Study on Size-Related Product Quality of Multiscale Central-Punched Cups Fabricated by Compound Forming Directly Using Brass Sheet

Meso/microforming has gained much more attention in the last decades and is widely used as a reliable method to fabricate meso/micro-scaled metallic components. In this research, a compound meso/microforming system which combines deep drawing, punching and blanking operations was developed to fabricate multiscale central-punched cups by using brass sheets. The parts with three scales were produced by using the brass sheets with various thicknesses and grain sizes to investigate geometrical and grain size effects on the deformation behaviors, dimensional accuracy, and material flow behaviors in the forming process. Through physical experiments and finite element simulations, it is revealed that the ultimate deformation load in the drawing-punching stage is smaller than that in the single deep drawing stage under microscale, but the results in the meso-scaled scenarios are opposite. In addition, the thickness variation is increased with grain size, but the variation of the normalized thickness variation does not show an obvious tendency with different size scales. In the bending area, the material flow is tangential to the thickness direction, leading to the formation of thinning area. In addition, the material flow is almost opposite to the punching direction in the punching area, avoiding the expanding deformation of the hole. Thus, the punching operation barely affects the dimensional accuracy including the thickness and hole diameter of the formed parts. Furthermore, the micro-scaled cups with finer grains have a better surface quality. These findings enhance the understanding of size effect in compound meso/microforming with the combined deep drawing and punching operations.

Bedrock depth influences spatial patterns of summer baseflow, temperature, and flow disconnection for mountainous headwater streams

In mountain headwater streams the quality and resilience of cold-water habitat is regulated by surface stream channel connectivity and groundwater exchange. These critical hydrologic processes are thought to be influenced by the stream corridor bedrock contact depth (sediment thickness), which is often inferred from sparse hillslope borehole information, piezometer refusal, and remotely sensed data. To investigate how local bedrock depth might control summer stream temperature and channel disconnection (dewatering) patterns, we measured stream corridor bedrock depth by collecting and interpreting 191 passive seismic datasets along eight headwater streams in Shenandoah National Park (Virginia USA). In addition, we used multiyear stream temperature and streamflow records to calculate summer baseflow metrics along and among the study streams. Finally, comprehensive visual surveys of stream channel dewatering were conducted in 2016, 2019, and 2021 during summer baseflow conditions (124 total km of stream length). We found that measured bedrock depths were not well-characterized by soils maps or an existing global-scale geologic dataset, where the latter overpredicted measured depths by 12.2 m (mean), or approximately four times the average bedrock depth of 2.9 m. Half of the eight study stream corridors had an average bedrock depth of less than 2 m. Of the eight study streams, Staunton River had the deepest average bedrock depth (3.4 m), the coldest summer temperature profiles, and substantially higher summer baseflow indices compared to the other study steams. Staunton River also exhibited paired air and water annual temperature signals suggesting deeper groundwater influence, and the stream channel did not dewater in lower sections during any baseflow survey. In contrast, streams Paine Run and Piney River did show pronounced, patchy channel dewatering, with Paine Run having dozens of discrete dry channel sections ranging 1 to greater than 300 m in length. Stream dewatering patterns were apparently influenced by a combination of discrete deep bedrock (20 m+) features and more subtle sediment thickness variation (1–4 m), depending on local stream valley hydrogeology. In combination these unique datasets show the first large-scale empirical support for existing conceptual models of headwater stream disconnection based on underflow capacity and shallow groundwater supply.

Splines in vibration analysis of non-homogeneous circular plates of quadratic thickness

Mathematical model to account for non-homogeneity of plate material is designed, keeping in mind all the physical aspects, and analyzed by applying quintic spline technique for the first time. This method has been applied earlier for other geometry of plates which shows its utility. Accuracy and versatility of the technique are established by comparing with the well-known existing results. Effect of quadratic thickness variation, an exponential variation of non-homogeneity in the radial direction, and variation in density; for the three different outer edge conditions namely clamped, simply supported and free have been computed using MATLAB for the first three modes of vibration. For all the three edge conditions, normalized transverse displacements for a specific plate have been presented which shows the shiftness of nodal radii with the effect of taperness.

Development of a Combined Bulging-Piercing Technique to Reduce Forming Load for a Long Semi-Hollow Stepped Part

This paper aims to develop a new forming technique to manufacture a long semi-hollow stepped part. Traditionally, hot backward extrusion is used. This technique is not suitable, because it requires a very high forming load acting on the die and punch especially at the contact between punch and workpiece. As a result, the service life of the punch is very low. Therefore, a new technique to overcome this problem is needed. A combined bulging-piercing technique was proposed and developed in this research. The main concept of this technique is to bulge the part by upsetting the workpiece between the punch and the counter-punch to generate high frictional contact pressure which will help to restrain the material sliding down to the die cavity during the piercing step. In other words, this technique utilizes frictional force at the die-workpiece interface to reduce the forming load of the punch. Finite element modeling was employed to investigate and determine the suitable level of the bulging which can reduce the forming load without generating any significantly high force to the counter-punch. Only experiments with the minimum forming load were selected and implemented to validate this concept, because other conditions with high load will risk to damage the punch and the machine press of the product line. The results show that this technique can reduce the forming load by almost 40%, and also control a good concentricity of the part and reduce the wall thickness variation.

A Review on Part Geometric Precision Improvement Strategies in Double-Sided Incremental Forming

Low geometric accuracy is one of the main limitations in double-sided incremental forming (DSIF) with a rough surface finish, long forming time, and excessive sheet thinning. The lost contact between the support tool and the sheet is considered the main reason for the geometric error. Researchers presented different solutions for geometric accuracy improvement, such as toolpath compensation, adaptation, material redistribution, and heat-assisted processes. Toolpath compensations strategies improve geometric precision without adding extra tooling to the setup. It relies on formulas, simulation, and algorithm-based studies to enhance the part accuracy. Toolpath adaptation improves the part accuracy by adding additional equipment such as pneumatically or spring-loaded support tools or changing the conventional toolpath sequence such as accumulative-DSIF (ADSIF) and its variants. It also includes forming multi-region parts with various arrangements. Toolpath adaptation mostly requires experimental trial-and-error experiments to adjust parameters to obtain the desired shape with precision. Material redistribution strategies are effective for high-wall-angle parts. It is the less studied area in the geometric precision context in the DSIF. The heat-assisted process mainly concentrates on hard-to-form material. It can align itself to any toolpath compensation or adaptation strategy. This work aims to provide DSIF variants and studies, which focus on improving geometric accuracy using various methodologies. It includes a brief survey of tool force requirements for different strategies, sheet thickness variation in DSIF, and support tool role on deformation and fracture mechanism. Finally, a brief discussion and future work are suggested based on the insights from several articles.

Quantitative mapping of thickness variations along a ray path using geometrical full waveform inversion and guided wave mode conversion

Quantitative guided wave thickness mapping in plate-like structures and pipelines is of significant importance for the petrochemical industry to accurately estimate the minimum remaining wall thickness in the presence of corrosion, as guided waves can inspect a large area without needing direct access. Although a number of inverse algorithms have been studied and implemented in guided wave reconstruction, a primary assumption is widely used: the three-dimensional guided wave inversion of thickness is simplified as a two-dimensional acoustic wave inversion of velocity, with the dispersive nature of the waves linking thickness to velocity. This assumption considerably simplifies the inversion procedure; however, it makes it impossible to account for mode conversion. In reality, mode conversion is quite common in guided wave scattering with asymmetric wall loss, and compared with non-converted guided wave modes, converted modes may provide greater access to valuable information about the thickness variation, which, if exploited, could lead to improved performance. Geometrical full waveform inversion (GFWI) is an ideal tool for this, since it can account for mode conversion. In this paper, quantitative thickness reconstruction based on GFWI is developed in a plate cross-section and applied to study the performance of thickness reconstruction using mode conversion.

Influence of parity and Body Mass Index (BMI) on endometry thickness variation in women of Lokossa, Benin

The thickness of the endometrium is also an important parameter in the clinical management of women. It is often influenced by several parameters which are important to determine. This is why the present study looked at the factors that influence the variation in the thickness of the endometrium of women in Lokossa in the Republic of Benin. This descriptive, prospective and cross-sectional study concerns 166 women aged 15 to 40 in Lokossa. Ultrasound examination measured the thickness of the endometrium on the longitudinal section through the suprapubic route. Anthropometric parameters were taken by other equipment from each woman. Analysis of one-way proc glm ANOVA variants and Student-Newman-Keuls (SNK) tests identified factors associated with variation in endometrial thickness in women. At the end of the study, the minimum, average and maximum values ​​of the thickness of the endometrium obtained are respectively Vm = 3.50 mm, VMoy = 6.73 ± 1.38 mm, MV = 10.00 mm during the pre-ovulatory phase, Vm = 7.30 mm, MV avg = 10.75 ± 2.11 mm, MV = 16.00 mm during the post-ovulatory period. There is an association between the thickness of the endometrium and parameters such as age, weight, Body Mass Index, parity. BMI has been found to be associated with changes in endometrial thickness. And this variation in the thickness of the endometrium of the woman's uterus is related to the number of deliveries. Thus, the higher the number of childbirth, the greater the thickness of the endometrium deprived.

Analysis of Microstructure Evolution and Mechanical Properties during Compression of Open-Cell Ni-Foams with Hollow Struts Using Micro-CT and FEM

Based on electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD), hollow structures of Ni foam struts fabricated by electroplating on a chemically removable template were observed. Three-dimensional (3D) pore structures of Ni foams were also obtained using X-ray computed tomography (CT), and microstructural features such as porosity, pore size and strut thickness were statistically quantified. Evolution of microstructure and mechanical properties during ex situ compression of open-cell Ni-foams was investigated based on X-ray CT, and experimental results were compared with predictions by the finite element method (FEM). 3D microstructures obtained by X-ray CT revealed that the stress drop started with the buckling of struts at the center of the Ni-foams. The flow stress increased after the buckling of the struts spreads to most of the regions. For effective simulation of the compressive deformation and determination of the microstructural evolution, small domains of interest were selected from the entire set of observed 3D microstructures based on X-ray CT, and struts of Ni foams with a hollow structure were simplified with relevant thin-solid struts. Numerical 3D modeling comprehensively disclosed that compression caused the transverse buckling of the struts, with the bending and buckling of struts thus reducing the stress. Thickness variation of the struts causes a change in the porosity of Ni-foams without a change in pore shape or connectivity. The overall range of strut thickness was from 59 to 133 μm, and the range of porosity values was from 80% to 93.7%. A stress drop was predicted with a decrease in the strut thickness or an increase in the porosity, as measured experimentally. It was also found that the stress drop contributed to an increase in the calculated energy absorption efficiency.