This article proposes an improved wavelet threshold denoising for laser self-mixing interference signals. The improved wavelet threshold function exhibits smoothness and continuity near the threshold. By replacing hard or soft wavelet threshold with the improved wavelet threshold, it can eliminate the generation of fake self-mixing interference peaks due to local oscillation induced by hard wavelet threshold, as well as the loss of self-mixing interference peaks due to over-smoothness induced by the soft wavelet threshold. Compared with hard and soft wavelet threshold denoising, theoretical simulations and experimental results demonstrate that the displacement of vibrations are well reconstructed based on the improved wavelet threshold denoising.

Isothermal-compression tests of B₄C_p/6063Al composites containing 20 vol.% B₄C were performed using a Gleeble-3500 device, at strain rates ranging from 0.001 s⁻¹ to 1 s⁻¹ and deformation temperatures ranging from 723 K to 823 K. The results showed that the high-temperature flow stress of B₄C_p/6063Al composites increases with the decrease in deformation temperature or the increase in the strain rate. After friction correction, the friction corrected stress was less than the original experimental stress. At the initial stage of deformation, the difference between the rheological stress after friction correction and the measured rheological stress is small, but with the continuous increase in the strain, the difference between the rheological stress after friction correction and the measured rheological stress is grows. Under the same strain, the difference between the rheological stress before and after friction correction becomes more significant with the decrease in the deformation temperature and the increase in the strain rate. Next, the material constants (i.e., α, β, Q, A, n) of B₄C_p/6063Al composites were calibrated based on the experimental data, and a constitutive equation was established based on Arrhenius theory. The experimental values and predicted values of the stress–strain curves are in good agreement with the stress–strain curves of the finite element simulation, and the validity of the constitutive equation was verified.

In this paper, a Wiener filtering algorithm in the wavelet domain is proposed to filter the laser self-mixing interference (SMI) signals, which is used to improve the accuracy of displacement reconstruction. The Wiener filter is theoretically constructed and applied to filter both high-frequency coefficients and low-frequency coefficients in the wavelet domain, which are obtained by two-level discrete wavelet transformation (DWT) decomposition from unfiltered SMI signals. Two-level wavelet decomposition in wavelet threshold filtering is determined without any manual judgment. Subsequently, the inverse DWT is employed to generate the filtered SMI signals. Compared with that, using wavelet threshold denoising, the results of the simulation and experiments demonstrate that the displacement reconstruction from the filtered SMI signals exhibits better accuracy when using Wiener filtering in the wavelet domain with two levels of wavelet decomposition. Also, the fake peaks due to local oscillation caused by wavelet threshold filtering can be eliminated effectively. The proposed method employs two-level wavelet decomposition, ensuring computational efficiency and achieving an 11.3% improvement in displacement reconstruction accuracy compared to wavelet threshold filtering. The maximum error ratio of the micro-displacement reconstruction is reduced to 2.7% using the Wiener filter in the wavelet domain.

In the power plant boiler industry, dissimilar steel welding is widely used in the connection of thermal power generation units. As an important component of the unit, research on the organizational properties of dissimilar steel welded joints has significant guidance for the life design of the joint. For the long-term service state of TP304H/T22 dissimilar steel welded joints, the microstructure’s morphological evolution, the microhardness, and the tensile properties of tube samples were analyzed using tests and numerical simulations. The results show that the microstructure of each part of the welded joint was free of damaged features, such as a creep cavity and intergranular cracks. The microhardness of the weld was higher than that of the base metal. In the tensile test, the welded joints broke at the weld metal at room temperature and at the side of the TP304H base metal at a temperature of 550 °C. The tensile fracture morphology demonstrated a change from a ductile fracture to a hybrid fracture when the temperature rose. The fusion zone and base metal on the TP304H side were the stress concentration areas of the welded joint, which easily sprouted cracks. This study holds significant reference value in assessing the safety and reliability of dissimilar steel welded joints in superheater units.

Synthetic diamond particle-reinforced copper-iron composites (SD/Cu-Fe) were produced by the powder metallurgical method for stone cutting applications, and the microstructure, density, compactness, hardness, flexure strength, and wear resistance of the composites were characterized in this work. The results showed that the diamond particles were relatively uniformly distributed in most areas of the copper matrix and the crystal shape of diamond particles were relatively intact in the sintering temperature range from 740 °C to 780 °C. The interfaces between the diamond particles and copper matrix, as well as the interfaces between the copper matrix and iron layer, were well bonded without significant gaps. The physical properties of composites increased first and then decreased with the sintering temperature. When the sintering temperature was 770 °C, the related properties reached the best. Diamond played a key role in improving the properties of the SD/Cu-Fe sandwich composite. This work provides a basis for the research and development of high-performance diamond-reinforced copper-based iron sandwich composites.