A Theoretical Approach for Estimating Fracture Toughness of Ductile Metals

Fracture toughness is very important when applying Damage Tolerance Design and Assessment Techniques. The traditional testing approach for obtaining fracture toughness values is costly and time consuming. In order to estimate the fracture toughness of ductile metals, the fracture mechanics theory, materials plastic deformation theory and materials constructive relationships are employed here. A series of formulae and a theoretical approach are presented to calculate fracture toughness values of different materials in the plane stress and plane strain conditions. Compared with test results, evaluated values have a good agreement.     

低温等离子体促进水稻种子生长效应及NIR光谱分析

使用亚大气压下介质阻挡放电低温等离子体,对水稻糙米种子进行处理,不同气体、功率、处理时间下观测低温等离子体对糙米生长活力的影响;采用近红外光谱技术对处理后的糙米进行初步的理化性质分析.结果显示:空气等离子体放电对糙米生长活力的促进要优于氮气等离子体放电,空气实验组的最佳处理条件为(360W,5min),而氮气实验组的最佳处理条件为(360W,10min).另外,近红外光谱的主成分分析结果显示空气实验组(360W,5min)和氮气实验组(360W,10min)的糙米光谱与对照组光谱均存在明显差异.低温等离子体对水稻糙米种子的生长活力具有促进作用,能利用近红外光谱技术对作用效果进行初步评估.     

Effect of cold rolling process on microstructure and mechanical properties of high strength β titanium alloy thin sheets

The microstructure and mechanical properties of Ti-3.5Al-5Mo-6V-3Cr-2Sn-0.5Fe high strength titanium alloy sheets prepared by unidirectional cold rolling and two-step cross cold rolling were investigated. Results showed that the β phase grains were refined significantly by cold rolling followed by solution treatment for a short time.Compared to unidirectional cold rolling, the short time solution treatment after two-step cross rolling could significantly reduce the non-uniformity of the microstructure of the alloy sheets. After aging treatment at 550 ℃,the anisotropy of the mechanical properties still existed in the unidirectional rolled sheets, and the tensile strength was highest along the rolling direction. After solution and aging treatment, the anisotropy of the mechanical properties of the two-step cross rolling process sheet was not obvious than unidirectional cold rolling,and alloy had good strength and plasticity matching.     

Arboreality predicts Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis infection level in tropical direct-developing frogs

Pathogen-mediated changes in host behaviour can result from hosts altering their habitat preferences. Although infection risk with pathogenic fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in amphibians is associated with environments favouring its growth, the relationship with microhabitat use has not been examined. Here, we aim to determine if microhabitats used by frogs during their nocturnal activity predict B. dendrobatidis prevalence and infection intensity. Our focal host, Eleutherodactylus coqui, is a habitat generalist that uses multiple habitats from the forest floor to the canopy. We analysed data on B. dendrobatidis occurrence in 157 adults and 122 juveniles at El Yunque National forest in Puerto Rico. We categorized each individual’s nocturnal microhabitat as forest floor, curled palm fronds in the floor, arboreal bromeliads and foliage or tree trunks 50 cm to 2.5 m above ground. We found that frogs on the forest floor had the greatest B. dendrobatidis prevalence (73%), compared with those active in vegetation above ground (55%). Overall, the probability of B. dendrobatidis infection in frogs using microhabitats on the forest floor was twice as great as for those on arboreal substrates. Differences in B. dendrobatidis prevalence and intensity in E. coqui may be explained by specific abiotic conditions of microenvironments (temperature and humidity) affecting both pathogen and host, and by the age-specific ecological requirements of hosts. Adults were found to be most active in microhabitats where individuals had lower infection burdens, suggesting pathogen-modulated habitat choice. This work has important implications for the evolutionary dynamics of enzootic diseases and provides data that may inform potential mitigation strategies against a generalist amphibian pathogen.