Effect of Laser Cutting Parameters on the Heat Affected Zone and on the Boundary Layer in Steel Laser Processing

This paper investigates the effect of the laser cutting parameters on the heat-affected zone, and on the boundary layer of stainless steel processing. A new analytical resolution based on the boundary layer theory is used to deduce the interaction effects of the cutting parameters on the above zones. The results revealed that, the laminar nitrogen assist gas has a negligible effect on the HAZ depth but it has a remarkable effect on the molten boundary layer. It is also noticed that the pressure gradient remains very small compared to the interface shearing and the conductive heat losses from the cutting zone towards the substrate is dominant compared to the convective heat losses towards the gas.

Coaxial oblique interface shearing: tunable generation and sorting of double emulsions for spatial gradient drug release

We propose a coaxial oblique interface shearing (COIS) process to one-step generate and sort double emulsions for thermal- and chemical-responsive spatial gradient releases.

Laboratory investigation of interface shearing in chalk

Chalk, a soft fine-grained Cretaceous limestone, is encountered across northern Europe where recent offshore windfarm, oil, gas and onshore developments have called for better foundation design methods, particularly for driven piles whose shaft capacities are controlled by an effective stress Coulomb interface failure criterion. Interface type and roughness is known to affect both interface friction angles, δ′ and the magnitude of dilation required for shaft failure to develop. Site-specific interface ring-shear tests are recommended for offshore pile design in sands and clays to account for driven pile shaft materials, roughnesses and shear displacements. However, few such tests have been reported for chalks and it is also unclear whether δ′ angle changes contribute to the striking axial capacity increases, or set-up, noted over time with piles driven in chalk. This paper describes an interface shear study on low-to-medium density chalk from the St. Nicholas-at-Wade research test site in Kent, UK, where extensive field driven pile studies have been conducted [1, 2]. Direct shear and Bishop ring shear apparatus were employed to investigate the influences of interface material and surface roughness, as well as ageing under constant normal effective stresses (σn'). It is shown that the high relative roughness of the interface compared to the chalk grain size results in the ultimate interface shearing angles falling close to the chalk-chalk shearing resistance angles. The δ′ angles also increased by up to 5° over 38 days of ageing.

Characterisation of sand-steel interface shearing behaviour for the interpretation of driven pile behaviour in sands

The installation and loading of steel piles driven in sands modifies both the piles' surface topography and the characteristics of the granular materials present adjacent to the pile shaft. Large-displacement ring shear interface tests incorporating pre-conditioning stages are capable of reproducing such physical processes in the laboratory and can generate case-specific interface design parameters. This paper summarises laboratory research that characterised the interface shearing behaviour of three natural sandy soils retrieved from field test sites (Dunkirk, France; Blessington, Ireland; Larvik, SE Norway) where extensive piling studies on micro and industrial scale driven piles have been carried out. The programme examined the influences of soil characteristics (physical properties and chemical compositions), interface type (mild steel or stainless steel) and surface roughness, and highlighted the significant effects of normal effective stress level and ageing time duration. Remarkable trends of increasing interface friction angles with elevated normal effective stress levels and prolonged ageing were observed. The results from supplementary small-displacement direct shear interface tests and triaxial tests are also reported. The experiments are interpreted with reference to earlier studies to develop an overview of interface shearing characteristics between steels and sandy soils and provide important insights into the mechanisms of axial capacity increases applying to steel piles driven in sands.

Oblique interface shearing (OIS): single-step microdroplet generation and on-demand positioning

Shearing a continuous stream at the air/liquid interface with an oblique angle allows for generation and on-demand positioning of microdroplets.