Ice thickness is one of the most critical physical indicators in the ice science and engineering. It is therefore very necessary to develop in-situ automatic observation technologies of ice thickness. This paper proposes the principle of three new technologies of in-situ automatic observations of sea ice thickness and provides the findings of laboratory applications. The results show that the in-situ observation accuracy of the monitor apparatus based on the Magnetostrictive Delay Line (MDL) principle can reach ±2 mm, which has solved the “bottleneck” problem of restricting the fine development of a sea ice thermodynamic model, and the resistance accuracy of monitor apparatus with temperature gradient can reach the centimeter level and research the ice and snow substance balance by automatically measuring the glacier surface ice and snow change. The measurement accuracy of the capacitive sensor for ice thickness can also reach ±4 mm and the capacitive sensor is of the potential for automatic monitoring the water level under the ice and the ice formation and development process in water. Such three new technologies can meet different needs of fixed-point ice thickness observation and realize the simultaneous measurement in order to accurately judge the ice thickness.

Shape optimization on mufflers within a limited space volume is essential for industry, where the equipment layout is occasionally tight and the available space for a muffler is limited for maintenance and operation purposes. To proficiently enhance the acoustical performance within a constrained space, the selection of an appropriate acoustical mechanism and optimizer becomes crucial. A multi-chamber side muffler hybridized with reverse-flow ducts which can visibly increase the acoustical performance is rarely addressed; therefore, the main purpose of this paper is to numerically analyze and maximize the acoustical performance of this muffler within a limited space.

In this paper, the four-pole system matrix for evaluating the acoustic performance - sound transmission loss (STL) - is derived by using a decoupled numerical method. Moreover, a simulated annealing (SA) algorithm, a robust scheme in searching for the global optimum by imitating the softening process of metal, has been used during the optimization process. Before dealing with a broadband noise, the STL's maximization with respect to a one-tone noise is introduced for the reliability check on the SA method. Moreover, the accuracy check of the mathematical models with respect to various acoustical elements is performed.

The optimal result in eliminating broadband noise reveals that the multi-chamber muffler with reverse-flow perforated ducts is excellent for noise reduction. Consequently, the approach used for the optimal design of the noise elimination proposed in this study is easy and effective.

In order to enhance the acoustical performance of a traditional straight-path automobile muffler, a multi-chamber muffler having reverse paths is presented. Here, the muffler is composed of two internally parallel/extended tubes and one internally extended outlet. In addition, to prevent noise transmission from the muffler’s casing, the muffler’s shell is also lined with sound absorbing material. Because the geometry of an automotive muffler is complicated, using an analytic method to predict a muffler’s acoustical performance is difficult; therefore, COMSOL, a finite element analysis software, is adopted to estimate the automotive muffler’s sound transmission loss. However, optimizing the shape of a complicated muffler using an optimizer linked to the Finite Element Method (FEM) is time-consuming. Therefore, in order to facilitate the muffler’s optimization, a simplified mathematical model used as an objective function (or fitness function) during the optimization process is presented. Here, the objective function can be established by using Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) in conjunction with the muffler’s design parameters and related TLs (simulated by FEM). With this, the muffler’s optimization can proceed by linking the objective function to an optimizer, a Genetic Algorithm (GA). Consequently, the discharged muffler which is optimally shaped will improve the automotive exhaust noise.

The Mn-Zn ferrite powders prepared by high energy ball milling were heat-treated, subsequently compacted and sintered by spark plasma sintering (SPS). Based on the observation of microstructure, the characteristics of samples after SPS were investigated and compared with ones after conventional sintering. The size of initial powders was approximately 650 nm and decreased to 230 nm after milling at 300 rpm for 3 h. After heat treatment at 973K for 1h, the milled powders became larger to approximately 550 nm in size again and the peaks of Mn2O3 disappeared in XRD patterns. In the samples after SPS, the Fe2O3 and MnZnFe2O4 phases decomposed at the higher temperatures than 1173K and 1373K, respectively, while only MnZnFe2O4 phase was detected in the samples conventionally sintered at 1273~1673K. As the sintering temperature increased, the relative density after SPS increased more quickly than that after conventional sintering. In particular, it reached approximately 99% after SPS at 1473K.

Thermal buckling behavior of a functionally graded material (FGM) Timoshenko beam is studied based on the transformed-section method. The material and thermal properties of the FGM beam are assumed to vary across the beam thickness according to a power-law function, a sigmoid function and an exponential function. The results of buckling temperature for the FGM beams with respective temperature-dependent and temperature-independent properties under uniform and non-linear temperature rises are presented. Some results are compared with those in the published literature to verify the accuracy of the present work. The effects of the material distributions, temperature fields, temperature-dependent properties and slenderness ratios on the thermal buckling behaviors of FGM beams are discussed. It is believed that the present model provides engineers with a simple and effective method to study the effects of various parameters of the FGM beam on its thermal buckling behavior.

Thermal/cold spray deposition were used for additive manufacture of oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) steel layers. Mechanically alloyed F/M ODS steel powders (Fe(bal.)-10Cr-1Mo-0.25Ti-0.35Y2O3 in wt.%) were sprayed by a high velocity oxygen fuel (HVOF) and cold spray methods. HVOF, as a thermal method, was used for manufacturing a 1 mm-thick ODS steel layer with a ~95% density. The source to objective distance (SOD) and feeding rate were controlled to achieve sound manufacturing. Y2Ti2O7 nano-particles were preserved in the HVOF sprayed layer; however, unexpected Cr2O3 phases were frequently observed at the boundary area of the powders. A cold spray was used for manufacturing the Cr2O3-free layer and showed great feasibility. The density and yield of the cold spray were roughly 80% and 45%, respectively. The softening of ODS powders before the cold spray was conducted using a tube furnace of up to 1200°C. Microstructural characteristics of the cold sprayed layer were investigated by electron back-scattered diffraction (EBSD), the uniformity of deformation amount inside powders was observed.

In this study, two different compositions of submicron-structured titanium (760 nm) and micron-structured chromium (4.66 μm) powders were mixed to fabricate Cr-31.2 mass% Ti alloys by vacuum hot-press sintering. The research imposed various hot-press sintering pressures (20, 35 and 50 MPa), while the sintering temperature maintained at 1250°C for 1 h. The experimental results showed that the optimum parameters of the hot-press sintered Cr-31.2 mass% Ti alloys were 1250°C at 50 MPa for 1 h. Also, the relative density reached 99.94%, the closed porosity decreased to 0.04% and the hardness and transverse rupture strength (TRS) values increased to 81.90 HRA and 448.53 MPa, respectively. Moreover, the electrical conductivity is enhanced to 1.58 × 104 S·cm–1. However, the grain growth generated during the high-temperature and high-pressure of the hot-press sintering process resulted in the grain coarsening phenomenon of the Cr-31.2 mass% Ti alloys after 1250°C hot-press sintering at 50 MPa for 1 h. In addition, the Cr-31.2 mass% Ti alloys were fabricated with the submicron-structured titanium (760 nm) and chromium (588 nm) powders showed more effective compaction than the micron-structured titanium (760 nm) and chromium (4.66 μm) powders did. The closed porosity decreases to 0.02% and the hardness values increase to 83.23 HRA. However, the agglomeration phenomenon of the Cr phase and brittleness of the TiCr2 Laves phases easily led to a slight decrease in TRS (400.54 MPa).

Effects of various friction stir processing (FSP) variables on the microstructural evolution and microhardness of the AZ31 magnesium alloy were investigated. The processing variables include rotational and travelling speed of the tool, kind of second phase (i.e., diamond, Al2O3, and ZrO2) and groove depth (i.e., volume fraction of second phase). Grain size, distribution of second phase particle, grain texture, and microhardness were analyzed as a function of the FSP process variables. The FSPed AZ31 composites fabricated with a high heat input condition showed the better dispersion of particle without macro defect. For all composite specimens, the grain size decreased and the microhardness increased regardless of the grooved depth compared with that of the FSPed AZ31 without strengthening particle, respectively. For the AZ31/diamond composite having a grain size of about 1 μm, microhardness (i.e., about 108 Hv) was about two times higher than that of the matrix alloy (i.e., about 52 Hv). The effect of second phase particle on retardation of grain growth and resulting hardness increase was discussed.