Selective laser melting of Al–8.5Fe–1.3V–1.7Si alloy: Investigation on the resultant microstructure and hardness

This article presents the microstructure and hardness variation of an Al–8.5Fe–1.3V–1.7Si(wt%, FVS0812) alloy after selective laser melting(SLM) modification. Three zones were distinguished across the melting pool of the SLM-processed FVS0812 alloy: the laser melted zone(LMZ), the melting pool border, and the heat affected zone(HAZ) in the previously deposited area around the melting pool. Inside the LMZ, either an extremely fine cellular-dendritic structure or a mixture zone of the a-Al matrix and nanoscale Al_(12)(Fe,V)_3Si particles appeared. With a decreased laser beam scanning speed, the cellular-dendritic structure zone within the LMZ shrank significantly while the mixture zone expanded. The a-Al and Al_(12)(Fe,V)_3Si mixture zone was also observed in the HAZ, but another phase, submicron h-Al_(13)Fe_4 particles with rectangular or hexagonal shapes,formed along the melting pool border. Microhardness tests indicated that the hardness of the SLM-processed FVS0812 samples far exceeded that of the as-cast FVS0812 alloy.     

科学家公布撞月任务新发现

2009年10月,NASA的＂月坑观测与探测卫星＂（LCROSS）及随行的火箭上面级对月球南极的卡比厄斯月坑实施了两次有意撞击,以期发现有水存在的迹象。科学家们当年便宣布在溅起物中发现了丰富的水。     

Sliding mode control of reaction flywheel-based brushless DC motor with buck converter

Reaction flywheel is a significant actuator for satellites’ attitude control. To improve output torque and rotational speed accuracy for reaction flywheel, this paper reviews the modeling and control approaches of DC-DC converters and presents an application of the variable structure system theory with associated sliding regimes. Firstly, the topology of reaction flywheel is constructed. The small signal linearization process for a buck converter is illustrated. Then, based on the state averaging models and reaching qualification expressed by the Lee derivative, the general results of the sliding mode control (SMC) are analyzed. The analytical equivalent control laws for reaction flywheel are deduced detailedly by selecting various sliding surfaces at electromotion, energy consumption braking, reverse connection braking stages. Finally, numerical and experimental examples are presented for illustrative purposes. The results demonstrate that favorable agreement is established between the simulations and experiments. The proposed control strategy achieves preferable rotational speed regulation, strong rejection of modest disturbances, and high-precision output torque and rotational speed tracking abilities.     

每月小抄

[2009年4月02日] 由于全球变暖，南极一个名为沃迪的冰架已经消失。研究人员通过卫星图像和最新勘探技术发现，白20世纪60年代开始解体的南极沃迪冰架现已完全消失，而另一个名为拉森的冰架的北半部分也不见了，自1986年以来，拉森冰架消失的面积超过8500平方千米。     

A closed-form solution for moving source localization using LBI changing rate of phase difference only

Due to the deficiencies in the conventional multiple-receiver localization systems based on direction of arrival(DOA) such as system complexity of interferometer or array and amplitude/phase unbalance between multiple receiving channels and constraint on antenna configuration,a new radiated source localization method using the changing rate of phase difference(CRPD)measured by a long baseline interferometer(LBI) only is studied. To solve the strictly nonlinear problem, a two-stage closed-form solution is proposed. In the first stage, the DOA and its changing rate are estimated from the CRPD of each observer by the pseudolinear least square(PLS) method,and then in the second stage, the source position and velocity are found by another PLS minimization. The bias of the algorithm caused by the correlation between the measurement matrix and the noise in the second stage is analyzed. To reduce this bias, an instrumental variable(IV) method is derived. A weighted IV estimator is given in order to reduce the estimation variance. The proposed method does not need any initial guess and the computation is small. The Cramer–Rao lower bound(CRLB) and mean square error(MSE) are also analyzed. Simulation results show that the proposed method can be close to the CRLB with moderate Gaussian measurement noise.     

A theoretical model of semi-elliptic surface crack growth

A theoretical model of semi-elliptic surface crack growth based on the low cycle strain damage accumulation near the crack tip along the cracking direction and the Newman–Raju formula is developed. The crack is regarded as a sharp notch with a small curvature radius and the process zone is assumed to be the size of cyclic plastic zone. The modified Hutchinson, Rice and Rosengren(HRR) formulations are used in the presented study. Assuming that the shape of surface crack front is controlled by two critical points: the deepest point and the surface point.The theoretical model is applied to semi-elliptic surface cracked Al 7075-T6 alloy plate under cyclic loading, and five different initial crack shapes are discussed in present study. Good agreement between experimental and theoretical results is obtained.     

南极文明的奥秘

１９２９年，美国海军上将、著名的飞行家、探险家理查德·拜德有过一次难忘的南极飞行，并在飞机上做过一次令人难以置信的飞行广播。拜德将军说，他穿过朦胧的光雾后，进入一个布满不冻湖的绿色地带上空，在“草原”上，有一种像美国野牛似的巨兽和一些别的动物和类似“人”的生物。然而，正当听众们津津有味想进一步了解情况时，拜德将军的广播突然中断，此后不久，有关方面声称，拜德将军的广播报告是在将军精神暂时过度疲劳并产生幻觉的情况下进行的，公众对此不应产生别的看法。此后，有关此次南极探险的经历和报道的“内幕”均没有公…     

南极洲:迷雾笼罩的世界(上)

寒冷统治的冰雪大陆 　南极，这个距离我们十分遥远的大陆，是地球上最寒冷、最多风的地方。 　这里 98％的地区被广袤无垠的冰层覆盖着，有些地方的冰层厚达 4800米。这里曾经记录到世界上最低的温度── － 89. 2℃。 　南极大陆完全被海洋所包围，海上风力强劲，大风从南极内陆高原吹向沿海低地，风速可达每小时 290千米。 　南极洲约有两个澳大利亚那么大，它拥有世界上 90％的冰和 70％的淡水。 　南极洲的面积为 1360万平方千米，总面积的 97％为冰层所覆盖，形成南极冰盖。 　冰盖所覆盖的并非全部是大陆，一部分冰盖伸出在陆地之…     

美将发射探测器撞击月坑

美国航宇局官员4月10日称，该局已选定一小型附属有效载荷与其“月球侦察轨道器”（LRO）结伴于2008年飞往月球。这将是在布什2004年初提出的空间探索构想下最先启动的一项任务。该附属探测器称“月坑观测与探测卫星”（LCROSS），正由艾姆斯研究中心研制，将搭乘发射LRO的火箭升空，并在2008年10月撞击月球南极的沙克尔顿月坑。LCROSS方案能从40项投标、19项初选任务和4项“决赛”方案中胜出，     

高比能量锂氟化碳电池在深空探测器上的应用试验研究

深空探测任务由于重量制约以及光照强度减弱等原因,可供选择的电源有限。锂氟化碳电池技术被认为是未来深空探测器电源潜在可行的选项。对锂氟化碳电池进行了比能量、比热容、发热量测试以及低温性能和贮存性能测试,测试结果表明:锂氟化碳电池高比能量优势明显,长贮存寿命满足了深空探测器数月甚至数年飞行期间自放电率低的需求,针对低温应用需求,采用复合电极有效改善低温放电性能,而针对锂氟化碳电池比热容、发热量的测试为电池热仿真分析提供了必不可少的数据支撑。