This study investigates the steady state dynamic interactions between a vehicle and guideway of a high-speed ground transportation system based on magnetically levitated (Maglev) vehicles. The guideway is assumed to be made up of identical simply supported beams with single spans and rigid supports. The vehicle is considered two-dimensional, with numerous degrees of freedom representing the passenger cabin and primary and secondary suspensions of the vehicle with lumped masses, linear springs and dampings. The Bernoulli-Euler beam equation is utilized to model the characteristics of a flexible guideway, and the guideway synthesis is based on a modal analysis method. The dynamic behaviors of both vehicle and guideway are then simulated to investigate how the locations of the passenger cabin mass of center and asymmetric suspension characteristics of the vehicle suspensions influence high speed vehicle-guideway interaction. Finally, simulation results are compared. Results of this study provide basic design guidelines for Maglev vehicle-guideway systems.

The turbulent flow in a channel with periodic porous ribs on one wall is numerically studied. The numerical model utilizes the Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations with a k−ε turbulent model for turbulence closure. Computational results show good agreements with experimental data in flows over a porous rib. The parameter effects, including the pitch ratio PR (1 ∼ 9) and porosity γ (0.4 ∼ 0.6), on flow fields are further examined in detail. Systematic variations of streamline, streamwise and vertical velocities, and turbulent kinetic energy are clearly identified. As to the PR effect, the interaction between outer flow and flow within the cavity is promoted by arranging ribs due to the penetration of the outer flow. Increasing porosity can reduce the downward outer flow by strong flows passing through the porous ribs. The numerical calculations suggest that the flow characteristics for porous ribs are not only a function of the rib geometry, i.e. pitch ratio, but also the porous property, i.e. porosity.

A theoretical approach for an optical lens tip on a single-mode fiber end to improve power coupling from laser diode is presented in this work. The lens shape considered here is an ellipsoid. Based on scalar diffraction and Gaussian mode shapes for the laser and fiber fields, a theoretical model is developed to predict the coupling performance of this microlens. Theoretically, both a high coupling efficiency up to 77% and a large alignment tolerance for 10% off-peak are achieved. The proposed method facilitates mass production to achieve a high-yield and high-coupling efficiency that is suitable to be used in the commercial fiber transmission industry.

In the conceptual design phase of a turbocharger, where emphasis is mainly on parametric studies, before manufacturing and tests, a generalized and robust model that implies over a wide range properly, is unavoidable. The critical inputs such as compressor maps are not available during the conceptual design phase. Hence, generalized compressor models use alternate methods that work without any supplementary tests and can operate on wide range. One of the common and applicable modeling methods in design process is the ‘Dimensionless Modeling’ using the constant coefficient scaling (CCS). This method almost can predict the compressor characteristics at design point. However, at off design conditions, error goes up as mass flow and speed parameters increase. Therefore, the results are not reliable at these points. In this paper, a variable coefficient scaling (VCS) method is described. Then, a centrifugal compressor is modeled using the VCS method. To evaluate the model and compare it with the experimental results, some supplementary experiments are performed. Experimental studies are carried out on the compressor of a S2B model of the Schwitzer turbocharger in the turbocharger Lab., at Sharif University of Technology. The comparison between the experimental results and those obtained by the VCS method indicates a good agreement. It also suggests that the present model can be used as an effective design tool for all operating conditions.

The formulation of a beam on which a pair of piezoelectric segments bonded is presented. The method of transfer matrix is adopted to study the structural responses of the surface-mounted actuation beam induced by an external force on the beam and by a voltage on the actuator. Furthermore, the modal frequencies and the corresponding mode shape functions of the beam also are obtained by the method. The orthogonality of any two distinct sets of mode shape functions of the beam is shown. The method of modal analysis is presented to study the forced vibration of the beam due to a concentrated transient force. The effects of length, location and thickness of the piezoelectric pairs on the structural responses and the modal frequencies of the beam are investigated.

Free vibration analysis of rotating composite laminated conical shells with different boundary conditions using the generalized differential quadrature method (GDQM), is investigated. Equations of motion are derived based on Love's first approximation theory by taking the effects of initial hoop tension and the centrifugal and Coriolis acceleration due to rotation and initial uniform pressure load into account. Then, the equations of motion as well as the boundary condition equations are transformed into a set of algebraic equation applying the GDQM. The results are obtained for the frequency characteristics of different orthotropic parameters, rotating velocities, cone angles and boundary conditions. The presented results are compared with those available in the literature and good agreements are achieved.

This study presents an analytical methodology for solving an elastic problem of a cylindrically anisotropic tube infused with eigenstrains. The general solutions for the particular case of a tube containing a mixed dislocation are also provided. The mainframe of this analysis is based on the state space formulation in conjunction with the theory of eigenstrain. By using the technique of Fourier series expansion and the theory of matrix algebra on solving the state equation, the expressions of solutions are not only explicit but also compact. The dislocation considered in this study is a mixed dislocation which can be viewed as a combination of edge dislocations and a screw dislocation. In order to strengthen the feasibility of this analysis, the strategy to determine the inverse of a singular matrix is thoroughly discussed, such that the general solutions can be smoothly applied to an isotropic tube problem. The results for an isotropic tube, which are reduced from the general forms, are compared with the well-established researches of related cases in the literature. The acceptable correspondences indicate the applicability of this study. An elastic problem of a cylindrically orthotropic tube containing a dislocation is also investigated as a demonstrating example. On this example, several particular phenomenons of stress distribution on the tube surface are presented in figures and discussed.

We consider an arbitrarily curved three-dimensional thin interphase with surface stresses between two anisotropic solids. Letting the interphase be infinitely thin and assuming that the kinematic constraints between the two anisotropic solids remain intact during the deformation, we derive the interface jump conditions along the interface. These conditions are derived analytically in general non-orthogonal curvilinear coordinates in the setting of linear elasticity and steady state conduction. The proof is made directly from a force balance consideration of a small element of the curved interface. Simplified results are also deduced for oblique coordinate systems in which the coordinate axes are straight lines that are not perpendicular to each other. When the axes are orthonormal, we prove that our results agree with the previous known Young-Laplace conditions in solids.

In this paper, the effect of delamination on free vibration of a simply supported rectangular homogeneous plate with through-width delamination was investigated by the finite strip method. A constrained model was used and a finite strip with bending and in-plane stiffness was derived for the free vibration analysis. The effects of delamination length, delamination location in the thickness-wise and spanwise directions, and aspect ratio of the plate on the natural frequencies of the plate were presented. Results show that the delamination has considerable effect on the natural frequencies of the plate. The aspect ratio of the plate is also having significant effect on the natural frequency of the plate, especially on the mode 2 frequency of the plate.

This paper is intended to present a preliminary framework for dynamic interaction analysis of a maglev (magnetically levitated) vehicle running on a two-span guideway using a comprehensive iterative approach. A maglev vehicle with electrodynamic suspension (EDS) system is simplified as a two degrees-of-freedom (2-DOF) maglev oscillator tuned by a PID (Proportional-Integral-Derivative) controller. The guideway is modeled as a two-span continuous beam with uniform section. Two sets of equations of motion are written, with the first set for the guideway and the second set for the maglev oscillator traveling on the guideway through a motion-dependent magnetic force. To achieve the stable levitation gap for a maglev vehicle moving on a flexible guideway, Ziegler-Nicholas (Z-N) tuning rules are used to determine the tuning parameters of the PID controller. Numerical simulations demonstrate that the levitation gap affects the dynamic response of the maglev vehicle while little influence on the guideway response since the inertial force of the moving maglev vehicle is much lower than its static load.

The mechanisms of concentric distraction and distraction loss within the elbow-fixator-pin construct remains unclear. Furthermore, the literature reports are inconsistent regarding the correct distraction distance between the articulating surfaces of a bridged elbow. This study investigated the mechanism of the distraction loss in terms of the relevant fixator design and elbow angle. Four elbow joints flexed at 90°, 120°, 150°, and 180° were developed in this study. The contribution of each humeral and ulnar distractor to the concentric distraction at the elbow center was evaluated by the finite-element method. The distraction loss within the elbow-fixator-pin construct was studied along the specific load-transferring paths on both elbow sides. Among four elbow models, both concentric and eccentric distractions simultaneously occur at the elbow center. The distraction loss always exists in the joint distraction of the bridged elbow. Comparatively, the 120° elbow model showed the more effectively concentric distraction. For the 180° elbow model, the distraction loss was the highest. This distraction loss was mainly attributed to the lateral deflection of the fixing pins and the vectorial transformation of the distracted length of the distractors. The lateral deflection of the fixing pins is a function of the stiffness of both pins and periarticular tissues. The spatial relationship of the elbow anatomy, elbow angle, and fixator frame plays a significant role in the vectorial transformation of the effective distraction between the elbow articulating surfaces.

This paper presents an analytical investigation into the effect of vapor superheating on the mixed-convection of a condensate layer flowing along the outside surface of an isothermal vertical cylinder. The governing system of partial differential equations is transformed into a dimensionless form using the nonsimilar transformation method. In investigating the heat transfer characteristics within the condensate layer and vapor phase, the analysis takes account of both the inertia effects and the convection effects within the condensate layer and the shear resistance at the liquid-vapor interface. The numerical results reveal that vapor superheating has a negligible effect on the temperature profile and local Nusselt number within the condensate layer. Moreover, it is found that a higher forced-flow intensity increases the temperature gradient in the vapor phase, but has a marginal effect on the temperature profile in the condensate layer. Finally, it is shown that the velocity at the liquid-vapor interface increases as the intensity of the forced-flow increases or as the ratio of the condensate layer viscosity to the vapor phase viscosity reduces.

This study investigates the dynamic interactions between a vehicle and guideway of a high-speed ground transportation system based on maglev vehicles. The guideway is assumed to be made up of identical simply supported beams with single spans and rigid supports. The vehicle is considered to a two-dimensional vehicle model with primary and secondary suspensions. Three kinds of loading modes acting at each beam of guideway are first developed according to the locations of suspensions of vehicle. Coupled equations of motion of both vehicle and guideway in various loading modes are derived and solved by using numerical integration method. The simulations have been performed to investigate the parameters of vehicle/guideway system which may affect the steady-state responses of the vehicle and guideway.