage. Nevertheless, the hybrid meshes are found to have larger low-velocity area at outlet and more secondary vortexes at a specified location than structured meshes and unstructured meshes.

Elastic heat transfer tube bundles are widely used in the field of flow-induced vibration heat transfer enhancement. Two types of mainly used tube bundles, the planar elastic tube bundle and the conical spiral tube bundle were comprehensively compared in the condition of the same shell side diameter. The natural mode characteristics, the effect of fluid-structure interaction, the stress distribution, the comprehensive heat transfer performance and the secondary fluid flow of the two elastic tube bundles were all concluded and compared. The results show that the natural frequency and the critical velocity of vibration buckling of the planar elastic tube bundle are larger than those of the conical spiral tube bundle, while the stress distribution and the comprehensive heat transfer performance of the conical spiral tube bundle are relatively better.

A mathematical model was developed to predict the maximum heat transfer capacity of high temperature heat pipe with triangular grooved wick. The effects of the inclination angle and geometry structure were considered in the proposed model. Maximum heat transfer capacity was also investigated experimentally. The model was validated by comparing with the experimental results. The maximum heat transfer capacity increases with the vapor core radius increasing. Compared with the inclination angle of 0°, the maximum heat transfer capacity increases at the larger inclination angle, and the change with temperature is larger. The performance of heat pipe with triangular grooved wick is greatly influenced by gravity, so it is not recommended to be applied to the dish solar heat pipe receiver.

The viscous flow in a wavy channel with convective boundary conditions is investigated. The channel is filled with a porous viscous fluid. Two cases of equal and different external convection coefficients on the walls are taken into account. Effect of viscous dissipation is also considered. The governing equations are derived employing long wavelength and low Reynolds number approximations. Exact closed form solutions are obtained for the simplified equations. Important physical features for peristaltic flow caused by the wavy wave are pumping, trapping and heat transfer rate at the channel walls. These are discussed one by one in depth and detail through graphical illustrations. Special attention has been given to the effects of convective boundary conditions. The results show that for Bi₁≠Bi₂, there exists a critical value of Brinkman number Br_c at which the temperatures of both the walls become equal. And, for Bi₁>Bi₂ and Br>Br_c, the temperature of the cold wall exceeds the temperature of hot wall.

The aim of this work is to explore the impact of regional transit service on tour-based commuter travel behavior by using the Bayesian hierarchical multinomial logit model, accounting for the spatial heterogeneity of the people living in the same area. With two indicators, accessibility and connectivity measured at the zone level, the regional transit service is captured and then related to the travel mode choice behavior. The sample data are selected from Washington-Baltimore Household Travel Survey in 2007, including all the trips from home to workplace in morning hours in Baltimore city. Traditional multinomial logit model using Bayesian approach is also estimated. A comparison of the two different models shows that ignoring the spatial context can lead to a misspecification of the effects of the regional transit service on travel behavior. The results reveal that improving transit service at regional level can be effective in reducing auto use for commuters after controlling for socio-demographics and travel-related factors. This work provides insights for interpreting tour-based commuter travel behavior by using recently developed methodological approaches. The results of this work will be helpful for engineers, urban planners, and transit operators to decide the needs to improve regional transit service and spatial location efficiently.