Colour Adaptation in Three Fringe Photoelasticity

Three fringe photoelasticity (TFP) can give the total fringe order from a single colour isochromatic fringe field by suitably comparing the colour with a calibration specimen. The fringe order evaluation can be erroneous when the materials for the calibration specimen and the application specimen are different. This is because of the colour variation between the two materials. This is conventionally handled by preparing individual calibration tables for each application. A new methodology to tune the calibration table obtained for a single material to accommodate the tint variation in TFP is proposed for the use of different specimen materials. Discontinuities in fringe order variation are smoothed using the refined TFP (RTFP) procedure. The elegance of the new methodology for solving a multi-material system is bought out by solving the problem of a bi-material Brazilian disc. The results obtained are compared with the phase shifting technique.     

Characterization of the Damping Behavior of a Nanoindentation Instrument for Carrying Out Dynamic Experiments

A new displacement modulation based dynamic indentation method is demonstrated and shown to be effective for viscoelastic characterization of a glassy polymer. The analysis of dynamic experiments requires a complete understanding of the measuring system’s dynamic characteristics especially the damping. Accordingly, an improved method, based on the use of a wire spring, is developed for determining the damping characteristics. In general, damping in an indentation instrument is contributed by two elements: the eddy current damping from the electromagnetic loading coil and the squeeze film damping from the capacitive displacement transducer. Therefore, a method to determine the relative contribution from the different damping elements present in the system is demonstrated and the results are compared with the calibration obtained from the wire spring method. Finally, dynamic indentation tests are carried out on a glassy polymer to obtain the complex modulus; the values of which are compared with those obtained from bulk dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) tests. Storage modulus values are found to be in good agreement with bulk data but some divergence in the case of loss modulus is observed. The calibration procedure of the measuring instrument is critically examined in view of these observations. Overall, displacement modulation based dynamic indentation is shown to be a promising method for viscoelastic characterization at the micron length scales. An erratum to this article can be found at     

Deformable spherical devices to measure stresses within field soils

The design, calibration and use of two deformable spherical stress transducers are described. They are suitable for detecting principal stresses in deforming media such as soil and have major advantages over many rigid transducers previously used in such situations. One of the transducers is a water-filled rubber ball (WFRB) sensitive to hydrostatic and deviator stresses, the other is a mastic ball which deforms plastically and is sensitive to only deviator stresses. When the two devices are used at similar depths under a surface load, e.g. a wheel, the combined measurements of internal pressure of the WFRB and axial deformation of the mastic ball can be used to derive values for first and third principal stresses (assuming second and third principal stresses are equal). Calibration of the transducers at different temperatures is described.

Field measurements made with the transducer under loaded wheels are compared with predicted values of first principal stresses using equations developed by Söhne. Close correspondence between predicted and measured values was observed, when the existing soil strength conditions were taken into account.

The transducers promise to be useful in the measurement of stresses in field soils.     

基于Hopkinson杆和人工神经网络的三轴冲击力传感器同步解耦标定方法

三分量冲击力载荷的同步激励与输入输出间的精准建模是三轴冲击力传感器标定所面临的主要挑战。为了实现对三轴冲击力传感器的有效标定,使其能够准确测量空间中的三维冲击力载荷。首先,基于Hopkinson杆与矢量分解原理建立了一种高幅值（104 N量级）、窄脉宽（10?4 s量级）可计量三分量冲击力载荷的同步激励方法,实现了对三轴冲击力传感器的同步加载。然后,基于最小二乘原理与矩阵微分构建了三轴冲击力传感器的线性标定模型,并通过改变子弹结构与冲击气压揭示了线性解耦标定模型中传感器主灵敏度系数与轴间耦合灵敏度系数并非固定常数而均与冲击力载荷脉冲构型（幅值、脉宽）相关的冲击特性。最后,将能够反映载荷构型信息的传感器各轴输出电压脉冲的幅值与脉宽作为影响因素,并以神经元的形式添加到人工神经网络（artificial neural network, ANN）的输入层,建立了基于ANN的三轴冲击力传感器输出电压与输入载荷间的代理模型,实现了数据驱动的三轴冲击力传感器非线性解耦标定。结果表明,相对最小二乘模型,ANN标定精度更高,采用ANN进行三轴冲击力传感器标定具有可行性和有效性。     

Torsion test of aluminum in the large strain range

A series of experiments was conducted on cast and extruded high purity aluminum material under monotonic large strain torsion condition. Both free-end and fixed-end torsions were studied using tubular specimens of different gage lengths (long, medium and short). The experiments used an axial–torsional extensometer. A procedure of calibration for elevated temperature test was determined. The torque versus angle of twist curves were recorded and converted into true shear stress–strain curves by use of the modified Nadai method developed previously by the authors. The axial extension for free-end torsion and the axial stress developed during fixed-end torsion were recorded. The hoop strain was also measured and was found to be approximately 0.8–0.9 times the axial strain when the shear strain is 150%. The effect of specimen geometry was studied. It was found that the long, thick-walled tubular specimen is suitable for torsion test in the large strain range.     

Base strain effects on force measurements

Force transducers directly interact with their environment. In this study, a force transducer is attached to the midpoint of a free-free beam and is used to measure the force on a rigid mass that vibrates with the beam. The ratio of force to mass times acceleration is measured for several different masses over a frequency range that includes the first four odd natural frequencies of the beam. Then the force transducer is mounted so that the beam's strain is isolated from the transducer. The tests are repeated. The results dramatically illustrate the effects of base strain on the force measurements. A simple theoretical model is developed that explains the vertical axis shift in the calibration curve. Paper was presented at SEM 1994 Spring Conference and Exhibits.     

混凝土框架结构内力测量传感器研制

研制了一种可用于混凝土结构试验中测量柱底截面轴向力、剪力和弯矩的内力测量传感器。该传感器主要由加载板、基座、4根竖向测力杆和2根水平测力杆组成。使用时,柱底截面的内力通过加载板传递给6根测力杆,根据6根测力杆的结果,通过力平衡方程可以计算实际加载的轴向力、剪力和弯矩的大小。对该传感器进行了4种工况下的标定试验。结果表明,传感器的测量误差满足框架结构内力测量精度要求。将该传感器应用到单层两跨的钢筋混凝土框架推覆试验中,获得了整个试验过程中构件的内力时程。     

Stereo-PIV using self-calibration on particle images

A stereo-PIV (stereo particle image velocimetry) calibration procedure has been developed based on fitting a camera pinhole model to the two cameras using single or multiple views of a 3D calibration plate. A disparity vector map is computed on the real particle images by cross-correlation of the images from cameras 1 and 2 to determine if the calibration plate coincides with the light sheet. From the disparity vectors, the true position of the light sheet in space is fitted and the mapping functions are corrected accordingly. It is shown that it is possible to derive accurate mapping functions, even if the calibration plate is quite far away from the light sheet, making the calibration procedure much easier. A modified 3-media camera pinhole model has been implemented to account for index-of-refraction changes along the optical path. It is then possible to calibrate outside closed flow cells and self-calibrate onto the recordings. This method allows stereo-PIV measurements to be taken inside closed measurement volumes, which was not previously possible. From the computed correlation maps, the position and thickness of the two laser light sheets can be derived to determine the thickness, degree of overlap and the flatness of the two sheets.     

A new reusable quadriaxial strain transducer

The reusable quadriaxial strain transducer consists of an eight-arm (at 45 degrees from one another) star-shaped plane-sensitive element. Two strain gages are mounted to the inner and outer sides of each arm in the neighborhood of the extremity where hard oblique pins are fixed. The pins are impressed into the surface of the material so the strains on the surface induce bending and torsional displacements of the arms. The paper describes the transducer design and the calibration procedure. Experimental results obtained on wood materials are analyzed.     

Planar laser induced fluorescence technique for measurements of concentration fields in continuous stirred tank reactors

 A new non-intrusive method based on laser sheet visualization and image processing has been developed to measure the instantaneous concentration fields of a non-reacting fluorescent dye in a continuous stirred tank reactor. The method consists of measuring the fluorescence intensity of a tracer excited by a thin planar laser sheet and in transforming it into an instantaneous concentration field of tracer by a calibration procedure. This allows the characterization of mixing in a plane defined as the cross section of the flow by the laser sheet. Flow visualization images have been recorded on video tape and subsequently digitized. The relationship between the intensity of the fluorescent light and the grey level of the images has been established. The first result is the instantaneous field of dye concentration. A contacting parameter between the fluids coming from the two inlet sources, and emphasizing the average state of the mixing, has been defined and its field has been determined. The field of temporal variance, which characterizes the segregation of the investigated zone, has also been computed. Received: 15 December 1995/Accepted: 28 April 1996     

Wave-based defect detection and interwire friction modeling for overhead transmission lines

In this study, the feasibility of continuous, online monitoring of power lines using ultrasonic waves is considered. Local and global wave-based approaches for wire break detection in overhead transmission lines are presented. Both methods use a sending/receiving transducer to generate an ultrasonic, longitudinal, elastic wave in the cable. Defects in the cable cause a portion of the incident ultrasonic wave to be reflected back to the transducer, which when received, can be used to identify the presence of the defect. Although the transducers can only be attached to the surface of the cable, subsurface wires can also be interrogated since elastic energy spreads to these wires through friction contact. This study also explores how the elastic energy of a propagating wave becomes distributed among contacting rods via friction contact. This work focuses specifically on a two-rod system in which the wave energy from an excited “active” rod is transmitted to a neighboring “passive” rod through friction contact. An energy-based model is used to approximate the time average elastic wave power in the two rods as a function of propagation distance. Power predictions from the energy-based model compare well with experimental measurements and finite element simulations.     

Constitutive Model Calibration for Powder Compaction Using Instrumented Die Testing

Calibration procedures for constitutive models for powder compaction are presented. A practical calibration method based on a die compaction experiment is presented. A newly developed apparatus consisting of a die instrumented with radial stress sensors is described. The paper proposes two contributions to account for errors present in instrumented die testing, which are due to 1) elastic compliance of the testing frame, influencing the measurement of axial strain and 2) the presence on non-homogeneous stress state in the test specimen. It is shown that system compliance is important for generating an accurate stress-strain curve for compression. The effect of different compliance correction methods is evaluated with regard to the accuracy of models predicting pressing forces. The system compliance becomes more significant during unloading in the die; this information is used to determine the elastic properties. A new compliance correction method is introduced following a detailed analysis of the forces and deformations of different parts of the loading frame. In instrumented die compaction the axial and radial stresses are measured at fixed locations and the specimen is subject to non-homogeneous stresses and strains due to the effect of friction between the powder and die wall. Starting from the Janssen-Walker method of differential slices a method to account for non-homogeneous stress and strain is developed.     

Conjugate forced convection and heat conduction in circular microchannels

The effects of axial heat conduction in the solid walls of microchannels of circular cross-sections are analyzed here. A systematic approach is adopted, with the aim of pointing out the influence of geometrical parameters and of solid wall thermal conductivity on microchannel heat transfer. The reliability of a commonly adopted criterium, based on the so-called axial conduction number, to assess the relevance of axial heat conduction is also discussed. Numerical simulations concern the simultaneously developing laminar flow of a constant property fluid in microchannels of different length, wall thickness and wall material, heated with a uniform heat flux at the outer surface, for different values of the Reynolds number. Moreover, since often in experimental tests the two end sections of the microchannel wall are not perfectly insulated, the effects of heat losses through these sections are also considered. A hybrid finite element procedure, which implies the step-by-step solution of the parabolized momentum equations in the fluid domain, followed by the solution of the energy equation in the entire domain, corresponding to both the solid and the fluid parts, is used for the numerical simulations.     

Calibration of hot-wire probes using non-uniform mean velocity profiles

A simple iterative procedure is illustrated here to overcome two problems frequently encountered in hot-wire anemometry: (1) the calibration of hot wires at low velocity and (2) to account for the wall-proximity correction in the actual measurements. The low-velocity calibration method used an iterative correction procedure based on laminar pipe velocity profiles. It is shown that the use of this approach, together with a simple wall proximity correction procedure, provides a simple and accurate calibration of both single and cross hot wires, and gives reliable measurements.     

固定结构下的两向力及弯矩传感器设计

为了刀板切削过程中的受力满足最合理的设计准则,专用传感器设计须基于固定总体结构,对局部结构优化,以达到设计合理的目的。刀板切削时受到土体的阻力可分解为水平力和垂直力,多维力传感器测量了两个力的大小和对传感器产生的弯矩。刀板工作中,弯矩引起的正应力比垂直力引起的拉应力及水平力引起的切应力要大得多,因此特别设计了弹性体的局部结构使得三个应力值接近于同一量级。传感器的标定结果显示,输入输出有良好的线性关系,并且很好地消除了耦合效果。最终,将该传感器应用于土体切削测试并验证了其可靠性。     

Measurement of Orthopedic Cortical Bone Screw Insertion Performance in Cadaver Bone and Model Materials

In this study, a method was developed for distinguishing insertion and driving performance between different self-tapping bone screw designs. To measure screw starting load, torque and displacements, a test apparatus was developed utilizing a modified drill press with the capability to measure in-line torque, axial compression load, and axial displacement. Specimens were inserted into cadaver bone to measure a baseline response and a bone analog was developed to mimic the bicortical application of screws in the cadaver model. Recorded data could be used to measure a distinguishable screw starting load and the torque for the insertion of bone screws. The results were similar between the cadaver bone and the bone analog. The average insertion load ranged from 5.4 to 64.5 N in cadaver tests and 9.0–41.0 N in the construct tests. Average first cortex insertion torques ranged from 0.53 to 0.66 N-m in the cadaver tests and 0.29–0.32 N-m in the construct test. Average second cortex insertion torques ranged from 0.70 to 1.03 N-m in the cadaver tests and 0.60–0.63 N-m in the construct tests. This method successfully illuminated differences between several different self-tapping screw designs and was also successfully employed to determine the impact of design and manufacturing methods on screw performance. An interesting finding in this study is that axial starting load is very sensitive to screw tip design whereas insertion torque is not.     

Scattering of guided waves by circumferential cracks in composite cylinders

A somewhat generalized numerical procedure is used in this paper to study the problem of wave scattering by circumferential cracks in composite pipes. The study is motivated by the need to develop a model for the quantitative, ultrasonic non-destructive evaluation of cracks in pipes. For this purpose, a stiffness-based Rayleigh–Ritz type approach is employed first to obtain the approximate wave numbers and wave modes. Using the wave function expansions of the incident and scattered fields in the axial direction and decomposing the problem into separate symmetric and anti-symmetric problems, a three-dimensional wave scattering problem is reduced to two, independent two-dimensional problems over the circular cross-section. Both these problems can be reduced further to quasi-one-dimensions by discretizing the cross-section into finite elements and using a transfer matrix approach in the circumferential direction. This simplification greatly reduces the computational time. A comparison of the results for an isotropic pipe demonstrates the reliability and accuracy of the modified numerical procedure. Numerical results for the reflection and transmission coefficients of different incident wave modes are also presented for a 2-ply composite pipe with a crack. The crack may have an arbitrary circumferential length and radial depth. Simple extrapolations from one wave to another wave, separately incident on a crack, are demonstrated to be impossible due to different mode conversions by the crack.     

Development of a measuring system for segmented ship models

The use of segmented ship models to test and study various ship responses in model scale poses a challenge to instrumentation and test engineers. In recent years, the authors have developed a segmented ship model to study and trace ice loads acting on the ship hull. The model contains three segments at the bow. Each segment is supported at multiple points which enable the resolution of the location, magnitude, and direction of the external loads. The typical segment support system consists of four vertical, two transverse, and one longitudinal support points with uniaxial compression pression transducers. Stabilization of the segment is achieved by using three specially designed tension links acting in the vertical, transverse and longitudinal directions, respectively. The system is subjected to several levels of calibration which include individual transducer calibration, calibration using internal loading applied by the tension links, external calibration using a specially designed and built calibration rig capable of exerting normal and inclined loads, and calibration of the effects of buoyancy changes in a floating model. The results of calibration and ice-breaking tests indicate that position prediction of the external load can be made within 20 mm. The normal load of less than 100 Newtons can be determined within a few percentage points but the frictional load magnitude and direction are found to be subject to greater errors particularly for low friction factors of the order of 0.1. A.M. Nawwar (SEM Member), presently Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Kuwait University, Kuwait 13060     

Temperature maps measurements on 3D surfaces with infrared thermography

The use of the infrared camera as a temperature transducer in wind tunnel applications is convenient and widespread. Nevertheless, the infrared data are available in the form of 2D images while the observed surfaces are often not planar and the reconstruction of temperature maps over them is a critical task. In this work, after recalling the principles of IR thermography, a methodology to rebuild temperature maps on the surfaces of 3D object is proposed. In particular, an optical calibration is applied to the IR camera by means of a novel target plate with control points. The proposed procedure takes also into account the directional emissivity by estimating the viewing angle. All the needed steps are described and analyzed. The advantages given by the proposed method are shown with an experiment in a hypersonic wind tunnel.