Discussion on AC Corrosion Rate Assessment and Mechanism for Cathodically Protected Pipelines

Although a lot of AC corrosion failure cases and research work on cathodically protected pipelines have been reported, the mechanism of AC corrosion process has not been completely understood and there still exist many debates on AC corrosion assessment criteria under cathodic protection (CP), especially under high CP level. The AC corrosion simulation experiments in three kinds of environments were conducted to study the AC corrosion behavior under different conditions. Based on AC corrosion rates and corresponding AC current density, DC IR-free potential and DC current density, the AC corrosion rate assessment diagrams were obtained and the threshold values for AC and DC parameters were proposed. Besides, the AC corrosion morphologies, products, local environment parameters and electrochemical characteristics were measured and analyzed under the combined effects of AC and CP. The effect of hydrogen evolution reaction on AC corrosion process under high CP level was discussed based on the electrical equivalent circuit model at the steel/electrolyte interface, dynamic electrochemical reaction process and the change of local environment close to the specimen surface.

Chatter Stability Prediction Method of the Spindle-Tool Holder-Tool System with Interface Contact Characteristics

To predict chatter stability and suppress chatter vibration, a chatter stability prediction method for the spindle-tool holder-tool system with interface contact characteristics is constructed. A five-DOF model is constructed to determine the spindle-bearing interface dynamic contact stiffness considering the coupling effect of spindle and bearing. A fractal multiscale tool holder-spindle interface dynamic stiffness model is proposed considering time-varying cutting force. The fractal dimensions and cutting force coefficient parameters are identified from the power spectrum experiments and cutting force tests. The cutting force is solved according to the milling stability model. Dynamic model of the spindle-tool holder-tool system is found by the finite element method. Based on extended Floquet theory, chatter stability of the spindle system is studied. Effect of interface parameters, radial cutting depth, and feed rate on milling stability is researched. Milling force tests and milling stability tests are performed in order to verify the reliability of the method. Results find that the increase of front bearing preload and spindle-tool holder’s interference fit are effective to improve the milling stability. The optimal feed rate and the critical radial cutting depth are found. The model proposed in this paper can be used as an instruction for predicting and suppressing the chatter vibration and optimizing cutting parameters and also is helpful for designing the spindle-tool holder-tool system.

MaizeCUBIC: a comprehensive variation database for a maize synthetic population

MaizeCUBIC is a free database that describes genomic variations, gene expression, phenotypes and quantitative trait locus (QTLs) for a maize CUBIC population (24 founders and 1404 inbred offspring). The database not only includes information for over 14M single nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs) and 43K indels previously identified but also contains 660K structure variations (SVs) and 600M novel sequences newly identified in the present study, which represents a comprehensive high-density variant map for a diverse population. Based on these genomic variations, the database would demonstrate the mosaic structure for each progeny, reflecting a high-resolution reshuffle across parental genomes. A total of 23 agronomic traits measured on parents and progeny in five locations, where are representative of the maize main growing regions in China, were also included in the database. To further explore the genotype–phenotype relationships, two different methods of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) were employed for dissecting the genetic architecture of 23 agronomic traits. Additionally, the Basic Local Alignment Search Tool and primer design tools are developed to promote follow-up analysis and experimental verification. All the original data and corresponding analytical results can be accessed through user-friendly online queries and web interface dynamic visualization, as well as downloadable files. These data and tools provide valuable resources on genetic and genomic studies of maize and other crops.

Practical Access to Dynamic Programming on Tree Decompositions

Parameterized complexity theory has led to a wide range of algorithmic breakthroughs within the last few decades, but the practicability of these methods for real-world problems is still not well understood. We investigate the practicability of one of the fundamental approaches of this field: dynamic programming on tree decompositions. Indisputably, this is a key technique in parameterized algorithms and modern algorithm design. Despite the enormous impact of this approach in theory, it still has very little influence on practical implementations. The reasons for this phenomenon are manifold. One of them is the simple fact that such an implementation requires a long chain of non-trivial tasks (as computing the decomposition, preparing it, …). We provide an easy way to implement such dynamic programs that only requires the definition of the update rules. With this interface, dynamic programs for various problems, such as 3-coloring, can be implemented easily in about 100 lines of structured Java code. The theoretical foundation of the success of dynamic programming on tree decompositions is well understood due to Courcelle’s celebrated theorem, which states that every MSO-definable problem can be efficiently solved if a tree decomposition of small width is given. We seek to provide practical access to this theorem as well, by presenting a lightweight model checker for a small fragment of MSO 1 (that is, we do not consider “edge-set-based” problems). This fragment is powerful enough to describe many natural problems, and our model checker turns out to be very competitive against similar state-of-the-art tools.