Analysis of preheating temperature field characteristics in selective laser sintering

Selective laser sintering technology has broad application prospects in the manufacture of small batch parts with complex structure. In the sintering process, the preheating efficiency and temperature of powder layer determine the processing quality. A method of preheating powder by lamp radiation and tropical heat conduction is proposed in this paper. The thermal radiation model is established, and the angle coefficient is introduced to describe the proportion of radiation energy on the surface of powder layer. Based on the geometric characteristics of the powder cylinder, the heat conduction process is simplified to one-dimensional heat conduction along the radial direction, and the heat conduction model is established. The coupled temperature field under two actions is obtained by combining the heat radiation model with the heat conduction model. The uniformity coefficient [Formula: see text]/[Formula: see text] of the temperature field is defined to represent the uniformity of the preheating temperature field of the powder layer. By comparing the uniformity coefficient [Formula: see text], a more uniform temperature field can be obtained when the height coefficient is 1.8 under combined action. The validity of the model is verified by a comparative experiment with processed water atomized iron powder. Constructing uniform temperature field can effectively reduce the deformation of parts and improve the forming quality.

A Vertically Resolved MSE Framework Highlights the Role of the Boundary Layer in Convective Self-Aggregation

Convective self-aggregation refers to a phenomenon in which random convection can self-organize into large-scale clusters over an ocean surface with uniform temperature in cloud-resolving models. Previous literature studies convective aggregation primarily by analyzing vertically integrated (VI) moist static energy (MSE) variance. That is the global MSE variance, including both the local MSE variance at a given altitude and the covariance of MSE anomalies between different altitudes. Here we present a vertically resolved (VR) MSE framework that focuses on the local MSE variance to study convective self-aggregation. Using a cloud-resolving simulation, we show that the development of self-aggregation is associated with an increase of local MSE variance, and that the diabatic and adiabatic generation of the MSE variance is mainly dominated by the boundary layer (BL, the lowest 2 km). The results agree with recent numerical simulation results and the available potential energy analyses showing that the BL plays a key role in the development of self-aggregation. Additionally, we find that the lower free troposphere (2 - 4 km) also generates significant MSE variance in the first 15 days. We further present a detailed comparison between the global and local MSE variance frameworks in their mathematical formulation and diagnostic results, highlighting their differences.

Study of Alloy Hot Flow and Hardening Behavior Using a New Correction Method for Hot Uniaxial Tests

The precise characterisation of hot flow behavior of titanium alloys is of vital importance for practical hot forming processes. To precisely determine the hot flow behavior of titanium alloys under the forming conditions, Gleeble hot tensile tests are usually performed to simulate the forming processes by accurately controlling the deformation temperatures and strain rates under designed conditions. However, there exists a non-uniform temperature distribution during the Gleeble tests, which leads to inaccuracies in the determined hot flow behavior. To overcome such an issue, this paper proposed a new strain-based correction method for Gleeble hot tensile tests, enabling the mitigation of the non-uniform temperature-induced stress-strain curve inaccuracies. The non-uniform temperature zones have been successfully excluded in the calculation of the true strain levels. A series of hot uniaxial tensile tests of TA32 at temperatures, ranging from 750 °C to 900 °C, and strain rates, 0.01/s~1/s, were carried out. The obtained stress-strain correlations for a large gauge zone were characterized using the new correction method, which was further used to evaluate the hardening behavior of titanium alloys. The results have shown that the ductility, strain hardening component (i.e., n), strain rate hardening component (i.e., m) and uniform strain value (i.e., ) are over-estimated, compared to conventional method. Higher strain rates and lower temperature leads to enhanced hardening behavior. This research provides an alternative correction method and may achieve more accurate stress-strain curves for better guidance of the hot forming process for titanium alloys.

Numerical Study on Non-Uniform Temperature Distribution and Thermal Performance of Plate Heat Exchanger

In this study, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis was performed to investigate the cause of the thermal stratification in the channel and the temperature non-uniformity of the plate heat exchanger. The flow velocity maldistribution of the channel and the merging parts caused temperature non-uniformity in the channel width direction. The non-uniformity of flow velocity and temperature in the channel is shown in Section 1 > Section 3 > Section 2 from the heat exchanger. The non-uniform temperature distribution in the channel caused channel stratification and non-uniform outlet temperature. Stratification occurred at the channel near the merging due to the flow rate non-uniformity in the channel. In particular, as the mass flow rate increased from 0.03 to 0.12 kg/s and the effectiveness increased from 0.436 to 0.615, the cold-side stratified volume decreased from 4.06 to 3.7 cm3, and the temperature difference between the stratified area and the outlet decreased from 1.21 K to 0.61 K. The increase in mass flow and the decrease in temperature difference between the cold and hot sides alleviated the non-uniformity of the outlet temperature due to the increase in effectiveness. Besides, as the inlet temperature difference between the cold and the hot side increases, the temperature non-uniformity at the outlet port is poor due to the increase in the stratified region at the channel, and the distance to obtain a uniform temperature in the outlet pipe increases as the temperature at the hot side increases.

Non-uniform temperature distribution of the main reflector of a large radio telescope under solar radiation

The non-uniform temperature distribution of the main reflector of a large radio telescope may cause serious deformation of the main reflector, which will dramatically reduce the aperture efficiency of a radio telescope. To study the non-uniform temperature field of the main reflector of a large radio telescope, numerical calculations including thermal environment factors, the coefficients on convection and radiation, and the shadow boundary of the main reflector are first discussed. In addition, the shadow coverage and the non-uniform temperature field of the main reflector of a 70-m radio telescope under solar radiation are simulated by finite element analysis. The simulation results show that the temperature distribution of the main reflector under solar radiation is very uneven, and the maximum of the root mean square temperature is 12.3°C. To verify the simulation results, an optical camera and a thermal imaging camera are used to measure the shadow coverage and the non-uniform temperature distribution of the main reflector on a clear day. At the same time, some temperature sensors are used to measure the temperature at some points close to the main reflector on the backup structure. It has been verified that the simulation and measurement results of the shadow coverage on the main reflector are in good agreement, and the cosine similarity between the simulation and the measurement is above 90%. Despite the inevitable thermal imaging errors caused by large viewing angles, the simulated temperature field is similar to the measured temperature distribution of the main reflector to a large extent. The temperature trend measured at the test points on the backup structure close to the main reflector without direct solar radiation is consistent with the simulated temperature trend of the corresponding points on the main reflector with the solar radiation. It is credible to calculate the temperature field of the main reflector through the finite element method. This work can provide valuable references for studying the thermal deformation and the surface accuracy of the main reflector of a large radio telescope.

The Effects of Absorbing Materials on the Homogeneity of Composite Heating by Microwave Radiation

When cured in a microwave, flat thin composite panels can experience even heat distribution throughout the laminate. However, as load and geometric complexity increase, the electromagnetic field and resulting heat distribution is altered, making it difficult to cure the composite homogeneously. Materials that absorb and/or reflect incident electromagnetic radiation have the potential to influence how the field behaves, and therefore to tailor and improve the uniformity of heat distribution. In this study, an absorber was applied to a composite with non-uniform geometry to increase heating in the location which had previously been the coldest position, transforming it into the hottest. Although this result overshot the desired outcome of temperature uniformity, it shows the potential of absorbing materials to radically change the temperature distribution, demonstrating that with better regulation of the absorbing effect, a uniform temperature distribution is possible even in non-uniform composite geometries.

Design and Optimization for Mounting Primary Mirror with Reduced Sensitivity to Temperature Change in an Aerial Optoelectronic Sensor

In order to improve the image quality of the aerial optoelectronic sensor over a wide range of temperature changes, high thermal adaptability of the primary mirror as the critical components is considered. Integrated optomechanical analysis and optimization for mounting primary mirrors are carried out. The mirror surface shape error caused by uniform temperature decrease was treated as the objective function, and the fundamental frequency of the mirror assembly and the surface shape error caused by gravity parallel or vertical to the optical axis are taken as the constraints. A detailed size optimization is conducted to optimize its dimension parameters. Sensitivities of the optical system performance with respect to the size parameters are further evaluated. The configuration of the primary mirror and the flexure are obtained. The simulated optimization results show that the size parameters differently affect the optical performance and which factors are the key. The mirror surface shape error under 30 °C uniform temperature decrease effectively decreased from 26.5 nm to 11.6 nm, despite the weight of the primary mirror assembly increases by 0.3 kg. Compared to the initial design, the value of the system’s modulation transfer function (0° field angle) is improved from 0.15 to 0.21. Namely, the optical performance of the camera under thermal load has been enhanced and thermal adaptability of the primary mirror has been obviously reinforced after optimization. Based on the optimized results, a prototype of the primary mirror assembly is manufactured and assembled. A ground thermal test was conducted to verify difference in imaging quality at room and low temperature, respectively. The image quality of the camera meets the requirements of the index despite degrading.