C60 Dimers Revisited

Abstract

Several dimers: C₁₂₀, C₁₄₀, C₁₃₀ and their oxygen‐containing derivatives as well as some oligomers or polymers of the well known spherical fullerenes have been synthesized so far. Some of the formulas attributed to such compounds represent the first steps in a more complex fate leading to trivalent capped tubulenes. Such a way could even be followed by functionalized fullerenes. A detailed network transformation is given for C₆₀ and its mono‐ and di‐epoxy derivatives. Semiempirical calculations support the presented findings.     

Stable growing neural gas: A topology learning algorithm based on player tracking in video games

Characters in video games usually use a manually-defined topology of the environment to navigate. To evolve in an open, unknown and dynamic world, characters should not have pre-existing representations of their environment. In this paper, characters learn this representation by imitating human players. We here put forward a modified version of the growing neural gas model (GNG) called stable growing neural gas (SGNG). The algorithm is able to learn how to use the environment from one or more teachers (players) by representing it with a graph. Unlike GNG, SGNG learning is in-line, reflecting the dynamic nature of the environment. The evaluation of the quality of the learned representations are detailed.     

Topology optimization of flexure hinges with a prescribed compliance matrix based on the adaptive spring model and stress constraint

This paper focuses on the configuration design of flexure hinges with a prescribed compliance matrix and preset rotational center position. A new method for the topology optimization of flexure hinges is proposed based on the adaptive spring model and stress constraint. The hinge optimization model is formulated by maximizing the bending displacement with a spring while optimizing the compliance matrix to a prescribed value. To avoid numerical instability, an artificial spring is used as an auxiliary calculation, and a new strategy is developed for adaptively adjusting the spring stiffness according to the prescribed compliance matrix. The maximum stress of flexure hinge is limited by using a normalized P-norm of the effective von Mises stress, and a position constraint of rotational center is proposed to predetermine the position of the rotational center. In addition, to reduce the error of the stress measurement, a simple but effective filtering method is presented to obtain a complete black-and-white design. Numerical examples are used to verify the proposed method. Topology results show that the obtained flexure hinges have the prescribed compliance matrix and preset rotational center position while also meeting the stress requirements.     

POD-assisted strategies for structural topology optimization

We propose a new numerical tool for structural optimization design. To cut down the computational burden typical of the Solid Isotropic Material with Penalization (SIMP) method, we apply Proper Orthogonal Decomposition on SIMP snapshots computed on a fixed grid to construct a rough structure (predictor) which becomes the input of a SIMP procedure performed on an anisotropic adapted mesh (corrector). The benefit of the proposed design tool is to deliver smooth and sharp layouts which require a contained computational effort before moving to the 3D printing production phase.     

Support structure constrained topology optimization for additive manufacturing

There is significant interest today in integrating additive manufacturing (AM) and topology optimization (TO). However, TO often leads to designs that are not AM friendly. For example, topologically optimized designs may require significant amount of support structures before they can be additively manufactured, resulting in increased fabrication and clean-up costs.In this paper, we propose a TO methodology that will lead to designs requiring significantly reduced support structures. Towards this end, the concept of ‘support structure topological sensitivity’ is introduced. This is combined with performance sensitivity to result in a TO framework that maximizes performance, subject to support structure constraints. The robustness and efficiency of the proposed method is demonstrated through numerical experiments, and validated through fused deposition modeling, a popular AM process.     

Optimal topology and distribution of catalyst in PEMFC

The equations that govern the various transport phenomena occurring in a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) were formulated and implemented in a commercial finite element software, in order to predict the fuel cell current density with respect to the operating conditions. The numerical model showed polarization curves in accordance with literature. The catalyst utilization was then improved by optimizing the platinum distribution (design variable) in the fuel cell, so as to maximize current density (objective function) for a fixed total amount of platinum (constraint). The first analysis showed that, for equal anode and cathode catalyst layer thicknesses, maximal current density was achieved by placing more catalyst in the cathode than in the anode. The second analysis showed that, for equal anode and cathode catalyst layer density, maximal current density was achieved by using a catalyst layer that is thicker on the cathode side than that on the anode side. Finally, a topological optimization of the platinum density within the cathode catalyst layer was performed with a gradient based algorithm, and the results showed that at a high stoichiometric ratio, the best design has most of its platinum placed where the reaction rate is the highest, i.e., close to the membrane layer.     

An approach of topology optimization of multi-rigid-body mechanism

Topology synthesis of multi-rigid-body mechanisms has always been a very important stage in the mechanism design process. In most cases, the topology of the multi-rigid-body mechanism for particular task is obtained by designers’ experience and ingenuity, rather than automatic approach. In this work, an approach of topology optimization of multi-rigid-body mechanisms is investigated. The core process of the approach is an automatic optimization design process. In this approach, we construct kinematics mapping from truss structures to the joint-linked mechanisms, which transforms the topology optimization problem of multi-body system into the truss structure optimization problem. We also develop a new strategy for topology optimization of statically determinate truss, the advantage of which lies in the ability dealing with statically determinate truss topology optimization problem compared to the existing methods. By automatically optimizing the topology of the truss structure, the topology of the multi-rigid-body mechanism is optimized automatically, accordingly. Here, we utilize the investigated approach to design suitable layout for multi-rigid-body micro-displacement amplifying mechanisms (MMAMs) with a large amplification ratio (>50). The layout consists of not only the topology information of the mechanism, but also the dimension parameters of the mechanism. The procedure of the approach is carried out in steps, and a human–computer interaction program has been developed for it. Using the developed program, different MMAMs are achieved. Meanwhile, the direct kinematics analysis of the MMAMs is achieved automatically, the existence of dead point position in the mechanism within movement range is checked and the micro-displacement amplification ratio is calculated out. The computing results are validated by the ADAMS^® motion simulation, which proves that the achieved MMAMs fully fulfill the functional requirement. Along with two of the achieved MMAMs, the approach is explained, its functionality is shown, its advantages, limitations, some open problems and future works are discussed.     

Topology optimization of stiffened plate/shell structures based on adaptive morphogenesis algorithm

This article proposes an adaptive morphogenesis algorithm to design stiffened plate/shell structures in a growth manner. The idea of this work is inspired by researches in leaf venation which indicates that the adaptive growth of leaf vein provides the relatively large structure with an effective reinforcement. This excellent performance is regarded as the contribution of two primary morphological features: branching and hierarchy. To apply the growth mechanism of leaf venation into stiffened plate/shell structures, a mathematical model describing the growth process is established. Based on this, the adaptive morphogenesis algorithm is developed to make stiffeners “grow” step by step. Besides, the “stiffness transforming operation”, a numerical treatment, is introduced to enable stiffeners to grow along arbitrary directions in the FEM model, which guarantees the design more optimized than previous methods. To obtain a further verification of the proposed method, a comparison between the proposed method and three typical methods is implemented. This comparison shows that the proposed method endows the designed object with a more excellent performance than others. Therefore, the proposed method is competent in the stiffened plate/shell structure design.     

Reconfigurable topology synthesis for application-specific NoC on partially dynamically reconfigurable systems

In this paper, a four-stage method for synthesizing reconfigurable ASNoC topology is proposed for partially dynamically reconfigurable systems, where the topology is reconfigured dynamically at run-time along with the application's execution. Firstly, a simulated annealing based topology-aware integrated optimization framework is proposed to generate the proper schedule and floorplan of task modules. Secondly, based on the schedule and floorplan of task modules, an Integer Linear Programming (ILP)-based method and a heuristic method, are proposed to partition the communication requirements of the application into $T$ time intervals. Thirdly, we explore the proper positions of switches in the floorplan for global communications. Finally, considering the reconfiguration costs between adjacent time intervals, the routing path allocation problem is solved for time intervals in an iterative procedure to generate fine-grained dynamically reconfigurable ASNoC topologies. Experimental results show that, compared to the random partition of communication requirements, the proposed heuristic method and ILP-based method can achieve 5.4% and 10.0% power consumption improvement, respectively. And, the reconfigurable ASNoC can achieve 31.6% power consumption improvement when compared with static ASNoC.     

A Knowledge-based Customization System for Supply Chain Integration

Hostile environmental pressure on supply chain management increases emphasis on supply chain agility, integration, and visibility to respond rapidly, effectively and efficiently to changes in the marketplace. There is a need for new methods and tools to visualize the supply chain topologies which captures and recognizes the complexity of the supply chain network. This paper presents a Knowledge-based Customization System for Supply Chain Integration (KCSSI) which is developed based on three core technologies: visualization of topologies, network analysis, and knowledge-based system so as to obtain quantified actionable information and formulating strategies for supply chain configuration leading the long term success. The performance of the system is verified by a series of controlled simulation experiments conducted in a selected reference site. It is verified that the KCSSI improves supply chain visibility by recognizing the structure clustering and interconnection of the supply chain network, quantifying and exploiting holistic supply chain performance to provide measurable insights for the customization of the supply chain configuration leading to long term success.