The development of the recrystallization texture of the alloy AA3104 was investigated by analysis of orientation distribution functions determined by X-ray diffraction, supported by EBSD local texture analysis. A typical β-fiber with nearly 20% Bs orientation {011}<211> was detected in the final hot rolled sheet. At the beginning of annealing at 350 °C, the cube component {011}<100> got a sharp increase. TEM results show that the growth of both number and size of precipitation appears to inhibit the advantage of Cube orientation {011}<100> notably after annealing at 350 °C for 15 min. Finally, it comes out to be a random distributed orientation by full recrystallization.

Electrodeposition of aluminum from benzene-tetrahydrofuran-AlCl₃-LiAlH₄ was studied at room temperature. Galvanostatic electrolysis was used to investigate the effect of various parameters on deposit morphology and crystal size, including current density, temperature, molar ratio of benzene/tetrahydrofuran and stirring speed. The deposit microstructure was adjusted by changing the parameters, and the optimum operating conditions were determined. Dense, bright and adherent aluminum coatings were obtained over a wide range of current densities (10–25 mA/cm²), molar ratio of benzene and tetrahydrofuran (4:1 to 7:8) and stirring speeds (200–500 r/min). Smaller grain sizes and well-adhered deposits were obtained at lower temperatures. Aluminum-magnesium alloys could potentially be used as hydrogen storage materials. A novel method for Al—Mg deposition was proposed by using pure Mg anodes in the organic solvents system benzene-tetrahydrofuran—AlCl₃—LiAlH₄. XRD shows that the aluminum—magnesium alloys are mainly Al₃Mg₂ and Al₁₂Mg₁₇.

Ultrafine-grained (UFG) high purity aluminum exhibits a variety of attractive mechanical properties and special deformation behavior. Equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) process can be used to easily and effectively refine metals. The microstructure and microtexture evolutions and grain boundary characteristics of the high purity aluminum (99.998%) processed by ECAP at room temperature are investigated by means of TEM and EBSD. The results indicate that the shear deformation resistance increases with repeated EACP passes, and equiaxed grains with an average size of 0.9 μm in diameter are formed after five passes. Although the orientations distribution of grains tends to evolve toward random orientations, and microtextures (80°, 35°, 0°), (40°, 75°, 45°) and (0°, 85°, 45°) peak in the sample after five passes. The grain boundaries in UFG aluminum are high-angle geometrically necessary boundaries. It is suggested that the continuous dynamic recrystallization is responsible for the formation of ultrafine grains in high purity aluminum. Microstructure evolution in the high purity aluminum during ECAP is proposed.

Fused deposition modeling(FDM) is one of the latest rapid prototyping techniques in which parts can be manufactured at a fast pace and are manufactured with a high accuracy. This research work is carried out to study the friction and wear behavior of parts made of newly developed Nylon6—Fe composite material by FDM. This work also involves the comparison of the friction and wear characteristics of the Nylon6—Fe composite with the existing acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) filament of the FDM machine. This Is carried out on the pin on disk setup by varying the load (5, 10, 15 and 20 N) and speed (200 and 300 r/min). It is concluded that the newly developed composite is highly wear resistant and can be used in industrial applications where wear resistance is of paramount importance. Morphology of the surface in contact with the Nylon6—Fe composite and ABS is also carried out.

At jet pressures ranging from 80 to 120 MPa, submerged water jets are investigated by numerical simulation and experiment. Numerical simulation enables a systematic analysis of major flow parameters such as jet velocity, turbulent kinetic energy as well as void fraction of cavitation. Experiments facilitate an objective assessment of surface morphology, micro hardness and surface roughness of the impinged samples. A comparison is implemented between submerged and non-submerged water jets. The results show that submerged water jet is characterized by low velocity magnitudes relative to non-submerged water jet at the same jet pressure. Shear effect serves as a key factor underlying the inception of cavitation in submerged water jet stream. Predicted annular shape of cavity zone is substantiated by local height distributions associated with experimentally obtained footprints. As jet pressure increases, joint contribution of jet kinetic energy and cavitation is demonstrated. While for non-submerged water jet, impingement force stems exclusively from flow velocity.

The surface of 1Cr5Mo heat-resistant steel welding joint was processed with CO₂ laser, and the corrosion behaviors before and after laser heat treatment (LHT) were investigated in the salt spray corrosion environments. The microstructures, phases, residual stresses and retained austenite content of 1Cr5Mo steel welding joint before and after LHT were analyzed with optical microscope and X-ray diffraction, respectively. The cracking morphologies and chemical compositions of corrosion products after salt spray corrosion were analyzed with field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and energy disperse spectroscopy (EDS), respectively, the polarization curves were measured on a PS-268A type electrochemical workstation, and the mechanism of corrosion resistance by LHT was investigated as well. The results show that the passive film of original sample is destroyed owing to the corrosive media penetrating into the subsurface, resulting in the redox reaction. The content of residual austenite in the surface and the self-corrosion potential are increased by LHT, which is contributed to improving the capability of salt spray corrosion resistance.

To obtain the stable temperature field required for growing sapphire crystals, the influence of relative positions between RF coil and crucible on the performances of sapphires produced by edge-defined film-fed growth (EFG) technique was investigated. For comparison, the crucible was located at the top (case A) and the middle (case B) of the RF coil, respectively. Furthermore, the lattice integrities were studied by the double-crystal X-ray diffraction, and the dislocations were observed under the optical microscope and atomic force microscope after corroding in molten KOH at 390 °C. The crystals in case B exhibit better lattice integrity with smaller full width at half maximum of 29.13 rad·s, while the value in case A is 45.17 rad·s. The morphologies of dislocation etch pits in both cases show typical triangular symmetry with smooth surfaces. However, the dislocation density of 2.8×10⁴ cm^-2 in case B is only half of that in case A, and the distribution is more uniform, compared to the U-shaper in case A.

A quantitative structure–activity relationship (QSAR) was performed to analyze antimalarial activities against the D10 strains of Plasmodium falciparum of triazole-linked chalcone and dienone hybrid derivatives using partial least squares regression coupled with stepwise forward–backward variable selection method. QSAR analyses were performed on the available IC₅₀ D₁₀ strains of Plasmodium falciparum data based on theoretical molecular descriptors. The QSAR model developed gave good predictive correlation coefficient (r²) of 0.8994, significant cross validated correlation coefficient (q²) of 0.7689, r² for external test set (r_pred²) of 0.8256, coefficient of correlation of predicted data set (r_pred,se²) rpred,se of 0.3276. The model shows that antimalarial activity is greatly affected by donor and electron-withdrawing substituents. The study implicates that chalcone and dienone rings should have strong donor and electron-withdrawing substituents as they increase the activity of chalcone. Results show that the predictive ability of the model is satisfactory, and it can be used for designing similar group of antimalarial compounds. The findings derived from this analysis along with other molecular modeling studies will be helpful in designing of the new potent antimalarial activity of clinical utility.

Several methods of deep desulfurization in alumina production process were studied, and the costs of these methods werecompared. It is found that most of the S²⁻removed by adding sodium nitrate or hydrogen peroxide in digestion process, and in this way the effect of S²⁻ on alumina product quality is eliminated. However, the removal efficiency of S₂O₃²⁻ in sodium aluminate solution is very low by this method. Both S²⁻ and S₂O₃²⁻ in sodium aluminate solution can be removed completely by wet oxidation method in digestion process. The cost of desulfurization by wet oxidation is lower than by adding sodium nitrate or hydrogen peroxide. The results of this research reveal that wet oxidation is an economical and feasible method for the removal of sulfur in alumina production process to improve alumina quality, and provide valuable guidelines for alumina production by high-sulfur bauxite.

Chalcopyrite dissolution was evaluated by bioleaching and electrochemical experiments with thermophile A. manzaensis (Acidianus manzaensis) and mesophile L. ferriphilum (Leptospirillum ferriphium) cultures at 65 °C and 40 °C, respectively. It was investigated that the bioleaching of chalcopyrite was stepwise. It was reduced to Cu₂S at a lower redox potential locating in the whole bioleaching process by A. manzaensis at high temperature while only at initial days of bioleaching by L. ferriphilum at a relative low temperature. No reduced product was detected when the redox potential was beyond a high level (e.g., 550 mV (vs SCE)) bioleached by L. ferriphilum. Chalcopyrite bioleaching efficiency was substantially improved bioleached by A. manaensis compared to that by L. ferriphilum, which was mainly attributed to the reduction reaction occurring during bioleaching. The reductive intermediate Cu₂S was more amenable to oxidation than chalcopyrite, causing enhanced copper extraction.

The competitive removal of copper and cadmium from aqueous solutions using scoria has been investigated. Scoria was characterized by various methods, such as XRD, XRF, FT-IR and SEM. The results show that scoria sample contained augite, enstatite, diopside, and olivine. These minerals were separated from each other and each mineral was then subjected to the adsorption experiments. It was found that the main absorbent constituent in scoria was augite. Finally, statistical experimental method was used to optimization of adsorption conditions (Initial concentration of copper and cadmium ions, the amount of scoria and temperature) for removal of Cu (II) and Cd (II) ions from solution in optimum conditions. The optimum conditions are obtained as follows: concentrations of Cu (II) and Cd (II) of 400×10⁻⁶ and 554×10⁻⁶, respectively; amount of scoria of 7 g; temperature of 38 °C. Under these conditions Cu (II) and Cd (II) ions are absorbed onto the scoria more than 79% and 16%, respectively.

Assessment of temporal and spatial variations in surface water quality is important to evaluate the health of a watershed and make necessary management decisions to control current and future pollution of receiving water bodies. In this work, surface water quality data for 12 physical and chemical parameters collected from 10 sampling sites in the Nenjiang River basin during the years (2012–2013) were analyzed. The results show that river water quality has significant temporal and spatial variations. Hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) grouped 12 months into three periods (LF, MF and HF) and classified 10 monitoring sites into three regions (LP, MP and HP) based on the similarity of water quality characteristics. The principle component analysis (PCA)/factor analysis (FA) was used to recognize the factors or origins responsible for temporal and spatial water quality variations. Temporal and spatial PCA/FA revealed that the Nenjiang River water chemistry was strongly affected by rock/water interaction, hydrologic processes and anthropogenic activities. This work demonstrates that the application of HCA and PCA/FA has achieved meaningful classification based on temporal and spatial criteria.

Experiments were conducted to investigate the behavior of the sequential system of intensified zero-valent iron process (IZVI) and anaerobic filter and biological aerated filter (AF/BAF) reactors for advanced treatment of biologically pretreated coking wastewater. Particular attention was paid to the performance of the integrated system for the removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD), ammonia nitrogen (NH₃-N) and total nitrogen (TN). The average removal efficiencies of COD, NH₃-N and TN were 76.28%, 96.76% and 59.97%, with the average effluent mass concentrations of 56, 0.53 and 18.83 mg/L, respectively, reaching the first grade of the national discharge standard. Moreover, the results of gas chromatography/mass spectrum (GC/MS) and gel permeation chromatography (GPC) analysis demonstrated that the refractory organic compounds with high relative molecular mass were partly removed in IZVI process by the function of oxidation-reduction, flocculation and adsorption which could also enhance the biodegradability of the system effluent. The removal efficiencies of NH₃-N and TN were achieved mainly in the subsequent AF/BAF reactors by nitrification and denitrification. Overall, the results obtained show that the application of IZVI in combination with AF/BAF is a promising technology for advanced treatment of biologically pretreated coking wastewater.

The removal efficiencies of heavy metals (As, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn) were investigated in the 17 operating municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and compared with those in four main activated sludge processes. Significant differences of heavy metal removal efficiencies were observed among four activated sludge processes. The removal efficiency for As (75.5%) in the oxidation ditch (OD) process is significantly higher than that in the conventional activated sludge (CAS) process (38.6%) or sequencing batch reactor (SBR) process (51.4%). The mean removal efficiencies for Cu and Ni in the OD process are 90.5% and 46.7%, respectively, while low mean removal efficiencies are observed for Cu (69.9%) and Ni (16.5%), respectively, in the SBR process. The removal efficiencies for Cu and Ni in the OD process are significantly higher than those in the anaerobic-anoxic-oxic (A²-O) process. These results highlight the differences of removal efficiencies for heavy metals in different processes and should be considered when selecting a wastewater treatment process.

Negative effect of precipitation on plant photosynthesis was investigated in this work. Stomatal conductance, transpiration rate and net photosynthetic rate were measured before and after each precipitation event, respectively, and the corresponding precipitation was recorded as well. Moreover, plant dry matter accumulation was counted at the end of our entire experiment. The results show that precipitation fully demonstrates its negative effect on plant photosynthesis under the condition of without water shortage. Although it has not been proved, leaf shape seems to be associated with this effect. Broad-leaved species are less influenced than coniferous and lanceleaf species no matter on the length of variation time or changes in variation values. The different situation among three broad-leaved species seems to illustrate that the effect is also related to the size of single leaf area. The correlation between precipitation and photosynthetic rate variation is analogous to the relationship between precipitation and splash erosion, and in the view of the relationship between plant photosynthetic characteristics and dry mass accumulation, it can be thought that it can reflect the negative impact of precipitation on plant growth by making use of splash erosion. Therefore, a section was added in the traditional plant biomass estimation algorithms by using eco-physiological models, and this was proved to enhance the accuracy of traditional estimation from preliminary verifications.

A new non-linear bending-torsional coupled model for double-row planetary gear set was proposed, and planet’s eccentricity error, static transmission error, and time-varying meshing stiffness were taken into consideration. The solution of differential governing equation of motion is determined by applying the Fourier series method. The behaviors of dynamic load sharing characteristics affected by the system parameters including gear eccentricities error, ring gear’s supporting stiffness, planet’s bearing stiffness, torsional stiffness of first stage carrier and input rotation rate were investigated qualitatively and systematically, and sun gear radial orbits at first and second stage were explored as well. Some theoretical results are summarized as guidelines for further research and design of double-row planetary gear train at last.

Heat transfer of an SI engine’s piston is calculated by employing three different methods based on resistor-capacitor model with the help of MATLAB code, and then the piston is thermo-mechanically analyzed using commercial ANSYS code. The results of three methods are compared to study their effects on the piston thermal behavior. It is shown that resistor-capacitor model with less number of equations and consequently less solution time, is an appropriate method for solving problems of engine piston heat transfer. In the second part, the thermal stresses due to non-uniform temperature distribution, and mechanical stresses due to mechanical loads are calculated. Finally, the temperature distributions as a thermal load along with mechanical loads are applied to the piston to determine the total stress distribution and critical fracture zones. It is found that the amount of thermal stresses is considerable.

In order to meet the technical requirements of grinding the circumferential cutting edge of indexable inserts, thermo-mechanical properties of bowl-shaped grinding wheel in high speed grinding process and the influence of dimension variations of the grinding wheel on machining accuracy were investigated. Firstly, the variation trends of the dimension due to centrifugal force generated in different wheel speeds were studied and the effect of stress stiffening and spin softening was presented. Triangular heat flux distribution model was adopted to determine temperature distribution in grinding process. Temperature field cloud pictures were obtained by the finite element software. Then, dimension variation trends of wheel structure were acquired by considering the thermo-mechanical characteristic under combined action of centrifugal force and grinding heat at different speeds. A method of online dynamic monitoring and automatic compensation for dimension error of indexable insert was proposed. By experimental verification, the precision of the inserts satisfies the requirement of processing.

Homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) mode of combustion is popularly known for achieving simultaneous reduction of NO_x as well as soot emissions as it combines the compression ignition (CI) and spark ignition (SI) engine features. In this work, a CI engine was simulated to work in HCCI mode and was analyzed to study the effect of induction induced swirl under varying speeds using three-zone extended coherent flame combustion model (ECFM-3Z, compression ignition) of STAR-CD. The analysis was done considering speed ranging from 800 to 1600 r/min and swirl ratios from 1 to 4. The present study reveals that ECFM-3Z model has well predicted the performance and emissions of CI engine in HCCI mode. The simulation predicts reduced in-cylinder pressures, temperatures, wall heat transfer losses, and piston work with increase in swirl ratio irrespective of engine speed. Also, simultaneous reduction in CO₂ and NO_x emissions is realized with higher engine speeds and swirl ratios. Low speeds and swirl ratios are favorable for low CO₂ emissions. It is observed that increase in engine speed causes a marginal reduction in in-cylinder pressures and temperatures. Also, higher turbulent energy and velocity magnitude levels are obtained with increase in swirl ratio, indicating efficient combustion necessitating no modifications in combustion chamber design. The investigations reveal a total decrease of 38.68% in CO₂ emissions and 12.93% in NO_x emissions when the engine speed increases from 800 to 1600 r/min at swirl ratio of 4. Also an increase of 14.16% in net work done is obtained with engine speed increasing from 800 to 1600 r/min at swirl ratio of 1. The simulation indicates that there is a tradeoff observed between the emissions and piston work. It is finally concluded that the HCCI combustion can be regarded as low temperature combustion as there is significant decrease in in-cylinder temperatures and pressures at higher speeds and higher swirl ratios.

On augmentation of past work, an effective Wiener filter and its application for noise suppression combined with a formed CORDIC based FFT/IFFT processor with improved speed were executed. The pipelined methodology was embraced for expanding the execution of the system. The proposed Wiener filter was planned in such an approach to evacuate the iteration issues in ordinary Wiener filter. The division process was supplanted by a productive inverse and multiplication process in the proposed design. An enhanced design for matrix inverse with reduced computation complexity was executed. The wide-ranging framework processing was focused around IEEE-754 standard single precision floating point numbers. The Wiener filter and the entire system design was integrated and actualized on VIRTEX 5 FPGA stage and re-enacted to approve the results in Xilinx ISE 13.4. The results show that a productive decrease in power and area is developed by adjusting the proposed technique for speech signal noise degradation with latency of n/2 clock cycles and substantial throughput result per every 12 clock cycles for n-bit precision. The execution of proposed design is exposed to be 31.35% more effective than that of prevailing strategies.

In order to analyze the possibility of detecting defects in bend pipe using low-frequency ultrasonic guided wave, the propagation of T(0,1) mode and L(0,2) mode through straight-curved-straight pipe sections was studied. FE (finite element) models of bend pipe without defects and those with defects were introduced to analyze energy distribution, mode transition and defect detection of ultrasonic guided wave. FE simulation results were validated by experiments of four different bend pipes with circumferential defects in different positions. It is shown that most energy of T(0,1) mode or L(0,2) mode focuses on extrados of bend but little passes through intrados of bend, and T(0,1) mode or L(0,2) mode is converted to other possible non-axisymmetric modes when propagating through the bend and the defect after bend respectively. Furthermore, L(0,2) mode is more sensitive to circumferential notch than T(0,1) mode. The results of this work are beneficial for practical testing of pipes.

The alignment coupling between optical waveguide chips and optical fiber arrays is the basis of the alignment coupling of planar optical waveguide devices, and the precise position detection with angle and spacing adjustments is one of the key steps of alignment coupling. A methodology for position detection, and angle and spacing adjustment was proposed for optical waveguide chips and optical fiber arrays based on machine vision. The experimental results show angle detection precision levels higher than 0.05°, line detection precision levels higher than 0.1 μm, and detection time less than 2 s. Therefore, the system developed herein meets the precise requirements necessary for position detection, and angle and spacing adjustments for optical waveguide chips and optical fiber arrays.

Micro-grids comprise low voltage distribution systems with distributed energy resources (DERs) and controllable loads which can operate connected to the medium voltage grid or islanded in a controlled coordinated way. This concept aims to move from “connect and forget” philosophy towards a full integration of DERs. Micro-grids can provide numerous economic and environmental benefits for end-customers, utilities and society. However, their implementation poses great technical challenges, such as a new philosophy in design of protection systems. In this work, a micro-grid protection scheme is presented based on positive-sequence component using phasor measurement units (PMUs) and a central protection unit (CPU). The salient feature of the proposed scheme in comparison with the previous works is that it has the ability to protect both radial and looped micro-grids against different types of faults with the capability of single-phase tripping. Furthermore, since the CPU is capable of updating its pickup values (upstream and downstream equivalent positive-sequence impedances of each line) after the first change in the micro-grid configuration (such as transferring from grid-connected to islanded mode and or disconnection of a line, bus, or DER either in grid-connected mode or in islanded mode), it can protect micro-grid against subsequent faults. Finally, in order to verify the effectiveness of the suggested scheme and the CPU, several simulations have been undertaken by using DIgSILENT PowerFactory and MATLAB software packages.

The effect of wall temperature on the characteristics of random combustion of micro organic particles with recirculation was investigated. The effect of recirculating in micro-combustors is noticeable, hence it is necessary to present a model to describe the combustion process in these technologies. Recirculation phenomenon is evaluated by entering the exhausted heat from the post flam zone into the preheat zone. In this work, for modeling of random situation at the flame front, the source term in the equation of energy was modeled considering random situation for volatizing of particles in preheat zone. The comparison of obtained results from the proposed model by experimental data regards that the random model has a better agreement with experimental data than non-random model. Also, according to the results obtained by this model, wall temperature affects the amount of heat recirculation directly and higher values of wall temperature will lead to higher amounts of burning velocity and flame temperature.

Inspired by the idea that bionic non-smooth surfaces (BNSS) can reduce fluid adhesion and resistance, and the effect of bionic V-riblet non-smooth structure arranged in tire tread pattern grooves surface on anti-hydroplaning performance was investigated by using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The physical model of the object (model of V-riblet surface distribution, hydroplaning model) and SST k–ω turbulence model were established for numerical analysis of tire hydroplaning. With the help of a orthogonal table L₁₆(4⁵), the parameters of V-riblet structure design compared to the smooth structure were analyzed, and obtained the priority level of the experimental factors as well as the best combination within the scope of the experiment. The simulation results show that V-riblet structure can reduce water flow resistance by disturbing the eddy movement in boundary layers. Then, the preferred type of V-riblet non-smooth structure was arranged on the bottom of tire grooves for hydroplaning performance analysis. The results show that bionic V-riblet non-smooth structure can effectively increase hydroplaning velocity and improve tire anti-hydroplaning performance. Bionic design of tire tread pattern grooves is a good way to promote anti-hydroplaning performance without increasing additional groove space, so that tire grip performance and roll noise are avoided due to grooves space enlargement.

In order to solve the non-linear and high-dimensional optimization problems more effectively, an improved self-adaptive membrane computing (ISMC) optimization algorithm was proposed. The proposed ISMC algorithm applied improved self-adaptive crossover and mutation formulae that can provide appropriate crossover operator and mutation operator based on different functions of the objects and the number of iterations. The performance of ISMC was tested by the benchmark functions. The simulation results for residue hydrogenating kinetics model parameter estimation show that the proposed method is superior to the traditional intelligent algorithms in terms of convergence accuracy and stability in solving the complex parameter optimization problems.

A method to detect traffic dangers based on visual attention model of sparse sampling was proposed. The hemispherical sparse sampling model was used to decrease the amount of calculation which increases the detection speed. Bayesian probability model and Gaussian kernel function were applied to calculate the saliency of traffic videos. The method of multiscale saliency was used and the final saliency was the average of all scales, which increased the detection rates extraordinarily. The detection results of several typical traffic dangers show that the proposed method has higher detection rates and speed, which meets the requirement of real-time detection of traffic dangers.

The major challenge in printable electronics fabrication is to effectively and accurately control a drop-on-demand (DoD) inkjet printhead for high printing quality. In this work, an optimal prediction model, constructed with the lumped element modeling (LEM) and the artificial bee colony (ABC) algorithm, was proposed to efficiently predict the combination of waveform parameters for obtaining the desired droplet properties. For acquiring higher simulation accuracy, a modified dynamic lumped element model (DLEM) was proposed with time-varying equivalent circuits, which can characterize the nonlinear behaviors of piezoelectric printhead. The proposed method was then applied to investigate the influences of various waveform parameters on droplet volume and velocity of nano-silver ink, and to predict the printing quality using nano-silver ink. Experimental results show that, compared with two-dimension manual search, the proposed optimal prediction model perform efficiently and accurately in searching the appropriate combination of waveform parameters for printable electronics fabrication.

Target tracking using non-threshold raw data with low signal-to-noise ratio is a very difficult task, and the model uncertainty introduced by target’s maneuver makes it even more challenging. In this work, a multiple-model based method was proposed to tackle such issues. The method was developed in the framework of Bernoulli filter by integrating the model probability parameter and implemented via sequential Monte Carlo (particle) technique. Target detection was accomplished through the estimation of target’s existence probability, and the estimate of target state was obtained by combining the outputs of modeldependent filtering. The simulation results show that the proposed method performs better than the TBD method implemented by the conventional multiple-model particle filter.

A new iterative greedy algorithm based on the backtracking technique was proposed for distributed compressed sensing (DCS) problem. The algorithm applies two mechanisms for precise recovery soft thresholding and cutting. It can reconstruct several compressed signals simultaneously even without any prior information of the sparsity, which makes it a potential candidate for many practical applications, but the numbers of non-zero (significant) coefficients of signals are not available. Numerical experiments are conducted to demonstrate the validity and high performance of the proposed algorithm, as compared to other existing strong DCS algorithms.

In a manufacturing industry, mixed model assembly line (MMAL) is preferred in order to meet the variety in product demand. MMAL balancing helps in assembling products with similar characteristics in a random fashion. The objective of this work aims in reducing the number of workstations, work load index between stations and within each station. As manual contribution of workers in final assembly line is more, ergonomics is taken as an additional objective function. Ergonomic risk level of a workstation is evaluated using a parameter called accumulated risk posture (ARP), which is calculated using rapid upper limb assessment (RULA) check sheet. This work is based on the case study of an MMAL problem in Rane (Madras) Ltd. (India), in which a problem based genetic algorithm (GA) has been proposed to minimize the mentioned objectives. The working of the genetic operators such as selection, crossover and mutation has been modified with respect to the addressed MMAL problem. The results show that there is a significant impact over productivity and the process time of the final assembled product, i.e., the rate of production is increased by 39.5% and the assembly time for one particular model is reduced to 13 min from existing 18 min. Also, the space required using the proposed assembly line is only 200 m² against existing 350 m². Further, the algorithm helps in reducing workers fatigue (i.e., ergonomic friendly).

Single cell temperature difference of lithium-ion battery (LIB) module will significantly affect the safety and cycle life of the battery. The reciprocating air-flow module created by a periodic reversal of the air flow was investigated in an effort to mitigate the inherent temperature gradient problem of the conventional battery system with a unidirectional coolant flow with computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Orthogonal experiment and optimization design method based on computational fluid dynamics virtual experiments were developed. A set of optimized design factors for the cooling of reciprocating air flow of LIB thermal management was determined. The simulation experiments show that the reciprocating flow can achieve good heat dissipation, reduce the temperature difference, improve the temperature homogeneity and effectively lower the maximal temperature of the modular battery. The reciprocating flow improves the safety, long-term performance and life span of LIB.

In non-dedicated cooperative relay networks, each node is autonomous and selfish in nature, and thus spontaneous cooperation among nodes is challenged. To stimulate the selfish node to participate in cooperation, a pricing-based cooperation engine using game theory was designed. Firstly, the feasible regions of the charge price and reimbursement price were deduced. Then, the non-cooperative and cooperative games were adopted to analyze the amount of bandwidth that initiating cooperation node (ICN) forwards data through participating cooperation node (PCN) and the amount of bandwidth that PCN helps ICN to relay data. Meanwhile, the Nash equilibrium solutions of cooperation bandwidth allocations (CBAs) were obtained through geometrical interpretation. Secondly, a pricing-based cooperation engine was proposed and a cooperative communication system model with cooperation engines was depicted. Finally, an algorithm based on game theory was proposed to realize the cooperation engine. The simulation results demonstrate that, compared with the system without pricing-based incentive, the proposed system can significantly improve the ICN’s metric measured by bit-per-Joule and increase the PCN’s revenue.

The combustion process of pulverized coal injected into blast furnace involves a lot of physical and chemical reactions. Based on the combustion behaviors of pulverized coal, the conception of coal effective calorific value representing the actual thermal energy provided for blast furnace was proposed. A cost performance evaluation model of coal injection was built up for the optimal selection of various kinds of coal based on effective calorific value. The model contains two indicators: coal effective calorific value which has eight sub-indicators and coal injection cost which includes four sub-indicators. In addition, the calculation principle and application of cost performance evaluation model in a Chinese large-scale iron and steel company were comprehensively introduced. The evaluation results finally confirm that this novel model is of great significance to the optimal selection of blast furnace pulverized coal.

This work investigates the correlation between a large number of widely used ground motion intensity measures (IMs) and the corresponding liquefaction potential of a soil deposit during earthquake loading. In order to accomplish this purpose the seismic responses of 32 sloping liquefiable site models consisting of layered cohesionless soil were subjected to 139 earthquake ground motions. Two sets of ground motions, consisting of 80 ordinary records and 59 pulse-like near-fault records are used in the dynamic analyses. The liquefaction potential of the site is expressed in terms of the the mean pore pressure ratio, the maximum ground settlement, the maximum ground horizontal displacement and the maximum ground horizontal acceleration. For each individual accelerogram, the values of the aforementioned liquefaction potential measures are determined. Then, the correlation between the liquefaction potential measures and the IMs is evaluated. The results reveal that the velocity spectrum intensity (VSI) shows the strongest correlation with the liquefaction potential of sloping site. VSI is also proven to be a sufficient intensity measure with respect to earthquake magnitude and source-to-site distance, and has a good predictability, thus making it a prime candidate for the seismic liquefaction hazard evaluation.

Based on the double-layered foundation theory, the composite ground with partially penetrated cement fly-ash gravel (CFG) piles was regarded as a double-layered foundation including the surface reinforced area and the underlying untreated stratum. Due to the changing permeability property of CFG piles, the whole consolidation process of the composite ground with CFG piles was divided into two stages, i.e., the early stage (permeable CFG pile bodies) and the later stage (impermeable pile bodies). Then, the consolidation equation of the composite foundation with CFG piles was established by using the Terzaghi one-dimensional consolidation theory. Consequently, the unified formula to calculate the excess pore water pressure was derived with the specific solutions for the consolidation degree of composite ground, reinforced area and underlying stratum under instant load obtained respectively. Finally, combined with a numerical example, influencing rules by main factors (including the replacement rate m, the treatment depth h₁, the permeability coefficient K_s1, K_v2 and compression modulus E_s1, E_s2 of reinforced area and underlying stratum) on the consolidation property of composite ground with CFG piles were discussed in detail. The result shows that the consolidation velocity of underlying stratum is slower than that of the reinforced area. However, the consolidation velocity of underlying stratum is slow at first then fast as a result of the transferring of effective stress to the underlying stratum during the dissipating process of excess pore water pressure.

As an advanced polymer composites electro-kinetic geosynthetics, the electro-osmotic vertical drainage (EVD) board could drain water quickly and accelerate consolidation process. However, the drainage rate was mainly impacted by the vertical drainage capability. Therefore, vertical drainage capability at the top of EVD board was theoretically analyzed. Basic requirements for drainage at the top of the board were summed up, as well as the formula of anode pore pressure when losing the vertical drainage capability. Meanwhile, a contrast test on the top and bottom drainage capacities was conducted. In use of the advanced EVD board, the voltage potential and pore pressure of anode were measured. Moreover, the derived formulas were verified. The result shows that the decrease of electric force gradient had an observable impact on the drainage capability. There was nearly no difference between the energy consumption for the two drainage methods. Although a little less water was discharged, the top drainage method had more advantages, such as high initial drainage velocity, few soil cracks, low anode water content and high soil strength. All of these show that the super soft soil ground could be consolidated quickly in use of the advanced EVD board through the top drainage. The top drainage method could efficiently improve the drainage effect, decrease the energy consumption and speed up the project proceeding.

Eight concrete-filled steel tubular (CFT) columns were tested subjected to cyclic loading under constant axial load. Experimental parameters included axial compression ratio, loading sequences, and strength of concrete and steel. The seismic performance of CFT columns and failure modes were analyzed. The test results show that different axial load ratios and loading sequences have effects on the load carrying capacity, ductility and energy dissipation capacity of CFT columns, as well as the failure modes of the CFT columns. The failure pattern can be categorized into two types: local buckling failure of steel tube in compression zone, and low cycle fatigue tearing rupture failure of steel tube. The seismic behavior was evaluated through the energy index obtained from each cycle.

The bridge piles located in high-steep slopes not only endure the loads from superstructure, but also the residual sliding force as well as the resistance from the slope. By introducing the Winkler foundation theory, the mechanical model of piles—soils—slopes system was established, and the equilibrium differential equations of pile were derived. Moreover, an analytic solution for identifying the model parameters was provided by means of power series method. A project with field measurement was compared with the proposed method. It is indicated that the lateral loads have great influences on the pile, the steep slope effect is indispensable, and reasonable diameter of the pile could enhance the bending ability. The internal force and displacements of pile are largely based upon the horizontal loads applied on pile, especially in upper part.

In order to resolve grid distortions in finite element method (FEM), the meshless numerical method which is called general particle dynamics (GPD) was presented to simulate the large deformation and failure of geomaterials. The Mohr-Coulomb strength criterion was implemented into the code to describe the elasto-brittle behaviours of geomaterials while the solid-structure (reinforcing pile) interaction was simulated as an elasto-brittle material. The Weibull statistical approach was applied to describing the heterogeneity of geomaterials. As an application of general particle dynamics to slopes, the interaction between the slopes and the reinforcing pile was modelled. The contact between the geomaterials and the reinforcing pile was modelled by using the coupling condition associated with a Lennard-Jones repulsive force. The safety factor, corresponding to the minimum shear strength reduction factor “R”, was obtained, and the slip surface of the slope was determined. The numerical results are in good agreement with those obtained from limit equilibrium method and finite element method. It indicates that the proposed geomaterial-structure interaction algorithm works well in the GPD framework.

The Jianpudong No. 4 tunnel is a shallow tunnel, which belongs to Shaoshan County scenic highway in Hunan province, China and whose surrounding rock is weak. According to its characteristics, the field monitoring tests and numerical analysis were done. The mechanical characteristics of shallow tunnels under weak surrounding rock and the stress—strain rule of surrounding rock and support were analyzed. The numerical analysis results show that the settlement caused by upper bench excavating accounts for 44% of the total settlement, and the settlement caused by tunnel upper bench supporting accounts for 56% of the total settlement. The maximum axial force of shotcrete lining is 177.2 kN, which locates in hance under the secondary lining. The maximum moment of shotcrete lining is 5.08 kN·m, which locates in the arch foot. The stress curve of steel arch has three obvious stages during the tunnel construction. The maximum axial force of steel arch is 297.4 kN, which locates in tunnel vault. The axial forces of steel arch are respectively 23.5 kN and −21.8 kN, which is influenced by eccentric compression of shallow tunnel and locates in hance. The results show that there is larger earth pressure in tunnel vault which is most unfavorable position of steel arch. Therefore, the advance support should be strengthened in tunnel vault during construction process.

Due to the extreme complexity of mechanical response of soft surrounding rock (SR) around a tunnel under high geostatic stress conditions, the integration of physical and numerical modeling techniques was adopted. Based on the similarity theory, new composite-similar material was developed, which showed good agreement with the similarity relation and successfully simulated physico-mechanical properties (PMP) of deep buried soft rock. And the 800 mm×800 mm×200 mm physical model (PM) was conducted, in which the endoscopic camera technique was adopted to track the entire process of failure of the model all the time. The experimental results indicate that the deformation of SR around a underground cavern possessed the characteristics of development by stages and in delay, and the initial damage of SR could induce rapid failure in the later stage, and the whole process could be divided into three stages, including the localized extension of crack(the horizontal load (HL) was in the range of 130 kN to 170 kN, the vertical load (VL) was in the range of 119 kN to 153.8 kN), rapid crack coalescence (the HL was in the range of 170 kN to 210 kN, the VL was in the range of 153.8 kN to 182.5 kN) and residual strength (the HL was greater than 210 kN, the VL was greater than 182.5 kN). Under the high stress conditions, the phenomenon of deformation localization in the SR became serious and different space positions show different deformation characteristics. In order to further explore the deformation localization and progressive failure phenomenon of soft SR around the deeply buried tunnel, applying the analysis software of FLAC^3D three-dimensional explicit finite-difference method, based on the composite strain-softening model of Mohr-Coulomb shear failure and tensile failure, the calculation method of large deformation was adopted. Then, the comparative analysis between the PM experiment and numerical simulation of the three centered arch tunnels was implemented and the relationship of deformation localization and progressive failure of SR around a tunnel under high stress conditions was discussed.

In order to investigate zonal disintegration mechanism of isotropic rock masses around a deep spherical tunnel, a new mechanical model subjected to dynamic unloading under hydrostatic pressure condition is proposed. The total elastic stress-field distributions is determined using the elastodynamic equation. The effects of unloading rate and dynamic mechanical parameters of isotropic deep rock masses on the zonal disintegration phenomenon of the surrounding rock masses around a deep spherical tunnel as well as the total elastic stress field distributions are considered. The number and size of fractured and non-fractured zones are determined by using the Hoek-Brown criterion. Numerical computation is carried out. It is found from numerical results that the number of fractured zones increases with increasing the disturbance coefficient, in-situ stress, unloading time and unloading rate, and it decreases with increasing parameter geological strength index, the strength parameter and the uniaxial compressive strength of intact rock.

Stability analysis of gravity retaining wall was currently based on the assumption that the wall had no embedment depth. The effect of earth berm was usually neglected. The present work highlighted the importance of embedment depth when assessing the seismic stability of gravity retaining walls with the pattern of pure rotation. In the framework of upper bound theorem of limit analysis, pseudo-static method was applied into two groups of parallel rigid soil slices methods in order to account for the effect of embedment depth on evaluating the critical acceleration of wall-soil system. The present analytical solution is identical to the results obtained from using limit equilibrium method, and the two methods are based on different theory backgrounds. Parameter analysis indicates that the critical acceleration increases slowly when the ratio of the embedment depth to the total height of the wall is from 0 to 0.15 and increases drastically when the ratio exceeds 0.15.

A series of compression tests were conducted on 150 groups of cement paste specimens with side lengths ranging from 40 mm to 200 mm. The specimens include cube specimens and prism specimens with height to width ratio of 2. The experiment results show that size effect exists in the cubic compressive strength and prismatic compressive strength of the cement paste, and larger specimens resist less in terms of strength than smaller ones. The cubic compressive strength and the prismatic compressive strength of the specimens with side length of 200 mm are respectively about 91% and 89% of the compressive strength of the specimens with the side length of 40 mm. Water to binder ratio has a significant influence on the size effect of the compressive strengths of the cement paste. With a decrease in the water to binder ratio, the size effect is significantly enhanced. When the water to binder ratio is 0.2, the size effects of the cubic compressive strength and the prismatic compressive strength of the cement paste are 1.6 and 1.4 times stronger than those of a water to binder ratio of 0.6. Furthermore, a series of formulas are proposed to calculate the size effect of the cubic compressive strength and the prismatic compressive strength of cement paste, and the results of the size effect predicted by the formulas are in good agreement with the experiment results.