Ceramic matrix composites have broad application prospects in the aerospace field due to their high temperature resistance and oxidation resistance. The effect of temperature and environment atmosphere on the fracture toughness and failure mechanisms of two-dimensional plain-woven SiC_f/SiC composites was investigated. The results show that they exhibit pseudo-plastic deformation behavior at different temperatures. The fracture toughness is as high as 48 MPa m^1/2 at room temperature, and gradually decreases with rising temperature. The difference in fracture toughness between argon and air initially increases and then decreases with rising temperature. Furthermore, the high-temperature failure mechanisms of these composites were analyzed through macro and micro analysis. Based on this, a physic-based temperature-dependent fracture toughness model considering matrix toughness, plastic power, fiber pull-out, and residual thermal stress was developed for fiber-reinforced ceramic matrix composites. The model has been well validated by experimental results. An analysis of influencing factors regarding the evolution of fracture toughness was conducted by the proposed model. This work contributes to a better understanding of the mechanical performance evolution and failure mechanisms of ceramic matrix composites under multifield coupling conditions, thereby promoting their applications.

The stability of gaseous detonation waves is crucial for the operation of detonation-based propulsion systems and the assessment of industrial explosion hazards. However, research on the stability of detonation waves in complex reactive systems that are composed of actual fuels and oxidants and can be described by numerous elementary chemical reactions, has not been fully carried out. To investigate the relationship between linear and nonlinear stabilities in gaseous detonation wave propagation for complex reactive systems, the linear stability analysis and the one-dimensionally nonlinear numerical simulations of H₂/O₂/Ar (argon) detonations based on the reactive Euler equations and detailed reaction mechanisms are carried out. The results show that in complex reactive systems characterized by elementary chemical reactions, the results of linear stability computation of detonation are consistent with those from one-dimensionally nonlinear oscillations of detonation wave. Utilizing these linear stability results, a neutral stability curve and a perturbation frequency transition curve in the phase plane of initial pressure versus inert gas (Ar) dilution ratio are derived, especially the new frequency transition curve clearly describes the transition of perturbations from low-frequency to high-frequency mode. One-dimensional nonlinear simulations show that near the perturbation frequency transition curve, the oscillations of the detonation wave can also transform between the low-frequency, high-amplitude oscillation mode and the high-frequency, low-amplitude oscillation mode, with the oscillation frequency corresponding to the mode that exhibits the maximum growth rate identified in the linear stability analysis. This investigation into detonation stability in complex reactive gases offers guidance for selecting appropriate initial conditions and gas compositions in practical applications of detonation.

In this paper, the effect of the morphological profile of dandelion seed on flight lift force under crosswind conditions is explored. Existing studies primarily focus on the flight characteristics of dandelion seed during its fall, emphasizing the influence of the complex filament structure on the formation of wake vortices. However, research on the flight lift force due to the dandelion seed's morphological profile under lateral crosswind conditions is quite limited. This study investigates the aerodynamic behavior of dandelion seed using a novel virtual barrier model. This model is proposed, based on the regular pattern of the filaments' outer contours and the virtual barrier effect produced by their columnar array. Through elaborate numerical simulations, it is found that the morphological profile of dandelion seed possesses superior aerodynamic properties, particularly in generating lift force under crosswind conditions. This characteristic is a crucial mechanism for the long-distance dispersal of dandelion seed. Subsequently, the study extends to examine the aerodynamic performance of the model at varying degrees of opening angles and inflow attack angles, offering a fresh perspective on understanding the flight characteristics of dandelion seed in natural environments. The findings not only contribute to the field of plant aerodynamics but also provide insights into potential biomimetic applications in engineering.

Creep is an important mechanical property of refractory high-entropy alloys (RHEAs) at high temperatures. The existence of short-range order (SRO) and its ability to improve the strength or plasticity of high-entropy alloys (HEAs) have been experimentally proven. However, there is still little research on the correlation between SRO and creep behavior. The mechanism of SRO influencing creep behavior is not yet clear. In this work, the creep behaviors of TiVTaNb RHEA with and without SRO were simulated at various temperatures and stresses using molecular dynamics methods, and the effects of SRO on creep behavior were analyzed. The results show that the SRO is energetically favorable for occurrence in this RHEA. For polycrystalline RHEAs, grain boundary energy is an important driving force for the formation of SRO. Significantly, under the same conditions, the SRO can reduce the steady-state creep rate and change the creep mechanism of the RHEA. Specifically, the models with SRO will exhibit lower stress exponent and grain-size exponent. A mechanism by which SRO reduces the effects of grain boundaries on creep has been discovered. These phenomena can be well explained by the effects of SRO on atomic diffusion. In addition, by analyzing the diffusion ability of different elements, SRO can induce localization of atomic diffusion, resulting in strain localization under high stresses. This work highlights the importance of SRO on the creep of RHEAs and provides a reference for establishing a reasonable creep model of RHEAs.

Equiatomic NiTi shape memory alloys (SMAs) can exhibit multiple martensitic transformations from a parent phase, significantly influencing the advanced macroscopic properties of SMAs, such as the large deformation/strain ability. A comprehensive atomic-scale understanding of the selection rule of the martensite phase/variant and its impact on the macroscopic mechanical behavior of SMA could be helpful for the development of high-performance SMAs. This work studies the transformation pathway, preferred martensite variant and corresponding macroscopic behavior of single crystal and bicrystal NiTi SMAs based on molecular dynamics and theoretical analysis. It is found that the transformation strain of single crystal NiTi is significantly influenced by the crystal orientation-dependent transformation pathway and martensite variant. The selection rule is that the transformation pathway and preferred martensite variant, leading to maximum transformation strains for each orientation, are energetically preferred. It can be predicted theoretically and agrees well with the molecular dynamic simulations. In addition, the stress-strain response of bicrystal NiTi can be modulated by changing its transformation pathway based on the orientation effect. This work provides atomic insights into the orientation-dependent deformation ability of NiTi and could be helpful for the development of high-performance SMAs through orientation modulation.

Auxetic metamaterials have attracted much attention due to their outstanding advantages over traditional materials in terms of shear capacity, fracture resistance, and energy absorption. However, there are lack of design inspirations for novel auxetic structures. According to the materials databases of atomic lattice, some natural crystals possess negative Poisson’s ratio (NPR). In this paper, the mechanism of auxeticity in microscale Ti crystal is investigated through density functional theory simulation. Then we propose a macroscopic auxetic metamaterial by mimicking the microscopic atomic lattice structure of the bodycentered cubic Ti crystal. The NPR property of the macroscopic metamaterial is verified by theoretical, numerical and experimental methods. The auxeticity keeps effective when scaling up to macroscopic Ti crystal-mimic structure, with the similar deformation mechanism. Furthermore, from the geometric parameter investigation, the geometric parameters have great influence on the Poisson’s ratio and Young’s modulus of the macroscopic metamaterial. Importantly, an optimized structure is obtained, which exhibits 2 times enhancement in auxeticity and 25 times enhancement in normalized Young’s modulus, compared to the original architecture. This work establishes a link between the physical properties at micro-nanoscale and macroscale structures, which provides inspirations for high load-bearing auxetic metamaterials.

In the theory of two-dimensional linear elasticity, an elliptical inclusion is known to attain a constant stress field when perfectly buried in an infinite homogeneous matrix if a uniform eigenstrain is applied to it. The focus of this paper falls on the question: when the initially elliptical inclusion verges on a bi-material interface, what would happen to its configuration if it is required to retain the internal constant stress? Specifically, we explore the anti-plane shear version of this question (the version of plane deformations or three-dimensional deformations seems, however, insoluble at this stage), in which an inclusion undergoing a uniform (anti-plane shear) eigenstrain is embedded in a bi-material structure composed of two infinite elastic half-planes whose interface is straight and perfectly bonded, and the shape of the inclusion is to be determined such that the eigenstrain-induced stress inside the inclusion appears to be a constant. Unlike most optimization methods-driven solution procedures for finding the shape of the inclusion approximately in which huge computation is required, we derive by a rigorous theoretical analysis an exact integral equation with respect to the boundary curve of the inclusion that is sufficiently and necessarily related to the existence of a constant stress inside the inclusion. We solve this integral equation via the use of some analytic techniques and present in several illustrative examples a variety of shapes of the inclusion achieving constant stresses. We discover some interesting phenomena for the evolution of the shape of the uniformly stressed inclusion relative to the stiffness of the nearby interface.

In order to solve the vertical vibration negative effect problem caused by the increase of the unsprung mass in the hub motor driven vehicle (HMDV), a novel mechatronic suspension using the bridge electrical network is proposed. Firstly, the bridge electrical networks composed of two capacitors, two inductors, and one resistor are summarized and their impedance functions are analyzed forward through the structural method. Then a quarter HMDV model is constructed, and the optimal element parameters in the electrical networks are selected through the Pattern Search algorithm. The influence of element parameters perturbation of the optimal structure on the output response of HMDV suspension is further analyzed. Results show that the proposed bridge electrical network can be realized as a biquartic impedance. It can be equivalent to a mechanical impedance of the suspension through a linear motor. Compared with the conventional suspension, the root-mean-square values of the dynamic tire load and the suspension working space are reduced by 10.76% and 18.10%, respectively. The vibration at low and high frequencies of the unsprung mass is suppressed, effectively improving the grounding and handling stability of the vehicle.

Advancements in dynamic modeling methods of robotic manipulator are critical to the effective implementation of model-based control. Traditional approaches rely on rigorous first-principles-based dynamic modeling and precise parameter identification, while this paper explores an alternative through data-driven model reconstruction. To tackle the curse of dimensionality in the model reconstruction of a serial robotic manipulator with multi-degree-of-freedom, a relative activation indicator is proposed. Based on this indicator, the k-means clustering algorithm is utilized to classify the data under different working conditions. Subsequently, we leverage the fundamental prior knowledge to find the dynamical characteristics of each cluster and reconstruct the dynamic model in a stepwise manner using the method of sparse identification of nonlinear dynamics (SINDy). For the library generation of SINDy, the strategy of double-feature-set for serial manipulators with common joint types is proposed. Simulation results show that the stepwise model reconstruction approach not only reduces the size of the library of candidate functions but also decreases the impact of data noise on the reconstruction results. Finally, controllers based on the reconstructed models are deployed on the experimental platform and the experimental results demonstrate the improvement in trajectory tracking performance and the potential of the proposed method in engineering applications.

Nacre-like structures exhibit excellent mechanical properties under low-velocity impact, but the effectiveness of the nacre-like designs under high-velocity impact remains unclear. In this study, the process of a spherical projectile impacting on a nacre-like plate over a wide range of velocities is simulated using the finite element method. A three-dimensional finite element model is constructed and validated against the test data of the target perforation in terms of residual velocity and fracture morphology. The effects of impact velocity, interface strengths, and geometric sizes on the impact resistance capabilities are systematically investigated, and a dimensionless geometrical parameter is proposed to reveal the mechanism affecting the fracture toughness of nacre-like materials. It is found that the impact resistance of the nacre-like material gradually weakens with impact velocity increasing and is inferior to that of homogeneous plates under high-velocity impact. Moreover, the fracture toughness of nacre-like materials depends on the competition mechanism between interfacial enhancement and strength weakening at different impact velocities. These findings provide significant guidance on applying bio-inspired structures to design protective materials.