Smart damper using sliding friction of aramid brake lining and self-centering of rubber springs

The purpose of this study is to develop a smart damper with flag-shaped behavior by using the sliding friction of aramid brake lining and the restoring capacity of pre-compressed rubber springs. For this purpose, the friction force of aramid brake lining pressed by bolts was used along with polyurethane rubbers, each with a length of 80 mm, a diameter of 95 mm, and a circular hole of 37 mm. In the experiments, loading frequency and torque force were considered. The loading frequency varied from 0.1 to 2.0 Hz, and frictional force was controlled by variable bolt torque force. The tests were conducted to demonstrate that the clamping force by the bolts could provide normal force to frictional material. The friction force by the aramid brake lining sliding was tested, followed by the pre-compressed rubber springs' behavior. Afterward, a damper combining the two components was tested to verify flag-shaped behavior by using a dynamic actuator, and the damping ratios were evaluated from the hysteretic curves. The behavior of the damper closely matched flag-shaped behavior, resulting in self-centering and energy dissipation capacity.     

Modeling occupant behavior of the manual control of windows in residential buildings

Window opening and closing is the most preferred behavior for occupants to control their indoor environment in homes. This study aims to identify driving forces for window opening and closing behavior in the home. The additional field survey was carried out for the cooling period after following the previous study. The state of windows and environmental variables for outdoor and indoor were continuously monitored in 23 sample homes over one year. The monitored data provide evidence that there is a statistically significant relationship between window opening behavior and outdoor temperature. The behavior of the occupant's manual control of windows can be described by seasonal effects, occupancy, and time of day. Indoor stimuli, such as such as temperature, humidity, and CO₂, can better account for the window opening behavior than can outdoor stimuli. There are clear differences in driving variables between window opening and closing behavior. The closing behavior is better described when the outdoor and indoor variables are combined. Finally, multivariate logistic regression models were developed to predict typical patterns of window opening and closing as a function of indoor and outdoor variables.     

Tribological Properties of Langmuir–Blodgett Films on Silicon Surface in Microscale Sliding Contact

Microtribological properties of Langmuir–Blodgett (LB) films transferred from behenic acid (BehA), 2,4-heneicosanedione (HD) and its copper complex ((HD)₂Cu) onto silicon surface were examined. To better understand the wear resistance performance of these LB monolayers, a comparison was made with a chemically grafted octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) monolayer. Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) was used for identification of the chemical composition of the monolayers, worn areas and counterpart surfaces. We observed that the studied LB films in microscale sliding contact exhibited stable friction properties comparable to OTS, and better wear performance than OTS at high contact pressure. The tribological properties of these LB monolayers were explained in terms of molecular packing density and molecular transfer to the counterpart surface. The relationship between the wear resistance of the studied LB films and the degree of molecular packing of the surfactants indicated that the wear properties of the LB films are strongly associated with the degree of molecular packing. We suggest that the steady low friction and high wear resistance of the BehA monolayer may partly be attributed to the transfer of the amphiphilic molecules to the counterpart surface in the contact region.     

Vibration control of a flexible structure using a hybrid mount

This paper presents vibration control of a flexible beam structure using a hybrid mount which consists of elastic rubber and piezoelectric stack actuator. After identifying stiffness and damping properties of the rubber and piezoelectric elements, a mechanical model of the hybrid mount is established. The mount model is then incorporated with the beam structure, and the governing equation of motion is obtained in a state space. A sliding mode controller is designed in order to actively attenuate the vibration of the beam structure subjected to high-frequency and small magnitude excitations. The controller is experimentally realized and measured control responses such as acceleration of the beam structure and force transmission through the hybrid mount are evaluated and presented in both frequency and time domains.     

Modal analysis of constrained multibody systems undergoing constant accelerated motions

The modal characteristics of constrained multibody systems undergoing constant accelerated motions are investigated in this paper. Relative coordinates are employed to derive the equations of motion, which are generally nonlinear in terms of the coordinates. The dynamic equilibrium position of a constrained multibody system needs to be obtained from the nonlinear equations of motion, which are then linearized at the dynamic equilibrium position. The mass and the stiffness matrices for the modal analysis can be obtained from the linearized equations of motion. To verify the effectiveness and the accuracy of the proposed method, two numerical examples are solved and the results obtained by using the proposed method are compared with those obtained by analytical and other numerical methods. The proposed method is found to be accurate as well as effective in predicting the modal characteristics of constrained multibody systems undergoing constant accelerated motions.     

Initial design domain reset method for genetic algorithm with parallel processing

The Genetic Algorithm (GA), an optimization technique based on the theory of natural selection, has proven to be a relatively robust means of searching for global optimum. It converges to the global optimum point without auxiliary information such as differentiation of function. In the case of a complex problem, the GA involves a large population number and requires a lot of computing time. To improve the process, this research used parallel processing with several personal computers. Parallel process technique is classified into two methods according to subpopulation’s size and number. One is the fine-grained method (FGM), and the other is the coarse-grained method (CGM). This study selected the CGM as a parallel process technique because the load is equally divided among several computers. The given design domain should be reduced according to the degree of feasibility, because mechanical system problems have constraints. The reduced domain is used as an initial design domain. It is consistent with the feasible domain and the infeasible domain around feasible domain boundary. This parallel process used the Message Passing Interface library.     

Molecular dynamics study on external field induced crystallization of amorphous argon structure

A molecular dynamics study has been conducted on an external-force-field-induced isothermal crystallization process of amorphous structures as a new low-temperature athermal crystallization process. An external cyclic-force field with a dc bias is imposed on molecules selected randomly in an amorphous-phase of argon. Multiple peaks smoothed out in the radial distribution functions for amorphous states appear very clearly during the crystallization process that cannot be achieved otherwise. When the amorphous material is locally exposed to an external force field, crystallization starts and propagates from the interfacial region and crystallization growth rates can be estimated.     

Development and comparative study on tire models in the AutoDyn7 program

In this paper, several tire models (Magic formula, Carpet plot, UA tire, DADS tire and STI tire) are implemented and compared. Since the STI (System Technology Inc.) tire model in the AutoDyn7 program is in a good agreement to NADSdyna STI tire model and experiment, it is selected as a reference tire model for the comparison. To compare tire models, input parameters of each tire model are extracted from the STI tire model to preserve the same tire properties. Several simulations are carried out to compare performances of tire models, i. e., bump simulation, lane change simulation, and pulse steering simulation. The performances in vehicle maneuverability are also compared with the four parameter evaluation method.     

Analysis of human neck loads during isometric voluntary ramp efforts: EMG-Assisted optimization modeling approach

Neck muscle forces and spinal loads at the C4/5 level were estimated that result from isometric voluntary ramp efforts gradually developing to maximums in flexion, extension, left lateral bending and right lateral bending. Electromyographic (EMG) activities, a three-dimensional anatomic data of the neck and a hybrid model, EMG-assisted optimization (EMGAO) model, were used. The model computed the cervical loads at 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% of peak moments. The highest model-predicted C4/5 joint compressive forces occured during flexion; 361 (±164) N, 811 (±288), N, 1207 (±491) N and 1674 (±319) N in 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% of peak moment respectively. Variations in load distribution among the agonistic muscles and co-contractions of antagonistic muscles were estimated during ramp effors. Results suggest that higher C4/5 joint loads than previously reported are possible during isometric, voluntary muscle contractions. These higher physiological loads at C4/5 level must be considered possible during orthopedic reconstruction at this level.     

A new flame-stabilization technology for lean mixtures

The development of a low-pollution burner is important for saving energy and preserving the environment. A low-pollution burner can be produced by lean-mixture combustion and general combustion technology. The flammable limit of premixed flame is narrower than that of diffusion flame. Producing a lean mixture of fuel results in an effective combustion condition, which in turn produces high load and low pollution. In this study, it was found that the influx of Q₂ had an effect on extending the lean flammable limits and flame stabilization in a doubled jet burner. And the flame, consisting of small eddies, can be stabilized by the nozzle neck phenomena.