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At least 289 records · Page 16

Numerical solution of stiff systems of ordinary differential equations with applications to electronic circuits

Systems of ordinary differential equations in which the magnitudes of the eigenvalues (or time constants) vary greatly are commonly called stiff. Such systems of equations arise in nuclear reactor kinetics, the flow of chemically reacting gas, dynamics, control theory, circuit analysis and other fields. The research reported develops an A-stable numerical integration technique for solving stiff systems of ordinary differential equations. The method, which is called the generalized trapezoidal rule, is a modification of the trapezoidal rule. However, the method is computationally more efficient than the trapezoidal rule when the solution of the almost-discontinuous segments is being calculated.

Rosenbaum, J. S.↗

Modeling of joints for the dynamic analysis of truss structures

An experimentally-based method for determining the stiffness and damping of truss joints is described. The analytical models use springs and both viscous and friction dampers to simulate joint load-deflection behavior. A least-squares algorithm is developed to identify the stiffness and damping coefficients of the analytical joint models from test data. The effects of nonlinear joint stiffness such as joint dead band are also studied. Equations for predicting the sensitivity of beam deformations to changes in joint stiffness are derived and used to show the level of joint stiffness required for nearly rigid joint behavior. Finally, the global frequency sensitivity of a truss structure to random perturbations in joint stiffness is discussed.

Belvin, W. Keith↗

Variable Dynamic Testbed Vehicle: Dynamics Analysis

The Variable Dynamic Testbed Vehicle (VDTV) concept has been proposed as a tool to evaluate collision avoidance systems and to perform driving-related human factors research. The goal of this study is to analytically investigate to what extent a VDTV with adjustable front and rear anti-roll bar stiffnesses, programmable damping rates, and four-wheel-steering can emulate the lateral dynamics of a broad range of passenger vehicles.

Variable Dynamic Testbed Vehicle VDTV collision av↗

Some new results concerning the dynamic behavior of annular turbulent seals

The dynamic characteristics of annular turbulent seals applied in high pressure turbopumps can be described by stiffness, damping, and inertia coefficients. An improved procedure is presented for determining these parameters by using measurements made with newly developed test equipment. The dynamic system seal, consisting of the fluid between the cylindrical surfaces of the rotating shaft and the housing, is excited by test forces (input), and the relative motion between the surfaces (output) is measured. Transformation of the input and output time signals into the frequency domain leads to frequency response functions. An analytical model, depending on the seal parameters, is fitted to the measured data in order to identify the dynamic coefficients. Some new results are reported that show the dependencies of these coefficients with respect to the axial and radial Reynolds numbers and the geometrical data of the seal.

Massmann, H.↗

Modeling of the slewing control of a flexible structure

This paper presents a formulation for the modeling of a single-link flexible beam that is undergoing slewing motion at an actively controlled pinned end, where the other end of the beam is free. This pinned end, or slewing axis, is of fixed orientation such that the beam rotates in the horizontal plane. A geared dc electric motor is connected to the beam at the slewing axis. A position and a velocity sensor are placed at this hinged location, and their proportional feedback provides a position control system about the slewing axis. The motor characteristics, gear ratio, and the position feedback constant determine an equivalent rotational spring constant, often called the servo stiffness. This paper generalizes the structure's boundary conditions at the slewing axis to include the effects of the servo system. It is shown that the clamped-free beam assumption for the dynamics of the structure is a valid assumption if the ratio of the servo stiffness to beam flexibility is high. However, for moderate or low values of this ratio, the clamped-free beam leads to erroneous system models so that it becomes necessary to consider the effects of the driving servo on the dynamics of the flexible beam.

Garcia, Ephrahim↗

Thermal elastohydrodynamic lubrication of spur gears

An analysis and computer program called TELSGE were developed to predict the variations of dynamic load, surface temperature, and lubricant film thickness along the contacting path during the engagement of a pair of involute spur gears. The analysis of dynamic load includes the effect of gear inertia, the effect of load sharing of adjacent teeth, and the effect of variable tooth stiffness which are obtained by a finite-element method. Results obtained from TELSGE for the dynamic load distributions along the contacting path for various speeds of a pair of test gears show patterns similar to that observed experimentally. Effects of damping ratio, contact ratio, tip relief, and tooth error on the dynamic load were examined. In addition, two dimensionless charts are included for predicting the maximum equilibrium surface temperature, which can be used to estimate directly the lubricant film thickness based on well established EHD analysis.

Wang, K. L.↗

Dynamical responses of constrained pipe conveying fluids and its dependence on the modeling of the contact force

Accurately modeling the impact force used in the analysis of loosely constrained cantilevered pipes conveying fluid is imperative. If little information is known of the motion-limiting constraints used in experiments, the analysis of the system may yield inaccurate predictions. Here in this work, multiple forcing representations of the impact force are defined and analyzed for a cantilevered pipe that conveys fluid. Depending on the representation of the impact force, the dynamics of the pipe can vary greatly when only the stiffness of the constraints is known from experiments. Three gap sizes of the constraints are analyzed, and the representation of the impact force used to analyze the system is found to significantly affect the response of the pipe at each gap size. An investigation on the effects of the vibro-impact force representation is performed through using basin of attraction analysis and nonlinear characterization of the system’s response.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Development of a Probabilistic Component Mode Synthesis Method for the Analysis of Non-Deterministic Substructures

Standard methods of structural dynamic analysis assume that the structural characteristics are deterministic. Recognizing that these characteristics are actually statistical in nature, researchers have recently developed a variety of methods that use this information to determine probabilities of a desired response characteristic, such as natural frequency, without using expensive Monte Carlo simulations. One of the problems in these methods is correctly identifying the statistical properties of primitive variables such as geometry, stiffness, and mass. This paper presents a method where the measured dynamic properties of substructures are used instead as the random variables. The residual flexibility method of component mode synthesis is combined with the probabilistic methods to determine the cumulative distribution function of the system eigenvalues. A simple cantilever beam test problem is presented that illustrates the theory.

Brown, Andrew M.↗

An experimental and analytical evaluation of the tapered tension-torsion strap concept

A new free-tip rotor moment controller designed to increase torque output (a restoring moment) was proposed. The controller would be used as a retention device for the freely pitching tip of a helicopter rotor. The new design featured a tapered tension-torsion strap instead of the previously used parellel strap. A tapered strap has a larger separation between the tension wires at the retention end than at the oscillating end; separation is equal at both ends for a parallel strap. A simple dynamic analysis was developed and an experiment performed to evaluate this tapered strap concept. The test results indicated that the torsional spring stiffness of the strap, represented by a torsional pendulum, increased with the amount of taper. The predicted dynamic characteristics of the pendulum also confirmed this observation and correlated reasonably well with the experimental results. It could be concluded from the experimental and analytical results that the tapered strap accomplished increased torque output when compared to the parellel strap.

Louie, Alexander↗

Liquid rocket propellant feedline dynamics

An analytical and experimental study of liquid rocket propellant feedline dynamics has been performed. The analytical model, which includes the effects of turbulent flow, distributed and local compliances, bellows, side branches, and structural mounting stiffness, was verified by an experimental program. Water was used as the internal fluid and the dynamic perturbations in pressure and flow were created by a piston pulser. Measurements were made to determine the pressure perturbation amplitude and phase at the line terminal due to a sinusoidal pulser excitation. The frequency response of the various line configurations tested were compared with the computed theoretical results.

Holster, J. L.↗

Calculation of stiffness and damping coefficients for elastically supported gas foil bearings

The stiffness and damping coefficients of an elastically supported gas foil bearing are calculated. A perfect gas is used as the lubricant, and its behavior is described by the Reynolds equation. The structural model consists only of an elastic foundation. The fluid equations and the structural equations are coupled. A perturbation method is used to obtain the linearized dynamic coefficient equations. A finite difference formulation has been developed to solve for the four stiffness and the four damping coefficients. The effect of the bearing compliance on the dynamic coefficients is discussed in this paper.

Peng, J.-P.↗

Development of procedures for calculating stiffness and damping properties of elastomers in engineering applications. Part 2: Elastomer characteristics at constant temperature

Dynamic properties of a commerical polybutadiene compound were determined at a constant temperature of 32 C by a forced-vibration resonant mass type of apparatus. The constant thermal state of the elastomer was ensured by keeping the ambient temperature constant and by limiting the power dissipation in the specimen. Experiments were performed with both compression and shear specimens at several preloads (nominal strain varying from 0 to 5 percent), and the results are reported in terms of a complex stiffness as a function of frequency. Very weak frequency dependence is observed and a simple power law type of correlation is shown to represent the data well. Variations in the complex stiffness as a function of preload are also found to be small for both compression and shear specimens.

Gupta, P. K.↗

Distributed parameter modeling of repeated truss structures

A new approach to find homogeneous models for beam-like repeated flexible structures is proposed which conceptually involves two steps. The first step involves the approximation of 3-D non-homogeneous model by a 1-D periodic beam model. The structure is modeled as a 3-D non-homogeneous continuum. The displacement field is approximated by Taylor series expansion. Then, the cross sectional mass and stiffness matrices are obtained by energy equivalence using their additive properties. Due to the repeated nature of the flexible bodies, the mass, and stiffness matrices are also periodic. This procedure is systematic and requires less dynamics detail. The first step involves the homogenization from a 1-D periodic beam model to a 1-D homogeneous beam model. The periodic beam model is homogenized into an equivalent homogeneous beam model using the additive property of compliance along the generic axis. The major departure from previous approaches in literature is using compliance instead of stiffness in homogenization. An obvious justification is that the stiffness is additive at each cross section but not along the generic axis. The homogenized model preserves many properties of the original periodic model.

Wang, Han-Ching↗

An investigation of angular stiffness and damping coefficients of an axial spline coupling in high-speed rotating machinery

This paper provided an opportunity to quantify the angular stiffness and equivalent viscous damping coefficients of an axial spline coupling used in high-speed turbomachinery. A unique test methodology and data reduction procedures were developed. The bending moments and angular deflections transmitted across an axial spline coupling were measured while a nonrotating shaft was excited by an external shaker. A rotor dynamics computer program was used to simulate the test conditions and to correlate the angular stiffness and damping coefficients. In addition, sensitivity analyses were performed to show that the accuracy of the dynamic coefficients do not rely on the accuracy of the data reduction procedures.

Ku, C.-P. Roger↗

Modal analysis of turborotors using planar modes - Theory

The generalized dynamic equations of motion have been obtained by the direct stiffness method for multimass flexible rotor bearing systems including the effects of gyroscopic moments, disk skew, and rotor acceleration. A set of undamped critical speed mode shapes calculated from the average horizontal and vertical bearing stiffness is used to transform the equations of motion into a set of coupled modal equations of motion. The modal equations are coupled by the generalized bearing coefficients and the gyroscopic moments. An analysis using only undamped critical speeds or decoupled modal analysis assuming proportional damping may lead to erroneous results. This paper presents a rapid method of calculating rotor resonance speeds with their corresponding amplification factors, stability and unbalance response of turborotors. Examples of the application of this modal approach are presented and results are compared to those of other methods such as matrix transfer analysis.

Gunter, E. J.↗

Adaptive control of dual-arm robots

Three strategies for adaptive control of cooperative dual-arm robots are described. In the position-position control strategy, the adaptive controllers ensure that the end-effector positions of both arms track desired trajectories in Cartesian space despite unknown time-varying interaction forces exerted through the load. In the position-hybrid control strategy, the adaptive controller of one arm controls end-effector motions in the free directions and applied forces in the constraint directions, while the adaptive controller of the other arm ensures that the end-effector tracks desired position trajectories. In the hybrid-hybrid control strategy, the adaptive controllers ensure that both end-effectors track reference position trajectories while simultaneously applying desired forces on the load. In all three control strategies, the cross-coupling effects between the arms are treated as disturbances which are rejected by the adaptive controllers while following desired commands in a common frame of reference. The adaptive controllers do not require the complex mathematical model of the arm dynamics or any knowledge of the arm dynamic parameters or the load parameters such as mass and stiffness. The controllers have simple structures and are computationally fast for on-line implementation with high sampling rates.

Seraji, H.↗