The design of a good ship fender is important for protecting vessels or offshore structures during ship collisions or berthing, which could result in severe and costly damages. Sandwich fenders are widely used in the design of vessel fenders; however, little is known of how the order of arrangement of the sandwich material layers can affect sandwich fender performance. In addition, this paper investigates whether naturally occurring sand (soil) material along the riverbank in canals can be regarded as a good fender. Finite element analysis using an ANSYS Autodyn numerical solver showed that sand is a good fender, and generally, a fender sandwich having a hard material layer in the middle and soft materials placed at both sides is better at protecting fended structure and vessels made of different materials than any other arrangements. The overall result was validated using a simplified analytical method and LS-DYNA, and there is considerable result consistency.

Mulch was prepared using composted sugarcane leaves, with polyvinyl alcohol and cationic starch as adhesives, through compression molding. The study aimed to investigate the effects of different adhesives on the mechanical properties, thermal oxidative degradation performance, and biodegradability of the covering materials. The results indicated that, when the adhesive dosage was consistent, cover material A, which utilized polyvinyl alcohol as the adhesive, exhibited higher tensile strength and elongation at break compared to cover material B, which employed a blend of polyvinyl alcohol and cationic starch. Specifically, at an adhesive dosage of 20%, cover material A achieved a tensile strength of 0.46 MPa and an elongation at break of 7.72%, representing the highest values among all experimental groups. There was minimal disparity in the thermal oxidative degradation performance between materials prepared with either adhesive; however, a higher quantity of adhesive led to decreased biodegradability performance. After being buried in soil for 120 days, the degradation exceeded 40% for both materials, resulting in loss of their original shape and strength properties. In conclusion, while sugarcane leaves-based biodegradable materials demonstrate favorable degradation performance, further enhancements are necessary to improve their mechanical properties. These materials have potential applications as substitutes for plastic mulch.

Cylindrical steel silos with flat bottoms are widely used in agriculture and industry for storing granular materials. While research has advanced our understanding of pressure on silo walls, accurate prediction, especially during the dynamic filling and discharge phases, remains a challenge. This study presents a finite element (FE) analysis of pressure distribution in a model cylindrical steel silo with a flat bottom, investigating the influence of the height-to-diameter (H/D) ratio. The numerical results were validated against experimental data from a pilot-scale test facility storing corn. Material properties were determined through laboratory experiments, with mechanical properties obtained from literature. An arbitrary Lagrangian formulation was employed for the FE calculations. The FE results showed good agreement with experimental data for static pressure distribution on the silo wall across all H/D ratios analyzed. While the patterns of dynamic pressure curves were similar, the FE-predicted magnitudes were lower than those observed experimentally. Notably, the simulations captured significant pressure fluctuations during silo discharge.