A particle-linkage model for elongated asteroids with three-dimensional mass distribution

ABSTRACT The goal of this paper is to develop a simplified model to describe the gravitational fields of elongated asteroids. The proposed model consists of representing an elongated asteroid using a triple-particle-linkage system distributed in the three-dimensional space and it is an extension of previous planar models. A nonlinear optimization method is used to determine the parameters of our model, minimizing the errors of all the external equilibrium points with respect to the solutions calculated with a more realistic approach, the Mascon model, which are assumed to give the real values of the system. The model considered in this paper is then applied to three real irregular asteroids: 1620 Geographos, 433 Eros, and 243 Ida. The results show that the current triple-particle-linkage three-dimensional model gives better accuracy when compared to the axisymmetric triple-particle-linkage model available in the literature, and provides an advantage in terms of accuracy over the mass point model, while keeping computational time low. This model is also used to carry out simulations to characterize regions with solutions that remain bounded or that escape from around each asteroid under analysis. We investigated initial inclinations of 0° (direct orbits) and 180° (retrograde orbits). We considered the gravitational field of the asteroid, the gravitational attraction of the Sun, and the SRP. Our results are then compared to the results obtained using the Mascon gravitational model, based on the polyhedral shape source. We found good agreement between the two models.

Modelling realistic ballast shape to study the lateral pull behaviour using GPU computing

The use of the Discrete Element Method to model engineering structures implementing granular materials has proven to be an efficient method to response under various behaviour conditions. However, the computational cost of the simulations increases rapidly, as the number of particles and particle shape complexity increases. An affordable solution to render problems computationally tractable is to use graphical processing units (GPU) for computing. Modern GPUs offer up 10496 compute cores, which allows for a greater parallelisation relative to 32-cores offered by high-end Central Processing Unit (CPU) compute. This study outlines the application of BlazeDEM-GPU, using an RTX 2080Ti GPU (4352 cores), to investigate the influence of the modelling of particle shape on the lateral pull behaviour of granular ballast systems used in railway applications. The idea is to validate the model and show the benefits of simulating non-spherical shapes in future large-scale tests. The algorithm, created to generate the shape of the ballast based on real grain scans, and using polyhedral shape approximations of varying degrees of complexity is shown. The particle size is modelled to scale. A preliminary investigation of the effect of the grain shape is conducted, where a sleeper lateral pull test is carried out in a spherical grains sample, and a cubic grains sample. Preliminary results show that elementary polyhedral shape representations (cubic) recreate some of the characteristic responses in the lateral pull test, such as stick/slip phenomena and force chain distributions, which looks promising for future works on railway simulations. These responses that cannot be recreated with simple spherical grains, unless heuristics are added, which requires additional calibration and approximations. The significant reduction in time when using non-spherical grains also implies that larger granular systems can be investigated.

Synthesis of Cryolite (Na3AlF6) from Secondary Aluminum Dross Generated in the Aluminum Recycling Process

Secondary aluminum dross (SAD) is regarded as a solid waste of aluminum recycling process that creates serious environmental and health concerns. However, SAD can also be used as a good source of aluminum, so that utilizing the SAD for the production of valuable products is a promising approach of recycling such waste. In the present work, a novel eco-friendly three-step process was proposed for the synthesis of cryolite (Na3AlF6) from the SAD, and it consisted of (1) water-washing pretreatment of SAD, (2) extraction of Al component via pyro-hydrometallurgy, including low-temperature alkaline smelting, water leaching and purification of leachate in sequence, (3) precipitation of cryolite from the purified NaAlO2 solution using the carbonation method. By analysis of the parameter optimization for each procedure, it was found that the maximum hydrolysis efficiency of aluminum nitride (AlN) in the SAD was around 68.3% accompanied with an extraction efficiency of Al reaching 91.5%. On this basis, the cryolite of high quality was synthesized under the following optimal carbonation conditions: reaction temperature of 75 °C, NaAlO2 concentration of 0.11 mol/L, F/(6Al) molar ratio of 1.10, and 99.99% CO2 gas pressure, and flow rate of 0.2 MPa and 0.5 L/min respectively. The formation of Na3AlF6 phase can be detected by XRD. The morphological feature observed by SEM revealed that the as-synthesized cryolite had a polyhedral shape (~1 μm size) with obvious agglomeration. The chemical composition and ignition loss of the as-synthesized cryolite complied well with the requirements of the Chinese national standard (GB/T 4291-2017).

Research on the Long-Lasting and Remelting Properties of Nd Modification Effect on Cast Al-Mg2Si Metal Matrix Composite

The cast Al-Mg2Si metal matrix composite was prepared by metal model casting process with rare earth element Nd as the modificator. The effects of modification duration and remelting times on microstructure and mechanical properties of the composite were investicated by optical microscope (OM) and electronic universal testing machine. The results show that, after introducing a proper amount of Nd, both primary and eutectic Mg2Si in the Al-18 wt.%Mg2Si composite were well modified. The morphology of primary Mg2Si is changed from irregular or dendritic to polyhedral shape and the morphology of the eutectic Mg2Si phase is altered from flake-like to very short fibrous or dot-like. Moreover, the effect is of long-lasting and remelting properties. After the composite is modified for 300 min and remelted by 6 times, its primary and eutectic Mg2Si structures are still in modification state of small block and slices, and the tensile properties of the composite are not significantly affected.

Analysis of the orbital stability close to the binary asteroid (90) Antiope

ABSTRACT We provide a generalized discussion on the dynamics of a spacecraft around the equal-mass binary asteroid (90) Antiope, under the influence of solar radiation pressure at the perihelion and aphelion distances of the asteroid from the Sun. The polyhedral shape of the components of this asteroid is used to accurately model the gravitational field. Five unstable equilibrium points are determined and classified into two cases that allow classifying of the motion associated with the target as always unstable. The dynamical effects of the mass ratio of our binary system are investigated. We tested massless particles initially located at the periapsis distance on the equatorial plane of the primary of our binary asteroid. Bounded orbits around our system are not found for the longitudes λ ∈ {60, 90, 120, 240, 270, 300}. We also discuss the orbital dynamics in the full potential field of (90) Antiope. The tested motions are mainly dominated by the binary’s gravitational field; no significant effects of the SRP are detected. For λ = 180°, less perturbed orbits are identified between 420 and 700 km from the centre of the system, that corresponds to orbits with Δa < 30 km and Δe < 0.15. All the orbits with initial periapsis distance smaller than 350 km either collide with components of our asteroid or escape from the system.

Cell Proliferation to Evaluate Preliminarily the Presence of Enduring Self-Regenerative Antioxidant Activity in Cerium Doped Bioactive Glasses

(1) Background: a cell evaluation focused to verify the self-regenerative antioxidant activity is performed on cerium doped bioactive glasses. (2) Methods: the glasses based on 45S5 Bioglass®, are doped with 1.2 mol%, 3.6 mol% and 5.3 mol% of CeO2 and possess a polyhedral shape (~500 µm2). Glasses with this composition inhibit oxidative stress by mimicking catalase enzyme (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities; moreover, our previous cytocompatibility tests (neutral red (NR), 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) and Bromo-2-deoxyUridine (BrdU)) reveal that the presence of cerium promotes the absorption and vitality of the cells. The same cytocompatibility tests were performed and repeated, in two different periods (named first and second use), separated from each other by four months. (3) Results: in the first and second use, NR tests indicate that the presence of cerium promotes once again cell uptake and viability, especially after 72 h. A decrease in cell proliferation it is observed after MTT and BrdU tests only in the second use. These findings are supported by statistically significant results (4) Conclusions: these glasses show enhanced proliferation, both in the short and in the long term, and for the first time such large dimensions are studied for this kind of study. A future prospective is the implantation of these bioactive glasses as bone substitute in animal models.

Comparison of physicochemical properties, grain quality, and ultrastructure of rice cultivars

Genetic background, environmental conditions, and agronomical practices could influence yield components, grain quality, and physicochemical properties of rice. The study aim was to investigate the variations in yield potential, quality traits, and morphological observation among Akitakomachi (japonica), IR-28 (indica), and NERICA-4 (hybrid) varieties under the same environmental and agronomical conditions. For this, the cultivars were compared in a randomized complete block design with three replications at the paddy field of Tsukuba International Center, JICA, Tsukuba, Japan in 2017. All cultivars were transplanted at a spacing of 15×30 cm using three seedlings per hill. The results exhibited that Akitakomachi had a higher number of panicles per m2 (344.3), and the ripening ratio (94.3%) across all cultivars. In addition, IR-28 and Akitakomachi achieved significantly higher rough rice yield (6.9 t/h & 6.1 t/h), respectively, compared to NERICA-4 (4.9 t/h). However, NERICA-4 was associated with the significantly higher amylose and protein contents, which resulted in the reduction of the taste point than other cultivars. Furthermore, the lowest grain transparent (34.2%) and highest chalky grain (47.7%) were obtained in NERICA-4, which leads to lower grain quality. IR-28 and NERICA-4 were classified as long and slender grain types, whereas, Akitakomachi as a short and medium grain, respectively. The micrographs observation displayed that regular starch granules with polyhedral shape were arranged without air gaps in transparent grains of all cultivars. In contrast, the endosperm of chalky grains in NERICA-4 and IR-28 revealed that irregular starch granules with round shape were loosely packed. Thus, each cultivar should be considered based on growing regions and the cultivated aims.

Effect of Li Substitution in MgO Nanostructured on Band Gap Energy via Combustion Synthesis Method

Preparation of MgO and Mg0.9Li0.2O materials using self-propagating combustion method are done to investigate the effect of substitution doping on the band gap energy. The synthesis condition has been optimized to obtain pure and single phase of MgO and Mg0.9Li0.2O materials and was confirmed by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD). The morphology obtained from field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) is spherical and rounded polyhedral shape with agglomeration of crystallites for MgO and Mg0.9Li0.2O materials respectively. The crystallite size of MgO and Mg0.9 Li0.2O samples is between 50 nm to 120 nm and 200 nm to 1500 nm respectively. The band gap was determined by UV-Vis NIR spectrophotometer and it was found that the band gap obtained for MgO nanostructure is 6.10 eV which is lower than bulk MgO of 7.8 eV. The presence of Li in the MgO had caused changes in morphology, crystallite size and band gap narrowing to 3.83 eV.