Research on Influencing Factors of Current-carrying Temperature Rise on Connector Terminal of Current Circuit in UHVDC Converter Station

Relying on the high current temperature rise test, starting from three aspects of different materials, different structural strengths, and different contact conditions, the research on the current-carrying-temperature rise characteristics of the joint terminals of ±800kV UHVDC converter stations under different conditions is carried out. The results show that, for joint terminals of the same structure type and contact area, the difference in resistivity of joint terminals of different materials has a significant impact on the temperature rise level. When the material is the same, the temperature rise level can be reduced to a certain extent after the silver (tin) layer is added to the contact surface of the terminal. When the contact resistance of the joint terminal and the current density are the same, after increasing the contact area, the temperature rise and decrease level of the aluminum alloy plate lap type joint terminal is significantly better than other types of joint terminals. The contact resistance and temperature rise of the joint terminal decrease with the increase of the bolt tightening torque, and become stable when it reaches more than 80%. When the bolt tightening torque reaches more than 90%, the surface finish of the contact surface has no obvious effect on the contact resistance of the joint terminal. By controlling the material properties, structural strength, contact conditions, significantly reduces the temperature rise of the level of the joint terminal, effectively ensuring the safety ±800kV UHVDC converter station stable operation.

Identification of Pre-Tightening Torque Dependent Parameters for Empirical Modeling of Bolted Joints

The vibration characteristics of bolted structures are crucially affected by the pre-tightening torque. An approach for identifying the pre-tightening torque dependent stiffness parameters of bolted joints is proposed in this paper. Firstly, the interface of the bolted joint is characterized by the thin layer element with the isotropic material property, and the parameter value of the property is assigned relative to the distance from the center of the bolt; the influence of the bolt is ignored. Secondly, the model updating method is adopted to identify the parameters of thin layer elements using experimental data, and modal data under different values of pre-tightening torque in the range of 2 N·m~22 N·m are obtained; the torque wrench is used to determine the pre-tightening torque in the modal test. Finally, after identifying the material parameters using partial experimental data on pre-tightening torque range, the empirical equation of the interface parameters with the pre-tightening torque parameter is obtained by curve fitting and the rest of the experimental data are used to verify the accuracy of the fitted empirical equations. It is concluded that this method can obtain all the parameters of the equivalent thin layer elements within a certain range of pre-tightening torque, which can provide a reference for the empirical modeling of bolted structures, improve modeling efficiency and reflect the characteristic performance of real structural dynamics.

Mathematical and Computer Simulation of Hex Head Screws for Implementation on a 3D Printer

In this paper, based on the R-functions theory, methods have been developed and equations have been constructed for the 3D printing of hex-head screws with Bristol, Pentalobe, Polydrive and other types of screw slots. Such screws are used both in personal computers and other high-end equipment. The Bristol slot has four or six radial grooved beams. The advantage of the design of this slot is the correct perpendicular, rather than tangential, vector of force application when the slot is rotated by a tool, which minimizes the risk of stripping out the slot. For this reason, the Bristol slot is used in soft metal screws. Compared to the internal hex, the Bristol slot allows a noticeably higher torque, only slightly higher than that of the Torx slot. This type of slot is used in aviation, high-end telecommunications equipment, cameras, air brakes, agricultural equipment, astronomical equipment, and foreign military equipment. Variations with a pin in the center are found in game consoles to prevent the use of a flat-blade screwdriver as an improvised key. The Pentalobe slot is a five-point slot designed by Apple and used in its products to limit unauthorized disassembly. It was first used in mid 2009 to mount MacBook Pro batteries. Its miniature version was used in the iPhone 4 and later models, in the MacBook Air (available since late 2010 models), and the MacBook Pro with Retina screens. The Polydrive slot is a starlike slot with rounded star points, used in the automotive industry for applications requiring high tightening torque. The Torq-set slot is a cross slot for fasteners requiring high tightening torque. The grooves are slightly offset, not intersecting at one point. Fasteners with this type of slot are used in military aviation, for example, in E-3, P-3, F-16, Airbus, Embraer, and Bombardier Inc. The Phillips Screw Company owns the trademark and manufactures fasteners with this type of slot. The slot design standards are National Aerospace Standard NASM 3781 and NASM 4191 for the ribbed version. The resulting equations for the surfaces of screws were checked during the modeling of the screws before 3D printing. The 3D printing technology allows us to reduce the cost and labor intensity of manufacturing products, including complex slot screws. The analytical recording of designed objects makes it possible to use alphabetic geometric parameters, complex superposition of functions, which, in turn, allows us to quickly change their design elements. The positivity property of the constructed functions at the internal points of an object is very convenient for the implementation of 3D printing.

Electric performance of fastened hybrid busbars: An experimental and numerical study

This paper is focused on fastened hybrid busbars made from copper and aluminium with the purpose of analysing the influence of the steel bolts, of their tightening torque and of the surface condition of the sheets on the electric current flow and electric resistance of the joints. The methodology combines experimentation with unit cells that are representative of the joints and electro-mechanical numerical simulation using a finite element computer program developed by the authors. Results are a step forward in understanding the combined influence of bolts, contact pressure and surface roughness on the electric performance of fastened hybrid busbars. Design guidelines for dimensioning the cross sections of the copper and aluminium sheets and for effectively distributing bolts across the contacting surfaces are also provided.

Design of a Fast Temporary Fastener with the Labor-Saving and Reversible Ability

Aircraft panel assembly mainly includes the pre-joining process and the riveting process. In addition, the traditional pre-joining process is mainly executed by bolts, which has problems such as the large tightening torque, inconvenient bilateral tightening, heavy workload, and inconvenient loading and unloading. To solve the above-mentioned problems, a research of new temporary fastener is performed deeply from three levels of quick installation, labor-saving, and reversible ability. This involves (a) employing the lever mechanism and the rapid expansion anchor to implement the rapid clamping and disassembly of working processes by labor-saving; (b) integrating the adjusting spring to overcome the tolerances of parts; and (c) building up the space-cross slide rails to provide the axial clamping forces and the reversible forces. The application of designed fasteners was employed into the production of aircraft panel, and the error between theoretical and experimental values was less than 10%. Besides this, the result showed the good effect in panel clamping and the reliable processes of loading and unloading installation, and will greatly reduce the complexity of pre-joining process, the difficulty of installation, and the comprehensive cost.

Factors Affecting Torque of Beam Type Implant Torque Wrench

Background: Screw breakage and loosening are the most common mechanical complications in implant treatment. One of the causes is the excess or deficiency of the screw tightening torque; thus, the use of a torque wrench is a prerequisite for achieving an accurate tightening torque. Therefore, we focused on the beam-type torque wrenches, which are the main type, to clarify the factors affecting this torque.Results: The torque values of the beam-type torque wrenches for the eight manufacturers were measured using a torque gauge. For investigating the influence of the location of the beam placed on the scale, the measurement was performed with the scale aligned with the upper edge, center, and lower edge of the beam. Additionally, measurements were taken at 90°, 60°, and 30° to examine the effect of the angle at which the examiner read the torque value. Under each condition, a single examiner applied the recommended torque value of each manufacturer's screws five times clockwise. The average measured torque, standard deviation, bias, and coefficient of variation were calculated and compared. Equipment from six manufacturers demonstrated the best accuracy for measurements at the center of the beam (bias within ± 4%). For measurements at 90°, equipment from five manufacturers displayed the highest accuracy (bias within ± 7%), and seven showed the highest repeatability (coefficient of variation 2% or less).Conclusion: It was recommended that the center of the beam should be aligned with the scale and read from 90°, while tightening the torque wrench. The accuracy and repeatability differed according to the manufacturer, scale width, scale line width, and beam width, while the distance between scale and beam center was related to accuracy and repeatability. Based on these results, it was suggested that a torque wrench must be selected after grasping the difference depending on the structure of the model to be used.