The dynamic recrystallization (DRX) process of hot compressed aluminium alloy 7050 was predicted using cellular automaton (CA) combined with topology deformation. The hot deformatation characteristics of aluminium alloy 7050 were investigated by hot uniaxial compression tests in order to obtain the material parameters used in the CA model. The influences of process parameters (strain, strain rate and temperature) on the fraction of DRX and the average recrystallization grain (R-grain) size were investigated and discussed. It is found that larger stain, higher temperature and lower strain rate (less than 0.1 s^–1) are beneficial to the increasing fraction of DRX. And the deformation temperature affects the mean R-grain size much more greatly than other parameters. It is also noted that there is a critical strain for the occurrence of DRX which is related to strain rate and temperature. In addition, it is shown that the CA model with topology deformation is able to simulate the microstructural evolution and the flow behavior of aluminium alloy 7050 material under various deformation conditions.

A titanium alloy containing continuous oxygen gradient was prepared by powder metallurgy (P/M) and the composition–property relationship was studied on a single sample. The alloy was sintered with layered powder of different oxygen contents via vacuum sintering and spark plasma sintering (SPS), respectively. After subsequent heat treatments, high-throughput characterizations of the microstructures and mechanical properties by localized measurements were conducted. The Ti-7% Mo (molar fraction) alloy with an oxygen content ranging from 1.3×10⁻³ to 6.2×10⁻⁵ (mass fraction) was obtained, and the effects of oxygen on the microstructural evolution and mechanical properties were studied. The results show that SPS is an effective way for fabricating fully dense Ti alloy with a compositional gradient. The average width of α′ phase coarsens with the increase of the content of oxygen. The content of α″ martensitic phase also increases with the content of oxygen. At oxygen contents of 3×10⁻³ and 4×10⁻³ (mass fraction), the Ti alloys present the lowest microhardness and the lowest elastic modulus, respectively. The results also indicate that the martensitic phases actually decrease the hardness of Ti-7Mo alloy, and oxygen effectively hardens the alloy by solid solution strengthening. Therefore, the high-throughput characterization on a microstructure with a gradient content of oxygen is an effective method for rapidly evaluating the composition–property relationship of titanium alloys.

The magnetic performance and mechanical properties including hardness, brittleness, fracture toughness and strength characteristics of the as-sintered and the optimal aged Nd-Fe-B magnets were examined in this work. A new method of Vickers hardness indentation combined with acoustic emission was used to test the brittleness of the magnets.The results show that the magnetic properties of the magnets could be improved through aging treatment, especially the intrinsic coercive force. But it is accompanied by a decrease of strength and fracture toughness. Theoretical calculation confirms that acoustic emission energy accumulated count value could be used to characterize the material brittleness. The bending fracture morphologies of the as-sintered and the optimal aged NdFeB magnets were investigated with the emphasis on the relationship between mechanical properties and microstructure using a field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). The research results indicate that the intergranular fracture is the primary fracture mechanism for both as-sintered and optimal aged NdFeB magnets. Aging treatment changes the morphology and distribution of the Nd-rich phases, reducing the sliding resistance between Nd₂Fe₁₄B main crystal grains and lowers the grain boundary strength, which is the main reason for the strength and fracture toughness decrease of the aged Nd-Fe-B magnets.

Electrical steel sheets with 6.5% (mas fraction) Si with good shapes and superior magnetic inductions were successfully produced by a specially designed processing route including ingot casting, hot rolling and warm rolling both with interpass thermal treatment, and final annealing. The sheets were of 0.2 mm and 0.3 mm thick over 140 mm width. A detailed study of the microstructural and textural evolutions from the hot rolling to annealing was carried out by optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction and electron backscattered diffraction. The hot rolled sheet characterized by near-equiaxed grains was dominated by the mixture of <001>//ND fiber (λ-fiber), <110>//RD fiber (α-fiber) and <111>//ND fiber (γ-fiber) textures owing to the partial recrystallization and strain induced boundary migration (SIBM) during the hot rolling interpass thermal treatment. The static recovery and SIBM during the warm rolling interpass thermal treatment result in large and elongated warm rolling grains. The warm rolling texture is dominated by obvious λ, Goss and strong γ-fiber textures. The application of the interpass thermal treatment during hot and warm rolling significantly enhances the impact of SIBM during annealing, which is responsible for the formation of the moderate λ-fiber, some near-λ fiber texture components and the obviously weakened γ-fiber texture in the annealed sheet, leading to a higher magnetic induction compared to the commercially produced 6.5% Si steel by chemical vapor deposition (CVD).

The effect of dolomite with different particle size fractions on hematite flotation was studied using sodium oleate as collector at pH of about 9. The effect mechanism of dolomite on hematite flotation was investigated by means of solution chemistry, ultraviolet spectrophotometry (UV), inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). It is observed that dolomite with different size fractions has depressing effect on hematite flotation using sodium oleate as collector, and dolomite could be the “mineral depressant” of hematite using sodium oleate as collector. The reasons for that are concerned with sodium oleate consumption and the adsorption onto hematite of dissolved species of dolomite.

A metabonomic approach was undertaken in order to detect urinary endogenous and exogenous metabolites and to evaluate the effects of passive exposure to cigarette sidestream smoke on rats. Urinary samples from three groups of rats were determined including control rats, rats treated with blended cigarettes (nonmenthol cigarettes) and rats treated with menthol cigarettes. The total urinary 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanol (NNAL), total 1-hydroxypyrene (1-HOP) and 3-hydroxybenzo[a] pyrene (3-HOBaP) were determined for assessing exposure to cigarette sidestream smoke toxins. Urinary endogenous metabolites in the three groups of rats were also analyzed and the data were processed by chemometrics. Eleven endogenous metabolites were found and identified. Their relative levels were compared among the three groups. The results show that cigarette sidestream smoke has complex effect on rats. Blended cigarette group makes difference to menthol cigarette group in the rats’ urinary metabolic changes. Menthol adding to cigarettes has positive and negative effects on rats, respectively. The urinary metabolic profiling of menthol cigarette group is closer to that of control group.

In order to effectively improve meshing performance of spiral bevel and hypoid gears generated by the duplex helical method, the effects of straight lined and circular cutting edges profile on meshing and contact of spiral bevel and hypoid gears were investigated analytically. Firstly, a mathematical model of spiral bevel and hypoid gears with circular blade profile was established according to the cutting characteristics of the duplex helical method. Based on a hypoid gear drive, the tooth bearings and the functions of transmission errors of four design cases were analyzed respectively by the use of the tooth contact analysis (TCA), and the contact stresses of the four design cases were analyzed and compared using simulation software. Finally, the curvature radius of the circular profile blade was optimized. The results show that the contact stresses are availably reduced, and the areas of edge contact and severe contact stresses can be avoided by selecting appropriate circular blade profile. In addition, the convex and concave sides are separately modified by the use of different curvature radii of inside and outside blades, which can increase the flexibility of the duplex helical method.

Solid-state wave gyroscope is one kind of high-performance vibrating gyroscopes. The present work develops a new type of solid-state wave gyroscope—a ring vibrating gyroscope driven by piezo-electrodes located on the sidewall of the structure. It has advantages of large vibrating amplitude, high energy conversion efficiency and compact structure. The working principle of the piezoelectric ring vibrating gyroscope is based on the inertia effect of the standing wave in the axisymmetric resonator caused by Coriolis force. The finite element method (FEM) analysis has been implemented to characterize the ring type resonator. The prototypal gyroscope was manufactured and has been trimmed by mechanical way. The harmonic response of the ring vibrating gyroscope has been tested. The resonating frequency of the ring type resonator is 3715.6 Hz and the frequency split of the two working modes before trimming was about 5 Hz and was reduced to sub −0.01 Hz after trimming procedure. The Q-factor of the ring type resonator was 2504. Then, the turntable experiment was implemented. The measured scale factor k is 9.24 mV/[(°)∙s] and the full scale range of the gyroscope is larger than ±300 (°)/s.

The theoretical model of axial ultrasonic vibration grinding force is built on the basis of a mathematical model of cutting deforming force deduced from the assumptions of thickness of the undeformed debris under Rayleigh distribution and a mathematical model of friction based on the theoretical analysis of relative sliding velocity of abrasive and workpiece. Then, the coefficients of the ultrasonic vibration grinding force model are calculated through analysis of nonlinear regression of the theoretical model by using MATLAB, and the law of influence of grinding depth, workpiece speed, frequency and amplitude of the mill on the grinding force is summarized after applying the model to analyze the ultrasonic grinding force. The result of the above-mentioned law shows that the grinding force decreases as frequency and amplitude increase, while increases as grinding depth and workpiece speed increase; the maximum relative error of prediction and experimental values of the normal grinding force is 11.47% and its average relative error is 5.41%; the maximum relative error of the tangential grinding force is 10.14% and its average relative error is 4.29%. The result of employing regression equation to predict ultrasonic grinding force approximates to the experimental data, therefore the accuracy and reliability of the model is verified.

For the purpose of improving efficiency and realizing start–stop function, an electric oil pump (EOP) is integrated into an 8-speed automatic transmission (AT). A mathematical model is built to calculate the transmission power loss and the hydraulic system leakage. Based on this model, a flow-based control strategy is developed for EOP to satisfy the system flow requirement. This control strategy is verified through the forward driving simulation. The results indicate that there is a best combination for the size of mechanical oil pump (MOP) and EOP in terms of minimum energy consumption. In order to get a quick and smooth starting process, control strategies of the EOP and the on-coming clutch are proposed. The test environment on a prototype vehicle is built to verify the feasibility of the integrated EOP and its control strategies. The results show that the selected EOP can satisfy the flow requirement and a quick and smooth starting performance is achieved in the start–stop function. This research has a high value for the forward design of EOP in automatic transmissions with respect to efficiency improvement and start–stop function.

It is well-known that the IMC-PID controller tuning gives fast and improved set point response but slow disturbance rejection. A modification has been proposed in IMC-PID tuning rule for the improved disturbance rejection. For the modified IMC-PID tuning rule, a method has been developed to obtain the IMC-PID setting in closed-loop mode without acquiring detailed information of the process. The proposed method is based on the closed-loop step set point experiment using a proportional only controller with gain K_c0. It is the direct approach to find the PID controller setting similar to classical Ziegler-Nichols closed-loop method. Based on simulations of a wide range of first-order with delay processes, a simple correlation has been derived to obtain the modified IMC-PID controller settings from closed-loop experiment. In this method, controller gain is a function of the overshoot obtained in the closed loop set point experiment. The integral and derivative time is mainly a function of the time to reach the first peak (overshoot). Simulation has been conducted for the broad class of processes and the controllers were tuned to have the same degree of robustness by measuring the maximum sensitivity, M_s, in order to obtain a reasonable comparison. The PID controller settings obtained in the proposed tuning method show better performance and robustness with other two-step tuning methods for the broad class of processes. It has also been applied to temperature control loop in distillation column model. The result has been compared to the open loop tuning method where it gives robust and fast response.

The effect of the parameters on the open-circuit voltage, V_OC of a-Si:H/c-Si heterojunction solar cells was explored by an analytical model. The analytical results show that V_OC increases linearly with the logarithm of illumination intensity under usual illumination. There are two critical values of the interface state density (D_it) for the open-circuit voltage (V_OC), D_it^crit,1 and D_it^crit,2 (a few 10¹⁰ cm⁻²∙eV⁻¹). V_OC decreases remarkably when D_it is higher than D_it^crit,1. To achieve high V_OC, the interface states should reduce down to a few 10¹⁰ cm⁻²·eV⁻¹. Due to the difference between the effective density of states in the conduction and valence band edges of c-Si, the open-circuit voltage of a-Si:H/c-Si heterojunction cells fabricated on n-type c-Si wafers is about 22 mV higher than that fabricated on p-type c-Si wafers at the same case. V_OC decreases with decreasing the a-Si:H doping concentration at low doping level since the electric field over the c-Si depletion region is reduced at low doping level. Therefore, the a-Si:H layer should be doped higher than a critical value of 5×10¹⁸ cm⁻³ to achieve high V_OC.

Parameter estimation of the attributed scattering center (ASC) model is significant for automatic target recognition (ATR). Sparse representation based parameter estimation methods have developed rapidly. Construction of the separable dictionary is a key issue for sparse representation technology. A compressive time-domain dictionary (TD) for ASC model is presented. Two-dimensional frequency domain responses of the ASC are produced and transformed into the time domain. Then these time domain responses are cutoff and stacked into vectors. These vectored time-domain responses are amalgamated to form the TD. Compared with the traditional frequency-domain dictionary (FD), the TD is a matrix that is quite spare and can markedly reduce the data size of the dictionary. Based on the basic TD construction method, we present four extended TD construction methods, which are available for different applications. In the experiments, the performance of the TD, including the basic model and the extended models, has been firstly analyzed in comparison with the FD. Secondly, an example of parameter estimation from SAR synthetic aperture radar (SAR) measurements of a target collected in an anechoic room is exhibited. Finally, a sparse image reconstruction example is from two apart apertures. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed TD.

Designing product platform could be an effective and efficient solution for manufacturing firms. Product platforms enable firms to provide increased product variety for the marketplace with as little variety between products as possible. Developed consumer products and modules within a firm can further be investigated to find out the possibility of product platform creation. A bottom-up method is proposed for module-based product platform through mapping, clustering and matching analysis. The framework and the parametric model of the method are presented, which consist of three steps: (1) mapping parameters from existing product families to functional modules, (2) clustering the modules within existing module families based on their parameters so as to generate module clusters, and selecting the satisfactory module clusters based on commonality, and (3) matching the parameters of the module clusters to the functional modules in order to capture platform elements. In addition, the parameter matching criterion and mismatching treatment are put forward to ensure the effectiveness of the platform process, while standardization and serialization of the platform element are presented. A design case of the belt conveyor is studied to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed method.

A robust adaptive control is proposed for a class of uncertain nonlinear non-affine SISO systems. In order to approximate the unknown nonlinear function, an affine type neural network (ATNN) and neural state feedback compensation are used, and then to compensate the approximation error and external disturbance, a robust control term is employed. By Lyapunov stability analysis for the closed-loop system, it is proven that tracking errors asymptotically converge to zero. Moreover, an observer is designed to estimate the system states because all the states may not be available for measurements. Furthermore, the adaptation laws of neural networks and the robust controller are given based on the Lyapunov stability theory. Finally, two simulation examples are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed control method. Finally, two simulation examples show that the proposed method exhibits strong robustness, fast response and small tracking error, even for the non-affine nonlinear system with external disturbance, which confirms the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

Most of studies on network capacity are based on the assumption that all the nodes are uniformly distributed, which means that the networks are characterized by homogeneity. However, many realistic networks exhibit inhomogeneity due to natural and man-made reasons. In this work, the capacity of inhomogeneous hybrid networks with directional antennas for the first time is studied. By setting different node distribution probabilities, the whole network can be devided into dense cells and sparse cells. On this basis, an inhomogeneous hybrid network model is proposed. The network can exhibit significant inhomogeneity due to the coexistence of two types of cells. Then, we derive the network capacity and maximize the capacity under different channel allocation schemes. Finally, how the network parameters influence the network capacity is analyzed. It is found that if there are plenty of base stations, the per-node throughput can achieve constant order, and if the beamwidth of directional antenna is small enough, the network capacity can scale.

The oblique transfer zone in the Fushan Sag, a syndepositional dome sandwiched between the Bailian and Huangtong sub-sags, has been the most important exploration target. The major oil observation occurs in the E₂l₁^L+M and the E₂l₃^U. 46 oil and rock samples reveal that the oil in the transfer zone is mostly contributed by the Bailian sub-sag, though the source rock conditions, hydrocarbon generation and expulsion histories of the Bailian and Huangtong sub-sags are similar. The E₂l₃^U oil, characterized by high maturity, Pr/Ph ratio and oleanane/C₃₀-hopane ratio, shows a close genetic affinity with the E₂l₃^b source rocks, while the E₂l₁^L+M oil, characterized by lower maturity, Pr/Ph ratio and oleanane/C₃₀-hopane ratio, is suggested to be derived from the E₂l₁₊₂^b source rocks. The homogenization temperatures of aqueous fluid inclusions, taking the burial history of the reservoirs into account, reflect that the oil charge mainly occurred from mid-Miocene to Pliocene in the oblique transfer zone. The oil transporting passages include connected sand bodies, unconformities and faults in the Fushan Sag. Of these, the faults are the most complicated and significant. The faults differ sharply in the west area, the east area and the oblique transfer zone, resulting in different influence on the oil migration and accumulation. During the main hydrocarbon charge stage, the faults in the west area are characterized by bad vertical sealing and spatially dense distribution. As a result, the oil generated by the Huangtong source rocks is mostly lost along the faults during the vertical migration in the west area. This can be the mechanism proposed to explain the little contribution of the Huangtong source rocks to the oil in the oblique transfer zone. Eventually, an oil migration and accumulation model is built in the oblique transfer zone, which may provide theoretical and practical guides for the oil exploration.

Lower Silurian Longmaxi Shale (SLS) in southeastern Sichuan Basin, China, was analyzed for major and selected trace elements, and their provenance, intensity of palaeoweathering of the source rocks were analyzed based on these elements. The results show that SiO₂, Al₂O₃ and Fe₂O₃, are dominant major elements with average contents of 60.59%, 15.91% and 5.87% in Upper Silurian Longmaxi Shale (USLS), and 65.14%, 13.24% and 4.68% in Lower Silurian Longmaxi Shale (LSLS). The TiO₂−Zr plot, Hf (ppm) versus La/Th discriminant diagram, and abundance of Cr and Ni suggest a dominantly felsic source for the Longmaxi sediments. Average chemical index of alteration (CIA), plagioclase index of alteration (PIA) values (64.05% and 72.86%, respectively) imply low-degree chemical weathering of the source material in early Longmaxi time, and average CIA, PIA values (68.44% and 80.35%, respectively) imply moderate chemical weathering of the source material in late Longmaxi time.

Faults and fractures of multiple scales are frequently induced and generated in compressional structural system. Comprehensive identification of these potential faults and fractures that cannot be distinguished directly from seismic profile of the complex structures is still an unanswered problem. Based on the compressional structural geometry and kinematics theories as well as the structural interpretation from seismic data, a set of techniques is established for the identification of potential faults and fractures in compressional structures. Firstly, three-dimensional (3D) patterns and characteristics of the faults directly interpreted from seismic profile were illustrated by 3D structural model. Then, the unfolding index maps, the principal structural curvature maps, and tectonic stress field maps were obtained from structural restoration. Moreover, potential faults and fractures in compressional structures were quantitatively identified relying on comprehensive analysis of these three maps. Successful identification of the potential faults and fractures in Mishrif limestone formation and in Asmari dolomite formation of Buzurgan anticline in Iraq demonstrates the applicability and reliability of these techniques.

Soil-rock mixture(S-RM)is a widely distributed geotechnical medium composed of “soil” and “rock block” different both in size and strength. Internal rock blocks form special and variable meso-structural characteristics of S-RM. The objective of this work was to study the control mechanism of meso-structural characteristics on mechanical properties of S-RM. For S-RM containing randomly generated polygonal rock blocks, a series of biaxial tests based on DEM were conducted. On the basis of research on the effects of rock blocks’ breakability and sample lateral boundary type (rigid, flexible) on macroscopic mechanical behavior of S-RM, an expanded Mohr-Coulomb criterion in power function form was proposed to represent the strength envelop. At the mesoscopic level, the variations of meso-structure such as rotation of rock block, and the formation mechanism and evolution process of the shear band during tests were investigated. The results show that for S-RM with a high content of rock block, translation, rotating and breakage of rock blocks have crucial effects on mechanical behavior of S-RM. The formation and location of the shear band inside S-RM sample are also controlled by breakability and arrangement of rock blocks.

The objective of this work is to investigate the fatigue behavior of reinforced concrete (RC) beams strengthened with externally bonded carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) and steel plate. An experimental investigation and theoretical analysis were made on the law of deflection development and stiffness degradation, as well as the influence of fatigue load ranges. Test results indicate that the law of three-stage change under fatigue loading is followed by both midspan deflection and permanent deflection, which also have positive correlation with fatigue load amplitude. Fatigue stiffness of composite strengthened beams degrades gradually with the increasing of number of cycles. Based on the experimental results, a theoretical model by effective moment of inertia method is developed for calculating the sectional stiffness of such composite strengthened beams under fatigue loading, and the calculated results are in good agreement with the experimental results.

Based on the active failure mechanism and passive failure mechanism for a pressurized tunnel face, the analytical solutions of the minimum collapse pressure and maximum blowout pressure that could maintain the stability of pressurized tunnel faces were deduced using limit analysis in conjunction with nonlinear failure criterion under the condition of pore water pressure. Due to the objective existence of the parameter randomness of soil, the statistical properties of random variables were determined by the maximum entropy principle, and the Monte Carlo method was employed to calculate the failure probability of a pressurized tunnel. The results show that the randomness of soil parameters exerts great influence on the stability of a pressurized tunnel, which indicates that the research should be done on the topic of determination of statistical distribution for geotechnical parameters and the level of variability. For the failure probability of a pressurized tunnel under multiple failure modes, the corresponding safe retaining pressures and optimal range of safe retaining pressures are calculated by introducing allowable failure probability and minimum allowable failure probability. The results can provide practical use in the pressurized tunnel engineering.

In order to investigate the seismic performance of geosynthetic reinforced and pile supported (GRPS) embankment under seismic loads, an input method for three-dimensional oblique incidence of P wave was proposed. This method is based on the explicit finite element method while considering the viscous-spring artificial boundary (VSAB) condition. Using the proposed method, a numerical study was conducted, and the influence of oblique incidence on the seismic response of GRPS embankment under the oblique incident P waves was analyzed. The results indicate that in comparison with vertical incidence, the oblique incidence can significantly increase the displacement, velocity and acceleration of key locations in the GRPS embankment. The existence of geosynthetics can alleviate the impact of seismic load on the response of the embankment to a certain degree. Moreover, the number of reinforcement layers and modulus of geogrid also greatly influence the seismic performance of GRPS embankment.

The root mean square (RMS) difference of time-lapse seismic amplitudes is routinely used to identify the substituted fluid type in a reservoir during oil field production and recovery. By a time-lapse seismic method, we study the effects of fluid substitution in a physical model, which is an analogy of the three-dimensional inhomogeneous reservoir. For a weak inhomogeneous medium, gas/oil substitution results in positive anomalies in the reservoir layers, and negative anomalies below the bottom of the reservoir layers; while water/oil substitution causes only weak variations in the reservoir layers, but positive anomalies below the bottom of the reservoir layers. For the strong inhomogeneous medium, no matter what kind of fluid substitution (gas/oil or water/oil), there are significant anomalies in seismic amplitude difference attributes both in and below the reservoir layers. Therefore, for weak inhomogeneous media, such as tight sandstone or thin interbedded layers, the RMS amplitude difference attributes can be used to monitor fluid changes and predict the drilling direction; for inhomogeneous medium with karst carves or fractures, it is difficult to accurately determine the distribution of fluids with the RMS amplitude difference attributes.

Rapid dewatering and thickening of whole-tailings with ultrafine particles is one of the most important processes for the whole-tailings paste preparation. Deep-cone thickener, a kind of such process for the flocculation and settling of whole-tailings, is particularly necessary to study. However, there exist many problems in observing the flocculation and settling process of whole-tailings, as well as the particle size distribution (PSD) of whole-tailings floccules in deep-cone thickener. Population balance model (PBM) is applied to predict the PSD in deep-cone thickener, and LUO model and GHADIRI model are employed to study the aggregation and fragmentation mechanism of the whole-tailings particles, respectively. Through three-dimensional numerical simulation on the whole-tailings flocculation and settling in deep-cone thickener using computational fluid dynamics (CFD)-PBM, the distribution of density and turbulent kinetic energy in deep-cone thickener were obtained, at the same time the spatio-temporal changes of whole-tailings floccules particle size distribution are analyzed. Finally, the major flocculation position in deep-cone thickener is found and the flocculation settling rules of whole-tailings are achieved.

Vacuum well point is a new but faint soft ground treatment method. This work focuses on the consolidation behavior of a reconstituted soft clayey specimen under vacuum well point combined with surcharge loading. The laboratory test was conducted through a vacuum-surcharge consolidation apparatus, and the vacuum loading scheme was adopted for vacuum pressure application to investigate the vacuum effect on soil consolidation. In the testing process, some key parameters such as vacuum pressure, pore water pressure and settlement deformation were timely recorded. Furthermore, the water content, void ratio and permeability coefficient of samples collected after loading were measured to reflect the consolidation characteristics. By comparing with the membrane system and membraneless system, something different was found for the vacuum well point method. The results indicate that the consolidation behavior of an axisymmetric single vacuum well point is almost identical to the behavior of vacuum preloading combined with prefabricated vertical drain (PVD), except for the distribution of the vacuum pressure along the well drain due to the structure of the vacuum well point. And the vacuum well point method may be useful for the improvement of soft clayey deposit in a certain depth.