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Thick plate bending process (warm bending and tempering) has a profound impact on the material strength distribution (MSD) in hydrogenation reactor shells. To date, few studies have studied the thick plate bending process. In this work, an artificial neural network (ANN) combined with finite element analysis (FEA) was utilized to investigate the impact of thick plate bending on the MSD of reactor shells. First, tensile tests of 0-10% pre-strained 2.25Cr-1Mo-0.25 V specimens were subjected to 390 to 510 °C. The results obtained from this experiment were used to develop ANN with two inputs (temperature and plastic strain) to predict the strength of pre-deformed steel. Subsequently, the plastic strain distribution of reactor shells after warm bending was obtained via FEA. We then inputted the FEA results into well-established ANN to predict the MSD of un-tempered reactor shells. The MSD of an actual tempered reactor shell was measured to study the synergic effect of warm bending and tempering on MSD variation. Results showed that the average absolute relative errors between the proposed ANN and tensile test results were below 4%. The absolute relative errors of the proposed prediction method varied from 0.24 to 7.88%. The proposed method is therefore reliable in the lightweight design of the hydrogenation reactor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to investigate the temperature field evolution of the single track clad in wide-beam laser cladding. By using the birth and death element technique, a 3D transient finite element (FE) model was established to study the temperature field evolution, temperature gradient (G), cooling rate (ε), and solidifying rate (R) of the molten pool. The temperature field results of the molten pool were also validated by the temperature measurement and characteristics of the clad. Meanwhile, the effect of main parameters namely as laser power, scanning speed, laser absorptivity, laser power efficiency, and preheat temperature on the peak temperature of the molten pool and temperature variation rate were discussed in detail. Then, the effect of laser power and scanning speed on G, ε, R, and G/R were also investigated and the corresponding microstructure was analyzed. The results show that from the top surface of the clad to the interface between the clad and substrate, G/R decreases slightly at first and then increases sharply while the cooling rate continues to decrease. Moreover, the peak temperature of the molten pool increases with an increase of laser power, laser absorptivity, laser power efficiency, and preheat temperature, while with the increasing of scanning speed, the peak temperature decreases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study involves the investigation of the mechanical properties of the extruded tube products with reinforced silicon carbide particulates (SiCp). Finite element analyses are firstly conducted to analyze the plastic flow of the magnesium alloy AZ61 within the die and to investigate the effects of initial billet temperatures on the extrusion loads and final product temperatures. AZ61/SiCp composite ingots reinforced with different weight fractions of SiCp are fabricated by a melt stirring technique. A specially designed die set is used in the extrusion experiments to obtain tubes with uniform thickness distribution in the circumferential direction. The extruded tubes are also heat treated to obtain even better mechanical properties. Finally, tensile tests, Vickers microhardness, tests and microstructure observation are performed on the billets and extruded tubes of AZ61 monolithic alloys and AZ61/SiCp composites. A much smaller grain size and higher tensile strength and hardness are achieved for the extruded AZ61/SiCp composite tubes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this work is to propose a 3D FE model of a theoretical assembling straight bevel gear pair to analyze the contact fatigue on the tooth surface and the bending fatigue in the tooth root. Based on the cumulative fatigue criterion and the stress-life equation, the key meshing states of the gear pair were investigated for the contact fatigue and the bending fatigue. Then, the reliability of the proposed model was proved by comparing the calculation result with the simulation result. Further study was performed to analyze the variation of the contact fatigue stress and the bending fatigue stress under different loads. Furthermore, the roles of the driving pinion and the driven gear pair were evaluated in the fatigue life of the straight bevel gear pair and the main fatigue failure mode was determined for the significant gear. The results show that the fatigue failure of the driving pinion is the main fatigue failure for the straight bevel gear pair and the bending fatigue failure is the main fatigue failure for the driving pinion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]