Heat Generation in the Railroad Bearing Thermoplastic Elastomer Suspension Element

Author(s):  
Oscar O. Rodriguez ◽  
Juan Carbone ◽  
Arturo A. Fuentes ◽  
Robert E. Jones ◽  
Constantine Tarawneh

The main purpose of this ongoing study is to investigate the effect of heat generation within a railroad thermoplastic elastomer suspension element on the thermal behavior of the railroad bearing assembly. Specifically, the purpose of this project is to quantify the heat generated by cyclic loading of the elastomer suspension element as a function of load amplitude, loading frequency, and operating temperature. The contribution of the elastomer pad to the system energy balance is modeled using data from dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) of the specific materials in use for that part. DMA is a technique that is commonly used to characterize material properties as a function of temperature, time, frequency, stress, atmosphere or a combination of these parameters. DMA tests were run on samples of pad material prepared by three different processes: injection molded coupons, transfer molded coupons, and parts machined from an actual pad. The results provided a full characterization of the elastic deformation (Energy Storage) and viscous dissipation (Energy Dissipation) behavior of the material as a function of loading frequency, and temperature. These results show that the commonly used thermoplastic elastomer does generate heat under cyclic loading, though the frequency which produces peak heat output is outside the range of common loading frequency in rail service. These results can be combined with a stress analysis and service load measurements to estimate internally generated heat and, thus, enable a refined model for the evolution of bearing temperature during operation.

Author(s):  
Oscar O. Rodriguez ◽  
Arturo A. Fuentes ◽  
Constantine Tarawneh ◽  
Robert E. Jones

Thermoplastic elastomers (TPE’s) are increasingly being used in rail service in load damping applications. They are superior to traditional elastomers primarily in their ease of fabrication. Like traditional elastomers they offer benefits including reduction in noise emissions and improved wear resistance in metal components that are in contact with such parts in the railcar suspension system. However, viscoelastic materials, such as the railroad bearing thermoplastic elastomer suspension element (or elastomeric pad), are known to develop self-heating (hysteresis) under cyclic loading, which can lead to undesirable consequences. Quantifying the hysteresis heating of the pad during operation is therefore essential to predict its dynamic response and structural integrity, as well as, to predict and understand the heat transfer paths from bearings into the truck assembly and other contacting components. This study investigates the internal heat generation in the suspension pad and its impact on the complete bearing assembly dynamics and thermal profile. Specifically, this paper presents an experimentally validated finite element thermal model of the elastomeric pad and its internal heat generation. The steady-state and transient-state temperature profiles produced by hysteresis heating of the elastomer pad are developed through a series of experiments and finite element analysis. The hysteresis heating is induced by the internal heat generation, which is a function of the loss modulus, strain, and frequency. Based on previous experimental studies, estimations of internally generated heat were obtained. The calculations show that the internal heat generation is impacted by temperature and frequency. At higher frequencies, the internally generated heat is significantly greater compared to lower frequencies, and at higher temperatures, the internally generated heat is significantly less compared to lower temperatures. However, during service operation, exposure of the suspension pad to higher loading frequencies above 10 Hz is less likely to occur. Therefore, internal heat generation values that have a significant impact on the suspension pad steady-state temperature are less likely to be reached. The commercial software package ALGOR 20.3TM is used to conduct the thermal finite element analysis. Different internal heating scenarios are simulated with the purpose of obtaining the bearing suspension element temperature distribution during normal and abnormal conditions. The results presented in this paper can be used in the future to acquire temperature distribution maps of complete bearing assemblies in service conditions and enable a refined model for the evolution of bearing temperature during operation.


Author(s):  
Oscar O. Rodriguez ◽  
Arturo A. Fuentes ◽  
Constantine Tarawneh

It is a known fact that polymers and all other materials develop hysteresis heating due to the viscoelastic response or internal friction. The hysteresis or phase lag occurs when cyclic loading is applied leading to the dissipation of mechanical energy. The hysteresis heating is induced by the internal heat generation of the material, which occurs at the molecular level as it is being disturbed cyclically. Understanding the hysteresis heating of the railroad bearing elastomer suspension element during operation is essential to predict its dynamic response and structural integrity, as well as to predict the thermal behavior of the railroad bearing assembly. The main purpose of this ongoing study is to investigate the effect of the internal heat generation in the thermoplastic elastomer suspension element on the thermal behavior of the railroad bearing assembly. This paper presents an experimentally validated finite element thermal model that can be used to obtain temperature distribution maps of complete bearing assemblies in service conditions. The commercial software package ALGOR 20.3™ is used to conduct the thermal finite element analysis. Different internal heating scenarios are simulated with the purpose of determining the bearing suspension element and bearing assembly temperature distributions during normal and abnormal operation conditions. Preliminary results show that a combination of the ambient temperature, bearing temperature, and frequency of loading can produce elastomer pad temperature increases above ambient of up to 125°C when no thermal runway is present. The higher temperature increase occurs at higher loading frequencies such as 50 Hz, thus, allowing the internal heat generation to significantly impact the temperature distribution of the suspension pad. This paper provides several thermal maps depicting normal and abnormal operation conditions and discusses the overall thermal management of the railroad bearing assembly.


2013 ◽  
Vol 664 ◽  
pp. 866-870
Author(s):  
Zill-e Hasnain Minhas ◽  
Sun Qin

A generic heat generation equation with the heat transfer has been developed for pure mechanical loading. Frequency dependent temperature field can be obtained on a specimen subjected to pure mechanical, cyclic or non-cyclic loading. Results have been compared with the literature and a good agreement has been found with the experimental results. Applications and effectiveness of the equation is highlighted in predicting the fatigue damage in case of high cyclic or vibration fatigue.


2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Hai-Ying Liu ◽  
Hang-Tian Duan ◽  
Chun-Qiu Zhang ◽  
Wei Wang

COMSOL finite element software was used to establish a solid-liquid coupling biphasic model of articular cartilage and a microscopic model of chondrocytes, using modeling to take into account the shape and number of chondrocytes in cartilage lacuna in each layer. The effects of cyclic loading at different frequencies on the micromechanical environment of chondrocytes in different regions of the cartilage were studied. The results showed that low frequency loading can cause stress concentration of superficial chondrocytes. Moreover, along with increased frequency, the maximum value of stress response curve of chondrocytes decreased, while the minimum value increased. When the frequency was greater than 0.2 Hz, the extreme value stress of response curve tended to be constant. Cyclic loading had a large influence on the distribution of liquid pressure in chondrocytes in the middle and deep layers. The concentration of fluid pressure changed alternately from intracellular to peripheral in the middle layer. Both the range of liquid pressure in the upper chondrocytes and the maximum value of liquid pressure in the lower chondrocytes in the same lacunae varied greatly in the deep layer. At the same loading frequency, the elastic modulus of artificial cartilage had little effect on the mechanical environment of chondrocytes.


2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lijun Xu ◽  
Jamil A. Khan

A comprehensive axisymmetric model of the coupled thermal-electrical-mechanical analysis predicting weld nugget development and residual stresses for the resistance spot welding process of Al-alloys is developed. The model estimates the heat generation at the faying surface, the workpiece-electrode interface, and the Joule heating of the workpiece and electrode. The phase change due to melting in the weld pool is considered. The contact area and its pressure distribution at both the faying surface and the electrode-workpiece interface are determined from a coupled thermal-mechanical model using a finite element method. The knowledge of the interface pressure provides accurate prediction of the interfacial heat generation. For the numerical model, temperature dependent thermal, electrical and mechanical properties are used. The proposed model can successfidly calculate the nugget diameter and thickness, and predict the residual stresses and the elastic-plastic deformation history. The calculated nugget shape and the deformation of sheets based on the model are compared with the experimental data. The computed residual stresses approach the distribution of experimental measurement of the residual stress.


2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 138-154
Author(s):  
Farshid Masoumi ◽  
Ebrahim Farajpourbonab

Purpose The primary purpose of this research was to expand the knowledge base regarding the behavior of steel columns during exposure to fire. This paper presents the numerical study of the effect of heat on the performance of parking steel column in a seven-story steel building under cyclic loading. Design/methodology/approach In this research, the forces and deformations developed during a fire are estimated by using detailed 3D finite-element models. The analyses are in the form of a coupled thermo-mechanical analysis in two types of loading: concurrent loading (fire and cyclic loading) and non-concurrent loading (first fire and then cyclically), and the analyses have been conducted in both states of the fire loading with cooling and without cooling using the ABAQUS software. Further, it was investigated whether, during the fire loading, the specimen was protected by a 3-cm-thick concrete coating and how much it changes the seismic performance. After verification of the specimen with the experimental test results, the column model was investigated under different loading conditions. Findings The result of analyses indicates that the effect of thermal damage on the performance of steel columns, when cooling is happening late, is more than the state in which cooling occurs immediately after the fire. In this paper, thermal–seismic performance of parking steel columns has been specified and the effect of the fire damage has been investigated for the protected steel by concrete coating and to the non-protected steel, under both cooling and non-cooling states. Originality/value This study led to recommendations based on the findings and suggestions for additional work to support performance-based fire engineering. It is clear that predicting force and deformation on steel column during fire is complex and it is affected by many variables. Here in this paper, those variables are examined and proper results have been achieved.


2020 ◽  
Vol 57 (6) ◽  
pp. 903-920 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zongqi Bi ◽  
Quanmei Gong ◽  
Peijun Guo ◽  
Qian Cheng

Arching effect, which is a common phenomenon in any system involving soil–structure interaction, has been found to be inevitably affected by various factors, including loading conditions. This study investigated the evolution of arching effect induced by cyclic loading by conducting a series of tests using a trapdoor apparatus. The test box was instrumented to control the displacement of the moving gate and to record the variation of vertical stress distribution by using a set of dynamic load cells. Digital images were captured during tests and processed using particle image velocimetry (PIV) to determine the displacement field and hence to examine the variation of geometric features of arch and particle movements. The evolution process of arching effect, from the initial formation to the finial collapse, was identified. Depending on the analysis for the geometry appearance, displacement region, and variation of cyclic stresses, both stable and collapsed arches were observed. By increasing the amplitude of cyclic loading step by step, critical loading amplitude corresponding to the threshold of collapse of the arching effect was determined. Based on the results, the effects of trapdoor displacement, cyclic loading frequency, and filling height on arching effect are discussed.


Author(s):  
Hiroki Takiguchi ◽  
Masahiro Furuya ◽  
Takahiro Arai ◽  
Kenetsu Shirakawa

Rapid thermal elevation in nuclear reactor is an important factor for nuclear safety. It is indispensable to develop a three-dimensional nuclear thermal transient analysis code and confirm its validity in order to accurately evaluate the effectiveness of the running nuclear safety measures when heating power of reactor core rapidly rises. However, the heat transfer characteristics such as reactivity feedback characteristics due to moderator density and the technical knowledge explaining the uncertainty are insufficient. In particular, the cross propagation behavior of vapor bubble (void) in cross section of fuel assembly is not grasped. This study evaluates the cross propagation void behavior in a simulated fuel assembly at time of rapid heat generation with a thermal hydraulic test loop including a 5 × 5 rod bundle having the heat generation profile in the flow cross sectional direction. In this paper, the branching heat output condition of transient cross propagation was investigated from visualization of high speed video camera and void fraction measurement by wire mesh sensor with the inlet flow rate 0.3m/s and the inlet coolant temperature 40°C, which are based on the transient safety analysis condition. In addition, we applied the particle imaging velocimetry (PIV) technique to measure liquid-phase velocity profile of the coolant in the transient cross flow and experimentally clarified the relationship with the cross flow.


Author(s):  
Roja Esmaeeli ◽  
Ashkan Nazari ◽  
Haniph Aliniagerdroudbari ◽  
Seyed Reza Hashemi ◽  
Muapper Alhadri ◽  
...  

The viscoelastic properties of rubbers play an important role in dynamic applications and are commonly measured and quantified by means of Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA) tests. The rubber properties including the static and dynamic moduli are a function of temperature; and an increase in the temperature leads to a decrease in both moduli of the rubber. Due to the heat generation inside the rubber during the DMA test and the possible change of the rubber properties it is important to quantify the amount of temperature rise in the rubber specimen during the test. In this study, a Finite Element Analysis (FEA) model is used to predict the heat generation and temperature rise during the rubber DMA tests. This model is used to identify the best shape of the specimen to achieve the minimum increase in temperature during the test. The double sandwich shear test and the cyclic compression tests are considered in this study because these two tests are mostly used in industry to predict the rubber viscoelastic properties.


2011 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 096369351102000 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrzej Katunin

The present study is focused on the analytical modelling of the stationary self-heating caused by the hysteretic behaviour of the polymeric laminated circular and annular plates hinged on the boundary under axisymmetric transverse cyclic loading. The investigation was based on the complex parameters concept. The coupled thermoviscoelasticity problem was solved by substitution of the dissipation energy function to the heat transfer equation as a source function. The self-heating temperature distributions formulas were obtained by solving the heat transfer equation with appropriate thermal boundary conditions using trigonometric Fourier series. Numerous parametric analyses were presented. It was shown, that omitting the influence of the self-heating effect may results in the incorrect description of the behaviour of polymeric composites under cyclic loading.


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