The present investigation addresses the estimation of the unconventional effective interfacial tension (EIT), the so-called Korteweg stress, for a miscible interface. Two independent characteristic estimations are calculated: (1) the measurement based on a Spinning Drop Tensiometer (SDT) commonly applied in an immiscible situation, and (2) the theoretical predication involving an unknown physical constant (Korteweg constant) and detailed concentration distributions. Excellent agreements between these two estimations are found. By demonstrating the excellent agreement between these two proposed measurements, the applicability of a SDT for measuring miscible EIT is numerically verified. This numerical conclusion provides a possible simple method for further estimations of currently unknown physical constants.

No-moving-parts valves (NMPV) pumps produce the net volume flow due to the difference of pressure resistances between forward and reverse flow of a microchannel structure. NMPV has been developed by a number of research groups. However, most of NMPV in these studies are designed and based on steady state flow conditions. Little data is available regarding the NMPV in unsteady flow conditions. In this study, the performances of NMPV under both steady and unsteady flow conditions are investigated numerically. The NMPV used in this study is a diffuser-type microchannel with diffuser angle of 20° because of its outstanding production of net volume flow. By a series of numerical simulations, some useful results would be addressed for the performance of NMPV micropumps. First, Reynolds number confirmed by steady analysis should be greater than 10 (Re > 10) for the NMPV pumps to be more effective. Second, an optimal Strouhal number with maximum net volume flow rate is found at St = 0.013 for the unsteady flow condition. In addition, the relation between the driving pressure amplitude and net volume flow rate with a linear behavior found was helpful to the performance of the micropump system. According to these findings, it was easy for users to operate and design of NMPV micropumps.

The Wigner-Ville Distribution is a new numerical analysis tool for signal process technique in the time-frequency domain and it can offer assistance and enhance signal characteristics for better resolution both easily and quickly. Time-frequency transform can describe how a spectrum of signals changes with time owing to defects and boundary conditions. In this study, five single pre-cast concrete piles have been tested and evaluated by both sonic echo method and Wigner-Ville distribution (WVD). The appropriateness of time-frequency domain analysis is discussed. Furthermore, two difficult problems in nondestructive evaluation problems are discussed and solved: the first one is with a pile with slight defect, whose necking area percentage is less than 10%, and the other is a pile with multiple defects. The results show that WVD can not only recognize the characteristics easily, but also locate the defects more clearly than the traditional pile integrity testing method.

The purpose of this paper is to apply Biot theory on analyzing honeycomb core to investigate the sound insulation characteristics of honeycomb sandwich panels. At first, the honeycomb core was regarded as a porous material and the sandwich panel is made of layered media. Thus Biot theory developed for fluid saturated porous material is adopted to analyze the waves propagated in honeycomb core. Then the transfer matrix for waves propagated between two ends of each panel is established. The combination of these related matrices can be conducted on evaluating the sound propagation characteristic in the layered media. The comparison of the transmission loss between the available experimental measurements and numerical predictions shows that the present method is reliable. With the present method, the numerical results reveal that the coincident frequency decreases apparently as the thickness of core increases. Therefore, the transmission loss is also increased in the analyzed frequency range. Further, the effect of core density and cell size are also investigated.

This paper adopts a three-dimensional (3D) finite element method to simulate the injection molding of organic 3D stacked-chip assemblies. The geometry model of the assembly is simplified to a five-layered structure of stacked-chips with no solder bumps. The injection molding process incorporates 3D stacked-chip packaging and encapsulation techniques, and comprises primarily of multi-layer cavity-filling and reactive-thermosetting curing processes. The current investigation considers the effects of specifying different entrances on the resultant flow fronts, air-traps, and weld-lines. In general, the present results confirm the value of performing numerical simulations of the 3D stacked-chip packaging process to support the injection molding CAE approaches which are commonly applied nowadays to improve the packaging assembly design and to facilitate the rapid set up of mass-production conditions. The simulation results indicate that the best packaging results are obtained when the melt is introduced either at the center of the periphery side of the stacked-chip modulus or at its corner.

This paper provides 41 cubical triaxial test results to examine the influence of the stress path angle and the improvement ratio on the anisotropic strength of the composite soil specimens consisting of remolded soft clay and grout columns. Pictures of failed samples shown in this paper are especially enlightening in demonstrating failure mechanisms. Results from this study can be summarized as follows. The composite soil specimens exhibited different failure patterns depending on the stress path angle, axial compression failure for 0°, 30° and 60°; lateral compression for 120° and 150°; and axial extension for 90° and 180°. Consistently, diagonal shear cracks through the grout column were observed for axial compression failure samples. On the other hand, tension cracks were observed for samples which failed due to lateral compression and axial extension. The composite soil specimens exhibited apparent anisotropic behavior. In general, the anisotropic strength ratio increased with the improvement ratio. The equivalent strength formula commonly used in practice may give erroneous results, especially when the stress paths are those of tension failure. In such a case, the anisotropic strength ratio suggested in this paper can significantly improve its accuracy.

Practically all retaining walls may rotate, yet movements of the wall could be restricted, particularly under working conditions. Since the earth pressure on the retaining wall often deviates from the fully active state, there is a need for predicting the earth pressure at any wall movement. The shearing behavior of backfill behind the wall plays an essential role for predicting the redistributions of earth pressure for different wall movements. This paper studies 25 sets of test for analyzing the drained lateral extension behaviors of saturated Ottawa sand. Three methods are used to interpret the active state of specimens and it is found that the monotonic increasing property of the σ'cs – εrp plot obtained by using the (q')max method is more obvious than those obtained by the other two methods. Where σ'cs is an initial confining stress of specimen for lateral extension test, and εrp is a radial strain of specimen developed at the active state. The specimens, with the relative density between 15% ∼ 90% and with the confining stress between 80kPa ∼ 280kPa, range their values of εrp from −1.18% to −2.99%. The magnitude of εrp can be used to judge the secure level of deformation for a retaining structure. Subsequently, this study derives a formula to predict the redistribution of earth pressure on a retaining wall when the wall moving outwards based on the results of those lateral extension tests. This prediction method is a new approach to study the problems of earth pressure. Comparisons of predicted results from numerical solutions technique and observations from model tests show that the performance of this method is reasonable.

This work explores the sound transmission loss provided by the orthotropic multi-layers to elucidate the sound insulation of FRP (Fiber Reinforced Plastics). Mat is the major material considered in the numerical works. The transfer matrices of a single layer of the orthotropic laminate and the fluid are determined. Further, the boundary conditions on the various interface planes are arranged into matrix form. Combining the transfer matrixes and the boundary conditions and applying the transfer matrix method (TMM) yields the surface impedance and the sound transmission loss. The sound-propagation characteristics are studied. Additionally, the STC (Sound Transmission Class) of FRP and steel are compared and discussed.

Finite Element Modeling was used to compare the efficacy of common screw-plate configurations used for fixation of parasymphyseal fractures of the mandible. Measures of Von Mises stress on the screw bone interface, as well as principal strain in the reduced fracture region, were used in this comparison. This study also explored differences between orthotropic and isotropic modeling practices and compared the effect of mastication forces on both the fractured and intact halves of the mandible. The results of this analysis showed no major differences between configurations from a mechanistic point of view. This suggests that the use of any of the studied screw-plate configurations will not increase chances for post-operative complications. Furthermore, little difference is seen between analyses with either orthotropic or isotropic material properties. The inclusion of orthotropic properties can thus be avoided in future studies with similar boundary and plating conditions. Mastication ipsilateral to the fracture increases Von Mises stress 2 to 4 times, and should be avoided during early healing periods. These recommendations only apply to patients whose fractures mimic the finite-element model.

This paper present a new method called the interval factor method for the finite element analysis of truss structures with interval parameters. Using the interval factor method, the structural parameters and loads can be considered as interval variables, and the structural stiffness matrix can then be divided into the product of two parts corresponding to its deterministic value and the interval factors. The computational expressions for lower and upper bounds, mean value and interval change ratio of structural placement and stress responses are derived from the static governing equations by means of the interval operations. The effect of the uncertainty of the structural parameters and loads on the structural static responses is demonstrated by truss structures.