The electrochemical performance of lithium-ion batteries is strongly governed by the complex three-dimensional architecture of porous electrodes. While recent advances in generative artificial intelligence have enabled realistic reconstruction of battery microstructures, existing approaches primarily focus on reproducing morphology or correlating manufacturing parameters with structural characteristics, providing limited control over transport-relevant properties. In this work, we develop a physics-constrained conditional generative adversarial network (PC-cGAN) for the inverse generation of LiNi0.5Mn0.3Co0.2O2, NMC532 cathode microstructures conditioned on target physical descriptors. The framework integrates a physical constraint network that enforces porosity, active-material volume fraction, and tortuosity during training, enabling direct generation of microstructures consistent with desired transport characteristics. Beyond morphology reconstruction, the framework also supports inverse microstructure design by mapping user-specified transport properties directly into three-dimensional, physically consistent electrode architectures. This functionality opens a pathway to probe structure-transport relationships that are otherwise challenging to isolate experimentally, while laying the groundwork for AI-enabled digital twins of battery electrodes. Coupling the framework with electrochemical and manufacturing simulations will enable virtual screening of architectures, accelerate optimization cycles, and advance physics-guided battery design with reduced experimental effort.
In this article, convex optimization is introduced as a promising tool to study Eshelby based inverse micromechanics problems. The focus is on inverse micromechanics using the Mori-Tanaka model given the dielectric constants of the composite material and of all of its components. The model is exactly the same for the conductivity properties (thermal and electrical) as well. This choice of model is made since the model is fairly simple, has a closed form analytical solution, and is known to perform well for the case of spheroidal inclusions as well. The forward or direct micromechanics problem deals with the determination of effective properties of a composite material given the properties of its components and microstructural information. The focus is on isotropic composites, and the distribution of inclusions is assumed to be such that this holds. The inverse micromechanics problem considered in this paper deals with the determination of microstructural information given the properties of the composite material and all of its components. Since in this paper the isotropy of the composite and only spherical inclusions are considered, the goal is to determine only the volume fractions of the components of the composite material. The inverse problem is formulated as a Linear Programming problem and is solved. Before this, the inverse problem and certain important variants of it are examined through the lens of convex optimization. Lastly, promising results are presented on the relationship between dispersive materials, noise in measurements, and the quality of the obtained volumetric splits. The scope of the use of convex optimization in inverse micromechanics is discussed.
Underwater tunnels beneath rivers and lakes are frequently subjected to leakage issues. However, the instability mechanism caused by particle loss remains insufficiently understood, particularly in pebble formations. This study combines experimental and numerical approaches to investigate the influence of particle loss on formation instability. The results indicate that the process of particle loss can be divided into intense erosion, erosion mitigation and stable seepage, and the anti-erosion capacity of gap-gradation pebble soils is the worst. When leakage occurs at the tunnel vault or sidewall, a continuous seepage erosion channel eventually propagates from the leakage location toward the ground surface. For leakage at the tunnel bottom, the particle disturbance zone is confined within the tunnel contour. As the leakage width increases, the disturbance zone continuously expands, and the instability evolution accelerates. The particle loss illustrates an initial rapid increase, followed by a trend toward stabilization after a certain step. Moreover, the calculation step required to reach the steady state decreases with increasing hydraulic pressure. The microscopic contact force above the vault deflects horizontally to form temporary arching effect near the leakage, determining the evolution of particle loss and formation deformation. These finds can provide references for the early warning and risk assessment of tunnel leakage disasters in pebble formations.
Abstract Densification is a common strategy to cope with the growing demands of urban residential needs around the world. The process involves densifying the existing neighborhoods to restrict urban expansion in the outskirts. The functional capability of a modern city is largely dependent on buried water infrastructure (BWI). Densification implies an increase in drinking water demand, wastewater generation, and water-impervious areas, which increases the vulnerability of existing BWI. Eventually, the increase in densification weakens BWI performance, which can be maintained by adjusting the level of densification and other controlling factors. This study optimizes the control factors to maximize the performance-to-densification ratio ( P / D ) using the Taguchi design of experiment (DoE) approach. An orthogonal array ( L 25 ) with five levels of six control factors is considered for analysis. Signal-to-noise ( S / N ) ratios are estimated for all experiments to find the optimal combination. A confirmation test is performed to validate the optimal combination by evaluating their S / N ratios. The S / N ratio of the optimum combinations of control factors for the response variable P / D is improved by 7.59 dB. Analysis of variance is also performed to find the percentage contribution of the control factors to the response variable. The percentage of multifamily housing (MFH), average daily water demand (ADD), average age of water mains ( AA ), and total cost ( TC )control factors are identified as statistically significant on the response variable with a P -value >97%. A comparison between the results of optimization for the response variable performance and P / D indicates that (1) a decrease in the consumption of ADD and a better condition of AA can improve BWI performance, reducing the overall densification impacts; indicates (2) a reduction in financial burden (i.e., TC ) at the same level of MFH. The application of the adopted approach is demonstrated for a municipality located in British Columbia, Canada.
Abstract Recent seismic design approaches for precast concrete diaphragms recognize the need to preclude in-plane shear failure. However, the reliable shear capacity of the precast concrete diaphragm, involving a complicated shear force transfer mechanism in the failure critical section within the joints between the precast floor units, has not been fully established. In particular, the effect of the actual set of seismic forces that could act on this joint, including combinations of in-plane shear, in-plane moment, and axial thrust, compressive and tensile, as well as different joint opening demands, to our best knowledge, has not been examined, particularly in the nonlinear (postpeak) regime. In this work, the shear critical joint in a precast concrete floor diaphragm is experimentally evaluated under anticipated seismic demands using the hybrid (adaptive) testing technique. The test specimen consists of two half-scale untopped precast floor units connected by typical diaphragm reinforcement. The test specimen is placed in a loading fixture capable of simultaneously providing shear, axial force, and moment to the joint. The test simulates the maximum considered earthquake seismic response of a long floor span structure configuration. During this response, the test specimen undergoes high shear loading in the presence of nonuniform and nonproportional joint opening, in-plane moment, and cyclic axial thrust. The shear strength, stiffness, cyclic shear deformation capacity, and postpeak response of the joint are examined. Design recommendations are provided.
