Nano-precision positioning stages are characterized by rigid-flexible coupling systems. The complex dynamic characteristics of mechanical structure of a stage, which are determined by structural and dynamic parameters, exert a serious influence on the accuracy of its motion and measurement. Systematic evaluation of such influence is essential for the design and improvement of stages. A systematic approach to modeling the dynamic accuracy of a nano-precision positioning stage is developed in this work by integrating a multi-rigid-body dynamic model of the mechanical system and measurement system models. The influence of structural and dynamic parameters, including aerostatic bearing configurations, motion plane errors, foundation vibrations, and positions of the acting points of driving forces, on dynamic accuracy is investigated by adopting the H-type configured stage as an example. The approach is programmed and integrated into a software framework that supports the dynamic design of nano-precision positioning stages. The software framework is then applied to the design of a nano-precision positioning stage used in a packaging lithography machine.

Terahertz (THz) waves, whose frequencies range between microwave and infrared, are part of the electromagnetic spectrum. A gap exists in THz literature because investigating THz waves is difficult due to the weak characteristics of the waves and the lack of suitable THz sources and detectors. Recently, THz nondestructive testing (NDT) technology has become an interesting topic. This review outlines several typical THz devices and systems and engineering applications of THz NDT techniques in composite materials, thermal barrier coatings, car paint films, marine protective coatings, and pharmaceutical tablet coatings. THz imaging has higher resolution but lower penetration than ultrasound imaging. This review presents the significance and advantages provided by the emerging THz NDT technique.

Rapid prototyping (RP) or layered manufacturing (LM) technologies have been extensively used to manufacture prototypes composed mainly of plastics, polymers, paper, and wax due to the short product development time and low costs of these technologies. However, such technologies, with the exception of selective laser melting and sintering, are not used to fabricate metallic products because of the resulting poor life, short cycle, poor surface finish, and low structural integrity of the fabricated parts. The properties endowed by these parts do not match those of functional parts. Therefore, extensive research has been conducted to develop new additive manufacturing (AM) technologies by extending existing RP technologies. Several AM technologies have been developed for the fabrication of metallic objects. These technologies utilize materials, such as Ni-, Al-, and Ti-based alloys and stainless steel powders, to fabricate high-quality functional components. The present work reviews the type of materials used in laser-based AM processes for the manufacture of metallic products. The advantages and disadvantages of processes and different materials are summarized, and future research directions are discussed in the final section. This review can help experts select the ideal type of process or technology for the manufacturing of elements composed of a given alloy or material (Ni, Ti, Al, Pb, and stainless steel).

Laser polishing is a technology of smoothening the surface of various materials with highly intense laser beams. When these beams impact on the material surface to be polished, the surface starts to be melted due to the high temperature. The melted material is then relocated from the ‘peaks to valleys’ under the multidirectional action of surface tension. By varying the process parameters such as beam intensity, energy density, spot diameter, and feed rate, different rates of surface roughness can be achieved. High precision polishing of surfaces can be done using laser process. Currently, laser polishing has extended its applications from photonics to molds as well as bio-medical sectors. Conventional polishing techniques have many drawbacks such as less capability of polishing freeform surfaces, environmental pollution, long processing time, and health hazards for the operators. Laser polishing on the other hand eliminates all the mentioned drawbacks and comes as a promising technology that can be relied for smoothening of initial topography of the surfaces irrespective of the complexity of the surface. Majority of the researchers performed laser polishing on materials such as steel, titanium, and its alloys because of its low cost and reliability. This article gives a detailed overview of the laser polishing mechanism by explaining various process parameters briefly to get a better understanding about the entire polishing process. The advantages and applications are also explained clearly to have a good knowledge about the importance of laser polishing in the future.

Spinning production is a typical continuous manufacturing process characterized by high speed and uncertain dynamics. Each manufacturing unit in spinning production produces various real-time tasks, which may affect production efficiency and yarn quality if not processed in time. This paper presents an edge computing-based method that is different from traditional centralized cloud computation because its decentralization characteristics meet the high-speed and high-response requirements of yarn production. Edge computing nodes, real-time tasks, and edge computing resources are defined. A system model is established, and a real-time task processing method is proposed for the edge computing scenario. Experimental results indicate that the proposed real-time task processing method based on edge computing can effectively solve the delay problem of real-time task processing in spinning cyber-physical systems, save bandwidth, and enhance the security of task transmission.

This study focuses on establishing non- conforming crack front elements of quadrilateral and triangular types for 3D crack problems when the dual boundary element method is applied. The asymptotic behavior of the physical variables in the area near the crack front is fully considered in the construction of the shape function. In the developed quadrilateral and triangular crack front elements, the asymptotic term, which captures the asymptotic behavior of the physical variable, is multiplied directly by the conventional Lagrange shape function to form a new crack front shape function. Several benchmark numerical examples that consider penny-shaped cracks and straight-edge crack problems are presented to illustrate the validity and efficiency of the developed crack front elements.

The recent proliferation of wind turbines has revealed problems in their vulnerability under different site conditions, as evidenced by recent collapses of wind towers after severe actions. Analyses of structures subjected to variable actions can be conducted through several methods with different accuracy levels. Nonlinear dynamics is the most reliable among such methods. This study develops a numerical procedure to obtain approximate solutions for rigid-plastic responses of structures subjected to base harmonic pulses. The procedure’s model is applied to a wind turbine tower subjected to inertial forces generated by harmonic ground acceleration, and failure is assumed to depend on the formation of shear hinges. The proposed approach provides an efficient representation of the post-elastic behavior of the structure, has a low computational cost and high effectiveness, and uses a limited number of mechanical parameters.

Counter-roller spinning (CRS), where the mandrel is replaced by rollers, is an effective means of manufacturing large-sized, thin-walled, cylindrical parts with more than 2500 mm diameter. CRS is very complex because of multi-axis rotation, multi-local loading along the circumference, and radial-axial compound deformation. Analytical or experimental methods cannot fully understand CRS. Meanwhile, numerical simulation is an adequate approach to investigate CRS with comprehensive understanding and a low cost. Thus, a finite element (FE) model of CRS was developed with the FORGE code via meshing technology, material modeling, determining the friction condition, and so on. The local fine mesh moving with the roller is one of highlights of the model. The developed 3D-FE model was validated through a CRS experiment by using a tubular blank with a 720 mm outer diameter. The developed 3D-FE model of CRS can provide a basis for parameter optimization, process control, die design, and so on. The data on force and energy predicted by the 3D-FE model can offer reasonable suggestions for determining the main mechanical parameters of CRS machines and selecting the motors. With the predicted data, an all-electric servo-drive system/machine with distributed power was designed in this work for CRS with four pairs of rollers to manufacture a large-sized, thin-walled, cylindrical part with 6000 mm diameter.

To create a dynamic model of a pipeline system effectively and analyze its vibration characteristics, the mechanical characteristic parameters of the pipeline hoop, such as support stiffness and damping under dynamic load, must be obtained. In this study, an inverse method was developed by utilizing measured vibration data to identify the support stiffness and damping of a hoop. The procedure of identifying such parameters was described based on the measured natural frequencies and amplitudes of the frequency response functions (FRFs) of a pipeline system supported by two hoops. A dynamic model of the pipe-hoop system was built with the finite element method, and the formulas for solving the FRF of the pipeline system were provided. On the premise of selecting initial values reasonably, an inverse identification algorithm based on sensitivity analysis was proposed. A case study was performed, and the mechanical parameters of the hoop were identified using the proposed method. After introducing the identified values into the analysis model, the reliability of the identification results was validated by comparing the predicted and measured FRFs of the pipeline. Then, the developed method was used to identify the support stiffness and damping of the pipeline hoop under different preloads of the bolts. The influence of preload was also discussed. Results indicated that the support stiffness and damping of the hoop exhibited frequency-dependent characteristics. When the preloads of the bolts increased, the support stiffness increased, whereas the support damping decreased.

This study aims to examine the crack growth behavior of turbine disc GH4169 superalloy under creep-fatigue loading. Crack growth experiments were performed on compact tension specimens using trapezoidal waveform with dwell time at the maximum load at 650 °C. The crack growth rate of GH4169 superalloy significantly increased with dwell time. The grain boundaries oxidize during the dwell process, thereby inducing an intergranular creep-fatigue fracture mode. In addition, testing data under the same dwell time showed scattering at the crack growth rate. Consequently, a modified model based on the Saxena equation was proposed by introducing a distribution factor for the crack growth rate. Microstructural observation confirmed that the small grain size and high volume fraction of the d phase led to a fast creep-fatigue crack growth rate at 650 °C, thus indicating that two factors, namely, fine grain and presence of the d phase at the grain boundary, increased the amount of weakened interface at high temperature, in which intergranular cracks may form and propagate.