Finite element models are often used to simulate impact and contact dynamics responses of multibody dynamical systems. However, such a simulation remains very inefficient because very small integration time step must be used when solving the involved differential equations, especially when the involved contact stiffness is high. Although many model reduction techniques have been available to improve the efficiency of finite element based simulations, these techniques cannot be readily applied to contact dynamics simulations due to the high nonlinearity of the contact dynamics models. This paper presents a model reduction approach for finite-element based multibody contact dynamics simulation, based on a modified Lyapunov balanced truncation method. An example is presented to demonstrate that, by applying the model reduction the simulation process is significantly speeded up and the resulting error is bounded within an acceptable level. The performance of the method with respect to some influential factors such as element size, shape and contact stiffness is also investigated.

Carbon fibre reinforced carbon (CFC) materials show a high potential for usage in furnaces as sample carriers for example, which is due to their excellent thermal stability compared to steel carriers. Only their tendency to react with different metals at high temperatures by C-diffusion is a disadvantage, which can be solved by application of diffusion barriers. In order to enable the utilization of CFC-carriers for e.g. brazing furnaces, within the frame of this study thermally sprayed diffusion barrier coatings were developed. Coatings of mullite and ZrO₂-7%βY₂O₃ (YSZ) were prepared by air plasma spraying (APS). The coatings were investigated in terms of their microstructure and thermal shock behaviour. In order to prove the suitability of the coatings for the application in brazing furnaces, the wettability of the coating surfaces by a Ni-based brazing alloy was investigated. The results showed that both mullite and YSZ could be deposited on CFC substrates with a bond coat of W or SiC. Both coatings exhibited good thermal shock behaviour and an excellent non-wetting behaviour against the used Ni-based braze alloy.

In this paper, a topology is presented for feasible workspace regions in general two-revolute manipulators. The design problem and concept of feasible workspace regions have been discussed as linked to each other. Design equations are formulated by arbitrarily prescribing four workspace boundary points. The so-called feasible workspace regions are the intersection of three different sub-regions, which are given by constraint curves as function of the relative positions of three workspace boundary points. By using a parametric study, all topologies for three sub-regions are figured out. Corresponding areas in cross section plane are determined for prescribing the position of a feasible workspace point as function of the topology for sub-regions. A classification has been proposed to determine and to characterize the combination of the topologies for those sub-regions. All topologies for feasible workspace regions are figured out and they are discussed as a design tool. Three general cases are analyzed in details to characterize workspace design capabilities for general two-revolute manipulators.

The response of an infinite Timoshenko beam subjected to a harmonic moving load based on the third-order shear deformation theory (TSDT) is studied. The beam is made of laminated composite, and located on a Pasternak viscoelastic foundation. By using the principle of total minimum potential energy, the governing partial differential equations of motion are obtained. The solution is directed to compute the deflection and bending moment distribution along the length of the beam. Also, the effects of two types of composite materials, stiffness and shear layer viscosity coefficients of foundation, velocity and frequency of the moving load over the beam response are studied. In order to demonstrate the accuracy of the present method, the results TSDT are compared with the previously obtained results based on first-order shear deformation theory, with which good agreements are observed.

This paper presents the results of experimental studies carried out to conduct a comprehensive investigation on the influence of ultrasonic vibration of workpiece on the characteristics of Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM) process of FW4 Welding Metal in comparison with the conventional EDM process. The studied process characteristics included the material removal rate (MRR), tool wear ratio (TWR), and surface roughness (R_a and R_max) of the workpiece after the EDM and ultrasonic assisted EDM (US-EDM) processes. The experiments performed under the designed full factorial procedure and the considered EDM input parameters included pulse on-time and pulse current. The experimental results show that in short pulse on-times, material removal rate in the US-EDM process is approximately quadruple than that of the EDM process. On the contrary, in the long pulse on-times, ultrasonic vibration of work??piece leads to the reduction in the MRR. On the other hand, in short pulse on-times, the TWR in the US-EDM process is lower than that of in the EDM process, and this condition reverses with increase in the pulse on-time. Furthermore, the surface roughness of the workpiece machined by EDM process is slightly lower than that of applied to the US-EDM process.

The gerotor pumps are the most important parts of mechanical equipment that have a vast number of applications in industries and automobiles. Because the gerotor pumps cannot be adjusted for wear so it is important to reduce the wear as much as possible. In this paper first mathematical equations for elliptical lobe shape rotors profile and curvature of them have been derived and then Specific flow and wear rate proportional factor (WRPF) have been formulated. To reach the minimum wear in rotors teeth, the ellipse shape factor is changed for each value of number of outer rotor teeth in a feasible range and wear rate proportional factor has been resulted. Also in order to have better comparison specific flow has been presented. The obtained results have been compared with circular pumps with similar geometrical parameters and show the significant improvement in wear of the rotors with negligible changes in the specific flow.

Nonlinear functions are crucial points and terms in engineering problems. Actual and physical problems can be solved by solving and processing such functions. Thus, most scientists and engineers focus on solving these equations. This paper presents a novel method called the max-min method for presenting an accurate approximate analytical solution to strong nonlinear oscillators. It can solve many linear or nonlinear differential equations without the tangible restriction of sensitivity to the degree of the nonlinear term. It is also quite convenient due to the reduction in the size of calculations. The algorithm suggests a promising approach and is systematically illustrated step by step.

Precision servo transmission systems have widely been applied in industrial equipment to achieve high accuracy and high speed motion. However, due to the presence of friction and uncertainty, the characteristics of precision servo transmission systems are variant depends on the working conditions, leading to oscillation and instability in the system performances. In this paper, a grey-box model of the system is established, the model structure derived from the theoretical modeling and the model parameters are obtained by experiments using set membership identification method. This paper proposes two-degrees of freedom (2-DOF) robust position controller for a precision servo transmission system, based on the quantitative feedback theory (QFT), to achieve high accuracy and consistent tracking performance even in presence of considerable system uncertainties and friction disturbances. The results of simulate and experiment validate the effectiveness of the proposed controller.

Considering the direct and converse piezoelectric effect, expressions of piezoelectric membrane internal forces in the piezoelectric constrained layer were given. The control equations of the piezoelectric constrained layer and host plate were obtained in according with the thin plate theory. Based on the layer wised principle, the integrated first order differential equation of an active constrained layer damping (ACLD) plate was derived for the simply supported boundary condition. Then, this method was expanded to the ACLD plate with cantilever boundary condition by virtue of geometric analogy method. Employing the extended homogeneous capacity precision integration approach, a high precision semi-analytical method was proposed to analyze the dynamic characteristics of the ACLD plate with various boundary conditions. The comparison with the literature results has verified the accuracy and effectiveness of the present method.

In earth pressure balance (EPB) shield construction, the “plastic flow state” is difficult to form using the soil dug in the capsule because it can cause three abnormal operating conditions, including occlusion, caking in the capsule, and spewing at the outlet of the dump device. These abnormal operating conditions can, in turn, trigger failure in tunneling, cutter-device damage, and even catastrophic incidents, such as ground settlement. This present paper effectively integrates the mechanism of abnormal operating conditions and knowledge of soil conditioning, and establishes a uniform model of identifying abnormal conditions and intelligent decision support system based on the belief rule-base system. The model maximizes knowledge in improving the soil, construction experience, and data to optimize the model online. Finally, a numerical simulation with specific construction data is presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the algorithm.

The shield machine is a heavy construction machine for tunnel excavation, and the segment erector is an important subsystem of the shield machine. It is difficult to achieve precise control in the 6-DOF (degree of freedom) erector in the 2-DOF 5-bar radial mechanism. Hence, this paper proposes a redundantly actuated PRPRP radial mechanism for the segment erector. When the redundant actuator is unlocked, the radial mechanism is able to adjust its posture, which has two degrees of freedom. On the other hand, when the redundant actuator is locked or produces enough pre-tightening tensile force, the PRPRP mechanism can ensure the synchronization of the two driving hydraulic cylinders along the radial direction based on the mechanical structure, which has one degree of freedom. The redundant actuator also facilitates the equal application of two flexural torques at the hydraulic cylinders; thus, preventing the overload of a single cylinder.