High Propagation Velocity Research Articles

Effect of TiN monolithic and Ti/TiN multilayer coating on the fatigue behavior of titanium alloy under tension-tension

This paper investigates the fatigue failure mechanism of mono- and multilayer coatings on the fatigue performance of TC11 titanium alloy under tension-tension. The morphology, phase composition, mechanical properties were measured by scanning electron microscope, X-ray diffractometer and nanoindentation. Electron back scatter diffraction was employed to investigated the failure mechanism. Fatigue limits obtained of uncoated TC11, TC11 with TiN coating, TiN/Ti multilayer (ML-6, ML-3, ML-1) and after 1 × 107 cycles are 855 MPa, 550 MPa, 525 MPa, 500 MPa and 400 MPa. Under fatigue loading, the hard-coating/TC11 substrate experiences fatigue failure through coating cracking hastens the substrate's fatigue failure. EBSD analysis results indicate that the main slip system of TC11 titanium alloy under tension-tension fatigue load is α phase (10-10)[-12-10]. After 1 × 107 cycles at fatigue limits, the average dislocation density on the surface of the TC11 with TiN coating is lower than that of TC11. Due to the surface defect induced by coating preparation and high crack propagation velocity, the hard coating significantly deteriorates fatigue property of TC11 by reducing fatigue crack initiation period. Therefore, instead of approaching from the perspective of coating structure design to increase the fatigue crack propagation cycles, it is more effective to reduce the surface roughness of the coating and enhance the fatigue crack initiation cycles.

The influence of individual evaluation of electron‐impact ionization, attachment, and photoionization rates on positive streamer propagation

AbstractThis study evaluates the individual effects of electron‐impact ionization, attachment, and photoionization on streamer propagation to provide a deeper understanding of the streamer propagation mechanism and useful knowledge to obtain the best set of input data for verification and validation studies. The results show that streamers with higher electron‐impact ionization rates have higher propagation velocities and lower electric fields, while those with higher attachment rates have slower propagation velocities and higher electric fields. Streamers with higher photoionization rates have lower electric fields at the head, but the velocity remains largely unaffected. The effects of different rates of ionization, attachment, and photoionization have been analyzed using an analytical solution called the diameter‐speed relation.

The influence mechanism of pre-combustion chamber orifice structure on natural gas engines: Combustion, emissions, and thermofluid analysis

The pre-combustion chamber (PCC) can enhance ignition stability, promote flame propagation and thus improve thermal efficiency. However, the mechanism by which the structure of the PCC orifice affects the combustion characteristics of engines is still unclear. In this study, thermal fluid simulation was used to investigate the effects of different volume ratios (ratio of PCC to main combustion chamber), apertures, and orifice structures (under stoichiometric and lean-burn conditions) on a PCC-type natural gas engine. The results showed that as the volume ratio and pore size increased, the indicated thermal efficiency (ITE) of the engine first increased and then decreased. Furthermore, the ITE of the engine reached its highest value when a PCC structure with a volume ratio of 1.5% and a pore diameter of 1.6 mm was adopted. As the orifice taper increased, the flame propagation velocity in the W-shaped orifice (Din > Dout) and N-shaped orifice (Din < Dout) decreased. The flame produced by the direct orifice (Din = Dout) had the longest penetration distance and the highest propagation velocity, which increased the cylinder pressure. In addition, under lean-burn conditions, in-cylinder combustion was more complete, with the lowest CO and THC emissions.

Asynchronous STW resonators with the high quality factor and reduced sizes

Surface transverse waves (STW) on quartz have the high propagation velocity, which is higher by 60% than velocity of the Rayleigh surface acoustic waves (SAW), high temperature stability comparable with temperature stability of SAW on quartz. Those advantages allow successfully use STW in the high frequency resonators. However, a large number of the electrodes 400 in the reflectors is required to ensure the high quality factor of the resonators. This leads to increase the resonators sizes, especially on the frequencies &lt; 1000 MHz. The 500-1000 MHz STW resonators with high quality factor on 36°YX90° cut quartz and reduced size were presented. Use of the asynchronous topology, constructional, topological and technological optimization with a computer simulation on the base of a equivalent circuit model allowed obtain in the frequency range of 500-1000 MHz the high quality factor of 8600-9500, reduced sizes of the topology in comparison with the known prototypes and place the resonators in the 3×3×1.2 mm and 5×5×1.8 mm SMD packages. The developed STW resonators with high quality factor and reduced sizes will be widely used in the miniature low noise oscillators.

Shock physics and shadowgraphic measurements of laser-produced cerium plasmas.

Shadowgraphic measurements are combined with theory on gas-dynamics to investigate the shock physics associated with nanosecond laser ablation of cerium metal targets. Time-resolved shadowgraphic imaging is performed to measure the propagation and attenuation of the laser-induced shockwave through air and argon atmospheres at various background pressures, where stronger shockwaves characterized by higher propagation velocities are observed for higher ablation laser irradiances and lower pressures. The Rankine-Hugoniot relations are also employed to estimate the pressure, temperature, density, and flow velocity of the shock-heated gas located immediately behind the shock front, predicting larger pressure ratios and higher temperatures for stronger laser-induced shockwaves.

Nonlinear wave interactions in a transitional hypersonic boundary layer

The linear and nonlinear evolutions and breakdown of the second modes in hypersonic boundary layers (HBLs) on a flared cone are investigated using Rayleigh-scattering flow visualization and fast-response pressure sensors. Based on two spatially separated pressure signals, cross-bicoherence analysis that permits the distinction of sum- and difference-interactions is utilized to identify the nonlinear interactions. In addition, the visualization temporal and spatial resolution allows fine flow features to be captured to provide additional flow information. Amplitude correlation technique is used to estimate the nonlinear energy transfer between the modes. Our results show that nonlinear interactions between the second mode and the low-frequency wave contribute to the growth of the low-frequency wave, and the difference interactions between the second mode and its first harmonic play a dominant role in modulating the waves in the overall transition process. Amplitude correlation analysis reveals that the spectral energy is nonlinearly transferred from the second mode into its first harmonic and into low-frequency wave, in agreement with the cross-bicoherence analysis. The amplitude modulation of the second mode caused by the difference interaction between the second mode and its first harmonic will reduce the propagation speed of the second mode. However, at the final breakdown stage, this difference interaction vanishes, and the second-mode propagation velocity recovers quickly. Since the frequency of the second mode keeps almost unchanged over the entire transition process, a higher propagation velocity will result in a larger wavelength, indicating an elongation and deformation of the second mode. Eventually, the difference interaction between the second mode and the low-frequency wave accompanying the energy transfer from the second mode to low-frequency waves leads to the final breakdown of the HBLs into a turbulent state.

Interaction of Shock Waves with Water Saturated by Nonreacting or Reacting Gas Bubbles.

A compressible medium represented by pure water saturated by small nonreactive or reactive gas bubbles can be used for generating a propulsive force in large-, medium-, and small-scale thrusters referred to as a pulsed detonation hydroramjet (PDH), which is a novel device for underwater propulsion. The PDH thrust is produced due to the acceleration of bubbly water (BW) in a water guide by periodic shock waves (SWs) and product gas jets generated by pulsed detonations of a fuel–oxidizer mixture. Theoretically, the PDH thrust is proportional to the operation frequency, which depends on both the SW velocity in BW and pulsed detonation frequency. The studies reported in this manuscript were aimed at exploring two possible directions of the improvement of thruster performances, namely, (1) the replacement of chemically nonreacting gas bubbles by chemically reactive ones, and (2) the increase in the pulsed detonation frequency from tens of hertz to some kilohertz. To better understand the SW-to-BW momentum transfer, the interaction of a single SW and a high-frequency (≈7 kHz) sequence of three SWs with chemically inert or active BW containing bubbles of air or stoichiometric acetylene–oxygen mixture was studied experimentally. Single SWs and SW packages were generated by burning or detonating a gaseous stoichiometric acetylene–oxygen or propane–oxygen mixture and transmitting the arising SWs to BW. The initial volume fraction of gas in BW was varied from 2% to 16% with gas bubbles 1.5–4 mm in diameter. The propagation velocity of SWs in BW ranged from 40 to 580 m/s. In experiments with single SWs in chemically active BW, a detonation-like mode of reaction front propagation (“bubbly quasidetonation”) was realized. This mode consisted of a SW followed by the front of bubble explosions and was characterized by a considerably higher propagation velocity as compared to the chemically inert BW. The latter could allow increasing the PDH operation frequency and thrust. Experiments with high-frequency SW packages showed that on the one hand, the individual SWs quickly merged, feeding each other and increasing the BW velocity, but on the other hand, the initial gas content for each successive SW decreased and, accordingly, the SW-to-BW momentum transfer worsened. Estimates showed that for a small-scale water guide 0.5 m long, the optimal pulsed detonation frequency was about 50–60 Hz.

Effect of voltage type and polarity on streamer dynamics in transformer oil

Mineral oil is one of the most important and widely used liquid as an insulation and cooling medium in large power transformers. Hence, maintaining the insulation strength of oil is the highest goal of all transformer manufacturers. The breakdown in liquid dielectrics involves various pre-breakdown stages. The electrical streamer is the main factor in these pre-breakdown processes. The positive streamer creates greater risk to oil insulated high voltage electrical equipment due to its high propagation velocity. A 2D-axisymmetry fluid model has been developed to investigate the phenomenon before the breakdown in transformer oil by applying the impulse voltage and direct current high voltage using needle-plane geometry with 1 mm gap. The electric field dependent molecular ionization technique is used to represent the streamer dynamics. The effect of voltage polarity and its type on streamer dynamics have been studied.

LoRaWAN-Based Adaptive MACs for Event Response Applications

Low Power Wide Area Networks have emerged as a leading communications technology in the field of Internet of Things sensor and monitoring networks. In such networks, uplink traffic is characterized as a combination of periodic data reports and event-triggered alarm reports. When an many devices detect an event in a short timespan, a burst of concurrent transmissions can occur, leading to a surge of collisions, and thus severe data delivery performance degradation. In this paper, a hybrid random/scheduled access strategy is proposed for mitigating the impact of traffic-triggering events on network performance. Under periodic report traffic the LoRaWAN standard Class A protocol is in effect, but after an event a TDMA scheme is applied. Three implementations of this strategy are described. The first is a pair of novel MACs for LoRaWAN, allowing (a) synchronization of end devices with the network using the event detection as a crude synchronization point, and (b) the dynamic scheduling of groups of devices. The other two implementations build upon a single-hop and a two-hop previously proposed LoRaWAN-based wake-up architectures, respectively. The above approaches are validated and studied through extensive simulation. The results show improved packet delivery ratio over the Class A MAC. The effect is more prominent as the event propagation velocity increases. The proposed approach also surpasses LoRaWAN in energy per delivered bit for high event propagation velocities. Finally, the novel protocol has a lower hardware and deployment complexity than the wake up radio based alternatives, at the cost of higher energy consumption.

Effect of transverse jet position on flame propagation regime

We studied the mechanisms of flame acceleration (FA) and deflagration to detonation transition (DDT) triggered by a combination of solid and jet obstacles. The Navier–Stokes equations with a detailed hydrogen–air kinetics model were utilized. Vast Kelvin–Helmholtz instabilities generate intensive turbulence–flame interactions, leading to an increase in surface area and high propagation velocity. The jet position has a significant effect on the FA and DDT. A choking flame and detonation flame are obtained by the transverse jet with different positions and mixing times even though in a lower blockage ratio.

Alternative Approach for Tsunami Early Warning Indicated by Gravity Wave Effects on Ionosphere

The rapid displacement of the ocean floor during large ocean earthquakes or volcanic eruptions causes the propagation of tsunami waves on the surface of the ocean, and consequently internal gravity waves (IGWs) in the atmosphere. IGWs pierce through the troposphere and into the ionospheric layer. In addition to transferring energy to the ionosphere, they cause significant variations in ionospheric parameters, so they have considerable effects on the propagation of radio waves through this dispersive medium. In this study, double-frequency measurements of the Global Positioning System (GPS) and ionosonde data were used to determine the ionospheric disturbances and irregularities in response to the tsunami induced by the 2011 Tohoku earthquake. The critical frequency of the F2 layer (foF2) data obtained from the ionosonde data also showed clear disturbances that were consistent with the GPS observations. IGWs and tsunami waves have similar propagation properties, and IGWs were detected about 25 min faster than tsunami waves in GPS ground stations at the United States west coast, located about 7900 km away from the tsunami’s epicenter. As IGWs have a high vertical propagation velocity, and propagate obliquely into the atmosphere, IGWs can also be used for tsunami early warning. To further investigate the spatial variation in ionospheric electron density (IED), ionospheric profiles from FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC (F3/C) satellites were investigated for both reference and observation periods. During the tsunami, the reduction in IED started from 200 km and continued up to 272 km altitude. The minimum observed reduction was 2.68 × 105 el/cm3, which has happened at 222 km altitude. The IED increased up to 767 km altitude continuously, such that the maximum increase was 3.77 × 105 el/cm3 at 355 km altitude.

Physical and chemical properties of a magnetic-assisted DC superimposed nanosecond-pulsed streamer discharge plasma

In the present work, a magnetic-assisted DC superimposed nanosecond-pulsed streamer discharge (DC-NPSD) with a 0.4 T parallel magnetic field is developed that achieves good performance for ozone production and toluene degradation. The influence of the assisted parallel magnetic field on the electrical characteristics, streamer propagation behavior, reactive species generation and plasma chemical properties of the DC-NPSD are systematically investigated. The experimental results indicate that better impedance matching of a nanosecond pulsed power supply and a discharge reactor can be realized by superimposing DC voltage (U DC), which facilitates reactive species production and toluene degradation. The discharge current, input energy and reactive species production can be further enhanced by the application of a parallel magnetic field under different pulse and DC voltage conditions. There are two distinct streamer phases in the DC-NPSD: a primary streamer (PS) with longer propagation distance and higher propagation velocity and a secondary streamer (SS) with shorter propagation distance and lower propagation velocity. The propagation velocities of both the PS and the SS increase with increasing U DC. Only PS propagation velocity is accelerated by a parallel magnetic field; however, that of the SS remains almost constant with or without a magnetic field. Both ozone generation and toluene degradation performance are improved by a magnetic field, which is attributed to the lengthened electron motion path under the action of Lorentz force and the constraint effect on energetic electrons in the presence of a parallel magnetic field.

Using Array‐Derived Rotational Motion to Obtain Local Wave Propagation Properties From Earthquakes Induced by the 2018 Geothermal Stimulation in Finland

AbstractWe estimate vertical rotation rates for 204 earthquakes that were induced by the 2018 stimulation of the Espoo/Helsinki geothermal reservoir from wavefield gradients across geophone arrays. The array‐derived rotation rates from seismograms recorded at 6–9 km hypocentral distances vary between 10−9 and 10−7 rad s−1, indicating a comparable sensitivity to portable rotational instruments. Using co‐located observations of translational and rotational motion, we estimate the local propagation direction and the apparent phase speed of SH waves, and compare these estimates with those obtained by S wave beamforming. Propagation directions generally align with the earthquake back azimuths, but both techniques show deviations indicative of heterogeneous seismic structure. The rotational method facilitates a station‐by‐station approach that resolves site specific variations that are controlled by the local geology. We measure apparent S wave speeds larger than 5 km s−1, consistent with steep incidence angles and high propagation velocities in the Fennoscandian Shield.

Oscillatory and tip-splitting instabilities in 2D dynamic fracture: The roles of intrinsic material length and time scales

Recent theoretical and computational progress has led to unprecedented understanding of symmetry-breaking instabilities in 2D dynamic fracture. At the heart of this progress resides the identification of two intrinsic, near crack tip length scales — a nonlinear elastic length scale ℓ and a dissipation length scale ξ — that do not exist in Linear Elastic Fracture Mechanics (LEFM), the classical theory of cracks. In particular, it has been shown that at a propagation velocity v of about 90% of the shear wave-speed, cracks in 2D brittle materials undergo an oscillatory instability whose wavelength varies linearly with ℓ, and at larger loading levels (corresponding to yet higher propagation velocities), a tip-splitting instability emerges, both in agreements with experiments. In this paper, using phase-field models of brittle fracture, we demonstrate the following properties of the oscillatory instability: (i) It exists also in the absence of near-tip elastic nonlinearity, i.e. in the limit ℓ→0, with a wavelength determined by the dissipation length scale ξ. This result shows that the instability crucially depends on the existence of an intrinsic length scale associated with the breakdown of linear elasticity near crack tips, independently of whether the latter is related to nonlinear elasticity or to dissipation. (ii) It is a supercritical Hopf bifurcation, featuring a vanishing oscillations amplitude at onset. (iii) It is largely independent of the phenomenological forms of the degradation functions assumed in the phase-field framework to describe the cohesive zone, and of the velocity-dependence of the fracture energy Γ(v) that is controlled by the dissipation time scale in the Ginzburg–Landau-type evolution equation for the phase-field. These results substantiate the universal nature of the oscillatory instability in 2D. In addition, we provide evidence indicating that the tip-splitting instability is controlled by the limiting rate of elastic energy transport inside the crack tip region. The latter is sensitive to the wave-speed inside the dissipation zone, which can be systematically varied within the phase-field approach. Finally, we describe in detail the numerical implementation scheme of the employed phase-field fracture approach, allowing its application in a broad range of materials failure problems.

High normal zone propagation velocity in copper-stabilized 2G HTS coated conductors

Copper-stabilized second generation high-temperature superconductor (HTS) coated conductors were modified to enhance their normal zone propagation velocity (NZPV). Experimental results, supported by numerical simulations, indicate that adding copper on the substrate side instead of adding it on the HTS side increases the NZPV by a factor of 2–3. Furthermore, a novel tape architecture, called hybrid-current flow diverter (CFD), was investigated. This hybrid-CFD tape was designed with the goal of having a very long current transfer length, which is the key to enhance the NZPV. Results show that it is possible to fabricate an HTS tape with double stabilizer thickness in comparison to a bare tape, while accelerating the NZPV by a factor of three. With the same approach, a ten-fold increase of the NZPV can be expected for a tape with a 40 µm thick copper-stabilizer.

Effects of magnetized coaxial plasma gun operation on spheromak formation and plasma characteristics

Spheromak plasma formed by a magnetized coaxial plasma gun possesses high propagation velocity and electron density, which has been extensively investigated, for it has a variety of applications, such as fueling of fusion reactor, magnetized target fusion, and labratory simulations of astrophysical phenomena. Formation and optimization of the gun-type spheromak are studied by investigating the discharge characteristics of the gun and the scaling of plasma parameters with various operation conditions. Based on the spheromak formation mechanism, several significant operation parameters are identified, including peak value of gun current, bias flux, gas-puffed mass and the length of neutral gas distribution inside the gun channel: this length can be controlled by adjusting the time delay between gas injection and discharge of the capacitor bank to initiate gas breakdown and for a long time delay the current path distribution inside the gun channel can be characterized by a moving plasma ring which carries almost all of the gun current. Under a sufficient pressure of the self-generated field, the moving plasma ring with freezed toroidal field pushes the bias field into the vacuum chamber, the twisted field lines are then broken, reconnected, and thus forming a free spheromak. The injected gas is desired to exist only in the gun channel: if downstream region of the gun is filled with neutral gas, a weakly ionized and cold spheromak will be formed, which is not beneficial to practical applications. The multiple current path phenomenon is observed using two spatially separated magnetic coils inside the gun channel, excepting for the plasma ring, there are a stagnant current path and a reversed current path separately located in upstream and middle region of the gun channel. Development of the upstream current path is due to the residual charged particles deteached from the tail of accelerated plasma ring and the unswept netural particles, which reduces the energy injected into the plasma ring from capacitor bank, and thus having a negative effect on the performance of spheormak. The axial propagation velocity of spheromak, electron temperature and density are shown to increase with the capacitor bank voltage rising, which can be attributed to the elevation in energy injected into the plasma ring. Only higher electron density is obatined by increasing the gas-puffed mass, and the propagation velocity and electron temperature are observed to decrease. The energy injected into the plasma ring is independent of the gas-puffed mass, and electron density is elevated with gas-puffed mass increasing. Since the frequency of electron impact ionization increases, electrons undergo more collisions and transfer more energy to other particle species, thus the thermal energy of electrons decreases.

USE OF THE SURFACE TRANSVERSE WAVES (STW) – &#x0D; ONE OF EFFICIENT METHODS FOR ENHANCEMENT &#x0D; OF THE SAW DEVICES OPERATING FREQUENCIES

This paper presents an efficient method for enhancement of the operating frequen-cies of the SAW devices - use of surface transverse waves (STW) with high propa-gation velocity V = 5000 m/s on a standard piezomaterial quartz. The approaches for a realization of the STW resonators with the high quality factor and STW filters with the low insertion loss were considered. The quantitative and qualitative char-acteristics of above 1 GHz STW devices for each approach were given.

Effects of Annular Combustor Width on the Ethylene-Air Continuous Rotating Detonation

The realization and stable operation of Continuous Rotating Detonation (CRD) in the annular combustor fueled by hydrocarbon-air are still challenging. For further investigation of this issue, a series of ethylene-air CRD tests with the variation of combustor width is conducted, and the effects of combustor width are well analyzed based on high-frequency pressure and high-speed photograph images. The results show that the combustor width plays a significant role in the realization and sustainability of the ethylene-air CRD. In this paper, the critical combustor width for the CRD realization and stable single wave are 20 mm and 25 mm, respectively. In wide combustors, the backward-facing step at the combustor forepart makes the main flow slow down, and thus, the mixing quality is promoted. Besides, the pilot flame at the recirculation zone contributes to sustaining the CRD wave. As the width increases, the propagation mode changes from counter-rotating two-wave mode to single wave mode with higher propagation velocity and stability. The highest propagation velocity reaches 1325.56 m/s in the 40 mm wide combustor, accounting for 71.51% of the corresponding Chapman-Jouguet velocity. Despite large combustor volume, high combustor pressure is obtained in detonation combustion mode indicating that a better propulsive performance could be achieved by CRD.

Discharge propagation on a dielectric surface in a single-filament arrangement

Discharge development and streamer propagation on a dielectric surface were investigated in nitrogen-oxygen gas mixtures at atmospheric pressure. A coaxial pin-to-pin arrangement was used to generate single surface discharges driven by positive unipolar square wave high voltages of between 7 and 9 kV at 4.3 kHz. The development of surface discharges was recorded by ICCD and streak cameras. The discharges developed on the surface using pin electrodes attached directly to the dielectric plate. The accumulation over several discharge events showed a propagation front evolving from the electrode tip, while images of single discharges showed a non-uniform and branched structure of discharge channels. The electrode polarity influenced the discharge expansion and propagation velocity. Positive polarity of the metallic electrode (rising slope of HV pulses) led to a cathode-directed streamer with higher propagation velocities (5 × 105 m/s) than for negative polarity (relative to surface charges; falling slope). The increase in the O2 content in N2 from 0.1 to 20 vol% resulted in a decrease in discharge duration and an increase in streamer velocities.

A computational study of positive streamers interacting with dielectrics

We use numerical simulations to study the dynamics of surface discharges, which are common in high-voltage engineering. We simulate positive streamer discharges that propagate towards a dielectric surface, attach to it, and then propagate over the surface. The simulations are performed in air with a two-dimensional plasma fluid model, in which a flat dielectric is placed between two plate electrodes. Electrostatic attraction is the main mechanism that causes streamers to grow towards the dielectric. Due to the net charge in the streamer head, the dielectric gets polarized, and the electric field between the streamer and the dielectric is increased. Compared to streamers in bulk gas, surface streamers have a smaller radius, a higher electric field, a higher electron density, and higher propagation velocity. A higher applied voltage leads to faster inception and faster propagation of the surface discharge. A higher dielectric permittivity leads to more rapid attachment of the streamer to the surface and a thinner surface streamer. Secondary emission coefficients are shown to play a modest role, which is due to relatively strong photoionization in air. In the simulations, a high electric field is present between the positive streamers and the dielectric surface. We show that the magnitude and decay of this field are affected by the positive ion mobility.