Experimental wavelet analysis of flexural waves in beams

The wavelet transform (WT) is applied to the time-frequency analysis of flexural waves in beams. The WT with the Gabor wavelet decomposes a dispersive wave into each frequency component in the time domain, which enables one to determine the traveling time of a wave along the beam at each frequency. By utilizing this fact, a method is developed to identify the dispersion relation and impact site of beams.     

Acoustic waves in a cylindrical duct with periodically varying cross section

The null field approach is used to study the propagation of acoustic waves in a rotationally symmetric hard-walled duct with a periodically varying cross section. For a radius that varies sinusoidally along the axial distance, numerical computations give the axial wave number and the passbands and stopbands of the modes of the duct. In particular, small passbands are seen to exist even for very large variations in radius, and probably all the way to the point where the duct is cut off. We also present some plots which show the pressure pattern inside the duct.     

Experimental investigation of mixed convection in a rectangular duct with a heated plate in the middle of cross section

The flow and heat transfer in an inclined and horizontal rectangular duct with a heated plate longitudinally mounted in the middle of cross section was experimentally investigated. The heated plate and rectangular duct were both made of highly conductive materials, and the heated plate was subjected to a uniform heat flux. The heat transfer processes through the test section were under various operating conditions: Pr ≈ 0.7, inclination angle ϕ = −60° to +60°, Reynolds number Re = 334–1,911, Grashof number Gr = 5.26 × 10²–5.78 × 10⁶. The experimental results showed that the average Nusselt number in the entrance region was 1.6–2 times as large as that in the fully developed region. The average Nusselt numbers and pressure drops increased with the Reynolds number. The average Nusselt numbers and pressure drops decreased with an increase in the inclination angle from −60° to +60° when the Reynolds number was less than 1,500. But when the Reynolds number increased to over about 1,800, the heat transfer coefficients and pressure drops were independent of inclination angles.     

Experimental slowing of flexural waves in dielectric elastomer films by voltage

Shape and physical properties of dielectric elastomers are changeable by voltage. Theoretical works show that these changes can be harnessed to tune the propagation of superposed elastic waves. We experimentally demonstrate this concept by manipulating waves in a dielectric elastomer film, focusing on the flexural mode at low frequencies. To this end, we design an experimental apparatus to pre-stretch, actuate, excite waves at low frequencies in a VHB™ 4910 film, and measure the velocity of the fundamental flexural mode. Our results show that the excited wave velocity is slowed down by the applied voltage, and provide experimental proof of concept for the application of deformable dielectrics as tunable waveguides.     

Rigorous theory for transient capillary imbibition in channels of arbitrary cross section

This article addresses a classical fluid mechanics problem where the effect of capillary action on a column of viscous liquid is analyzed by quantifying its time-dependent penetrated length in a narrow channel. Despite several past studies, a rigorous mathematical formulation of this inherently unsteady process is still unavailable, because these existing works resort to a crucial assumption only valid for mildly transient systems. The approximate theories use an integral approach where the penetration is described by equating total force acting on the domain to rate of change of total momentum. However, while doing so, the viscous resistance under temporally varying condition is assumed to be same as the resistance created by a quasi-steady velocity profile. Thus, leading order error appears due to such approximation which can only be true when the variation in time is not strong enough causing negligible transient deviation in the hydrodynamic quantities. The present paper proposes a new way to solve this problem by considering the unsteady field itself as an unknown variable. Accordingly, the analysis applies an eigenfunction expansion of the flow with unknown time-dependent amplitudes which along with the unsteady intrusion length are calculated from a system of ordinary differential equations. A comparative exploration identifies the situation for which the integral approach and the rigorous technique based on eigenfunction expansion deviate from each other. It also reveals that the two methods differ substantially in short-time dynamics at the initial stage. Then, an asymptotic perturbation shows how the two sets of results should coincide in their long-time behavior. In this way, the findings will provide a comprehensive understanding of the physics behind the transport phenomenon.     

Shear deformation effect in non-linear analysis of composite beams of variable cross section

In this paper the non-linear analysis of a composite Timoshenko beam with arbitrary variable cross section undergoing moderate large deflections under general boundary conditions is presented employing the analog equation method (AEM), a BEM-based method. The composite beam consists of materials in contact, each of which can surround a finite number of inclusions. The materials have different elasticity and shear moduli with same Poisson's ratio and are firmly bonded together. The beam is subjected in an arbitrarily concentrated or distributed variable axial loading, while the shear loading is applied at the shear center of the cross section, avoiding in this way the induction of a twisting moment. To account for shear deformations, the concept of shear deformation coefficients is used. Five boundary value problems are formulated with respect to the transverse displacements, the axial displacement and to two stress functions and solved using the AEM. Application of the boundary element technique yields a system of non-linear equations from which the transverse and axial displacements are computed by an iterative process. The evaluation of the shear deformation coefficients is accomplished from the aforementioned stress functions using only boundary integration. Numerical examples are worked out to illustrate the efficiency, the accuracy, the range of applications of the developed method and the influence of the shear deformation effect.     

Experimental study on employing flexural wave measurement to characterize delamination in beams

Flexural wave analysis has been applied to the detection and quantitative assessment of delaminations in structures. To validate analytical methods, an extensive experimental study is conducted. The test beam is of infinite length, and a delamination of prescribed length is artificially created at predetermined locations. Using two different types of excitations and measurements, the effect on the beam response of delamination length and depth, the beam material, excitation frequencies and location of excitation are analyzed. A technique for predicting the location and size of the delamination is also proposed. On each case, good comparison between analytical and experimental results is achieved.     

Propagation of elastic waves in circular rods homogeneous over the cross section

Propagation of elastic waves in circular rods and in rods with a cylindrical cavity is numerically studied. The influence of the rod size on the wave propagation velocity is analyzed. A phenomenon of repeated rebound in short homogeneous rods is described.     

变截面欧拉梁自由振动分析的重采样微分求积法

采用重采样微分求积法求解了变截面欧拉梁的自由振动问题。推导了变截面梁的控制方程离散格式,采用重采样矩阵方法对边界条件进行处理,给出了变截面梁自由振动算法。采用本文方法对不同类型截面形式和不同边界条件的变截面梁进行自由振动分析,并和其他解法进行比较。计算结果表明,本文方法可以适用于不同变截面类型和不同边界条件,计算精度与解析解吻合良好,具有良好的收敛性能。在同等精度条件下网格点数少于现有计算方法。重采样转换矩阵边界处理方法相比于传统边界处理方法具有更快的收敛性能。     

Experimental investigation of the interaction of shock waves with textiles

Experimental studies have been performed to investigate the pressure amplification experienced behind a textile when exposed to a shock wave. Three textiles with different masses and air permeabilities were studied. Mach numbers for tests varied between 1.23 and 1.55. The distance between the back wall and the textile was varied between 3 and 15 mm. It was found that in most cases the presence of the textile led to a pressure amplification at the back wall. This amplification was dependent on the textile, Mach number and distance from the back wall. The processes causing the pressure amplification were identified by analysing pressure traces and contact shadowgraphs. It was found that when the incident wave impinges on the textile, a part is reflected upstream and a part is transmitted through the textile. The transmitted portion reflects back and forth in the gap between the textile and the back wall leading to a back wall pressure trace with a stepped profile. In addition, the textile moves towards the back wall causing compression waves to propagate towards the back wall. The combination of the stepped profile and the compression waves cause the pressure amplification. The contribution of each mechanism depends on the textile properties. Approximate wave diagrams have been constructed. Tests involving multiple layers of textiles are also discussed. Received 17 October 2000 / Accepted 2 February 2001     

Nonlinear analysis of beams of variable cross section,including shear deformation effect

In this paper the analog equation method (AEM), a BEM-based method, is employed for the nonlinear analysis of a Timoshenko beam with simply or multiply connected variable cross section undergoing large deflections under general boundary conditions. The beam is subjected in an arbitrarily concentrated or distributed variable axial loading, while the shear loading is applied at the shear center of the cross section, avoiding in this way the induction of a twisting moment. To account for shear deformations, the concept of shear deformation coefficients is used. Five boundary value problems are formulated with respect to the transverse displacements, the axial displacement and to two stress functions and solved using the AEM. Application of the boundary element technique yields a system of nonlinear equations from which the transverse and axial displacements are computed by an iterative process. The evaluation of the shear deformation coefficients is accomplished from the aforementioned stress functions using only boundary integration. Numerical examples with great practical interest are worked out to illustrate the efficiency, the accuracy and the range of applications of the developed method. The influence of the shear deformation effect is remarkable.     

Applying the generalized step-function to solve the bending problems of nonuniform beams with variable cross section

The bending problems of nonuniform beams with variable cross-section can be approximated by that of a step beam under sectionally uniform load (including both concentrated forces and couples). In this paper, the concept of Heaviside function {x-a}⁰ will be generalized, and a new function {x-a}⁰, n=0,1,2…,will be defined, which may be named as a generalized step function. The rules of operation will also be given to {x-a}ⁿ{x-b}⁰. The reciprocal of the flexural of rigidity 1/EJ and the bending moment M(x) can all be expressed in terms of {x-a}ⁿ,and substituted into the differential equation of the elastic curve of the beam respectively. Thus we may establish a set of unified method to solve various types of bending problems of straight beams. The general solution of the deflection equation will be given.     

Generalized solutions of beams with jump discontinuities on elastic foundations

Summary  The bending solutions of the Euler–Bernoulli and the Timoshenko beams with material and geometric discontinuities are developed in the space of generalized functions. Unlike the classical solutions of discontinuous beams, which are expressed in terms of multiple expressions that are valid in different regions of the beam, the generalized solutions are expressed in terms of a single expression on the entire domain. It is shown that the boundary-value problems describing the bending of beams with jump discontinuities on discontinuous elastic foundations have more compact forms in the space of generalized functions than they do in the space of classical functions. Also, fewer continuity conditions need to be satisfied if the problem is formulated in the space of generalized functions. It is demonstrated that using the theory of distributions (i.e. generalized functions) makes finding analytical solutions for this class of problems more efficient compared to the traditional methods, and, in some cases, the theory of distributions can lead to interesting qualitative results. Examples are presented to show the efficiency of using the theory of generalized functions. Received 6 June 2000; accepted for publication 24 October 2000