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.     

Molecular anharmonicity: A computer-aided treatment

We present a new software package for the theoretical treatment of anharmonic vibrational spectra of nonlinear polyatomic molecules. The package, called “B&D,” computes vibrational energies starting from sets of force constants defined as potential energy derivatives. The method employed allows us to combine experimental rotation-vibration data with any information made available from ab initio calculations. The package follows the natural procedure in which a molecular problem is solved, both in the symbolic construction of Hamiltonian operator and basis functions and in the numerical computation of the Hamiltonian matrix elements. The novelty consists in making the entire procedure fully automatic, so that the occurrence of errors is greatly reduced and the laborious process involved in deriving and implementing the Hamiltonian is dramatically simplified. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Comput Chem 20: 1716–1730, 1999     

On the global structure and asymptotic stability of low-stretch diffusion flame: Forced convection

The present work analyzes cylindrical diffusion flames (Tsuji burner) under low stretch condition, considering fuel injection also from the backward region of the burner. To highlight the fundamental aspects of this flame, some assumptions are imposed, like constant thermodynamic and transport coefficients, unitary Lewis number and no radiative heat loss. It is also considered potential flow model and incompressible Navier–Stokes model. Despite the simplicity of the former model, results from both models show good agreement. Also, an asymptotic analysis describing the problem far from the burner is able to capture the most important mechanisms controlling the flame, then the flame shape is determined and the dependence of the characteristic length scales on Peclet number (based on the burner properties), free stream velocity and stoichiometry is revealed. The results show that the flame width is proportional to the mass stoichiometric coefficient and reciprocal to the Peclet number the 1/4 power and free stream velocity the 3/4 power, and that the flame height is proportional to the square of the mass stoichiometric coefficient and to the square root of the ratio of Peclet number to free stream velocity. In addition, an asymptotic stability analysis reveals low-stretch flame extinction to be caused by reduction in fuel and oxidizer concentrations, which provides the range of the stoichiometric coefficient for stable regime, and at the same time the range of heat released.     

The impact of residence time on ignitability and time to ignition in a toroidal jet-stirred reactor

Understanding of ignition processes is central to design for reliable and safe aerospace combustor systems. Ignition is influenced by many factors including combustor geometry, flow conditions, fuel composition, turbulence intensity, ignition source, and energy deposition method. A toroidal jet-stirred reactor (TJSR) utilizes bulk fluid motion, presence of recirculation zones, a bulk residence time, and turbulence intensities which emulate characteristics relevant to cavity stabilized and swirl stabilized combustors. In this work, a TJSR was used to quantify ignitability and time-to-ignition of premixed ethylene and air. The effects of inlet temperature, residence time, and reactivity were studied on forced ignition processes. Experimental conditions ranged from residence times of 15–35?ms, mixture temperatures of 340–450?K, and equivalence ratios of 0.5–1 using capacitive spark-discharge ignition. The minimum equivalence ratio for ignition (MER), or the equivalence ratio at 50% probability, shows an inverse relationship with mixture temperature and residence time. Prior theory of real engine combustor performance for lean light off, proposed by Ballal and Lefebvre, was compared to the MER and displayed similar trends to the model. Spatially integrated OH* chemiluminescence was used to measure time to ignition within the reactor. Reduction in ignitibility was experienced as the time-to-ignition approached the residence time stressing the importance of device flow time scales in relation to kernel growth dynamics and ignition probability.     

On the solutions in the linear theory of micropolar viscoelasticity

In the present paper the linear theory of micropolar viscoelasticity is considered. The explicit expression of fundamental solution of the system of equations of steady vibrations is constructed by means of elementary functions and its basic properties are established. The Green's formulas in the considered theory are obtained. The formulas of integral representations of Somigliana-type of regular vector and regular (classical) solution are presented. The representation formulas of Galerkin-type solution of the system of nonhomogeneous equations and of the general solution of the system of homogeneous equations by means of eight metaharmonic functions are presented. The completeness of these solutions is proved.     

Finite amplitude oscillations of flanged laminas in viscous flows: Vortex–structure interactions for hydrodynamic damping control

In this paper, we study the problem of harmonic oscillations of a flanged lamina in a quiescent Newtonian incompressible viscous fluid. We conduct a comprehensive fluid–structure interaction investigation with the goal of assessing the effect of the presence of the flanges on the added mass and hydrodynamic damping experienced by the oscillating solid. We determine the complex nonlinear hydrodynamic function incorporating these effects via its real and imaginary parts, respectively, and its dependence on three nondimensional parameters that govern the flow evolution. We further investigate in detail the flow physics and the effects of nonlinearities on vortex shedding, convection, and diffusion in the vicinity of the oscillating structure. We find that the added mass effect is relatively independent of the oscillation amplitude and increases with the flange size. On the other hand, the hydrodynamic damping effect is remarkably affected by the interplay of geometry and dynamic parameters resulting into a peculiar non-monotonic behavior. We show the existence of a minimum in the hydrodynamic damping which can be attained via specific control of vortex–structure interaction dynamics and discuss its properties and significance from a physical perspective through analysis of the relevant flow fields. This novel finding has potential application for damping reduction in elastic systems where reduction of energy losses and increase of oscillation quality factor are desired.     

Influence of periodic excitation on self-sustained vibrations of one disk rotors in arbitrary length journals bearings

Interaction of forced and self-sustained vibrations of one disk rotor is described by nonlinear finite-degree-of-freedom dynamical system. The shaft of the rotor is supported by two journal bearings. The combination of the shooting technique and the continuation algorithm is used to study the rotor periodic vibrations. The Floquet multipliers are calculated to analyze periodic vibrations stability. The results of periodic motions analysis are shown on the frequency response. The quasi-periodic motions are investigated. These nonlinear vibrations coexist with the periodic forced vibrations.     

Nonlinear dynamics of oscillators with bilinear hysteresis and sinusoidal excitation

The transient and steady-state response of an oscillator with hysteretic restoring force and sinusoidal excitation are investigated. Hysteresis is modeled by using the bilinear model of Caughey with a hybrid system formulation. A novel method for obtaining the exact transient and steady-state response of the system is discussed. Stability and bifurcations of periodic orbits are studied using Poincaré maps. Results are compared with asymptotic expansions obtained by Caughey. The bilinear hysteretic element is found to act like a ‘soft spring’. Several sub-harmonic resonances are found in the system, however, no chaotic behavior is observed. Away from the sub-harmonic resonance the asymptotic expansions and the exact steady-state response of the system are seen to match with good accuracy.     

Experimental investigation of liquid crystal director reorientation by mechanical vibrations

Reorientation of a nematic liquid crystal undergoing mechanical vibrations of one of cell walls was studied experimentally. Orientational structures have been revealed, which have interesting properties, their characteristics and formation processes were investigated. It was shown that these structures have parameters that do not depend on the intensity and frequency of mechanical vibrations.     

Almost periodically forced circle flows

We study general dynamical and topological behaviors of minimal sets in skew-product circle flows in both continuous and discrete settings, with particular attentions paying to almost periodically forced circle flows. When a circle flow is either discrete in time and unforced (i.e., a circle map) or continuous in time but periodically forced, behaviors of minimal sets are completely characterized by classical theory. The general case involving almost periodic forcing is much more complicated due to the presence of multiple forcing frequencies, the topological complexity of the forcing space, and the possible loss of mean motion property. On one hand, we will show that to some extent behaviors of minimal sets in an almost periodically forced circle flow resemble those of Denjoy sets of circle maps in the sense that they can be almost automorphic, Cantorian, and everywhere non-locally connected. But on the other hand, we will show that almost periodic forcing can lead to significant topological and dynamical complexities on minimal sets which exceed the contents of Denjoy theory. For instance, an almost periodically forced circle flow can be positively transitive and its minimal sets can be Li-Yorke chaotic and non-almost automorphic. As an application of our results, we will give a complete classification of minimal sets for the projective bundle flow of an almost periodic, sl(2,R)-valued, continuous or discrete cocycle.Continuous almost periodically forced circle flows are among the simplest non-monotone, multi-frequency dynamical systems. They can be generated from almost periodically forced nonlinear oscillators through integral manifolds reduction in the damped cases and through Mather theory in the damping-free cases. They also naturally arise in 2D almost periodic Floquet theory as well as in climate models. Discrete almost periodically forced circle flows arise in the discretization of nonlinear oscillators and discrete counterparts of linear Schrödinger equations with almost periodic potentials. They have been widely used as models for studying strange, non-chaotic attractors and intermittency phenomena during the transition from order to chaos. Hence the study of these flows is of fundamental importance to the understanding of multi-frequency-driven dynamical irregularities and complexities in non-monotone dynamical systems.