Search Results (234)

Land surface temperature (LST) is crucial for understanding winter landslide evolution. This study combines Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) photogrammetry and infrared thermography (IRT) to monitor winter landslides in China’s Wumeng Mountain region. Using the Yangjiazhai landslide—induced by underground coal mining—as a case study, we demonstrate significant correlations between IRT-detected LST anomalies and surface cracks: (1) cracks with elevated temperatures are likely connected to subsurface goaf zones; (2) excessively widened cracks show no thermal anomalies due to enhanced air convection. The research reveals that key landslide components have distinct LST signatures, governed by differential soil–rock moisture and crack networks. For accurate high-altitude winter LST acquisition, UAV thermal surveys should be conducted under overcast, fog-free conditions to reduce solar interference. This validates UAV visible–infrared fusion for extracting landslide boundaries, cracks, slumping zones, bedrock patterns, and moisture distribution. The methodology establishes a new pathway for investigating winter landslide deformation and instability, confirming IRT’s operational viability in high-altitude alpine regions. Full article

Accurate prediction of nonlinear wave–structure interaction is essential for the safe design of coastal structures. In this study, a fully nonlinear high-order spectral numerical wave tank is developed to investigate nonlinear wave interaction with a vertical wall. The incident-wave boundary is introduced through an additional velocity potential, with the incident-wave kinematics prescribed from corresponding nonlinear analytical wave solutions. The model is validated against the Fourier solution, demonstrating good accuracy in predicting free-surface elevation, pressure distribution, and resultant wave force. Numerical results show that wave nonlinearity significantly modifies both the standing-wave field and the wall loading. Under strongly nonlinear conditions, negative pressure develops near the lower part of the wall during the crest phase, giving rise to a characteristic saddle-shaped force history. Water depth further modulates this nonlinear mechanism by altering both the force magnitude and the pressure distribution along the wall. For focused wave groups, the force response is strongly affected by the focusing type, wave steepness, and spectral bandwidth. A narrower bandwidth maintains stronger phase coherence over a longer portion of the wave group, leading to slightly larger focused extrema and more pronounced amplification of adjacent wave and force cycles. These findings highlight the importance of nonlinear pressure effects and spectral characteristics in predicting extreme wave loads on vertical-wall coastal structures. Full article

The analytical investigations of 3-miktoarm star (3-arm $\mu$-star) copolymers of type $A_{2}B$ and $A{B}_2$ are performed in the framework of mean-field approximation and Flory–Huggins theory. The total entropy of mixing and the Helmholtz free energy of interaction are calculated for the number $N_A$ monomers of type A and number $N_B$ monomers of type B, respectively. The results confirm that the Helmholtz free energy of miktoarm star copolymers differs from that of polymer blends. The temperature dependence of the Helmholtz free energy allowed us to construct a phase diagram of the solution of miktoarm star copolymers, showing regions of stability, instability, and metastability. The analytical results confirm that a miktoarm star copolymer is not merely a mixture of different homo-arm star polymers and are consistent with a previous investigation performed by liquid chromatography under the critical conditions. Moreover, we performed molecular dynamics simulations of a dilute solution of 3-miktoarm star copolymer of type $A_{2}B$ with a certain number of beads (300 + 300 + 200 + 1) and star copolymer of type $A{B}_2$ with number of beads (300 + 200 + 200 + 1), accordingly. The calculations of the radius of gyration and monomer density profiles of the 3-miktoarm star copolymers of type $A_{2}B$ and $A{B}_2$ in confined geometry of two repulsive surfaces (Dirichlet–Dirichlet boundary conditions) and one repulsive and other one attractive surface (Dirichlet–Neumann boundary conditions) by molecular dynamics simulations are performed. The obtained analytical and numerical results indicate that a dilute solution of miktoarm star copolymers can be used in biotechnology and medicine for drug and gene transmission as well as for the production of new functional materials. Full article

In extremely shallow water environments, the limited water depth is comparable to the maximum bubble radius. The pulsation of an underwater explosion bubble is strongly constrained by both the free surface and the rigid seabed, exhibiting complex nonlinear coupling effects, which are of great significance for the safety assessment and protection design of nearshore engineering. To address this issue, an axisymmetric two-dimensional numerical model based on the Eulerian finite element method (EFEM) with operator splitting technique and the volume of fluid (VOF) interface-capturing approach is established. Under the assumptions of inviscid and compressible flow, a systematic numerical investigation is carried out to examine the effects of the water depth parameter $\lambda$, position parameter $\gamma$, and buoyancy parameter $\delta$ on the bubble dynamics and the evolution of free surface structures. The results show that the maximum bubble radius, pulsation period, and jet characteristics are all significantly regulated by the above three parameters. Moreover, under multi-period bubble pulsation, different parameter conditions lead to diverse evolution characteristics of free surface structures, including the water spike, wrinkles, and water skirt. The findings reveal the governing mechanisms of key dimensionless parameters on the nonlinear bubble-multi-boundary coupling dynamics in extremely shallow water explosions, providing an important numerical basis and theoretical reference for the theoretical analysis and safety design of related shallow water explosion engineering problems. Full article

In this study, the thermodynamic conditions governing TiC formation were systematically investigated based on Gibbs free energy and interaction parameter theory. The effects of temperature and furnace atmosphere on interaction parameters were explicitly incorporated, enabling an improved thermodynamic description of TiC formation under realistic blast furnace conditions. Furthermore, compared with conventional two-dimensional equilibrium analyses, a three-dimensional Ti-C-temperature thermodynamic precipitation surface was established to quantitatively evaluate the effects of temperature, titanium content, and carbon content on TiC precipitation behavior. The results indicate that titanium is the dominant controlling factor for TiC formation, while carbon plays a secondary synergistic role. Compared with dissolved carbon, solid carbon provides more favorable thermodynamic conditions, suggesting that TiC preferentially forms via interactions with high-activity carbon sources such as coke or refractory materials. Based on the modified thermodynamic framework and boundary conditions, a quantitative precipitation criterion was established as 100 × w[Ti]_% + w[C]_% ≥ 10, which ensures TiC precipitation prior to molten iron solidification under representative blast furnace hearth conditions. The proposed criterion provides a practical guideline for titanium addition and carbon regulation in blast furnace ironmaking and improves the thermodynamic prediction capability for titanium-bearing protective phase formation in complex high-temperature metallurgical environments. Full article

This paper applies physics-informed neural networks (PINNs) to laterally excited liquid sloshing in a two-dimensional rectangular tank, where near-resonant forcing (${\omega }_e/{\omega }_1=0.9$) produces a multi-frequency beating response with a period of approximately $10T_1$. Linearized potential flow theory governs the problem; the network learns the velocity potential $\phi (x,z,t)$ while the free-surface elevation $\eta$ is injected analytically. Two training obstacles specific to forced sloshing are analyzed. First, a zero-solution trap arises because the trivial solution $\widehat{\phi }=0$ satisfies all equations except the free-surface conditions, whose residuals are roughly ${10}^{-4}$ times smaller than the Laplace residual; characteristic-scale normalization combined with loss weighting (${\lambda }_D={\lambda }_K=100$) breaks this trap. Second, spectral bias prevents standard MLPs from resolving the three co-existing frequencies (${\omega }_1$, ${\omega }_e$, $\mathsf{\Delta }\omega$); a Fourier time embedding that augments the input from 3 to 9 dimensions overcomes this limitation. Two additional techniques further reduce errors: a hard-wall boundary condition enforced exactly via a $\cos (\pi x/B)$ spatial embedding, which eliminates wall collocation points; and a gradient-enhanced Laplace regularizer (${\parallel \nabla \left({\nabla }^2\widehat{\phi }\right)\parallel }^2$) that constrains velocity smoothness through third-order automatic differentiation. An ablation study shows that these four techniques progressively reduce the horizontal velocity error from ${\epsilon }_u=12.46\%$ to $0.84\%$. Results are validated against a viscous finite-difference benchmark. Over one beating cycle the errors are ${\epsilon }_{\eta }=0.15\%$, ${\epsilon }_u=0.84\%$, and ${\epsilon }_w=1.65\%$. A frequency parameter study across ${\omega }_e/{\omega }_1$ = 0.5–1.1 gives ${\epsilon }_{\eta }<0.25\%$ and ${\epsilon }_u<2.3\%$ for all near-resonance cases. For long-time simulation, a time-domain decomposition strategy with transfer learning partitions the domain into one-beat windows; extending to five beating cycles ($50T_1$) yields ${\epsilon }_u=3.43\%$ and ${\epsilon }_{\eta }=0.30\%$ with no monotonic error accumulation across windows. The methodology is then extended to a three-dimensional rectangular tank ($B\times W\times H$) with bi-directional lateral excitation. The 3-D formulation introduces the y-dimension into the Laplace equation (${\nabla }^2\phi ={\phi }_{xx}+{\phi }_{yy}+{\phi }_{zz}=0$), adds transverse wall boundary conditions ($\partial \phi /\partial y=0$) enforced exactly via a $\cos (\pi y/W)$ embedding, and extends the Fourier time embedding from 9 to 16 dimensions to accommodate six physical frequencies. The bi-directional excitation excites both $(m,0)$ and $(0,n)$ modal families, producing a genuinely three-dimensional beating response. Experimental results verify that the proposed methods can be well generalized to three-dimensional scenarios. Within a single beating cycle, the relative errors reach ${\epsilon }_{\eta }=0.24\%$, ${\epsilon }_u=1.31\%$, ${\epsilon }_v=1.78\%$ and ${\epsilon }_w=2.32\%$, with a total training time of 2499 s. By applying time domain decomposition to carry out two-cycle three-dimensional simulations, the model can steadily maintain satisfactory prediction precision across segmented time intervals, achieving overall errors of ${\epsilon }_{\eta }=0.30\%$ and ${\epsilon }_u=1.32\%$. Full article

Studies have shown that oceanic surface-water salinity varies across the globe and changes over time, while atmospheric water-vapor levels have also increased in recent decades. Evaporation from ocean and inland waters is controlled primarily by meteorological forcing, but the thermodynamic state of the water body also matters. In saline waters, dissolved solutes reduce water activity and thereby reduce the equilibrium tendency of water molecules to enter the vapor phase. In this study, the authors’ coefficient-less aqueous osmotic potential equation was used to examine the thermodynamic effect of representative oceanic salinity differences on evaporative tendency. Calculations were made for recorded surface-water salinities ranging from 31 to 38 kg·m⁻³ of dissolved solutes at an average temperature of 20 °C. Computed osmotic potentials ranged from −2.257 to −2.708 MPa. The corresponding semi-permeable membrane interface pressures ranged from 8.935 to 8.484 MPa, indicating an approximately 5% difference across the selected oceanic salinity range. The interface pressure calculated for solute-free water (11.192 MPa) was more than 24% higher than for the seawater cases considered. These results suggest that salinity acts as a secondary thermodynamic modifier of evaporation potential, whereas radiative, aerodynamic, humidity, and temperature controls remain dominant in determining actual evaporation fluxes. The results also indicate that freshwater bodies and changing land-based evaporative sources may contribute differently to atmospheric water vapor than saline ocean waters. The framework presented here is intended to complement, rather than replace, established evaporation formulations by clarifying how salinity-related osmotic effects can modify the water-side boundary condition. Full article

Fluid–structure interaction (FSI) research is crucial for applications in fields such as naval engineering, geological hazards, and biomechanics. Traditional grid-based methods (such as CFD) often face challenges in simulating large-deformation flow fields and complex boundary conditions, where mesh distortion can compromise simulation accuracy. Building upon the DualSPHysics5.2 framework, this study leverages the strengths of weakly compressible SPH (WCSPH) in modeling free surface flows and large-deformation fluids, as well as the discrete element method (DEM), for accurately describing particle collisions and fragmentation behaviors. We propose an improved MSPH-DEM coupling algorithm that incorporates moving least squares (MLS) correction for kernel function gradient optimization. This algorithm utilizes MLS-based gradient correction to achieve smoother fluid surfaces as well as bidirectional coupling between fluids and particles. Experimental validation demonstrates that in dam break simulations, this method reduces pressure errors. In the dam break impacting a cube experiment, it enhances accuracy, while in the dam break impacting a baffle experiment, the horizontal displacement of marker points closely aligns with the experimental values from Liao et al. This approach effectively improves the accuracy of the simulations of FSI problems, offering a more reliable numerical simulation methodology for engineering applications such as geological hazard prevention. Full article

This investigation elucidates the elevated-temperature (650 °C) monotonic mechanical response and very-high-cycle fatigue (VHCF) characteristics of Inconel 718 superalloys additively manufactured via selective laser melting (SLM), with a comparative assessment between the as-built and post-process heat-treated states. The results indicate that mechanical performance improves after heat treatment, primarily due to the formation of γ′ and γ″ precipitates, which interact with dislocations to strengthen the alloy. Relative to the as-built specimens, the fatigue strength of the specimen after heat treatment has increased by more than twice. For the as-built specimen, fatigue cracks nucleate at the specimen surface. However, in the high stress range, crack initiation in the heat-treated specimens consistently occurs at the free surface, whereas under low stress conditions, the crack initiation site transitions to the subsurface region encompassing internal defects. Post heat treatment, the fatigue crack trajectory adopts a markedly ductile and tortuous morphology, engendered by the concerted influence of grain-boundary (Laves/δ) precipitates that enforce repeated crack deflection, matrix-strengthening phases that homogenize plastic strain and the attendant reduction in local strain accumulation under the effect of cyclic load. Full article

The simulation of free-surface flows in hydraulic engineering presents several challenges due to the intrinsic complexity of modeling a fluid that continuously deforms and evolves over time. In this context, the Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) method, a Lagrangian approach that represents the fluid as a set of moving particles, is better suited than traditional grid-based methods. However, compared to the latter, the SPH method also exhibits certain drawbacks, including increased difficulty in handling wall boundary conditions and a higher computational cost. This work proposes an original wall boundary treatment technique that, to the best of our knowledge, is applied in the Incompressible SPH (ISPH) approach for the first time. The proposed treatment relies on boundary particles external to the fluid and internal extrapolation points, where pressure is computed to enforce Neumann boundary conditions in a consistent manner. During the development of this technique, several intrinsic advantages over existing methods in the literature are identified. A series of numerical benchmarks are conducted to verify the validity of the proposed ISPH model. Numerical results show good agreement with experimental data reported in the literature, confirming the effectiveness of the proposed numerical model in reproducing free-surface flow hydraulic phenomena. Full article

Investigating soil seepage considering free surface conditions under complex geological conditions is of great significance to ensure the safety of dams. In recent years, physics-informed deep learning (PINN) has become a cross-disciplinary hotspot for solving forward and inverse problems based on partial differential equations. However, the challenges in free surface simulation have confined the majority of current PINN research to seepage problems under fixed boundary conditions. To address the above issues, we propose a physics-informed deep learning-based approach for steady seepage in dams. In the proposed method, two different free surface approximation strategies are introduced to accommodate varying boundary conditions in the dam seepage problem. The first strategy approximates the free boundary by sampling points, while the second strategy approximates the free boundaries by an additional deep neural network. To validate the proposed methods, three benchmark cases with different boundary conditions have been conducted. The results indicate that the proposed approach effectively simulates steady seepage in dams. Both point-sampling and deep neural network-based free surface approximation strategies demonstrate high accuracy in predicting the location of the phreatic surface and the discharge of the seepage. Specifically, the prediction results are comparable in accuracy to analytical solutions and advanced numerical simulation methods. Full article

Differential operators often admit multiple algebraically equivalent symbolic formulations, yet those formulations can differ in the organization of their internal structure prior to solution analysis. A reproducible symbolic framework is introduced to compare such formulations at the level of operator expressions. Within a declared symbolic specification consisting of a fixed grammar, an admissible weight class, canonical compression rules, and an admissible family of reformulations, we define four encoding-relative structural descriptors: structural strain $\tau$, structural curvature $\kappa$, compressibility $\sigma$, and the balance ratio $\Gamma =\kappa /\tau$. Structural strain compares an encoding to a designated reference representation, while compressibility measures reduction under canonical symbolic compression. These quantities are deterministic descriptors within the declared encoding class rather than coordinate-free invariants of the underlying operator. The structural length functional underlying these descriptors is developed, canonical compression is formalized, and finite symbolic comparison is distinguished from pathwise symbolic deformation. A robustness theorem shows that, away from the threshold surface $\Gamma =\sigma$, sufficiently small admissible perturbations preserve the induced diagnostic label. A supporting weight-robustness result further shows that qualitative labels persist across a local admissible family of weight choices under corresponding nondegeneracy conditions. The framework serves as a reproducible diagnostic for operator representations alongside Lyapunov, spectral, pseudospectral, and energy-based stability theories. Examples of representative ordinary and partial differential operators illustrate how the descriptors are computed and how they behave under admissible re-expression, while the appendices provide the technical backbone of the paper: formal definitions, reproducibility protocol, extended perturbation arguments, and explicit failure-mode analysis. Additional sensitivity checks regarding encoding, weights, and threshold variation clarify the method’s scope, and explicit failure modes delineate the boundary cases in which the descriptors cease to apply. The main contribution of this study is a formally delimited and reproducible symbolic framework for comparing differential operators under a fixed, declared specification, together with robustness results and worked examples that clarify the method’s scope. Full article

Ultrasonic motors have attracted considerable attention in precision actuation applications because of their advantages over conventional electromagnetic motors, such as compact structure, high positioning accuracy, immunity to electromagnetic interference, noise-free operation, and suitability for low-temperature environments. However, conventional traveling-wave linear ultrasonic motors usually rely on boundary constraints to establish stable traveling waves, which may limit their structural flexibility and self-propelled capability. To address this issue, this paper proposes a free-boundary traveling-wave linear ultrasonic motor capable of realizing self-propelled motion. The motor features a projection structure at each end of the stator. Two piezoelectric ceramics are placed at one end for excitation, while a damping material is arranged at the other end for energy absorption. This design enables the motor to generate traveling waves without requiring fixed boundary conditions. The motor operates in the B(3,1) out-of-plane vibration mode to enhance the energy absorption capacity of the non-excited end and reduce its standing wave ratio (SWR). A finite element model of the motor is established to investigate its vibration characteristics. In addition, a novel method for estimating the standing wave ratio is proposed by using piezoelectric ceramics attached to the motor surface, replacing the traditional calculation approach. A prototype is fabricated to verify the feasibility of the proposed design. Experimental results show that the prototype achieves a minimum SWR of 1.81, a no-load speed of 42.1 mm/s, and a maximum output force of 0.465 N. These results confirm the feasibility of the proposed scheme and provide a new approach for the design of free-boundary traveling-wave linear ultrasonic motors. Full article

This paper presents a theoretical framework for predicting molten jet breakup at the outlet of a rotating granulation system operating without forced excitation. The study focuses on the critical regime in which mechanical excitation is absent, and jet disintegration is governed solely by intrinsic hydrodynamic instabilities. The analysis is based on the linear stability theory of viscous liquid jets, employing the Rayleigh–Plateau and Tomotika approaches adapted to melt conditions typical of industrial granulation processes. The Navier–Stokes equations are formulated in a cylindrical coordinate system for an axisymmetric, incompressible viscous jet with appropriate kinematic and dynamic boundary conditions at the free surface. The breakup mechanism is characterized using key dimensionless parameters, including the Ohnesorge, Weber, Reynolds, and Capillary numbers, enabling identification of the dominant instability regime. Analytical expressions are derived for the most unstable wavelength, perturbation growth rate, breakup time, and characteristic droplet diameter. These relationships are evaluated for representative thermophysical properties of molten urea. Theoretical predictions obtained from classical Rayleigh theory, viscosity-corrected models, and modern empirical correlations show strong agreement, with deviations not exceeding 7%. Sensitivity analysis indicates limited dependence of the predicted droplet diameter on moderate variations in viscosity, surface tension, and jet velocity. The proposed model provides a physically grounded basis for predicting and controlling granule size distribution in rotating granulation systems operating without external mechanical excitation. Full article

Vortex generators (VGs) are considered in this study as an effective means of controlling the boundary-layer structure and suppressing flow separation on the suction sides of wind turbine blades. An original geometry of a surface-mounted VG has been developed and experimentally investigated, providing a stable modification of the near-wall flow over a wide range of incoming flow velocities. The aerodynamic effect is attributed to the formation of spatially diverging vortex structures that enhance momentum transfer from the outer flow region toward the near-wall layer, thereby increasing the energy level of the boundary layer. This results in an extension of the attached-flow region and an increase in the mean flow velocity over the suction side of the airfoil by up to 6.5%. The proposed configuration enables a 15% increase in the installation spacing of surface-mounted VGs without loss of control efficiency. Experimental investigations were carried out in a subsonic aerodynamic facility using the Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) method at free-stream velocities of up to 30 m/s. The obtained data will be used for the development and validation of a mathematical model intended for parametric studies of the influence of surface-mounted VGs on various wind turbine blade airfoils under a wide range of atmospheric turbulence conditions. Full article