A numerical bifurcation study of friction effects in a slip-controlled torque converter clutch

Friction plays a key role in the efficiency and stability of the slip-controlled torque converter clutches. The effects of friction on the dynamics and stability of a slip-controlled torque converter clutch system using a bifurcation-analysis-based approach is presented in this paper. A three degree-of-freedom nonlinear driveline model with integral feedback action to control the clutch slip speed has been utilized for this study. The clutch interface friction is dependent on the slip speed and is a function of the static friction constant, μ ₀, the low velocity friction constant μ ₁, and the low velocity exponential rate, γ. Using one-parameter numerical continuation, local Hopf bifurcations of the subcritical type are observed as the friction parameters μ ₁ and γ were varied at low slip speeds. The continuation results are verified using simulations of the full nonlinear model. Stick-slip and undesirable oscillations of the model inertia elements are observed for certain parameter values. As the slip speed is increased, the bifurcation instability occurs at an increasingly higher value of μ ₁ signifying an improved tolerance of negative friction gradient at higher slip speeds. Smaller exponential rates γ are tolerated at higher slip speeds before the bifurcation instability occurs. For the range of parameter values considered, no bifurcations occur for a slip speeds higher than 3.4 and 4.5 rad/s with μ ₁ and γ as the continuation parameters, respectively. These values of slip speeds are much lower than the system’s first mode of torsional vibration of 16 Hz (≈100 rad/s).     

Fuzzy goal programming for inventory management: A bacterial foraging approach

An efficient inventory planning approach in today’s global trading regime is necessary not only for increasing the profit margin, but also to maintain system flexibility for achieving higher customer satisfaction. Such an approach should hence be comprised of a prudent inventory policy and clear satisfaction of stakeholder’s goals. Relative significance given to various objectives in a supply chain network varies with product as well as time. In this paper, a model is proposed to fill this void for a single product inventory control of a supply chain consisting of three echelons. A generic modification proposed to the membership functions of the fuzzy goal-programming approach is used to mathematically map the aspiration levels of the decision maker. The bacterial foraging algorithm has been modified with enhancement of the algorithms’ capability to map integer solution spaces and utilised to solve resulting fuzzy multi-objective function. An illustrative example comprehensively covers various decision scenarios and highlights the underlying managerial insights.     

V2O5-anchored carbon nanotubes for enhanced electrochemical energy storage

Functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are coated with a 4-5 nm thin layer of V(2)O(5) by controlled hydrolysis of vanadium alkoxide. The resulting V(2)O(5)/CNT composite has been investigated for electrochemical activity with lithium ion, and the capacity value shows both faradaic and capacitive (nonfaradaic) contributions. At high rate (1 C), the capacitive behavior dominates the intercalation as 2/3 of the overall capacity value out of 2700 C/g is capacitive, while the remaining is due to Li-ion intercalation. These numbers are in agreement with the Trasatti plots and are corroborated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) studies on the V(2)O(5)/CNTs electrode, which show 85% of vanadium in the +4 oxidation state after the discharge at 1 C rate. The cumulative high-capacity value is attributed to the unique property of the nano V(2)O(5)/CNTs composite, which provides a short diffusion path for Li(+)-ions and an easy access to vanadium redox centers besides the high conductivity of CNTs. The composite architecture exhibits both high power density and high energy density, stressing the benefits of using carbon substrates to design high performance supercapacitor electrodes.     

Theory of the dynamics of the Hopfield model of associative memory

We present an analysis of the parallel dynamics of the Hopfield model of the associative memory of a neural network without recourse to the replica formalism. A probabilistic method based on the signal-to-noise ratio is employed to obtain a simple recursion relation for the zero temperature as well as the finite temperature dynamics of the network. The fixed points of the recursion relation and their basins of attraction are found to be in fairly satisfactory agreement with the numerical simulations of the model. We also present some new numerical results which support our recursion relation and throw light on the nature of the ensemble of the network states which are optimized with respect to single spin flips.     

Fiber-optic acoustic sensor for nondestructive evaluation

An experimental study was conducted to investigate the applicability of fiber-optic acoustic sensors to detect internal flaws in polymeric materials. A polarimetric fiber-optic sensor embedded in a plexiglass model received the acoustic signals generated by an ultrasonic transducer. It is shown that proper control of the polarization and phase of the optical beam is required to obtain meaningful results from the amplitude of the fiber-optic sensor signal. The sensor has shown promising results in determining acoustical properties of plexiglass and locating internal defects. The attractive feature of this sensing scheme is that the optical fibers are not modified prior to embedding. Therefore, they preserve their mechanical properties which makes the embedding process much easier.     

Symmetry breaking in quantum chaotic systems

We show, using semiclassical methods, that as a symmetry is broken, the transition between universality classes for the spectral correlations of quantum chaotic systems is governed by the same parametrization as in the theory of random matrices. The theory is quantitatively verified for the kicked rotor quantum map. We also provide an explicit substantiation of the random matrix hypothesis, namely that in the symmetry-adapted basis the symmetry-violating operator is random.     

Thermodynamics of the xenon + methyl chloride system

The total vapour pressure of the xenon + methyl chloride system has been measured as a function of composition at 175.44 and 182.32 K. The resulting data have been used to evaluate the excess Gibbs functions G^E at the same temperatures. The excess enthalpy and excess molar volume have also been measured at 182.32 K. The system shows large positive deviations from Raoult's law but negative volumes on mixing. These results are compared with theoretical predictions of a recent molecular theory and of standard engineering methods. The calculations show the superiority of the molecular theory over more empirical procedures such as those based on the Redlich-Kwong equation of state or the regular-solution model.     

Intense circularly polarized waves in plasmas

The nonlinear propagation of an intense circularly polarized electromagnetic wave in a cold plasma is investigated. A relativistic modulational instability and an exact localized solutions are found.     

Molecular thermodynamics on the basis of an equation of state for argon. II. Binary mixtures of weakly nonspherical molecules

Using a molecular perturbation theory based on an equation of state for pure argon, excess properties and vapor-liquid equilibria are predicted for various binary mixtures composed of weakly nonspherical molecules. The results are rather satisfactory and generally much better than obtained using typical empirical methods. It is further demonstrated that a binary parameter in the dispersion energy results in only modest improvement     

Electrical properties of a-antimony selenide

This paper reports conduction mechanism in a-Sb₂Se₃ over a wide range of temperature (238 to 338 K) and frequency (5 Hz to 100 kHz). The d.c. conductivity measured as a function of temperature shows semiconducting behaviour with activation energy ΔE=0.42 eV. Thermally induced changes in the electrical and dielectric properties of a-Sb₂Se₃ have been examined. The a.c. conductivity in the material has been explained using modified CBH model. The band conduction and single polaron hopping is dominant above room temperature. However, in the lower temperature range the bipolaron hopping dominates.