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At least 55 records · Page 3

Correlations between maximum mass of neutron stars and the nuclear matter properties and the constraints from PSR J0740+6620 and GW190814

The correlations between the maximum mass of neutron stars (NSs) with the properties of nuclear matter at saturation density ρ 0 , i.e., the incompressibility K 0 , the symmetry energy E sym (ρ 0 ), and its slope L(ρ 0 ), the isoscalar effective mass m$^{*}_{s0}$, and the parameter f I , have been investigated using several sets of Skyrme interactions based on the momentum-dependent (MD) Skyrme interactions SAMi-J27 (soft), SAMi-J31 (stiff), and SAMi-J35 (super-stiff), as well as the momentum-independent (MI) Skyrme interaction SkT5. Only one physical quantity is varied at a time for a given set of Skyrme interactions. It is found that the maximum mass of NSs has (1) a strong positive linear correlation with K 0 for stiff and super-stiff equation of state (EOS) and no correlation with K 0 for soft EOS; (2) a negative logarithm correlation with the symmetry energy E sym (ρ 0 ) for all the EOSs; (3) a positive logarithm correlation with the slope L(ρ 0 ) for all the EOSs; (4) a positive logarithm correlation with the parameter f I for MD EOS; (5) a negative power-law correlation with m$^{*}_{s0}$ for MD EOS. Based on these established correlations, the constraints to the nuclear matter properties from the mass of PSR J0740+6620 and GW190814 are investigated. Furthermore, we find that while rotation enhances the maximum mass of NSs, it does not effect the underlying correlations between the maximum mass and the aforementioned nuclear matter parameters.

Zhou, M. [Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an (China)↗

Influence of Numerical Modeling Approaches on Damped Behavior of Flexible Beams: Preprint

Composites structures are widely used in aerospace and wind energy applications for their excellent stiffness and strength-to-weight properties. In these structures, structural damping is critical to predict vibration amplitudes, performance, and reliability. Structural damping is of particular interest for slender wings, rotorcraft blades, and wind turbine blades that can exhibit complex vibration phenomena and are frequently modeled with geometrically exact beam theory (GEBT). Standard approaches of stiffness proportional or modal damping merely assign user defined values and cannot predict damping behavior. This work compares stiffness proportional damping to two more advanced damping approaches: modal strain energy and Prony series. The modal strain energy approach uses a sectional analysis tool to calculate the beam stiffness and postprocess internal stresses from GEBT simulations. The internal stresses are then used to calculate modal damping factors. The Prony series is implemented within GEBT to directly model viscoelastic behavior of the composites. These approaches are compared by modeling the evolution of the damping factors of a realistic flexible wind turbine blade with varying rotational speed. Discrepancies between the approaches suggest areas for future modeling development, but differences in nonlinear damping values are less than current uncertainties about the magnitude of structural damping.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

Dynamic response of a freely rotating butterfly valve in the advanced test reactor − dynamic coefficients modeling

Here, in evaluating the water hammer issue pertaining to the primary-coolant-regulating butterfly valve in the Advanced Test Reactor, the dynamic fluid body interaction (DFBI) approach was implemented in the analysis covered in Part I. Although DFBI modeling accurately and simultaneously solved the dynamic motion of the valve’s disk along with the flow field of the surrounding fluid, it shed little light on the reason behind such motion. For Part II, the reacting torque of the fluid on the disk was decomposed into representations of the dynamic coefficients in terms of stiffness, damping, and added mass. These were evaluated via simulations with steady-state static (stiffness), constant angular speed (damping), and variable angular speed (added mass) disks. Substituting the dynamic coefficients into Newton’s second law enabled the response trajectories to be obtained. Stable (by average) and unstable equilibrium positions and thrust tendencies of the valve were determined based on the stiffness coefficient (or static torque), the response amplitude was dampened or enlarged by the damping coefficient (minorly affected by added mass), and the response frequency was altered by the damping and added mass coefficients. Although the dynamic coefficient approach renders slightly different trajectories, due to the averaging effect of the torque in comparison to the DFBI method, the overall trend of the response aligns with the DFBI simulation, thus confirming the conclusion in Part I that a fix to the current butterfly valve is necessary.

22 - GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

A review of high order strong stability preserving two-derivative explicit, implicit, and IMEX methods

High order strong stability preserving time discretizations ensure the nonlinear non-inner-product strong stability properties of spatial discretizations suited for the stable simulation of hyperbolic PDEs in a wide variety of application areas including fluid dynamics, magnetohydrodynamics, semiconductor devices, electromagnetics, and astrophysics. Over the past decade multiderivative time-stepping have been increasingly used for the time-evolution hyperbolic PDEs, so that the strong stability properties of these methods have become important. In this work we review sufficient conditions for a two-derivative multistage method to preserve the strong stability properties of spatial discretizations in a forward Euler and different conditions on the second derivative. In particular we present the strong stability preserving theory for explicit and implicit two-derivative Runge–Kutta schemes, including a special condition on the second derivative under which these implicit methods may be unconditionally strong stability preserving. This special condition is natural for the stiff component of wide range of plasma physics problems, and can be useful in the context of strong stability preserving implicit-explicit multi-derivative Runge–Kutta schemes, where the time-step restriction is then independent of the stiff term. Lastly, we present the strong stability preserving theory for implicit-explicit multi-derivative general linear methods, and some novel second and third order methods where the time-step restriction is independent of the stiff term.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Design optimization of lightweight automotive seatback through additive manufacturing compression overmolding of metal polymer composites

With the growing demand for enhanced automotive fuel efficiency and environmental sustainability, there is a need for lightweighting automotive components through innovative design and manufacturing processes. Here, this study leverages a combination of numerical iterative design optimization and hybrid additive manufacturing–compression molding (AM-CM) technique for metal polymer composites to lightweight an automotive seatback. The AM-CM process enables robust mechanical interlocking between metals and composites, boasting high stiffness and strength with low overall density. Replacing metallic components with such metal polymer composites allows for comparable mechanical performance while significantly reducing the overall weight. First, the automotive seatback design space is reduced to critical load carrying regions using topology optimization and high stress concentration areas are identified using finite element analysis. Next, a lightweight metal polymer subcomponent is designed for a high stress concentration region. The full seatback frame with spatially heterogeneous material-specific design is then iteratively optimized to enable enhanced stiffness with minimal weight. Overall, the automotive seatback frame designed with location-specific metal, polymer, and metal polymer composite materials weighs 20% less than the metal-only design while exhibiting similar stiffness.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Testing and modeling of CLT-to-CLT joints made using hardwood dowels and screws with varying spacing

With the increasing popularity of mass timber, utilizing large-diameter wood screws and hardwood dowels can offer an easy and cost-efficient way to join structural elements. However, the existing research on hardwood dowels is limited to single fastener joints under monotonic loading. No research is available on the group effects of joints with multiple hardwood dowels. Here, this paper presents the results of 96 monotonic and cyclic single-shear plane CLT-to-CLT joint tests with hardwood dowels (Red Oak and Yellow Birch, 25.4 mm diameter) and self-tapping wood screws (8 mm diameter) in Grand-Fir CLT, where screws were inserted both perpendicular and at a 45-degree angle to the grain for comparison to hardwood dowels. The study evaluated the mechanical properties of the joints by changing fastener spacing. Mechanical properties such as yielding and peak strength, displacement, elastic and yielding stiffness, and ductility were evaluated. The results showed equal strength and stiffness properties for hardwood dowels comparable with large-diameter screws. Additionally, the hardwood dowel joints demonstrated moderate ductility properties. The strength and stiffness of the tested joints were compared with analytical equations found in the literature by considering the group action factor of the fasteners. Lastly, a nonlinear force-displacement model was presented and compared to the experimental results and analytical calculations, which gives the possibility to predict and optimize the mechanical behavior of hardwood dowel and screw joints with varying numbers and spacing between fasteners.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

One-sweep moment-based semi-implicit-explicit integration for gray thermal radiation transport

Thermal radiation transport (TRT) is a time dependent, high dimensional partial integro-differential equation. In practical applications such as inertial confinement fusion, TRT is coupled to other physics such as hydrodynamics, plasmas, etc., and the timescales one is interested in capturing are often much slower than the radiation timescale. As a result, TRT is treated implicitly, and due to its stiffness and high dimensionality, is often a dominant computational cost in multiphysics simulations. Here we develop a new approach for implicit-explicit (IMEX) integration of gray TRT in the deterministic SN setting, which requires only one sweep per stage, with the simplest first-order method requiring only one sweep per time step. The partitioning of equations is done via a moment-based high-order low-order formulation of TRT, where the streaming operator and first two moments are used to capture the asymptotic stiff regimes of the streaming limit and diffusion limit. Absorption-reemission is treated explicitly, and although stiff, is sufficiently damped by the implicit solve that we achieve stable accurate time integration without incorporating the coupling of the high order and low order equations implicitly. Due to nonlinear coupling of the high-order and low-order equations through temperature-dependent opacities, to facilitate IMEX partitioning and higher-order methods, we use a semi-implicit integration approach amenable to nonlinear partitions. In conclusion, results are demonstrated on thick Marshak and crooked pipe benchmark problems, demonstrating orders of magnitude improvement in accuracy and wallclock compared with the standard first-order implicit integration typically used.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Hourglass control in staggered-grid hydrodynamics using virtual element stabilization techniques

Numerical simulations using the staggered-grid hydrodynamics (SGH) discretization suffer from hourglass instabilities. In this work, we develop a stabilization method to suppress the hourglass instabilities using techniques from the virtual element method (VEM). The stiffness matrix of the VEM consists of two terms: the consistency matrix which is rank deficient and the stability matrix. Here, we first show that in two dimensions and on general polygons, the stiffness matrix of the SGH is identical to the consistency matrix of the linear VEM for both the diffusion equation and the linear elasticity equation. These analyses explain the origin of the hourglass instabilities of the SGH discretization method, and establish a theoretical foundation for our proposed stabilization method by augmenting the stiffness matrix of the SGH discretization using the VEM stability matrix. Then, we present numerical examples using Lagrangian SGH simulations. The numerical experiments demonstrate that the proposed VEM stabilization method is effective at eliminating hourglass modes in the SGH discretization.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

A parametric study of slow dynamic nonlinear elasticity with comparisons to models

Several phenomenological models that aspire to quantitative description of anomalous nonlinear mesoscopic elasticity are reviewed and compared with laboratory measurements. This class of nonlinearity, best known perhaps for slow dynamics and aging, is seen widely in imperfectly consolidated granular solids but is not well understood. Typical slow dynamic tests show that a modest conditioning oscillatory "pump" strain depresses material stiffness, which then recovers like the logarithm of time after conditioning ceases. Several phenomenological models based on physical arguments have been proposed that predict the material stiffness response to arbitrary pump strain histories during conditioning and recovery. Approximate closed form and numerical solutions to the models are presented that predict the quantitative influence of three key pump parameters: the pump's strain amplitude, the pump's strain rate, and the pump’s duration. Laboratory measurements on Berea sandstone, concrete and a confined single aluminum bead find that slow dynamic responses are linear in pump strain and independent of pump frequency. Measurements also show that, after pump-off, stiffness recovers over times far longer than the pump duration. These observations and others are compared to model predictions. One of the considered models, based on a picture of fast brittle damage and slow healing, successfully matches all these behaviors.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Graph neural networks for mechanical property prediction of 2D fiber composites

This work investigates the ability of graph neural networks (GNNs) to homogenize 2D fiber composite microstructures. We use different inhomogeneity and anisotropy indices to motivate and show that the Volume Elements (VEs) used in ML methods should ideally be far from their Representative Volume Element (RVE) size limit and, consequently, are notably anisotropic. Hence, training only the isotropic limit properties may not be acceptable. Another aspect is the need to normalize elastic stiffness values for ML, especially when high elastic contrast ratios are encountered between composite phases or in the material set. We introduce a normalization technique based on the mean-field method (MFM) to handle such high contrast ratios and train for the entire stiffness tensor. We show that the proposed GNN approaches exhibit high accuracy and efficiency compared to traditional methods and convolutional neural networks, utilizing unstructured graphs constructed from microstructure topology. Our model successfully predicts the stiffness tensor, peak strength under bulk damage, and brittle fracture initiation strength across diverse microstructure configurations while maintaining high accuracy even for extreme material contrasts and volume fractions. We also present a method to improve prediction accuracy for small dataset sizes using Voronoi partitioning.

Brittle strength↗

Computational alchemy clarifies origins of alloy strengthening

Solid solution strengthening (SSS) is widely used to enhance mechanical properties of metals. Originally developed for dilute alloys, classical SSS theories are presently challenged by the rise of complex concentrated alloys (CCA) with nearly equiatomic compositions. Here, we propose and develop a method of “computational alchemy” in which interatomic interactions are modified to systematically vary two key physical parameters defining SSS - atomic size misfit and elastic stiffness misfit - over a maximally wide range of two misfits. The resulting alchemical alloys are subjected to massive (~10 8 atoms) molecular dynamics (MD) simulations reproducing full complexity of plastic strength response. At variance with prevailing views, stiffness misfit is observed to contribute to SSS on par if not more than size misfit. Furthermore, depending on exactly how two misfits are combined, they result in synergistic (amplification) or antagonistic (compensation) effect on alloy strengthening. Unlike real CCAs in which each component element comes with its own specific size and stiffness, our alchemical model alloys span the space of two misfits continuously revealing trends in alloy strengthening unrecognized so far. Our study demonstrates unique value of intentionally unrealistic models for gaining deep physical insights into material behaviors that are difficult to reveal otherwise.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

An eigenvalue-based method for computing the relaxed pressure in compressible multiphase flow with N phases

The modeling of compressible multiphase flows is a decades-old area of study with many applications across various fields. Many of these application areas use stiff pressure relaxation. This process involves the solution of a nonlinear system with N + 1 equations and N + 1 unknowns, where N is the number of phases. The resolution of this system with general equations of state (EOSs) is difficult. Furthermore, nonlinear systems can admit multiple solutions, and current solution methods do not address this possibility. Very recently, a thermodynamic relaxation method was introduced, which effectively maps a relatively simple predictor equation of state onto a more complex target equation of state. In this context, the target EOSs are the chosen EOSs for the thermodynamic model. Furthermore, this thermodynamic relaxation has the benefit of simplifying the stiff pressure relaxation system of equations. In this article, we show this system reduces to a polynomial of degree N, which can be recast as an eigenvalue problem through the use of the associated companion matrix. We show that although this eigenvalue method is generally less efficient than Newton–Raphson iteration, it does not suffer from convergence issues and finds all N roots of the polynomial. Hence, the method provides a fail-safe for root-finding iterative methods and a way to address the issue of multiple solutions to the nonlinear system of equations in stiff pressure relaxation.

Eigenvalue algorithm↗

Mineralized sclerites in the gorgonian coral Leptogorgia chilensis as a natural jamming system

The soft corals (Cnidaria, Octocorallia), a diverse group of colonial marine invertebrates, can reversibly tune their body stiffness in response to external stimuli. This capability is attributed to their dynamic skeletal systems, which consist of thousands of mineralized skeletal elements, called sclerites, embedded within a gel-like matrix that swells/deswells and unjams/jams the sclerites, thus modulating skeletal stiffness. While sclerite morphology is widely used for species identification, its role in the mechanical performance of a soft coral’s skeletal system is largely unknown. Here, we investigated structure-jamming relationships in sclerite-based skeletal architectures using the red gorgonian octocoral Leptogorgia chilensis as a model system. The sclerites of L. chilensis exhibit a shaft-like geometry with two axial branches and two sets of triradiate side branches, which are aligned with the crystallographic symmetry of the constituent magnesium-containing calcite. By combining multiscale three-dimensional (3D) structural characterization, parametric geometrical modeling, 3D printing, mechanical testing, and discrete element simulations, we demonstrate how sclerite geometry achieves a balanced jamming performance in terms of stiffness, weight, strength, and fracture resistance in comparison to alternative geometries parametrically modified from the native sclerites (e.g., changes in the length and number of side branches). Here, we also found that these performance metrics are achieved through the effective interlocking among side and axial branches, which is further enhanced by the fractal-like microscopic spikes on the branch tips. The findings in this natural jamming system offer insights for designing synthetic mechanotunable material architectures for a wide range of applications, from soft robotics to mechanical dampeners.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Impact of composition and symmetry energy on the temperature of quasiprojectiles simulated with antisymmetrized molecular dynamics

The equation of state describes the emergent physical properties of matter. Experimental data is needed to help constrain the equation of state for nuclear matter. These constraints can help distinguish between an “asy-stiff” and an “asy-soft” equation of state, which has astrophysical implications. One path to help constrain the models is to analyze the nuclear caloric curve; some experiments have shown dependence on neutron excess, and may thus be sensitive to the asymmetry. A difference in the caloric curve based on the asymmetry of the reconstructed quasiprojectile (QP) had been observed using 70 Zn on 70 Zn at 35 MeV/nucleon taken with the NIMROD array. Antisymmetrized molecular dynamics calculations were performed for the same system and deexcited with gemini++. Both Gogny (asy-soft) and Gogny-as (asy-stiff) data sets were generated. The particles were then filtered based on detector geometric acceptance and thresholds. From the accepted particles, the excitation energy and temperature were calculated in the same way as for experimental data. Additionally, filter effects on the observed nuclear caloric curves were investigated. A tendency for the asy-stiff nuclear caloric curves to have higher temperatures than their asy-soft counterparts was observed for a number of probes. In addition, some probes may show sensitivity to the reconstructed composition of the QP, but this is inconclusive due to high statistical fluctuations and a large dependence on the exact method of event selection.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Bayesian inference of fine features of the nuclear equation of state from future neutron star radius measurements to 0.1 km accuracy

To more precisely constrain the equation of state (EOS) of supradense neutron-rich nuclear matter, future high-precision x-ray and gravitational wave observatories are proposed to measure the radii of neutron stars (NSs) with an accuracy better than about 0.1 km. However, it remains unclear what particular aspects (other than the stiffness generally spoken of in the literature) of the EOS and to what precision they will be better constrained. In this work, within a Bayesian framework using a metamodel EOS for NSs, we infer the posterior probability distribution functions (PDFs) of incompressibility K 0 and skewness J 0 of symmetric nuclear matter (SNM) as well as the slope L, curvature K sym , and skewness J sym characterizing the density dependence of nuclear symmetry energy E sym ⁡(ρ), respectively, from mean values of NS radii consistent with existing observations and an expected accuracy Δ⁢R ranging from about 1.0 to 0.1 km. Here, we found that (1) the Δ⁢R has little effect on inferring the stiffness of SNM at suprasaturation densities, (2) smaller Δ⁢R reveals more accurately not only the PDFs but also pairwise correlations among parameters characterizing high-density E sym ⁡(ρ), (3) a double-peak feature of the PDF(K sym ) corresponding to the strong K sym – J sym and K sym – L anticorrelations is revealed when Δ⁢R is less than about 0.2 km, and the locations of the two peaks are sensitive to the maximum value of J sym reflecting the stiffness of E sym ⁡(ρ) above about 3 times the saturation density ρ 0 of SNM, and (4) the high-precision radius measurement for canonical NSs is more useful than that for massive ones for constraining the EOS of nucleonic matter around (2–3)⁢ρ 0 .

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Heterogeneous flexibility can contribute to chromatin segregation in the cell nucleus

The highly and slightly condensed forms of chromatin, heterochromatin and euchromatin, respectively, segregate in the cell nucleus. Heterochromatin is more abundant in the nucleus periphery. Here, in this work, we study the mechanism of heterochromatin segregation by modeling interphase chromosomes as diblock ring copolymers confined in a rigid spherical shell using molecular dynamics simulations. In our model, heterochromatin and euchromatin are distinguished by their bending stiffnesses only, while an interaction potential between the spherical shell and chromatin is used to model lamin-associated proteins. Our simulations indicate that in the absence of attractive interactions between the nuclear shell and the chromatin, most heterochromatin segregates towards the nuclear interior due to the depletion of less flexible heterochromatin segments from the nuclear periphery. This inverted chromatin distribution, which is opposite to the conventional case with heterochromatin dominating at the periphery, is in accord with experimental observations in rod cells. This “inversion” is also found to be independent of the heterochromatin concentration and chromosome number. The chromatin distribution at the periphery found in vivo can be recovered by further increasing the bending stiffness of heterochromatin segments or by turning on attractive interactions between the nuclear shell and heterochromatin. Our results indicate that the bending stiffness of chromatin could be a contributor to chromosome organization along with differential effects of HP ⁢1⁢𝛼-driven phase segregation and of loop extruders and interactions with the nuclear envelope and topological constraints.

biomolecular & subcellular processes↗

Electronic density of states as the descriptor of elastic bond strength, ductility, and local lattice distortion in BCC refractory alloys

Although electronic density of states (DOS) is fundamental to materials properties, its general relationship to mechanical properties of alloys is not well established. In this paper, using density functional theory (DFT) calculations, we show that the electronic occupancy at the Fermi level, N(E f ), obtained from DOS is a key descriptor of alloy strength and ductility. Our comprehensive analysis of numerous body centered cubic (BCC) refractory high entropy alloys (RHEAs) shows an overwhelming correlation that low N(E f ) indicates strong bonds that have high stiffness resulting in high elastic constants. High bond stiffness indicates presence of covalent nature of bonds that are directional in nature resulting in resistance to deformation leading to high bulk (B) and shear (G) moduli. Consequently, N(E f ) provides a direct correlation to the tendency of alloy ductility evidenced in the Pugh ratio (G/B). As stiffer bonds result in lower local lattice distortion (LLD), N(E f ) are LLD are also found to be corelated which opens up a correlation to solid solution strengthening and yield strength. Thus, this work unveils fundamental correlations between N(E f ) and (1) elastic bond strength, (2) ductility, and (3) LLD. These correlations open opportunities for the design of high strength high ductile RHEAs.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Foundational insights into the mechanical and molecular evolution of porcine skin gelatin during gelation

Gelatin is a widely used material in biomedical fields, particularly in regenerative medicine and tissue engineering, due to its biocompatibility and versatile properties. While prior research has explored methods to enhance gelatin's mechanical strength and stability, fundamental studies on gelatin, specifically its curing process, mechanical stiffness, and chemical evolution during gelation, remain limited. This study uses ultrasonic testing and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) to examine gelatin's stiffness and molecular changes during gelation. Samples of 175 and 300 Porcine Skin Bloom Strength Gelatin at concentrations of 2% and 6% (w/v) were analyzed. Through transmission ultrasonic testing helped identify key transition points in gelation, with higher concentrations exhibiting delayed transitions. FTIR revealed that C-N bond formation peaks early while N-H bond deformation persists. A correlation emerged between sound speed and peak absorbance, suggesting that changes in molecular mobility may contribute to the observed sound speed behavior during periods of active bond formation. However, as gelation continues, fewer bonding components may be available, potentially decreasing molecular movement and contributing to the observed increase in sound speed. These findings provide insights into gelatin's mechanical and chemical evolution, offering a framework for improved control over its gelation kinetics. Swept-Frequency Acoustic Interferometry (SFAI) was performed at the end of the curing process to measure the sound speed, enabling the calculation of the bulk moduli of the gelatin samples. The combined use of ultrasonic and FTIR testing provides a non-destructive method for characterizing gelatin and other biomaterials. This approach advances understanding of gelatin curing behavior and supports the development of safer biomaterials with tailored mechanical properties for various applications such as tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.

Biomaterials↗