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At least 235 records · Page 13

Use of the generalized transmission error in the equations of motion of gear systems

The vibratory excitation arising from a gear pair is widely recognized to be a consequence of the nonuniform transmission of motion by the gear pair. In the preceding paper in this issue, it is shown that a three-component transmission error is required to describe the nonuniform transmission of motion by bevel gears for vibration excitation characterization purposes. The expression for the three-component transmission error derived in that paper is combined in the present paper with an analysis of the mesh forces and mesh elasticity to yield an equation of constraint involving the six degree-of-freedom unknown vibratory displacements of the gear shaft centerliners, the three unknown components of the generalized force transmitted by the mesh, and the geometric deviations of the tooth running surfaces from perfect involute surfaces which are assumed known. This matrix equation can be combined with the equations of motion of a gear system to predict the vibratory response of the system to the generalized transmission error excitation arising from meshing gear pairs within the system.

Mark, W. D.↗

Thermoviscoplastic analysis of fibrous periodic composites by the use of triangular subvolumes

The non-linear viscoplastic behavior of fibrous periodic composites is analyzed by discretizing the unit cell into triangular subvolumes. A set of these subvolumes can be configured by the analyst to construct a representation for the unit cell of a periodic composite. In each step of the loading history the total strain increment at any point is governed by an integral equation which applies to the entire composite. A Fourier series approximation allows the incremental stresses and strains to be determined within a unit cell of the periodic lattice. The non-linearity arising from the viscoplastic behavior of the constituent materials comprising the composite is treated as a fictitious body force in the governing integral equation. Specific numerical examples showing the stress distributions in the unit cell of a fibrous tungsten/copper metal-matrix composite under viscoplastic loading conditions are given. The stress distribution resulting in the unit cell when the composite material is subjected to an overall transverse stress loading history perpendicular to the fibers is found to be highly heterogeneous, and typical homogenization techniques based on treating the stress and strain distributions within the constituent phases as homogeneous result in large errors under inelastic loading conditions.

Walker, Kevin P.↗

An integrating matrix formulation for buckling of rotating beams including the effects of concentrated masses

The integrating matrix technique of computational mechanics is extended to include the effects of concentrated masses. The stability of a flexible rotating beam with discrete masses is analyzed to determine the critical rotational speeds for buckling in the inplane and out-of-plane directions. In this problem, the beam is subjected to compressive centrifugal forces arising from steady rotation about an axis which does not pass through the clamped end of the beam. To determine the eigenvalues from which stability is assessed, the differential equations of motion are solved numerically by combining the extended integrating matrix method with an eigenanalysis. Stability boundaries for a discrete mass representation of a uniform beam are shown to asymptotically approach the stability boundaries for the corresponding continuous mass beam as the number of concentrated masses is increased. An error in the literature is also noted for the discrete mass problem concerning the behavior of the critical rotational speed for inplane buckling as the radius of rotation of the clamped end of the beam is reduced.

Lakin, William D.↗

The influence of buoyant forces and volume fraction of particles on the particle pushing/entrapment transition during directional solidification of Al/SiC and Al/graphite composites

Directional solidification experiments in a Bridgman-type furnace were used to study particle behavior at the liquid/solid interface in aluminum metal matrix composites. Graphite or silicon-carbide particles were first dispersed in aluminum-base alloys via a mechanically stirred vortex. Then, 100-mm-diameter and 120-mm-long samples were cast in steel dies and used for directional solidification. The processing variables controlled were the direction and velocity of solidification and the temperature gradient at the interface. The material variables monitored were the interface energy, the liquid/particle density difference, the particle/liquid thermal conductivity ratio, and the volume fraction of particles. These properties were changed by selecting combinations of particles (graphite or silicon carbide) and alloys (Al-Cu, Al-Mg, Al-Ni). A model which consideres process thermodynamics, process kinetics (including the role of buoyant forces), and thermophysical properties was developed. Based on solidification direction and velocity, and on materials properties, four types of behavior were predicted. Sessile drop experiments were also used to determine some of the interface energies required in calculation with the proposed model. Experimental results compared favorably with model predictions.

Stefanescu, Doru M.↗

Combining Hard with Soft Materials in Nanoscale Under High-Pressure High-Temperature Conditions

Nano-composites with a primary nanocrystalline ceramic matrix and a secondary nanocrystalline material (metal or semiconductor) were synthesized by infiltration of an appropriate liquid into ceramic compacts under pressures of up to 8 GPa and temperatures of up to 2000 K. The purpose of our work is to obtain nanocomposites which constitute homoger?ous mixtures of two phases, both forming nano- grains of about 10 nm in size. The high pressure is used to bring the porosity of the compacted powders down to the nano-scale and force a given liquid into the nano-sized pores. The advantage of the infiltration technique is that, in a single, continuous process, we start with a nanocrystalline powder, compress it to form the matrix of the composite, and crystallize and/or synthesize a second nanomaterial in the matrix pores. The key limitation of this technology is, that the pores in the matrix need to stay open during the entire process of infiltration. Thus the initial powder should form a rigid skeleton, otherwise the so-called self-stop process can limit cr block a further flow of the liquid phase and hinder the process of the composite formation. Therefore powders of only very hard ceramic materials like diamond, Sic, or Alz03, which can withstand a substantial external load without undesired deformation, can be used as the primary phase. With this technique, using diamond and S i c ceramic powders infiltrated by liquid metals (AI, Zn, Sn, Ag, Au) and semiconductors (Si, Ge, GaAs, CdTe), we obtained nano-composites with the grain size in the range of 10 - 30 nm. Our work addresses the key problem in manufacturing bulk nanocrystalline materials, i.e. preservation of nano-scale during the fabrication process. In this paper we discuss basic technical and methodological problems associated with nano-infiltration based on the results obtained for Zn-Sic composites.

Palosz, B.↗

Method for the determination of the three-dimensional aerodynamic field of a rotor-stator combination to compressible flow

Using the lifting surface theory and the acceleration potential method for the flow field of an axial turbocompressor stage, a recursive and a direct method are presented that make use of the eigenfunction solutions of the isolated rotor and stator to solve for the rotor-stator interaction problem. The net pressure distribution on the rotor and stator blades is represented by modified Birnbaum series, whose coefficients are determined using a matrix procedure and satisfying the boundary conditions on the surface of the blades. The relation between the matrix operators of the recursive and the direct methods is also shown. Expressions have been given for the blade circulation, the axial and tangential forces on the blade, the rotor power required, and the induced upwash velocity of the stage.

Ramachandra, Sridhar M.↗

Method for the determination of the three dimensional aerodynamic field of a rotor-stator combination in compressible flow

Using the lifting surface theory and the acceleration potential method for the flow field of an axial turbocompressor stage, a recursive and a direct method are presented that make use of the eigenfunction solutions of the isolated rotor and stator to solve for the rotor-stator interaction problem. The net pressure distribution on the rotor and stator blades is represented by modified Birnbaum series, whose coefficients are determined using a matrix procedure and satisfying the boundary conditions on the surface of the blades. The relation between the matrix operators of the recursive and the direct methods is also shown. Expressions have been given for the blade circulation, the axial and tangential forces on the blade, the rotor power required, and the induced upwash velocity of the stage.

Ramachandra, Sridhar M.↗

Analysis of structural response data using discrete modal filters

The application of reciprocal modal vectors to the analysis of structural response data is described. Reciprocal modal vectors are constructed using an existing experimental modal model and an existing frequency response matrix of a structure, and can be assembled into a matrix that effectively transforms the data from the physical space to a modal space within a particular frequency range. In other words, the weighting matrix necessary for modal vector orthogonality (typically the mass matrix) is contained within the reciprocal model matrix. The underlying goal of this work is mostly directed toward observing the modal state responses in the presence of unknown, possibly closed loop forcing functions, thus having an impact on both operating data analysis techniques and independent modal space control techniques. This study investigates the behavior of reciprocol modal vectors as modal filters with respect to certain calculation parameters and their performance with perturbed system frequency response data.

Freudinger, Lawrence C.↗

Computational strategies in the dynamic simulation of constrained flexible MBS

This research focuses on the computational dynamics of flexible constrained multibody systems. At first a recursive mapping formulation of the kinematical expressions in a minimum dimension as well as the matrix representation of the equations of motion are presented. The method employs Kane's equation, FEM, and concepts of continuum mechanics. The generalized active forces are extended to include the effects of high temperature conditions, such as creep, thermal stress, and elastic-plastic deformation. The time variant constraint relations for rolling/contact conditions between two flexible bodies are also studied. The constraints for validation of MBS simulation of gear meshing contact using a modified Timoshenko beam theory are also presented. The last part deals with minimization of vibration/deformation of the elastic beam in multibody systems making use of time variant boundary conditions. The above methodologies and computational procedures developed are being implemented in a program called DYAMUS.

Amirouche, F. M. L.↗

G-DYN Multibody Dynamics Engine

G-DYN is a multi-body dynamic simulation software engine that automatically assembles and integrates equations of motion for arbitrarily connected multibody dynamic systems. The algorithm behind G-DYN is based on a primal-dual formulation of the dynamics that captures the position and velocity vectors (primal variables) of each body and the interaction forces (dual variables) between bodies, which are particularly useful for control and estimation analysis and synthesis. It also takes full advantage of the spare matrix structure resulting from the system dynamics to numerically integrate the equations of motion efficiently. Furthermore, the dynamic model for each body can easily be replaced without re-deriving the overall equations of motion, and the assembly of the equations of motion is done automatically. G-DYN proved an essential software tool in the simulation of spacecraft systems used for small celestial body surface sampling, specifically in simulating touch-and-go (TAG) maneuvers of a robotic sampling system from a comet and asteroid. It is used extensively in validating mission concepts for small body sample return, such as Comet Odyssey and Galahad New Frontiers proposals.

Acikmese, Behcet↗

Linear baroclinic instability in the presence of large scale topography

The effect of a planetary-scale, wavenumber 2 topography on baroclinically active disturbances is investigated for a channel domain in a two-layer, quasi-geostrophic context. When the lower-layer zonal velocity is nonzero, the topography influences the disturbances by forcing a stationary wave, and the topography and the forced wave influence the growth rates and the spatial structures of the time-dependent solutions. The case of zero zonal velocity in the lower layer was also investigated, for which no forced wave exists. Asymptotic forms of the equations, valid when the topographic effect (governed by the ratio of the nondimensional topographic height to the rotational Froude number) is small, are used to obtain both the stationary and time-dependent solutions. The latter are also obtained using a numerical approach, in which is determined the eigenvalues and eigenfunctions of a matrix representing the dynamical equations. Agreement is good between the two approaches. Recent laboratory experiments with a baroclinic annulus in which there is a false bottom with wavenumber 2 topography, are used to select governing parameters. The simultaneous presence of a stationary forced wave of wavenumber 2 and a time-dependent baroclinic wave of wavenumber 4, which has wavenumber 2 and 6 sidebands due to the topography, yields a flow field that exhibits some principal features of the laboratory experiments. The position of the forced wave and the location of an excursion in latitude of the storm track show qualitative resemblance to those features observed in the atmosphere.

Reynolds, Nathaniel Dunton↗

Static calibration for measurement of loads in wind tunnel tests on Shuttle surface tiles

A description is given of the procedures used for the static calibrations of the Coe (1981) sensor array to determine normal force, pitching moment, and rolling moment from the ensemble of sensor outputs. The use of independent data to confirm the validity of the calibration is also described. Two methods are used in calibrating the Coe sensors. In the first, calibration loads and readings are arranged in matrix form and are assumed to be related in a linear fashion. In the second, each Coe sensor reading is regarded as a sum of contributions from each of the calibration loads. It is shown that the Coe load sensors, in conjunction with either of two data analysis methods, can be used to determine the forces and moments experienced by a Shuttle TPS tile.

Rummler, D. R.↗

Effects of Atomic-Scale Structure on the Fracture Properties of Amorphous Carbon - Carbon Nanotube Composites

The fracture of carbon materials is a complex process, the understanding of which is critical to the development of next generation high performance materials. While quantum mechanical (QM) calculations are the most accurate way to model fracture, the fracture behavior of many carbon-based composite engineering materials, such as carbon nanotube (CNT) composites, is a multi-scale process that occurs on time and length scales beyond the practical limitations of QM methods. The Reax Force Field (ReaxFF) is capable of predicting mechanical properties involving strong deformation, bond breaking and bond formation in the classical molecular dynamics framework. This has been achieved by adding to the potential energy function a bond-order term that varies continuously with distance. The use of an empirical bond order potential, such as ReaxFF, enables the simulation of failure in molecular systems that are several orders of magnitude larger than would be possible in QM techniques. In this work, the fracture behavior of an amorphous carbon (AC) matrix reinforced with CNTs was modeled using molecular dynamics with the ReaxFF reactive forcefield. Care was taken to select the appropriate simulation parameters, which can be different from those required when using traditional fixed-bond force fields. The effect of CNT arrangement was investigated with three systems: a single-wall nanotube (SWNT) array, a multi-wall nanotube (MWNT) array, and a SWNT bundle system. For each arrangement, covalent bonds are added between the CNTs and AC, with crosslink fractions ranging from 0-25% of the interfacial CNT atoms. The SWNT and MWNT array systems represent ideal cases with evenly spaced CNTs; the SWNT bundle system represents a more realistic case because, in practice, van der Waals interactions lead to the agglomeration of CNTs into bundles. The simulation results will serve as guidance in setting experimental processing conditions to optimize the mechanical properties of CNT composites.

Jensen, Benjamin D.↗

Finite Element Analysis of MEMS Devices

A side-slide actuator and a corrugated diaphragm actuator will be analyzed and optimized this summer. Coupled electrostatic and fluid analyses will also be initiated. Both the side-slide actuator and the corrugated diaphragm actuator will be used to regulate the flow of fuel in a jet engine. Many of the side-slide actuators will be placed on top of a fuel injector that is still in the developmental stage as well. The corrugated diaphragm actuator will also be used to regulate the flow of fuel in fuel injectors. A comparative analysis of the performance matrix of both actuators will be conducted. The side-slide actuator uses the concept of mechanical advantage to regulate the flow of fuel using electrostatic forces. It is made from Nickel, Silicon Carbide, and thin layers of Oxide. The slider will have a hole in the middle that will allow fuel to pass through the hole underneath it. The goal is to regulate the flow of fuel through the inlet. This means that the actuator needs to be designed so that when a voltage is applied to the push rod, the slider will deflect in the x-direction and be able to completely block the inlet and no fuel can pass through. Different voltage levels will be tested. The parameters that are being optimized are the thickness of the diaphragm, what kind of corrugation the diaphragm should have, the length, width, and thickness of the push rod, and what design should be used to return the slider. The current possibilities for a return rod are a built in spring on the slider, a return rod that acts like a spring, or a return rod that is identical to the push rod. The final actuator design should have a push rod that has rotational motion and no translation motion, a push rod thickness that prevents warping due to the slider, and a large ratio of the displacement on the bottom of the push rod to displacement on the top of the push rod. The corrugated diaphragm actuator was optimized last winter and this summer will be spent completing the optimization of the coupled electrostatic and fluid flow parameters. It was found that Nickel is the best material to use for the diaphragm because it has a higher yield strength and allows for a larger stress, deflection and applied pressure. The parameters that were optimized were the wavelength and thickness of the diaphragm.

Corrigan, Jennifer↗

A recurrence matrix solution for the dynamic response of aircraft in gusts

A systematic procedure developed for the calculation of the structural response of aircraft flying through a gust by use of difference equations in the solution of dynamic problems is first illustrated by means of a simple-damped-oscillator example. A detailed analysis is then given which leads to a recurrence matrix equation for the determination of the response of an airplane in a gust. The method takes into account wing bending and twisting deformations, fuselage deflection, vertical and pitching motion of the airplane, and some tail forces. The method is based on aerodynamic strip theory, but compressibility and three-dimensional aerodynamic effects can be taken into account approximately by means of over-all corrections. Either a sharp-edge gust or a gust of arbitrary shape in the spanwise or flight directions may be treated. In order to aid in the application of the method to any specific case, a suggested computational procedure is included. The possibilities of applying the method to a variety of transient aircraft problems, such as landing, are brought out. A brief review of matrix algebra, covering the extent to which it is used in the analysis, is also included. (author)

Houbolt, John C↗

High temperature dynamic modulus and damping of aluminum and titanium matrix composites

Dynamic modulus and damping capacity property data were measured from 20 to over 500 C for unidirectional B/Al (1100), B/Al (6061), B/SiC/Al (6061), Al2O3/Al, SiC/Ti-6Al-4V, and SiC/Ti composites. The measurements were made under vacuum by the forced vibration of composite bars at free-free flexural resonance near 2000 Hz and at amplitudes below 0.000001. Whereas little variation was observed in the dynamic moduli of specimens with approximately the same fiber content (50 percent), the damping of B/Al composites was found at all temperatures to be significantly greater than the damping of the Al2O3/Al and SiC/Ti composites. For those few situations where slight deviations from theory were observed, the dynamic data were examined for information concerning microstructural changes induced by composite fabrication and thermal treatment. The 270 C damping peak observed in B/Al (6061) composites after heat treatment above 460 C appears to be the result of a change in the 6061 aluminum alloy microstructure induced by interaction with the boron fibers. The growth characteristics of the damping peak suggest its possible value for monitoring fiber strength degration caused by excess thermal treatment during B/Al (6061) fabrication and use.

Dicarlo, J. A.↗

High temperature dynamic modulus and damping of aluminum and titanium matrix composites

Dynamic modulus and damping capacity property data were measured from 20 to over 500 C for unidirectional B/Al (1100), B/Al (6061), B/SiC/Al (6061), Al2O3/Al, SiC/Ti-6Al-4V, and SiC/Ti composites. The measurements were made under vacuum by the forced vibration of composite bars at free-free flexural resonance near 2000 Hz and at strain application below 0.000001. The damping of B/Al composites was found at all temperatures to be significantly greater than the damping of the Al2O3/Al and SiC/Ti composites, with little variation observed in the dynamic moduli of specimens having almost the same fiber content. It is concluded that on the practical level, the finding of a damping-strength correlation supports the use of composite damping measurements for the nondestructive evaluation of boron fiber strength in as-fabricated and heat-treated B/Al (6061) composites.

Dicarlo, J. A.↗

Energy partitioning of gaseous ions in an electric field.

The partitioning of ion energy among thermal energy, drift energy, and random-field energy is studied by solution of the Boltzmann equation. An expansion in powers of the square of the electric field strength is obtained by Kihara's method. Numerical calculations for several ion-neutral force laws show that Wannier's constant mean-free-time model gives a reasonable first approximation. The formal extension to multicomponent mixtures is also given. The matrix elements obtained are tabulated, and can be used to study the field dependence of other moments of the ion-distribution function.

Hahn, H.-S.↗