Understanding the Rayleigh instability in humping phenomenon during laser powder bed fusion process

The periodic undulation of a molten track's height profile in laser-based powder bed fusion of metals (PBF-LB/M) is a commonly observed phenomena that can cause defects and building failure during the manufacturing process. However a quantitative analysis of such instabilities has not been fully established and so here we used Rayleigh-Plateau theory to determine the stability of a single molten track in PBF-LB/M and tested it with various processing conditions by changing laser power and beam shape. The analysis discovered that normalized enthalpy, which relates to energy input density, determines whether a molten track is initially unstable and if so, the growth rate for the instability. Additionally, whether the growth rate ultimately yields significant undulation depends on the melt duration, estimated by dwell time in our experiment.

Asphalt mixture and its time delay of stress after strain at change of temperature and frequency

Materials in pavement construction are used due to their material properties. Asphalt mixtures, which are today most used during building pavement construction, have a significant place. Asphalt mixtures are classified as viscoelastic materials due to their material properties. This article focuses on the time delay of the stress behind the strain, which is a specific property for viscoelastic materials. It is particularly focused on one type of asphalt mixture, which is used in the binder course and in the upper base layer. The selected asphalt mixture was tested on a four-bending machine and the samples had a beam shape. The sample was tested at four temperatures and seven frequencies. In the discussion, the article focuses on the comparison of the time delay of the stress Δt behind the strain during the change of temperature and frequency. It is clear from the results that the selected asphalt mixture is significantly affected by the change in temperature as well as the change in frequency. The conclusion is devoted to a summary of the acquired knowledge and observation, which is focused on examples in practice.

Story Stability of a Structure- A Literature Review

Column is a slender beam, which carries load. Failure pattern of a column varies with different parameters such as buckling, compression, shear and tension. The initial imperfections in a column increases deflection and reduction in load carrying capacity. To accomplish stability, the key engineering elements such as connection and rigidity governs the effective length and width of the members. The researchers, covering the key engineering elements with different loading patterns, established numerous comprehensive studies. Further, advancement in the research were carried out to determine lateral stiffness, inter-story displacement and deflected beam shape under various loading patterns. The present study focuses on various literatures on effective length and governing factors, which determine the stability of the structure.

Advancing a generalized method for solving problems of continuum mechanics as applied to the Cartesian coordinate system

Solving the problem of continuum mechanics has revealed the defining generalizations using the function argument method. The aim of this study was to devise new approaches to solving problems of continuum mechanics using defining generalizations in the Cartesian coordinate system. Additional functions, or the argument of the coordinates function of the deformation site, are introduced into consideration. The carriers of the proposed function arguments should be basic dependences that satisfy the boundary or edge conditions, as well as functions that simplify solving the problem in a general form. However, there are unresolved issues related to how not the solutions themselves should be determined but the conditions for their existence. Such generalized approaches make it possible to predict the result for new applied problems, expand the possibilities of solving them in order to meet a variety of boundary and edge conditions. The proposed approach makes it possible to define a series of function arguments, each of which can be a condition of uniqueness for a specific applied problem. Such generalizations concern determining not the specific functions but the conditions of their existence. From these positions, the flat problem was solved in the most detailed way, was tested, and compared with the studies reported by other authors. Based on the result obtained, a mathematical model of the flat applied problem of the theory of elasticity with complex boundary conditions was built. Expressions that are presented in coordinateless form are convenient for analysis while providing a computationally convenient context. The influence of the beam shape factor on the distribution of stresses in transition zones with different intensity of their attenuation has been shown. By bringing the solution to a particular result, the classical solutions have been obtained, which confirms its reliability. The mathematical substantiation of Saint-Venant's principle has been constructed in relation to the bending of a beam under variable asymmetric loading

Improved Strategy of Two-Node Curved Beam Element Based on the Same Beam’s Nodes Information

The curved beam with a great initial curvature is the typical structure and applied widely in real engineering structures. The common practice in the current literature employs two-node straight beam elements as the elementary members for stress and displacement analysis, which needs a large number of divisions to fit the curved beam shape well and increases computational time greatly. In this paper, we develop an improved accurate two-node curved beam element (IC2) in 3D problems, combining the curved Timoshenko beam theory and the curvature information calculated from the same beam curve. The strategy of calculating the curvature information from the same bean curve in the IC2 beam element and then transferring the curvature information to the two-node straight beam element can greatly enhance the accuracy of the mechanical analysis with no extra calculation burden. We then introduce the finite element implementation of the IC2 beam element and verify by the complex curved beam analysis. By comparison with simulation results from the straight two-node beam element in the MIDAS (S2-MIDAS) and the three-node curved beam element adopted in the ANSYS (C3-ANSYS), the simulation results of the typical quarter arc examples under constant or variable curvature show that the IC2 beam element based on curved beam theory is a combination of efficiency and accuracy. And, it is a good choice for analysis of complex engineering rod structure with large initial curvature.

Characterization of Monochromatic Aberrated Metalenses in Terms of Intensity-Based Moments

Consistent with wave-optics simulations of metasurfaces, aberrations of metalenses should also be described in terms of wave optics and not ray tracing. In this respect, we have shown, through extensive numerical simulations, that intensity-based moments and the associated parameters defined in terms of them (average position, spatial extent, skewness and kurtosis) adequately capture changes in beam shapes induced by aberrations of a metalens with a hyperbolic phase profile. We have studied axial illumination, in which phase-discretization induced aberrations exist, as well as non-axial illumination, when coma could also appear. Our results allow the identification of the parameters most prone to induce changes in the beam shape for metalenses that impart on an incident electromagnetic field a step-like approximation of an ideal phase profile.

Beam characterization of a microfading tester: evaluation of several methods

Microfading testing allows to evaluate the sensitivity to light of a specific artwork. Characterization of the illumination spot is important to determine its shape, dimensions, light distribution, and intensity in order to limit and account for possible damage. In this research the advantages and disadvantages of several methods used to determine the beam shape and intensity profiles are described with the aim of providing various options to microfading researchers interested in characterizing their irradiation spots. Conventional and imaging methods were employed and are compared in terms of their accuracy, cost, reliability, and technical features. Conventional methods consisted of an aperture technique using aluminium foil and four different materials namely stainless steel, silicon, muscovite, and Teflon used as sharp edges. The imaging methods consisted of digital photography of illumination spot, direct beam measurement using a CMOS camera, and direct beam measurement using a laser beam profiler. The results show that both conventional and imaging methods provide beam width measurements, which are in satisfactory agreement within experimental error. The two best methods were direct measurement of the beam using a CMOS camera and sharp-edge procedure. MFT illumination beam with a CMOS camera followed by a determination of the beam diameter using a direct method, more specifically one involving a sharp-edge technique.

Untethered Microrobots With Serpentine Actuators: The Role of Elastics Point Contact & Laser Beam Shape on Their Locomotion

FEA simulations of 7 microrobots designed from asymmetric Chevron actuators are presented with in depth analysis of their resonance behavior due to fixed, as well as elastic supports at their contact points with underlying substrate. Experimental resonance frequencies of 3 different designs identified by frequency sweep experiments, excited by a 532 nm pulse laser, are in close agreement with the simulated values. Contact stiffness is estimated by comparing simulated and experimental resonance frequencies. Both in-plane and out of plane motion due to resonance is found in all of these structures that can be used to predict the stick-slip step size (locomotion mechanism) of these robots. In addition, modeling of differential thermal expansion is conducted to optimize the laser spot size that is used to drive these microrobots. Simulations of elliptic and circular laser spots with varying size suggest that covering only the actuators of the robot is sufficient for successful actuation. Using a circular laser spot increase the thermal expansion of the overall microrobot by 3.3 nm resulting in no significant gain in step size/gait of the robotic locomotion. This finding proves that the shape and size of the laser spot are insignificant as long as the actuators are under the laser beam.