Conceptual damage-sensitive features for structural health monitoring: Laboratory and field demonstrations

The use of damage-sensitive features to evaluate structural condition or health is a very critical aspect of structural health monitoring. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the potential of two different damage-sensitive features for detecting damage. Different damage scenarios are simulated on a large-scale laboratory structure and a three-span highway bridge for demonstration. The features presented in this paper are the modal flexibility-based deflection and curvature both of which are obtained directly from dynamic properties. In the literature, flexibility associated with mode shapes and mode shapes curvatures have been mostly explored. In this study, multi-input–multi-output dynamic data are used to obtain modal flexibility, which is a close approximation to the actual flexibility. A main novelty is that the curvature is calculated from the deflected shapes using the modal flexibility as opposed to using modal vectors. In this paper, the theory of the methodology is explained and then experimental studies and results are presented. For the experimental studies, the laboratory specimen and the three-span bridge were gradually damaged. It is shown that both deflection and curvature are conceptual and physically meaningful features for damage detection and localization. The issues and the requirements for these features to perform successfully are also presented.     

Sol-Gel Preparation of LaNiO3 and Its Physical and Chemical Properties

LaNiO3 was synthesized by sol-gel method in which lanthanum nitrate and nickel nitrate were used as start materials and citric acid was used as complex for gel formation.The precursor was dried and subsequently heated at elevated temperature to form the desired product.XRD analysis shows that pure LaNiO3 was synthesized.Electrical conductivity and electrochemical performance of the material were tested.The electrical conductivity decreases from 34.5that there are current peaks in the curve, which is the evidence of the electrochemical activity of LaNiO3.     

直流法测量钯氢化物电极电阻时的阻值偏移

讨论了直流法在线测量钯氢化物电极电阻时的电化学效应，计算了电解液的共导、测量电流与电解电流引起的浓差电池效应以及电极作为集流体引起的电阻贡献。结果表明：当电极具有高的长度与半径比值、粗糙的表面、高的溶液电导以及大的电解电流时容易引起显著的附加电阻。     

Three dimensional boundary element analysis of internal cracks under sliding contact load with a spherical indenter

Using boundary element based three dimensional modelling for linear fracture mechanics, we present an analysis of cracking in a homogeneous medium subject to contact load. The proposed iterative solution procedure allows a simultaneous treatment of a reasonable number of partially closed cracks. It is shown that the most probable direction of propagation of a vertical internal crack is strongly dependent on its size compared to the contact radius and its location with respect to the axis of maximum normal load.     

A Modified Variational-Gradient Method for Quasilinear Equations

A modified variational-gradient method is proposed and substantiated for quasilinear operator equations in a Hilbert space.     

Stabilization Methods for Spectral Element Computations of Incompressible Flows

A stabilization method for the spectral element computation of incompressible flow problems is investigated. It is based on a filtering procedure which consists in filtering the velocity field by a spectral vanishing Helmholtz-type operator at each time step. Relationship between this filtering procedure and SVV-stabilization method, introduced recently in [JCP, 2004, 196(2), p680], is established. A number of numerical examples are presented to show the accuracy and stabilization capability of the method.     

Fatigue Behavior and Retrofit Investigation of Distortion-Induced Web Gap Cracking

This paper studies a Kansas Department of Transportation welded plate girder bridge that developed fatigue cracks at small web gaps close to the girder top flange. Repair had been previously performed by softening the connection plate end with a slot retrofit, but cracks were recently found to have reinitiated at some of the repaired details and are again propagating. A comprehensive finite-element method study was performed to investigate the cracking behavior observed in the bridge and to recommend appropriate measures for future bridge retrofit. The analytical results show that stresses developed at the top flange web gaps could exceed yielding under the loading of an HS15 fatigue truck. The current slot repair used in the bridge was found to have introduced higher magnitude fatigue stresses in the web gap. To achieve a permanent repair of the bridge, it is recommended that a welded connection plate to flange attachment be used during future bridge retrofit. The web gap details should be able to withstand unlimited number of load cycles once this additional repair is performed.     

Applications of the discrete element method in mechanical engineering

Compared to other fields of engineering, in mechanical engineering, the Discrete Element Method (DEM) is not yet a well known method. Nevertheless, there is a variety of simulation problems where the method has obvious advantages due to its meshless nature. For problems where several free bodies can collide and break after having been largely deformed, the DEM is the method of choice. Neighborhood search and collision detection between bodies as well as the separation of large solids into smaller particles are naturally incorporated in the method. The main DEM algorithm consists of a relatively simple loop that basically contains the three substeps contact detection, force computation and integration. However, there exists a large variety of different algorithms to choose the substeps to compose the optimal method for a given problem. In this contribution, we describe the dynamics of particle systems together with appropriate numerical integration schemes and give an overview over different types of particle interactions that can be composed to adapt the method to fit to a given simulation problem. Surface triangulations are used to model complicated, non-convex bodies in contact with particle systems. The capabilities of the method are finally demonstrated by means of application examples. Commemorative Contribution.     

电梯门机控制系统的运行曲线设计

为了实现电梯轿厢门的开门和关门快速且平稳地运行，介绍了一种基于高性能微型机的门机控制系统结构和门位移的检测原理，以门位移量作为控制系统的反馈量，对门机运行速度进行了分区设计。在高速附近的变化区，门机速度匀速变化时，进行了门机开门和关门控制曲线的计算，推导出运行位移与门机速度具有二次曲线的关系，进而对微型机控制的软件流程进行了设计，达到了门机高低速运行的平稳过渡。最后，给出了实际运行系统的主电路电压波形。     

Analysis of brushless three-phase synchronous generator without exciter

Recently, a demand for small-capacity generators has been increasing as electric sources in small ships and automobiles or as portable electric sources driven by engines. It is desired that the structure of small-capacity generators be simple and robust, and that the generators be highly reliable, easily maintained and controlled. This paper describes an analysis of the original brushless synchronous generator without exciter. The output voltage can be adjusted in the wide range by controlling the stator dc current. To analyze the characteristics of this generator, the finite element method is applied. It is found that the results of theoretical analysis agree well with the experimental results.