Mathematical Modelling and Dynamic Analysis of a Direct-Acting Relief Valve Based on Fluid-Structure Coupling Analysis

To explain the sudden jump of pressure as the variation of water depth for a direct-acting relief valve used by torpedo pump as the variation of water depth, a 2-DOF fluid-structure coupling dynamic model is developed. A nonlinear differential pressure model at valve port is applied to model the axial vibration of fluid, and a nonlinear wake oscillator model is used to excite the valve element in the vertical direction; meanwhile, the contact nonlinearity between the valve element and valve seat is also taken into consideration. Based on the developed dynamical model, the water depths for the sudden jumps of pressure can be located precisely when compared with the experimental signals, and the corresponding vibration conditions of the valve element in both the axial and vertical directions are explored. Subsequently, in order to eliminate the sudden jumps of pressure, different pump inlet pressure was tested experimentally; when it was decreased to 0.4 MPa, the pressure jumps ever appeared during the dropping and lifting processes were removed, and the numerical simulation based on the developed mathematical model also verified the experimental measurements.

Time-Domain Spectral Finite Element Method for Modeling Second Harmonic Generation of Guided Waves Induced by Material, Geometric and Contact Nonlinearities in Beams

This study proposes a time-domain spectral finite element (SFE) method for simulating the second harmonic generation (SHG) of nonlinear guided wave due to material, geometric and contact nonlinearities in beams. The time-domain SFE method is developed based on the Mindlin–Hermann rod and Timoshenko beam theory. The material and geometric nonlinearities are modeled by adapting the constitutive relation between stress and strain using a second-order approximation. The contact nonlinearity induced by breathing crack is simulated by bilinear crack mechanism. The material and geometric nonlinearities of the SFE model are validated analytically and the contact nonlinearity is verified numerically using three-dimensional (3D) finite element (FE) simulation. There is good agreement between the analytical, numerical and SFE results, demonstrating the accuracy of the proposed method. Numerical case studies are conducted to investigate the influence of number of cycles and amplitude of the excitation signal on the SHG and its performance in damage detection. The results show that the amplitude of the SHG increases with the numbers of cycles and amplitude of the excitation signal. The amplitudes of the SHG due to material and geometric nonlinearities are also compared with the contact nonlinearity when a breathing crack exists in the beam. It shows that the material and geometric nonlinearities have much less contribution to the SHG than the contact nonlinearity. In addition, the SHG can accurately determine the crack location without using the reference data. Overall, the findings of this study help further advance the use of SHG for damage detection.

The enhancement of filament winding in marine launching rubber gasbag

The traditional craft of marine launching rubber gasbag that made by hand laying cord fabric has the disadvantages of irregular reinforcing direction and discontinuity of cord, which leads to the limitation of bearing capacity of gasbag and poor reliability. Based on the analysis of the structure of the rubber gasbag and geodesic winding pattern used in marine launching, the winding process design and experiment of the fiber reinforced rubber gasbag are carried out to solve the problem. The numerical simulation of the wound rubber gasbag is established by the finite element software ABAQUS in order to study the geometrical and contact nonlinearity of the gasbag, and the nonlinear relationship of parameters in application process, and then compare the application performance with those of the traditional cord fabric placement molding. Finally, the winding pattern test and deformation simulation experiment are carried out to verify the fact that the reinforced rubber gasbag with glass fiber / polyurethane composite material has a higher bearing capacity compared with the traditional handmade rubber gasbag. Thus, it provides theoretical and experimental evidence for the winding process of rubber gasbag.

Bolted joint integrity monitoring with second harmonic generated by guided waves

In this study, the second harmonic generation due to the contact nonlinearity caused by bolt loosening is studied experimentally and numerically using three-dimensional explicit finite element simulations. In particular, it is demonstrated that the magnitude of the second harmonic generation normally increases with the loosening of the bolted joint, and there is a reasonable agreement between the numerical simulations and experimental results. The finite element model, which was validated against the experimentally measured data, is further utilized to investigate an important practical situation when a loosened bolt is weakened by fatigue cracks located at the edge of the hole. The numerical case studies show that the contact nonlinearity and the change of the behaviour of the second harmonic generation with the tightening level are very different to the corresponding results with the fatigue cracks. This identified difference in the second harmonic generation behaviour can serve as an indicator of the bolted joint integrity and thus provide early warning for engineers to make decision on the necessity of carrying out further safety inspections. Overall, the findings of this study provide improved physical insights into second harmonic generation for bolt loosening, which can be used to further advance damage detection techniques using nonlinear guided waves.