A Simple Procedure for the Solution of Three-Dimensional Wheel/Rail Conformal Contact Problem

Author(s):  
Antonio M. Recuero ◽  
Ahmed A. Shabana

This paper describes a simple and efficient procedure for the treatment of conformal contact conditions with special emphasis on railroad wheel/rail contacts. The general three-dimensional nonconformal contact conditions are briefly reviewed. These nonconformal contact conditions, which are widely used in many applications because of their generality, allow for predicting online one point of contact, provided that the two surfaces in contact satisfy certain geometric requirements. These nonconformal contact conditions fail when the solution is not unique as the result of using conformal surface profiles or surface flatness, situations often encountered in many applications including railroad wheel/rail contacts. In these cases, the Jacobian matrix obtained from the differentiation of the nonconformal contact conditions with respect to the surface parameters suffer from singularity that causes interruption of the computer simulations. The singularities and the fundamental issues that arise in the case of conformal contact are discussed, and a simple and computationally efficient procedure for avoiding such singularities in general multibody systems (MBS) algorithms is proposed. In order to demonstrate the use of the proposed procedure, the wheel climb of a wheelset as the result of an external lateral force is considered as an example. In this example, the wheel and rail profiles lead to conformal contact scenarios that could not be simulated using the nonconformal contact conditions.

Micromachines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 624
Author(s):  
Qiang Liu ◽  
Tian Zhao ◽  
Xianning Wang ◽  
Zhongyao Chen ◽  
Yawei Hu ◽  
...  

Three-dimensional cultured patient-derived cancer organoids (PDOs) represent a powerful tool for anti-cancer drug development due to their similarity to the in vivo tumor tissues. However, the culture and manipulation of PDOs is more difficult than 2D cultured cell lines due to the presence of the culture matrix and the 3D feature of the organoids. In our other study, we established a method for lung cancer organoid (LCO)-based drug sensitivity tests on the superhydrophobic microwell array chip (SMAR-chip). Here, we describe a novel in situ cryopreservation technology on the SMAR-chip to preserve the viability of the organoids for future drug sensitivity tests. We compared two cryopreservation approaches (slow freezing and vitrification) and demonstrated that vitrification performed better at preserving the viability of LCOs. Next, we developed a simple procedure for in situ cryopreservation and thawing of the LCOs on the SMAR-chip. We proved that the on-chip cryopreserved organoids can be recovered successfully and, more importantly, showing similar responses to anti-cancer drugs as the unfrozen controls. This in situ vitrification technology eliminated the harvesting and centrifugation steps in conventional cryopreservation, making the whole freeze–thaw process easier to perform and the preserved LCOs ready to be used for the subsequent drug sensitivity test.


Author(s):  
Alexandr Klimchik ◽  
Anatol Pashkevich ◽  
Stéphane Caro ◽  
Damien Chablat

The paper focuses on the extension of the virtual-joint-based stiffness modeling technique for the case of different types of loadings applied both to the robot end-effector and to manipulator intermediate points (auxiliary loading). It is assumed that the manipulator can be presented as a set of compliant links separated by passive or active joints. It proposes a computationally efficient procedure that is able to obtain a non-linear force-deflection relation taking into account the internal and external loadings. It also produces the Cartesian stiffness matrix. This allows to extend the classical stiffness mapping equation for the case of manipulators with auxiliary loading. The results are illustrated by numerical examples.


Author(s):  
D J Cole ◽  
D Cebon

The objective of the work described in this paper is to establish guidelines for the design of passive suspensions that cause minimum road damage. An efficient procedure for calculating a realistic measure of road damage (the 95th percentile aggregate fourth power force) in the frequency domain is derived. Simple models of truck vibration are then used to examine the influence of suspension parameters on this road damage criterion and to select optimal values. It is found that to minimize road damage a suspension should have stiffness about one fifth of current air suspensions and damping up to twice that typically provided. The use of an anti-roll bar allows a high roll-over threshold without increasing road damage. It is thought that optimization in the pitch-plane should exclude correlation between the axles, to ensure that the optimized suspension parameters are robust to payload and speed changes. A three-dimensional ‘whole-vehicle’ model of an air suspended articulated vehicle is validated against measured tyre force histories. Optimizing the suspension stiffness and damping results in a 5.8 per cent reduction in road damage by the whole vehicle (averaged over three speeds). This compares with a 40 per cent reduction if the dynamic components of the tyre forces are eliminated completely.


1995 ◽  
Vol 291 ◽  
pp. 369-392 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald D. Joslin

The spatial evolution of three-dimensional disturbances in an attachment-line boundary layer is computed by direct numerical simulation of the unsteady, incompressible Navier–Stokes equations. Disturbances are introduced into the boundary layer by harmonic sources that involve unsteady suction and blowing through the wall. Various harmonic-source generators are implemented on or near the attachment line, and the disturbance evolutions are compared. Previous two-dimensional simulation results and nonparallel theory are compared with the present results. The three-dimensional simulation results for disturbances with quasi-two-dimensional features indicate growth rates of only a few percent larger than pure two-dimensional results; however, the results are close enough to enable the use of the more computationally efficient, two-dimensional approach. However, true three-dimensional disturbances are more likely in practice and are more stable than two-dimensional disturbances. Disturbances generated off (but near) the attachment line spread both away from and toward the attachment line as they evolve. The evolution pattern is comparable to wave packets in flat-plate boundary-layer flows. Suction stabilizes the quasi-two-dimensional attachment-line instabilities, and blowing destabilizes these instabilities; these results qualitatively agree with the theory. Furthermore, suction stabilizes the disturbances that develop off the attachment line. Clearly, disturbances that are generated near the attachment line can supply energy to attachment-line instabilities, but suction can be used to stabilize these instabilities.


1975 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 552-556 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. J. Padgaonkar ◽  
K. W. Krieger ◽  
A. I. King

The computation of angular acceleration of a rigid body from measured linear accelerations is a simple procedure, based on well-known kinematic principles. It can be shown that, in theory, a minimum of six linear accelerometers are required for a complete definition of the kinematics of a rigid body. However, recent attempts in impact biomechanics to determine general three-dimensional motion of body segments were unsuccessful when only six accelerometers were used. This paper demonstrates the cause for this inconsistency between theory and practice and specifies the conditions under which the method fails. In addition, an alternate method based on a special nine-accelerometer configuration is proposed. The stability and superiority of this approach are shown by the use of hypothetical as well as experimental data.


Author(s):  
Wei Gao ◽  
Linjie Zhou ◽  
Lvfang Tao

View synthesis (VS) for light field images is a very time-consuming task due to the great quantity of involved pixels and intensive computations, which may prevent it from the practical three-dimensional real-time systems. In this article, we propose an acceleration approach for deep learning-based light field view synthesis, which can significantly reduce calculations by using compact-resolution (CR) representation and super-resolution (SR) techniques, as well as light-weight neural networks. The proposed architecture has three cascaded neural networks, including a CR network to generate the compact representation for original input views, a VS network to synthesize new views from down-scaled compact views, and a SR network to reconstruct high-quality views with full resolution. All these networks are jointly trained with the integrated losses of CR, VS, and SR networks. Moreover, due to the redundancy of deep neural networks, we use the efficient light-weight strategy to prune filters for simplification and inference acceleration. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method can greatly reduce the processing time and become much more computationally efficient with competitive image quality.


2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed Swidan ◽  
Giles Thomas ◽  
Dev Ranmuthugala ◽  
Irene Penesis ◽  
Walid Amin ◽  
...  

Wetdeck slamming is one of the principal hydrodynamic loads acting on catamarans. CFD techniques are shown to successfully characterise wetdeck slamming loads, as validated through a series of controlled-speed drop tests on a three-dimensional catamaran hullform model. Simulation of water entry at constant speed by applying a fixed grid method was found to be more computationally efficient than applying an overset grid. However, the overset grid method for implementing the exact transient velocity profile resulted in better prediction of slam force magnitude. In addition the splitting force concurrent with wetdeck slam event was quantified to be 21% of the vertical slamming force.


2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (9) ◽  
pp. 1482-1492
Author(s):  
Tong Wu ◽  
Andres Tovar

Purpose This paper aims to establish a multiscale topology optimization method for the optimal design of non-periodic, self-supporting cellular structures subjected to thermo-mechanical loads. The result is a hierarchically complex design that is thermally efficient, mechanically stable and suitable for additive manufacturing (AM). Design/methodology/approach The proposed method seeks to maximize thermo-mechanical performance at the macroscale in a conceptual design while obtaining maximum shear modulus for each unit cell at the mesoscale. Then, the macroscale performance is re-estimated, and the mesoscale design is updated until the macroscale performance is satisfied. Findings A two-dimensional Messerschmitt Bolkow Bolhm (MBB) beam withstanding thermo-mechanical load is presented to illustrate the proposed design method. Furthermore, the method is implemented to optimize a three-dimensional injection mold, which is successfully prototyped using 420 stainless steel infiltrated with bronze. Originality/value By developing a computationally efficient and manufacturing friendly inverse homogenization approach, the novel multiscale design could generate porous molds which can save up to 30 per cent material compared to their solid counterpart without decreasing thermo-mechanical performance. Practical implications This study is a useful tool for the designer in molding industries to reduce the cost of the injection mold and take full advantage of AM.


Author(s):  
Feng Jie Zheng ◽  
Fu Zheng Qu ◽  
Xue Guan Song

Reservoir-pipe-valve (RPV) systems are widely used in many industrial process. The pressure in an RPV system plays an important role in the safe operation of the system, especially during the sudden operation such as rapid valve opening/closing. To investigate the pressure especially the pressure fluctuation in an RPV system, a multidimensional and multiscale model combining the method of characteristics (MOC) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method is proposed. In the model, the reservoir is modeled by a zero-dimensional virtual point, the pipe is modeled by a one-dimensional MOC, and the valve is modeled by a three-dimensional CFD model. An interface model is used to connect the multidimensional and multiscale model. Based on the model, a transient simulation of the turbulent flow in an RPV system is conducted, in which not only the pressure fluctuation in the pipe but also the detailed pressure distribution in the valve are obtained. The results show that the proposed model is in good agreement with the full CFD model in both large-scale and small-scale spaces. Moreover, the proposed model is more computationally efficient than the CFD model, which provides a feasibility in the analysis of complex RPV system within an affordable computational time.


2019 ◽  
Vol 141 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Feng Jie Zheng ◽  
Chao Yong Zong ◽  
William Dempster ◽  
Fu Zheng Qu ◽  
Xue Guan Song

Reservoir-pipe-valve (RPV) systems are widely used in many industrial processes. The pressure in an RPV system plays an important role in the safe operation of the system, especially during the sudden operations such as rapid valve opening or closing. To investigate the pressure response, with particular interest in the pressure fluctuations in an RPV system, a multidimensional and multiscale model combining the method of characteristics (MOC) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method is proposed. In the model, the reservoir is modeled as a zero-dimensional virtual point, the pipe is modeled as a one-dimensional system using the MOC, and the valve is modeled using a three-dimensional CFD model. An interface model is used to connect the multidimensional and multiscale model. Based on the model, a transient simulation of the turbulent flow in an RPV system is conducted in which not only the pressure fluctuation in the pipe but also the detailed pressure distribution in the valve is obtained. The results show that the proposed model is in good agreement when compared with a high fidelity CFD model used to represent both large-scale and small-scale spaces. As expected, the proposed model is significantly more computationally efficient than the CFD model. This demonstrates the feasibility of analyzing complex RPV systems within an affordable computational time.


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