Effects of vertical exciting force of a tracked vehicle on the dynamic compaction of a high lifted decomposed granite

The main purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effects of a jumping action of a tracked vehicle mounted with a vertical oscillator on vibro-compaction of a high lifted decomposed granite. A vibro-compaction test was executed using a model tracked vehicle of 4.9 kN weight under a condition of frequency of 16 Hz and load ratio of maximum vertical exciting force to vehicle weight of 0.2–2.0. As a result, it was observed that both the amount of sinkage of terrain surface and the dry density of soil increased hyperbolically with increment of the load ratio and the dry density distribution with depth became uniform for the whole depth of the soil stratum. It was confirmed that the volume shrinkage of soil was succeeded by the propagation of acceleration to deep stratum due to the jumping action and the dilatancy phenomenon due to an alternative shear stress. The optimum load ratio obtaining a maximum dry density at the frequency of 16 Hz was judged to be 2.0 within this experiment. In the application of these test results to an actual prototype tracked vehicle of 39.2 kN weight, it was estimated that the degree of compaction of a high lifted soil stratum of 90 cm became over 90% at the load ratio of 2.0.     

Effects of a roller and a tracked vehicle on the compaction of a high lifted decomposed granite sandy soil

The aim of this research was to innovate a new compaction machinery by comparing experimentally the effects of a two-axle, two wheel road roller and a tracked vehicle on the compaction of a decomposed granite sandy soil with a high spreading lift. By measuring the amount of sinkage of the terrain surface, the dry density distribution versus depth using a cone penetrometer, the normal earth pressure distribution versus depth using a stress state transducer (SST), the effects of the road roller and the tracked vehicle on the increment of the soil dry density were considered theoretically. It was observed that the tracked vehicle showed a larger amount of sinkage and a larger dry density distribution versus depth than the roller. The ratio of shear stress to normal stress was still large enough at the deep stratum, so that an optimal shear strain was developed on the whole range of the high lifted stratum and it increased the soil compaction density due to the dilatancy effect.     

On numerical solution of dynamic problems in the theory of reinforced shells

Dynamic problems for cylindrical shells reinforced with discrete ribs are examined. A numerical algorithm based on Richardson extrapolation is developed. Specific problems are solved, and the results are analyzed __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika, Vol. 42, No. 5, pp. 50–56, May 2006.     

An eight noded composite plate element for the dynamic analysis of spatial mechanism systems

The development of a shear-deformable laminated plate element, based on the Mindlin plate theory, for use in large reference displacement analysis is presented. The element is sufficiently general to accept an arbitrary number of layers and an arbitrary number of orthotrophic material property sets. Coordinate mapping is utilized so that non-rectangular elements may be modeled. The Gauss quadrature method of numerical integration is utilized to evaluate volume integrals. A comparative study is done on the use of full Gauss quadrature, reduced Gauss quadrature, mixed Gauss quadrature, and closed form integration techniques for the element. Dynamic analysis is performed on the RSSR (Revolute-Spherical-Spherical-Revolute) mechanism, with the coupler modeled as a flexible plate. The results indicate the differences in the dynamic response of the transverse shear deformable eight-noded element as compared to a four-noded plate element. Dynamically induced stresses are examined, with the results indicating that the primary deformation mode of the eight-noded Mindlin plate model being bending.     

An optimal method for the design of a robotic tracked vehicle to operate over fresh concrete under steering motion

The objective of this paper is to find an optimal method for the design of tracked base travel systems for special purpose vehicles and robotic machines that may be required to steer over a light bonded terrain composed of fresh concrete. For the case of a vehicle traveling on a weak fresh concrete during construction, the paper presents detailed comparative studies of the steering performances of a small model tracked test vehicle with alternative amount of steering ratio for various concrete slump values. For these studies a detailed simulation analytical method has been developed. From this work it is proven, in comparison to experiment, that the simulation analytical method is useful for predicting various steering performances of a test tracked vehicle running upon soft fresh concrete of various consistencies.     

On a representation of the solution of the linear elasticity equations

A new representation of the stress tensor in the linear theory of elasticity is proposed. The representation satisfies the equilibrium equations and the compatibility conditions for strains. In this representation, the stress tensor is expressed in terms of a harmonic vector. The second boundary-value problem for an elastic half-space and elastic layer is considered as an example.Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika, Vol. 40, No. 11, pp. 85–91, November 2004.This revised version was published online in April 2005 with a corrected cover date.     

Effect of the deformation in the inertia forces on the inverse dynamics of planar flexible mechanical systems

The inverse dynamics problem for articulated structural systems such as robotic manipulators is the problem of the determination of the joint actuator forces and motor torques such that the system components follow specified motion trajectories. In many of the previous investigations, the open loop control law was established using an inverse dynamics procedure in which the centrifugal and Coriolis inertia forces are linearized such that these forces in the flexible model are the same as those in the rigid body model. In some other investigations, the effect of the nonlinear centrifugal and Coriolis forces is neglected in the analysis and control system design of articulated structural systems. It is the objective of this investigation to study the effect of the linearization of the centrifugal and Coriolis forces on the nonlinear dynamics of constrained flexible mechanical systems. The virtual work of the inertia forces is used to define the complete nonlinear centrifugal and Coriolis force model. This nonlinear model that depends on the rate of the finite rotation and the elastic deformation of the deformable bodies is used to obtain the solution of the inverse dynamics problem, thus defining the joint torques that produce the desired motion trajectories. The effect of the linearization of the mass matrix as well as the centrifugal and Coriolis forces on the obtained feedforward control law is examined numerically. The results presented in this investigation are obtained using a slider crank mechanism with a flexible connecting rod.     

Theoretical statistical solution and numerical simulation of heterogeneous brittle materials

The analytical stress-strain relation with heterogeneous parameters is derived for theheterogeneous brittle materials under a uniaxial extensional load, in which the distributions of theelastic modulus and the failure strength are assumed to be statistically independent. This theoreticalsolution gives an approximate estimate of the equivalent stress-strain relations for 3-D heterogeneousmaterials. In one-dimensional cases it may provide comparatively accurate results. The theoreticalsolution can help us to explain how the heterogeneity influences the mechanical behaviors, Further, anumerical approach is developed to model the non-linear behavior of three-dimensional heterogeneousbrittle materials. The lattice approach and statistical techniques are applied to simulate the initialheterogeneity of heterogeneous materials. The load increment in each loading stage is adaptivelydetermined so that the better approximation of the failure process can be realized. When the maximumtensile principal strain exceeds the failure strain, the elements are considered to be broken, which canbe carried out by replacing its Young‘s modulus with a very small value. A 3-D heterogeneous brittlematerial specimen is simulated during a full failure process. The numerical results are in good agreementwith the analytical solutions and experimental data.     

On the numerical solution of the equations of propagation by the method of characteristics

Summary A new application of the method of characteristics for the numerical solution of the problems of one-dimensional propagation is stated. The main concept is to consider a Massau grid and to compel it into a net of rectangles, having the sides parallel to the axes of the space-time plane.     

On the numerical solution of partial differential equations of the elliptic type. I

Summary The potential equation and some connected problems in which the unknown function is given on the boundary is solved by using the properties of a special class of matrices which have the same structure as the coefficient matrix of the system of linear difference equations resulting from the differential equation.     

Three-Dimensional Large Deformation Analysis of the Multibody Pantograph/Catenary Systems

To accurately model the nonlinear behavior of the pantograph/catenary systems, it is necessary to take into consideration the effect of the large deformation of the catenary and its interaction with the nonlinear pantograph system dynamics. The large deformation of the catenary is modeled in this investigation using the three-dimensional finite element absolute nodal coordinate formulation. To model the interaction between the pantograph and the catenary, a sliding joint that allows for the motion of the pan-head on the catenary cable is formulated. To this end, a non-generalized arc-length parameter is introduced in order to be able to accurately predict the location of the point of contact between the pan-head and the catenary. The resulting system of differential and algebraic equations formulated in terms of reference coordinates, finite element absolute nodal coordinates, and non-generalized arc-length and contact surface parameters are solved using computational multibody system algorithms. A detailed three-dimensional multibody railroad vehicle model is developed to demonstrate the use of the formulation presented in this paper. In this model, the interaction between the wheel and the rail is considered. For future research, a method is proposed to deal with the problem of the loss of contact between the pan-head and the catenary cable.     

On the numerical solution of the turbulence energy equations for wave and tidal flows

This paper deals with the numerical solution, using finite difference methods, of the hydrodynamic and turbulence energy equations which describe wind wave and tidally induced flow. Calculations are performed using staggered and non-staggered finite difference grids in the vertical, with various time discretizations of the production and dissipation terms in the turbulence energy equations. It is shown that the time discretization of these terms can significantly influence the stability of the solution. The effect of time filtering on the numerical stability of the solution is also considered. The form of the mixing length is shown to significantly influence the bed stress in wind wave problems. A no-slip condition is applied at the sea bed, and the associated high-shear bottom boundary layer is resolved by transforming the equations onto a logarithmic or log-linear co-ordinate system before applying the finite difference scheme. A computationally economic method is developed which remains stable even when a very fine vertical grid (over 200 points) is used with a time step of up to 30 min.     

Improving the dynamic stability of a workpiece dominated turning process using an adaptronic tool holder

In this contribution, inside turning of a thin-walled cylinder is investigated in simulation. Self-excited vibrations can arise due to repeated cutting of the same surface, that lead to instability. A flexible multibody system model of the system is the basis for a subsequent analysis of the stability of the process. Stability analysis is done using an approximation as a time-discrete system via the semi-discretization method. An adaptronic turning chisel comprising a piezo actuator and sensors is then used in combination with different control concepts to improve the stability of the process. The effectiveness of the different strategies is compared based on the influence on the stability charts. A classic H_∞ controller based on a model of the coupled system of workpiece and tool can only yield some improvements, when an additional measurement of the workpiece displacement is added. Incorporating knowledge on the cutting process coupling workpiece and tool using a gain scheduled H_∞ controller allows further improvements. However, robustness with respect to model uncertainties, notably concerning the force law, remains an issue.     

On the Equation of Motion and the Near-Field of a Nonuniformly Moving Dislocation

The O(1) terms in the near field asymptotic expansion of the radiated field from a nonuniformly moving dislocation are obtained by a singular asymptotic expansion. These terms enter the equation of motion of the dislocation and have not been given explicitly by Eshelby (1953). They depend on an integral over the history of the motion which physically represents the reaction of the motion to the radiation the dislocation has already emitted during its path.     

Use of Cholesky Coordinates and the Absolute Nodal Coordinate Formulation in the Computer Simulation of Flexible Multibody Systems

In a previous publication, procedures that can be used with the absolute nodal coordinate formulation to solve the dynamic problems of flexible multibody systems were proposed. One of these procedures is based on the Cholesky decomposition. By utilizing the fact that the absolute nodal coordinate formulation leads to a constant mass matrix, a Cholesky decomposition is used to obtain a constant velocity transformation matrix. This velocity transformation is used to express the absolute nodal coordinates in terms of the generalized Cholesky coordinates. The inertia matrix associated with the Cholesky coordinates is the identity matrix, and therefore, an optimum sparse matrix structure can be obtained for the augmented multibody equations of motion. The implementation of a computer procedure based on the absolute nodal coordinate formulation and Cholesky coordinates is discussed in this paper. Numerical examples are presented in order to demonstrate the use of Cholesky coordinates in the simulation of the large deformations in flexible multibody applications.     

A velocity transformation method for the nonlinear dynamic simulation of railroad vehicle systems

The solution of the constrained multibody system equations of motion using the generalized coordinate partitioning method requires the identification of the dependent and independent coordinates. Using this approach, only the independent accelerations are integrated forward in time in order to determine the independent coordinates and velocities. Dependent coordinates are determined by solving the nonlinear constraint equations at the position level. If the constraint equations are highly nonlinear, numerical difficulties can be encountered or more Newton–Raphson iterations may be required in order to achieve convergence for the dependent variables. In this paper, a velocity transformation method is proposed for railroad vehicle systems in order to deal with the nonlinearity of the constraint equations when the vehicles negotiate curved tracks. In this formulation, two different sets of coordinates are simultaneously used. The first set is the absolute Cartesian coordinates which are widely used in general multibody system computer formulations. These coordinates lead to a simple form of the equations of motion which has a sparse matrix structure. The second set is the trajectory coordinates which are widely used in specialized railroad vehicle system formulations. The trajectory coordinates can be used to obtain simple formulations of the specified motion trajectory constraint equations in the case of railroad vehicle systems. While the equations of motion are formulated in terms of the absolute Cartesian coordinates, the trajectory accelerations are the ones which are integrated forward in time. The problems associated with the higher degree of differentiability required when the trajectory coordinates are used are discussed. Numerical examples are presented in order to examine the performance of the hybrid coordinate formulation proposed in this paper in the analysis of multibody railroad vehicle systems.     

A new fully coupled solution of the Navier-Stokes equations

A fully coupled method for the solution of incompressible Navier-Stokes equations is investigated here. It uses a fully implicit time discretization of momentum equations, the standard linearization of convective terms, a cell-centred colocated grid approach and a block-nanodiagonal structure of the matrix of nodal unknowns. The Method is specific in the interpolation used for the flux reconstruction problem, in the basis iterative method for the fully coupled system and in the acceleration means that control the global efficiency of the procedure. The performance of the method is discussed using lid-driven cavity problems, both for two and three-dimensional geometries, for steady and unsteady flows.     

On the Computer Formulations of the Wheel/Rail Contact Problem

In this investigation, four nonlinear dynamic formulations that can be used in the analysis of the wheel/rail contact are presented, compared and their performance is evaluated. Two of these formulations employ nonlinear algebraic kinematic constraint equations to describe the contact between the wheel and the rail (constraint approach), while in the other two formulations the contact force is modeled using a compliant force element (elastic approach). The goal of the four formulations is to provide accurate nonlinear modeling of the contact between the wheel and the rail, which is crucial to the success of any computational algorithm used in the dynamic analysis of railroad vehicle systems. In the formulations based on the elastic approach, the wheel has six degrees of freedom with respect to the rail, and the normal contact forces are defined as function of the penetration using Hertzs contact theory or using assumed stiffness and damping coefficients. The first elastic method is based on a search for the contact locations using discrete nodal points. As previously presented in the literature, this method can lead to impulsive forces due to the abrupt change in the location of the contact point from one time step to the next. This difficulty is avoided in the second elastic approach in which the contact points are determined by solving a set of algebraic equations. In the formulations based on the constraint approach, on the other hand, the case of a non-conformal contact is assumed, and nonlinear kinematic contact constraint equations are used to impose the contact conditions at the position, velocity and acceleration levels. This approach leads to a model, in which the wheel has five degrees of freedom with respect to the rail. In the constraint approach, the wheel penetration and lift are not permitted, and the normal contact forces are calculated using the technique of Lagrange multipliers and the augmented form of the system dynamic equations. Two equivalent constraint formulations that employ two different solution procedures are discussed in this investigation. The first method leads to a larger system of equations by augmenting all the contact constraint equations to the dynamic equations of motion, while in the second method an embedding procedure is used to obtain a reduced system of equations from which the surface parameter accelerations are systematically eliminated. Numerical results are presented in order to examine the performance of various methods discussed in this study.     

The use of a reformulation of the hydrostatic approximation Navier-Stokes equations for geophysical fluid problems

In order to simulate geophysical general circulation processes, to simplify the governing equations of motion, often the vertical momentum equation of the Navier-Stokes equations is replaced by the hydrostatic approximation equation. The resulting equations are reformulated and a variational formulation of the linearized problem is derived. Iteration schemes are presented to solve this problem. A finite element method is discussed, as well as a finite difference method which is based on a grid that is often used in geophysical general circulation models. The schemes are extended to the non-linear case. Numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the performance of the derived iteration schemes.