arXiv subjects

B. Wu

Publications and source records attributed to B. Wu.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Phase field modelling of cracking and capacity fade in core-shell cathode particles for lithium-ion batteries

Core-shell electrode particles are a promising morphology control strategy for high-performance lithium-ion batteries. However, experimental observations reveal that these structures remain prone to mechanical failure, with shell fractures and core-shell debonding occurring after a single charge. In this work, we present a novel, comprehensive computational framework to predict and gain insight into the failure of core-shell morphologies and the associated degradation in battery performance. The fully coupled chemo-mechano-damage model presented captures the interplay between mechanical damage and electrochemical behaviours, enabling the quantification of particle cracking and capacity fade. Both bulk material fracture and interface debonding are captured by utilising the phase field method. We quantify the severity of particle cracking and capacity loss through case studies on a representative core-shell system (NMC811@NMC532). The results bring valuable insights into cracking patterns, underlying mechanisms, and their impact on capacity loss. Surface cracks are found to initiate when a significantly higher lithium concentration accumulates in the core compared to the shell. Interfacial debonding is shown to arise from localised hoop stresses near the core-shell interface, due to greater shell expansion. This debonding develops rapidly, impedes lithium-ion transport, and can lead to more than 10\% capacity loss after a single discharge. Furthermore, larger particles may experience crack branching driven by extensive tensile zones, potentially fragmenting the entire particle. The framework developed can not only bring new insight into the degradation mechanisms of core-shell particles but also be used to design electrode materials with improved performance and extended lifetime.

cs.CE↗

arXiv2025

Magnetic phases and zone-folded phonons in a frustrated van der Waals magnet

2D magnetic materials have attracted extensive research interest due to their potential application in nanospintronics, optospintronics, and in magnonics. Ferromagnetic as well as antiferromagnetic layered materials have been demonstrated and successfully inserted into van der Waals heterostructures. However, the effects of magnetic frustration in van der Waals materials and the possibilities offered by spin configurations characterized by nonlinear spin arrangements have not been fully considered yet. Herein, we establish the magnetic phase diagram of bulk CrOCl, a frustrated van der Waals magnet, using magnetization and magneto-optical spectroscopy techniques. In particular, we use the magnetic superstructures relative to the crystallographic unit cell and the associated rich zone-folded phonon series to describe the magnetic field induced phases. Theoretical calculations taking into account the competing nearest neighbors magnetic exchange interactions provide a unique insight into the lattice vibrations of this class of magnetic system. This study expands the scope of 2D magnetic materials and provides a methodology to characterize frustrated van der Waals magnets.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2025

Rethinking the Potential of Multimodality in Collaborative Problem Solving Diagnosis with Large Language Models

Detecting collaborative and problem-solving behaviours from digital traces to interpret students' collaborative problem solving (CPS) competency is a long-term goal in the Artificial Intelligence in Education (AIEd) field. Although multimodal data and advanced models are argued to have the potential to detect complex CPS behaviours, empirical evidence on their value remains limited with some contrasting evidence. In this study, we investigated the potential of multimodal data to improve model performance in diagnosing 78 secondary school students' CPS subskills and indicators in authentic educational settings. In particular, text embeddings from verbal data and acoustic embeddings from audio data were used in a multimodal classification model for CPS diagnosis. Both unimodal and multimodal transformer-based models outperformed traditional models in detecting CPS classes. Although the inclusion of multimodality did not improve the performance of traditional unimodal models, its integration into transformer-based models demonstrated improved performance for diagnosing social-cognitive CPS classes compared to unimodal transformer-based models. Based on the results, the paper argues that multimodality and the selection of a particular modelling technique should not be taken for granted to achieve the best performance in the automated detection of every CPS subskill and indicator. Rather, their value is limited to certain types of CPS indicators, affected by the complexity of the labels, and dependent on the composition of indicators in the dataset. We conclude the paper by discussing the required nuance when considering the value of LLMs and multimodality in automated CPS diagnosis, highlighting the need for human-AI complementarity, and proposing the exploration of relevant model architectures and techniques to improve CPS diagnosis in authentic educational contexts.

cs.CL↗

arXiv2024

Suppression and excitation condition of collision on instabilities of electrostatic plasmas

Two-stream (TS) and Bump-On-Tail (BOT) electron distributions can induce instabilities in collisionless plasmas, which is closely related to phenomena in space and fusion plasmas. Collisions can lead to unexpected plasma behavior, especially in dense and/or low temperature plasmas. In this work, the Vlasov-Poisson system with Krook collisions are used to study the effect of collisions. Normally, the collision can dissipate the system energy which causes the suppression of the instabilities. Against the traditional suppression effect of collision on the instability, it is found in our simulation that the collision can also excite the instability even in the forbidden beam velocity range predicted by the cold-beam theory. With collision, the beam velocity range can be divided into suppression area [vth/2, vc + vth], transition area [vc - vth, vc + vth], excitation area [vc + vth, 2vc] and forbidden area [2vc, +infinity] for TS instability. where vc is the critical velocity from cold-beam theory and vth is thermal velocity or the beam width in our simulation. The collision dissipation effect and the excitation of beam instability can compete with each other, which evoked the excitation of collision on TS instability. The collision can change the suppression and excitation condition from beam theory. However, for BOT instability, there is only suppression effect of collision on the instability. These results can expand the view of collision effect on instability of electrostatic plasmas.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2024

Voltage-controlled non-axisymmetric vibrations of soft electro-active tubes with strain-stiffening effect

Material properties of soft electro-active (SEA) structures are significantly sensitive to external electro-mechanical biasing fields (such as pre-stretch and electric stimuli), which generate remarkable knock-on effects on their dynamic characteristics. In this work, we analyze the electrostatically tunable non-axisymmetric vibrations of an incompressible SEA cylindrical tube under the combination of a radially applied electric voltage and an axial pre-stretch. Following the theory of nonlinear electro-elasticity and the associated linearized theory for superimposed perturbations, we derive the nonlinear static response of the SEA tube to the inhomogeneous biasing fields for the Gent ideal dielectric model. Using the State Space Method, we efficiently obtain the frequency equations for voltage-controlled small-amplitude three-dimensional non-axisymmetric vibrations, covering a wide range of behaviors, from the purely radial breathing mode to torsional modes, axisymmetric longitudinal modes, and prismatic diffuse modes. We also perform an exhaustive numerical analysis to validate the proposed approach compared with the conventional displacement method, as well as to elucidate the influences of the applied voltage, axial pre-stretch, and strain-stiffening effect on the nonlinear static response and vibration behaviors of the SEA tube. The present study clearly indicates that manipulating electro-mechanical biasing fields is a feasible way to tune the small-amplitude vibration characteristics of an SEA tube. The results should benefit experimental work on, and design of, voltage-controlled resonant devices made of SEA tubes.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2024

Influence of concentration-dependent material properties on the fracture and debonding of electrode particles with core-shell structure

Core-shell electrode particle designs offer a route to improved lithium-ion battery performance. However, they are susceptible to mechanical damage such as fracture and debonding, which can significantly reduce their lifetime. Using a coupled finite element model, we explore the impacts of diffusion-induced stresses on the failure mechanisms of an exemplar system with an NMC811 core and an NMC111 shell. In particular, we systematically compare the implications of assuming constant material properties against using Li concentration-dependent diffusion coefficient and partial molar volume. With constant material properties, our results show that smaller cores with thinner shells avoid debonding and fracture regimes. When factoring in a concentration-dependent partial molar volume, the maximum values of tensile hoop stress in the shell are found to be significantly lower than those predicted with constant properties, reducing the likelihood of fracture. Furthermore, with a concentration-dependent diffusion coefficient, significant barriers to full electrode utilisation are observed due to reduced lithium mobility at high states of lithiation. This provides a possible explanation for the reduced accessible capacity observed in experiments. Shell thickness is found to be the dominant factor in precluding structural integrity once the concentration dependency is accounted for. These findings shed new light on the performance and effective design of core-shell electrode particles.

physics.chem-ph↗

arXiv2024

Comparative Study of Quarkonium Transport in Hot QCD Matter

This document summarizes the efforts of the EMMI Rapid Reaction Task Force on "Suppression and (re)generation of quarkonium in heavy-ion collisions at the LHC", centered around their 2019 and 2022 meetings. It provides a review of existing experimental results and theoretical approaches, including lattice QCD calculations and semiclassical and quantum approaches for the dynamical evolution of quarkonia in the quark-gluon plasma as probed in high-energy heavy-ion collisions. The key ingredients of the transport models are itemized to facilitate comparisons of calculated quantities such as reaction rates, binding energies, and nuclear modification factors. A diagnostic assessment of the various results is attempted and coupled with an outlook for the future.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2023

ALMA-IMF IX: Catalog and Physical Properties of 315 SiO Outflow Candidates in 15 Massive Protoclusters

We present a catalog of 315 protostellar outflow candidates detected in SiO J=5-4 in the ALMA-IMF Large Program, observed with ~2000 au spatial resolution, 0.339 km/s velocity resolution, and 2-12 mJy/beam (0.18-0.8 K) sensitivity. We find median outflow masses, momenta, and kinetic energies of ~0.3 M$_{\odot}$, 4 M$_{\odot}$ km/s, and 10$^{45}$ erg, respectively. Median outflow lifetimes are 6,000 years, yielding median mass, momentum, and energy rates of $\dot{M}$ = 10$^{-4.4}$ M$_{\odot}$ yr$^{-1}$, $\dot{P}$ = 10$^{-3.2}$ M$_{\odot}$ km/s yr$^{-1}$, and $\dot{E}$ = 1 L$_{\odot}$. We analyze these outflow properties in the aggregate in each field. We find correlations between field-aggregated SiO outflow properties and total mass in cores (~3$-$5$\sigma$), and no correlations above 3$\sigma$ with clump mass, clump luminosity, or clump luminosity-to-mass ratio. We perform a linear regression analysis and find that the correlation between field-aggregated outflow mass and total clump mass - which has been previously described in the literature - may actually be mediated by the relationship between outflow mass and total mass in cores. We also find that the most massive SiO outflow in each field is typically responsible for only 15-30% of the total outflow mass (60% upper limit). Our data agree well with the established mechanical force-bolometric luminosity relationship in the literature, and our data extend this relationship up to L $\geq$ 10$^6$ L$_{\odot}$ and $\dot{P}$ $\geq$ 1 M$_{\odot}$ km/s yr$^{-1}$. Our lack of correlation with clump L/M is inconsistent with models of protocluster formation in which all protostars start forming at the same time.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2022

A coupled phase field formulation for modelling fatigue cracking in lithium-ion battery electrode particles

Electrode particle cracking is one of the main phenomena driving battery capacity degradation. Recent phase field fracture studies have investigated particle cracking behaviour. However, only the beginning of life has been considered and effects such as damage accumulation have been neglected. Here, a multi-physics phase field fatigue model has been developed to study crack propagation in battery electrode particles undergoing hundreds of cycles. In addition, we couple our electrochemo-mechanical formulation with X-ray CT imaging to simulate fatigue cracking of realistic particle microstructures. Using this modelling framework, non-linear crack propagation behaviour is predicted, leading to the observation of an exponential increase in cracked area with cycle number. Three stages of crack growth (slow, accelerating and unstable) are observed, with phenomena such as crack initialisation at concave regions and crack coalescence having a significant contribution to the resulting fatigue crack growth rates. The critical values of C-rate, particle size and initial crack length are determined, and found to be lower than those reported in the literature using static fracture models. Therefore, this work demonstrates the importance of considering fatigue damage in battery degradation models and provides insights on the control of fatigue crack propagation to alleviate battery capacity degradation.

physics.chem-ph↗

arXiv2022

Turn Tree into Graph: Automatic Code Review via Simplified AST Driven Graph Convolutional Network

Automatic code review (ACR), which can relieve the costs of manual inspection, is an indispensable and essential task in software engineering. To deal with ACR, existing work is to serialize the abstract syntax tree (AST). However, making sense of the whole AST with sequence encoding approach is a daunting task, mostly due to some redundant nodes in AST hinder the transmission of node information. Not to mention that the serialized representation is inadequate to grasp the information of tree structure in AST. In this paper, we first present a new large-scale Apache Automatic Code Review (AACR) dataset for ACR task since there is still no publicly available dataset in this task. The release of this dataset would push forward the research in this field. Based on it, we propose a novel Simplified AST based Graph Convolutional Network (SimAST-GCN) to deal with ACR task. Concretely, to improve the efficiency of node information dissemination, we first simplify the AST of code by deleting the redundant nodes that do not contain connection attributes, and thus deriving a Simplified AST. Then, we construct a relation graph for each code based on the Simplified AST to properly embody the relations among code fragments of the tree structure into the graph. Subsequently, in the light of the merit of graph structure, we explore a graph convolution networks architecture that follows an attention mechanism to leverage the crucial implications of code fragments to derive code representations. Finally, we exploit a simple but effective subtraction operation in the representations between the original and revised code, enabling the revised difference to be preferably learned for deciding the results of ACR. Experimental results on the AACR dataset illustrate that our proposed model outperforms the state-of-the-art methods.

cs.SE↗

arXiv2021

ALMA-IMF I -- Investigating the origin of stellar masses: Introduction to the Large Program and first results

The ALMA-IMF Large Program imaged a total noncontiguous area of 53pc2, covering 15 extreme, nearby protoclusters of the Milky Way. They were selected to span relevant early protocluster evolutionary stages. Our 1.3mm and 3mm observations provide continuum images that are homogeneously sensitive to point-like cores with masses of 0.2 and 0.6Msun, respectively, with a matched spatial resolution of 2000au. We also detect lines that probe the protocluster structure, kinematics, chemistry, and feedback over scales from clouds to filaments to cores. We classify ALMA-IMF protoclusters as Young, Intermediate, or Evolved based on the amount of dense gas in the cloud that has potentially been impacted by HII regions. The ALMA-IMF catalog contains 700 cores that span a mass range of 0.15-250Msun at a typical size of 2100au. We show that this core sample has no significant distance bias and can be used to build core mass functions at similar physical scales. Significant gas motions, which we highlight here in the G353.41 region, are traced down to core scales and can be used to look for inflowing gas streamers and to quantify the impact of the possible associated core mass growth on the shape of the CMF with time. Our first analysis does not reveal any significant evolution of the matter concentration from clouds to cores or from the youngest to more evolved protoclusters, indicating that cloud dynamical evolution and stellar feedback have for the moment only had a slight effect on the structure of high-density gas in our sample. Furthermore, the first-look analysis of the line richness toward bright cores indicates that the survey encompasses several tens of hot cores, of which we highlight the most massive in the G351.77 cloud. Their homogeneous characterization can be used to constrain the emerging molecular complexity in protostars of high to intermediate masses.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2021

ALMA-IMF II -- investigating the origin of stellar masses: Continuum Images and Data Processing

We present the first data release of the ALMA-IMF Large Program, which covers the 12m-array continuum calibration and imaging. The ALMA-IMF Large Program is a survey of fifteen dense molecular cloud regions spanning a range of evolutionary stages that aims to measure the core mass function (CMF). We describe the data acquisition and calibration done by the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) observatory and the subsequent calibration and imaging we performed. The image products are combinations of multiple 12m array configurations created from a selection of the observed bandwidth using multi-term, multi-frequency synthesis imaging and deconvolution. The data products are self-calibrated and exhibit substantial noise improvements over the images produced from the delivered data. We compare different choices of continuum selection, calibration parameters, and image weighting parameters, demonstrating the utility and necessity of our additional processing work. Two variants of continuum selection are used and will be distributed: the "best-sensitivity" data, which include the full bandwidth, including bright emission lines that contaminate the continuum, and "cleanest", which select portions of the spectrum that are unaffected by line emission. We present a preliminary analysis of the spectral indices of the continuum data, showing that the ALMA products are able to clearly distinguish free-free emission from dust emission, and that in some cases we are able to identify optically thick emission sources. The data products are made public with this release.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2021

Three-dimensional vibrations of multilayered hollow spheres submerged in a complex fluid

This paper presents a three-dimensional analytical study of the intrinsic free vibration of an elastic multilayered hollow sphere interacting with an exterior non-Newtonian fluid medium. The fluid is assumed to be characterized by a compressible linear viscoelastic model accounting for both the shear and compressional relaxation processes. For small-amplitude vibrations, the equations governing the viscoelastic fluid can be linearized, which are then solved by introducing appropriate potential functions. The solid is assumed to exhibit a particular material anisotropy, i.e. spherical isotropy, which includes material isotropy as a special case. The equations governing the anisotropic solid are solved in spherical coordinates using the state-space formalism, which finally establishes two separate transfer relations correlating the state vectors at the innermost surface with those at the outermost surface of the multilayered hollow sphere. By imposing the continuity conditions at the fluid-solid interface, two separate analytical characteristic equations are derived, which characterize two independent classes of vibration. Numerical examples are finally conducted to validate the theoretical derivation as well as to investigate the effects of various factors, including fluid viscosity and compressibility, fluid viscoelasticity, solid anisotropy and surface effect, as well as solid intrinsic damping, on the vibration characteristics of the submerged hollow sphere. Particularly, our theoretically predicted vibration frequencies and quality factors of gold nanospheres with intrinsic damping immersed in water agree exceptionally well with the available experimentally measured results. The reported analytical solution is truly and fully three-dimensional, covering from the purely radial breathing mode to torsional mode to any general spheroidal mode.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2021

Buckling and post-buckling of anisotropic at panels subjected to axial and shear in-plane loadings accounting for classical and refined structural and nonlinear theories

This article investigates the large deflection and post-buckling of composite plates by employing the Carrera Unified Formulation (CUF). As a consequence, the geometrically nonlinear governing equations and the relevant incremental equations are derived in terms of fundamental nuclei, which are invariant of the theory approximation order. By using the Lagrange expansion functions across the laminate thickness and the classical finite element (FE) approximation, layer-wise (LW) refined plate models are implemented. The Newton-Raphson linearization scheme with the path-following method based on the arc-length constraint is employed to solve geometrically non-linear composite plate problems. In this study, different composite plates subjected to large deflections/rotations and post-buckling are analyzed, and the corresponding equilibrium curves are compared with the results in the available literature or the traditional FEM-based solutions. The effects of various parameters, such as stacking sequence, number of layers, loading conditions, and edge conditions are demonstrated. The accuracy and reliability of the proposed method for solving the composite plates' geometrically nonlinear problems are verified.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2021

Effect of different geometrically nonlinear strain measures on the static nonlinear response of isotropic and composite shells with constant curvature

The structural analysis of ultra-lightweight flexible shells and membranes may require the adoption of complex nonlinear strain-displacement relations. These may be approximated and simplified in some circumstances, e.g., in the case of moderately large displacements and rotations, in some others may be not. In this paper, the effectiveness of various geometrically nonlinear strain approximations such as the von Karman strains is investigated by making use of refined shell formulations based on the Carrera Unified Formulation (CUF). Furthermore, geometrical nonlinear equations are written in a total Lagrangian framework and solved with an opportune Newton-Raphson method. Test cases include the study of shells subjected to pinched loadings, combined flexure and compression, and post-buckling including snap-through problems. It is demonstrated that full geometrically nonlinear analysis accounting for full Green-Lagrange strains shall be performed whenever displacements are higher than the order of magnitude of the thickness and if compressive loads are applied.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2021

Multi-blade monolithic Euler springs with optimised stress distribution

Euler springs are used for vertical suspension and vibration isolation as they provide a large static supporting force with a low spring-rate and use minimal spring material. To date, multiple single-width rectangular blades of uniform thickness and stacked flat-face to flat-face have been used in the post buckled state, with half of the blades buckling in each of opposing directions. For ultra-low-noise isolation the ends need to be clamped which results in stick-slip issues at the joints. In this study we investigate the benefits of forming side-by-side oppositely buckling blades from a single monolithic sheet of spring material. Additionally, we study how to distribute the stress evenly along the length of the blade by contouring its width, as well as finding the optimal contour to distribute the stress evenly around the tearing joints between oppositely bending blade sections. We show that this optimal shaping typically improves the inconveniently small spring working range by over 60 % compared to an equivalent rectangular blade.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2021

Comparison of Cloud-Based Ion Trap and Superconducting Quantum Computer Architectures

Quantum computing represents a radical departure from conventional approaches to information processing, offering the potential for solving problems that can never be approached classically. While large scale quantum computer hardware is still in development, several quantum computing systems have recently become available as commercial cloud services. We compare the performance of these systems on several simple quantum circuits and algorithms, and examine component performance in the context of each system's architecture.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2021

POLAR-2: a large scale gamma-ray polarimeter for GRBs

The prompt emission of GRBs has been investigated for more than 50 years but remains poorly understood. Commonly, spectral and temporal profiles of γ-ray emission are analysed. However, they are insufficient for a complete picture on GRB-related physics. The addition of polarization measurements provides invaluable information towards the understanding of these astrophysical sources. In recent years, dedicated polarimeters, such as POLAR and GAP, were built. The former of which observed low levels of polarization as well as a temporal evolution of the polarization angle. It was understood that a larger sample of GRB polarization measurements and time resolved studies are necessary to constrain theoretical models. The POLAR-2 mission aims to address this by increasing the effective area by an order of magnitude compared to POLAR. POLAR-2 is manifested for launch on board the China Space Station in 2024 and will operate for at least 2 years. Insight from POLAR will aid in the improvement of the overall POLAR-2 design. Major improvements (compared to POLAR) will include the replacement of multi-anode PMTs (MAPMTs) with SiPMs, increase in sensitive volume and further technological upgrades. POLAR-2 is projected to measure about 50 GRBs per year with equal or better quality compared to the best seen by POLAR. The instrument design, preliminary results and anticipated scientific potential of this mission will be discussed.

astro-ph.IM↗