Nonlinear vibrations of a viscoelastic plate with concentrated masses

The problem of vibrations of a viscoelastic plate with concentrated masses is studied in a geometrically nonlinear formulation. In the equation of motion of the plate, the action of the concentrated masses is taken into account using Dirac δ-functions. The problem is reduced to solving a system of Volterra type ordinary nonlinear integrodifferential equations using the Bubnov-Galerkin method. The resulting system with a singular Koltunov-Rzhanitsyn kernel is solved using a numerical method based on quadrature formulas. The effect of the viscoelastic properties of the plate material and the location and amount of concentrated masses on the vibration amplitude and frequency characteristics is studied. A comparison is made of numerical calculation results obtained using various theories. __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 48, No. 6, pp. 158–169, November–December, 2007.     

Interaction between torsional and lateral vibrations in flexible rotor systems with discontinuous friction

In this paper, we analyze the interaction between friction-induced vibrations and self-sustained lateral vibrations caused by a mass-unbalance in an experimental rotor dynamic setup. This study is performed on the level of both numerical and experimental bifurcation analyses. Numerical analyses show that two types of torsional vibrations can appear: friction-induced torsional vibrations and torsional vibrations due to the coupling between torsional and lateral dynamics in the system. Moreover, both the numerical and experimental results show that a higher level of mass-unbalance, which generally increases the lateral vibrations, can have a stabilizing effect on the torsional dynamics, i.e. friction-induced limit cycling can disappear. Both types of analysis provide insight in the fundamental mechanisms causing self-sustained oscillations in rotor systems with flexibility, mass-unbalance and discontinuous friction which support the design of such flexible rotor systems.     

Vibration analysis of undamped,suspended multi-beam absorber systems

The vibration analysis of an Euler-Bernoulli beam with an attached rotary unit is first carried out assuming no unbalance. For comparison purposes, two different beam end boundary conditions are considered: a simply-supported and a clamped-clamped condition. The problem is then extended to the vibration behavior of the initial beam when subjected to a harmonic load due to an unbalance in the rotary unit. To absorb the ensuing vibrations, a secondary passive beam system is suspended from the primary beam which consists of two continuous leaf springs and three discrete masses. The absorption frequency is obtained by exploring the deflection norm of the primary beam versus dimensionless frequencies of the system. To ensure the appropriateness of the procedure for similar multi-beam absorber systems, an experimental set-up is established and analytical results are verified.     

A combined analytical,numerical, and experimental study of shape-memory-alloy helical springs

In this paper, the pseudoelastic response of shape memory alloy (SMA) helical springs under axial force is studied both analytically and numerically. In the analytical solution two different approximations are considered. In the first approximation, both the curvature and pitch effects are assumed to be negligible. This is the case for helical springs with large ratios of mean coil radius to the cross sectional radius (spring index) and small pitch angles. Using this assumption, analysis of the helical spring is reduced to that of the pure torsion of a straight bar with circular cross section. A three-dimensional phenomenological macroscopic constitutive model for polycrystalline SMAs is reduced to the one-dimensional pure shear case and a closed-form solution for torsional response of SMA bars in loading and unloading is obtained. In the next step, the curvature effect is included and the SMA helical spring is analyzed using the exact solution presented for torsion of curved SMA bars. In this refined solution, the effect of the direct shear force is also considered. In the numerical analyses, the three-dimensional constitutive equations are implemented in a finite element method and using solid elements the loading–unloading of an SMA helical spring is simulated. Analytical and numerical results are compared and it is shown that the solution based on the SMA curved bar torsion gives an accurate stress analysis in the cross section of the helical SMA spring in addition to the global load–deflection response. All the results are compared with experimental data for a Nitinol helical spring. Several case studies are presented using the proposed analytical and numerical solutions and the effect of changing different parameters such as the material properties and temperature on the loading–unloading hysteretic response of SMA helical springs is studied. Finally, some practical recommendations are given for improving the performance of SMA helical springs used as energy dissipating devices, for example for seismic applications.     

Understanding root cause of stick–slip vibrations in deep drilling with drag bits

In search for the root cause of stick–slip, a mode of torsional vibrations of a drilling assembly, a linear stability analysis of coupled axial–torsional vibrations has been carried out. It has been shown that in a rotary drilling system with axial and torsional degree of freedom two distinct modes of self-excited vibrations are present: axial and torsional. These axial (torsional) modes of vibrations are due to resonance between the cutting forces acting at the bit and the axial (torsional) natural modes of drillstring vibrations. It has been demonstrated that although axial and torsional modes of vibrations do affect each other the underlying mechanisms driving these modes of vibrations are completely different. In particular, the only driving mechanism of the axial vibrations is the regenerative effect, while there are two distinct mechanisms that drive the torsional vibrations: (i) the cutting action of the bit, and (ii) the wearflat/rock interaction. Moreover, in the case of the torsional vibrations the regenerative effect plays only a secondary role. The results of the present study indicate that the axial compliance can play a stabilizing role. In particular, the stabilizing role of the axial compliance increases as the ratio of the torsional to the axial natural frequency of the drillstring vibrations decreases.     

On the simulation of vibrations of industrial gear drives (Complex interactions of physics,mathematics, numerics,and experiments)

Summary In the design stage of a gear drive with spur or helical gears, there is need for a reliable simulation of the vibrations, mainly because of their sound generation. This topic is discussed in view of problems addressed in the subtitle. Enclosure Methods were instrumental in the discovery of paradoxes in the interchange of simulation and computation. These paradoxes are partly due to the employment of standard numerical methods in conjunction with certain commercial compilers. The paper is confined to the case of the absence of imperfections of all kinds in the gear drive.This paper is dedicated to Professor Dr-Ing. Dr-Ing. e.h. Gustav Niemann, former Professor of Machine Elements at the Technical University of Munich, in view of his original and essential contributions to the science of gears.     

Effect of Vibrations on Pore Fluid Distribution in Porous Media

Understanding the role of shuttle vibrations in pore fluid distribution is an essential task in the exploration of plant growth in root modules aboard space flights. Results from experimental investigations are reported in this paper on the distribution of immiscible fluid phases in glass beads under vibrations. Hexadecane, a petroleum compound immiscible with and lighter than water, was used in the experiments. The higher freezing point of Hexadecane (18 °C) allowed the solidification of the entrapped blobs in the presence of water in porous media, so that their size distribution can be obtained. van Genuchten function, commonly used to express moisture retention curves, is found to be an adequate fit for blob size distribution at residual saturation. The effect of vibrations on the fate (mobilization, stranding, or breakup) of a solitary ganglion in porous media was studied using a network model. A mobility criterion considering viscous, gravity, and capillary forces was developed to determine the fate of a solitary ganglion in a porous medium. It is concluded that the effect of vibrations is to increase the likelihood of breakup and mobilization of blobs entrapped in porous media at residual saturation. The pore fluid distributions after vibrations are less uniform than those before vibrations.     

Determining dynamic characteristics of mechanical systems by the method of constructing one-dimensional spectral portraits of matrices

A number of important properties of vibrations of linear systems (the quality of stability of the systems, their conditionality with respect to the eigenvalues of the matrices, and the possibility of modeling systems with a large number of degrees of freedom by their subsystems with a smaller number of degrees of freedom), which can be determined by a new mathematical tool called “One-dimensional spectral portraits of matrices” developed under the guidance of S. K. Godunov, are considered. An example is given on constructing one-dimensional spectral portraits for matrices that describe aeroelastic vibrations of hydrodynamic cascades. __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 49, No. 1, pp. 104–113, January–February, 2008.     

Numerical analysis of free vibrations of a beam with oscillators

The problem of free vibrations of a beam with free ends of variable cross section and mass, from which point masses (oscillators) are suspended by bars, is considered. It is shown that parametric resonances can occur in this oscillating system. Numerical examples showing the efficiency of the calculation method proposed are given. __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 47, No. 4, pp. 135–144, July–August, 2006.     

Principal Trajectories of Forced Vibrations for Discrete and Continuous Systems

Principal trajectories of forced vibration of linear and nonlinear continuous systems are introduced as such motions in which the system is equivalent to a Newtonian particle in the function space of the system configurations. The corresponding 'effective mass' of the particle gives physical characteristics of the system response, so that zero effective mass is associated with resonance. The methodology can be viewed as a complementary tool to the method of normal modes, when considering the class of forced vibrating systems, since the related basis accounts for the system physical properties as well as the external forcing factor. In particular, it is shown that a two degrees of freedom system can possess an infinite discrete set of in-phase and out-of-phase forced vibrations of the normal modes type. The corresponding forcing vector-functions obey the second Newton law due to the definition of principal trajectories.     

A novel aseismic foundation system for multipurpose asymmetric buildings

The vulnerability of civil engineering structures with fundamental frequency, say roughly above 1?Hz, (or buildings having less than ten stories), when exposed to the strong motion phase of an earthquake is considerably reduced by means of base isolation. The low-pass filter for isolating horizontal vibrations is redesigned where the classical elastomeric bearings are substituted by a number of prestressed helical steel springs with pivoted columns along their vertical axes carrying a fraction of the dead weight and guiding the remaining horizontal motion. The base-isolated building in its fundamental mode is considered to be rigid and low-cost tuned liquid column gas dampers (TLCGDs), in optimal arrangement within the plan of the basement of the building, supply the effective damping of the remaining horizontal vibrations. TLCGD-tuning in a first step is performed by a simple transformation of the well-documented optimal parameters of the tuned mass damper (TMD) followed by fine-tuning in state space. The action of the passive damping device is commonly considered to be sufficient. Since the gas-spring effect somewhat counter acts changes in fluid mass, the absorber can be used as a water reservoir. Compatible sliding elements are innovatively designed to resist the motion of the building relative to the ground for sufficiently small disturbances by static friction, thus complete the isolation system. However, during seismic excitation, the frictional contact is released over much of the time to avoid excessive wear.     

Modeling and dynamics analysis of helical spring under compression using a curved beam element with consideration on contact between its coils

Helical springs are indispensable elements in mechanical engineering. This paper investigates helical springs subjected to axial loads under different dynamic conditions. The mechanical system, composed of a helical spring and two blocks, is considered and analyzed. Multibody system dynamics theory is applied to model the system, where the spring is modeled by Euler–Bernoulli curved beam elements based on an absolute nodal coordinate formulation. Compared with previous studies, contact between the coils of spring is considered here. A three-dimensional beam-to-beam contact model is presented to describe the interaction between the spring coils. Numerical analysis provides details such as spring stiffness, static and dynamic stress for helical spring under compression. All these results are available in design of helical springs.     

Flow control in flow–structure interaction

We employ passive flow control using two-dimensional hydrofoils to reduce vortex-induced vibrations (VIV) and drag on a cylinder of circular cross-section. We test the hypothesis that by using foils to bend the streamlines around the cylinder, and hence forcing the flow to approach potential flow-like patterns VIV and drag will be reduced. A systematic parametric search, first using groups of two and then four foils, shows that it is possible to completely eliminate vibrations and reduce the drag coefficient to about C_d=0.50 at sub-critical Reynolds numbers. This parametric search is conducted in conjunction with force measurement and particle image velocimetry on a fixed towed cylinder. The effectiveness of the foils in regards to VIV was further tested with an apparatus allowing free transverse vibrations of a towed cylinder.     

Parametric vibrations of flexible hoses excited by a pulsating fluid flow,Part I: Modelling,solution method and simulation

The article presents an analysis of a model describing lateral vibrations of a pipe induced by fluid flow velocity pulsation. The motion has been described with a set of two non-linear partial differential equations with periodically variable coefficients. In the analysis Galerkin method has been applied using orthogonal polynomials as shape function. To determine instability regions Floquet theory has been employed. The effect of selected parameters on parametric resonance ranges and regions of increased vibration level has been investigated. The character and form of vibrations have been investigated indicating the possibility of excitation of sub-harmonic and quasi-periodic vibrations in the combination resonance ranges.     

An Approximate Analysis of Dry-Friction-Induced Stick-Slip Vibrations by a Smoothing Procedure

This paper deals with a systematic procedure to find both stable and unstable periodic stick-slip vibrations of autonomous dynamic systems with dry friction. In this procedure, the discontinuous friction forces are approximated by smooth functions. Using the simple shooting method with a stiff-ODE solver, in combination with a path following algorithm, branches of periodic solutions are computed for a changing design variable. For testing purposes, both 1 and 2-DOF autonomous block-on-belt models and a 1-DOF autonomous drill string model from literature are investigated. Comparison of the results shows that the smoothing procedure accurately describes the behavior of the discontinuous systems. The proposed procedure can also easily be applied to more complex MDOF models, as well as to nonautonomous dynamic systems.     

Nonlinear Vibrations of a Cylindrical Shell Containing a Flowing Fluid

The Bogolyubov-Mitropolsky method is used to find approximate periodic solutions to the system of nonlinear equations that describes the large-amplitude vibrations of cylindrical shells interacting with a fluid flow. Three quantitatively different cases are studied: (i) the shell is subject to hydrodynamic pressure and external periodical loading, (ii) the shell executes parametric vibrations due to the pulsation of the fluid velocity, and (iii) the shell experiences both forced and parametric vibrations. For each of these cases, the first-order amplitude-frequency characteristic is derived and stability criteria for stationary vibrations are established__________Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika, Vol. 41, No. 4, pp. 75–84, April 2005.     

On the Need for Control of Nonlinear Oscillations in Machine Systems

Oscillations in machines are invariably nonlinear. This is either because of inertial coupling effects between different motions of the moving components, material and constitutive phenomena giving rise to stiffness modifications, nonlinear dissipation mechanisms, large deflections, or, as is most likely, some sort of combination of all of these. The net effect of nonlinear vibrations is that at best the machine may well behave a little differently from the way the designer intended, or at worst, in a manner which renders it completely unsuitable for the job. The extent of such problems depends on the nature and the scale of the nonlinearities that are present but it is safe to say that nonlinear oscillations can rarely be completely overlooked in precision machinery analysis and design. The unifying theme in this paper is pendulum motion, firstly in the case of a mobile gantry crane for container stacking where we wish to minimise such motion and converge on a target, and then secondly in the case of a vibration absorber in which we choose to initiate pendulum motion within a special absorber, for the purposes of vibration minimisation. The third example involves the potential for pendulum motion at a very much larger scale and summarises the main control problem that is likely to be encountered in a fully deployed momentum exchange propulsion tether operating in space. The paper discusses the general mathematical issues that pertain to pendulum motion in each of the three cases. This motion is investigated initially in the context of the mobile gantry crane, in the form of a basic three dimensional dynamical model. A feedback linearised controller is shown to offer some advantages for the control of such a system and then a simulation based on data from a practical implementation of this within a real-time control system on a 1/10 laboratory scale model is discussed. It is recalled that the real-time effectiveness of the controller can be compromised by relatively slow sensing and data logging hardware but that despite this some useful performance gains can still be obtainable using this sort of control strategy. The second example comprises an autoparametric vibration absorber and here it is shown how even a simple hunting controller can exploit the mode-locking and wide detuning region effects inherent in autoparametric systems. Further experimental results are discussed in the case of a hunting controller for detuning a vertically oriented parametrically excited pendulum in order to exploit and enhance the powerful and persistent absorption available during autoparametric interaction. The paper concludes with a summary review of the third problem in which the theoretical attitude dynamics of a motorised momentum exchange space propulsion tether are summarised and it is shown that they need to be controlled for reliable and optimal payload velocity boost from both circular parking orbits and elliptical transfer orbits about the Earth.     

An analytical study of time-delayed control of friction-induced vibrations in a system with a dynamic friction model

We investigate the control of friction-induced vibrations in a system with a dynamic friction model which accounts for hysteresis in the friction characteristics. Linear time-delayed position feedback applied in a direction normal to the contacting surfaces has been employed for the purpose. Analysis shows that the uncontrolled system loses stability via. a subcritical Hopf bifurcation making it prone to large amplitude vibrations near the stability boundary. Our results show that the controller achieves the dual objective of quenching the vibrations as well as changing the nature of the bifurcation from subcritical to supercritical. Consequently, the controlled system is globally stable in the linearly stable region and yields small amplitude vibrations if the stability boundary is crossed due to changes in operating conditions or system parameters. Criticality curve separating regions on the stability surface corresponding to subcritical and supercritical bifurcations is obtained analytically using the method of multiple scales (MMS). We have also identified a set of control parameters for which the system is stable for lower and higher relative velocities but vibrates for the intermediate ones. However, the bifurcation is always supercritical for these parameters resulting in low amplitude vibrations only.     

On the Weakly Nonlinear,Transversal Vibrations of a Conveyor Belt with a Low and Time-Varying Velocity

In this paper the weakly nonlinear, transversal vibrations of aconveyor belt will be considered. The belt is assumed to move witha low and time-varying speed. Using Kirchhoff's approach a singleequation of motion will be derived from a coupled system ofpartial differential equations describing the longitudinal andtransversal vibrations of the belt. A two time-scalesperturbation method is then applied to approximate the solutionsof the problem. It will turn out that the frequencies of the belt speed fluctuations play an important role in the dynamic behaviourof the belt. It is well-known in linear systems that instabilitiescan occur if the frequency of the belt speed fluctuations is thesum of two natural frequencies. However, in the weakly nonlinearcase as considered in this paper this is no longer true. It turns out that the weak nonlinearity stabilizes the system.