A novel approach for characterizing frozen soil damage based on mesostructure

In this study, the relationship between the computed tomography (CT) number and the density of frozen soil was established on a macro and mesoscopic scale, aimed at overcoming the shortcomings of the mesoscopic damage behavior predicted by previous macroscopic research on frozen soil. In addition, considering the influence of stress level and temperature, a mesoscopic structural damage variable was proposed, which could reflect the damage characteristics of frozen soil. On this basis, combining the meso-damage of frozen soil with the macro-mechanical response, the mechanism of the damage evolution of frozen soil under stress was studied. It was found that the variation law of porosity was consistent with the law of the mesoscopic damage expansion in frozen soil. In the initial stage of stress loading, compaction was observed before meso-crack expansion. The internal structure exhibited a strengthening effect, by which the damage was reduced. The macroscopic mechanical properties were characterized by an elastic strain phase. As the stress continued to increase, an inflection point of the damage value appeared, and the damage gradually increased. The starting point of the meso-fracture expansion curve could represent the stress yield point on the macroscopic mechanical curve, and also represented the inflection point of the volume change of the material from the contraction to the dilatancy. When the damage value was gradually increased and became equal to the initial value, the deviatoric stress reached the peak of the macroscopic mechanical curve.

Backcross Aiming at the Resistance of Passion Fruit to Soil Pathogen

Brazil is the world's largest producer of passion fruit, however, the crop suffers from serious phytosanitary problems, as well as those caused by soil fungi. Thus, the objective of the present work was to estimate the genetic parameters and to select genotypes resistant to Fusarium solani species complex—FSSC in a segregating population from the first generation of backcross among P. edulis and interspecific hybrids, aiming at advancing generation in the genetic improvement program of passion fruit. The Interspecific Hybrid was used (IH) UNEMAT 142 resistant to colon rot, for generation advancement and to cultivate BRS Sol do Cerrado (Passiflora edulis Sims). In order to evaluate the resistance of the 27 genotypes of the first generation of backcrosses, inoculation with the FSUNEMAT 40 (F. solani) inoculum was performed. To estimate the components of variances, the method of maximum restricted likelihood (REML) was used and to select the best genotypes by the non-addicted linear prediction (BLUP). The variables that showed the highest heritability values were the survival period and the area under the lesion length expansion curve. The three families of backcrosses presented genotypes resistant to the fungus F. solani, however, by the methodology of mixed models REML/BLUP, only the genotypes BC1-22/1, BC1-22/2, BC1-22/3, BC1-22/4, BC1-22/6, BC1-22/7, BC1-113/3, BC1-113/7 and BC1-113/8, were selected to advance the generation of the UNEMAT passion fruit breeding program, therefore, they presented among the ten placed, mainly for the variable survival period (SP).

Spatial Distribution and Morphological Identification of Regional Urban Settlements Based on Road Intersections

To measure and present urban size urban spatial forms, in solving problems in the rapid urbanization of China, urban territorial scope identification is essential. Although current commonly used methods can quantitatively identify urban territorial scopes to a certain extent, the results are displayed using a continuous and closed curve with medium- and low-resolution images. This makes the acquisition and interpretation of data challenging. In this paper, by extracting discretely distributed urban settlements, road intersections in OpenStreetMap (OSM), electronic maps, and urban expansion curve based on fractal thoughts have been used to present urban territorial scope and spatial form. Guangzhou, Chengdu, Nanjing, and Shijiazhuang cities were chosen as the identification targets. The results showed that the distance threshold corresponding to the principal curvature point of the urban expansion curve plays a vital role in the extraction of urban settlements. Moreover, from the analysis, the optimal distance thresholds of urban settlements in Guangzhou, Chengdu, Nanjing, and Shijiazhuang were 132 m, 204 m, 157 m, and 124 m, respectively, and the corresponding areas of urban territorial scopes were 1099.36 km2, 1076.78 km2, 803.07 km2, and 353.62 km2, respectively. These metrics are consistent with those for the built-up areas.

Research on the Propagation Characteristics of Fatigue Cracks on Rail Surfaces

To solve the problem of rail crack propagation, inadequate studies mainly use a two-dimensional (2D) model for macroscopic crack analysis owing to the failure of accurately reflecting the contact status between the wheel and rail. In this work, we use ANSYS software to establish a three-dimensional (3D) wheel–rail contact model to clarify the microcracks on the rail tread. The influence of the number of horizontal and vertical cyclic loads during the rail’s fatigue crack growth is analyzed. The results suggest that as the number of vertical and tangential cyclic loads increases, the length of the rail crack increases. Using experiments to verify the law between the number of cyclic loads and rail crack growth length, the experimental findings proved that the law of crack growth is basically consistent with the aforementioned simulation results and the outcome of the Paris expansion curve, verifying the validity of the simulation results.

Pre-Compensation of Mold in Precision Glass Molding Based on Mathematical Analysis

Precision glass molding is the most appropriate method for batch production of glass lenses with high surface accuracy and qualified optical performance. However, the form error caused by material expansion and contraction is the main factor affecting the precision of the molded lenses, thus the mold must be pre-compensated. In this paper, an effective method of mold pre-compensation based on mathematical analysis is established. Based on the thermal expansion curve of D-ZK3 glass, the freezing fictive temperature of the glass under the actual cooling rate is measured, and the mold pre-compensation factor can be quickly calculated. Experimental results show that the peak valley (PV) value of the surface form error of molded aspheric lens with an aperture of 5.3 mm is effectively reduced from 2.04 μm to 0.31 μm after the pre-compensation, thus meeting the geometric evaluation criterion.

Hydrate formation and its effects on the thermal expansion properties of HfMgW3O12

The thermal expansion curve of HfMgW3O12 correlated with hydration/dehydration accompanying structure and Raman spectral changes.

Wind Energy Status and Potential Assessment across Coastal Mega City, of Pakistan

The development growth of any nation is based on making a balance between power generation and its supply. But unfortunately every year Pakistan show the expansion curve between supply and demand. So the gap can be overcome by utilizing the existing renewable resources, which have the capacity to fulfill future demand. The scientific proof has been mounting for many years to use renewable energy (RE) resources. One of these shared resources is wind energy that presently seems like the primary emerging supply source of energy around the globe. The wind is such type of natural resource that capable to supply the unstoppable energy from wind turbines. The wind energy can play a significant role to supply economical and environmentally friendly energy. The wind energy only needs basic information about wind conditions for windmills installation at a localized place. So the World Bank conducts the study of each wind speed information obtained from the installed station in the selected region of the world including Pakistan for an extent of 3 years. In this research, the wind availability is being observed for the coastal megacity, of Pakistan on the basis of World Bank data.

A New Reversible Phase Transformation of Intermetallic Ti3Sn

Ti3Sn has received increasing attention as a high damping metallic material and as an anode material for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. However, a heated dispute concerning the existence of solid state phase transformation of stoichiometric Ti3Sn impedes its development. Here, thermal-induced reversible phase transformation of Ti3Sn is demonstrated to happen at around 300 K by the means of in-situ variable-temperature X-ray diffraction (XRD) of Ti3Sn powder, which is also visible for bulk Ti3Sn on the thermal expansion curve by a turning at 330 K. The new phase’s crystal structure of Ti3Sn is determined to be orthorhombic with a space group of Cmcm and the lattice parameters of a = 5.87 Å, b = 10.37 Å, c = 4.76 Å respectively, according to selected area electron diffraction patterns in transmission electron microscope (TEM) and XRD profiles. The hexagonal → orthorhombic phase transformation is calculated to be reasonable and consistent with thermodynamics theory. This work contributes to a growing knowledge of intermetallic Ti3Sn, which may provide fundamental insights into its damping mechanism.

INVESTIGATION OF A HIGH-FORCED COOLING SYSTEM FOR THE ELEMENTS OF HEAT POWER INSTALLATIONS

The studies of the ultimate thermal flows have been carried out in metallic and poorly heat-conducting porous structures, which operate when gravitational and capillary forces act jointly and cool various devices of thermal power plants in order to create a scientific methodology. The mechanism of destruction of metal vaporizing surfaces and poorly heat-conducting coatings of low porosity made of natural mineral media (granite) has been described on the basis of the problem of thermoelasticity and experimental data. Thermal flow dependences on time of their action and depth of penetration of temperature perturbations were identified based on analogy. Capillary-porous systems have high intensity, heat transport ability, reliability, compactness. The results of calculations and experiment showed that the maximum thickness of the particles that detach under the influence of compression forces for granite coatings is (0.25÷0.3).10-2 m. Sections of compression curves that determine the detachment of particles with dimensions of more than 0.3·10-2 m for large thermal flows and short feed times, are screened by the melting curve, and in the case of small thermal flows and time intervals - the expansion curve.

Pathogenicity and Aggressiveness of Three Alternaria spp. on Potato Foliage in the U.S. Northwest

Alternaria spp. were collected from potato foliage showing symptoms of early blight and brown spot in the Columbia Basin, WA and Bonners Ferry and Rupert, ID between 2009 and 2011. The aggressiveness of three Alternaria spp. on potato was quantified on nonwounded and wounded detached leaves of ‘Russet Norkotah’ potato; wounded detached leaves of ‘Alturas’, ‘Ranger Russet’, ‘Russet Burbank’, and ‘Umatilla Russet’; and whole plants of Russet Norkotah. Mean infection frequencies (MIF) and area under the lesion expansion curve (AULEC) were significantly greater for Alternaria solani (P = 0.0072 and 0.0002, respectively) than for A. arborescens or A. arbusti on nonwounded leaves. Wounding of tissue significantly increased MIF and AULEC for A. arbusti (P = 0.008 and 0.0047, respectively) and AULEC for A. arborescens (P = 0.01) relative to nonwounded tissue. AULEC did not differ significantly among the three Alternaria spp. when inoculated onto wounded foliage of whole plants (P = 0.34); the AULEC of whole plants was positively and significantly correlated with AULEC on detached leaves (P = 0.03). Umatilla Russet was the most susceptible and Russet Burbank was the least susceptible based on MIF and AULEC for all three pathogen species. Results indicate that A. solani was the more aggressive pathogen of potato in the Columbia Basin, because both A. arborescens and A. arbusti require wounds and A. arbusti lesions do not expand significantly in comparison with A. solani or A. arborescens following inoculation.