A Study on the Correlation between Change in the Geometrical Dimension of a Free-Falling Molten Glass Gob and Its Viscosity

To produce flawless glass containers, continuous monitoring of the glass gob is required. It is essential to ensure production of molten glass gobs with the right shape, temperature, viscosity and weight. At present, manual monitoring is common practice in the glass container industry, which heavily depends on previous experience, operator knowledge and trial and error. This results in inconsistent measurements and consequently loss of production. In this article, a multi-camera based setup is used as a non-invasive real-time monitoring system. We have shown that under certain conditions, such as keeping the glass composition constant, it is possible to do in-line measurement of viscosity using sensor fusion to correlate the rate of geometrical change in the gob and its temperature. The correlation models presented in this article show that there is a strong correlation, i.e., 0.65, between our measurements and the projected viscosity.

Pomelo Peel-Inspired 3D-Printed Porous Structure for Efficient Absorption of Compressive Strain Energy

The porous structure in pomelo peel is believed to be responsible for the protection of its fruit from damage during the free falling from a tree. The quantitative understanding of the relationship between the deformation behavior and the porous structure could pave the way for the design of porous structures for efficient energy absorption. Here, a universal feature of pore distribution in pomelo peels along the radial direction is extracted from three varieties of pomelos, which shows strong correlation to the deformation behavior of the peels under compression. Guided by the porous design found in pomelo peels, porous polyether-ether-ketone (PEEK) cube is additively manufactured and possesses the highest ability to absorb energy during compression as compared to the non-pomelo-inspired geometries, which is further confirmed by the finite element simulation. The nature-optimized porous structure revealed here could guide the design of lightweight and high-energy-dissipating materials/devices.

Experimental and Numerical Studies on Fluid–Structure Interaction for Underwater Drop of a Stone-Breaking Crusher

There are many methods for crushing seabed rock such as a using a free-falling crusher, blasting, and chemical liquid expansion. Blasting and chemical liquid expansion can lead to environmental destruction, noise pollution, and civil complaints. Therefore, a free-falling crusher is generally recommended for use. Understanding the characteristics of a crusher in water and the impact force on the ground is helpful for designing a crusher and dredge work. In this study, drop tests of 50 and 70 ton crusher models that were scaled down by 15 times were investigated. The tests were conducted in a water basin by the Research Institute of Medium and Small Shipbuilding (RIMS) in Korea. Four water depths were considered with different falling locations: water surface and air. Moreover, a numerical study on Fluid–Structure Interaction (FSI) analysis for a free-falling crusher was conducted by applying the Arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian (ALE) element and the Grüneisen Equation of State (EoS) to fluid models. The crusher and ground were modeled as Lagrangian elements to estimate the impact force on the ground. Before comparing the crusher model, a free-falling sphere model was used to develop FSI technologies by comparing past Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and experimental results. Moreover, the recommended mesh size and fluid domain for FSI analysis are provided to achieve good results via convergence tests. Comparison between experimental and numerical methods demonstrated a similar tendency such that impact force increased at a higher depth. Certain numerical results agree with average values of experimental results; however, multiple numerical cases exhibit a moderate difference. This is because of angular rotation between the crusher and ground when the crusher hits the ground during experiments.

The Improved Motion Model of Particles in the Cone Crusher Considering the Spatial Compound Motion of the Mantle

The cone crusher is the main equipment in the particle crushing process. The productivity of the cone crusher is determined by the motion characteristics of particles passing through the crushing chamber. In order to accurately describe the motion characteristics of the particles, the influence of the spatial compound motion of the mantle rotates around the central axis of the cone crusher and its central axis on the motion characteristics of the particles is investigated, then the improved motion model is established. Through the coordinate system transformation matrix, the motion characteristics of the particles including spatial sliding, free-falling, and spatial compound falling are solved. The applicability and accuracy of the improved model in describing the motion characteristics of the particle were verified through the experiment using a reduced-scale experimental cone crusher to simulate the motion characteristics of the particle. Based on the improved model, the motion characteristics of the particles in the CF11 hydraulic cone crusher can be simulated. With the decrease in height, the motion characteristics of particles gradually change from spatial sliding to spatial compound falling and finally to free-falling. The particles deflect circumferentially around the central axis of the cone crusher. The circumferential deflection of particles is directly related to the motion characteristics including spatial sliding and spatial compound falling. The improved model provides a theoretical basis for the high energy design of the crushing chamber and productivity improvement of the cone crusher.

Bose–Einstein condensates hit record low temperature

Researchers have used a new way of controlling the expansion of matter in a free-falling Bose–Einstein condensate to produce the coldest effective temperature ever measured.

Investigation Of Hydraulic Flow Characteristics On Drop Structures

Drop structures are required if the slope of the ground level is steeper than the maximum allowable gradient channel. Drop structures become bigger as height increases. Its hydraulic capability may be reduced due to variations of jets falling on the stilling basin floor due to discharge changing. Drop structures should not be used if the change in energy level exceeds 1.50 m. The free-falling overflow on drop structures will hit the stilling basin and move downstream. As a result of overflows and turbulence in the pool below the nappe, some energy is dissipated at the front. The rest of the energy will be reduced downstream. The objectives of this study are to investigate the hydraulics flow behavior in straight and sloping drop structures and to investigate hydraulics flow behavior in a single and serial vertical drop (stepped drop). The hydraulic model results of single and stepped drop structures are compared to obtain flow behavior and energy dissipation information. The comparisons are specific to the flow parameters, including flow depth at the drop structures toe, flow depth after the jump, and hydraulic jump length.

Tracker-assisted modelling: simultaneous validation of the conservation law of energy and the work-energy theorem

The video of a free-falling object was analysed in Tracker in order to extract the position and time data. On the basis of these data, the velocity, gravitational potential energy, kinetic energy, and the work done by gravity were obtained. These led to a rather simultaneous validation of the conservation law of energy and the work–energy theorem. The superimposed plots of the kinetic energy, gravitational potential energy, and the total energy as respective functions of time and position demonstrate energy conservation quite well. The same results were observed from the plots of the potential energy against the kinetic energy. On the other hand, the work–energy theorem has emerged from the plot of the total work-done against the change in kinetic energy. Because of the accessibility of the setup, the current work is seen as suitable for a home-based activity, during these times of the pandemic in particular in which online learning has remained to be the format in some countries. With the guidance of a teacher, online or face-to-face, students in their junior or senior high school—as well as for those who are enrolled in basic physics in college—will be able to benefit from this work.

A biomechanical model to assess the injury risk of leopards (Panthera pardus) hunting by free falling from trees

Leopards have been observed to ambush prey by jumping down on it from trees. There are both anecdotal reports and video recordings of this hunting behavior. Here we conducted a biomechanical analysis of this technique to assess the degree of risk for the predator in such cases. We concluded that the risk of suffering severe injuries seems to be too high for this technique to be a usual way of predation on horned mammals such as male impalas. Our results can be useful in discussing proposed paleobiological hunting scenarios and living predators’ strategies of managing risks.