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Conventional cross-laminated timber is an engineered wood product consisting of solid-sawn lumber panels glued together. In this study, the structural behavior of solid wood panels of Nail-Cross-Laminated Timber (NCLT) panels connected with nails instead of glue was studied. The failure mode and nail deformation of the novel NCLT panels under axial compression load using eight full-scale NCLT panels was investigated. The effects of four key design parameters, namely, the nail type, number of nails, nail orientation angle, and nail slenderness ratio on axial compression performance of NCLT panels were also analyzed. In addition, a formula for predicting the axial compression bearing capacity of NCLT panels was developed. For calculation of the slenderness ratio, the moment of inertia of the full section or the effective section was determined based on the nail type, number of nails, angle of nail orientation and number of layers of the plate. Results showed that specimens connected by tapping screws had best compressive performance.

Surface scratch has significant influence on the fatigue behavior of Ti-5Al-2Zr-4Mo-4Cr. In this paper, fatigue test with three different surface roughness are conducted, test results are recorded, including test data and fracture characteristics. The distribution of test data is analyzed and the fracture characteristics are discussed according to the change of surface roughness. Study of fatigue behavior of Ti-5Al-2Zr-4Mo-4Cr with surface roughness is significant intheoretical and engineering fatigue study.

Cross-laminated timber (CLT) is an innovative wood panel composite that has been attracting growing interest worldwide. Apart from its economic benefits, CLT takes full advantage of both the tensile strength parallel to the wood grain and its compressive strength perpendicular to the grain, which enhances the load bearing capacity of the composite. However, traditional CLT panels are made with glue, which can expire and lose effectiveness over time, compromising the CLT panel mechanical strength. To mitigate such shortcomings of conventional CLT panels, we pioneer herein nail-cross-laminated timber (NCLT) panels with more reliable connection system. This study investigates the flexural performance of NCLT panels made with different types of nails and explores the effects of key design parameters including the nail incidence angle, nail type, total number of nails, and number of layers. Results show that NCLT panels have better flexural performance than traditional CLT panels. The failure mode of NCLT panels depends on the nail angle, nail type, and quantity of nails. A modified formula for predicting the flexural bearing capacity of NCLT panels was proposed and proven accurate. The findings could blaze the trail for potential applications of NCLT panels as a sustainable and resilient construction composite for lightweight structures.

The mesoscopic dendrite growth model in the solidification process of molten steel is established, based on the cellular automata model. To accurately describe the TiN nucleation process, a heterogeneous nucleation model was used to describe the TiN nucleation process. The accuracy of the dendrite growth model is verified by comparing the CA model and Lipton–Glicksman–Kurz (LGK) analytical model. The growth process of TiN precipitates was simulated by dynamic mesh generation. Meanwhile, the influence of grid anisotropy on dendrite growth is greatly weakened by introducing the decentered square algorithm, and the growth of the equiaxed crystal in all directions is simulated. The results show that the calculated results of the model are in good agreement with the volume and morphology of TiN observed in the experiment. Meanwhile, it is found that the smaller TiN will dissolve at the end of solidification, and there will be a re-precipitation. The precipitation time of High-N and High-Ti alloy systems with the same concentration product is basically the same, but the final precipitation solid fraction of TiN inclusions in High-N (small Ti/N) alloy is larger. N element is the decisive factor of TiN precipitation.

One of the advantages of numerical simulations over traditional experimental methodologies is that they can synchronize nucleation, growth and coarsening during solidification from the point of view of microstructural analysis. However, the computational cost and accuracy are bottlenecks restricting simulation approaches. Here, two cellular automaton (CA) modules with different grid dimensions are coupled to form a cross-scale model in order to simulate MnS precipitation, accompanied by the matrix growth of dendrites during the solidification of a Fe-C-Mn-S steel, where the matrix growth is computed through the CA module with large grids based on the solute conservation and the undercooling of thermal, constitutional, and curvature, and increments of solid fraction of MnS are solved in combination with the transient thermodynamic equilibrium on the locally re-meshed grids once the MnS precipitation is formed. We utilize the cross-scale mode to illustrate MnS evolution in a solidifying matrix and explain the reason why it coexists in three shapes. Further, we study the effects of the content of elements Mn and S on MnS precipitation based on two continuously cast steel objects, with the factor of concentration product fixed as a constant. A re-precipitation of MnS is observed during the solidification of a system with a high content of Mn and low content of S. Simultaneous computation using cross-scale modeling can effectively save on computational resources, and the simulation results agree well with the experimental cases, which confirm its reliable accuracy.