Influence of moisture and CO2 on the material behavior of thermoplastic elastomers for beer bottle closures

Metal closures with a polymer-based sealing for beer bottles have been known since the late nineteen-sixties. However, to what extent which parameter of the polymer sealing gasket plays a role in closure performance to keep the beer quality to a highest level possible is not fully understood. For this purpose three thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) liners were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometry, dynamical mechanical analysis (DMA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and surface roughness in order to understand the effect of relative humidity (RH) and carbon dioxide (CO₂) on their physical and chemical properties as well as their macromolecular structures. The TPEs’ viscoelasticity in the frequency domain under different isothermal conditions was evaluated. RH and CO₂ were effective for changes in thermomechanical and surface properties. Liner C was found to have lower seal performance attributed to its relatively higher crystallinity, stiffness, weaker bond structure and rougher surface. Vibrations can lead to seal leakage in Liner B due to its higher damping behavior during production and transportation. Liner A outperforms others due to stabile behavior within the operational temperature range.     

Development of in-wheel sensor system for accurate measurement of wheel terrain interaction characteristics

Planetary rovers need high mobility on a rough terrain such as sandy soil, because such a terrain often impedes the rover mobility and causes significant wheel slip. Therefore, the accurate estimation of wheel soil interaction characteristics is an important issue. Recent studies related to wheel soil interaction mechanics have revealed that the classical wheel model has not adequately addressed the actual interaction characteristics observed through experiments. This article proposes an in-wheel sensor system equipped with two sensory devices on the wheel surface: force sensors that directly measure the force distribution between the wheel and soil and light sensors that accurately detect the wheel soil surface boundary line. This sensor design enables the accurate measurement of wheel terrain interaction characteristics such as wheel force distribution, wheel–soil contact angles, and wheel sinkage when the powered wheel runs on loose sand. In this article, the development of the in-wheel sensor system is introduced along with its system diagram and sensor modules. The usefulness of the in-wheel sensor system is then experimentally evaluated via a single wheel test bench. The experimental results confirm that explicit differences can be observed between the classical wheel model and practical data measured by the in-wheel sensor system.     

局域共振单元与薄膜复合声子晶体板结构的低频降噪

提出了一种局域共振单元复合声子晶体板结构,并结合有限元对晶体板结构的带隙特性、隔声性能进行了分析.结果表明,共振带隙的产生是由共振单元与板中传播的弹性波相互耦合造成的,耦合强度直接影响共振频率和带隙宽度,隔声效果与薄膜的厚度直接相关.通过改变薄膜的厚度可以将隔声效果调节到满足机舱飞行员正常驾驶的要求.该结构在200dB以下具有良好的隔振效果,最大隔声量达到150dB.该研究为获得良好的隔声效果提供了理论支持,在航空发动机减振降噪方面具有潜在的应用前景.     

噪声对大型横流式冷却塔动力特性的影响

本文采用随机数值方法模拟噪声,并用有限元法分析噪声对大型冷动塔动力特性的影响。研究发现,无论是迭加噪声还是调频噪声,都将使冷却塔振动响应超过规定允许值。通过改变冷却塔体横加结构,改善了塔体的动力特性,噪声影响明显减少。     

Wave analysis and control of double cascade-connected damped mass-spring systems

This paper presents wave analysis and control for double cascade-connected damped mass-spring systems, whose mass is connected beyond the adjacent masses. The system is motivated by a cantilevered tensegrity beam supporting tensile and compressive forces. The wave solution is derived from a recurrent formula, and the properties of the propagation constants are precisely investigated. Elimination of reflected waves provides the impedance matching controller. We show that the impedance matching controller can be constructed from a similarity transformation of the characteristic impedance matrix by a matrix composed of the propagation constants. A numerical example of vibration control of a tensegrity beam is shown.     

Sloshing and energy dissipation in an egg: SPH simulations and experiments

Tall structures, such as towers and bridges, can oscillate at excessive magnitudes when subjected to wind and earthquake loads. Liquid sloshing absorbers can be used to suppress these excessive oscillations by tuning the frequency of the sloshing to the critical frequency of the structure. Sloshing absorbers are simple structures consisting of a partially full container of liquid with a free surface. Tuning ensures that significant amounts of harmful energy can be extracted from the structure to the sloshing liquid. However, there needs to be a rapid means of dissipating this energy to avoid its returning back to the structure (then back to the liquid periodically).A hen׳s egg seems to have evolved to efficiently dissipate energy to protect its embryo using sloshing of its liquid content. Hence, the potential to implement the egg׳s unique properties as a sloshing absorber for structural control, is the main focus of this study. Numerical simulations, using Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH), and experimental comparisons are presented in this paper. One objective is to demonstrate the ability of SPH to simulate complex free surface behaviour in three dimensions. Such a tool is then useful to identify different dissipation modes. Effects of fill volume and viscosity on the rate of dissipation, are also investigated.     

Vibration and instability analysis of tubular nano- and micro-beams conveying fluid using nonlocal elastic theory

A nonlocal Euler–Bernoulli elastic beam model is developed for the vibration and instability of tubular micro- and nano-beams conveying fluid using the theory of nonlocal elasticity. Based on the Newtonian method, the equation of motion is derived, in which the effect of small length scale is incorporated. With this nonlocal beam model, the natural frequencies and critical flow velocities for the case of simply supported system and for the case of cantilevered system are obtained. The effect of small length scale (i.e., the nonlocal parameter) on the properties of vibrations is discussed. It is demonstrated that the natural frequencies are generally decreased with increasing values of nonlocal parameter, both for the supported and cantilevered systems. More significantly, the effect of small length scale on the critical flow velocities is visible for fluid-conveying beams with nano-scale length; however, this effect may be neglected for micro-beams conveying fluid.     

航空稳像光电平台设计

分析了随机振动对调制传递函数的影响,指出角位移是影响航空成像质量的主要因素.研究了特定条件下可容许的MTF下降,并转变为稳定系统的设计参量,用来指导稳像系统的设计.利用空间机构学及平行四边形平动原理,研制了一种新的无角位移减振稳像平台,满足既无角位移又达到减振要求.根据设计理论给出了设计实例,对频率高于100 HZ的振动,衰减达34dB,并利用动力学软件进行测试仿真,仿真曲线验证无角位移减振的正确性,同时对无角位移机构进行光学测试,结果耦合角度小于8″,可以满足航空成像要求.     

Practical improvements to real and imaginary spectral based modal parameter measurements of SDOF systems

For a single degree of freedom system, especially with non-light damping, the use of the real spectral part of either the displacement or velocity responses (or the transfer functions based on them) has the advantages of determining the natural frequency (f_n) directly, independent of the response parameter, and providing an accurate measurement for damping (ζ). However, this method is sensitive to spectral phase errors due to temporal misalignment of the signal or due to net inter-channel delay differences caused by signal filtering. Two techniques are presented to correct for these errors; one based on the correct temporal alignment of the impulsive part, and the other on the infimum of the imaginary spectral part. These are first demonstrated using a numerical model, and are shown to facilitate the correct measurement of f_n and bring ζ within the expected error limits due to quantisation. Secondly, they are applied to an experimental system and are seen to greatly improve the consistency between measurements using different methods.     

Condition monitoring of a single-stage gearbox with artificially induced gear cracks utilizing on-line vibration and acoustic emission measurements

The condition monitoring of a lab-scale, single stage, gearbox using different non-destructive inspection methodologies and the processing of the acquired waveforms with advanced signal processing techniques is the aim of the present work. Acoustic emission (AE) and vibration measurements were utilized for this purpose. The experimental setup and the instrumentation of each monitoring methodology are presented in detail. Emphasis is given on the signal processing of the acquired vibration and acoustic emission signals in order to extract conventional as well as novel parameters-features of potential diagnostic value from the monitored waveforms. Innovative wavelet-based parameters-features are proposed utilizing the discrete wavelet transform. The evolution of selected parameters/features versus test time is provided, evaluated and the parameters with the most interesting diagnostic behaviour are highlighted. The differences in the parameters evolution of each NDT technique are discussed and the superiority of AE over vibration recordings for the early diagnosis of natural wear in gear systems is concluded.