Search results for: rigid polyurethane foam
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 705

Search results for: rigid polyurethane foam

285 The Continuously Supported Infinity Rail Subjected to a Moving Complex Bogie System

Authors: Vladimir Stojanović, Marko D. Petković

Abstract:

The vibration of a complex bogie system that moves on along the high order shear deformable beam on a viscoelastic foundation is studied. The complex bogie system has been modeled by elastically connected rigid bars on an identical supports. Elastic coupling between bars is introduced to simulate rigidly or flexibly (transversal or/and rotational) connection. Identical supports are modeled as a system of attached spring and dashpot to the bar on one side and interact with the beam through the concentrated mass on the other side. It is assumed that the masses and the beam are always in contact. New analytically determined critical velocity of the system is presented. It is analyzed the case when the complex bogie system exceeds the minimum phase velocity of waves in the beam when the vibration of the system may become unstable. Effect of an elastic coupling between bars on the stability of the system has been analyzed. The instability regions are found for the complex bogie system by applying the principle of the argument and D-decomposition method.

Keywords: Reddy-Bickford beam, D-decomposition method, principle of argument, critical velocity

Procedia PDF Downloads 283
284 How to Modernise the ECN

Authors: Dorota Galeza

Abstract:

This paper argues that networks, such as the ECN and the American network, are affected by certain small events which are inherent to path dependence and preclude the full evolution towards efficiency. It is advocated that the American network is superior to the ECN in many respects due to its greater flexibility and longer history. This stems in particular from the creation of the American network, which was based on a small number of cases. Such structure encourages further changes and modifications which are not necessarily radical. The ECN, by contrast, was established by legislative action, which explains its rigid structure and resistance to change. It might be the case that the ECN is subject not so much to path dependence but to past dependence. It might have to be replaced, as happened to its predecessor. This paper is an attempt to transpose the superiority of the American network on to the ECN. It looks at concepts such as judicial cooperation, harmonization of procedure, peer review and regulatory impact assessments (RIAs), and dispute resolution procedures. The aim is to adopt these concepts into the EU setting without recourse to legal transplantation. The major difficulty is that many of these concepts have been tested only in the US and it is difficult to tell whether they could be modified to meet EU standards. Concepts such as judicial cooperation might be difficult due to different language traditions in EU member states. It is hoped that greater flexibility, as in the American network, would boost legitimacy and transparency.

Keywords: ECN, networks, regulation, competition

Procedia PDF Downloads 401
283 Operational Characteristics of the Road Surface Improvement

Authors: Iuri Salukvadze

Abstract:

Construction takes importance role in the history of mankind, there is not a single thing-product in our lives in which the builder’s work was not to be materialized, because to create all of it requires setting up factories, roads, and bridges, etc. The function of the Republic of Georgia, as part of the connecting Europe-Asia transport corridor, is significantly increased. In the context of transit function a large part of the cargo traffic belongs to motor transport, hence the improvement of motor roads transport infrastructure is rather important and rise the new, increased operational demands for existing as well as new motor roads. Construction of the durable road surface is related to rather large values, but because of high transport-operational properties, such as high-speed, less fuel consumption, less depreciation of tires, etc. If the traffic intensity is high, therefore the reimbursement of expenses occurs rapidly and accordingly is increasing income. If the traffic intensity is relatively small, it is recommended to use lightened structures of road carpet in order to pay for capital investments amounted to no more than normative one. The road carpet is divided into the following basic types: asphaltic concrete and cement concrete. Asphaltic concrete is the most perfect type of road carpet. It is arranged in two or three layers on rigid foundation and will be compacted. Asphaltic concrete is artificial building material, which due stratum will be selected and measured from stone skeleton and sand, interconnected by bitumen and a mixture of mineral powder. Less strictly selected similar material is called as bitumen-mineral mixture. Asphaltic concrete is non-rigid building material and well durable on vertical loadings; it is less resistant to the impact of horizontal forces. The cement concrete is monolithic and durable material, it is well durable the horizontal loads and is less resistant related to vertical loads. The cement concrete consists from strictly selected, measured stone material and sand, the binder is cement. The cement concrete road carpet represents separate slabs of sizes from 3 ÷ 5 op to 6 ÷ 8 meters. The slabs are reinforced by a rather complex system. Between the slabs are arranged seams that are designed for avoiding of additional stresses due temperature fluctuations on the length of slabs. For the joint behavior of separate slabs, they are connected by metal rods. Rods provide the changes in the length of slabs and distribute to the slab vertical forces and bending moments. The foundation layers will be extremely durable, for that is required high-quality stone material, cement, and metal. The qualification work aims to: in order for improvement of traffic conditions on motor roads to prolong operational conditions and improving their characteristics. The work consists from three chapters, 80 pages, 5 tables and 5 figures. In the work are stated general concepts as well as carried out by various companies using modern methods tests and their results. In the chapter III are stated carried by us tests related to this issue and specific examples to improving the operational characteristics.

Keywords: asphalt, cement, cylindrikal sample of asphalt, building

Procedia PDF Downloads 201
282 Load Maximization of Two-Link Flexible Manipulator Using Suppression Vibration with Piezoelectric Transducer

Authors: Hamidreza Heidari, Abdollah Malmir Nasab

Abstract:

In this paper, the energy equations of a two-link flexible manipulator were extracted using the Euler-Bernoulli beam hypotheses. Applying Assumed mode and considering some finite degrees of freedom, we could obtain dynamic motions of each manipulator using Euler-Lagrange equations. Using its claws, the robots can carry a certain load with the ached control of vibrations for robot flexible links during the travelling path using the piezoceramics transducer; dynamic load carrying capacity increase. The traveling path of flexible robot claw has been taken from that of equivalent rigid manipulator and coupled; therefore to avoid the role of Euler-Bernoulli beam assumptions and linear strains, material and physical characteristics selection of robot cause deflection of link ends not exceed 5% of link length. To do so, the maximum load carrying capacity of robot is calculated at the horizontal plan. The increasing of robot load carrying capacity with vibration control is 53%.

Keywords: flexible link, DLCC, active control vibration, assumed mode method

Procedia PDF Downloads 374
281 Surface Geodesic Derivative Pattern for Deformable Textured 3D Object Comparison: Application to Expression and Pose Invariant 3D Face Recognition

Authors: Farshid Hajati, Soheila Gheisari, Ali Cheraghian, Yongsheng Gao

Abstract:

This paper presents a new Surface Geodesic Derivative Pattern (SGDP) for matching textured deformable 3D surfaces. SGDP encodes micro-pattern features based on local surface higher-order derivative variation. It extracts local information by encoding various distinctive textural relationships contained in a geodesic neighborhood, hence fusing texture and range information of a surface at the data level. Geodesic texture rings are encoded into local patterns for similarity measurement between non-rigid 3D surfaces. The performance of the proposed method is evaluated extensively on the Bosphorus and FRGC v2 face databases. Compared to existing benchmarks, experimental results show the effectiveness and superiority of combining the texture and 3D shape data at the earliest level in recognizing typical deformable faces under expression, illumination, and pose variations.

Keywords: 3D face recognition, pose, expression, surface matching, texture

Procedia PDF Downloads 364
280 Stabilization of Rotational Motion of Spacecrafts Using Quantized Two Torque Inputs Based on Random Dither

Authors: Yusuke Kuramitsu, Tomoaki Hashimoto, Hirokazu Tahara

Abstract:

The control problem of underactuated spacecrafts has attracted a considerable amount of interest. The control method for a spacecraft equipped with less than three control torques is useful when one of the three control torques had failed. On the other hand, the quantized control of systems is one of the important research topics in recent years. The random dither quantization method that transforms a given continuous signal to a discrete signal by adding artificial random noise to the continuous signal before quantization has also attracted a considerable amount of interest. The objective of this study is to develop the control method based on random dither quantization method for stabilizing the rotational motion of a rigid spacecraft with two control inputs. In this paper, the effectiveness of random dither quantization control method for the stabilization of rotational motion of spacecrafts with two torque inputs is verified by numerical simulations.

Keywords: spacecraft control, quantized control, nonlinear control, random dither method

Procedia PDF Downloads 154
279 Ab Initio Approach to Generate a Binary Bulk Metallic Glass Foam

Authors: Jonathan Galvan-Colin, Ariel Valladares, Renela Valladares, Alexander Valladares

Abstract:

Both porous materials and bulk metallic glasses have been studied due to their potential applications and their exceptional physical and chemical properties. However, each material presents certain drawbacks which have been thought to be overcome by generating bulk metallic glass foams (BMGF). Although some experimental reports have been performed on multicomponent BMGF, still no ab initio works have been published, as far as we know. We present an approach based on the expanding lattice (EL) method to generate binary amorphous nanoporous Cu64Zr36. Starting from two different configurations: a 108-atom crystalline cubic supercell (cCu64Zr36) and a 108-atom amorphous supercell (aCu64Zr36), both with an initial density of 8.06 g/cm3, we applied EL method to halve the density and to get 50% of porosity. After the lattice expansion the supercells were subject to ab initio molecular dynamics for 500 steps at constant room temperature. Then, the samples were geometry-optimized and characterized with the pair and radial distribution functions, bond-angle distributions and a coordination number analysis. We found that pores appeared along specific spatial directions different from one to another and that they differed in size and form as well, which we think is related to the initial structure. Due to the lack of experimental counterparts our results should be considered predictive and further studies are needed in order to handle a larger number of atoms and its implication on pore topology.

Keywords: ab initio molecular dynamics, bulk mettalic glass, porous alloy

Procedia PDF Downloads 245
278 Numerical Simulation of a Point Absorber Wave Energy Converter Using OpenFOAM in Indian Scenario

Authors: Pooja Verma, Sumana Ghosh

Abstract:

There is a growing need for alternative way of power generation worldwide. The reason can be attributed to limited resources of fossil fuels, environmental pollution, increasing cost of conventional fuels, and lower efficiency of conversion of energy in existing systems. In this context, one of the potential alternatives for power generation is wave energy. However, it is difficult to estimate the amount of electrical energy generation in an irregular sea condition by experiment and or analytical methods. Therefore in this work, a numerical wave tank is developed using the computational fluid dynamics software Open FOAM. In this software a specific utility known as waves2Foam utility is being used to carry out the simulation work. The computational domain is a tank of dimension: 5m*1.5m*1m with a floating object of dimension: 0.5m*0.2m*0.2m. Regular waves are generated at the inlet of the wave tank according to Stokes second order theory. The main objective of the present study is to validate the numerical model against existing experimental data. It shows a good matching with the existing experimental data of floater displacement. Later the model is exploited to estimate energy extraction due to the movement of such a point absorber in real sea conditions. Scale down the wave properties like wave height, wave length, etc. are used as input parameters. Seasonal variations are also considered.

Keywords: OpenFOAM, numerical wave tank, regular waves, floating object, point absorber

Procedia PDF Downloads 339
277 Influence of Stacking Sequence and Temperature on Buckling Resistance of GFRP Infill Panel

Authors: Viriyavudh Sim, SeungHyun Kim, JungKyu Choi, WooYoung Jung

Abstract:

Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) is a major evolution for energy dissipation when used as infill material for seismic retrofitting of steel frame, a basic PMC infill wall system consists of two GFRP laminates surrounding an infill of foam core. This paper presents numerical analysis in terms of buckling resistance of GFRP sandwich infill panels system under the influence of environment temperature and stacking sequence of laminate skin. Mode of failure under in-plane compression is studied by means of numerical analysis with ABAQUS platform. Parameters considered in this study are contact length between infill and frame, laminate stacking sequence of GFRP skin and variation of mechanical properties due to increment of temperature. The analysis is done with four cases of simple stacking sequence over a range of temperature. The result showed that both the effect of temperature and stacking sequence alter the performance of entire panel system. The rises of temperature resulted in the decrements of the panel’s strength. This is due to the polymeric nature of this material. Additionally, the contact length also displays the effect on the performance of infill panel. Furthermore, the laminate stiffness can be modified by orientation of laminate, which can increase the infill panel strength. Hence, optimal performance of the entire panel system can be obtained by comparing different cases of stacking sequence.

Keywords: buckling resistance, GFRP infill panel, stacking sequence, temperature dependent

Procedia PDF Downloads 350
276 Force Sensor for Robotic Graspers in Minimally Invasive Surgery

Authors: Naghmeh M. Bandari, Javad Dargahi, Muthukumaran Packirisamy

Abstract:

Robot-assisted minimally invasive surgery (RMIS) has been widely performed around the world during the last two decades. RMIS demonstrates significant advantages over conventional surgery, e.g., improving the accuracy and dexterity of a surgeon, providing 3D vision, motion scaling, hand-eye coordination, decreasing tremor, and reducing x-ray exposure for surgeons. Despite benefits, surgeons cannot touch the surgical site and perceive tactile information. This happens due to the remote control of robots. The literature survey identified the lack of force feedback as the riskiest limitation in the existing technology. Without the perception of tool-tissue contact force, the surgeon might apply an excessive force causing tissue laceration or insufficient force causing tissue slippage. The primary use of force sensors has been to measure the tool-tissue interaction force in real-time in-situ. Design of a tactile sensor is subjected to a set of design requirements, e.g., biocompatibility, electrical-passivity, MRI-compatibility, miniaturization, ability to measure static and dynamic force. In this study, a planar optical fiber-based sensor was proposed to mount at the surgical grasper. It was developed based on the light intensity modulation principle. The deflectable part of the sensor was a beam modeled as a cantilever Euler-Bernoulli beam on rigid substrates. A semi-cylindrical indenter was attached to the bottom surface the beam at the mid-span. An optical fiber was secured at both ends on the same rigid substrates. The indenter was in contact with the fiber. External force on the sensor caused deflection in the beam and optical fiber simultaneously. The micro-bending of the optical fiber would consequently result in light power loss. The sensor was simulated and studied using finite element methods. A laser light beam with 800nm wavelength and 5mW power was used as the input to the optical fiber. The output power was measured using a photodetector. The voltage from photodetector was calibrated to the external force for a chirp input (0.1-5Hz). The range, resolution, and hysteresis of the sensor were studied under monotonic and harmonic external forces of 0-2.0N with 0 and 5Hz, respectively. The results confirmed the validity of proposed sensing principle. Also, the sensor demonstrated an acceptable linearity (R2 > 0.9). A minimum external force was observed below which no power loss was detectable. It is postulated that this phenomenon is attributed to the critical angle of the optical fiber to observe total internal reflection. The experimental results were of negligible hysteresis (R2 > 0.9) and in fair agreement with the simulations. In conclusion, the suggested planar sensor is assessed to be a cost-effective solution, feasible, and easy to use the sensor for being miniaturized and integrated at the tip of robotic graspers. Geometrical and optical factors affecting the minimum sensible force and the working range of the sensor should be studied and optimized. This design is intrinsically scalable and meets all the design requirements. Therefore, it has a significant potential of industrialization and mass production.

Keywords: force sensor, minimally invasive surgery, optical sensor, robotic surgery, tactile sensor

Procedia PDF Downloads 198
275 Behavior of the Masonry Infill in Structures Subjected to the Horizontal Loads

Authors: Mezigheche Nawel, Gouasmia Abdelhacine, Athmani Allaeddine, Merzoud Mouloud

Abstract:

Masonry infill walls are inevitable in the self-supporting structures, but their contribution in the resistance of earthquake loads is generally neglected in the structural analyses. The principal aim of this work through a numerical study of the behavior of masonry infill walls in structures subjected to horizontal load is to propose by finite elements numerical modeling, a more reliable approach, faster and close to reality. In this study, 3D finite element analysis was developed to study the behavior of masonry infill walls in structures subjected to horizontal load: The finite element software being used was ABAQUS, it is observed that more rigidity of the masonry filling is significant, more the structure is rigid, so we can conclude that the filling brings an additional rigidity to the structure not to be neglected. It is also observed that when the framework is subjected to horizontal loads, the framework separates from the filling on the level of the tended diagonal.

Keywords: finite element, masonry infill walls, rigidity of the masonry, tended diagonal

Procedia PDF Downloads 468
274 Autonomous Rendezvous for Underactuated Spacecraft

Authors: Espen Oland

Abstract:

This paper presents a solution to the problem of autonomous rendezvous for spacecraft equipped with one main thruster for translational control and three reaction wheels for rotational control. With fewer actuators than degrees of freedom, this constitutes an underactuated control problem, requiring a coupling between the translational and rotational dynamics to facilitate control. This paper shows how to obtain this coupling, and applies the results to autonomous rendezvous between a follower spacecraft and a leader spacecraft. Additionally, since the thrust is constrained between zero and an upper bound, no negative forces can be generated to slow down the speed of the spacecraft. A combined speed and attitude control logic is therefore created that can be divided into three main phases: 1) The orbital velocity vector is pointed towards the desired position and the thrust is used to obtain the desired speed, 2) during the coasting phase, the attitude is changed to facilitate deceleration using the main thruster, 3) the speed is decreased as the spacecraft reaches its desired position. The results are validated through simulations, showing the capabilities of the proposed approach.

Keywords: attitude control, spacecraft rendezvous, translational control, underactuated rigid body

Procedia PDF Downloads 275
273 Rotor Dynamic Analysis for a Shaft Train by Using Finite Element Method

Authors: M. Najafi

Abstract:

In the present paper, a large turbo-generator shaft train including a heavy-duty gas turbine engine, a coupling, and a generator is established. The method of analysis is based on finite element simplified model for lateral and torsional vibration calculation. The basic elements of rotor are the shafts and the disks which are represented as circular cross section flexible beams and rigid body elements, respectively. For more accurate results, the gyroscopic effect and bearing dynamics coefficients and function of rotation are taken into account, and for the influence of shear effect, rotor has been modeled in the form of Timoshenko beam. Lateral critical speeds, critical speed map, damped mode shapes, Campbell diagram, zones of instability, amplitudes, phase angles response due to synchronous forces of excitation and amplification factor are calculated. Also, in the present paper, the effect of imbalanced rotor and effects of changing in internal force and temperature are studied.

Keywords: rotor dynamic analysis, finite element method, shaft train, Campbell diagram

Procedia PDF Downloads 119
272 Experimental Investigation of the Failure Behavior of a Retaining Wall Constructed with Soil Bags

Authors: Kewei Fan, Sihong Liu, Yi Pik Cheng

Abstract:

This paper aims to analyse the failure behaviour of the retaining wall constructed with soil bags that are formed by filling river sand into woven bags (geosynthetics). Model tests were conducted to obtain the failure mode of the wall, and shear tests on two-layers and five-layers of soil bags were designed to investigate the mechanical characteristics of the interface of soil bags. The test results show that the slip surface in the soil bags-constructed retaining wall is ladder-like due to the inter-layer insertion of soil bags, and the wall above the ladder-like surface undergoes a rigid body translation. The insertion strengthens the shear strength of two-layer staggered-stacked soil bags. Meanwhile, it affects the shape of the slip surface of the five-layer staggered-stacked soil bags. Finally, the interlayer resisting friction of soil bags is found to be related to the shape of the slip surface.

Keywords: geosynthetics, retaining wall, soil bag, failure mode, interface, shear strength

Procedia PDF Downloads 111
271 Theoretical Study of Flexible Edge Seals for Vacuum Glazing

Authors: Farid Arya, Trevor Hyde

Abstract:

The development of vacuum glazing represents a significant advancement in the area of low heat loss glazing systems with the potential to substantially reduce building heating and cooling loads. Vacuum glazing consists of two or more glass panes hermetically sealed together around the edge with a vacuum gap between the panes. To avoid the glass panes from collapsing and touching each other under the influence of atmospheric pressure an array of support pillars is provided between the glass panes. A high level of thermal insulation is achieved by evacuating the spaces between the glass panes to a very low pressure which greatly reduces conduction and convection within the space; therefore heat transfer through this kind of glazing is significantly lower when compared with conventional insulating glazing. However, vacuum glazing is subject to inherent stresses due to atmospheric pressure and temperature differentials which can lead to fracture of the glass panes and failure of the edge seal. A flexible edge seal has been proposed to minimise the impact of these issues. In this paper, vacuum glazing system with rigid and flexible edge seals is theoretically studied and their advantages and disadvantages are discussed.

Keywords: flexible edge seal, stress, support pillar, vacuum glazing

Procedia PDF Downloads 207
270 Mechanistic Study of Composite Pavement Behavior in Heavy Duty Area

Authors: Makara Rith, Young Kyu Kim, Seung Woo Lee

Abstract:

In heavy duty areas, asphalt pavement constructed as entrance roadway may expose distresses such as cracking and rutting during service life. To mitigate these problems, composite pavement with a roller-compacted concrete base may be a good alternative; however, it should be initially investigated. Structural performances such as fatigue cracking and rut depth may be changed due to variation of some design factors. Therefore, this study focuses on the variation effect of material modulus, layer thickness and loading on composite pavement performances. Stress and strain at the critical location are determined and used as the input of transfer function for corresponding distresses to evaluate the pavement performance. Also, composite pavement satisfying the design criteria may be selected as a design section for heavy duty areas. Consequently, this investigation indicates that composite pavement has the ability to eliminate fatigue cracking in asphalt surfaces and significantly reduce rut depth. In addition, a thick or strong rigid base can significantly reduce rut depth and prolong fatigue life of this layer.

Keywords: composite pavement, ports, cracking, rutting

Procedia PDF Downloads 178
269 Linear Complementary Based Approach for Unilateral Frictional Contact between Wheel and Beam

Authors: Muskaan Sethi, Arnab Banerjee, Bappaditya Manna

Abstract:

The present paper aims to investigate a suitable contact between a wheel rolling over a flexible beam. A Linear Complementary (LCP) based approach has been adopted to simulate the contact dynamics for a rigid wheel traversing over a flexible Euler Bernoulli simply supported beam. The adopted methodology is suitable to incorporate the effect of frictional force acting at the wheel-beam interface. Moreover, the possibility of the generation of a gap between the two bodies has also been considered. The present method is based on a unilateral contact assumption which assumes that no penetration would occur when the two bodies come in contact. This assumption helps to predict the contact between wheels and beams in a more practical sense. The proposed methodology is validated with the previously published results and is found to be in good agreement. Further, this method is applied to simulate the contact between wheels and beams for various railway configurations. Moreover, different parametric studies are conducted to study the contact dynamics between the wheel and beam more thoroughly.

Keywords: contact dynamics, linear complementary problem, railway dynamics, unilateral contact

Procedia PDF Downloads 76
268 Inverted Umbrella-type Chiral Non-coplanar Ferrimagnetic Structure in Co(NO₃)₂

Authors: O. Maximova, I. L. Danilovich, E. B. Deeva, K. Y. Bukhteev, A. A. Vorobyova, I. V. Morozov, O. S. Volkova, E. A. Zvereva, I. V. Solovyev, S. A. Nikolaev, D. Phuyal, M. Abdel-Hafiez, Y. C. Wang, J. Y. Lin, J. M. Chen, D. I. Gorbunov, K. Puzniak, B. Lake, A. N. Vasiliev

Abstract:

The low-dimensional magnetic systems tend to reveal exotic spin liquid ground states or form peculiar types of long-range order. Among systems of vivid interest are those characterized by the triangular motif in two dimensions. The realization of either ordered or disordered ground state in a triangular, honeycomb, or kagome lattices is are dictated by the competition of exchange interactions, also being sensitive to anisotropy and the spin value of magnetic ions. While the low-spin Heisenberg systems may arrive at a spin liquid long-range entangled quantum state with emergent gauge structures, the high-spin Ising systems may establish the rigid non-collinear structures. This study presents the case of chiral non-coplanar inverted umbrella-type ferrimagnet formed in cobalt nitrate Co(NO₃)₂ below T

Keywords: chiral magnetic structures, low dimensional magnetic systems, umbrella-type ferrimagnets, chiral non-coplanar magnetic structures

Procedia PDF Downloads 104
267 Comparison of the Effects of Rod Types of Rigid Fixation Devices on the Loads in the Lumbar Spine: A Finite Element Analysis

Authors: Bokku Kang, Changsoo Chon, Han Sung Kim

Abstract:

We developed new design of rod of pedicle screw system that is beneficial in maintaining the spacing between the vertebrae and assessed the performance of the posterior fixation screw systems by numerical analysis according to the range of motion (flexion, extension, lateral bending, and axial rotation) of the vertebral column after inserting the pedicle screws. The simulation results showed that the conventional rod was the most low equivalent stress value among implant units in the case of flexion, extension and lateral bending of the vertebrae. In all cases except the torsional rotation, the results showed that the stress level of the single and double rounded rod exceeded about 30% to 70% compare to the conventional rod. Therefore, this product is not suitable for actual application in the field yet and it seems that product design optimization is necessary. Acknowledgement: This research was supported by the Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy (MOTIE), Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology (KIAT) through the Encouragement Program for The Industries of Economic Cooperation Region.

Keywords: lumber spine, internal fixation device, finite element method, biomechanics

Procedia PDF Downloads 360
266 Unpowered Knee Exoskeleton with Compliant Joints for Stair Descent Assistance

Authors: Pengfan Wu, Xiaoan Chen, Ye He, Tianchi Chen

Abstract:

This paper introduces the design of an unpowered knee exoskeleton to assist human walking by redistributing the moment of the knee joint during stair descent (SD). Considering the knee moment varying with the knee joint angle and the work of the knee joint is all negative, the custom-built spring was used to convert negative work into the potential energy of the spring during flexion, and the obtained energy work as assistance during extension to reduce the consumption of lower limb muscles. The human-machine adaptability problem was left by traditional rigid wearable due to the knee involves sliding and rotating without a fixed-axis rotation, and this paper designed the two-direction grooves to follow the human-knee kinematics, and the wire spring provides a certain resistance to the pin in the groove to prevent extra degrees of freedom. The experiment was performed on a normal stair by healthy young wearing the device on both legs with the surface electromyography recorded. The results show that the quadriceps (knee extensor) were reduced significantly.

Keywords: unpowered exoskeleton, stair descent, knee compliant joint, energy redistribution

Procedia PDF Downloads 110
265 Active Linear Quadratic Gaussian Secondary Suspension Control of Flexible Bodied Railway Vehicle

Authors: Kaushalendra K. Khadanga, Lee Hee Hyol

Abstract:

Passenger comfort has been paramount in the design of suspension systems of high speed cars. To analyze the effect of vibration on vehicle ride quality, a vertical model of a six degree of freedom railway passenger vehicle, with front and rear suspension, is built. It includes car body flexible effects and vertical rigid modes. A second order linear shaping filter is constructed to model Gaussian white noise into random rail excitation. The temporal correlation between the front and rear wheels is given by a second order Pade approximation. The complete track and the vehicle model are then designed. An active secondary suspension system based on a Linear Quadratic Gaussian (LQG) optimal control method is designed. The results show that the LQG control method reduces the vertical acceleration, pitching acceleration and vertical bending vibration of the car body as compared to the passive system.

Keywords: active suspension, bending vibration, railway vehicle, vibration control

Procedia PDF Downloads 240
264 Stress Recovery and Durability Prediction of a Vehicular Structure with Random Road Dynamic Simulation

Authors: Jia-Shiun Chen, Quoc-Viet Huynh

Abstract:

This work develops a flexible-body dynamic model of an all-terrain vehicle (ATV), capable of recovering dynamic stresses while the ATV travels on random bumpy roads. The fatigue life of components is forecasted as well. While considering the interaction between dynamic forces and structure deformation, the proposed model achieves a highly accurate structure stress prediction and fatigue life prediction. During the simulation, stress time history of the ATV structure is retrieved for life prediction. Finally, the hot sports of the ATV frame are located, and the frame life for combined road conditions is forecasted, i.e. 25833.6 hr. If the usage of vehicle is eight hours daily, the total vehicle frame life is 8.847 years. Moreover, the reaction force and deformation due to the dynamic motion can be described more accurately by using flexible body dynamics than by using rigid-body dynamics. Based on recommendations made in the product design stage before mass production, the proposed model can significantly lower development and testing costs.

Keywords: flexible-body dynamics, veicle, dynamics, fatigue, durability

Procedia PDF Downloads 369
263 Colony Size and Behaviors Characteristics of Monkeys in Peninsular Malaysia

Authors: Karimullah Karim, Shahrul Anuar, T. Dauda

Abstract:

Swarm of research on monkey behavior exists, but were concerned with an aspect of molecular study in support of human primate and non-human primates. Many researchers take an interest in the study of Primates and their environment for the reason that they are intimately connected to humans in terms of human social behaviors. In this context, a study of the activity budget of monkeys was conducted in three states of Peninsular Malaysia. The chi-square test was served to analysis the behaviors and their variances in different study areas, effects of seasonal variation on behaviors, time differences in behaviors and habituated and non-habituated behaviors of monkeys. In consequent the behavior of moving (17%) was found higher followed by climbing (15%), eating (13%), and other social behaviors. All the behavior categories were found significant at p<0.05. The most common behavior of the monkeys in conclusion has been found associated with the restiveness of the animal and that their colony size is not rigid as it depends also on some other factors. This study can therefore serve as a starting point for the understanding of comparative behaviors of monkey in general and the study of the monkey behavior is thus recommended to be expanded to cover more study areas as well as species than in the present work.

Keywords: activity budget, Peninsular Malaysia, monkeys colony, behaviour

Procedia PDF Downloads 297
262 Towards the Modeling of Lost Core Viability in High-Pressure Die Casting: A Fluid-Structure Interaction Model with 2-Phase Flow Fluid Model

Authors: Sebastian Kohlstädt, Michael Vynnycky, Stephan Goeke, Jan Jäckel, Andreas Gebauer-Teichmann

Abstract:

This paper summarizes the progress in the latest computational fluid dynamics research towards the modeling in of lost core viability in high-pressure die casting. High-pressure die casting is a process that is widely employed in the automotive and neighboring industries due to its advantages in casting quality and cost efficiency. The degrees of freedom are however somewhat limited as it has been so far difficult to use lost cores in the process. This is right now changing and the deployment of lost cores is considered a future growth potential for high-pressure die casting companies. The use of this technology itself is difficult though. The strength of the core material, as chiefly salt is used, is limited and experiments have shown that the cores will not hold under all circumstances and process designs. For this purpose, the publicly available CFD library foam-extend (OpenFOAM) is used, and two additional fluid models for incompressible and compressible two-phase flow are implemented as fluid solver models into the FSI library. For this purpose, the volume-of-fluid (VOF) methodology is used. The necessity for the fluid-structure interaction (FSI) approach is shown by a simple CFD model geometry. The model is benchmarked against analytical models and experimental data. Sufficient agreement is found with the analytical models and good agreement with the experimental data. An outlook on future developments concludes the paper.

Keywords: CFD, fluid-structure interaction, high-pressure die casting, multiphase flow

Procedia PDF Downloads 312
261 Three Dimensional Flexible Dynamics of Continuous Cislunar Payloads Transfer System

Authors: Y. Yang, Dian Ming Xing, Qiu Hua Du

Abstract:

Based on the Motorized Momentum Exchange Tether (MMET), with the principle of momentum exchange, the three dimension flexible dynamics of continuous cislunar payloads transferring system (CCPTS) is built by Lagrange method and its numerical solution is solved by Mathematica software. In the derivation precession of potential energy, this paper uses the Tylor expansion method to simplify the Lagrange equation. Furthermore, the tension coming from the centripetal load is considered in the elastic potential energy. The comparison simulation results between the 3D rigid model and 3D flexible model of CCPTS shows that the tether flexibility has important influence on CCPTS’s orbital parameters (such as radius of CCPTS’s COM and the true anomaly) and the tether’s rotational movement, the relative deviation of radius and the true anomaly between the two dynamic models is about 0.00678% and 0.00259%, the relative deviation of the angle of tether-span and local gravity gradient is about 3.55%. Additionally, the external torque has an apparent influence on the tether’s axial vibration.

Keywords: cislunar transfer, dynamics, momentum exchange, tether

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260 Ranking of Optimal Materials for Building Walls from the Perspective of Cost and Waste of Electricity and Gas Energy Using AHP-TOPSIS 1 Technique: Study Example: Sari City

Authors: Seyedomid Fatemi

Abstract:

The walls of the building, as the main intermediary between the outside and the inside of the building, play an important role in controlling the environmental conditions and ensuring the comfort of the residents, thus reducing the heating and cooling loads. Therefore, the use of suitable materials is considered one of the simplest and most effective ways to reduce the heating and cooling loads of the building, which will also save energy. Therefore, in order to achieve the goal of the research "Ranking of optimal materials for building walls," optimal materials for building walls in a temperate and humid climate (case example: Sari city) from the perspective of embodied energy, waste of electricity and gas energy, cost and reuse been investigated to achieve sustainable architecture. In this regard, using information obtained from Sari Municipality, design components have been presented by experts using the Delphi method. Considering the criteria of experts' opinions (cost and reuse), the amount of embodied energy of the materials, as well as the amount of waste of electricity and gas of different materials of the walls, with the help of the AHP weighting technique and finally with the TOPSIS technique, the best type of materials in the order of 1- 3-D Panel 2-ICF-, 3-Cement block with pumice, 4-Wallcrete block, 5-Clay block, 6-Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (AAC), 7-Foam cement block, 8-Aquapanel and 9-Reinforced concrete wall for use in The walls of the buildings were proposed in Sari city.

Keywords: optimum materials, building walls, moderate and humid climate, sustainable architecture, AHP-TOPSIS technique

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259 Prototype Development of Knitted Buoyant Swimming Vest for Children

Authors: Nga-Wun Li, Chu-Po Ho, Kit-Lun Yick, Jin-Yun Zhou

Abstract:

The use of buoyant vests incorporated with swimsuits can develop children’s confidence in the water, particularly for novice swimmers. Consequently, parents intend to purchase buoyant swimming vests for the children to reduce their anxiety to water. Although the conventional buoyant swimming vests can provide the buoyant function to the wearer, their bulkiness and hardness make children feel uncomfortable and not willing to wear. This study aimed to apply inlay knitting technology to design new functional buoyant swimming vests for children. This prototype involved a shell and a buoyant knitted layer, which is the main media to provide buoyancy. Polypropylene yarn and 6.4 mm of Expandable Polyethylene (EPE) foam were fabricated in Full needle stitch with inlay knitting technology and were then linked by sewing to form the buoyant layer. The shell of the knitted buoyant vest was made of Polypropylene circular knitted fabric. The structure of knitted fabrics of the buoyant swimsuit makes them inherently stretchable, and the arrangement of the inlaid material was designed based on the body movement that can improve the ease with which the swimmer moves. Further, the shoulder seam is designed at the back to minimize the irritation of the wearer. Apart from maintaining the buoyant function to them, this prototype shows its contribution in reducing bulkiness and improving softness to the conventional buoyant swimming vest by taking the advantages of a knitted garment. The results in this study are significant to the development of the buoyant swimming vest for both the textile and the fast-growing sportswear industry.

Keywords: knitting technology, buoyancy, inlay, swimming vest, functional garment

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258 An Analytical Study on Rotational Capacity of Beam-Column Joints in Unit Modular Frames

Authors: Kyung-Suk Choi, Hyung-Joon Kim

Abstract:

Modular structural systems are constructed using a method that they are assembled with prefabricated unit modular frames on-site. This provides a benefit that can significantly reduce building construction time. Their structural design is usually carried out under the assumption that the load-carrying mechanism is similar to that of a traditional steel moment-resisting system. However, both systems are different in terms of beam-column connection details which may strongly influence the lateral structural behavior. Specially, the presence of access holes in a beam-column joint of a unit modular frame could cause undesirable failure during strong earthquakes. Therefore, this study carried out finite element analyses (FEM) of unit modular frames to investigate the cyclic behavior of beam-column joints with the structural influence of access holes. Analysis results show that the unit modular frames present stable cyclic response with large deformation capacities, and their joints are classified into semi-rigid connections.

Keywords: unit modular frame, steel moment connection, nonlinear analytical model, moment-rotation relation

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257 Structural Insulated Panels

Authors: R. Padmini, G. V. Manoj Kumar

Abstract:

Structural insulated panels (SIPs) are a high-performance building system for residential and light commercial construction. The panels consist of an insulating foam core sandwiched between two structural facings, typically oriented strand board (OSB). SIPs are manufactured under factory controlled conditions and can be fabricated to fit nearly any building design. The result is a building system that is extremely strong, energy efficient and cost effective. Building with SIPs will save you time, money and labor. Building with SIPs generally costs about the same as building with wood frame construction when you factor in the labor savings resulting from shorter construction time and less job-site waste. Other savings are realized because smaller heating and cooling systems are required with SIP construction. Structural insulated panels (SIPs) are one of the most airtight and well-insulated building systems available, making them an inherently green product. An airtight SIP building will use less energy to heat and cool, allow for better control over indoor environmental conditions, and reduce construction waste. Green buildings use less energy, reducing carbon dioxide emissions and playing an important role in combating global climate change. Buildings also use a tremendous amount of natural resources to construct and operate. Constructing green buildings that use these resources more efficiently, while minimizing pollution that can harm renewable natural resources, is crucial to a sustainable future.

Keywords: high performance, under factory controlled, wood frame, carbon dioxide emissions, natural resources

Procedia PDF Downloads 421
256 Analytical Model of Locomotion of a Thin-Film Piezoelectric 2D Soft Robot Including Gravity Effects

Authors: Zhiwu Zheng, Prakhar Kumar, Sigurd Wagner, Naveen Verma, James C. Sturm

Abstract:

Soft robots have drawn great interest recently due to a rich range of possible shapes and motions they can take on to address new applications, compared to traditional rigid robots. Large-area electronics (LAE) provides a unique platform for creating soft robots by leveraging thin-film technology to enable the integration of a large number of actuators, sensors, and control circuits on flexible sheets. However, the rich shapes and motions possible, especially when interacting with complex environments, pose significant challenges to forming well-generalized and robust models necessary for robot design and control. In this work, we describe an analytical model for predicting the shape and locomotion of a flexible (steel-foil-based) piezoelectric-actuated 2D robot based on Euler-Bernoulli beam theory. It is nominally (unpowered) lying flat on the ground, and when powered, its shape is controlled by an array of piezoelectric thin-film actuators. Key features of the models are its ability to incorporate the significant effects of gravity on the shape and to precisely predict the spatial distribution of friction against the contacting surfaces, necessary for determining inchworm-type motion. We verified the model by developing a distributed discrete element representation of a continuous piezoelectric actuator and by comparing its analytical predictions to discrete-element robot simulations using PyBullet. Without gravity, predicting the shape of a sheet with a linear array of piezoelectric actuators at arbitrary voltages is straightforward. However, gravity significantly distorts the shape of the sheet, causing some segments to flatten against the ground. Our work includes the following contributions: (i) A self-consistent approach was developed to exactly determine which parts of the soft robot are lifted off the ground, and the exact shape of these sections, for an arbitrary array of piezoelectric voltages and configurations. (ii) Inchworm-type motion relies on controlling the relative friction with the ground surface in different sections of the robot. By adding torque-balance to our model and analyzing shear forces, the model can then determine the exact spatial distribution of the vertical force that the ground is exerting on the soft robot. Through this, the spatial distribution of friction forces between ground and robot can be determined. (iii) By combining this spatial friction distribution with the shape of the soft robot, in the function of time as piezoelectric actuator voltages are changed, the inchworm-type locomotion of the robot can be determined. As a practical example, we calculated the performance of a 5-actuator system on a 50-µm thick steel foil. Piezoelectric properties of commercially available thin-film piezoelectric actuators were assumed. The model predicted inchworm motion of up to 200 µm per step. For independent verification, we also modelled the system using PyBullet, a discrete-element robot simulator. To model a continuous thin-film piezoelectric actuator, we broke each actuator into multiple segments, each of which consisted of two rigid arms with appropriate mass connected with a 'motor' whose torque was set by the applied actuator voltage. Excellent agreement between our analytical model and the discrete-element simulator was shown for both for the full deformation shape and motion of the robot.

Keywords: analytical modeling, piezoelectric actuators, soft robot locomotion, thin-film technology

Procedia PDF Downloads 148